...turns out that Thanksgiving isn't next week. It's the week after. We had reserved room in two different hotels, my out of office time, as well as arranged boarding for the dog. Not to mention having tonight made the dough for pie crusts.
Really glad we had that conversation with Peter and Cheryl, otherwise, we'd have found ourselves on the road to a thanksgiving that was still a week away!
Happy days from artard central.
2008-11-12
2008-11-07
The 50 Skills Every Feek Should Have
http://gizmodo.com/5078829/the-50-skills-every-geek-should-have
(Items in bold are ones I have accomplished.)
Talk about things that aren't tech related
(Items in bold are ones I have accomplished.)
- Install a hard drive in a laptop
- Perform a clean OS install on a machine with two OSes
- Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone
- Jailbreak an iPhone
- Wire your house for Ethernet and Coax cable
- Use BitTorrent and RSS to automatically download new shows from trackers
- Use an A/V receiver to its fullest capability (every port is taken)
- Calibrate an HDTV without the manual
- Use a DSLR in full manual mode
- Hack the encryption and mooch your neighbor's Wi-Fi
- Solder cleanly enough to get around a circuit board
- Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point
- Shove the guts of a modern game console into a retro game console
- Design a webpage in HTML by hand that features a picture of your cat
- Use Photoshop to imperceptibly doctor a photo
- Abstain from buying extended warranties
- Know where to buy cheap cables and accessories
- Fix your parents' computer over the phone without looking at a computer
- Enter the Konami code
- Comment on Gizmodo from your phone
- Type quickly using T9 texting
- Program a universal remote
- Contribute code to the Linux kernel
- Hide porn from your significant other
- Avoid DRM on everything
- Know how to back up your data to networked storage—and actually do it
- Watch TV shows on the internet for free
- Edit together digital video ripped from YouTube
- Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator
- Reset expired trial software by messing with the registry
- Hackintosh your PC
- Download pre-release movies from Usenet
- Hack the Wii to play homebrew games
- Get around web content filters on public computers
- Get into a Windows computer if you forgot your password
- Securely erase your data so it can't be recovered
- Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network
- Build a fighting robot
- Write your own Firefox plugins
- Navigate and reorganize the files on your computer in DOS
- Get something on the front page of Digg
- Get through to executive customer service
- Rip a CD to V0 quality MP3s
- Rip a DVD to DivX
- Build your own computer from parts
- Swap out the hard drive in your DVR for a bigger one
- Get an NES cartridge working again by blowing in it
- Calibrate a 7.1 surround-sound system
- Play downloaded games on a Nintendo DS
2008-10-08
Crossposted from another blog
Credit to Emma VC
sarah palin.
04Sep08
She fails to separate her religion from her leadership. And, as we learned last night, she has the terrifying talent of speaking in a way that commands attention while distracting listeners from the content of her words. She could read from a phonebook and command attention.
This country is supposed to be about the separation of church and state. Our beginnings are based in choice and freedom, the idea that we’re free to do as we will, to make our own way, worship as we like (and if we like). But this woman stands on a platform defined by religion, and her own religion at that, a platform that restricts personal freedom rather than protect it. It’s defined by the highly subjective and easily abused notion of ‘morality,’ where things are right and wrong and good and evil and anyone who raises questions is unpatriotic. This is the sort of rhetoric that girds fascists. Look at history. Look at recent history.
Americans are notorious amnesiacs.
A good friend of mine used to be an admissions officer at Princeton. She once said that she started getting applications with the acronym WWJD in the essay sections, one after another. Whole chunks of the application were supposed to be devoted to unpacking complex issues and she was getting a lot of white space - a sea of white space - broken by this single acronym. Thinking it was some kind of objection to the nature of the question, she gathered the applications up and took the stack to the dean to ask him what this acronym meant.
“What would Jesus do,” he said. “That’s their answer to the question.”
“But the whole point of the question is to display your ability to think critically,” she said.
The dean shrugged.
That story really struck me because it wasn’t about belief systems or spirituality or religion. It was about mindless obedience, so much so that when called to address a complicated issue, the response was an acronym, like a secret handshake. No thinking involved. Just a passive nod of the head.
Palin scares the crap out of me because her platform requires no real thinking either, and plenty of blind obedience. Gays are deviant. Books are dangerous. Abortion is murder. Evolution is wrong. War is right. And all it takes to win with a platform like that is charisma.
sarah palin.
04Sep08
She fails to separate her religion from her leadership. And, as we learned last night, she has the terrifying talent of speaking in a way that commands attention while distracting listeners from the content of her words. She could read from a phonebook and command attention.
This country is supposed to be about the separation of church and state. Our beginnings are based in choice and freedom, the idea that we’re free to do as we will, to make our own way, worship as we like (and if we like). But this woman stands on a platform defined by religion, and her own religion at that, a platform that restricts personal freedom rather than protect it. It’s defined by the highly subjective and easily abused notion of ‘morality,’ where things are right and wrong and good and evil and anyone who raises questions is unpatriotic. This is the sort of rhetoric that girds fascists. Look at history. Look at recent history.
Americans are notorious amnesiacs.
A good friend of mine used to be an admissions officer at Princeton. She once said that she started getting applications with the acronym WWJD in the essay sections, one after another. Whole chunks of the application were supposed to be devoted to unpacking complex issues and she was getting a lot of white space - a sea of white space - broken by this single acronym. Thinking it was some kind of objection to the nature of the question, she gathered the applications up and took the stack to the dean to ask him what this acronym meant.
“What would Jesus do,” he said. “That’s their answer to the question.”
“But the whole point of the question is to display your ability to think critically,” she said.
The dean shrugged.
That story really struck me because it wasn’t about belief systems or spirituality or religion. It was about mindless obedience, so much so that when called to address a complicated issue, the response was an acronym, like a secret handshake. No thinking involved. Just a passive nod of the head.
Palin scares the crap out of me because her platform requires no real thinking either, and plenty of blind obedience. Gays are deviant. Books are dangerous. Abortion is murder. Evolution is wrong. War is right. And all it takes to win with a platform like that is charisma.
2008-10-06
Two Thoughts
Firstly, I'm afraid that Twitter is becoming too commercialized. It seems like The World At Large has discovered a hive-mind of people - people who are generally living way too fast for their own good - and is taking the opportunity to advertise to them there.
And it's not just advertisement in the form of 'BUY OUR STUFF', 'SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY', etc. Warning: the following is an advertisement. Take the Starbucks twitter feed - http://twitter.com/starbucks - it almost acts like public customer service in shorthand. Trying to build that grassroots community support at the lifestyle speed that Starbucks likes to cater to. Do you get what I'm saying, or is this too far out there? Starbucks: energizing people who move fast - now addressing their thoughts 140 characters at a time.
Or CNN, for example - http://twitter.com/cnn - keeping the world up-to-date in it's slantist-fashion, 140 characters per serving! Here's a great headline: "Jobless father kills family, self."
I can't get over the idea that twitter was created, and wasn't monetized. It's free - anyone can create a twitter account ( http://twitter.com/protodeka ) - including companies like Starbucks, and CNN, for example. We can even see squatters - http://twitter.com/generalelectric - and they all come together and feed into the stream.
The fans follow, like the fans do. Those who don't care, don't follow. With more and more comapnies joining the fray, and more and more people on twitter who may be fans of Brand X whatever, the framework has been built for a complex opt-in spam / adverts network.
Except you get to pick-and-choose what you want to see adverts for. Like Starbucks. But what happens when you get enough Twitter followers, and you start subletting your 140 characters (say, one Twitter adspot every eight tweets) to hock Brand X Ware. It's reaching an audience measuring in the tens of thousands. That's gotta be worth something.
That being said - my favorite Twitter feed to date: http://twitter.com/marsphoenix - GO PHOENIX, GO!
This concludes the first thought. Onto the second thought: DOG WALK
I'd love to figure out how to make walking the dog slightly more efficient. The following snapshot outlines our path tonight.
Now, to put a GPS in the dog. You know, for plotting purposes. Can mark where she goes, in order to compile a list of favorite spots over time.
And in case she ever gets lost.
And it's not just advertisement in the form of 'BUY OUR STUFF', 'SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY', etc. Warning: the following is an advertisement. Take the Starbucks twitter feed - http://twitter.com/starbucks - it almost acts like public customer service in shorthand. Trying to build that grassroots community support at the lifestyle speed that Starbucks likes to cater to. Do you get what I'm saying, or is this too far out there? Starbucks: energizing people who move fast - now addressing their thoughts 140 characters at a time.
Or CNN, for example - http://twitter.com/cnn - keeping the world up-to-date in it's slantist-fashion, 140 characters per serving! Here's a great headline: "Jobless father kills family, self."
I can't get over the idea that twitter was created, and wasn't monetized. It's free - anyone can create a twitter account ( http://twitter.com/protodeka ) - including companies like Starbucks, and CNN, for example. We can even see squatters - http://twitter.com/generalelectric - and they all come together and feed into the stream.
The fans follow, like the fans do. Those who don't care, don't follow. With more and more comapnies joining the fray, and more and more people on twitter who may be fans of Brand X whatever, the framework has been built for a complex opt-in spam / adverts network.
Except you get to pick-and-choose what you want to see adverts for. Like Starbucks. But what happens when you get enough Twitter followers, and you start subletting your 140 characters (say, one Twitter adspot every eight tweets) to hock Brand X Ware. It's reaching an audience measuring in the tens of thousands. That's gotta be worth something.
That being said - my favorite Twitter feed to date: http://twitter.com/marsphoenix - GO PHOENIX, GO!
This concludes the first thought. Onto the second thought: DOG WALKI'd love to figure out how to make walking the dog slightly more efficient. The following snapshot outlines our path tonight.
Now, to put a GPS in the dog. You know, for plotting purposes. Can mark where she goes, in order to compile a list of favorite spots over time.
And in case she ever gets lost.
2008-07-08
On Camping...
This blog needs some love..
Camping trip over the farth of july was awesome. I still love Lindsay.
I will have to post more to these points in time...
Camping trip over the farth of july was awesome. I still love Lindsay.
I will have to post more to these points in time...
2008-05-16
From the Mr. Taggart
'So I had this weird dream last night. [My wife] was having the kid, and the doctor comes over to me and says 'Yeah, so there are some minor complications due to the size of his head, and the fact that he's an Eskimo.''
2008-04-15
Huckins, Jeremy (GE EntSol, Digital Energy)
[Over my cube wall]
"I have two things in my hands right now that you very much enjoy. Coke. And balls."
"I have two things in my hands right now that you very much enjoy. Coke. And balls."
2008-02-22
Tool - Ten Thousand Days
"Listen to these tales and romanticize, how we follow the path of the hero.
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun, how we will rise to the height of our halo.
Listen to the tales as we all rationalize our way into the arms of the savior.
Feigning all the trials and tribulations - none of us have actually been there - not like you.
Ignorant fibbers in the congregation, gather around spewing sympathy; spare me.
None of them can even hold a candle up to you, blinded by choices these hypocrites won't see.
But enough about the collective Judas;
Who could deny that you were the one who illuminated my little piece of divinity?
This little light of mine, the gift you've passed onto me, I'm going to let it shine.
To guide you safely on your way. Your way home...
Oh what are they going to do when the lights go down, without you to guide them all to Zion?
What are they going to do when the rivers overrun, instead of trembling incessantly?
High is the way but our lives are on the ground;
You are the light - the way - they'll only read about.
I only pray that heaven knows when to lift you out; ten thousand days in the fire is long enough.
You're. Going. Home.
You're the only one who can hold your head up high. Shake your fist at the gates saying
"I have come home now!"
Fetch me the spirit, the son, and the father. Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended.
It is my time now. My time now! Give me my wings! GIVE ME MY WINGS!
You are the light - the way - they'll only read about.
Set as I am in my ways of arrogance - burden of proof tossed upon you non-believers.
You are my witness. My eyes, my evidence. My unconditional one.
Daylight dims, leaving cold fluorescents; difficult to see you in this light.
Please forgive this bold suggestion, but should you see your makers face tonight,
Look him in the eye, and tell him "I've never lived a lie. Never took a life.
But surely saved one."
Hallelujah. It's time for you to bring me home."
For Surrah, the strongest young woman I've ever met.
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun, how we will rise to the height of our halo.
Listen to the tales as we all rationalize our way into the arms of the savior.
Feigning all the trials and tribulations - none of us have actually been there - not like you.
Ignorant fibbers in the congregation, gather around spewing sympathy; spare me.
None of them can even hold a candle up to you, blinded by choices these hypocrites won't see.
But enough about the collective Judas;
Who could deny that you were the one who illuminated my little piece of divinity?
This little light of mine, the gift you've passed onto me, I'm going to let it shine.
To guide you safely on your way. Your way home...
Oh what are they going to do when the lights go down, without you to guide them all to Zion?
What are they going to do when the rivers overrun, instead of trembling incessantly?
High is the way but our lives are on the ground;
You are the light - the way - they'll only read about.
I only pray that heaven knows when to lift you out; ten thousand days in the fire is long enough.
You're. Going. Home.
You're the only one who can hold your head up high. Shake your fist at the gates saying
"I have come home now!"
Fetch me the spirit, the son, and the father. Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended.
It is my time now. My time now! Give me my wings! GIVE ME MY WINGS!
You are the light - the way - they'll only read about.
Set as I am in my ways of arrogance - burden of proof tossed upon you non-believers.
You are my witness. My eyes, my evidence. My unconditional one.
Daylight dims, leaving cold fluorescents; difficult to see you in this light.
Please forgive this bold suggestion, but should you see your makers face tonight,
Look him in the eye, and tell him "I've never lived a lie. Never took a life.
But surely saved one."
Hallelujah. It's time for you to bring me home."
For Surrah, the strongest young woman I've ever met.
2008-02-05
Music is powerful...
A song is simple - it's like a little poem that carries a catchy tune to infect your brain.
I can feel you all around me, thickening the air I'm breathing;
Holding onto what I'm feeling, savoring this heart that's healing...
Take my hand - I give it to you - now you own me, all I am.
Some often say this is about God. It is. Atleast, that is how the artist intended it. We, as listeners, are free to interpret as we see fit. Which is why so many people, so many cultures have entirely different versions of 'God'. I choose to interpret this as a feeling you get when you can let go. The feeling you get when your world is more colorful, more vibrant, more fulfilling. Something tangible - that you can really sink your teeth into and enjoy. And it feels so good.
Yeah. There's shadowing here. I don't need to be lame and spell it out. Those of you that get it, get it. And it's great, I assure you.
I believe...
I can feel you all around me, thickening the air I'm breathing;
Holding onto what I'm feeling, savoring this heart that's healing...
Take my hand - I give it to you - now you own me, all I am.
Some often say this is about God. It is. Atleast, that is how the artist intended it. We, as listeners, are free to interpret as we see fit. Which is why so many people, so many cultures have entirely different versions of 'God'. I choose to interpret this as a feeling you get when you can let go. The feeling you get when your world is more colorful, more vibrant, more fulfilling. Something tangible - that you can really sink your teeth into and enjoy. And it feels so good.
Yeah. There's shadowing here. I don't need to be lame and spell it out. Those of you that get it, get it. And it's great, I assure you.
I believe...
2008-02-04
On Gaming...
I've fallen out of gaming, and the whole gaming scene just a little bit. With work, with life, I'm disconnected a little bit.
That's not a horrible thing, for the record. But I do still have my opinions, and I will maintain them, just a little bit.
I have no interest in the PlayStation 3 until Sony returns PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility with either an Emotion Engine hardware processor, or a software emulation process. One of the major brand driving points has always been compatibility with previous generation media; I don't want two Sony consoles in my entertainment center for the oddball occasion when I want a game of Ratchet and Clank, or Mercenaries.
It's a major sticking point, and I won't spend a dollar on a PS3 until it can handle PS2 media. With gusto.
Sometimes an anchor is just an anchor.
That's not a horrible thing, for the record. But I do still have my opinions, and I will maintain them, just a little bit.
I have no interest in the PlayStation 3 until Sony returns PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility with either an Emotion Engine hardware processor, or a software emulation process. One of the major brand driving points has always been compatibility with previous generation media; I don't want two Sony consoles in my entertainment center for the oddball occasion when I want a game of Ratchet and Clank, or Mercenaries.
It's a major sticking point, and I won't spend a dollar on a PS3 until it can handle PS2 media. With gusto.
Sometimes an anchor is just an anchor.
Today
Today is quiet. I've gotten a handful of things done, and my penchant for documentation is ramping up again.
Need to get better at communicating with end users. Lindsay has been a wonderful platform for my improvement in talking, and existing. Now I need to reapply what I've learned there, elsewhere.
I need to sit down for a few and build lists. To do lists, wish lists, idea lists. And then organize. And then kick some serious ass.
"If you were in your office, we'd be having this conversation face-to-face."
Need to get better at communicating with end users. Lindsay has been a wonderful platform for my improvement in talking, and existing. Now I need to reapply what I've learned there, elsewhere.
I need to sit down for a few and build lists. To do lists, wish lists, idea lists. And then organize. And then kick some serious ass.
"If you were in your office, we'd be having this conversation face-to-face."
2008-01-09
GeneralWhitey, GeneralWhitey...
...pass the word, for GeneralWhitey.
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/01/09/funny-pictures-godbunny-is-watching-you/
/shrug
Seemed appropriately fitting for her. Here's hoping the rest of you get some 'lawls' out of it.
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/01/09/funny-pictures-godbunny-is-watching-you/
/shrug
Seemed appropriately fitting for her. Here's hoping the rest of you get some 'lawls' out of it.
2008-01-01
1 January, 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Indeed.
Lindsay's new glasses came out well. They're bold, and playful, and suit her perfectly.
Mario's Via Abruzzi put on a wonderful New Years Eve dinner, to be enjoyed by all. Perfect black-angus steaks, well-done creme brulee, good drinks, exceptional company, and really bad jokes made for a celebration to remember. A compliment of wandering musicians capped the night - they began by serenading the lady at the head of the table next to ours, turned and wished us a Happy New Year, and finished with a very upbeat, smiley song. Choice words were earned.
A giant, dense murder of crows met us at the top of the walkway off of South Clinton, beyond ABVI. I'm not sure I've -ever- seen quite that many birds in such a small space at any other given time. Then the fireworks. The City of Rochester did a bang-up job at quite a display of fireworks this evening, covering all four corners of the city with class. Giant, beautiful champagne bursts, and golden willows. Bright, giant finale.
And a beautiful young lady to share a New Years kiss with at the height of 2008.
To a landmark year. I could not ask for more.
Lindsay's new glasses came out well. They're bold, and playful, and suit her perfectly.
Mario's Via Abruzzi put on a wonderful New Years Eve dinner, to be enjoyed by all. Perfect black-angus steaks, well-done creme brulee, good drinks, exceptional company, and really bad jokes made for a celebration to remember. A compliment of wandering musicians capped the night - they began by serenading the lady at the head of the table next to ours, turned and wished us a Happy New Year, and finished with a very upbeat, smiley song. Choice words were earned.
A giant, dense murder of crows met us at the top of the walkway off of South Clinton, beyond ABVI. I'm not sure I've -ever- seen quite that many birds in such a small space at any other given time. Then the fireworks. The City of Rochester did a bang-up job at quite a display of fireworks this evening, covering all four corners of the city with class. Giant, beautiful champagne bursts, and golden willows. Bright, giant finale.
And a beautiful young lady to share a New Years kiss with at the height of 2008.
To a landmark year. I could not ask for more.
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