Aces Full of Links

Rorschach's Journal October 12th, 1985

2008-07-23T01:00:00.001-04:00

"... Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face."

If you've seen "The Dark Knight" then you've probably seen the trailer for Watchmen.

I can't believe they're finally making it. I hope they do it some justice; I have to admit that the trailer is intriguing.

My copy is beat up and yellowed by now. Time to give it another spin.

2004-08-03T00:32:00.000-04:00

Aces Full of Links has moved

Visit the rightful home of Aces Full of Links.

See you back there.

2004-08-02T01:50:00.000-04:00

The Good and the Bad

The faster server is great. Fixing MT (my blog software) is not. Bleh. So, give a shout out in the comments if you found your way here. Tell me how much you love computer bullshit.

2004-08-02T01:27:00.000-04:00

Welcome To The Temporary Solution

Glad you found your way here from the old Aces Full of Links. While it is being repaired, I'll be posting here.

Ugh, it's ugly. But it's only temporary. I'll let you know here (and on my real domain) when things are back to normal. Until then, thanks, Blogger, for this temporary place to crash.

2003-11-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Aces Full Of Links has moved to its new, permanent location:
New Aces Full Of Links - http://www.drmomentum.com/aces/

(The reasons are listed below) (Thanks for your support)

2003-06-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

New Location...Pardon Our Dust! - Aces Full of Links is moving to a new location: www.drmomentum.com/aces/ to become part of my new website, at www.drmomentum.com.

So, for a couple (or few?) days, I'll be importing the content here into that new site. And for a while after that I'll be changing the look of the blog, so please bear with me. I don't want to change it too much, but I need to accomodate some new features that will take up space. (At the time I'm typing this, the new blog is still using the default look that comes with Movable Type, so it is completely different from the Aces Full you are used to.)

Why am I moving?

Let me count the reasons.

I'm sick of Blogger. I have to admit, Blogger gave me my start in Blogging, it's improving in reliability and features, and it is extremely easy to use. But I want more control over my blog, and Blogger is now too limiting. I wasn't sure I;d ever reach this point in blogging, and some might say that having only 5 or 6 readers doesn't justify much in the way of effort, but I have an urge to improve the blog and have some fun with web content management (if possible).
I got my own domain! No longer do I have to host my site under blogspot.com - the drmomentum.com domain is registered to me.
All the cool kids are doing it
Not because of the oil, but because of the WMDs
Because I can
The comment system I use here is very slow. My new system will be integrated with the blog and will be much speedier.
Speaking of speed - the plan is to make the whole site load faster by replacing the external services like the commenting system. A very good thing.
Better archives
Those of you who use a tool to aggregate RSS feeds will now be able to subscribe to Aces Full of Links with your aggregator, since I will be syndicating my blog!
There are probably more reasons, but aren't those enough?

Stick around. The fun is just beginning.

2003-06-13T07:37:00.000-04:00

Artsy Friends - My friends are going all artsy on me.

Rui is in Vancouver studying the skills related to computer game design (animation, modelling, etc). He sends along a link to the group he’s working with at school… "Chunkyheads". They’re designing a game called “Meziah” and they even have a trailer for it. Is that Rui himself I see at the end? Don’t lose your head, Rui!

Jim sent along some nighttime snaps that are creepy as hell. I’m not sure what I like best about them, but I think it’s the nightmarish X-Files quality. The drugged-out blurriness allows the bright shapes, some of which suggest human figures, to be more ominous and foreboding than the looming dark shapes that tower over the scene, blotting out the indigo sky.

So, what the heck have I done lately?

2003-06-12T13:25:00.000-04:00

Skunk Rendezvous - Last night I was coming home from poker and video games, late as usual. I finally got a glimpse of the source of the overpowering and horrible smell that wafts into the house every week or so. A huge skunk was in the middle of the yard.

At first, I thought it was a big pile of rags someone had left in the yard, but it moved in the headlights and I realized what it was. Skunks are very amusing when they walk - a kind of fluffy shambling.

I turned the car as it walked out of my headlights to keep it illuminated. When it disappeared behind our hill, I went after it with a flashlight. Yes, I had had a couple of beers, but that had been hours before.

Skunky "the Skunkster" was just on the edge of the hill, waiting for me to come around to where it was dark. Proving that I was not insane, I decided it was not worth getting a better look. Also, I saw another pair of glowing orbs a few yards away in the darkness. Another skunk? I wasn't prepared to take that on, even if I did want to know where they were living.

We seem to have a lot of diversity in our small yard. "Rusty," another of our uninvited borders, is a gray squirrel we've sighted on a number of occasions.

"Look kids it's a gray squirr... waitaminute. Why is his tail all red?"

He's some sort of mutant reddish gray squirrel. Sure, all squirrels seem to have a little brownish-red cast to their fur (except for the mutant black ones). But this one was really reddish. Which makes sense, now, since his name is "Rusty."

2003-06-11T13:18:00.000-04:00

SEED Science Center - I found this site, the SEED Science Center while looking for information about cornstarch and water experiments. It's neat! There are a lot of activities like the cornstarch one, and they put effort into giving you the theory behind the experiments in a useful form.

2003-06-11T12:16:00.000-04:00

Bush VS. Bush - While it doesn't have the camp of "Godzilla VS. Mothra", it's more timely and relevant.

"The Daily Show" put together this mock debate between President GWB and Governor GWB circa 2000. (The video is in RealPlayer format).

This footage is a must-see, in my book.

2003-06-11T09:02:00.000-04:00

Flour Go Boom - Years ago I read about an experiment to demonstrate the effect variable surface area has on combustibility. It involved a metal can, some flour, a candle flame and a long tube. The idea is to simulate a carburator, but with flour instead of gasoline.

Particulate matter can become very dangerous when mixed with air in the right ratio. All those little surfaces have ready access ot oxygen, making a raction happen quickly and with considerable force. This is what makes an empty grain silo so dangerous.

So I finally got the motivation to look for some online references to this phenomenon, and I found one or two.

And then there was this article which contains references to the belief that explosive particulate matter may have been responsible for the Great Fire of London.

Ed tells me that he saw this experiment in high school, but with a paint can. The lid of the can shot up to considerable height. You can bet I'm going to try this.

2003-06-10T18:00:00.000-04:00

V Returns To Small Screen
CNN has an article on an upcoming television movie sequel to the 1983 miniseries (and subsequent miniseries) "V."

I was a teen when the original miniseries aired, and I haven't seen it since. The followup series wasn't very good in my humble opinion. But the media hype for the first one was big and I thought the series did a pretty decent job delivering as a TV event. It was "The Pianist" for the Sci-Fi crowd.

I hope they go more serious and Sci-Fi with this sequel, rather than action-oriented. The main lasting impact of the first miniseries was how some humans fell right into line and helped the "visitors" round up people.

2003-06-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

Neocons: WMD Claims Erroneous? - NewsMax reports that William Kristol was heard on Fox News Sunday to state that the President may have given a distorted view of the Iraq WMD threat leading up to the war. Unintentionally, of course.

But the leading neoconservative writer and former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle added, "I hope [the WMDs] are found but I'm very skeptical.

No harm no foul, right?

2003-06-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Nigerian Scam Fun -

What - you don't know what the Nigerian Email scam is? You haven't had them take an email swipe at you yet? Read all about it at snopes, so you'll get the jokes.

2003-06-10T14:20:00.000-04:00

Indy On DVD - Amazon.com is now taking preorders for the boxed set of Indiana Jones movies on DVD. Wish-list, here I come.

They are released in November. After my birthday! I'm not picky, though. You won't catch me complaining about a late birthday gift.

2003-06-10T10:41:00.000-04:00

No-Miss Technology - It occurred to me this morning that contact lenses were a no-miss technology. Things are all blurry before you put your glasses on. You look in the mirror in the morning. "Hey, I look pretty good without glasses. You put your glasses on and "Bah! I look terrible with glasses!." Turns out, you just look better blurry.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

2003-06-10T10:16:00.000-04:00

Go Analog - Jim sez:

Why settle for a $2 notebook when you can get the Bare Bones Personal Analog Device.

2003-06-09T18:02:00.000-04:00

Incredible - One of the best things about Finding Nemo this weekend was this trailer for the next Pixar film... The Incredibles.

2003-06-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

Blowout! - Had my first tire blowout on the way in to work today. It's amazing what a tire can look like once it finally gives up the ghost.

Funny thing - last Wednesday my cousin Jonathan was telling us about his recent experiences with a blown out tire and last night on the way to Finding Nemo we saw a guy blow out his tire.

Well, maybe that isn't all that odd.

2003-06-09T10:26:00.000-04:00

Exercise - Trying this exercise. Riffing on the creativity block theme of the last post.

a blank page
brow kneaded and red
fix it… fix it…
working… working…
protracted
blank DVD. blank CD. blank check. No video. No audio
No outcome. No income
No motion. No emotion
pencils new and getting newer

butterfly Post-It notes.
the adhesive long gone, they flutter out of reach
try to stamp and staple them
can’t bring them back alive
keyboard stained where they bled ink
fed to the machine
drained
unrecognizable

2003-06-09T10:01:00.000-04:00

Office As Vampire - love my home office. It's got most of what I need within easy reach. It's pretty comfortable, and it's somewhat configurable. The kids have their own space, and Margaret's usable workspace has quadrupled.

But sitting here in the morning, I almost never have any ideas about what to post in the blog. The office is like an idea-sucking vampire. Maybe it's because it's comfortable and doesn't challenge me. Maybe it's because I'm surrounded with all familiar things that don't get any new synapses firing. This isn't where I get any of my new ideas.

I get my new ideas while I'm driving, or mowing the lawn, or walking. My problem is that I often don't remember those ideas later when I'm conveniently at my desk. This is probably why some people carry PDAs and laptops. Heck, I carry a PDA. But the PDA isn't much help while you're driving. If i were smart, I'd dig up my handheld tape recorder (it's around here somewhere, but was moved when I set up the new home office). That has worked for me in the past when I was designing online course material. One silly obstacle to that solution is my voice. I hate to hear my voice recorded and played back. I hate the way it sounds. So, when I’m recording my voice (even when I’m alone) I’m self-conscious of what I’m saying. Later, I don’t want to listen to what I’ve recorded.

So my entries tend to be very short reminders of my ideas, rather than elaboration (except where elaboration is necessary). Sequential tape is not a good way to organize a bunch of reminders. But I’d really better dig that tape player up, try to loosen up a bit, and not be so self-conscious.

2003-06-07T01:20:00.000-04:00

Terrible With The Comma - I've known for a very long time that I am horrible with commas. I use too many of them.

Even for informal writing, you really ought to use the right amount of commas. That's what I figure. But I'm just horrible at using them. Part of the trouble is that I tend towards really long sentences. And, sooner or later, I wander into run-on territory. When that happens, it's like a comma explosion. All of a sidden I've got five or six phrases in there, all separated by commas.

Anybody know where I can go for a crash course in comma usage. Better still, some sort of shock-therapy or a recording I can put on headphones at night so I can learn how to use commas correctly in my sleep?

2003-06-06T15:10:00.000-04:00

Punk Kittens - I hope no kittens were harmed in the making of this flash bit of Friday frivolity. Punk Kittens - They ROCK! by Joel Veitch. Also on the website, Independent Woman sung by the same kittens.
Came to my attention through Patti, thanks to this BBC story.

2003-06-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

Mike's Back! - And his front, too! Seriously, Curious Frog is back in the bloggiverse with a link blog.

Not only that, but proving he's a better link-blogger than I am, he informs me that those of us who mourn the loss of the free KPIG music feed, can rejoice. Radio Paridise is run by some of the people involved with KPIG. Plays the same music, has a website where you can get the playlist... the whole she-bang! WOO HOO!

2003-06-06T12:09:00.000-04:00

Friday Five - This week's Friday Five is kinda sappy.

1. How many times have you truly been in love?

Three times. Once romantic and twice fatherly. Having children is being in love, because suddenly there is this person who makes a huge difference in your life and you would do anything for that person. The romantic love of my life is my wife, and I can honestly say that she's the only woman I've ever truly been in love with. And as sappy as it sounds, I am more than ever today.

2. What was/is so great about the person you love(d) the most?

About Maggie? Her creativity, her ideas, and her support make me love her more than ever. But, in addition to that, she's level-headed. I never expect to find her bringing home books by new-age self-help gurus or pseudo-scientific garbage. And that not only makes her a desirable companion, but a great mother (because one of the last things I want is for my kids to grow up without the ability to think critically)

3. What qualities should a significant other have?

Well, I went into that a little bit above, but I'll elaborate here with a list.
Only a little bit insane. Not embarrassed to be a little weird, but not completely in another world.
Must have similar ideas regarding finances. In the long term, money problems cause friction in so many relationships. But no matter how much money you have, if the two of you have a similar philosophy, you'll weather it.
Sense of adventure
The ability to spend Sunday in the house, in front of a window, with books
Will encourage you to be more than you are. Someone who is satisfied with who you are is only going to hold you back. I'm not talking about someone who will pester you to be a better driver or something like that. I'm talking about someone who sees the undeveloped qualities in you and pushes you to make them into something. Someone who knows you well enough that they can tell it would make you happy to pursue and develop certain of your aptitudes.
4. Have you ever broken someone's heart?

I doubt it. If so, I have no idea.

5. If there was one thing you could teach people about love, what would it be?

For my girls: A guy who is nice to you but not nice to the waiter is not a nice person.

2003-06-05T14:11:00.000-04:00

Leveraging The Animation - So, what if you have a bad attitude, some funny jokes, drink too much, like to play videogames, and wish you could turn your jokes into computer-animated movies? The result, of course, would be: Red vs Blue.

It's a nifty idea. They come up with scripts and then have the videogame characters act them out. Mostly, they're using the great X-Box game "Halo" as their animation engine.

The result is pretty funny, which you can see for yourself if you have the bandwidth to download any of their Quicktime movies. Some comedic themes are how Apple computers have no games, how out of place some conversations can be when someone is shooting at you, and how you might try to learn to drive a tank "on the fly."

For a sample of their attitude and sense of humor, check out the FAQ

2003-06-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

Comic Urination - As Kilwag points out on his site,

There’s nothing quintessentially more American than t-shirts, bumper stickers, and bad taste. Well that, and copyright infringement.

This is his introduction to an article analysing the phenomenon of those car stickers that have Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes" peeing on everything from rival car companies to ... well, read the article for yourself. Link: Calvin Pees

I'm a sucker for myth and folklore, urban and otherwise. This is definitely some folklore which has taken on a life of its own.

Of course, now that I've poseted this, I'm having trouble accessing his server. Bleh.

2003-06-05T10:09:00.000-04:00

TI - Meetings all morning! Perhaps I can sneak a post in later...

2003-06-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

Theremin Again - Last year, back in April, Julie sent me some neat links regarding the thremin.

I found some other cool links today.

Thereminworld, a place for all things theremin.

Vocalise, a beautiful musical piece including a theremin (mp3, 7+MB)

Peter Pringle - Theremin Player (including links to Japanese music and theremin

2003-06-04T10:23:00.000-04:00

Gamelan Music - Rui sent me a link to some ear-tickling music (he knows my eclectic musical interests). THE SCHUBERT CLUB GAMELAN ENSEMBLE: Sumarah at first made me think of Indian music. It's got a haunting quality to it, even before the voices start in. If you're interested, check out that website, which has decent length clips of CD tracks off the album.

The American Gamelan Institute has information on Gamelan music, which originates in Indonesia.

2003-06-03T14:37:00.000-04:00

Difficult Space Ship Game - Don't click the link if you don't have time to waste on this little game.

2003-06-03T12:44:00.000-04:00

On a Roll - Patti writes, in comments regarding yesterday's story about cheese rolling:

Wouldn't it make more sense to tuck and roll down the hill? That's what I would do.

I would avise against that.

Once, Maggie and I went sledding on the hills of the Westport town beach. We're not talking huge hills here, but enough for a little slide. At one point, in the excitement of it all, we decided to roll down the hill. You can regulate your rolling speed, but I went for maximum velocity. Once you get to top speed, it's tough to stop yourself until you reach the bottom.

When I made it to the bottom I wanted to die. The world was not only spinning, it seemed like it was inside-out. I came perilously close to vomiting. I quickly placed the experience in the "lessons learned" category.

So, if you are a carefree young lover, or simply full of joie de vivre, feel free to roll down those clover-infested hills. But I warn you - don't go for speed!

2003-06-03T12:34:00.000-04:00

Checkout - I'm in the process of reorganizing this blog and moving it to a new location. The reorganization needs to happen because I note that blog entries are somewhat uneven. Some are just quick links, some are more like journal entries. I'd like to expand into some other areas, too, so a whole new website is in order, complete with domain name. I'm hoping that these changes will, among other things, speed the site up. This comment system is killing my access time.

But that has little to do with this particular entry.

There are a number of places where we have regular, slightly anonymous social interaction. Driving on the highway is one such place. Buying fast food at the drive-through window is another. And so is the supermarket checkout line.

The checkout line entails a bit of drama. Think of all the possibilities. There are the impulse-buy items that surround you. Candy, self-help pamphlets and tabloid papers beckon to you. There are posted (if grammatically incorrect) rules, such as in the "12 Items or Less" express queue. How many people have written about the excitement and frustration of having someone with greater than their allotted number of items reach the checkout just before they do with their one item? Many, I'm sure.

My story is a little more subtle. Just a little.

Yesterday, I rushed into the supermarket to pick up some milk for my breakfast. My office boasts a healthy (so to speak) compliment of cold cereals of the saturday-morning-cartoon-advertisement variety. Comfort food.

I strode to the checkout with my carton of milk, my one item. Someone was ahead of me, but no matter. I gave him plenty of room, placing my carton of milk nearly all the way back on the conveyor belt, and then flanking it with 2 plastic dividers to "mark its territory."

Plastic checkout dividers are another source of drama. I always try to place dividers around my items, so that the person behind me needn't reach over and grab the divider himself. Usually, I consider this a slightly polite gesture on my part, but nothing worthy of any note.

As the checkout operator did not have the conveyor belt set to automatically move forward, I was able to keep my hand on my one item, leaning slightly on it.

A young man entered the line behind me. After a moment or two, I sensed he was shifting restlessly. And then he began to place items on the back of the conveyor belt - the very small space left behind the divider. he stacked an item or two on the metal end piece of the conveyor apparatus, off the belt itself to prepare them for loading on the belt. This was fine with me. But as he placed two lemons on the belt, one of which rolled past the divider and into my milk carton's personal space, I began to realize why he was restless. He was envious of the large span of belt in front of my milk carton. Now he was trying to squeeze one more item behind the divider, trying to inch my carton forward.

By this time, the fellow in front of me had completed his purchase and was moving on. As the belt began to move I lifted up my carton and placed it in the hands of the woman working the checkout, rather than just watch the thing take a ride on the belt. At that, the man me clucked his tongue and sighed audibly.

"Tsk!"

All this time I was in the middle of his dramatic attempt to gain more belt space for his items, and he was disgusted that I so cavalierly moved my milk forward. What gall I have.

I decided to engage him in his game directly. As my carton got scanned, I turned to the fellow and made direct eye contact with him, giving him the opportunity to speak if he truly had a comment to make. It was merely a second or so before he averted his gaze downward.

I looked to the matter of running my card through the machine. When I sensed his head had un-bowed itself, I once again faced him with a blank expression, seeking his eyes, which quickly found something very interesting on the floor to examine.

This little scene repeated another 2 times or so while I completed my transaction, each time concluding with him surrendering in the staring match. He forfeited each opportunity to tell me how much gall I had to not anticipate his conveyer belt needs, and then to mock them.

As I left the store, I was forced to wonder - what just happened? Why was I engaging in a staring match with this guy? And, since I could have moved my milk forward as soon as I realized he wanted more belt space, was I guilty of playing some sort of macho personal space game? The slight sense of satisfaction I felt told me that yes, I had been engaged in the drama.

And so, the guilt followed.

2003-06-02T12:31:00.000-04:00

Who Will Chase The Cheese Now - Perilous Annual Cheese Chase Called Off according to Reuters "Oddly Enough" news. (thanks Patti)

The English county of Gloucestershire has, for centuries, hosted a ritual involving grown people, wheels of cheese, and steep hills. Add these intriguing elements together and you get a recipe for numerous injuries.

Apparently, the event is pretty darned exciting:

Last year, according to the organizers' Web site, "there were only three casualties requiring hospital attention," including a spectator who fainted.

Some people should be more careful when exposing themselves to extreme sports.

2003-06-01T10:28:00.000-04:00

Font Identity - This is cool. Have you ever needed to match a font? As in, you had a picture with some text in it and you wanted to add to it or edit it, but you didn't know what the font was? Identifont - identify fonts and typefaces is a website devoted to helping you locate the font in question. The site will ask you a number of questions about your font to try to narrow down the choices until you locate the correct typeface.

Nifty, for the Photoshop fiend in all of us.

2003-05-30T14:15:00.000-04:00

Good Eatin' - No Problemo in New Bedford is a tase for sore taste buds. Up the street from Freestones and just across the street from Oceana, No Problemo serves tacos, burritos and the like. No, this isn't your Taco Hell mexican ripoff. For $2.50 you can get a steak taco - a toasted flout tortilla wrapped around succlent grilled steak, cilantro, tomato, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and your choice of black or refried beans. Plenty of vegetarian options, too. Bean and rice burrito, guacamole... you name it.
Right now I'm enjoying the jalepeno corn bread. Around here, you just don't find a mexican restaurant like this. Until now.

2003-05-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

Lunatics In Charge

But the people now running America aren't conservatives: they're radicals who want to do away with the social and economic system we have, and the fiscal crisis they are concocting may give them the excuse they need. The Financial Times, it seems, now understands what's going on, but when will the public wake up???

That from Krugman and the NYT. Federal taxes are already historically low compared to the GNP, he points out. What happens when they dip below that, and we don't have the money to pay for programs that didn't exist last time taxes were this low? A train wreck? And that's what the extremists are hoping for.

2003-05-28T12:18:00.000-04:00

Movie Reviews with a Southern Accent - Curtis is an all-around decent guy. A Texan living in Atlanta. And he writes much better movie reviews than I do. (Hey, I'm comfortable with the idea that I can only get better). txreviews.com - Movie Reviews by Curtis Edmonds is a good site to check in with if you're wondering whether you should plop down the money for a thearet visit or rental. He pointed me towards The Count of Monte Cristo and was right on the money. He got me to take a second, and closer look at Princess Mononoke.

If you're looking for good, balanced reviews, his site is worth checking out. And, he's an EAForums regular.

2003-05-28T11:47:00.000-04:00

Where Is The Sun? - Except for a guest appearance here and there, the Sun has been an absentee for quite a while now in southeastern MA. It's starting to get on my nerves. I get antsy when the Sun doesn't come out for long periods of time.

This reminds me of a book I read once, during some depressive period. The name of the book escapes me at the moment, but I think it was one of those Wayne Dyer books. Maybe that Erroneous Zones one. Anyhow, the gist of it was that external things that are out of control can't make you feel a certain way. Your feelings, as a reaction to external factors, is a way you choose to react. So, if I say "the weather is making me sad" then I'm thinking incorrectly about the weather.

This goes along with cognitive therapy I've read about which urges you to take control of your own emotional responses, rather than just endure them, wallow in them, and let them overcome you.

So, in that spirit, the heck with the Sun. I'm going to enjoy the overcast weather today, and I'll still be here when the Sun gets back.

2003-05-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

Why spend money on CD cases... - ...when you can make them out of paper. Origami CD cases, DIY at www.papercdcase.com. Ingenious. Economical. Fun.

2003-05-27T12:13:00.000-04:00

Movie-List - The Matrix: Revolutions Trailer Page - Mike IM'ed this my way. Cool Matrix Reloaded trailer. It's nice to have something to look forward to. Ha!

2003-05-27T11:41:00.000-04:00

Hamburgler - People are whining that a cop posing as a McDonald's drive-through employee netted some arrests. (See: McSting lacked franchise approval)

I don't think you have an expectation of privacy going through a drive through. But I wonder how McDonald's feels about making people suspicious that using their drive-throughs will expose them to the scrutiny of the law. Will they lose the pot-smoking demographic?

2003-05-23T13:50:00.000-04:00

CIA kept prank threat to Santa under 'secret' classification - C'mon CIA! Release that info on Santa! The public needs to know when St. Nick is in danger from terrorists.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites) classified as "secret" and withheld from public dissemination for nearly 29 years a prank terrorist threat against Santa Claus, according to documents released.

The threat -- purported to come from a then- and still-unknown group calling itself the "Group of the Martyr Ebenezer Scrooge" -- was contained in a classified compilation of intelligence on possible terrorist attacks produced by the CIA in late 1974, according to the documents.

2003-05-23T13:03:00.000-04:00

There's Got To Be A Morning After Pill - Companies are beggining to request permission to sell morning after pills without a prescription. Will the FDA approve it? If it does, this opens the door to advertising about the existence of such a pill and perhaps putting more reproductive control into the hands of American women. The ability to decide within a day or two of having unprotected sex that having a child would not be a good idea is something that should have been available for a while now. To para-quote a friend, it's about damn time.

2003-05-23T12:40:00.000-04:00

The Cheap Seats - I'm all for cheaper movie theatre tickets. This takes that to an extreme: Cinema Paradiso it ain't (via BBC).

The people behind EasyJet are applying the no-frills idea to theatre tickets. Even better than cheap tickets, to me, would be a wider availability of independent films. If this could make it worth the money for a theatre to run indie films, I'd love one of these in the neighborhood.

Am I a helpless romantic, however, from feeling that going out to the movies would not be the same without the smell of theatre popcorn? They really should consider at least piping in the scent. Popcorn (or at least the scent) is not an option, it's required.

2003-05-23T09:12:00.000-04:00

Friday Five - I'm out of creativity today, and under deadline, so I will resort to a Friday Five post.

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
At the moment, Aqua Fresh Sensitive. I have a sweet and cold sensitivity that's bugging me. So far, this toothpaste does not have the problem licked.

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Right to the point, eh? OK. Truly, I don't care. Somehting cheap that's a little less rough than sandpaper and won't clog the plumbing. For real luxury, you just can't beat those pre-moistened wipes, though. Call me weird, but I like to be clean.

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
Timberland hiking boots on rainy days. Rockport black shoes when I want to look decent (rarely). Sneakers - whatever I have that isn't suitable for running.

4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Coca-Cola, if i'm drinking soda. But there are a lot of other ones I like. Whenever I'm feeling a little out of sorts, Canada Dry Ginger Ale. But mostly, lately, the Stop & Shop brand of sugar free clear fancy soda.

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
Orbit Spearmint gum or Wrigley's Juicyfruit.

2003-05-22T17:44:00.000-04:00

Generosity Game - A world-changing game. This is just a simple enhancement to the idea of doing a random act of kindness. You do a good deed and pass the card along, telling someone to do something for someone else.

Who cares how big the deed is? What if people had a reminder, like a little card, that someone was randomly kind to them? Would they remember how it felt to be the recipient of a good deed? Would they want to pass it along?

Generosity Game: spread random acts of kindness

2003-05-22T09:46:00.000-04:00

And I quote -

Every spring and summer, Darth Kitty is on vacation. - Katherine Moira Burke

2003-05-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

Sweet, Sweet Immunity! - Yahoo! News - Smallpox Immunity Lasts Decades, Study Shows. Not only is this great news for those who have been immunized, it's great news for everyone. Smallpox, if used in a terror attack, will not spread as fast as previously thought. Also, one would think the vaccine will last longer if it isn't necessary to vaccinate everyone.

I was vaccinated as a child when my family visited to Spain and Morocco. In fact, I believe I succumbed to an autoinoculation of vaccinia in my eye.

This is very good news to the people most at risk from smallpox: the immune suppressed.

And perhaps it will reduce the likelihood of a smallpox attack in the first place.

2003-05-21T14:38:00.000-04:00

Buzzards Bay Spill Is Bigger - Boston Globe Online reports: Spill was far larger than reported

How do you mis-report the size of a spill by more than a factor of 6? FIrst it's 14.7K gallons, and now it's 98K gallons!

2003-05-20T16:06:00.000-04:00

Music Activities for Kids - Summer is coming up, and Maggie is putting together the summer curriculum for the kids. I'm sure I'll be posting more about that some time later.

Dom sent me the following link, which has a number of music-related activities that I bet will fit in nicely somewhere in the summer agenda:
DSOkids: Dallas Symphony Orchestra | Music, Fun & Games!

Both of the girls love music (who doesn't, really?) and though we already have quite a few instruments in the house, making their own instruments is always a big hit with the kids.

2003-05-20T13:37:00.000-04:00

Gotta love the crackpots - I was captivated, in my youth, by occult stories. One that seemed to stick in the minds of people was how American presidents are assassinated (or simply died in office) every so many years.

People figure that once they see a pattern - any pattern - that this pattern will repeat and so it can be used to make accurate predictions of the future.

There's no shortage of crackpots ready to expound on their theories, cornering anyone who will listen. And it's easier than ever to find these theories in today's connected world.

Just by way of example, take a quick peek at The Antichrist and the Apocalypse. No, it's not worthy reading material, but a quick skim will give you the flavor.

Were Napoleon, Hitler and Bin Laden reincarnations of the same soul who unconsciously repeated his attempt to conquer the world three times?

That soul being the Antichrist, of course. It's never just some shmoe... it's always the Antichrist.

2003-05-19T12:06:00.000-04:00

Why I Hate Cobb - Driving in to work this morning, I came to the realization that I hate California Cobb salad. The odd thing is, I've never had one.

What triggered the realization was a sign at a McDonalds on Faunce Corner road. "CALIFORNIA COBB SALAD IS HERE!"

I think the reason I've had such a strong reaction is that I have the distinct feeling that someone out there (and he or she works in marketing) thinks I need California Cobb salad in my life. How this decision was made, I'm not quite sure. But when I was in D'Angelo's the other day and saw another sign for Cobb salad, it was the first time I had heard of the beast.

There is a passably good chance that I would like the Cobb salad if I were to try it. In fact, I think it has ham in it, which I am fond of. And I like salad. But I resent the sudden onslaught of this Cobb salad meme on my senses. Having detected this intrusion, my anti-meme defenses have been raised.

That, and I just don't like the name. "Cobb..." It doesn't do a thing for my appetite. In my gastronomic vocabulary, "cob" is already taken. And if we're not talking fresh sweet corn from a New England farmstand or farmer's market in July, I don't want to hear it.

Is this how that nameless guy in Green Eggs and Ham felt? I agree that people ought to try new things. Sam I Am was right about that. But what if Sam I Am were some guy trying to market a new product to you, something new every day. Often this new thing is just a small variation on an old thing, with a different name. He's at you constantly - every time you turn on the TV, read a magazine, go for a drive, on a plane, on a train, in the house, with a mouse.

The green eggs take on a little bit of a different flavor now, don't they?

2003-05-18T11:59:00.000-04:00

DVDs With An Expiration - Warning: This DVD will self-destruct in 2 days (story via the Chicago Sun-Times)

Sounds to me like an interesting way to increase landfills.

Personally, I like the used DVD market. Many of the DVDs I own are rental DVDs I have bought once the demand for renting them had died down. I like getting used DVDs cheap. But I know that used media (DVDs and CDs) is something that the media companies don't like. They don't like the idea that they don't get a cut when you resell a DVD you've decided you don't like so much.

So this is a good idea for them, but is it a good idea for consumers? I'll stick to Netflix for now, thank you.

2003-05-16T16:29:00.000-04:00

All Hat, No Cattle, The Art Form - How image conscious is this president?

Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights
On Tuesday, at a speech promoting his economic plan in Indianapolis, White House aides went so far as to ask people in the crowd behind Mr. Bush to take off their ties, WISH-TV in Indianapolis reported, so they would look more like the ordinary folk the president said would benefit from his tax cut.
This reminds me of the time that Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Providence as the President's physical fitness program (our last elected President, specifically). Other officials showed up dressed to exercise, but Buddy Cianci also showed up fully made up for the cameras. Arnold wouldn't let it go without a comment that the guy would show up for a workout in stage makeup.

2003-05-16T16:15:00.000-04:00

Duh - I fixed the earlier entry on Deal News. When you add a link, it helps if you put some text between the mark-ups.

A recent deal that looked worth a look: Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator for $0 shipped after rebates. An Amazon deal.

2003-05-16T16:12:00.000-04:00

Matrix Reloaded: More Action. More Gobbledygook. - So here's my capsule review of "The Matrix Reloaded." (Extremely mild spoilers, only about the bad stuff.)

I wasn't sure where they were going to go with this movie. Mumbo-jumbo about prophecies and "the one" doesn't leave much room to move around. That's why prescience in films and stories is so dangerous. But it can also be rewarding if done right.

Neo, our hero, is together with Trinity. But it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye, so we know there is going to have to be some tension. The Wachowski brothers decide to go for the "danger of losing a loved one" route rather than "the honeymoon is over" route with Trinity. Neo is worried that she's going to be a casualty in their war, sooner or later. And the dreams are telling him "sooner." Hey, no one said that being "the one" came with any guarantees about your friends.

In any case, the Wachowski's heavy-handed scenes near the beginning of the movie establishing Zion (the last human city) as a place of flesh, blood and spirit were a little bit heavy-handed for my taste. The contrast between Zion and the Matrix came across in the first few minutes, and we didn't need the drawn out slow-shot pans of Zion as a dance club. Really - does it seem odd to anyone else that half the citizens of Zion are male dancers and the other half are female models? If the film hadn't picked up right after we were subjected to Keannu Reeves' derriere, I would have been ready to leave the theater.

At this point, the guy sitting a few seats down from me is patting his belly loudly (what's with that?) but (thankfully) the dudes two rows back have stopped giving us the translation into Sophomorese. But despair evaporated as soon as the action kicked into high gear, along with the soundtrack.

Agent Smith is back, and you've seen the trailers so I don't have to tell you what his obvious new twist is. But he's got a few they held back from the trailers, and a hidden agenda that has yet to be revealed. He's only the first of a number of villains and quasi-villains. For bonus points, find the character whose wardrobe is made up entirely out of surgical glove material.

Yes, this film has the signature philosophical gobbledygook that the last film handed us. However this time, pay close attention. Either it's starting to make a little more sense, or I am going insane.

I recommend this film for anyone who was a fan of the first, or anyone who wants to see the state of the art in merging Kung Fu, wire work and digital effects.

2003-05-16T08:53:00.000-04:00

Matrix Reloaded this Morning - Yes, I'm on my way to see this film this morning. For good or ill. At the very least, I'm certain it iwll at least be a bit of escapist eye candy.

Funny that, in the movie, it is the simulated fantasy world that folks are trying to escape.

I'll let you know what I thought of the film. No spoilers, of course.

2003-05-16T08:51:00.000-04:00

Master Rebater - That's the title Ed has dubbed me because of all the recent rebates I've redeemed.

I'm on the mailing list for Deal News - a site that reports on various deals and rebates for computer equipment and a whole boatload of other things. They've got separate sections for digital camera deals, PC hardware and software, Mac accessories, and online coupon codes. Also, though I've never used therm, sections for printer ink and RAM prices.

2003-05-15T14:59:00.000-04:00

The 20th Anniversary Black Ships Festival - Blogging this so I don't forget. Perhaps some folks will want to accompany us when we go this year. Likely we'll be going to the Sunday Taiko drum show, if they're having it. I wish they'd update the website with this year's schedule already!!!

The Sunday daytime event is much more laid back than the Saturday performance, and we had a lot of fun with it last year. Holy cow... has it really been almost a year since I tried making sushi? And I've only done it a few times? Time is zooming past.

2003-05-15T14:36:00.000-04:00

Putty in my hands - I came across this site because it is an A.W.A.D sponsor.

www.puttyworld.com

They call their product "Thinking Putty" and it's basically big chunks of silly putty. Is it just me, or does the idea of huge chunks of glow-in-the-dark putty, and even magnetic putty make anyone else long for the stuff?

I've seen exercise putty before. It's used to strengthen the hands of people recovering from injuries, and also just folks who want better grip strength. (I've seen Rui and others use a product called Power Putty for climbing strength.) It's a good activity for those with motor control issues to squeeze the putty, and strengthen those muscles. This "Thinking Putty" is geared more for fun and stress relief. I want some!

And, to add to the coolness, these guys have links to a site offering neodymium iron boron magnets. It's called gaussboys.com. I'm drooling here.

I have one very strong neodymium magnet that I use for all sorts of fun, but I lost my smaller ones. Why do I need more? Well, if you like to put things on your fridge, you need to get rid of your wimpy magnets and get some neodymium ones. Forget putting your daughter's picture of a cat on the fridge - put the cat itself up there! (Kids, don't try this at home. Demonstration purposes only. Void where prohibited by law. Closed track, professional driver. No cats were harmed in this suggestion. I am only kidding.)

The Thinking Putty guys are a fun bunch. Check out their page of fun stuff to do. Freezing putty and hitting it with a hammer, dropping it from heights, writing with light... and goofier.

Birthday list material? You bet. Mark your calendar; I'm an October baby.

BTW - anyone have a really good recipe for making similar putty with borax? This Thinking Putty incorporates borax, but it's a little more complicated than the home recipe. I wonder if I could just make this stuff in bulk. Problem is, I want it firmer than what I've seen that borax recipe produce.

2003-05-14T16:40:00.000-04:00

Yogurt, which is high in acid and pasturized, should not be a risk. - Chuck, looking out for me, sent that link along. But it really is useful. This time of year when the power goes out you can't just stick your food and beer in the snow. So it's good to have some sort of guide.

Of course, we don't feed our kids anything that is questionable. It's only Dad who likes to experiment.

This other link Chuck sent along is less helpful, but definitely amusing: How to tell when your food is spoiled. Example:

DAIRY PRODUCTS -- Milk is spoiled when it starts to look like yogurt.
Yogurt is spoiled when it starts to look like cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese is spoiled when it starts to look like regular cheese.
Regular cheese is nothing but spoiled milk anyway and can't get any more spoiled than it is already.
Cheddar cheese is spoiled when you think it is blue cheese but you realize you've never purchased that kind.

Anyhow...

For those still bored, here is more worthy reading material:

[UPDATE] - Bob rightly notes in a comment: On the yogurt front. Since yogurt is "bad" already (contains bacteria) and is not an environment conducive to bacteria growth (also true of Mayo by the way-contrary to popular belief) it's probably kind of hard to "spoil" to begin with as long as it's sealed so nothing really nasty can get in it should be fine.

Like beer, cheese, and many other foods which have been with us for a long, long time - these traditional foods are made to withstand the storage conditions which were available before refrigeration. In many cases, "good" bacteria are recruited to make the food less inhabitable by pathogens, either by competing for the same sugars or by creating chemicals that inhibit the growth of pathogens (alcohol, in the case of beer). With mayo, it's the acidity factor that appears to cause it to remain relatively safe while unrefrigerated for short periods of time.

My family has made a Lebanese form of yogurt for a long time, and it is often avaialable at the table to be used as a condiment. That stuff sits out warm for marathon sessions and never seems to go bad.

I never really thought I was going to get sick. Just a bit of goofiness. ;-) I have been known to consume really old yogurt that has remained refrigerated.

2003-05-14T15:09:00.000-04:00

Word.A.Day - For those other languagephiles in my readership (all 3 of you) I have added a link to "A.Word.A.Day" in my navigation sidebar. You'll see the new word of the day appear there every day, with a link to the definition. I've been a subscriber to their email list for more years than I care to remember... a decade perhaps? Nice to see they have a way for me to share it with all of you!

2003-05-14T15:06:00.000-04:00

Not sick - Well, that yogurt yesterday didn't kill me. As I told Chuck, since I survived yesterday's yogurt, today I am going to eat the remaining 2 containers of yogurt that sat out all week.

No gastrointestinal distress followed yesterday's experiment, so I don't expect anything to follow today's.

Speaking of Chuck, he sent along , this amazing link to a commercial that Honda put together. I think I saw this on Mike's now-defunct blog, but it's still amazing. You need Flash to view it. I read somewhere that it is completely real, and took quite a few takes to get right. But it doesn't involve computer effects.

2003-05-13T18:35:00.000-04:00

Film Threat - I'm trying to catalogue all the films in my film library here at home. I'd like to make a more flexible database, but currently I have them in Excel. The html version is here, and also available in the navigation bar under "all me."

Note, that only a very few number of childrens films are listed there (the highlights and the DVDs, I suppose) because we have an overwhelming amount of children's films. I didn't want the catalogue overwhelmed with "Mother Goose 1"... "Mother Goose 2"...

I have some of the entries linked to IMDB for reference.

Yes, I really do own a bunch of Thunderbirds episodes, on VHS and DVD.

By the way - the real Film Threat has its own website.

2003-05-13T15:39:00.000-04:00

Chuck Told Me Not To - But I did anyway.

I found this yogurt that was sitting out for a week. I must have forgotten to put it in the fridge. It was warm and fruity and tangy. I ate it.

I will report any side effects later. All in all, I don't think Chuck's warnings were bad advice, but I'm in an experimental mood.

2003-05-13T15:10:00.000-04:00

Total Lunar Eclipse - On Thursday there's going to be a total lunar eclipse.

I hope it's clear - I can't remember the last good lunar eclipse I've seen. It's going to be early enough that I hope to get the kids interested, and maybe set up the telescope for a view of the moon. They'll be up late but, hey - It's education.

2003-05-13T10:40:00.000-04:00

Seek and Ye Shall Find - Part of the reason I started this blog was to keep track of interesting links. Now the archives are unmanageable for that purpose. So, I've added a search feature. Check it out in the navigation bar on the right. Type in your search term and hit the button. Simple as that!

Searching through the archive I found that we're coming up on the one year anniversary of Stephen Jay Gould's death.

I didn't post on the 13th last year, but on the 14th I was talking about Star Wars: Ep 2 - Attack of the Clones.

Speaking of that, I found that if you watch the DVD of that film, the movie is somewhat shorter and more fun if you skip over every scene chronicling hte developing relationship between Amidala and Anakin. It's actually worht watching, like that. I love DVD.

2003-05-11T22:12:00.000-04:00

Weapons of Mass Disinformation - Even in my skepticism regarding the war, I thought they'd find more in the way of active chemical weapons programs, or useable chemical weapons by now. But, apparently, the U.S. Arms Team is leaving Iraq empty-handed. (washingtonpost.com)

There were constant complaints from hawks during the months leading up to war regarding how Saddam worked to hamper and undermine the search for a nuclear or chemical weapons program with the power to cause mass destruction and death on large scales. However, now that Saddam is in no position to obstruct anything, the search for WMDs has been less like a floodgate of evidence and more like that joke in Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer where Yukon Cornelius keeps thinking he's found gold in the snow, until he sniffs and licks the end of his ice pick-axe and declared "nothing."

Maybe I didn't understand. Is our intelligence that bad that we really didn't know whether Saddam had WMDs, or was that a convenient tale to tell the American public because the truth was less convenient.

If we're going to go to war, I want the public debate to be about the real reasons. I don't need to be protected from them. I'm not sure if I'd rather believe I was lied to, or that we are flying blind.

Colin Powell? Are you listening? Where did your credibility go? Why are you along for the ride?

2003-05-09T12:40:00.000-04:00

Weird Referrer - When someone visits my blog, I can see the link they used. Sometimes they get here via search engine. Sometimes the search is weird.

One such link came from someone who searched Yahoo for 'the news shose france'. Somehow, that led to my blog. I must have typed "shows" or "chose" incorrectly somewhere.

2003-05-09T12:20:00.000-04:00

I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up - Many of us were surprised and perhaps a little bit sad to hear that New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain had collapsed. (credit due to Ed King for the title of this entry)

State landmark falls from mountain - May. 4, 2003

I was wondering, what's to stop New Hampshire from constructing a replacement out of some long-lasting, light and authentic-looking polymer? They used healthy amounts of epoxy to hold the original in place, and even steel cables, so they are not above messing with nature. The new one would be a lot cheaper to maintain. They have plenty of pictures of the thing. A computer could probably model it.

OK - I don't really think it would be the same.

Maybe this says something about the youth of our nation. No, not the kids - I mean how youthful our nation is. One of our states has as its symbol a rock formation that only lasted just over a couple of centuries into the life of the country. Very adolescent to think a symbol like that is going to last forever. Maybe we ought to choose things that indicate we have some staying power.

On a related note, the American Eagle became endangered, and it took serious effort to get it some help. It would have been quite embarrassing had our national bird become extinct. But should embarrassment be our motivating factor in trying to preserve our environment?

Epoxy and steel cables can keep the form of our world in place for a limited time. Isn't a vibrant, healthy, thriving environment more important than appearances?

2003-05-08T17:58:00.000-04:00

From Pravda: Drunken Moose - First, check out this brief story: Pravda.RU Dangerous Drunken Moose

Okay, now you have to absorb that Pravda has a "fun" section of its website, kinda like the Reuters Oddly Enough.

Pravda's fun is indeed fun.

2003-05-08T15:42:00.000-04:00

Mind Blank - Must... type... blog... entry...

Heh. Noticed the blog had been silent since Tuesday, so I figured it was time to force myself to post something. So this will be pretty random.

Patti recently was shaking her head at my comments that I read the news to relax. Well, she's right that the news simply does not relax, so that is a stupid idea. I really should have said that it was one of the things I did with my time when I should be relaxing. Some of the stories that come to my attention are nearly worth posting, but I don't have anything intelligent to say about them. Maybe my brain is shrinking.

That brain comment... I'm not kidding. I used to feel like a genius, and now I feel like an idiot. My kids seem awfully smart, and they amaze me daily. How did I get so stupid? Is my brain just hardening? Did it start out like a fresh mozzarella and is now a great, big, hard chunk of parmesan? It certainly feels that way.

I'm too young for it to be Alzheimer's.

Take "Alzheimer's" for example. At first I typed it "alzheimers" and when the spell-checker snagged it, I capitalized it. But that didn't fix the problem. Instead of figuring it out, I had to learn from the spell-checker suggestion that it was possessive. Maybe I'm just lazy.

Mattie's response when asked if she wanted to eat breakfast: "I just want to dance." That's cool with me.

I'm listening to Joseph Arthur. Specifically, his latest album Redemption's Son. I caught it thanks to my coworker Ed and his listening to WMVY.

It was the album of the week on WMVY last week. It turns out they have a cool website, and you can get their live feed from there with Windows Media Player.

Joseph Arthur's stuff is somewhat moody, somewhat peppy in places. It's relaxing to work to. I hear Peter Gabriel discovered him, and although he has a quite distinct style, I can hear why Gabriel got interested. There's a kind of lingering in his music. The lyrics are decent and sparse - not too dense. It lets the music come through. I don't have the musical experience to give it a decent review, but I'm enjoying it.

[UPDATE: By the way - I knew "Alzheimer's" was possessive. The spell-checker merely reminded me.]

2003-05-06T11:57:00.000-04:00

We adjust - I wandered into a conversation recently regarding the advances in creating fertilizable eggs from male cells.

Quite often lately I am hearing people disturbed by where technology and research are taking us.

I'll be frank. We haven't mastered fire yet, and that never stopped us, so why be upset at these further advances? Seriously - technology has been moving forward and changing our lives ever since the human race can remember. And we adjust. Life is not the same as it was 3K years ago, but we have adjusted.

Yes, we can argue about the social impact of science and technology. We ought to, and we ought to contemplate what upcoming changes mean to us and our descendants. But the tenor of these discussions is usually more like "I'm afraid of where we're going." and "we're deviating from the plan when we mess with these things."

Me? I'm afraid of where we are now. Let's deal with that a little bit. Or, let's learn to accept that, as a species, we change ourselves, our society, and our environment through the accumulation of knowledge and the creation of technology. Deal with it - and don't take that in a mean-spirited way.

As for "the plan" - if I believe there is a plan, then I believe this is all part of it. If I believe in a universe with no plan, then that particular problem goes away. So, no worries!

2003-05-04T23:18:00.000-04:00

Asian Market Found! - Before I forget, I have to mention that I finally found a decent asian foods market!

Asiana
Food Market
92 Warren Ave
East Providence, RI 02914
401.438.9992

(Found this article about the place after the fact.)

The kids and I found this place while searching for "Pocky." We went into Whole Foods Market in Providence and asked about Asian foods there. The nice folks at that place directed us to Asiana, which was not far away at all.

Asiana has a wide variety of foods. We found roe, many snacks, dried fish, tea, nori, soups and soup stock, candy, rice, noodles... the whole shebang. It's a small place, but it's positively packed.

2003-05-04T01:52:00.000-04:00

Obscure, Incorrect Reference - Ah. My previous reference to Wilde may, in fact, belong to Churchill. See:Drinking Quotes

Lady Astor, aghast at a party. "Mr. Churchill your drunk!"
Mr. Churchill: "And you, Lady Astor, are ugly. As for my condition, it will pass by the morning.
You, however, will still be ugly."

"Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink."
Lady Astor to Winston Churchill

"Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."
--Churchill's reply

I'll have to look into this further. Soon.

2003-05-04T01:42:00.000-04:00

Sushi Overload - I almost typed "Sushi Overlord" for a second there.

So, for the first time I made sushi for more than just Margaret and myself. Lessons learned: it takes a while to make sushi for 6 adults. The maki pictured to the left represent a fraction of the food that was served, though I did not keep track of the final amount. Sake has a calming effect, but it makes it tough to keep track of exectly what is going on. I knocked over a botle of sushi-su (vinegar) which luckily didn't spill. For this I was accused of having enjoyed too much fermented and distilled beverage, however this was not the case. I had consumed just enough, and the motor function I lack can not easily be explained by alcohol consumption. In other words, Oscar Wilde might say to me "I'll be sober in the morning and you'll still be clumsey." Or something like that.

Sushi derives it's name from the Japanese word for vinegar (su) and "shi" meaning skillfulness of hand. I think I proved that you don't need too much skill to prepare rudimentary sushi. The guests appeared satisfied. There was the customary mess in the kitchen from having prepared something for guests for the first time.

I'll have to remember to tell you about the Asian market I found. Later - now it is time to rest.

2003-05-01T11:55:00.000-04:00

Where do you bury the survivors? - Some worms in an experiment that was on the Columbia when it crashed have survived the ordeal!

The worms, which are about the size of the tip of a pencil, were part of an experiment testing a new synthetic nutrient solution. The worms, which have a life cycle of between seven and 10 days, were four or five generations old, Buckingham said.

Get me some of that nutrient solution!

2003-05-01T11:52:00.000-04:00

Pift - Looking forward to the weekend. My daily schedule is a mess. I've gotten into a pattern where I seem to be rushing around constantly from event to event. If I were more organized, I think I'd be more relaxed. Bah. Feh.

2003-04-30T12:34:00.000-04:00

Seen On my White Board - The following table:

Caws	Efect
open the window	I get cold
hungry	eat
eat	full
empty	tummy growuls

...A sure sign that my daughter Katherine has visited me in the office.

2003-04-29T15:33:00.000-04:00

Parents' Bill of Rights - The infiltration of corporate marketing into our public schools is a quiet disease that threatens to turn our institutions of learning into feeding grounds where organizations free of conscience steal precious eyeball time from more worthy endeavors... such as actual learning.

In addition, as corporate foods are pushed over actual foods (processed junk in place of healthy foods) we're growing enormous fat-cell driven future consumers.

Commercial Alert: protecting children and communities from commercialism states the following mission on its website:

to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy.

Sounds to me like something not only worthy, but vital to the future of our children and our society.

Thanks for the tip, Julie.

2003-04-29T11:56:00.000-04:00

"Cumby's" - You get used to a place being the way it is for practically your entire life and then it changes. Stupid little things.

People from around here will be familiar with Cumberland Farms convenience stores... or "Cumby's" as they are affectionately called. Before I ever saw a Store 24 or a 7-11, there was Cumby's.

Well, the one near my house is being sold and will no longer be part of the chain. The familiar people who work there are moving on.

It's probably silly, but it makes me feel a little agitated.

2003-04-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

Weekend Roundup - Some random stuff from the weekend...

I assembled 3 desks, 2 office chairs, disassembled 1 really old desk, dismantled a home network with 4 workstations and assorted peripherals, restored them to working order and sorted through a mess of drawers. It was a productive weekend and it flew by. But finally we have a fairly organized office rather than a mish-mosh of tables and desks.

Maggie was sent a coupon code from Staples, and we used that to buy the chairs, but the first Staples (in Seekonk) we went to refused to take the coupon code because Maggie's email client didn't display HTML and so the graphics hadn't shown up. I argued with the guy for a while and didn't get anywhere (they claimed that the number alone didn't tell them what the discount was), so I went home to print it out with graphics. Turned out there was no way to recover the graphics, so I decided to try a different Staples. I walked into the one in Fall River and told them the whole story. The manager there said "I'll compare this code number to other coupons we've received to verify it." He did it, and I was out of there 10 minutes later with two chairs, some crates and floor mats. Fall River Staples (in the Harbor Mall plaza) has my future business!

Saw some kids in the back of a van, who waved to Kit and me in the car on Friday. Waved back.

On Sunday, Maggie and I skipped breakfast, and for lunch we took the kids to ice cream. Are we bad parents, or just really, really good parents?

2003-04-25T12:57:00.000-04:00

What Would You Do For a Yorkie Bar? - If you are this man, you're angry that they're handing thes chocolate treats out in your town, and you're willing to break a few bones.

Sure, the campaign sounds a bit sexist. But... it's free chocolate for goodness sake!!!

2003-04-25T12:19:00.000-04:00

Seven Questions - What if pollsters asked slightly different questions?

For my part, I'm sick of polls and poll results because they don't mean much and they are constantly pounded into the ground. Sure, once in a while there is na interesting poll, like the one that shows something outrageous - like how many people believe we never landed on the moon. But, for the most part, polls are a bust for me.

Besides - people ignore polls when they disagree with the results and scream about the polls when they agree.

So perhaps I need to look for some more agreeable poll results!

2003-04-24T12:54:00.000-04:00

Thinking of Getting Netflix? - Then you should know that the more DVDs you rent and return quickly, the slower they will start sending them to you. Mike directed me to this SlashDot thread about Netflix's allocation system.

This stinks for me. I watch movies constantly, and even had the 5 disk plan briefly before calming back down and realizing that was too many. I'll get a Netflix DVD in the mail and send it right back the next day (witness Carnival of Souls) in order to maximize my DVD throughput. But it ain't happening.

Whereas before I could return DVDs and get a new DVD in 4 days or so, now it's about 6 days, which slows things down considerably.

Worse than that, I can't get the DVDs I want. I've been waiting forever for the first disk of The Sopranos Season 2 and it's still listed as "Very Long Wait." I despair of ever seeing that Space: 1999 DVD.

Keep this in mind if you're considering Netflix. There are other companies popping up which offer the same service. I'm seriously considering at least giving another service a try.

Update: Here's one of their competing services "GreenCine".

Update: Maybe I'm being too hard on Netflix. I still get quite a few films, and I have enjoyed their service for the most part. But I am doing a trial of GreenCine. There's a good chance I won't stick with it.

2003-04-23T19:18:00.000-04:00

Pocky - I'm looking for a good, local asian market. Looks like there are a couple in the Providence area I will have to check out, but I did find this. Japanese snacks online! You can also get some of the stuff here.

Those sites turned up when I was searching for Pocky. What is "Pocky?" It's a japanese treat - a usually chocolate-covered cracker shaped like a stick. It comes in many different varieties. It's the only candy I know that has a "men's" version - Men's Pocky.

(For those interested, here is yet another source of Pocky)

2003-04-23T15:31:00.000-04:00

Bleh, bleh, bleh. - That about sums up my mood.

Getting up late. Not posting on the blog early enough for most of you to read.
(Most of you folks check in around noon. And more people check my blog on Monday than on other days of the week, FYI.)

Bleh, bleh, bleh.

I'm in a little bit of a rut. It's not that bad - at least I'm keeping my exercise up. But I'm a little disorganized. I blame Bull (just a little bit) for giving me Civ III last time he came to poker night. He'd bought an extra copy, so he gave me one. Right now I'm running a Chinese empire, trying to remain in peaceful contact with the Russians and Americans while fighting the ever-dwindling French. The current game is coming to a close, and I'm the clear winner (on the easiest level) but all the war I've been waging has prevented me from getting close to launching space exploration.

Then there's Kings of Chaos. I've gotten a few other people hooked, and the way it works once you get to a certain level is that you have to log in and spend your money before someone beats you up to get it.

On top of that, most of you know that I stay up late watching movies brought to me by Netflix. Last night's selection was Carnival of Souls, a film from 1962 that feels like a really long Twilight Zone episode you feel you've seen before. Even so, I found it enjoyable for a number of reasons. It was moody, and with very few special effects conveyed a sense of the unreal. The makeup was minimalist, but it doesn't matter. The effects were the least creepy thing about this film.

A young girl is the sole survivor of a car wreck, and for the rest of the film, things are not quite right. Yeah - you already think you've seen this premise before. And you have. But it's done here well, if you can look past how the film has aged and has now become somewhat cliched. Candace Hilligoss, the female lead, really does a decent job of looking alternately shellshocked and panicked, except for a few scenes in which she is inexplicably in good spirits.

Is it just this film, or do other films from the 60s give you that feeling of being trapped in an almost familiar (though slightly askew) place and time?

So, I'm probably just tired. But I can't seem to get my thoughts organized.

2003-04-22T14:14:00.000-04:00

Tom - Here's that Tom Tomorrow "This Modern World" comic: Our Top Priorities. You can catch This Modern World every Tuesday after noon on WorkingForChange. But you all know about Tom Tomorrow already, I'm sure.

2003-04-22T13:15:00.000-04:00

Readin', 'Ritin', Rippin' Clothes Off - This story is all over the country, after the AP picked it up. A strip club was recruiting at a Mashpee High School job fair. Okay - so it's not as interesting as it first sounds. They were asked to leave, and they claim they were recruiting for bartender assistants and landscapers. But there's a headling guaranteed to get picked up by every newspaper from here to California.

2003-04-22T11:45:00.000-04:00

Working For Change - The WorkingForChange website seems to offer a bunch of the things I look for online in one place. I bet this is where people have been reading Boondocks. Later today I'll try to post a link to the latest Tom Tomorrow when it goes up on the site. I saw it yesterday at Salon.com and it was a keeper.

2003-04-18T15:20:00.000-04:00

More Goofy Word Fun - Mike has some cool word-related links on his blog.

My favorite is yet another Japanese-themed Flash animation. We westerners are going to have to play catch-up here. It's language-themed.

Nosing around another of his links eventually led me to dict.org which lets you search various dictionaries. A useful and fun little link!

2003-04-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

The Worst Day Of My Life - My daughter told my wife this morning "This is the worst day of my life."

I got a call at work yesterday.

"Mr. Burke? Katherine is in the nurse's office. She had complained about her throat earlier and we gave her some water and sent her back to class. Now she's got a headache. We can't contact your wife."

"Does she need to come home?"

"She is saying she wants to go home."

"Ok." I said. "I'll be right over."

Before I got too far down the street, Margaret called me on my wireless phone and told me she would take care of Kit.

When I got home she was all limp. I wasn't home long before she threw up the contents of her basically empty stomach.

She fell asleep on the couch, and so we sent Mattie to bed and I slept on the floor in front of the couch to monitor her. Her legs fell off the couch once with a thud. I came alert and repositioned her.

This morning she looked hardly any better. Maggie had suggested some videos that she likes to watch when she's feeling sick... "The Brave Little Toaster" has long been her favorite. So I asked her what she wanted to watch.

She requested old home videos from around the time Mattie was born and before. Pictures of herself stumbling around... haltingly using her first words... fascinated by the camera...

One of the videos shows her and me sitting on the rug of our old parlor watching TV. She is lying on my legs and I am brushing the hair out of her face. Katherine immediately arranged herself on top of my legs, as in the video and we watched some more of the footage together this way.

Some time later, she continued being sick and told Maggie "This is the worst day of my life."

Things are simple when you're a child. She doesn't realize that she will be better in a couple of days and we'll go to get the season's first ice cream at the local hand-made ice cream parlor. She's not thinking that next week is vacation for her, and she'll be well in time to take advantage of all sorts of free time.

Life is a series of moments, and none of them last very long. I guess that gives us an opportunity to pick and choose the ones we want to attach special meaning to, and the ones we just observe and let pass away.

2003-04-17T18:09:00.000-04:00

Etymology Dictionary... Cool! - I eat this stuff up. Ed sent me this link to an Online Etymology Dictionary.

Here's some history on the word "hacker":

hack (2) - originally, "person hired to do routine work," short for hackney, probably from Hackney (Middlesex), from O.E. Hacan ieg "Haca's Isle" (or possibly "Hook Island"). Now well within London, it was once pastoral. Apparently nags were raised on the pastureland there in early medieval times and taken to Smithfield horse market. Extended sense of "horse for hire" led naturally to "broken-down nag," and also "drudge" (1546). Special sense of "one who writes anything for hire" led to hackneyed "trite" (1749); hack writer is first recorded 1826, though hackney writer is at least 50 years earlier. Sense of "carriage for hire" first recorded 1664, which led to modern slang for "taxicab" (1704). Hacker "one who gains unauthorized access to computer records" is 1983, from slightly earlier tech slang sense of "one who works like a hack at writing and experimenting with software, one who enjoys computer programing for its own sake," 1976, reputedly coined at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

2003-04-17T12:50:00.000-04:00

Why Code? - Patti sent me a link to a discussion folks were having on why they code. It came to me that I hadn't really thought about why I code.

If the question is "Why do you code for money?" I think I'd have to say it's part inertia, part that I found I'm good enough that some people want to pay me to do it. There is an element of fun. There is an element of mystery in why a piece of code doesn't work, and a little thrill to solving that mystery. As Maggie tells me I said once in my sleep: "It's a mystery! A conundrum!"

Sure, ther eis the fun of coding from a purely creative point of view, but I don't code much recreational anymore. I havent for a few years (editing a few javascripts doesn't count). And I haven't been able motivate myself to complete any of the little hobby ideas I've had recently. But that's probably more of a time issue. A lot of my stress-relief time is spent watching DVDs, playing games, reading the news, participating in online discussions, and the like. My book-reading has even slowed down quite a bit.

2003-04-16T13:58:00.000-04:00

Two Shovels - When I left the house this morning it felt like 80 degrees. There are two shovels leaning on the stair.

Two snow shovels had been put away because they were no longer needed. But then, in defeat, they were retrieved from the shed and placed against the stair.

I shook my head the last time I used them, because I had thought I'd seen the last of them for the year. The neighbor across the street was out that day. I yelled to him "This is the last time for a while!" I don't think he heard me. I had to laugh at myself.

But then I didn't put them away. They're just out leaning against the stair. Some of the birds are staring at them - they've never seen these shovels before. One of the shovels is broken. I'm not sure if I will fix it, but I think I can.

No one has stolen my shovels. People aren't out at night much in the winter. Now the nights will be much warmer. Will someone steal my shovels when there is no snow on the ground?

I left them out so they would be handy for the next time it snows. How long are they going to wait.

2003-04-14T18:13:00.000-04:00

Frustration of The Blogger - Being a blogger has been more frustrating than usual lately. Here are the reasons:

The service that is supposed to send out email updates to people who subscribe to the blog... doesn't. I don't know about you, but I get an update once every other week if I'm lucky. Sure, it's free, but just the frustration alone is costing me.
Blogger hasn't been all that stable. I can't "republish" any of my archive files and I haven't been able to do that for months now, except for one brief moment a few weeks ago. What that means is that when the archives break, I can't fix them And I can't change the format of the archive files. Blogger is basically free, but I pay for ad-free hosting on blogspot.
backBlog - my comment system - just disappeared. While it was in the process of disappearing, it made my site download extremely slow, so I removed the comment links to speed things up. I subscribed to the comment system, so that one wasn't free.

When am I going to take a hint and move my whole operation over to MovableType like everyone smart seems to have done? The question is, is blogger so buggy now that I will not be able to get access to my archives so that I can republish them elsewhere? A frightening thought. And where will I find hosting? And how much will it cost? And what will I choose for a new domain name? And... and... and... and none of you can answer because my comment system is down!!!!

Ah well, email and AOLIM are still there.

2003-04-14T12:41:00.000-04:00

LANGUAGE! - From Maggie:

Mattie's on the toilet and she starts screaming. I go in there. "I ate two carrots today and my poop is stuck. My shit is stuck."

Me: "Yes, okay, that is what shit means, but it's not a very nice word. It offends some people. They might not think you're nice if you say it."

Mattie: "Well, I asked Kierra if she knew what 'shit' means and she didn't say anything."

Me: "Did you tell her?"

Mattie: "Yes, I told her it meant the 'p' word."

Me: "You said 'shit' but you won't say 'poop'?"

Mattie: "Well, we're not allowed to say 'poop' in school."

2003-04-13T19:17:00.000-04:00

Important, Especially Around Tax Time -

Q: Mr. President, can you prove that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction?

A: Yes; we kept the receipts.

2003-04-11T09:13:00.000-04:00

"Bagdhad?" - What is it with me and the word "Baghdad?" I can't seem to get the "h" in the right place. (See yesterday's post, which is not the only place I have misspelled it)

It's all over the news, you'd think I could get it right. And it's not a typo like the word "somehting" which you will see popping up frequently in my writing. Or "hte."

Oh, carp.