Candyland

NY Visit: Ultra-Short Notice

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:20:51 GMT

I'll be in NYC tomorrow (Sunday) through Thursday morning. I've talked to a couple people already, but if anyone else wants to get together/hang out/play games/have dinner/etc. etc. let me know!

Suggestions for current exhibitions I may not know about would be awesome, too.

Records

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:18:36 GMT

Someone who was visiting SF, possibly staying with me, went to Amoeba Records but left their haul of LPs behind. This may have been months ago.

Footloose
Flashdance
Pretenders — Extended Play
Annie

Are they yours? Do you want them? Do you know somebody that might?

Shower of Prophesy

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:18:44 GMT

There is a shower in my future, and it shall be glorious as it was foretold by the Ancient Oracle: for one day there shall come a man, covered in the dirt of his toil, as all of us are covered in our own, and he shall shower for our soils and all shall be cleansed: and you shall know that man is the lord!

Grand Central Dispatch

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:57:34 GMT

Inspired by this Ars Technica review, I had to get Snow Leopard and try out the new programming APIs myself. All I can say is: Easiest. Concurrent. Programming. Ever. And this is in C! Running this pegs both cores of the CPU in my MacBook even though I didn't have to care or specify how many available cores there were. "dispatch_apply" is the GCD equivalent of a "for" loop. The magic "^" denotes a "block" — the Apple version of an anonymous delegate or inner class. (This is C, though, so the variables accessed inside the block from outside must be static. There is another API that lets you pass arbitrary data in as an argument to your block to get around that.)

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <dispatch/dispatch.h>

int main (int argc, const char * argv[]) {
	static int c = 0;
	dispatch_apply(80, dispatch_get_global_queue(0, 0), ^(size_t i) {
		// randomized wait to help jobs complete out-of-order:
		int y = 0;
		int limit = random() >> 4;
		for (int x = 0; x < limit; ++x) {
			y += x;
		}
		printf("%02d:%2d|", i, c - i);
		++c;
	});
	return 0;
}

01:-1|00: 1|02: 0|03: 0|05:-1|04: 1|06: 0|08:-1|07: 1|09: 0|10: 0|
11: 0|12: 0|13: 0|14: 0|15: 0|16: 0|18:-1|17: 1|20:-1|19: 1|21: 0|
22: 0|24:-1|25:-1|26:-1|23: 3|27: 0|29:-1|30:-1|28: 2|32:-1|31: 1|
33: 0|34: 0|35: 0|36: 0|38:-1|37: 1|39: 0|40: 0|42:-1|41: 1|44:-1|
43: 1|45: 0|46: 0|48:-1|47: 1|50:-1|51:-1|52:-1|49: 3|53: 0|54: 0|
56:-1|55: 1|57: 0|59:-1|60:-1|58: 2|61: 0|62: 0|64:-1|63: 1|65: 0|
66: 0|67: 0|68: 0|70:-1|69: 1|71: 0|72: 0|73: 0|74: 0|76:-1|75: 1|
78:-1|77: 1|79: 0|

Indian Summer

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:35:05 GMT

On July 4th I was challenged to make a drink with Limca, a lemon/lime/ginger soda from India. People liked it enough I made three batches. I thought up a name tonight, and thought I should write down the recipe before I forgot. If I can manage to get my hands on some Limca of my own, perhaps I will take dr_memory’s suggestion and make Limca a follow up challenge to my original kombucha challenge for the Beretta bartenders. I don’t think I’d try to make this there myself but maybe give them the recipe to try after they gave it a shot on their own.

Indian Summer

3 parts Limca
2 parts Hendrick’s Gin
2/3 part Stoli
1 small bitter apple (more juice is better)
fresh rosemary

Crush the juice from the apple over ice in a shaker. Toss the flesh in, too. Bruise some of the rosemary and put in shaker. Add the gin, vodka, and Limca. Shake vigorously until very cold. (Do this over the sink because you'll have to let the CO₂ out. You’re flattening the drink a bit on purpose.)

Fill an old fashioned glass with ice. Strain mixture into glass with a very fine strainer. Taste. Top off the glass using Limca if it is too bitter or soda water if too sweet. Garnish with fresh rosemary.

© 2009 Joshua Pollak

No love for Aperture today…

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:49:21 GMT

I was stressing out over my photo library. It seemed like Aperture had lost track of thousands of photos. I was so confused I went to the Apple store to get help, and they managed to help me with one problem, but that only solved the mystery of a few of the missing photos. The remainder, Aperture was convinced, were located on a volume called "NIKON D80." This led the Apple store guy to suggest I'd erroneously "imported" all those images off my camera without actually moving them off my camera which I found inconceivable and horrifying. But truly when I searched every drive I had for those filenames I continually came up empty. Then this weekend I fired up my old Mac on the off chance that these images were somehow hiding on a drive I'd never copied. Know what? I found some of them, buried in iPhoto libraries. I thought I'd solved the mystery and joyously began copying things around, making space, and trying to convince Aperture I'd found the missing images. It wouldn't believe me, and despite crazy manipulations with symlinks, loopback filesystems, voodoo dances, (and Aperture mysteriously crashing when I tried to reconnect certain images,) I thought I was going crazy. And then I noticed that SOME of the directories from inside those projects were STILL missing. I noticed almost all the problematic projects were imported iPhoto projects and wondered if there was a problem specifically with them. I was right! I finally realized where the images really were: on another drive, in a directory full of iPhoto libraries that Spotlight doesn't search inside of. (I'd used unix tools on my old Mac since I couldn't use Screen Sharing on the old OS.) The other thing that threw me is Aperture's schizophrenic way of treating iPhoto projects: it gives the "real" OS path of files in some places and the "iPhoto" path (involving event names and rolls) in others, and that is what breaks reconnect.

Unfortunately, I'd left that hard drive connected to my computer at work. (It has my music on it.) Ludicrous chains of technology to the rescue!

Portable Hard Drive (MEMEX)
|
(FireWire)
|
\|/
Work Computer
|
(SMB over Cisco VPN)
(IP obtained via RDC under Windows under BootCamp)
(OSX apparently doesn't support Active Directory)
|
\|/
Mounted as /Volumes/MEMEX
|
(loopback fs via MacFUSE)
|
\|/
Mounted as /Volumes/NIKON D80

With this setup, rebuilding the Aperture library (command-option as it loads) magically reconnected every missing file that was left, as far as I can tell.

I still don't know how it decided these libraries were on "NIKON D80" or how I can convince it otherwise so I don't have to execute

cd /Users/josh/Projects/macfuse-read-only/filesystems/loopback
mkdir /Volumes/NIKON\ D80
sudo ./loopback /Volumes/NIKON\ D80 \
	-omodules=threadid:subdir,subdir=/Volumes/MEMEX \
	-oallow_other,native_xattr,volname=NIKON\ D80

before starting Aperture.

On a side note, I discovered a ton of photos I never imported and lots of old documents I never pulled off of my old Mac! Should be fun to sift through later.

Maker Faire on Sunday — who’s going?

Fri, 29 May 2009 17:38:04 GMT

I haven’t been. Planning on going with beckastar if she’ll have me.

This post needs facebook/twitter/lj auto-crossposting. Perhaps this could be my first iPhone or Python project…

Let There Be Sims + Me

Tue, 19 May 2009 09:00:01 GMT

May 13th 2009 (the last day of my trip to the east coast, more or less on my way to the airport) I stopped at 7th Ave and 48th St in Manhattan to get a picture of myself with the Sims 3 billboards.

Why yes, I am the creator, now that you mention it. (One of them, anyway.)

Efficient Scavengers

Tue, 19 May 2009 07:12:26 GMT

I put out four more boxes of stuff today — two boxes of dotcom t-shirts and other assorted clothing, some building hardware, RJ-11 wallplates, cables, and other odds and ends. When I went down to check on it, at first I thought a few things had been left, including a copy of The Sims 2 and some IKEA lighting units. I felt a little insulted, actually.

Until I realized everything actually was gone, and they’d just left behind the empty packages after extracting the contents.

Rock Band DLC

Tue, 19 May 2009 04:07:31 GMT

I checked today: my Xbox has 166 downloaded tracks for Rock Band. That’s something in the neighborhood of $250 worth of DLC. Cheap given the amount of awesome, but still a dramatic figure. (Plus, uh, 80 or so for RB2 and 50 or so from RB, that’s about 300 tracks total. RB3 better have the ability to save playlists and mark favorites.)

Relatively recent acquisitions include Rio and Girls On Film — I figure those have dr_memory’s name on them. Others (like Belly and Screaming Trees) hearken back to my teenage years. There’s some more Journey, Stone Roses, Soundgarden, The Shins, the entire Texas Flood album, a bunch of Franz Ferdinand including Take Me Out, and Emily’s pick of the day: Smooth Criminal (the A.A.F. version).

We should play again soon.

(Oh, on a side note, listen to Danger Mouse’s new album!)

The monitor is finally gone!

Mon, 04 May 2009 01:33:37 GMT

I feel like an eighty-pound weight was lifted from my shoulders. The big printer is gone, too, both to a hopefully-worthy home. Good karma regardless, right?

A deep and important question about our universe.

Mon, 04 May 2009 01:10:59 GMT

What’s the difference in environmental impact between using a computer to look up directions and print them out on a sheet of paper vs. looking up and following directions on an iPhone? Both have a huge number of hidden costs, though fortunately the Internet half is more or less the same for both.

Just realizing that the thing in the corner of my living room is now a boarding pass dispenser more than anything else.

Hypothetical Schedule

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:45:37 GMT

Let us say that I might be in NYC next Tues night through Friday. Would anyone be available to hang out, play games, go out to dinner, hit a museum, or lend a couch? (Probably spending Wed with my grandmother.) I think I might come back to NYC the day before my return flight, meaning the Monday after that weekend would also be open.

WAH, but in a good way.

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:26:14 GMT

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday should all be “work” at home days. Even today I got home early enough to finish watching Annie Hall by 10pm. (@emawii got home partway through, and her amusement only added to mine.) Daytime cavorting, lunch, dinner, drinks: all options that keep me within cell range, an hour or so of the office, and the same area code as sobriety are open. (doppmonster, I will be at your party with bells on. Bells I say!)

In other (related) news, I’m taking the month of May off (save a few days for design reviews here and there). I’ll be on the East Coast early in the month, with the rest comprising a staycation of glorious proportions.

This is like trekking through a desert full of isolation for two years, then stumbling into the deep end of having a life with no floaties on. Scary! But exciting! And full of exclamation points!

Spring Cleaning (or, a list of things.)

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:29:27 GMT

Things I’ve kept for too long.

Stuff already claimed by Craigslist: (Though if a friend wants something…)
* boxes/manuals for Nintendo 64 games
* clothes from when I was 30 pounds heavier
* sheets for single beds, a million extra pillowcases
* Zip drive and Zip disks
* several hard drives in the 240 MB - 5 GB range
* SCSI cables, two SCSI adapers, one ISA, one PCI
* Two SoundBlasters from 1994 & 1995
* two channel DJ-style mixer w/crossfade and sampler
* several dead and/or dismembered laptops
* a smallish center-channel speaker

Stuff still unclaimed:
* large format Epson 1270 printer
* gerbil supplies, toys, and 20gal tank
* the transceiver for my Dad’s first carphone
* BNC coax cable for 10base2 ethernet
* Mac serial cables
* TR-4 tapes and tape drive
* at least three CD-ROM drives of varying vintage
* 16 MB SIMMs

Things I can't decide what to do with:
* My PowerBook 3400c & PowerPC G4 (mirrordoor)
I don’t think I can get rid of the last thing that can run the classic OS without knowing I can get the data out of all the random weird format files I have. FileMaker databases, ClarisWorks documents, programs written with FaceSpan… (like the one that generated the HTML for that porn site I ran back in high school … I found the html template files for it … what must that code look like? I must know!)
* Hollywood+ MPEG2 (DVD) decoder card: this was hot freshman year in college, let me tell you. Those fools with software players could not compete. This is almost worth hanging on to as it is, if I recall correctly, effectively region-free.

Things I’ve rediscovered/decided to keep:
* the original box for my first iPod (2g) — one of the awesome cube boxes. I will keep this forever.
* YSL bed sheets from the 80s

Spring Cleaning: My Geek Code Block from 1996

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:05:03 GMT

Know what else I found? What I think was my first website. It had frames. Ph34r.

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS/CC/FA/IT/S d(-)x s+:-(---) a--- C++(++++)$ U P++>+++++$ L+>++++ !E-
W++(+++)>$ N++(+++)>$ o? K-? w--->$ O(++)>+++ M++$ !V PS(++) PE-(--) Y++
PGP t++(+)>$ !5 X+(++) R- tv b+++(++)>++++ DI++(+++)>++++ D+ G e->+++++
h(+) r++>+++ y+**
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

Decoded Geek Code

GEEK TYPE CODE [GCS/CC/FA/IT/S]

Geek of Computer Science, Geek of Communications, Geek of Fine Arts, Geek of Information Technology, Geek of Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc.).

GEEK DRESS CODE [d(-)x]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I'm usually in jeans and a t-shirt.", to: "Cross Dresser"

GEEK SHAPE CODE [s+:-(---)]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I'm a little taller than most. Everyone tells me to gain a few pounds.", to: "My bones are poking through my skin."

GEEK AGE CODE [a---]

My age is 15-19.

GEEK COMPUTERS CODE [C++(++++)$]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "Computers are a large part of my existence. When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is log myself in. I play games or mud on weekends, but still manage to stay off of academic probation.", to: "I'll be first in line to get the new cybernetic interface installed into my skull." Getting paid for it!

GEEK UNIX CODE [U]

I have a unix account to do my stuff in.

GEEK PERL CODE [P++>+++++$]

Perl is a powerful programming tool. I don't write shell scripts anymore because I write them in Perl. But someday I'd like to say: "I am Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, or Randal Schwartz. Getting paid for it!"

GEEK GNU/LINUX CODE [L+>++++]

I've managed to get GNU/Linux installed and even used it a few times. It seems like it is just another OS. But someday I'd like to say: "I am a GNU/Linux wizard. I munch C code for breakfast and have enough room left over for a kernel debugging. I have so many patches installed that I lost track about ten versions ago. GNU/Linux newbies consider me a net.god."

GEEK EMACS CODE [!E-]

I refuse to categorize myself on Emacs. But if I did participate in this category, I would characterize myself as follows: "Emacs is too big and bloated for my tastes"

GEEK WORLD WIDE WEB CODE [W++(+++)>$]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I have a homepage. I surf daily. My homepage is advertised in my .signature.", to: "I am a WebMaster. Don't even think about trying to view my homepage without the latest version of Netscape. When I'm not on my normal net connection, I surf the web using my Newton and a
cellular modem." But someday I'd like to say: "Getting paid for it!"

GEEK USENET CODE [N++(+++)>$]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I read all the news in a select handful of groups.", to: "I read so many news groups that the next batch of news comes in before I finish reading the last batch, and I have to read for about 2 hours straight before I'm caught up on the morning's news. Then there's the afternoon..." But someday I'd like to say: "Getting paid for it!"

GEEK USENET ORACLE CODE [o?]

Usenet Oracle? I don't even know what that is...

GEEK KIBO CODE [K-?]

I don't know who Kibo is. Kibo? I don't even know what that is...

GEEK MICROSOFT WINDOWS CODE [w--->$]

Windows has set back the computing industry by at least 10 years. Bill Gates should be drawn, quartered, hung, shot, poisoned, disembowelled, and then REALLY hurt. But someday I'd like to say: "Getting paid for it!"

GEEK OS/2 CODE [O(++)>+++]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I finally managed to get OS/2 installed but wasn't too terribly impressed.", to: "I use OS/2 for all my computing needs. I use some DOS and Windows programs, but rune them under OS/2. If the program won't run under OS/2, then obviously I don't need it." But someday I'd like to say: "I live, eat and breathe OS/2. All of my hard drives are HPFS. I am the Anti-Gates."

GEEK MACINTOSH CODE [M++$]

I am a Mac guru. Anything those DOS putzes and unix nerds can do, I can do better, and if not, I'll write the damn software to do it. Getting paid for it!

GEEK VMS CODE [!V]

I refuse to categorize myself on VMS.

GEEK POLITICS & SOCIAL ISSUES CODE [PS(++)]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I really don't have an opinion; nobody's messing with my freedoms right now.", to: "I give to liberal causes. I march for gay rights. I'm a card carrying member of the ACLU. Keep abortion safe and legal."

GEEK POLITICS & ECONOMIC ISSUES CODE [PE-(--)]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "It's ok to increase government spending, so we can help more poor people. Tax the rich! Cut the defense budget!", to: "Capitalism is evil! Government should provide the services we really need. Nobody should be rich."

GEEK CYPHERPUNKS CODE [Y++]

I am on the cypherpunks mailing list and active around Usenet. I never miss an opportunity to talk about the evils of Clipper and ITAR and the NSA. Orwell's 1984 is more than a story, it is a warning to our's and future generations. I'm a member of the EFF.

GEEK PGP CODE [PGP]

I've used it, but stopped long ago.

GEEK STAR TREK CODE [t++(+)>$]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "It's the best show around. I have all the episodes and the movies on tape and can quote entire scenes verbatim. I've built a few of the model kits too. But you'll never catch me at one of those conventions. Those people are kooks.", to: "It's a damn fine TV show and is one of the only things good on television any more." But someday I'd like to say: "Getting paid for it!"

GEEK BABYLON 5 CODE [!5]

I refuse to categorize myself on Babylon 5.

GEEK X FILES CODE [X+(++)]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I've Converted my family and watch the show when I remember. It's really kinda fun.", to: "This is one of the better shows I've seen. I wish I'd taped everything from the start at SP, because I'm wearing out my EP tapes. I'll periodically debate online. I've Converted at least 5 people. I've gotten a YAXA."

GEEK ROLE-PLAYING CODE [R-]

Gosh, what an utter waste of time!

GEEK TELEVISION CODE [tv]

I watch only the shows that are actually worthwhile, such as those found on PBS.

GEEK BOOKS CODE [b+++(++)>++++]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I consume a few books a week as part of a staple diet.", to: "I find the time to get through at least one new book a month." But someday I'd like to say: "I read a book a day. I have library cards in three states. I have discount cards from every major bookstore. I've ordered books from another country to get my Favorite Author Fix."

GEEK DILBERT CODE [DI++(+++)>++++]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "I work with people that act a lot like Dilbert and his boss.", to: "I am a Dilbert prototype." But someday I'd like to say: "I've received mail from Scott Adams. I'm in the DNRC (Dogbert's New Ruling Class)."

GEEK DOOM CODE [D+]

It's a fun, action game that is a nice diversion on a lazy afternoon.

THE GEEK CODE [G]

I know what the geek code is and even did up this code.

GEEK EDUCATION CODE [e->+++++]

Haven't finished High School. But someday I'd like to say: "I am Stephen Hawking."
GEEK HOUSING CODE [h(+)]

My tendencies on this issue range from: "Friends come over to visit every once in a while to talk about Geek things. There is a place for them to sit.", to: "Living alone, get out once a week to buy food, no more than once a month to do laundry. All surfaces covered."

GEEK RELATIONSHIPS CODE [r++>+++]

I've dated my current S.O. for a long time. But someday I'd like to say: "Found someone, dated, and am now married."

GEEK SEX CODE [y+**]

Male. I've had real, live sex. I've been known to make perverts look like angels.

Alchemy (participatory art tonight)

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:34:54 GMT

http://false-profit.com/2009/04/25/alchemy/

"Alchemy is an annual San Francisco event, packed with interactive art installations built to engage and amaze you. Participation highly encouraged."

Anyone else interested? Tonight around 10 or 11?

Haircut Questions

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:19:50 GMT

I haven’t done this in something like seven years and never enjoyed it anyway. How do you decide what kind of haircut to get? How do you decide where to get it cut? Maybe one solicits ones friends for suggestions on both counts? My only real criterion is I’d like to take advantage of the fact that my hair is long — I can always get it cut shorter, and then buzz it, if there are a series of disastrous choices made.

Perhaps this should be called “Farewell to Follicles for Final”? Seems a fitting counterpart to “Beards to Beta,” anyway. I’m really glad Grant didn’t get “Fauxhawks to Final” off the ground.

Here’s some ghosts of haircuts past:

Lost Book: Daniel Abrahm’s A Shadow in Summer

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:30:58 GMT

I'm fairly certain I loaned this book out a long time ago but have forgotten to whom.

Backed up my LJ, all 1008 entries.

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:59:19 GMT

You should, too, seeing as how it is maybe going under.

http://hewgill.com/ljdump/

Remove any extended unicode characters from your userpic tags before running.

OH NOES IZA MUZAK MEME!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:34:02 GMT

Put your music library on shuffle, hit skip once to get the answer to each question.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Why Can't I Have You?" (The Cars)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen) — Maybe while I was living in Brooklyn…

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Rain King" (Counting Crows)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Tell Her Tonight" (Franz Ferdinand)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Brick" (Ben Folds Five) — Ok, that’s just depressing.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"White Room" (Cream)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Crazy (Karl G Remix)" (Gnarls Barkley) — I have no doubt.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Fly Away" (Poe) — I don’t have escapist fantasies that often.

WHAT IS 2+2?
"One Of Them" (Jurassic 5)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Blood On My Hands" (The Sundays)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Promise" (Violent Femmes) — Aww, if only…

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (Unknown) — Well, it certainly is right now. Should have been "Nice Guys Finish Last" by Green Day.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Track 15" (loop!station)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Don’t Let Me Down" (311) — Probably some truth in that.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"L.U.C.A." (The Orb) — I have no idea what that means.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (Us3) — Really? I’m not too worried about this one regardless.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)" (Billy Joel) — Eerie. (Thanks a lot, Dee: no one should have a Greatest Hits Volume III.)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Wolf at the Door (It Girl, Rag Doll)" (Radiohead) — I have no hobbies, officer, I promise.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Winter Song" (Screaming Trees)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"…And Justice For All" (Metallica)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Remember Me?" (Eminem)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Full Circle" (Collective Soul) — Damn, that’s deep, man.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Another Late Thursday" (Southern Comforter)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Blue" (A Perfect Circle) — No, Perfect Circle does not make me laugh.

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"You Oughta Know" (Alanis Morissette) — No, Alanis does not make me cry.

WHO WILL YOU MARRY?
"Everybody’s Everything" (Santana) — I've always had trouble choosing just one.

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"New York" (The Sex Pistols)

There is no context.

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 07:55:35 GMT

This amazing Friday night I sat on my roof, looking at the flickering lights of the bay bridge, and wondered, what ever happened to Debbie? Isn't it odd that what I thought was the best of my [3] blind dates, from movie to her pad to diner to mine, [where there was rock band (sorry, Emily) and cuddling at 2:30am] would fade into memory like the passing of any other uneventful evening? Would this be a simple lesson of, as a later date was quick to affirm, "when she offers you her number, take it, even if you're freezing [huddled in the blustery 4:30am cold of Mission St walking her to her car] and she already has your card?" Or perhaps I was taken: all her actions were simply further machinations to collect the best possible content for her still-in-progress article? [If so, look for me in SF Magazine!] Regardless, the faintly flickering lights of the bridge both our roofs look upon brought her to mind, and that mind wants to know: what ever happened to Debbie?

Reductionist MMORPG

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:56:53 GMT

A web-based MMO that dispenses with the meaningless trappings of stories and graphics that insulate the player from the DB and instead exposes the DB directly. Brilliance!

I'm in shard 1, row_id=7803.

http://mysqlgame.appspot.com

Proof that the American public isn't as stupid as the Media.

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:16:10 GMT

The American public may be stupid, but the media coverage of last night's debate (or half-debate, since Palin didn't actually manage to debate anything, being unable to answer or argue in defense of any specified topic, hewing only to her canned talking points, albeit with more coherency and charisma than in her past interviews) proves the public isn't as dim-witted as the pundits and reporters. In a horrifying survey of media coverage, USNews.com lists source after source that gives far too much credit to Palin, to the point where it is hard to believe all of these people were watching the same debate. But halfway through is this little gem, quoted from CBS:

"Who won the debate? By a margin of two to one, 46% of our uncommitted voters thought Biden won, 21% Palin, 33% saw it as a tie. More importantly, perhaps, how many of those uncommitted voters made up their mind as a result of the debate? 18% told us they are now committed to Obama. 10% now committed to McCain and 71% still uncommitted."

Americans: Still stupid, but not as stupid as they could be.

Least surprising quiz result ever.

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:17:34 GMT

Your result for Which Ghostbuster are you?...

Egon Spengler

The Brain

You are Egon. More a skeptic than a believer, you're always looking for the most logical explanation. Most of the Ghostbusters' gadgets have come from you, and your extremely strict, scientific dissection of things yields knowledge that no one else could have even thought of. If not for you, the Ghostbusters wouldn't have much to battle the paranormal with.

Take Which Ghostbuster are you? at HelloQuizzy