Just a Log

Archives Some other weblogs: David Chess Baylink Genehack Whalley.org Ratbastard Camworld Now This aigeek: Entropy Mirror, Mirror An Entirely Other Day Metagrrrl Metafilter Come to My Senses Camper's log Follow Me Here Girlhacker Jeffrey Zeldman Presents Memepool Joel on Software kitschbitch Medley Mike (of Larkfarm) Sixfoot6 rc3.org The Breast Chronicles Xblog The Misanthropic Bitch Twernt Torrez Personality Types Frytopia Other Reading: Risks digest Jakob Neilsen's Alertbox Salon Atheist Parenting

Monday, September 11, 2000 NOTICE: This log has effectively MOVED: To the new location. I won't be doing new updates here (unless for some reason the new location isn't working). I am moving over to Daniel's horizon thing because he's now implemented categories, something I am very very happy with and plan to use quite a bit. So, dear readers (both of you), please update your bookmarks. Thanks! [=#=] Friday, September 8, 2000 Lesbian marriage in Texas: Well, it turns out that Texas is so goofy that even after a sex change, they consider one of them a man. Heh! More power to 'em, I say. Of course immediately following that thought, I worry about some Fundie killing them. Sigh. [=#=] Thursday, September 7, 2000 A very nice piece on weblogs: Which I found the link to on David Chess's weblog. I haven't read her stuff before, but I now want to check out the rest of her site, given the quality of her piece: weblogs: a history and perspective. In this quoted bit, she writes about what happens to a weblogger: As he enunciates his opinions daily, this new awareness of his inner life may develop into a trust in his own perspective. His own reactions--to a poem, to other people, and, yes, to the media--will carry more weight with him. Accustomed to expressing his thoughts on his website, he will be able to more fully articulate his opinions to himself and others. He will become impatient with waiting to see what others think before he decides, and will begin to act in accordance with his inner voice instead. Ideally, he will become less reflexive and more reflective, and find his own opinions and ideas worthy of serious consideration. [=#=] Good geeks & bad geeks: A cow orker sent a link to this around. Um, some ranting about IT and good geeks vs. bad geeks and whatnot. The author got out of IT because he was sick of it. Heh. I can identify with some of those feelings... [=#=] Wednesday, September 6, 2000 I will be moving my log, but not just yet:Daniel has developed this thingie called Horizon which runs on Zope, and he's willing to host my log for me. He's even plonked it here for me for now. It's pretty nifty, but I have mixed feelings about it. I mean, I like the little Blog This! bookmarklet that Blogger's got, and my hosting service is relatively fast (and Daniel's machine is slower)... but if he can wrangle it so I can do posts in multiple categories, then I think I'd be willing to make the switch. We'll see. Oh, and I'll definitely be giving my log a real name... I have one in mind, actually. I consider "Just a log" to be a somewhat lame anti-title. [=#=] Library System Terrorizes Publishing Industry: This cartoon pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole mp3/Napster debate. Plus, it's hilarious (to me). I printed it out, I liked it so much. I even printed out a copy for Spencer. That was last week. I just forgot to log the dang thing. [=#=] 8th grade presidential defeat: Greg Knauss of an Entirely Other Day linked to a piece he wrote about his ill-fated bid for president in 8th grade: In fact, things went near the exact opposite of 'well.' There comes a point when the word 'defeat' cannot adequately describe the results of an election and you must resort to the imagery of physical violence to get your point across: 'pummel' is good, 'bludgeon,' too. 'Maim' is awfully close. But to be as precise as possible, you can't completely explain my cataclysmic, apocalyptic loss without going as far as 'reduced to atoms.' You get your ass kicked bad enough, and it stays kicked, sometimes for generations. The kick can pass itself along genetically to your children's asses. Okay, so I laughed out loud more than once. I also ran for student council once, though I had my sights set on becoming parliamentarian. I still have no idea what the hell a parliamentarian does. And I didn't come anywhere close to winning, by the way, but I did manage to read my entire lame speech. [=#=] Another great bit from Greg: He writes about essentially hacking a web site's "community": But the Web invites participation, and the line between the front of a server and back is awfully fuzzy. Who's to say that someone is actually involved in a project or not? On the Internet, nobody knows you're a crasher. If anyone with a computer and a little rambunctiousness can start mucking with tightly organized systems -- Amazon, Epinions, doubly so for peer-to-peer networks -- then anything that expects less than total participation is just asking to be screwed with. He's got a point, this could be kind of fun... Hmm. [=#=] Damn! Scour's biting the big one: Looks like Scour is laying off 52 of 70 employees. Ouch! I was hoping that no one else would know about them, as I use Scour and idrive for my mp3 grabbing needs. Everywhere you hear, "Napster this, Napster that, Napster blah blah Napster blah Napster!". I tried using Napster a few times, but the server was always busy, so I quickly gave up. So I managed to come across Scour and it's lovely companion, idrive, and scarf all the wonderful music I wanted (except for the obscure stuff I can't find). I suppose that the cat will forever more be out of the bag, and I'll be able to keep finding mp3's, but it will just be harder whenever Scour goes under. Alas. [=#=] Those Amazon hosers are at it again: This time, they're charging different prices on some DVDs. !! Depends on what browser you're using, whether or not you're a returning customer, etc. Way to go, people will really trust you now. I just wish there were a decent alternative to Amazon. I've had less-than-great experiences with other online booksellers. Sigh. [=#=] A different kind of cruise... can be had on a cargo ship. They say it's relaxing, and you can go for weeks and weeks at a time. Sounds really fascinating. I think it would be fun. Of course I couldn't really afford it myself, but it's a nice idea. [=#=] In the market for a really really HUGE boat? Then you should take a look at these ships and vessels for sale. These are probably the most expensive things I've ever seen for sale on the internet, to date. Joke stuff on Ebay doesn't count. [=#=] More info on freighter cruises: These folks specialize in them, and there are also epinions about them. Spiffy. [=#=] I want to do this trip! This is amazing, the stories of trips on the Blue Star Freighter to Australia & New Zealand. They have fly/sail packages, so you can fly to Australia and/or New Zealand, then take the boat back to the U.S. (or the other way around). I grabbed Spencer when he visited my cube and told him about it, he sounded interested. That would be wonderful. I'd love to have a trip like that, long enough (30-40 days) to really relax and get into the whole groove of being on the ship. [=#=] Tuesday, September 5, 2000 Amusing Spam: I hate spam as much as the next person (actually, probably even a bit more), but this one actually made me laugh, so I'll share it here for the purpose of mockery: Participate In The Most Important Decision Of Your Life! http://www.RightToLive.com Now more than ever you need to be an active partner in your own medical treatment Medical technology makes extraordinary advances in supporting life after serious illness or accident each day. New cures and treatments are discovered continuously for conditions previously thought incurable. HOWEVER, each day we learn about 'Angels of Mercy' that make decisions to 'pull the plug', groups that will go to extremes to harvest your organs, and overzealous relatives that are all too eager to consent to the premature demise of 'loved ones'. Our attractive Right To Live medallion has the universal and copyrighted symbol on the front and 'DON'T PULL MY PLUG' inscribed on the back. Wearing our medallion alerts medical personnel and all others of your clear and positive statement of intent. Don't allow this all-important decision to be made for you by others! Take action on this important issue before it's too late. Protect yourself and your loved ones. EXCLUSIVE OFFER: The Right To Live medallion is available in gold or silver plate. Take advantage of this offer and purchase our gold medallion for $19.95 (normally $25.00) or silver for only $14.95 (normally $20.00). Act now while stocks last by visiting: http://www.RightToLive.com to place your order today! What I want to know is, is there someone selling a "Pull the Plug, PLEASE!" medallion? I want one of those (well only if I'm brain-dead/beyond hope yadda yadda). [=#=] I used to want to go to Burning Man... but then I read this. I hadn't known about the fratboys and spectators, poseurs and people puking and pissing all over the place. And also the fact that it's a big Corporation now, and the organizers threw themselves a party in San Francisco while asking others to volunteer to go back to the site and clean it up. Not to mention the 97 people-to-porta-potty ratio. 97. There might be things there I would find cool, things that I would like to do and add to the experience... but with all that, it just doesn't seem worth it. Oh well. I guess I can spend my Labor Day weekends going to Kona (Hawaii) or Kent Island (Maryland) for outrigger canoe races. Sounds much much more fun to me. [=#=] If I were an Indian and I had the job of naming the months, I'd name this month "Month when small bits of partially eaten pecans continually rain down from the trees". But then again this will likely go on for several months. Or half the year. Whatever. Those dang squirrels sure know how to drop 'em right into the open trunk of my car, too. Speaking of which, I actually washed the outside of my car this weekend. This only happens a couple times a year, mind you. Finally I couldn't stand the bird poop and other detritus, including this weird scum that sticks to the windows. I am not sure of the origin of this sticky hard-to-see-through film, but I am ready to blame the pecan trees for it. Which brings to mind the irony of the fact that the trees are gorgeous and huge and I love them and all, and the shade they provide fills my heart with gladness during this oppressive heat (it was 110 degrees yesterday, an ALL TIME record for Austin, and it's fucking SEPTEMBER!!), but I am sick and tired of dealing with the myriad stuff that they exude. There must be hundreds of pounds worth of sticks, pecans, leaves, weird little pollen thingies, and other assorted crap that lands on our lawn, roof, car, and deck each year, which I am obliged to collect and tote back to our compost pile. Sigh. I know, I know, it's the price of having nice trees. It would just be a lot more worth it if I actually liked to eat pecans. [=#=] Blogger Bad! Okay, I'm really miffed. I got some lame-ass Microsoft ODBC SQL error while trying to post an exquisitely crafted blogger post. Argh! It was about me canoeing this weekend. And I don't feel like going through the whole thing again, although freakily enough I can remember it pretty well. I went canoeing on Saturday, and again last night, and it was fun. Rudder, good! That's all you need to know. Also, no weird back pain while I'm paddling, which is good. And my back muscles were a bit sore, which means they're growing, which is good. What else? Oh yeah I've got space to store my boat at the lake, which is good. But it's really high up and hard to reach and scary when the boat is slippery and it requires an additional person to help me, which is bad. And I lost a lock washer for my rudder, which is bad. But I have extras that I got at Home Depot, which is good. But I couldn't find extras for the nut for the rudder, which is bad. But I can hopefully find some (I think they're metric sized) before I lose the rudder nut, which would be good. And on Saturday, Spencer took some video of me canoeing, which is good. But he was really shaky with the camera, which is bad. But I managed to capture two still frames, which is good. Here they are: I realize this post has totally degenerated, but that's okay. Oh yeah, on Saturday when I paddled, it was really hot, which was bad. But last night when I went, it was quiet and the water was like glass, which was good. And on Saturday I remembered to use sunscreen and didn't get burned, which is good. I hope I don't get an error posting and publishing this one... or I shall be very....put....out. [=#=] That girl can bounce! I played with a setting I hadn't previously used before on my video capture thingie, and managed to get much better results than I had been getting. Including this shot of Elena bouncing in her crib: What a wacky little thang she is. :) [=#=] A suggested test for usability of alternatives: Great Leader Neilsen discusses Regulatory Usability and makes an interesting suggestion for a test of whether alternative software is really usable (which would be useful in, say, an antitrust trial): The legal test should be as follows: 1. Take an average person who has never used computers before and is given a machine with Windows installed. 2. Also give this person a CD-ROM with whatever competing software the case concerns (Netscape, Lotus 1-2-3, a different multimedia player). 3. Measure the time from the person has unpacked everything until he or she has installed the alternative software successfully. If at least 80% of novice users are capable of installing the alternative software and if the average time to do so is less than 10 minutes, then the basic operating system is deemed to be sufficiently accommodating to competition. [=#=] About the background & graphics: Well okay, graphic, singular. They are scanned from a piece of marble tile that I carved. It's sitting here on my computer now. Anyway, it's a white Italian floor tile that I cut into several pieces. I carved the sun-thing in this piece here, which is about 4 x 5 inches or so. The sun is around 2 inches in diameter. There's a border on two sides of the tile, but it's not finished. I don't know if it ever will be. So now you know. And I may write more about stone and carving and marble and my relationship to these things at a later date. [=#=] Cute quote: I hadn't seen this before: "God grant me the Senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference... [=#=] Friday, September 1, 2000 Happy Sadie Update! I talked to my mom, and she said that Sadie's surgery went very well and she's recovering nicely. I don't have the words to say how relieved and happy I am that my little four-legged friend is on the mend. So I'll just mention it here, and you can extrapolate, okay? [=#=] Thursday, August 31, 2000 Shut up and paddle: There are some impressive paddles at Gillespie's site. Once I figure out what my optimum paddle length is, I plan to get one of the double-bend ones, to see if I like that better than the single-bend Gray Owl I've got now. [=#=] I am sooo jealous of this: The meditation area of an incredible custom-done bus. Wow. There are a bunch more at Mr. Sharkey's. I'll say it again: wow. This is the lifestyle I was truly meant to lead. [=#=] An Austin homeschooler: This Home Schooling page has a lot of good info, including an FAQ and mentions of Texas legal specifics. Neato. [=#=] Wednesday, August 30, 2000 I like this one: So I will add this weblog to the list of ones I read a lot. So there. [=#=] Personality Types weblog: Here. I wanna look at this later more. [=#=] Yet another one I like: sevencrabrangoon. Especially this entry and this entry. Oh yeah, and this one too. There is something more noble out there than marketing. Marketing should be called what it really is. It's not about matching up buyers with sellers, or making my life more efficient. It's about lying. A con game. Getting people to buy crappy shit they don't need. There has got to be something more. There has to be. I need to believe in it. Something that remains pure and un-co-opted. [=#=] Yet another one: Lo, It's frytopia. [=#=] P.S. In case you care, the list of other weblogs above is mainly for me to just keep track of the ones I think I might want to go back and read some more. They are not necessarily all my favorites or anything (though some certainly are). Some of them I don't know enough about to really judge. I'm sure I'll shuffle them around periodically and remove some, and add more, and whatnot.