9.11.2001

When CJ arrived at my place for work today he turned on the TV and the two of us watched a 767 slam into the side of the World Trade Center. It looks like they finally went and did it. (By "they" I mean Islamic fundamentalist nuts—I'm not against jumping to conclusions.)

Erin is pretty tweaked by the whole thing. It's understandable, given the fact that she works a block away from the White House. I would rather just curse the bastards.

In any event, I think the Taliban deserves a good bombing, even if they're not "directly" responsible for this.

On a side note, did anyone else think the Senators' "impromptu" rendition of "God Bless America" looked staged? Everyone seemed to know the lyrics cold. They were probably on a teleprompter. I wouldn't put it past them. Even the bipartisan hugging looked staged.

PJ Doland 10:03 PM

9.7.2001

I'm torn. I'm rather content with my life as a t-shirt and jeans work-at-home kind of guy. At the same time I feel a compulsive urge to act out a full-on Tom Wolfe fashion fantasy—the four-button white three-piece suite with hat and cane. What do you think? Would it suit me?

I saw the perfect quote today atop Neal Stephenson's website:

"We live in an age of continuous partial attention."

It was attributed to Ms. Linda Stone, a researcher and Vice President at Micro$oft, as quoted in the New York Times on Jan. 30, 2001. It kind of makes you want to raze the entire global communications infrastructure, huh?

PJ Doland 5:21 PM

8.30.2001

Apparently a company called Wildform has a streaming video encoder that is Flash based. The output is actually better quality than I would have expected. It's a bit worse than Real, which is much worse than Quicktime. Still, I'd keep an eye on it to see how later versions of the codec perform.

There definitely seems to be some not-so-obvious advantages to a Flash-based system. From their site:

• "Stream video to over 96% of web browsers without a download – even through firewalls"
• "Embed links in video files"
• "Integrate video into customized media players and UIs"
• "Embed video into HTML web pages, or larger Flash movies"

The whole having a cigarette after sex custom needs to be replaced. I suggest replacing it with a Krispy Kreme doughnut after sex custom.

PJ Doland 11:18 PM

8.23.2001

It seems that Blogger is 2 years old today.

I honestly can't believe I'm still using it. It's cool and everything, but I could home roll something with PHP and MySQL that would better suit my needs. I guess I'm just too lazy to migrate the existing content. Sometimes I just suck.

Something cool that CJ pointed pointed out: The song "At My Most Beautiful" by REM sounds like something off Pet Sounds.

PJ Doland 12:56 PM

8.21.2001

Five random thoughts from the past week:

1. Challah may very well be one of the best contributions that the Jewish people have made to our civilization.
2. Esskay franks suck. (They probably even suck when they're not being sold for $4.00 each without relish.)
3. I bought a Microsoft Optical Intellimouse. It is a wonderful thing indeed. I'm fairly certain that in the future all computer mice will be of the optical variety—or at very least some other similar eunich type.
4. The glass liners on Bodum french press coffee carafes are significantly more delicate than one might be inclined to think. Replacements can, however, be ordered online.
5. I highly recommend Best in Show. I'm still waiting on Waiting for Guffman.

PJ Doland 12:09 AM

8.13.2001

No birthday blog entry from PJ! The power went out at 8:43 PM on Saturday and went on holiday until last night at 11:30 PM. It seems a manhole exploded on 17th street and PEPCO cut all power to the area to be safe. Clark actually saw it happen. There's something almost apocalyptic about living in a city where plumes of flame routinely spew forth from the sewers.

So Erin and I spent most of the day out of the apartment yesterday. I dragged her to see Ghost World at the shoebox theater on Dupont Circle. Then we gorged ourselves at Bucca Di Beppo.

PJ Doland 8:10 AM

8.11.2001

Erin and I went to see American Pie 2 last night. It was actually much better than I expected. I cringed probably 15-20 times during the movie, which was a 90 minute comedic study in tension and release. A very quotable movie as well: "Here is your penis cream."

I'm also really looking forward to seeing Ghost World. Terry Zwigoff did an amazing job with Crumb and I'm looking forward to seeing how he deals with something other than a documentary.

PJ Doland 12:23 PM

8.10.2001

No response yet from Mr. Rogers.

Launched the new Optima site on Wednesday.

PJ Doland 10:47 AM

8.6.2001

I just had an earth shattering revelation while listening to This American Life over the Internet. There was a segment on Mister Roger's Neighborhood. It never occurred to me that Fred Rogers did all those puppet voices. I feel like an idiot.

I found his email with little effort so I decided to send him an email, which follows.

Dear Mister Rogers-

Right now I'm listening to a web broadcast of the This American Life segment in which you were interviewed. The show brought back a flood of warm memories and prompted me to write this letter.

I always enjoyed watching your show as a child and I look forward to the day when I can share it with children of my own. Thank you for the life lessons too numerous to mention. I am more sure that the world is a better place because of you and the work you have done than I am of just about anything else.

In retrospect, your show was probably my first real introduction to jazz, which has become a lifelong passion. In recent years I've wondered what kind of music you listen to?

I assume you probably listen to some really cool piano jazz. Chick Corea? Thelonious Monk? Keith Jarrett? I'd really love to know what Mister Rogers' desert island CD picks would be?

Once again, thank you for everything.

PJ Doland 8:49 PM

8.5.2001

"The more primitive a people, the more extravagantly they use ornament and decoration. The Indian overloads everything, every boat, every rudder, every arrow, with ornament. To insist on decoration is to put yourself on the same level as an Indian. The Indian in us all must be overcome. The Indian says: This woman is beautiful because she wears golden rings in her nose and her ears. Men of a higher culture say: This woman is beautiful because she does not wear rings in her nose or her ears. To seek beauty in form itself rather than make it dependent on ornament should be the aim of all mankind."

Can anyone imagine someone writing this today?

PJ Doland 10:15 AM

My best line this month:

"Jesse Jackson has more in common with Don King than Martin Luther King."

PJ Doland 12:05 AM

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