Stuff from October, 2005
This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on October, 2005.
Common Shot
This is another view out of Cretin - I’ve taken a lot of shots from this window - a nice summer shot.
This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on October, 2005.
This is another view out of Cretin - I’ve taken a lot of shots from this window - a nice summer shot.
Docktopus - Stats on your dock. This is cool and I don’t even own a Mac!
First thought: says Mykala on Friday night: “If there were a piece of pie in front of me right now, I’d eat it.” In a similar vein, Markoe picked up on a word I accidentally invented: “spamished.” Meaning “to be famished,” it is likely to catch on in many a social circle.
The Blind Watchmaker - I need to read this book. As an adament believer that God and evolution easily coexist, I am intrigued by how I could help others to at least understand (not necessarily agree with) my view.
Part of a customer review reads:”If one doesn’t believe in the power of natural selection after reading this book, then that person is not rational.”
Does She Love You? - “If she ever says the words, “I hate you”: She loves you. Or she did at one point, anyway.”
I blew out the top of this image, a lot like the effect used on the cover of George Winston’s Summer album.
Tom’s Diner - Do do do do do do do do … you know that song? Really addicting hook? It’s actually a 1990 remix of an earlier song. The story is one where illegal usage turns out well: the artists who remixed it illegally, sold it to the recording company, who then distributed it. This makes sense, and would never happen today (consider DJ Danger Mouse and his hugely successful mash of Jay-Z and the Beatles’ albums …)
We described it was a “poor man’s ‘Office Space’” or “an indie ‘Office Space’” and frankly I liked the movie. Also, I guess yellow Post-It notes equal an office, because that visual cue is used on both DVD covers of these two movies. Anyhow, I think Haiku Tunnel had a little more meaning to it and fewer pieces dumbed down humor than Office Space. It’s got some hard-to-pinpoint rough edges that always seem to show up in Sundance films (and are more obvious in the comedies, for some reason), but none were too distracting.
These bloomed unexpectedly large; I guess those rose ‘grades’ do really mean something.
Trains and sewing machines! Lordy this was a good concert. My First Time at the Ascot Room the past Friday at the Quest, and certainly that room did not disappoint, except for the morons who were talking. They were really annoying and should have stopped talking. Seriously, they had an entire lounge area to yell about pointless things but they chose the back of the Ascot Room. Ridiculous. Anyhow. I was expecting Imogen Heap to have the delicate voice of Dido (who, from the cuts I have heard, sounds horrible live), but Ms. Heap (can I call her that?) is anything but weak live. Her voice is smooth as silk, effortlessly running up and down her catchy melodies, and dropping down from high notes with a signature and distinctive sound.
What happens when you got to Cupcake but miss the shot of the store? You take a blurry night shot!
Author: Madeleine L’Engle - I loved A Wrinkle in Time - maybe I’ll read one of her adult books sometime.
Professor Ulrich is a smart man - he knows his theology, and he has lectures about complex inter-religion relationships prefabricated in his head. He used the word “pantheon” the other day (this past Monday), and I realized that I simply must document it as a great word.
Pantheon.
I brought this desk up 10 flights of stairs so I had room to study - it’s been nothing but worth it.
Flying Spaghetti Monsterism - One of the most creative commentaries on America’s current “intelligent design in school” issue.
It asks an important question: if the government endorses multiple creation viewpoints, where does it stop? Why can’t Flying Spaghetti Monsterism receive equal billing as Evangelical Christianity?
La Grolla - Our next date? Classic Italian: “In a grand old setting that is both opulent and cozy, friends clink glasses over delicious food like the Capesante “spider”: scallops wrapped in angel hair pasta … “
Tookt this before some big storms rolled through the Twin Cities; on the last day of summer, they produced one tornado but we just saw a lot of rain.
Burnout 3: Takedown - Whatdda video game. I have to play this, and soon - it’s like a demolition derby on a road course.
Wallace and Gromit: Full Length Film - I will have to see this movie. Wallace and Gromit are my heroes.
“There are lots of these little guys in “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” — they’re a design motif as well as being characters in their own right. And perhaps the loveliest thing about seeing them, and every other character here, on the big screen is the way their smooth Plasticine surfaces often show the visible fingerprints of the people who have touched them.”
Keillor’s Law - This will be printed out, because I need something like this to live by:
“If the romance or marriage needs help, the answer almost always is Have More Fun. Drop your list of grievances and go ride a roller coaster. Take a brisk walk. Dance. Take a trip to Duluth. Read Dickens.”
Salon - One of the best online magazines in existence. Imagine crossing The New Yorker with Slate, and now you’re talking.
Away message @ 4:00pm, Today ::
I’m going to leave this online until I am certain that all people whose buddy list I am on have read this.
The world of AIM and online is a hugless, barren, and lonely place. If you want to do one something right now to improve your life, try this: close AIM, let email pile up, and turn off the computer. That’s all.
Breaking All 10 Commandments - And he does it before breakfast, too.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - I’ve been waiting for this for a long long time. I just may purchase. This is the most beautiful comic strip (taking beauty in many ways) that I have ever had the privilege of seeing.
Mykala didn’t really want me to take pictures. I’m happy I did (just a few).
Conan O’Brien ‘Interview’ - He’ll take over from Jay Leno in something like 2009 … this article asks the question ‘how will he do?’
People are usually a little more talkative and relaxed in the weight room on Fridays, taking their workouts a little slower and shooting the breeze for a while. Some actually do not work out at all, but simply stand with their hand on a machine and talk nonsense. I looked like I was doing nothing, but I was actually between sets, and a guy walked up to me.
These macro shots are always cool.
Haunted Portraits - These portraits (I think they are holographic) change from normal vintage picture to creepy creepy demonized versions of that same picture. Great for Halloween!
Cleaning out the email.
Alex,
I was dead but then I got better. Dying kind of sucked. It hurt a little and then it was just dark. You would think dark would be cool, but this dark just stayed and stayed and didn’t go away. I am really glad I got better, because being dead was really lame. I will be alive and in Amsterdam from tomorrow until mid-next week. When I get back, I will pack up and move back to Madison, so we NEED TO HANG OUT VERY VERY VERY VERY SOON, or else it won’t happen. I was hanging out with Yalda yesterday, and she mentioned that there was planning for a sort of end-of-the-summer type thing. She said I would need to come back on a weekend for this before classes start. Plan away, if you indeed are planning at all, and keep me informed. Talk to you later, have a good one.
Nils “Alive and Well” Espe
——- Original Message ——-
From: “Micek, Alexander J.” <*******@stthomas.edu>
Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 4:49 pm
Subject: RE: HEYYYYYNILS HAVE YOU DIED PLEASE WRITE BACK IF DEATH HAS NOT VISITED YOU.
SINCERELY,
CONCERNED IN WOODBURY——-Original Message——-
From: NILS ESPE [mailto:******@wisc.edu]
Sent: Sun 8/7/2005 8:35 PM
To: Micek, Alexander J.
Subject: HEYYYYY
Invsible Shield - The first gadget protection I’ve seen that carries products for my cell phone (Moto V551), MP3 player (iPod 4g 20 gig), and my camera (Canon Digital Rebel EOS 300). I’d have bought this for my camera had I known about it. That’s ok, the current protector on there gets the job done.
Apple upcoming product speculation is mind-numbingly boring. Why am I interested, then, you ask? I am a perfectionist, and Apples are made by perfectionists. The fit and finish of the cases combined with the rendering of the text on the screen (literally 50% more readable than Windows XP’s text), is enough to sell the machines (for me). It is obvious that Apple is a company guided by people with ridiculously high expectations for the Apple Computer experience.
Quick hacker interview - The FBI sure seems worthless when it comes to computer related crimes - I hope they can get up to speed or at least outsource some experts.
A lot like the cover of George Winston’s Autumn.
8-Bit video game art - Some very very interesting and eclectic art with one them: 8-bit video games.
Hunter shoots big cat in Australia - Here’s the catch: big cats aren’t even supposed to exist in Australia.
White hat - A hacker who hacks for good and not evil. Interesting write up.
I found out what my scheduling slash time management problem is.
1.) I need to organize my to-do lists into discrete blocks of time. This will allow me to actually get everything done.
2.) In order to help with part one: I need to reduce perfectionism. My problem has been thinking “I can’t do this to the N’th degree of perfection, so I’ll do something lower on the priority list” … this leads to a rough cycle of anger at myself for not completing tasks, and further reduction in productivity.
FileZilla FTP - The FTP client I should have been using this whole time (ie 5 years with an outdated copy of WS_FTP).
The Cretin bathroom has four toilets: 2 urinals and 2 stalls. In the years past, people doing urinal-type activities in the stalls was not a problem: people flushed. This year, however, has been different. I noticed an unusual change: somebody was following the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” policy. While this can “reduce your total household water usage by 20 - 25% if moderately applied” (source: 7th Generation), I sincerely doubt that the mystery mellower came from some water-starved desert area. Regardless, today I found out who was perpetrating this moderately smelly and unpleasant act.
Pocket book reader - This uses eInk, which can be read under sunlight very easily and doesn’t use any battery power unless the screen’s display is changed. Perfect for book reader, and the resolution is really really really high. These are the future.
Lovely picture, Mykala!
A better Alt Tab Task Switch - Upgrade your alt-tab experience with screenshots of what you are alt-tabbing into. Potentially great for those who do a lot of IM’ing.
I love Lands’ End’s new logo.
Best GT500 Mustang Ever - Eleanor, from Gone in 60 Seconds.
Mykala’s parents brought us back gormet s’mores from Napa.
Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse - About 4 years ago, in the midst of my troubled adolescence, my Dad recommended I read this book. I checked it out from the library, and got it to my desk. I never read it. I think I should.
Do you think people named Adam ever say “up and me!” in the morning?
Dinners are Chino are always fun. Here, we said goodbye to Tony, who left for Iraq for 18 months the weekend of this party.
CSS3 Multi Column - Holy crap. I will definitely definitely have to give this a try - multiple column layouts (they kind you see in a newspaper) are all too awesome and all to rare.
Handheld Ninetendo 64 - This is amazing - Ben Heck’s hobby is to squeeze full size consoles into handheld devices. His completed designs are neat, tidy, and professional.
Break Free TShirt - What a great image: a line of lemming men walking, but then a man trailing star dust rising above them with the words “Break Free.” If only it wasn’t $30.
Best FTP Server - What’s the nice thing about running an FTP server on your computer? You can access your files anywhere you are online. Great for last minute projects.
Things have been crazy moving Ryan and Mykala into their new apartment. Trips to Target, Ikea, Saver’s, have all been successful in furnishing their new digs. My first trip to Ikea was more overwhelming than I thought it would be, but I am particularly impressed with some of their items (100% virgin wool area rugs, for one). In the moving process, I’ve learned about steam cleaning (specifically, lime deposits from dried hard water are REALLY REALLY HARD and clog things up REALLY BADLY), old toilets, lead dust, water filtering, utilities, security, and hanging things on old walls. To that final point:
Cute picture of this goldfish.
Exploding python - This python ATE an alligator. Then it exploded. Classic animal news.
Here is an interesting fact you didn’t need to know that I learned in physiology: the placement of letters on our keyboards was actually created to slow typing speeds down back when typewriters used to get jammed up. See, typewriters have arms that reach up and smack the letter onto the page: if you get typing too fast, these arms will catch on one another and jam up the typewriter. So, the layout you are currently using was created to trip people up and get them to type more slowly. You know how they sold this new key layout? Look at the top row of keys on your “modern” computer keyboard. What’s the longest word you can spell? Typewriter. Coincidence? Nope. Mostly likely there to help salesmen sell the new typewriter key layout.
This is the coolest record I have ever seen. Frameable. Also, “trains and sewing machines” (from the song “Hide and Seek”) march around the outside.
Winchester Mystery House - Built continuously and randomly for 38 straight years by Sarah L. Winchester; she thought it was haunted.
Sometimes you follow a movie for years, eagerly anticipating its arrival, following the development of something you surely know will be wonderful. I certainly did that for Lord of the Rings, I first heard of its production by New Line when I saw a little sticker in Barnes and Nobles in 2001. I kept my ear to the ground for a long time, watching the development, hoping the movie would do justice to its book. It did. This review, however, is not of that movie. Nay. It is of a movie whose development I would have eagerly followed had I known about it: Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit.
Best free fonts - Very useful list of 20 quality free fonts. I can personally vouch for Blue Highway … and Lacuna looks awesome.
Cheaper telecom - Aha, looks like the combination of voice over IP technology and broadband can be cheaper than dial-up and phone service. Intriguing.
Honda Civic Si Road Test - Some good quotes:
” … this little hot rod proved itself to be the best car to ever wear the iconic Si badge.”
“Honda says it can seat five. Good luck with that.”
14 amazing historical books - View them online. DaVinci’s handwriting.
Googhoul - Find Halloween events in your area.
On the way to Khan’s, this Chinese noodle buffet thing where you assemble your dish and then watch them cook it. Very cool. Plus they had a big loud gong.
Edit: Picture taken by Mykala. :)
Fall: the time of year when the green life in trees explodes, painting the roads and rivers the brightest, most intense colors that deciduous life knows. It is with this exclamation point of yellow, orange, and red that the life of summer finally yields to oncoming winter. The annual metamorphosis of long days to short, leafy green to snow white, and blue skies to dirty gray is always a time of reflection for me. This year, though, as I watch the throbbing of life in the outdoor world turn a corner to a dormant state, I come upon a realization that is nothing earth-shattering, but nevertheless intensely personal: everything has its Fall.
Last night saw dinner at the India Palace in Roseville. Just a thought: if future Alex goes to the India Palace and is fortunate enough to check the website, do not get the chicken with spinach sauce. While it was flavorful in a leafy green vegetable sort of way, really all I could taste was the salt. This means, then, that I had salted chicken and rice for dinner. Note to self: you could whip that up for yourself, self. Thus, self, and anybody reading this looking for India Palace recommendations, when you eat chicken at the India Palace, go with the Chicken Josh! You’ll love the creamy yogurt based sauce and the selectable spice level; it all blends perfectly with the long grain white rice.
Mykala’s boot, by Mykala. I like the lights in the background.
Alternative to Windows Media Center - Not simple enough right now, but a very good contender if you don’t want to buy Media Center.
I love these Disney inspired Kleenex boxes.
Gary Benchley, Rock Star - Paul Ford of the impeccable FTrain writes a novel! Looks good to me.
Absinthe - Illegal Beverage until Recently - Here’s a strange story: I was recently looking up some chemical information, and stumbled upon a compound found in this absinthe alcoholic beverage. It noted that the beverage was illegal - I made a planner note to investigate and see what it was all about. Then, I accidentally find a great Wired article about it today.
Museum of International Folk Art - Incidentally, I heard about this museum on “The Splendid Table.” I’ve never really learned about folk art much and I think I have a skewed perception: this place would be cool to visit.
I’M REALLY BUSY AND ALL OF MY CLASSES HAVE ATTACKED ME.
LET’S HOPE I SURVIVE TO POST SOMETHING MORE MEANINGFUL LATER.
LOVE,
ALEX