02.01.10
reservoirs
I know the reservoirs could use the boost, but still: sigh.
01.10.10
Tweets for 2010-01-10
- pet peeve: "simple" script in <new language> gets unwieldy and I wind up re-doing it in Perl … maybe all I have is the 1 hammer? #
01.07.10
Tweets for 2010-01-07
- love my eyetv but the only API is AppleScript :( #
- if you had bit.ly preview, you would already know where that link goes … http://bit.ly/p7aq #
01.05.10
Tweets for 2010-01-05
- nice "leak:" http://bit.ly/6Bdo8v you forgot to make the CPU speed a half-integer multiple of the bus speed. #
- so it seems we are finally about to have new/proper owners in the downstairs unit. w00t! meeting them on sunday. #
01.04.10
Tweets for 2010-01-04
- you bring the sally saw http://bit.ly/6tKqC7, i'll bring the cauterizing agent #
01.03.10
Tweets for 2010-01-03
- hey! sfgate blog has a short profile of the street we live on: http://bit.ly/6LaZTw #
- just sealed all our windows with vanilla scented caulk. mmm vanilla + airplane glue = joy! i think i'll go out for a while. #
01.02.10
Tweets for 2010-01-02
- mark your calendars: i agree with the pope about something! http://bit.ly/88Qkea #
- got a growler of magnolia brewerey "cole porter" on my birthday. highly recommended! http://flic.kr/p/7syGmR #
09.07.09
birthers
Birthers & Truthers are, at least to me, coming to mean anyone on the far left or right who holds on to some sort of crazy conspiracy theory in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
One of the reasons I read a blog called Dispatches from TJICistan is that I find it both bracing in terms of an opposing point of view and a window into some of the crazier theories on the right of American politics.
We agree on not a few things, which is good, but one recent post seemed just a little too Birthy to be true.
The post alleges that the United Nations General Assembly named Fidel Castro the “World Hero of Solidarity”. Since far fewer than half the states with seats on the General Assembly are even nominally Socialist or Communist, that sounded rather surprising to me.
A little basic Googling indicates that all the smoke-blowing in the Birther-blogosphere leads back to a story in the “Latin American Herald Tribune”. One of the blogs that links to it alleges (actually, states as fact) that this publication is affiliated in some way with the International Herald Tribune. We’ll leave figuring out who and what the LAHT is for another time; let’s just take a look at the evidence at hand.
- there is no picture of the UN figure named (the President of the General Assembly) with Mr Castro
- the LAHT covers has Colombia and Venezuela government & tourism links as it’s left rail?
- the UN did not issue a press release on the subject
- an actual page at the UN site from last April seems to indicate that a speech was given in which Evo Morales was referred to as a ‘World Hero of Mother Earth”, but there is no mention of Fidel Casto on that page.
- none of the AP, the New York Times, or the Washington Post reported this story at all
In fact, the link map of this “story”, if that is what it is, is so circular that one wonders if the “LAHT” story/page was required at all.
Anyway, I hope TJIC amends or takes done the post, because it is based on a completely unverifiable information.
frugality
There is a fine line between frugality and cheapness and I had the good fortune to observe the father of two girls while I was shopping for stuff to organize my desk. Dad and the girls — very close in age and I’d guess in third and fourth grade — were shopping from what seemed to be a school-provided list. I stalked/followed them while they were shopping because I was so interested in what they were doing.
From what I overheard, Dad turned this in to a bit of a competition. He had offered them a prize of some kind to fulfill the list at the lowest possible cost. He accomplished a few things:
- minimize the out-of-pocket cost for what is essentially consumable stuff
- minimize conflict over wanting logo/branded merchandise (this generation’s Hello Kitty/Snoopy)
- got his kids to practice a little arithmetic
What he was probably not counting on was the ‘co-opetition’ that emerged: the girls, while he was distracted by shiny guy/gadget stuff, quietly conspired to pad their totals slightly to avoid the most egregiously generic supplies. In any case, I think Dad came out way ahead with his little scheme.
04.06.09
bedroom
After way too long living with a bunch of stuff stashed in the corner of the bedroom, we finally got around to laying down the rug, leveling the cabinets, securing them to the wall, and re-building the bed frame.
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- Bedroom, before …
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- Bedroom, partly stripped.
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- Piles in the living room.
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- Cabinets moved aside to lay down the rug
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- Jacquie shares her excitement over the new, cushy rug.
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- Detail of the cabinet leveling rig
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- Jacquie’s cabinet, now firmly affixed to the wall.
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- Paul re-assembles the freshly-painted bed, with supervision from Elena.
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- After. Ready for a rest!
It took almost the whole weekend. At least we are ready to add a few plants and some art.