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| Monday, October 13th, 2008 |
markbernstein
|
3:51p |
Princess Bride meme Ganked from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) adelheid_p. When you see this, post in your own journal with your favorite quote from The Princess Bride. Preferably not "As you wish" or the Inigo Montoya speech. "Dead? I'm good with dead." (May not be exact - it's from the book, not the movie, and I haven't re-read the book in years. It's what Max says when Inigo tells him that Wesley is dead.) |
davidwilford
|
2:33p |
Hummingbirds
by Ann Iverson
Now five have come to dine
off the steady banquet of pink geranium;
the only sound is the whir of their wings.
Soon it will be autumn.
One is a window washer on scaffolding;
it pauses as though to sigh
before cleaning the next section.
But something, as always,
will abruptly reel up the ropes of summer. |
invader_tak_1
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1:36p |
screwups and sales Screwed up this morning, my worker was piling my pills up on my desk while I was taking them and Ended up taking a triple dose of estrogen. I have since taken a LOT of xanax to numb the consequences. I'm gonna be in GREAT shape this evening. :/ I'm also selling a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop 1.6 Ghz P4 2 Gig of ram, 60 gig hard drive. DVD burner, Ati x300 graphics and a 1600x1200 screen. $200 will provide with Windows or Linux. For another 20 I'll kick in the spare drive and drive tray and you can have both. Going to put it on Craigslist this evening after the sedatives wear off. If anyones interested leave me a message.  Current Mood:  blah |
tigertoy
|
1:36p |
Book review: Dawn Today's book review is Dawn by Octavia E. Butler. This is the first book in a trilogy, and I actually have it in an SF book club omnibus titled Xenogenesis. It does not come to a strong conclusion; I suspect it would be better to just read the whole trilogy at once, but I find that it's really not what I'm in the mood for right now. This book presents some genuinely interesting, truly alien aliens, and by having them interact with humans, tries to illuminate what really makes us human. Too many writers give us aliens who are entirely too similar to humans, both in their physical structure and in their psychology, to really be believable. Butler's Oankali are definitely not just humans with a couple of token oddities grafted on. The aliens themselves work pretty well for me. Unfortunately, I find too many things jarring about the interaction between the humans and the aliens to be able to sympathize well with the human characters. As a minor example that shouldn't be any sort of a spoiler, it is extremely difficult for the humans in the story to handle the idea that they're actually dealing with extraterrestrials. As someone who's been reading SF for just about as long as I've been reading at all, I find it hard to deal with a whole cohort of humans who never even consider the possibility that they're dealing with ETs and immediately reject it as crazy if it's suggested. I had such a hard time getting past my lack of identification with the human motives that I only started to care at all about the characters toward the end of the book. 6 out of 10. Some very interesting ideas, but it just doesn't click with me. ( plot summary ) |
ohiblather
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1:50p |
Cottage Thanksgiving visit plus more Snarkage 
Had a wonderful weekend at the cottage. And not just because of the gorgeous fall colour, either…I had a ton of fun hanging out with my sister-in-law’s kids. Jeff, sadly, had caught my cold and spent most of the weekend in bed. In addition to working on more Snarkface cards, I went hiking in the forest with the others…
Read the rest of this entry » Post/read Wordpress comments | Blatherings homepage |
lsanderson
|
12:39p |
10/13/08 Miwaukee and then Mpls!  |
davidwilford
|
12:25p |
Wow That Obama is leading now by *8* points in Missouri (and is tied with McCain among whites there, which greatly pleases me) and a Republican running for re-election to the U.S. House is runing this ad in Omaha, Nebraska is pretty amazing:  FYI, since Nebraska does allocate its Electoral College votes by congressional district instead of winner-take-all for the state, Obama has a shot at winning an EC vote in Nebraska, so for Terry to be running this ad clearly shows he's worried about his chances. |
starstraf
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11:51a |
Song lyric meme Set your music player on random List out the first line of each of the first ten songs. Skip instrumental songs (duh) and songs whose first line is in fact the title. Friends guess the songs. Guess as many as you can before you look at the other comments. 1. There were three in a tiny room. 2. Here name was Genine, and she was the queen 3. Too many miles there between us Too many kisses, nowhere to go 4. This ain't no disco, ain't no country club either (guessed first by blaizewind) 5. Walkin down and empty street in a city I don't know 6. Uptown, downtown 7. I've been disecting all the letters that you sent me 8. I heard there was a secret chord ( guessed first by bammba_m ) 9. Fantasies of violence, breaking bottles on the wall ( guessed first by tezliana) 10. Your purring like a kitten, makes me suspicious (Okay - some readers are going to have an unfair advantage) |
sdorn
|
12:43p |
Newly discovered superpowers/diseases, of the political sort Did anyone else notice that several of the presidential candidates this year (no longer running) had secret powers, which often becoming public at embarrassing times? Because the conditions were interfering with major life activities, maybe we should think of them as diseases that need names: - Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and Ron Paul: Hertzitis, or the tendency to speak at shrill frequencies at the drop of a hat, sometimes in the supersonic range beyond human hearing.
- Fred Thompson: Narcologopolis, or the power to participate in candidate debates while asleep.
- John Edwards: Polynarcissum, which should need no explanation.
- Rudy Giuliani: Floridakinesthaesia, or the power to feel that even if you ignored all the other states, Florida could still move the nomination to you
- Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson: Walter Mondale Syndrome, also known as perspicutum, or the tendency to become invisible.
- Mike Huckabee: Gomer Pyle rictus, or having a permanent smile and folksy attitude regardless of the circumstances.
- Mitt Romney: post-Gephardization stress disorder (PGSD), or an inability to function after reversing most of your previous policy postures
- Hillary Clinton: Clinton fatigue syndrome, or being tired of having Bill sabotage virtually everything.
|
elisem
|
11:40a |
that interview of Neil from a while back I just reread the Neil Gaiman interview on Inkwell from last February, and a surprising number of smiles came. The combination of Neil and the Vertigo Tarot was a good one, I think, even though it did produce an interview-by-mosaic. |
mplsvala
|
11:38a |
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ericcoleman
|
11:20a |
Last week's sort of quiz I forgot to tell folks the answer. I had 2 1/2 correct answers. Everyone on my Halloween meme that I posted last week were at Archon. The folks who get a button are bammba_m, spiritedance and with a half point khadaganYou can now go back and read the comments and see Bamm mess with me without even trying ... really, she wasn't even trying, she just wasn't getting the emailed responses so she kept guessing. |
allisona
|
12:11p |
Canoeing and a QUESTION On our way from my parents' place in Hamilton to John's sister's place in Caledon yesterday for Thanksgiving visits John and I decided to stop and hike at the Rockwood Conservation Area. We've been there before and it's a beautiful area. In fact, Urban Tapestry has been there before performing at an SCA event with Mark Osier. The trails start on the Eramosa River, which winds its way peacefully through the park. The one thing that really struck me today, though, as we started walking, was how many canoes were out on the water. And out-of-the-blue it struck me with the thought, "I want to learn to canoe.". (Photo {here and beyond the cut}: Canoeists at Rockwood Conservation Area.) ( Learning to canoe? ) |
ericcoleman
|
10:54a |
The Most Important Question Of The Day Poll #1277803
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllIt's important, really HOW have I not done this one yet? Geeze ... |
pied_piper70
|
10:26a |
Adoramus te...
Speaking of advanced notice, I should let y'all know that my Concert Choir will be performing along with several other U of MN ensembles at the Collage Concert this Saturday Oct. 18 at 7:30pm in the Ted Mann Auditorium...
It's a pretty interesting concert concept: All the ensembles perform a piece and then the lights go up on another ensemble in another part of the auditorium, with no breaks...Just continuous music...Should be pretty cool...
It's free admission!
------------------------------------
Finished my 5-page paper for Computer Music I, due on Thursday...I wrote an analysis of Louis and Bebe Barron's main theme to Forbidden Planet, the first electronic soundtrack ever produced (1956)...Electronic music and sci-fi...Two great tastes that go great together...Had much more fun writing this paper than the last one...
I've got a test tomorrow in Music History, a test on microphones tomorrow in Computer Music, homework due for Music Theory on Wednesday, need to practice my etude for Guitar lesson on Wednesday, need to finish a recording exercise for Computer Music due Thursday, and need to find a tuxedo for my concert on Saturday...
This is me, being busy...Wheeee!!!! |
pied_piper70
|
10:11a |
Let Me Be Who I Am...And Let Me Kick Out the Jam...
Friday, I played "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" at Guitar Studio class...Or more correctly, I attempted to play "Jesu"...You know that scene in 8 Mile, where Eminem chokes it at the very beginning? Well, that was me...I've had this thing memorized for over a month and the one time I play it in front of my peers, in the spotlight on the stage, I completely blanked out after the first three measures...Gak! After several attempts, I went and got the music, but still didn't play well cuz I was tense and frustrated...
Directly afterward, I went down to the practice rooms and played it perfectly...It's definitely a psychological thing that I'll just have to get through...
--------------------------------------
However, my show at the Weisman Museum KICKED MAJOR ASS!! It was probably one of the best shows I've ever played with my looping pedal...Aside from the occasional glitch and an older slightly noisy amp supplied by the Museum, all my efx worked and I felt very relaxed and confident...Because the gallery room I was playing had 40 feet ceilings, I had no need for reverb at all, and had to knock my echo efx down a notch...
Got a really positive reaction from the crowd...It was pretty large crowd, too, despite Hwy 94 being mostly shut down...The other two performing students were really interesting as well...The party in the main gallery was off the hook: free food, free alcohol, spooky lights, trippy music by the visiting artist R. Luke DuBois, DJ'd dance music afterwards...All in all, it was a great time...Even schmoozed with my Computer Music professor Doug Geers, which was pretty cool...
I know that that between 10 million events going on and the closing of Hwy 94, most of you couldn't be there...but I'm sorry you guys missed a cool event (and I'm sorry I missed a few cool events myself)...Maybe I'll have more advanced notice next time... |
ericcoleman
|
10:08a |
It's Quiz Time !!! Here are the rules. Answer only one quote.If you answer more than one I will delete your reply. If there are quotes still not answered the next day I will open it up to any and all guesses. Most weeks there is a theme. If there is not a theme I will tell you. The theme is open to guess even if you have guessed a quote. The theme has been guessed by gamerchick, it is SF TV showsDon't use a search engine (like this can be enforced). If you don't know, you don't know. Maybe next week you will. You must either be signed into LJ, or say who you are (in case you are a friend of mine who is not on LJ). All anonymous answers will be deleted (hey, I'm obsessive, I want to know who guesses these). Oh, and don't guess as a reply to someone else's guess, on a busy day that makes it hard for me to spot your answer. 01 What if you could find brand new worlds right here on Earth? jcw_da_dmg tells us this is from Sliders02 You're looking at the future, Mr Grossman, people translated as data. controuble tells us this is from Max Headroom03 Look at it this way, you're one step ahead of Lois Lane. She never found out who Clark Kent really was. billroper tells us this is from The Greatest American Hero04 Darn bammba_m tells us this is from Firefly05 Oh Boy shsilver tells us this is from Quantum Leap06 Judge for yourself its believability, and then try to tell yourself, wherever you may be, it couldn't happen here. 07 Could somebody please call "116"? noyoki_sato tells us this is from Third Rock From The Sun08 Probably something I ate. gamerchick tells us this is from The X-Files09 Never look too deep into the mind of a lawyer. 10 Willies. She gives you the willies. rsmit212 tells us this is from Farscape11 Hello New York! archiver_tim tells us this is from Heroes12 Look, man, I ain't ever messed with stuff like this before and I'd just as soon not get my hands blowed off, okay? animator55 tells us this is from V |
laurel
|
10:01a |
mostly offline for a while I am having really bad RSI issues in my right hand, wrist, & arm. Really can't use the computer for more than a minute or two without pretty bad discomfort. (That PSA was something I wrote earlier in the weekend, just posted it now. Was having difficulties then and probably shouldn't have tackled it, but I feel it's very important stuff and a PSA on this topic once every year or so seems a good idea. Especially timely right now.) I probably shouldn't do tv picks for a while and that's killing me. I want to finish up an email to send to members of Convivial and I need to make signs for the con, but am going to have to take it very slow. Did make badges last night-- yay! Will be at least glancing at email, but likely won't respond unless absolutely necessary. May not be reading LJ or even twitter. Won't be on IM except if I have to. If you know my number and want to discuss Convivial stuff or other things, caling might be better than email right now. I hope those of you that can are coming to Convivial 3 this weekend. We've been working very hard on it. There's a schedule of events online and lots more info. Still possible to register online if you want to make things easier for everyone (than registering at the door) as I haven't gotten around to taking down the paypal button. It's not too late for members to reply to the survey I sent out either, though we've done most of our shopping for supplies by now. |
laurel
|
9:45a |
PSA People with untreated sleep apnea are 2 to 4 times more likely to have a stroke than those who don't have sleep apnea or who are successfully treating their sleep apnea. It's double the risk of other known risk factors for stroke (like hypertension, diabetes, everything else). Folks with untreated sleep apnea also have a much greater risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and high blood pressure. Symptoms of sleep apnea may include excessive daytime sleepiness, restless sleep, loud snoring, falling asleep during the day, morning headaches, trouble concentrating, irritability, forgetfulness, mood or behavior changes, weight gain, anxiety, and depression. If you think you might have sleep apnea, please talk to your doctor about it. Talking about it doesn't automatically mean you need a sleep study; there are some questions they'll likely want you to answer. There are also some simpler tests than a sleep study that can be done for the initial screening. And if you need a sleep study, they really aren't that bad-- I am darn near phobic about being watched by anyone while I sleep and was scared to death of having a sleep study, but in the end it was really easy and I'm so glad I did it (and hate that it took me so long). If you have sleep apnea, please treat it. Stick with the treatment. It can be difficult to find the right sleep mask or other treatment, but the technology is constantly improving. There's some amazing stuff out there now. Most sleep apnea is treated with a CPAP and a sleep mask, but some cases are treated with surgery or other things. If you use a CPAP (or BiPAP), even once you find a mask you like, it's important to make sure your gear is working properly and replaced as often as it should be. It's also good to follow-up with doctors if you think maybe the treatment isn't working as well as it could. Your pressure settings or mask may need to be adjusted, you may even need a new sleep study. These days there are CPAP machines that can tell you how well they're working for you-- it's good to see those stats and know the machine and mask are doing their job and you're having as few apneas as possible during the night. If anyone ever has any questions about this stuff, please don't hesitate to talk to me about it. I know a lot about the masks and CPAP machines that are available. I read up on this stuff all the time. I can point you to some useful resources; I can also answer questions about my sleep study, diagnosis, and treatment. I purchase most of my equipment from CPAP.com (and their sister site BillMyInsurance.com) and I've found the CPAPTalk forum to be an invaluable source of info, links to resources, etc. |
pegkerr
|
9:28a |
How Can We Help Beat Poverty? [Ask The Readers] Saw this at Lifehacker.com [ ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) lifehacker_rss]: This Wednesday, October 15th, is Blog Action Day—which means thousands of weblogs across the internet (including this one) will post about a single topic: poverty. The purpose is to raise awareness about the interesting ways people from all walks of life are helping those in need. We're putting together our Blog Action Day feature story now, and we need your help. What experiences do you have in fighting poverty? What are your favorite charities, volunteer opportunities, or projects out there related to poverty? Tell us your story in the comments—and when you can, include links, images, videos, anything you've got—and we'll feature our favorites here on Wednesday. If you're a blogger, be sure to sign up to take part in Blog Action Day. Thanks in advance for your help and participation.
Blog Action Day 2008 |
davidwilford
|
8:57a |
Famous last words?
It's being reported that John McCain has added a new line to his campaign stump speech: "We've got them just where we want them."
"We've got them where we want them! Bugler! Sound the Charge!" Gen. G.A. Custer, Little Big Horn |
freeimprov
|
8:38a |
The ? Talk Express
McCain's "Straight Talk Express", given his utter lack of "straight talk" lately, has been the butt of many amusing joke names. A while back, I thought I had the best one I'd seen with the "Straight Face Express", but given the, um, rancorous atmosphere at the recent McCain/Palin rallies, someone came up with a new one... the "Hate Talk Express".
I really do hope the Secret Service is following through correctly on the racial slurs and death threats against Obama getting shouted from the crowd at McCain/Palin rallies. |
davidwilford
|
8:09a |
Sa-weeet! John Quiggin has some surprising news this morning: Krugman wins Economics Nobel
Paul Krugman has been awarded the 2008 Nobel prize for economics[1]. The rules of the prize, honoured more in the breach than in the observance in economics, say that it is supposed to be given for a specific discovery, and Krugman is cited for his groundbreaking work in the economics of location done from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.
The reality, though, is that economics prizes are awarded for careers. Krugman’s early work put him on the list of likely Nobelists, but his career took an unusual turn around the time of the 2000 election campaign. While he has still been active in academic research, Krugman’s career for the last eight years or more has been dominated by his struggle (initially a very lonely one) against the lies of the Bush Administration, its supporters and enablers. Undoubtedly, the award of the prize in this of all years, reflects an appreciation of this work on behalf of truth in economics and politics more generally.[2]
We at CT have a more parochial reason for cheering this outcome. Paul has generously agreed to take a part in a CT seminar on the work of Charles Stross, which should be published in the next month or so. Without giving too much away, there are some Nobel-related insights in his contribution.
fn1. Strictly speaking, the Bank of Sweden prize in Economic Sciences in honour of Alfred Nobel, or something like that.
fn2. Doubtless, Republicans will complain about being implicitly identified, yet again, as enemies of science and of truth. But they’ve made their bed and must lie in it (in both senses of the word). Niiice write up, and to think that Paul Krugman is a Nobel winner and a skiffy fan is absolutely priceless... :-))) |
jrittenhouse
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8:03a |
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jrittenhouse
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7:58a |
A clarifying note: Susan was reading my journal and noted an inaccuracy in something I said about her and the tomato crop; she said something like: “I knew that those tomatoes would boil down that much - we just needed more tomatoes.” I think what I was thinking of was some statements of hers earlier on that we didn’t need to buy any extra tomatoes, because we’d have plenty on hand from the stuff the plants were producing. Turned out that that wasn’t quite so. In any event, we intend to have a bigger crop next year…
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