It's been a long week
Posted September 3, 2010 at 05:19 EDT under daily.



I dunno why, but the Daily Drop Cap tickles me to no end.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Yes, we want you to wear this in public
Posted August 22, 2010 at 10:28 EDT under photos.
Eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eee!
Posted August 21, 2010 at 04:33 EDT under photos.
Here is my new toy; an Asus Eee PC 1015PED.
It actually runs Adobe Lightroom well enough for me to import this photo via the built-in SD card reader, tweak it a little, and export it to 23.
It's a nice little box, though I might lose a little hacker cred by keeping Windows on it.
That's right: putting Linux or OpenBSD on it is too inconvenient, so I'm going to opt for keeping the shipped Windows 7 Starter on it, and I might update that to Windows 7 Pro.
Take that, open-source Linux fan-boys!
Actually, since this is supposed to be a highly portable hacking and photo workstation, I have to run some sort of Windows in order to have Lightroom. I might dual-boot OpenBSD eventually, but in order for it to be a useful tool it needs to run Windows or OS X (and I'm not about to go the hackintosh route.)
The only gotcha is that, unlike OS X, getting proper dev tools onto it will be tricky. I really hate, hate, hate the Cygwin tools, so I will have to get some other POSIX toolkit onto it next week. Then I somehow have to get the Gnu toolchain on it, which should be all sorts of fun.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
This is a radical feminist daddy-blog
Posted August 18, 2010 at 11:31 EDT under photos.
These berries look poisonous
Posted August 6, 2010 at 11:44 EDT under photos.
You see tomatoes. I see all that water I carried through the house to the patio this summer.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
It's always summer in that bachelor apartment kitchen in '74
Posted August 3, 2010 at 01:01 EDT under daily.
Ok, so this one is probably going to get confusing, so hang onto something.
During my usual lunchtime scan through my Google Reader items, I ran across this reference on Metafilter to Helen Reddy's 1974 hit Angie Baby.
Creepy song, yes, but even creepier is that I did not recognize it.
Well, so what, right? Who has room in their head for all the commercial hits from 1974? Answer: I do.
Well, room for most of them, anyway.
See, I was but a young sprog in '74, but old enough to listen to the radio and parrot everything back that I heard. And the radio (either the big stereo hi-fi from Eatons in the living room that got that new FM radio everyone was talking about, or the little AM set in the kitchen) was on pretty much my entire waking life back then.
In fact, I remember nearly every single one of the Billboard Top 100 hit songs from 1974 just from reading them, and I'm sure the rest would come if I heard the first few bars. That is to say, I would not necessarily have known who a particular artist was I was listening too, or even the name of the song (though I did know who Three Dog Night and Grand Funk Railroad were, for example) but I would have memory of the tune and words.
Commercial radio really wore some grooves into my young mind back in the 70s. Those are neuron connections that were set early and often, and rarely have found a useful task since.
At any rate, Angie Baby
is not on this list from 1974, so I have no idea what is going on there. Maybe it never made the Billboard Top 100 for that year, and this may explain why I have no memory at all of this particular song. Though, my young mind does remember Helen Reddy from 70s variety shows (which is a subject for another day.)
The world needs more Lerts
Posted August 1, 2010 at 02:30 EDT under photos.
A. just back from lunch in uptown, wearing her new purple dress!![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Stop staring at my numbers, mister
Posted July 26, 2010 at 12:07 EDT under photos.
For some reason, this is shaping up to be my most-viewed photo on my 23 account:
Really, this is a perfectly innocent image of a too-large t-shirt of mine that has been cleverly modified into a nursing pyjama top for ecogrrl by ecogrrl's mom. I think it's a pretty nice job.
I'm wearing a matching (but unmodified) 23 t-shirt at work today, but I doubt there would be quite as much interest in a photo of that.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Things a week of fatherhood has taught me
Posted July 19, 2010 at 12:36 EDT under daily.
Things a week of fatherhood has taught me.
- Babies are not top-rack dishwasher safe, regardless of any such statements on the tag or packaging it arrived in.
Receiving blankets
are for primarily receiving a variety of effluvia.- Effluvia come in a large variety, and in great amounts; you will need approximately 1000 square meters of receiving blankets to contain it.
- If you believe the internets, a newborn is less a human child, and more an eigeninfant system in perfect equilibrium poised to fall into a non-ideal chaotic state at the slightest provocation. Maintaining the health of your child is, apparently, like balancing a cannon-ball on the apex of a dome.
- If you are the sort of person that feels sick and groggy after a short nap, having a child will cure you of this. You will feel sick and groggy all the time, not just after a daytime nap.
- Blogging, and other non-baby-related tasks, are often cut short because of a sudden need to
Hey, Daddy-O
Posted July 9, 2010 at 12:22 EDT under photos.
Oh, by the way, I'm a father. Did I forget to mention that we were pregnant?
Of course, now that someone can call me dad
un-ironically, my entire approach to this web site will have to change. Sorry about all the swearing and frothing political rants.
Kidding! Now I have the best reason of all to point out how stupid everything is!
However, mother and daughter are doing fine, though a bit tired from the ordeal. Shout out to Genesis Midwives for helping make sure the whole event went as easy as possible, and smoothing out the bumps.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Charlie Angus for Prime Minister
Posted July 6, 2010 at 03:20 EDT under news.
As I've said before, I come from a long line of social democrats. This means that I often find myself aligned with many of the approaches to governance taken by moderate political parties like the NDP.
For example, take this nuanced and measured response to bill C-32, the disastrous anti-copyright bill that the Fake Conservative Party of Canada is hanging its political hat on.
This is an example of a case where the slippery and absurd notion of left
and right
make no sense.
Angus is taking a reasoned and informed approach to the problem of how Canada aligns itself with well-established international law regarding intellectual property in order to critique flawed thinking.
Our Lack of Culture Minister, on the other hand, appears to be a simple ideologue who equates anything except resounding applause for this terrible bill as extremism.
I'm sure the irony that The Fake Conservative Party of Canada itself seems to be taking the most extreme position on Canadian copyright reform is lost on him.
This is to be expected, I suppose; delicious, delicious irony is traditionally the tool of artists, and The Fake Conservative Party of Canada seems to be hell-bent on crushing the remaining bits of Canadian Culture under some ridiculous and extreme digital lock measures.
Seriously, how bad does this shitty government have to get before we chase their asses out of parliament?![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Sharron Angle is a douchebag
Posted July 2, 2010 at 11:18 EDT under news.
Sharron Angle is a douchebag.
If my language offends you, rest assured that was the entire point. I find the mere existence of Ms. Angle offensive, so you can call this one even if it makes you feel better.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Shout out to my homies in Edwinase
Posted June 22, 2010 at 11:17 EDT under news.
Ghana is leading Group D! Go Black Stars!

Ahem, well. I'm not much of a footie fan, and as far as I can tell, the more popular and international a sport is the more corrupt it becomes. Still, good on Ghana for doing so well in the opening rounds.
The next match is against Germany, who probably have more to lose and seem to be struggling this World Cup (based on what little I know about football) so I predict if Ghana stays loose and plays well in their own end they should either fight to a draw or hand Germany their second loss.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
Here is a picture of Mohammed
Posted May 20, 2010 at 11:50 EDT under news.
Apropos of this, here is my contribution:
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Consider this an incendiary political statement intended to offend some delicate sensibilities
Posted May 18, 2010 at 12:19 EDT under news.
Your Favourite Movie Sucks
Posted April 18, 2010 at 12:03 EDT under daily.
Yes, yes. Avatar and Kick-Ass both suck, and are symptoms of a dying culture.
Can we go back to ignoring the wasteland of late-modern English-speaking popular culture now?![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
The whole world is made of metadata
Posted April 9, 2010 at 07:03 EDT under daily.
While I'm tinkering with the site, here's a picture of a standing cat.
No, not really. Here's the Weekly Roundup:
- My RSS had standing cats in it. Yours? The world is made of metadata (did you see that link?)
- Spent more than a few days herding
testenvs
and reading logs, and doing a lot of old-fashioned collective problem solving in this business we call Tech. - We gave the bread robot a few turns churning out good-as-storebought loaves with the occasional stand-outs.
- Cooked An Entire Raw Ham! That thing was tremendous and raw and actually pretty good once cooked low-and-slow, then trimmed and glazed. Well, then plenty of left-overs for a week. Guess what's for dinner?
So, here we are, internets: another Friday night (locale adjusted.) I've got a bourbon-on-ice close to hand (thanks @doc_hatter!) and I'm just about to have a little dinner break from the hustle and bustle of this modern life.
Imma catch a game on the TV, and maybe catch up with y'all tomorrow.
Happy Important Bunny Day
Posted April 4, 2010 at 09:22 EDT under daily.
You know what I haven't been doing a lot of?
Anything.
No photography. No climbing (though I just have to make time for that, as @fivemagicbeans has been trying to get us deadbeats out for weeks now.)
At least I got the bike out of storage this weekend, thought most of my riding has been commuting to work. On top of that, I've been working odd hours. Odd, as in 4AM in the morning. Don't ask.
We cooked a whole raw ham, which was a lot more involved than I expected. It turned out pretty good, and we have sandwich meat for days. Which is why I'm making bread. Or, rather, the bread machine is making bread. But still.
Maybe I'll get me a bourbon and look for a hockey game.
Photogeekery
Posted March 24, 2010 at 07:12 EDT under photos.
Here is a before/after picture showing the new noise reduction and sharpening capabilities in the latest Lightroom 3 beta.
View full-sized to get an idea of how awesome this is. I mean, who cares about the actual photo. Look at how the colour and luminance noise has disappeared, even after the image has been captured in a screenshot and converted to JPEG!
You have no idea how much this makes me squeal like a little girl.![Jump to top of page [Jump to top]](/images/seal.gif)
((x-3)^2+(y-4+sqrt(y^2-8y+16))^2)^2((x-3)^2+(y-2)^2)+(y^2-6y+8+sqrt(y^4-12y^3+52y^2-96y+64))^2=0
Posted March 14, 2010 at 05:46 EDT under web.
((y-(1/2)x-2)^2+|x-2|+|x-4|-2)^2((y+(1/2)x-4)^2+|x-2|+|x-4|-2)^2(x-5)^2((y-2)^2+|x-5|+|x-7|-2)^2 (y+2x-20)^2(y-2x+16)^2(x-11)^2((y+(1/4)x-(27/4))^2+|x-11|+|x-13|-2)^2((y-(1/8)x-(15/8))^2+|x-11|+|x-13|-2)^2 ((y+(5/8)x-(81/8))^2+|x-11|+|x-13|-2)^2(x-14)^2(y+2x-32)^2(y-2x+28)^2(x-16)^2(x-17)^2(y+x-21)^2(x-19)^2 (x-20)^2((y-(1/2)x+7)^2+|x-20|+|x-22|-2)^2((y+(1/2)x-13)^2+|x-20|+|x-22|-2)^2(y-3-|x-24|)^2 ((x-24)^2+(y-3+sqrt(y^2-6y+9))^2)^2((y-(1/2)x+12)^2+|x-28|+|x-30|-2)^2((y-3)^2+|x-28|+|x-30|-2)^2 ((y-(1/2)x+11)^2+|x-28|+|x-30|-2)^2(y-2x+60)^2(y+2x-68)^2((y-3)^2+|x-(63/2)|+|x-(65/2)|-1)^2(y-3-|x-35|)^2 ((x-35)^2+(y-3+sqrt(y^2-6y+9))^2)^2(x-39)^2((y+(1/4)x-(55/4))^2+|x-39|+|x-41|-2)^2((y-(1/8)x+(13/8))^2+|x-39|+|x-41|-2)^2 ((y+(5/8)x-(221/8))^2+|x-39|+|x-41|-2)^2(x-42)^2((y-2)^2+|x-42|+|x-44|-2)^2((y-3)^2+|x-42|+|x-43|-1)^2 ((y-4)^2+|x-42|+|x-44|-2)^2(x-45)^2((y-2)^2+|x-45|+|x-47|-2)^2(y-2x+94)^2(y+2x-102)^2 ((y-3)^2+|x-(97/2)|+|x-(99/2)|-1)^2((y-3)^2-(x-52)^2)^2((x-55)^2+(y-4+sqrt(y^2-8y+16))^2)^2((x-55)^2+(y-2)^2) +(y^2-6y+8+sqrt(y^4-12y^3+52y^2-96y+64))^2=0
Finding Ada
Posted March 14, 2010 at 10:42 EDT under news.
Don't forget about Ada Lovelace Day 2010, which is a world-wide internet event happening on March 24.
Go over to Finding Ada and pledge to write, make a video, paint a picture, draw a comic or whatever you usually do on on your blog, and talk about women and technology.
Camera porn
Posted February 26, 2010 at 09:41 EST under daily.
By Crom, I want to afford one of these one day:
![[Leica M9]](/images/blog_entries/leica_m9.jpg)
@(O_o)@
Posted February 24, 2010 at 03:00 EST under daily.
Your daily monkey, ASCII style.
.oOOOOOo. .oO .oOOOo. Oo. .oOOOOOo. .O o. .O .O o. o. .O o. O .oOoO' o O O o o O .oOoO' o o O o O o o O O o O o O O o O O' O O o .oOo. o O o O O' o `OoO'oO' o o O O o O o `OoO'oO' O O `o O' o O o O `o o' `o `OoooO' `OoO' O' `o o' `OoooO' `Oo ooooooooo oO' `OoooO'
27. Dry
Posted February 22, 2010 at 12:48 EST under photos.
There is something wrong with this drink.
