Mon, 31 Oct 2005
Quick Chicago Trip
I went to Chicago this weekend to visit
I put up some pics but I really didn't take as many as I thought I had. Unfortunately, they're all not as interesting as the one of Batgirl and SpiderWoman. I was able to teach Esme to stick out her tongue and make a heavy-metal salute, but I need a faster camera to catch her in action.
I'll definitely go back there one day- but I'll make sure I go in the spring, summer or fall. The stories I heard about bundling up
Thu, 27 Oct 2005
Kinky!
Check out who my mom got to meet. Adam and I went to his parents's summer camp long ago. her email-
In case you received the photo I sent today.....Dad and I went to his downtown Rotary meeting....Dad rarely goes except he got notice that Kinky was coming and he invited me. I took my camera and Dad pointed me and told me to go say hello.....after much hesitation I did....he was very gentlemanly....stood and shook hands. I told him that our sons had gone to Echo Hill and he smiled and said "Really"....etc....I said he could count on several Schwartzman votes.27 Oct 17:52 | /general | 0 comment(s)
He said the important thing to him was that young people saw the importance of voting and returned to being interested in voting and who was voting, etc.
He was a good speaker....very funny and irreverent.....in a room filled with conservative, Republican, predominantly Anglo men.....A friend of Alfred's left saying to Alfred that he wouldn't stay in a room with anyone who didn't remove his hat for the Pledge. Then, I heard a couple of Women on the way out criticize the club for even inviting him. They must not have heard that all major candidates are always invited....
He also concluded by reading his wonderful column that I sent both Adam and Kenneth called "The Hummingbird Man" which is about his parents...
Mon, 24 Oct 2005
Weekend Update
I put up some pics from Saturday night on the pics section. There's a set of pics from a happy hour that Jodi organized, and some pics from the party at Paul and Stef's earlier that evening which was a grape stomp and harvest dinner party. I'll add more detail about Paul's event because I've already gotten some questions about what we were doing exactly. I'll try to get to that by Thursday. Today was a busy day at work. 24 Oct 21:03 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 20 Oct 2005
Sahara - ***
I'm way behind in my movie "reviews". I finally watched Sahara though and wanted to post something. Maybe I should wait until I have more time to write, but here's what I think in a nutshell.
I read The Clive Cussler book Sahara first. I hadn't heard of him, but Kevin H. and I were talking about watches over cigars one night. He told me about the Doxa Diver and the book tie in(s). After that, I picked up a bunch of used books at Green Apple, including a few Cussler books. They're highly entertaining. The watch talk continued separately as it always does over Yahoo! IM and emails (including a flurry of exchanges with Cory S and Kevin H regarding dive watches, my being a moron for still not buying one, timezone.com, panerai and the Seiko 6138 and 6139. But that's another blog story/post for another day. The point is that I feel I should be schizo for the movie review. Had I not read the book, I would've given the movie 3 or 4 stars. And if I were one of those hardcore Cussler fanboys from teh intarweb, I would have given it 0 stars. But I'm in the middle and I'm more objective. Sahara's not the best movie, but it's highly entertaining. It's a bit formulaic and you can kind of tell where the movie's going. But I thought it was filmed well and the pace really keeps things moving. That said, I know how greatly the book differs (don't read this part Kevin/Lisa). And I mean it differs a lot. Once I saw the movie, I understood why the ever-fussy Cussler sued the production group over the script. There are huge differences in the plot, the setup and story. But you know what? To be fair, so what? There's no way you could include everything from the book into the film. The Civil War story line would've taken so much screentime it would've left the film as a "Lincoln Lived, but in Africa! OMGLOLWTF?!?" story. The movie didn't include the ruthlessness of Kazim and Massarde. They tried, but it wasn't that clear. The movie left out the whole UN response team and army shootouts. But like I said- that's fine. There's so much in the book that you have to enjoy it on it's own. And because of that, you have to have the movie stand on it's own too. So I give it three magic asterisks. One each for Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, and the lovely Penelope Cruz. Oh, and an honorable star for the guy who played Rudi (Rainn Wilson). I could see them doing another NUMA movie. It'd be a good flick. If you don't agree, go pick up some Cussler books, they're pretty fun.20 Oct 18:53 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Frontline
Frontline. Uggh. The name alone is enough to cause me to stop and think "something may not be right". The show starts and I hear the narrator's voice come on. Uggh. His voice causes fear. I hear his voice and pee the floor like that kid does when he hears Gary Sinise's voice in Ransom. Actually, that kid could've just been scared of the nutty Gibson. . . Anyway, you get my point. It's an intense show. I never intend to watch it, but somehow I'm flipping channels and I hear that voice.. . . And . . I . . can't . . . stop . . . watching . . .
Tuesday's episode was The Torture Question. The first ten minutes were enough to cause me to get an ulcer. By the fifteenth minute I was taking pepcid and stealing anti-depressants from the volvo-driving neighbors. Minute 20 found me on the floor in the fetal position drinking bourbon, popping pepcid, eating welbutrin like they're skittles and rocking myself back and forth while my arms are folded across my chest. By the end of the show I'm stunned and I am wondering how Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, John Yoo, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Scheuer, Col Pappas, Gen Sanchez and Gen Miller aren't in prison.
Use the links and watch the show online. Maybe I'm wrong. But we should be doing something about this. We're supposed to be the good guys. "Honor Bound. Defend Liberty." isn't just a slogan . . . .
Frontline and Veronica Mars. What an odd TV life I live. . . ahh, the wellbutrin's kicking in right about now. . .I gotta stop watching that show (no, not Veronica).
20 Oct 10:25 | /random | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 19 Oct 2005
SBC Sucks Pt2
Well, I was getting more and more nervous, so at 4 I called speakeasy.net to ask for a status. I figured if SBC blew me off last time at that time, it could've happened again, and I wanted my install coordinator to check. "They already came by," the tech told me over the phone. My heart sank and Mr. Swearingen was getting ready to come out. "But, they said they took care of everything, so we're good to go on Friday for the switchover." As they say on irc, omgwtfbbq?! I don't know when or how, but at some point SBC got out to my place, and managed to check the box (hidden in a hallway you need a key to get to from the front gate) and go on their merry way. No call, no doorbell, no need for the sign I had put on the front door telling the SBC techs which doorbell to ring and my backup phone numbers. I'm shocked. So the hard part's over. Next up- the speakeasy guys just set me up on their circuit/routes and that's it. Hrm, actually there is one more thing- I still have to call and cancel services with SBC/PacBell. But I know from various sites to triple check the cancellation and get names of their agents that you speak to, in addition to (paper) copies of their notice of cancellation. Apparently in CA (and other places), SBC has a habit of turning over information to collection agencies, regardless of the customer standing. Yuck 19 Oct 23:01 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
SBC Sucks
So I'm at home today waiting for the SBC/PacBell tech to come by to 'release' my line to me so I can switch service to Speakeasy.net. This is the second attempt at this. They were supposed to come by last week. But they didn't. I was furious. I couldn't stop cursing. I sounded like Al Swearingen for the
When you change service and go through the new service to get things done, SBC considers their calls as a certain status, like B2B or something. So they only communicate with the new service co, not with the resident. Basically this meant that my 'install coordinator' at speakeasy.net arranges things, which at first seems great.
But my install coordinator told me that SBC had arranged a date to come by (this was last week) so I should arrange to be there all day. Apparently SBC just makes a whole-day appointment, not a scheduled 3 hour window like other companies. This has something to do with the B2B status I believe.
So last week I was waiting and waiting all day for SBC to come by. At 4pm I finally call my install coordinator to ask what the deal was and why SBC's cutting it so close. So he calls his contacts at SBC. You know what they told him?
SBC said their tech came by at 3:20pm. Rang the doorbell, got no answer. Called the house phone assigned to the line, got no answer. Called the cell phone contact number on the order from speakeasy (my cell number) and got no answer or voicemail. The worst part- I was home all day. I even ordered a pizza from Pizza Orgasmica so I wouldn't be caught out at lunch if the techs came by. So I think SBC is a bunch of lying cocksuckers, as Al would say.
I'll update later if they come by . . . .
19 Oct 14:43 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
Mon, 17 Oct 2005
43folders.com tip
I found an entry on 43 Folders.com that I actually liked and use, or at least have started to use. The entry is here. I already had little timer apps in my systray on my home machine and installed one on my work laptop. I already feel slightly (the slightest bit) more productive. Well, at least more focused. "Focus? Bofus?" 17 Oct 18:09 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 13 Oct 2005
Procrastination Hack
I really liked this 'procrastination' hack on 43F. I have timer apps in my systray already, so this kind of makes it easy for me to try. I'll see if it makes me more productive in the late afternoons when I'm experiencing the sugarless blood coma effect. 13 Oct 11:58 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 12 Oct 2005
K3B on FC3
My stupid dvd burner software kept crashing in linux. I finally figured out what to change. The stupid preferences in Gnome need to be set to not auto-mount any media that's loaded. That's it. Uggh. So if you're running K3B on FC3, and you're getting this kind of error -then check your preferences if everything else seems to be fine:
/usr/bin/mkisofs: Connection reset by peer. cannot fwrite 32768*1In other news. . . Ubuntu Linux is using Zoomerang.com for an OSDL survey. Cool. Although I would've designed the survey a bit differently. . . . but that's just because I've been paying more attention to online surveys lately. 12 Oct 22:56 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
or:
:-( unable to WRITE@LBA=43ce0h: Input/output error
Follow Up
I left the note in the neighbor's mailbox in the slot in their door. And the house looks like the neighbors are still out of town. The dog barked most of the early evening too. But it did not bark from 2-4am, or I finally was able to sleep through it. When I left early this morning, I saw a car in their driveway, so I think whomever is staying there got the note, and kept the dog inside. Hopefully . . . 12 Oct 17:00 | /general | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 11 Oct 2005
No Sleep
I like dogs. I like my neighbor's dog. It's a cute dog. It's furry and it barks when I walk by the house on the way to my aparment. Sometimes I wave and say HI DOG!! And it waves back and says WOOF WOOF!! HI KENNY!! But what I do not like are dog owners. Especially dog owners who leave town and forget to leave their dogs inside their houses or take their dogs with them on vacation. Saturday night/ Sunday morning that dog started barking non-stop at 2am. No big deal, I thought, it'll shut up and tomorrow's Sunday, I'll sleep in. Uggh. It barked until 4am. Sunday night, I go to bed early to be ready for a big fun day at work on Monday. Uggh- 2am-4am. Stupid dog. I hate you and your owners. Last night- same thing. But this time I can hear people from other apartments and condos screaming at the dog. Apparently the dog doesn't speak English. But now I can't go to sleep because not only is the dog really loud, but the people from the end of 7th, all the way at the other end of the street are screaming at the dog- as are people at 8th and Lake. Holy crap. I've decided to leave a passive-aggressive note on my neighbor's door after work. Passive-aggressive seems to be the modus operandi in SF, especially in my neighborhood. Example- when the volvos (or minivans) park like 'tards, the neighbors will leave little notes that start "Dear Neighbor. . . I noticed that my car does not fit next to yours when I attempt to park in a two car spot!". This apparently is nicer than my approach which usually reads: "Yo! Park like that one more time you ass and I'll kick your mirrors off". Although my notes seem to do the trick, I think I'll approach the doghouse (pun!) with the preferred method first to see what happens. How about:
KennethI'll update tomorrow. . . . 11 Oct 17:06 | /general | 0 comment(s)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
San Francisco, CA 94118
Occupant
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
San Francisco, CA 94118
For the past few nights (early mornings), your dog has been left unattended and in your backyard where it proceeds to bark incessantly for a few hours. It seems to prefer doing this between 2 and 4am. While a highly convenient time for nocturnal animals, it is extremely annoying to your neighbors. Mostly those who choose to sleep during this time.
Even more annoying is the added joy of listening to other neighbors opening their windows and yelling obscenities at the poor creature. While I too would love for the dog to "shut its furry ass" as much as the neighbors all the way down Lake Street seem to want it to, what would be even better is if you could not leave your dog outside when you go out of town.
Hopefully whomever is taking care of your house will read this note and take care of the issue. If not, I'm afraid I'll have to call SF Animal Control or the SFPD tonight.
Thanks for your time,
Kenneth xxxxxxxx
Mon, 10 Oct 2005
Trauma-Drama
Friday was HappyHour. I'd like to thank those that showed up, I hope you had fun. I forgot to take my camera to take pics. I would've liked proof that Angie showed up. And Kristen & Brett too. Quite a shock. ;) >I was a bit traumatized later though as Angie and Kristen were plotting to perform a makeover on my apartment. Yes, I know I need to redecorate, or decorate, or get decent furniture. Whatever. Angie's been posting a bit more regularly on her blog. And by regularly, I mean more than twice a month.
Elsewhere . . . .
Texas beat OU. FINALLY. Sheesh. \m/
from cnnsi:
The Texas Longhorns had finally beaten the Oklahoma Sooners -- stuck it to 'em, 45-12 -- and more than 30,000 people wearing burnt orange were on their feet turning five years of frustration into sheer joy. Young had as much to celebrate as anyone, so he whipped up a few more cheers by going along the stands slapping hands and posing for pictures.Also . . . I went to a really nice dinner party on Saturday in Napa. It was a surprise birthday dinner at a really nice
Fri, 07 Oct 2005
Slight correction
I was a bit off in my last post. I didn't notice the date the letter was sent to that committee nor realize that Patrick looked up those specific people because they were the ones who signed it. He mentions that Open Secrets isn't robust enough to do that type of searching, so the chart he made was dredged up using the data from the individual profiles. I tried that too, it's kind of weird to see who's getting cash from whom. But the point is, I shouldn't have been shocked to see the same names in the news and on his blog, I had it backwards. Ahh, it's Friday at least. 07 Oct 13:05 | /tech | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 06 Oct 2005
Neverending Story
I think I've mentioned before that I have a google alert set up to email me weekly updates on mentions of the Broadcast Flag in the press (I also have one set up for my buddy Simon Montlake's articles, but that's another story). Usually the person that keeps me most up to date on all of this is Prid. This week he was on a tear about his local
Silk Worm Snack
Hrm, maybe this should be under food_and_drink but this line cracked me up:
But what caught me off guard was the crunchy cocoon. Silk my ass. This was like chewing on tiny bones. The good news is I was immediately distracted by the unexpected squirt of briny liquid that shot out into my mouth. A little heads up would have been nice. (Am I right, ladies?)
read more here
06 Oct 11:12 | /humor | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 05 Oct 2005
Hasselfhof Dispenser
Ok this is just wrong. But it's funny. 05 Oct 14:55 | /humor | 0 comment(s)
