Redesign

So I decided to redesign the site.  I’m obviously still working on it, but I think it’s looking not too bad (for a start).  I just really wish I had some sense of color; I know that what I have doesn’t really look all that good, but I honestly have no idea what does look good.  Evidence the fact that I wear jeans when at all possible; they go with just about everything.

Funny cover songs

So I’m sitting here at work listening to “Party Shuffle” in iTunes, and Straight Out Of Compton from the album “Bring the Rock” by Nina Gordon just came on.  I was inspired to go find the original (by N.W.A.), and the contrast is really funny.  But the cover version is actually a very well-made song; I encourage anyone interested to go look for it; I think I actually got it off of her web site (not sure if it’s still up).

I think I need to make a compilation album that’s all covers, just so I can put that song on it.

Hmmm…  Maybe I’ll make it a double-disc release, and make disc 2 all of the original songs.  That sounds like fun.

This Sting song (I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying from the album “Mercury Falling” by Sting) is nowhere near as good, unfortunately.

Quick link – MilkandCookies – Redefined: A Cappella Nintendo Medley

MilkandCookies – Redefined: A Cappella Nintendo Medley:
OK, this definitely shows how much of a big geek I am, but it’s the funniest thing I’ve watched all week.  It’s an a capella group from the University of Wisconsin doing a medley of old nintendo theme songs.  Great stuff.

Warning for all of my windows-using friends:  it’s a quicktime movie.  Suck it up & install Quicktime if you haven’t already.

Notebooks and writing

That’s analog notebooks, mind you.  Yes, I’m writing this on a digital notebook (Dunadan, my trusty iBook), but I really mean the “paper, bound in leather” kind.  Like Moleskines, although the standard wire-bound spiral notebooks I used in college (or high school, or most any academic setting where it was convenient) would work just as nicely, it not with a little less perceived style.

Anyway, I was reading stuff online, and came across this page which inspired me to start using my notebook (OK, I’ll admit it — it’s a 8.5″x5.5″ unlined Moleskine) again.  I always think it’s a really good idea when I initially buy notebooks, then the novelty wears off and the books languish on a shelf or table for weeks or months before I start using them again.  Assuming I ever start using them again; I’m pretty sure I have notebooks in my office that I haven’t even looked at in several years, much less picked up & used.

I just had an idea that might help people break out of the “too pristine to use” problem that I have from time to time.  I always find it hard to start writing in a notebook because I want the first thing to be significant, or at least not unintelligible drivel.  So here’s my idea (which I’ll try out once my current notebook is full): don’t start on page one.  Open to a random page and start there.  Date all of your entries, and do it every time you open the book.  Granted, it will probably lead to a situation where the information you want is more difficult to find, but at least you don’t have to worry about what to put on page one (at least, not for a while).

I really want some sleep

Dammit!

Apparently there’s no fucking way I’m going to get any sleep today. I even left work early so I could get an extra hour of sleep before a meeting I have this afternoon, but my insurance company AND the dealership I bought my truck from both decided it’d be fun to call me up in the middle of my night. I can understand that most people are awake at noon and 1:30 respectively, but I’m not. And of course once I’ve woken up and had a phone converstaion (or two), there’s no way I’ll be able to get any reasonable amount of sleep before my alarm clock goes off at 3:30.

It’s getting to the point that I might just have to turn my phone ringer off when I go to bed. I usually don’t do that because I fear missing a call that actually is important, but the benefits seem to outweigh the inconvenience, especially today.

Maybe I’ll be able to get some sleep this evening.

Quick link – Electing a Pope

Universi Dominici Gregis – John Paul II – Apostolic Constitution (22 February 1996):
Just about anyone who knows me would agree that I’m a nonreligious man, but I thought the actual established procedure for electing the new Bishop of the Church of Rome was very interesting.  If you’ve got a spare 30 minutes or so (that’s about how long it took me to read the whole document, excluding the bibliographical footnotes, and also without any cross-referencing), check it out.

Update: OK, I did one bit of cross-referencing.  I didn’t know what “simony” was.