General

So apparently the machine I’ve been using as a web server for the last couple years decided to up and die on my this evening. I didn’t even know about it until I went to see if anyone had commented on the last post (I didn’t expect anything, but I checked nevertheless). It looks like the motherboard is dead, ‘cause I moved the HD to a “backup” machine that I’m glad I didn’t let Heather make me throw away. That machine (a wimpy K6-2 400) is what’s running the domain until I manage to get enough funds to put something new online. Which may be a while. ...

Given the abundance of TV series that are coming out on DVD, by season or in “best of” packs, it’s pretty much become my common assumption that any TV series is available on DVD. I mean, I’ve got entire seasons of things like Buffy, Alias, Babylon 5, Cheers, and two Good Eats collections. But apparently one of my favorite shows for watching on a lazy Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning – The New Yankee Workshop – is only available one episode at a time, on VHS, and costs 25 bucks a pop because it comes with a “measured drawing and materials list”. That’s a little much for me; I don’t really plan on making any of the projects featured on the show, given that I don’t have a wood shop. Or even a hand saw. I just enjoy watching the craftsmanship. And of course, it’s not popular enough of a show to be easy to “acquire” off teh Intarwub. There’s only 4 or 5 episodes posted within the last month. And I’ve seen all of ’em anyway. ...

So on episode 4 of Ctrl-Alt-Chicken, Alex Albrecht and Heather Stewart make Beef Wellington. I know the show is supposed to be about people who don’t (can’t?) cook, but who nevertheless are cooking things. But come on; this was pretty bad. Let’s start with the obvious: If you’re making something according to a recipe, and you aren’t the best of cooks to start with, you really should follow the recipe more closely. To paraphrase Alton Brown, cooking is like jazz. Improvisation needs to wait until you have the chops for it. ...

Yeah, that’s not a plastic pitcher. That’s the ice that I took out of the pitcher this morning. You think the fridge at work might be set a little too low?

Hah! This is pretty funny, although there’s some issues with one of the voices being WAY lower than the other. But still pretty funny. I guess it’d be better if I’d actually seen Phantom of the Opera, but still…

I was playing around in Second Life again this morning (I got tired of doing observations at work), and decided I needed to learn how to build stuff. A quick google search or two, and I ended up at the Ivory Tower Library of Primitives. I’m still working through the lessons (I’m on the 4th floor, and just finished with cubes, moving on to cylinders), but it’s very well laid out, and the notecards make sense to me. I think I’ll play around with this stuff some more, and build a few things in one of the sandbox regions. And if it’s fun enough, I’ll get a “real” account (i.e., I’ll start paying the Lindens for land ownership rights) and build a small workshop or something. ...

I was at work this morning reading a book, and one of my co-workers started this conversation with me. It moved to speech beyond what’s quoted here, but what’s said here is really a good starting point for discussion about society in general, and about stereotypes (and the apparent reason behind them). This conversation also made me realize that I really miss having long, drawn-out discussions with people on higher subjects; I think that working tech support for as long as I have has made me dumber. Or at least deadened my previous ability to have lofty conversations without having to slow down the way I think. (co-worker): the only real reason to read this article is because of this “The politics of this controversial industry are more apparent in Bhagat’s work, where the business epitomises American domination and Indian weakness. Here new trainees are taught the ‘35=10 rule’ on day one. ‘A 35-year-old American’s brain and IQ is the same as a 10-year-old Indian’s brain. This will help you understand your clients,’ training instructors explain.” http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1779759,00.html**Devlogic:**that’s a pretty good article **»**says a lot about the mindset of Indians (i.e, persons from the [Indian] subcontinent), especially in light of how they’re utilized in the modern business world. **»**if I didn’t hate soaps so much, I might be tempted to go find that “India Calling” that’s mentioned and watch it… **(co-worker):**Never heard of it, but I dont watch soaps either. So far tech support being moved doesn’t really bother me, everyone needs to make money to eat, I’m peaceful and all-loving. What annoys me are the hick assholes that call in and say “oh thank god you live in america”. Thats when the subject of foreign tech support really gets to me. ...

Heather and I went to the botanical gardens out at Zilker park this past weekend, and I dusted off my old Minolta Maxxum 430si (yes, it’s really a “dead media” camera - 35mm film). The photos turned out pretty good, and aside from the heat it was a really nice time. I think I might have to upgrade to a digital SLR though; Wolf Camera has a pretty nice Konica Minolta digital body for just under $600. Advantage to that particular body: my old lens will work because Minolta hasn’t changed their ring size. And based on the press release on their web site, they probably never will, either. ...

I’ve been having a particularly bad morning today, and the rant that I wrote here was so mean that I couldn’t even post it, which is saying a lot. Suffice to say, if you have a residential DSL account, please don’t complain to technical support that you’re losing thousands of dollars an hour because you can’t connect to the Internet. If you want to run an internet-based business from your home, purchase commercial (i.e., business) accounts from not one, but at least two different ISPs, and have the connections on separate inbound lines, be they DSL lines, cable modem, or T1s. If you want to be especially paranoid, work with the telephone company to get a separate NIU installed on the opposite side of your house from the first one. ...

So a couple weeks ago, Heather convinced me that I needed to clean my apartment. And last weekend, I finally did it. Well, we cleaned, that is. There were multiple good reasons, chief among them being the constant cough I’ve had for the last year or more. And although I’m jumping the gun to say it, but the cough seems to be gone for the most part. in any case, my apartment is now clean. Heather volunteered to take all of the tiled rooms: the bathrooms and the kitchen, and I got the carpeted rooms: the living room, the short hallway, and both of the bedrooms (one of which I use as an office). Well, that’s how it started out, at least. She ended up helping me with the office, which was by far the worst room of the bunch. ...