Haphazard Musings

I Hate Internet Explorer

2009-10-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Web Developers:

View the source of this blog entry and feel free to add the following code to the end of your pages. Let's deter people from using Internet Explorer until Microsoft simply gives up on it like they should have done so many years ago! And please encourage other web developers to follow suit.

P.S. If you are not using Internet Explorer, you won't see anything below this line.

When a Tree Falls, and You're There!

2009-10-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken just a few days before the incident I am about to describe. It is significant in that it is, as you might say, a "before" picture. You may not see much in this picture - I mean, the sky is still there - but the one prominent feature in this story, is, obviously, the tree.

A few days after I took this photo, while my wife was working in the Bay area, I was home in the evening, standing outside, watering her garden. I had not been outside in a while, due to being tied to my computer trying to meet a deadline, so the coincidence amazes me to this day that I happened to be outside at the time this happened.

It wasn't a huge event, but it was a new experience for me. As I was out watering the garden, I heard this loud pop. It sounded like my neighbor down the hill maybe was outside smacking a rug with a baseball bat or something. And then there was another one. And another. Pop! Pop! Smack!

I looked over to see if I could figure out what was going on down there, then suddenly the unexpected happened. There was a loud series of cracks and pops that sounded more like one collective crackle, and the one big (leaning) tree we had on our property just rolled over on its side like it was laying down to take a nap. CRRRAAAAACCCKKK!! SPLOOSH!!

It was really rather anti-climactic, as I always imagined big trees falling with big crashing thuds. And although the initial popping was somewhat loud, the tree just looked like it eased itself to the ground as though it were tired and sitting down to take a rest.

I felt sad for the tree, and felt sad that our big tree was, in a single moment, simply gone. It was home to squirrels as the base was littered with pieces of pine cones that the squirrels strewed about as they dug out the pine nuts inside. We later had someone come to cut the tree up for removal, and I counted the rings on the trunk, and the tree apparently was nearly 65 years old. Perhaps it was ready for retirement. More than 60 years this tree stood (leaning) there - it leaned quite a bit, so 60+ years was a surprising life span to me - yet it happened to fall one day while I happened to be standing outside in view of it, a year after I moved into my new home.

It has been a very dry summer, and I am convinced that had we thought to water the tree, it would still be standing. The roots were very dry. Apparently, they simply didn't have the strength to withstand the weight of the leaning tree above them, and subsequently, something finally gave way, and it was all down hill from there.

One reason is fell down so "gently" is because it had two other trees to break its fall.

We'll probably be removing those as well.

The tree fell right over top of our septic system, but miraculously, all the branches completely missed all of the tank covers, except for one, which spanned across the top of the main cover doing no damage. The only damage was to a piece of protective plastic screen atop a vent pipe. Fortunately, it also missed the main control box.

Here you can see the mighty roots that supported the tree all these years, and the earth that was disturbed around them as the tree toppled over.

And that's the story of the big tree that fell on our property. Goodbye, big tree! You'll be missed!

A Riddle. Sort Of.

2009-09-06T03:07:00.001-07:00

What goes: Smack! ... Smack! ... "what the f---?" ... Pop! Snap! ... Craaaaaack-CRASH!!! Followed by, "holy sh--!" ?

Hint: It happened at my new house.

Answer in my next blog entry...with pictures, of course.

This Blog is Boring

2009-08-25T00:55:00.000-07:00

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No Life at All

2009-06-07T21:38:00.001-07:00

I have no life of my own anymore. I'll post an update when I am awarded a minute of my own.

I think I pissed off a good friend - we got into an email discussion about religion - and I haven't heard from him in several days. My mom is having a knee replaced this week. And I'm searching for a way to make my everyday life satisfying in some way, as I seem to have lost interest in just about everything. Perhaps I'll become the next Uni-bomber.

At least it's good to know there's someone out there peeking in on me once in a while. I feel pretty isolated out here and miss having friends to do stuff with, like fly model airplanes or make movies or generally blow things up.

My eyesight is starting to go, and I have no muscle tone left. If it wasn't for the stairs, I'd probably be a puddle on the floor. >sigh< Something's got to give. Soon!

Is it worth sacrificing my life just to pay my mortgage and bills?

PAY ME! I'M A BILL! :)

I guess if I'm going to have any hope of winning the lottery, I ought to start playing it.

Sorry for the depressing post. Things should improve after I take a vacation. Although, I just wish I knew what to do with it.

Not Much

2009-04-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have posted here. There's probably nobody reading this blog anyway.

This entry will be true to the name of this blog - a haphazard musing...or two.

I am working on a Web-based social networking module that is to become part of the enterprise software product that the company I work for developed, so I have recently joined Facebook to see what the craze is all about. I'm not sure I get it, though I think I went through that phase (in a different way) back in the '80s when bulletin board systems were popular (otherwise known as a BBS). It reminds me of adolescence. Fun, but not very productive.

I can remember when "picture phones" were practically a science fiction concept, and I can remember when an elite few began carrying bulky mobile phones in their cars, yet it seemed there were very few people even interested in the concept. I can also remember being approached by a stranger while I was getting money out of an "All-Time Teller Machine" that my bank had just installed, and he asked me what the machine was for. I remember being one of the few who actually used it at the time, wondering why all those people inside the bank preferred to stand in line.

Perhaps people just didn't trust machines.

Now it seems that if you don't have a cell phone with a camera in it (and perhaps if you also can't get online with it, play your favorite MP3 tunes, or send text messages), you're just not cool - an old fart, perhaps. If you don't have a cell phone, an ATM card, and an account on MySpace, Twitter, FaceBook and YouTube, you simply do not belong in the 21st century. In fact, how many times have you heard the phrase already, "that's so 20th century!"

I see updates in people's Twitter and Facebook accounts so frequently that I sometimes wonder if they actually live inside their computer - in a virtual world somewhere. About the only entry I seem to have time to write is one that says, "I'm writing another entry here." I mean, would anybody really care what I was actually doing in between making posts online? Who has time to read it all? What good does it do? And who cares?

Are we creating a culture of virtual voyeurs? Or a culture of self-centered exhibitionists? Or is it really providing an avenue for social interaction to bring people together? Just where is this all leading to?

So many questions. Not the least of which, however, is why are cell phones so f-ing small? The one I have now is so sleek, that they forgot to add a feature to make it possible to open the damn thing. I actually missed a call once or twice because I could not get the lid to flip open. And I have dropped the phone a couple of times in the process. I have since figured out a way to hold it so that I can open it, though it takes both hands, and if I can avoid hitting the buttons on the side of the phone, I'm doing well.

What's the point of the freakin' lid, anyway, if they have active buttons on the side of the phone?! I can't put the phone in my pocket without it either taking a (black) picture, or dialing someone (my birth mother was happy that I called her the other day, even though it was entirely by accident).

I hate cell phones. I hate everything about them, except for one thing: it's nice to know that if my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere (which is basically where I live), I can call AAA. Assuming they can understand a word I say.

I always thought the future of computing was to become mobile - get off the desktop! But I'm not sure that combining it with vocal communication is the way to go (though I see that as but one feature of a mobile device). Perhaps one day someone will come up with a way to fix all the issues with voice (lag time, cut-outs, dropped calls, etc.), then maybe that won't be so annoying. I'd be happy with simplex. "Hi, this is Bill, over." "Hey, Bill, how's it going? Over." Then you don't get mixed signals from non-verbal communication - you know, the long pauses between responses that makes people start thinking negatively. I think they're called "Cingular moments" now?

Anyway, I am just astonished that Microsoft continues to try to improve their desktop operating system experience. It seems, though, about all they can do is create flashy graphics and impose annoying features that take up 16GB of disk space and 1GB of RAM just to give you access to your files without offering any real tools to help you live your life. You know, DO stuff.

When is all this technology actually going to start ENHANCING my life experience? To help me think better, remember things, perform tasks, do my chores, save money and time, etc. I guess once they become self-aware. But then if that happens, perhaps they'll want nothing to do with us.

I just wish I could find a way to make them earn money for me. Maybe I can tap into this social networking market somehow. I'm sure I can come up with a totally frivolous idea that wastes time and serves no purpose that people would happily pay $5 to play with.

Well, enough about that. How about I move on to musing #2?

I was on YouTube yesterday and came across a video of some guy vehemently spewing about the stupidity of some bumper stickers and the people that put them on their cars. And this guy was SERIOUS. Almost angry. I think his underlying message was, "how can these people be SO STUPID?!" But then, there's a lot of that kind of crap on YouTube.

But it made me think about some of the stupid bumper stickers that I have seen and the sort of judgmental thoughts it stirred up in my mind about how they must reflect on the driver. And there are two that really stuck out in my mind.

The first one was, "I hate stupid people!" My first reaction to reading that was, "how stupid!" And I laughed, because I thought this person must not know how much he hates himself. I mean, what kind of a statement is that? NOBODY is perfect, and EVERYBODY does something that at least can be perceived as stupid from time to time. And there are, truly, some truly stupid people in the world, but the bumper sticker made a statement that this person had absolutely no compassion for them.

Now, if the bumper sticker read, "I hate stupid drivers," then I may have been able to relate to it. But even I know that I cannot judge a person based on a single mistake. Not all stupid driving maneuvers are made by stupid people. It's just that there are thousands of people on the road (and some of them truly do not belong there), so you're bound to see people make mistakes. And it is the truly stupid drivers that stand out, that make us associate ALL bad moves to the driver being stupid. But now I'm on a tangent.

"I hate stupid people!" So what does that say about YOU?

The second bumper sticker that stands out in my mind was...and I quote:

"If animals weren't meant to be eaten, then why are they made of meat?"

I'm not even sure I know how to respond to that one. It's an argument that is trying to use the premise as its conclusion. Kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Turn it around and it says the same thing: "If meat wasn't meant to be eaten, then why is it made of animals?" It says nothing about whether either meat or animals are MEANT to be eaten. We CAN eat meat - after all, our digestive systems "know" how to break down meat. But that doesn't mean we're MEANT to eat meat. That implies intent from somewhere, which could only lead to a debate of a religious nature.

Perhaps I will have a bumper sticker made that reads, "if onions were meant to be eaten, then why are they made of onions?" I can't eat onions. I won't eat onions. In my opinion, onions should not exist, much less be eaten. I simply cannot hold anything down if I get onion in my mouth. Yet, I know people who actually enjoy eating onions in their food. People who think they actually taste good. People who don't go into dry heaves long after they've expelled the contents of their stomachs after biting into an onion - who, in fact, don't even gag!

It is truly a mystery to me, but I hardly think anything is MEANT to be anything, one way or the other. Everything simply is what it is, it serves whatever purpose others who interact with it decree that it serves, and some people can deal with it, and others can't. I think it is called "life." And life has whatever meaning you give to it.

With that, I have to say goodnight, for I must rejuvenate my body through sleep so that I may continue this cycle another day.

Enjoy whatever comes your way!

Photo Disaster

2009-02-22T17:09:00.001-08:00

It appears I royally screwed up somewhere when transferring pictures from one computer to another. I'm usually pretty careful about how I conduct my transfers, making sure I am copying files to the right place on the right computer before DELETING them from the original location. But, in a horrendous series of events that is prime fodder for the Computer Circus (but probably will never make it there), a ton of photos have wound up absolutely missing.

Gone. Finito. Exit, stage left.

To top it off, the one computer I had any hope of finding them on with a data recovery tool just had three gigabytes of data dumped onto it, ensuring that no form of data resurrection known to man could possibly retrieve anything now.

So. What does this mean? I mean, beside me being so pissed that I don't need to run the furnace in the house anymore?

It means I've lost a lot of pictures.

Progress pictures of the house.

Pictures of people and animals and things.

Pictures I didn't want to lose.

Ah, but then again, in five billion years, the entire planet will be lost to the dying Sun, so in the overall grand scheme of things, it doesn't really mean anything.

But it means something to me.

Anyway, on a lighter note, what do you think of the music that is playing? Hopefully, it's not using the horrid Windows Media Player on your end, or it will sound like crap (if it's anything like mine) due to this STUPID auto-volume-adjust feature that it has (more like a deliberately induced bug to make sure no one uses their products anymore).

Ah, perhaps I should wait until I am in a better mood to present this in a better light. But then again, it seems appropriate, since my wife is always good about bringing me back out of the darkness into the light. You see, this song... My wife made it. That's her singing. And I'm not sure, but she may have even played one of the instruments on it, or done some of the sequencing. I don't know, but the best part is, she is getting back into her music (after 14 years!), so hopefully the world will soon be graced with her musical talents.

In a series of tragedies much greater than the loss of my pictures, all her studio recordings were lost. All she has is a few old demo tapes - on cassette. What is playing now is a song from one of those tapes. It is the first step toward putting her music online. Now she just has to start creating some new stuff.

I can't wait!!!

Forks in the Road

2009-01-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

The division between people in this country has never been so clear as in the difference between these two blog entries:

As with all such extreme viewpoints, I suspect reality lies somewhere in the middle. Time will tell.

At least my wife and I are doing our part to help turn things around. We're stimulating the economy by spending all our money on this freakin' house. Ha!

Wanna see? Well, tough, because it's going to be a while. Time is once again scarce.

Circus, Circus!

2009-01-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

New entry on the Computer Circus blog. This was not the update I promised I would make a few weeks ago, but if you like that blog at all, you might like the new update. Just something fun I'm playing with.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T02:45:00.000-08:00

2009 is going to be great. I feel it.

I kicked off the new year with a couple of bangs around midnight. I found a box of fireworks that I have had since I was about 14 or 15 years old (I'm a bit of a pack rat). I lit a couple of the smaller ones, but they were duds, so I thought I would try the big ones. These were bigger than M-80s, and probably aren't made anymore (I got them in Mexico). But they worked.

Wow did they work.

I set off two of them (I have five left). Then I took the only, single bottle rocket that I had, leaned it up against a log, and lit the fuse. I didn't think it would work. I have had this thing for like 30 years! The fuse burned slowly, sputtered a bit like it wanted to go out, then, suddenly, FSSSST! The little bottle rocket took to the night sky, arched over the land, then popped.

It worked! The little rocket that could.

2009 is going to be a great year.
:)

Get The Lead Out

2008-12-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sick of the Republicans whining about how bad things are going to be once Obama takes office. As if it is up to one man to fix everything.

This is a country, people. It's up to us, We The People, to make positive change. Obama's not going to do it alone, and it's a LEADER we need right now, not a fall guy, and if anybody can inspire a nation into action, I think Obama can.

If the Republicans want to hang on dearly to their grim view of the future and fill their lives with doom and gloom, then I say let them have it. This country seems so divided that perhaps it should split up. Create an East and West (Divided States?) and make the Republicans live in and rule their side, and everyone else live in and rule their side, and then we can compare to see who's system works best.

Wouldn't that be fun?

I can only speak for myself, but I'm tired of living in the Divided States of America, and this country is sorely in need of something to unite the people again. The every-man-for-himself philosophy just doesn't work and only leads to greed and government bail-outs (that don't solve, much less address, the problem).

I think the vision that the founders of this country had in mind when they formed this government, was to have a government in place as an entity to keep things from getting out of control, not to be IN control. Hence, "We The People, by the people, for the people..." Sounds to me it was intended that the people of this country decide how it is to be run, and that the government REPRESENTATIVES actually REPRESENT the interest of the people.

Unfortunately, greed does not stop at money, but includes power as well, and subsequently, this country has suffered from greedy, power hungry "leaders" who couldn't give a flying fuck about what the people want, as long as the people THINK their leaders are acting in the people's best interests.

I don't know if Obama is any different. But I get the sense that he is, and we can surely hope that he is. Let's just hope he listens to his advisors and to the voice of the people and their representatives (who might actually represent them) and gives some power back to the people where it belongs.

I for one choose to believe the next few years will be good ones - because I'm going to do what I can to MAKE it that way! What you focus on expands. So, those who want to continue falling into the abyss (or who so desire to continue creating new fissures to fall into), pay no mind to them and let them fall on their own.

Let there be no lemmings. It's time to take responsibility for your freedoms, people, and do something about it. Leaders cannot change anything - they can only inspire us to make changes. We have the power, and don't let any greedy, power-hungry nay sayer take that away from you or make you believe otherwise.

Live life empowered!

Smile at someone and see where it goes.

Merry Christmas to All

2008-12-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

After all, that's what it is.

:)

Home Improvement

2008-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update and a sneak peek ahead. We've had some more tile work done. Remember the vertical strip of Hardibacker (the gray stuff) on the back wall of the shower? Well, now there is a waterfall of stones covering it up. I believe there is some additional similar treatments coming. Oh, and we need to select the grout color soon, too! By the way, the blue you see on the bench seat is some protective plastic covering the tile there.

And here is the shower inspector forming an opinion about the tile work that was done on the floor and on the dam. We're still waiting for her approval.

Here is a peek at the tub (or at least where the tub will go). The face has been tiled here and is looking rather nice. Notice the meandering wires on the seat area. This is a heating coil that will warm up the tiles so my wife has a comfy place to sit when she's not actually in the tub.

And here is the face of the tub again, this time with tile on it. You can see there is a set of heating coils up against one part of the wall. There will be some interesting tile work done there, providing a nice warm back rest to lean against. Notice that much of the tile around the rim of the tub area has been set.

And here is a sneak peek at the gas fireplace. We're out of money, so it may not get done right away, but we're working on it.

We're also trying out some cabinet extensions to decide on what angle they should be at so the cabinet guy can build the pieces needed to put them together. Next, the counter tops we currently have are going to be replaced with something a bit more custom, and nicer looking.

Speaking of formica, the house has been littered with hundreds of formica (and tile) samples. It has been hard to escape them, and my wife can't stop obsessing over the selection process. She complains about me standing in the kitchen when I eat, though I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to sit down, yet.

All these changes! Most of it is going to be done by Christmas...we hope. We're getting tired of house projects! I just finished installing all the outlets and switches in the basement, so we have power down there now. Woo hoo! It's all in a day's work.
Tomorrow's another day... (and this was yesterday's sunset)

On the House

2008-12-07T17:47:00.001-08:00

OK, so an update on the house has been requested. Here's the scoop: any and all updates I provide will be interior updates, only, until after January 2010.

We've got four things going at once right now: the master bathroom, the basement, the kitchen and the living room (fireplace). This entry will peek in on the bathroom with a look at the shower only.

Here is how the shower basically looked since the house was "completed" in May (completed enough to move in). The master bathroom had only a toilet and a temporary pedestal sink, so the small bathroom downstairs was used as the primary bathroom in the interim. The small bathroom downstairs could practically fit into the space we have reserved just for the shower in the master bathroom.

Some plumbing was done - someone goofed and built a 2x4 plumbing wall instead of 2x6 (perhaps originally there was to be no plumbing in this wall), so it was tight, but it got done. A window also was framed into the wall - eventually, it will get filled with glass blocks.

The tile people seem to be extremely slow, but they are also extremely meticulous and do an excellent job. Here, they have prepared the walls with a liner and Hardibacker is being applied. Additionally, the floor was being prepared, though there isn't much of it to see in this image. Note, also, the addition of a ceiling lamp, and a reduction in the size of the window.

For a long time leading up to this point, the tile selection process had been in progress. Just about every tile store around the area and around the SF Bay area was visited, with many samples acquired. We joke that a room could be tiled using just the tile samples, although no two tiles would look alike. Nothing has been more agonizing than to endure this tile selection process, although my participation in the selection process has amounted to little more than saying, "that looks good to me," or the occasional, "I liked the other one better."

I'm afraid I cannot describe or explain what the final tile configuration will be, for two reasons: 1) it's all in my wife's head, and 2) it is not simple. I figure the element of surprise will not only work out better for this blog, but also the pictures will speak for themselves. Hang tight, though - there's still a couple more weeks left to go before it's done!

Here was a process in which I did have considerable participation in (over a four-day period): figuring out the layout of the tiles that were acquired. This is an amazingly tedious process. My wife made a comment to the tile guy that she would spend an hour over the weekend to figure it out, while I was silently standing behind her, smiling at the tile guy and shaking my head. We knew better. It took hours and hours and hours of arranging the tiles to figure out how to make the patterns work.

We did the best we could and eventually arrived at a layout we were both rather pleased with (as were the tile people). Here you can kind of see just a small segment of the pattern arrangement. This segment of the wall somewhat resembles the surface of the moon, which we thought was pretty cool.

And here you can see the pattern up on the wall. You may even notice if you look closely that the pattern seen in the previous image was not the final arrangement. But the wall looks fantastic - and there's nothing like the feel of travertine.
You may also notice that the back wall appears to be lighter - almost white. That is because the back wall is a different tile - brushed Ankara, or something like that. The floor is even a different tile. And this is only the beginning. Wait until you see how it all comes together (in a future installment). I'm anxious to see it, myself, since I don't quite fully understand how it's going to work, yet (but it's going to be cool).

And here is the other wall. It is really hard to see in pictures, but the walls came out really beautiful. The glass blocks are not in the window, yet, but that's happening soon. Plus, we have to put a special watertight fixture over the can light in the ceiling.
You may have noticed that on the back wall, there is a long vertical block of Hardibacker where you might otherwise expect to see tile. I'm not even going to try to explain what is happening here, other than to say there is going to be some tile overlaid on top. Like I said, you'll see how it all comes together in a later entry.

You may have also noticed a bench in the back. This will be covered by larger pieces of the same kind of tile as the side walls (the travertine). It's going to be one sweet bench, which is mostly where my wife will hang out when she takes her soothing, hot showers. I have a feeling that it might be so inviting that I just may join her. :)
Here, you also get a peek at the blue tile that lines the floor.

That's it for this installment! Stay tuned to see how the shower turns out. In future installments, you'll also get to see the bathtub, the vanity, the bathroom floor, and even the commode. Then, after that, I'll take you down to the basement, then into the kitchen, and lastly take a rest by the fireplace. Mmmmm.

Y'all come back now!

Never Mind

2008-12-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

Forget I mentioned creating another blog. I never update the ones I have, and I think this one is personal enough.

Some Things May Change

2008-11-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well, the moral minority has finagled yet another win for anti-sociological evolution by voting to amend the state constitution to disallow same-sex marriage. I'm sure the fight will continue, however, because I question whether it is constitutional to amend (or in this case, revise) the constitution by putting the decision to do so on a ballot - especially considering the gap between the yays and nays was so narrow.

With something that close - something that far to the middle - it is a crying shame to color it in black and white. With a decision so narrowly divided, it seems that it *must* remain open to give society a little bit more time along its evolutionary process to realize, hey, there ain't no threat here!

How many decisions have been based in fear? Decisions we all now have to live with because some vocal minority screamed louder than the rest of the world (who was just minding their own damn business, thank you very much).

The same people who voted to ban same-sex marriage must also be working for the oil companies, since both alternative energy propositions failed, too. Ah, and I thought this was supposed to be a progressive state. But I found it interesting that they voted down the alternative energy propositions, but passed the high speed train proposition. Yeah - that one - the one that was ill-conceived and fraught with unrealistic lofty goals. We'll see what kind of a mess that turns out to be. Hey, don't get me wrong - a high speed train would be cool - I just wish they did a little more homework before putting the thing up for a vote.

At least we have chosen someone new to lead this country. I can't WAIT until the current guy is out - he's not even funny anymore (even if he wasn't president. Show's over, dude, get the fuck out!). Nobody is perfect, so neither is the new guy, but I think he's just what the people need. If nothing else, he is motivational and I think he will inspire people to bring some sanity back to this country. I hope, at least, that he serves to remind us that the United States of America is a melting pot - that Americans have varied cultural backgrounds and are not all one color, one race, one religion or one mindset. But in order to be a productive country and a strong country, we need to all stand united - hence, the UNITED States of America.

I still can't figure out prejudiced people who live in America. If you don't like that this country has residents - i.e. fellow Americans - that come from all over the world, then what the fuck are you doing here? Take the KKK for instance - I think they need an island all their own. A place full of nothing but narrow-minded, fearful, bigoted white people, and that's it. That way, they can mind their own business (though they'll have to find something new to hate) and the rest of us can mind ours.

Anyway, my biggest fear is that some bigoted, scared little bunny rabbit of a man might try to put a bullet into our new president if given the chance, just because the guy happens to have darker skin. Let's hope the ugly side of Americans isn't THAT ugly (or that moronically stupid). This is probably the biggest, most hopeful historical event that has come down the pike in a long time. Let's hope some screw-up doesn't come along and screw it up. I'd like to think this country has hope, and that the people of this country have room to hope, and that we can actually rise above the uglies of the world and regain the admiration and prosperity (at least some of it) that this country once held - to once again become a beacon of hope and opportunity. I'd like to feel like I live in such a country, and I am tired of feeling the way I have felt for the past eight years!

Never before have I felt such despair, embarrassment and worry; never before have I seen such division between the people of this country; and never before have I felt such hope. I'm looking forward to the next four years (and, I predict, the next eight years, actually). Whatever it brings, right or wrong, good or bad, at least I'll feel good knowing (or at least feeling) that it's not all bad.

OK, I'll come down now. I think 2009 is going to be an interesting year. And on the more localized front, I now have a new web host (FINALLY!) for my web sites and my images, etc., and so now - as you may have noticed - my blog looks a little better, and some of the links (like the Questor Project) actually work again.

Perhaps I will actually complete the Questor project in 2009! I hope so - as of November 26, 2008, it will have been two years since I touched it, last. We're also getting close to wrapping up a couple major projects on the house, and in January of 2010, I'll actually be able to post pictures of that project again. Also, look for a new entry or two (coming soon) in my Computer Circus blog.

Here's to the next few years. >ching<

Election Day and Differing Opinions

2008-11-04T18:41:00.001-08:00

Well, it's election day. I voted. I won't even say which way, because I'm not convinced that it matters. Politics is full of words and promises (mostly broken ones, as I presume presidential candidates really have no idea what they are getting into).

So, while everyone else is focusing on the inevitable outcome of who is going to be the next guy to run this country into the ground, I'm curious about how the propositions on the California ballot are going to fare.

Just because I happen to live there.

It seems the one with the most controversy is Proposition 8 to disallow gay marriage. It doesn't matter to me, personally, because I have no stake in the matter one way or the other, but if this is truly going to be a progressive state, and if the do-gooders are really serious when they say everyone should be treated equally, then gay marriage should be allowed.

I watched some of the videos on YouTube by groups and people who want us all to vote Yes on the proposition (to ban gay marriage), and if nothing else, they were hypocritical. So utterly, totally and completely hypocritical. And, not surprisingly, most of them had disabled comments (probably after being hammered by opposition) and they had obviously removed all comments that were contrary to their agenda.

What cowards.

My favorite was this one called Proposition 8 in Plain English (which they have since replaced it with a shorter version and renamed to Proposition 8 Made Simple). It was all happy-go-lucky about how Mr. and Mrs. X were friends with the gay couple that lived next door and how nicey-nice they all were to each other and how hetero couple X respected their neighbors' lifestyle choice (which I read as "tolerant of their decision to live a gay lifestyle with each other") and how they believed everyone should be treated equally, but they didn't want to offend their gay friends by voting YES on Prop 8.

Take a breath.

Then they went on to justify it (using their own faulty reasoning, packed with arguments that had absolutely nothing to do with Proposition 8) and closed with this - and I quote: "But Tom and Jan have come to an important realization. They can respect Dan and Michael's lifestyle choice, without affirming and embracing their lifestyle."

What an ignorant, hypocritical couple Tom and Jan are!

It is apparent that, first of all, they think it is somehow a choice to be gay (who the hell would CHOOSE that, and when did Tom and Jan choose to be straight?). Secondly, IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING GAY - IT'S ABOUT TWO PEOPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER WHO WOULD LIKE TO GET MARRIED! LEGALLY!

Oh, but Tom and Jan X are scared, too, because if Proposition 8 dies, that means their church could maybe might perform same-sex marriages (according to the video, that could happen, and they don't want THAT to happen - God forbid. Then again, who's going to force their church to perform same-sex marriages?). They also seem to think that a domestic partnership (a.k.a. Civil Union in a few other states) and marriage are the same thing.

I guess Tom and Jan X either don't have a computer, or don't know how to use Google. Oh, but wait, they said they found this information on the Internet! Perhaps they just didn't look past their church's web site, or beyond their Yes on 8 friends blogs.

Maybe we should just ban marriage all together.

I think the problem stems from morality. It is difficult to justify morals, as they really boil down to personally accepted modes of conduct, typically rooted in a strongly influential belief system, usually spawned by some ancient religious text that was created back when people didn't even believe that air existed (yet, immaculate conception was a totally acceptable idea).

Speaking of morality, my wife had a bit of an encounter in the parking lot of a hardware store a couple days ago, where a family of Yes on 8 promoters were encouraging passersby to think like them. My wife, while walking past them, said, "you're a biggot."

Oops.

Maybe that was too strong a word, but it really pissed them off. A woman (standing next to what I presumed was her son), shouted out, "come here and say that to my face!"

That is the WRONG thing to say to my wife. Oh, man, I saw it coming right then and there, and I knew there was no stopping it, so I observed for a bit...before they drew me in.

I loved a couple of the arguments the Yes on 8 family members proposed. One woman asked, "think of an outlet in your home. Can you plug a plug into a plug?" I just about lost it. I didn't know whether to laugh or to put them out of everyone's misery. I wanted to ask her if she could stick a hole in her hole, but, respectfully, I said, "what's that got to do with it?" instead. Pretty lame, I know, but I just didn't want to engage. We both had our opinions and neither side was going to change, so what's the point?

At one point, however, we were breaking away, and the woman turned around and mumbled something about "I'll kick your ass." This was after we endured a lecture about morality and how science tries to tell us about homosexuality, but that God really has the right answer, blah, blah, shut-the-fuck-up blah.

There was that word: morality. Almost in the same sentence as "God", and certainly in the same context. That's when my wife finally closed the door on the matter before we went into the hardware store to get what we needed (a plug of all things - actually, a receptacle for plugging in a 220V clothes dryer). Actually, we were exchanging one receptacle for another, because we had the wrong one, and so the plug wasn't right for it.

How fitting.

Anyway, I can't wait until this whole mess is over with (the voting results, anyway). There's a lot of ignorant and narrow-minded people out there - it's too bad so many of them are voting. I hope there's enough of the other variety of people out there to offset some of the bad decisions to make the good ones prevail.

Time will tell.

Questor Lives?

2008-09-20T21:02:00.001-07:00

It has been over two years now since I began the Questor project. Remember the Questor project? No? Hardly do I. Nevertheless, it has been sitting in a box basically since sometime around late 2006 or early 2007, and I haven't touched it since late November of 2006.

How sad is that?

The good news is, what put the project on hold for so long was a much bigger project that intervened: I built a new home to live in. It has been a long road, and my wife and I are still working on it, but we're living in it now, and I am determined to live in it, if you know what I mean.

So, I am resurrecting the Questor project.

In case you forgot what the Questor project is, or don't know, it is the design and construction of a small RC model airplane that can be broken down into five pieces and carried in a custom backpack into remote areas. It is a kind of prototype, and I expect it to carry a small electronic payload to take aerial images of the regions it flies over, and possibly some form of auto-pilot control that will allow the aircraft to fly out and around a certain area and return, unassisted.

I'd like to use it up where I live to find nooks and crannies to explore and hang out along the rivers. Google Maps can get only so close.

Anyway, I took the first step last night by reading my blog entries of the progress I had made on the project. I realized there were a ton of details that were never captured, and I am a bit nervous that I have lost the vision for the design and may not complete it as previously intended. There are so many aspects to consider, I am really going to have to do some serious mental legwork with it before I resume actual construction. I have also lost some new skills that I had learned, initially, as I do not recall how I accomplished certain tasks and I do not remember how I was achieving such excellent results while sanding.

Nevertheless, the project WILL be completed. Sometime. And the plane will fly. I just have no idea when.

I took my second step tonight, by digging through all of my stuff to FIND THE PROJECT! I finally found all the templates in an envelope in a box, and I found the actual pieces in another box (of which I had seven other boxes that looked very similar).

I took all the pieces out of the box and examined them, and I had one single reaction.

"SHIT!"

The parts have be subjected to nearly two years of seasonal changes and have been up on the top shelf, so have undoubtedly been exposed to some heat. As a result, the horizontal stabilizer has warped. This plane will not fly quite right the way it is. And I bet if I reviewed my blog again, I would discover that the side that is warped is the side I used that horrible wood glue on when I laminated it.

Don't ever use water-based glue on balsa wood. I knew better, but someone sung the praises of how well it worked. They were either lucky, stupid or were using a different kind of wood, entirely.

I'll just have to get creative about how to fix it. I may try a little steam on one side. It will have to be a trial run to see if I can straighten it out, so I know what to do just before I paint it. I want it straight when I paint it, since that will seal in any moisture that may be in it - and I want just enough in there to make it straight again.

My masterpiece, the vertical stabilizer - my work of art - my prize - is also a tiny bit warped...but not much. It is just a natural warping which may even correct itself when things start cooling off and the rains come back. Either that, or it will get worse. Ah, but that's just the nature of working with wood.

Well, my wife is waiting for me downstairs so we can watch a movie, so I will end this entry here. I just wanted to put down in writing that the Questor project lives and will be revived. I figure by doing so, I will make it happen. I am getting my basement together so I will have a place to work on it, so hopefully it will resume soon. The first step is to engage the mental aspects, and all will follow from there.

:)

Time in a Space Bottle

2008-07-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

My wife and I watched the movie Contact the other night, with Jodi Foster. It was interesting to see it again, but today I was sitting at my computer, waiting for some code to compile, when a thought occurred to me.

In the movie, they portrayed that the distant alien intelligence sent back a television transmission to Earth that supposedly was one of the first broadcasts, showing Hitler announcing the opening of the Olympic games. I thought to myself, how did they get that footage for the movie? Was it fabricated? There weren't any video recorders around at that time, so was it film?

But that wasn't the interesting thought that I had. The interesting part followed.

What if someone wanted to capture those original broadcasts on video tape? It actually should be possible. Right now. Even later in the future.

Think about it. Everything we have ever transmitted from this planet is streaming through space at the speed of light. Eventually, those signals will (and already have in some cases) reach distant stars and planets and other celestial bodies or pass through distortions in space. It seems entirely conceivable (and probable) that those signals could be reflected under certain conditions, turning the signals around on a return trip back to Earth.

Years later, if we had a powerful receiver pointed at just the right spot in the sky, we could receive those reflected signals, and listen to what was on the radio, or watch what was on the television, fifty years ago. In a sense, we could say that we were watching live, because it wouldn't be a recording. In every sense, it would be the original transmission. Because it IS the original transmission!

These days, we could capture those signals on to tape or other digital media, clean them up, and sell them on the Internet for a profit. At least, that's probably what humans would do with it.

Little Miss Perception

2008-07-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

This happened to me a few months ago - just an example of how people's own ignorance can potentially get others into trouble.

I was driving down a thoroughfare along the San Francisco Bay Area peninsula (mid-peninsula), doing the speed limit, on my way to Taco Bell, of all places. There was some traffic behind me, but not close enough to be concerned about (I'd say like 8 to 10 car lengths).

My turn was coming up, and I'm a pretty habitual guy (my wife may say I am a stickler when it comes to driving laws), so I turned on my turn signal and took my foot off the gas. I applied the break to begin slowing down, and I noticed the vehicle directly behind me was quickly approaching, having made no response whatsoever to my actions (like, say, to slow down to avoid running into me).

Closer and closer she came (I noticed it was a female driving, but I am not picking on female drivers) and I became a bit worried when I noticed she wasn't even looking at the road ahead of her. Since my actions so far in preparation of my turn spanned a period of 5 or 6 seconds (which is a long time if you sit down and count it, considering how fast things can happen in traffic), I could only wonder just how long she had not been paying attention.

JUST before it was too late, she looked up and noticed me, just as my front wheels were crossing the curb line into the Taco Bell driveway. I could see the shock in her face as she realized she was about to careen into me, and she slammed on her breaks and veered a bit to avoid collision. [As a side note, I was just about to "punch it" to zoom into the parking lot, so she never would have hit me, anyway]

She then proceeded to sit on her horn and prominently display her middle finger in an unfriendly gesture.

What a stupid fucking bitch.

In her mind, I apparently did something wrong. I was just glad she wasn't 1 or 2 car lengths closer to me and that I wasn't just another moron driving down the road, making unexpected stops and turns with no warning or other indication, or she would have slammed right into me. I am certain that if she rammed me, she would have done everything in her power to hold me responsible, regardless of the fact that she failed to look in front of her vehicle while she was driving, failed to notice my turn signal which blinked prominently at least three times before I applied my brakes, failed to notice my brake lights, and just simply overall failed to notice that I was even on the road in front of her, never mind that I was slowing down to make a turn.

It astounds and amazes me that I can not only pay attention to what I am doing, but at the same time be aware of what others around me are doing, and yet some people can't even figure out that they're stupid. How can you NOT pay attention when you are driving? I just don't get that. How many lives are lost every year due to automobile accidents? How many lives change, permanently, due to accidents?

What does it take for people to get it?

My wife's driving scares the shit out of me, but that's another story. She gets annoyed when I tell her to fasten her seat belt, or question what she is doing, or point out potential hazards while I am riding with her. But, dammit, I have a right. It's not like I'm sitting next to someone in a bar who is drowning themselves in alcohol - I've got no business telling them they shouldn't drink so much. But when I am a passenger in a car, I am at the mercy of the driver - their actions affect me, directly! And it is the driver's responsibility -- RESPONSIBILITY -- to get their passengers safely to their destination.

That's a hard word for a lot of people (Americans?) to swallow, it seems - responsibility. I take it very seriously. If I am a passenger and I feel the driver of the vehicle in which I am riding is not looking out for my safety, I'm going to say something. Like it or not, end of story, period. If they don't like it, they can kick me out. If I don't like it enough, I may ask them to let me out, please, thank you very much, hope to see you again...alive.

I realize not everyone is perfect - I'm sure not - so I leave some room for error there. But if someone consistently exhibits the same behavior, and it's dangerous, I get very nervous about riding with them. And I get (rightfully) very concerned when I share the road with hundreds (and hundreds) of other people I don't even know at all. You HAVE to be on your toes at ALL times - even if your car is not moving!

There are so many people out there, and none of them are perfect, and so many people change or end their lives because of one stupid mistake, one lapse of attention or judgment, one wrong move, or even as a result of being distracted by someone else doing something stupid. Sometimes, people die as a direct result of simply BEING stupid, or as a direct result of someone else who IS stupid. We all do stupid things once in a while, but its those people who were truly born stupid and never changed (yet somehow wound up behind the wheel of a moving vehicle) that you really have to watch out for. And they're out there.

Boy, are they out there.

Good Taste

2008-07-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at lunch, the place where I work served sweet and sour chicken. I wasn't in the mood for it, so I grabbed a box lunch, instead: a club sandwich.

It was goo-ood!

Later, I ate a banana. It was good, too. But while I was eating the banana, I started thinking about all the things we eat. They're all things that are (or once were) alive. The wheat in the bread was grown, the banana was grown, the chicken that I didn't eat was once running around on a farm, and the meat in my club sandwich came from some animal(s), and the tomato and avocado were all grown somewhere.

Organic matter. Mmm.

As I was thinking about all these things I was eating, and all the things that get eaten, one final thought came to mind:

"When I go, I hope I taste good."

Phoenix Has Landed. World Gets Smaller.

2008-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Phoenix Mars lander landed successfully today. I was glued to NASA TV online live during the whole event. There's nothing like watching the event unfold live. I remember [barely] watching the first moon landing on a big black and white TV. I watched the progress of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Then, to see the pictures come back. I don't know how to describe it. Here we are, on a world we often take for granted, staring at pictures taken from the ground on an entirely different world. An empty, barren world, yet one with many mysteries locked away inside.

Perhaps we'll find some.

Anyway, my mom is visiting from Tucson - the home town of the Phoenix mission to Mars (and also where I happened to grow up) - and she was talking about "six word stories." Apparently, Hemmingway wrote a six-word story: For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

So much can be read into so little. And I love the concept. So, I am going to try my hand at coming up with some six-word stories of my own. Feel free to contribute yours! :)

Here goes...

#1: Still awaiting delivery. Never placed order.

#2: Once in a lifetime. No film.

#3: Fight it. Beat it. Poster child.

#4: What does a rose smell like?

#5: Did my job. Missed my friends.

#6: Lost: broken heart. Last seen naked.

I think I'll stop at six, six-word stories. For now.

UPDATE: Or, maybe not. One more for the road.

#7: Last flight home. I just waved.

UPDATE: I can't help myself...

#8: I'm addicted to six word stories.

#9: Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, boom!

#10: Sold my house. Playing the lottery.

#11: See you in the obituaries. Bang!

#12: Got what I asked for. Shit.

#13: Learn to swim now - ship's sinking!

#14: She never called. My number changed.

#15: Realized dream. Personal note: wake up.

#16: Stepped off the path. So beautiful.

#17: Life is short. Smile. The end.

Fight Back Against Terrorism - Their Way!

2008-05-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

We're fighting terrorism the wrong way. We have to beat them at their own game, by defeating them their way. They are closer to defeating us (or, rather, getting into a position of significant control of us) than most people dare to believe or admit - and they are not defeating us through brute force, or by crashing airplanes into buildings. No, they're smarter than that, and it would be a major embarrassment if we allow them to continue to have the upper hand in this game.

What is they're upper hand? Well, if you don't know, then you haven't been paying attention. It's oil. Or, more specifically, our dependence on it.

Check this out. This is the first real solution I have heard that makes any real sense - AND IT MAKES TOTAL SENSE - especially when you finally see the big picture: Energy Victory

Get it. Read it. I'm going to. I just heard the author speak for a couple hours on a radio show last night. A bill will be coming to congress, soon, regarding "flex fuel" automobile manufacturing requirements. Learn about it. Educate yourself about this Energy Victory plan. And do whatever you can to encourage your representatives get this bill approved. Bush plans to veto it if he sees it - but he's an idiot who would rather play right into the hands of his rich Saudi friends while the terrorists and related greedy bastards buy the country out from under us and truly put themselves in control, than fight this great and glorious fight to which he gives so much lip service.

You're right, Mr. Bush: you're either with us, or against us. It's obvious where you stand...even if you can't see it.

I'm Speechless

2008-05-21T02:39:00.001-07:00

Remember the Cube

2008-05-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Remember the Rubik's cube? I used to be able to solve it pretty quickly, though not as fast as the master speed solvers (I think my best time was somewhere in the 30-second range). Now I can't even remember how I did it. I solved the 4x4x4 cube without a tutorial, but I just found mine in a box the other day, and I have spent a few hours with it, cheating off the web, and I can't figure the damn thing out.

My brain is shot. Neurons are missing. Memories are gone.

Apparently, the cube is still going strong. There are plans for releasing an 11x11x11 cube this year! Anyway, I doubt I'll be getting one.

But check this guy out - just one example of someone who can do it well: