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[Jul. 20th, 2008|01:22 am] |
Reportage inattendu: I went to a bar last night. Well, technically something called a "video lounge" according to the sign, which seems to mean that they took a bar and replaced most of the tables with a few TVs and arcade-style games. It was Tyler's birthday, so there were some people over for Philip-dinner (which was very nice), and then we were getting pretty well into seven-person Nertz when people started mentioning finishing by 11 so they could go. I asked pfriedma a bit about the place, and when he said it wasn't a club, wasn't too loud or smoky, and didn't cost anything to get in, I figured it would be worth the chance to do something with people and see what it was like. Plus Carolyn came, so I had company in the "not really into alcohol" department.
To not tell this story completely in reverse, I should mention that this place we went to was 5801, known in GSA e-mails as having "one of the best outdoor decks in the city." It certainly seemed pretty decent, although too filled up with people on our arrival to be able to fit us in too — mostly there we people standing around talking. Inside, it was about as noisy as Fuddle on a weekend and a whole lot less smoky. The seven of us found a table (meant for four) in the corner and managed to squish ourselves around it by using the steps to the deck door and the adjoining windowsill as extra seats. When people were on their second drinks I decided to go see if they had any Strongbow — they didn't, but based on Philip's earlier experience I decided to have a rum and Coke as a backup plan. Somehow I managed, in the 60 or so seconds it took to ask about Strongbow, explain what it was, and get the rum and Coke instead, to sow enough phonetic confusion that the bartender asked if I was from London. (This brings the score for the front-runners in the Guess Greg's National Origins game to seven for England and four for Canada.) Carolyn and I had each munitioned ourselves with a deck of cards, so the two of us plus Philip got a little Hearts-like game going at our end of the table when I was about halfway done with my drink. Eventually the others said they were ready to go, so we packed up the cards and drove home around 1 a.m. So a fun time: would probably recommend going again in a similar-ish social group.
It's been so flamingly hot this week that I've needed very little motivation, after finally buying a new pair of goggles last Sunday, to start swimming again. I went again today for the second time this week and managed 650 yards (silly non-metric pool...), a nice increase over Tuesday's 500. Another week of this and I'll be back to where I left off again. I've been hanging a little more around the downstairs of our house today because it seems to be the case that I'm living in yet another room that enjoys breaking the laws of thermodynamics. A few nights ago it was supposed to go down to 11 overnight — I went to bed with the window open and the fan on, with the thermometer showing 27, and woke up eight or nine hours later to find in all that time it had only managed to drop as far as 26.5.
This evening — well, what was left of it after dinner — I gave over to photos work. There's a new gallery of portraits up on the photos site, and some other things should theoretically be following soon. (Kendall, the fireworks are coming, I promise!) |
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[Jul. 19th, 2008|02:00 pm] |
SatNYT - 9:10 clean
I have reached the awkward part of day where I haven't gotten around to eating lunch, but if I do so now I won't be hungry by dinnertime. And since I'm going to a party tonight, I can't really push dinner particularly late.
My most likely solution is to stay hungry for a while, go to Boston earlier than normal, grab something to eat around 5 (probably at Burger King... mmm... Burger King...) This leaves me loitering in Boston with nothing to do for three hours, and yet somehow I have rationalized it as the best plan. Maybe being isolated from the internet will help me get work done?
These Rock Band "cymbals" are pretty sweet. |
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| Mac problems |
[Jul. 19th, 2008|08:05 am] |
Have I mentioned that I'm the statistical outlier when it comes to Macs and problems? I'm the one person that keeps their reliability record from being 100%. I've had enough problems to make up for everybody.
So the current problem: My airport (wireless card) is having issues. It will suddenly say there's no wireless signal - not from my router, nor any of the numerous other routers around. Other computers sitting right next to mine will have no problem at all. Turning the airport off and then on does not solve the problem, only a restart solves it, and only for the next 10-24 hours (this is happening up to twice a day). It's possible this's related to my past problems w/ my parents' router, but as I'm in a different state there's no way to confirm, and I did not see that particular behavior anywhere but there.
I tried looking through Apple's Support pages, but having difficulty finding anything specifically related to this - if you do find something, or have other ideas, let me know. |
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[Jul. 19th, 2008|08:11 am] |
Final Dr. Horrible scores.
Act I: A-
Act II: A+
Act III: C
Discuss. |
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| Understatement of the Year: Car Edition |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|11:44 pm] |
I just received a nice Safety Recall from my friendly Honda HQ regarding my 2006-7 Honda Civic. Quoting the relevant part, emphasis mine:
Honda Motor Co., Ltd., has decided that a defect related to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2006-07 model year Civic vehicles equipped with anti-lock brake systems (ABS). The ABS module uses wheel speed sensors located on each wheel hub assembly. Some wheel sensors may have been improperly installed and do not seal the hub assembly. Water may enter the hub assembly and damage the wheel bearing. In areas where road salt is used, the wheel bearings may corrode even more quickly, which may cause the wheel to separate and fall off, increasing the risk of a crash.
I should think having a wheel fall off while driving would "increase the risk of a crash."
Ironic that I choose the Civic partially for safety features like anti-lock brakes. (I think I'm using the word "ironic" correctly there.)
Irritating that this happened right before a long road trip - but good that I found out before. |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|10:48 pm] |
FriNYT - 10:04 with three errors
I am clearly not in the right mindset for crosswords this week. Good thing Brooklyn isn't any time soon.
This week's Venture Brothers: Meh. Last week's set the bar pretty high, and this was kind of a filler episode. Adult Swim is airing the episodes out of order for some reason, and I think it's wounding the continuity.
I've been making jokes all week about offering my students cookies if they presented solutions in class, so I decided that Friday is cookie day and picked up three cookies at Meeting Street en route to teaching. (Anyone who is not familiar with Meeting Street will wonder why I only bought three cookies for ten people... anyone who is will wonder what we did with the third one.) I also gave out feedback forms to gauge how people are finding the class; I was careful to do this *before* the cookie reveal. Overall results indicate I might be going a touch fast, but nobody chose "way too fast" for the pace, and almost everyone said the material so far was interesting, so I think it's going well. And amazingly the course is one-third over already.
Into Boston for a party tomorrow evening, staying overnight, and then Hellboy uno y dos the next day. I should really really get some research progress in before or after the Boston trip, as I've had the typical I'm-back-from-Con week of nonproductivity. (Though I have been prepared for each of my classes, so it's not like I'm doing nothing. |
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| What I learned at Art Beat tonight |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|10:03 pm] |
While an Italian heavy metal band with a line-up comprising three bag pipers and two drummers is awesome conceptually, in reality it tends to grow tiresome after about 10 minutes.
Kudos to the band though for dressing in leather to play an outdoor show in Somerville in mid-July with both temperature & humidity breaking 90. These guys were radiating heat like a perimenopausal woman on a post-Hagen Dazs sugar high. Not surprisingly, nobody took them up on their (repeated) offer to come up on stage and dance. |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|08:48 pm] |
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I don't usually comment while watching wrestling, but the new heel version of Brian Kendrick is AWESOME. |
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| kittieskittieskitties |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|08:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
The kitties are home! The house is homelike again! (The basement is not yet done, but it is done enough that the cats can be worked around.)
Also, they are very warm, having spent the past two months in a climate controlled facility. Poor traumatized kitties. |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|06:45 pm] |
a couple of links from the food hacking talk:
http://wiki.foodhacking.com/
http://www.deliciouscorpse.com/
that guy was amazing. a couple of other great talks so far too (voting machines, locksport, ladyada on sim card and payphone hacks); will maybe write more detailed summaries when done for the day.
i find these people inspiring because they do and make so many real things! they're so active and excited about their craft and community.
rfid tracking isn't functional yet. sadface. |
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| Quick! Come hug me while I'm still contagious. |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|03:35 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  fuckit! | ] |
I think my immediate project lead came down with the first case two days ago. Right now, he's on a four-day bachelor's party with several buddies, and he probably hasn't been sober since Thursday morning, the lucky bastard.
Then, one of my coworkers left for lunch wearing sunglasses and a backpack while fumbling with his car keys. "Hey, Chris!" we yelled after him. "Where are you going?" "Oh," he replied, "I think I've just come down with *DRAMATIC COUGHING FIT* a case of the fuckits."
Some time after lunch, I saw another coworker kind of slinking surreptitiously out of the bathroom, sunglass-clad and carrying her work clothes under one arm. She saw me and raised her eyebrows in a "rat on me and I'll kill you" kind of way. Then she waved and mouthed, "Have a nice weekend!" before slipping casually into an elevator.
Then, 45 minutes before I would normally leave, it happened to me. I had just finished a long, exciting day of applying Permastick to strips of polycarb, and all I had left to do for that portion of the project was some administrative tallying and planning. I found myself staring at the message schedule, pencil in hand, and then I realized that I had actually been staring for several minutes and my brain was giving me a complete dial tone. What am I doing here? I thought. Ugh, I am so sick of this project. I can't wait until everything ships out and I don't have to touch it anymore. Zinc counting and braille mistakes and polymer counting and plastic taping and - you know what? Fuck it.
I paused for a second and considered this. Then I dramatically slammed my pencil to the workbench and said aloud, "Fuckit!" I gathered up my tools and began to make my way to the stairs. "Hey, guys," I called to two nearby coworkers, "I think I'm coming down with *DRAMATIC COUGHING FIT* a case of the fuckits. See you on Monday."
"Oooooo, a whole 45 minutes," one replied, "I'm telling [the general manager] on you." "Yeah," the other chimed in, "We've really got to talk about your attitude problem." I shot them a wry look and they both grinned back and gave me an encouraging thumbs-up. "See you Monday!"
I keep getting the sneaking suspicion that John is actively trying to corrupt me.
Well, I put some techno on my ipod and walked home in record time, only to discover that I have indeed caught an acute case of the fuckits. Grocery shopping? Fuckit. Patching the holes in my jeans? Fuckit. Spending the rest of the night drawing up detailed plans for tomorrow's set build? Fuckit! I am eating chocolate frosting from a can right now, and I feel great! |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|02:35 pm] |
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More Nine Inch Nails Rock Band DLC next week! I've never heard any of the songs before except "Last," but four previous data points indicate that all NIN tracks are fun to play. "Devour" by Shinedown sounds like a blast as well. |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|02:12 pm] |
Here are some Dark Knight thoughts with blatant spoilers. This is an excellent film, and I'd advise going into it as spoiler-free as possible. So stay out of the cut until you've seen the movie. Like, for seriously.
In case you're looking for a review before you see it, I'd say this is easily one of the two best films of the year so far, though Wall-E might get an edge simply for being more consistent. Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar nomination, the rest of the cast is superb, and te only real downside is an extended end sequence that waxes philosophical a bit too long for my tastes.
( Here we go, spoilers, here we go ) |
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| Lestrygonians |
[Jul. 18th, 2008|10:45 am] |
Ah, the chapter of cannibalism. Bloom hits an emotional low, then rebounds. I think what's most interesting here is that we know enough about Bloom by this point to like him, but realize that if Bloom is disgusted by the people around him, they must be pretty horrendous.
First, let's note a line that I don't understand but admire for its sheer, balls-out beauty: "With hungered flesh obscurely, he mutely craved to adore." I don't know what it means, but it sounds incredible.
Now, the main section I wanted to write about. I knew as soon as I came across it that this was what I'd write about for this chapter. Bloom has walked into a restaurant for lunch and finds himself disgusted by the grossness of the patrons' eating habits.
"Couldn't eat a morsel here. Fellow sharpening knife and fork to eat all before him, old chap picking his tootles. Slight spasm, full, chewing the cud. Before and after. Grace after meals. Look on this picture then on that. Scoffing up stewgravy with sopping sippets of bread. Lick it off the plate, man! Get out of this."
Why this passage? Because it's one of many places in Ulysses where Bloom's Jewishness surfaces, quietly and subtly but significantly. Where? Well, 'chewing the cud' for one thing. It's a thing ruminants do, and it's one of the qualifications for kosher meat. So as Bloom, who does not keep kosher in any fashion, looks on the carnivores lunching, he flashes to his memories of learning the kosher laws. Then, we see the jump he takes: "Before and after. Grace after meals." Who says a blessing both before and after eating? The Jew, who makes Grace after Meals a significant institution. Why? Well, for exactly the reason Bloom thinks of it, likely. Because it's not enough to be grateful for your food before you eat it. It's significant to remain grateful even afterword, when you've been satisfied.
And Bloom, watching his fellow Irishmen crudely stuff their faces with no thought at all of gratitude, longs for the Jewish way of doing it. He is not at all observant, and he is in fact a Christian now. But he can summon his Jewishness as a way to assert superiority over the rest. And if not superiority, at least his separation.
Is 'can' the right word? Perhaps that core Jewishness is summoned despite himself, despite his desire to fit in among the Irish. Bloom cannot escape his sense of Otherness. And his Otherness is actually a legitimate difference between him and the rest, not just a projection of the people onto him.
Interesting, then, that right after this passage comes Bloom's identification as a Mason. There are ideological connections between Masonry and Judaism, google tells me. There are also similarities in the fact that both groups were secretly feared to be ruling the world. But unlike Judaism, which for the convert Bloom can only be an emotional artifact, his Masonic connections provide a sense of belonging and according to Flynn's hazy rumors, other support.
Bloom is most clearly outsider desiring to be insider, but sometimes he's outsider desiring to be outsider. This impulse in his personality should not be ignored. It's the thing that gives him a kinship to Stephen, I think, that draws the two together. |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|03:22 am] |
Batman is really really good. Not perfect, but really really good. I'll say more after I've gotten some sleep.
One thing I will say: there were a ton of people at the midnight IMAX showing in Joker makeup and various other Batman regalia. And there were four sold-out non-IMAX midnight screenings. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that this movie breaks the all time first-weekend box office record. |
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[Jul. 18th, 2008|01:06 am] |
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ny adventures thusfar: crepes, park-walking, grabbing HOPE registration swag (incl. rfid tracker), climbing at tiny, laid back, somewhat sketchy climbing gym in the middle of central park, thai food. |
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