| WHOA! |
[Nov. 19th, 2009|02:13 pm] |
I think I went a little bit sane there for a second.
But I'm better now. |
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| Woot. |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|12:15 pm] |
We have a signed contract in hand, and a rough schedule that puts house completion at the middle-to-end of September.
Now to get a loan, so we can maybe start spending some of the bank's money instead of our own. :) |
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| _Night of the Comet_ |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|03:16 pm] |
Planned to watch this over the Hallowe'en weekend, but it didn't arrive from Netflix quickly enough. So we watched it this weekend.
I'd seen it before, around the time it came out on VHS, but M. had never seen it. I remembered a couple of scenes vividly: "Daddy would have gotten us Uzis", and "Let's play a game called, 'Scary Noises'...This is it, girls, I really think so." These scenes take up maybe five of the movie's approximately 95 minutes.
What I had apparently forgotten entirely was just how excruciatingly boring the remaining ninety minutes of the movie are. It wasn't even bad, or campy, or anything. Sure, you have your '80s giant hair, but even that is about as understated as you're going to get, vintage 1984 Hollywood. It's just that nothing frigging happens. No gore--in a zombie movie! Hell, there were barely any zombies. What zombies *are* around apparently only got partial exposure to the comet; the folks on the street got full exposure and collapsed into dust. Anyway, the zombies are heading the way of the full-exposure victims, at an initial rate proportional to their level of exposure, but which apparently accelerates. So in a few days, there won't be any zombies left; all we have to do is wait them out. Zombies maintain their mental faculties until very late in the process, but the desiccation does have the secondary effect of turning them evil and cannibalistic. Fsilly me if I know why.
I could describe the movie more fully, but I've already been sufficiently bored by it this week, don't feel like being bored by it again.
The weird thing is, I remember enjoying this movie quite a bit. I must have had a much lower opportunity cost for my time back then. |
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| Anniversaries |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|08:52 am] |
Monday, it was twenty years since the Berlin Wall came down. (My brother was there, brought back a chunk.)
Yesterday, it was forty years of Sesame Street.
Today, 120 years of statehood here in Washington.
On tap for tomorrow, among other things:
- 89 years since the creation of the office of Commissioner of Baseball and the assumption of that role by Kenesaw Mountain Landis (boo, hiss).
- 82 years since the expulsion of Leon Trotsky from the Communist Party.
- 10 years since Clinton signed the bill which, among other sweeping deregulation of banking controls, repealed Glass-Steagal and is popularly presumed to have paved the way for our current financial crisis.
I wonder which one will make the headlines?
ETA: And yes, I do know I just equated both Kenesaw Mountain Landis and Bill Clinton with Josef Stalin. |
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| Gunbuster/Diebuster anime 1-word review |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|12:45 pm] |
Huh?
Slightly more detail:
The six-episode _Gunbuster_ anime (Gainax, 1988) and its sequel, _Diebuster_ (Gainax, 2004), also six episodes, play like a Cliff's Notes presentation of a much more detailed manga. Or novel. Clearly, the readers of the original source material would be able to follow the odd jumps in plotline and appreciate the handwaves at significant events. Given _Gunbuster_'s attention to hard scientific details, such as the time dilation effects of traveling near the speed of light, and hints of interesting character development, I would very much like to read the original material.
Alas, there is no such manga. Or novel. The twelve, 25-minute episodes are all there are, and I am left wondering whether the disjoint storytelling is a deliberate stylistic choice intended to reflect the leaps in personal timeline of the characters of the first series. Whatever the reason, the result is a mess of a story that should have been interesting but ultimately fails to gel enough to make me care. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|11:11 am] |
Plus: Got the new DEVO reissues yesterday.
Minus: Had to enter the album and track information manually when I went to rip them, because apparently nobody else has gotten the new DEVO reissues yet. |
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| And this... |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|01:27 pm] |
... is not twee enough:
Ew. |
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| You might be too twee for me if... |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|11:53 am] |
...the instructions on your box of tea say...
FOR THE PERFECT CUP:
While humming, bring fresh water to a boil and pour over a bag of Simply Mint. Steep for 3-5 minutes. Let the soothing taste warm and delight you.
Really? While humming? |
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| Finished my first slide deck, so... |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|03:01 pm] |
...Some random things from the weekend:
1) Quite liked the cabinet guys who came out to visit on Friday. Didn't hash everything out to the last detail, but they seemed to feel they had enough info to bring in a bid, and we had a great discussion around how to engineer--and conceal--the secret door. They do furniture, too, so we may have them build us a bed while they're doing the master bedroom.
2) Half the neighborhood was dark (as in, not at home) for trick-or-treating, and it seemed like the volume of kids was significantly diminished as well. I suspect a causative relationship there. Lucky for the boy, he and I go out toward the late end of things, and people were desperate to unload their candy. At one house that was giving out full-size candy bars, he got two. Lots of the other houses were handing the smaller stuff out by fistful(s). Giant Pixy Stix are apparently back with a vengeance--the big, 18-inch-long plastic straws, not the piddly little paper things.
3) M. wanted to go to the symphony on Sunday, and since she would have enjoyed it noticeably less if I had accompanied her, I instead took the boy to see Astro Boy. They made some interesting choices with the story. ( Minor spoilers )
4) 'Bout halfway through the new Wheel of Time novel, _The Gathering Storm_. Mostly, I'm liking what Brandon Sanderson is doing with the story. M. has some nits to pick over character issues, but I haven't hit anything that bothered me yet. ( Minor spoilers ) I still loathe Nynaeve with the hellish burn of a thousand suns--which means that Sanderson has absolutely nailed *her* character. M. hates Gawyn similarly, but tolerates Nynaeve, while I find Gawyn lame but mostly inoffensive. ObWTFIsUpWithTheDKSCoverIllo: Seriously, couldn't they find somebody who *wants* to paint a cover that will be seen by millions of readers? Even for Mr. "I only know how to paint two faces", this cover is weak sauce.
*Y'all will be very pleased to find out, I am sure, that AB is in no way a unitasker. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|02:09 pm] |
Created by Oatmeal
I'm working on my quarterly slides, I swear. |
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| I left one out. |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|09:49 am] |
One of the most toxic lies that they teach you in college Economics, this one has destroyed companies and cost investors billions, maybe trillions of dollars, and not just during the recent credit messes.
( How's that for a teaser? )
I still owe you that discussion of other economic models. This week, though, I'm prepping for my quarterly report to the Members next Monday, and writing a letter describing our test methodology "in English". |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|05:48 pm] |
This whole thing that happened in Richmond, CA this weekend (Warning! News article is potentially triggering, is certainly enraging), Jim Hines has something to say about it over in his space.
Check it out. Most of the nasty furor has died down, but I still think Jim's main point needs to be repeated--that our tendency to evaluate crimes like this as perpetrated by the Other is not conducive to expanding dialogue about prevention. |
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| What they don't tell you in 100- and 200-level Economics classes |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|03:27 pm] |
So it seems I need to talk about this, and my space is probably more appropriate than cluttering up somebody else's any more than I already have.
When you go to college and start studying something, no matter what it is, the first few classes you take tell you lies. They're not doing it to mislead you, they're doing it because you don't have the background and training to understand the advanced concepts yet.
In physics, when you start to talk about light, they get out the big rubber band to teach you about wavelength and frequency, resonance and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. "Light is like this", they say, even though light is almost *nothing* like that.
In geology, they tell you about C14 dating, point out that C14 findings are consistent with other methods of dating artifacts--such as deposit layers, and leave it at that. They don't have time to explain the drawbacks of C14 dating, or that where C14 dating falls down, they have other, well-tested methods.
In economics, they whip out the supply and demand model of a market, wave their Invisible Hand* at you, and talk about what happens when you vary elasticity, taxation, cost curves, and the like. They don't itemize their assumptions, because they distract from your understanding of the basic concepts.
So here, for your edification, is an incomplete list of the assumptions they *don't* tell you about in your early Econ classes that are required for the market to work the way they say it works:
( Is anyone surprised that this went long? )
Note to folks coming over from Facebook (or elsewhere): Anonymous comments are welcome here if you don't have or want an LJ account, but please do me the favor of identifying yourself in your comment. Thanks! |
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| A Facebook meme, transplanted |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|10:49 am] |
Only one lie in the below. Can you find it? M., you do not get a vote.
Can you fill this out without lying? You've been tagged (As a matter of policy, I don't tag people, but you're welcome to pick this up on your own), so now you need to answer all the questions HONESTLY. At the end, choose at least 8 people to be tagged. Don't forget to tag me! To do this, copy post this entire message, then go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note post, delete my answers, and type yours.
01. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? -- Earl Grey tea
02. Where was your profile picture taken? -- Shi Shi Beach, in Olympic National Park.... Read More
03. Can you play Guitar Hero? -- Oh, probably. Haven't and won't, though.
04. Name someone who made you laugh today? -- Dan Bannon, in a comment when I originally posted this on FB.
05. How late did you stay up last night and why? -- Turned my light out around 10:15. Watched the end of the baseball game, then did some reading.
06. If you could move somewhere else, would you? -- Probably not. Lots of ties here around Seattle. I might take a job in London if it paid really well and wasn't going to last more than five years. Then I'd come back.
07. Ever been kissed under fireworks? -- Yes.
08. Which of your friends lives closest to you? -- Jeff is only about 85 miles away by road.
09. Do you believe ex's can be friends? -- Can be, certainly. Don't think it's too likely with mine; I was a real asshole.
10. How do you feel about moutain dew? -- Ew.
11. When was the last time you cried really hard? -- Really hard? What's that mean? Probably in the late '80s.
12. Who took your profile picture -- I did.
13. Who was the last person you took a picture of? -- Don Mammoser, a professional photographer.
14. Was yesterday better than today? -- I hope not.
15. Can you live a day without TV? -- Sure. I do it often.
16. Are you upset about anything? -- Upset? No.
17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it!! -- Worth what? Probably.
18. Are you a bad influence? -- No. I got nobody *to* influence.
19. Night out or night in -- Depends on my mood and what the night out involves.
20. What items could you not go without during the day -- As long as I have something to occupy my mind, it doesn't matter too much what it is. I'm pretty attached to my iPhone, though.
21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? -- My father-in-law, though I don't think he was my father-in-law yet at the time.
22. What does the last text message in your inbox say? -- I don't get or send text messages.
23. How do you feel about your life right now? -- Everything is fine and wonderful
24. Do you hate anyone? -- Yes.
25. If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find? -- An invite from a guy I can't remember ever knowing, but who is friends with people I'm friends with. I need to look him up in my yearbooks or something.
26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? -- Yes.
27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before? -- I doubt it. Obviously, I don't count myself.
28. What song is stuck in your head? -- None right now.
29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be? -- I dunno, is my wife home at the time?
30.Wanna have grand kids by the time you're 50? -- No, thank you.
31. What do you have to do tomorrow? -- Meet with the cabinet guy. Work a couple of hours to finish out my 40 for the week.
32. Do you think too much or too little? -- Depends. |
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| Is it bad if... |
[Oct. 27th, 2009|01:31 pm] |
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...trying to produce a formal report in Word 2010 makes me want to code up my own fsilly word processor? |
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| This seems like an interesting exercise |
[Oct. 26th, 2009|12:58 pm] |
The meme as I have ganked it:
The problem with LJ: we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.
Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.
My expansion: Assuming y'all don't already know more about me than you ever wanted to, especially after last week, here is your license to ask anything. I will respond to* every question, no matter how personal or potentially offensive.
Ask away. I'm at least as interested to see what questions come back as y'all are to see the answers.
ETA: If, for some reason, you would like your question dissocciated from your username, send me email at george at lonelymountain dot net. I will post a comment back to this entry with the question and my response. Given this alternate avenue, I reserve the right to not respond to questions posted anonymously.
*Does not imply a commitment to candor. I will, however, try not to give the impression that I am being open and up-front if I am in fact evading. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 22nd, 2009|01:42 pm] |
Fortunately, I have an almost infinite ability to see the humor in things, no matter how ghastly.
Unfortunately, seeing the humor in something awful does not always translate into dealing well with that thing, or even in cheering me up.
Yeah, it's not a good day for me. Sorry 'bout that. |
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