April, 2002: 56 posts.
If I biked:2002Apr02
Unsent mail, private thoughts.2002Apr02
So yesterday was the 14 year anniversary of an event which changed my life immeasurably. I find myself wanting to share it with the world but in the end it was and is a private affair. Had it happened today perhaps the people involved would have blogged it, and there would be a record of it. But there is not.
I’m rather glad nobody knows about it, it was intensely embarrassing and painful.
I wrote an email to apologize for the event to send to one of the other people involved, but in the end reaching out was simply not right and would be an intrusion on this other person’s life.
Even blogging about it feels selfish, but no matter, it’s significant and was on my mind.
None of this makes sense to anyone but me, and maybe half a dozen other people on the planet.
Summation.
some thoughts are private, and intense, and important enough that they must by their very nature stay private. It’s all well and good to share your life with the public, but one must know that there are boundaries between what is public and what is private. Those borders may be fuzzy, but they are most definitely there.
This is an interesting story on teaching teenage criminals2002Apr03
Bowl Noodle2002Apr03

Nong Shim makes a lovely noodle bowl and has a great looking website in Korean. That is, the Korean website is lovely; the one in English is lame. I have been eating these for lunch lately, and they are great. Frankly, I think I’ve scared my co-workers with my obsession with Hot & Spicy Bowl Noodle. But no matter. They’re tasty.
More Lindows2002Apr03
Ramble about Vince2002Apr04
Instant addition to the sidebar: ADVOGATO2002Apr04
Welcome Pixel Viewers!2002Apr05
Lines & Grauman’s & Unintended Consequences2002Apr06
Fun fact: I was living in Alhambra California in 1977 with my parents. My Mom was pregnant with my sister. My Dad took me to see it when Star Wars first came out, at Grauman’s Chinese. That was definitely one of the experiences that drove me back to California from Virginia to be a part of the movies. I inadvertently got sucked into a passion for all things internet and web, and, here I am.
Harry!2002Apr07
The linkilicious Radical Bender’s…2002Apr07
SpecialKnittingForces.org2002Apr07
Jenny has been knitting — and with great facility — in the past few months. She made me a gray scarf with burgundy stripes. For someone who is essentially self-taught, she does great work. She also made a black, fuzzy one for herself that reminds me of Grover.
What, Politics? Me?2002Apr07
You know, things in the world are hellaciously, hideously, unreservedly chaotic. I don’t talk about politics much. I wonder sometimes if I use this venue to the fullest extent. Am I talking about the right things? What responsibility do I have to my very-few readers. What responsibility do I have to posterity?
People, children, are dying today in Isreal, Palestine, and elsewhere. I have no wisdom to offer for this other than obviously things are broken.
Of course, if you’re reading this in English you’re probably not living in a repressive regime. You probably live in a Western democracy. We are the elite of the world. All I ask is that you consider the role you play in your government. I ask you to consider the role your government plays in world affairs. If you dislike the role it takes, I ask you to do something about it. To get involved, to pay attention, and to act. But not just act as part of a herd. Be cautious of those whose cries are a bit too loud, and too certain. Beware of voices of vociferous anger — excessive emotion clouds judgement — beware of pundits bearing simple solutions.
And hey, let’s be careful out there.
No Maps for These Territories2002Apr07
Housekeeping & Miscellany2002Apr09
Also added a piece to words from November, Jenny helped me out with making it coherent. I originally wanted it to be timely, but six months on, it’s a bit dated. Luckily, I have other more current ideas in my head, and I may even follow through on them.
And in yet another addition, the Referers page has been cleaned up a bit.
Oh, and in yet another note, the archives links in the lower left of the navigation are now driven by a php script, rather than by blogger – whose archive link pages are ugly, and due to some bug sometimes, at random, make some of the links disappear. My bespoke script works pretty well. If there’s interest I may put it into the lab part of the site, or just drop me a line.
Up early again. Today’s going to be busy at work. I also have several projects in the pipeline I’m behind on. Catching up as best I can.
only for Jenny…2002Apr10
Apple CEO Gil Amelio to speak in San Diego2002Apr10
Gateway launches campaign for rights in digital music.2002Apr10
My DVD copy of the William Gibson documentary…2002Apr11
Spinhead’s egbdf.info is shaping up2002Apr11
Friday’s Useless Musings2002Apr12
Lyric of the Day, From Mr. Zappa, 1973 or so.2002Apr14
I’m gross and perverted
I’m obsessed ‘n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I am the tool of the Government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
Well, I’m the slime oozin’ out
From your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t go for help…no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
Joe’s Comment: media must serve us, not the other way around. And oh yeah, I like that Zappa fellow.
Bebe Update!2002Apr16
New Audio!2002Apr16
I’ve talked about Stew before on artlung.com — search for Stew» and The Negro Problem»
New Smorgasborg Item; Etc.2002Apr16
I am a huge fan of absurdist lyrics. My fandom of They Might Be Giants and Frank Zappa are evidence of that. I think what’s different about the lyrics of Stew/Negro Problem is tone and heft. I think that rather than having irony and satire as an endpoint, Stew’s work embraces irony and wordplay, but does not simultaneously reject what’s serious and emotional. Some of their work is silly, but much of it is melancholy and funny at the same time. I suppose that’s a pretty good description of me sometimes. Probably that’s what drew me to their work in the first place.
San Diego Jobs! Meet Anita!2002Apr19
Anita’s a very important member of WebSanDiego.org, and also has a blog, a business consultancy as a Search Engine Guru, and two eBooks.
it is a small world2002Apr20
It is indeed a small world. I’ve added Pleonasm and Ms. Hacker’s Hummina Hummina! to San Diego Bloggers. I found pleonasm via the SDBloggers Referers.
Another Stew Transcription!2002Apr20
And yet more Stew!2002Apr20
»New live in-studio appearance on KCRW
(seriously worth a listen if you want to check out Stew)
»Bio of Stew from Smile Records
Quotes of the Moment2002Apr21
– Mitch Wagner
If you don’t speak up and let yourself be heard, you lose the power to shape the debate
– Oliver Willis
Mike says, “the equivocation and silence of the non war bloggers is deafening.” I fail to see equivocation in standing foursquare against killing. But I do agree that the silence is deafening, or at least creepy. Frankly, it’s fearful. These are not safe times to oppose war. Blogging is personal. All of us, regardless of our opinions, are highly exposed.
– Doc Searls
How kooky is it that my San Diego Bloggers page is #4 in a google search for bloggers?2002Apr21
Quote of the Day2002Apr21
– Erich Hecke
I’m watching Tammy Bruce (discussing her book)on C-SPAN2002Apr21
I like how she puts it —
I want you to be able to own why you think what you think.
Amen. Do your homework, whatever your pursuasion. Everything else is whining.
Random Thought Last Night:2002Apr22
Site Tweaks: The Ronny Vardy Fansite was updated, I added even more lyrics (Stew’s Giselle) to the Smorgasborg, and I also tweaked that page a bit, adding dates to many items, and trimming away a thing or two. As I add dates to it, it starts looking like older blog entries. Lyrics, noteworthy items, links, quotes.
But then any site ordered by time starts looking like a weblog, I think. Maybe it’s this, weblogs are just like the best websites, where you pack lots of loosely related stuff together, and the result is an interesting hodgepodge.
PMRC Too-Redux’d; Read More About It!2002Apr22
The wonderful thing about the web is that you can find the full testimony online. Dee, Frank, and Denver all have great things to say in their testimony. So go ahead and read the transcripts, they’re really fun reading, as it happens.
Zappa Testimony: [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61]
Frank Zappa Statement: [61] [62] [63] [64]
John Denver Testimony: [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] [71] [72]
Dee Snider Statement: [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82]
In Brief2002Apr24
Splash Page Redesign!2002Apr24
Now, I’ve had “kitties thinking” in my sig for a while, but the kitty that was featured on the previous splash is gone, so I need to update my sig on all my various mail programs. Where’s the kitty that was here, do you ask? She’s in the portfolio.
I’m still not sure if I should archive the old splash pages publicly. Anyway, I hope you like it.
Sign O’ The Times2002Apr25
Christina Update2002Apr26
Though I am appalled that she mentioned her 11 piercings (ugh!), it is sort of interesting to ponder where they all might be. *chuckle*
I just realized I can do spellcheck in Pine2002Apr26
Transcription-mania!2002Apr27
“i was thinking – um – don’t you wish there was like another picture of Che Guevara. i’m thinking like, it woulda been like one of him at a birthday party with a bunch of nine-year olds with milk coming out of his nose cause he just laughed a joke somebody told.”
Stew rocks.
Can’t stop transcribin’:2002Apr28
Law & Order: Kaycee Nicole2002Apr28
Lone Wolf and Cub2002Apr29
Something from an interview with Harry Shearer, from March 2002:2002Apr29
Let’s get back to politics. How about Dick Cheney having to hand over documents about his energy task force and policies? A step in the right direction?
If you live long enough, one of the rewards is to get the privilege of seeing each political cliche mouthed in turn by partisans from each side. So that the same people who were desperately demanding that we know chapter and verse about Hillary Clinton’s top-secret healthcare task force are now saying, “No, no, no, confidentiality, it’s an important principle.” And vice versa.
It explains why, or it’s a consequence of the fact that most of our politicians are trained as lawyers. Because that’s exactly what lawyers are trained to do: Take this side, all right, now take this side. That’s what they do. And anybody who thinks that they’re doing anything else is welcome to bid for some Enron stock certificates on eBay, because that is the game.
Mmm, SOAPy2002Apr29
Google’s Gaffe
(this article asks if Google’s API is overly complicated by SOAP)
SOAP Wars
(the converse take)
The always interesting Shirky with another take on Web Services/APIs
SOAP vs. REST (Representational State Transfer)
Some interesting reading. Though I’m not sure where any of this is going. I think Shirky has the best thing to say about Web Services – which is that it’s an infrastructure, not a business model. Ain’t nobody gonna get rich on this stuff, but it’s an interesting way to get coordination and communication between net entities which otherwise have no direct interaction.