February 2003

Replaced here: http://artlung.com/blog/blogosphere-part-1/

Bound For the Blogosphere… So I’m on the San Diego train with my humble, falling apart laptop – about to leave for Los Angeles. Turn on my airport and WHAM! there’s a WiFi access point called TRAINDEPOT. No encryption.

I’m so pleased.

Bound for L.A. ...

...

...

—7:29p Here we go. Live at the blogosphere event.

We’re gonna see whatsup with this.

Hanging with Dennis W and some other 405ers.
—7:30p
Still waiting for something to happen.
—7:42pm
Big crowd. Nice turnout. Maybe 110 people?
—7:48pm
It’s starting. A Rhizome person talking. xeni is being introduced.

We are being videotaped live, so says Xeni. There’s a wireless network here courtesy socalwug

Now Reverse Cowgirl’s blog girl is on. How we came to be here.Rationale for being here: “it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Exciting new technology—a means to get people interacting.

I fear that my battery is going to go dead before I can finish this. Ev says he’s never been to L.A. before. Other intros of the panel members.

Just got a battery alert. This is not good. My old clamshell iBook is tired. I may have to do this analog. Ah well. Mark of BoingBoing is talking.

I’m going offline. Just asked about some AC power. No go. :-(

So long, I’m going into the real world.
—7:58pm
Bye for now.

The Past Week In Review. In Bullet Points

• I really like my new job. I am learning and teaching and DOING.
• I am enjoying revisiting something from my teens: riding mass transit. I like being able to read and chill on the way to work.
• I’m appreciating working standard office hours again, I start early in the morning. It keeps me occupied and happy. It reminds me of when I worked at ARCO in downtown L.A., but in a good way.
• My car died this week. It’s a 14 year-old Toyota Corolla. It didn’t so much die as much as it is has gone lame. It rumbles in a bad way. Tonight I took it to the shop. I hope all it needs is some TLC and a tune-up.
• Cashflow is a wonderful thing. I’m still in arrears but it’s all improving. Slowly. Surely. Slow. Steady. Wins. The. Clichés.
• San Diego has become Los Angeles. It’s got a vibrant array of immigrants. It’s got better mass-transit. It’s got bohemian snotty kids. It’s got storied characters. It’s got hellacious traffic. It’s got wonderful stores featuring exotic materials from all over the world.
• We are living in the future. There are tv screens on the gas pumps. There are tv screens inside cars. There are wireless networks all over the place. I use an encrypted connection to view my personal electronic message box from work. I am able to find directions to anywhere in the city by using a hypertext system. I am able to pay bills without ever writing a check or licking a stamp. I am able to ignore events around the world and focus on the intense media celebrityhood of my nation. I can get news from anywhere I want. I converse regularly with people I have never met and only know from their online electronical personas. This is the future.
• I see Leah regularly. She remains a wonderful person to see and have adventures with.
• I missed the racquetball on ESPN today. I forgot to tape it. This disappoints me. Of course I could buy it on DVD.
• I am a terrible correspondent with many people. My Mom for one. Several other people for another. Time is so short though. But I need to get consistent about it. I want those who read this, but with whom I don’t speak regularly… to know I feel bad about it. I’m working on it. I feel people are more important than these diversions. But these diversions also sustain me. People are core. But passions are core too. How to reconcile these two? I have no idea.
• I was taken to lunch by my staffing agency this week. I had a halibut steak. It was very tasty. I also had part of a rainbow roll (a sushi roll).
• I am still badly in need of a haircut, but I will be fine I think.
• It is an amazing life.
• I am content though, even in this half-chaos.
• Tomorrow I’m going to Los Angeles, to this thing called Live From The Blogosphere!. I think I’ll be able to sponge a place to stay with some electronic pals. Did you know that The Amtrak San Diegans are no longer called that? They’re now called Pacific Surfliners. That’s important.
• I’m also going to play some racquetball. That should be good.
• I’m also going to hang out with Leah and her kids and Leah’s pal Mickele. Adventures!
• It’s a whirlwind life.
• It’s a good life.
• It’s a unique and it’s an American life. I sort of wish I was going to one of the protests this weekend.
• I was moved this week by Senator Byrds’s comments in the Senate. Read his words here.

A New Header
There is a new header on the blog. I’m very proud of it. It contains aspects of the previous header, mentioned here. I’m holding a copy of William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition. That’s down in the Gaslamp at the trolley. I took some pictures of myself and then I got to play. It’s too late. I have racquetball in the morning, but I feel really good. Saturday is going to be great.

Ouch!
I have so much to say. And say it I must. Wow. It’s late too. Will our hero say all he can? Who knows. Stay tuned.

Geeking Out – More Changes To San Diego Bloggers
I’ve made a bunch of changes to San Diego Bloggers—I’m putting together a php/mysql database to help me manage those links easier. It’s really cool, and really geeky. Also, the story from the other day got mentioned, along with SD Bloggers over at the very cool Blogroots.

Schnikes! No Blogging In Several Days!
Here’s a brief update:

• My new job is going well.
• My car is more on the fritz, this is bad.
• But luckily, in my new job I’ve been taking the bus to work!
• Over the weekend L. and I snuck Rubio’s into a movie.
• That movie was Shanghai Knights.
• Shanghai Knights could not possibly be more historically inaccurate.
• Shanghai Knights is a whole lot of fun.
• I’m getting immersion in new features in ColdFusion MX.
• Friday when I faxed my timesheet to the contracting company, it didn’t go through.
• Monday when it got faxed, it worked. And the company has a nice automated service line I can check my hours and paycheck information with. Nice!
• I enjoy walking around downtown on my lunch hour!
• I rode The Coaster the other day, but I did it wrong and got hassled by the man. Luckily, I know the rules now. They’re silly and complicated and their vending machine is no help.
• I’ve been enjoying Cherry Coke lately.
• I like playing UNO with Leah.
• The WebSanDiego.org Links page is doing great with some help from Anita.
• I’m about to get my last unemployment check for a long while (hopefully forever?)
• I am sporting a soul patch these days.
• Current project I’m helping with: SoLongLandLord.us
• My hair is getting long, and Leah’s roommate assures me I can use his Flow-Bee. I am not sure whether to be gratified or fearful. Perhaps “both” is the best answer.

HomeStarRunner Jamboree!

• Legion Interviews Mike Chapman of HomeStarRunner.Com
• Interview with Mike and Matt Chapman, creators of Homestarrunner.com on RunDevilRun
• The Creators of Homestar Runner, The Brothers Chapman by Michael Coyle
• Ultimate HomeStarRunner E-Commerce!
• fhqwhgads, a Homestar Runner Community!
• The definition of fhqwhgads
• HomeStarRunner Store!
• Homestar Runner Breaks from the Pack by James Norton
• Homestar Runner, we love you from Columbia Chronicle
• ... and of course HomeStarRunner.com

I wish I had a source for this quote, but I like it…

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Some Cyberpunk Stuff

• Bruce Sterling, Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next – a review
• Wonderful Bruce Sterling Rant
• Mitnick Surfs The Web, finally—“When I went away, there was no such thing. I had rigged a special modem to keep me ahead of the feds during the years I was a fugitive. Most of the time I was connecting at 300 baud”
• William Gibson Interview

Simpsons! Bravo!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM VOICEACTING.COM:

The cast of “The Simpsons” on “Inside the Actor’s Studio”

Sunday, February 9, 2003 – Bravo TV (cable) – 8/7pm

In anticipation of the 200th episode of “The Simpsons”, James Lipton of Bravo’s “Inside The Actor’s Studio” sits down with the ensemble of actors behind the voices: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer.

This program will be a “must-see” for anyone interested in voice-acting.

For more information, visit the Bravo TV website at http://www.bravotv.com/.