2008: 292 posts.

• 02-Jan-2008
  Holidays Officially Over

  Back at work, kids will go back soon-ish. A new year has begun in full force. Jobs to be done: get Wii fixed, get out of debt, get a handle on taxes, figure out where Leah and I will live next. I’ll ship the Wii today. The rest are nontrivial, but can be managed.

• 02-Jan-2008
  Citizen of the Month

  From The Two Sisters A diary is all about connecting to the past — but only through words. Here, the past was coming together in the present…in actuality! Two women from the same father, both testing the waters to see if this vague family bond matters in any tangible way. Who needs Brooklyn hipsters laughing…

• 04-Jan-2008
  Credit Cards: Pro, Con

  Interesting “debate” — caught one of these links on Reddit: Con: Ways Credit Card Companies Separate You From YOUR Money Pro: 25 Reasons to Love Credit Cards My household is definitely of the “con” variety, with Leah and I working on getting completely out of debt. I’m also an avid Dave Ramsey listener, which further…

• 04-Jan-2008
  Wacom Bamboo Fun (small)

  Got a new toy with a gifted Apple Store Gift certificate (a $100 gift cert goes a long way). Just played with it. There will be more with this. I miss my old ADB 6×8 Wacom, but this looks pretty nifty too. The size of the Wacom Bamboo is “small” (not the medium or large)…

• 11-Jan-2008
  Happy Birthday Leah!
• 12-Jan-2008
  Older, Still. Random Long Rambling.

  “Mind the noose and fare thee well.” is in my earbuds this morning. Got a lot done so far this morning. Much yet more to do. TMBG Lyrics for the morning, from Older: You’re older than you’ve ever been and now you’re even older And now you’re even older And now you’re even older You’re…

• 12-Jan-2008
  Petition: Aggressive Action by the ZFT

  Kill Ugly Radio | Frank Zappa & Elsewhere » Petition: Aggressive Action by the ZFT First, read it: We the undersigned petition the Zappa Family Trust (ZFT) to cease and desist from making threats of legal action against FZ tribute bands, FZ fan sites, Zappa music festivals and other related activities that are designed first…

• 15-Jan-2008
  Bebo: Yet Another Social Network

  I’m working with Facebook Apps this week and in looking at it I note that bebo.com apps are roughly compatible with them. So I signed up for Bebo. Anyone else in there? Here’s me: http://www.bebo.com/JoeC664

• 20-Jan-2008
  Bizarre Data-Mining Oddness from Sprint

  The image: Click through to for my speculations on how this happened, though I really have no idea.

• 21-Jan-2008
  The Figure 5 in Gold

  The Figure 5 in Gold: Charles Demuth’s Art & William Carlos Williams’ Poem This has been sitting in draft mode for a few weeks now, and now here’s the real thing. I think the first time I ever saw this painting was when I was in the 6th grade in New Orleans. It struck me…

• 21-Jan-2008
  The End of Uncov

  A blog I have mentioned before that I enjoy is closing. I hate that. Uncov, the foulmouthed CS-heavy blog. is closing, as an afterthought, Ted writes: Oh, right. One more thing. This is the last Uncov. Ever. I have been getting tired of it, and this has been manifesting itself in my writing. After seeing…

• 23-Jan-2008
  Transit

  Nothing today. More tomorrow. Photo from two weeks ago.

• 24-Jan-2008
  Movies Owned Which Can Predictably Induce Crying

  Children of Men Clean and Sober Good Will Hunting The Killing Fields Running on Empty 28 Days

• 24-Jan-2008
  Found Object

  A) Cute B) Disturbing C) Funny D) All of the above E) Other via Vintage Ads

• 26-Jan-2008
  The Misc For The Week

  Douglas Crockford on Change: Change isn’t good enough. The word change doesn’t include a direction or an intention. We have had a lot of change over the last seven years. Most of it was in a seriously wrong direction. We will be feeling the effects of that change for decades to come. I say no…

• 29-Jan-2008
  Abort, Retry, Fail

  If at first you don’t succeed. Retry. Hey y’all. Getting back in the saddle after not feeling too well. Also, I did a rough draft of my taxes and it looks like we need to save a pile of money or The Tax Man is gonna be mad. But have no fear, we have payment…

• 30-Jan-2008
  Not Very Helpful, Really

  But rather entertaining.

• 01-Feb-2008
  Some Kate Nash for Friday

  This week I discovered a show called Never Mind the Buzzcocks (episode list, lucimon84 has current episodes)– a music chat/quiz show from the UK. I found links to a bunch of shows, including ones with Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse. It’s quite British, and I don’t understand all the current references to TV Presenters, Footballers,…

• 03-Feb-2008
  Year of the Rat

  It’s Super Bowl Sunday. I don’t care, for despite going to the games of my boys I don’t follow it. I do have an interest in the commercials that come out, the internet can provide that to me now (see Mahalo) (Thanks Jason Calacanis) But that’s not really what I want to write about this…

• 05-Feb-2008
  Today, California, Vote
• 05-Feb-2008
  Kate Nash on Jools Holland

  The other day I got a comment from Ellen mentioning Jools Holland, who I have indeed heard of, and here’s Kate Nash again, singing Foundations from Jools’ show. If I haven’t warned you before, I’ll warn you now, Kate uses salty language.

• 06-Feb-2008
  Television Etiquette

  (source)

• 08-Feb-2008
  The Mind of the Market

  Fascinating video about market, social, evolutionary, genetic economics. Heck, it’s about everything. Talk at Google: via Paul Kedrosky: Michael Shermer on the Mind of the Market

• 11-Feb-2008
  Deleted

  Actual comment spam content left on one of the blogs I manage: Please, do not delete the given message. Money obtained from spam will go to the help hungry to children ugand+ Won’t anyone please think of the children?

• 12-Feb-2008
  Ah, Nostalgia

  This graf from Paul Ford is evocative for me: In the late 1980s there was a prevalent nostalgia for the 1950s that made its way into collage culture. That was my first exposure to irony proper; I watched Leave it to Beaver and bought zines with collages of men with pipes and smiling housewives. An…

• 14-Feb-2008
  Happy Valentine’s Day Leah!
• 26-Feb-2008
  Unsung: 7 Years Blogging

  7 Years! Last week was the 7 year anniversary of my blogging here on artlung.com. I had a hard week last week but I’m tanned, rested and ready. Well, not tanned, but I’m back here anyway. So I have some questions for you readers, if any. Why do you read ArtLung Blog and when did…

• 27-Feb-2008
  BarcampLA #5: I am going.

  See here, here, here and here.

• 29-Feb-2008
  Mr. Bird

  Photo by Leah. As our pied cockatiel gets older, supposedly the feathers of his face will get more and more yellow, a process we can see happening slowly with him. It’s hard to suss out how much personality he really has. He’s not quite like a dog or a cat, where there is true loyalty…

• 03-Mar-2008
  BarCampLA5, including YUI 101 Presentation Slides

  I had a great time this weekend at BarCampLA5 (barcampla.org). It was a great event, despite some apparent venue hiccups and dramas behind the scenes, plus delays due to traffic from the LA Marathon on Sunday. It went really well, held at the AOL facility in Beverly Hills. Kudos to the planners, particularly Jason Cosper…

• 04-Mar-2008
  “Stop Bending the Shafts!!!”

  Tom Hanks and David Letterman.

• 07-Mar-2008
  “Don’t Just Watch Television Tonight, Play It!”

  An old TV commercial for Atari featuring Carol Channing and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Those graphics were once amazing.

• 07-Mar-2008
  Recruiter Fail

  Todays’ Email: Dear Laurel,Just wanted to ping you on a few great companies in the LA area looking for PHP talent. Let me describe the positions briefly, and I’ll include links to more detailed information on my website. If you’re interested, you can email your most current resume to [REDACTED] and we’ll see if we…

• 09-Mar-2008
  Rock, Zevon, Swimming, Moving

  Some Zevon this morning, from a live recording on the Internet Archive that’s pretty good, which I found via UBM: I can saw a woman in two But you won’t want to look in the box when I’m through I can make love disappear For my next trick I’ll need a volunteer And more Zevon:…

• 09-Mar-2008
  Debt: Ultimate Dream Killer

  From What Are You Destined to Be ? – Blog Maverick, Mark Cuban writes: I’m also a big believer that financial debt is the ultimate dream killer. Your first house, car, whatever stuff you might want to buy are going to be the primary reasons you stop looking for what makes you the happiest. Shades…

• 09-Mar-2008
  Leah, Painting

  Leah has been doing some painting and it’s pretty great. Here’s a set of paintings that are for sale:

• 10-Mar-2008
  The Wire Ends

  The Wire ended. It was awesome. Some further reading: Heaven and Here: So Thiis Is How It Ends; The Wire: David Simon Q & A (long and really excellent); Undercover Black Man: The End of the Wire; and lastly Memo to Casting Agents: Please don’t waste actors from The Wire. As Daniels says: “To be…

• 10-Mar-2008
  “Banana Hell”

  The completely appropriate title on this post from over in Vintage Ads is “Banana Hell.” Enjoy.

• 10-Mar-2008
  Seeking “Paul Ronald Ryan” from Dodger Game, 1960s

  A colleague of mine here at work is in search of evidence of his biological father’s existence. Because he knows I’m a big internet data mining nerd he asked for my help, and in turn I ask you for help. Here’s the information he provided me: During a Dodger game during the 1965, 1966, or…

• 11-Mar-2008
  Obama is still ahead

  I have never donated money to a political campaign in my life, but last month I donated fifteen bucks to Obama. Next time we’re a bit flush I’m going to do it again. It’s time for someone with a different emphasis; it’s time to not elect someone because a family member of theirs has been…

• 12-Mar-2008
  Goings On; EA; SIGGRAPH

  I have some backlog stuff, as per usual. This weekend to catch up? I hope so. Last night I went to the SIGGRAPH Los Angeles event held at the EA facility in Marina del Rey. Devon was supposed to attend with me but he ended up distracted by girlfriend. The Electronic Arts building, or rather…

• 12-Mar-2008
  Dave Stevens: 1955-2008

  Dave Stevens has died of leukemia. Remembrances all over the comics blogosphere this morning. Here are a few: THE BEAT, Mark Evanier, Rob Ullman, Drawn!. I remember seeing The Rocketeer graphic novel in the mid-1980s and being astounded with the intricacy and delicacy of the design and artwork. Dave was a consummate artist and he,…

• 13-Mar-2008
  T.P.B. Barnett comments on citizenry’s distrust

  I’m moved by this because it speaks to my own feelings about government: Email exchange :: Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog: A lot of people out there convinced they are completely powerless in this world and that we’re being sucked into wars with no forethought. It’s a sad commentary on where we are right now…

• 13-Mar-2008
  How to Dial a Telephone (1927)

  It occurs to me that if rotary telephones were put in back service they’d have to repeat this public service message. You can put your SIM card in a rotary phone, you know. Portable Rotary Phone – Black. And here’s an art piece that represents a USB rotary dialer. If i used VOIP I would…

• 14-Mar-2008
  Joe Bennion’s Pottery

  I’m a sucker for seeing how things get made — “how do they do that?” So seeing photos over on Rick’s blog of Joe Bennion throwing some of his pottery — well — I was blown AWAY! Really wonderful to see the work being done. And Joe has even more photos over on his blog….

• 14-Mar-2008
  David Mamet on politics and reevaluating positions

  Nice essay in the Village Voice: village voice > news > David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’ by David Mamet The Constitution, written by men with some experience of actual government, assumes that the chief executive will work to be king, the Parliament will scheme to sell off the silverware, and…

• 15-Mar-2008
  The Smilie of a Completed Debt

  One of my favorite things is sending that last payment of a debt. The other day I got to do that and, while putting it in the mail is gratifying, having the check clear is even better. This morning I checked the bank account to see what has cleared, and found several cleared checks from…

• 17-Mar-2008
  File under: Stepdad Pride, Swimming, Other

  I was radar gunned by the Los Angeles County Sheriff in Malibu on my way to work. Got a pass because I was with the pack. The day is beautiful. The Pacific was blue, shimmering, calm and inviting. If only the water temperature were higher. Ah well, no matter — yesterday I went swimming at…

• 17-Mar-2008
  Two Awesome Songs

  the first via Six-Word Reviews of 763 SXSW Mp3s by Paul Ford Bridget Bardot by Creature the second via Undercover Black Man: Everyone I Know is Listening to Crunk by Lightspeed Champion lyric sample: my drawings are starting to suck my best friends are all listening to crunk i feel like the world’s gone crazy…

• 18-Mar-2008
  Robot Ponies

  Some more SXSW music: Robot Ponies by Laura Barrett It’s a wonderful science fiction pop song. There is one curse word, in case that bugs you. Sample lyrics: christmas eve, 2053 underneath every little girls tree a robot pony comb their soft and luscious nylon fur listen close hear their clockwork hearts whir robot ponies…

• 18-Mar-2008
  Big truck on fire on 118 West

  On my way home from Geek Dinner was stopped by big rig on fire on the Westbound 118 in Porter Ranch near Tampa exit. big rig was engulfed in flame and it was supposedly to do with a wrong-way driver, that’s what KNX1070 radio said anyway. It was some impressive fire that actually included the…

• 20-Mar-2008
  Hollywood Mobile Movie

  The other night at Geek Dinner I met Eric from Hollywood MobMov. He’s looking for sites for Mobile movies. He needs parking lots with 50 spaces with flat large walls adjacent. This sounds like so much fun to me! I signed up for the list. I like the idea of stuff like Cinespia (cemetery screenings…

• 20-Mar-2008
  Thirty-Eight Today

  Today I am 38 years old. I think it will be a lovely day. Followed up on some emails from Geek Dinner the other night and I’m reminded that I have yet to transcribe my notes from BarCamp which is rapidly fading from memory. Borrowed the collected DC: The New Frontier from Jukebox and enjoying…

• 21-Mar-2008
  Dog in a Sack

  You know, people have made fun of this invention, some even have derided it as cruel. However, I can see some dogs I have known kind having fun. Maybe only for short trips, I admit. And I’m certainly sympathetic to the fact that dogs can wreak havoc inside a car, as a distraction, making trouble….

• 21-Mar-2008
  Driver’s License Party Trick, Goodbye

  So this year my driver’s license expired, and so I renewed it and I had to kiss my party trick good-bye. I used to love proving I once had hair to my waist by whipping this lovely photo out. No longer, my latest license just has a standard issue terrible photo. I suppose I could…

• 21-Mar-2008
  Tracklisting: Cover Up and My Cover’s Blown

  I mentioned making some mix CDs the other day for a friend of mine. I’m pretty sure it has arrived by now, and here are the tracklistings behind the jump. The format is Number – Title . . . Artist [Originator/Populizer]

• 22-Mar-2008
  Even More David Simon

  via UBM. and previously.

• 24-Mar-2008
  Quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

  Literature that is not the breath of contemporary society, that dares not transmit the pains and fears of that society, that does not warn in time against threatening moral and social dangers — such literature does not deserve the name of literature; it is only a facade. Such literature loses the confidence of its own…

• 24-Mar-2008
  Get Lamp

  via Jason Scott. visit GET LAMP for more information.

• 25-Mar-2008
  Desk Candy; Rental; Saturday

  I enjoy having candy at my desk. My co-workers like it too. The lesson on these Starbursts is that the tropical flavored ones have wrappers that look just about the same as the regular ones, but they just don’t taste good enough, and taste too different from the regular that they are surprising in a…

• 25-Mar-2008
  Raccoon Hound!

  I have met Chuck. He belongs to Dooce and Blurb and Leta. He is awesome. Here’s how awesome he is. The photos are particularly awesome.

• 26-Mar-2008
  Finest Bad Movie Review Ever

  Really, an exegesis of the concept of a bad movie. Joe Queenan’s review of “The Hottie and the Nottie” entitled: From hell from UK’s The Guardian: This brings me to my major point. To qualify as one of the worst films of all time, several strict requirements must be met. For starters, a truly awful…

• 27-Mar-2008
  People are listening to speeches… by Obama

  Maybe it really is a YouTube generation. These are some impressive numbers for the viewings of the speeches for the Obama Campaign: Here’s the source: Welcome to the age of the sound blast by Micah L. Sifry and Andrew Rasiej on Politico.com. via Craig Newmark for Huffington Post in turn via NewsGang twitter feed. So…

• 28-Mar-2008
  And Then…

  So we got a phone call yesterday that we got the house where we’re going to live next. Having this settled (even in the absence of paperwork, which we’ll do today) is a great load off our minds. Once again the wisdom of simply driving around where you want to live and looking for signs…

• 29-Mar-2008
  JavaScript Geekery: John Resig

  If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’ll mention it now, I have done some with with jQuery. It’s impressive stuff. I quite enjoyed watching this talk by jQuery creator John Resig: JavaScript Talk at Northeastern. Perhaps you will too.

• 29-Mar-2008
  The Thing with the Video Card

  Author’s note, I started drafting this several months back and never finished it. I share it now because what the heck else will I do with it? It’s like a story with no end. A burrito with no tortilla. A car with no gas. Enjoy. So the other night I could scarcely sleep, and what…

• 29-Mar-2008
  Upgraded to WordPress 2.5

  This morning I upgraded this blog to WordPress 2.5. For the time being I’m going to keep a generic theme while I learn some stuff about the new version. via Zeldman.

• 30-Mar-2008
  Folksonomy-as-Activism

  I quite like this approach to bring attention to conferences with poor gender diversity, by Dori Smith of Backup Brain: Given that I’ve been ranting about this issue for several years now (boy, time flies when you’re having fun, don’t it?) and nothing has changed, I figured I’d try something new this time: creating a…

• 30-Mar-2008
  Cat and Girl Donation Derby!

  Several months ago I donated money to Dorothy, the super-duper-awesome cartoonist of Cat and Girl — she has this thing called “Donation Derby”: Support my lavish lifestyle! Donate $5 or more and I’ll draw you a picture of how I spend it. Include your address and I’ll mail it to you. The other day, my…

• 30-Mar-2008
  New Ronny Vardy Etsy Store

  Hey Cool! There’s a new Ronny Vardy Etsy Store and I made a note of it. I’ve been a fan of her work since 2001 or so. Since then, I did this strange thing many years ago and started a Ronny Vardy Fan Site. I can only update sporadically, but I enjoy when I can.

• 30-Mar-2008
  Quote of the Day

  “It’s on Like Donkey Kong” – Jessica Kinni, from the appalling and enjoyable Rock of Love II UPDATE: Please note, she did not originate this phrase. Thanks Jukebox!

• 31-Mar-2008
  Race & Cesar Chavez Day

  Did you know that today is Cesar Chavez day? It is. I don’t reference my heritage as a person of Mexican descent very often, if at all. My mother’s side of the family practiced assimilation. The kids were discouraged from learning Spanish. The story I was told was that my maternal grandparents (now both deceased)…

• 01-Apr-2008
  Something from The Onion

  9/11 Conspiracy Theories ‘Ridiculous,’ Al Qaeda Says

• 01-Apr-2008
  Computers, Tron & Clifford Stoll

  I’m not sure how many of you have fond memories of the movie Tron, but I do. I recall going with my uncle to some office to play “Adventure” — an early (1983) text adventure game. My uncle was friends with various folks in electronics manufacturing in the early 1980s in San Diego. So I…

• 01-Apr-2008
  Twenty Year Anniversary

  I don’t care for April Fool’s Day, but the opportunity to think about mistakes is a nice one. Five years ago, in No Fooling., I wrote: 15 years ago I learned something critical and important about myself. It’s beyond the scope of this blog to talk specifics, but let’s simply say that I made some…

• 02-Apr-2008
  Ebert will be reviewing again

  In the Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert announces his return to reviewing movies: Are you as bored with my health as I am? I underwent a third surgery in January, this one in Houston, and once again there were complications. I am sorry to say that my ability to speak was not restored. That would require…

• 02-Apr-2008
  Like Lee Perry, I’m Very On

  “First, he balances drum and bass, to get a basic rhythm” Ah yes indeed it’s fun times. Video link via Positive Ape Express. Hah! Wikipedia claims Lee Perry‘s birthday is March 20th, like me!!! I didn’t know that. If I did, I certainly forgot it. I’ll have to add that to my already proud list…

• 03-Apr-2008
  Ode To Thursday

  Who am I kidding? I don’t want to write an ode. It’s six in the mornin’. Starting early. Having lunch with a good pal I’ve not seen in a few years. This could be fun. Swam yesterday, TWICE. Even shared a lane swimming laps. It was fine. I swam every day in the past 7…

• 04-Apr-2008
  Oh That Yahweh!

  Sinfest remains a favorite for me. By turns smart, ribald, dirty, funny, sexy, thoughtful, deep — it’s exactly what an online comic should be.

• 04-Apr-2008
  Multiple Roles in Movies

  The other day at lunch my workmates and I spent an inordinate amount of time discussing people who played multiple roles in the same film. The major one I thought of was Peter Sellers — and Eddie Murphy is practically the canonical example from Coming to America. It vexed me that I could not think…

• 04-Apr-2008
  The Underwater Boy

  Tuesday morning on the way to Camarillo I was stuck in some traffic: Yesterday morning I went into work early, via PCH, and the overcast was sort of pretty: And this is what I look like after a swim: I think of swimming laps as a bit like methadone. I’m looking forward to the heroin…

• 05-Apr-2008
  Moving Day

  In about an hour, we go pick up the truck from U-Haul, then we start the incredibly fun process of actually moving. For everything we own, probably 75% is ready to be put in a truck and moved. The rest not quite yet. But we do have all weekend. Getting the truck for two days,…

• 07-Apr-2008
  Yes, we’re moved.

  Mostly, and tired. And achy. Leah’s back, my knee. But we’re getting there man. We’re getting there. 95% done. Kids did phenomenal work. Leah did incredible packing. Big ups to all. That’s it this morning. More content, possibly, tomorrow. (wearily) Onward (/wearily)

• 07-Apr-2008
  Okay, one more post today.

  But only because I’m narcissistic: Photo of me and Erin’s cat Frida from I believe 1990 (though possibly 1989, but I doubt it): Thankfully, my mustache phase did not last too long. I suppose every man has to try it out for a while. Thanks Erin for posting that! The craziest part of the photo,…

• 07-Apr-2008
  Recruiter Etiquette, Or Lack Thereof

  Recruiters who track me down to office phone at my dayjob = INSTANTLY BLACKLISTED FOREVER. Don’t abuse company directories. The fact that that number does not appear anywhere on any resume I’ve ever posted, anywhere on the web, for the ten years I’ve been posting resumes to the web and to online job search services,…

• 08-Apr-2008
  Hilarious Outrage

  Tony Pierce pointed to some writing in his post our biggest story on la times blogs about how “right wing” bloggers were in a tizzy about this ad: I read a few, just a few, and chuckled. We in California live in former Mexican territory. And this ad plays on some of the history with…

• 08-Apr-2008
  Tweetclouds.com visualization of “artlung”

  A unique visualization of my twitter posts from tweetclouds.com – basically parsing by unique word, discarding “stop words” as described here. See it below. I like how replies to leahpeah appear: large and important and central.  My first “tweet” – a post to twitter of 140 characters or less – was on October 12, 2006….

• 09-Apr-2008
  Water is a Balm for my Self

  I’ve been pondering how it is that I can get a mania for swimming when any daily exercise routine I’ve adopted has fallen by the wayside. But I have no trouble getting in the water to swim. Last week I asked my friend Chris, who I’ve now known for 22 years, if it makes sense…

• 10-Apr-2008
  Hypoxic Training?

  So yesterday I worked a short day, then Leah and I did errands, including more last-phase moving from the old house. At the end of the day, Leah went to a blogger meetup thing in Calabasas, and while she was there I went to the great public pool near there. I swam for longer than…

• 11-Apr-2008
  “Hi, I’m Joe”

  Four days in a row swimming. Previous days-in-a-row maximum for daily lap-swimming: seven. Day before yesterday I swam for longer, arrived early, and it was quite busy. There was a group of special needs kids doing laps. I waited patiently for an opening as all the other lanes were doubled. I had been nervous about…

• 13-Apr-2008
  Lyrics of the Day: Heidegger in Harlem

  (by The Negro Problem, from Post-Minstrel Syndrome) (whistling) Heidegger in harlem on a sunday afternoon black paint streaming down his face he’s trying to equalize the distortion in his room people screaming “unify your race” but see it takes so long la da da long i have heard, Martin i want to thank you for…

• 14-Apr-2008
  Beach Time, Not Quite

  It was warm yesterday. I went to the beach late in the day but the water is 56 degrees F. The lifeguard says it doesn’t get into the 60s until June. I now know 56 is too cold for me now, my calves were instantly numb, and not in a good way. Hypothermia is not…

• 14-Apr-2008
  Barnett and Kunstler on Obama’s Impolitic Words

  Two iconoclastic thinkers who I think would usually disagree (Barnett is an optimist/realist; Kunstler is nearly apocalypticist) are in complete agreement! This is a nice surprise. James Kunstler (foul language, sorry): Barack Obama caught hell last week for daring to tell the truth about the ragged thing that the American spirit has become. He said…

• 15-Apr-2008
  Breakdancing Kid on Mr. Rogers

  via vintage_ads

• 15-Apr-2008
  Boøwy: Plastic Bomb

  Boøwy was a Japanese rock group consisting of Kyosuke Himuro (vocals), Tomoyasu Hotei (guitar), Tsunematsu Matsui (bass) and Makoto Takahashi (drums). They were a rock band that reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s. Their style of play varied from punk to pop rock and they had fans of all ages. The 1990s band…

• 16-Apr-2008
  Tax Day Was Yesterday And Today I Am Not Dead

  My day started yesterday with my aunt calling me at 7:30am and calling me a “goober.” And it’s true, Leah and I, especially me, were not prepared for what we knew was coming in the way we needed to be. We had done some good work, but our move kept getting prioritized above doing the…

• 16-Apr-2008
  Iron Man… the cup!

  I actually followed the Iron Man comic for a few years back in the mid-to-late 1980s, so I’m a fan. And it was a hot day, so I splurged on this collectible. A bit of fun, and the Slurpee was delicious.

• 17-Apr-2008
  Bible Reading of the Day; Mom

  From my Mom — it’s Matthew 6:25-34. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not…

• 17-Apr-2008
  Adventures on the Work Phone Number

  Setting: MY WORK PHONE RINGS. Background: PEOPLE HERE COME TO MY DESK, USE IM, OR USE EMAIL. RECRUITERS ON THE OTHER HAND FIND MY RESUME, USE THE CORPORATE DIRECTORY TO TRACK ME DOWN, AND CALL. I HATE THIS, BUT WHAT CAN I DO, NOT ANSWER MY PHONE?) Recruiter: “Hi Joe, I’m [redacted] from [redacted] we…

• 18-Apr-2008
  Free Simi Valley E-Waste Collection

  At the mall, today and tomorrow. I have two monitors I’m looking forward to getting rid of. Simi Valley Town Center Press Releases Simi Valley Town Center will again host an E-wast collection on Friday and Saturday, April 18 and 19. The event will be from 9am to 3pm both days. Residents and Businesses are…

• 18-Apr-2008
  Kids, younger

  Took this photo with my phone this morning at the old house. It’s of an old, faded photo in a dilapidated frame. This shot by Leah is from a bit before I knew them — I think. They are so tiny! They’re now all between 13 and 19 years old and look quite different. Three…

• 20-Apr-2008
  Welcome to Thunderdome!

  Tyler is 15 now and has been playing competitive league basketball pretty much for 4 years I think. He’s been playing football even longer. He’s on the High School Freshman teams for both. Anyway, yesterday I took Tyler out to his basketball games in Santa Barbara. It was a pretty good time overall. Ty reminds…

• 21-Apr-2008
  Weekend’s End

  Weekend was great overall. Next weekend: my sister’s wedding! Very exciting. Here’s Ty warming up with his team before the game yesterday: Yes, he is often just a blur. They lost, but played well, and had great sportsmanship. They were playing up, and played very classy as the other team started to gloat. It’s hard…

• 22-Apr-2008
  Poor Communications Skills

  …about coffee. via vintage ads

• 23-Apr-2008
  So Tired

  So this is me after a slightly longer swim than normal after skipping two days. I wore myself out. I twittered this too, but I’m not sure being immediately sore is the sign of a good workout, or poor form, or overexertion, or not enough warming up, or the gap between times swimming, or just…

• 23-Apr-2008
  Bicycling the 405

  Madness. via tony pierce, via laist, via banned bikes. As a sometime 405 commuter, I’m amazed at what the the *motorcycles* do, let alone what bikes could do. I wonder what science fictional scenario gets the 405 freeway repurposed for bikes. Maybe $10/gas? Update: Banned Bikes has an update post — Freeway Aftermath, which points…

• 24-Apr-2008
  Flying Tomorrow

  Feeling busy. Got to pack. Work too. Feeling pretty good, all in all. Not sure what to say beyond that. What else is there, anyway?

• 28-Apr-2008
  Back from D.C.

  Great trip. My sister is married! So happy for her and Daniel. Here’s right as they were officially pronounced. Beautiful ceremony, great reception, much dancing. Back home now, and taking the day off to recover.

• 29-Apr-2008
  Before and After Trip

  Leahpeah and me, approximately before and after our trip: Onward, y’all! And hey, what’s up with the hot weather out here? And when are the darn water temperatures going to rise to go with the air temperature rise?

• 29-Apr-2008
  Terrific Article: Microsoft/Yahoo

  Excellent rundown of what the scenarios are for a Yahoo/Microsoft. I’m not as expert at understanding financial issues as some others, but I feel like this made me smarter — If Microsoft goes fully hostile on Yahoo by Marc Andreessen. I often see job opportunities for working at Yahoo — contracting positions at various facilities…

• 29-Apr-2008
  Leah has an essay in this

  Picked it up today at lunch — Things I Learned About My Dad: Humorous and Heartfelt Essays. Edited by dooce. Congratulations Leah! Much more info and links to the other contributors over at Heather A’s blog.

• 30-Apr-2008
  Music Vids of the Day

  Both covers. Both awesome. Blitzkrieg Bop (about this song) by Gus and Fin (via BoingBoing): Rock the Casbah (about this song) by Rachid Taha (via Neil Kramer): Now that should start your day off right. It did mine. Off to the pool! And possibly Fry’s Electronics. Possibly.

• 01-May-2008
  Clay Shirky at 2.0 Conference

  I didn’t go to the Web 2.0 Expo last week, but I did read Sassy’s concise wrap up. Some video from the conference is out there, here’s social software thinker Clay Shirky: Here’s Clay’s writeup.

• 01-May-2008
  Sickly Joe; Ubuntu; Finances; April Wrap-Up

  Yesterday I went swimming early, which was great. I was tired after about 15 minutes, but pressed on to do a full 30 minutes. I actually noticed myself getting tired the night before at about 20 minutes, but went 45. One of the things about exercising (ugh! I despise that word!) is that I’m more…

• 02-May-2008
  Sickish. Misckish.

  Still feverish. Nasal congestion ahoy! Cough productive now. I would rather <i>move</i> than be sick right now. That’s pretty bad. Some miscellaneous items for you: Hindsight is 20/20: quotes about Iraq from before we started: Voices: The Quotes That Sent Us To War. My favorite: “Having defeated and then occupied Iraq, democratizing the country should…

• 04-May-2008
  Sickness’ End and DOS Joe

  This morning, after a fitful 14 hours of sleep, I woke up feeling better. This crud I got — microorganisms all taking over my whole nasopharyngeal area and causing systemic disruption that among other things caused me to miss swimming 3 days in a row. Actually, I shouldn’t go today either, so that’s like 4…

• 05-May-2008
  A Few Updates

  We have a tiny grapefruit tree in our yard. I’m told the fruit is small and tart. We have possums in the yard. Leah saw a cat-sized one maybe 2 weeks ago. Yesterday I saw a tinier, cuter one. We go through so many headphones and earbuds. I think the kids really do eat them….

• 06-May-2008
  Back in the saddle, again…

  Headed out. Only a little phlegm, and only a bit of vomiting this morning. Luckily I’ve scarcely eaten. My head is clear, my fever is gone, and I’m not coughing at all. My throat is a bit sore. There was a bomb threat yesterday at work apparently, but I’d really like to get out of…

• 07-May-2008
  Gmail Bozo Tag

  I subscribe to several mailing lists. A beelion years ago we used to call these things “listservs” — basically it’s an email address that is an alias for a whole group of people, and when you send mail to it, everyone on the list gets a copy. WebSanDiego was my mailing list for a long…

• 09-May-2008
  $3.999 per Gallon

  I might have paid four bucks per gallon before, but last night was the first time I recognized it as such. This was in Calabasas on my way home. Still mildly sick. I was thinking of going swimming this morning, but I still have some phlegm. I thought about swimming last night but it’s still…

• 09-May-2008
  Process

  These photos of Drake Brodahl’s process of making some art are inspiring — PUMML: Process. It’s almost like a how-to. It definitely gives me ideas. Maybe it will inspire you too?

• 10-May-2008
  Eloquent Defense of Kidblogging

  Heather “Dooce” Armstrong has had a busy few weeks. The book she edited was released, she went to New York and came back, and she appeared on National Television™. Hidden in among all that activity is as eloquent a defense of blogging about your kid as I’ve ever read, and it’s well worth reading for…

• 10-May-2008
  Movies This Year

  One of the things we do at work, at lunch and otherwise, is talk about movies, old, new and forthcoming. We kibitz and argue and I get a lot out of it. I like talking about movies about people who care about them. The one movie I am excited about that NOBODY else is is…

• 10-May-2008
  Iron Man, Redesigned

  As a follow-up to talking about Iron Man, here are some alternate designs for Iron Man from Project Rooftop: Iron Man Invincible Upgrade, and Part II Some great designs!

• 11-May-2008
  Misc, Art, Mother’s Day

  It’s been a long while since I did a full wrap up of what I’m looking at and reading. So here’s some miscellaneous stuff I’ve read and thought about and watched and listened to. Tom Bickle asked some really interesting philosophical questions today: How entitled?: What’s in a name? Surely, any communication carries with it…

• 12-May-2008
  As a matter of fact…

  …I blogged over the weekend. Read that instead of something new today. Misc, Art, Mother’s Day (that’s a good one!) Iron Man, Redesigned (cool links to neat different Iron Man designs!) Movies this Year (the movies I want to see; we didn’t see Speed Racer this weekend, but I suspect it’s not very good —…

• 12-May-2008
  Passing Strange on The View

  Yesterday I blogged that Passing Strange would be on The View, and here it is, posted to YouTube by Jeff Downing! I’m so proud of stew! He just blogged about it too!

• 13-May-2008
  Seven Nominations for Passing Strange

  I don’t usually have cause to watch the Tony Awards. This year is different though. Passing Strange–the show which is the brainchild of Stew and Heidi Rodewald, both of the band The Negro Problem–:is nominated for seven Tony Awards! Best Musical Best Original Score Best Book of a Musical Best Orchestrations (Stew & Heidi Rodewald)…

• 13-May-2008
  Passing Strange on iTunes May 27, 2008

  And more Stew news! Can’t wait! Strange’ soundtrack on iTunes Cast recording exclusive to Apple By GORDON COX “Passing Strange” will be the first Broadway tuner to release its original cast recording exclusively on iTunes, more than a month before the CD arrives in stores. Ghostlight Records’ digital release, set for May 27, makes the…

• 13-May-2008
  After Action Report: SIGGRAPH, Petersen Auto Museum, Chris, Canter’s

  Last night I went to the SIGGRAPH LA event at Petersen Auto Museum. It was a terrific event and there was much inspiration and food for thought. I met my friend Chris Greazel there. It’s always great to see Chris. Apparently a touch screen “minority report” type interface for visualizing accessories has increased sales of…

• 14-May-2008
  Three by Missing Persons

  Missing Persons is not a band I ever got way into, but I remember liking their music. My uncle had Spring Session M and we listened to that record on his stereo when we went to Lake Dolores (a long defunct waterpark halfway to Las Vegas). Keep in mind I was 10 years old in…

• 14-May-2008
  Upcoming Documentaries

  Despite being excited about Speed Racer, I find myself unimpressed by the vast majority of the movies that come out. Two documentaries that are on tap look really great though. The first is American Teen (via Slashfilm, and again): The second is Surfwise (via Slashfilm):

• 14-May-2008
  Murderball

  So at lunchtime today I went and swam again. A week without swimming is like a week without sunshine, baby! Good to get back but it wore me out. Maybe I should have stretched before? I figure if I ramp up slowly that counts as stretching for swimming, but maybe I need to rethink that….

• 18-May-2008
  Go Speed Racer Go!

  On Thursday night, I went and saw Speed Racer in IMAX at The Bridge across the street from work. I mentioned before that I wanted to see it but nobody seemed to be excited about it but me, then I mentioned that my buddy Chris told me he saw it and liked it. Leah and…

• 18-May-2008
  Swimming in Malibu

  Water temperatures this weekend are 59 degrees Fahrenheit, according to watchthewater.org. I really wish that site also covered Ventura County. I have to make due with the Nicholas Canyon numbers. I wanted to go to Malibu to lap swim, actually, so I headed out at 10:30am or so. When I got there, however, the pool…

• 19-May-2008
  Malibu Kiteboarders, April

  Back in April I tried and failed to swim in the ocean. It was just too cold. But in traveling south from Camarillo through Malibu I did see these kiteboarders. That is not really my thing, but they looks like they were having fun! Yesterday along with the other photos I put up, I put…

• 19-May-2008
  Weekend Update

  I had some side project-y stuff I wanted to work on, but instead: Saturday I went to the beach, and Sunday we went to Tyler’s two basketball games. I did blog though: about Speed Racer, and about going to the beach, I also uploaded a pile of photos to flickr. This week is going to…

• 20-May-2008
  Houseguests!

  The houseguests have arrived! We’ll have my brother-in-law, his wife and their four (or is it five) year old son with us. Things will be different. I have always loved living in housefuls of family or de facto family. It feels like the most natural state of affairs. I wonder if that’s what a tribe…

• 21-May-2008
  Tennis Pong

  Really wonderful silliness via B3ta: And now, live from Wimbledon, the interactive Pong championships 2008 Busy today. Lots happening. Behind on some side stuff, but the day job has to come first. Also, got to hit the pool at lunchtime. Promise to catch up soon!

• 22-May-2008
  Blade Runner BMW Ad

  Really cool German BMW Ad which uses multiple motifs prop items from the film Blade Runner. I like the usage of Science Fiction in unusual places. I’m reminded of a post from last December, Robot Meets Girl.

• 22-May-2008
  Plan for Saturday

  So fun. Our new houseguests are big fans of the Narnia books. I got tickets to see the new Nania movie, Prince Caspian, and the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. I think it will be fun! I think we’ll just drive and park, but it might be fun (or maybe easier?) to take the Red…

• 23-May-2008
  Dawn Patrol

  Woke up early this morning and hit the pool early. Dawn Patrol baby! Hehe. I wonder if you know that idiom. Do you? Well let’s let the popup window spewing advertising fest about.com tell you: What is a “dawn patrol?”: For those unfamiliar with the term, “dawn patrol” refers to a surfer’s arrival to the…

• 23-May-2008
  AIDS/LifeCycle – Sponsor Mok!

  My friend and co-worker Mok is riding in the AIDS/LifeCycle — Mok’s Donation Page: Mok is super cool, he advised me on where to find biking clothes and equipment down in L.A., and when I asked him where to buy swimming goggles, he pulled a pair out of his workout bag at work! That’s seriously…

• 27-May-2008
  Fry’s, El Capitan, Geocaching & My Stanky Feet

  Friday afternoon I answered a tweet of the incomparable ChefJoanna which ended up getting one of our houseguests a very full night of work doing such things as separating crab from crabshell. Joanna needed a replacement assistant for the night, her regular assistant having gotten into a car accident. When I called her up on…

• 27-May-2008
  “DISPAIR BREEDS JIHAD”

  Comment here.

• 28-May-2008
  Soy Cowboy: Lily Pads & Rock Cod

  After high school, it became something of a fetish of mine to travel from San Diego to Los Angeles and do various sightseeing. One of the things I (and my friend Chris) used to hit was the Art Center College of Design gallery. For us, Art Center was the pinnacle of cool, of talent, of…

• 28-May-2008
  I’m proud of my regularity. SWIMMING regularity.

  At 7am this morning at the pool in Camarillo the kid (okay, he’s probably like 18 or 19, but I’ve taken to thinking of anyone I estimate is 30 years or less as a kid) at the desk recommends the frequent pass. I pay $3 a pop to swim there, and with this pass I…

• 28-May-2008
  Last.fm Wallpaper Generator

  Cool tool! If you have a Last.fm account, which I do, you can generate an image with the covers of the music you listen to: Last.fm Wallpaper Generator. It’s out of date since I don’t have Last.fm turned on these days, but it’s not a bad representation. found via the excellent Kill Ugly Radio

• 28-May-2008
  Rachel Ray, Terrorist.

  My latest favorite blogger is Nick Mamatas, writer. He writes as Nihilistic Kid. He writes about some stupid dust up about Rachel Ray and Palestine. I tend to avoid political blogs, but it turns out Michelle Malkin is a dope. Nick is funny. I remember him from a long time ago when Kynn did a…

• 29-May-2008
  Housekeeping Miscellany

  So over on the right hand side of the main page of artlung.com there I include a statement about when I’ll be available for work, and that just changed again. I am continuing on with Sierra for another two months while we continue an ongoing project. It’s always simpler to renew something than it is…

• 29-May-2008
  Commute

  So I talked to my Mom and she’s having a rough go of it right now. Hard to hear that someone you love is in pain. Her spirits were high though, and I love her very much. She’s looking forward to her and my Dad’s 40th Wedding Anniversary June 15th. Miss her a lot. Sometimes…

• 29-May-2008
  Rooftop Vehicle Storage

  So a local (Culver City) car dealer started storing cars on the top of our parking garage. I always park on the roof, so anytime I am up there I see the cars. I have taken to think of these cars as an economic indicator. They all seem to be SUV vehicles. I wonder about…

• 01-Jun-2008
  The Misc on the Bus Goes Round and Round

  I had gotten in the habit of blogging every weekday for the last few weeks, but broke that streak by not blogging on Friday or subsequently, until this lovely Sunday morning. So, yes. What is to say, exactly? The answer is that there are quite a few random datapoints I could mention. Here are a…

• 02-Jun-2008
  Big Week

  Yesterday was great. We’re a part time big family. 11 for dinner, one of whom was a girlfriend, one of whom was a friend. Leah did amazing job with the meal, and our houseguests provided a smashing success of a dessert. Well, I say houseguests but I mean Heather. Incredible cook, she is. Anyhoo, no…

• 03-Jun-2008
  Swimmer’s Ear & Colombia

  So I’ve been swimming regularly and since I’ve not swum (is that right right conjugation?) this much since I was a teenager, I suppose it follows that I might come down with the Swimmer’s Ear that was a hallmark of my summers as a teen. I knew something was wrong Saturday as I was having…

• 04-Jun-2008
  Late Night

  Leah did leave last night for Colombia. I’m glad we said our goodbyes yesterday morning rather than having dinner at LAX, since it didn’t work out to connect before her 9pm flight. But I did work a little late last night. Nice night, but chilly. I think I needed a sweater last night. I tried…

• 06-Jun-2008
  Oh, the incredible miscellany of it all; Who I’m reading these days

  Yesterday I saw the new Indiana Jones movie with Jukebox JT and his wife, and the seeing and the talking after was fun, but the movie is not, uh, good. But I don’t want to talk about that. I’ve got a backlog of stuff to mention. Ready? Go! I used to work with Electromute, I…

• 07-Jun-2008
  Thank You, Hillary

  Back in January I indicated I wanted Obama to be my President. I still do.

• 09-Jun-2008
  Test Post.

  Pay no attention. Thanks. Also, very busy. No blog post today. Glad Leah’s back though.

• 11-Jun-2008
  Stew on Theater Talk

  Very enjoyable. And also: Stew Plays Drunk at the Obies (read the whole thing), it does get a bit too wild for work: Because of Stew, I am looking forward to the Tony Awards. I don’t believe it either.

• 11-Jun-2008
  Drop Everything for this Stew Interview

  Interview with Stew Hilarious and insightful, as he often is: Here’s a quote! What did you know about theater or Broadway before you developed this show? Very little. I had a lot of respect for people like Bertolt Brecht. I had read Brecht, and he touches a lot of rock performers more than any other…

• 11-Jun-2008
  My Wife Met Juan Valdez

  Beat that, internet!

• 11-Jun-2008
  Plurk. Yes, another social network with dubious merits.

  Interesting interface, nice timeline, pretty. I intend to look at the JavaScript under the hood. [larger]

• 12-Jun-2008
  Wood Beez + Scritti Politti + 1980s Music

  Wood Beez is turning into one of those songs that I play over and over and over and over in an effort to, what, understand? Get it? Enjoy? The video is deconstructionist frippery, and ultimately harmless. The black pride salute reference is an interesting choice. I remember liking Perfect Way and Wood Beez, and taping…

• 13-Jun-2008
  June Gloom

  View on the way into work today. Pretty in a June Gloom way. Onward into the weekend!

• 13-Jun-2008
  Silliness of the Day

  Keep your kids safe. via Kynn.

• 16-Jun-2008
  Oh, right, blogging. Hi!

  Points that may or may not represent a plane. Had a nice father’s day. Got a Happy Father’s Day card from the kids and none of the four kids felt it necessary to add “step” to my appellation. A nice surprise. Drove by the beach yesterday, pretty. Talked to my Mom and Dad yesterday on…

• 17-Jun-2008
  My Name Is Elderberry! How Do You Do?

  In March I wrote about a recruiter calling me “Laurel”: Today’s bad automated email starts like this: Hello Elderberry The following position is open with one of our largest billion dollar clients. Please review the requirement below with our direct client.If you are interested, please send an updated resume in a word document format and…

• 19-Jun-2008
  In Brief: Happily

  Last night at LA Flash: Chumby Fest! I had the incredible thing happen, I won a Chumby. It’s cute, and hackable. I will be adoring its cuteness and hacking its hackability when I get some time. Work is busy right now, and I’m enjoying it a great deal. It’s stretched my OO skills in PHP5,…

• 24-Jun-2008
  General Zod Never Fails

  …to add levity to my busy days. Learning lots, doing lots. Love that Zod!

• 24-Jun-2008
  ArtLung Blogpost Count

  MAS did it, then JeSais did it, and heck, I was curious. What is the number of times I’ve posted to blogs I’ve participated in? artlung.com: 3,160 posts on my personal blog (posting since 2001). sandiegoblog.com: 698 posts from me on my old city blog. No longer posting there much since I sold it. ronny…

• 25-Jun-2008
  My Sister Is Beautiful

  She’s not as public a person as me, but she is so awesome and so beautiful and I’m very happy for her and proud of her. Here’s a photo of my little sister and her husband on their wedding day.

• 25-Jun-2008
  On My Mind Now

  If I were to try to try and describe the contents of my brain, I think the simile I’d use would be that it’s like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz, with a swirling mass of items rotating around in it — a messy mass. But that tornado does move the plot along rather…

• 26-Jun-2008
  Around the Web

  Chuck got married. Mazel tov! There’s a Princess Bride Game, and I can’t quite tell if the thing is serious. These primitive sketches for some notable web sites are interesting. These four calendar pages are Surfrider Foundation. The pages make their point pretty well. Surfers versus Paparazzi. My bet would be on the surfers. John…

• 05-Jul-2008
  Everybody’s coming home for lunch these days: Camper Van Beethoven

  I underestimated Camper Van Beethoven when I was younger. Yes, I loved this song, and also Good Guys and Bad Guys, but I missed how interesting they were, probably because their sound is so organic and folky. But I’ve rectified this by picking up their new “best of” collection called Popular Songs Of Great Enduring…

• 05-Jul-2008
  And then, I tried to catch up with my blogreading.

  So I went almost a week without blogging, then the 4th of July happened, and now it’s the weekend. Now I can catch up with some blogreading, and perhaps I’ll share some of the things I find with you. Perhaps I’ll even share some of my own thoughts about this past week. Let’s start, shall…

• 06-Jul-2008
  Sassy Dad

  Matt & Beth Lee are now parents. I’m so happy for them. I expect this was an amazing 3 day weekend for them.

• 09-Jul-2008
  Lyrics of the Moment

  Man, It’s So Loud In Here Baby, check this out. I’ve got something to say. Man, it’s so loud in here. When they stop the drum machine and I can think again, I’ll remember what it was. And also, James K. Polk: in four short years he met his every goal he seized the whole…

• 09-Jul-2008
  The Pro From Dover Sees Surfboards
• 10-Jul-2008
  The Morning Sun

  Maybe I should get up earlier more often.

• 12-Jul-2008
  The Truth

  This post is inspirational for me as a programmer: Call Me Fishmeal.: Pimp My Code, Part 15: The Greatest Bug of All Software is written by humans. Humans get tired. Humans become discouraged. They aren’t perfect beings. As developers, we want to pretend this isn’t so, that our software springs from our head whole and…

• 15-Jul-2008
  San Francisco Suggestions?

  Hey-o: Leah and I are going to BlogHer this weekend, now I, not being a woman, and wanting to relax anyway, am going to be chilling in San Francisco Friday and Saturday (Thursday night and Sunday morning too, but to a much lesser extent obviously, since we’re driving from and to Moorpark those days). So…

• 16-Jul-2008
  Let Forever Be

  I just can’t get this song out of my head, and I don’t care one whit, not one jot. Chemical Brothers, Let Forever Be

• 19-Jul-2008
  BlogHer Blur

  The whole thing is going pretty well. Tired but in a good way, San Francisco has been hospitable. Meeting many people, places, things. I will post more when I am able. In the meantime, my twitter stream is a pretty fun representation of stuff I’m up to.

• 21-Jul-2008
  Back from BlogHer!

  Had a fun time, did not get to do all I wanted to do and all you suggested I do. But I had a good time and am feeling good. Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time to start the week!

• 22-Jul-2008
  Not exactly how I feel, but close.

  I get to see my sister and her husband (just married!) tonight, and Leah and 3/4 of the kids, PLUS one of the kid’s girlfriends will accompany us. Pretty cool. This morning I’m looking (blearily) at the Facebook redesign deployment. Inside Facebook is a useful site for looking at developments on the Facebook platform. One…

• 25-Jul-2008
  Mural Headline: “Home Foreclosures; Banks Refuse U.S. Home Loan Bonds”

  As the cliché goes: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Detail from this mural from Coit Tower, built in 1933, during the Great Depression: These photos are from my series of photos of the murals at the base of Coit Tower, from last week when I visited San Francisco.

• 28-Jul-2008
  Coit Tower, Lombard Street, Me

  Lots happening. In lieu of a content post tonight, here are some photos from San Francisco!

• 28-Jul-2008
  Haps

  So here’s the deal kids. Today, Monday 28 July, 2008 was my last on-site workday at Sierra Online. Working at Sierra was a pleasure. Altogether pleasant and professional people there, and several new friendships formed. Alas, like most things, it had to come to an end. There are changes afoot for Sierra, and I hope…

• 29-Jul-2008
  Bar Camp LA 4 Rocked (Post Retrieved from Drafts)

  Nine months ago I went to BarCampLA4. Now it’s July and I find myself wondering why I never posted this draft. I guess it got superceded by this post. I brought in ice and some grape soda and 7-up. Also, Nilla Wafers! I didn’t go the first day, but came the second, Sunday. It was…

• 30-Jul-2008
  Blogquitting

  Another unearthed post, half-thought, half-written, and now posted, post-dated. I suppose some folks can just quit blogging. The main story of bloggers who stop blogging is that they can’t actually stop. I’m not talking about the sad characters who read they need a blog, do it for a week and then their sites sit on…

• 30-Jul-2008
  In Maui

  Despite the old posts that will be showing up some mornings, I’m actually here, on the 12th floor of a vacation spot on the Island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands, formerly the Sandwich Islands, and according to Wikipedia, “at about 1,860 miles from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is the most isolated…

• 31-Jul-2008
  WebSanDiego Movie Night, 2001

  Way back when, as a group, WebSanDiego, or at least parts of it, went to see Startup.com at the Ken Cinemar. That was fun. I think that was the first time I met Pinguino in person! I made this graphic as part of a promotional page for the event. I think it still looks pretty…

• 31-Jul-2008
  Leah Reads

  It’s awfully pretty here. In the distance that island is Molokai. She’s been a voracious reader for the past 2 weeks or so. Almost a book a day.

• 31-Jul-2008
  On The Money Front

  A few observations: Payments to the IRS seem to be processed very fast. Like faster than any other payment we make. Our stimulus payment from the IRS was credited to our outstanding balance too (nice!) and they sent us a nice letter to that effect. Budgets are not as bad as the ten-years-ago me would…

• 31-Jul-2008
  William Gibson

  In 1988 I, along with my pal Chris Greazel, saw William Gibson read at a bookstore in La Jolla, above La Jolla Cove. It was intimate, maybe two dozen people in the audience. We had a great time, and it felt like we’d had an audience with the pope. I’m not sure why it was…

• 01-Aug-2008
  Two from the ride from the airport

  Totally sublime moments from the trip from the airport Tuesday.

• 02-Aug-2008
  My “Most” Images on Flickr

  Most interesting (also most commented — 15 comments): Most views (4981 views): (Second) Most comments (10 comments): Most favorited (7 favorites):

• 02-Aug-2008
  To Molokini; Seasickness

  One of the “pre-planned” activities we’ve done was to take a boat out to Molokini and snorkel. Leah and I (and the various family we’re with) enjoyed it very much. We went on Maui Classic Charters’ Four Winds II. Lots of fish, clear water, nice swimming. I’ve never been seasick that I can recall, and…

• 02-Aug-2008
  Charles Schulz

  (I started this post in 2007 and left it as a draft, I think because I found the subject matter too maudlin). In 2006, in the post Joe Cool, I wrote: I find Charles Schulz to be a tragic figure though. Based on the interviews I read, he never fulfilled the ambitions of his life….

• 03-Aug-2008
  Behind the Resort

  Kahana, Maui, Hawaii

• 03-Aug-2008
  Is John McCain Stupid?

  Daniel Henninger of none other than The Wall Street Journal, asks “Is John McCain Stupid” and basically comes up with the answer, “yes.” Sitting on beaches and wandering around the isle of Maui, I’m far removed from politics this week, but that headline caught my eye.

• 03-Aug-2008
  Running Out Of Tropical

  So we return to “the mainland” or “The States” on Tuesday. We’re running out of tropical paradise, but that is fine, this has been a lovely trip altogether. Enjoyable and family and chill. Next week will be a trip to Washington state with even more family and I hope just as much chill time, though…

• 04-Aug-2008
  Offline Blog Tools

  Some months ago I was prompted to learn a bit more about the tools out there for offline and online alternating blogging tools. Not server software, but applications which allow you to compose your blog and post when you have online access. I was not very impressed by any of them, but then I also…

• 04-Aug-2008
  Three Photos from Yesterday

  Yesterday we started out hot on the west coast of the island, and ended up rainy on the northeastern (Hana Road) coast. It was actually quite a nice day. We went and hiked up to Twin Falls, one of many waterfalls and swimming holes on Maui. We swam for a bit, and I even ended…

• 08-Aug-2008
  Three from the drive to Washington State

  So we were in Hawaii last on Tuesday. Now it’s Friday and we’re in Washington state: Monroe. Here are some photos from the trip. When I say “some” I mean “three” and they may or not be representative. Also, my phone is still broken (screen whited out) so twittering and flickring is down significantly. Sad…

• 12-Aug-2008
  Home, Finally.

  After two weeks of traveling, I’m ready to be somewhere, and the somewhere I am is home. It’s been a wonderful two weeks of vacation with family in Hawaii and Washington and parts in-between. Where are you? Lots to catch up on. I’ll start tomorrow. Well, maybe a little bit tonight. My goal Thursday is…

• 18-Aug-2008
  No On Proposition 8

  Fellow Californians, I believe this to be a sensible vote — please vote NO on Proposition 8. Thanks! And yes, as a matter of fact, I do have friends whose marriages would be affected by this. You can read more of the history in the wikipedia article same-sex marriage in California.

• 18-Aug-2008
  Latest Thomas Barnett Lecture

  Always enjoyable, and wonderful to see and hear how the brief has evolved. via his excellent blog, and the post The Latest and Greatest Brief

• 18-Aug-2008
  Two Zappa-related Entertainments Coming to Los Angeles

  The first: Joe’s Garage, Based on Zappa Album, to Make World Premiere in September: The Open Fist Theatre Company in California will present the world premiere of Joe’s Garage, a new stage production based on the Frank Zappa album of the same name. Directed by Pat Towne, the production will begin previews at the Open…

• 18-Aug-2008
  Inspirational answer from Ralph Bakshi on surviving in the arts

  Advice: Bakshi On Surviving Tough Times This makes me absolutely love Ralph Bakshi as a person. I’ve never been crazy about Bakshi’s work, but I respect that he’s done interesting work, made interesting failures — Cool World and Lord of the Rings come to mind — and managed to survive. The work of his that…

• 18-Aug-2008
  Latest Items That Made Me Laugh

  Mack Reed penned The Fastest Spider in Los Angeles, which charmed me and made me laugh. PCL Linkdump posted a link to a Simplicity Hammer Pants. Giggled at that one. File under “funny ’cause it’s true” — Sassy‘s Tips for New Dads. Also: Matthew Baldwin‘s Thought Crimes and Re: Cephalopod are both hilarious. Neil Kramer…

• 19-Aug-2008
  Unfit for Publication

  Lots of news about this jerk Jerome Corsi’s book these days. The rebuttal makes it clear that the book is idiotic. Excellent transparency, and fast response from the Obama campaign. Get the PDF of Unfit for Publication via this page on Time Magazine’s site.

• 19-Aug-2008
  Re-Make/Re-Model

  I’ve been doing some cultural re-evaluations here in the past few days. Among them is Roxy Music, a set of 1970s records I acquired includes their first, Roxy Music, from 1972. The first track, Re-Make/Re-Model absolutely blew me away with its audacity, and I actually felt some shame over having been a Roxy fan for…

• 19-Aug-2008
  Donald has a Brewski

  And engages in wacky shenanigans, no doubt: via Cover Browser‘s Daily Cover Feed.

• 20-Aug-2008
  I don’t remember D&D being so seductive

  Granted, I only played a few times. But still, I hung out with the D&D-ers in 7th and 8th grades. via vintage ads

• 23-Aug-2008
  Bear Creek Apartments; Bryan Lee O’Malley

  When I was in San Francisco I picked up the first two of the Scott Pilgrim comics while at Isotope Comics (whose very cool owner James Sime has a twitter stream). I enjoyed them immensely on the trip back home and have subsequently picked up numbers 3 and 4 as well. In addition I picked…

• 24-Aug-2008
  What is the proper function of libraries? Uncle Bobby’s Wedding

  Brilliantly explicated by a Librarian in response to community objections to a book called Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. That eloquent defense of this books and free thought is America to me. It makes me proud to have worked in a library when I was in my teens.

• 25-Aug-2008
  Web Anthropology, particularly YouTube

  Anthropologist Dr. Michael Wesch talks about Digital Ethnography. He puts YouTube in perspective and reminds me I love it despite the fact that one needs a tool like Comment Snob sometimes to appreciate it.

• 25-Aug-2008
  Penetrators: Shopping Bag

  Another piece of culture I’d never seen, via PCL Linkdump. I had heard of the band Penetrators but I’d never heard anything by them that I was aware of. The video is nearly perfect in its chaotic silliness. The song has a perfect hook too.

• 27-Aug-2008
  Site Launch: The Prosser Group

  I worked with Ron Prosser, CEO of The Prosser Group to get this site built this week. It’s a relatively straightforward site. It’s a rare occasion that I do design these days, but this was a fun one to build, and a nice piece of freelance work. Nice when a site can come together quickly….

• 28-Aug-2008
  Vote for Abigail for Southwest Blog-o-spondant

  Abigail, who runs a pretty great blog, is trying to blog for Southwest Airlines. She’d be great at this: Here’s what she just posted: I have submitted a video application for the Southwest Airlines Blog-o-spondant. It’s a really cool blogging gig and I really, really want it. I kind of think it’s perfect for me,…

• 29-Aug-2008
  Animation: Initial energy lost in final product

  This is a problem in all the arts, I think. The energy of a a musician’s demo is higher than the final recorded song. A sketch is more fun than a final drawing. It’s acute here in the storyboard and the final rendering from the new film Bolt: Funny commentary from Cartoon Brew:

• 29-Aug-2008
  Yahoo! Mash Shuts Down

  Huh. Okay. You can see what my Mash profile looks like today only at http://mash.yahoo.com/websandiego. I wonder what Yahoo! will do in terms of social networks now? I think they’re focussed on OpenSocial, whose aim is to federate social software. I guess if you can’t build something standalone, build tools to embrace and extend other…

• 29-Aug-2008
  Digital Breast Reduction in Pixar’s Knick Knack

  jwz has all the details on the breast reduction that took place in the re-release of Knick Knack. I remember seeing Knick-Knack at a computer animation festival and at other animation tournees in San Diego and I do remember the original version. In fact, I think I have a VHS tape with the original versions…

• 29-Aug-2008
  Chris and Pensacola

  (I explain the title of this entry at the end of the post–in case you were wondering) Yesterday I drove to Union Station to see my friend Chris Greazel. Chris I’ve known for over 20 years, ever since he was the artist and I was sort of the cartoonist at my high school. He’s still…

• 31-Aug-2008
  Rollerskating Ninjas

  Perfect. via Japan Probe.

• 31-Aug-2008
  The Pain of Paying; Decline of Credit

  Worth a read, via Paul Kedrosky: The Death of the Credit Card Economy: This shock to the system may further damage the already-fragile psychology of the consumer. Writing a check or deducting the price of a pair of shoes directly from your bank account packs a much more potent emotional punch than charging the pair…

• 13-Sep-2008
  Drupal Camp LA 2008

  Golly I’ve been quiet. Got way behind on a bunch of stuff. Got to catch up.

• 14-Sep-2008
  Our Lady of the Angels & DrupalCampLA

  8am Mass at the Cathedral, then here at DrupalCamp this morning. Spirituality + education. Not many better ways to spend a day. Tonight family dinner with the whole crew. Feeling thankful. Here’s the entrance to the church after Mass today.

• 15-Sep-2008
  Whatsoever You Do

  I was thinking of these lyrics the other day and wanted to find our more about them, they’re based on this passage from the New Testament’s Matthew 25:31-46. I have to say this is a pretty clear call to do good works on this planet. It’s a favorite song growing up Catholic. Whatsoever you do…

• 16-Sep-2008
  Web pages are dead. Long live web pages. (If they’re made of people)

  Here’s how San Diego Blog looks today, not bad, and certainly better than it’s looked in a while: In November 2006 I sold San Diego Blog. I started it in 2003, SanDiegoBlog.com, and had a good run I think. But by 2006, I had moved away from its namesake city and was dealing with other…

• 19-Sep-2008
  Senator Brad Esposito
• 14-Oct-2008
  AOL Journals Closes, Encourages Migration to Blogger.com

  Dear AOL Journals user, As we wrote in an e-mail on Sept. 30, AOL® Journals will permanently shut down on Oct. 31. It’s never an easy decision to shut down a feature, especially one like AOL Journals that some of our members have used for a long time. But with a decline in Journals usage,…

• 22-Oct-2008
  YOU BETCHA

  Genius from The Weasel King. References They Live.

• 22-Oct-2008
  Walt Disney; What’s My Line

  Love this episode of What’s My Line: Our houseguests and Leah and I went to Disneyland several weeks ago on the dime of one of Leah’s blogger things, and I was impressed. I was not feeling that great, but I was stunned by how well the fun machine of Disney’s making works.

• 22-Oct-2008
  Lyrics of the Day (Yesterday): Burning Airlines Give You So Much More

  from Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) Burning Airlines Give You So Much More When I got back home I found a message on the door Sweet Regina’s gone to China crosslegged on the floor Of a burning jet that’s smoothly flying: Burning airlines give you so much more. How does she intend to live when…

• 22-Oct-2008
  Understanding Sarah Palin

  Like many people, I was perplexed Sarah Palin when John McCain chose her as his running mate. I am not impressed by her thoughts on policy issues. She can’t cite a newspaper or a magazine she’s ever read. She can’t name a Supreme Court decision. And yet, she didn’t do that bad in her debate…

• 23-Oct-2008
  That’s My Guy

   Image via boogah.

• 25-Oct-2008
  BarCampLA6 is where I’m at.

  This is where I am. See http://twitter.com/artlung and http://www.flickr.com/photos/artlung/tags/barcampla6 for current photos.

• 26-Oct-2008
  Stating Where It’s At

  Note: I wrote this in a text editor around October 2nd, nearly three weeks ago. I’m posting with only minor edits to what was in the text file. My latest contract is going very well technically, I’m enjoying using SilverStripe as well as jQuery day in and day out. It’s a pleasure to write OO PHP….

• 27-Oct-2008
  Senator Biden is now my Homeboy.

  via the inestimable tony pierce

• 28-Oct-2008
  This is sometimes how I feel

  Awesome but awkward. via

• 28-Oct-2008
  California’s History of Miscegenation Laws

  1880: Miscegenation [Statute]Made it illegal for white persons to marry a "Negro, mulatto, or Mongolian." 1901: Miscegenation [Statute]The 1850 law prohibiting marriage between white persons and Negroes or mulattoes was amended, adding "Mongolian." 1909: Miscegenation [Statute]Persons of Japanese descent were added to the list of undesirable marriage partners of white Californians as noted in the…

• 29-Oct-2008
  Media Bias? Waa!

  Another great post from Thomas Barnett: Ha! There’s always a media bias when you lose, and when you court the anti-intellectual, as the GOP is wont to do, then you’re mad as hell! But guess what? Winners always charm the media to a certain extent–even Nixon in ’72. So this is a bunch of whiney,…

• 29-Oct-2008
  Leahpeah Stuff: leahpeah.etsy.com

  seriously wonderful, handcrafted jewelry and hats. my wife has serious skills.

• 30-Oct-2008
  Vampirella like Rio by Nagel

  Terrific Vampirella drawing by Cliff Chiang, who has a fun blog. It’s an homage to Rio, of course — by Patrick Nagel. Nagel was among my inspirations when I was a teenager. The technical craftsmanship, the acute graphic design sense inspired me.

• 30-Oct-2008
  BlogRush Shuts Down

  Just got this email: After careful consideration, we have decided to shutdown the BlogRush service. If you have the widget code on your blog you will need to remove it. When BlogRush launched in late-2007 it spread like wildfire all over the Web. Thousands of bloggers were talking about it and the service exploded to…

• 31-Oct-2008
  Negative Attack Ads Show You Have No Vision
• 31-Oct-2008
  Feeling like you can take it easy?

  via UBM

• 31-Oct-2008
  Happy Halloween 2008!

  Previous All Hallow’s Eve posts from me: 2007 and 2001 And here’s an old poster I made. View large Happy Halloween!

• 01-Nov-2008
  Star Trek Demonstration: 1968
• 03-Nov-2008
  I’m Tired of Politics

  But I can remind you to vote if you haven’t. I’ll be voting in the morning. Looking forward to it. Vote. Every vote counts, or at least it should, and it probably will. Update: I voted this morning. Got there 10 minutes early and there was already a line about 60 people long. Once the…

• 05-Nov-2008
  The future is unwritten

  The past, we have written down and we can reference it: Barack Obama. I like him. He seems to be a straight shooter with upper management written all over him. I like that I my spidey sense doesn’t tingle with “Plastic Robot!” when I watch him speak. I would like him to be President. About…

• 10-Nov-2008
  Untitled, Really

  There’s something archetypal about this image I really like. It may be that it triggers me to think of the term “flimsy skirt” — which makes me think of this post: Shoe PhotoShop — which used to get a fair number of referrers for that phrase. Of course, that was six years ago. I might…

• 10-Nov-2008
  Lots of Videos

  I hate it when people just post videos. I never have time to watch them all, since I’m looking at my own videos that compel me. So here are the videos that have compelled me lately. Just one on the main page, more after the jump. Ben Folds – Kate in Nashville (and more from…

• 11-Nov-2008
  Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!

  Last night I saw this tweet: suebob: @QueenofSpain Is it “Here, here” or “Hear hear”? I really don’t know and have always wondered. I knew right off. One of my favorite things about having visited the Supreme Court was hearing that every session of the Court starts with this preamble: Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! All persons…

• 11-Nov-2008
  Google: PHDs with Tanks

  The other day I was listening to the Stack Overflow Podcast, which features two interesting bloggers who I’ve read for some time: Joel Spolsky of JoelOnSoftware, and Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror. They tend to ramble a bit, and they’re not as funny as they think they are, but I enjoy it. On Episode 28…

• 11-Nov-2008
  Found via Multicolr via American Apparel

  The other day I noticed on The American Apparel Daily Update an image of mine! They had highlighted it because it came via a color search on Multicolr. I found it interesting that an image of mine should come up. It’s from my old set of Amiga Images. Here’s a screenshot of the entry: And…

• 13-Nov-2008
  Ventura County Tech.com

  Latest mini-project of mine — an effort to figure out what companies are out here in Ventura County. If you know of a tech/internet/etc company, or a user group, or anything else relevant, please do drop a line!

• 13-Nov-2008
  Santa Barbara Drupal Meet

  Last night I attended a meetup about Drupal in Santa Barbara. I had wondered whether this was something that would be worthwhile to drive to, considering the distance. Turned out it was no further than a drive down to Los Angeles for a meeting, which I’m more than happy to do when something interests me….

• 14-Nov-2008
  War of the Worlds 2.0

  On Halloween I participated in a wonderful, strange experiment called War of the Worlds 2.0 on twitter. Here’s the story of how it came to be, from Kris Kowal. My entries can be found by doing a search on search.twitter.com: “wotw2 from:artlung”. I’ve always been a fan of the idea of Orson Welles hacking the…

• 14-Nov-2008
  Handicraft Guide to Cartooning for Armed Forces Personnel

  What a great find from the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive. In 16 pages, it communicates a lot; though, the section on “racial symbols” makes me uncomfortable.

• 14-Nov-2008
  Redesigning Drupal.org in the open

  Drupal.org, Design Iterations, and Designing in the open is a remarkable post by Mark Boulton about the process of redesigning a website–in this case drupal.org–with radical transparency. This is incredible and groundbreaking work, applying the modes of open source to design. Surprising that it has not devolved into design-by-committee.

• 15-Nov-2008
  LDS and Proposition 8

  Some various responses to Proposition 8 of note. I’m sad at the rhetoric, I was sad about the proposition, and I feel The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have done themselves a disservice in this matter. Mormons Resigning Despite Strong Heritage, Citing ‘Hatred’ by LDS Church Mormons Stole Our Rights danah boyd has…

• 15-Nov-2008
  Predicting the meltdown

  Peter Schiff ends up prophetic, while everyone on the shows in this video treats him as a Cassandra. via Open Culture and Paul Kedrosky.

• 15-Nov-2008
  Looking at the financial mess as the end of the excesses of the 1980s

  Michael Lewis’ story The End is an engaging, enraging read. It posits that the recent crash of Wall Street financial firms is the end of what he had seen working as a trader in the 1980s. He documented his experiences in the book Liar’s Poker. This followup is a must-read. Some excerpts: Now, obviously, Meredith…

• 18-Nov-2008
  I Like The Way You Move

  Actually, I like the way Leah hustles to find us a place to move to. Same difference. We found a new place, slightly less money, again on this side of Moorpark, very much within target range of the kids, a very humane home. Leah found this one and did the legwork all by herself. I…

• 19-Nov-2008
  Penguin Project: Go on an adventure in Antarctica!

  My friend Pinguino is going on a trip to Antarctica and is inviting cool folks to go with her, check it out! Here’s more info: You could party in Vegas, Ibiza, Rio, Bangkok, Sydney, or even Marrakesh. But one continent remains overlooked when it comes to having a good time. That’s right, we’re talking about…

• 19-Nov-2008
  The Reluctant Sysadmin

  This morning I had a compile that was hanging and/or calling itself. This made the server, and more importantly, the “yes people use it” webserver unresponsive. This was not fun. Here are the tools I used to kill the processes: ps -aux | grep -i make | awk ‘{print $2}’ ps -aux | grep -i…

• 20-Nov-2008
  Moving

  It’s all about boxes. Moving today. Moving. Oi. I think we need it. To top it off, we’re waiting on 5 weeks worth of checks. I hate that. Wish us luck.

• 24-Nov-2008
  Moved, Worn Out, Ready For Action

  The move was completed without too much fuss. Upcoming: Job interviews, more box extraction and home setup, Thanksgiving, seeing my folks, and a memorial for a dear friends wife. The Universe may be speaking to us. I wish it spoke more clearly, but hey, it’s the Universe. Size of the entire universe man, usually kind…

• 24-Nov-2008
  Los Angeles Tech Networking

  For the past year I’ve ramped up my own tech networking. Someone asked on the excellent and long-running Web405 list for places to network a la VIC (Venice Interactive Community) of the old days (late 1990s) and these were the answers: BarCampLA: http://barcampla.org/ Dealmaker LA: http://www.dealmakermedia.com/la.html Digital Family Reunion: http://www.digitalfamilyreunion.net/ Dorkbot: http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotsocal/ ExecTech: http://www.meetup.com/ExecTec/ Geek…

• 25-Nov-2008
  Ventura County Tech: Reskinned

  Simi Valley’s Border 7 provided a wonderful reskin of venturacountytech.com. If you are in Ventura County and in web/tech/design/internet/mobile drop me a line — I’d love to meet you!

• 25-Nov-2008
  “Friend Requests”

  via

• 27-Nov-2008
  Happy Thanksgiving

  If my memory is correct, I’ve spent Thanksgiving in California, Louisiana, Virginia, Utah, and the Philippines. Today I’ll spend Thanksgiving in Nevada with a bunch of family who probably also have never spent Thanksgiving in Nevada. Hoping for the best. The photo above is of my Grandfather and me and some dogs — the Collie…

• 02-Dec-2008
  Ex-Cat Photos Unearthed

  Leahpeah has been doing a great job putting up photos around the new place. Yesterday we found a pile of old photos, including this gem of my ex-cat: More in the Ché gallery.

• 03-Dec-2008
  Rocketry is the key to receiving The Holy Spirit?

  I love this album cover, found via LP Cover Lover: i wonder where that places Wernher von Braun or Goddard?

• 04-Dec-2008
  Quote of the Day: Jason Zweig

  What A Bear Market Might Teach Us is well worth reading. So I know what it means to scrimp and save, to do more with less, even to do without. The most important lesson that I learned, I believe, is that money is not wealth. Benjamin Graham once wrote that the secret to happiness is…

• 04-Dec-2008
  Kimba and Me

  As the first grandkid, Kimba was jealous of me. I appear pretty happy in that photo, despite the fact that Kimba might be barking. My Grandpa actually had a “mad dog act” he and Kimba would do. Basically my grandfather would get down on all fours and encourage Kimba to lean over the side of…

• 09-Dec-2008
  New Dayjob in Hollywood

  Yesterday was the first day at a new dayjob. It went great, about as great as one could have a right to expect–maybe better! I’m playing in HTML and JavaScript and jQuery and PhotoShop and PHP, and soon also Flash, XML, Apache–my usual stuff. It’s highly enjoyable and right across the street from Amoeba Records….

• 11-Dec-2008
  Upgraded to 2.7

  You probably can’t actually tell, but the interface is pretty nice – -this is WordPress I’m talking about, the software that powers this blog. More details

• 13-Dec-2008
  Dayjob View

  One of the perks of the current dayjob is a lovely view facing north toward the Hollywood Sign. I dug my week there. Though I worked long hours, and worked pretty darn hard, I enjoyed myself and feel I contributed substantively. There were things that frustrated me, sure, but it was actually a fun deployment…

• 16-Dec-2008
  Cold This Morning

  Cold enough for me to have to defrost for five minutes before getting going this morning. The average high and low for Moorpark are 41 and 69 degrees Fahrenheit, so freezing temperatures are unusual.

• 19-Dec-2008
  “Them Bats is Smart, They Use Radar”

  So I bought a video encoder, pretty nice one, and this is my first capture. I need to tweak settings, and it would probably help if everything I wanted to capture was not 19 year old videotapes that have been stored in garages with poor climate control. Hah! Enjoy.

• 22-Dec-2008
  Snowing Here in UT

  Yesterday we hit the road to spend Christmas with Leah’s folks. The drive yesterday was fine, save for some heavy wind as we left Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. The van was loaded for Christmas–excellent job loading the top by Tyler and Devon. Here’s Tyler checking the load as we get some breakfast at 6:20am…

• 22-Dec-2008
  Snowman by Ty and Tony

  They made this before they wrestled in the snow.

• 27-Dec-2008
  Zappa in Rehearsal, 1973

  Wonderful footage, beautiful sound: 1973-06-26 Sydney Frank Zappa, Rehearsel (sic):

• 29-Dec-2008
  A very few milestones here at the end of 2008.

  We (Leah, the kids, and I) went to Utah for Christmas. We were terrified to return because of 5 inches of snow on the ground. We were happy that the roads were okay, and we didn’t have to use the ill-fitting chains we borrowed from my father-in-law. I shoveled snow once and enjoyed it. I…

• 30-Dec-2008
  Amoeba in the Morning

  I think if you had told me in 1991 that in 2008 I’d be working right next door to a major record (read: music and movies) store I’d have been delighted. Heck, I’m delighted now. It’s where I pulled off the major coup of getting Leah a copy of Savannah Smiles for our Anniversary last…

• 30-Dec-2008
  A Wand’ring Minstrel I

  One of the my habits, when I work in a place with a walkable, entertaining area around it, is to wander around at lunch. Sometimes such wanderings turn into blog posts. This is another. I have had the opportunity to wander about in Downtown San Diego (near the Gaslamp Quarter, and near Santa Fe Station),…

• 31-Dec-2008
  Steampunk Exoskeleton

  (Actually, it appears to be a hundred (give or take a few decades) year-old diving suit. Via rcs)