Just Another Patch of Roadkill...

System Administration

2010-02-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

Apologies anyone who is still following this for personal updates. Maybe Facebook would suit you better?Making a bootable usb image in Mac OS X Plug in flash drive diskutil list diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk1 dd if=/path/to/iso of=/dev/disk1 diskutil mountDisk /dev/disk1 inspect contents drag usb drive to trash usb is now bootable

2008-10-20T00:57:00.000-07:00

So, based on some teaching i was privileged to receive this weekend, i've come to the conclusion that my exegesis of Psalm 137 was incorrect. I now believe that the psalmist is writing from a place of rage and frustration and heartbreaking loss, and his desires and "happy is he" statements are better placed in the context of "inspired error" that we find in many of the statements from

2008-05-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

So xacto called me out... and as we all know, i have zero willpower when it comes to being called out..."What three skills or hobbies would you learn if you had unlimited time, money, and tools?"1. Social dancing. Every time i see people dancing at a wedding, i think that they look like they're having so much FUN. Not that impressed with all that dance crew stuff (though i have very good

2007-11-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

Funny thing about GCal:If you have an appointment moved by the appointer, the appointees lose their reminders attached to that appointment. This indicates that events in GCal are not id-driven, but rather instances associated with some sort of array or linked list.Lame.

2007-09-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

"And Paul Graham gives them another 6000 boxes of instant noodles to eat, so they stay in business another three years perfecting things."- Joel on SoftwareIf you get why this is funny, i may have a job for you. Or vice versa.

Prescience

2007-09-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

This guy blogged about the subprime liquidity crisis this time last year. I didn't even know what a banking crisis was this time last year.

Wit!

2007-08-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

In my email box this morning:This is auntie Dannie's email - [redacted]. Hong Kong Street is not that friendly. Camping in the street is not recommended. So, please make pre-arrangement with her for the stay in January.MomThat's my mom.

Taught

2007-07-31T22:10:00.001-07:00

When i was in high school, we read a lot of short stories, because, well, the teachers didn't really think we were up to novel-length works. One in particular that struck me was "By the Waters of Babylon." I really liked the twist, and it set the table for my future of interests in that genre. I may even re-watch Planet of the Apes, re-play Fallout, or re-read Y: The Last Man this summer.A few

2007-06-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Two months off! Maybe a little longer layoff than i've made a habit of here at the Chimp Shack. After many years of ducking out of it, I tried paintball at youth camp. Hardly any of the youth from SGVAC went, but i had a grand time teaming up with half the Cambodia STM team.I ate at Juanita's again today. Someday, Mexican food will make me fat and slow. Until then, i delight in my favorite

2007-04-22T22:44:00.001-07:00

Is it delicious, xacto? Is IT?!Dallas in 5.

2007-04-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those of you who have been praying and asking about my bro. Yesterday, i got an email from him, and he emailed basically everyone in the family who was trying to get in touch. He's sorry for making people worry, but he felt like he really needed to get away.He didn't say from what, or tell anyone where he is or when he'll be back, but for now, we're just really glad he's safe and well

2007-04-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

My brother is missing. I'm putting up this entry so i can give people a place to read what we know, and not feel so helpless. I'm sorry if you feel helpless. I do, too.I last saw my brother on Sunday night, Easter. He came down and had late Easter dinner with me. We joked a little about the ribs Mom made, and then i went to bed.I was out until 2 AM on Monday night, working on CS homework.

2007-04-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

To my dear pre-collegiates, here's some timely advice on keeping your faith in college. I've been talking with some of you, and i hope to pray with each of you as you make exciting decisions in following the Lord.How Not to Lose Your Faith in CollegeIn the interests of full disclosure, the above is from Boundless.org, a site created by Focus on the Family. While i find some of their advice and

2007-03-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

From last night's going-away party for Mr. Landlord, i submit true evidence of the miracle of the mental oneness of marriage:Mr. Landlord: Mr. Spawning: rap music Hit 'Em Up Mrs. Spawning: "I hated that bass thi--Are you wearing And 1's?!"Mr. Landlord: "I'm so proud that [scrappykid] bought those shoes.

Rackets!

2007-03-17T23:31:00.001-07:00

Against the advice of my wise friends and my oral surgeon, i went and judged at the nerdgame Regionals this Saturday. I totally popped a stitch yelling announcements and scolding unruly teenagers.Now i'm home. And one of the neighbors (two houses away) is having an awesome house party. When i got home, they were playing Black Sabbath's Iron Man, but now it's Thriller. I may be old, but i can

2007-03-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

I don't think i've seen xacto online since he dropped his latest bombshell. So congratulations to him.I finally wore out my favorite dress shirt today. The collar became brittle (from sweat and oil, i think), and cracked along the top seam. Kind of cool. I bought it the summer before my first MUN conference, so it lasted nearly 10 years. That's pretty good. I'm going to try for 10 with my

2007-02-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

I love my friends. They care about me so much, they even get worked up over the possibility that i might remain single the rest of my life. Others worry that i'm moping! I assure you, i am not moping. =)On Friday, the topic of Biblical singleness came up, and my friend Clueless disagreed strongly that Paul actually says that, "It is good for a man not to marry." Here's the relevant Scripture.

2007-02-08T16:54:00.000-08:00

I tend to pack my schedule wall-to-wall. I've been told it's a very burn-out thing to do, and it's not a very post-modern, existentially-seeking-Jesus to do this. That i need to slow down, and contemplate, and not be such an industrious worker bee all the time. My first impulse is to categorize those people as lazy slackers who are hiding their laziness behind a veneer of spirituality or

2006-12-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

From xkcd

2006-12-11T16:26:00.001-08:00

I've switched to the new beta publisher. Hope the new layout is at least as convenient as the old one. Miss you all; write soon.

Tent!

2006-12-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

I must be getting old.Not only did i vote for the tent in the 3rd Amazon Customers Vote promotion, it's in last place. Last!

2006-11-27T23:13:00.000-08:00

As a self-respecting technophile, i maintain a profile on every social-networking site i can get a login to. Much like porn sites (but without the taint of overt sin), there's a lot of interesting stuff going on in user interface and customer retention in the content areas of those sites. I'm constantly scarfing feature sets that i can sic my monkeys (well, okay, singular monkey) on at the

2006-10-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's Monday night, which is writing night. I got a package from Amazon today. I bought an ESV and NRSV Bible, as well as a paperback copy of Velvet Elvis. I have a lot of stuff in my room. Rather, i should say, i used gift certificates to subsidize those books. Special thanks to Mr. Lee, who presented me with an unexpected and generous early Christmas present. It reminds me that i should buy

2006-10-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

Quick bit of tech:Gmail macros and labels are mighty useful and attractive. You have to install the greasemonkey plug-in, but it is a trivial install.I jammed my fingers playing basketball over the weekend. My hand is pretty swollen up. Kind of cool. Definitely my favorite comment: "You're going to have trouble coding like that. Oh, wait, you don't use vi." As if we're some sort of

Good(?) tree

2006-10-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

goodtree.com is at best, a scam, and at worse, an elaborate phishing scheme.I received an email from two folks in the last 3 days inviting me to join Goodtree. I did some investigation, and immediately got suspicious when they asked for my google password. (it is possible to skip that step and still use their product.)I did a little digging on Mark Cuban's nifty blog-oriented search engine, Ice

2006-10-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

My roommate comes up the stairs with a stupid half-grin on his face. "What you smilin' about?""I want a Krispy Kreme doughnut.""All right, let's go."So we did an dessert run to the doughnut shop down the freeway. I also had two Pink's chili dogs (one regular, one not-as-spicy-as-advertised Polish) for dinner. We saw a tricked-out Escalade with vertical lamborghini doors. It looked silly, but

2006-10-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm reviewing the ballot initiatives for the upcoming election this evening, so i tap my inimitable friend, isaacf for his opinions. Which are worthless. Because he doesn't live in California. And he didn't register.Just FYI, here are my current votes on the Propositions. They're just my opinions, and are not endorsements. Kang and Kodos still want you to throw away your votes in your own

2006-10-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Nerds of software, read this:http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2006/09/good-agile-bad-agile_27.html

2006-10-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's like... i can see the impending train wreck, and i'm utterly helpless to do anything about it.

2006-10-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Part of the skill of being a good blogger is to write regularly, and often. Monday nights are often my night to get caught up on chores and projects, and just be at home. There's no better night to write.I spent the weekend in Las Vegas with several of my buddies. It's kind of challenging for me to spend time with such artsy, creative folks. I always feel sooooooooo out of my depth as they

2006-09-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the LA County Fair tomorrow.You can join us. But... i left my phone at church tonight, so if you want to, you'll have to send me an email or something. We're meeting at the carnival entrance to the Fair at 5:30. For maximum repulsive power, i'm deciding between my Silver Surfer or UC Berkeley Computer Science t-shirts. I also have an awesome hat from Kazakhstan, but i think it's

2006-09-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

So what i'm reading between the lines: the way to get comments is to pander to my audience and talk about popular topics. Like, singing in choir and comic books.Wait a minute... all those comments are from real, live girls. (Ever gone past a club with that sign? There's one on the way to LAX, and several on the way to Jack London Square. One shudders at the alternatives.)In an effort not to

2006-09-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

I had a really long day, but i did manage to squeeze in a moderately good Sunday School class (who knew? 6th graders, even pastor's kids, are legitimately more squirrely than 7th graders) and play some more basketball. I think i scored 2 points, played reasonable team defense on 3-4 points, and poked away one rebound from someone bigger/taller/stronger/faster than me. I also probably gave up 6

2006-09-15T23:09:00.000-07:00

You can always count on the Fembot to bounce back. Timing's about right. Nothing solves every problem, but this'll put a dent in a few.We had cake tonight. Cake!Apparently, i sprained Wolverine, Jr.'s ankle on the courts when we played on Labor Day. He pointed at me, and said, "Legend-Killer." Then, gesturing at his swollen shoe, "Legend." MY BAD.I desperately need to lock myself up in my

2006-09-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have three or four Thursdays off when the game store closes down for remodeling. Let's do this.L.A. County Fair Additional Discounts$5 After 5Presented by DISH NetworkAdmission is just $5 after 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Fair closes Oct. 8.

2006-09-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

The best part about spending time with Mr. and Mrs. Fadeaway is the laughter.I went over to their place tonight, and was greeted with laughter, and a walk to the liquor store, and two separate goes at our task. Upon being suitably horrified that my dinner consisted of a Slim Jim and a watermelon Gatorade, Mrs. Fadeaway even heated me up some delicious marinated beef.Hours later, i staggered out

2006-09-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Trying to be good. Oh yes, trying so very hard indeed.Things at work are a little hairy. My counterpart at another one of the colleges is on vacation, and we're pretty close to that stuff, so... i've been getting a lot of calls and just trying to cover bases. I literally scrape dried stuff off the corners of my eyes from all the multitasking i'm doing at my desk. I have two monitors now.I

2006-09-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Tired of disappointing my loyal audience. Some of you people are still reading this thing every day. It's not like i'm going to pull an xacto and stop writing.So i've had a real case of procrastination/other priorities when it comes to writing thank you notes for people who supported me for the trip i took this summer. And, i think, a little bit of writer's block. And i haven't really been

2006-07-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, we're back. I'll send out a notice via support channels later today.

2006-07-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hey kids, I'm off to the Far East from tonight 'til the 28th.If you want to receive email updates, well, frankly, you should've asked to be a prayer partner three weeks ago. However, since i worship a God who insists on grace, you can contact Auntie Cindy from my church to get added. If you don't know who that is, man, i don't know what to say. I am a very insular old man.

2006-06-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

Just wow. This guy and his friends (Wong Fu Productions) did this as undergrads. They're having a lot of fun here. Clearly, i squandered my undergrad in the lab and on the assembly floor. For those Mraz fans out there. I have to admit, this is a pretty catchy song. You'll need shockwave to see this.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Breakfast!

2006-06-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, back in LA, where the parks are tiny, the freeways are broad, the subway is under-resourced, and the mice are small, furry rodents. In that spirit, i want to go have one of Ikea's famous 99c breakfasts on Saturday morning. 9:30, Ikea Covina. Wanna come? Give me a call.We can catch up, find out what God's doing, life updates (i'm going to China this summer!), smash atoms, draft Fairy

Gone

2006-05-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm gone, again.Be back Monday for, like, 12 hours, and then back on the plane. Back on the night of June 3. Call the mobile if ya miss me.All you lurkers! I'm sending out my prayer support letters for Short Term Mission this summer. After the underwhelming response to last year's, i'm not even going to post it here. If you want it, you've gotta let me know.

2006-05-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

"We're always trying to arrange circumstances to have things our way, but they are such poor substitutes for the promise God really has for us."I heard that last night. It was well-put.

Heading out

2006-05-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Dear everyone and your dog,I'm going on vacation. 4 days in New York, 3 back at work, 4 days at KublaCon in San Francisco, 1 day back at work, 4 days in Orlando for JAM.You can send me mail, but i probably won't answer unless it's urgent. Better off calling. Speaking of which. I'd better go pack that phone charger...My prayer support letter for this summer is coming. I would love to mail it

2006-05-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

I've been playing basketball with Mr. Infiniti and friends. To ward off the embarrassment of playing 4-on-5, last week, i was taught how to make a lay up. And i made one. I think he said to me, "That was a great cut!" at least six times. Even at the wedding banquet that night. We are idjits.I guess i'll be playing as regularly as i can between now and China, so that when sports night happens

Accounts of Luke

2006-03-29T23:04:00.001-08:00

I am still profoundly impacted by Accounts of Luke, a one-man show Bruce Kuhn put on during the 1999 Cal Veritas Forum. There's a DVD available now, so i'm going to go order it. First thing tomorrow.If you want to borrow it, drop me a line.

2006-03-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

Paul Tagliabue announced his retirement as NFL Commissioner yesterday.From Filling the NFL Throne on ESPN's Page 2, who's next:Cobra CommanderCurrent Position: Shadowy, faceless skipper of bumbling international terrorist cabal.Qualifications: Has managed to keep job despite worse track record than Mike Brown. Hey, survival counts for something.Probable Platform: Replace player face masks with

Gladwell!

2006-03-06T19:34:00.000-08:00

Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite writers. Bill Simmons is definitely my favorite Internet-centric writer. So when Simmons interviewed Gladwell by email... oh man, solid gold!They talk a little too much about Isaiah Thomas and the Knicks, but everything else in this article will undoubtedly stand the test of time, and will avoid being trite or cliche in 2106 as easily as 2006.Part IPart II

2006-03-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

Berkshire Hathaway has published Warren Buffet's 2005 Annual Report. The Chairman's Letter is, as usual, a pleasure to read. He references Pascal's wager, explores the inherent of value-minus of investment managers by allegory and Newtonian physics, and continues to rail against executive compensation. If i only had the energy to read one piece of financial wisdom each year (and i'm pretty

2006-03-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

Pushback to the now-passé Sex on Tuesday column at The Daily Cal:Nerd on WednesdayTo which i say: it's about time.

2006-02-22T23:46:00.000-08:00

I was driving home tonight, and i had the most bumbling epiphany ever, so i thought i should record it for posterity.One of the precepts of holistic missions is that we are to Send, Pray, Give, and Go.If i'm serious about being a sender, and not a goer, for world missions, i need to make more money. This makes me incredibly irate. I like putting money at the bottom of my priority list--

2006-02-18T11:01:00.000-08:00

My favorite radio show is "This American Life." I especially enjoyed the first segment of this episode:2/10 This American Life

2006-02-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

So, in the book of Mark, Jesus sends out the twelve to "preach, and he gave them authority to cast out demons." Scripture names the twelve apostles. I've read this passage at least 3 or 4 times in my life. Hopefully more. But this is the first time i really, really read this:"When Jesus returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon he and his disciples

It's Back

2006-02-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

The Shadowfist Card Search DB has returned.http://www.chimpshack.org/db/You can send your bug reports to me.

Democracy

2006-02-06T00:42:00.000-08:00

I'm sure my conservative and liberal friends alike will weep and gnash their teeth, but i've had an epiphany. Or, at least, anti-epiphany. I've lost my conviction that democracy and liberalism are the panacea for every ill in the world.I read a short, interesting book this summer on a plane: Silence. The surface story is about apostasy and the suffering of Catholic believers in post-feudal Japan;

2006-02-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

(warning: extremely boring ruminations on presupposition, post-modern theology, and only a minor personal payoff at the end)So i'm (still) reading Classical Apologetics, a book which has repeatedly beaten me down with its lengthy, often argumentative and roundabout defense of rational Christian faith... and the second half of which is a tortuous (not torturous!) criticism of Presuppositional

Crossover

2006-01-31T22:46:00.000-08:00

Vs. rules tidbit from Metagame.com:"'Crossover' is a new game term you’ll see on Team-Up cards in this expansion. If a card says to crossover two or more affiliations, it means that characters you control, as well as cards in your hand, deck, resource row, and KO'd pile that have any of those affiliations have all of them."(emphasis mine)Now reservists and Mattie Franklin work properly with

2006-01-31T13:11:00.000-08:00

Frown."He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit." - John 15:2 (NRSV)I know i'm not supposed to frown, but frown anyway.

Marketplace in China

2006-01-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

Marketplace - Live from ChinaNPR's daily show on the economy and stock markets broadcast from China for a week and a half. The city might or might not be of particular interest. Enjoy.

Opportunities

2006-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Check-IT-OutThis is Wycliffe's conference for IT-skilled folks to learn about how they can be involved in missions. I'm considering going. Even if i'm not an IT monkey.I love nerd-tastic, subtle-like-a-brick humor:Warning: Check-IT-Out may be hazardous to your professional status quo.

Sending 'em up the river!

2006-01-18T16:30:00.001-08:00

Monkey PrisonMonkey Prison SignI am so ashamed of my people.

Symmetry

2006-01-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

So my mom shared one of her papers with me. As training coordinator of her hospital, she makes recommendations for training and assessments.One thing she'd like to see is that everyone involved with the hospital be required to view a cultural diversity film, receive diversity training, and be tested on it. My mom has become the meddling administrator that i snicker at from behind my hand at every

Knickerbocker, Please!

2006-01-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

The NFL's most buff referee (ESPN)Title says it all.

Generous Orthodoxy

2006-01-07T00:41:00.000-08:00

So, i'm reading MacLaren's Generous Orthodoxy, and he just completely blew my mind with his definition of orthodoxy. It rings so completely true with what i've known in my tentative, doubting, indecisive heart of hearts since i first picked up and examined this curious thing called Christianity.Since i want you to read this book (if you haven't):"Many will agree: the choice of the word orthodoxy

Reading

2005-12-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

So, i got Joel on Software for Christmas, and i've been devouring it over the last two or three days. If you work in software or programming, it comes highly recommended. If you used to work in software or programming, it comes highly recommended. It's been a real kick in the pants for me to realize that there are things that are extremely busted about the way i program, the way i influence my

Fox Sports

2005-12-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

In 2001, Fox Sports released a humorous and creative, if lowbrow, series of commercials, which are now archived on Google Video. Oh boy.

Slacking, Chapter 5: The Weekend

2005-11-28T00:26:00.000-08:00

My room is littered with stacks of clean (but unfolded) laundry and upside-down CD's. I burned those CD's a few weeks ago, mostly to convert DRM'd music into soundtracks for various slideshows. The best thing about leaving CD's upside-down is that we intend to do it to prevent them from accumulating scratches. But i leave them upside-down for weeks at a time, so that they collect a fine layer

2005-11-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

[11:30] Wei (GZ): ask [Mr. X-Fan]! [11:30] Wei (GZ): ask him [11:30] Wei (GZ): pursue him [11:30] Wei (GZ): use your [scrappykid] ability [11:32] [scrappykid]: He said his family is in town. [11:32] [scrappykid]: So we should keep him in the loop. [11:32] [scrappykid]: But he almost certainly won't be able to join us. [11:32] [scrappykid]: Besides, i don't have any 5-drops to KO. [11:33] Wei (GZ)

2005-11-12T22:55:00.000-08:00

Take note: "If you shout a pleasant greeting to your neighbor too early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse!" - Proverbs 27:14 (NLT)

2005-10-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you that aren't part of the community at San Gabriel Valley Alliance Church, you can skip this message. For those of you that are, please don't feel offended or attacked by these thoughts. Well, actually, you can, because if any of this rings true for you, then you're guilty. And if it doesn't, then... well, then, you won't feel offended. My heart hurts. I think it started a few

Witnessing

2005-10-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

More witnessing tonight. The gospel is so good. God is so good. Praise God for young Mr. L.'s confession of faith. I am consistently awestruck by the depth and thoughtfulness that people have when approaching the truth of the Jesus Christ. I am so disappointed for every time i have been ashamed of the gospel. There is so much goodness and truth in the universe. I caught myself wanting to

Calvin and Hobbes

2005-10-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

I have web-enabled image storage now. So lazy.There is so much timeless truth in Calvin and Hobbes that it gives me hope for the medium. Calvinist morality, indeed. Guilty as charged. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." - Philemon 6 (NIV) When my understanding is weak, because I am not

Is there any nerdy hobby i won't pick up?

2005-10-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

Eric: "Oh boy. They're going to collect Manhunter in trade paperback format! This is fantastic." Binkley: "Rightever." Eric: "What?! This is so nerdy and pathetic that it doesn't even warrant two sarcastic clichés from you?" Binkley: ... Eric: "I hate you. But i will start using 'rightever' to denote my unenthused response." I haven't bought comics in two weeks! These days, i'm reading:

Internet Communism

2005-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Fundable seems like an interesting idea. Mostly bookmarking it for an inevitable future project.

Slideshowing

2005-10-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

The only part of slideshowing that is comparably miserable to scanning is sequencing. Do you know how hard it is to tell the difference between Mr. Armwong at 7 and Mr. Armwong at 8? To say nothing of the difference between Mr. Armwong at 6 months versus the future Mrs. Armwong at 4 months.... Rendering, syncing music, and coming up with witty transition effects is pretty easy by comparison.

Harriet Miers

2005-10-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

From today's Washington Post: Strong Grounding in the Church Could Be a Clue to Miers's Priorities.No wonder the conservatives and the liberals are unhappy with her. Is it morally inconsistent of me to be most excited that her church is splitting on the question of missions, and she's going to join the side of the church that is gung-ho about missions?Oh, it's October 5th. Go eat out.

He Did It Again

2005-09-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Seriously, sometimes, being a fan of a clean-cut, family-friendly Christian artist is a huge pain. Man. Just like last time, Steven Curtis Chapman just put out an album that leaves me asking, "Huh?" I mean, c'mon. Putting your ridiculously cute daughter on your Christmas album cover? That's cheating. And then having her read Luke 2 on the first track? That's Ladainian Tomlinson-level

Autumn!

2005-09-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. Fall is in the air. It's the return of tans and greys, and we can pull out those delightful wool sc-- Ha ha. Just kidding. Seriously, though, isn't fall just the best? I'm sitting at home, a nice bowl of chili and rice on one side, a glass of juice on the other, reading football scores between working on a Chimp Shack production coming to a wedding near you. I taught a great,

2005-09-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

"Amendments? Regulatory agencies? What the farkbot?" "Are you sure we should go drinking together? Who am i going to complain about?" "Ah, the Germans, you just can't stay mad at them." The Simpsons is entirely too clever. These are from the Star Wars/drinking spoof episode.

Roadtrip!

2005-09-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

Looks like Mr. BlueHoodedJacket got his schedule cleared up sufficiently to "hang" the weekend of Oct. 8th. Thinking about doing a roadtrip up... went last time by myself, and that made the driving kind of stinky. Anyone interested in seeing San Francisco and Berkeley? I can't promise not to bore you. Or even to save you from a messy car accident. But i will buy you In-N-Out in Kettleman

Like-minded outcasts

2005-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about interacting with new techies is that you get to see the toys that they're using.So, Binkley introduced me to Mouse Gestures, a Mozilla plugin that lets you use your mouse for all sorts of functions, like opening new tabs, switching tabs, navigating back and forth, without mousing to the appropriate icon. This is a huge leap forward in UI for me. Check it out.Mr.

Wisdom of the Ancients

2005-08-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

Ten Precepts From The Art of War That Never Made It Past Sun Tzu's Editor.McSweeney's is fast becoming my favorite site on the Internet.

2005-08-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

"Two of Us" Lennon and McCartney Two of us riding nowhere Spending someone's Hard earned pay Two of us sunday driving Not arriving On our way back home We're on our way home We're on our way home We're going home Two of us sending postcards Writing letters On my wall You and me burning matches Lifting latches On our way back home We're on our way home We're on our way home We're going home You

International Symbols

2005-08-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

Something from my journal: "I know I'm not good at it, but that's not an excuse to be bad at it." Being home for a week, i'm getting restless feet again. I want to plan a trip up to San Francisco, see Dad, connect with college friends. Want to carpool up? I was reminded tonight of how much i like to hear people's stories. I will try to be more intentional about asking these sorts of

2005-08-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we've really gone and made a mess of things this time, haven't we?

Cultural Xenophobia

2005-08-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

I loathe the entire cult-like culture of surprise parties. It has a stranglehold on my social circle. All the lying and deception in an effort to "win" and surprise the celebrant is eating away at my soul.That said, i'll also note that my mom threw me the best surprise party ever when i was 12 years old, and Nick invited himself over to hang out, and Robbie V. came walking up the street with

Ichiro

2005-07-31T01:32:00.000-07:00

Not sure how much longer this will last, but ESPN has a fascinating story in Ichiro Suzuki. Thinking about my new friends in Seattle as i have often done in the last day and a half, i found the story heartwarming. It's fun how much they love their city and its sports franchises. I have saved the story to my laptop and will repost it on chimpshack when the link breaks. If you notice it has,

The Sticks

2005-07-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

I received this in the mail while i was in China: 10 Year Reunion Saturday, October 22, 2005 -- Mission Inn, Riverside, CA Riverside? Are you kidding me? Hmm. Perhaps i'll try again in ten more years, when y'all have this someplace closer to the bright center of the universe, like downtown LA, Pasadena, or heck, even San Dimas. (no offense intended to my friends in Riverside)

Monkey Vs. Asia!

2005-07-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a little Joe and Monkey to say goodbye with: Enjoy your month without me. See y'all in August. Except the card nerds. I'll see you at the Avengers pre-release.

2005-07-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

But I won't hes-i-tate no mo', no more. It can not wait, I'm yours. Well, open your mind and see like me Open up your plans and damn, you're free Look into your heart, and you'll find love, love, love Listen to the music of the moment, maybe sing with me, I like peaceful melodies. It's your God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved. Oh, I won't hes-i-tate no mo', no more. It can not wait,

Cords!

2005-06-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

I had quite an exciting vacation. I won't give the narrative, but a few highlights:- Vietnamese food with big bruiser. I was worried i'd have to "go legit" and get some legitimate ethnic food, but thankfully, they had pho.- Galtwish's salmon collar, as good as advertised.- I had Ben & Jerry's at the Horton plaza. Primary Berry Graham.- I won an iPod in a random drawing for filling out product

Blah blah blah socio-market-psychobabble

2005-06-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

I could read stuff by Malcolm Gladwell all day long. I don't even like marketing. Or psychology.

A Finite State Machine for Western Swing

2005-06-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

A Finite State Machine for Western Swing

Provinces

2005-05-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm ever dismayed by how provincial we all are. Mrs. Botany is contemplating how best to manage a move from the Bay Area to SoCal. And, being surrounded by like-minded people (which is what we all do, and should do!), the sympathetic noddings and murmurings of SoCal's wretchedness and horridness are just so... well, dismaying! The same is true of most of us-- unwilling to live somewhere new,

Anti-Phishing Measures

2005-05-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Good ol' Doug Tygar, always thinking about how to make the Internet more usable. Neat bit of research to come out of Berkeley's SIMS on how to combat phishing in a way that's easy for non-savvy users.

Articles on Star Wars

2005-05-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

Doubtless, these contain spoilers you should not read until after you've seen Revenge of the Sith. Two experts ponder the final Star Wars movie. (Slate) An article erroneously entitled Star Wars VI. (Weekly Standard)

Cower before me, mewling fools!

2005-05-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

I am your administrator now! All power flows through me! The senior pastor at church is so funny. He looks over at me, and says, "I am too busy to hear everyone's complaints all the time. If anyone has concerns about the fellowships, they will go to Eric. And if Eric decides they need to go to me, he will talk to me." Of course, he says all this in his cheerful, fobby accent about ten

Pop Music

2005-04-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about blogging vignettes about different personalities at my church. I had a pretty detailed outline in my head about some of the easy ones. But i realized that i have often offended someone's feelings, or revealed more than i was supposed to, when i've written about people in my life. Besides, once i get past the obvious, larger-than-life personalities, i would have run out of

Reunions

2005-04-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

(below Safeway article fixed for Mr. G4Cube)So, Mr. G4Cube came to visit yesterday, as did Mr. Mechanic and Mrs. Hawaii. I leaned over to Wesley and remarked, "We should chase our English pastor out of town more often." I miss all these people. I went to sit down in the library, to get away from the kids playing Magic and all the appetizing food smells (I foolishly waited, and it was all gone!