Friday, December 4th, 2009
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12:26 am
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http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3176422&p=44
New Cave Story port LOOKS good, but the new music has to go. I'm glad there's going to be an option to set it back. Because right now, it's as though they figured out that could change the sounds from the original, but hadn't quite worked out what they want to change them TO.
Warning: SCREECHING.
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(comment on this)
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Friday, November 27th, 2009
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1:53 pm - Quote of The Day
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In the spirit of Thanksgiving I gave a homeless man the dollar coin I had on me. He gave it back because he did not think it was real money. --Brandon Bird
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
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5:52 pm - Quote Of The Day
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Thorain says, "fuck you, Thanksgiving traditions, we're going RIVERBOAT GAMBLING tomorrow."
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(comment on this)
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
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11:57 pm
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If you've spent more than a few moments delving into places man was not meant to tread, you know that there are sites on the Internet where one can watch videos of women sitting on birthday cakes. To most of us the entire thing seems so silly that it must be done in jest. Yet the form and intensity of the work makes it impossible for us not to understand--immediately and incontrovertibly--that the person who created this finds it incredibly erotic, though most of us will find nothing in it recognizable as such.
Gentlemen Broncos is one and a half hours of women sitting on birthday cakes.
It clearly has the *form* of something intended to be a funny movie, an entertaining movie, but has nothing in it most of us will recognize as such. Over and over again while I watched it, I found myself asking, "...Why would you do that?" It's not *bad* so much as intensely uncomfortable and nauseating, a gaping portal into just how alien another human being can be. Perhaps some people will find it entertaining, but they'll have to be stranger than I.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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Saturday, November 14th, 2009
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3:54 pm - Master of my Fate (for better or worse)
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After a number of years of being angry at United and American Airlines and US Air for turning what is supposed to be a pleasant travel experience into a fraternity's attempt at the Guinness Book record for most cattle packed into a metal tube, I decided to finally lose my mentality of 'for $15 less, I'm willing to fly in on a sea gull' and try Southwest.
The entire FCFS seating algorithm took me by surprise, but I picked a seat with lots of leg room that pleased me. I only came to regret the choice as a hyena pack of artificially tanned, cackling dowagers sat two rows behind me and began laughing uproariously, drinking, and comparing the attractiveness of the various male actors of Twilight. On the descent in, the gentleman behind me was noisily air sick.
Somehow it feels worse when you do it to yourself.
Other observations:
- Las Vegas is a pretty poor airport, but I was amused by the presence of slot machines immediately in front of me as I entered the terminal.
- The geology on the descent in is sublime and lovely.
- Overall, I like Southwest, but it ultimately doesn't have what JetBlu has as I learned from a friend at my last conference--satellite television in every seat. Now, normally I hate television, but as a way to mentally tune out for the duration of the flight, I think it could only be beaten by prescription sedatives. My use of sitcoms is purely medicinal.
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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Friday, November 6th, 2009
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4:31 am
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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
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2:28 pm - Voting
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Went to vote today after lunch, assuming that the same polling station would be open as the one I used last year. As I approached it, I grew somewhat concerned due to the total lack of signs, lines, etc. But sure enough, when I reached the door there was a small placard announcing today's election and that I was, in fact, in the right place at the right time.
Inside were four election judges, three of whom had their heads down on their tables inside their arms folded arms, like middle school students dozing in study hall, one reading, and no one else. When I entered, they looked up with something like surprise.
"Wow. Busy day?" I asked. Apparently I'm only the 62nd person to vote today. That's the 'off season for you'.
I voted as best I could, leaving some selections blank. I'm a little sad to see our sheriff run unopposed. I don't have a serious problem with him, outside of the typical 20-something activist generic resentment of authority, but I feel that the events of the G20 summit should have elicited some kind of debate, whatever its conclusion, and the lack of an opposition candidate feels like that kind of dialogue just isn't happening. Overall, I'm a little chagrinned that I wasn't more prepared with information on all the candidates (what do you know about your district justices and comptrollers?), but it feels important to vote anyway: If all of us vote, then all of us will be considered a little more important, so it's about being part of movements towards more egalitarian consideration.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
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10:04 pm
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Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
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5:24 pm - Sometimes life is wonderful
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12:25 pm
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Three hours of sleep last night. The week's almost over, though.
The really annoying thing is that while our new building is lovely, it's only 'complete' in the Return of the Jedi sense: Fully armed and operational, but with large sections of it still under construction.
In particular, The Best Damn Coffee Shop In Pittsburgh is supposed to open a cafe here, but it's continually been delayed as the space isn't ready. This is making them simply BLEED money: The shop was supposed to be open at the start of September and they hired new baristas for that purpose. They still have to keep paying them, despite no new source of revenue, resulting in thousands of lost dollars a week. Since it's still not ready, they have the option of pulling out of the arrangement October 1st (tomorrow); I don't think they will, but it's an interesting cost/benefit/ire optimization problem.
Meanwhile, I could really use a latte.
PS: Survey results that informed the construction of the building are interesting.
current mood: sleepy
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
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1:43 pm - Ban Genetic Algorithms!
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Monday, September 21st, 2009
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5:03 pm
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I get to hear the Prime Minister of Australia speak on Thursday.
I'm trying to figure out a way to get him to sign a toy kangaroo, but I can't mentally construct a hypothetical situation in which it ends well.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Sunday, September 20th, 2009
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12:53 am - Insight into my character
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I grew up in a small (albeit not tiny) town in central Pennsylvania. The kind of town where we got three days off from school each year for deer season ("two for buck, one for doe"). We had a curious perennial traditional wherein once a year each spring, the townsfolk put on their curb items too large to be removed in the weekly trash pick-up, and over the course of the next day, the garbage men cart it away. Before that happens, however, the city is scoured by scavengers who root through the stuff for anything valuable. Someone has made a documentary about this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvcP_X7j1p0
current mood: Homesick?
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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Monday, September 14th, 2009
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7:01 pm
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After a three month Odyssey of trying to get our cable TV service cancelled, during which Comcast demonstrated its inability to communicate with itself like a severe stroke victim, our home internet has been mistakenly turned off, and it'll be a few weeks before we have it back on.
That's the bad news. The good news is unable to either work or play while at home, I've finally had some time to update my MUCK client for iPhone instead, which might be interesting to some of you.
( It's amazing what you can get done when trapped at home without TV or internet )
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(10 comments | comment on this)
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Thursday, September 10th, 2009
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4:14 am
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Ever have one of those days where you wish you could call Thoth up for a favor and get an extra 24 hours to yourself to work out your problems, that you have a lot to do, but with just one extra day you could get back on top of it all?
I've had a week of those.
current mood: enervated
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(12 comments | comment on this)
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Monday, August 24th, 2009
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4:25 pm
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Quote of the day:
Nakar says, "'The emphasis will be on insuring that individuals will not face torture if they are sent over overseas, said one administration official, adding that no detainees will be sent to countries that are known to conduct abusive interrogations.'"
Nakar says, "So I guess this means we won't be relocating them to the US after all."
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
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4:15 pm
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Monday, August 17th, 2009
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12:20 pm
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12:43 am - iPhone MUCK Client
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I've written a MUCK/MUD/MUSH/MUX/whatever client for the iPhone/iPod Touch. It's something I started months ago, but between school and goofing off, I've probably put a few dozen manhours into it. Still, after a momentary burst of productivity (read: displacement from research) this weekend, I have the UI and functionality at the point where I'm interested in alpha testers.
If you own an iPhone or an iPod Touch and MUCK, read on. Or if you know someone who does, please point them here. Otherwise, move along and enjoy your LiveJournal quiz memes and lolcats.
( I Have Terminal Stage Internet Chat Addiction )
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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Friday, August 14th, 2009
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12:13 pm
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I'm relieved that the Steelers didn't sign Michael Vick, and we won't have him in Pittsburgh. I'm disappointed that he was signed at all, of course, (and in Pennsylvania).
current mood: exanimate
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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