Stupid Fool's Playground

At this point in my life...

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:08:15 GMT

If I were to go back to school, I would go for a degree in Library Science.

Because I think being a librarian is pretty much the best job I could possibly have.

First ride with Aoi...

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:21:12 GMT

Aoi's frame is small. Very small. It was built for someone about three inches shorter than me.

Not too much of a problem, because I can still adjust it right. Unfortunately, she came back from the shop out of adjustment, so I now have to find the sweet spot again.

Other than than: she rides like a dream, she still wants me to go faster, and I'm way, way, way out of shape.

Librarian responds to "inappropriate book"

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:09:39 GMT

Leave it to a librarian to write such a wonderfully worded letter.

Red Hot Library Smut

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:27:46 GMT

http://thenonist.com/index.php/thenonist/permalink/hot_library_smut/

Oooooh... baby... I'd browse your stacks anytime.

Conversation (mostly paraphrased)

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:09:38 GMT

Me: "So, I'm planning to bike across the country at some point."

wendolen (paraphrased): "I think you should go to Butte."

Me: "But why? That's just over the passes. Everything is flat after that."

wendolen (paraphrased): "Exactly."

---

Well then. I'm taking this as a challenge. Butte it is.

Test blog post

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:36:45 GMT

Test blog post,
originally uploaded by ben.mckenzie.

This is a test for multiple pictures to the blog.

Aoi, after the overhaul

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:31:06 GMT

Aoi, after the overhaul,
originally uploaded by ben.mckenzie.

I just picked up my Miyata Two Ten from the bike shop, and she's looking real pretty now. New middle chain ring and a new cassette on the back, and she's ready to roll. I havent had a chance to take her out yet, but I'm planning to sometime soon. Next up: a new rear rack, a front rack, and some panpacks.

Your Fortune For The Day

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:14:17 GMT

You will be contacted by an old friend.

Boom De Yada...

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:56:52 GMT

The Discovery commercial just WON'T LEAVE MY HEAD.

I have conquered my knitting woes...

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:46:04 GMT

I decided that, instead of a scarf, I would knit myself something a bit more functional. It seemed silly that all the knitting needle cases designs were sewn, so I decided on the Kable pattern from Berroco, since it's pretty much a bunch of knits and purls all in a line.

Little did I know...

After half a dozen yarnovers and quadrupling the number of stitches, I decided to unravel the hours of knitting I had done and start over from scratch. That ended up with a knot that needed to be cut, but thankfully I had two other balls of yarn I could use to start anew.

I finally figured out where all the extra stitches were coming from: on the purl rows, I wasn't moving the yarn to the other side of the needle, resulting in numerous false stitches. I'm not sure when I picked up this habit, because the first few rows were lovely.

So, the Kable project is going along nicely. I'll take some pictures of it in progress at some point.

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:47:49 GMT

I just realized: in my dream last night, all I saw were the backs of people's heads.

Kinda creepy.

Posting from a new phone...

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:15:15 GMT

So, Alison recently purchased a Blackberry Curve, and on a lark I decided to take a look at the recent development status of Blackberry syncing on Linux.

My feelings about smartphones in general have been mixed. Most people I've dealt with have gotten one when, really, what they needed was a laptop. Other people I've seen got a smartphone mostly as a fashion statement, and they never really bothered to use them as an organizational tool.

Of all the smartphones out there, Blackberrys (and yes, it is spelled without the "ies" at the end in the plural form) have always had a soft spot in my heart: they don't overpromise, they don't try to be trendy to the point of limiting their usefulness, (RIM seemed to be the last to get a color screen, and there's still no touchscreen that I'm aware of...), and were nigh indestructable. (I have stories of people I've talked to while supporting them on the phone.)

The one drawback for me has always been the inability to sync under Linux.

Recently, the Barry project has managed to fix that with an OpenSync plug-in that supports the Blackberry platform. It nudged me towards thinking about getting one.

Syncing under Linux wasn't enough, though. I use Google Calendar to keep track and share my information. There's no easy way to keep that synced in Linux with any device. With my Palm, I was having to keep two calendars: one for the Palm and one for Google Calendar.

This didn't last long. Also, keeping an iPod, a cel phone, and a Palm all charged up and ready to sync was a pain. Every day, it seemed that one of them would be running out of juice. As a result, the thing least used ended up being the Palm.

Not having a way to track and manage my schedule and tasks on the go made it difficult to keep track of errands, books to buy, things to research, movies to rent, etc. I started noticing things slipping away, trying to remember the name of the thing at the where again? There?

What finally sold me on getting a Blackberry was Google Sync (an app for the Blackberry that syncs my calendar) and MilkSync (an app that let's me sync my tasks with Remember The Milk). I'm able to interface with these applications in a manner that makes both the device and the service useful.

I now have a Curve of my own, and I've been delighted with how damn easy it is to use it with GCal and other online services. I've found a WAP portal for Wikipedia, been able to time my nicotine lozenges regularly, keep updated easier, and make quick notes.

I had been holding out for an Android phone, but everybody's been dragging their feet as to when those were going to be released. OpenMoko had potential, but there's no plans for adding in a camera onto the form, which is a deal killer for me.

I'm looking forward to actually being able to sort out my projects, get some new ones started, and get my life rolling.

EDIT: Not even a Blackberry helps me close those damn lj-cut tags. Or the italics tag, apparently.

THE ANIMATION SHOW

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:38:07 GMT

STARTS JUNE 20th. AT THE VARSITY.

Where math and politics collide...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:45:23 GMT

Redistricting sounds like one of those "side" issues to some people out there, but if you look at the article on Gerrymandering on Wikipedia, about halfway down there's a page with a box and dots that shows how much redistricting can change the outcome.

This bit of trivia brought to you by insomnia and odd dreams: bringing you high quality randomness at lower prices.

HOLY CRAP!

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:54:48 GMT

I just knitted a row!

It's not a pretty row, but it is a row...

NSFW...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:06:39 GMT

The Fucking Poncho

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:40:56 GMT

Sent to me by a friend:

http://www.abyssandapex.com/200710-wikihistory.html

Today is what the word "rain" means to me.

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:24:39 GMT

When I lament that Seattle lacks rainstorms, this is what I mean. These drenching, pouring rainstorms that feels like the world is nothing more than an ocean, or that the waters will be rising again to flood the world.

Eugene's annual rainfall is 50.9 inches, compared to Seattle's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle,_Washington>37.1 inches of rain.</a> It felt like the Earth itself was giving us a shower, and I spent an extra 10 minutes playing in the sweet, drenching waters from above. Today fucking rocks.

Sat, 31 May 2008 06:18:03 GMT

...

PYTHON IS NOT JAVA AND SHOULD NOT BE CODED ACCORDINGLY.

That is all.

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:52:52 GMT

Grah. My plans of actually getting shit done on the house this weekend and running some necessary errands have fallen apart.

The End Of An Era

Sat, 24 May 2008 03:55:26 GMT

I now have a driver's license.

I was marked down for being unable to parallel park, back up around a curb, and turn my wheels the proper direction when parking on a hill. This confuses me: by what I've seen from everybody else, I thought this was standard operating procedure.

My first task: get my bike to West Seattle to get it overhauled. Aaron's Bicycles is about the only place in town I feel comfortable with right now, because the owner, Aaron, has actually been involved online and has been totally awesome in public forums.

My second task: laundry.

I have to wait a year before I can sign up for Zipcar. Cannot wait. Until then, I'll have to borrow cars from people.

Also, speaking of cars...

Fuck biofuels:

http://www.archive.org/details/Myths_of_Biofuels
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/11/06/an-agricultural-crime-against-humanity/
Toxic jatropha not magic biofuel crop, experts warn
The most destructive crop on earth is no solution to the energy crisis

Fuck hydrogen:

Warning: The Hydrogen Economy May Be More Distant Than It Appears
The Myth of the Hydrogen Economy

Really, I do like the idea of Vivoleum.

23-05-08_1820.jpg

Sat, 24 May 2008 02:12:04 GMT

23-05-08_1820.jpg,
originally uploaded by ben.mckenzie.

My spooky Rubik's cube.

EDIT: The camera didn't capture the coloring as well as I had hoped. It's all greys, black, white, and silver.

Sun, 18 May 2008 18:43:23 GMT

Also: I really miss mix tapes. Most people I know just throw a bunch of songs in a pile and skip the ones they don't want to hear. And with playlists it's too easy to throw too many songs in. The limitations of 60-90 minutes of music (120 if you wanted to risk the tape wearing out) meant that a good mix tape had to take time. Careful placement of songs. Hell, you could even do themes.

Now, it feels like music's just... background noise

EDIT: Wow. I just tried doing a 60 minute playlist. It was brutal.

Wow. I missed weekends.

Sun, 18 May 2008 18:18:51 GMT

This is the first actual weekend I've had scheduled off in a few weeks, and those were the only two I had off for the past few months or so.

I've missed them. You don't think much of weekends, until you realized that most of the rest of the world does, and that life is scheduled accordingly. Like being able to drop into a shop early morning on a weekday before work, but finding out they're closed that early on a Sunday.

Or being able to socialized on a Saturday, and not have to work the next day.

I probably won't have any more weekends off. Work is going to start getting crazy, with summer coming, and for awhile it'll be all hands on deck. But at least I had this one.

Things that are awesome...

Sat, 17 May 2008 17:10:55 GMT

I bitch about technology a lot. But something that's awesome: DAAP.