Doctors?
What kind of doctors set off car bombs?
03 July 2007
Weasel
I didn’t expect Bush to pardon Libby; I figured Bush to be too chicken to try it on. And, whaddya know? He found a different expedient: commuting the prison term. Libby’s still a convicted felon and owes a quarter million in fines, but he walks, and Bush gets his cake and eats it, too.
There’s no way Bush thought this up on his own. This is a Rovian move if ever there was one. But, look, in all the years as governor of Texas, with all the death-row appeals that came across his desk, how many commuted sentences did Bush make? How many even just commuted to life without parole? Yeah, Libby didn’t kill anyone, but he committed a serious crime, arguably more serious in his case, as a lawyer, than perjury might otherwise be considered. The sentence was just, and Bush’s weaselling him out of serving time subverts justice.
I didn’t expect Bush to pardon Libby; I figured Bush to be too chicken to try it on. And, whaddya know? He found a different expedient: commuting the prison term. Libby’s still a convicted felon and owes a quarter million in fines, but he walks, and Bush gets his cake and eats it, too.
There’s no way Bush thought this up on his own. This is a Rovian move if ever there was one. But, look, in all the years as governor of Texas, with all the death-row appeals that came across his desk, how many commuted sentences did Bush make? How many even just commuted to life without parole? Yeah, Libby didn’t kill anyone, but he committed a serious crime, arguably more serious in his case, as a lawyer, than perjury might otherwise be considered. The sentence was just, and Bush’s weaselling him out of serving time subverts justice.
29 June 2007
The Bush Court
We’re really starting to see the effects of GWB’s appointments now, aren’t we? The latest decisions roll back the clock on affirmative action, anti-trust, the separation of church and state, campaign finance, and free speech. It’s almost a surprise that an insanity defense got a death penalty sentence overturned. These decisions, and many more to come, will stand for generations. The consequences of eight years of George W. Bush will not be easily overcome.
We’re really starting to see the effects of GWB’s appointments now, aren’t we? The latest decisions roll back the clock on affirmative action, anti-trust, the separation of church and state, campaign finance, and free speech. It’s almost a surprise that an insanity defense got a death penalty sentence overturned. These decisions, and many more to come, will stand for generations. The consequences of eight years of George W. Bush will not be easily overcome.
28 June 2007
New Geography
Via Rebecca Blood, the Strange Maps blog collects and comments on unusual maps, whether fantastical or, in the case of this 1838 map of Australia reorganized into ten states (rather than the present 6 states & 2 territories).
I like that Guelphia includes both Melbourne & Sydney, as it would perhaps help reduce the inane “rivalry” and help promote the acceptance between the two of the alternative football codes (rugby in the present NSW and Australian Rules in Victoria).
Ultimately, this reorganisation has to fail. Renaming Tasmania in itself is not a bad thing, returning it to its original Van Diemen’s Land, but then sticking a new Tasmanian state far from the Tasman Sea just confuses things. I get Carpentaria and Torresia, but where does “Guelphia” come from? And does “Dampieria” have anything to do with the swagman’s campfire bread “damper”?
Also fun is this GDP comparison, where Australia comes in as equivalent to Ohio. Which is why we’ve got John Howard, I’d guess.
Via Rebecca Blood, the Strange Maps blog collects and comments on unusual maps, whether fantastical or, in the case of this 1838 map of Australia reorganized into ten states (rather than the present 6 states & 2 territories).
I like that Guelphia includes both Melbourne & Sydney, as it would perhaps help reduce the inane “rivalry” and help promote the acceptance between the two of the alternative football codes (rugby in the present NSW and Australian Rules in Victoria).
Ultimately, this reorganisation has to fail. Renaming Tasmania in itself is not a bad thing, returning it to its original Van Diemen’s Land, but then sticking a new Tasmanian state far from the Tasman Sea just confuses things. I get Carpentaria and Torresia, but where does “Guelphia” come from? And does “Dampieria” have anything to do with the swagman’s campfire bread “damper”?
Also fun is this GDP comparison, where Australia comes in as equivalent to Ohio. Which is why we’ve got John Howard, I’d guess.
27 June 2007
Classy
According to the NY Times, depending on whether I categorize myself as being in Human Resources or as a computer support worker, I’m either in the 79th percentile or the 88th, assuming, of course, that my income there would be the same as my income here, in a straight dollar-for-dollar conversion. Interestingly, income has only about a -5% effect on my class standing when I factor in the exchange rate.
According to the NY Times, depending on whether I categorize myself as being in Human Resources or as a computer support worker, I’m either in the 79th percentile or the 88th, assuming, of course, that my income there would be the same as my income here, in a straight dollar-for-dollar conversion. Interestingly, income has only about a -5% effect on my class standing when I factor in the exchange rate.
26 June 2007
Techentropy
Being more or less in the business myself, I enjoyed reading this list of Top 10 Dead (or Dying) Computer Skills. It had particular meaning for me in that I’m currently stuck using #2 on the list, a non-relational database. Coming from a SQL background, having to figure out how to use this kludge drives me up the wall. There are resources for higher-skilled users, but nothing for beginners, like me.
Funnily enough, I had an interview recently with a company using another non-relational database, even though the company had purchased the full suite of Oracle ERP dbms. I think I didn’t get the job because I said I’d push to move over to Oracle right away. The main reason the article requires the caveat “(or dying)” in its title is that users tend to cling to the technology they know, rather than learning something new, even if it’s better.
This is why COBOL is only now looking at the downward curve. A lot of significant systems were built in that language, but it worked so well, requiring highly structured, careful coding, nobody needed to learn it anymore after a while, until the Y2K debacle. Interestingly, many of the programmers brought in to fix the code prior to the millennium were from Russia and India, where the language was still in current use.
The other suggestions are often hilarious, not to mention nostalgic (Turbo Pascal – how well I remember how hot that once was), but I’d argue that documentation by programmers is not a dead or dying skill but mythical in the first place.
Being more or less in the business myself, I enjoyed reading this list of Top 10 Dead (or Dying) Computer Skills. It had particular meaning for me in that I’m currently stuck using #2 on the list, a non-relational database. Coming from a SQL background, having to figure out how to use this kludge drives me up the wall. There are resources for higher-skilled users, but nothing for beginners, like me.
Funnily enough, I had an interview recently with a company using another non-relational database, even though the company had purchased the full suite of Oracle ERP dbms. I think I didn’t get the job because I said I’d push to move over to Oracle right away. The main reason the article requires the caveat “(or dying)” in its title is that users tend to cling to the technology they know, rather than learning something new, even if it’s better.
This is why COBOL is only now looking at the downward curve. A lot of significant systems were built in that language, but it worked so well, requiring highly structured, careful coding, nobody needed to learn it anymore after a while, until the Y2K debacle. Interestingly, many of the programmers brought in to fix the code prior to the millennium were from Russia and India, where the language was still in current use.
The other suggestions are often hilarious, not to mention nostalgic (Turbo Pascal – how well I remember how hot that once was), but I’d argue that documentation by programmers is not a dead or dying skill but mythical in the first place.
25 June 2007
Twitchy
I never had a name for it, all the years I’ve suffered from it, but it’s called “Restless Leg Syndrome,” and it seems to be a real medical condition. Well, if you can believe the rather equivocal encapsulation on Yahoo! Health. (And why is it listed under depression?)
It first manifested itself on long car trips, and I found that massaging my leg or stretching as much as the cramped back seat would allow relieved the sensation that would, if left alone, make my leg twitch uncontrollably, with a kind of itchy tingling behind my knee. Later, as an adult, I’d often get this when I was trying to sleep, and doing stretches or lightly keeping my foot moving would relieve the urge, almost always restricted to my right leg. Eventually, I noticed something else: it would strike most often during the early days of a period when I wasn’t running regularly, or after I’d started back up again. In either case, after a couple of weeks, it would ease off, only happening rarely. My father-in-law, a former naturopath prescribed an increase in magnesium. I can’t say whether it helped, but it’s been a while since I was taking any in supplements, and the exercise-related pattern seemed to persist, anyway.
Then I found out Mom had it, too, which reinforces some of what’s presented in this article: it runs in the family, and mothers with multiple children may find it persists beyond pregnancy. I’m not anemic, so that’s not the problem, but could I have some kind of dopamine issue? How would I know?
In addition to its use in treating Parkinson’s, to assist patients in controlling involuntary motion, which is the applicable purpose for RLS, there are other functions affected by dopamine in the brain. My memory stinks, so there’s that, but I don’t breastfeed, so that’s not an issue, but I’ve always been a bit shy, so maybe there’s a relationship after all.
Next time I talk to my doctor, perhaps I’ll inquire about trialling some ropinirole or something. Of course, I could just drink more water or ensure I’m running every day.
I never had a name for it, all the years I’ve suffered from it, but it’s called “Restless Leg Syndrome,” and it seems to be a real medical condition. Well, if you can believe the rather equivocal encapsulation on Yahoo! Health. (And why is it listed under depression?)
It first manifested itself on long car trips, and I found that massaging my leg or stretching as much as the cramped back seat would allow relieved the sensation that would, if left alone, make my leg twitch uncontrollably, with a kind of itchy tingling behind my knee. Later, as an adult, I’d often get this when I was trying to sleep, and doing stretches or lightly keeping my foot moving would relieve the urge, almost always restricted to my right leg. Eventually, I noticed something else: it would strike most often during the early days of a period when I wasn’t running regularly, or after I’d started back up again. In either case, after a couple of weeks, it would ease off, only happening rarely. My father-in-law, a former naturopath prescribed an increase in magnesium. I can’t say whether it helped, but it’s been a while since I was taking any in supplements, and the exercise-related pattern seemed to persist, anyway.
Then I found out Mom had it, too, which reinforces some of what’s presented in this article: it runs in the family, and mothers with multiple children may find it persists beyond pregnancy. I’m not anemic, so that’s not the problem, but could I have some kind of dopamine issue? How would I know?
In addition to its use in treating Parkinson’s, to assist patients in controlling involuntary motion, which is the applicable purpose for RLS, there are other functions affected by dopamine in the brain. My memory stinks, so there’s that, but I don’t breastfeed, so that’s not an issue, but I’ve always been a bit shy, so maybe there’s a relationship after all.
Next time I talk to my doctor, perhaps I’ll inquire about trialling some ropinirole or something. Of course, I could just drink more water or ensure I’m running every day.
Sorry
When the subject of widespread child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities was first raised, many months ago, there was much tutting and argument and the usual lack of agreement or action. Now we have a thorough assessment and the impetus to action. The PM has taken the lead and will send in some police, maybe some of the army, and the first thought going through many heads was “Stolen Generation.”
The Stolen Generation was the result of paternalistic practices whereby the government forcibily removed Aboriginal children from their parents and placed them in white homes or orphanages to be raised without their language or culture, to ensure the assimilation of the indigenous population, eradicating it, in effect. This was still taking place into the 1970’s. The effect continues, and has a part in what we’re now seeing in the Northern Territory and elsewhere, what we’re now having to fix.
The first thought going through most heads was “thank God someone’s doing something; better to act swiftly and decisively than not at all.” True enough, as far as it goes, but what we need to think about is how to avoid the mistakes of the past, because when you look at what’s being proposed, what you see is power being exercised over the powerless in much the same fashion as has been done before and for much the same rationale.
It’s true we have to send in the police and social welfare service providers and monitors now, but we also need a bigger plan, a more long-term approach. David Tiley at Barista provides an excellent summary of what’s happening and what should be. What should be happening, essentially, is taking effective, immediate measures – banning alcohol and porn (and I’d add getting that unsniffable petrol in sooner), controlling access to Aboriginal communities, medical assessments and assistance, the abuse reporting desk (but what’s all this about 5-year leases?). Great care, however, should be taken over the issue of controlling welfare payments. And greater care needs to be taken in drafting the legislation, because the point, ultimately, would be in creating a plan for building Aboriginal communities positively, rather than furthering the breakdown. Stripping more power away from powerless people forces them into further dependence. Building power where it’s needed is a medium- to long-term project, and I’m just not hearing anything from either side of Parliament to suggest that’s where we’re going. I don’t expect it from Mr. Howard, so I can only hope that opposition leader Kevin Rudd will do more than just support the government’s plan, and come up with something more for when – if – Labor next takes over.
Reconciliation redux is something we must avoid.
When the subject of widespread child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities was first raised, many months ago, there was much tutting and argument and the usual lack of agreement or action. Now we have a thorough assessment and the impetus to action. The PM has taken the lead and will send in some police, maybe some of the army, and the first thought going through many heads was “Stolen Generation.”
The Stolen Generation was the result of paternalistic practices whereby the government forcibily removed Aboriginal children from their parents and placed them in white homes or orphanages to be raised without their language or culture, to ensure the assimilation of the indigenous population, eradicating it, in effect. This was still taking place into the 1970’s. The effect continues, and has a part in what we’re now seeing in the Northern Territory and elsewhere, what we’re now having to fix.
The first thought going through most heads was “thank God someone’s doing something; better to act swiftly and decisively than not at all.” True enough, as far as it goes, but what we need to think about is how to avoid the mistakes of the past, because when you look at what’s being proposed, what you see is power being exercised over the powerless in much the same fashion as has been done before and for much the same rationale.
It’s true we have to send in the police and social welfare service providers and monitors now, but we also need a bigger plan, a more long-term approach. David Tiley at Barista provides an excellent summary of what’s happening and what should be. What should be happening, essentially, is taking effective, immediate measures – banning alcohol and porn (and I’d add getting that unsniffable petrol in sooner), controlling access to Aboriginal communities, medical assessments and assistance, the abuse reporting desk (but what’s all this about 5-year leases?). Great care, however, should be taken over the issue of controlling welfare payments. And greater care needs to be taken in drafting the legislation, because the point, ultimately, would be in creating a plan for building Aboriginal communities positively, rather than furthering the breakdown. Stripping more power away from powerless people forces them into further dependence. Building power where it’s needed is a medium- to long-term project, and I’m just not hearing anything from either side of Parliament to suggest that’s where we’re going. I don’t expect it from Mr. Howard, so I can only hope that opposition leader Kevin Rudd will do more than just support the government’s plan, and come up with something more for when – if – Labor next takes over.
Reconciliation redux is something we must avoid.
21 June 2007
The Cheese Factor
Please: Celine Dion? That’s what Hillary’s campaign theme song’s going to be? “You and I”? A Canadian? A cheesy Canadian? A strident, cheesy, Vegas-act Canadian? Celine freakin’ Dion? Yes, my mind reels so thoroughly that no analysis is possible, no coherent commentary. I’m freakin’ out, man. And the video clip, aired on the news here last night, complete with Sopranos comparison clips, how cheesy was that? And is there any synergy between HBO gangsters, Celine Dion, and running for President? Oh, I can hear the moonbats already. O.k., so the Dixie Chicks would have – maybe – been a problem, due to their “we’re ashamed to be from Texas” crack about Bush a couple of years ago, and the Smashmouth song is a cover of a Monkee’s number and probably just a little too obvious. I’ll have to go back to my Temptations compilation CD and listen to “Get Ready”, but that has to have been a better choice – Motown, after all, so it could grab off some African-American soul cred from Obama (whose only song so far is the one some fan put up doing a Marilyn Monroe-style tribute). Oh, I’m voting Edwards for sure, now.
Please: Celine Dion? That’s what Hillary’s campaign theme song’s going to be? “You and I”? A Canadian? A cheesy Canadian? A strident, cheesy, Vegas-act Canadian? Celine freakin’ Dion? Yes, my mind reels so thoroughly that no analysis is possible, no coherent commentary. I’m freakin’ out, man. And the video clip, aired on the news here last night, complete with Sopranos comparison clips, how cheesy was that? And is there any synergy between HBO gangsters, Celine Dion, and running for President? Oh, I can hear the moonbats already. O.k., so the Dixie Chicks would have – maybe – been a problem, due to their “we’re ashamed to be from Texas” crack about Bush a couple of years ago, and the Smashmouth song is a cover of a Monkee’s number and probably just a little too obvious. I’ll have to go back to my Temptations compilation CD and listen to “Get Ready”, but that has to have been a better choice – Motown, after all, so it could grab off some African-American soul cred from Obama (whose only song so far is the one some fan put up doing a Marilyn Monroe-style tribute). Oh, I’m voting Edwards for sure, now.
20 June 2007
President Mike
Bloomberg for Prez? Gimmie a break. First, I admit I left the city before he entered City Hall, so I have no first-hand experience of his mayoralty. I’ve followed events in my former home as closely as the on-line New York Times and various other sources, like Gothamist allow, however, although, as a second point, I’ll concede some measure of bias in the coverage thereby afforded. But no government executive at any level is immune from criticism when they do something wrong, and praise for their right actions often comes off as muted. So balance Mayor Mike’s performance during the GOP convention or the police harassment of bicyclists since against the 311 information system. Sure, he rides the subway and lives in his own home like a regular person. He did those things before he was mayor, too. What else has he done? How else is he qualified as a potential President. And please leave aside the fact that he’s got the dough to run on his own hook, no public financing or campaign contributions needed.
Actually, his wealth may be the one qualification no one can match: he’s beholden to no one.
No, no, it’s not enough. Ross Perot and Stephen Forbes were beholden to no one, either. Neither one was a viable candidate, and thank God for that.
Well, he’s not running yet, so there’s time to find out after, if, he announces, what President Bloomberg would be all about. I’ll admit I’m intrigued, but I’m also suffering from campaign fatigue already, what with all those Republicans and all those Democrats already running, not to mention all those Democrats who aren’t. Yet.
Bloomberg for Prez? Gimmie a break. First, I admit I left the city before he entered City Hall, so I have no first-hand experience of his mayoralty. I’ve followed events in my former home as closely as the on-line New York Times and various other sources, like Gothamist allow, however, although, as a second point, I’ll concede some measure of bias in the coverage thereby afforded. But no government executive at any level is immune from criticism when they do something wrong, and praise for their right actions often comes off as muted. So balance Mayor Mike’s performance during the GOP convention or the police harassment of bicyclists since against the 311 information system. Sure, he rides the subway and lives in his own home like a regular person. He did those things before he was mayor, too. What else has he done? How else is he qualified as a potential President. And please leave aside the fact that he’s got the dough to run on his own hook, no public financing or campaign contributions needed.
Actually, his wealth may be the one qualification no one can match: he’s beholden to no one.
No, no, it’s not enough. Ross Perot and Stephen Forbes were beholden to no one, either. Neither one was a viable candidate, and thank God for that.
Well, he’s not running yet, so there’s time to find out after, if, he announces, what President Bloomberg would be all about. I’ll admit I’m intrigued, but I’m also suffering from campaign fatigue already, what with all those Republicans and all those Democrats already running, not to mention all those Democrats who aren’t. Yet.
15 June 2007
Silly Victims of Self-Inflicted Wounds
I am beyond tired of reading self-identifying liberals who buy into every myth perpetrated by the reactionary right. Matt Taibbi cites every clichéd example of the “latte left”, chardonnay-sipping Che enthusiasts, and Democratic elitists he can think of, but they’re all recycled canards straight out of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly. When was the last time anyone wearing a “I Read Banned Books” t-shirt turned up at your door? Or at Matt Taibbi’s door, for that matter? It never happened. The problem with liberals in America is that they’ve accepted the lies as truth and the ones working for the media spend their creative efforts wringing their hands over how unfocussed and misdirected they are. We’re most of us, 90% of us, far better than that, far more active, and far more thoroughly integrated into American society than we admit. Victimhood? Taibbi’s got it in spades. If we’re victims of anything, it’s supporting middle-of-the-road candidates because they’re “electable.” Go ahead, I say, vote for Kucinich.
I am beyond tired of reading self-identifying liberals who buy into every myth perpetrated by the reactionary right. Matt Taibbi cites every clichéd example of the “latte left”, chardonnay-sipping Che enthusiasts, and Democratic elitists he can think of, but they’re all recycled canards straight out of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly. When was the last time anyone wearing a “I Read Banned Books” t-shirt turned up at your door? Or at Matt Taibbi’s door, for that matter? It never happened. The problem with liberals in America is that they’ve accepted the lies as truth and the ones working for the media spend their creative efforts wringing their hands over how unfocussed and misdirected they are. We’re most of us, 90% of us, far better than that, far more active, and far more thoroughly integrated into American society than we admit. Victimhood? Taibbi’s got it in spades. If we’re victims of anything, it’s supporting middle-of-the-road candidates because they’re “electable.” Go ahead, I say, vote for Kucinich.
14 June 2007
Famous
Congratulations to Radio Birdman, former angry young men, on their upcoming induction to the ARIA hall of fame.
Congratulations to Radio Birdman, former angry young men, on their upcoming induction to the ARIA hall of fame.
12 June 2007
Movie Notes
28 Weeks Later is scary, but not as good as 28 Days Later, although I admit the zombie Dad is a more haunting image than anything from the first film, and I did have a more disturbed night’s sleep than I’d expected, even after watching The Big Lebowski when I got home.
Candy is about the best adaptation I’ve ever seen and a pretty damn good movie, too. The casting is too perfect to be believed. Heath Ledger’s junkie-performance is first-rate, although – naturally – nowhere near as humorous as that of David Wenham in Gettin’ Square.
28 Weeks Later is scary, but not as good as 28 Days Later, although I admit the zombie Dad is a more haunting image than anything from the first film, and I did have a more disturbed night’s sleep than I’d expected, even after watching The Big Lebowski when I got home.
Candy is about the best adaptation I’ve ever seen and a pretty damn good movie, too. The casting is too perfect to be believed. Heath Ledger’s junkie-performance is first-rate, although – naturally – nowhere near as humorous as that of David Wenham in Gettin’ Square.
Ousmane Sembene
Sembene, who died today at age 84, was one of the great figures of modern African literature, although he abandoned novels in favor of movies, from the belief that film was a medium better suited to African literary sensibilities. I still re-read God’s Bits of Wood, his novel centered on the railroad strike in pre-independence Senegal, every now and then, but have only ever seen Black Girl, his first movie. His influence, however, in African arts, is undoubted.
Sembene, who died today at age 84, was one of the great figures of modern African literature, although he abandoned novels in favor of movies, from the belief that film was a medium better suited to African literary sensibilities. I still re-read God’s Bits of Wood, his novel centered on the railroad strike in pre-independence Senegal, every now and then, but have only ever seen Black Girl, his first movie. His influence, however, in African arts, is undoubted.
Feast vs. Famine
The storm that grounded a ship in Newcastle passed the reservoirs pretty thoroughly, but left the Hunter Valley and Central Coast pretty well done in by floods. Here in Sydney, it's all just tree branches and soggy playing fields, but the game between Wests Tigers (my local footy team) and the Newcastle Knights was played at the Knights' home field without anyone getting even a little muddy. Must have had the tarps out.
And now it seems that the ships lined up outside Newcastle when the storm hit were all warned to pull out to sea, but not everyone did, reluctant to lose their place in line. So while the ship's captain is responsible for the safety of his crew and vessel, there's still a message here to the NSW government to get this port in shape.
The storm that grounded a ship in Newcastle passed the reservoirs pretty thoroughly, but left the Hunter Valley and Central Coast pretty well done in by floods. Here in Sydney, it's all just tree branches and soggy playing fields, but the game between Wests Tigers (my local footy team) and the Newcastle Knights was played at the Knights' home field without anyone getting even a little muddy. Must have had the tarps out.
And now it seems that the ships lined up outside Newcastle when the storm hit were all warned to pull out to sea, but not everyone did, reluctant to lose their place in line. So while the ship's captain is responsible for the safety of his crew and vessel, there's still a message here to the NSW government to get this port in shape.
08 June 2007
Infrastructure Upgrades
This freighter might have run aground in a storm anyway, but if there was a reason to upgrade the Newcastle port facilities before, there’s even more reason now. Honestly, if the ships weren’t lined up 75-deep to enter the harbor, I’m betting we wouldn’t be rescuing the crew in a driving storm right now. If the NSW Labor government isn’t embarrassed by its inaction, it ought to be, whether you want to blame Bob Carr or Morris Iemma. I’m sure everyone will come out o.k., but it’ll be criminal if anyone gets hurt.
This freighter might have run aground in a storm anyway, but if there was a reason to upgrade the Newcastle port facilities before, there’s even more reason now. Honestly, if the ships weren’t lined up 75-deep to enter the harbor, I’m betting we wouldn’t be rescuing the crew in a driving storm right now. If the NSW Labor government isn’t embarrassed by its inaction, it ought to be, whether you want to blame Bob Carr or Morris Iemma. I’m sure everyone will come out o.k., but it’ll be criminal if anyone gets hurt.
Rash
They let that woman out because of a rash? Put her back; she isn’t done yet, not until she’s flaking all over with eczema.
They let that woman out because of a rash? Put her back; she isn’t done yet, not until she’s flaking all over with eczema.
01 June 2007
An Album Cover
For anyone who's wondering, colonoscopies are not fun. (And if you don't get the title reference, watch the video; that line makes me laugh just thinking about it - but don't make me laugh right now.)
(Oh, and, yes, everything's fine, thanks.)
For anyone who's wondering, colonoscopies are not fun. (And if you don't get the title reference, watch the video; that line makes me laugh just thinking about it - but don't make me laugh right now.)
(Oh, and, yes, everything's fine, thanks.)
22 May 2007
mp3
I cashed in my Coles-Myers “Flybuys” points on an iPod Shuffle. (It’s worth it, the points expire faster than I can build them up enough for anything really expensive, like an airline ticket.) It hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m still using the $20 job I bought some months back. I get about 50 songs on it, which is usually enough to get me through a few days’ running. The Shuffle will be a whole gigabyte, so I expect not to have to refresh the mix too often. But I’ve got a peeve, and a don’t expect the iPod to offer any improvements: the headphones wires are very thin, subject to breaks, so you’re left, at some stage, to fiddle with the wires, trying to get a stable connection, or listening to music only coming through one ear or breaking in an out. Yesterday, I replaced my player’s stick-this-in-your-ear headphones with the over-the-ear model my gym membership bought me. They were useless immediately, perhaps because I’d been carrying them in my bag for a few days, banging around with the rather large hardcover book I’m reading (“Wizard of the Crow”, from Ngugi wa Thiongo, of Kenya). The nice thing about earbud headphones is that if you are in the midst of a run and need to remove them, you can stuff them in a pocket or otherwise get them out of the way, whereas over-the-ear models pretty much have to be pulled down around your neck, which is how I spent the next four kilometres. Surely the wires could be thicker, sturdier? It wouldn’t add much weight, and they’d hold up under exercise. I recommend this to anyone producing sports-model headphones. Thank you.
I cashed in my Coles-Myers “Flybuys” points on an iPod Shuffle. (It’s worth it, the points expire faster than I can build them up enough for anything really expensive, like an airline ticket.) It hasn’t arrived yet, so I’m still using the $20 job I bought some months back. I get about 50 songs on it, which is usually enough to get me through a few days’ running. The Shuffle will be a whole gigabyte, so I expect not to have to refresh the mix too often. But I’ve got a peeve, and a don’t expect the iPod to offer any improvements: the headphones wires are very thin, subject to breaks, so you’re left, at some stage, to fiddle with the wires, trying to get a stable connection, or listening to music only coming through one ear or breaking in an out. Yesterday, I replaced my player’s stick-this-in-your-ear headphones with the over-the-ear model my gym membership bought me. They were useless immediately, perhaps because I’d been carrying them in my bag for a few days, banging around with the rather large hardcover book I’m reading (“Wizard of the Crow”, from Ngugi wa Thiongo, of Kenya). The nice thing about earbud headphones is that if you are in the midst of a run and need to remove them, you can stuff them in a pocket or otherwise get them out of the way, whereas over-the-ear models pretty much have to be pulled down around your neck, which is how I spent the next four kilometres. Surely the wires could be thicker, sturdier? It wouldn’t add much weight, and they’d hold up under exercise. I recommend this to anyone producing sports-model headphones. Thank you.
21 May 2007
Please Hang Up the Tights
How bad is Spiderman 3? Everyone who worked on this movie, particularly Tobey Maguire, should take a very long vacation and maybe think about retiring forever so we don’t have to think about the possibility of a fourth movie. O.k., actually Thomas Haden Church was good. Or anyway, well-cast, since that’s pretty much exactly the way I remember the Sandman being drawn in the comics. That could have just been the shirt, though.
How bad is Spiderman 3? Everyone who worked on this movie, particularly Tobey Maguire, should take a very long vacation and maybe think about retiring forever so we don’t have to think about the possibility of a fourth movie. O.k., actually Thomas Haden Church was good. Or anyway, well-cast, since that’s pretty much exactly the way I remember the Sandman being drawn in the comics. That could have just been the shirt, though.
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