Snakes on a Plane

On Friday night, Katie and I went to see Snake on a Plane. Wow, that was and will become a classic campy horror movie. Go see it. You might thank me later.

happy birthday kt

That's right, happy birthday to me! Brian and I went out for beers on the roof deck and then fancy dinner at the Coast Guard House in Narragansett. Brian was driving, so I ended up with the better 2/3 of a bottle of tasty wine. After a yummy dinner (my Ahi Tuna was good, but Brian's Lobstah Ravioli was deelicious), and an even yummier chocolate dessert, we ran around barefoot on the beach, learned some astronomy, and fell asleep by 10 pm. It was a very good day.

How does Eric know it was my birthday?

Happy Day

It was all setup yesterday. As it was V-Day here in Rhode Island, I decided to fix some stuff in the house, move in a little bit more. I tackled the shower. The shower head that was installed was not the best in the world, it was also using a non-standard pipe. I walked down to the hardware store, got a $2 converter piece and installed the shower head. This morning while taking a shower I noticed the difference. So Much Better. Having a good shower head is incredibly important.

After the fantastic shower, I drove to the main campus to pick up my offer letter for my job. There were some small changes to be made to the letter, but nothing drastic. I need to sign it and return all the forms by Friday. *doing a little happy dance*

Nintendo DS Lite

Weehoo! I got a DS Lite last week. I had to wait for the games to come seperately, but they finally arrived. I spent most of Saturday and some of Sunday sacked out on the couch playing. The controls are great and it is easy to use, but sadly the Wi-Fi feature only works with WEP or no-auth. I may just setup the extra wireless router as WEP for playing the DS through the WISH (Wireless Internet Super Highway) , but not through WDT (Wireless Dump Truck).

Katie found this one. For everyone that is interested, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is coming out in mid-September for all systems, including the Atari 400. I think this is just absolutely confusing. Lego Star Wars was from the second set of movies, but named I, II, and III. Lego Star Wars II is the from first set of movies, named IV, V, VI. Why not just name them, Lego Star Wars (Ahh): The Ones You Love and Lego Star Wars (Yak): The Ones Which Weren't That Good. That would make is much clearer.

ANL's albino midget deer

Last Monday, a colleague and I had 24 hours of beam time on the synchrotron at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab. While I won't dwell on the nerdy scientific application we were trying out, there are few weird things about APS that are worth sharing. 1) The main mode of transportation inside the synchrotron is the adult-sized tricycle. Fun to ride, but hard to steer. 2) There is a mysterious network of above-ground pipes that goes all over the campus. The pipes take crazy 90° bends have lots of nonsensical twists. An ANL scientst told us that the "local lore" is that these are steam pipes that deliver heat to the buildings, but the fact that that this is "lore" suggests to me that their true purpose must be much more secret. 3) The lab campus is populated by the freakiest deer I have ever seen (in fact, they look more like big goats aside from their huge antlers). Liz and I had a close encounter with two ghostly stags in the middle of the night, which was pretty cool but also kind of creepy.

Moving with TiVo

After moving the TiVo had to be set up. Katie did most of the work and it took her a while, well it took the TiVo a while to determine where it was and get the tv schedules it needed. Cool. it works. Nope, it doesn't. I realized today that the TiVo was doing fine with the cable channels, like Comedy Central and Discovery, but with the local/over the air channels it was having trouble. The TiVo was looking for particular programs on particular networks, like ABC in DC. That was never going to happen. I needed to delete the season pass for each local channel and get the season pass again for the same program. It wasn't all that hard, just a very odd circumstance.

Locale Change

I have fully moved up to Rhode Island. Nothing is left in DC. I still need to unpack all of my boxes and do a bit of organizing but that will come with time. Katie and I also need too figure out what we need to get for the house. She has been waiting for me to move in before the purchasing begins. She has started to get milk delivered weekly from Munroe Dairy.

Bottle Caps

I thought this was pretty neat. Bottle caps as magnets or thumbtacks. It looks so simple, even I could do it. The hot glue gun may be a problem.

Comics

If you like the comics, and you think those other comics really have no business on the same page as things like this


You will throughly enjoy The Comics Curmudgeon. It takes a stab at all those other comics and makes them worth reading, or at least skimming for idiocy.

brian needs a new post

this video made me laugh out loud. how much fish can *your* cat haul?

Bite My Shiny Metal ...

Futrurama is Back

From the article: "I just have one reaction: Huzzah!"
I agree.

Timbuk2 Weekend Contents

I went to a pool party on Saturday and decided to bring a bit of beer, with thanks to the Monks of course. I had bought two 6-packs for the party but need a transportation device. In comes the Timbuk2 bag to the rescue. I knew I got this bag for a reason. Browsing through the photo set below you can easily see that the beer fits into the bag, plus there is a bit more room for a towel, swimsuit, and some sunscreen. Brilliant. Hmmm, is that what the 2 stands for in Timbuk2.

Apparently, I learned during the pool party Jason Lee will play me in a movie of my life. Maybe it is the beard. Who will play you ?

Stupid Dress Codes

Last night I went out to a bar with some people from work. A specific bar was suggested beacuse of the outdoor patio and we were having some rather nice weather. When we tried to enter the bar I was informed I could not enter. Eh ? I was wearing my normal garb, tshirt, jeans and sandals. The tshirt and jeans were fine, but the sandals were a big no-no. Unfortunely, some people we were meeting had already entered the bar. Someone had the brillant idea to enter the bar, get the shoes of someone already inside and give them to me so I could enter. Wow, that was stupid. I returned the shoes of the kind soul and put mine back on, sat down and ordered a drink.

A couple of minutes later the bouncer who had originally not let me in tapped me on the back and asked where my shoes were. Grrrr. I asked if he was going to kick me out for my sandals and he basically said yes. So I asked if I could finish my drink and he was a bit hesitant about that but eventaully agreed. At this point, a woman from our group offered me her shoes if I would wear hers. See, women can wear sandals but men cannot. I decided to talk with the bouncer downstairs and he reluctanly agreed to the new situation. I spent the rest of the night in someone elses shoes sitting at a table with my shoes were not even visible.

I have run into places like this before but this was incredibly stupid. I would have thought I would have been denied entry because of my tshirt, or even my jeans, but my sandals. The reason I was given for the rule was that "We are trying to uphold a image". Interesting. While inside I saw people "dancing", i.e. rubbing up against each other. I suppose if I want to "dance" I need to have the proper shoes, for my own safety. Needlees to say, I will not be returning to this place.

Who is afraid of the ...

I heard some rumors that some people are afraid of esavage13 because he "knows" stuff. Like World Cup Football things. Well, I can certify that he knows some things but is not insane. Actually he is kind of cute and considerate. He wanted to buy this for me for the holiday season. He will not cause trouble for anybody except me. Trust Me.

I miss Suck.com

this soccer ball looks a lot like math

for those of you who are math nerds AND soccer fans, check out these movies of mathematical transformations of a soccer ball. complete with equations!

for the same demographic, i also recommend this BBC article about the new world cup ball. it's swervy!

Timbuk2 Bag

I got a new bag since my old backpack has started to show its age. I decided to get a Timbuk2 bag because it has slot to put my laptop and keep it protected. Here are some pictures.

Google Answers

While doing a search for a question I was talking with Katie about I ran across Google Answers. What you do is ask question, set your price, and then a researcher associated with Google Answers brings some calm to your mind. Interesting idea. I started looking through some of the questions. Oh boy, some of these are weird. My favorites are the tea and excel ones.

postage rate for a regular letter in the United States
what's the most points michael jordan has scored in a game?
The price of tea in china.
How many ribs do I have....?
percentages in excel
what type of spider is this?
Girls

And finally something useful:
world soccer cup on american tv

Frontline: AIDS

I like Frontline on PBS as it deals with interesting subjects form a vast number of topics. Tonight they are showing a history and spread of AIDS from its discovery in the early 1980s. It is incredible story of science, politics, and culture. I am only 30 minutes into the 2 hour long, 2 part story. More information is here.

salad dressing

Eric liked my homemade balsamic vinaigrette, so here is the recipe.

Combine:
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1 clove of garlic, cut in half
1+ tsp "Mrs. Dash" original spice mixture

Shake well. Pour on salad.
Makes 1 delicious cup.

I got this recipe from a family friend, Leigh Pomeroy, who is a former screenwriter and MN congressional candidate from Mankato, MN. Oh, wait, no. The other Mankato, MN. Leigh also is the father of identical twin boys for whom I used to babysit when they were little. Coincidence?

Wet Computer

I have had the worst luck with computers in the past months. This time it was the new apple laptop. I was walking home and was caught in a rainstorm. I and Kt got completely drenched. We were so wet I could squeeze water out of my jeans. I then realized some time later my computer was in my backpack.

The outside of the bag was soaked too. The computer sleeve I got was wet as was my new little laptop. :( I opened up my computer and "Kernel Panic ...". After drying off most of the water I could, I powered the computer down and back up again. Ding ding ding, then nothing. Hmmmm. Maybe the power is low, so I plug in the power, no light on the connector, bad. After much brooding and getting annoyed at the computer and anyone who tried to do anything, it was time to call apple.

Me: Hi, my computer got wet and now it goes Ding ding ding.
Apple: Let me put you on hold
Me: Ok

I was then disconneted. Grrrr. Call again

Me: Hi my computer got wet and now it goes Ding ding ding
Appple: This sounds like your computer has bad RAM or it can not find your RAM, you need to take it into an Apple Store or send it in to get repaired.
Me: (under my breath) S*&t!
Me: Where is the nearest Apple store ?
Apple: Arlington, Virgina
Me: Ok, can I make an appointment ?
Apple: No, you have to wait for tomorrow.

Ok, put the computer down take a deep breath and wait for tomorrow. More brooding and terrible thoughts. I need to call Apple to tomorrow and make an appointment to get my computer fixed or taken in to be fixed. Either way I have to go to Virigina.

Next day:
I tried to turn my computer on the next day, just for "fun". Now it went "Bong" like it should. But it then gave me the folder with a Mac face and a "?". Hmmm, this seems a little better, but not great. I need to make an appointment anyway, so I called Apple.

Me: Hi, I called yesterday.
Apple: Ah, yes. Your computer goes Ding ding ding. They have already sent a box to your address to pick up your computer just in case it needs to be sent in.
Me: Umm, ok. Well, my computer no longer goes the ding ding ding thing. It now takes a Bong hit and shows that questions mark in a folder picture.
Apple: Ok. That icon means that the system cannot find your system software on any disk connected to your computer. Do you have the OSX boot disk ? Place that into the computer and when the computer goes "Bong" press and hold the "C" key until you get the spinning gear. That will take you into the install program and we will try to fix things from there.
...
After some booting time and me pressing the "C" key like it will save my life. During this time I also set up a apointment at the Apple Store to take my computer in.

Me: Ok. I am the install screen.
Apple: Go to Utilites and select Disk Utility. Then select your hard disk and select Repair disk.
Me: Ok, it is repairing. ....
Me: I got this gray screen that says to restart my computer.
Apple: Hold down the power key for a long time to power it down and then turn it back on. The disk repair crashed while it was making the repair.
Me: Ok, it is booting and I am not holding down the "C" key. ... It looks like it booted all the way, no little folder icon or anything. It is asking me to login.
Apple: Go ahead and log in and move your files to a safe place, just in case you need to send your computer in. I also want you to make sure and go to the appointment at the Apple Store.
Me: Ok and thanks for your help.
Apple: I am still not is wrong with your computer. It may have intermittant RAM issues, but the people at the Apple Store could tell you better.

I took the long Metro ride out to Virginia and visited the Apple Store. They checked everything out about the computer and I told he entire story from above. This took about a half and hour as I wandered around the Apple store saying, "Oh, I want that" and "Wouldn't it be cool to have that gigantic screen!". At the Apple Store, they started the computer with the Boot Disk and holding down the Apple Key or the option key, I am not sure. The computer went through all sorts of self-checks of RAM and hard drives and other stuff.

In the end, everything checked out ok and I am using the computer. I guess getting the computer wet is a bad idea. Some goods things did come out of this. Katie let me use her new Timbuk2 bag and I think I am going to get one as well. It has a built in compartment for a computer and is water proof, plus all sort of little pockets. Apple customer support was really pleasant, helpful, and knowledgeable. I guess neat little computer is cool, but having someone else fix it is even better. I feel like a ad. Oh and the "I'm a Mac ..." ads were running on a continous loop in the store. They got annoying in the end.