pseudorandom

moving

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:19:47 -0500

I'm moving my thoughts over to a new location from here on out: http://cricketsinperil.com/

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In a station of the metro

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 22:18:37 -0400

I caught a wonderful link tonight from Lisa's blog to a Washington Post article about virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell busking in the L'Enfant Plaza metro stop in DC. The gig was for Bell to play incognito during morning rush hour to see how passerby would react.

Predictably, nearly everyone brushed hurriedly past, rushing to make their morning meetings. So it goes. The only rapt demographic were children, who had to be dragged away by their parents. After learning of the ruse, I love what Sheron Parker says of her son, who resisted being pulled off and craned his neck to continue watching--"Evan is very smart!"

I've recently been experimenting with living slower in New York. I've taken to walking slower, not rushing, caring less when I'm late or when I'm early. I find that I notice more stuff along my way. I find that I empathize easier with others when they drift into my mind. It's simple, and it's powerful.

What's more, you get to watch the world rushing around you, and you feel pretty special being up and out of it. Like when you're under an awning, a few steps in out of the rain, and it's pouring inches away. Sure, maybe you'll have to head out and get wet again soon, but it's nice for a while, no?

And anyhow, we're pretty much making this whole thing up for ourselves anyway. Why not write yourself a better part? I hope someday I'll be wise enough to sit down and listen when I hear a great violinist.

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more tea, please

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:01:52 -0400

"Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things." - Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea

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error handling

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:38:51 -0400

One way to handle errors on your site is to place them next to inscrutable, matrix-esque dystopian images:

Clickatell

When the database gets too large, the guy on the right gets it.

I prefer the nonviolent approach. Who could hate on a crying kitty?

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brushing

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 03:07:49 -0400

When I pressed the button on my electronic toothbrush tonight, it whirred to life for a moment and then abruptly gave up the ghost. I've been away from home for about a week and half now, and it seems my brush is missing it's sweet electric cradle back in New York.

My teeth still needed a good brushing, so I pressed the electric toothbrush back into service as its understudy, the lowly manual toothbrush. As I brushed on wrist power, I thought about how curious and illuminating it is when a sophisticated piece of technology reverts to an undistinguished object. Like when we ran John's grandpa's fancypants '76 Cadillac convertible out of gas back in high school. One minute it's the best ride ever (OMG it was long and gold and had an 8-track player) but the next it's a dead hunk of steel on the side of the road.

Something in my composition loves this moment of fragility with technology. It's the humanity packaged up in our creations, and it's comforting to see them screw up the same way we do now and again. It's possible that a nascent Luddite slumbers beneath the technologist in me too, rooting for John Henry to beat the steam drill. But we are the machine now, no? Maybe toothbrushes don't count. They're waiting for web 3.0, when it's all about mobile and local.

Anyhow, it's beautiful out here in Ojai, and my teeth are clean.

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Buried Beds

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Sat, 12 May 2007 00:48:05 -0400

I've been listening to a few songs from the Buried Beds's album "Empty Rooms" album over and over in the last few days. Eliza Hardy's voice is amazing; "Insomnia" and "Camellia" are hauntingly gorgeous. Highly recommended.

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Caturday Arrives

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 23:37:31 -0400

Pretty much my favorite blog has become I Can Has Cheezburger, a work of beautiful absurd genius. Personal favorites include:

Be careful, as the site boasts a deep stack of archives that will quickly stand in for work, social life, eating, etc that you may have planned.

And finally, in the same vein, the apocalyptic battle of longcat and tacgnol, scored appropriately.

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NRA Bullshit Now In Convenient Graphical Novel Form

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 01:14:34 -0500

Wonkette has obtained a copy of an upcoming graphical novel from the NRA, steaming with fear-mongering propaganda.

Must be hunting season on humanism right now?

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Bork bork bork

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:26:51 -0500

On a lighter note, I remembered a google feature about which I'd forgotten today. Namely, you can set your language to "Bork, bork, bork!", rendering all prompts and standard google links in Swedish Chef-speak.

Other languages of note: Elmer Fudd, Hacker, Klingon, Pig Latin, and (hell yeah) Latin.

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The Obama DNC Speech

nobody@vox.com(Doug) — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 22:36:02 -0500

I watched Barack Obama's speech from the 2004 DNC for the first time today. I was floored, astounded at the richly nuanced, socially just, inspired vision of America he presents. He describes the America I want to live in, the country I'd feel proud to work toward.

If you haven't seen this speech, I highly recommend it. I'm anxious now to see whether he runs for president. Also need to research his viewpoints in more depth, but so far he looks amazing.

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