Story Archive - September 2004

Further Up and Further In (09/29/2004)

Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy. - Jesse Jackson

There's a presidential debate this week! I'm so excited! Really! I already made sure that I would be able to leave work early enough to get home to see the debate.

I read the entire thirty-two page document outlining the rules. The one issue I see is that a lot of decisions about which candidate is at which podium or which candidate gets the first question or which candidate gets the first closing remark is determined by coin flip. We all know now that coin flips are clearly biased. It's been proven by math and by experiment.

During the town hall debate, the participating audience members are going to be made up of "soft" Kerry supporters and "soft" Bush supports. Yes, this wonderful legally binding document in fact said "soft."

I was trying to get a presidential debate party going at my apartment, but my core people fell through. So instead I'm going to curl up in my PJs with some ice cream. It'll be a wonderful ninety minutes. Watching Barry hit his 700th home run is nothing, this is entertainment at it's finest.

The debate is showing on forty percent of the channels that my rabbit ears can pick up. I think I'll have to watch it on PBS. Let's be honest. You're a loser if you watch it on any other channel.

So we had some tinfoil... (09/26/2004)

The Outside The Door The Shelves The Desk

Avoirdupois (09/23/2004)

One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny. - Bertrand Russell

1998: I'm an RA. One of my friends has just gotten a new amazing surround-sound system. His roommate rents a movie and around half a dozen of us gather in his room to watch. His roommate is under twenty-one and pulls out liquor. As the person entrusted by housing to ensure this sort of thing doesn't occur I'm surprised by the brazenness and say, "I should write you up for even having that. I don't have a problem you choosing to drink underage, but I do have a problem with me blatantly ignoring the responsibilities of my job. So there's no way I can stay in this room and watch the movie if you're going to be breaking housing rules while I'm here." I expect this will cause the room to peer pressure him into stopping. I underestimated the pervicacious of the group, he continues to drink, my conscience escorts me home. I spend the next two hours back in my room alone and disparaged.

2004: We have a party after work at the apartment of a coworker. It is tiny apartment (the only kind in San Francisco). Two people light up cigarettes in the little place and I'm worried about asthma. I mention this to the hostess (one of the smokers). She opens the windows and asks people to please smoke next to them. The chilly San Francisco fall air causes people to close the windows. I hang out in the hallway for a bit, but there are never less than four people smoking and usually there are around ten people smoking. I concede and jump on my scooter for the two mile ride back to the train in the cool and refreshing San Francisco air. I am still disparaged.

Athens Haiku 3 (09/21/2004)

First rain of the year
Makes our ground wet, but always
Water in the pool

Athens Haiku 2 (09/20/2004)

They all cheer back home
The Atlantic is quite small
Good karma in Greece

And this Thursday Night... (09/16/2004)

Most people despise politicians who lie. Most democrats are hopefully that Kerry is. - Peter Camejo

I do like hearing smart people talk...

Peter Camejo Speaking

I forget what blurry photos my camera takes without a flash.

It Made Me Laugh Too Much (09/14/2004)

I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning. - Plato

Ham and Cheese: So what are you doing as I'm trying to figure this out?

J.Jiggy: I'm sipping cognac in my big chair. If I had a fluffy cat on my lap to pet I would be the perfect Bond Villain.

Ham and Cheese: Villain? When I figure this out it I'm going to be king of the impossible! Flash! Ahhh... Saviour of the Universe!

J.Jiggy: I'm the one telling you how to do all this. You're just man, with a man's courage. I'm the hero.

HnC: No way! You'll be my sidekick. Every hero needs a sidekick. I'll be Flash and you'll be... umm... did Flash have a sidekick?

J.Jiggy: No, I don't want to be Flash. He knows nothing but a man. I wanna be a super hero! I wanna fly so high.

HnC: Oh, why can't you understand; with my mask, I'll be like Batman! You'll be Robin.

J.Jiggy: I think it's more like I'll be Penny and you'll be Inspector Gadget.

HnC: Go go Gadget Web service.

J.Jiggy: Does that mean it's working?

HnC: Still no idea what's going wrong *sigh* ... I guess Ming wins this round.

Paying it Foward (09/11/2004)

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. - Plato

In one of my high school English classes the teacher once gave a long talk on the propagation of acts of love. Most acts of love today are based on antediluvian ones. Do little nice things for people and they will pay it forward. Letting a person change lanes in front of you in traffic and opening the door for someone else are both tiny bits of love. Each of those acts increases the chance that the person will do it for someone else.

When I was in Japan a year ago trying to figure out the Tokyo subway system, a random Japanese kid walked up and offered to explain it all and help. Maybe he saw a good chance to practice his English, but it sure saved me seconds of time! In the past month there have been two instances when I was waiting for my BART train and noticed someone having problems understanding the BART map and schedule and offered my brilliant assistance. I like to think that somewhere in Japan a kid is getting good karma when I do it.

This morning when I got my Saturday coffee I gave extra money to the barista and said, "Give the next person their coffee for free. Tell them they should do something nice for a stranger today." That's how I want people should act today. Do something nice for someone you don't know.

Widgets (09/10/2004)

Correct me if I'm wrong - the gizmo is connected to the flingflang connected to the watzis, watzis connected to the doo-dad connected to the ding dong. - Patrick B. Oliphant

Okay two unique Widgets are ready for alpha release.

The widget and uber-app are always in competition. Do you want a ton of little programs that do one thing really well or a big monstrous application that doesn't everything similarly, though not perfect?

Plates (09/08/2004)

The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security. - Thomas Paine

When I arrived home on Tuesday night I found a parcel slip in my mailbox saying a mail item was waiting for me at the post office. The parcel slip said the DMV had sent me something too big to fit in the box. I was thankful, because my license plates should have arrived many months ago and I was getting prepared to duel with a two-hour hold calling the DMV to figure out what was up. The DMV is running a bit slow in the ongoing bankruptcy of the state.

Since my mailbox slot is too small for anything much beyond a normal letter, being forced to head into the post office is an all too common occurrence with me. It happens around four to five times a year, which is not often enough for me to go to the trouble of getting a P.O. Box with more room, but often enough I curse each time that it happens.

The post office is only open from 8:30am-5pm Monday thru Friday. Since it's a parcel pickup, it means that I have to go to the office next to my home. It takes about an hour for me to travel from the post office next to my house to the office. Historically I would just work from home the whole day and make my run to the post office around three in the afternoon, but I'm still in that silly phase where I want to be physically present to enthuse my lackeys.

I show up at the post office at 8:30am on the dot, and the post office is still closed. There's a line of seven people in front of me trying not to miss too much work. 8:40am and the doors open (ten minutes late) to let everyone inside. I suppose it's good enough for government work. The first person takes about five minutes to transact and is off. Then the second person turns out to be a group of three. This, for some reason, gets my hopes up that things will proceed quickly.

They don't speak English. This isn't a problem in a bilingual state like California and the post office attendant goes in the back to pull up one of the bilingual employees to help. Then they talk. They talk a lot. The bilingual employee is talking in Spanish with the group whom are trying to figure out the best way to send money to a relative in southern California.

This is all well and good, except that the post office employee manning the window who doesn't speak Spanish merely sits around listening to the conversation. Maybe it's too much of me to expect that she would continue helping the other people in line. Maybe it's too much of me to expect that they might have two windows open for the morning rush when everyone wants to get out quickly.

At 9:25am I'm out the door with my license plates. Fifty-five minutes of my time to spend roughly sixty seconds of it doing my transaction. I'm allowed to be a little frustrated by this process, right?

Labor Day (09/07/2004)

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop. - Lewis Carroll

They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap.

To Peteluma they went to find their deep roots;
From the place where great mother was born;
To stand right on the soil that'd been under her foot;
Yet now they were all quite way worn.

Then quick o'er to the cabin to rest for the night;
To a Scrabble and calculus pile;
With the cards, it was hearts but it formed quite a fight;
Good food made everyone smile.

The very next day, to a house and church;
Her grandparent's home was the first;
The place where she wed was the second to search;
The orderly party then burst.

"To the Starbucks, I say, for cold drinks, it's our right."
The Yuppie said straight to me.
"No! We must struggle on to hit all of the sites,"
but too late, it was mutiny.

Some left to find coffee, and many to rest.
For a moment the trip tried to mend.
Yet the journey was over we had tried our best.
Like herding some cats in the end.

Labor Day Group

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start (09/06/2004)

Power, odometer, power. Power, hold odometer 10 seconds, reverse, park, odometer, power.

30 EXTRA LIVES!!!! Err, I mean the horrible beeping my Prius used to do while in reverse is no more.