The End Of An Era

I have left the Student Pub Building, where I spent more time in college than any other single location, never to return as a student.

Tomorrow, I am moving away from Michigan. It will be my longest, most comprehensive move.

I have said goodbye to (some) childish things, and put many of them (read: junk) at the curb after cleaning out my room.

These may be huge, shocking developments in my life but none of them can hold a candle to this:



That, friends, is my Bondi Blue iBook being sent in for recycling. Purchased weeks after their release the blue book sported a ridiculously small 2gb drive and originally ran OS 8.6. It weighed 9.6 lbs, ran at a moderate 300mhz and had a whopping 64mb of RAM onboard. Though it was wireless-ready, it did not have the optional AirPort card built-in.

Godspeed, Bondi Blue iBook. Perhaps I will meet you again, refashioned into a better, functional, computer.

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Perhaps I am being overly harsh. I used it for years, and despite being dog-slow and woefully lacking in storage it still performed the duties I asked of it. Before recycling, I booted it up to remove any important data. After at least four years without power, it booted like a dream.

The laptop was not recycled with Apple's idiotic program, which would have required me to buy a new computer, but via Office Depot. I walked in, I put the ol' mac in a box, and am completely eco-guilt free. That's worth $5.

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I just got a rejection letter from the Georgetown Research News. This is particularly unfortunate, since it was the last publication that was on my radar.

Travel Plans -- Virginia Bound

Dad and I are zipping off at 7am from Chatteau De Eddy in Troy, with hopes and dreams of arriving in Alexandria before 5pm.

Behold!


View Larger Map

At least that's the plan for the moment.

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Tomorrow, I pack. Tonight, I listen to Ezra Furman and the Harpoons for the 50,000th time.

Have Ira Glass Confront Your Friends!

Have a friend that doesn't contribute to NPR? Stick Ira Glass on them!

From the This American Life blog:

Hi there. Ira Glass writing this. A few weeks ago, I met this listener who had an idea for the pledge drive. He said he had a close friend who listens to public radio every day, but never pledges. He said I should call the friend and record the conversation as I try to talk him into pledging. He said I should get other listeners to turn in their non-pledging friends.

I'll admit, I'm not totally sure if this is a smart idea or not. But it seems worth a few phone calls to find out. So I'm turning to you.

I'm writing to ask you to turn in a friend. If you know someone who listens to public radio avidly, several days a week or more, talks about stuff they hear on Morning Edition or Car Talk or our show, but they never pledge...I'd like to give them a call. I'll be nice, I swear. But I will ask them why they don't pledge. And I'll try to talk them into pledging. And I'll record the whole thing and—if it works—I'll put it on the radio.

So...if you know someone like that...send me their names and a sentence or two about how much public radio they seem to listen to...and their phone numbers. Don't warn them that I might call. And send me your number too. I might want to begin these little pledge segments with the person who's turning in the deadbeat listener.

Send all the info to radio@thislife.org with the subject "Turning in a Friend."

One more thing. This whole scheme probably only makes sense if the person turning in their friend is someone who pledges. So if you don't pledge, please know a) we're still friends b) you're in the majority; most people who hear our show never pledge and c) this little scheme I'm cooking up for the show is probably one for you to sit out.

Okay. I think that's everything. Thanks for your time.

Ira Glass

Guys, do not rat me out to Ira. I don't want him to know about my failures. Also, it probably won't help me get a job with NPR if I don't donate (often).

Knol

Google's answer to Wikipedia?

knol.google.com has a collection of articles it calls Knols -- further defined as a "unit of knowledge" -- which is searchable. So, it IS exactly Wikipedia, except that you see who the authors are, they present credentials.

Interesting idea, but I don't think it will make a dent in the Wikipedia crowd. However, you probably could site this in your College essays and not get a stern talking-to from the prof.

Don't Trust Your Instincts

I received this rejection letter a few days ago:

Dear William,

Thank you for submitting your resume to [name withheld]. Your resume has been received and reviewed for the [position to which you applied]. Your qualifications for the position were carefully considered, however, other candidates appear to have backgrounds better suited to the needs of the department.

They "appear" to have backgrounds better suited to the needs of your department? You sound unsure, or condescending. I can't tell.

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As you may have gathered from my Twitterings, I had some car trouble yesterday. The break line went, and I lost compression in the rear brakes and had very little in the front. The annoyance of having car trouble was nothing compared to the emotional trauma of having to pay for it. However, the car runs great again and will propel me southward, toward D.C.

Weird octopi with more than eight arms. How many? Try 85.

Completely awesome Rubix Cube solving robot made of Legos. Finally!

I move in 10 days.

Background Music

The outcome of this lawsuit is critical.

If the suit is defeated, it might set a precedent against the use of copyrighted music in YouTube videos. Can you imagine the consequences? Nothing but free-license background music or awkward silence in all YouTube videos. Truly, the end of days.

I don't really know where to come down on this one. If she wins, it will certainly be appealed. The likely argument being that there is too much room for abuse.

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I can say all of this with full authority because I am a make-believe legal scholar with a Doctorate of Law from Imaginary Univeristy (Go Dragoonicorntalopes!).

Pack Different

For those with bingo cards, I am back in Troy and have begun packing up my room.

That's not interesting, but this is:

Chessboxing! Sport of Kings!

Amazing pictures of a royal funeral in Bali.

But Why Arizona?

I recently returned from a brief trip to Arizona. I'm sure that anyone watching the TwitterBox noticed that I was there, though I realized (a little belatedly) that I didn't explain to many people why I was there.

Claire (girlfriend) spent two summers at the Homol'ovi National park, working with UM Professeor Lisa Young. After those collective weeks of sweltering, scrubbing, scraping and learning the entirety of Southwestern Ceramic typologies, Claire produced an award-winning undergraduate thesis based on the data collected from two sites in the park.

One of the sites, HP36, is a pithouse village and was undergoing further excavation when we visited. Dr. young was kind enough to take us around and tell us what everything was, and give us a history of the area. This year's dig brought some very surprising results to light, but I fear that my ignorance on the subject will prevent me from describing them accurately.

Later on, we took a trip out to Creswell, where Claire did her digging and the other site used in her thesis. However, there was little to see since each site is back-filled at the end of the season in order to preserve it.

We were also in time for Suvoyuki Day at the park, where members of the Hopi Nation have various informational booths, crafts, and food available for gawking tourists like myself. The food was fantastic: pit roasted corn is amazing. I also purchased a Cricket-girl Kachina doll, and Claire received the admonishing Grandmother Kachina doll from her mother.

When outside the park, we stayed in Winslow -- home of the famed street corner where Don Henley "took it easy." He's bee immortalized with a bronze statue on main-street corner. Sadly, I was unable to carry out Mojo Nixon's instructions, as the statue was cordoned off due to construction.

However, if any of you happen to be passing through Winslow: EAT AT LA POSADA. It's a gorgeous old hotel by the train tracks, and has some of the best food I have ever eaten. (Protip: Order the Elk, and have chocolate-covered champagne grapes for dessert.)

Arizona

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Some links I have been saving for you:

The NYTimes likes blimps, and so do I!

Save the Totoro Forest.

Surprisingly beautiful pictures of Japanese flood control gates.

Automated Messages

I love the automated confirmation/rejection emails I receive from the employers I have contacted.

Dear W.,

Thank you for your interest in the [name withheld]. Your resume has been received by our recruitment staff. If we determine that your qualifications match job requirements for available positions, we will contact you.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a letter. And I am "W."

Twittering Telescopes

Many of you, dear readers, are familiar with the online-phenomenon "Twitter."

I've been doing more Twittering lately, and I'm having a good time with it. I've yet to get it up and running on my phone, but that's my problem.

Today, in my wanderings, I discovered that several radio telescopes in the UK are twittering. They might be the worlds most boring twitterers:

Knockin Observing: space (16:28:38.403 +47:34:16) http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/vlb...

Knockin Observing: space (16:33:23.435 +47:18:58) http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/vlb...

Knockin Observing: space (16:28:38.403 +47:34:16) http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/vlb...

Knockin Observing: space (16:34:02.340 +48:09:25) http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/vlb...

Knockin Observing: space (16:28:38.403 +47:34:16) http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/vlb...

And so on.

Obviously, the only people really interested in these are the researchers themselves. Although, there is something kind of fun about having this kind of knowledge on hand. For bonus fun, take a look at whose Twitters the telescope is reading (hint: other telescopes).
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On another note, more of you all out there should start Twittering. That way, you (like me) can be part of the United Internet Idiocy (UII).

WALL-E

ATTN: INTERNET

Wall-E is the best movie. You should see it immediately.
As you all know, I am a big proponent and producer of gushing praise. In order to spare you all, I will refer you to this review from the New York Times.

Needless to say, I will purchase this movie as soon as it is available.

From The Horrible Depths of the Internet

WIRED has an article on the upcoming Dark Knight movie. I'm relieved to read about a director that is concerned about the overuse of special effects. Truth be told, the OD on the CG is what killed the revisions of the Star Wars movies for me. The CG took those movies out of their context and confused everything. Now I watch them and I think, "How 1997!" instead of "How epic!" Don't even get me started on the pre-quals.

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The Associated Press has an oddly titled article: Everything Seemingly Spinning Out of Control. It sums up some of the weird vibes that have been floating around lately. It certainly seems that we, as a society(?), are on the cusp of something. Maybe I'm just projecting.

It's worth noting that if you look back at history, most everything was hailed as the apocalypse or something similarly cataclysmic. For instance, I'm told that the rise of the book, as opposed to the scroll, was viewed by some as a herald of the collapse of civilization.

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The Canadian Free Press has a response to "Everything Seemingly Spinning Out of Control." Personally, I think it's a terrible article. I dislike it mostly because it often ignore or apparently misinterpret the original, but mostly because I can't jibe with their beliefs.

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In the wake of my recent rejections from the print/media world, I am going to apply to be an astronaut.

The Biggest Damn Spider, and Other Encounters

Friends, it was two nights ago that Claire and I encountered what I will call "The Biggest Damn Spider," hither-forth referred to as The BDS. We have yet to identify The BDS, but I can describe it to you in disgusting detail.

The BDS was mottled grey and black, with a lighter patch on it's abdomen. The important thing is that it was a good two-inches long, sans legs.

For reference, the largest spider we could find in the Audubon books were barely an inch. It was truly massive. Claire's mother was the only one brave enough to kill it. I am shamed; she saved my life, and now it belongs to her.
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This morning I received an email from the Advisory Board Company informing me that my application was no longer going to be pursued. I am disappointed, of course. But my dealings with ABC have been some of the most positive in my job hunt. They were courteous, accommodating, and responded promptly to all my inquiries.

Unfortunately, I only have one other active prospect. Many applications have been sent (and continue to be sent), but I have heard back from a scant few. I am concerned, but ever hopeful.
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Today, it looks like rain.

Now It Can Be Shown

Upon my arrival in Galena, I noticed that my camera had finally bitten the dust. I was exceedingly disappointed, because it's such a beautiful place to be.

So, rather than deprive you of images I bought a new camera.

Lazy Galena Days

BONUS TENZING VIDEO!
Listen to me talk to a dog in a ridiculous voice!
Enjoy never-before-seen footage OF MY ARM!

Review: newuniversal:SHOCKFRONT

Dig it.

Hope to have another one up in a week!

Web Finds

The Web-Log, become "Blog," was originally a very literal invention. It was a log (record) of what the author had found on the internet (web). That was a while ago, and it has since evolved to mean many things.

So, back to roots blogging:

From DCist

The original design of the District of Columbia called for the creation of villages for all fifty states. These would be settled by residents of said states, creating a sort of Palace of Versais/Galactic Council system. Too bad it never went anywhere.
However, it's probably for the best. I imagine the wealthier states investing millions in their villages, making it a tacky Disney-Land type affair. "Hello, 'Y'all!' I am a real-life resident of 'Tex-has!' In my state, people dress in 'cow-boy hats!'"

And what of the blander, less stereotyped states?
"Hello, I am from Michigan. Welcome to Michigan Land. Step this way for the 'Rust to Agriculture: A State's Spectrum' log ride."

Olde Timey 3-D

Back in the day, when Zoetropes were cutting edge special effects, entertainment was a simpler thing. People enjoyed "Stereograms," which were two offset photographs that appeared 3D when viewed through special glasses. These have been revived as 2-frame GIFs. The images are flashed very quickly, creating the illusion of three dimensions.

Million Dollar Goldblum

Last night, I dreamt that the world was facing imminent peril and/or disaster. A southern gentleman -- thin, in a white linen suit with moustache -- had some kind of spherical craft filled with Gold Bullion. Jeff Goldblum, noted actor, wished to escape the amorphous impending doom and asked to get a ride with The Southerner.

The Southerner declined, then Goldblum ripped off his suit coat (also white) revealing several metal ammo belts filled with money. "There's 1.5 million dollars in there," panted Goldblum.

"Sir, you just bought yourself a ticket!" The Southerner replied.

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Due to the horrific flooding, the Julia Bell Swain has canceled all her landings on this end of the river. I am quite disappointed. The very nice lady on the phone said they hope to be back around September. I guess I will have to make an early fall trip to Dubuque.

Besides being the subject of a beloved song, the Julia Bell has a fascinating history as seen here, via Wikipedia. Also of interest is a list of competitors and winners of the Great Steamboat Race. It confirms that, as Mr. Hartfod claimed in song, "she beat the Belle of Louisville, she beat the Delta Queen."

Oh hi, guys!

I was just sitting here wondering why Stephen Fry hasn't offered up a new blessay or podgram when I suddenly remember that I too have a blog of sorts.

As many of you all or no doubt aware, I am staying at the Barker Family Compound in rural Illinois for the month of June. It's quite beautiful out here -- green, hilly, pastoral. From the back deck of the house, you can see the Mississippi rising inexorably higher.

My days are spent with the dogs: Tenzing, the puppy, and Bodri, the elder. Having not spent any long periods of time with dogs in years, save time spent on uncle Mike and aunt Bonnie's farm, it's endlessly entertaining. And often, frustrating.

The DC Job Hunt continues. I've had some good responses, and have made it to higher tiers with some companies. Two in particular stand out, but it's a long process.

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Unrelated to me, Norweigan cartoonist Jason -- whom I adore -- has as an interesting interview with Wizard. Go on and take a gander.

I'd like to conclude with Jason's take on David Bowie ala The Little Prince.

Hometown Flick

Word has reached me that a movie-film is being shot in Ferndale, the hamlet of my youth and childhood. My church is also one of the locations!

My enthusiasm is guarded, as I have discovered that the film in question is a Lifetime channel made-for-TV release staring Sigourney Weaver.

I don't know how I feel about that.

Oh well, I'll probably watch it on YouTube or something.

LINK

Published!

My review of The Invincible Iron Man #1 is now available for reading!

Watch out! I am on the internet and I have opinions!