- My mom called and told me she got promoted to Vice President at whatever the name of the company is that she works for. I’m proud of her.
- We had the McRib challenge today. A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) ate 8 McRib sandwiches. It was excruciating to watch. I don’t think I could have held down more than 2.
- I’m in the thick of a new (new to me) fantasy series by George R.R. Martin. You know a series is going to be good when the author has two middle initials. The books are engrossing, especially for their level of detail. I do find myself getting annoyed by the recurring mention of certain words or phrases. It’s hard to read when you keep rolling your eyes. All in all, they are excellent as far as fantasy novels go. If you go to his website, he has a section where he lists what he’s currently reading, which is cool because I like getting book recommendations from authors.
- If you’re like me, you don’t make a lot of money. So, it’s good to know where it’s going and how much you have squirreled away in different accounts and locations. For that reason, I heartily recommend Microsoft Money. I’ve been using it for almost 2 years since it came preloaded on my laptop. I liked it, so much that I bought the 2004 edition some time last year. Microsoft Money connects to my bank and downloads and organizes all my transactions. I can pull reports on how much I’ve spent on coffee throughout the year, for example, and it does other things like provide reminders to pay bills, etc. Microsoft Money has really helped me get my financial house in order. I can honestly say that it has saved me thousands of dollars just because I have a handle on my money situation. Knowledge is power. I haven’t tried Quicken, but I would assume it does a lot of the same things.
Software / Internet
05
Dec 04
Little bits worth mentioning
29
Nov 04
Short Jots
- The holidays could have been better and it could have been worse, but I’m glad to have it behind me. It was nice to visit with some of the family, and it’s interesting to see what changes from year to year. The food was great and I got to visit with both parents. On a scale of 1 to 5, the whole experience rates a 2.
- We got to finally meet Sab’s friend Justin last Wednesday. He came in from San Luis Obispo to visit. We went to Hyde Park Bar & Grill for dinner, which Sab seems to love for some reason. Justin was very cute and funny, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. He’s the kind of person who needs to move to Austin because he’s easy to talk to.
- I spent about 20 hours this weekend just playing World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment where some of my friends work. It’s super-addictive. Here are just a few things I got to do in game that were really cool:
- Tamed a mountain lion and named it “Meow”. She fought by my side until level 15 when I ditched her for a Hyena I named “Giggler”. Apparently, I’m damn creative with pet names. (screenshot)
- I fished for a long time off the docks and banks and pulled up some clams with pearls inside as well as all sorts of fish.
- Helped get rid of Alliance players (Dwarves, Night Elves, etc.) who invaded our area. PvP is fun! It’s also something EQ2 lacks.
29
Oct 04
gmail exploit
All gmail users should be aware of the potential for a gmail exploit. Described here.
21
Sep 04
Minor change
I’ve made a minor change to the website as I am wont to do. This only affects people who use RSS/Atom/XML feeds to view the site. Instead of publishing small excerpts from the entries in the XML feeds, I’m publishing the entire entries (minus the comments) as feeds. This way, if you’re like me and you do most of your regular surfing via RSS reader you never need to visit the actual website. You can just pull the feeds down into your reader and check regularly for changes. Using feeds is good idea for a number of reasons. It’s quicker, lower profile, more efficient, and you’re getting the essential data of the blog rather than everything else that comes with it.
06
Sep 04
Belle nuit
It’s a beautiful night tonight, Open your windows!
- China will send troops to Haiti: “”It’s been a big year for China,” says one official opposed to the deployment. “They put a man in space, won gold medals at the Olympics, and now they are going to put troops in the Western Hemisphere for the first time.”
The official says China’s first military presence near U.S. shores would boost Beijing’s long-term strategy to “supplant U.S. influence” in the region. “China is pursuing a maritime strategy in the Caribbean to gain access and control over port facilities, free trade zone infrastructure, fisheries, oil and minerals, and off-shore banking platforms,”
For example, a Chinese company whose leader is close to Beijing’s communist rulers operates major port facilities at both ends of the Panama Canal.
“They will assert political influence [through Chinese companies],” the official says. “That is where this is headed.”
Administration officials say the decision to permit the Chinese to join the U.N. force in Haiti was made quietly, without a full debate among defense, foreign policy and national security agencies. “ - Report: Civil war most likely outcome in Iraq
- Violence May Force Iraq to Bypass Hotspots in Election
- A Guide To Firefox Extensions Awesome list
25
Aug 04
Gmail invites!
I finally managed to get five Gmail invites! Yay! I’ve been waiting forever.
24
Aug 04
Average is beautiful
- The Face of Tomorrow. Via Take one hundred people and create a composite face from their faces. The result makes me think that the ideal of human beauty is not particular but average. The composites are all good looking, so take one hundred people strip the unique characteristics or oddities and you have a good-looking person. Strange.
- Boring game? Outsource it. A sure sign of cultural decadence
- The democratization of advertising revenue. Google lets Blogger users in on a piece of the ad game.
- Analog meets digital. A typewriter (yes!) that collects the input you use while typing into a buffer then sends as an email. Via.
- NYT on Team America.
19
Aug 04
In blogging news: Six Apart hires Brad Choate
Six Apart, the blogging software business founded by the creators of Movable Type, has hired one of their most productive and talented volunteers, Brad Choate. It will be interesting to see what they come up with in the upcoming releases of Movable Type. The more people they hire the more important it will be to keep growing the business and begin selling a lot more MovableType and TypePad subscriptions. The addition of Choate may increase their capabilities in the direction of supporting more dynamic content in MT and that in turn could lead to the development of additional products. We will be watching with interest.