Perfect for unbirthdays
Now you, too, can shop with Sherlock. Being an Amazon.com aficionado, I didn't need any incentive to do any more shopping myself, but perhaps this will incentivize you Mac OS X users you.
Posted by ned at 09:39 PM
Now you, too, can shop with Sherlock. Being an Amazon.com aficionado, I didn't need any incentive to do any more shopping myself, but perhaps this will incentivize you Mac OS X users you.
A 5-series California license plate was spotted before Christmas, according to this thread. Earlier there had been rumors of a redesigned plate for the 5-series, but no changes were actually made. The highest-numbered plate I have seen so far is one starting 4ZYZ, so I'm still on the lookout.
As Steve once asked, if speeders are so easy to come by in the Star Wars universe, why do tables still have legs? I feel the same way about Star Trek, and I've been a fan since I could walk (or at least it feels that way).
My homeboy James was in town this week for the holidays and we went yesterday for cheesesteaks at the new Jersey Joe's and then to see Star Trek: Nemesis. While I enjoyed the humor, it was clearly no Star Trek VI or First Contact. Not only has the Federation still not learned about liquid-crystal touchscreens (871-6230? oh yeah, shields up), but 1701-E has apparently ditched the kick-ass stellar cartography room of Generations and taken up the Matrix as its computer interface. And could we please get some personal forcefields in here? Sheesh.
In deference to my atheist and/or differently religified readers, I will refrain from using the word "Christmas," the archaic form of X-mas. In any case, have a very safe and fun winter break and I hope a height-challenged man leaves many presents under your nondenominational coniferous tree. Oh, and do enjoy this article if you please.
Although I haven't read it yet, this article talks about one of my favorite subjects, the RIAA.
Today was truly a blustery day. Wind advisories, flood warnings, tree limbs falling on my car: you name it, we've had it. Things are finally calming down, but they were quite impressive nonetheless.
I got up early this morning to carol with some friends at El Camino Hospital; when I returned to my car and unlocked it, it helpfully alerted me to the fact that someone had tried to break into it. Fortunately that wasn't so, but unfortunately an eight foot long branch was laying in front of my car and its fall had obviously been broken by my poor car. It's actually quite a small dent, right behind my right headlamp, but it means I should probably dig out the number of Sal the ding guy in Redwood City and finally get the SUV imprint in my rear passenger door taken care of in addition to its new cohort.
I had previously decided that for my upcoming birthday I would shop around for a new insurer since I have this feeling I could be paying less, but I'm probably going to pay for the body work myself. Even with a spotless record, being under 25 I get taken for a ride on insurance, so I would probably be paying dearly for a bit of assistance in this case. Nuts!
My copy of the new Hybrid single arrived today. Since first encountering "Finished Symphony" on the SSX Tricky soundtrack, I've been an absolute Hybrid devotee and this new release is an excellent teaser for what I hope is to come. The first of the two tracks, "Visible Noise," is a shimmering, slowly shifting dance number highlighting Hybrid's typically masterful production. One online reviewer described Wide Angle as the soundtrack to a nonexistant spy film, and "Know Your Enemy," the new single's second track, hearkens back to this concept. Just as Hybrid evolved breakbeat dance music, so are they themselves evolving. If this new release is any clue as to what they have cooking, I eagerly await their future efforts.
On our way to a rehearsal tonight Paul and I got to talking. Or perhaps I did most of the talking, I forget. Anyway, my thesis is that I need to move out of suburbia and into a city before I get much older. At the time I said 30, but I think now that's too old. My fear is that if too much time elapses I'll find myself with a house or an SO or something and by then it will be too late for me to find out what it's like to live in a city. For some time now I've been saying I want to live somewhere with actual public transportation, but that's just part of why I want to give city living a try.
I'll write more about this here later; I still have books to read and people to talk to and experiments to perform. Until then, I suppose I'll just leave it at that.
The original is in Latin and this was the provided translation, so don't blame me for the tortured grammar or the obvious impersonality.
To all who read this document greeting:
Be it known that it has been decided to honor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and in accord with his/her merits
To decorate (him/her) with the title and grade of Bachelor of Arts and that we have bestowed upon him/her the fullest power
Of enjoying all the privileges and immunities and honors which everywhere on earth
Pertain to this same grade. Of which act let our official seal and names be for a witness.
Conferred from the academic halls in Hanover, New Hampshire on the . . . day
Of the month of (June) in the year, 20 . . . . . .
As noted in my previous entry, I'm still at home for turkey day. Other than the fact that I don't really have anything to do, I'm having a fine time indeed. I won't pretend I didn't enjoy growing up here (I did), but I also won't pretend that I don't enjoy living in the Bay Area (I do).
As ever, it's the little things that matter. First, the movie situation is pretty grim. I went with my little brother to rent the excellent Croupier (Nate enjoys Clive Owen but thought the latest BMW films were a bit stale) but the only video store handy was Blockbuster, which as a matter of course does not stock any movie whose title requires spelling assistance on the part of the clerks. (I am told the Moline Super Saver theatres have been bought once again and there is the chance of some smaller-run films.) Next, coffee. When I was a college lad my friend Laura and I would convene at the Java Hut when at home from school for conversation and a cup, but now that Laura is married and in Portland I've been forced to make do with chain establishments. The gingerbread latte at Borders was fairly tasty, but too sweet. I would have gone to the Hut for a french toast latte (with cinnamon and vanilla, milk slightly singed), but the smoking is pretty fierce and not worth battling in the absence of good company. Finally, what is up with all of these megastores? The old Wal-Mart apparently just wasn't big enough.
The food situation is looking up, fortunately. Not only was a Krispy Kreme installed last year but there's a new bread store, a sushi joint (not that I'd try it, but its presence is reassuring), even a new Thai restaurant. Plus my favorite pizza joint hasn't closed, so somebody must be rooting for me. We also managed to stop by Prairie Lights yesterday, hooray. I found several books to keep myself busy and grabbed a latte drink for the road (again too sweet, alas). I'll write about at least one of them in a bit, but probably not until after I finish a related book. Plus I grabbed a "100 best mysteries" flyer to guide my mysterical reading for a while.
As I mentioned earlier, I still think this is a good place to live, but not the place for me. It's not that I like the traffic or the rent or the multitudes, it's just that many of the things I do like require a large population to be sustained, like ethnic food or art house films or museums or what have you. I can't say I truly enjoy the complexity of city life, but I do enjoy the diversity. My hometown is building a diversity of its own but isn't as far along in the process, and I'm too impatient to wait for it.