More Quickies

The Old Negro Space Program is a parody of a Ken Burns-style documentary. It's pretty amusing.

Wired News reports that hackers can access guest information at hotels using infrared controls within the hotels.

A driver in Missouri leaned out of her car to spit, lost control of the car, and chases it. "I leaned out to spit and I leaned too far."

Dickie's Quickies

A quiet morning here in outer Monrovia. I've got to run to the store, soon, in order to pick up an orange. I'm going to make orange-cherry corn muffins for breakfast. Last night, Shawn made herbed zucchini pieces and I made a dish with orzo, mushrooms, and fresh peas from the garden. Yum!

In the everything old is new again category, Vital Security is reporting on a new twist to an old virus that infects the user via Instant Messenger. It requires double clicking an exe and then clicking a link in IM, but someone will fall for it.

Think you're up on SQL Server 2005? Take a skills assessment test.

Wrestling? I don't get it. In fact, I've never understood the attraction for it in any form. Here's a definitely NOT WORK SAFE wrestling site featuring naked women with some interesting pin maneuvers and I still don't get it. Via Sexy Fandom.

Dickie's Quickies

Spamusement provides poorly drawn humorous cartoons that reflect upon the subject lines from Spam.

Senator Rick Santorum, one of the biggest assholes in Washington - thank you, Pennsylvania, believes that birth control is harmful to women because it allows them to avoid the consequences of sex. Via, Amanda. Via Feministe.

Friday Random Ten

Two weeks in a row, it's on time!

1) dj BC - Evening High (from Glassbreaks - Philip Glass meets Hip Hop mashup)
2) Prozac For Lovers - Love Will Tear Us Apart
3) Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft (Live)
4) John Cale - Caravan
5) Afro-Mystik - Dreamwalkers
6) Curtis Mayfield - Ghetto Child (Demo)
7) Ely Guerra - Yo No
8) Little Axe - Walk On Water
9) Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - How Long Do I Have To Wait For You?
10) Queen - You're My Best Friend

Congratulations!

A big congratulations to my friend, Scott, for being accepted to an intensive acting program and for having the courage to accept the offer to join.

Long Live North Korean Cunnilingus

"Cunnilingus is a dialectic like any other." So says this site which purports to convey a translation of the words of North Korea's Kim Jong-Il set to the music of the gorgeous Nina Simone.

Dickie's Quickies

Newsday.com is reporting that a woman from Utah won her appeal for a vanity license plate that reads: "GAYSROK". Good for her and good for the appeals board for their sound judgment.

As expected, the creator of PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) presented a paper at the Black Hat conference outlining his plan for encrypting VoIP service. His code will be released next month. Initially it will be designed to work with an open source VoIP software. It is hoped that other companies will pick up on the idea and begin to secure our transmissions. I'm happy to see this is getting some attention. I use a VoIP (SunRocket), but I'd like to feel as if someone could not listen into my conversations easily.

Quite possibly, this site on the history of the 1967 Detroit and Newark uprisings is of interest only to me. Having lived in Detroit and it's environs for a number of years, I find the history fascinating. This was a seminal moment in the history of that city and one that has shaped the politics of that region since. The site presents a fairly balanced view of the subject. Anyone interested in the "turbulent" 60s, race relations, urban plight might also be interested.

Now for some Friday artwork. Jenny Hart presents portraits of people in embroidery. Warning: some of the portraits are not necessarily safe for work (as if embroidered tits were going to cause the world to fall apart).

For the Tiki-licious amongst you, and I know you're out there, please take the time to explore Kooch E-Koo. It's fabulous. The picture at the top of this post was borrowed from the site.

Dickie's Quickies

Gaze at the beautiful art of Mexican illustrator Federico Jordán.

Michael Palin's travel books are now online to read for free. The bummer is that they are in HTML pages, rather than downloads, but it's still nice to have access to them.

Want to publicly protest NYC subway searches? Try these nifty back packs with the Fourth Amendment printed on them along with the phrase, "I do not consent to this search!" Or, in a different twist, try the matching thong underwear with the phrase, "I consent to this search!" (via Boing Boing)

Richard Renaldi and his partner have taken photographs of themselves in hotel rooms that they've stayed in around the world over the past 6 years. Many of the photos are quite beautiful and offer an intimate look into a portion of their lives. Warning, NWS (not work safe). Check out some of Renaldi's other work (under "projects").

And I leave you with this commentary on DRM, Microsoft, and Intel. Here's a quote:

Intel has handed the keys to the digital media kingdom to several convicted monopolists who have no care at all for their customers. The excuse Intel gives you if you ask is that they are producing tools, and only tools, their use is not up to Intel. The problem here is that Intel has given the said tools to some of the most rapacious people on earth.

New York City Subway Search Guide

Archie wrote me the other day suggesting that we go to NYC where we have a reported 1 in 5 chance of being frisked down by a real cop. It was a reference to a time long ago when, on the way to a restaurant for breakfast, we passed a rather good looking, young policeman who was directing traffic in our neighborhood. On the way back, I grabbed a ten dollar bill out of Archie's wallet, leaned out of the window and yelled, "Hey Mr. Policeman! Want to earn some overtime pay?" Archie exclaimed, "Oh my God, Oh My God. Richard, get back in the cab before you get us arrested." The officer stared at us slack jawed, which I pointed out to Archie might be construed as a "Yes". We laughed and laughed as we went our way back home.

The email from Archie reminded me of this fond story, which I haven't told in years. I shared it with Matt in the office, but while he appreciated the tale, he asked me how old I was (mid 20s) and then just stared at me as if something wasn't computing in his brain. Shawn gave me more satisfaction when I told the story to her as she laughed and has come to expect such things from me.

Still, there is a serious issue to be addressed with the reaction some cities are having to the London Bombings. Um, folks, such searches aren't likely to prevent terrorist attacks. The terrorists have infinite targets and many delivery methods. In short, they have the advantage. You can never know where they will target and you cannot protect every site. Terrorists, on the other paw, know exactly what they're targets are and can take the time to plan it out just so.

This isn't to say that we should be scared and hide and nothing should be done. Rather, we should use our resources wisely and target those resources to where they'll be the most effective. We should concentrate on investigating, infiltrating, and prosecuting the terrorists. We should next concentrate on our emergency response preparedness for terrorist attacks. We should not curb our liberties or waste our energy on efforts that will reveal little, if any, results.

In short, if we target our resources to say, frisking people entering subway stations, a well prepared terrorist will just switch targets to say, a concert. If we focus on cell phones as being the trigger of the bombs, then the well prepared terrorist will just switch to another triggering device. This sort of targeting is chasing our tails and to what end? We don't want to allow cell phone usage on airplanes or in subways (although, in both cases, they proved useful to the "good people")? We want to invade the privacy of 20% of individuals who have committed no crime and have provided no cause for the search (thus tossing aside the Constitution)?

For those who want to travel the NYC subway and not submit to a search, here's a website reminding you of your rights. Read it. Use it - or not, but be aware of what your rights are and remember, these policies aren't helping, but they are eroding your democracy.

Rent A Negro

Two days ago the Seattle Times ran an article on Portland artist damali ayo and her book, How To Rent A Negro. I was charmed by the article which described the artist and provided excerpts from her book. Her website of the same name has been up for a couple of years, now. Both it and the book are insightful satire aimed at race relations in the U.S. with a particular focus on the way white people interact with minorities. Last night, Ms. ayo appeared at Ellliott Bay Book Company to read from her book, offer insights to origins of certain passages, promote her CD, and, finally to answer questions. In person, she was even more charming than she was during the radio interview on KUOW or in the Seattle Times article on her. damali ayo's work is challenging, funny, and, to some, occasionally uncomfortable. All of which is to say I enjoyed her immensely. The rest of the rather large audience appeared to do so as well (it was a rather large audience...as with Orhan Pamuk's reading earlier this year, the employees at Elliott Bay appeared surprised by the number of people who showed up and delayed the beginning of the reading while opening doors and adding chairs to accommodate the audience size).

Several items struck a note with me, but I probably won't give them their proper due here. One thing ayo said was that her Brown Alumni group in Portland used to invite her to all of their functions. If she wore pink to the function, people in the group would say things like, "damali, you're so colorful." It reminded me of my college radio days when the station manager, Jon Moshier, and I would riff on my radio show about upper class suburban white males and I'd say something like, "I like those African Americans. They're such colorful people" and Jon would lose it on the air.

Another thing damali ayo talked about was the way that some people will walk up to black people and just begin touching their hair. This is an odd thing to me. While I don't have the same boundary issues many people have, I find it odd that people feel the right to walk up and rub my bald head without asking. I'm not offended, by any means, but it's an interesting concept as I wonder if these people would react just as casually if I went up and began feeling their hair. No doubt, some wouldn't care, but I'm sure that some would. Anyhow, this is apparently a common issue amongst black people. I found myself shocked to realize this. It then made me think (with humor, mind you) about a t-shirt that I have: it's from the drunknmunky folks and it features a brown skinned kid in a judo outfit with a big afro. One of the cool things about the shirt is that the Afro is textured in that there is a piece of fuzzy material attached to the shirt. Many people over the years have commented that they like the shirt. A few people have asked to touch the 'fro. Some of that few have even reached out and just started stroking it - over counters, bars, at restaurants. It's crazy to have someone just reach out and start petting your chest, only they are really petting the Afro on your t-shirt. After hearing damali ayo speak, I'm wondering - is it just the fabric they are touching or are they really desiring to touch a black person's hair?

Anyhow, if you see the book, then pick it up and take a look at it. If you get a chance to see damali ayo read from the book, then go see her. Los Angeles was the first stop on her tour and Seattle was the second stop. She's in Portland tonight, then she heads for the Midwest and east coast. More details here.

Dickie's Quickies

The Frumious Bandersnatch pointed out that the BBC is reporting the finding of quite possibly the oldest known dildo.

While we're on the subject of phalluses, here are some Japanese condom wrappers to look at. They are much more fun (and some are hysterical) compared to the packaging of condoms in America.

And, after you're done with that one hour stand and are driving home, smoking on a cigarette, be happy that you don't live in New Jersey where one legislator has proposed a ban on driving while smoking.

Spybot update

Normally, I don't bother mentioning Spybot Search and Destroy definitions updates. I do mention the program updates, but generally not the definitions. However, this morning I was reading the forums at The Elder Geek and noticed that someone posted about the definitions updates and that it snagged two items on their PC. Sunday is usually the day when I run my spyware detectors (excluding the active monitoring I get from some of the programs) and that was the case this weekend, but I decided to check Spybot again just in case. Well, the program is still running, but sure enough, it caught 2 items on my PC. If you're a user, then you might want to download the latest definitions ASAP and run it.

Secure Flight program a mess

Bruce Schneier has an excellent post today on the state of the Secure Flight program. Secure Flight is part of the TSA, which itself is part of the Department of Fatherland Security. Secure Flight is supposed to run airline passenger's names against a check list of known or suspected terrorists. There has been a tendency to expand the data that is collected for this program and make it a much more complicated piece of software that looks at not only names but data from commercial sources such as date of birth, addresses, phone numbers, and, potentially, other bits such as credit scores, job title, how often people moved, etc. Congress has twice passed bills that killed or curtailed this program from collecting this outside data amidst privacy concerns. As Schneier points out, the TSA has ignored this and continued on it's own path. Choice quotes:

Secure Flight is a disaster in every way. The TSA has been operating with complete disregard for the law or Congress. It has lied to pretty much everyone. And it is turning Secure Flight from a simple program to match airline passengers against terrorist watch lists into a complex program that compiles dossiers on passengers in order to give them some kind of score indicating the likelihood that they are a terrorist.

...But using commercial data has serious privacy implications, which is why Congress mandated all sorts of rules surrounding the TSA testing of commercial data -- and more rules before it could deploy a final system -- rules that the TSA has decided it can ignore completely.

...My fear is that TSA has already decided that they’re going to use commercial data, regardless of any test results. And once you have commercial data, why not build a dossier on every passenger and give them a risk score? So we're back to CAPPS-II, the very system Congress killed last summer. Actually, we're very close to TIA (Total/Terrorism Information Awareness), that vast spy-on-everyone data-mining program that Congress killed in 2003 because it was just too invasive.

If you're interested in privacy concerns, especially involving government entities, please read the complete text of Schneier's post. I also urge you to read the links to the report(s) her recommends in that post. It's good information and it should give everyone a reason to pause and think about where this is heading. Your officials in office have been implementing this program. While some of it makes a great deal of sense, the debate about the efficacy of such programs or how they are implemented has, largely, been beneath the radar screen of most people.

Nice weekend

Yes, indeed. It was a nice weekend out here in outer Monrovia. Friday saw a welcome, but surprising burst of rain in the day. I, of course, had decided that the odds were in the weatherman's favor and gave no thought to rain gear before I left the house in the morning for work. I had shaved my head Thursday afternoon and the water just slid off my clean top. I don't melt - yet.

Friday evening Shawn went out to work with a friend on her website for graduation. She's at least a year away from finishing, but seeing how schoolwork takes up her free time during the rest of the year, Shawn thought she'd get a start on things this summer. It's a smart plan. I filled my night by preparing apricots for more jam, setting some apricots aside for eating and giving away, cleaning up the house a little, and reading.

Saturday began a tad overcast, but the rain stayed away and redeemed the weather forecasters in the area. By afternoon it was sunny and warm with nary a cloud in the sky. We were having friends, Michael and Heather, by for their birthdays. Michael's was Saturday and Heather's was Sunday. They were hoping to celebrate their birthdays with a camping trip to Deception Pass, but plans fell through when they found out that there were no campsites available. Shawn and I discussed it and offered up our house and BBQ to those on the initial invites. We were happy when Michael called to accept.

Saturday morning and early afternoon found us scrambling to get everything ready. We finished cleaning house, bought a Bundt pan for a cake, made apricot jam and canned it, made baba ganoush, prepared a black bean salad, and got the BBQ going. Oh, and Shawn made that cake - a Grand Marnier Cake with Chocolate bits and it was terribly delicious. Michael called before he left the house to announce that he was picking up an ice cream cake, but we didn't get the message in time, so she made one anyhow. Heck, she wanted to make the cake and just was looking for the right excuse. Besides, she had to try out her new Bundt pan!

The party went well. Michael and Heather brought Rowan. Another couple brought their child as well. It was a small gathering. Having the children around kept the party under control - less drinking, lower volume levels on the stereo. It was good seeing some of Michael and Heather's other friends - something we seem to do every couple of years - though we missed out on seeing Leslie and her fiancé. The party wrapped up around 9 or so. Shawn and I finished cleaning up the kitchen and running the dishwasher around 10:30.

Sunday was the day to go out for sushi with Heather and Michael for their birthday. We didn't make it, sadly. It was a beautiful day and we were tired and wanted to relax around the house. Before breakfast, I got outside and attended to lawn mowing - the mowing I originally thought that I'd do on Friday. Shawn worked in the garden and picked peas and more zucchini. We relaxed on the back porch together and discussed plans for the rest of the day. After breakfast, we went out to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". It was a good film in a lot of ways, though no better than the first film; just different. I enjoyed Johnnie Depp's performance and still am wondering who really thinks it had any basis in Michael Jackson. To my mind, I saw references to several kid show hosts, but never MJ.

On the way out of the film we found that Shawn had gotten sun burn again in the morning. For someone who has spent years properly chastising me to put sunscreen on my bald head, she still hasn't seemed to get the message herself. Poor thing. Lots of aloe for her for a few days.

We left the movie theater and went to Duvall to buy liquor. Sunday was the first day in decades that Washington state allowed liquor stores to open on a Sunday. Not all stores are open yet. Currently, private contracted stores can apply to be open and Duvall's was one of 35 to apply and receive permission. The state will open 20 of it's stores on Sundays beginning in September. We wanted to demonstrate our approval of the law change as well as show our support for Duvall's business by going down and spending some money at their store. Shawn got a bottle of Lillet and a bottle of Stoli Peach vodka.

The evening was spent cooking. I helped Shawn make a cake - a spice cake rather than the Grand Marnier one - and some cookies. Shawn had left over egg whites from a previous recipe that we needed to use up. Between doing that and working dinner in and doing some reading, my weekend was done. All in all, it was very pleasant.

Friday Random Ten

I'm actually going to get this puppy out on time! Truth be known, it's only because the grass is wet and I cannot mow my lawn. Still, on time, even if it's twice within a few days:

1) Stan Ridgeway - "As I Went Out One Morning"

Lots of Stan Ridgeway this week. Not that this is a problem. Bi the way, his new album with his band, Drywall, comes out the second week of August.

2) dj BC and the Beastles - "Mad World Forever"

Yep, before djBC did the mashup of Philip Glass versus hip hop artists, he did this one of the Beatles versus the Beastie Boys. It has it's moments.

3) Habib Koite - "Kanawa" (live)

I can listen to him forever. His live album is definitely his best.

4) Frank O'Hara - Ode to Joy, To Hell With It

Beat poetry.

5) Ozomatli - "Dejame En Paz"

Playing in Seattle with Los Lonely Boys later this month. To my mind, that was the best line up for the shows on South Lake Union this year. Ozomatli will blow people's minds. Their last album was fantastic.

6) Afrocelts - "Ayub's Song/As You Were"

From their album, "Seed" and when they decided to be known by this name rather than the Afro Celt Sound System.

7) Ishmael Reed - "Sky Diving"

More Poetry.

8) NOWMASH - "Freaky No.5"

Mixing Missy Elliott with the song "Mambo No. 5" Pretty good.

9) Everything But The Girl - "Corcovado"

EBTG has been appearing a lot in my playlists. I need to get other artists on the 'puter.

10) E-Smoove - "The Guitar"

Excellent remix.

Oh my

NWS, but there is a company marketing Vulva perfume. Note, it's "Vulva Original" which begs the questions: Will it come in other scents? Will the other scents not be, as the original apparently is, "Authentically Natural Vaginal Flavoured"? Did they mean "Scent" and not "Flavour" and, if not, does that mean you can drink it? Who is behind the scent of "Vulva Original"; am I to believe it's from Eve?

Philip Glass mash up

Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin reported today that there's a Philip Glass mash-up project on the web called Glassbreaks. It's done by dj BC, whose work I'm familiar with. It's a pretty good set, mixing Glass with hip hop. Sometimes the "Glass" work in the mix is pretty minimal sampling.

I only had difficulty downloading one track, but as Xeni's update notes, you can go to the root directory and get any tracks you have difficulty with.

Dickie's Quickies

After the reported Greasemonkey security hole, I'm trying out another extension for Firefox: NoScript. Basically, NoScript prevents Java scripts from running unless the user allows them. The user can temporarily allow them or activate them altogether. Thus far, it seems to be working fine. I'm in that "learning" mode of the software, so I get a lot of notices from it about sites and then have to tell it that I trust this site. Still, I'd rather have that than some bad bug. Besides, it's mildly interesting to see how many java scripts some sites are running.

Madness have a new album out next month. The first one in years and my preliminary listening leads me to say it sounds better than they had on the last couple of albums. The fun ska boys are back.

What positive steps can be taken?

What should we do to counter terrorism? Bruce Schneier offers this advice today:

Counterterrorism is most effective when it doesn't make arbitrary assumptions about the terrorists' plans. Stop searching bags on the subways, and spend the money on 1) intelligence and investigation -- stopping the terrorists regardless of what their plans are, and 2) emergency response -- lessening the impact of a terrorist attack, regardless of what the plans are. Countermeasures that defend against particular targets, or assume particular tactics, or cause the terrorists to make insignificant modifications in their plans, or that surveil the entire population looking for the few terrorists, are largely not worth it.

Firefox 1.06 is out

Download it here. This fixes some issues with extensions that they had with 1.05.

One more photo

This comes from a 70s pinball machine artist and was commissioned by someone for a private collection.

Random Music list

Late, as usual, from last week, but it's finally here.

1) Curtis Mayfield - Junkie Chase (Full Length)

Gotta love the funk created by Curtis. Top notch beginning to the list.

2) Joseph Arthur - Speed of Light (Live in Seattle)

Official bootleg recording bought after the show and burned to disc in front of me by Arthur's tour guy. Very good show. Nice promo to sell copies of the show you just witnessed.

3) David Bowie - Red Money

From "The Lodger". An under-rated record by Bowie, IMHO.

4) Everything But The Girl - Before Today (Adam F Remix)

Classy remix from the latest remix album by EBTG.

5) ccc - Got To Get You In The Mood (yep, Glen Miller versus The Beatles mashup)

Not my favorite mash up by this person, but not bad either.

6) 2 Many DJs - Radio Soulwax 13

An hour long set. These guys are really good at mash ups.

7) Sade - By Your Side (Ben Watt Lazy Dog Remix)

Remixed by Ben Watt of Everything But The Girl and included on one of the discs of his Lazy Dog project.

8) Charles Stein - Seed Poem

From Giorno Poetry Systems.

9) Pine AM - gymnopedie 0.1

Downloaded from a music blog...not bad...

10) Bebel Gilberto - Simplesmente

I could listen to Bebel for hours.

Jimmy Pickering

This guy should go under the heading of a Quickie post, but what the heck. He appeals to the Gorey side of me.

Dickie's Quickies

Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day. I canned many apricots and dried some more. I've still more to do, but I'm seeing the end of the second case, now. Of course, coming back into work there are orders waiting for me to fulfill. This is a good thing, but my major concern is how I'm going to meet a 25,000 piece order by the end of next month. If I were doing it myself, I'd hire another employee for the month and make arrangements for supplies and equipment. Unfortunately it is not up to me alone and I'll have to send out an email to convince the powers that be to get off of their rear ends and start making plans.

We began reading the latest Harry Potter book last night. Like the masses, I picked up a copy on Saturday. Fred Meyer's had one when I went there during the afternoon, so I didn't stand in line or go to the midnight parties. The BBC today reports that the book sold nearly 9 million copies in the first 24 hours in the U.S. and U.K. This shatters the previous record, held by the last Potter book, of 5 million copies in the first 24 hours. Pretty damn amazing that this series has grown that much in popularity.



Doron's blaagh has an amusing report on a website calling itself, DOM Scripting Task Force. As Doron writes:

First they call "DHTML" outdated and replace it with sexy names like AJAX (yawn) and DOM Scripting (what, no acronym?). Their manifesto is all over the place. One section talks about not fearing to learn JavaScript, though isn't their intended audience JavaScript developers?. They then blame the developers for not making accessible web applications and discuss how one could write such "unobtrusive" DOM Scripting.

Feministing yesterday reports on an AP article that notes that birth control patches are 3 times more likely to cause dangerous blood clots than birth control pills. The number is still very small, but it is giving some women cause to think about the delivery method.

Here's a small QuickTime video of Iggy Pop and David Bowie on the Dinah Shore show. The look on Bowie's face when Iggy tells of cutting himself with glass is amusing.

If you're a woman and you're having difficulty finding the right position that provides complete satisfaction from your pleasure partner going down on you, then perhaps you should try The Fun Stool. Then again, maybe you should invest in pillows.

Weekend

The week of work hell was far behind me when I got home Friday. I was exhausted. The good news was that our first large order for Victoria's Secret was shipping. The cost to get to this point, however, was pretty high. The next order should be easier in some ways, but we have to get even more product out of the door and we are lacking in supplies and manpower. When I got home on Friday, though, that was a problem looming over the following work week.

I woke from my nap on the sofa Friday just in time for the arrival of Shawn's mother. A family function on Saturday brought her up to stay with us Friday night. It's always nice to have a visit from Debbie. Shawn brought a pizza home for dinner and trailed her mom by about 30 minutes.

After breakfast on Saturday, Shawn and Debbie went off to the family function: a wedding anniversary for Debbie's brother, Derry. I chose not to go to this party. Large family functions are not my thing. They are definitely a part of Shawn's family experience.

While Shawn and Debbie headed north, my plans took me east across the mountains to Peshastin (just past Leavenworth). I made my first trip of the year to the Hauff family farms. Helen Hauff is a sweet woman who, for reasons only she would know, has decided that she likes Shawn and I. My goal for this trip was to buy some apricots from Helen. There were apricots, but she didn't have any cases displayed and no pricing for one. Had I come too late, I wondered? I sure hope not. Shawn's run around telling everyone that they are going to get apricot jam for Xmas this year. Plus, I had recently made an apricot tart with the jam I made last year and baked it in a hazelnut crust flavored with a touch of orange. Shawn was crazy about this dessert and I had enough jam to make one more, so I wanted more apricots to make more jam so we could enjoy this throughout the rest of this year.

Before I got to the counter, I noticed that Helen had cherries. Every fruit stand in the state has them this time of year. Helen had Bings and Rainiers from Wenatchee. She was only charging a dollar per pound. I snagged several pounds of them.

When I got to the counter, I asked Helen about the apricots. "Yes, dear, I've got them. They came in fresh this morning. They're out in the cooler. I haven't even had time yet to put up a sign. Since you're buying all of this, I'll give you the same price for everything: a dollar per pound." Sold. I took 2 cases of apricots, plus another bag of apricots, a bag each of Rainier and Bing cherries, and a 10 pound bag of Walla Walla onions. Sure, I was nearly $70 lighter, but it was going to be so good.

Traffic was terrible in the mountains. I got caught behind several slow vehicles. They were easily passable when we reached passing lanes, but it made for a long trip home. It was 4 PM when I settled into the house. No time to work on the apricots. I made the tart, though, in case Debbie and Shawn wanted some when they came home. As it turned out, they didn't get in until after 10.

We had breakfast Sunday in Snohomish. Debbie left and went to visit her brothers. Shawn and I went home. Shawn played in the yard and garden while I set about dealing with the apricots. I nearly filled our 13 quart stock pot, then added sugar to it to macerate the apricots. I still hadn't used up a case by this point. Next, I sliced up some apricots and put them on the food dehydrator. OK. One case was gone. I still have another case to work with. The good news is that I've been canning long enough now that I have plenty of jars to work with. I ran to Fred Meyer's and got some lids - a small expense. I also grabbed some dairy items to make ice cream with.

It was a hot day in Monroe - mid 80s - and Shawn had the idea to make ice cream. She hadn't done it yet and she was worried about the process. We used a Martha Stewart recipe for vanilla ice cream, but then added a bit of Frangelico and a little Grand Marnier. While Shawn and Debbie, who returned to us in the early evening, worked on dinner, I ran the ice cream maker. I also caramelized onions and made mujadarrah (lentils, rice, caramelized onions). It was a terrific meal and a good time.

I'm home today - planning my assault on the remaining apricots. It's supposed to be another warm day, though not as warm as yesterday. I like canning and cooking a lot. It's relaxing for me. Globe peaches will be in next month and that will necessitate another trip to visit Helen Hauff. We also need to stop and pick blueberries this year for freezing. Yum.

Teens need permission to get Brazilian Wax treatment

Ah, Missouri. Solving the really crucial problems in the world one rip at a time. From the article:

Tucked within Missouri Senate Bill 280, now awaiting Governor Matt Blunt's signature, is a single sentence that's sure to have repercussions at poolside chaises and in steamy backseats across the state: "The written informed consent of a minor's parent or legal guardian... must be obtained prior to providing body waxing on or near the genitalia."

Twofer from England

First, the serious one: The Telegraph is reporting online that forged documents were placed in a historical archive in England in an effort to re-write history. As Bruce Schneier notes,

It seems that the security effort at the National Archives is directed towards preventing people from removing documents.

In the second story, the BBC has this headline today: "Clinton Wades Into GTA Sex Storm". They are referring to Hillary Clinton, of course, which makes me want to add the following sub-header: "Lesbian overtones ensue; raincoats optional". (It's just a joke, folks). Seriously, this is exactly the type of non-issue politicians love to grandstand about. The public outcry will cause the game maker to deal with the issue appropriately therefore the politician is adding nothing to the resolution. It's also to be expected that Senator Clinton would speak on it, given her reported political aspirations (which I support, mind you) and her and her husband's track record. Remember, Mrs. Gore wanted to censor albums.

Who knew?

Geotagging Flickr

I had heard the term Geotagging before, but hadn't looked it up until yesterday. A quick Google for the terms "geotagging" and "flickr" (since that's the photo site I'm using) revealed the rather simple method of geotagging your photographs and what it means to do so. Tools needed: Firefox browser, GreaseMonkey plug in for the browser, and 2 GreaseMonkey scripts. After that, it's a few seconds per photo (assuming that the servers aren't acting up as they were on me yesterday) as described on this site.

Basically, Geotagging allows the user to add tags (or keywords) to their photos that locate on a map where said picture was taken. This allows viewers of the photograph to get an idea of where on the globe the photo was shot. It adds more information which may or may not be relevant to the viewer.

To the geek in me, this is just plain cool. After figuring out that Zone Alarm was blocking my cookies, I spent about a half hour tagging several of my recent Oregon holiday photos. If you open the photos to the largest size and look in the description, it will say "Geotagged". Clicking that link will bring up another site which will look up the data and place it on the map.

Shawn, a keywording goddess, had the reaction that I expected: "I'm very happy for you, dear." Which is to say that she appreciates the geek out, but not the results. To her mind, this is a metadata abomination. Too much information that is likely to be useless and irrelevant in the future. I explained, "I don't care. It's new, it's cool, and I'm just having fun."

Luckily, I spent some time chatting in IM with Kris about this before Shawn got home. Kris was enthusiastic as she was aware of this before I wrote her. Naturally, she provided me with the reinforcement I was looking for in this and I acknowledged such, knowing that the keywording goddess was not likely to do so. Thanks, Kris.

Flickr has a Geotagging forum for further info.

Firefox 1.0.5 is out

New security updates are included. It took a little longer to do these updates, but it's still a faster turn around time than Microsoft. Download the program from here or wait until the automatic update is available.

Reminder today is Patch Day

Microsoft is releasing 3 new patches today for their products. Use Automatic Updates or the Windows Update Site for downloading and installing the patches.

Typical

Word has it that Congressional Representatives, seeking to demonstrate that they are doing something to prevent domestic terrorist attacks, are considering installation of more surveillance cameras, particularly near mass transit systems such as subways and trains. Of course, such cameras did not deter the bombings in London nor have they deterred crime in London in general. Such a directive from Congress would be a folly, a waste of money and resources, and it would accomplish nothing except provide marketing propaganda for re-election purposes.

Shared Game Accounts turn divorce nasty

I know several couples for whom this could be an issue.

A divorce in Chongqing has turned ugly when both parties want their joint online game accounts, Chongqing Business Post reports.

Mad Hot Ballroom

Yea, the fix is in with this film from the beginning. The story is simple: follow 3 classes of 11 year old boys and girls who take ballroom dancing classes with the possibility of competing in NYC's city wide competition. You know you're going to get cute kids comments about dancing, the ickiness of boys/girls, love, and puberty. You know you're going to get hilarious moments on the dance floor as these young, gangly bodies attempt to perfect the smooth moves of the merengue and the tango. You know you're going to get moments of conflict and the eventual tension of the competition. And yet, despite knowing all of this, Mad Hot Ballroom still manages to provide a delightful experience. We saw it last night and, along with the rest of the audience, laughed and giggled for 90 minutes. Well worth the cash and time.

It's been a movie weekend for us. On Friday, Shawn sent me to the video store to pick up some rentals. We enjoyed The Aquatic Life With Steve Sissou (more, I admit, than I thought that I would - thank you to Annie for the recommendation), A Dirty Shame by John Waters featuring Tracey Ullman (very good film), and loved Bad Education by Almodovar.

Oregon holiday post (finally)

Yea, I deserve any ridicule for not getting this post together sooner. It's hard coming back to work and still feeling relaxed like you're on vacation. In any case, I bit the bullet and turned this out.

By the time we left Sunday morning, we were already a day late. Saturday morning was our original target for slipping out of town and over the Cascades, but it was not meant to be. Shawn, she who becomes list queen and worries over minute details when camping and hiking, got home late in the evening Friday and had been so busy at work, she hadn't yet tabulated the list featuring the number of lists she would need to feel good about leaving town. I, who becomes spontaneity and adventure king and who, probably would be eaten by a cougar on a trail because I don't make lists, therefore suggested to Shawn that we not rush and instead take off Sunday. The idea is to relax, after all. Shawn felt god about this and set about compiling lists on Friday evening while I just sat around and waited for the results of the lists on Saturday. After we gathered most everything together on Saturday, the list queen made an announcement: the list queen would like to make it known that she wanted to take time to sit and read books and would be completely about relaxing on this trip. However, the list queen also placed a disclaimer in her pronouncement when she noted that relaxing would be "the way we like to relax". Therefore, it will come as little surprise later when you note that there was very little book reading on this trip for the list queen. I however, who is always he who rises early (and often) in the day, would get much reading done.

The skies were grey and misting when we left Sunday morning. Knowing that we were heading towards sunshine and mid 80s made it easier to motive Shawn to get up and hit the road early. We stopped at our usual spot in Index to have breakfast. We made good time passing through Leavenworth, Peshastin, and Ellensburg. In Yakima, we paused for coffee and Shawn changed into shorts and I took over driving. Not long after the town of Yakima, we saw the first signs of the Yakima reservation, indeed, most any reservation in Washington and Oregon: fireworks sellers and shanty shacks. South of the reservation, along the Columbia River separating Oregon and Washington, Shawn had me stop at a replica of Stonehenge. This was built by a wealthy businessman in Washington state as a war memorial to 13 men from that county who died during Vietnam. Stonehenge sits on a peak overlooking the Columbia and Oregon and is free to visit. It's one of the windiest spots along the Columbia and is an area where a lot of wind surfers come to play and train.

Driving into Oregon we passed through miles of wheat fields. Acres and acres of rolling hills of wheat for, literally, as far as the eye can see. When we reached Redmond, Oregon (near our destination), it was around 5PM. Both of us were tired. I cracked a lame, rather crass joke about the filling station chain named "Towne Pump" which Shawn laughed at, but commented, "If I didn't know you, I'd be appalled at that comment." "I only share them with you, love"

We drove into the small town of Sisters shortly afterwards and could barely make out the Three Sisters mountains. It was another 15 miles to our lodgings along the Metolius River. The Metolius River is prime fly fishing territory. It winds through the Deschutes National Forest near Black Butte. As part of the forest, there is no hunting allowed and fishing is strictly catch and release. This side of the Cascades, the forest is filled with tall pine trees which smell so wonderful the moment you get into them. Of course, there are plenty of other critters roaming the forest, some of which are best to avoid. We got to the Metolius Lodge at just after 6PM. The clerk told us that we were lucky he was still around. He checked us in and told us which cabin was our place to stay and how we should park. The cabin was much more than I expected. All new appliances, a wood burning stove with a full supply of wood to burn, if we wanted (it had central heat), cookware, dishes, utensils. The bedrooms were small, but that was fine. The river ran by the cabin about 20 yards behind us. There were grills (charcoal and gas) for us to use out back and a deck with chairs to sit in that overlooked the river. There were also trails around the area which, sadly, we never got to use as I wanted to.

After breakfast the next morning, we drove down to Bend, Oregon to go to an Outlet Mall. Not my idea of a good time, but Shawn wanted to stop there. Bend had changed a lot since Shawn had been there previously and she didn't know where the mall was. After some pointless driving around where I was once again reminded that Shawn is the man of our couple in that she won't stop and ask for directions, I declared, "I must stop and pee" and led us to a visitor's bureau. We had passed the bureau earlier. I had pointed it out in hopes that we would stop and use the bathroom there, but Shawn was focused and ignored my pleas for a rest stop. Of course, the bureau not only provided needed relief, but also directions to the Outlet Mall. Once at the mall, Shawn went straight to the Columbia Sportswear shop. I had not intended to buy anything, but I found jeans for work that were $10/pair. More exciting for me, however, was that said jeans noted that I had dropped several waist sizes thereby making me feel good about my exercise regime. Shawn go a pair of shorts and a nice top. Next it was to the Levis store (more jeans, but for personal use), then out of town for the High Desert Museum.

The High Desert Museum is a neat place. For the most part, it is a series of trails that highlight the flora, fauna and wildlife of the region. It also serves to tell some of the history of Native Americans, settlers, and the forestry service. Our camera batteries had died while we were there otherwise we'd have more pictures of it other than the train cars and covered wagon. It was fun watching children being awed by a young bobcat that was there. They also had 2 Mustang horses there that had been captured from the wild just 9 months prior - magnificent looking animals, though I wanted to set them free.

The next day was our trip to the Newberry Volcanic Monument. We began by purchasing a day pass at the visitor's center and hiking the 1 mile trail in that area. We forgot the camera in the car while there, so no pictures. Not much to see there, but it's an introduction to the park. From there, we drove about 26 miles south then 15 miles west to the crater where the pictures of Paulina Lake and East Lake are from. The Obsidian Trail hike is only about a mile long, but it's really amazing. Not only do you see the obsidian rocks, but also a couple of different types of Pumice in huge quantities. I told Shawn that I wanted to go to Paulina's Peak next. It didn't seem to interest her much, but she placated me. The drive up (one lane with turn outs) scared the daylights out of me as Shawn was driving and was worried about other cars, so she refused to hang out in the middle of the road. I was good though and only asked her to move to the center once, then clammed up and cut circulation to my fingers by clasping the back of her head rest. Once we were up at the Peak, however, it was clear to both of us that it was worth it. The views, as you can see from our pictures are incredible. Unlike others, we stayed up there for almost an hour. I convinced Shawn that, even though the guide said that the half mile hike there was "difficult", we could easily do it. She was wary, but she followed me to the next point where we could see the Paulina Lake Lodge.

On the way back from the hike, we passed a fellow in his late 60s. He had a huge smile on his face and was practically running over the snow as fast as we had been on the way out. He greeted us well enough, but was clearly focused on getting to the next view. After we had passed, we heard him call, "Hey guys! Come on over here. The hike isn't bad at all" He was answered by a woman standing in the parking lot with 2 men: "No, thanks, Bob." When we got to the parking lot, the woman was staring at the man who had made it to the same spot we had just been in. We learned that his name was Bob. "Look at him, the show off! OK, Bob, that's enough. Why don't you come on back, now?" She turned to us and said that if we took a picture of him, she'd give us her contact and would we send her the picture. Sure...no problem. We cried out to Bob who waved back and we took his picture. Rather than come back, he took the time to admire the view. The woman in the lot screamed, "I'm glad you're going back to your wife. Mary can have you!" Mary, as it turns out, is her sister. Mary and Bob flew out for a family reunion, but Mary doesn't like these sorts of trips, so she flew back to Minnesota while Bob decided to take a few weeks and drive back, stopping along the way as he wished.

Our final destination for the day was the Volcanic Forest. Shawn thought that this was going to be some sort of petrified forest, but instead what it did was highlight the molds of trees made by lava cooling around them. The trees have long since decayed leaving tubes of lava, horizontal and vertical ones, in their place. Pretty cool. It's a short hike, but not terribly exciting. Still, you have to drive about 10 miles across pot holed forestry service roads to get there, so we were in no rush to leave. Well, I wasn't. Shawn might of been since on this portion of the trip, I began singing again. See, the nights at the lodge were weird in that there was no radio. I have no problems being without television or phones, but I'm used to having music around me. The first night in the lodge, I mentioned this to Shawn and she suggested I sing her a tune. I thought that she was joking - surely she didn't want to hear my voice, but she declared otherwise. The poor suffering woman must have gone tone deaf listening to me sing in the car over the years. I asked for a request and she didn't place one. "Sing what first comes to your mind." At this point, I began in on a tune by Sweet Honey In The Rock which had been bouncing around in my head since my friend, Annie, was in town: "Women Should Be A Priority". To makes things better (or worse), it's an a capella rap tune. Shawn, much to my surprise, was delighted. She was less delighted when, while walking the trail through the Volcanic Forest, I began singing a version of a Led Zeppelin tune: "Got A Whole Lava Love" Eventually, she joined in which seemingly distressed a couple that came upon us while Shawn was doing the guitar solo.

That night was to be our last night in the lodge, so we discussed where to go to next. Shawn ruled out camping near East Lake. She had had her fill of the highlands and wanted to go to the coast. I suggested going to Port Orford (the first city I stopped in coming through Oregon towards Seattle). This didn't fit into Shawn's plans. A night's rest, however, and Shawn had changed her mind. We could drive all day and spend the night north of Port Orford in Bandon State Park (30 miles north) IF we stopped in Myrtle Creek and see her grandmother. Deal. Back through the Cascades to I-5. We got to Myrtle Creek around 2PM. We had a painless visit with her kooky grandmother who, despite some eccentric behavior, I admire for her spirit and agility. Just after 3, we were back on the road. It took nearly 2 hours to get to Bandon, but some of that time was spent off of the main roads driving through farm country. The state park was so cush that it was unbelievable. Each camp site had water and electrical hookups, a fire pit, and a picnic table. Plus, they had showers for each of 3 sections. The showers had hot water. Plus, we came to find out, there was a small stage and entertainment by a folk duo. We pitched our tent and got the sleeping bags set up. I got the camp stove out and began dinner. Our camping neighbors, they who would purchase RVs costing in the 6 figures the size of which, once fully extended, was larger than my first apartment, were dumbfounded when, drawn by the smell of our meal, they came to find out we were having linguine with red clam sauce, salad with Gorgonzola cheese and a roasted red pepper dressing, and a bottle of 1996 Oregon Pinot Noir. LOL! I knew what sort of places we'd be staying and how we were really camping as in out in the woods with no shops around for miles, etc. Heck, they are the ones in the RVs. I was making good with a propane camp stove. Suddenly, my neighbors were very friendly.

We drove to Port Orford early the next morning. I bought Shawn breakfast in the same restaurant that I had my first Oregon meal in. The restaurant is nothing special. It is a throw back to an old diner (complete with the waitress uniforms) which in this place is sincere (unlike a Denny's which is trying a theme). The Wheelhouse does have one major selling point, however: Port Orford's beach. Just jaw droppingly beautiful. It was a sunny, windy day with highs in the mid 60s (similar to what I experienced 12 years prior). We walked down to the beach. It was nearly empty. Batteries were fresh in the camera. We each took a lot of pictures and we walked a long way. Intending to cross to where some kids were tide pooling, we found a river that emptied into the ocean blocked our path. It was wider and deeper than we expected. Walking up the river, looking for a crossing point, we found the banks shielding us from the wind. Shawn lied down on a log and promptly fell asleep. I lied down as well, but took pictures. We were still long enough that a goldfinch flew to within 5 feet of me and began to feed. Sadly, while I was wearing a hat, I hadn't put on any sunblock, so the back of my neck was getting burned. Shawn was in the same predicament. We headed back after about an hour, playing and snapping shots along the way. After about 4 hours, Shawn and I headed back to Bandon where apparently it had been overcast all morning.

We went to the Bandon Cheese factory which no longer makes cheeses since it was bought by Tillamook, but it does have a gift shop. A young clerk there looked mystified, as if they had ever made cheese there, when Shawn mentioned to him that the former cheese maker now had his own shop in Seattle (damn good cheese, too). A comely young woman helped us out by giving us a "tour" of the cheese samples. We bought. She smiled....at Shawn. Shawn missed it. *smirk* We went through the tourist trap "Old Town" area of Bandon and eventually decided that we were hungry and would also like a drink. The restaurants in the tourist trap charged New York City prices for meals. We left, drove around, eventually spotting a restaurant ("There one is," I cried "That building next to the Miller beer truck"). The Bandon Boatworks bar and restaurant not only makes a very good Manhattan, they don't charge Manhattan prices for their excellent food. I had an almond encrusted halibut (at least 1 pound) topped with a honey mustard dill sauce served with perfectly cooked veggies and a salad for $16. Shawn settled on the coconut prawns served with an Asian peanut sauce and a cocktail sauce with the same veggies and salad for the same price. Score!

The next morning, I made Amaranth pancakes with maple syrup and campfire coffee. Our neighbor made it out just in time to snag a pancake before his wife and kids woke. We then packed up and hit the road up the coast. The Cape Argo state park was another place that Shawn had wanted to take me for years. The pictures of the formal and Japanese gardens are from there - gorgeous. I fell asleep on the secluded beach near the gardens, but this time I had sun block on. Up the road further, we stopped at Florence and walked around. The Funky Monkey (and they were playing funk music when we walked in) toy store provided us with a couple of birthday gifts for Ginger.Eventually, we made it to Shawn's other grandmother's place in Lincoln City. We spent 2 nights with her, doing some house work and cooking for her. We took a walk on the beach there with Shawn's aunt, Candy. When we left Sunday morning, we had already decided that we'd go home that evening. The plan was to stay at friend's, Rick and Carol, house in Portland after a birthday party for Shawn's stepfather and 2 other friends, but we needed a day in the house to ourselves.

On the way across the mountains, Shawn snapped at me for some silly reason. It was the closest thing we had to a spat on the entire trip. I think her blood sugar was low. We got to Salem and went to see Ginger, who had her brother Bruce with her. Bruce is looking pretty good. Ginger, clean now for 8 months and attending nightly NA meetings, is looking a LOT better. We took them for breakfast and gave Ginger her birthday presents. A couple of hours later, as we said our goodbyes, Ginger apologized to me for the way she treated me when I was down the prior year. We kissed and hugged and that didn't really matter because it's just good to see her looking so healthy again. She's got a long way to go, but she's making the right steps.

We stopped in Portland for me to buy some books. Several times recently, I've come across references to Kafka's work, so, taking this as a sign, I bought a used compilation of stories. I also picked up a used copy of "Applied Cryptography" (I told Bruce it was my light reading; Kafka, dealing with the human condition, is far heavier than numbers and codes) and Orhan Pamuk's new book which is a tour of Istanbul through the author's memories. Next it was off to the birthday party: 3 friends turning 60 this year. It was good to see everyone. Dave, Rick, and Carol all gave good hugs, as usual. Shawn's stepfather barely grunted at either of us for most of the night. When he did say something to me it was to impress upon me that the person I had spent a great deal of time chatting with was worth several million dollars - as if that would impress me (insert eye roll). I stole some minutes for myself to go down to the creek running behind the house and meditated on a deck next to the bank. Before leaving, Rick had us join in on a gag he wanted to pull on the birthday boys: Sing Happy Birthday to them then shower them with water from squirt guns (family tradition of sorts). Shawn and I then said our goodbyes and I drove us home that night. It was a good vacation. We accomplished some things that Shawn has wanted to show me in Oregon for years. As I said, I got some reading done (finished Orhan Pamuk's "The Black Book" and started another book) and we had a lot of relaxing moments. Shawn rarely read at all, but she got to show off Oregon to me and to revisit some favorite places.

Willie Nelson's Reggae album

Due in stores tomorrow. Excellent.

Nouvelle Vague

My Kathleen friend pointed me towards a band that I've been meaning to look up. Nouvelle Vague is a French group that takes hits from 80s bands and puts them in new arrangements (bossa nova, for instance). The bands that they cover include The Cure, Joy Division, The Clash, and Tuxedomoon (hence, my interest in looking them up). It's worth checking out. Thanks, Kathleen!

Free Flaming Lips

For fans of The Flaming Lips, the Fearless Freaks soundtrack is now available for download for free. This is an authorized download from the band. The soundtrack is to the documentary film that traces the roots of the band to what it is today. Expect diverse live material.

Training, Morning after pill should be free

Yesterday was supposed to be partly cloudy and sort of miserable. It turned out to be a lovely day. Shawn celebrated by working in the yard and adding new layers of sunburn to her back. I was exhausted yesterday and didn't get out much. Today, the forecast called for more rain, but once again it already looks like a beauty and it's only 6:50 AM. If the weather holds, I'll be mowing the yard today.

Microsoft has posted some free SQL Server 2005 training courses which will be up for the next 90 days. Take advantage of them if you can use them.

The Guardian UK has posted the results of a study on the use of emergency contraceptives. There's nothing surprising in these results, really. They just confirm what rational people have said about it's use since it's introduction. Once again, I'm left wondering why government should be actively involved in a woman making this medical decision for herself. A couple of choice quotes:

But a study published in the British Medical Journal last week shows there was no change in contraception use levels after the emergency pill became available over the counter four years ago.

Family planning experts said the study provided a strong argument for giving it free of charge in chemists to anyone who needed it.

...'These results suggest the predicted rise in unsafe sex has been overstated and supports the case for lifting the ban on over-the-counter sales in America and other countries,' said lead researcher Dr Cicely Marston.

Random Music list and Stange Sims

Before we get to the random music list this week, let me point you to this very strange Sims site. Now, I don't play with Sims, but I have friends that do and they like it a lot. If I were to play with Sims, then I might just have to have a nude veiny vampire or a boob art wall hanging in my arsenal.

The random mp3 list for the week (put your player on random and take the first ten tracks):

1) William S Burroughs - "From Here To Eternity" from Exterminator

I've got loads of Bill Burroughs on my PC. He's someone I can listen to for days and one of my favorite writers.

2) Yusef Lateef - "Blues For The Orient"

I found out about Yusef Lateef by accident. I came across this album online and liked it enough to buy it. It's a great record featuring some wonderful sax and flute solos.

3) Panjabi MC - "Jindi Mahi"

From the man credited with bringing Indian beats to the masses in dance records. This is a little more traditional.

4) Cabaret Voltaire - "Golden Halos"

From the grand old masters of noise dance. I love this band in most of it's phases. Whenever I walk away from them for some time, I come back and remember just how influential they were to dance and electronic music.

5) Asian Dub Foundation - "Powerlines"

Electronic music from one of the most prominent members of the Asian Underground scene. This is from their latest album, which is good.

6) Petit Jazz - Petit Jazz

I got this from a music blog site featuring African Music (Benn loxo du taccu). He doesn't even know who the artist is, so I made it eponymous. It's a great Congolese tune.

7) Bebel Gilberto - "Up Up And Away"

Easily the worst tune from Bebel Gilberto's latest album, which only makes it better than many, many other artists.

8) DJ Danger Mouse - "99 Problems"

From the acclaimed mash up of the Beatles versus JayZ. This is one of the better tracks on the album, despite JayZ's sexist rap.

9) Prozak For Lovers - "Aqualung"

Prozak For Lovers takes rock tunes and puts them to Bossa Nova and Samba beats in a mellow and inventive fashion. The re-working of this old Jethro Tull tune is quite nice.

10) Gotan Project - "Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)"

The famed team living in Paris from their latest album mixing tango with modern dance music.

Parody of British National ID card

Set to "I am the very modal of a modern Major General" from Gilbert and Sullivans' Pirates of Penzance, this flash video pokes great fun at the debate in England over instituting National ID cards. We're having the same debate in the U.S., albeit under different guises (driver's licenses). It's brilliant.

Vaginarts

Vaginarts is a site which features photos and ecards featuring art in which the central topic is the vagina. That sounds really dry, but it's not. Check it out. Some of them are prety cool.

Mary Carey on The Daily Show

Porn star, former gubernatorial candidate for California and now. a Republican, Mary Carey appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to talk about her switch to the GOP. Stephen Colbert reports on the issue in one of the funniest bits I've seen him do. It's well worth the download from here. Note, this is a 16 MB Windows Media File.

Oregon Holiday Pictures now up

Cape Argo State Park 8
Originally uploaded by dv8or70.

You can now find photos from our holiday in Oregon last week here. Alternatively, both this set and the New York City set are here.

Collection of classic X-Rated movie posters

It took me literally hours yesterday to go through the holiday pictures, clean them up, put them on Flickr, and caption them. However, the organizer tool on there wasn't working for me, so until that happens, I won't post a link and a summary. That's today's project. :-)

In the meantime, amuse yourself, if it is your will, with this collection of X-Rated movie posters from the 60s and 70s. Sexcellent!

A security and privacy view.

Let's say I'm a hacker. Let's say that I break into some poorly guarded website like, USC's, and I grab a name, address, age, and social security number of a person. I have stolen that person's identity. It's a crime. Now, let's say that I sell that person's identity to another person who profits from that position. That is also a crime. Let's say there is a witness to our deal and the police want her to testify in order to put all of us in jail, but she won't. So the prosecutor threatens her with impeding justice and throws her in jail. Most people would think that is justified, depending on the nature of the crime and it's outcome.

From a privacy advocate's standpoint, this is analogous to the Valerie Plame case. Plame had her identity stolen by a hacker (albeit a political one, but a hacker none the less). It was passed onto a fence who used it for profit (reporters). Both the hacker and the reporters have committed a crime. Apparently, Bob Novak and Matthew Cooper have avoided jail time by striking a deal with prosecutors (a time honored practice in our legal system). The 4th witness to the crime, who didn't report the incident, is going to jail for impeding justice.

Am I missing something? On the one hand, I understand that these are reporters and we want them to report stories, particularly since what we're talking about is a potentially impeachable offense. On the other hand, they are supposed to be willing to go to jail to protect their sources as they know they are doing something quasi legal and it is what makes their profession if not more noble, then something above tabloid. I admire Miller for going to jail. I don't feel the same way about Cooper even if his employer set him up or if his source set him free to discuss it.

Like this line

I was just writing to a friend about another friend when I wrote this line and it's resonating with me (in a sort of amused way) a great deal right now:

"Some days, I hate people. Most days, I hate their expectations of me."

Yea, it's one of those days. At least the rain is soothing.

We're back

Actually, we got back last night around 10:30PM. After thinking it over towards the end of the week we decided that we had a lot of stuff to deal with before work on Tuesday. So, rather than fight traffuck on the 4th, we headed on home on the 3rd (missed said traffuck - yay!) and are slowly dealing with laundry, yard work, unpacking, etc. Oh, and at some point soon I'll post on the holiday at length as well as get some pictures up for people to see. That's on the list of things to do as well.

In the meantime, here's what's amused me this morning:

Umair has an absolutely fascinating article about why DRM as it's currently conceived, will fail. It's a longish post, but a terrific read. To be honest, I'm still pondering it and it's ramifications. Umair argues that the economics of the analog world do not translate to the economics of the digital world and that DRM will fail due to economics regardless of whether the consumer accepts it in the short term.

So the point is that copyright (and DRM) is broken because our notion of analog property rights is totally out of sync with a digital world. In such a world, the strategic question is very different: you have to factor in benefits as well as costs. The question becomes: does your use/exchange/mod of my good cost me more than benefits me?

In a weird schism, those who love kraut rock will certainly be confused this summer as competing line-ups of a re-formed Faust play gigs this summer.

While on holiday, I finished reading Orhan Pamuk's The Black Book. As with his other books, this one is highly recommended. I place it above The White Castle and on par with His Name Is Red. I haven't finished Snow, yet, as I inadvertently left my copy while on holiday in Phoenix during Xmas, but I bought a new copy yesterday (seeing as the other one hasn't made the trip north since it's discovery). The Black Book is an exploration on identity and personality in a post modern world infused with insights into Sufism as well as Turkish culture. As soon as I finished it, I began to re-read sections of it. One day I will read it again and again and again. It is that sort of book, which is exactly why you should pick it up and read it.