West Coast
Posted on August 15th, 2007 07:35 PM | Comments (0) | Pings (0)Earlier this month, Kat and I flew out to the west coast to visit some friends, and to spend four days in Monterey with my family.
The following entries were written in the Self category:
Earlier this month, Kat and I flew out to the west coast to visit some friends, and to spend four days in Monterey with my family.
Earlier this month, Kat and I flew out to the west coast to visit some friends, and to spend four days in Monterey with my family.
On the topic of things I’m not happy with, two more.
A few notes for this half-forgotten weblog.
I spoke way too soon in saying “We’re Back”. The server is up and running, and has been for a bit now. But the upgrade that caused all the trouble a few weeks ago has left my site crippled: None of the RDF-backed features (pictures!) are currently working because of mysterious problems with mod_perl and Redland.
After more than a week of downtime, the server that runs this site is back online!
After a tricky upgrade of glibc, you may have noticed that this site was down all of yesterday, and part of today. The problem been tenuously fixed (although the more permanent solution is still unclear), but things might be a bit spotty until the underlying problem can be determined.
So I’m back from Paris. When I uploaded a picture of my luggage to Flickr yesterday and wrote, “Coming back with more than i left with”, I guess it meant more than I thought.
I’m off to Paris for 10 days to spend time with Kat (and her friends, and a weekend with Leo, and his friends). Leo, Kat and I are going to roadtrip around Belgium this weekend, and I’m hoping to seek out some great Belgian beer and get a chance to take some photos.
I wanted to write this down in case Google should send anyone considering living at Graduate Hills and Gardens my way. These are the graduate apartments owned by the University of Maryland and operated by the (evil) Southern Management Corporation.
I’ve just finished the last book in Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Science in the Capital” trilogy, Sixty Days and Counting, and it was of course great. As always, there’s some hard science fiction, but this one seemed to be more concentrated on the politics, the people, and their relationships.
After a week of highly varied weather, it snow a couple of inches this morning. It was apparently great snow for making snowmen, because there were four of them outside my apartment and I passed another four on a short walk around the campus.
I spent all day Saturday in Boston shooting photos with Matt. I rented a Nikon PC 85mm lens for the weekend and we played around with it all around town. We had more than just the tilt/shift lens, though.
It occurred to me that I associate certain music with the interface through which I played it. I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise (something akin to muscle memory), but I wonder if other people ever experience this?
Chatting with Ben about my lack of posting.
Resolutions for 2007.
As 2006 draws to a close, here’s a summary of the data I keep on travel, music, and beer.
I went to The Brickskeller on Friday, enjoying their ludicrously large beer selection. Supposedly the world’s largest beer menu (they claim over one thousand), but after several successive failures to order a beer on the menu that they actually had on hand, I’m somewhat skeptical. Still an excellent experience. (Don’t visit their website unless you’re prepared for a 2000+ pixel wide monstrosity that will make your eyes bleed.)
Ten years ago today, I was hired at Cnation (née CyberNation). Some of my fondest memories come from those early Cnation days, and I’m really quite happy that I still get chances to spend time with (and sometimes work with) a lot of the original Cnation crowd.
Just a quick update on where I’m at. I spent the day moving into my new apartment in Maryland. Orientations start on Thursday and classes start next week, but for now it’s pretty quiet and lonely. I’m still in the process of unpacking and trying to figure out what I still need for the apartment (chairs!).
Kat and I got back from Maryland last night where we moved in a car-load of boxes to my new apartment. The entire round trip from Providence took us about 32 hours. The new apartment is decent — certainly workable for only nine months. I’ll be back there in a couple of weeks to finish moving in and start classes.
Matt, Simon, Katia and I went to Sunset in Boston this past weekend where we had yards of beer. After years of talking about it, I finally had a yard of Guinness.
As I promised in Personal Report, the other day I sat down and wrote some code to pull together some personal data and consolidated it on my about page. Currently, the data I’ve got updating nightly is: recently watched movies, recently listened to music, and beer I’ve had recently (which is compared to my beer data from 2004).
I try to make a lot of the information in my life public. Photos, travels, movies, music, how I organize files on my computer, and even what beer I’m drinking. But I’ve never really felt like I’m conveying this information in as interesting a way as it deserved.
I’m a day late for posting this at the end of the year, but I figured I’d bring back last year’s end-of-the-year meme to sum things up.
Discussing consumer electronics with Tim earlier today, and then consumerism and Wal-mart, finally leading to peak oil and consumption, I was startled by his reaction to the problem. Startled because despite the fact that I think about these things a lot (likely a significant portion of my life, recently), it’s all become rather muted with repetition. Tim’s reaction brought the impact of the situation flooding back to me.
Post anything that you want here, and post it anonymously. A story, a secret, a confession, a fear, a love… anything.
While in Santa Monica a couple of weeks ago and looking for something on my computer, Tim mentioned that he was amazed by the level of organization that some people had that he didn’t. I thought this was interesting since I sometimes feel the exact same way, yet he was commenting on the organization of my data. So I thought it would be interesting to write down some of the ways in which I organize my data, and invite you all to comment on how you go about similar tasks.
I’m just leaving the house to head for Boston, and from there I’ll be flying to LA for the weekend. If you need me, call the cell. Otherwise, enjoy the weekend and I’ll be back on Sunday night.
Some of the away messages I have used, and where they come from.
Today is the third anniversary of the current incarnation of Life on Mars.
Another day, another meme: Total size of my music library, last CD I bought, currently playing, and five songs that mean a lot to me.
I’ve been doing terribly at updating this month. Really quite awful. So here’s a recap of the month.
I love maps so much. Satalite, topographical, relief, political, statistical: they’re all great.
I miss the Stanton basement. And not because it was the Stanton basement, but because at any hour of the day, things were going on.
Walked down to Izzy’s in the rain last night, and enjoyed the assorted 2am crowd.
The year has somehow snuck past me, and is about to become nothing more than a memory. Just as I was getting really comfortable writing 2004 — with the 4 dropped down, so that the vertical stroke becomes a descender below the baseline. It just made me happy to write it. And now I’ll have to get used to writing 2005. Bleh. Herewith, a summary of what I’ve done this year.
End-of-the-year meme via mamamusings: 40 Questions about 2004.
Despite being a complete zoo, the check-in process at Logan was amazingly efficient, and I’m now waiting on my flight back to LA.
Goodbye AT&T, hello T-Mobile.
And now, two days of thanksgiving.
Unsettling dreams of long-time friends this morning, keeping me awake.
On a whim, drove to Newport yesterday and walked the Cliff Walk all the way to Rosecliff and back.
Would the mystery guest from Valueclick, who keeps calling me and not leaving a message, either: leave a message, email me, or stop calling?
I ended up watching “I, Robot” last night. What a bizarre mish-mash of culture.
It’s a quiet night in Providence, and all the roommates have left town. What to do, what to do?
So very painful, these things called emotions.
A list of nine things that have changed my life.
I had a wonderful evening yesterday with quasi-birthday celebrations, joined by Shuli, Megan, Ben, Anna, Simon and Mathis.
I don’t comprehend the glances. Or the stares. Or the looks.
Back in Providence. Trying to figure out what to do with myself. My time. My life.
Perceptions are an interesting thing.
Here are the cities we travelled through after New York. Now begins the long task of sorting through the 5,108 pictures we took on the trip, and start selecting a set to post online.
The roadtrip ended after 6,807 miles travelled.
The list of cities we’ve passed through since Boulder, CO through New York, NY.
Chicago, Ann Arbor, DC, and now Baltimore.
By request (you know who you are), some more pictures from the trip. More later.
The amount of technology we have along on this trip is staggering. Herewith, a summary of the devices we turn on every day for a long drive.
A new list of cities we’ve travelled through since Waldport, OR.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and now Boulder, Colorado.
On our way out of town, we stoped by REI Seattle and saw the Blue Angels flying in formation over the city.
I hate people. Somebody stole my Nalgene while at the Seattle hostel.
We’ve come up the pacific coast to Waldport, Oregon, and will continue on to Portland tomorrow.
We’re in Mammoth now, having taken some nice night photos at Wheeler Crest.
Adam and I leave on a month-long roadtrip on Monday. Here’s a summary of where we’ll be going.
I’m off to Santa Barbara this morning, and on to Buellton where I’ll stay for a couple of days.
Last night, my twin sister gave birth to a lovely daughter named Emma Elizabeth.
Our destination turned out to be neither the Cape nor Canada. Instead, Simon and I found ourselves in Portland, Maine visiting Kat.
I miss my mohawk, complemented by my chains so well.
So Simon and I drank yards together last night at Sunset. On the topic of beer, as of today I’m making my beer drinking habits (“problem”?) public for all to see. I’ve started generating graphs of total beer consumption, beer types, and locations of drinking. Also, the list of beers these graphs are generated from are available as a text file, or as a hacked-up, work in progress, RDF file.
I’m down at Wheaton again, this time to make good on the My So Called Life marathon Laurel and I have been promising each other for months.
Still in Boston, still crashing with Simon, still doing less than I should. Still wishing desperately that I was doing more.
Casey West notes that he doesn’t look much like his Supersnail OSCON4 photos, anymore. I can relate.
After a full night of drinking I wish the rain would just wash all my troubles away.
Email from everyone but you.
Pictures from Rosecliff, held last night, are up.
When did things get so complicated? When did life become a burden? Why is this happening to us at the same time?
Almost a week since I last posted. And so many things to write about, and so few words with which to do it.
A recent post at 1976design got me thinking about my recent lack of personal content on my weblog.
A Good night.
My toenails are still slightly purple from the hair dying incident last Thursday.
Wow. So. I had a great evening.
I miss all the little things that I never would have imagined would be the important stuff.
How can it be the slickest thing I’ve ever done, and I don’t remember it!?
I hear this from my dentist far too often: “You’re doing a much better job at brushing your teeth since last time. oh, and by the way, you have two cavities.”
I feel like Funes, unable to generalize my experiences into coherent thoughts.
Gah. Too many emotions in too small a time-frame.
Some updates on my life this week and next: leaving Bizrate, SXSW, and moving to Boston.
There are some things I won’t write here. And that’s rough, because I want you to know, and understand.
I think I need to get more exercise.
It was funny in a depressing sort of way that we all showed up with the same beer.
It just occured to me that three weeks ago marked my two year anniversary of not eating meat.
Here I am, awake at 3 in the morning. Morning Edition just started, and I just finished a hack job of getting a statement of intent and short paper ready to send off to CMU.
It’s been raining all day but, like a dream, it’ll all be gone when I wake up.
I worry that my private self is still private, and that I retreat into the comfort of using this medium solely for technical ramblings.
On a daily basis, I read an astounding (to me, anyway) number of weblogs, irc channels, mailing lists
A long weekend is coming to an end.
Plans for the future are slowly falling into place. And my dreams just keep getting stranger.
Apparently I’m “ambiversion.”
My dreams continue to taunt me.
I got a new Waterman. And I’m writing!
I’m back from Alaska and trying to cope with the backlogged emails, weblog comments, and general issues involved in sliding back into the daily grind.
I had dinner with my father and a family friend, and we talked about radio, programming and my future.
The best thing I can say about today was that I beat out Thai in Daytona.
In an attempt to be more upbeat, here’s a list of things I like.
Depression is creeping up on me again.
I was just overcome with an amazing sense of nastolgia and longing for the time spent at Wheaton last January.
Every morning is a rush. Wanting, waiting, hoping to see her.
I’ve posted my entry photos for A Day In The Life: New Year’s Eve 2003.
I’m Lost and I don’t know where my friends are. 3:04am 12.29.03 NYC
I’m in New York for New Year’s, so updates may be sparse over the next week or so.
A note to my coworkers regarding the recent company “party.”
The only thing good about this weekend was discovering Anderson’s Winter Soltice at Father’s Office. It actually does taste like poundcake. Simply amazing.
I appreciate that my friends will still give me a no-nonsense response to my constant complaining.
NSLog();’s question of the day: How would I describe my first kiss? Upside down.
My mohawk is gone.
It’s been a quiet week. Everyone seems to have gone offline for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Had a new faucet installed in the backtub/shower today.
The Parties Pictures are back online.
After my chat with obigabu, I’ve been thinking about my decision to go to Wheaton.
At the prodding of obigabu, here’s the log of our conversation from Tuesday night. What started as a discusion about my Disclosure post turned into an analysis of my life situation. Thoughts to follow at some point later. (Maybe tonight, but I’m not promising anything.)
The events pictures are back online.
Grumble grumble. The future looks bleak on the fronts of job, school, and travel.
My trip back to Boston is drawing near.
The world is burning, and everything smells like ash.
The lyrics of 102 Pond street taunt me.
My life is starting to suck.
Major changes are happening on the site here.
Worst birthday ever.
I had a wonderful dream last night.
I’ve not much to say about my first day.
Nothing has been signed yet, but they made the offer and I accepted.
Apparently paperwork for my hiring is making its way through the upper levels BizRate even as I write this.
Gary and I went out (again) to Father’s Office (again), this time for the upcoming.org launch party.
Everything is falling into place.
Yay! BizRate called!
The interview went well, but it’s been left in an undefined state.
So today is the big day. I’m interviewing at my best (and at the moment only) hope for a job this afternoon.
I woke up this morning to the realization that I had been dreaming in a narrative style.
Matt and I met up with some of the old Cnation gang, and Al Lopez (with friends) at Shark’s Cove in Hermosa for a good time.
Wonko and I hung out a good bit earlier this week after he came down to LA for a friend’s wedding.
Last night I had dinner with Erik at the Kings Head to discuss the possibility of working with him.
So. The Wedding. Lots to think about, and too little time and conciousness left in the night to recount it all here. But here are a few thoughts.
I live my life by the punctuated hum and vibration of the General Electric turbines that carry me between my lives on either coast.
Lunch. Mike. Shuli. Grasshopper. Brutal.
My time in Boston is coming to an end. For now.
Perhaps using Jägermeister for the pawns was a backwards way of approaching the game….
I’m back.
Here’s the sneak peak of the photos on the way from my time in Belgium, Ireland, and Scotland. The full set will be posted to my trip pictures page some time in late July when I return to the States.
Yes, I’m still alive.
T, I’m sorry about what happened in Berlin. I’ve never forgiven myself for it, and I’m not sure I’ve ever properly appologized to you. So I’m sorry. B, I’m sorry things didn’t work out. I never meant for things to…
Here I am, packing once again.
I was thinking last night how much of a complete loser I was in high school.
Perhaps there was a bit too much personal reflection going on today.
We had a cult like relationship with Marathon, both Durandal and Infinity.
To this day, Amazon Mist carries with it strong memories of the early Cnation days. One sip is all it takes to be back in 1996. Unfortunately, the drink seems to have disappeared. Everywhere I look that used to carry…
Adam and I went to the roof to watch the smoke emerge from the hills of Malibu to the north during the fires. Looking towards the east during the winter, we had a great view of the snow in the…
I pretty sure I have some strange fucking dreams, but I almost never remember them.
I don’t even know what to write anymore.
No, I don’t know why I have a mohawk.
No, I’m not the photographer….
Do I know you, with your brown hair dyed black? Your roots show brown already. Do I want to know you?
“It’s so nice to talk to someone I don’t know. I don’t have to lie to you like I do with my friends. It feels good to just say these things.”
I’m back in Santa Monica. Yesterday was yet another cross country flight where I slept the long leg and spent the short leg talking with a nice (but fairly … something) girl.
Matt threw the next few months (and perhaps longer) into chaos today by pointing me at a web dev and “new media” job at the Museum of Science which I may have a better than average chance of getting (for…
My Ti is broken (on its way to be fixed actually) and I mostly don’t have access to a computer off-hours these days. Therefore updates will be irregular and slow in coming. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon….
Watching the next two episodes have only made things worse….
Watching the pilot episode to My So Called Life brings on such a violent longing for something. I have so much to say, yet I can’t seem to say it. I can’t say how this is making me feel. Such…
New Years. I feel so out of touch with people. Which raises the question, was I ever in touch? On one hand, I find myself accepting, at least outwardly and to some extent, the social setting of parties, while on…
My hair has become a fixture on this campus. While walking back to my room, a girl, who I’m sure I don’t know, said, “I love it when your hair is like this!”…
Note to self: Beat-up low top Converse with holes on the seams do not make good shoes for trudging through the snow. Not a good idea. Neither is six cups of tea in one sitting….
I’m in the outskirts of Boston with Tony for the week, and hopefully I’ll both finalize the thesis, and find some time to relax. For that reason, updates may be irregular or non-existent until the weekend. Enjoy the holiday….
I’m going offline for a while.NO CARRIER (UPDATE: No offense, but I really do mean offline. So please don’t take it personally if I don’t respond to emails — I’ll be back.) +++ATZ…
Sometimes having a complete breakdown sounds like a tempting escape from the weariness I feel for this world and the obligations that I have sought or have sought me. The thing stopping such a breakdown, at this point, I believe,…