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Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
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11:25 am - Party Pics
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| Monday, May 18th, 2009
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1:06 pm - Birthday!
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I just had a great birthday week. Sophie came out and we spent a night at the M resort since I had a good coupon. Then we went to the Mirage to see LOVE and spent a night there too. In a rare moment of true Vegasdom, we hit the casino floor and threw about $100 into the machines. We walked away with just a little over $100, so not too bad.
Then we spent most of Friday buying stuff for a pool party & birthday bbq for Saturday. It was a combined birthday for myself and my good friend Christa, who was also born on this lovely week in May. The party was a big success with some 40 people rocking out by the pool, snacking on cookout food, and generally having what appeared to be a good time. I'd never thrown a party that size before, so it was fun to see it all come together.
Currently, this is the only picture I have from the party. But that works.
Sophie was an amazing help with the party -- making some super Korean Beef and managing the kitchen area for much of the festivities. And the guests were wonderful people that not only brought a great assortment of sides, drinks, and desserts, but they also cleaned up afterwards, too. The next morning upon waking I only needed to sweep the floor and carry out a bag of trash.
Then on Sunday there was _another_ birthday for pal Sotheavy. A big group went to Hostile Grape for delish wine and cheese time.
And now it's Monday. I'm 36. What to do?
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| Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
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2:55 pm - Bacteria
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I found this presentation pretty mind blowing:
Bonnie Bassler on Bacterial Communication
I kind of love the TED conference; at least the web available video portions. It stimulates an exhilaration in me similar to the way Wikipedia often does. I should hop over there more often, whenever I worry that the world is getting stagnant.
I'm in Rhode Island, for my first niece's first birthday. Visiting with the family and chilling out. And obviously watching videos online :)
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| Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
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11:42 pm - New Band!
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So things have been enjoyable for the past month -- except for the looming sense that this might all come to an end. By "this" I mean my financial independence. The fear that this might come to an end seems to keep me from really digging in to any cool projects. Lame, I know, but there you go.
Despite that, I was pleased to come across this little internet meme today:
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit "random"
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random.
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to flickr and click on "explore the last seven days"
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.
5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "body" and TAG the friends you want to join in. (you can untag yourself if you don't want this photo up)
In step 5, replace Facebook (FB) with your favorite social site. I did mine on Facebook, but the fact that non-Facebook people can't see them has pissed me off and so I am posting it here as well. My results:
( Read more... )
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| Thursday, January 8th, 2009
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4:29 pm - A Story I Wrote
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It's sure been a while since I posted. Life has been full and I've traveled to the Carolinas and to New England for Thanksgiving and Christmas respectively. I've been hanging with some kewl new people and enjoying life here in Las Vegas as best I can.
On to the reason for this post: a story I wrote was posted to the front page of kuro5hin.org. Pronounced "corrosion", it's a site where users write stories and articles and then the members vote stuff up or down.
What may not be apparent unless you're familiar with kuro5hin is that it's largely a haven of vile misanthropes who despise almost everything. I've been occasionally reading and commenting there for years as the community has shrunk down to only the most stalwart and bitter members. I take it as a great honor that my story was accepted and voted up by such people.
I suppose it's not too surprising -- it's a dark story. But I'm proud of it. Hope I can get myself to do more writing in the future.
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| Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
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1:29 am - More Blah.
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Well, not entirely: since I last posted I had a great trip to SF for a wedding in Mendocino. While there I got to see lots of good old friends. Then I was the witness at a little civil ceremony back here in a LV for a couple other good friends. Everyone's getting married! Despite my warnings!
Michelle and I did only one Halloween party as Mickey and Mallory Knox of "Natural Born Killers". We did these outfits, but I did this hair.. I think we looked pretty great, but somehow we failed to get any pictures. Lame.
Other than that, things are just dragging. I tend to waste my way through the day. The election has me nerved up. I can't wait for it to be over tomorrow night, whichever way it goes.
I'm pretty convinced that thanks to the economy and its effects on Zappos, I won't be able to continue the "live frugally off stock and do something great" lifestyle I've set up. I'm going to need to get a job. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't seem to go from life-crushing to creatively-inspired fast enough, and soon my time will be up. So it goes.
Want more?
Today I got a call from a close friend who's had recurring problems with domestic violence. I mentioned it somewhere along the way in the South Africa journal. Anyway, after what seemed like her hitting rock bottom a few months ago, and a subsequent new beginning, I was hopeful and supportive on the condition she never let it happen again. But somehow in the past week or two she managed to let the guy back in the picture for the umpteenth time. Within a few days he had broken her collarbone and has been arrested again.
It kills me to walk away from someone I love who is so obviously in need of help, but it doesn't seem I can help, and I just can't be connected to it any longer. She told me she's going to move into a shelter. I wished her luck and goodbye. So it goes.
On a more positive note, I went dancing at FreeZone this past Saturday with some great people, which was a lot of fun. I hope California's prop 8 doesn't pass.
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| Friday, October 17th, 2008
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10:58 pm - Zep?
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Went to see Lez Zeppelin tonight with Aki and Lisa. It's an all-girl Led Zeppelin cover band. They put on a great show -- there were a couple rough spots but they nailed most of the tunes right out of the park. Their rendition of "In My Time of Dying" was amazing, as was "Kashmir", "Rock & Roll", "Black Dog" and "Whole Lotta Love".
The drummer was the highlight -- totally slammed every song. Got all the nuances right. Looked like she was having a blast. And she has the best rock name of the bunch, too: "Helen Destroy". But they all put on a good, fun show.
I hear that sometimes they do the first album from beginning to end. I would love to see that. I will check them out again next time they're in town.
Got my halloween costume all set. Doing another couple costume with Michelle. It also involves her wearing tight fitting clothes and me shaving my head. Like last year, we don't expect most people to get it. I'll post pictures and an explanation when I get them.
I've already got an idea for next year's costume, should it come to pass, that again involves her in tight fitting clothes and me shaving my head. I wonder how long we can play that motif out.
All that sounds wonderful. And I've been working on a video. But honestly, I feel blah. Hopefully it'll pass. If not, I'll have to start sniffing glue.
current mood:  blah
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| Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
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4:53 am - Who?
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And now I present the result of an otherwise ordinary Monday evening:
Baba O'Riley
My apologies. It occurred to me today as I was driving around listening to the stereo, and then it had to be done.
Just voice and Garageband effects.
Update:
No, I had no idea that a cappella Who covers were already the latest thing. Late to the game again!
Update 2:
The first version I uploaded had the end cut off, dammit! The full version, including my annoying impression of a fiddle is now available above.
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| Sunday, October 5th, 2008
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9:54 pm - Urban Hiking
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Yesterday, Saturday, I went urban hiking. I badly needed to decompress after this week. I'd felt pretty lousy about things and I'd kept myself cooped up for several days straight. Not good.
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| Saturday, August 30th, 2008
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5:34 pm - Wikipedia
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I just realized one of my favorite things about Wikipedia is the occasional misinformation. I read from Wikipedia more than is normal or healthy I think. Probably several times per day.
Occasionally when reading I come across information that for one reason or another seems questionable to me. So I research it elsewhere, then correct the article if necessary. I feel that it helps develop my bullshit detector.
I'm not talking about vandalism and overtly ridiculous additions, which are easy to spot. I'm talking about the seemingly innocuous bits that are nonetheless untrue. I'm actually surprised how often it is possible to pick up on subtle cues. I guess I have no idea how many I miss, but I have sometimes suspected and researched things that turned out to be true. I take those false positives to indicate my suspicion threshold is at least in a reasonable range.
Misinformation seems rare enough in Wikipedia that it's still a great source, on par with other single sources. I still start all my learning there. But as with most information sources, you really can't just blindly trust.
So I posit that Wikipedia is good mental exercise as it openly requires you to stay on your toes.
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| Monday, August 25th, 2008
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9:53 pm - Music!
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It's been an amazing time since I last posted. I've driven from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and up to Portland. Along the way I visited many good friends and had some wonderful adventures. Sometimes I worry that if I don't write things down I won't remember them, but I'll have to risk it as I've been too busy with actual living to document everything.
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| Friday, July 4th, 2008
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2:51 pm - Arizona Sites, and Home
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| Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
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12:39 am - Austin, Albuquerque, Flagstaff
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The drive from Austin to Albuquerque was long. I let myself sleep in the morning so I didn't leave town until 10:30 AM. I didn't get into my room in Albuquerque until just before midnight. And that included an hour of driving in the dark in the pouring rain near the end of a full day on the road.
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| Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
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1:23 am - I like Austin
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| Monday, June 30th, 2008
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2:04 pm - Last Nola & Austin
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My second night in New Orleans was very different and also very fun. Kris knew an old college friend here, so he gave me her number. She suggested a local's bar outside the quarter that served tapas, so we hit that spot and chilled out.
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| Saturday, June 28th, 2008
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5:50 pm - Nola 2
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Today New Orleans seems just like a wonderfully quaint Euro/US city. Go figure.
I got a excellent tour of one of the graveyards. I got a mild sunburn. I ate rabbit and smoked sausage jambalaya.
Now it's raining and I'm hiding out in a garden cafe with a latte and a chocolate chip cookie.
No idea what I'm doing tonight, but I just found out I've got a friend of a friend to call.
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| Friday, June 27th, 2008
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11:59 pm - Nola Brain Dump
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I don't think New Orleans is actually part of the US. It is some kind of warp into another dimension. I have been to 5 out of the 7 continents, and I've never seen anything like it. South Africa and Chile are like Disneyland in comparison. Las Vegas is like a bowl of Cheerios.
Of course, this is all based on but one evening in town, but it was a fun and crazy evening.
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| Thursday, June 26th, 2008
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8:20 pm - Around The World in HD
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Eric just sent me an HD version of Matt Harding's latest dancing video. Much nicer and I think for this video it makes a big difference being able to see the expressions and such.
Also noticed in the comments that I'm not the only person brought to tears by this. I find it very interesting that something so random, so abstract, so simple and seemingly unsentimental can bring out similar emotion in otherwise unconnected people.
Not that it would make any sense to anyone out there, but if they're going to throw something on the next Voyager disc, I nominate this.
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| Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
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3:33 pm - Around The World
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I've been a fan of Matt Harding since the beginning. He's the dude who danced all around the world and put it on video.
He just released his latest dancing video, number 3, which I think is a nice expansion on the theme.
I get emotional and choked up watching these videos. Bonus points to anyone who understands why.
Remember, bonus points can be redeemed for valuable prizes!
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| Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
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2:43 am - Florida
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I've been in Florida for the past several days, visiting with the family and prepping for a trip back to Las Vegas with all my stored goodies in tow. Musical equipment mainly, and some other odds and ends. All things to make my place feel more like my place.
For the drive I bought a Toyota Corolla. That's my new (used) car, and with a little luck I'm hoping it'll last me for the next five years. It's not as nice as the Prius I sold last year, but it's also not as expensive, and I don't want to spend that kind of money right now. It's supposed to get pretty great gas mileage for a non-hybrid, but I'll reserve judgement until I'm on the road.
I'll probably leave by the end of this week... after I get my iPod hookup installed. Drive cross country without my tunes? I can't go for that. No. No can do.
On the trip I plan to hit New Orleans, Austin, Albuquerque, and the Grand Canyon. All new for me. A leisurely pace of nine days, I expect.
I'm sad about some things. I'm hopeful about others. Such is life.
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jon_a_thon's journal
