Ramblings

California, then Texas in August

2008-06-28T20:26:00.003-05:00

I'm gonna be out of the loop for the next 5, 6 weeks or so, since I'm going to the California desert early tomorrow morning. There's gonna be no internet, and I doubt there will be cell phone reception. Also, the temperatures are hitting triple digits every day. I hear it sucks. But I will be visiting Texas in early August for about 3 weeks, so for that small handful of my Texas friends who actually read my blog, I look forward to seeing y'all. Expect a call when I get to Texas.

I once laughed at the idea of free wifi internet at Safeway (grocery store) of all places, but it came in handy today because there are no traditional coffee shops in this backwards-ass town I live in, and even the Kinko's doesn't have T-mobile wifi. Also, my internet in my room went out the same day that the other 2 public places with free wifi lost their connections.

Coffee technology doesn't impress me

2008-06-24T22:01:00.002-05:00

Photo by Flickr user CoffeeGeek and used under a Creative Commons license.

I once bought a fancy schmancy espresso machine for a previous girlfriend because I knew that she enjoyed espresso-based drinks pretty much every day, and it seemed like a good way to save her $3/day while having far more control over each step of the espresso creation process than compromising for convenience at the local coffee shop. I look back and shake my head - buying unexpected gifts that require an investment of effort is a bad idea (see: puppies). But also, espresso freaking sucks. Why do I want to work so hard for something that has less caffeine than ordinarily brewed coffee? I think most of America is just using their coffee as a socially acceptable delivery mechanism for fat and sugar.

Today, I find that I can't stand the idea of coffee makers with microchips, or even pumps and complex arrays of pipes and nozzles and settings. I highly doubt one of these contraptions was ever on the mind of the Ethiopians who first domesticated coffee beens. Hell, there's even a $2000 coffeemaker with a security exploit that not only allows a remote attacker to break the machine, but even opens up a security vulnerability in your windows computer, giving outsiders access to your computer as well.

Now, when I brew my own coffee, I use a french press. It's easy, low tech, and a technique that transfers well to situations like camping. The scene where they're brewing coffee in a french press during a lull in the gunfighting in Black Hawk Down still makes me smile. And here's the thing - french press coffee tastes much better than drip coffee, and the "device" is ridiculously cheap.

A few months ago, Michael Ruhlman, a food author/blogger I greatly respect, raved about the virtues of percolator-brewed coffee. I've never had percolator coffee, but I share his distaste for drip coffee. There is nothing redeeming about the idea of dripping relatively tepid water over coffee grinds and a piece of paper into a glass pot. For what? The ability to have it brew on timer automatically in the morning as you're waking up? I'd rather wake up 10 minutes earlier, grind the beans, and brew it in a press.

On that note, if anyone reading has ever had coffee made from a percolator, let me know in the comments.

My case against McCain

2008-06-23T17:08:00.005-05:00

People who know me know that I've shifted my political beliefs dramatically over the last 4 years. I voted for Bush in 2004, which actually baffles me today. I used to believe in small government and non-interference in markets (for the most part), but I'm pretty much a typical liberal Democrat now, who believes that government should be spending money on health care, education, and infrastructure. So just keep that in mind while I explain why I think John McCain would be one of the worst presidents in recent decades. Not quite as bad as Bush, but I don't think I'll ever see one of those in my lifetime.

McCain has had more lobbyists working on his staff than any other candidate from either party. This is probably why he has such a problem maintaining a consistent position on any issues other than opposing abortion and always wanting more war.

McCain is probably most famous for campaign finance reform. Less well known is his exploiting loopholes in campaign finance law (yes, including the one known as McCain-Feingold) to guarantee a loan with the promise to stay in and seek public financing to pay it back, and then backing out of the commitment once he got the nomination to avoid spending limits. I really don't like that Obama isn't accepting federal matching funds (and the spending limits that come with), but he isn't doing anything borderline illegal and certainly against the spirit of a law he drafted himself.

As most people know, McCain spent time in a POW camp in Vietnam. He served honorably and complied with the Code of Conduct governing captured servicemembers. I have nothing but respect for his service in the Navy. Of course, he came back and treated his wife like shit. When he returned she wasn't nearly as hot was she was before, so he cheated on her. Once he met a younger, prettier millionaire heiress, he divorced his first wife and married the new one. What a classy dude. Actually, no, the classiest thing was probably calling his current wife a cunt (audio NSFW).

Also, I'm convinced that McCain hates servicemembers. He has a history of opposing increased benefits for veterans, and he's always trying to send more of us to foreign wars. The latest example of his veteran-hating is his opposition to this awesome new GI Bill, saying it's TOO awesome and it will hurt military retention. Because as we know, the military is most effective when it's filled with people who just don't have other options. Sorry, I'm not a fan of indentured servitude. Of course, now that it's reached a veto-proof majority, he's trying to claim credit for it. On veteran's benefits, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gives McCain a D. I mean, he might have been able to marry a millionaire when he got out, but I don't have much confidence that I'll be able to do the same after I come home from Iraq.

Finally, McCain is quite possibly a complete moron. Here's a guy who doesn't understand what the cap in cap-and-trade means. He doesn't know enough about economics to even evaluate who should be his economic advisors, so he hires people from all over the ideological spectrum to give him conflicting advice to sift through. For a ton of other examples, google "mccain confused."

I think there are a lot of legitimate criticisms against Obama, too, but he's still the far superior candidate on nearly every issue. I mean, I'm currently pretty disappointed in Obama for the moral cowardice of supporting the FISA bill this week. I didn't really mention McCain's Al Qaeda/Iran gaffe because Obama made a similar one about Arabic linguists in Afghanistan. I don't like that Obama dismissed the hard work and sacrifice of Iraqi politicians who really are trying to bring stability to their own country. I would've preferred that he remained a member of Trinity United, because it just seems that he does the politically expedient thing with his spiritual life - which sucks because he's the only Democratic candidate in many years who sounds comfortable using religious language in his speech. Also, I didn't think that his church was racist at all. The history of this nation has been racist, and pretending it wasn't won't make it so.

Anyway, there's no way I'm voting McCain in November, and it seems like voting for Obama will be the most cost-effective thing I can do to keep McCain from winning.

EDIT: I think this article in Fortune magazine is telling - when asked what the greatest threat to the US economy is, he struggles to answer, and finally comes up with "Islamic extremism" after about 11 seconds of squirming. Presidents have a lot of responsibilities besides commander-in-chief, and it's unfortunate that it's the only role he is the slightest bit interested in.

Evidence that God is a white guy

2008-06-19T15:38:00.003-05:00

First, I direct your attention to this Stuff White People Like post:
White Problems - Typos on Menus

Read the linked Washington Post article, too.

Now, direct your attention to today's entry in the consistently funny Dinosaur Comics.

Given:
1. White people enjoy correcting typos more than non-white people.
2. God enjoys correcting typos, even misplaced apostrophes in spoken language

Intuitively applying Bayes theorem, that seems like evidence in favor of the claim "God is a white dude."

Webcomics and Bayes. I'm such a dork.

Lying to your kids

2008-06-17T22:31:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big fan of lying to kids "for their own good." It's lazy and the kids just learn to distrust the adults.

Apparently some school officials disagree with this sentiment, however:

On a Monday morning last month, highway patrol officers visited 20 classrooms at El Camino High School to announce some horrible news: Several students had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend.
Classmates wept. Some became hysterical.
A few hours and many tears later, though, the pain turned to fury when the teenagers learned that it was all a hoax, a scared-straight exercise designed by school officials to dramatize the consequences of drinking and driving.

Read the whole thing to see school administrators express zero remorse for messing with the kids' heads.

The whole episode reminds me of My Future Self 'n Me, a hilarious episode of South Park where the parents hire actors to pretend to be the kids' future selves whose lives are all messed up from drugs. My favorite clip is here (fast forward to about 1 minute in):

Full Episode here.

I think the whole problem stems from a lack of respect. Kids are smarter than parents, teachers, and administrators give them credit for. And the adults wonder why their kids grow up to be so distrusting of authority.

Lazy with politics

2008-06-17T01:32:00.003-05:00

I don't really care for political blogging anymore. Yes, I feel fairly strongly about voting for Obama in November, but I don't really care to explain why anymore. I don't believe that I will convince people who truly believe that McCain is a much better candidate than Obama when it comes to Iraq.

That being said, I do recommend this blog post from Obsidian Wings for something that shouldn't be a partisan issue, since truly critical services shouldn't be provided by private corporations operating at a profit:

http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/06/privatizing-the.html

Indiana Jones denied tenure

2008-06-13T17:59:00.002-05:00

This is almost 2 years old, but as relevant as ever, given the new Indiana Jones movie out right now:

BACK FROM YET ANOTHER GLOBETROTTING
ADVENTURE, INDIANA JONES CHECKS HIS MAIL AND DISCOVERS THAT HIS BID FOR TENURE HAS BEEN DENIED. by Andy F. Bryan

My favorite quote was probably the "Moreover, no one on the committee can identify who or what instilled Dr. Jones with the belief that an archaeologist's tool kit should consist solely of a bullwhip and a revolver."

The wonder of wearing glasses for the first time

2008-05-12T11:02:00.002-05:00

My little brother just got prescribed glasses, and upon wearing them for the first time he remarked to my mom, "Wow, Mom, it's like watching Blu-Ray all the time!"

Later he remarked to my mom that he realized his classmates were uglier than he had previously noticed. Sounds like he's shaping up to be more like me every day.

Restaurants

2008-05-05T01:55:00.003-05:00

I'm on TDY in Hawaii right now for some stuff for work. And so I've been running out and eating at different restaurants every day. The other guys who are with me are generally not as adventurous as me when it comes to food, so they tend to want to eat at P.F. Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, and Outback Steakhouse.

Being the culinary elitist that I am, I've been avoiding dinner with the coworkers whenever they propose these places. I mean, I did grow up in the suburbs, and ate this kind of stuff for people's birthdays and everything when I was younger, so it's not like I don't understand. It's just that since then I've come to the conclusion that I'd rather eat at a hole-in-the-wall ethnic place than eat something unhealthy that I've already eaten dozens of times before. Besides, eating a few cheap meals allows me to save up for the truly expensive places I ordinarily can't afford on my salary. Reservations have been made for Nobu and Alan Wong's.

Anyway, I thought this article from the New York Times about chain restaurants was pretty interesting. It's subtly condescending:

On a recent Saturday night, there were at least 150 people in their best jeans and T-shirts, beepers in hand, happily waiting 30 or 40 minutes for tables.
Their saintly patience might have been tied to the balmy weather, or perhaps to the knowledge, deep in their cholesterol-imperiled hearts, that the meal ahead would involve giant portions and joyous noise.
In contrast with plain-Jane franchise restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory, associated with upscale malls nationwide, wears a prom dress and lots of lip gloss. Burgers and fries are served up with the speed and frequency of instant messages, but the fries are manicured, the huge mounded salads look like so much teased hair, and those fat slices of cheesecake are pinned with frilly white corsages of whipped cream.

The condescending tone towards the chains is slightly irritating, but that's something I've been guilty of myself when it comes to criticizing The Cheesecake Factory. Sometimes I cringe to read the stuff I've written in the past. Oh well, as long as I've grown up since then.

Anyway, so far I've been really impressed with Side Street Inn, Seoul Jung Restaurant, Bombay Indian Restaurant (really awesome food but terrible service and somewhat high prices) and some ramen place whose name I've already forgotten. I have been less impressed with the Navy-run cafeteria where I've been eating lunch on workdays. But whatever - I can save money on lunch and go all out for dinner. Which I intend to do the rest of my time here.

A contrast

2008-04-26T23:40:00.003-05:00

When I lived in Texas, I'd usually boil crawfish the weekend of the NFL draft. The crawfish season would be starting up, and the weather would usually accommodate grilling burgers and boiling crawfish outside while drinking beer by the swimming pool.

This is not possible where I live now. For one, there are no live crawfish anywhere nearby. For another, it snowed this morning.

That's ok, because my employer is sending me to Oahu for 7 weeks starting tomorrow.

An aversion to the "-ness" suffix

2008-04-16T00:46:00.003-05:00

Over the last 2 years, I've been using "-ness" less and less. It may or may not have started with the dialogue from Arrested Development where G.O.B. asks Michael to "Taste the happy," which apparently "tastes kinda like sad."

Taste The Happy - The best bloopers are here

I don't know. But I gradually stopped using "craziness," "happiness," "funniness,"and a few others in conversation, opting instead for "crazy," "happy," "funny," etc. For example, "There's way too much crazy in their marriage" or "Where's the funny in that?"

The weird thing is that even though I tend to use it for adjectives that end in "-y," I've extended it to adjectives like "stupid," "bright," and "tired," some of which don't even ordinarily get the "-ness" suffix when nouned.

I didn't really notice it until this Nike "My better is better than your better" commercial started airing recently:

It seemed so normal to use "strong," "fast," and "quick" in this fashion, but "better" doesn't seem to work quite as well. Probably because it's comparative. And most of the words used in the commercial are actual normal nouns, like "agility" and "power."

I love watching language evolve. Some prescriptivists might beg to differ, but those guys are probably no fun to be around anyway.

Little sister getting surgery

2008-04-07T19:57:00.002-05:00

I know a lot of my friends from high school, college, and the Army read my blog. Those that have met my little sister - just a heads up, she's undergoing an outpatient procedure on Monday to fix a detached retina. Shouldn't be a big deal, and it's only affected her peripheral vision, but those of you who know her, send her your regards on Facebook or AIM or Google Talk or something.

I've been thinking a lot about health issues. Seems like my older sister has a lot of friends with serious health issues, and it just makes me wonder why we can't get a better safety net for people with this bad luck. Sure, most of these yuppies have good insurance, but it doesn't always hold up. And preexisting conditions make it nearly impossible to continue to buy insurance in certain situations where they lose coverage.

I can't believe it, but I've actually gone from being a conservative libertarian to a big-government Democrat in just like 3 years. Maybe it's my realization that the world really isn't as fair as I used to believe. And also I think the market is less than ideal for certain situations, and the current system of health care in the U.S. is inadequate for social justice.

New Balance ad campaign

2008-03-30T15:44:00.003-05:00

Let me just say that I love this commercial:

All 4 commercials from the Love/Hate campaign can be seen here.

I woke up this morning slightly hungover, and told myself that I wasn't going to work out today. I need to do my laundry, and clean my room, and all that. But this commercial has convinced me to put on my running clothes and get outside. So thanks, New Balance. I might consider buying a shirt of yours or something.

Sharper knives are safer

2008-03-15T03:44:00.002-05:00

I tell people all the time, that keeping knives sharp (whether kitchen knives or pocketknives) is important for safety. Sharper knives are more precise, and you will use less force to cut, reducing the probability that the knife slips and cuts your hand.

Well I was an idiot and holding an avocado poorly when I tried to do the standard "cut into the pit and pull it out" technique that I've seen done a million times before, and done a thousand times myself. It slipped off the core and cut right into my thumb. You know, exactly what I had believed sharp knives don't do.

So sharp knives may cause fewer accidents, but the accidental cuts that do occur will be much deeper. I was bleeding all over the place. At least it was a clean cut and didn't hurt too bad.

What is my point? That Band-Aid brand sucks and I wish I bought Nexcare bandages, which breathe better, are more comfortable, and stick better when they get wet. Kudos to 3M for making a good product, and I would expect better from Band-Aid, the market leader.

Guitar Heroes, Michael Yon

2008-03-13T01:16:00.002-05:00

Michael Yon, perhaps the most badass reporter in the history of journalism, has a pretty good article up titled Guitar Heroes about an Air Cavalry Regiment and some of the badassery in their personnel, their equipment, and their mission.

If you like what you read, donate to him, buy his book or a framed photograph of his. His reporting is essential today, and will doubtless be very useful when they start writing comprehensive history books about this war.

REI = Whitewashed?

2008-03-12T01:44:00.003-05:00

I've previously mentioned that I really like the blog "Stuff White People Like." When I showed it to my friend Dirty Jay, an Asian dude, he observed "Man I like all this stuff. I guess I'm pretty whitewashed." I chuckled and didn't think too much of it.

And then today's post was about Outdoor performance clothes and REI, camping/hiking in national parks after loading up the Thule car rack, and I laughed my ass off, because Dirty Jay's personality tops even this exaggerated caricature of a white person.

Oh, and I'm guilty of this, too. This weekend I bought a Marmot Cloudlight and a Leatherman Skeletool at REI for when I do start camping again after the thaw.

We need more politicians like Steve Novick

2008-03-11T19:48:00.003-05:00

This is a pretty awesome campaign ad:

Also, he has an official campaign beer, which honestly needs to be a more common thing in American politics.

He's also endorsing Obama, for what it's worth.

Edited to add: Oh, and Steve Novick has no relation to Steve Novak of the Houston Rockets, who apparently does a pretty good Dikembe Mutombo impression. (link credit Ryan)

They all look alike to me

2008-03-02T20:46:00.003-06:00

I've been seeing this commercial on TV for Choice Hotels, and the actor in it looks a lot like a cross between Usher and Obama. I can't find it anywhere online, but I just found out his name is Scott Lawrence. His IMDB photos don't look enough like Obama/Usher to warrant mention, but if anyone can find that commercial, I laughed when I saw it.

Nerd talk about Operating Systems

2008-03-01T14:07:00.007-06:00

I just installed Win XP Pro on a friend's computer the other day. It was such a pain in the ass to get up and running that I realized that installing Ubuntu is far more user-friendly. I like having hardware drivers work out of the box for the most common stuff like NVIDIA or ATI video cards, Realtek audio, Intel wireless, or even the freaking ethernet jack. I had terrible flashbacks of college when I couldn't get my ethernet to work after reformatting, and didn't have the ability to download the drivers I needed since my only computer couldn't get online. All in all, it took maybe 5 hours to get everything working properly, including the reformat. I shudder to think what it would take to clean install Vista.

I'm not going to try to convince too many people to switch to Ubuntu, but if you're on the fence about buying a Mac, you should probably give Ubuntu a try. You'll run into the same issues with getting used to how a few things are different from what you're used to, but you'll be pretty happy when it's all said and done. And you don't have to pay Apple's ridiculous markup on hardware. I can put together a Dell Ubuntu laptop (Inspiron 1525N) comparable to the $1099 Macbook for about $800. Well, the Dell would have 2GB RAM instead of 1GB like the Mac, and a 15.4" screen instead of 13.3". And the ability to right click/middle click with one hand. But the extra $300 buys you smugness and a pretty Apple logo. There are other ways to get that kind of street cred, anyway - I have an In-N-Out sticker on my laptop, and it is glorious.

I've gotten 2 people to switch to Ubuntu in the last 2 weeks, and will probably get a few more as people get fed up with Vista. I even saw Ubuntu running the POS computers where I get my oil changed.

If the version of Ubuntu that comes out in April is as stable and user-friendly as I hope, I'll start actually recommending at least a dual-boot setup to ordinary Windows users.

And thanks for your patience with my nerd-speak.

Database humor

2008-02-22T15:58:00.002-06:00

Today I read an AP story about how apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces in names confuse all sorts of poorly designed computer system databases that don't expect such characters in names.

It reminded me of this awesome xkcd comic:

Yet another article showing how unscientific forensic science really is

2008-02-20T13:37:00.002-06:00

Over at Slate, Radley Balko writes about some big problems in how forensic science is used in the legal system. The only actual forensic science testimony I've ever heard was unnecessary to establish guilt, but was kinda insurance against any reasonable doubt in the jury. I'm sure they were just as bored as I was listening to testimony that was both uninformative and what I had believed to be common knowledge. I guess prosecutors have to cover all the bases.

Anyway, read the article. It's good.

A new site I've noticed

2008-02-18T18:24:00.002-06:00

Stuff White People Like - Hilarious satirical blog. The most recent post (as of this posting) starts off like this:

Prior to engaging in divorce, most white people train for it by engaging in a series of long term relationships that end very poorly. At some point, you will likely encounter a white person who is in the middle of a difficult breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Almost every post is spot-on, and to be fair, a majority of the posts apply to me as well, even though I'm not white.

Day 1 training

2008-02-15T01:23:00.004-06:00

This morning I ran 6 miles and felt pretty good about myself afterwards. I ate a great breakfast and a healthy lunch, thinking I was going to bike in the afternoon.

Of course, that was before I slipped on ice and twisted my ankle a little bit. Ridiculous. I'm probably still going to bike tomorrow.

Anyway, me and my 2 Army buddies got this training blog up at http://3joes.blogspot.com. I don't expect it to be that entertaining for anyone but us three, but it's mainly just going to be detailed record-keeping on our progress. The really important thing is that I found a use for this ridiculous photo from when the three of us lived in California.

Motivation

2008-02-10T23:35:00.000-06:00

A buddy of mine called a few weeks back and told me his goal was to finish the 2009 or 2010 Ironman Triathlon, since he lives in Hawaii now anyway. He's easily the most fit guy I know, so if anyone can do it, he can. But still - that's ridiculous. Of course, he's telling me that I should train for it too, so that I can do the 2010 with him after I come back from Iraq. I'm no athlete, and I find the trademarked phrase "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life" to be pretty intimidating.

Then today I read this article about Dean Karnazes, who is my new hero. He has:

Run 350 miles without sleeping.
Run a marathon to the South Pole.
Run 50 marathons, one for each state, in 50 days. Upon completion of the 50th in New York, he ran home to San Francisco.

Seriously, this is the most impressive story I've ever read. I'm motivated to get in shape now. I'd like to climb Denali before I leave Alaska. I'd like to run a marathon within 3 years (I'd set a goal sooner, but I'll be in Iraq for a lot of those 3 years), and possibly even train for the more impressive stuff - ultramarathons, ironmans, etc.

I am often criticized for being all talk. Well, the reason I'm posting this online is for accountability purposes. Call me out and make fun of me if I don't do it. We'll see how this turns out.

Coldness

2008-02-05T14:29:00.000-06:00

In December I posted part of a screenshot showing that the forecast predicted temperatures as low as -31 degrees F. Honestly, I miss those days:

At these temperatures, my power steering fluid and transmission fluid don't flow very well, making it impossible for me to turn normally or shift gears in less than a full second. I've gotten massive brainfreeze headaches from just breathing heavily. But it's totally worth it because I took this photo last weekend: