Geekery

Whatever I’m geeking out about at the time.

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📚 fifty-three of 2020: The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A little journalism and a lot of alcohol in late ‘50s Puerto Rico. You can definitely see the seeds of the later Fear and Loathing in this.

On This Day: Dec 27

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Since I hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 19 posts previously published on December 27th

  • 2025
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2020
    • I always appreciate it when a publisher pays attention to the design of the hardback binding under the dust cover. The design for this book is particularly nice. 🖖 ➡
    • 📚 fifty-three of 2020: The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A little journalism and a lot of alcohol in late ‘50s Puerto Rico. You can definitely see the seeds of the later Fear and Loathing in this. ➡
    • On This Day: Dec 27 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from December 27 ➡
  • 2019
    • In Portland (well, just outside of Portland, in Happy Valley) for a holiday visit with Mom. Tomorrow I get to see the newest Star Wars film and finally get to stop trying to avoid spoilers (which I think I’ve done fairly well at, only heard two minor ones so far). ➡
  • 2017
    • Book fifty-one of 2017: Abyss, by David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang. 🌟🌟🌟 #startrek #ds9 #section31 🖖 ➡
  • 2016
    • Still processing, but have been staying in touch with mom and my brother, and Prairie and I have our travel plans made. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and messages over the past day. (362/366) ➡
  • 2013
    • I’m quite curious as to what pattern they suggest for funerals. They do say every occasion… ➡
    • “Helping” Prairie choose embroidery thread colors. Not 50 shades of grey, but we found four or five. ➡
  • 2008
    • Been A Good Christmas This Year I keep hearing and seeing people grumble about this Holiday season. Between the economy sucking everyone's spare change away and Snowpocalypse 2008 burying the entire Northwest coast under more snow than has been seen in a decade (or more), it seems like _nobody's_ happy. Well, just to buck the trend, we're not doing too badly here. ➡
  • 2005
    • Silktide Sitescore From what I can tell, my site gets a fairly good score from Silktide, a web development firm based out of England. Some of the areas I got marked down on aren't a surprise at all, but I did get a laugh out of the one section that I was rated as 'Very Poor'. ➡
  • 2003
    • Top Word Lists of 2003 YourDictionary.com has released their Top Word Lists of 2003. Did you know where 'ok' came from? ➡
    • I need a new router I've got $75 of gift certificates to Best Buy thanks to a promotion through work, and I need to get a new router — but I don't know quite which one to go for. Anyone have any suggestions? ➡
    • Still digging (This post is mostly me whining. Feel free to ignore it.) ➡
  • 2001
    • Christmas in Alaska It was a lot of fun, and seeing friends and family again was great...but I've gotta say, I'm so glad I'm living down here now. Seattle is definitely much more 'me' than Anchorage ever was. ➡
    • I’m in the wrong business! Microphage Lumber and LSD -- Your Source! If only I'd thought of this first! ➡

On This Day: Dec 26

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Since I hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 21 posts previously published on December 26th

  • 2025
  • 2024
    • Carry-On 🎥: ⭐️⭐️: This really wants to be a modern Die Hard, but can’t pull it off. But the TSA gets their feel-good propaganda! ➡
    • Harm’s Way by David Mack 📚: ⭐️⭐️: All in all, an uneven Trek adventure, and not one of my favorites. ➡
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
    • _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Photostory_ by Richard J. Anobile ➡
    • _Fool_ by Christopher Moore ➡
  • 2020
  • 2019
    • N Carolina couple call 911 on vacuum thought to be intruder: A cute story told in a clever way. It’s really a shame its byline is just the AP, and the actual author isn’t getting their due credit. ➡
  • 2018
    • Book fifty-nine of 2018: The Magic Goes Away, by Larry Niven. 🌟🌟🌟 ➡
  • 2017
  • 2016
    • This is actually a re-post from earlier this year, when my parents were visiting. This seemed like the right choice for today’s photo, in memory of my dad, who passed away this morning. (361/366) ➡
  • 2005
    • Lazy Christmas Day Christmas Day was wonderful this year. I woke up around 10am to the smell of homemade cinnamon rolls baking in the oven, and spent the rest of the day lazing around the apartment with Prairie. ➡
  • 2001
    • Interesting and disturbing Why should it be that it's perfectly legitimate to support the Labor party or the Conservative party, Republicans or Democrats, this model of economics versus that, Macintosh instead of Windows -- but to have an opinion about how the Universe began, about who created the Universe...no, that's holy? ➡
    • Martha Stewart’s Pagan Yule December 1: Bury turkey carcass from Thanksgiving under the Holly tree to thank the tree for the six bushels of branches pruned to decorate the halls with. Draw Pentagram in the dirt with silver dust to prevent pet She-Wolf from digging up the bones. ➡
    • Back in Seattle The flight home was much better than the flight to Ak, which was a great relief -- though I don't think I'll ever be completely comfortable with flying again. Grrr. Ah, well. ➡
  • 2000
    • Time travel After the family reunion of my dad's side of the family that we had while on vacation, I got to talking with my mom about the genealogical records we had lying around the house. This stuff is just fascinating! ➡
  • 1998

On This Day: Dec 25

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Since I hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 39 posts previously published on December 25th

  • 2023
  • 2021
    • _The Matrix_ has a complicated legacy. ➡
  • 2020
    • On This Day: Dec 25 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from December 25 ➡
    • Good morning and merry Christmas, all, however you celebrate (or tolerate) the day! I hope it’s a good and safe day for you and all those you care about. ➡
  • 2019
    • 📚 sixty-one of 2019: Dead Endless, by Dave Galanter. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Focuses on the Stamets/Culber relationship, in a creative manner that’s a little confusing for the first few chapters until it suddenly snaps into focus. Some great Tilly and Airiam moments as well. ➡
    • My Christmas book stack. On the left, Star Trek. On the right, not Star Trek. 🖖📚 ➡
    • Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and general good wishes to you all, however you celebrate the day and season! ➡
  • 2018
    • Book fifty-eight of 2018: Star Trek The Classic Episodes Vol. 3, by James Blish with J. A. Lawrence. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ➡
  • 2017
    • Well, while #kubros aren’t really Legos, they’re close, and this lil’ Worf is really cute. #startrek #tng #worf #klingon ➡
    • Christmas present from my brother: a full set of #TOS #StarTrek collectible glasses by #DrPepper from 1976. Nice find! ➡
    • I have questions about the trivia in our holiday crackers…. ➡
    • Nice goodies from Prairie. Looking forward to digging into these when we get home! #alfredhitchcock #hitchcock #smithsonian #smithsonianfolkways #folkways ➡
    • Got cute little coloring books in our stockings, so we’re stretched out in bed coloring. Nice way to spend a holiday morning! ➡
  • 2016
    • Oh no! #Venom is attacking the toy store! Can #SpiderMan save the day? #Lego ➡
    • Working on one of the Lego sets I got today (the Winter Toy Shop). (360/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Would you like to build a snowman? #Lego snowman, that is. ;) ➡
    • Why, look – someone filled the stockings we hung by the (electronic) fire with care! ➡
  • 2014
    • Got my copy of These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three (arrived a few days ago, but didn’t open it until today), and with it came my Kickstarter reward of a 35mm film trim from the Star Trek editing room. I got Spock! Sadly, it’s been long enough since I watched all the original episodes ... Read more ➡
    • Potatohead Wolverine and the Hulk! ➡
    • Potatohead Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock! ➡
    • Lego Space Needle! ➡
    • One of my stocking stuffers: a cute Lego Christmas tree! ➡
  • 2013
    • These Christmas crackers looked cute in the store, but now that it’s time to open them, I’m a bit disturbed at what I’m about to do. ➡
    • The traditional Christmas lasagne! ➡
    • Lego Gollum! Including Frodo with Sting and the One Ring. Gollum’s actually pretty creepy-cute. ➡
    • My loot! ➡
    • Prairie’s loot! ➡
    • My stocking stuffers. (That handkerchief at the lower right was embroidered by Prairie.) ➡
    • Prairie’s stocking stuffers. ➡
    • Stockings, once hung by the (electronic) fireplace with care, now stuffed to the brim with goodies. Santa came to our house! ➡
    • Our Christmas tree with piles of presents soon to be opened. ➡
  • 2006
    • Merry Xmas, We’re Off to Alaska And now, Prairie and I are waking up and taking care of the last few details before we head out to the airport to fly up to Anchorage for the next few days to visit my folks. Enjoy your Christmas (or Hannukkah, or Yule, or _whatever_) season! ➡
  • 2005
  • 2003
    • Talk about geek heaven! A stainless-steel grave marker complete with an LCD display that can be hooked into a PC interface to change the epitaph whenever you want! ➡
    • The miracles of Christmas The real miracles of Christmas, according to me. ➡
    • A quiet Christmas It's been a nice Christmas holiday this year. Due to financial difficulties, I wasn't able to head up to Anchorage to be with my family for Christmas, so I ended up spending Christmas on my own for the first time in my life. ➡
    • Return of the King nitpicks After watching RotK for the second time today, I'm still quite solidly convinced that Jackson's trilogy is, quite simply, one of the greatest achievements in filmmaking in recent years. However, that doesn't stop me from finding the occasional odd thing to mention…such as two goofs, and a few editing choices that I'm not entirely happy with. ➡
    • Merry Christmas, everyone! That's really about it — short and sweet. Merry Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Yuletide, or whatever celebration you might be partaking in these days) everyone! ➡
  • 2000
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🖖 Discovery S03E11: Nice to finally get back to some good ol’ Trek weirdness. Mysterious unexpected post-transport things! Hologlitches! Plus, we’ve tossed Harry Potter and the end of Labyrinth in there just to mix it up a bit. I’m still underwhelmed by Osyraa, though.

On This Day: Dec 24

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Since I hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 19 posts previously published on December 24th

  • 2025
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
    • The Anonymous Sister A hundred million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister. ➡
    • So, what would really happen if you tried to have a completely 'normal' Christmas aboard the ISS? ➡
  • 2020
    • 🖖 Discovery S03E11: Nice to finally get back to some good ol’ Trek weirdness. Mysterious unexpected post-transport things! Hologlitches! Plus, we’ve tossed Harry Potter and the end of Labyrinth in there just to mix it up a bit. I’m still underwhelmed by Osyraa, though. ➡
    • On This Day: Dec 24 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from December 24 ➡
  • 2019
  • 2017
    • A holiday hotel room. ➡
    • A holiday hotel room. ➡
  • 2016
    • Book fifty-eight of 2016: The President’s Vampire, by Christopher Farnsworth. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (359/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Happy Holidays! This just floated across my Facebook feed, and seemed appropriate for the season. Happymerry Holidayschristmaskwanzaasolsticenewyear! ➡
  • 2008
  • 2007
    • Christmas Eve Nostalgia So for me, this is a perfect Christmas Eve present. I get to revisit part of my childhood with some good old music, Prairie's enjoying hearing the songs (and watching me bounce around as I remember bits and pieces of them), and I get some more _good_ Christmas music to add to our collection. ➡
  • 2004
    • Happy Holidays Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Fröliche Weinachten, Merry Solstice…whatever works in your particular instance, have a good holiday weekend. ➡
  • 2003
    • If Abraham Lincoln grew up on AOL… FOUR SCORA AND SEV3N Y3ARS AGO OUR FATHERS BROUGHT FORTH ON THIS CONTIENNT A NU NATION CONCAIEVD IN LIEBRTY AND D3DICAETD 2 TEH PROPOSITION TAHT AL MAN R CR3AETD AQUAL!1!!!11! LOL ➡
    • The Dangers of Molasses On a hill above the city, a 90-foot wide tank of molasses intended to be used for production of rum suddenly ruptured, sending two and a half million gallons of molasses in a wall eight to fifteen feet high down into the unsuspecting Boston neighborhood at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. ➡
  • 2000
    • Lorelei Mackenzie Markin I just got word from one of my closest friends that she had her baby this morning! Congratulations both to Miranda and her daughter, Lorelei Mackenzie Markin, both of whom are doing wonderfully well, I'm told. ➡

On This Day: Dec 23

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Since I hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 23 posts previously published on December 23rd

  • 2023
  • 2020
    • The Year in Photos 2020: How will we remember this pivotal year in human history? Many of us won’t want to, but in doing so we risk repeating what got us into this mess in the first place. ➡
    • LG 27UK850-W: An Acceptable 27-inch Display for the Mac: I occasionally toy with the idea of moving to a Mac Mini + monitor setup to replace my current 27″ Retina iMac, but finding a good monitor that’s not too expensive is difficult. This one is a maybe? ➡
    • On This Day: Dec 23 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from December 23 ➡
  • 2019
    • Happy Christmas Adam! December 23rd. Comes before Christmas Eve and is generally unsatisfying. ➡
    • The end of formal nights on cruises: This past summer, when Mom took Prairie and me on an Alaskan cruise, the formal dinners were part of what we were looking forward to, and while we did enjoy them, we were a little disappointed to see that so few people were really living up to the ... Read more ➡
  • 2017
    • Book fifty of 2017: Rogue, by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin. 🌟🌟🌟 #startrek #tng #section31 🖖 ➡
    • Day five! #cah #cardsagainsthumanity ➡
  • 2016
    • Book fifty-seven of 2016: Merry Christmas, Alex Cross, by James Patterson. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Prairie read this yesterday, and said that since it’s a Christmas book, I should read it too. It’s more of a short story or novella, just 100 pages, and just as high quality as you’d expect a Patterson holiday short to be.) ➡
    • Fresh baked ginger molasses cookie (with cream cheese frosting) almost as big as my head! ➡
    • Done! Off campus, and not back for ten days! Happy holidays! (358/366) ➡
  • 2008
    • This Weblog is ESTP According to Typealyzer, which analyzes the content of a weblog and places it within the Myers-Briggs personality matrix, this weblog classifies as ESTP (Extroverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving), 'The Doers.' ➡
    • Links for December 18th through December 23rd Sometime between December 18th and December 23rd, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too! ➡
  • 2005
    • Registered It's official -- I'm registered for classes. Just two for now, but it's a start. ➡
  • 2004
    • Skinheads I Have Known Back in the mid- to late-'90's, Anchorage used to have a fairly active skinhead community. I can't say how they might have compared to similar groups in other cities, but as far as Anchorage went, they were well-known, and fairly hard core. Twice, I ended up having a couple of memorable run-ins with the Anchorage skinhead crowd. ➡
    • What do you write about? …I try and find a way to make the words fit. I try to bring my life into focus. I bite my fingernails and try to tell people the contours of the jagged edges. You know. Like that. ➡
    • The End A year and a half ago, I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As of tonight, nineteen months and a lot of DVDs later, I've seen every episode, from Buffy first arriving in Sunnydale to her final look forward into a new, changed world. ➡
    • Gridlock I am so glad I live mere blocks away from my job, and don't have to worry about driving anywhere. Downtown Seattle has been gridlocked all day long with Christmas shoppers…it's been absolutely insane every time I've had a chance to poke my head out of the building. ➡
  • 2003
    • When snow in Anchorage makes the news… …you know it's been coming down pretty heavily. Just another reason why I'm glad I left Alaska! ➡
    • Seattle Incidents Here's a little page that could get addicting, in a somewhat voyeuristic sort of way — a continually refreshing live list of Seattle 911 'incidents'. ➡
    • NYPD cop busted for blogging A NYPD police officer is under investigation because of what he wrote on his weblog. However, where when I landed in hot water due to my blog it was due to a single stupid mistake, this guy appears to have been bragging about grossly abusing his position as an officer of the law. ➡
  • 2002
    • The center of Anchorage It's good to know that even if it doesn't have quite the status that it used to, in some ways, VINL is still definitely the center of Anchorage. I spent years hanging out at this diner in midtown Anchorage, and met quite a few friends there over the years. So, when tooling around Anchorage on a slow Sunday night, what to do but stop by? ➡
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📚 fifty-two of 2020: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun YA fantasy monster fighting adventure based on Navajo mythology. Part of Rick Riordan’s project to use his clout to to highlight marginalized voices and cultures, which I very much respect.

On This Day: Dec 22

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Since I hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 31 posts previously published on December 22nd

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2020
    • Octopuses Observed Punching Fish, Perhaps Out of Spite, Scientists Say: “In new proof that 2020 has been a crappy year basically everywhere, scientists have captured video evidence of octopuses randomly punching at fish, possibly for no reason other than being spiteful.” ➡
    • For a while I wasn’t sure I’d make it—concentrating on reading has been difficult this year—but with nine days to spare, I’ve completed my Goodreads challenge of 52 books this year. Sure, it’s lots of Star Trek, and I neglected my Hugo Best Novel project, but I hit my goal. 📚 ➡
    • 📚 fifty-two of 2020: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fun YA fantasy monster fighting adventure based on Navajo mythology. Part of Rick Riordan’s project to use his clout to to highlight marginalized voices and cultures, which I very much respect. ➡
    • On This Day: Dec 22 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from December 22 ➡
  • 2019
    • 📚 sixty of 2019: The Wanderer, by Fritz Leiber. ⭐️⭐️ 1965 Hugo Best Novel Veers wildly between interesting concepts (a planet the size of Earth appears in Earth’s orbit, affecting tectonics, tides, etc.), and incredibly dated plots that do not age well. ➡
    • I’ve been avoiding Star Wars reviews, as I don’t get to see Ep. 9 until next weekend, but I took a chance on this one by John Scalzi (because he promised it would be spoiler-free, and I trust him to follow through on that), and thought it was an interesting viewpoint. ➡
  • 2016
    • Bedtime! Just one more day of work to get through, then holiday break! (357/366) ➡
  • 2008
    • Snowpocalypse Photos My (still in progress) set of photos from this winter's bizarre weather can be found right here. I've got another day's worth of shots to put in when I get a chance, but that may not happen for another few days or so. ➡
  • 2005
    • Program on the emergence of civilization. I have no idea what prompted someone to leave this comment on my site, or what relation (if any) they think it might have to the post that it was added to...but it's just long and bizarre enough that I think I'll keep it. ➡
  • 2004
    • Gallimaufry Terrance resurrects an old meme as a weekly thing. The rules are simple: put your entire music playlist on random, and post the first ten songs your music player comes up with. ➡
    • Book of Blogs II Earlier this month, I linked to a blog anthology project by Tvindy. I liked the idea and nominated a few entries for inclusion, but as more is better: as readers, are there any posts that stand out in your mind as particularly noteworthy, for whatever reason? ➡
    • Post-Melodramatic Stress Disorder Okay, okay, I'll admit it — I actually like The Phantom of the Opera. In my defense, though (if a defense can even be mounted), I couldn't help it. I've been brainwashed! ➡
    • Our King’s older than yours. This was going to be a linklog post, but then I decided I wanted to give it a little more visibility. With all the current blathering about Christmas being 'stolen', I thought today's Something Positive strip was especially funny. ➡
    • A Republican Christmas 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the land, not a critic was stirring, for stirring was banned. ➡
  • 2003
    • The gift that keeps on giving (…as long as you replace the batteries, of course.) ➡
    • Got it, got it, need it, got it, not a chance, need it, got it… While I'm still partial to the 'Old School' purity tests, Kirsten pointed out a page that bills itself as the 'ultimate' purity test, and I had to give it a shot… ➡
    • Famous Faces …wasn't everyone in Seattle in a band at some point? ➡
    • TypePad User Group I've been hanging out on the TypePad User Group for a while now. It's a great little resource for TypePad users -- entirely unofficial, but a good place to go as a first resource for figuring out issues with coding and maintaining TypePad weblogs. ➡
    • Tower ghost filmed Closed-circuit security cameras at Hampton Court Palace, the huge Tudor castle outside London, seem to have snagged an ethereal visitor. Could it be a ghost? ➡
  • 2002
    • Clubbing in Alaska Why I'm glad I don't have to rely on bars in Alaska to go clubbing: three words — The Electric Slide. ➡
    • Belief, faith, and the church On top of it all, I count my beliefs as mine, and other people's beliefs as theirs. If they want to talk about it fine — but I'm not about to attempt to convince them that I'm 'right' and they're 'wrong', and I expect the same respect from them. ➡
    • Don’t fly pregnant A husband and his pregnant wife were attempting to fly out of Portland to go to a friend's wedding when they were both pulled off for extra 'security screening'… ➡
  • 2001
    • Back in Anchorage I've got to say, that was the most all-out terrified I've ever been -- one drop I might have made it through with just being a little frightened, but when it kept happening over and over, I really started to freak out. ➡
  • 2000
    • Congratulations Kevin and Emily! I just got a visit from my dad, and it seems that my little brother proposed to his girlfriend Emily last night on Winter Solstice -- and she accepted! ➡
  • 1995