Tech

Tech-focused ramblings. Computers, blogs, and whatever else fits.

On This Day: Aug 24

by

Since I’ll 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 14 posts previously published on August 24th

  • 2023
  • 2022
    • Implanted Nostalgia It's kind of hilariously on-brand to be self-implanting false memories of a science-fiction convention. ➡
  • 2020
  • 2018
    • Summer vacation part one (four nights camping at Seaquest State Park) is done! Saw Mt. St. Helens on a smokey, hazy day and on a gorgeous, clear day, introduced two of our nieces to camping, got my new tattoo’s first unsolicited compliment from a stranger, and many bug bites. 😁 ➡
  • 2016
    • Watching TV and building Legos. As one does. (237/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Found a cute little aquarium in Port Angeles. ➡
    • Ferryboat selfie! ➡
    • After spending a weekend in Spokane for Sasquan, we end up on the Spokane for the second leg of our vacation. ➡
  • 2014
    • Reality TV confuses Batman. “Why are they naked? They seem too happy. Is the Joker behind this?” ➡
    • Batman is impressed by the hotel pillows. “They’re so fluffy!” ➡
    • Vacation day one. Made it to Seattle, did some shopping, now settling in to our hotel. Tomorrow, we fly north! #vacation ➡
  • 2004
    • Upcoming events Things that are going to be happening in the near future, things I need to get around to doing, and things that are distracting me from doing the things in the previous list. ➡
  • 2003
    • 10,000+ rally for Dean! I'll get photos and more impressions up later, but the rally today was really successful — over 10,000 people showed up to the event! Just amazing. ➡

On This Day: Aug 23

by

Since I’ll 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 16 posts previously published on August 23rd

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2020
    • 📚 thirty-two of 2020: Survivors by Jean Lorrah ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #startrek #tng Explores Tasha Yar’s past, her reconciliation with parts of that past shortly before her death, and her relationship with Data. Despite having some early-novel oddities, this one was a bit above average. 🖖 ➡
    • On This Day: Aug 23 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from August 23 ➡
  • 2017
    • Book thirty-nine of 2017: Arabella of Mars, by David Levine. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Endeavor Award finalist) ➡
  • 2016
    • Came home, flopped on the couch. I’ll have to move eventually if I want dinner, but it’s not a terribly high priority right now. (236/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Our final #worldcon #sasquan badges and ribbons. Not nearly as many as I get at @norwescon, but this was a very different style of con for me, so no worries or complaints on that front. Great weekend! ➡
  • 2014
    • Got my exercise in this morning helping @emiliedesbois move in to her new house! ➡
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2003
    • Anti-Bush protest I spent this afternoon participating in the anti-Bush protests here in downtown Seattle. While Bush actually spent very little time here in Washington, today's protest was one of several organized in response to Bush's visit. ➡
    • Fox loses 'fair and balanced' suit 'There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case,' said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. 'This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally.' ➡
    • Guest blogging That's a lottablogging! ➡
  • 2001
    • Dub-yuh’s at it again Ah, well. At least I'm not the only one with tight finances these days. But at least I didn't blow $121.4 billion dollars to get there. ➡

On This Day: Aug 22

by

Since I’ll 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 24 posts previously published on August 22nd

  • 2023
  • 2021
    • 📚 28/2021: Fortune’s Light by Michael Jan Friedman ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🖖🏻 ➡
  • 2020
  • 2016
    • Bathroom selfie. Because why not? (235/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Prairie and me in our seats for the #hugos! #hugoawards #worldcon #sasquan ➡
    • All spiffed up for the #hugos (complete with Batman socks)! #sasquan #hugoawards #worldcon ➡
    • Hugo Award ceremony tickets acquired! #sasquan #hugos #hugoawards #worldcon ➡
    • Wow, this restroom fixture has been here a while. Sit, do your business, and have a smoke? ➡
    • This year’s Hugo trophy, to be awarded at the ceremonies tonight. #Sasquan #hugoaward #hugos ➡
    • Captured! #Sasquan #starwars #hansolo #bobafett ➡
    • Lots of walking yesterday! #Sasquan ➡
  • 2014
    • Normally I’d wait until a night out at the Mercury to debut this, but I don’t know when I’ll next be able to be all goth clubby, so here we are. Thanks to Mickey for posting a photo of someone else with this shirt, and Gracy for tracking down where to buy it. :D #goth ... Read more ➡
  • 2008
  • 2004
    • To gmail or not to gmail? So I've finally given in and gotten myself a gmail address. I have no idea how much I might or might not use it — I already have e-mail addresses @speakeasy.net, @myrealbox.com, and @mac.com, plus a literally infinite number of addresses available @michaelhanscom.com — but I finally figured it was worth jumping on the bandwagon. ➡
    • Aircraft maintenance problems and solutions AF Form 781 is aboard all Air Force aircraft to record any malfunctions so maintenance personnel can fix the problem before the next flight. Here are some of the problems (P) as posted by the aircrews and solutions (S) of the maintenance personnel to clear the write-up… ➡
    • But what about ‘janitor’? …due to what is described as an 'unfortunate error in translation,' the Spanish version of Windows XP 'gave users an option to select their gender from not specified, male, or 'bitch.'' Uh, whoops. ➡
  • 2003
    • Lord of the Rings Marathon Two weeks before 'Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' opens, the extended versions of 'LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'LOTR: The Two Towers' will be released to theaters — and some theaters will have a day-long LOTR marathon with back-to-back screenings of all three films on Dec. 16th. ➡
    • Iraq Intelligence – Public Forum I wish I'd been able to go to this event — however, while I couldn't make it, natasha has a write-up that's well worth reading. ➡
    • Baby shit green Mothers don't do that! They're sweet, and nice, and kiss skinned knees after you fall down, and tell you not to ride your bike out of the boundaries of the neighborhood — but they don't describe cars as 'baby shit green!' ➡
  • 2001
    • Creative test answers In any school district, one must give credit to the creative minds among us. These are actual test answers from various schools in the Huntsville, Alabama metropolitan area. ➡
  • 1998
    • [From Usenet: 8.22.98 2300] One of the funniest I've seen was watching Disney's 'Sleeping Beauty' in fast forward while listening to nin's broken album. Fit way too well...funny as shit, too. ➡

On This Day: Aug 21

by

Since I’ll 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 August 21st

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2020
  • 2017
    • Got my #MunchkinSpecialDelivery treasure chest today, packed with a basic set and a random assortment of expansion cards and other goodies. Unfortunately, I had to mangle the box to get it out of our mailbox, since our postal carrier crammed it in and got it stuck. Ah, well. It’s what’s inside that’s important anyway. ➡
    • At totality (or as close as we can get, at least)! With shots of peak #eclipse with the pinhole box viewer and my phone camera through our eclipse glasses. #eclipse2017 ➡
    • Gaps between leaves acting as natural pinhole viewers and showing the bite taken out of the sun. #eclipse #eclipse2017 ➡
    • My pinhole #eclipse viewer is working great, too! #eclipse2017 ➡
    • Out to enjoy the #eclipse at a local park. Really cool! 😎 #eclipse2017 ➡
  • 2016
    • Mmmmm…rice krispy treat! (234/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Almost time for the Masquerade! Looking forward to actually watching one instead of being in the photographer’s scrum in the lobby. ;) #Sasquan ➡
    • Got a cute little squishy UFO from the Montreal in 2017 Worldcon bid. #Sasquan ➡
    • Prairie’s sister Hope and family (Peter, Nalah, and Finn) stopped in Spokane on their way back home from their vacation, and we got to visit with them for breakfast! ➡
  • 2014
    • On my 24th birthday in ’97, organizing my CDs for DJing. My bedroom is the door behind me with the “caution” tape around the frame and (though it’s hard to see) “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” sight on the door. :) #throwbackthursday ➡
  • 2008
    • My Kind of Gymnastics Jason Kottke's done a wonderful job of rounding up some of history's best Olympic moments on YouTube. However, I think he missed a select few that truly deserve to be seen and appreciated. ➡
  • 2007
    • Boy and Turtle (Black Sand Beach) It'll be a bit before I get my Hawaii shots posted. In the meantime, Prairie's posted all of her photos from Hawaii, and has put up a few posts about the trip on her weblog! ➡
  • 2004
    • Hempfest 2004 I spent some time today wandering around this year's Hempfest. I've avoided this particular Seattle festival for the past few years I've been down here, mostly because of my personal opinions regarding pot. Today, though, I had nothing else planned, and figured it might be worth wandering down with my camera for some peoplewatching. ➡
  • 2003
    • Ow… Woke up this morning with a headache. Still have the headache now. I think I'm likely heading to bed as soon as I get home. Bleah. ➡
    • A worthy cause Memorials in her honor can be made to any organization working for the removal of President Bush. ➡
    • Antici… So, I'm going to be waiting a bit longer — current estimations for shipping on the high end G5's are mid to late September. But that gives me a few more weeks to scrape up the last $600 I need, and when the time comes, I'll have the absolute top of the line high-end dual 2Ghz G5 Power Mac sitting in my apartment. The waiting's gonna kill me — but the final result will be more than worth it. ➡

On This Day: Aug 20

by

Since I’ll 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 33 posts previously published on August 20th

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2018
    • Running away to the mountains for a few days for part one of our summer vacation! Will be either entirely disconnected or nearly so for the duration. Make sure nothing important happens for the next few days, okay? ➡
    • “Author NK Jemisin has scooped her third Hugo award for best science-fiction novel and, in doing so, has become the standard-bearer for a sea change in the genre’s diversity, as women – especially women of colour – swept the boards at last night’s ceremony.” Excellent. ➡
  • 2017
    • Book thirty-eight of 2017: Waypoint Kangaroo, by Curtis C. Chen ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Endeavor Award finalist) ➡
  • 2016
    • Time to vote! (233/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • He is Groot! #Sasquan ➡
    • Malibu rum and Sprite at 3:20pm. Afternoon booze means it’s officially vacation (just in case it wasn’t official yet), right? #Sasquan ➡
    • norwescon usually has more and better swag; #Sasquan has better swag bags. ➡
    • Before: end of the quarter too busy to care. After: improvements have been made! ➡
  • 2014
    • I like my laugh lines. :) ➡
  • 2008
  • 2007
    • Welcome Home…Now Start Packing We're home. Generally speaking, this is a good thing: the wedding was wonderful, the experience at the resort was good, the camping was incredible, and even traveling home was surprisingly pleasant. The actual arrival home has been one of the most traumatic we've yet experienced, however. ➡
  • 2006
  • 2004
    • Google Talk Jesus Christ died for our sins. BY his blood we shall be Free from defects in material and workmanship. ➡
    • It’s only a matter of time Citing an unstable political climate, proven stockpiles of chemical and nuclear weapons, a rigidly government-controlled media, and the need to confront emerging threats in a timely fashion, President George W. Bush announced today that the United States has launched a full-scale invasion of the United States. ➡
    • Let’s do the time warp again… I would so love living in a building when after riding the elevator to the 4th floor, you got off and asked, not where you were, but when you were. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's nothing more than an amusing typo. ➡
  • 2003
    • ST:WJOTFIU Continuing in the spirit of my recent Star Trek posts, Iki proposes a new title for 'Enterprise': ST:WJOTFIU (or 'Star Trek: We're Just Out There Fucking It Up'). ➡
    • Since when? The powerful truck bomb that ripped through the United Nations' headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing the top U.N. official in Iraq and at least 19 others, was the most brazen act of terrorism in the country since the U.S. invasion in March. ➡
    • Texas pledge Honor the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible. ➡
    • Compassion It looks suspiciously like Bush's definition of 'compassion' is hanging out with minorities, as it's something conspicuously absent in the rest of his photo album. ➡
    • ActiVision sues Viacom…over bad Star Trek Activision, Inc....today announced that it has filed a breach of contract suit against Viacom. ...through its actions and inactions, Viacom has let the once proud Star Trek franchise stagnate and decay. ➡
    • Counter-Googling …instead of consumers Googling you before they buy your services, you should Google THEM, and instantly get more personal information than you'd ever be able to capture with traditional 1:1 in an entire life-time. ➡
    • I think… I think, therefore I mac. ➡
    • A little stressed? The package must be received…no later than 11am on Friday…. Please call me…once the package is on its way? Otherwise I will lose my job. I shit you not. ➡
    • Good things Bush has done Believe it or not, I do have one thing that I can completely seriously thank Bush and his administration for. ➡
    • Dean in Seattle this Sunday As part of his campaign's use of the Internet, Dean has solicited commitments from supporters to attend each of his rallies, and so far more than 2,250 people have signed up to attend the Seattle rally, Means said. ➡
    • Giant Gerbils I'm trying to decide what amuses me more — this Netscape News story about an infestation of giant gerbils in China, or the fact that the article mentions the fact that Britain has a National Gerbil Society. ➡

On This Day: Aug 19

by

Since I’ll 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 August 19th

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2020
  • 2019
    • The announcement of the 2019 Hugo Awards winners means that I’ve had to readjust my progress on my Hugo “best novel” reading project, and am now at only 21.33% of the way through. As I said when I started, this is a marathon, not a sprint. ➡
  • 2017
    • A longer and more adventurous day than anticipated, but mom has made it to her new home! ➡
    • Mom’s ferry coming in to Bellingham, right on time! ➡
  • 2016
    • I don’t know why there is a knife stuck into this utility pole, but it amused me when it caught my eye. (232/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Just playing. I like the combination of pixelation and retro effect filters. ➡
    • This morning’s clouds wrapped into a #RollWorld Image @RollWorldApp, #TinyPlanet #PhotoSphere #StereoGraphic #RollWorldApp ➡
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2005
    • Incommunicado Well, not really, the next few days should be pretty good overall. They're just going to be _really_ busy, and probably not entirely unstressful. As such, I'm likely not going to be reachable or even online until...um...Wednesday, at the earliest. I think. No guarantees. ➡
  • 2004
    • Schwarzkopf avoids endorsing Bush Four years ago, retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf enthusiastically endorsed George W. Bush in his presidential bid. This year, however, 'Stormin'' Norman appears to be singing a different tune. On Tuesday's Hardball television show, host Chris Matthews tried to sound out who Schwarzkopf would be voting for. ➡
    • Preaching to the Choir More of Bush and company applying his ridiculously nearsighted 'if you're not with us, you're against us' policy to his own constituents. It's very clear now: if you're not a raving fan, you have no business being anywhere near the President of the United States. ➡
  • 2003
    • Time for that operation The Gender Genie is a potentially cute little application that examines a block of text, and uses an algorithm to attempt to determine the sex of the author. According to the authors of the algorithm, it's supposed to be correct roughly 80% of the time. ➡
    • Seattle skyline poster My friend Tim is going to be selling a gorgeous panoramic poster of the Seattle skyline. More details and contact information can be found on his weblog. ➡
  • 2001
    • Pie, ghosties, scots, and naked girls (kinda) Saturday, I headed out with a full crew of people to go see the Barenaked Ladies in concert out at the Gorge. Casey had bought me the ticket before I had even made it down to Seattle as a 'welcome to Washington' present, which I thought was all sorts of cool. ➡

On This Day: Aug 18

by

Since I’ll 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 August 18th

  • 2024
  • 2023
    • Year 50 Day 108 This trip isn’t over yet! And further posts may be delayed by about a week. ➡
  • 2020
  • 2018
    • Leaning ever closer to closing down my Twitter account once I’ve passed on the keys to the Norwescon social media accounts. Between their inconsistent application of rules and their neutering of third-party clients, it’s harder to care about staying. ➡
  • 2016
    • Well, that’s unpleasant. I did not authorize this. ➡
    • Well, that was interesting. I was taking an afternoon walk by Kiwanis Park when I heard a big cracking, ripping noise. Looked over, and a big branch had fallen off one of the trees, right near the picnic shelter. Startled a small family, too…lucky they weren’t any closer! Emailed the #Ellensburg Parks Dept. to let ... Read more ➡
    • Found a nice shady spot in the campus Japanese Gardens for lunch today. (231/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • This one’s for mom and dad, who use the Alaska Native words “Aga” and “Apa” rather than “grandma/mother” and “grandpa/father” with their grandchildren. The “in” on the end of “again” getting rubbed off made it look like part of this restaurant’s mission is a plan to return mum (Aga) soon. I was rather surprised that ... Read more ➡
  • 2014
    • From the walk back to the car after work this afternoon. 95 degrees, and I’m wearing black. Goth fashion and desert climates don’t play well together. ➡
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2006
    • Conversation 90's rock group Soul Asylum gave a free show at the Pike Place market on Thursday morning, and Prairie and I headed down to see them. While we were waiting for the show to start I took a few random people shots around the gathering crowd. This shot is by far my favorite of the morning. ➡
  • 2005
  • 2003
    • Oh, lord, now what? I think I preferred the never-ending stream of Viagra spam, to be honest. ➡
    • Are you registered to vote? I certainly hope that everyone is registered to vote, and is planning on voting when the time comes. However, on the off chance that you're not registered yet, you can now do so through Howard Dean's website. ➡
    • A little bit of magic The elusive elf has enchanted Twin Citians ever since the 6-inch wooden door appeared eight years ago, just off a walking path around popular Lake Harriet. ➡
    • Warning: These hurt! Just remember…the beauty of the pun is in the 'oy…' of the beholder. ➡

On This Day: Aug 17

by

Since I’ll 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 11 posts previously published on August 17th

  • 2024
    • Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 🎥: ⭐️⭐️⭐️: Another fun entry into the primary canon. A few plot holes here and there, sure, so don’t try to put too much thought into it. ➡
  • 2023
  • 2020
  • 2016
    • Taken on my way to lunch today, on one of the bridges over the “Ganges” — the local nickname for the irrigation canal that runs through campus; so named because, well, it runs through a lot of livestock fields, and you really don’t want to swim in it. (I don’t actually know how bad it ... Read more ➡
  • 2015
    • Birds have claimed one of the library entrances. ➡
  • 2014
    • Actually took this one yesterday evening, after a wedding reception party for some friends. ➡
  • 2006
    • Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ My co-worker Nick got me hooked on the new single by the Scissor Sisters, 'Don't Feel Like Dancin''. So far, I can't get enough of it (and Prairie's getting a laugh out of watching me bounce around in my seat while it's playing). ➡
  • 2005
  • 2004
    • Just stop already! If this actually gets made, I just hope they all die. No resurrections. No sequels. There obviously isn't anything more that can actually be done with any of the characters that actually involves any amount of creativity, so just let them die already. ➡
  • 2003
    • Experience level …somewhere between 'power user' and 'geek' — in other words, I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to get paid for it. ➡
    • Howard Dean…spammer? While it appears that the Dean campaign has discontinued their contract with the vendors, a single comment left in the midst of a /. thread isn't going to be seen by many people. ➡

On This Day: Aug 16

by

Since I’ll 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 14 posts previously published on August 16th

  • 2023
  • 2020
    • 📚 thirty-one of 2020: The Children of Hamlin by Carmen Carter ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #startrek #tos Decent for early TNG, though more than a bit on-the-nose with the Pied Piper connections (children abducted from a place called Hamlin by aliens whose language is music). 🖖 ➡
    • Difficult Listening Hour 2020.08.15 Week twenty-five of my unplanned, unrehearsed, seat-of-the-pants goofing around. ➡
    • On This Day: Aug 16 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from August 16 ➡
  • 2019
  • 2018
    • First Facebook cuts off posts from external sources, and now Twitter’s crippled any third-party clients. Even after years of talk of how social media is adversely affecting our culture, I didn’t really expect the platforms themselves to be so invested in driving users away. ➡
  • 2017
    • Book thirty-seven of 2017: The Soldiers of Fear (Invasion! Book Two), by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ➡
  • 2016
    • What was conceived as a “flopped on the bed” shot turned into a “oh wow this made my forehead look gigantic” shot. Amusement overrode vanity, and here we are. (229/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Giving the bald-and-bearded look a try. I think it’s working for me. ➡
  • 2004
    • Costco Caskets? This is just silly: in case you're looking to save a few bucks while shopping for the latest death in the family, you can now pick up coffins at Costco. ➡
    • M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village The Village is by far my favorite of Shyamalan's films. ➡
    • Whoever Wins…We Lose No, I haven't seen it yet, but it appears that as much as I was hoping this wouldn't happen, it has: Alien vs. Predator is a dud. ➡
  • 2003
    • Oh, go ahead and point, it's okay As I walked out, I noticed a couple girls out of the corner of my eye, one of whom was doing a fairly obvious 'oh-there-he-is-look-wait-don't-make-it-obvious' motion to her friend. Being used to this, and rather amused that I'd caught her, I turned around with a grin and told them, 'Oh, go ahead and point, it's okay.' ➡
    • Discovering Deep Space Nine At this rate, DS9 may just end up supplanting Next Gen as my favorite Star Trek series. ➡

On This Day: Aug 15

by

Since I’ll 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 12 posts previously published on August 15th

  • 2023
  • 2020
  • 2016
    • Scheduling conflicts meant I got to walk home today…in 95° heat. Ugh. This is the kind of experience that “builds character”, right? (228/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • It’s margarita time! ➡
    • Blatant false advertising. These are neither large enough nor strong enough to hold a pony. Don’t ask me how I know that. ➡
  • 2007
    • Aloha! Right now, I'm sitting in our room on the sixth floor of the Lagoon Tower, looking out over Waiulua Bay. Stepping out onto the deck, I can look nearly directly down into a pool where people are swimming with dolphins. Not long ago, I was snorkeling along through the resort's lagoon, sidling on up to pat a sea turtle's shell as it nosed through the spray of a waterfall. ➡
  • 2006
    • Queueing Up… On the verge of just canceling the Netflix account, we decided we'd take a little time to brainstorm a bit and put together a queue that we'd be more likely to enjoy going through. I completely nuked the queue I had built up, we found three basic ideas to start from, and got a new queue set up. ➡
  • 2005
    • Preparations Much of the weekend was spent running around, getting boxes, making plans, and generally starting to get things ready for the move. We've got a Hanscom family get together this coming weekend, and I managed to get a week off of work for the move and a bit of vacation, so our current game plan goes something like this: ➡
  • 2004
  • 2003
    • Water shutoff – again Needless to say, if anyone happens to be apartment hunting in the lower First Hill/Downtown Seattle area, I can wholeheartedly recommend avoiding the Park Seneca (recently renamed Alfaretta) Apartments, and I'd be wary of any building controlled by Kauri Investments. ➡
    • 'I like New York' A couple things I've noticed about the recent power failure on the East Coast. Every so often, you run across something that makes you think that there might be hope for this world after all. ➡