Tech

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

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 18 posts previously published on December 27th

  • 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 20 posts previously published on December 26th

  • 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

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 18 posts previously published on December 24th

  • 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? ➡

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

On This Day: Dec 21

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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 24 posts previously published on December 21st

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2020
    • Shortest day of the year — but from here on, things just get brighter. Let’s hope that applies figuratively and socially as well as literally. Happy solstice all; blessed Yule to those who celebrate in that manner. ➡
    • On This Day: Dec 21 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from December 21 ➡
  • 2019
    • Out for the Seattle Symphony’s performance of Handel’s Messiah. The last time I was at a performance of the Messiah, it was as part of the choir, along with both parents (also in the choir) and my brother (in the orchestra). It’ll be nice to be in the audience with Prairie for this performance! ➡
  • 2018
  • 2017
    • Book forty-nine of 2017: Cloak, by S. D. Perry. 🌟🌟🌟 #startrek #tos #section31 🖖 ➡
  • 2016
    • Book fifty-six of 2016: Faces of Fire, by Michael Jan Friedman. 🌟🌟🌟 #startrek #tos ➡
    • Books aren’t all that get collected at our house — the movie collection keeps growing too (only three of the just over eight shelves are visible here)! Looking forward to seeing if Santa brings any additions. ;) (356/366) ➡
    • Rogue One Mini-Review and Machete Order Thoughts A brief review of Rogue One, and some thoughts on why I don’t think it should be part of the Machete Order. ➡
  • 2015
    • Know what I never had to do last winter? Shovel. Know what I’ve done four times so far, with more to come? Shovel. Ugh. ➡
    • Snow, snow, and more snow. It’s a pain to deal with, but very pretty. ➡
  • 2014
    • So Prairie decided to make some Christmas cookies…. :D ➡
  • 2013
    • All set for a pleasant afternoon with homemade Christmas tea time treats; fudge, cookies, and banana bread that’s fresh out of the oven, cider, and a Star Trek novel. ➡
  • 2012
    • Norwescon 36 DJ Wüdi will be DJing the Thursday Night Dance at the upcoming Norwescon 36 science fiction and fantasy convention in SeaTac, Washington! ➡
  • 2011
    • Trolling Middle Earth Where today, 'troll' is almost universally understood as the second of the above quoted definitions -- a person solely out to provoke annoyance -- I've always preferred the first definition. In _that_ sense, a properly constructed troll is something I've always respected. ➡
  • 2006
    • Unhyphenated? My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Count-Palatine Michael the Unhyphenated of Fishbourne Sneething ➡
  • 2005
    • …was blind, but now I see Back again, new and improved -- after swapping out my old, dead video card with a brand-spankin' new Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition, my Mac is back up and running. ➡
  • 2004
  • 2002
    • Brrrrrr Officially, it's 21 degrees here in Anchorage. Unfortunately, the side of town that my parents live on is always colder than the 'official' record — and their thermometer in the front yard is reading 8 degrees below zero at the moment. Yikes. ➡
    • Heading north In just about an hour, I'll be catching a bus to the airport, and heading up to Alaska to spend the next week with my family in Anchorage! ➡
  • 2001
    • I’m shocked. Really. Excuse me? Your marketing scheme for your new high-end ultra-reliable ultra-secure server operating system is to freely admit that your previous high-end ultra-reliable ultra-secure server operating system shipped not just with bugs? ➡
    • New blog software – MovableType I switched my weblog software from NewsPro over to Movable Type. Took me a bit to get everything set up and configured right so that it didn't require re-coding this entire page, but everything seems to be up and working now. ➡

On This Day: Dec 20

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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 29 posts previously published on December 20th

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
    • When Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg, and actor iris menas reexamined the 64-year-old musical, they found a trans character in plain sight. ➡
  • 2020
  • 2019
    • Clubbing: ‘I can’t bear the idea that there is an age at which you should stop’: I’m 46, and while I don’t get out as often as in my 20s (can’t do 3-4 nights out a week anymore), I have no intention of stopping. It’s too much a part of who I am and what ... Read more ➡
    • This edit got removed (and re-added and re-removed until the page was locked down), but for a while, this existed. Here’s a link to the archived version of this revision. ➡
    • Apple’s Best Show Is an Alt-History Cold War Epic About Moon Missions With Women: I’m really looking forward to finding the time to dive into For All Mankind. ➡
    • SmugMug has been working hard to revitalize Flickr, and is now offering a 25% discount for new signups! I’ve been active there since Sept. 2004, and while my use has ebbed and flowed as it’s had its ups and downs, after uploading over 18,000 photos, I’d hate to see it disappear. ➡
    • Obviously, I’m not a best-selling SF author, but if you adjust for that, John Scalzi’s approach to recognizing his own likelihood of making problematic mistakes in his past, present, and future and accounting for such very much matches my own. ➡
  • 2016
    • Star Wars time! (355/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Bizarre but kind of entertaining: two flatbed trucks decked out with Christmas lights, with a bunch of people riding on them, and with speakers blaring Christmas songs driving around the neighborhood. Just ’cause. Merry Christmas! ➡
  • 2013
    • Sidewalk graffiti in Ellensburg. ➡
  • 2009
  • 2006
    • Weekly World News Best discovery of the past couple weeks: the Weekly World News (sorry, Seattle Weekly and Stranger, but _this_ is my favorite weekly newspaper) has an RSS feed. ➡
    • Bachelor Days Prairie's off on a train down to visit her family down in Vancouver (south), so I'm on my own for a couple of days. ➡
  • 2005
    • The Twelve Days of Christmas Today, mom sent me a neat bit on the origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas. I'd not heard this before, so never knew that the song wasn't secular -- in fact, it's actually a 'coded' catechism song. Neat to find out about that... ➡
    • I’m blind! Well, crud -- it appears that the video card on my computer just died. ➡
    • Professionalism If you worry about equipment, you're an amateur; if you worry about money, you're a professional; if you worry about the light, you're a master. ➡
    • Lens Lust Last night during a slow point at work I found a Nikon 50mm f/1.4 to pop onto the store's D70s. Oh, wow..._such_ a nice lens. I spent a good half hour shooting randomly around the store and experimenting. _Man_ that lens has a nice shallow depth of field. I want! ➡
  • 2004
    • Anyone in Denver? I don't have any definite details yet, but it appears that sometime in mid-February, I'll be flying down to Denver (on the company dime, no less) for a couple days of meet-and-greet and 'team building' events with the other FM staffers in my group. ➡
    • Private Party I just got back from The Vogue's holiday potluck party — apparently an annual event, though this was the first year I've been invited. I've got to admit, it's kind of cool to walk up to a club with a sign that says 'Private Party — Vogue Employees and Guests Only' and be able to walk right in. ➡
    • Quick Review: ‘Salem’s Lot This past weekend, Prairie and I rented a recent TV miniseries version of 'Salem's Lot. In the end, it was one of the more disappointing adaptations I've seen, simply because it seemed to start so well — to have it take such a drastic turn for the worse was more frustrating than if had simply been bad through and through from the start. ➡
    • Odd Movie Combinations I saw a couple movies in my Netflix New Releases feed that made me laugh today…some days it really seems like we've run out of original ideas. ➡
  • 2003
  • 2002
    • Bye-bye Sen. Lott! Bowing to harsh criticism from fellow senators and the Bush White House, Trent Lott resigned as Senate Republican leader Friday after colleagues worried about the repercussions of his racially insensitive remarks openly lined up behind Sen. Bill Frist. ➡
    • michaelhanscom.com I'm now the proud owner of www.michaelhanscom.com. ➡
  • 2001
    • That’s more like it Two more projects coming up -- the first is going to be changing the .cgi I use to post news to Moveable Type. Secondly, finally going through the rest of the site and actually getting all the pages using a consistent look. ➡
    • Site fixed, new addy, and LOTR Just got back not too long ago from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In a word -- incredible. ➡
  • 2000
    • Mononoke, eye candy, and John Doe Well, seeing as how my life has one very happy coincidence that payday and video release day both happen on the same day every week...Tuesdays are my usual day to go out and get movies. Picked up quite the trio today, too. ➡

On This Day: Dec 19

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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 20 posts previously published on December 19th

  • 2023
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
    • Book fifty-seven of 2018: Night of Masks, by Andre Norton. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ➡
  • 2017
  • 2016
    • Bonus picture: I am also now a card-carrying member of the #EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation)! ➡
    • I was greeted at the door with an after work cocktail (pumpkin spice rum eggnog) and bread about to come out of the oven. Prairie enjoys playing 1950s housewife when she’s off work (as long as she gets to choose which parts of the 1950s to emulate). (354/366) ➡
  • 2008
    • My Movie Rating System For no particular reason that I can come up with, I was thinking over how I rate movies, and attempting to quantify the basic reasoning for each star of a five-star rating system. I think I've pretty much nailed it down. ➡
  • 2007
    • An Early Christmas As I briefly hinted at earlier today, Christmas came a little early for us this year. Prairie has all of the details over on Domesticism, but in her own words... ➡
  • 2005
    • I’ve got the blues… I've been wanting to move away from the stock template included with Movable Type 3.2 for some time now, but just haven't been able to find the time and energy to tackle the project. Today I actually managed to find both at once, and here's the result. ➡
    • Meanwhile, back in Anchorage… I'm torn as to which got a bigger grin -- the snowman itself, or the Mystery of the Missing Corncob Pipe. ➡
  • 2004
    • Stupid Practical Jokes This reminded me of a couple stories I was told by a teacher I knew in high school. The man had a somewhat odd sense of humor and a fondness for pranks, which landed him in trouble from time to time -- and to be honest, I'm somewhat surprised he never got himself fired. ➡
  • 2003
  • 2002
    • Options Scripting languages have more options than bisexuals…. ➡
    • The Two Towers While…LotR:TTT admittedly cannot stand entirely on its own as a single entity (and I would hate to be someone in the unenviable position of attempting to watch LotR:TTT without having first watched LotR:FotR), as the second chapter in an epic saga, it is far and away an absolutely incredible achievement. ➡
    • Own yourself Own your name. Buy the domain name, get yourself linked to, and put up a page. Make it a blank page, if you want. Fill it with disinformation or gibberish. Or, just reveal the parts of your life that you feel represent you most effectively on the web. But if you care about your privacy, and you care about your identity, take the steps to control it now. ➡
  • 2001
    • Argh… Well, I was experimenting a bit with the layout of the site, and managed to more or less hose things fairly well. I'll try to get them straightened out as soon as I can, but not sure when that'll be. ➡
  • 2000
    • [From Usenet: 12.19.00 0228] Just a quick note that I'm working on starting a new website tracking local Anchorage musicians, who's playing where, things like that. ➡

On This Day: Dec 18

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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 26 posts previously published on December 18th

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2020
  • 2019
    • Impeached Two for two ➡
    • Thanks to micro.blog’s ability to import Instagram archives, all 1,512 posts, from my first on 12/14/13 to my last on 12/31/18, are now on my blog (all tagged as from:instagram, on the chance someone wanted to browse back through them all). Nice to be out of that walled garden! ➡
  • 2016
    • Book fifty-five of 2016: Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ➡
    • A pleasant way to start the day, reading in the library by the Christmas tree. (The book is #HiddenFigures, about the black women scientists behind America’s aeronautic and space flight industries.) Photo by Prairie. (353/366) ➡
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2005
    • The VP is out of control! While I _know_ it's just two headlines smooshed together, the sudden image of Dick Cheney going completely feral and lashing out at anyone around him was enough to give me the giggles for a few minutes. ➡
  • 2004
    • Made it! Well, we survived! Man, that's a lot of movie. When all's said and done, it was a lot of fun, and all agreed that it was well worth doing, and definitely something that should be done again. ➡
    • Getting ready… Just some general ramblings while we putter around and get ready for the day… ➡
  • 2003
    • Jose Padilla held unconstitutionally, says US 2nd Court of Appeals We also conclude that Padilla’s detention was not authorized by Congress, and absent such authorization, the President does not have the power under Article II of the Constitution to detain as an enemy combatant an American citizen seized on American soil outside a zone of combat. ➡
    • Annoy the ultra-right-wing! The American Family Association is currently running a poll to determine how people feel about the legalization of marriage between people of the same sex. ➡
    • Walmart has an online music store?!? I had no idea this was even in the works, but it appears that Walmart has an online music store now. ➡
    • M/A/R/R/S: Pump Up the Volume Pump up the volume, pump up the volume, pump up the volume, dance! Dance! ➡
    • BlogDating Nothing wrong with a little mental nookie! ➡
    • ToySight ToySight is hands down one of the coolest games for the Mac that I've seen yet. It's a collection of several small mini-games and 'toys' that you play by using your iSight camera as the controller! ➡
    • About airplanes There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky. ➡
    • That's gotta hurt… I turned around just in time to watch a car skid to a stop in the middle of the street with sparks flying out behind it, as its front left tire went rolling and bouncing across the road. ➡
    • 9/11 could have and should have been prevented For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented. ➡
  • 2002
    • Well, of course! Lott said he would survive any challenge to his post as majority leader, and Tuesday he picked up the support of a few GOP senators, including Alaska's Ted Stevens, who vowed to 'defend my friend.' ➡
    • Caught by the Zeitgeist Last October I ran across a website claiming to be a protest against the latest installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, 'The Two Towers'. Over the past week and a half or so, as the release date for LotR:TTT has grown closer and closer, that entry on my site has suddenly been getting a highly unusual amount of interest. ➡
    • Who’s protecting Eli Lilly? There is now substantial evidence that due to the mercury content, Thimerosal may be the cause of autism in many, many children, and Eli Lilly has been facing a number of lawsuits from parents looking for some help in caring for their children that were affected by the drug from this company. ➡
  • 2001
    • Two quick things One silly that popped into my head: why is the plural of box 'boxes' when the plural of ox is 'oxen'? You just have to love the English language, don't you? ➡