Only a Journey

San Francisco Trip

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 05:25:58 GMT

My San Francisco trip went great... what an amazing city! Nick and I went out there together and we hung out with Melissa, seeing all of the awesome sights and just having a fun and crazy time. Next trip: Austin, with Nick and a different Melissa to hang out with Stephanie, my brother, and my sister-in-law!

Photos here: http://public.fotki.com/OnlyAFly/san-francisco-trip/

iPod, San Francisco

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:51:42 GMT

So, Apple announced a new iPod today, the iPod Touch... In other completely unrelated news, I am currently selling my 30 GB Video iPod. Anyone interested?

Tomorrow I'll be flying to San Francisco to scope out the town with my friend Nick. Definitely the most exciting trip since Germany earlier this year. We are going totally car-less and we're only packing a backpack each. The highlight of the trip will be staying up all night on Saturday night to catch our departing flight at 6am on Sunday. See you all when I get back.

Vader's Bro

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:21:19 GMT

Chad Vader, mild mannered grocery store manager and brother of Darth Vader: http://www.splu.net/chadvader.php

Max Roach on the Hi-Hat

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:59:48 GMT

In the spirit of videos of virtuoso musicians, here is one for Jarred: http://youtube.com/watch?v=H8syiOwwVyY

Daft Hands

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:51:57 GMT

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw <-- For Daft Punk fans... I love this song

"Haiiiiii Yah!"... My Favorite Podcasts

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:24:12 GMT

Mostly for my own benefit, but I also highly recommend these podcasts:

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe -- A panel of scientists discuss science and pseudo-science in the news.
Ask a Ninja -- The world's greatest ninja answers questions from his fans.
Science Friday -- NPR's weekly take on science news.
Scientific American Podcast -- Discussions with scientists and policy makers on scientific topics.
The Show With Ze Frank -- Strange, but funny... you have to watch a few to get it.
Slate's Political Gabfest -- Slate Magazine's editors discuss politics.

Victory!

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:37:42 GMT

My prediction was correct!! What do I win?

Tolkien Marathon

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 02:30:50 GMT

I spent all day yesterday watching Lord of the Rings with Melanie. I should really read the books. I read the Hobbit when I was 12, but never read the rest on Tolkien's books. I think that will go next after Speaker for the Dead. Wow I am really tired after spending tonight drinking a bunch of German beers with an old friend. Time for bed!

Ender's Game

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:06:43 GMT

Wow, everyone who told me Ender's Game was a great book was right on... I just stayed up until 2am on a work night finishing it. Thanks to: Matt, Jennifer, James Clifford, Melissa Nilsson, Jeremy... and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone else.

Yoda v. Britney

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:07:28 GMT

Yoda dancing to Britney Spears: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0I0C7rd5tw

Cebu Prison Thriller Dancers + Silly Algorithm Dance

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 04:32:52 GMT

Combine the goodness of Melissa and Matt's last posts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjMd2Vabcv8&mode=related&search=

Mac Review

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:09:19 GMT

I've been using Mac for about a year now, so I thought it was time to give a quick review comparing and contrasting the benefits of Mac (compared to Windows).

Things I like about Mac:

Invisibility of the operating system -- It really does "just work" as Apple claims. Unless you need to do something very advanced, you could get away with never configuring anything in the OS.
Visual appeal -- the OS looks very slick while still being functional
Application availability -- there are many applications available (obviously less than Windows, though), and the quality of each application is very high
Application switching -- the application switching features are incredible and very useful

Things I don't like about Mac:

The WiFi applet responds slowly to user feedback, about a 5-10 second lag between clicks sometimes.
Most applications can't be maximized
Lack of Visual Studio -- Microsoft's Visual Studio development tool is the most user-friendly development tool I've ever used, but it's not available on Mac... Eclipse is a fairly good alternative once you get used to it.

Overall what I've noticed during my switch is how the rise of Internet applications has made it which operating system I use less important. I use Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Reader, and Firefox, which is works on every platform. Internet based blogs constitute much of my writing. I think as internet apps get more powerful, this trend will only continue, making the OS you use nearly meaningless.

Will it Blend?

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:49:19 GMT

Powerful blender + random exploding things = http://www.willitblend.com/

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd Concert

Sun, 20 May 2007 05:03:58 GMT

I went to a Roger Waters (lead singer, bassist, and songwriter from Pink Floyd) concert today at the Amphitheater at the Florida State Fairgrounds. He played all of Pink Floyd's greatest hits like Comfortably Numb, Another Brick in the Wall, Mother, and Wish You Were Here-- as well as the entire Dark Side of the Moon album. He also played a very political song that he wrote recently... here's some of the lyrics from the song:

"Oh George! Oh George!
That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small"

"Don't let the might, the Christian Right, fuck it all up
For you and the rest of the world"

During one of the other songs, a huge pig balloon floated through the audience with "Impeach Bush Now!" written on the side of it, as well as:

" "I only answer to God." -- George Bush <--- Is this democracy?! "

Great concert. It only made me sad that the whole band won't tour together.

Poem

Wed, 16 May 2007 00:42:39 GMT

A poem by recommended by author Christopher Hitchens: Church Going by Phillip Larkin

Larkin's poem describes the feeling of having lingering reverence for religion in spite of general disbelief, a feeling I can definitely relate to.

Scuba Trip!

Mon, 14 May 2007 02:45:41 GMT

Pictures from this past weekend's scuba trip w/ Daniel, Jarred, and Jack (Jarred's step-dad). The whole day was blanketed with this stupid smoke that has been covering Tampa for the last week, but at least the haze kept it cool. Angela and Jarred's mom stayed behind on a little island called Durney Key, forever after known as Kevin's Island.

Microsoft

Mon, 14 May 2007 01:42:15 GMT

Microsoft is going to court to try to force every Linux user to pay them royalties. I hate software patents.

Update: Matt pointed out that Fortune Magazine, the article's source, got some facts wrong. Microsoft has been claiming this for a long time, and seem as unlikely to be able to do anything about it now as they ever have been. Of course, they still maintain the claim that every Linux user owes them money. Thanks, Matt!

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 01:25:58 GMT

"Every Breath You Take" is by the Police, not Sting.

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:15:35 GMT

Have a happy holidays everybody! I'll be back in town Dec 29th.

Galactic

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 21:16:11 GMT

If anyone wants to come with me, I'm going to see Galactic in concert at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg on January 11th, 2007 (that's a Thursday night). If you don't know Galactic, they are a rock/funk band from New Orleans. I would call them more rock than funk, but there's definitely some funky/jazzy elements in them. They have a good MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/galactic

Let me know soon if you want to join me...

Music & Magic

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:32:47 GMT

I accomplished a wonderfully nerdy feat: after not playing Magic seriously for 6 years, I won a tournament tonight. So as I've mentioned to both Matt and Jarred, I want to get Matt's music project working. So Jarred, send me your beats. And if you have anything Matt, let me know.

By the way, I really like my new guitar, although I now realize that El Tooth (my old solid-body Steinberger electric) will still be of use to me. If I want a true electric sound, my new guitar doesn't cut it. But for acoustic or classic jazz stuff, there's nothing better. Anyone have any ideas on what I can name my new guitar?

Ha ha...

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:02:31 GMT

Angela, Jarred, Daniel, Matt, and Jen: It looks like the poorly timed cheer at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday made the newspaper: http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/23/Northpinellas/Beat_will_go_on__agai.shtml

Clearwater Jazz Holiday 2006

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:45:06 GMT

I had a great time this weekend at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday. Saturday I went with my dad, and then Sunday with Jarred, Angela, Matt, Jen, and Daniel. Sorry you didn't like it, Matt... I told Jen I didn't think you would want to come :)

Also, this is a great joke:

The Texan was vacationing in New York City and asked a passerby for directions to the nearest subway station, "excuse me, where's the nearest subway station at?" he asked. The passerby gave him a snotty look and replied, "never end a sentence with a preposition." The Texan retorted, "O.K., where's the nearest subway station at, asshole?"

We'll make great pets

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 22:58:39 GMT

I was in line at the supermarket today and this is the conversation between the guy in front of me and the cashier:

Guy: So your name's Giselle Lopez, huh? Is that hispanic?
Cashier: Yep.
Guy: You know, it's people like you that are invading our country and turning us into a third world nation.
Cashier: I'm from Puerto Rico, but I've lived in Florida since I was a kid.
Guy: Exactly! You people need to leave America and go back to your own country.
Cashier: (exasperated) I'm from PUERTO RICO.
Guy: You people need to learn English... blah... blah... blah...

The cashier didn't say anything after that, but was very polite as she finished ringing him up. What a moron.

Videos for House Fans

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 04:05:18 GMT

Hugh Laurie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXNd99IhdmA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkFoUhYbbAk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDU3XOqNRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWZmP9HvgD0