deafeningsighlence

Bye Bye Blogger

2005-07-12T09:14:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this is my last blogger post. I've got wordpress up and running on my server, and I think I was able to get all the old posts and comments moved over.

The url is http://deafeningsighlence.1-t.org for any of you who might wish to bookmark it.

Blogger isn't all that bad. It has mainstreamed me a little, and I'm going to have to keep an account so I can comment on some of my regular reading. Wordpress fits my needs better though. It is still mainstream, but since it is GPLed, I think it represents a good thing. Mainstreaming GPLed software -- what an idea! Wordpress allows me to categorize my posts which I find is a good solution for me since my topics are so varied. As a plus, I can run it all from my server which runs apache on ubuntu linux.

I have only a few concerns about all this. Running severs is sometimes frowned upon by various ISPs. This is a nonissue as long as the traffic doesn't get too heavy, so that probably will not come into play. The other problem is that there is always a chance that the server could go caput. I had this happen before to my circa 1994 webserver (motherboard went out, much chaos ensued). The server wordpress is on is from 1998, so it should be good to go for a few more years. Parts are still cheap for it, so a repair is not out of the question.

So get thee to my wordpress blog anon.

The Weekend is Almost Here

2005-07-08T13:25:00.000-04:00

Here's where we plan to go tonight. Plan means "if it isn't raining when I get home or on the way there".

I must confess, I do like small-time auto racing. I'm not a big fan of NASCAR (by that I mean what you see on TV) because 1) it is becoming mainstream and thus no longer cool, 2) all the cars look alike these days regardless of the make, 3) the cars go entirely too fast and I don't think aerodynamics should be a part of it, and 4) NASCAR is trying to remove its first race track from the mix altogether to take this now-popular sport all over the country (no respect, that's what it is). Instead, I like to watch some local guys (and girls) compete in cars they own and work on themselves. And, no, I don't go to watch wrecks. Wrecks cost money, could result in injuries (AMS is 3/8 mile oval so speeds are relatively low), and often result in arrests after the required fight. Of course, I don't go to see 3 cars drive around in a circle, so a few tiremarks are not unwelcome.

Check out the fan forum. I sometimes wonder if the posters are trying to appear to be more hickish than they actually are. Proper grammur spellin cApiTalization andpunctuationseem tobe dis couraged their. It is entertaining nonetheless. That is if you can figure out what is being said and what it is supposed to mean.

Ahh, the joy of having redneck roots. I think I'll wear tie-dye.

Boneless -- yeah

2005-07-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

Last night, my wife and I had some friends over, and I made Buffalo chicken sandwiches. They get their name from the buffalo chips over which the meat is smoked. Just kidding. Basically, its just chicken marinated in the hot sauce of your choice along with some oil, cider vinegar (yes, as a matter of fact I do own stock), garlic, salt, and pepper and then grilled over charcoal along with the requisite bacon.

One time I did an experiment where I set out to determine whether the boneless, skinless chicken was worth the extra cost compared to that with the bone and skin still attached. It turns out that based on the amount of bone and skin waste in the bone-in, the point of equivalence is 2 to 1 based on weight. In other words, if the boneless, skinless costs $4 /lb the bone-in would need to cost less than $2 /lb to be cheaper per pound of meat. Of course, this neglected some things that are hard to measure in numbers. The chicken for last night was of the so-called boneless, skinless type since it was less than twice as much as the bone-in. However, by the time I had removed all the fat, strange connective tissue, and bones, I think I was no longer money ahead. Yes, that's right, the boneless chicken had a nice sharp piece of rib protruding from it. I wonder how many people just buy this and never trim it. So anyway, I think I'll stick to bone-in from now on. I can actually trim it from the bone faster than I can clean up that which was supposed to be ready to cook. Better yet, maybe I'll just get my own chickens and be a voice against debeaking chickens for profit.

On another topic, I have been thinking about moving my posts from blogger to something a little less annoying that I can host on my own server. I'm leaning toward wordpress as it seems to fit the bill and it is GPLed. On the other hand, blogcms is another content management tool that also incorporates a photo album and some forums (like I really need that). Plus, wordpress is starting to be more mainstream which is good, but I think it is more fun to be a little obscure. I've also looked a little at drupal. Any suggestions?

Feeling a bit lazy today ...

2005-07-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

The air conditioning in my office was inoperative yesterday, and it is only now becoming comfortable. Of course, maybe that has something to do with the fan I have pointed at my head. I'm generally not one to complain, but hot, still, humid air is awful. I'd have rather been outside in the sun.

Anyway, I have been bothered by the actions of the Supreme Court of the United States lately. In their Kelo vs. New London decision, it appears that they have given their constitutional endorsement to property seizures for private development. I can only imagine what this will snowball into. I happened to be reading an article on the internet on foxnews.com that talked a little about this and some other things that might lead the reader to think that perhaps the author is being fair and balanced as FOX news is often accused of not being. Here's a link to the story. Get it while it works. It looks like the intent of the Constitution has been slowly slipping into oblivion. Hopefully, the citizenry of this fine country will reclaim that intent.

Sat July 2 = 4th of July = Barbecue

2005-07-05T12:57:00.000-04:00

The piece of pig I smoked Saturday turned out great. As I mentioned in a previous post, I used a loin this time instead of the proverbial pork butt. On the plus side, the loin has less connective tissue and fat, thus making fork shredding easier. On the minus side, the loin has less connective tissue and fat, thus making the resulting meat drier. A nice dose of my favorite sauce takes care of the dryness thing, so I think the pork loin definitely holds its own against the butt.

What I am about to share is a closely kept secret: ... barbecue is fun and IS NOT a lot of work. I'd like to share my technique in my lingo. If you try this, keep in mind that this works for me and your mileage may vary.

For smoking, I use a nice cylindrical grill placing the charcoal and smoking wood on the fresh-air damper end and the meat on the flue end. I like to keep the temp between 200 and 300. More specific than this is too much like work. Pulled pork seems to work best for me if you make it early, pull it, and keep it warm and moist. Even reheated is okay. I used to try to pull and serve, but it actually tastes better if you stick the bowl of pulled pork back into the smoke for a while (warning, this will make the bowl develop a nice set of smoke stains so plan accordingly). I used Kingsford Charcoal (I'm a big fan of real chunk charcoal, but these compressed thingies work better in this case) and some hickory I cut and split and soaked in water. Technically, the meat is done at 160, but I went to 170 because it makes pulling the meat apart easier. Don't worry too much about dryness, the sauce will take care of that. A pan under the meat will catch basting drips and serve as a way of recycling the drippings for futher basting.

I have a secret barbecue sauce that I use for a lot of things (including on french fries, yum). It also serves as a base for my barbecue basting sauce. It is a carefully guarded secret, but I will share it with my faithful readers. Apple cider vinegar, while black peppercorns, crushed red pepper -- that's it. Experimentation with various proportions is encouraged. It keeps forever, and after the peppercorns get soft, they are actually tasty surprises when you bite into one (in my opinion). My basting sauce contains this as well as 5 or 6 crushed garlic cloves, 2 or 3 tablespoons of vegetable or peanut oil, and just a little bit of something sweet. It is important to note that the sweet item isn't there to provide sweetness as I don't care for any sweetness in my barbecue. Rather, it provides some carmelization on the meat which isn't to the point of registering as sweet to my tastebuds. I also add a dry rub to the meat consisting of black pepper, salt, ground mustard, and just a little cumin and chili powder.

So I use the basting liquid to baste the meat as it cooks until it gets done. Then I let it rest for a while until it is cool enough to shred and put in a bowl.

Wanting to create some variety, I also make another type of sauce which is basically food-processed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that are strained and then cut with cider vinegar to be the desired consistency. Not all canned chipotles are created equal though, and it seems my favorite is from San Marcos.

In addition to the barbecue, we had some chickens cooked in a similar fashion, baked beans, homemade ice cream, homemade rolls from this recipe, blue cheese slaw, and grilled corn. The slaw was fun. I made the blue cheese dressing in the blender and got a little freaked out when it started to look like mayonnaise. I had to keep telling myself "It's not mayonnaise. It's just pungent moldy cheese in an emulsion." I managed to get through it. As for the grilled corn, I like it grilled in the shuck with all the silks still attached. They add a moisture level and complex set of flavors that are not provided otherwise. Plus, I think it is easier to remove the silks after the corn is done.

When it comes to barbecue sauce, I don't care for almost all of the sauces you can buy in the store. With few exceptions, any sauce that sits atop my pile of barbecue is a non-starter. Anything with fake smoke flavor that is sweet like syrup and contains a large quantity of tomato sauce doesn't even stand on the sidelines for me. I think these sauces tend to cover up the meat. To me, it would be like putting a gallon of ketchup on a medium-rare USDA prime filet mignon. That's just my opinion though. If the whole world was like me, there would be a shortage of cider vinegar.

Suntrust, I look down my nose in your general direction

2005-07-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

Why, dear Suntrust, did you have to go out and acquire my bank? Why did you send me a 50 page booklet telling me all about my new account? Why why why???

Seriously, I know there are mergers in business and sometimes this results in changes for the customer. Of course, in the case of banking, they make a pretty good bit of money off my money, so I think I'm entitled to a little more freedom.

The Suntrust online banking user interface is different than CCB's was. After the short learning curve, that will be okay. The bigger problem comes in with the online statements. I once got emails each month telling me my statement was ready with a convenient link to where I could download it. Suntrust doesn't provide these emails. Bad move Suntrust. You have removed a feature that was offered to customers of the bank you acquired to avoid having to spend a trivial amount of money to keep the service. Then you have the nerve to embed the actual statement in some sort of IE friendly acrobat reader plugin with no means to easily download the statement. Again, you should remember that not all of your customers use IE nor do they use Windows.

Since moving my money to a different back would be too much like work, I decided to stick with you and just throw out a post on how poorly you rank on my customer satisfaction scale. Fortunately, firefox makes grabbing the source pdf statement from the page pretty easy. Since you don't want to help me out by letting me know when a statement is ready, I guess I'll just have to set up a cron job to email me every month to go look for a new statement.

Don't worry Suntrust, I'll forgive you when you get bought by another bank. Judging from my experience, that should be in about 3 years.

Oh Great Danny!

2005-06-30T15:18:00.000-04:00

Before I converted my lovely wife over from the dark side, every time someone mentioned the name Danny Ford in her presence, she felt the need to address the reference with her usual "Oh great Danny!"

Even after the conversion, mention of his name would still cause her to give me the eye, unable to believe that people really did indeed hold a coach who was several programs removed from active in such high esteem. That changed one day at Clemson Memorial Stadium when the National Championship team of 1981 was introduced. It was far in advance of kickoff, and there were few people seated at the time. Danny, then head coach, had been introduced and was standing on the paw at midfield as he welcomed his former players coming down the hill. A man looking to be in his mid 40s was walking down the steps to his seat when his eyes stopped on the center of the field. His upper body jerked back with surprise as if someone had just popped a balloon. We were staring at him, and I knew immediately why he had the look of surpise. As he regained his composure, he pointed to the middle of the field. "It's Danny! It's Danny! He came back!!" The man grabbed the closest fellow spectator wearing orange who was clearly a stranger to him. I thought he would crush the man in a bearhug as he spun him around and shook him like he was trying rescue a choking victim. All I had to do was look at my wife. "Oh," she said.

For the benefit of the people I know who are new to the area, I have compiled a link to tell you a little about this guy. I still think there should be some sort of welcoming service to newcomers that provides important details about the area. Maybe some day...

Oh yeah, I live beside him.

Recipes are Overrated

2005-06-30T12:52:00.000-04:00

I like recipes and I like recipe books. The trouble with them is that I don't really go by them. I like to think of a recipe as a guide -- a suggestion of sorts.

Digression ...

I love the words "serving suggestion" that appear on, say, a box of instant rice to let you know that the chicken leg, rolls, glass of tea, and fine china are not included in the box you are about to purchase. I think they should just be transparent and say "this box just has rice in it -- none of the rest of the stuff here".

Returning ...

Almost all the recipes I have use exact measurements with the exception of the obligatory "salt and pepper to taste", but sometimes I omit several ingredients and put others in their place. I figure if I'm going to play it that safe, I might as well but a TV dinner which is created with the utmost mechanical precision.

Saturday is our annual "Saturday Before the 4th (tm)" barbecue. This year I'm smoking a loin instead of a butt because 1) I have a loin and not a butt and 2) I want to try smoking a loin. Every year I vary my technique slightly in the hopes of reaching barbecue perfection. I'll point out that while I enjoy having people over and hope they enjoy my cooking, I cook stuff I want to eat the way I want to eat it. In other words, if you want a thick, sweet Kraft-esque sauce for your pork, you had better bring it. I tried once to make a similar sauce, but it is difficult to get the flavor right on something that disgusts you so much you have to keep a drink on hand to remove the taste from your tongue during prep tasting. Sorry, hope I didn't offend anyone that likes thick, sweet, preservative-laden barbecue sauce. I know people have different tastes, and I welcome that variety. Just don't be offended if I don't care for it.

Oh, and one thing that gets its own section: Mayonnaise. This is the one thing that I cannot stomach. I had rather eat an earthworm covered in dirt than mayonnaise. Strangely, if a recipe contains the constituents of mayonnaise (such as a Caesar dressing) I'm cool with it so long as I like the flavor. Speaking of Caesar, Outback's Caesar Salad is the best I've had at a restaurant and could use even more garlic and anchovies. Seriously.

Tomorrow, I think I'll talk a little more about the kind of barbecue I like. Today, I'll leave with some of my favorite brands of ingredients and stuff. If you wonder about something I didn't list, just ask. I have an opinion on everything and have usually quantified my remarks. Of course, your mileage may vary and I welcome any agreement or "you're an idiot!"s in the comments.

Flour -- King Arthur is about the best going that I can afford for everything except biscuits. Biscuits require White Lily as it is a much softer winter wheat which = better biscuits. I guess pie crust would benefit from it too.

Butter -- Plugra stick butter is awesome. It is also expensive. Still worth the price. For whipped butter, I like Land o Lakes Whipped. Oh, and there is no need to refrigerate it if 1) your kitchen does not exceed 90F 2) you avoid any and all double dipping and 3) you will use it within 3 months. Oh, and yes, I'm quite serious.

Shortening -- use lard instead. Shortening is an evil product of a chemical reaction caused by corporate greed. Use it sparingly and exercise and the cholesterol isn't a big deal.

Cookware -- I know, not an ingredient, but I did say "and stuff". I have some Le Creuset, Calphalon, lodge, and a few brands I can't remember. I once thought I would be brand loyal until I realized that no manufacturer is the best in all classifications. In fact, I paid less than $20 for my mild steel skillet, and it has quickly become more useful to me than the calphalon pans. Oh, and please, if you have a pot rack, use it to hang pots you use. It's not a decorative accent. It is okay if your pots are not spotless. I'm sure I'll get hate mail for this one.

Knives -- Solingen Germany must be one big knife factory. JA Henckels, Wustoff, F Dick, and some others are made there. Don't fall into the trap of brand loyalty here. European knives are nice, but they fall really short if you are looking for a good oriental vegetable cleaver.

Small appliances -- Kitchen Aid makes the best mixer from the clasic lines to the quality of construction. That is unless you can afford and have room for a hobart. If that is the case, will you be my friend? Kitchen Aid's other appliances are not as good in my opinion. Waring still makes the best blender and cuisinart makes the best food processor. Oh, and I give extra stars for things with few controls and innards. My 5star range has almost no electronics, and what is there has a good schematic in the manual. I wasn't kidding when I said I expect it to last a hundred years.

Coffee -- I prefer 8 'o Clock beans to any other coffee that has been ground for more than a day or so. Whole Foods carries some good organic blends that are better but cost more. Freshly roasted is better yet. I don't care much for flavored beans. I fail to see the point, but that's just me. (more hate mail)

Tea -- You want iced tea? Luzianne. There's less packaging, and the blend works well for me. Next on my list would be Lipton loose tea, but that is getting harder to find.

Tortilla chips -- RW Garcia (available at Harry's / Whole Foods in Atlanta) are the best. They are organic and rather cheap. Second on the list are Mission (available in a lot of places) but I need to check to see if they have partially hydrogenated oil. They might lose their position if they do.

Flour tortillas -- Ha! Gotcha! I can't eat these unless they are cooked like they are in a quesadilla. Seriously, something about them makes me violently ill and I feel icky if I smell them for very long. I make my own instead. It is acually quite easy, more healthy, and very rewarding. So, heads up, if I don't eat the flour tortillas you bought, it isn't because I don't like you. It is because I do like you and don't think you need to have your floor redecorated.

I've got a lot more culinary opinions. Maybe some other time.

With July 4th quickly approaching ...

2005-06-29T12:58:00.000-04:00

As I was reading slashdot today, I came across a really interesting quote in someone's post:

There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."-Ed Howdershelt (Author)

It is nice to know that soap box and ammo box are on opposite extremes, but it is also discomforting to see that there are only two steps between them. I think a lot of people living in freedom or pseudofreedom around the world forget how much essential liberties cost.

As Independence Day approaches, I think about our soldiers in foreign lands. Iraq and Afghanistan are fresh on our minds, but what about those in Vietnam, Korea, France, Germany, the bottom of the Pacific? Yet another 4th they'll spend away from home. Do we disconnect ourselves from the human cost of war? I still believe that war is never the answer. I think our human minds are incapable of even knowing the question. War is what we resort to when all hope of a peaceful, rational solution to conflict is lost. Is war ever necessary? Sometimes, but it isn't the answer. Is war justified? Sometimes, but it isn't the answer.

I was never in any branch of the Armed Services. I checked some old draft records, and had I been 18 in 1970, I'd have been drafted. I get unneasy thinking about that. Being shot at in the jungle and then coming home to protests (or in a wooden box) isn't my cup of tea.

Side rant...

Considering that it was known there would be combat deaths in Vietnam, that many of such deaths would result in excrutiating pain for the mortally wounded, that many of these would be among young men selected by lottery, and that this practice was legal, it seems a little strange that capital punishment is looked upon as somehow "wrong" even though it is punishment for a crime that was willfully committed.

Back on topic...

I support and will always support our soldiers no matter where they are sent and under whatever policy they are deployed. I urge everyone reading this to do the same. If you have problems with our foreign policy, take that up with the policy makers. The soldiers deserve nothing less than the unified support of their country.

From the "Well Duh!" Collection

2005-06-28T15:41:00.000-04:00

I saw this headline on a local TV station's news website.

Gas Prices Leading To More Theft At Pumps

No kidding. I feel like I've been robbed every time I stop for gas. Apparently, the article is referring to drive-offs, but the double meaning is too interesting to ignore.

I could not have said it better ...

2005-06-28T10:16:00.000-04:00

Illegal poker machines in South Carolina beware. Now that the SBC and SLED will be teaming up to eradicate you, you will no longer be taking much needed funds from the so-called South Carolina Education Lottery. After all, we all know that state sponsored gambling is a clean, honest way to raise funds whereas video poker is a wicked, evil blight to our society. It leads to financial irresponsibility and gambling addicition unlike the harmless and noble SC education lottery.

Ok, sarcasm mode off...

I read about this on Perry's blog today. I'm sure someone will be critical of his stance, but I agree wholeheartedly with what he has to say.

Token Handwashing -- Who are they fooling?

2005-06-27T12:13:00.000-04:00

Public restrooms are usually pretty nasty places. Why do they call them restrooms anyhow? I, for one, would rather not be in one long enough to rest. Anyway, I was reminded this morning of one of my pet peeves: the token handwash.

There are some people who will leave a restroom without so much as looking at the sink. Sometimes these people are viewed as somewhat unclean or slobbish. While I'd rather not shake the hand of such a person, another group draws more scorn from me. It is the group whose members are too lazy or busy or impatient or something to properly was their hands but too insecure in their immunity to just stroll out without washing. Instead, they turn on the water for a period of time not exceeding two seconds, spash a little water near their hands, roll out 6 inches of paper towel, and toss it near the trash can. Honestly, why bother. All these people do is contribute to the germs on the faucet. They're certainly not fooling anyone into thinking they are any cleaner than the guy who just left without washing.

Personally, I am a non-recontamination hand washer. What that means is that things touched with dirty hands don't get touched again after my hands are washed. Sometimes I have to make exception to this when the layout of the facilities do not allow it. This involves using an already-rolled-down paper towel to turn off the water and then open the door if it happens to be a poorly designed inward opening door. Obviously, this is a problem if there are no paper towels and there is only a hand dryer. Those devices are absolutely a marvel of engineering. Hmm, a device that circulates air in a germ-rich atmosphere at the proper temperature for bacteria to thrive. Why didn't I think of that. I think I'd rather use the waterless hand sanitizer thanks.

So to all you token handwashers out there, stop. Either use a little soap and spend more than 2 seconds at the sink or just be brave and stroll out the door. Okay, so people might be disgusted by your leaving, but at least they can admire your courage.

It turns out...

2005-06-23T12:41:00.000-04:00

that the Grateful Dead hour I listened to was not the "episode" that I was expecting. I wonder why. Anyway, I didn't get to hear Lovelight, but the show had about the best musical interpretation of Terrapin Station I have ever heard. The vocals were not all that good, but it was never about the vocals anyway.

What do I mean by interpretation? To me, music is something that exists in the abstract, full of meaning but without form. When music is performed, the abstract becomes concrete through the interpretation of a musician's talent and the listener's brain. Maybe it is what the songwriter meant. Maybe not. The Grateful Dead never played the same show twice. Even if the setlist was the same, the interpretation was different based on moods, venue, or events. That's why they allowed and encouraged taping and trading. According to Jerry Garcia, why would the band not want people to have the music, they (the band) were done with it. You see, once the abstract is made concrete, it no longer can be owned. Each played note is a fleeting moment in time that can never be repeated. Capturing the audio of this moment on magnetic tape is one way to preserve it as best we know how. There will never be another Summer of 69, a Spring of 72, or a Fall of 95, but we can hear what was preserved thanks to people who allowed and encouraged it. Going further, I've heard some people complain about contemporary music in a church. Even more controversial perhaps is the use of "secular" music in a worship service. I'll spare you a discussion of how music can't be secular, only lyrics can. Instead, I want to focus on interpretation. While the lyrics should be studied and censored if necessary, when the music is performed (i.e. interpreted) and leaves the abstract, it is ownerless and claimable by anyone who might listen. The question then becomes what the listener interprets in his own mind. Does he hear a universal truth, a challenge to action, a heartfelt apology, a description of his life's state? At that point, it becomes irrelevant what the songwriter meant. While you might not look positively on that individual, his music, once interpreted, becomes a concrete idea, the exact nature of, the songwriter can't control.

Regarding vocals, it seems that the current mindset of people places emphasis on the vocals in music. I guess that's why that American Idol show works the way it does. I never watched it, but apparently, popularity was based on singing talent. I tend to prefer the music over the vocals. In fact, at our wedding, we had only music with no singing. I thought it would be nice to let the listeners fill in their own words rather than have someone tell them something in sung English. Now, I'm not down on listening to someone sing. I think song lyrics are a powerful means to share knowledge, elicit emotion, or challenge thought. But if the musical lyrics were all that matters (as I have heard people claim sometimes without thinking), why bother to have music at all. Just recite the resulting poem instead.

I'm also not into too much showmanship. Smoke and lights are nice, and I can even handle the video screens. I once saw some mainstream (I guess) band perform at some sports event (Super Bowl maybe). I forgot how many people were in said band, but none of them played instruments. Instead, they just danced around and sang what I considered a cheesy song, and one of them had some sort of spinning bracelets that threw a shower of sparks as he did his little strut. I'm sure some people were quite impressed or whatever, but I was not. I like to see the musicians play instead of just dance around. I can make exceptions for lead singers of really good bands such as U2.

I just happened to find ...

2005-06-22T16:39:00.000-04:00

... something awesome while trying to determine if any of the oh-so-not-corporately-owned-and-thus-bland radio stations I listened to in Charleston provided streaming audio that I, dwelling in the red-clay upstate of S. Carolina, am unable to tune into with traditional means. 96.1 (WAVF) and 105.5 (WCOO) play quite a variety. To you upstate readers, WAVF is similar to 93.3 and WCOO is a little like 101.1. The biggest difference is that there seems to me to be a wider variety on the Charleston stations, and I suspect it is due to a more diverse audience. Or maybe that's not it.

Moving along, it seems the WCOO hosts "The Grateful Dead Hour" every Saturday night at 10. Well, as it turns out, that same program runs on the upstate's very own WNCW each Wednesday ( --glances at calendar-- Hey! that's today.) night at 9 on 97.3 (or 88.7 if that comes in better). My excitement was extinguished when I realized I don't have a good FM receiver in the house. But wait! There's a link to streaming audio on the website. Come on 5 o'clock so I can try this stuff out. Hmm, it also appears that Gospel Bluegrass and Celtic music appear on the weekly lineup. Why have I never tuned in before?? Maybe its because noncorportate=not a lot of money=not a lot of advertising=nobody ever listens=not a lot of money...

So I'm tuning in tonight at 9. For those of you out there that think I'm wacky, I encourage you to listen to a little bit of the broadcast. Obviously, having never listened, I don't know the show format, but it looks like tonights lineup contains "Not Fade Away" from Miami, 12/12/78. I have yet to hear that performance, but NFA is a song on which a lot of improvisation tends to occur. The setlist shows 4 songs in only 35 minutes, so it might be cut short. That time seems about right for 2 songs.

To dispel a few myths some might have heard:
-Listening to GD does not make one a druggie or a nonpracticer of hygiene
-The music is not evil, does not contain subliminal messages, and does not condone crime
-VW busses are not required, though highly recommended (okay, I made that up)

Seriously, have a listen. If you don't like what you hear, post a comment panning what you heard. If you find anything remotely interesting, please post your thoughts. I'll give my thoughts in tomorrow's post.

The Trip -- Part Four

2005-06-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

The remainder of the trip seemed to go by entirely too fast. We visited Isle of Palms daily and walked on the beach a few times with our Chik Fil A lemonade and Ice Dream. Coconut Joe's has Reggae on Sunday and Tuesday, so we went by there to enjoy the sound and get a glimpse of the variety of tams worn by the musicians. I still prefer to call them macrame hats, but I thought I'd include the proper name here. IOP beach is slowly getting more and more narrow from erosion, and it is gradually losing its clean image thanks to some people.

Rant:
Everyone please listen... If you are at IOP and you have trash, please put it in one of the 500 trash cans strategically placed every 100 feet down the beach. If you are too lazy to do that, please post a comment to this stating your name and the sentence "I am too lazy to properly dispose of my trash." If you think it is your God-given right to toss your blown-out flip-flop anywhere you please, I hope you will not be too unhappy if someone discards his trash in your car. I'm not going to use the cliches like "litter trashes everyone", but honestly, when you throw something out, you look like a self-centered idiot. It is not about respect for others, it is about respect for yourself. Do you like the image you portray? IOP has taken great pains to make a visit pleasant for people. As mentioned, there are plenty of places to properly dispose of trash, they have free parking after 6PM, they've made improvements around the small business district, and there's a huge bridge into the place to avoid having to take the long route.

Okay, sorry about that. I just don't understand why people are so inconsiderate.

One night, we went to Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale on James Island. We had been to the one downtown before, and the food is great --and cheap! The downtown location was quite a site the first time we went there. It is on King Street but away from most places I visit are. My take on it was that it is a Mexican Restaurant with a Jewish name (Greenberg) located in Chinatown (well, a little bit of a stretch, but the storefronts in the area reminded me of some I've seen in various Chinatowns of big cities (yes, on TV)) run by obviously Anglo-European white people wearing macrame hats (yep, that word is back). The location on James Island is a little less diverse, but the building is what used to be an oriental restaurant called "Fish - Shrimp House". In true JG style, the name still adorns the restaurant's roof, and the McDonaldsesque tables with integrated swivel chairs are placed out front for outside dining. We ate outside. In the course of my 1 lb burrito, several vehicles pulled in with the occupants leaving moments after walking inside the restaurant. I wonder if they were expecting a nice dinner at the Fish Shrimp House.

Something anyone who visits Charleston needs to know is how to properly deal with street marketers. One evening, on our trip to Hyman's Seafood, were were the subjects of 3 attempted sells. My wife provided the only verbal response for those three encounters with a "We're local." It was in response to a "Where are you guys visiting from?" Okay, first rule is that any character in Charleston sitting on a barstool that uses "you guys" when she clearly means "y'all" can't be trusted. We just ignored the other two on our walk. Earlier in the week, I had the opportunity to do similarly.

Dude: "Hey, have y'all hear about what we're doing down at the marina?"
Me (looking him square in the eye with incredible apparent sincerity): "Yes, and it looks magnificent!!"
Dude: "Oh good ..." (I couldn't hear the rest as we kept walking.)

I've used another in the past. Here it is followed by a few I might use in the future.

Dude: "Have you heard about what's going on over at the Reserve?"
Me (with an obviously southern accent) : "I don't speak English."

Dude: "We're doing great things at the Point."
Me: "Dude, I OWN the Point."

Dude: "Where are y'all visiting from?"
Me: "Is that you? Man it's been so long since I last saw you. It's me. Remember? Don't say you don't; I know you do."

Dude: "Hi. How long are you in town?"
Me: "About 10 more minutes -- less than that if people like you would stop harrassing me."

You'll notice not of them are super rude. I figure the people are just doing the job to make a little money, and probably need a little humor in their day.

Digression:

If you visit Charleston, please don't take a carriage tour because "It's what you do." If you want to take a bumpy ride with a bunch of people you don't know in sweltering heat being pulled by a horse or mule or donkeys that stink and attract flies while listening to a tour speech you could easily read yourself from a self-tour guidebook at your own pace and interest level for much less money, understand that it isn't a requirement to enjoy and "experience" the city. For the record, no I have not been on a carriage tour. I don't really like the smell of ammonia and horse manure. I'm not saying that some might not find it quite enjoyable, but it reminds me a little of Clark Griswold in European Vacation where he insists that the family "experience the culture" of the various countries they were in. And if you have the "When in Rome..." mentality, keep in mind that most Charlestonians drive cars.

Okay, now I that I''ve offended everyone that has ever taken a carriage tour, I'll wrap this up.

Charleston is a great place, and that is the reason we go there each year. I highly recommend everyone see it at least once. It can be a tourist trap if you try to follow too many of the guides you see out there telling you where to eat and stay. If you have the kind of money to throw around like that, I'm your long-lost cousin. Otherwise, ask someone who goes a lot or lives there about the place.

Hey, where's today's post??

2005-06-21T18:25:00.000-04:00

I planned to post today at lunch, but my computer at work is dying. It rebooted a total of 31 times -- seriously. So instead, I spent lunch reading a Northern Tool and Equipment catalog. It's great to be diverse.

The Trip -- Part III

2005-06-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

Despite the initial problems with the hotel, vacation was quite enjoyable.

One of the first places we went was Berlin's Restaurant Supplies. It was there that I (once again) lamented that there were commercial ranges selling for half what I had to pay for a "professional" range. What's the difference? Doesn't "professional" sound somehow better than commercial? I suppose it depends on your perspective. "Pro" ranges are basically commercial-inspired appliances that have been made "safe" for home use by 1) making them half as powerful, 2) making the ovens smaller, 3) packing insulation in them so you can place them against cabinetry, and 4)adding a few decorative touches and sometimes adding electronic controls. For me, none of these "safety modifictions" justify the extra price. In fact, I think the price should be far lower. Unfortunately, these things are popular among people who like to cook as well as people trying to make a fashion statement. I'm going to go against my usual habit of not making broad generalizations to say that brands like Viking, Wolf, and Thermador are really popular among decorators because the labels are more recognizable to people trying to make an impression on their guests. Being somewhat counter-culture, I want a US Range, a Vulcan, or a Blodgett.

Okay, time for the digression you are accustomed to. It really trips me out how people tend to get somewhat snobbish about something they have bought. I am as guilty as anyone else, but I am working on it. For anything someone owns that they think is "the greatest and most expensive ever", someone else has something that will trump it. "Oh, do you like the $11,000 Wolf range you bought? I guess it's a good starter. One day you can move up to an Aga like mine for only about $25,000." There's a lesson here. Don't ever think you are "all that" and don't buy anything with the intention of impressing anyone. Fortunately, for me, this wasn't an issue when I bought the 5-Star in my kitchen. It just so happens to be the least expensive range of its type I could find without mailordering one from China. I bought it to cook on, not for people to look at. I've read a few forums where people were talking about sealed vs open burners and which were easier to clean. Even when it was pointed out that burner physics favored the open burner (i.e. the open burner is better for more efficient cooking), people were more concerned with cleaning than cooking. It sounds to me like they were seeking decoration more than something to cook on. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, but interestingly, but for me, cleaning is secondary as evidenced by the contents of the drip trays.

Back on topic ... Insurance companies don't like the risk associated with "your average homeowner" installing a commercial range, and that was the deciding factor for me. I guess I'll never have one. But that's not going to stop me from looking :). After my wife pulled me away, I loaded up with a lot of other goodies including a French-style mild steel sautee pan -- think shallow, flat-bottomed wok. Sometimes a heavy pan isn't the most preferable.

One of the best moments of humor during the trip came when a couple who were obviously not native English speakers stopped us to ask where I got my shirt. It was the second time I had received a compliment on my orange shirt with a blue Ford-logo-like oval containing the familiar Palmetto and Crescent. The gentleman asked where I had purchased it as he indicated to his (I assume) wife that this was indeed the kind of shirt he had been seeking. My wife recalled that we had got it several years ago at the Oops Co. on King Street downtown. The man indicated that he had heard of the place and knew right where it was. As he and his wife discussed its location while periodically reconfirming the name of the store, it soon became apparent that to a non-native English speaker, UPS and Oops sound a lot alike. We tried to explain that they were not the same thing and even spelled the words. By the time they walked off, it was pretty clear that they were confused. I really hope that guy isn't stopping at all the UPS places looking for that shirt.

Here's a Tip

2005-06-17T12:11:00.000-04:00

I've always been confused by tipping. When I was a kid, it was customary to tip a waitperson 10% of the total bill in a restaurant. Over the years, that has morphed into "15% minimum" which means that basically you are "expected" to fork over the dough. So guess what happens when someone visiting from another country is unfamiliar with that expectation. That's right, no tip for you despite the courteous "Thank You" you were given by the party. I guess it is easy to feel slighted and blame the diners for their ignorance, but some might agree with me that the entire concept of tipping should be standardized at some level -- even to the point of being eliminated in favor of actually paying waitpeople a competitive wage.

Just for fun, I picked up a "Guide to Tipping" somewhere once. From what it looked like to me, anyone who does anything for you should get some money above and beyond anything they ask for. Specifically listed on the card were positions such as doorman, hair stylist, waitperson, bellboy, maitre d' (I suppose this would be the host or hostess at a less-than-swanky establishment), and so forth. Personally, it seems to me that going to a restaurant is a trap to get you to place some money in every held-out hand belonging to individuals strategically stationed throughout the restaurant who perhaps do nothing more than ask "How many?"

So as a general rule, I tip a server the "expected" 15% plus whatever else I feel like. It is totally subjective and in no way fair from server to server. Does it make any sense to give the server more money for bringing me a Filet Mignon rather than a burger in the same restaurant? That's what you are doing if you tip on a percentage. Those 3 trips you made to my table earned you $3 today since I ordered a Filet, but tomorrow when I order a burger, you'll get $.95 for the same level of service. None of the tip is a direct result of having your water glass refilled. I once gave a waitress what appeared on paper to be a 500% tip. I had a gift card, and I put the remaining $.78 on a credit card (I seldom carry cash). After a $5 tip, I bet the credit card receipt looked pretty funny to the auditors. I do usually throw some "noisy" change into the tip jar at counter-order establishments to avoid "the look", but I really think this is a little silly. Once or twice in my life, I left no tip due to such poor service. Actually, I tipped myself since I had to raid the little beverage station for water and ice and silverware. Had this been a "gratuity included" place, I would have kindly asked the manager to remove it from my charges. Hopefully, things would not have turned ugly.

So, the floor is open for your comments. Should I tip the lady at the DMV? She's providing a service. What makes her different from the guy that scooped my ice cream or made my coffee? How about the nice man at White Jones last night that actually answered a question of mine like he know something about what they sell? Was I supposed to hand over a 5? Why do restaurants work the way they do instead of telling servers "You make $x per hour. Period. If your service is lousy, we'll show you the door."? Should we remove the idea from our society that you are supposed to give money to everyone that is standing around "just because"? I'd like to hear your opinion.

Let's Call it an Experiment

2005-06-17T07:54:00.000-04:00

I put some pictures of my trip up here. I did this quickly this morning before work, so these are just a few that caught my eye while browsing the thumbnails.

Since I have limited bandwidth, viewing the full-size will take a while. If the link doesn't work or points to something besides pictures taken in Charleston, it is because either I got a nasty call from my ISP or I've rotated the URL to another photoset. I think keeping a rotation will reduce bandwidth usage.

These photos are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license. I'll put the little logo on that page sometime. Basically, what that means is that I own the copyright to the photos, but you can download them and do whatever you want to with them as long as you 1) list me as the source if you use them on a webpage or something 2) don't make any money by using them -- even by using them in an ad for your get-rich-quick scheme and 3) don't make any modifications to them like drawing devil horns and stuff on people's faces.

While it might sound snopbbish or whatever to actually license amateur photos, the truth is that a photographer -- even a child with a disposable camera -- owns a copyright to any picture he or she takes unless the rights are explicitly released. Have you ever encountered a really cool picture on the internet and wanted to use it for something only to wonder about the legality of doing so? What about fair use -- does that apply to a whole photo? The Creative Commons Licenses (there are several to cover various scenarios) help with this by answering the legal questions, and I'd recommend you consider including some type of license or "All Rights Reserved" on any photos you put on the internet.

The Trip -- Part B

2005-06-16T12:58:00.000-04:00

Rolling into the hotel parking lot, I glanced at my watch to see that at 2:30, we were definitely AFTER the 2PM check-in time the Best Western website listed. Being a little skeptical since I hadn't seen such early check-in times since I was a kid, I asked the desk clerk if our room was ready. She gave one of the "let me think" faces and after glancing at the clock told me it would be 3. I got back in the truck and after a brief complaint to my understanding wife about how the website said 2 (I was beginning to doubt my memory at that point), we left to do a little more looking around.

Rather than push the 3, we didn't get back to the hotel until 3:30. Guess what? The room wasn't ready. I overheard a conversation indicating that check-in time was 3. Perhaps they should change their lying website. Still, a quick glance of my watch revealed that it was indeed after their check-in time and thus they were denying me access to the room for which they were charging me. About 4, I was summoned to the counter to receive my room key. My starting-to-get-less-understanding wife walked to the room as I hopped in Yoda to pull around. When we entered, I was floored by the horrible housekeeping. Well, to be honest, the room had been wrecked by the last guests and was yet to be cleaned.

So we hop in Yoda and calmly drive around back to the lobby. My not-at-all-happy wife offers to go in, and for a moment I consider letting her as I am even more not-at-all-happy. I collected myself enough to attempt to not be rude to the poor (different) desk clerk that really wasn't at fault. I think she could tell by my face though. I told her that the room was "unacceptable" (a word I like) and that I wanted a clean room immediately (not "as soon as possible", "as soon as possible" is what I would have asked for had they kept their end of the check-in time -- they were on my time now). She apologized profusely (which made me feel bad) and then had to call housekeeping to make sure another room was ready. If I was going to have to wait much longer, I was going to get angry. So after she verified that the room she was about to give me was clean, I expressed that I thought my rate should be prorated to reflect the amount of time I was denied my room. She said she'd have to check with her manager. After ducking around the corner, I heard her part of the conversation that included "I have a guest here and he's very angry." Wow, if she thought I was mad then... Anyway, she returned and agreed to knock some money off. Really, I mainly wanted them to acknowledge that they were not delivering me what they had agreed to, and this was my way of assuring that.

This incident also let me know what was wrong with the hotel. The manager that day who may or may not have been the person whose name was displayed on the wall and thus will not be named is a poor one. Though I did not specifically ask to speak to him or her, a manager who hears that a guest is "very angry" about anything at the hotel should appear in person to address the problem. That's why the first room was dirty. Being short a housekeeper or two shouldn't be a problem. Can the manger not clean a room? How about a local cleaning service? I'm serious. I had the opportunity once to supervise 50 employees, many of whom cared little about their jobs. It didn't matter if 10 of them laid out one day, it was my job to see that their work was done. Being physically impossible was simply no excuse to my supervisor. If a manger can't handle unreasonable expectations, I suggest avoiding supervision as I have done since I determined that I can't.

Once in our room, the rest of the stay turned out quite well. Our usual housekeeper (She must have had Sunday off) was named Angel and she was very friendly and professional. Seriously, I have seen far too many people in a similar job have a negative attitude about what it is they do. Angel did not. Of course, maybe the fact that I see her as the lady who changes the towels, empties the trash, and makes the bed and is not my rented servant for my stay has something to do with that. Angel defined her job by how well she did it, but she did not let her job define her. Something I have wrestled with before is having a job that makes you feel like you are somehow "less" because of what it is you do. Angel seemed to have that one down, and I respect her far more than that manager though I'm sure he's "worth" far more. In whose eyes?

To close, let me say that I wrestled with whether to apologize to the desk clerk but could never figure out how to do so. A big mistake for me is to try to apologize for something I have done that I am not sorry for. Inevitably, I end up sounding sarcastic or something and make the situation worse. In this case, my assertiveness was mistaken for anger, and for that I am sorry. How do you tell someone you are sorry they mistook your tone to be an angry one? That sounds more accusatory than apologetic.

So to anyone out there in a job where you have to hear complaints from people, please remember that seldom is any anger directed toward you. If you are a waitperson and a diner complains that the steak is charcoal, the potato is in foil (= steamed potato not baked potato), and the salad is too warm, this is directed at the food, not your service. Hopefully, how you handle it will determine how well he tips. If you sell parking decals, please don't take it personally when people rant about how much they cost. I once got to sell these. I had a coworker listen to an entire tirade about this. He simply replied "Okay. Will that be cash or check?". If you are a tourist-harasser in Charleston, please don't take it personally when someone who is obviously a native Southerner tells you "I don't speak English" in an Upstate drawl. Get the picture? Of course, if someone is rude on the comment section of your blog ...

2005-06-16T11:08:00.000-04:00

I'm currently the #2 link in a yahoo search for burning lips smokless tobacco. I'm not sure whether to be thrilled that I'm so high on someone's search (why would someone search for that?) or that I am horrible about proofreading as is someone else.

Reading the way yahoo butchered my posts to create their summary makes it sound like I am crazy.

Am not.

The Trip -- Part 1

2005-06-15T12:54:00.000-04:00

It was a cold and stormy night ... oh wait, wrong story...

We left for Charleston the morning of June 5. We always try to go on vacation on the week of our anniversary, June 7, but this is likely the last year that is going to happen due to my wife's school changing to modified calendar AKA year-round school. Anyway, I like to be on the road and past Pelzer when the sun comes up. We were a little later than that this time, but I was okay with it for some reason that I have yet to discover. I had strategically chosen our vacation dates to maximumize the cost to duration to amenities ratio (please ignore for the moment that that's three things composing a ratio -- I have a minor in Mathematics and believe-you-me, once you get to the 400 level, stuff becomes a little mystical). Rather than staying at Isle of Palms this year, we decided to stay in a hotel to save money. I found a Best Western in West Ashley (which would more properly be called Southwest Ashley, but who's counting) that was quite reasonable -- more on that later.

The first place we stopped (predictably) was Whole Foods in Mount Pleasant (which isn't anywhere near a mountain though it IS quite pleasant). The coffee was great as always, but some of the magic of assembling a basketful of ingredients for our meals was absent. That's a price one must pay for staying in a hotel without even a refrigerator in the room. Leaving there, we went to Sullivan's Island and parked near the lighthouse which happens to be the youngest in the US and one of only several with an elevator. As a sidenote, it should be noted that this lighthouse was once painted orange until locals protested. That's strange considering that there are probably as many per-capita Clemson fans in the lowcountry as there are in the upstate.

Moving along... After a brief walk on the beach, we headed south to find the hotel and go to World Market. As we crossed the Cooper River on the Grace Memorial Bridge, I realized that this would be the last trip that we got to cross that engineering marvel. Next time we go, we'll cross on the Ravenel (is that right) Bridge which is the largest cable-stayed bridge in North America (probably by several inches or something) whoop-te-doo. Seriously, the new bridge is pretty and "more elegant" (subject to individual tastes of course) than the old ones but it sort of reminds me of all the older vehicles I have owned. Sure, my truck is more comfortable and has AC and power steering, but it will never replace the other ones completely nor would they replace it. I suppose the part hardest for me to take is the way people tend to forget about these things. I suppose that is what museums are for, but unfortunately, much smaller things are never archived.

Minor Digression:
When I was a kid, there was a miniature golf course in Myrtle Beach that was later turned into a waterslide/bumper boats place and then later to an arcade. I'd love to see some pictures of that place through the years. We stayed at a hotel called the Seaside Inn (original name, huh?) in those years (late '70s). Using the few photographs my parents took (well, relatively few. Mom had a Kodak Instamatic and we had to send the film to Atlanta to be processed so there was a nontrivial cost involved) I was able to determine based on the angle and apparent distance to the 14th Ave pier approximately what location on the beach I was sitting when my picture was taken as I scooped sand into a bucket. My parents had always thought the Seaside was demolished, and they could never walk down Ocean Blvd, stop, and tell me, "Here's where the Seaside was." I guess they just don't share my interest in mundane history. Anyway, I managed to "find" the Seaside. I suppose a nice tale of an archaeological dig or whatever would be interesting -- especially since according to many sources, the Seaside was built in 19-0-somthing and was the first hotel in Myrtle Beach. Of course, maybe it was a different Seaside Inn (see how nice it would be to have a really thorough history of the mundane details of the town?). The actualy discovery was much less cool. Above one of those beachwear places, I noticed some apparently abandoned hotel room balconies. The railings varied among them, but one of them matched the ones in a picture my Mom took of my Dad holding me on the balcony (safely of course).

Back on topic:
I googled for the the Grace Bridge and got this link. It was the first one that had an easily found photograph. Based on the .de top-level domain in the URL, it is a German site. I'll leave it up to your judgement whether something is wrong with that picture. There are severl really nice pictures there, and there is also a link to a page at the Charleston County Public Library Grace Bridge Photo Gallery. Nice pictures.

It wasn't until last year that I learned that the Grace Bridge was a cantilever-truss bridge when I bought a book on it. Also in that book I learned why a lot of the streets on Sullivan's Island are named Station 10, Station 22, etc.

Another digression and all for today:
I like it when names of things violate "the rules". Calling a street Station 22 and not appending it with Street or Road or whatever is so cool. Sure a lot of folks will say they live on Elm or something like that, but if you check out the street signs, they'll say Elm St. perhaps. Well, on Sully, Station 22 is the whole name. Similarly, Anderson has Boulevard (yep, that's all that is on the sign) and Charleston has The Citadel (the technical name of which is the Military something or other of South Carolina) which is cool because the "The" is required and there is no "College" or "University" hanging on there. I also like coastal boaters who are arrogant enough to list only the city of the boat's home port under its (her for true mariners) name while assuming that anyone qualified to be on the water would know where that is. "Charleston" is pretty recognizable though I have seen it with the S.C. tacked on and once saw "Charlestowne" which I thought was even more arrogant (two thumbs up! )why do I admire arrogance? It must be a character flaw.)) Others are less well-known, so when I see a boat such as "Flipper / Mt. Pleasant" I give that guy two thumbs up as well. Don't know where the coastal city of Mt. Pleasant is? Get a nautical chart.

I guess that's all for today.

One Reason ...

2005-06-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

IMG_0423.JPG
Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

... I wanted a digital SLR is because I love closups of God's creations. Making photographs like this one is much easier for me with the new camera. I took this one at only medium resolution and through the expert-criticized included zoom lens. Still I think it is good enough for my tastes.

If you want to see all the detail, you'll have to follow this link.

Yet More Clever Advertising

2005-06-13T12:50:00.000-04:00

As promised, let's look into the wonderful world of camera zoom lenses.

Having been a child with both a set of binoculars and a microscope and woodworking tools, I learned the various meanings of 'X' in different contexts. For dimensions, 'X' is used as a separater for measurements of multiple dimensions. In the case of optics (well, at least in the case of binoculars and microscopes) 'X' almost always can be interpreted as a magnification value. For 10X binoculars, the image you see through the eyepieces is 10 times the size you would see unaided. You could also think of this as 10 times closer to get the picture. At any rate, higher numbers in front of the 'X' give greater magnification and are more prone to image jitter if you are holding them by hand without some stabilization built in.

One might think that camera lenses worked the same way. One would be incorrect. I think everyone knows that digital zoom is simple some clever word someone came up with to indicate that a device is capable of enlarging an image by placing additional data (i.e. pixels) in the image by guessing at what they should be. As this can be done faster and better on a person's computer, this feature on a camera is pretty much just for marketing. Okay, I just wanted to get that out of the way for anyone who has ever been lured in by the 120X digital zoom that I've seen before. So optical zoom is what really lets you make an object's size increase or decrease on a camera. Will a 3X zoom allow you to make an object appear 3 times closer to you? Well, it depends.

It turns out, 3X in zoom lens terminology refers to a ratio of maximum lens focal length to minimum lens focal length. Check out google for that if you are interested in more information. I don't want to get too complex here, but basically, magnification increases with increased focal length. You might hear a photographer talk about a 50mm lens for his 35mm camera. The 35mm is the film size of the camera. That is important because it plays into how much magnification you actually get. The 50mm is the focal length of the lens. He could also have a 150mm lens. This will "magnify" the image more than the 50mm. The term magnify is in quotes because it isn't exactly the whole story, but again, google for this stuff for more info. If a lens can be adjusted from 50mm to 150mm in focal length, it can be labeled a 50-150 or maybe 50-3X. Where this gets misleading is when you might have a 50-3X and a 150-3X. These are both 3X zoom lenses and will be sold as such on many point and shoot cameras. This becomes of interest to someone who might want to get a closeup of wildlife without having to wear camouflage. So clearly it is important to know the minimum focal length and the zoom factor such as 3X in order to figure out which camera provides more magnification.

Unfortunately, there is more to it than that. While it might be nice to just look for and prefer a 150-3X over a 50-3X to go bird watching, the film size or, in digital cameras, image sensor size also comes into play. I won't go into this at all except to caution anyone considering a camera purchase to do some research and be careful of market speak.

So what led to all this? I recently bought a Canon EOS Digital Rebel from A&M Photoworld. The price seemed to good to be true and it was. Apparently, this is one of many companies that advertise a "non-US" model (without specifying that part) and then con you into "upgrading" when you make the (required) phone call to confirm your order. I don't like this tactic, but I did manage to get the camera for a good bit less than locally. Still, if you don't like having to be scammed a little to get a deal, avoid them. I was quite nervous for a few days while waiting on the camera to arrive. I found them on froogle.com (great site), but unlike a lot of the merchants on there, there wasn't a satisfaction rating on the main page. It was a link that doesn't stand out nearly as well as 3.5/5 or whatever. After placing my order and being conned into the upgrade (I swear this guy could speak 250 words per minute), I went back to froogle and found the link which went to resellerratings.com. A&M Photoworld was like .3 out of 10. I rank that as TERRIBLE. Anyway, do your research, and then go back and make sure you did ALL your research.

As far as the camera is concerned, it is pretty nice for the price. It is an SLR, and if that doesn't mean anything to you, it might not be what you are wanting. It makes pictures that are more than acceptable for my use despite the fact that I've seen some reviews tell you to "save your money" and "buy the real one" which costs 5 times as much. I guess that's like, "Don't buy that Cadillac. It is a waste of money. A Bentley is the way to go." Whatever.

I do want to comment on one thing about the camera. Since it is an SLR, looking through the viewfinder shows you exactly what the sensor sees through the lens you have attached. Most point and shoot cameras (including the Olympus D320L this replaced) have a separate very low quality lens for the viewfinder, and it only approximates what you will capture. Anyway, this camera has absolutely no way to line up a picture using the LCD. You must use the viewfinder. I saw a review where someone pointed this out as a negative. Really though, this is a good thing for several reasons. A camera LCD shows a poor quality picture in relation to what you can get from a professionally printed digital photograph. This is especially important if you are trying to take a closeup of a flower and want the focus to be on the stamen rather than the petals. In addition, using the LCD to take a picture causes one to hold the camera a nontrivial distance away from his body. This makes stabilization more difficult than when held close. LCDs also consume a fair amount of electricity, so extended use will drain the batteries faster.

Back Home

2005-06-12T17:14:00.000-04:00

Well, we're back from Charleston, and many stories must be shared. Of course, I asked a question in my last post that nobody took a stab at. Nonetheless, before I start talking about my trip, I'm going to address that question and explain the significance of it in my life. Maybe tonight after homegroup...

Hey, gimme a Coke...

2005-06-01T11:50:00.000-04:00

Something I have noticed is that so many people around here use the word "Coke" to refer to any softdrink. Of course, the word softdrink is misleading anyway since kool-aid considers its product a softdrink, depite the fact the it isn't a coke without the carbonation.

Anyway, that lame intro leads into a short discussion of the adventures of carbonated beveragery I have recently undertaken. While at Earthfare a while back and in need of something wet to accompany my oh-so-good oatmeal-raisin cookie, I picked up something from the cooler hyped as Jamaican ginger brew (was it Reed's?). It was absolutely great, and at $1 a bottle, less expensive than at Publix. Of course, you do get strange looks as you stroll around Greenville with a green longneck bottle in had, especially since the word "brew" was prominantly displayed on the label.

Also while in Greenville, we grabbed a 4-pack of some kind of ginger ale proudly marked as "hot". Indeed it makes Canada Dry taste pretty bland. It has a slight sinus-opening effect much like horseradish (sidenote for those who think ginger = sweet spice: gingerbread is sweet because of sugar; freshly grated ginger will burn things such as your eyes and sinuses) but was quite good. It too is packaged in such a way the it seems almost certain that the maker wants to annoy those who jump to conclusions.

In the meantime, my wife has decided she like rootbeer, but I sill despise the stuff. Wintergreen has never been my favorite flavor, and I have shunned it more since I first smelled tobacco that had been flavored with it. I'll withhold judgement from those who might use said wintergree-flavored smokless tobacco except to question if the flavoring it to mask the flavor of the tobacco.

Though I still love black coffee, I really like a Cafe Mocha from Port City Java in the "really big" (actual size I requested) size. Technically, they call it a Mochaccino (sp?), but that word irritates me due to the overhypedness of *ccinos these days for people who want the appearance of drinking coffee without having to taste it. There goes that darn elitism again. No seriously, coffee IS an acquired taste -- one which isn't to the benefit of one's finances.

Speaking of elitism, in my case it isn't an "I'm better than you." or something like that. In fact, I like to try to bring others up when they feel down. Really, it is more of an "I have something to say that people need to hear." Okay, maybe not everyone needs to hear my ramblings which can be totally pointless as evidenced by this post. Still, from time to time I learn something I want to share.

Consider this question for next time: What does 3x optical zoom on a camera mean? I'm not asking for the difference between optical and digital zoom which I hope by now is known to be a completely unethical marketing gimmick. I think you might be surpised to find out the answer and how significant (or insignificant) it is. I'll post a likely long-winded answer soon.

Not Myself

2005-05-25T12:18:00.000-04:00

For the past few days, I don't think I have really been myself. In addition to the usual at-home projects, I've been working on some stuff at work that just flat had me frustrated. The frustrating thing about the at-home stuff is that nightfall comes entirely too soon. That's beyond my control, and I suspect that is God's way of keeping me from overdoing it.

On the other hand, the work stuff leads to a little mini-rant:

I despise closed-source software. That's right, for those of you who use Windows or Mac OS, I do not like your operating system software. If you use microsoft office, I do not like your office suite. If you use adobe photoshop, I do not like your image editing software. Before you take a swing at me, let me first say that if your software choice meets your needs you are by all means justified in using it (like you needed or wanted my approval or something :-)) Notice I did not say "I do not like you." Hopefully we can still be friends. I have several friends who like Pepsi, though I can't imagine why. For the past several days, I've been taking some code I have written and converting it to play nicely and take advantage of some greater functionality afforded by another programming language. Up until the end of last week, it looked like I was going to be able to increase the speed of the application for users by a factor of 200-300%. In other words, this thing rocks. Then I hit a roadblock. Some of the features inherent to the specified type of language do not work as they are supposed to. A good analogy for my trouble would be to picture 3 rooms in a single row connected by doorways between the first and second and the second and third. To anyone who knows how doorways are SUPPOSED to work, it is obvious that I can go from the first room to the third by passing through the second room. Well, this programming language will let you go from the first room to the second or from the second to the third. However, you can't go from the first to the third without getting lost in the second. It just isn't possible. I had tried everything, and this morning I finally figured out that I could teleport myself from the first room to Nepal, then cross the border to India and trek to the Indian Ocean where I swim to Diego Garcia and stow away on a B52 on a trip back to the US where I parachute out at high altitude and plunge through the roof of the third room.

The compiler for this programming language is closed-source. I have no idea why I get lost in the second room trying to get from the first to the third. The compiler should not do this, and that means it is broken. If I had the source (or at least some documentation which does not seem to exist either), I might could figure out that the compiler won't get lost if I turn on the light switch in room 2 (which I did try already to no avail). Instead, I can only rely on the vendor for support. Considering that I have tried twice with no success to get access to their developer forums, I rank their support as pretty crappy. Maybe they don't like hippiegeeknecks or sense my open source ideaology. Who knows?

So to summarize my gripe, if I buy a new car and the hood is welded shut, I think I am perfectly justified to expect the manufacturer to perform service on the car free of charge when and where I ask for it. Otherwise, I think he should allow me to lift the hood of the car to do my own service. So maybe some of you don't do car work. Wouldn't it be nice to know you have a friend who can "have a look first" before you take it in to have a $2 part replaced for $600?

Well, I'm glad I got that out of my system. I could probably go on, but I probably don't even have an audience reading this sentence. :-) Like I said before, I don't look down on Windows users or Mac Users (well, only if they get an attitude with me first :-)) but I see some shortcomings with the closed source development model. Have you ever noticed how often this exchange takes place? "Hey, I lost my computer sound." "Try rebooting." "Cool, it's back. Hey, what was wrong." "Beats me. You have to reboot once in a while." The reason you seldom see what EXACTLY was the problem is that Windows (for example) keeps the user completely in the dark so the problem is associated with a solution and not a cause. I prefer to fix the cause rather than employ the solution.

Oh, one final thought while I'm offending people: PC is a small liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina. Please do not use that term to refer to an x86-based computer running windows. It is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I have no idea why, but it bugs me as much as hearing "mouse" used as a verb.

If you're still with me, I invite your (G rated) flames or serious comments. Hopefully there will be no feelings of ill-will or threats to my physical safety.

This blog entry posted from IE6 on Windows 2000.

2005-05-20T15:53:00.000-04:00

I posted on xanga today because of their groovy DVD cover picture thingies. I know. I know. I could have ripped that off and put it here and stuff but that seems a little shady. Xanga provides a useful tool, so today they get the post.

There's a link to my whole xanga blog in the sidebar if you are interested in what other DVD, CD, or book (fat chance) cover thingies I have plastered on there.

Hmm, thingy... I think "thingy" is going to be my new word for nondescriptive ambiguity.

Scars are ...

2005-05-19T12:24:00.000-04:00

... God's way of giving us memories to talk about -- and post about.

Physical scars: most all of us have them. Some have more than others. For nearly every scar I have there is a story I remember that goes along with it. Looking back, a lot of the stories are funny, some are not. So, in a tribute to scars everywhere, I'll highlight some of my memorable ones. The answer to the obvious question of "Is he crazy?" is "Yes. Yes, I am."

-my right wrist bears the resemblance of a turtle -- or China, I have yet to decide. Apparently, when I was young, I dropped a ceramic dog planter (as in there are flowers growing out of the back of this glass Beagle) at my Grandmother's house and was cut by a shard. I don't remember much about it, so I'm going based on her version of events.

-(skip this one if you have a weak stomach) the inside of my left elbow bears a little ridge where I was hit by a small chunk of steel that was liberated from a wood-splitting wedge by means of a sledge hammer. I remember this distinctly -- the faint "pop" that I heard when it hit me, the burning sensation that immediately surrounded the area, the blood that poured out as I foolishly pulled the metal out while in the woods (alone), the feeling in the pit of my stomach that accompanies injury. I hope this is as close as I come to knowing what a gunshot feels like.

-the inside of my left ankle has a scar from a burn I sustained while using a heat gun to remove varnish from a hardwood floor. Note to self: flipflops + heatgun = the smell of charred flesh. This one is pretty fresh. I'm hoping it goes away.

-(skip this one too if you are squeemish) my most significant scar is on my lower lip. It was the summer before 7th or 8th grade. I forget which. I was at a friend's grandmother's house (I see a trend with getting hurt at the homes of grandparents). Her dog, an English Springer Spaniel, had been nice to me the previous days of our visit, and he now sat at my feet as I watched TV from a chair in the living room. I reached down to pet the dog who seemed rather appreciative of my advances. Apparently, this dog had a "bubble" that I breached as I leaned closer. The next few moments were a blur, but they concluded with me standing with my hand to my lips feeling the blood run down my forearm. I have never been so scared in my entire life. I didn't know how badly I was hurt, but I did know that I had an entire palmful of blood and it was overflowing. About this time I start to panic. I honestly thought I might not make it. Oh, stop laughing at me. I was only like 12. I was a scared kid. Anyway, my friend's grandmother managed to help me stop the bleeding and calmed me down. I took about 10 minutes for me to believe that I would indeed live. We ended up at some type of doctor's office. The doctor came in and explained the they'd have to contact my parents to get permission to treat me (?). After managing to get in contact with someone (my Dad) that the doctor assumed was indeed my parent, he came over to me and gave me "the pat" on the shoulder and told me "We'll get that thing sewed up for you in just a bit". Excuse me? I'd just like a bandaid please. "Umm, no you aren't". I thought I had won that little battle. "Oh, okay. Just come back in a few weeks and discuss plastic surgery." Without a moment of thought,"Sew it up doc." They put one of those blue-green surgery cloths over my face and gave me a few shots of Novacaine. After a few minutes, the stitching began. It was a pretty strange feeling. I could feel the drag of the needle and thread through my lip but none of the associated pain. After 5 of the stitches, the doctor stopped. He told me that the last 2 might hurt. Apparently, there was some techincal reason he couldn't give me any more Novacaine. So, the last 2 stitches hurt really bad. Tears poured from my eyes and streamed down the sides of my face. It was unpleasant to say the least. The rest of the story is pretty lame, but one side effect of this ordeal is that I don't allow dogs near my face. That goes for large dogs, small dogs, and glass dogs :-). I know some people let their dogs lick them in the face and things like that. If that works for you, you have my blessing. I stick to arms-length petting thanks.

To finish on a high note, I want to give a shout-out to an "Anonymous" coworker. It's his birthday today. Happy Birthday dude!

Shirt and Shoes Required

2005-05-18T12:33:00.000-04:00

I was reading a post from a friend's xanga blog where he joked that he only wore underwear when he ate at Hyman's Seafood recently since that is what the Hyman family sold before entering the restaurant business. Thankfully, he was kidding, but it brought to mind how funny I find some signage.

For example: many places of business display a "Shirt and shoes required" sign. Are pants optional? For that matter, do you have to actually be wearing the shirt and shoes, or is simply having them in your possession enough? I have a friend whose Birkenstocks are so worn out (and thus cool as all-git-out) that a portion of his feet touch the ground through them. Do those count?

At the Anderson Jockey Lot, there is a sign that reads "Speed Limit 4 2/5 MPH" What? Who has a speedometer that precise? Do they have a guy in a golf cart running radar to bust anyone who dares let his speed creep past 4 3/5?

Then there's the "Slow Children Playing" sign. I suppose the idea is to warn drivers that since the children are slow, they won't be able to get out of the road fast enough to avoid being hit. You'll notice that there are never any signs warning of fast children playing. Then again, maybe the "Slow Children Playing" sign is to alert the recruiters for the US Track and Field team that they need not stop in that neighborhood. Who knows?

I once saw a sign on a place called the Flying Dutchman (or something like that) in North Charleston that read "We have 5 ugly girls and 2 pretty ones". No thanks. It's a little disturbing that they felt the need to brag about how many "ugly" girls they have. I can see the conversation now: "Hey Bubba, stop at th' Hayloft!" "You stoopid or sumthin? All them girls is perty. The Flyin Dutchman's got the ugly uns" "Good call Bubba!" Maybe I'm just naive.

There's a little restaurant near my house called Mac's Drive In. When I was younger, someone took that sign a little too literally. I don't know if anyone was hurt, but for a few months, there was a makeshift wall covering the hole. I wonder if you can press charges against someone who took the name of your restaurant to be an invitation.

I like signs that don't try to be elegant. I saw one somewhere that read "Throwing trash on road $1000 fine". There's no need for fancy words like "litter", "garbage", and "refuse".

Moving on...
I made a few changes to the layout here. I'm still too lazy to write something from scratch, so I'm sticking with a template for now.

Diamonds are Forev... for a Long Time

2005-05-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

I read this morning that laboratory techniques to create real diamonds have got to the point that it may soon be feasible to create them on a large scale. What I am curious about is what such a market would mean to the perception people have of diamonds. If such a man-made diamond is indistinguishable from a naturally occurring one, what incentive does one have to purchase the much more expensive natural one?

I started thinking more and more about the appeal that exclusivity has to people. Any time someone feels he or she is in a "select few" there is a sense of comfort and value. I would like to think that people do not need material possessions to give them a sense of self-worth, but I realize that is not always the case. Frankly I am bothered by commercials that equate gifts of lovely jewelry with one's love for another. I don't feel there's anything wrong with having nice things, so long as having such things do not destroy financial peace. Does a 4 carat diamond ring say "I love you" more than a paid-for house? I suppose the answer varies among people.

People's possessions don't make them valuable. As much as we try to classify others by the things they have, economic value is a mere illusion created by the greed of humans as a way of managing everyone's wants. Once a staple in mid-19th century jewelry, aluminum now sees usage as a container for beverages and a wrapper for leftovers. Were it not for the relative scarcity of authentic period aluminum jewelry, it would have the same value as a roll of foil, about a-buck-ninety-nine.

People have value because God invested his hand in creating them and his love in sustaining them. No amount of material riches can alter this in any way. The value of His love is the same today, yesterday, and forever.

God, help me to be content in the material things you've blessed me with. Help me remember that you know me better than I know myself, for you created me. Help me realize that you are always present during my struggles and my successes. Create in me a stronger love for my fellow human beings, and suppress my arrogance. For you are Holy, and good, and just, and my friend.

Amen.

Who'd Have Thought

2005-05-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

Imagine my surprise Sunday when Perry mentioned 'raslin at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium. I didn't know he was a fan of my blog ;) . Just a bit of backgound for those of you who might not have had the opportunity to listen to the message and wonder why a pastor would mention 'raslin (complete with correct pronunciation no less): he was making the point of how fans of the "sport" have no trouble being identified with it through their behavior at the events and how Christians should be equally moved to be identified as Christ followers through baptism after salvation.

This guy just keeps getting stranger

2005-05-13T13:08:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I frequently think I missed my calling as the world's foremost expert on architectural anomalies and obscurities through contemporary archaeology (or something like that). Of course, I'm not sure which university one attends for a basis in such and who would pay actual money for such trivia, so I guess it is just a good hobby.

Anyway, last night while helping some friends pack a moving truck, I caught glimpse of a print depicting Clemson Memorial Stadium before the North Upper Deck was built. I remember going to games as a child and seeing it like that, but standing there now I find it difficult to point from place to place and remember where this fence was or that gate was, where the shady spots were and where everything was bright, what adornments were atop the stands at that time, and things like that. So I stared at the picture for as long as my moving duties allowed, noticing the most minute details. To most people, there is a noticeable difference in the architecture of the upper deck sections. I suppose that is a common thread. Of course, the more obscure things about them appeal to me. I wonder what the difference in seating slope is. Who were the engineers on each section? Why are they not identical? Was the older one considered too small or were codes changed over the years? Is it symmetrical?

When I discovered that I had this curious obsession, I started compiling old photographs of all sorts of things that I thought I might one day forget and want to look back on. Such an undertaking is sometimes hard because it seems I am the only one who does this. I don't like the before and after shots -- they leave too much out and usually put emphasis on the "improvement". Merchants no longer sell pictures showing Death Valley before its storied '80s existence when both upper decks were attached. After all, who'd want to buy one?

Old postcards are really good for documenting changes. I have several from Myrtle Beach over the years, and can point out changes along the row of hotels that most people don't notice. I found one at Barefoot Landing showing the area when it was just a wide spot in the road called Barefoot Traders. The lady who sold it to me actually provided me with a little oral history. I wonder how often a redhippiegeekneck buys a postcard that is 25 years outdated? They probably thought nobody would ever take those things.

To give you an idea of just how strange this gets, I love football uniform history. Specifically, I like helmet history. Apparently, I'm not alone.

I don't try to remember all I discover, but I like to think I try :)

Related things that interest me:
-US navy aircraft carriers and submarines and specific differences up to and including the manufacurers of the powerplants on them
-bridges, specifically those in Charleston. I mentioned the Grace and Pearman bridges before, but I am intrigued by the fact that the HWY17 bridges over the Ashley River have control "towers" that do not match. How cool is that?
-cold was era "fallout shelter" signs-stadiums and auditoriums the world over
-firefighting apparatus
-landscape and roadways prior to creation of manmade lakes
-old hospitals and the OR equipment

Okay Here Goes...

2005-05-12T15:04:00.000-04:00

Since I haven't learned my lesson about ranting on potentially controversial topics, I submit to you today's blind rant:

I briefly mentioned the Greenville Memorial Hole in a previous post. One thing led to another and I checked google. I found this page. While its focus seems to be professional wrestling (AKA raslin'), some of the pictures on there are funny, some are sad, and one pretty much makes me mad. Look at this picture. Do you suppose that's where the word "Memorial" comes from? How soon we forget the courage of those before us and destroy the memorial to them, leaving it as pit of gravel, red clay, and weeds surrounded by a crappy fence. Oh, and while we're at it, let's sell the naming rights for a "better" auditorium to a grocery store that has a gimmick card(tm). Yes! That will do nicely.

Let the flaming begin...

Pizza

2005-05-12T12:19:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

What's a pizza pan? Seriously, ever since I got a pizza stone 8 years ago, I've loved making pizza on it. The biggest problems I have are that the stone is only about 16" in diameter and my oven will barely reach 550F. Ideally, the stone would be 24" in diameter and the oven would easily hit 650F. Last Sunday I made a couple of pizzas for lunch (and breakfast and lunch the next day). It took an entire gallon of last year's tomatoes to make the sauce.

Steal Your Face

2005-05-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

All my pizzas have a unique shape. I tried round, but round is too generic. That, and I can't seem to make one round without resorting to a rolling pin. If you turn you head just right, this one resembles a Steal Your Face sticker (i.e. the Grateful Dead skull with lighthing bolt for those of you who don't know).

Mocha

2005-05-12T12:11:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Mocha is a little skittish. She loves to be near people so long as she isn't touched by them.

I really wish

2005-05-12T12:10:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

someone could tell me what Molly is thinking right here.

And modeling the latest in

2005-05-12T12:08:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

tree camouflage, we have Mysty. Notice how she blends in to her surroundings so well.

And up next ...

2005-05-12T12:06:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Her hobbies include climbing and chewing. She stands 1'11" tall and has brown eyes. Please welcome Molly.

Ravioli

2005-05-12T12:04:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Homemade ravioli is great. There's a fair amount of work involved, but I think the results make the labor worthwhile. The next time I make ravioli, I'm going to buy one of those silicone basting brushes so I won't have to worry about stray bristles.

Local Racetrack

2005-05-12T12:02:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Here's a picture of the closest racetrack to my house. In fact, it's just across the road. Apparently, entries are limited to minibikes, gokarts, lawnmowers, and custom gobikemowers. I'm still trying to figure out how driving in circles in the woods for 6 hours can keep its appeal.

2005-05-12T11:48:00.000-04:00

It seems that a lot of people I know have jumped on the iPod bandwagon. It's too bad that the iPod is just a passing fad. If only they had waited for the Windows cell phone complete with DRMed media player.

Windows on a cell phone... awesome! I've got to get myself one of those.

Sarcasm mode off...

2005-05-12T09:54:00.000-04:00

I just stumbled upon Penguin in the Pew. It's a book about using Free software in the church. It's nice to see Free software being used in that way.

Didya know...

2005-05-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

inflammable means flammable? Maybe an urban myth, but funny nonetheless: so many people were confused by the 'in-' prefix and thought inflammable meant noncombustable that the word nonflammable was created to eliminate the confusion and doubtless many deaths and injuries.

Some Sayings ...

2005-05-11T16:20:00.000-04:00

Despite my best intentions, various notable expressions have crept into my vocabulary over the course of my life. For those of you who listen to me speak in person, perhaps a translation is in order.

When I say ... it means...
"as all git-out" -- I think it means "very much so"
"like nobody's business" -- see above
"shoot cheah!" -- "Yes!" -- the result of mispronouncing "Shoot Yeah!"
"prise" -- "pry" -- this might actually be a word, I don't know. I read it somewhere today and was reminded that I sometimes say it.
"rearend" -- if I say this, I'm almost always referring to the rear-axle driveline of a car or truck
"mash" -- "press"(as in a button) or "crush"(as in to mash one's finger with a hammer)
"uh whalla go" -- "somewhat recently"
"Git!" -- what one says to unwelcome animals on one's property
"duck tape" -- this is the technically correct name for this marvelous invention to which many owe their home, their car, and their wardrobe as it was originally made of cotton duck

Well, I have more ... for a later time...

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2005-05-10T12:37:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Here's a hint: this is the Hardees in Clemson -- on game day.

Since I was a kid, one of the mainstays of a Clemson home football game was Hardees. The place was filled with people wearing orange from head to toe, and it didn't hurt that the Hardees sign followed suit. Alas, this is the sight that awaited me after my ritual trek from The Cheap Parking(tm) to grab the usual Bacon Egg and Cheese biscuit one Saturday morning last Fall. It is my understanding that condos will fill the vacant space, and I harbor no ill will toward future inhabitants of the place. Still, I am saddened by such changes. I sometimes feel that my sadness is quickly met with the "Things change, stop living in the past" argument. Well, it isn't that simple for me, and apparently it isn't for citizens in cities with a long history. Imagine telling Charlestonians a building with a lot of history is to be demolished to make room for something bigger and better. I seriously doubt the news would be taken well. People tend to believe they hold some sort of claim to things they don't truly own simply because they share a history with them. I think this is at least partially valid.

There are a number of structures I hold in special regard. Some of them are considered works of art, and some are considered eyesores. Personally, I find them all works of art. Hardees is one of these. Some have enough "significance" to remain. Some are slated for removal. Some are no longer with us to enjoy.

A few more:

Grace and Pearman Bridges in Charleston -- you can keep your state-of-the-art cable bridge thanks

Morris Island Lighthouse

Sullivan's Island Lighthouse

Myrtle Beach Pavilion

Johnstone Hall, Clemson University -- classic eyesore (to some, beautiful example of functional, inexpensive architecture that lasted far longer than intended)

Atlanta-Fulton County stadium

Greenville Memorial Auditorium -- er, should I say Greenville Memorial Hole; doesn't Bilo Center just sound so much more exclusive? (ducks to avoid flames)

Clemson Memorial Stadium (as in Death Valley)

And the biggest surprise -- the original Walmart in Anderson at Lakeside shopping center: a relic from the days when they did sell domestic goods, sought to keep the lines short and the customer happy, and didn't have the ego necessary to make stripmalls build around THEM.

The Sweet Smell of Success

2005-05-07T08:10:00.000-04:00

Okay, maybe that smell is just the rose I picked for my wonderful wife from our rose bush, but I am quite pleased with the progress on aristotle. He's fully wireless now, and the new battery arrived yesterday. Hence, I am typing this in a completely different room than I have inhabited for the last few evenings. I learned a lot, but I think it is time for a little break from my computer side project to enjoy my garden and the outdoors in general.

2005-05-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

Aristotle is currently being loaded with gentoo. He should be up and running by the time his new battery gets here.

In other news, I plowed the garden last night, and I hope to get all the planting done tonight except for a few herbs and my watermelons. I'll add some pictures when I can (I say that a lot lately -- so no promises).

For today's fun game, I thought I'd list some numbers and their significance:

9=number of times I plowed each row I laid off last night
1=number of rows that I accidentally gave a double dose of fertilizer to
14=number of rows I am going to plant in the garden near the house
100=number of feet each row is
3=number of hours the plowing and fertilizing took
58=number of years of age of the Farmall Cub I was using
8.5=drawbar horsepower of a Farmall Cub
12=listed horsepower of a typical riding lawnmower
5=number of riding lawnmowers my family has gone through since 1984
1=number of Farmall Cubs my family has gone through since 1970
500000=number of dollars I would require to part with said Farmall Cub
2000=number of dollars an average Farmall Cub sells for today

The Fickle Geek

2005-05-03T12:39:00.000-04:00

So, I got my laptop last Saturday. Since then, I have actively used it for only about 10 hours due to more important things. In that time, I have installed no fewer than two different Linux distributions and I'm still not happy. Both of them are perfectly fine in their own right, but they just aren't what I am looking for. I think I might have to turn to gentoo. Gentoo is basically as geeky as you can get without truly rolling your own. It generally requires a lot of patience, but this patience is rewarded.

So enough nerd-talk. Sunday, my homegroup met at The Lake (that's Hartwell for those 'uh you that don't know). One brave soul made it into the water. I got one leg wet up to the knee. I feel complete. Anyhow, I thought I could summarize the occasion with another "things I learned" installment.

Things I learned at Home Group:

-I'm not the only one that sometimes has boat trouble -- apparently, it is the sign of a seasoned mariner ;-)
-When you run out of propane for your grill, the extra tank you find in the corner has the old style (i.e. correct) connector while the grill has the new style (i.e. we need some money so we introduced incompatibility)
-Brand names can be funny
-Bacon should not be cooked on a gas grill over high fire -- low fire or charcoal is fine if you know what you are doing
-Despite a little char, grilled bacon disappears from the plate pretty fast
-Some people actually appreciate my cake decorating skills (or something like that)
-The best games are subjective ones such as Apples to Apples
-The winner of a subjective game can be subjective, thus everybody wins!
-It's great to have friends -- friends to laugh with, hang out with, set bacon on fire with...

I got my Laptop

2005-05-02T12:56:00.000-04:00

Fedex delivers to residential addresses on Saturday. Cool!

So I got my laptop from Retrobox Saturday. Retrobox specializes in selling used computers at, in my opinion, a good price. Their customer service is okay, though my order took 2 weeks and was labeled with the following statuses (or is it stati?) along the way: Processing, Picked, Troubled, Pending, Cleaning, Shipping, Shipped. Perhaps a graphical representation of where in the process the machine is would be nice since I assumed that Picked would mean that shipping would be following right away rather than 2 weeks later. Anyway, I did get an email saying there was something wrong with the computer. For one, it had a larger harddrive than they advertised (much to my dismay 8-)) and only 1 PCMCIA slot (which is good since that is all the machine had when it was produced). There was also an issue with a power adapter. Without going into specifics, there was actually nothing wrong with anything, and my email exchanges with retrobox have led me to conclude that they are not intimately familiar with the Compaq Armada M300. The best part was that there was no Microsoft tax on the computer. While I feel I got a good deal, I'd caution one not to buy from Retrobox without first doing lots of research on the machine to be purchased. I'll give Retrobox 3.8 out of 5 stars.

The one pr0blem I do have with the laptop (that I have named aristotle) is that the battery is completely dead. If you unplug the machine, the thing dies. Unfortunately, new batteries are pretty expensive. All I want it one that will last for 10 minutes or so. I'm in my first auction on ebay as we speak.

I won't bore you with the details of installing Ubuntu Linux and then Mepis Linux on the computer. I'll just say that I prefer Mepis for techincal (i.e. geeky) reasons. I had only minor problems getting wireless networking to work, and if someone requests it, I'll post some comments on hardware support in linux.

Hopefully, I can post some pictures of aristotle in the next few days.

Things I Learned Over the Weekend

2005-04-25T13:08:00.000-04:00

dogs like salt -- and boiled peanuts
dogs can be a little wired after eating a boiled peanut
my dog's name is P-nut, so that's a little strange
I'm not alone in disliking WalMart
buying only 1 wifi card is a bad idea
it is impossible to only go the grocery store once per week
an elevator bolt seems to have nothing to do with an elevator
never take for granted that things are in the correct bin at Lowes
marketing is the art of convincing people they need something they don't
a clean vehicle seems to drive better
there are a lot of things southerners say that I didn't know were regional

The Art of Symbol Manipulation, or Why a Turtle is a Frog

2005-04-25T12:22:00.000-04:00

As I was reading some news for nerds, I came across a comment to a news post that equated something with the manipulation of the swastika. I'll revisit that in a moment.

Back in high school French class, the teacher had in her classroom a small turtle. I don't recall what a turtle had to do with the French language, but the turtle was nonetheless a pet to the class. One day, the three males in the class began referring to the reptile as a "frog" in an uncoordinated attempt to trick the females who composed the vast majority of the class. Obviously, it took some time to sell, but one by 0ne, many of the girls also began to refer to the turtle as a frog. It was actually quite comical to see the looks on the faces of visitors when they were asked if they wanted to see the class frog peeking out of its shell.

So, back to the swastika. I had a link to a great article about the history of the swastika, but the page was full of malware that attempted to download. For this reason, I have omitted the link, but I encourage everyone to google for "history of the swastika" and do a little research (being careful not to download weatherbug and associated stuff). Anyway, the general idea is that though most people recognize the role of the swastika in Nazi context, few know that its origins predate that by centuries. Few know that it appeared on US architecture, US literature, US art, and some US military insignia (prior to its use in Germany obviously). It sometimes still appears in some Asian religious contexts. In none of these cases does it symbolize what so many people today see it to mean.

So what's my point? People see the most recent and most famous meaning when they see a symbol. Contemporary meaning is assigned by society as a whole rather than by the first adopter of the symbol. A swastika can symbolize growth and prosperity or it can symbolize hatred. What do you see?

Symbols must be aggressively defended by those wanting to maintain their (presumably) honorable meaning. Just as trademarks in the US must be defended to avoid losing rights to them, symbols we hold dear must be defended against having their meaning tarnished by people seeking to utilize them in another way.

When a Christ Follower sees a cross, he or she sees a symbol of the love of God for the man he created and the grace that brings salvation. That's the meaning I want everyone to see. I don't want anyone to mistake a symbol of incomprehensible love for one of novelty or, worse, hate and condemnation. How could someone possibly make that kind of warped interpretation?

Well, how could someone mistake a turtle for a frog?

Type O

2005-04-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

Other than the fact that I have type O blood, I share a connection with its homophonic cousin "typo". Almost all the time I type "because", I end up with "beacuse" instead. Sometimes, people use this to register domain names that are similar to a common one that only differ by a few letters. Sometimes, the intent is to defraud someone as in the case of mybankonline.com which might be intended to get a customer of mybank.com to give away some sensitive information.

This morning, I discovered that there is a website that is accessed by transposing a couple of letters in a domain name I've been typing a lot lately. I'm not going to name names since I appreciate the intent of this individual, though I question the method. Anyway, you end up at a Christianity promoting, end is near website that you presumably were not intending to visit.

So, I was thinking a little experiment was in order. Consider the comments section to be a somewhat open forum to chime in with your thoughts. The only rules are to be nice and not completely bash the views of others and understand that others might not all agree with you. Friends don't have to agree on everything. Hopefully, I won't regret trying this.

My thoughts... It is similar to the judgemental church sign. In the case of the sign, you have the people who look at it and say "That's the way to tell those Pagans" and those who say "Hmm, Christians sure do find it easy to judge others." Either way, I think it isn't the best use of the sign. In the same way, I don't think people would be too appreciative of what this website has to say. Some Christians might consider it clever, but others will likely find it annoying and intrusive. I imagine that the people who are intended to be reached by this would also find it annoying and intrusive.

For some reason, I've had something on my mind since Sunday. I suppose it was the video at church. I wonder how often people give out tracts (sp?) to homeless people who might be cold and hungry. I wonder how receptive the homeless are to someone trying to meet their spiritual needs when that person doesn't seem to care enough to address their physical needs first. Hopefully, I that doesn't offend anyone. I guess this can be an open point of discussion too...

Summer's Coming

2005-04-20T09:26:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

No summer is complete without a trip to one's favorite racetrack. Okay, so some of you might disagree. Hey, this isn't NASCAR. It's a whole lot better. I actually know some of the people that race there.

Despite the poor picture, hopefully you will recognize that this is a picture of a late-60's to early-70's Mustang. This is the car I want (without the roll cage and numbers and with turn signals and stuff). I had the misfortune to see this car get destroyed one night by a really mean man who thought it would look good smashed against the inside wall on the backstretch. This is a post-wreck picture, and the original driver had changed divisions. I think the current owner is that guy's cousin or something. Anyway, you can't tell from the photo, but this car has a front bumper similar to a cow-catcher on the front of a steam locomotive. How cool is that?

2005-04-20T09:20:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Why can't a garden keep looking like this when the plants start to grow? You'll notice the gentle curvature of the rows to correspond to the path of the sun in the summer sky (or something like that). This was last year's garden. I've got a lot to do yet to get it looking like this for this year's crops.

2005-04-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Here's where I planted watermelons last year. I'd love to tell you I had already planted this year, but that would be a lie. Maybe this weekend...

2005-04-20T09:16:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

A couple years ago, we took my boat to Edisto. Let me tell you, that tow rating on Toyotas doesn't seem to be correct. The boat weighs about 7200, but the 5000 rated 'Yoda handled it like a champ and got almost 11 mpg on the trip. We skipped most of Charleston on the way, but we did stop by Brittlebank park for a little football tossing since we left home early and made great time. Parking the boat like in the picture was complicated by the presence of a 10 inch high curb that had to be jumped. There was some screeching of tires involved.

I say "boiled" funny

2005-04-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

I've been trying with no luck to figure out how to phonetically spell my pronunciation of "boiled".

Basically, I say it as one syllable, and the oyyyy-eeee part is noticeable absent. I say "oil" the same way.

In lieu of an open letter to coca cola ...

2005-04-19T12:01:00.000-04:00

Okay, the open letter thing was a little strange. I think I' ll just point out where coke erred instead of putting it into the pretend letter format. I feel the need to point out that though I am right, please feel free to disagree. 8-)

I'm sure you are all aware of "New Coke", the, in my opinion, horrible blight on all of western society. I apologize to those of you who seek the few units of it still produced by Coca Cola as Coke II or whatever, but I really hated the stuff. Anyway, I think the whole thing was a ploy to get people to be thankful for the return of the beloved "Coke Classic" which was supposedly from the original recipe. Snopes.com seems to disagree with this, but I think they've been paid off. Have you ever read the ingredients in "Coke Classic"? It mentions two that stand out to me. The first is High-Fructose Corn Syrup, and the second is Phosphoric acid. I honestly believe there might be others hiding under the guise of "natural flavors". I have some of the precursors to 2-liter plastic bottles. These glass bottles were available by the 4-pack and had caps similar to the ones used today. Reading the ingredient list shows that the word "sugar" takes the place of High Fructose Corn Syrup. That's odd. It turns out that at some point, they replaced the sweetener with a cheaper one. Maybe not everyone noticed, but apparently some people did. There is a huge market for Coke (as in cocacola) from Mexico because it is still produced with cane sugar. If your tongue is incapable of differentiating between sweeteners, I'm sure this sounds silly. Of course, some of us are cursed with softdrink snobbery. Softdrink snobs can taste the difference between drinks served in a glass but came from glass bottles, plastic bottles, or cans. We can tell if the drink had been through a cooling, warming, and cooling cycle (leave it in the fridge once you put it there, please). Okay, maybe snob is not the right word.

Oh, and I wouldn't drink a Pepsi for $100. Seriously, I wouldn't.

Well, now that I have alienated all my Pepsi friends, I think I'll sign off.

Of Course, I Could be Wrong

2005-04-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

Drat! Just when you think you know something...

After making fun of the name of a particular place, Burnt Tanyard (long story, suffice it to say that the place got its name from an event that occurred there), it occurred to me (actually was pointed out to me) that the entire reason for my finding the name humorous (that "burnt" wasn't technically a real word) was incorrect. For several years now, I have found this name funny. If "burnt" was indeed a word, not only would I be wrong (and hey, that's a real downer, especially when I speak as if I'm so sure of it) I would lose the humor of "Burnt Tanyard".

Well, friends, it looks as though I have lost the humor of "Burnt Tanyard". I guess I'll have to find something else to joke about. While I was google-ing for "burnt", I decided to make sure I was correct about "dreamt" being "not a word". This one, I was certain of. Uh, thankfully I'm in the good old US of A so I can consider myself to still be right. On the other side of the pond, howver, it looks as if I'd again be wrong. Maybe I could sweep this all under the carpet and nobody would ever be the wiser. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I guess I'm going to have to stop thinking I know anything. I suppose Einstein was right about everything being relative. After all, 1 + 1 = 10 in binary. I wonder if "brung" is acceptable anywhere?

As far as something I am sure about, church today was awesome. The weather was awesome. Homegroup was awesome. God is awesome. Of this, I AM sure.

Morris Island Lighthouse

2005-04-14T12:59:00.000-04:00

Beach and Top of LH.jpg
Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

This was taken a few years ago, and I thought I'd share it. When I look at the old beacon from as close as I can get without wading, I feel like I'm transported back to the last part of the 19th Century. That, and somehow I expect to see a curl of smoke come out of a lower window and the Mystery Machine pull up. Don't ask.

An Objective, nontechnical (almost) Review of Ubuntu Linux

2005-04-13T11:58:00.000-04:00

Since I tried Ubuntu Linux last night, I thought I'd give some of my thoughts on it. This is not intended to be too in-depth or geeky since I don't think many people who read this blog would want that. Besides, there are tons of other reviews on the internet. Instead, I wanted to try to be as objective as possible. Hopefully this will be of use to someone.

The reason I was installing Ubuntu in the first place is because less space in the new study has necessitated my removal of a desk and the computing devices on it. One of them USED to run windows. Even though I had no problem having a mixed network with a linux machine and a windows machine (my dislike of MS not withstanding), I now need to run one of the computers without a monitor. Please don't mention a KVM switch. I'm not really trying to share a monitor between two computers. Rather, I am wanting to use one only as a supporting resource. Anyway, I don't think it is a good idea to run windows without a monitor for reasons that get pretty techinical. I had read good things about Ubunutu, so I decided to give it a shot. The other machine runs Gentoo Linux. I love it, but it is impractical for an older machine, again, for techincal reasons.

Supposedly, Ubunutu is pretty minimalistic. It only takes one CD, unlike some distributions that take as many as 6. The installer is text based. While I don't mind this, I think a lot of people might feel that this is someh0w an indication of quality or functionality. Remember, perception is the greater part of reality. The install is really simple to me, but harddrive partitioning will give most people fits. I have no idea how to present this better though. I was installing on a 333MHz Celeron with 192MB of RAM, and installation took over an hour. Once running, the distribution provides Firefox, OpenOffice, and Evolution (similar to Outlook). These encompass much of what many people need. In other words, for many people who just want to do word processing, web browsing, and email, grab a 333 Celeron and a copy of Ubuntu and you're set. Obviously, your Flash games won't run as fast as on a fancier machine, but this is a good and inexpensive start.

Unfortunately, I think Ubunutu needs a little work. It seems to fit somewhere between the "you need to know what you are doing" school of thought and the "so simple a preschooler could do it" one. For example, there is a nice little graphical interface that allows you to set up what you want to share through Samba. Samba allows you to share files with a machine running MS Windows. When I tried to use this (really all it does it make some changes to a plain-text file that I could have easily edited by had -- but, then, I have experience with that) I got a message that Samba wasn't running and I needed to start it to share something. I knew right away how to do all that, but I realized that there wasn't a graphical means to allow someone who just got that message to do anything about it. There were some other issues too.

Put simply, Ubunutu has some promise. I really like their philosophy. I really don't think this is a good place for a newbie to start though. Knoppix is probably the best I've tried to date for someone to toy with. If nothing else, it has some cool games. Maybe one day, I'll roll my own distribution. I might need the help of someone in human interface design though. Does anyone know such a person?

I must confess, I'm really starting to want to testdrive a Macintosh. I won't own one (unless it is free), but I'd like to get some ideas on how the OS helps guide people. I don't think windows does a very good job of this by the way. Mac OSX is based on one of the BSD variants, so it is similar to Linux on the inside. (Please, no flames from anyone on this. I think it is a valid comparison.)

The Microsoft Tax

2005-04-12T16:10:00.000-04:00

How many of you have ever heard of the Microsoft Tax ? This is one many people are more than happy to pay. For most people, buying a new computer also means a nice operating system upgrade. Sadly, many people buy a new computer because their old one had slowed to a crawl due to software issues rather than truly insufficient hardware capabilities. Despite the fact that the operating system that comes with the computer isn't the "Full Retail Version" which has implications that are beyond the scope of this post, the cost added to the computer is less than if the machine had been purchased separate from the operating system. In other words, for most users, it's cheaper that way.

However, it is now nearly impossible to buy a major name computer (i.e. Dell, IBM, Compaq, etc.) without a Microsoft operating system installed. There are some people who simply don't need it and would like to have the added cost of it removed from the price they will pay.

Imagine how excited I was when I discovered that a company who is reselling some of my company's old computers is offering them without software. I found a laptop that sells elsewhere for $450 for only $328 through this company. I'd love to jump in, but right now, I'm trying to save some money. Anyway, I overheard several conversations in the cell block that included "by the time you buy the software, you'll have $500 or $600 in one".

All this background is to set up one point. I think so many people think that a computer is either a Macintosh or is a PC (I cringe at that term. It is no less troublesome to me than nails on a chalkboard.) which translates into Windows on an Intel. When I mention that I use Linux, I generally get a blank stare. I don't fault people (well, okay I try really hard not to an usually succeed except when I am ranting) for this, but I just want them to be aware of alternatives. That said, Linux isn't for everyone. For those people, Macintosh has really come a long way since I despised them so much. I still can't recommend one (darn grudge-holding), but they seem to have the ease of use thing down (though their commercials sometimes paint the picture of a Mac user being a clueless moron -- is that supposed to appeal to people??) For those with even the slightest bit of technical savvy, I really think you should give some Linux distribution a try. If you like to read, there's plenty of info on the internet. There is so much, in fact, that I don't even know where to start for a beginner guide. Google is your friend. One of the most promising distributions right now is Ubuntu. They even offer what's called a live-cd which allows you to testdrive without having to actually install anything.

Oh, did I mention that Ubuntu is totally free? So, in response to the office talk, if you take a $328 computer and add the software, you'll have $328.15 in it since you had to burn a CD.

- insert appropriately witty and relevant title here -

2005-04-11T12:15:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go? If someone had told me a few weeks ago that I'd be asking that question on Sunday evenings, I'd have dismissed it as complete rubbish. However, that's exactly the question I asked myself last night after home group. There's just some kind of connection there. It's nice to be able to be yourself (or all three of them as the case may be) without being uncomfortable about it. For someone who routinely questions his timing and tone of remarks, this is a big deal.

On a less sappy note, its almost time to start planting. I expect to have a much smaller garden this year due to the ongoing renovations around the house. Does a family of two really need 5 bushels of tomatoes? Mostly, I just want to have enough plants to get another year of selection into the genetics of my seed collection. I guess we'll see just how much restraint I have.

For a minute there, I thought it was April 1

2005-04-08T13:31:00.000-04:00

This is simply insane.

Yikes

2005-04-08T12:43:00.000-04:00

It all started when I bought a domain name. I set up an email server and an account for both my wife and me. Well, the darn circa 1994 486 finally died. I can't get it to complete POST, so I decided to bury it. Since then, I've had the addresses forward to a single yahoo address that I had previously only used for communication with likely future spammers. Now it is my main way of handling email. Soooo, now when either of us replies to an email from yahoo, the outgoing message has MY name on it. Previously, that wasn't a problem.

HOWEVER, yesterday, my wife also responded to the email for which I posted my answers on yesterday's post. You guess it, my name is on it. So, now people think that I wear frilly pajamas, want to be a kindergarten teacher, and will be the first to respond to myself. What am I going to do? People are going to REALLY think I am strange now -- oh wait.

Further Mainstreaming of deafeningsighlence

2005-04-07T13:41:00.000-04:00

Well, normally, I'm not a chain email forwarder or anything. I guess it is a little too mainstream for me. Today, I got one that actually required some work and input on my part. Being the nonconformist I am, I decided to post it here instead though.

Paste the following e-mail into a new e-mail, answer the questions and send it to 10 of your best friends. Be sure to send it back to me.Enjoy!

1.IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE? Charleston, somewhere along the Ashley, Cooper, or Wando
2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING? Birkenstocks
3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT? a spindle of blanks 8-)
4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? 5:20-5:45
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE? stove
6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT WHAT WOULD IT BE? guitar
7. FAVORITE COLOR? tie-dye
8. WHICH VEHICLE DO YOU PREFER, HUMMER MOTORCYCLE OR SUV? 1968-70 Mustang Fastback with 429 with wide tires
9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE? Heaven specifically
10. FAVORITE CHILDRENSBOOK? Just Me and My Dad
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? Summer
12. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT. No tattoo, but I do have stories for all my scars
13. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER WHAT WOULD IT BE? superhuman strength
14. CAN YOU JUGGLE? Nope
15. ONE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK ANDTALK TO? Grandfather
16. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? Heart pine flooring
17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY? Thursday -- tomorrow is Friday
18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER SUSHI OR HAMBURGER? dead cow
19. FROM THE PEOPLE YOU WILL E-MAIL THIS TO WHO'S THE MOST LIKELY TORESPOND FIRST? okay, I guess I can omit this
20. WHO'S THE LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? same
21. WHO DID YOU RECEIVE THIS FROM? the mail server 8-)
22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Morning Glory
23. FAVORITE MEAL? steamed oysters and clams with shrimp and steak on the side
24. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? Aug 1 -- the same day as Jerry Garcia
25. DESCRIBE YOUR PJ'S: a little personal are we?
26. DESCRIBE YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST: country ham with redeye gravy, peppered tenderloin, market bacon, stone-ground grits, feta/black olive/pepperoni omelet, pineapple, strawberries, whole-wheat toast with real butter, Mom's biscuits, freshly squeezed orange juice, and freshly roasted and ground coffee from a French press
27. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB? Yes, each day from 12-1
28. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB? Farming without having to rely on it for income
29. WHAT AGE DO YOU PLAN TO RETIRE? probably never
30. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER? Church

Mine Goes Up to 11

2005-04-07T11:50:00.000-04:00

It looks like I won the "battle" of the noisy engines last night. The neighbors stopped their evening minibike race early. I suppose it was because they were intimidated by the fact that I was making so much noise that I couldn't hear their weedeaterlike drone. Ha! Pick on somebody your own size. Actually, while permanently destroying my hearing on a frontend loader whose only source of exhaust quieting is an automotive glasspack muffler (without baffles no less), I felt a little bad for being so harsh with my words in describing these children. I seem to remember being a little noisy when I was a kid. You'd be surprised what you can destroy with an M-80 (and no, I never hurt an animal or someone else's property -- mostly just rocks and tin cans). Good times, good times ...

Speaking of cans, why are there beer cans in my yard? I thought I had applied the preemergent herbicide per the directions on the bag. Apparently, it has no effect on litter. I'd like to invent something that hurls litter back at the litterer. Better yet, maybe it could teleport the litter to the litterer's kitchen, right on top of something he or she planned to eat that night. I just don't get it. Maybe I sound a little harsh or vengeful. I've cooled way down over the last few years. I even once entertained the idea of erecting a big sign in my yard and attaching all the litter I pick up with the heading "Here's All The Crap I Found In My Yard". Maybe if I put some trash cans out, people would use those instead. Alas, I don't think anything would really stop people who hold themselves in such low esteem that they don't care. For eveyone else, please think before you toss things out of your window. Even biodegradable things like banana peels look bad for a while. They'd be much more valuable in a compost bin. Show the world you care enough about yourself to be responsible. Show people how you'd like others to treat your yard.

All the Colors Will Bleed Into One

2005-04-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

"All the colors will bleed into one" U2 songs have some great lyrics, don't they? Lately I've decided I have a new favorite color: tie-dye. To anyone who might say tie-dye is a pattern and not a color ... No blog for you! Come back 1 year...

To those open-minded among you still reading, let me explain. Tie-dye is achieved through the unique blending of multiple constituent colors in such a way that the finished piece is unlike any other. A totally new creation has been formed, yet each contributor to the creation has maintained a portion of its identity. Without each component, the piece would not be the same. A tie-dye piece is never complete nor is it ever incomplete. For what other color is this true?

There are tons of applications of this principle. Consider the meaning of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Are there spiritual applications for unity with some maintained distinction? How about in the way we view the world and treat others? How our own lives and the issues we struggle with? Maybe some things aren't black or white. Heck, I'll argue that black and white aren't even colors.

Numbers

2005-04-04T12:08:00.000-04:00

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? More importantly, how may people in a group does it take to make me close up and completely abandon my otherwise too-talkative personality?

The answer to the first question depends on a number of things: the total surface area of the licking tongue, the quantity of and solvent properties of saliva on said tongue, the solubility of the particular Tootsie Pop in question, the speed of each lick, Avogadro's Number, etc. So, basically, I have no idea. Apparently, the answer to the second question is "more than 10 including myself." Last night at homegroup, I realized that I was much more talkative (and "myself") than anyone there had probably seen before. For some reason, in larger groups, I feel like I am in a public speaking forum where I need to rehearse things I say. Obviously, a rehearsed conversation is pretty difficult to carry on. "How do you feel about cats?" "You know, I do like watermelon. Thanks for asking." Somehow, I find it easier to just listen. Coupled with this is the fact that when I get started, my mouth runs faster than my brain can convert my thoughts into language. For this reason, my likelihood of saying something that is totally not what I mean or is taken in a way I never dreamed it would increases exponentially. Add in my opinionatedness, and this thing could really get out of control. Maybe I should preface each sentence with "It is currently my opinion, but subject to change given a strong enough counter opinion, that ..." For example, I often speak my mind on my dislike for Microsoft and Walmart (or Walmarts depending on where you're from). Back in 1990, I was on the other side of the fence. I'm pretty open minded about most things, and recognize that there are few universal truths.

Speaking of homegroup, I am very excited to be involved with a group of people who are similar to me yet diverse enough that I can learn from them. I think I have so much to learn from others and am thankful God has put these people in my life. It's great to be able to discuss exactly what constitutes a hotdog or how to pronounce "Crayon" without anyone needing to be "right" (though a true hotdog MUST have chili and onions ... uh ... in my opinion that is ...) .

An open letter to the French's Mustard People

2005-03-23T15:47:00.000-05:00

Dear sir or madam:

Your newly redesigned mustard squeeze bottle is a piece of crap. After wrestling with my words, I find no other way to describe the textbook example of an engineering blunder that clearly has had no usability testing.

I can only assume that your redesign was a result of the apparently objectionable tidbit of dried mustard that one would remove from the top of the nozzle before opening a bottle of the previous design. It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would take issue to such a functional and reliable design. It appears that the new cap design has a cover intended to prevent the unsightly dried chunk on the end of the spout. I must confess that it does, in fact, spare me the sight of that ugly brown bit that I now know used to affect my enjoyment of my favorite foods.

The problem comes when one actually tries to dispense your product onto his or her waiting sandwich. While the top does not have a glob of dried mustard on it, it does have a glob of thickened mustard on it. This causes the user to apply greater-than-expected force to the bottle, resulting in various unwelcome results.

Lest you think that removing the baffle you have placed in the top will remedy the problem, I can assure you that this has been tried and deemed unsatisfactory. Instead of unpredictable results, the modification results in an unbelievably large amount of product being dispensed unintentionally, often accompanied by angry words.

A far better solution is to procure a French's bottle of older design from a local blackmarket dealer. The street price seems to be in the neighborhood of $5 currently. Rest assured that as their availability decreases, this is certain to rise. Entire countries will base their monetary system of French's mustard bottles. Wars will be fought over squeeze bottles. Do you want to be blamed for this?

Please listen to the voice of reason and return to a time-tested design for your bottles. Otherwise, I shall be forced to purchase a rival brand. A better tasting mustard is only better tasting if I can actually get it on my sandwich.

Sincerely,
A concerned mustard consumer

P.S. If you know any of those guys at CocaCola, tell them they're next...

A redneck hippie geek goes to New York

2005-03-22T12:20:00.000-05:00

"I can't believe you are that old and haven't flown before."

I got this statement from someone upon proclaiming that I was so thankful to be on the ground. For some reason, it just cements in my mind the way everyone seems to think his or her life is a reflection of what is normal. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that many of the residents of New York will live their entire lives and never milk a cow or rebuild a Chevy 350. I am as guilty as anyone else, but hearing those words made me much more aware of the way we try to establish standards from something familiar. Writers and producers of movies and television rarely use someone just like them as the subject of cultural jabs. Maybe if we would all laugh just a little bit more at ourselves and a little less at others, the world would be a better place.

Anyway, people in New York aren't from around here. Depending on your perception of the citizens of upstate South Carolina, that might be a good thing or a bad thing. I can't say I met anyone who was rude to me. Of course, I didn't demand grits for breakfast either. We stayed at the Crown(e) Plaza. I really wasn't very impressed. Their service was less than satisfactory, and their accommodations have been topped by nearly any Best Western I've seen. Walking down the street, visions of Myrtle Beach kept popping into my head. Other than the tall buildings, I didn't see much difference. Perhaps I'm just not observant enough. We had the pleasure to eat at a really nice restaurant called (I believe) Evergreen. Though I know we were far from where Seinfeld was filmed, I kept looking around waiting for Kramer to make an entrance. Actually, I kept waiting for Kramer to make an entrance to every room I was in while in New York. It never happened.

I guess a to-the-point take on the city could be summarized by saying that I'm sure it is a nice place for many people, but it had far too little red clay for me.

Soar like a Beagle

2005-03-16T12:25:00.000-05:00

I don't think people were meant to fly. More specifically, I don't think I was meant to fly. I thought I might get to live my entire life without having to climb into a metal tube with wings to go somewhere.

Last summer, I was forced to abandon my principles for a two-hour meeting in New York that I had to be at "just in case something goes wrong". I would be traveling with my boss, his boss, and his boss's boss. We would be taking the company plane from Anderson airport to Teterboro, NJ. That's the place that had the crash recently. Anyway, as I walked from my truck to the airport terminal, there were several helpful people there to make sure I was on the fast track. I was 15 minutes early, yet they seemed to be anxious for us to get going. Walking through the building into what must be the parking lot, I saw but one plane that didn't look deserted. As I approached, I could see a guy through the windshield who appeared to be Val Kilmer's understudy in Top Gun (minus the hairstyle) complete with aviator sunglasses. He didn't look like he had more than a few inches between his face and the glass. Instead of getting larger as I approached, the plane kept getting smaller. When it finally became the size of VW bug, I started to climb the steps to get in. I could stand in the center aisle but barely so. I had no idea where to sit, but I knew I wanted one of the front-facing seats. I squeezed down the aisle to the back and sat down. The layout was one seat on each side of the aisle. With the armrest in use, the aisle was only about 6 inches wide. The wall of the plane curved as it got to my head, and I felt like I was straining my neck to keep my head sufficiently far away.

Well, I had made it this far. I closed my eyes and tried to control my quickening respiration rate. I was brought back to reality as I heard the sickening clunk of the door closing. One of the pilots played a video for "the firstime flyer" (that'd be me) that made a lot of references to "the Learjet model such-and-such dash something revision B" and kept prefacing emergency instructions with the phrase "in the unlikely event of". Then I heard the whine of the previously idling engines as we started to move. It seemed to take some time between an increase in engine speed and a corresponding change in plane speed. This incredibly overgeneralized observation would later come back to haunt me. As the plane taxied to the end of the runway, I actually did see some humor in the whole situation. I could see the pilot looking both ways before proceeding into an intersection just as if he were driving a car. This plane, however, didn't have the suspension of a car, and I could feel every surface irregularity as we moved along. Then we stopped. I didn't know why. Maybe they sensed my concern. Maybe something was wrong with the plane. No, we were just waiting on another plane to land. After the brief wait, we turned onto the beginning of the runway. Thinking I had experienced rapid acceleration before, I was rudely awakened as the previously slumbering jet engines roared to life and the beast accelerated from 0 to 150 mph in about 5 seconds. What was worse than the acceleration was the rough ride during the acceleration. I'm sure I left marks in the seats from my grip. I kept watching the status screen behind the cockpit as the altitude numbers kept going up. I was surprised to see that the temperature at 30,000 feet is -60F. I guess that explains bomber jackets.

Everything went smoothly until we got near Teterboro. I had noticed that the ground was getting closer to us, but I expected that we'd have to circle a few times like I had heard that you have to do. Instead, we went straight in to land without my having much time to prepare. I collected my thoughts, and once again clutched anything solid I could find. I expected to hear the nice squeal of tire as we touched down. I didn't. Instead, I heard a loud thud and experienced a nice sinus jarring. Then, of course, the plane stood on its nose as the thrust was reversed. I had made it safely to New York, well New Jersey at least. We taxied to the parking lot, and I noticed there were a lot more and larger planes than at Anderson. We passed a place that does plane maintenance called Million Air. When we finally stopped and the door opened, I was anxious to actually touch solid ground. As we walked around the nose of the plane to the waiting limo (I guess I should have felt "cool" but I was still too scared) , my boss pointed out the front landing gear on the plane. The nose wheel was no bigger than 8 inches in diameter and looked like it was solid rubber. Nice.

The return trip was a little better since I knew what to expect. We were on a different plane though. It turned out that they found something on ours that needed to be checked out. Lovely.

New York was pretty funny from my perspective. Maybe I'll share that sometime.

D'oh

2005-03-11T07:54:00.000-05:00

I forgot my coffee this morning. That's bad -- very bad! I guess I'll have a Coke. Must ... make ... it ... through ... the ... day. I hate addictions.

Funny words and strange sights

2005-03-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

Until just a few minutes ago, I forgot how much I love to find words and phrases that just strike me as so funny that I laugh aloud and get strange looks.

"manufactured fire log" That's funny. I assume this refers to those things you can buy near the charcoal in you local megamarket. To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen one of these out of its paper wrapper. Apparently there is a market for them though. I wonder if they come in different flavors.

Speaking of manufactured stuff, this morning on my way to work, I almost hit a crane backing into a driveway beside a two-story 2000+ square foot house that wasn't there when I drove by yesterday afternoon. It looks like a really nice place. It was assembled from prebuilt sections that were placed with the crane. I saw some upscale condos being built like this the last time I was in Charleston. I wonder if this would be considered a manufactured home. If not, why? It was clearly assembled from prebuilt sections that were ... say it together ... manufactured. If it is, then I assume that the owner will have to affix the nice round bright yellow sticker to a window visible from the road. In addition, he'll have to yearly apply a decal to same said window indicating that he has paid the requisite tax on his dwelling. Ah the joys of keeping the citizenry honest.

Top of the World

2005-03-07T12:12:00.000-05:00

Goats like to climb. This is a fact that can easily be observed by anyone who has ever had the pleasure to watch their behavior for a bit. Without fail, a goat will find the highest spot he or she can. Then to celebrate the accomplishment, the animal does nothing more than stand there and look around. When I get home each day, my goats Mysty and Molly will run around their pen for a few minutes before they will take their places atop the pallet bridge and woodpile. Molly is much more outgoing and dominant than Mysty, yet it is Mysty with all her shyness that takes the higher of the two perches. Conventional wisdom would have you think that a pet runs toward its master, but the goats will actually run away from me to climb. I think they feel closer that way. It isn't until I actually get near their pen that they dive off their chosen platform and run to see what I have for them to eat.

So what is the significance of a goat's climbing to the highest spot imaginable only to stand there and look around? I suppose I could learn two very different things from this simple instinct. The first is that I too often find myself feeling like I am on top of the world -- standing there. Maybe I should do more than look around. Maybe I could take a picnic or something. Perhaps I should go fishing and catch a delicious bass. Maybe I could just take a blanket and lie back and listen to the sounds of God: birds singing, wind rustling the leaves, the sound of a pimped-out ride with spinning rims and overdriven bass going down the street -- oh wait -- darned neighborhood kids! That leads to another lesson I might should learn. Maybe the goats are doing just that. Maybe they are listening to the birds and the wind. Maybe they are puzzled, watching as we chop the top off of a perfectly good grazing field. Maybe they are hoping the aforementioned car will make another pass. Maybe they are just happy to be alive.

I'm happy to be alive. I started this morning by actually making breakfast. Stone ground grits are SOOO much better than quick grits it's not even funny. I'm not sure where I got that motivation, but church Sunday might have a part in that. It was our 5 year anniversary or birthday or whatever, and we had two services at the Anderson Civic Center instead of the usual four at Anderson College. It was awesome. What stuck out in my mind the most was the traffic issues. I can honestly say that I have never seen such a traffic jam for a church service. I half-expected people to start abandoning their cars on the side of the road to make it to the second service on time like the people did going to the last Phish concert. 8-) Here is a blog that includes some pictures from the event.

Moving along ...

2005-03-03T16:10:00.000-05:00

Note to self: avoid future discussions of the finer points of formal versus spoken language. I wonder who the ultimate authority on that stuff is.

Anyway, as Thursday winds down, I'm reminded of why it tends to be my favorite day of the week. At the end of the day, there will only be one more day until the weekend. The joy of the anticipation of Friday's anticipation of the weekend is hard to describe. I really don't know why, but I think I have always felt this way. I've always liked the few days leading up to vacation almost as much as I liked the vacation itself. I tend to be forward looking, so I suppose looking forward to time off is much more pleasant that looking forward to returning to work.

I've been suffering from a case of can't-remember-my-new-password this week. I have two different passwords at work that I try to keep the same. Unfortunately, they have to be changed at regular intervals that do not coincide. It is quite annoying, especially considering that I pick secure passwords anyway. I'm not that keen on having to change it and try to remember a new one. I think this just leads to people using dog1, dog2, dog3, etc. I've heard of people actually keeping a sticky-note (TM) on their monitor with their password on it. I think I'll put one on mine...

That is something up with which I will not put

2005-03-01T12:36:00.000-05:00

Did you know you are not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition?

Whatever the circumstances surrounding today's title's place in history, I was reminded today of the communication conundrum many people face daily. A friend of mine asked me to profread a paper of hers for a class she is taking. I was (am) a grammar nerd, so that is no big deal. Of course, like a lot of people, I have the ability to turn this on and off at will, making my everyday writing and speech seriously unlike proper English. Where was I ... oh yes ... She confirmed something I had heard before concerning the number of "mechanical" errors one's paper could have to receive a passing grade. I'm not sure exactly what constitutes an error, but 4 of these bad-boys will give you a nice F. Regardless of whether your work presents A+ material, 4 (misplaced commas?) constitute a failing grade. Thus, it seems that length is your enemy since the number of allowed errors is not based on the overall length of the paper. I'm pretty sure there are more than 4 errors in the latest Encyclopaedia Britannica.

First, let me say that I am in no way "qualified" to pass judgement on this policy -- but I will. I think it is a grave injustice to the student and society as a whole as well. What if some of the most insightful things to be said in the present time were withheld because a student couldn't "properly" present the idea in "approved" grammatical construction? Being a grammar nerd, I was guilty of this many times throughout school. If I couldn't figure out the proper way to put something into words, I'd just leave it out.

Another problem with this policy and with grammar nerdism in general is that there are some seemingly universal ways of writing something. Some of these are quite incorrect. Take for instance the sentence: I do not appreciate Bill running around the room.

When presented with something like this when proofreading, what is a grammar nerd to do? The correct sentence is I do not appreciate Bill's running around the room. Possessive before gerund (what's a gerund?) -- check. The trouble here is that most people consider the correct sentence to be wrong because it "doesn't sound right." Being somewhat paranoid, I always have to decide on whether to use what is correct or what is most often perceived to be correct.

Okay, so this was basically a rant (and thus not proofread), but I wanted to vent about what I think is a dumb policy. I also want to point out that I am a grammar nerd (i.e. I know a lot about grammar). I am not, however, a grammar snob who corrects others and winces when they speak. As far as that goes, I'd have to wince when I spoke. On the contrary, I think language is a tool with which we communicate, and its misappropriation as something to foster arrogance and elitism is something up with which I will not put...

Why not ...

2005-02-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

While doing some house renovations, I've had to come to terms with what to do with mismatched furniture. The traditionalist in me would love to trash it all and coordinate everything from scratch. The realist in me doesn't have enough money to do that. The redneck in me couldn't care less that things don't match, and the hippie -- well -- couldn't care less that things don't match as long as they are some shade of tie dye. Most importantly, my composite self simply says "They're not mismatched."

As is often the case, we tend to base many of our opinions and tastes on things that others have decided for us. We read somewhere that some color is related to some other on the color wheel, so they go together. I guess this is a good general rule, but the final test is the visual appeal. Our traditional American dining room can easily be seen from our Tuscan-themed kitchen, complete with colorwashed walls. Just today, I read that it is generally not a good idea to be so different in adjoining rooms if there isn't a door. I ask, "Why not?" I think it's fun to break the rules. I happen to like the transition between the different room styles. It's like backpacking across Europe, except in miniature ... and not just Europe.

I'm quite good at seeing the big picture. In fact, that's almost always what I see in life. Sometimes it is nice to see the small things individually though. Each piece of furniture I have was made by someone -- be it me, my Dad, or some guy I've never met. Each piece has its own story, and to try to unify those by removing the individuality of each is -- well eerily cookie-cutterish. My newly-refinished floors got their first scratch Saturday night when my wife and I moved the China cabinet back into place. I guess that little spot should bother me, but I'll always remember the night I scratched my foot on a nail while moving the cabinet barefooted trying not to scratch the floor. Things like that are more interesting than beautiful furniture, and no amount of wealth can provide those memories.

Saturday night, I was reminded of why I wanted to renovate an old house, and just now, I realized why I want to keep my furniture, especially the coffee table with crayon markings underneath.

I bet it compresses well

2005-02-18T12:25:00.000-05:00

I was in a conversation about music yesterday. The gist of it was how many mp3s you can put on a certain size of media. Of course, I had to point out that I prefer to encode my music as ogg files since mp3s are not Free (as in freedom). There are some licensing issue that encumber them. Besides, I think that oggs provide a better quality at a given bitrate, but that is, of course, totally subjective. Anyway, I had remembered reading something earlier in the day regarding the relative compressibility of various genres of music. It turns out that (at least for lossless formats such as .shn and .flac) music that features simple monotonous basslines and constant rhythms compress better than, say, a classical piece. I generally am not a fan of music that isn't at least a little complex (read it takes more than a few minutes to learn the bass part), and suddenly had the idea for a new euphemism for "I don't really care for that" (which is already sometimes what I say instead of "Yuck! Why on earth would anyone like that!" though usually my distaste isn't nearly that extreme)

I can see the funny stares already:

"Hey man! How do you like my new car?"
"I bet it compresses well..."
"Check out my charcoal sketch of a field of lilies."
"Dude, I bet it compresses well..."

"How'd you like supper, dear?"
"I bet ..." Ha! gotcha. My wife is a terrific chef. Though she prefers to bake, her pan dishes are fabulous. I've never had to pretend to like her cooking, and doubt I ever will.

I'm taking Monday off to celebrate President's day. Who thought to make Federal Holidays on Mondays? I suppose it is so mail carriers can have two consecutive days off.

Out of the Loop

2005-02-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

Am I the only person that didn't find Napoleon Dynamite funny? Sure, there were some isolated moments of humor, but I just didn't get the overall feel of the movie that everyone else seems to have. Perhaps I wasn't in the proper mood when I watched it. To me, it is what Seinfeld would have been without characters who were able to make "the show about nothing" work.

--SPOILER WARNING--

The one thing in the whole movie that actually caused me to laugh was the incident where Kip ran over the storage container to try to prove it's durability. Then he drove off. That scene has the cause-effect relationship I look for in a movie. The way the other scenes were put together looked like someone cut out random scenes to make the movie shorter or something.

I always though I had a (somewhat twisted) sense of humor. Now, I'm not so sure.

No French Fries after Midnight

2005-02-11T12:33:00.000-05:00

Never eat french fries after midnight. What was I thinking? A pan of baked french fries + my secret chipotle barbecue sauce + too little sleep + having only coffee and a dinky fruit bar thingy for breakfast = tremendous heartburn.

Last night, we went to the Switchfoot concert at Clemson. It was a part of the Tiger Gras celebration that they've had every year for some time. I know it didn't happen on the correct day of the week, but generally the basketball team gets preferential treatment when it comes to coliseum time. There was a whole hoopla around the concourse with free cake, jazz bands, those masks on a stick, and a guy who could walk on a ball and juggle. He also could ride a really tall unicycle. I was a little disappointed that he couldn't ride the unicycle on the ball, but I guess he hasn't worked up to that yet. Oh, did I mention they had several tons of beads? The line to get in was long and chilling. I'm not sure of the air temperature, but with gale force winds, I was pretty blue. Apparently, they were running a little bit behind opening the gates.

The opening act was a band from Seneca called Need to Breathe. They were really good. It would be tough to name a single band they were similar to. There's something about a band who finishes their act with a "Thank you. You've all been so kind to us. We're gonna be hanging out out there [motions to where their equipment truck would be parked outside]. Stop by and see us. We're all from the same town, so it'd be great to get to know you." I wonder if the mega-bands ever said things like that when they were starting. Do any big-time performers still appreciate their fans to that level? Did the others forget their roots? Does being friendly to your fans mean you'll never hit it big?

So, after getting home at a late hour, the mostly-empty bag of french fries in the freezer called my name. I heeded the call.

I'm Glad You Had a Flat Tire on Your Hummer

2005-02-10T13:33:00.000-05:00

Something profound popped into my head on the way home yesterday:

A man whose sense of self worth is so low that he delights in the failures of others is worth much less than he thought.

This was perhaps sparked by a conversation I had earlier in the day where the topic of conversation led to the discussion of people who watch others whom they view as somehow "better" than them with the desire to be the first to see them fail at something. I suppose this is a manifestation of spite. Spite and envy are often closely related, but a line exists. We often (wrongly in my opinion) envy those who we perceive to be wealthier than we are. Sometimes this even turns into spite.

I read an article in the paper a few days ago about some mudslides in California that were destroying houses valued at 6 million and above. The article used terms such as "gated community" and "newly completed mansion," but I was puzzled as to whether those words were there to evoke more or less sympathy from readers. I guess some would argue that the "rich people" deserved it (I have no idea why) or that this was a much more tragic loss than a pre-1976 mobile home. It is someone's home, and to me, it doesn't matter if it costs $6 million or $6.

While I'm on the subject, I am really irritated by fancy buzzwords that are obviously intended to embellish something ordinary or appeal to the vanity in people. I mentioned "gated community" above, and for some reason that really gets to me. Yes, I know it means that the neighborhood has a security gate to keep undesirables out, but I think I'd much prefer "secure community" or something like that. I can't fathom why they didn't ask me. 8-) I suspect that a focus group or something preferred "gated" to "secure" since the former has a greater implication of exclusiveness. There are all sorts of places you see this type of thing, and I wonder how many people are lured in by word choice only. I guess that's why marketing degrees are offered.

All the Answers

2005-02-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

Today's post is going to be somewhat shorter than normal as I spent a little too much time playing crazy golf, when I could have been typing. It's really not a very interesting game, but sometimes I just want to swing a stick at something.

I remember a professor once pointing out that, for some questions, there are no wrong answers. How cool is that? You can answer any way you choose, and though you might not necessarily be "right," you certainly will not be wrong. Could the opposite be true? Are there some questions for which there are no correct answers? I think there are.

The trouble with these questions is that the most correct answer is "I don't know." How different this is than the customary informed response. Any attempt at passing off a universal truth as an answer to the question merely shows an incomplete analysis of the underlying enigma.

Points to ponder:

How do you describe the color orange to someone who has never had sight? Is it possible to describe data obtained by one of the 5 basic senses as some combination of the other 4? If not, do you trust the senses you have to reveal the truth to you? What if the senses you do have miss something, similar to the way color relates to someone whose world is dark? Can everything be sensed? Can everything be proven? Can the basic suppositions of a proof be proven?

Thank You, I'm Here All Week

2005-02-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

I was in a conversation this morning about ... well, actually, I can't remember. Anyhow, the point came up that a lot of people around here use the term "agin'" in place of "against". Such a use would be, "Jughead, put th' ladder agin' the wall." No, really, people do say that. Anyway, for the benefit of those of you who might not make the connection, "agin'" and "again" are homophones to the majority of people from this area.

So here's the really bad pun that just popped into my mind after lunch that I am nonetheless quite proud of:

I heard that Bob Seger was going to do a remake of one of his old songs: "Agin' the Wind".

It wasn't until I actually said it aloud that I got the pun arising from "Again" and "remake". So basically, it was an unintended pun that resulted from an intended one. Life is good.

Let's Share Some Wisdom

2005-02-08T13:13:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the grass on the other side of the fence turns out to be Astroturf.

Ponder that for a moment... We as humans tend to look for things that are somehow better than what we have. Some people who live in an apartment in the city long for a house in the country with a nice yard and a white picket fence. Some people who live in a nice house in the country long for a place without grass to mow, leaves to rake, and trees to prune. What's the deal? Why is it that so many people think they want something else? Is there anyone who is satisfied with what he or she has?

Today is the first installment of periodic posts of clever, enlightening, or merely entertaining quotes that I have collected over the last few years. I'll include the source if known unless said source is someone I think would have a problem with his or her name being posted on the web. Today's comes courtesy of me.

Hmm, in researching Astroturf just now for proper trademark citation, I discovered that a patent for the original Astroturf was granted to some people from the Monsanto Corporation. This is more profound than I thought. Coming soon to deafening_sighlence, a rant on genetically modified crops and patented genes.

Church Site

2005-02-08T12:09:00.000-05:00

Church Site
Originally uploaded by deafening_sighlence.

Here's where New Spring Community Church will be situated early next year. I wonder who took this picture...

Stereotypes

2005-02-07T13:33:00.000-05:00

Like I pointed out to someone once before, when it comes to stereotypes, you have your simple receiver with stock speaker, your true hi-fi set, your digitally tuned surround sound, and so on. In other words, the arguably clever pun isn't nearly as humorous as the fact that so many people try to lump someone into a single classification for the purpose of ... well, I don't know why people feel the need to classify others.

In searching for which type I would fit into, I thought of three different words to describe myself.

Redneck

I've been called this by lots of different people. I'm not sure why. I used to drive a late-70s Mustang with a custom exhaust. Now I'm not talking about one of these "high performance" exhaust systems you see on cars now that are supposed to sound "sporty" (is that the right word?) No, I'm talking straight-pipe baby. I had to search around for a fine establishment to actually cut out the muffler and replace it with a piece of pipe. You'd be surprised at the "You want what?"s I got when I asked around (something about being illegal?). I guess I could have done it myself, but I didn't have the necessary pipe bender. I also had an old Chevy truck that I dared people to follow too closely -- especially at night. It turns out, most people get frightened by a sudden eruption of flames from the back left and back right of the vehicle they are following --especially at night -- when the driver cycles the switch from run to off and back. I guess if that didn't seal my classification, launching produce from surplus plumbing fittings at a variety of targets probably did. And then there's the local racetrack. There's just something about the smell of racing rubber and high octane on a Summer night that I can't describe.

Hippie

I've been called this too. At first, it was a shock to me since I tended to associate the term with the use of mind-altering substances. It turns out, a lot of people use the terms "hippie" and "tree-hugger" interchangeably. Well, then I guess there might be something there. I do like my trees. I was deeply saddened when Walmart bought a forest near my house to build one of their Stupor Centers (stupor refers to the facial expression of disbelief that you see when one first enters, frightened, seeking a simple package of dental floss and a checkout line that moves.) The irony is that just a few years ago, there was a tremendous outcry over the proposal to build a landfill within a half mile of this site. One of the arguments against it was that there would be a huge increase in traffic along the 2-lane road that would serve it. Many of these same people don't have a problem with the increased traffic that Walmart brings to the very same 2-lane road. In the rare cases that I do shop at Walmart, I drive to Anderson or Greenville. That amounts to a 15 or 40 mile trip instead of a 2 mile excursion. Is it worth it? Absolutely. One funny thing that happened to me shortly after I was labeled a hippie (long before the Walmart thing) was that I discovered how much I love music. One time, at Broadway at the Beach in beautiful Myrtle Beach South Carolina, my wife and I happened into Loose Lucy's -- lured inside by the 1/2 bus with the bigscreen in it. As we browsed the strange array of merchandise, I heard a pleasing instrumental arrangement. Looking to the bus, I noticed a performance being showcased on the bigscreen. I had to know who was playing, so I watched. The camera was far from the band, so I waited for it to give me a closeup of a backdrop or something. The more I listened, the more I realized how artistic this music was. It wasn't a performance for the purpose of promoting a new album. In fact, it didn't seem rehearsed at all. For ten minutes I watched before I realized there had been no singing. And then, I saw something that shocked me: Jerry Garcia, hair and beard gently moving in the breeze. For ten minutes, I had listened to the Grateful Dead. For ten minutes, I had been captivated by a group that, to many people around here, was nothing about music and all about drugs. Watching for ten minutes, I knew I wanted to learn more about them. My research took me to the good and the bad. I saw the triumph of breaking all the music rules, and I saw the tragedy of drug abuse. It turns out that I share almost no attitudes, beliefs, and values with the band members and many of the fans, but when it comes to musical innovation, the Grateful Dead will always be the textbook example.

Geek

Apparently, this comes from the fact that I enjoy knowledge. I used to read encyclopedias when I was younger. My favorites were A and S0-Sz since these contained "automobile" and "space travel" respectively. When working on cars (as in, rebuilding engines, etc.), I wanted to know the theory behind the practicum (is that the right word? Man, my vocabulary has really gone downhill since I started talking only to computers all day.) I love the entire concept of Free software (see http://www.gnu.org/fsf/fsf.html if you think I'm just a tightwad). I'm not a contributor to any community software projects, but I do like to tinker with them to fit my needs. For the record, I don't wear glasses. I have perfect vision in my left eye, but several visits to an optometrist didn't help the blurriness I have in my right. Apparently, it isn't a near/far sightedness thing. About the only thing the guy could do would be to greatly magnify images so I could discern the image from the haze. Even then, I'd only need one lens. Maybe I should get a monocle. People don't wear those much anymore.

Well, can a person be all three of these stereotypes, or should another one be coined?

Would Anyone Like a Doughnut?

2005-02-07T09:11:00.000-05:00

Would anyone like a doughnut? There's a couple of glazed doughnuts in a box in my cellblock (my endearing term for the short-walled doorless offices in which my colleagues and I work). They've been there since last Monday, and nobody seems to have the courage to throw them away. Their value as a food product is questionable, but they would likely make great doorstops or wheel chocks.

2005-02-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's been a while. I suppose that some would claim that the name of this blog is appropriate -- it's silence has been deafening. I had actually written quite a lengthy piece on Walmart, but a series of unfortunate events led to its getting lost somehow. To play it safe, I'm writing this in my favorite editor. I'll cut-and-paste later.

It is Friday. Wahoo! (or whatever species of fish you prefer) This week has been a challenge at times, but I think I'll make it. Something to ponder for next time: geeks, hippies, and rednecks. Are these groups mutually exclusive of one another? We shall explore that in the next installment of Deafening Sighlence. Unless of course, we don't.

deafening_sighlence

2005-01-18T16:38:00.000-05:00

Well, on the dare of a friend, I started this as a way to spread my strangeness to the rest of the world. I have my own webserver (currently, the box it was running on is on fire, but anyway) but this is better since I can abandon it if I ever put my foot in my mouth without sullying a perfectly good domain name I paid $14.95 for. Besides, my ISP (1-man cable operation that used to work out of an Aerostar van) frowns on people running servers.

Hmm...

2005-01-18T16:20:00.000-05:00

Hmm, the timestamp on these posts must default to the Pacific timezone. Shame on that. Isn't there a locale setting or something? Anyway, maybe I should just go with it. I totally messed up the last one after three attempts, and I'm done with it.

It's funny, I tend to like technology until it becomes mainstream. Then, I guess I get bored. I feel strange typing this here since I was (am) reluctant to participate in this mainstream activity. Then there's the word "blog". With all due respect to the creator of it, jargon like this makes me cringe (yet I here I am, posting to a blog). Ring tones on these newfangled cell phones really get to me. I want one that simply says "ring". What ever happened to that kind of thing. People have cameras on their cell phones. That seems a little strange (yet here I am, posting to a blog). I remember when I got a Palm just to keep my contacts and calendar in. Now, people use them for everything. They are like small laptops. I think it is all useless (yet here I am, posting to a blog). Cars now have all sort of bells and whistles. Even base models have stuff in them that seems superfluous. I don't think all those things are necessary (yet here I am, posting to a blog). (sigh!) I guess maybe some mainstream things do have utility. After all, here I am posting to a blog.

Okay, let's get one thing out of the way: I don't like Microsoft. I don't like their predatory practices and their deceptive marketing. It is true that the company has made some contributions to computing, though I think that those are more in a mindset rather than technical contribution. Me? Oh, I use Linux. Gentoo is my distribution of choice. It's not for everyone, but I think it fits my needs best. Would I recommend it to everyone? Nope. I'm sure I'll get into all of that at a later time.

Oh, I also don't particularly care for WalMart. I have shopped there, and I imagine I will continue to. However, doing so is quite dangerous to the entire economic system we hold dear. Am I crazy? Certainly, but this concern is warranted. Future installments of deafening_sighlence will (hopefully) address this.

For now, I suppose I'll go back to work developing software -- for Windows no less. Doh!