:: Life of Dave ::

Well, it's taken me quite some time, but I finally managed to find a new job. I signed the papers and put in my notice this morning. The 23rd will commence a new chapter. Hoorah! It's actually quite interesting, because the org I will be working for wanted to avoid, I think, paying a finder's fee to the temp agency, which means I will be working through the temp agency for a while (so they can pretend I'm a temp-to-hire, and not pay the fee). Temp agencies, if you don't know, are scary, soulless places designed specifically to frighten small children. To be honest, even having made my decision, walking into their offices almost made me rethink it. But I felt that solidarity was best served by leaving my present post, where a friend of mine was unceremoniously dumped recently, and thus I signed over my soul for a period I do not believe will exceed three months. And frankly, if it does I may just take a nine month holiday, living on the proceeds from the first three, as I also secured a raise. Life is pretty good, all around.
:: David (21:55 in Michigan, 3:55 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

Have you ever wanted to gerrymander a district? Well here's your chance! The redistricting game shows the complexity of drawing district lines (and how easy it is to play with the numbers) through a fun game interface. It's a riot!
:: David (14:08 in Michigan, 20:08 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Thursday, June 28 2007 ::

In a recent episode of Doctor Who, the American president was shown as an arrogant fool, throwing his weight around at the expense of the British Prime Minister, until he was vaporized by aliens. He stepped in at the last minute, shoving the Prime Minister aside to claim the credit at an amazing moment in history.
How life imitates art.
In a statement today, according to the International Herald Tribune, the US did just that:
In his new role as envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair will be charged with shoring up Palestinian institutions, but not with trying to nail down a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, a job Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will handle herself, according to Bush administration officials.
Thankfully, I've already decided there will never be peace in the Middle East, or I would be dismayed by the statements made today. Instead I'm merely reassured of the correctness of my ideas.
I was interested in the representation of the American government in Doctor Who - does it signify a shift in British sentiment, or merely reflect something that's been there all along. A single data point need not reflect the majority, but it might....
:: David (17:07 in Michigan, 23:07 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

The folks at work pointed me to an article in Rolling Stone, talking about where the Record Industry went wrong. There's not a lot of new information, but it's an interesting overview.
:: David (10:41 in Michigan, 16:41 in Paris) - Comment

:: Wednesday, June 27 2007 ::

Tony Blair has stepped down as Prime Minister of Britain today. Gordon Brown, his shadow this past decade, now takes over. For the most part, a standard handover of power, but I would like to point out Cherie Blair's comments:
Mr Blair said nothing to the press as they got in the car, but wife Cherie smiled and waved at the press and said she would not "miss" them.
Of course, I don't know how far from them all she will get, as Blair will be taking over a post as mideast envoy. It's all about gravitas.
:: David (11:03 in Michigan, 17:03 in Paris) - Comment

You may or may not be aware that last weekend I was supposed to go to Washington DC to visit some friends, but the flight was cancelled. It was cancelled two days before the flight, which was more than a little odd, and no useful alternatives were presented. Now the consumerist has posted a note saying many more flights than usual were cancelled that weekend, and the union has said they are trying to save money by understaffing pilots. So will the rest of the summer also suck for NWA passengers? We'll see.
:: David (10:35 in Michigan, 16:35 in Paris) - Comment

:: Tuesday, June 26 2007 ::

Apropo of nothing: Mina Kitten!
:: David (11:40 in Michigan, 17:40 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Monday, June 25 2007 ::

As a tool for remembering things, I'm not sure a blog is the best option. I've been super busy with stuff lately, and none of it makes it into my blog. I've been giving some thought to different ways of handling this, but as yet haven't come up with a foolproof plan. And of course, there's always the fact that when I say 'I'll make the blog better' in some way, it rarely comes to pass. Good enough is often, well, good enough.
:: David (14:49 in Michigan, 20:49 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Some thoughts from the other side, as presented by Arts and Letters Daily: people now hire companies to choose a name for their child - something, perhaps, unique:
Lisa and Jon Stone of Lynnwood, Wash., turned to a name consultant because they didn't want their son to be "one of five Ashtons in the class," says Mrs. Stone, 36, a graphic designer. For Mr. Stone, 37, a production director for a nonprofit arts organization, the challenge was to find a "cool" name that would help his son stand out. "An unusual name gets people's attention when you're searching for a job or you're one in a field of many," he says.
and, for those even richer, there's a how not to end up like Paris Hilton class for the ultra rich.
:: David (13:31 in Michigan, 19:31 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Friday, June 22 2007 ::

A friend here in town did a little website, and it's gotten some semi-major coverage. The site is called tank on empty, and it invites people to "Help solve a mystery that has puzzled mankind for years... How far can you go after the gas light in your car has gone on?"
:: David (13:59 in Michigan, 19:59 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[5]

A cool find in Germany of a 35,000 year old mammoth sculpture has caught Der Speigel's attention. According to the article it's the "oldest mammoth-ivory carving known to modern science".
:: David (13:42 in Michigan, 19:42 in Paris) - Comment

:: Thursday, June 21 2007 ::

Too funny! AT&T has prepared a document for store owners preparing them for the massive crowds wanting to buy an iPhone as soon as it becomes available. It includes directions on how to order "Crowd Control Devices" (stanchions).
:: David (10:55 in Michigan, 16:55 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

:: Wednesday, June 20 2007 ::

Yet another challenge to real food - large cheese producers in France are pushing to change the AOC for Camembert to allow the use of processed milk.
Camembert is big business in France. According to the Maison du Lait, the French dairy industry’s federation, the country produced 112,000 tons last year. Most of it is mass produced, pasteurized and, according to Camembert purists, tasteless. Only about 12,000 tons, made with raw milk from Normandy, was awarded A.O.C. status.
We had our own raw milk excitement here in Ann Arbor - one of our two main wine shops was implicated in a... dare I call it a 'raw milk ring', or perhaps 'gang'. Obviously people feel quite strongly about it ("Barbara Frank of Livonia says she thinks nothing of driving 60 miles round-trip to pick up the creamy raw milk she credits with helping to keep her family healthy.")
I must confess to some surprise at the heightened feelings surrounding the raw milk subject (the heightened feelings around the AOC change don't surprise me at all). It seems simple enough to let people choose, but clearly someone decided that requiring companies to deliver a safe product wasn't enough of a solution.
:: David (12:45 in Michigan, 18:45 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

:: Monday, June 18 2007 ::

The French chose their representatives at the weekend, and the socialists did better than expected. But apparently there's also excitement because Royal, this year's candidate for president(e) made public the fact that she and her partner (also a powerful socialist figure) had split. The BBC has more on that.
:: David (17:56 in Michigan, 23:56 in Paris) - Comment

The New York Times magazine has an article which describes the life and times of a 'gold farmer' - in this case, a Chinese man who plays video games to collect virtual money, which will then be sold (for real money) to players in wealthier countries who don't have the time (or energy) to do it themselves. (via slashdot)
:: David (14:18 in Michigan, 20:18 in Paris) - Comment

:: Sunday, June 17 2007 ::

There's an amusing story in the New York Times on Vera Wang's partnership with the American department store Kohls, which discusses in part the question of whether the association will hurt Ms. Wang (because it lowbrows her designs), Kohls (because the clothes are too fashionable for their customers), both, or neither. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out.
:: David (11:32 in Michigan, 17:32 in Paris) - Comment

:: Friday, June 15 2007 ::

I got my first story up on Slashdot today - I guess it pays to read the news early in the morning!
:: David (10:12 in Michigan, 16:12 in Paris) - Comment

What a mess. Al-Jazeera is reporting that seven soldiers were killed in the south of Thailand, while travelling to provide security for teachers and students. While the soldiers' presence may or may not be for 'security' (versus intimidation), their deaths will certainly not help the situation. I was in Southern Thailand in 2000, and at that time the situation wasn't as overtly hostile.
:: David (10:08 in Michigan, 16:08 in Paris) - Comment

Quite a night last night - we headed over to Pine Knob to see Peter Frampton and the Doobie Brothers in concert. Seriously. I even got a photo, complete with crazy dancing woman.
Despite all our hopes to the contrary, at no point did Stephen Colbert show up (click here if you have no idea why that would happen).
:: David (8:17 in Michigan, 14:17 in Paris) - Comment

I ran across an amusing article this morning titled "How Many Ways Can You Spell V1@gra?", which informs us not only how many ways (more or less), but also the progress of the fight.
What's most remarkable about the question posed in my title is that I probably don't need to explain it. If you have checked your e-mail anytime in the past few years, you know all about "V.i.a.g.r.a" and "V!A6RA" and "\/lagra," not to mention "C1aL|$" and "Rrol,x Rep,ica" and—let's not be bashful about this—"pen1s en1argement." As spam has been proliferating in everyone's inbox, it has also been mutating madly, presumably in an effort to evade the filters that most of us now have in place.
It's a short piece, and possible a little dense for some, but worth a look.
:: David (7:17 in Michigan, 13:17 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Thursday, June 14 2007 ::

Arts and Letters Daily pointed me to an interesting proposition for crafting a carbon tax that would please everyone. Basically the idea is that you tie the tax to actual global warming - temps go up, so do the taxes. It's an interesting theory, but ultimately flawed. The tax proposed is based on a single measurement of temperature change, based on current theories of how global climate change works. If those theories are wrong, the whole thing falls apart.
:: David (13:02 in Michigan, 19:02 in Paris) - Comment

:: Tuesday, June 12 2007 ::

Italy apparently had a Ninja infestation, which has been eradicated. The BBC reports:
The man, camouflaged in an all black suit, had robbed several farmers and their families at knife point, police say.
It's clear the BBC writes for a very uninformed audience, as of course he was dressed all in black! What else would a ninja wear?!
:: David (23:03 in Michigan, 5:03 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

Escapist Magazine has an article on the terrible redesign done to the MMORPG 'Star Wars: Galaxies' and the fallout from the event. We were players before the redesign, and like many in the article, liked the game before it changed. It's an interesting study in community (mis-)management.
:: David (16:48 in Michigan, 22:48 in Paris) - Comment

:: Monday, June 11 2007 ::

Sasha pointed out an article in the chronicle of higher education, which followed nicely on a conversation we had at the weekend. A friend of mine teaches at a community college, and noted that she has to defend sometimes the fact that the students have to learn the material she is teaching, because the students want a strictly utilitarian education - they are there to get a degree so they can get a job, and so they want to know how the class she teaches will do that.
So the article in the chronicle is written by someone from an Ivy League school, who thought about applying for a community college position, but ultimately decided she didn't think she could make that defense. She also notes that schools that aren't Ivy assume she doesn't really want to work for them, because they are a 'step down'.
:: David (14:17 in Michigan, 20:17 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Apparently the State Department threw in the towel on the new passport requirements, or so I am informed by the Consumerist. Seems the overwhelming demand I mentioned earlier was just too much for them. To be fair, it's only a delay on the rules, not a complete capitulation, but I do wonder how much the change will cost. Hooray for bad planning!
:: David (1:06 in Michigan, 7:06 in Paris) - Comment

Special thanks to Blonde Energy for pointing out the Mr. Lee CatCam. This site shows the adventures of a kitty, as shown by the photos taken by the spycam attached to his kitty collar. Seriously.
:: David (1:00 in Michigan, 7:00 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

Man, what a horrible Friday! I started the day with an hour and a half in the dentist's chair, getting a crown. Then, in the early afternoon I found out a friend had been fired from her job, for reasons I considered dubious at best, and I spent the rest of the day somewhere between 'furious' and 'in a funk'. Coming home and killing things (online, of course) helped, but I still can't help worry about what she's going to do.
The entire weekend was spent in Kalamazoo, visiting family and reconnecting with friends, which was great. The coming week is full of promising possibilities, and my swanky new suit will be delivered on Tuesday, so I'll even have nice threads to wear. I'll also be taking in a French film on Wednesday.
:: David (0:48 in Michigan, 6:48 in Paris) - Comment

:: Friday, June 8 2007 ::

Apparently tourism to Thailand has not been overly affected by the coup, according to the BBC. To be fair, I wouldn't be concerned about it, but then, I'm not always the most concerned traveller. I have to admit, I expect the coupsters (is that a word?) to lose power any day now, given that they seem to me more than a little bumbling. I just wonder how much 'quiet violence' is going on, that doesn't get reported - even a 'bloodless coup' rarely is.
:: David (11:54 in Michigan, 17:54 in Paris) - Comment

Your cheezburger for today.
:: David (10:46 in Michigan, 16:46 in Paris) - Comment

:: Thursday, June 7 2007 ::

Aw yeah! Michigan made international news:
A wheelchair user has been taken for a high-speed ride along a US highway after his handlebars became tangled up in the front grille of a lorry.
Apparently the guy went 'several miles' stuck to the front of the semi's grill.
:: David (14:56 in Michigan, 20:56 in Paris) - Comment

The New York Times reports that changes in passport rules have resulted in a mess at the passport office. Seems they didn't expect extra demand....
Much of the spike in applications is attributed to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which went into effect Jan. 23 and requires passports, merchant mariner documents or frequent-traveler Nexus cards for air travelers returning from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Next January, the requirement is likely to be extended to ship, rail and road travelers.
But somehow, the government seemed caught by surprise when crowds began besieging passport offices this spring.
I love the efficiency with which the government responds to change.
:: David (13:24 in Michigan, 19:24 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Hey everybody! June is Internet Safety Month! Don't forget to write your congressperson to thank them for spending time worrying about a nonissue! From the bill:
Whereas approximately 41 percent of students in grades 5 through 12 do not share with their parents what they do on the Internet;
...and there's bullying, and meeting people and the generic 'inappropriate use' and everything! We must protect the children!
Perhaps we should start by protecting them from people who legislate....
:: David (12:13 in Michigan, 18:13 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

:: Wednesday, June 6 2007 ::

Kill Ten Rats has an interesting thread up on how to make MMORPGs better. Sasha and I will have this conversation from time to time, based around (generally) the idea that running around killing things isn't generally fun, or at least doesn't live up to the medium's potential.
:: David (10:44 in Michigan, 16:44 in Paris) - Comment

:: Monday, June 4 2007 ::

My laptop is back home, having had the LCD screen replaced. I took no chances this time, and pulled the hard drive before I took the computer in. They had it over the weekend, and today it's all shiny and new. Hooray!
:: David (18:20 in Michigan, 0:20 in Paris) - Comment

I just remembered a couple of forgotten weekend events: we got the air conditioner installed, just in time for the daily high temperature to drop by 20 degrees Fahrenheit (12 C). But it looks like by the end of the week we'll be back at super-hot.
Also at the weekend, we sent off what should be the last payment on the piratemobile. It seemed fitting, given that we were seeing the movie as well. I'll wait 'till we get the title, then drink a bottle of run to celebrate.
:: David (10:12 in Michigan, 16:12 in Paris) - Comment

Well, the weekend started out poorly, as I received notification on Friday that a couple of interesting prospects I had been looking at for a little moneymaking scheme I've been working on for the past, gosh - probably twelve months, didn't pan out. I have other options available, but it's always a bit sad when something doesn't work out.
But after that, things looked up considerably, and the weekend took a turn for the surprisingly better on Sunday, when we went with Kevin to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was, frankly, much better than I had expected - downright entertaining. And the five minutes or so that Johnny Depp's acid trip was on screen (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it) was frankly inspired.
I'm not sure what happened on Saturday, tho it may have been a whole lot of World of Warcraft. I'm not sure....
:: David (7:32 in Michigan, 13:32 in Paris) - Comment

There are more things under heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy:
In Holmes County, Ohio, home to the world’s largest Amish community, an estimated 80% of Amish families now have photovoltaic panels. They use solar power for basic electrical needs like home lighting, powering sewing machines, and charging batteries for lights on horse-drawn buggies. The Amish have gone solar partly for safety concerns - gas lamps are a fire hazard - and partly out of legal requirements - transportation codes require electric lights on horse-drawn buggies. Another reason they are embracing solar power is to avoid connecting to the electric grid, something they feel would endanger their efforts to remain separated from the rest of American society.
I had heard previously that the Amish were adopting green tech, but the 'eighty percent' number cited in this new scientist posting caught me off guard. (via gizmodo, of all things)
:: David (7:23 in Michigan, 13:23 in Paris) - Comment

:: Friday, June 1 2007 ::

Random things you learn: a guy by the (almost) same name as me wrote a relatively extensive series of books on music and dance history 'as it ought to be taught'. My attention was caught by a search term looking for "If It Ain't Baroque"....
:: David (11:14 in Michigan, 17:14 in Paris) - Comment

The BBC covers some local news today, pointing out the "Dr. Death" Jack Kevorkian is to be released from prison today. You may remember him as a champion of euthanasia fifteen years ago, before he was finally convicted of a crime and sent to prison. I heard a radio interview with a friend of his yesterday on Michigan Radio, and she stated he wasn't having a party to celebrate his release, but wanted some of his favourite foods to be around.
:: David (7:31 in Michigan, 13:31 in Paris) - Comment