Tim Skirvin's Friends

1:10AM - Required reading, and golf

1) I caught a reference today to Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, released two weeks ago. He's written it as a "young adult" release, so you won't find it next to Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom. Don't let that stop you. It's not at all watered down, its protagonists are simply 17 years old. For those of us that have been in the industry for a decade or so, the tools and scenery are old standbys. But there's another generation that needs to be exposed to this stuff, the tools, the mindsets, the history, and the politics. Marketing it as YA is exactly the right idea--that's how it finds its way to the people that need to see it. The rest of us will find it because Cory wrote it. And everybody who's anybody in the networking, software, or security fields is quoted on the dust jacket. And Bruce Schneier wrote the Afterword.

This now goes on the list with Hitchhiker's Guide and Snow Crash as essential geek reading.

b: Gave up golf? Fuck you, Mr. President. Fuck you up your stupid ass.

1:54AM - tonight

btw. . I got home sometime after 7 tonight, chatted and wasted time on the computer. . then fell asleep about 9. woke up at 12.. and just now going back to sleep.. I'm sure it will be fine.. . I hate being tired. but work tomorrow should be fun :)

12:56AM - Tenderness

In the darkness I look into his eyes and I am lost, fallen into a dream; hours slip past, embraced by velvet vibrating with the sound of his voice. One word from his lips and I am lost fallen into longing; wobbly, uncertain, cloaked by story hiding behind a wisp of hair, listening; in his words, tenderness.

12:59AM - Good Lawyer?

My wife was involved in a car accident a shade under two weeks ago. The other driver was at fault, and we've been considering getting a Lawyer for the claims process. So I figured I would ask all of you out there in LJland if you've had any good experiences with local lawyers with any sort of similar case?

I mean, I know I could just call Robert Vaughan and have his cronies beat up the other Insurance Company, but I figured hearing about other people's first-hand experiences would be just as good:)

1:03AM - update on job stuff

I am enjoying the job pretty much so far.  I was actually answering the phones pretty well today.  I'm starting to get the hang of who can answer what.  The woman training me is really nice, named Paula.  I really do wonder if they  might at some point offer me the job if I do well at it.  It's sort of a "vacancy" job in their job description list at the moment.  tomorrow I might ask how long this temp position might last.  

1:52AM - Oh, CNN

There's actually a lot of interesting studies noted in the CNN article entitled Catcalling: Creepy or a compliment?. But the title...

11:56PM - Looking for anything that I can...

My thanks to kaitl for redirecting me here. If you saw my post on uiuc, sorry that you're seeing it twice...

First of all, let me give a brief introduction. My name is the same as my user name, and I'm a Human Resource Management and English Creative Writing major (double degree, so two separate bachelors) at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.

So I know, why am I posting here? My wife is going to law school come August. And we were all set to go to one school, and then UIUC's Law School came strongly into the picture and all in all is sitting fairly even with where we were planning on going.

And that's where my post comes in. See, we really know nothing about the area. All we know are some of the things we found online, soooo...

If there's anything that you could tell us that might help out:
1) Apartment complexes? We've got a cat, so pet friendly. 1br/1bth at least, preferably something not slummy, semi-decent, no roommates (if possible). Close to the university or on the busline.
2) The job market? I'm graduating in August, I have no connections in Illinois. Places that are good, places that hire, good leads, anything. I'm a retail background guy, and I'm very much a people person and I get along with anyone. Seriously, anyone. And I'm not afraid to flip burgers for a few months while I work my way up.
3) Things to do? I'm into music (guitarist/songwriter), art, writing/poetry, outdoorsy stuff. I'm trying to get back into athletics and working out and would be up for rec teams. So like, nature trails, outdoorsy stuff, what's there for fun? Concerts? Shows? Venues?
4) What's Illinois really like? Conservative, liberal, farm, city, atmosphere of the town, lifestyle, transportation, real cost of living, etc.

I know that the memories here are fairly extensive, and I'll be combing through them, but any and all direct points that people can give me would be extraordinarily helpful, seeing I've got a lot to sort through and minimal time to do it in...

Thanks everyone. And I hate to pressure a response, but I'm sorta in need of this information within the next, oh, 24 hours? Its one of those things that's coming right down to the wire...

9:40PM - But what do I know? I'm just the horribly-mixed metaphor in the room.

So, there's a retirement commercial, that tries to illustrate the metaphor of, "The 800-pound Gorilla in the room." But there is no such idiom. And this isn't the first place I've heard it used.

An elephant in a room is a subject nobody wants to confront despite its obviousness.

An 800-pound Gorilla is a bully.

Also... I am thoroughly tired of hearing liberal policies described as "socialist". Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the word "liberal" is losing its stigma. But calling gun control "socialist" is an insult to socialism. Gun control has nothing to do with a planned economy, except that it might be presented as a step to be implemented in some anti-Communist conspiracy theory. The same can be said of any of the Democratic Party's non-economic policies, and most of their economic policies.

And yes, I'd like to think I'd also be incensed if leftists went beyond calling things like illegal wiretapping fascist, and regularly used it as an epithet for global warming denial.

11:27PM - Looking for the scoop...

Hey everyone... I hope I'm coming to a good place that could give me a lot of answers, because lord knows I need them and need them fast.

First of all, let me give a brief introduction. My name is the same as my user name, and I'm a Human Resource Management and English Creative Writing major (double degree, so two separate bachelors) at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. I also moderate ucf, which is quite similar in purpose to what y'all have here and what leads me here...

So I know, why am I posting here? My wife is going to law school come August. And we were all set to go to one school, and then UIUC's Law School came strongly into the picture and all in all is sitting fairly even with where we were planning on going.

And that's where you guys come in. See, we really know nothing about the area. All we know are some of the things we found online, soooo...

If there's anything that you could tell us that might help out:
1) Apartment complexes? We've got a cat, so pet friendly. 1br/1bth. Preferably something not slummy, semi-decent. Close to the university or on the busline.
2) The job market? I'm graduating in August, I have no connections up there. Places that are good, places that hire, good leads, anything. I'm a retail background guy, and I'm very much a people person and I get along with anyone. Seriously, anyone. And I'm not afraid to flip burgers for a few months while I work my way up.
3) Things to do? I'm into music (guitarist/songwriter), art, writing/poetry, outdoorsy stuff. I'm trying to get back into athletics and working out and would be up for rec teams. So like, nature trails, outdoorsy stuff, what's there for fun? Concerts? Shows? Venues?
4) What's Illinois really like? Conservative, liberal, farm, city, atmosphere of the town, lifestyle, transportation, real cost of living, etc.

Thanks everyone. And I hate to pressure a response, but I'm sorta in need of this information within the next, oh, 24 hours? Its one of those things that's coming right down to the wire...

9:09PM

Free to the first commenters:

VHS of Edward Scissorhands
VHS of Rushmore TAKEN
VHS of Heathers (doesn't have original cover sleeve)

8:53PM - What do I do? Who knows!

My days are spent lashing together random parts in increasingly improbable ways.



I wonder when my desk will become self-aware.

3:20PM - belated realization

Rickrolling is the 2008 version of "Followup-to: misc.test".

3:12PM - Kit reviews Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

I’ve been kind of distracted this month, so I neglected to mention that you can read my review of Michael Flynn’s novel Eifelheim on the SF Site.  I found this novel to be moving and effective and I recomend it highly.

(Originally posted at Words Words Words by kit. Please leave any comments there.)

4:02PM - "It's better than food! It's books!"

Instead of eating lunch, I went to the NYPL and got a library card. I restrained myself (also I was running out of lunch hour) to:
- Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman. (Somehow I hadn't read this yet.)
- Mansfield Park, Jane Austen. (Because I've only read it once.)
- Meet the Austins, Madeleine L'Engle. (Comfort food.)
- Star-Spangled Manners, Judith Martin. (Just because.)

I seem to be going back through layers of life. The bi-weekly library trips were a terrifically happy childhood ritual for me, and though I'm explaining away this decision as a necessary supplement now that I am looking at not having a big house I can keep copies of every book I could possibly want in, it occurs to me to wonder whether I'm not trying to reach back to old-time comforts.

12:41PM - 100 Years of Futility

The Cubs are about to sign Jim Edmonds.

Look, you fucks. He's done. He couldn't hit water when they dropped him in San Diego Bay with a bat. And playing center field, the bulk of the work was being done by his left and right fielders. This fielder is no more!.

2:51PM

Oh, come on. How often do any of us get to go to Playboy party. I mean, really. BTW, I'm in the ears. The quality of the models is really going downhill...

9:18AM - Dreams

The night before last, I had multiple dreams about missing things. In the one I remember most clearly, I discovered one morning, while I was out with a friend, that the Danskin Triathlon (for which I'm registered) was going on that day. I vaguely remembered, in the dream, that the race had been moved from August to April, but I had forgotten to write it on my calender. So I rushed to the race site, hoping I could still participate, but as I was on my way there, I realized that I hadn't checked in the day before, didn't have my racing chip, and didn't know which heat I would start it. It was too late. I had missed it.

I had at least two other dreams of the same theme that night. In one, if I remember correctly, I quite literally missed a boat. I missed a boat because I hadn't gotten to the dock early enough. Can't remember why.

What does it mean? I keep my calender pretty up-to-date and check it frequently. I've been busy, so that could be part of it, I guess. Or maybe I'm worried about opportunities passing me by. I don't know.

8:38AM - temp job

at uiuc. academics human resources receptionist. 2nd day today my massage schedule is kinda screwed up but I still go to do my one 8a.m. client. everyone i the department is really nice and it's not hard work. . I just have to not be nervous when answering the phones. decent money also. I had a long day yesterday. not used to getting up this early all the time. .

8:34AM - Knitting and Doctor Who: The BBC Speaks!

The news has finally made the BBC.

So far, it's the article that has had the most statements from the BBC that I've seen, but there are a number of things that bug me about what they've written.

"BBC Worldwide said it acted because finished figures were being sold by others on auction website eBay." (Emphasis mine.) They also repeat this later in the article "This lady, with the best will in the world, wanted to share with friends, family and fans. But there were some unscrupulous people taking these patterns and using them on eBay to make profit for themselves. Unfortunately, we had to get to the source of the patterns - and that was her website." That's something that I don't understand. Why penalize the person who is distributing the pattern (and by extension the rest of the knitting community) and not just the people who were selling the pattern or finished knitted objects? And why just HER and not other people who have distributed other patterns and have sold finished knitted objects?

When Mazz informed the BBC that she took down the patterns, she wrote a really great email that attempted to inform and appeal to their sense of fairness, and hoped that she wasn't being singled out. Their response implied that she was the one that was preventing profit from genuine merchandise and read like a canned response: it was two sentences long.

Also from the article: "It [BBC Worldwide] also denied threatening legal action and said it had offered to consider marketing the designs itself." I am working to confirm this, but reading all correspondence that Mazz has shared so far, BBC Worldwide has NOT indicated to Mazz that they considered marketing the design.

The BBC spokesman has said, "It's not that we don't admire creativity from fans - most of the time,we take the view that if it's small-scale and not for profit, then weturn a blind eye." I wish they made that policy all of the time, because Mazz was small-scale and not for profit. She was even working hard to STOP the ebayers by reporting them! (And enlisted a whole bunch of us to report them as well. I know that I have reported three listings by the same ebay seller who still has an active ebay account last I checked.) When he said "Mazzmatazz was still welcome to get in touch with BBC Worldwide to discuss the issue.", she HAS. She has sent them two additional letters, the first arguing the case that she is small-scale and not-for-profit and the second with a number of different ideas on how to resolve this issue. Like I said, I'm working to confirm if they have continued correspondence with her... and I'll keep folks updated on what I know.

Thanks to everyone out there who has taken some form of action, by either writing to the BBC or spreading the word. Here's hoping that in the semi-near future, there will be knitted adipose (and others) for all!

10:29PM - Take My Stuff!

There are a bunch of good items (many of which are in very good shape, many of which aren't) at my house in Champaign. As I am not in Champaign anymore, I don't have access to them; but I want them out of the house ASAP. So, if you would like any of these, please give my mother (Margie) a call at 377-4554; they will be given away on Wednesday between 5 and 8pm:

Everything's gone. It took six minutes. Behold the awful majesty of the Craigslist Locusts!

12:00AM

http://feeds.villagevoice.com/~r/articles/savage_love/~3/289927160/0820,my-boyfriend-s-kink-is-getting-fat-what-do-i-do,440948,24.html

http://villagevoice.com/people/0820,my-boyfriend-s-kink-is-getting-fat-what-do-i-do,440948,24.html

Q: I'm a 31-year-old man, and my girlfriend is 28. We've been in a monogamous relationship for four years. Recently, we've been doing the long-distance thing, and we're going to be doing it for a while until I can move from Canada to the United States. This is our problem: She brought up the idea of an open relationship until I get down there. I said OK—trying to be GGG—then called her back 24 hours later and reneged.Dan, I can't . . . read more (By Dan Savage)

12:00AM - Savage Lovecast

http://feeds.villagevoice.com/~r/articles/savage_love/~3/289898630/0820,my-boyfriend-s-k,440948,24.html

http://villagevoice.com/people/0820,my-boyfriend-s-k,440948,24.html

Q: I'm a 31-year-old man, and my girlfriend is 28. We've been in a monogamous relationship for four years. Recently, we've been doing the long-distance thing, and we're going to be doing it for a while until I can move from Canada to the United States. This is our problem: She brought up the idea of an open relationship until I get down there. I said OK—trying to be GGG—then called her back 24 hours later and reneged.Dan, I can't stand the idea . . . read more (By Dan Savage)

4:00AM - Finish Line

http://xkcd.com/423/

11:51PM - Hillary still can't win, so the real news:

The Democrats have won yet another special election for yet another House seat, this time in northern Mississippi, hardly a hotbed of liberalism. Of course, the Democrat in question is pro-gun and pro-life, but such is life.

Not only does this extend the Democrats' lead in the House going in to the general election, but the fact that the Dems have won 3 special elections in 3 not-very-Democratic districts this year has all the Republicans running for re-election scared shitless. Add to that the fact that the Dems have more money than the Republicans for House and Senate races at the moment and are defending fewer Senate seats, and you can count on the Dems holding both houses of Congress and probably expanding their majorities in November.

MWAHAHAHAHAHA. Or something.

10:43PM - Yes yes all right already I GET IT

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In their lust to prove there's no God, atheists
often invoke the existence of suffering. "What kind of deity," one asked
me, "allows a child in Darfur to starve to death after seeing soldiers kill his
mommy?" While I don't claim to have the authoritative answer to that
accusation, I think it's worthwhile to consider the possibility that suffering
is a gift God gives us in order to prod our evolution. On a personal level,
your longing to escape your suffering is a primal force in making you
smarter. On a collective level, nothing refines and ennobles us more than
our passion to keep others from suffering. For every dead child in Darfur,
100 people in other places on the planet have responded with a radical
commitment to create a world in which future Darfurs won't happen.
These are worthy ideas for you to meditate on in the coming weeks. You
will have a tremendous capacity to convert your old wounds, as well as
the old wounds of others, into brilliant opportunities.

8:51PM - Heads Up For Mac Using TiVo Owners

It looks like the recent Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 1, which installs J2SE 6 v1.6.0_05, may break TiVoToGo functionality in Roxio products. MacFixIt has the details, which is based on user reports in the Roxio support forums and MacFixIt readers. The update is not supposed to change the system Java Preference setting, but it appears that it does, at least for some users. The solution, aside from not installing the Java update, appears to be setting the system Java Preference to the old version. At least until an update that corrects the problem is available. See MacFixIt for more info.

6:21PM - Thank you

Some people have been sending me money in response to the request for an investor–sometimes a hundred dollars. I hadn’t been asking for donations; I appreciate them all the more for that. If you sent in a hundred dollars, I think you deserve something spiffy as a thank you; Reesa and Kit and I have been kicking around ideas for exactly what. When we come up with something, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, you have the thanks of a grateful writer.

Meanwhile, concerning the loan request mentioned earlier, if there are people interested in investing smaller amounts (technically, this is a note of hand, not an investment in the business, as it is unsecured), say 3-10k, let us know at the email addresses mentioned in the earlier post.

In other news, I’m working on chapter 10 of Iorich, and I think it’s going pretty well.

(Originally posted at Words Words Words by skzb. Please leave any comments there.)

7:00PM - I Love Clarity [Geek]

It's such a good feeling when I get the chance to build code that is precisely organized and strictly ordered.

Poorly structured code feels like a house of cards - I push just a little over here, and watch the whole thing tumble. Or another image would be a tangled skein of yarn; I get hold of one thread and try to pull it out, and the whole darn thing tries to come along with it, because it's all knotted up.

Well structured code is more like a house of brick - I push on it and it doesn't move. I can take out a brick and put a different one in its place and the whole thing is just as solid as before. Nothing was affected unless it bumped right up against that brick. The foundation is solid and much can be built on top, and it's trustworthy.

Today was one of those days when I get to look at the house of cards for ideas, and then build it in brick instead. Those days feel great.

Good use of design patterns, clear and consistent naming standards, perfectly behaved layering of abstractions, removal of boilerplate and spurious other code so the core purpose is crystal clear... it all fits perfectly in place.

3:26PM

To balance the baby-eating LOLcats from last fall . . .


more cat pictures

4:04PM - On the Causes of Alcoholism

It's not current emotional/life events that'll drive me to drink, it's my job.

The Mothership will be first against the wall when the revolution comes, you mark my words.

12:02PM

http://www.thegreenhead.com/2008/05/r2-d2-ice-bucket-han-solo-carbonite-ice-cube-tray.php

11:34AM - Racism isn't a problem in America, FYI

Obama campaigners experience some ugliness

The thing I find most distressing is that the Obama campaign's strategy for dealing with the situation is to pretend it doesn't exist. And, sadly, they're probably right (electorally-speaking) to do so. Their best chance of getting elected is to pretend that racism isn't a problem and that Barack Obama's race isn't something that makes people vote against him. In other words, the first black (half-black? half-African?) man with a chance of becoming the President of the United States has the best chance of doing so if he doesn't actually bring up race.

He did it once, and he did it well, but I suspect that was to get the issue "out there" and then be able to move as far away from it as possible.

It's just a little sad.

8:47AM - From the "WTF?" Files

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/washington/13tsa.html

In brief, students who are also foreign nationals had applied for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (which allows them to work around areas such as docks) to carry out research. The TSA, who controls access to these permits, turned most of them down because they weren't eligible -- but also stated in the refusal letters that the students had been deemed security threats.

I could see not issuing the permits . . . but why send an official letter deeming these students security threats as well?

7:31AM - new job

yay I'm starting a temp job today at uiuc. Basically a receptionist in the academic human resources department. I need to reconfigure my massage schedule at rod sickler's but for 13.26 per hour, it was a great opportunity. Also If they like me and continue to need the position filled.. .. I might get to stay. :) or Rod sickler's massage stuff might still take off. .

we'll see wish for the best. :) I only found out about the temp job last night. so I'm the tiniest bit nervous bout should be fine. . :)

11:50PM - Review: How to Lie with Maps

http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/0-226-53421-9.html

Publisher:	University of Chicago
Copyright:	1991, 1996
Printing:	1996
ISBN:	0-226-53421-9
Format:	Trade paperback
Pages:	189

I loved the idea of this book the first time I heard about it. Inspired by How to Lie with Statistics, this book tries to do the same for cartography. Maps have to lie: as a scaled-down representation of a complex reality, a flattened 2D projection of 3D space, and often a planar projection of a spherical surface, they necessarily omit detail and distort the territory. Monmonier provides an introduction to the competing principles used to choose simplifications, common techniques for maintaining important information at smaller scales, and some of the ways maps can be used to distort and give erroneous impressions.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems with this treatment of the subject, the largest of which is that this book feels very dated. Statistics is an easier topic in that sense. Statistics is still roughly the same as it was twenty years ago. Cartography, on the other hand, has gone from frequently black and white to always color, has been completely revolutionized by computers, and has now been turned on its head by Google Maps, and most of these changes are too new to be adequately dealt with here. I did read the revised second edition, and Monmonier tried to provide some updates, but 1996 is an eternity ago for anything affected by computers. The chapter on interactive exploration of maps via computers tries very hard and manages to still be mildly interesting, but it's a little like reading a comparison between slide rules and four-function calculators.

A related problem is the lack of color. This too has been partly addressed in the second edition, but the color plates that were added are extremely basic and simplistic, and frankly rather ugly. One of the fun parts about reading a book like this is enjoying the beautiful artwork done by cartographers who truly know what they're doing, but there's very little of that here and none of it in the color area. I'm afraid it suffers badly in comparison to Edward Tufte's work.

Still, there are fascinating tidbits. The information on how national mapping projects are done was mostly new to me, as were the details on transformations of maps at different scales and the editing process that goes into producing a map. I enjoyed reading about the problems with finding authoritative information for street maps and some of the examples of mistakes that were surprisingly difficult to correct. Monmonier also highlights points that are obvious in retrospect but whose implications I'd not thought through, such as the choice of breaks between grey-scale or color gradients and the way they can completely change the apparent information of a map, or the huge difference between graphing magnitude and graphing density when displaying that information on spacial grids. Tufte covers some of this material better, but not all of it.

While the tone is occasionally a bit snarky, it's not as funny or as biting as I would have wished. I did read it between two books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a remarkably hard act to follow, but Monmonier is just a bit too nice to having me laughing at most of his analysis. He does have his moments, though, the best of which is the chapter on development maps and seducing the town board. That I expect has aged quite well.

Overall, I would recommend this book, but with caveats, and I'm not sure it's worth paying full price for (as opposed to looking for it in your local library). You'll learn things from it, but you'll also have to page through a lot of obsolete analysis, and the book is sadly far from being a feast for the eyes. An updated edition for the Google Maps era that's full color throughout and includes some of the spectacularly beautiful examples that Tufte finds would be very welcome.

Rating: 6 out of 10

2:07AM - TT Buffs

Would anyone who may be running a Turtle Tamer be willing to buff ElephantMan with astral/ghostly shell? I'm trying to boost my damage absorption for basement diving :)

I'll send you something in return... hi meins... meat... equipment... I'm willing to help out. I'm trying to get that character to level 30 and it's getting a little monotonous, basement diving is something I really haven't gotten into before and I love it.

6:36PM - Ain't it the truth?

see more dog pictures

Plus he kinda looks like Riley -- but Riley would never do anything like that.

6:58PM - TiVo to Report First Quarter Fiscal 2009 Financial Results

Via press release:

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) announced today that it will release financial results for the first quarter ended April 30, 2008 after market close on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.

TiVo will also host a conference call and webcast to discuss the first quarter financial and operating results as well as guidance outlook for the current quarter at 2:00 pm PT (5:00 pm ET) on the same day. To listen to the discussion, please visit http://www.tivo.com/ir and click on the link provided for the webcast. The webcast will be archived and available through June 06, 2008.

I'll cover it as usual.

6:53PM - Yet More Who-Will-Buy-TiVo Speculation

In the wake of Microsoft's failure to buy out Yahoo!, there has been rampant speculation as to Microsoft's next move, primarily which company they may try to acquire instead of Yahoo!. Facebook is often bandied about in that context, but it probably isn't surprising that TiVo has popped up amidst the speculation as well. As in this article in Financial Week:

The experience may prompt Messrs. Ballmer and Liddell to seek out home entertainment targets that better fit Microsoft’s culture. The logical choice, said [Stephen Smith, senior managing director at Arma Partners], is set-top box specialist TiVo, since the xBox could serve as the hardware for TiVo’s television-recording software. “TiVo is the Apple of that category,” he said. “And Microsoft could buy it without antitrust concerns.”

Perhaps, and TiVo is working with Nero on TiVo software for the Windows PC. So it might not be as difficult to port to the Xbox 360 as it would at first seem. And Microsoft has repeatedly tried to get into the cable STB software business, without much success. Having TiVo's OCAP software, already picked up by Comcast and Cox, would certainly help in that arena.

But, really, I don't see it happening. Microsoft already has Windows Media Center as the 800 pound gorilla in the PC market, and they can bring that interface to the 360 should they want to. I think it is just analyst speculation, looking for someone, anyone, that Microsoft could make a play for.

6:39PM - Factory-Renewed TiVo HD Dropping to $199.99

According to an email sent out to affiliates, TiVo will be dropping the regular price on factory-renewed TiVo HD units from $249.99 to $199.99 on May 15th. But you can already get them for the lower price by going through the current affiliate-only link. Of course, using the affiliate link has the side benefit of supporting the site as well. They factory-renewed TiVo HD will be available until July 2nd or while supplies last.

6:29PM - PlayTeeVee Releases Multi-Player TiVo Game

I previously mentioned PlayTeeVee's beta test for their new multi-player TiVo HME game. Now it is out of beta and anyone with a broadband connected TiVo can try it out. You just need to add PlayTeeVee to your TiVo, which is very easy to do. The game? It is Reversi:

The object of the game is to make your pieces constitute a majority of the pieces on the board at the end of the game, by turning over as many of your opponent’s pieces as possible. This can be done by flanking the other person’s pieces either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Whoever ends up with the most number of pieces at the end of the game wins. The game ends when either the board is full or one player doesn’t have any pieces left.

If you can't find someone to play with, there is a single player mode where you can play against the computer.

You know, I hadn't thought of it before, but a lot of turn-based board games would work fairly well as TiVo games. The classics like checkers and chess, of course. But I could really see something like Battleship working well too. TiVo already has a 'Connect Four' clone - but making it online two player could be interesting for PlayTeeVee. Scrabble, Monopoly, etc - all could work. Of course, card games - poker, blackjack, etc, could work too. But more people need to use it to encourage development.

5:08PM

Not sure how long it has been since I had done an official update. Not really a whole lot going on.

This Saturday we went to Indianapolis to see Eddie Izzard. Seats viewing wise were fine, but legroom wise SUCKED. That was my fault for picking best availible instead of making sure we were on the ground floor. After things started we were told we could move to other balcony seats with more room, but i didnt want to disturb the whole line of people (we were trapped on one end). Since it was my mistake I just sat with it. Fortunately the railing gave a bit and while my legs were jammed up against it, i had more room. If you look at the rail you can see where I sat as the rail now has a very distinct bend there. cant help that. I'm tall.

Anyway, Eddie Izzard is as funny live as on DVD. Not really in Drag, but he had a wierdis costume so all is right with the world. He's very funny. And a great actor (see The Riches TV show on FX).

Anyway, played 7 games last night. Which was a decent run.

Need to start thinking about Memorial Trip (melfest) and the immediately following trip to Seattle. Need to organize and pack and all that jazz. Then Bonnaroo. It is going to be a busy 31 days.

4:20PM

Anybody else think it's odd... The Illinois State Bar Association's annual meeting will be held in Missouri this year.

5:08PM - mario kart wii

0344-9776-3754

3:19PM

Microwave in great working condition for sale. Only $10.

3:16PM - Microwave for sale

Microwave in great working condition for sale. Only $10.

4:14PM - Recovery #2

Well, I was doing pretty well until yesterday, when I started having foot pain. I am hopeful this just means that it is healing, but my toes are grotesquely swollen.


Andrew has been taking good care of me, again. He takes the stems off all my strawberries and removes my grapes from the stalks. I have been trying not to over indulge like I did last surgery, because I think it took me until this surgery to put off the weight. Andrew bought me a huge bag of Raisinets which he claims is the healthiest of candies, but I am not sure that I am buying it. My sweet friend made us a tuna casserole and brought some thin addictives. Andrew made a good macaroni casserole and tons of Smart Ones.


This weekend was pretty fun. Jeanine came to see me on Saturday bringing a treasure trove of magazines. She even brought knitting ones. What a thoughtful friend I have! My other good friend and her daughter (who also happens to be my good friend) brought by a beautiful bouquet of flowers, but we didn’t hear the door bell ring. In retrospect, we think Reece heard it. We missed their visit, but we have been enjoying the flowers. Andrew put them up front on our book shelf so I can see them when I watch TV which happens to be my main occupation these days.


I have watched several movies. J brought over Juno which I think that we all liked. I love Jennifer Garner. The entire movie was really heartwarming. We also watched Disney’s Enchanted and liked it so much that Andrew immediately had to e-mail his parents to tell them to rent it. It was so much better than either of us expected. Ella Enchanted, which is an older movie I rented, was okay (though Andrew would not agree with that review). I watched Cloverfield by myself and was not impressed. I came close to turning it off, but didn’t – so I guess that is something. TV wise, I have been watching CSI NY, Cold Case, and Stargate. All of which are plentifully available in syndication, so I have been recording them on our DVRs.


I have been knitting. I made a Mother’s Day project for Andrew’s grandmas and mom. I will post pictures later. I don’t think the grandmas have the internet, but it is better safe than sorry. I worked one day on my fair isle sweater, and am creating a tiny shrug with the left over yarn from the Mother’s Day projects. I also am going to make a door handle cover for my manager per her request.


Right before surgery, I went to see the Yarn Harlot come for a talk and a book signing. It made for a long night, but it was very funny. Next month, there is national knit out at the Indiana State Museum. Also, I will be attending the all day sock seminar at Mass Ave Knit. This will be of great benefit to me, because I have twice tried to knit socks but they ended up super huge.


Well, I best get back to knitting and TV watching. I will add some knitting pictures next post.

2:16PM - Jogging #R+8 & 9

(I went last Wednesday. I was strapped for time, I was out of sorts and out of rhythm, it was more labor than usual, and I was next to some bint wearing about a gallon of perfume making it impossible for me to breathe. The less said, the better.)

Maintained same speed, same duration. No perceived improvement in overheating. I'm a little more winded today, but I think that's as a result of no workouts Thurs, Fri, or weekend (other than moving boxes), and possibly from a larger-than-usual dose of cat dander on account of staying at nedlnthred's last night.

The gym was surprisingly crowded today. I hope and trust this won't extend into summer.

No idea on weight. I suspect I've maintained, as things aren't feeling particularly bigger.

10:59AM - Escalation...

Hackers' posts on epilepsy forum cause migraines, seizures


In one of the first computing hacks seemingly intended to physically harm victims, attackers saturated the web forums of the Epilepsy Foundation with strobing images allegedly calculated to trigger seizures in visitors to the site. In addition to reminding everyone of Snow Crash, this seems like a disturbing escalation in the hacker culture. Obviously this attack is only applicable to those with certain types of epilepsy. Hopefully no more general-purpose attack can be devised. Any brain-meat specialists in the house who can comment on this possibility?

10:37AM

For my birthday this past Wednesday, Mel got me a Nintendo DS to keep me entertained during my commute. I know that many of you have more background with this platform than I do, so I'm looking for recommendations. What are the great games for this system? I have no particular love for anime or the Pokemon franchise, but outside of this I'm pretty open. In particular, I'd like to find a decent strategy game.