Friday, December 29, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
On the kayak in Old Florida
I spent my last day in Florida paddling the Chassahowitzka River with my brother Jacob. The weather has been less than ideal, but today was perfect. The wind was blowing 10-20 mph all day, but wasn't a factor in the spring creeks that feed the main river channel. The water is crystal clear. It wells up through limestone caves carved by natural springs. The scenery is jungle like and primitive. It is nice to see this side of Florida.
Wildlife is everywhere. We ran into a manatee cow and calf 20 yards from the slip. They were so used to people that they stuck their noses right against the sides of our kayaks. There were the usual wading birds, ducks, otters, raccoons, etc. I took several photos with my new camera. I also shot some video that I will post via youtube and here. It was so much fun paddling upstream to the head springs and then slowly cruising with the current back down. Today felt like honest vacation. It makes me miss living here. Link to photos
Monday, December 25, 2006
Xmas Goods
It is Christmas and another day of eating too much. We are under a tornado watch. The news says five homes have been demolished this morning in Central Florida. That blows no matter what day it is, but it is ironic to happen Christmas morning to say the least.
We had traditional pancakes with cream of chicken gravy (I'll elaborate on that after the break). There is pumpkin pie, and other treats. We exchanged some gifts and things are winding down. I just noticed that the TV is back in the usual on state. Except for the wrapping paper and some Here's a picture of my dog maggie. She turned six today. Wish her boxes, it could be any other day. a happy one.
Anyway, it has been fun to be with family. I wish I lived close enough to have friends and family in the same place. I miss some of them a bunch esp D who is all by her lonesome in big 0l' LA. I hope your today is as good as mine or better. Cheers!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Festivus Day Two
Festivus did not end for me last night. Traditionally, Festivus is not over until the head of the household is wrestled to the floor and pinned (feats of strength). I didn't see it happen. I also didn't see the Festivus Pole, or any Festivus Miracles. So what does that mean for the rest of us? Maybe I'll end it tonight. I'm feeling strong...but we need a miracle or two.
Twas the day before Xmas - a post from the turnpike
I've been here since Wednesday now. I've been on the water twice. Once in the flats boat, once in the kayak. It has been windy and overcast...not the greatest weather. I shot a roll of 35mm film with my old Nikon SLR. I had plenty of willing wildlife posing, but something is up with the camera and I only ended up with one shot worth keeping. Of all things, it was the Great Blue Herron - nothing exciting about that. I have two shots of an otter that was looking back at me, but it is not quite focused. I think I'm done with film. I hope to get one more sunny day before I have to leave. If that goes well, hopefully I'll get some better shot.
I am currently posting from the Florida Turnpike thanks to EVDO. I went to the traditional Christmas dinner with all the aunts uncles and cousins. I think there were 45 people this time. The food was too good, and it was nice to see family that I haven't in years. There were feats of strength, airing of grievances, turkey, ham, etc. I missed an opportunity to Christmas shop for my family at a huge adult store that was across the street from my hotel room. Sorry D, nothing for you either. Maybe next year... In a couple hours I'll be back on the left coast where I will wait for Santa to bring me everything I ever wanted. If he doesn't, I'm going to jack his sleigh and fly it across the country.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Imagining the Tenth Dimension
This animation illustrates the concepts presented in chapter one of the book "Imagining the Tenth Dimension" by Rob Bryanton. Link
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
Trey Anastasio busted
Via The Smoking Gun: "Former Phish frontman Trey Anastasio was arrested in December 2006 by upstate New York cops for driving while intoxicated and illegal possession of a variety of medications (Xanax, Percocet, and Hydrocodone) prescribed in someone else's name." Link
Remote Control Sharks with Laser Beams
...well, sort of. "...implanted sharks with electrical stimulators that trick their brains into smelling food. Using the stimulators, he was able to "steer" the sharks around a tank." The obvious question is, are they ill tempered? Link
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Your change is worth more melted - Time for change?
Your nickels/pennies are worth more melted than their mint value, really. It reminds me of this post on Simple Bits.
"The U.S. Mint has implemented a law against melting down pennies and nickels which, at current metal prices, could be worth more as metal than as currency." Link to CNN article
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Thom Yorke - Splitting Feathers EP Import
When I posted the news about the Thom Yorke remixes I didn't even know about the Splitting Feathers EP. It includes 5 B-Sides and 2 Videos.
Homer Simpson appears on medical marijuana label
Boing Boing has a scan of the bag. Bag label reads: "TRAINWRECK. For medical use only. Do not operate heavy machi... or drive. Contingent to California H&S Code 11362.5 For medical use only." Link
North Carolina's Main Street - A Dead End
Update! As you can see in the photo to the left, they solved the problem (click the photo for larger view).
While it was under construction during the transition from pedestrian mall to 'NC's Main St.' I joked that our 'Main St.' was a dirt road. It is finished now, but it still leads to nowhere. The look on driver's faces is comical when they get to the end which doesn't really even have a turn around circle. Link
Monday, December 11, 2006
The Eraser - Remixes
Excited to find news of remixes from Thom Yorke's solo album. Here's a snippet from the RSS:
"For anyone who has heard The Eraser, there are some remixes coming.
Yes.
I got excited. I've been listening through. I mean. There's some freaky shit.
They may start appearing soon. Gradually. Briefly.
Just a taste. And then gone.
On www.theeraser.net."
Link
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
Watch Bob Dylan's new video - win a signed guitar
Slate is premiering Bob Dylan's Thunder on the Mountain video. Watch it and you could win an autographed guitar.
Link found via Pop Candy.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
MC Ali - Rapping with Muhammad Ali
Is Ali the original MC? Ali Rap, airs Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Tune in and decide for yourself. Word to the greatest!
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Raleigh NC
I don't really watch the show, but it's being filmed locally right now. Here's a cool time-lapse video of the project.
ALA's: Avoiding Edge Cases
I work in information design. My current gig has been an interesting ride. I have put two front ends on our portal and it's all done with XHTML and CSS for presentation. That's great except for the amount of markup it takes to code the design you see. The problem isn't so much the design as the lack of consistency otherwise known as edge cases (how to avoid them). Almost every page is an edge case, which flushes the benefits of designing with web standards down the drain. What causes this? Often, it is not putting in or having the time to plan in the beginning. It only costs more in the end in the form of bloated CSS, which is hard to maintain and a difficult foundation for growth. My biggest pet peeve is when a complex website starts as graphic composites rather than simple information architecture, such as wire frame documents.
There's a great article on A List Apart right now on the subject titled: Avoid Edge Cases that should be required reading for all web producers. The photo (above) is a joke, but it's often more documentation than existed when designers started comping a project around here. Hopefully that time has passed.
by: michael rupert at 9:54 AM 0 comments
Tags: css, Information Architecture, information design, xhtml
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Stoned Owl Hides Out In Christmas Tree
"SARASOTA, Fla. -- A bird with a buzz found in a Florida family's Christmas tree is getting ready to go back into the wild."
To complete the trifecta: Yes, it was in Florida. Link
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Stanley Cup making the rounds
On my way to grab lunch today, they had the Stanley Cup outside my building (downtown Raleigh) with a line of people waiting to have their snapshot taken with the trophy. Excuse the crappy phone camera quality...
Monday, December 04, 2006
The 50 Greatest Commercials of the ’80s
Hey man! Is that freedom rock man? - Yeah! - Well, turn it up man! Yep, GIANT Magazine has a list of the 50 greatest commercials of the 80's (every one has video). Go waste some time, to the max. I learned it from watching YOU!
Link