| Liar |
[Apr. 1st, 2012|02:58 pm] |
It's one of the strongest insults in my vocabulary, but also one of the least precise in common parlance. It means "You have intentionally led me to believe, directly or indirectly, that something untrue is true". This meaning is often lost, or misinterpreted. I often reserve it as an insult for someone who uses their lie for their personal benefit and potential or actual detriment to myself or people I care about, but that selectivity doesn't change the meaning. The word itself conveys much more impact than phrasing the same accusation differently[1].
( Read more... )
If you don't want to talk to me, tell me that you don't want to talk to me, don't tell me your dog is on fire. If you don't want me to talk about a certain subject to you, or with other people, tell me that, don't lie to me in an attempt to convince me that talking about it isn't worthwhile. Lying to me is almost never going to have the desired result, and the more effectively I can convey that the more likely we are to have successful communicative interactions. |
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| Driving carelessly |
[Mar. 28th, 2012|08:45 am] |
I recently had occasion to meet a friend of a friend on a road trip. We met at his mountain-top house and he and his wife then drove us about 20 miles down the mountain to a nearby restaurant. Given the choice of four vehicles, the two of which could carry all four of us were a Mini Cooper and a Hummer H3. They chose the H3, probably for reasons of comfort. While there I picked up that they visit this restaurant, and others in the vicinity, often.
( Read more... ) |
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| How do you integrate your online communications? |
[Mar. 7th, 2012|12:38 am] |
I communicate with a lot of different people in a lot of different ways. For most of the people with whom I communicate most often, I do so in multiple different ways. I have always been disappointed in the lack of integration between different forms of electronic communication. Here I'm going to catalog all of the ways that I communicate with people, and some of the solutions I've come across to combine and integrate them. Hopefully someone can point out some additional ways to improve the situation.
( Read more... )
What solutions are you using? |
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| Planning an interactive safer sex calculator |
[Feb. 16th, 2012|03:28 am] |
Most people can't accurately gauge probability and risk. And even if they could, they would need the right data to base their evaluation on. Did you know that when trying to avoid HIV, protected sex with a partner of unknown serostatus is 2.4x as dangerous as unprotected sex with a partner who tested negative? I want to put this information and the risk analysis into a calculator, probably in the form of an html+javascript app.
( Read more... )
I'd appreciate feedback on how you might want to see this work differently. What other data should I use in the calculations? How should I present the results? Would you find this useful? |
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| Plans, short and medium term. |
[Feb. 15th, 2012|01:38 pm] |
My life is in a state of heavy flux right now. Big things are changing, and I'm writing this to keep track. In December I lost my job at Peer1.com because I wouldn't sit quietly while someone stealthily sabotaged my department. I've mostly given up on my warehouse photo studio business plan, for lack of capital. And I've decided to move to Boston after enjoying a few trips up there.
1 month plans:
( Read more... )
3 month plans:
( Read more... )
6 month plans:
( Read more... )
Those are all the big things on my mind right now. If you want to help with any of this, or help me make or change my plans, get in touch. |
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| Visiting Boston, job hunting, and the FFF. |
[Feb. 13th, 2012|07:36 pm] |
I am finishing another visit to the Boston area, flying home to Atlanta tomorrow afternoon. This visit has been one of my most fun yet, and coupled with my last visit I now have a relatively widely distributed network of social acquaintances that I can seek out in my future quest to meet even more people in the area.
( Read more... ) |
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| State of the Sparr |
[Feb. 4th, 2012|01:09 am] |
State of the Sparr
February 4th, 2012
It's been a while since I've written anything lengthy about myself. A lot of things have changed, and are changing, so it's probably time for a comprehensive update.
( Read more... )
That's just about everything that's going on with me lately. If you want to know more, just ask. I'm mostly an open book, as usual. |
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| What rhymes with "orange" and describes language-agnostic programming ability? |
[Jan. 21st, 2012|08:08 pm] |
I often make the comment that "I can debug software written in languages I don't know" is a very hard thing to put on a resume. Recently I made this comment in the context of potentially applying for a job where an acquaintance works. She is somewhat technically savvy, and understood the thought I was trying to convey, but she was incredulous. It took me longer than I'd have liked to explain it, and I didn't do a very good job, so it occurs to me that this is a subject I could do with some thinking and writing on.
( Read more... )
All of this comes together to form the skill that I can't put on my resume. I've learned almost every language that I know by diving into an existing program that wasn't behaving correctly (or I wanted to improve) and making the necessary change. I wish there was a way to convey this concept succinctly, because I think it's one of my most employable traits. Unfortunately I'm stuck hoping for the one in a hundred development jobs where management recognizes that being a good developer has nothing to do with the language being used, or for a chance to get my foot in the door somewhere as a PHP developer (note to self: pick up Django or Ruby on Rails, over half the jobs I didn't apply for today required proficiency in one of those). If anyone out there has feedback on how I can better describe this concept, or needs further clarification, please comment here or elsewhere or contact me privately. |
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| Arisia and Boston |
[Jan. 19th, 2012|12:00 am] |
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Arisia was fun. Boston is awesome. I still love Kat. Artisan's Asylum is the best makerspace I've been to. I'm job hunting here and there. Sex is fun. That is all. |
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| Stuff for sale! |
[Dec. 29th, 2011|06:33 pm] |
This could be better formatted, but I figure the few folks who care will click the links anyway...
96 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, crew cab, long 8' bed - $2500 - craigslist ad
40" LCD 1080p HDTV, Element ELCHW402 - $300 - craigslist ad
Fiber Channel cables, 1m-5m - $30 - craigslist ad
60 cubicle partitions, various sizes - $5 - craigslist ad
Casio CE-6000 cash register POS - $200 - craigslist ad
Ladies summer clothing, dresses, accessories, lingerie - $16 - craigslist ad
Jacuzzi garden tubs - $200 - craigslist ad
Steel table surfaces - $50 - craigslist ad
Two dishwashers - $50 - craigslist ad
Large stand-alone ice maker - $200 - craigslist ad
Rolling aluminum carts for plates or cylinders - $25 - craigslist ad
solid wood cart with steel wheels - $150 - craigslist ad
Padded chair seats - $2 - craigslist ad
Old Coke machine, 6 buttons, ~180 can capacity - $200 - craigslist ad
Router Table, Central Machinery, with bit set - $100 - craigslist ad
Ridgid cordless circular saw, reciprocating saw - $25 - craigslist ad
20000 CFM squirrel cage fan, 7.5A 208V 3phase - $300 - craigslist ad
4 Squirrel cage fans - $25 - craigslist ad
1500lb 3/4ton pallet jack palletjack - $125 - craigslist ad
11 foot rolling ladder platform lift - $750 - craigslist ad
Hydraulic Elevator Motor and Pump, old - $750 - craigslist ad
2.75 Ton Winch, broken - $400 - craigslist ad
12ft fiberglass step ladder, broken foot - $75 - craigslist ad
200ft Conduit - Anaconda Sealtite EF 3/4" PVC + Galvanized Steel - $200 - craigslist ad
27-strand 0.5mm fiber optic cable, 100ft - $50 - craigslist ad
pile of dead electric scooters - $400 - craigslist ad
Canon and Toyo FD lenses, 50/1.8, 135/2.8, 28-200/4.0-5.6 - $50 - craigslist ad
Large and XXL dog carriers - $50 - craigslist ad
50" Toshiba RP HDTV 50HDX82, needs repair - $100 - craigslist ad |
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| upcoming for-sale post |
[Dec. 29th, 2011|08:51 am] |
Heads up. I'll be posting a very large list of items for sale to Craigslist and summarizing that list here and elsewhere later today. If you don't read all my posts, but see this one, come back and see the other one in 6-8 hours. Will include my truck, soda machine, jacuzzis, bulk girls clothes, industrial equipment, computer and electronics equipment, my 3d printer, etc.
PS: I'll also be writing some longer journal posts in the next few days at the request of a friend. Sorry for being such a LJ recluse lately. |
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| Consent |
[Oct. 14th, 2011|01:23 am] |
Consent is important to me. I have multiple people in my life who have been in situations that ended badly, even life changingly, over issues with consent. Like many things, I've put more thought into this subject in a few years than most people will in their whole life. Like many things on that list, talking about this in depth is a social taboo, despite not talking about it leading to very negative outcomes.
( Read more... )
I hope this gives you some insight into my thoughts on the matter of consent, both in general and as applies to my current and potential relationships.
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| Priceline Win |
[Aug. 28th, 2011|01:54 pm] |
Priceline'd the Marriott on Thursday for $63+$17, and found a room to share for the other nights.
Reliable acquaintances fail
My room plans for DragonCon just fell through. I need a bed for two from Thursday til Sunday at least, til Monday preferably. |
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| Moving out, moving on, warehouse space |
[Jul. 3rd, 2011|10:52 pm] |
I am moving out of C7. I gave them my notice a few weeks ago, with the move-out date set for the end of this month. Theres a chance I'll couch surf there or elsewhere or ask for an extension for a week or two depending on how some financial timing works out, but for all intents and purposes this is my last month living there. I've mostly enjoyed staying there, and met a number of rather interesting people, but a number of concerns have begun piling up that have inspired me to move on.
( Read more... )
That said, what I'm doing for the next few weeks is spreading the word that I'm looking for folks who are interested in some piece of a large warehouse space for... whatever. One of the units I'm looking at has 11000 square feet of mostly empty space. The space is not partitioned, and I can't add rooms with ceilings, although some walls can be arranged. I've got ideas for the space that involve commercial storage, photo and video studio space, art and light mechanical workshops, etc. What would YOU do with some number of 10'x14' sections of a warehouse, alongside a dozen other folks with the same, and how much would you pay for it? |
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| Euphoria 2011 |
[Jun. 20th, 2011|08:22 pm] |
I made it home from Euphoria in one piece and want to put everything I can remember down in writing before I forget too much. Sadly I've already lost track of a lot of personal interactions that happened, and failed to swap contact information with a few new folks that I met. Hopefully I'll see them online via other friends' journals and posts and such.
( Read more... )
A retrospective budget that I put together for a post yesterday is as follows:
reusable items:
$200 trampoline
$100 balloon frame components
$ 85 camping accessories
$ 20 clothes
----
$405
expended items:
$ 90 event tickes
$ 16 four dozen dozen pecan spins, mostly gifted
$ 33 camping necessities
$ 12 batteries
$ 35 balloon frame components
$ 25 camping chairs, gifted
$ 20 Ikea end tables, 2 gifted, 2 to be burnt
$ 20 toys, used and gifted
$ 40 gas
----
$291
The end. |
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| Relationships |
[Jun. 5th, 2011|09:42 pm] |
It's been a while since I put together all of my relationship information and thoughts in one place. It's all in my head, and I can cross reference it as necessary, but that means explaining things to various people on a piecemeal basis. That's no good, because it leads to small misunderstandings and some missed opportunities.
I'm still polyamorous, in case that bit escaped anyone's notice. I have multiple intimate and romantic relationships, with varying degrees of commitment and involvement. All of the girls I am involved with for any length of time know that there are other girls, and all of the ones I'm seriously involved with know who the others are. I'm also still a virgin, and for various reasons don't have as much fun at third base as I might. Don't let that confuse you, though. I have an active sex life and it is both interesting and enjoyable, if not as frequent or regular as I'd like. To greatly over-simplify, I currently have two girlfriends, some number of friends with benefits, and a few girls I'm pursuing. There is also some overlap between those categories, as I'm looking to upgrade some relationships, and some have downgraded, possibly temporarily.
( Read more... ) |
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| The most overlooked facet of the public transit debate. |
[May. 24th, 2011|10:41 pm] |
About half of downtown Atlanta is paved. The same goes for most other major cities in the USA. It applies to small towns as well, although this post is less about those. Don't believe me? Look at a satellite map. On your mental map of the world, roads are just lines, with no width, and parking lots only take up as much space as the distance you have to walk from your car to the exit. In the real world, all that space adds up[1].
( Read more... ) |
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| Trading sex for shelter, or vice versa. |
[May. 9th, 2011|07:54 pm] |
I've got some concerns regarding sexual consent and about being a good friend, of the sort with or without benefits. As usual, this post is where I am going to put a lot more thought into one small part of typical life than most people would, but asking for and receiving feedback on these issues is how I keep myself on track, at least somewhat.
Freely given sex is a good thing.
Rape is a bad thing, and consider this a trigger warning for the next section of this post.
( Read more... ) |
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| Elevator lines at conventions |
[Apr. 29th, 2011|10:10 am] |
I'm tired of waiting 10, 20, even 40 minutes for an elevator at Dragon*Con, Frolicon, etc. I've seen convention ops or security try to deal with this problem on many occasions, but often the steps taken are not enough, or come too late. That is not to say that I'm not appreciative of their efforts, but I'd like to help. I'm going to lay out a few ideas here for mitigating this problem, some of which might not have been considered before. The ease of implementation, manpower requirements, and effectiveness of these vary, but I think they are all good ideas.
1) Empty the elevators at the top and bottom floors. No going up to go down or vice versa. The process of emptying them won't directly speed things up, but as people figure out what's going on and stop misbehaving then the decrease in elevator misappropriation will improve efficiency. This idea requires 2 staff per bank of elevators.
1a) Put an attendant in each elevator to stop people from riding the wrong direction in the first place. This requires one staff per elevator.
2) Sort the waiting line/crowd by destination floor. You can't control which floors an elevator gets called to from outside, but if you only put even numbered floor people on elevator A and odd numbered floor people on elevator B then you will decrease the number of stops of each elevator by about 25%. This idea requires 1 staff per primary elevator boarding floor (such as the three bottom floors in the Dragon*Con Hyatt).
3) Designate one elevator for special circumstances. Wheelchairs, large carts, etc. Put an attendant in that elevator, and give them a fire key. This way they can decide exactly which floors to stop at, without the elevator stopping for calls along the way.
4) Ask the hotel to disable elevator calls and destinations for floors that are served by escalators. Put an attendant on those floors with a radio, so that the special circumstances elevator can come down to pick up people with carts or wheelchairs on those floors. This will reduce the number of stops of each elevator by 5-10%, weighted towards "sorry, elevator is full" sorts of stops. This idea requires 1 staff per disabled floor, and either an implementation of idea #3 or some other override.
5) Incentivize use of the stairs where possible. Something as simple as a raffle ticket for each walk up the stairs, even with an expected value of a few cents per ticket (that is, $100 worth of prizes after giving out 2000+ tickets), would have a significant impact. This requires 1 staff per stairwell.
I'll edit this post as people make further suggestions, and hope to send it to various convention staff members when it is "finished". |
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| State of the Sparr |
[Apr. 19th, 2011|10:49 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | sparr | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Work | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | working | ] |
I haven't been journaling a lot lately, not that I ever did except when Kat convinced me to do the 750words writing challenge or when I had something specific to write about. I've been posting small tidbits to Facebook and Fetlife when interesting or important things happened, but haven't had anything worth writing more than a few public sentences about. However, after long enough, all of that starts to add up. I've been re-reading my old posts and there's a lot of information out there that's out of date. Many of those posts are due for a 6-month(-ish) rewrite, since I somewhat expect people to use them as a reliable source of information about me in some situations. Before I start doing that, though, I'm going to give a general synopsis of how things are going for me.
( Read more... ) |
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| Posting to communities |
[Mar. 29th, 2011|11:57 pm] |
Today I encountered a community in which I cannot post under my LJ name because I am not a member of the community... but I can post with my Facebook account, or any OpenID account. WTF? |
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| Population Control |
[Mar. 28th, 2011|02:23 am] |
The world's population is booming. This is not necessarily a good thing. How many billions more people can the world support if we continue to find an infinite amount of petroleum from which to make fertilizer? How many billions fewer can it support if we don't? Different studies put these numbers at wildly varying levels, many of which have been disproved over the last century as we passed through previous predictions. Running out of food isn't something people like to think about, but regardless of when it happens, it will happen, and it would be prudent to make plans and procedures to keep it from happening or deal with it when it does.
( Read more... ) |
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| Casual relationships, I'm doing it wrong. |
[Mar. 20th, 2011|07:10 pm] |
As pertains to this post, I'm not looking for commitment or intercourse. While those are things I'd like to find in some more serious or long term relationships, and that might develop from something simpler, today I'm concerned with other less involved kinds of relationships.
I don't think I can contain in a single phrase what I'm looking for. Perhaps "companionship" is closest, but that doesn't necessarily cover the full span of degrees of intimacy, or lack thereof, in question. There are a lot of relationship niches, and most of them are empty in my life most of the time[1]. I'd like to find someone(s) that I can have lunch or dinner with. Someone to see a movie with, out or at home. Someone to take, or by whom to be taken, to parties of all sorts. A partner in exploration and mischief. A warm body to share cold nights with, even just for the comfort. An intimate partner, somewhere along the spectrum of first through third bases, inclusive. Everything in between, and combinations thereof.
( whining ) |
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| St Valentine's Day |
[Feb. 15th, 2011|01:20 am] |
This was an eventful VDay (give or take) for me.
I got invited for a visit in a month by an intimate friend, although she might not know what March 14th is (yet!) :)
I got offered an open ended rain check for SBJDay from a much closer friend.
And I got decisively friend boxed by the girl I've been interested in the longest :( |
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| Linux SysAdmin/TechSupport positions at peer1.com |
[Feb. 4th, 2011|06:54 pm] |
My place of employ is hiring. The position is answering phones and dealing with software problems on dedicated servers running RHEL4-6 that we lease to our customers. Linux server configuration and networking experience required. Experience with apache, qmail, Plesk, MySQL, etc a plus. Get your resume to me ASAP. |
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| Arisia 2011, a trip to Boston |
[Jan. 17th, 2011|08:59 pm] |
I spent this weekend in Boston at Arisia. ( Read more... )
PS: Parts of this entry are NSFW, because I like to have FUN at conventions.
[0] we met last year at Arisia and I got to tie her up once in the con suite, purely socially
[1] which she probably was, see previous sentence about being fond of rope
[2] the Bread Room, for any attendees who remember how it was laid out
[3] widely separated cuffs, hands bound in front below the breasts, elbows bound behind the back, with forearms parallel on opposite sides of the torso
[4] note to self: boldness works, try more often!
[5] note to Westin: beds with legs are awesome, your purchasing staff rocks
[6] which is unlikely to be the ongoing state of affairs if I have anything to say about it, as she and K both find each other cute and play-worthy, and I'm determined to make that happen
[8] Everything is a sex toy. Everything I own, everything K owns, everything at Home Depot, everything at Kroger. If you can't figure out how, you're not thinking hard enough, or you aren't imaginative enough in terms of fetishes.
[9] There are many threads on Fetlife and elsewhere about how to explain your sex toys and fetish gear to police / security / TSA. The answer is easy, "It's a sex toy". Be direct and blunt, tell them exactly how it's used if they insist on inquiring further. |
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| New smartphone, thoughts, experiences |
[Nov. 28th, 2010|04:52 pm] |
Four days ago I joined the modern era by buying a smartphone. I was an early adopter in the PDA market, with a Palm in the 90s, then again with an HP iPaq and Asus MyPal in the early 00s, but at some point in the last three years the revolution happened. I can thank Apple, however grudgingly, for that. Without the iPhone we would not have Android, and without either of them we would not have the thriving and growing ecosystem of mobile applications today that dwarfs the market for RIM/Palm/Symbian/Zaurus apps in the past. This post chronicles my joys and woes in the first half-week of use.
( Read more... )
Overall I am greatly enjoying the experience, despite the hurdles, most of which were at least somewhat expected. I think that having an internet connected phone will make my life more productive and efficient, and only slightly more distracted. Having one device to take the place of a media player, PDA, phone, and pocket camera[3] is great, but everyone who has one already knew that. I'm looking forward to starting to develop apps. I have some great ideas, and my Java skills are decent but rusty, so maybe I can even make a little money.
( footnotes ) |
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| Shopping for a phone |
[Nov. 13th, 2010|07:23 pm] |
I am shopping for a phone. Below is my shopping list. I won't buy a phone that doesn't have every feature in the first category. My budget is $300 for something that has all features in the first two categories, less for less, more for some of the last category.
Required:
able to record calls
transfer files via standard USB cable
charge via standard USB cable
mini/micro SD storage
standard earbud and/or headphone jack
web browser
320x240 screen
QVGA video camera
alarm clock that works while the phone is powered off
google contact syncing
caller blacklist
Needed:
not carrier locked
480x320 screen
VGA video camera
modern flash/javascript-capable web browser
Wanted:
800x480 screen
GPS
2MP+ camera
Your suggestions (or offers) are welcome. I'll probably add to this list as people make suggestions or point out things I forgot. |
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| Hiring sysadmins and dba |
[Nov. 12th, 2010|04:59 pm] |
My work is hiring for tier 3 linux and tier 2-3 windows system admininstration and tech support for web/ftp/mail/game/etc servers, also looking for mysql+mssql DBAs for db troubleshooting roles. If you're qualified, get a resume to sparr0@gmail.com |
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| Oral Herpes |
[Oct. 17th, 2010|08:42 pm] |
Let's talk about oral herpes, aka "cold sores", specifically Herpes Simplex Virus 1[1], which is the only incurable STD that is commonly transmitted by just kissing someone. Do you have it? If you said "no", you're probably wrong. If you've tested negative recently, you're still probably wrong. Statistics from various sources, including the CDC, place the HSV-1 infection rate among Americans between 50 and 98%.
( Read more... ) |
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| State of the Sparr |
[Oct. 10th, 2010|09:32 pm] |
This entry is a catchall for everything going on in my life lately. I haven't posted in a while, or really talked to a lot of folks about where I'm at, so this is for anyone I've not kept in the loop.
( Read more... )
That's about all that's important and recent in my life. I'll try to post more regularly as interesting things happen, but can't promise. |
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| This device will change the world |
[Sep. 30th, 2010|01:19 am] |
Since I was a child I've been designing this device in my head. Every year or two the bug hits and I look at what hardware would be required, and every time it gets theoretically cheaper and easier to build. Someone finally built it.
http://www.looxcie.com/
This is a wearable camcorder that is always recording on a short loop. When you press the record button it starts recording (or uploading, via a smartphone) from 30 seconds in the past.
See something awesome? Press the button.
See an accident? Press the button.
See a crime? Press the button.
I love living in the future. |
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| Bag meme (sort of stolen from gailmom) |
[Sep. 16th, 2010|03:01 am] |
Without cleaning or staging or censoring, what's in your bag right now? Your purse, backpack, tote, laptop bag, fanny pack... whatever large container of items you carry around with you the most.
You probably know that I am rarely seen without my backpack. It's due for replacement, and I'm shopping around, but as of right now it contains:
( all this stuff )
So, how about yours? |
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| Free tables! |
[Sep. 7th, 2010|04:30 pm] |
So, I made some winning bids in the furniture auction at City Hall East. Huge lots of things I only need a few of. In particular, I paid $30 for 37 tables, and only want maybe 5-10 of them. Thus my great table give-away... This Thursday, September 9th, from Noon to 3PM I will be at the rear loading dock of City Hall East (enter from North Ave). Anyone who wants a table is free to stop by. If you're tentative, give me a call NO EARLIER THAN NOON ON THURSDAY at 615 495 8127 and I'll reassure you that there are still tables to be had.
The selection comprises every table in this photo except the hardwood desks way in the background:
(click here for a really big version with more detail)
PS: flickr photostream also contains other things I won, a few of which might still be available for taking by then, like the metal shelves and sofas and benches, but no promises there. |
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| Sexy times with Sparr |
[Aug. 31st, 2010|11:26 pm] |
Today let's talk about intimate activities, of the mundane and kinky varieties, as apply to my personal preferences.
( Read more... )
[0] There are many partially or completely independent axes on which an interaction can be quantified and determined to be desirable or not. How much I enjoy the act and how much I enjoy YOU are two different things. I can enjoy tying up someone I don't like, and I can enjoy spanking someone that I love.
[1] A model, a photographer, and myself get together for a photo shoot. I enjoy tying her up even though she has no interest in being tied up, she is just there because the photographer considers her pretty and is giving her photos or money or other consideration.
[2] And chainwork, and webbingwork, and all the other sorts of attaching-things-to-other-things bondage.
[3] Whether "wonderful" is light and free and floating, or heavy and pinching and restrictive, it gives much of either end of that spectrum. |
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| Day 31, Abortion and fairness |
[Aug. 31st, 2010|02:29 am] |
When it comes time to have a baby, there is a lot of decision making and immediate and future responsibility involved. My views on this issue are controversial, and something that came up in conversation recently so I thought they would be worth putting down in writing.
( Read more... )
[1] Most judges favor the mother. I choose not to argue that point, since at worst it's moot, at best it makes my later point stronger.
[2] I know some harried fathers-to-be who would disagree
[3] "Up to" because she can opt to give up. "9 months" because "40 weeks" is a much less common search term.
[4] There are many ways you could compare 18 years of John's sweat to 9 months use of Jane's body. Normal compensation rates for surrogate mothers come to mind as a plausible basis for such a comparison.
[5] Contrary to the belief of some, my opinions are not set in stone. I consider my value system to be one of the most internally consistent that I have encountered, but it still has gaps in it that I cannot reconcile. If you can rationally validate your position, and it is more consistent than mine, then mine will have to be adjusted.
PS: This is the last day of the August challenge, which I failed miserably. I shall continue writing when I can, and hope you continue reading! |
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| Drama, Techno |
[Aug. 26th, 2010|07:58 pm] |
TRIGGER WARNING: This note involves rape and drugs.
UPDATE #3:
I have removed his address from this post at the request of the people who still live at that address. He is currently being held, with no bond listed, for a technical parole violation regarding his change of address. If we do nothing, he will be back out very soon. Once again, if you have firsthand knowledge of any of his illegal doings (no rumors, please), please contact Shawn Bugbee (tagged on this note) or the police directly.
His current inmate status can be seen here, if the link stays good:
http://inmates.fultonsheriff.net/PublicBookings_view.asp?editid1=1031965
UPDATE #2:
Techno is in jail. He is currently being held by the Fulton County Sherriff's Department, the hold mandated by the Parole dept. Further information as it arrives. Do not consider this issue closed, anyone with something to report should still contact the parole dept or the police and explain your situation.
UPDATE: ( Parole Information )
It's time to air out some dirty laundry. Rumors are fine and dandy for things that don't matter, but this has long since passed that point. I'm sure some of you have heard various things from various people about my involvement with this issue, so this is to set the record straight.
Christopher Dale Moore, better known as Techno to most of our mutual acquaintances, is a menace. He is a sexual predator. He is a liar, and not even a good one. My stated goal at this point is to not encounter him in social settings any more, and to prevent my acquaintances, especially of the naive female variety, from having to deal with him, and I don't plan to adjust my own habits to accomplish that. I have been neutral on this subject for too long, and too many people have become involved for me to continue to let it slide. If I still have your ear, please read on...
ETA: Shawn Bugbee, known to many of us as the legal counsel for CoLab in their current disagreements with the APD, is collecting information from any victims of this man. If you have first-hand information (no rumors!), please pass it on to him (he can be found on Facebook by name or at his website bugbeelaw.info.
( Read more... )
Some names changed to protect the innocent.
Crossposted to Facebook and Livejournal.
TRIGGER WARNING: This note involves rape and drugs. |
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| Day 18, Work at Peer 1 |
[Aug. 18th, 2010|11:56 pm] |
Today I'm going to talk about how awesome my new job[0] is, and a few slight caveats.
( Read more... )
[0] Linux Systems Administrator 2 at Peer 1. I take phone calls and emails from customers, people who pay us for dedicated computer servers that are installed in our data center and run software for their websites and databases and email and such. I troubleshoot their issues on our network and software problems on their servers.
[1] This is ignoring the fact that actually using that many days would defeat the purpose of them putting me on that schedule, since they wouldn't actually be effectively filling the Saturday slot that needs filling.
[2] It weirds me out that they wouldn't tell me about these things when offering me the position. I was considering competing offers, so I was well into the territory where they wanted me more than I wanted them. All of this information could have been the deciding factor, and they didn't say a word.
[3] You have to be daft or crazy to not contribute to a retirement account with matching funds. Even if you are unreservedly anti-investment and anti-banks, you can put in $10 and get the matching $10, then immediately take out the $20 and take a 40% tax hit and still come out with $12 instead of the $10 you put in.
[4] Cleaning up at/around CoLab? Teaching origami? Working tech or whatever else at a convention? I am sure I can fit SOMETHING that I do into those two days, and save two days of vacation time.
[5] My bike got stolen from the street/martaescalator-side racks at Peachtree center. MARTA refused to release the surveillance video to me without a subpoena, which wasn't worth pursuing. It's nice to never have to worry about that again. |
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| Day 17, Social customs, manners, fashion |
[Aug. 17th, 2010|10:42 pm] |
My post on tipping seems to have struck a chord, albeit of a negative sort. Today I'm going to address some other weird, arbitrary, impractical, or uncommon bits of American social expectations. Things like manners and fashion and whatever else comes to mind.
( Read more... )
[2] A) WTF? Seriously, WTF? B) Same objection as feeding mogwai... when does "after Labor Day" end? Can you wear a white dress at an xmas or new year's celebration?
[3] happy:happily::funny:funnily::silly:sillily |
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| Day 16, Transportation in Atlanta |
[Aug. 16th, 2010|11:42 pm] |
I get asked a lot why I don't have a car. My modes of transportation change on a regular basis, everything from pedestrian to driving a gas guzzling pickup truck for work over the past few years, and there are many factors involved in deciding when it's time to change.
( Read more... ) |
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| Day 15, Tipping (not a city in China) |
[Aug. 15th, 2010|10:05 pm] |
Let's talk about tipping food service wait staff professionals. These are people you would typically call "waiter" or "waitress". I am going to systematically address every argument I have heard in favor of commonly advocated American tipping practices.
Before I start, I need to tell you that I give my waitress a larger tip than her average, on average. I tip more than most people in my party, most of the time. I am not a cheapskate. *I* am not the problem.
( Read more... )
[1] For the sake of this post, I am discussing the typical range of restaurant prices encountered by my friends (particularly of the LJ variety) on a regular basis. "cheap" is somewhere around $4 entrees and $6 meals, at places like Waffle House or Denny's. "expensive" is $20 entrees and $30+ meals, at places like Maggiano's and Ruth's Chris.
[2] Georgia has, afaik, the lowest state minimum wage in the country. It is one of a handful of states that do not improve on the federal laws in this regard. Almost every server in the country is earning more than $2.13 as their base wage. |
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| Day 14, social activities |
[Aug. 14th, 2010|05:39 pm] |
Since I'm about to head out of the house for 20-40 hours of parties and other sundry social events, I figured that sort of thing would make a good post. I am involved in a lot of social circles, covering a huge cross-section of different subcultures in and around Atlanta, so if you're bored then read on and find something new to explore. I just hope I don't insult anyone along the way...
( Read more... ) |
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| Day 13, My perfect girl |
[Aug. 14th, 2010|12:02 am] |
My perfect girl...
I'll preface this with a disclaimer that "My 95% girl" spans a VERY wide range of bell curvy area around almost all of these things, and I have a great time hanging out with plenty of girls outside that range all the time anyway.
( Read more... ) |
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| Day 12, conventions |
[Aug. 12th, 2010|01:50 am] |
So, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) nurrynur wants me to write about conventions. She asked about more broad conceptual stuff, but this is going to be about half and half that alongside information about all of the specific conventions that I attend.
In January I start the year out with some long trips...
( Read more... )
That's my regular year. On top of that there are all sorts of things that I don't know enough about to describe or recommend, and I'm not sure I'm attending this upcoming year, but probably will, such as Faerie Escape, ShibariCon, FetishCon, AnachroCon, Atlanta Comic Con, OutlantaCon, DuckStock, and probably a half dozen more that I can't think of at 2AM.
If you're interested in knowing more about any of these events, or traveling with me to any of them, please let me know. The more the merrier, especially when it makes gas and hotels cheaper :) |
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| Day 11, the future, mine specifically |
[Aug. 11th, 2010|11:13 pm] |
kdsorceress thinks I should write about my future. Not being gifted with any discernable sixth sense or prescience, this will all be speculation, or at best goals and hopes.
In my near future, before next summer...
( Probably )
In the mid-term, 1-3 years from now...
( Possibly )
In the long-term, 3-10 years[2] from now...
( Maybe )
Beyond that, who knows. I think the world will have ended by then. If not, it will be unrecognizable to us today. Grey goo, neural computer interfaces, nuclear war, biological war, space colonisation, or one of a dozen other timeline-derailing scenarios will have come to pass, and I can only hope to be around to see the other side of whatever happens.
[1] Even if you are absolutely opposed to retirement savings, you can put in your $50/wk, plus their $50/wk, withdraw it all immediately, take the ~36% tax penalty, and come out with $64, $14 ahead of the guy who just ignores the opportunity and keeps his $50.
[2] Yes, 3-10 years is long term. I know as little about myself at age 35 today as I knew about myself today at age 20. Also, the singularity is approaching. |
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| Day 10, Dragon*Con to-do |
[Aug. 10th, 2010|09:58 pm] |
Tonight I am going to brainstorm my pre-Dragon*Con plans into 750W. I know this isn't "Writing", per se, but it's a good excuse to get this list done sooner rather than later.
( Read more... ) |
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| Day 9, gaming |
[Aug. 9th, 2010|11:25 pm] |
Today I'm going to write about some of my recent adventures in computer gaming. In case you don't know me very well, I'm not a fan of DRM (that's a whole other post), and I am a Linux user, so I enjoy a weird cross section of new and classic games of all sorts, and occasionally avoid games I might otherwise enjoy.
( Read more... ) |
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