Warp speed Mr. Scott. Warp speed.
Star Trek is one of my earliest memories of any TV shows (along with Dr. Who). My favorite characters were Mr. Spock and Mr. Scott. I have always felt they had an influence on why I became interested in Science and Technology.
(image taken from http://www.boingboing.net)
http://citypages.com/databank/26/1284/article13497.asp
This article disturbs me. Not because this church is a nexus point between Christianity and Capitalism (although that also disturbs me). It disturbs me because of the message the pastors are saying to their congregations.
But first, I must inject:
1) Patriotism is not a bad thing. (Note though that patriotism is NOT jingoism, it includes healthy debate and questioning the gov't, a lot if necessary. Wrapping your ass in an American flag and singing 'God Bless America' does not make you a patriot.)
2) Spirituality is not a bad thing. (Note though that spirituality does not equate to religion. One person's spirituality and relationship with (g/G)od(s) is a personal thing, not all people believe the same thing, and that's ok. Religion is when a large grow of people who share similar beliefs come together.)
3) You can support the troops and not the war.
4) You can question the President, see point 1). (and I seriously doubt he is doing (g/G)od(s)' work)
What disturbs me about this article is what the pastor's are saying. Specifically this point:
First we get the military, then we get the nation.
Senator Norm Coleman is a disgrace to the peoples of Minnesota. As a Bush lackey he does not have the people of this great state in foremost concern.
Your speech opposing the amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill revoking the security clearance of any persons disclosing the identity of undercover operatives makes me embarassed to be a Minnesotan.
The Republicans closed ranks and shot the amendment down in a party-line vote, but just remember, a new election is coming.
2008 your time is up Norm.
Go Al Franken! (please please please run)
People of Minnesota, Mark Kennedy is making a bid to replace Mark Dayton as Senator at the end of Dayton's term. Don't let this happen, remember this is the person who did a smear campagin against Jacob Wetterling's mother Patty Wetterling. Mark Kennedy, like Norm Coleman is a puppet for the GOP, these people do not have the best interests of Minnesotans or this nation in mind.
Work since I switched jobs has been going well. I like my new job and my new team. I miss my old team members very much, but I do not miss the work.
I am oncall again, which is always more stressful than usual. Oncall has been getting better as the team gels more and things are improved.
I just finished upgrading one of the major core components at work here, without incident. It took months of planning, preparation, coordination, and work, but it paid off. The systems were upgraded, the OS was upgraded and the clustering software was upgraded. In addition the dependency layout within the cluster was re-arranged and made more robust (and complex).
I've worked 7 out of the last 9 weekend. I need to change that. But the work that is being done will make it less likely to need to do more weekend work in the future, so I guess it is worth it.
Wow.
I woke up this morning, fed the cats, cleaned their litter and stepped into the shower. Part of my morning routine is to listen to MPR. What I was greeted with was BBC News coverage that London had been bombed.
The Guardian has had good coverage.
I am a terrible blogger. I do not update as much as I should, but I only feel a little bad, I move at my own pace on my own time.
I have been on vacation for the last week. Welcome, blessed vacation. The last truly big vacation Nerdwife and I had been on was our honeymoon. Others have been too short or for very specific reasons (i.e. work, visiting family, etc.). This one was for fun.
San Francisco has been a muse.
San Francisco is like no other city.
San Francisco is dirty, it smells, yet is also clean and refreshing.
The vast diversity of peoples from all parts of the world is simply amazing. From the loud vendors of Chinatown, to beach bums on Stinson Beach. From the ubiquitous homeless to the morbidly wounded pigeons that scratch out livings. The million dollar condos to majestic redwoods, this place is simply awesome.
We have spent the better part of a week (six days) getting to know San Francisco, the touristy sides to those off the beating path. We've witnessed the change in flavor of downtown, the shift from the ebb and flow of daily worklife during the week to the energetic nightlife of Friday nights to the tourist choked swells of the weekend.
We soaked up the sun. Waded in the Pacific Ocean. Looked out of the deck of a fully rigged windjammer. We ate Dim Sum in Chinatown. We touch redwoods. We felt the wind on our faces, the salty tinge to the air. We rejoiced in the liberalism of this great city. Its tolerance of all. We had a quiet dinner in a small town called Fairfax that we happened upon by accident while meandering along and off of Hwy 1. Fairfax, a liberal, progressive, green-eco friendly town. We sipped coffee in Union Square. Supped while overlooking the Bay. Wandered through Wine Country. Ate at a cheesy, kitschy restaurant in Sonoma. Sat and contemplated in the Poetry Room of the City Lights bookstore, where the spirits of Kerouac and Ginsberg still echo. I have sipped Illy espresso in perhaps one of the coolest Internet Cafe's (http://www.goldengateperk.com). We've watched the fog roll in to engulf downtown. We have seen the Sun set on the Bay. Our minds have been altered by SFMOMA.
The salty air and the rolling ocean has been a salve to sooth the wounds of my mind and body. I feel alive.
I have come to understand parts of myself.
I wish I was beautiful. Ripped and chiseled. Able to wear the hip and trendy clothes. To be able to garner looks (even though I am happily married, it is a self-esteem thing).
Beautiful people have an easier time in life.
When you are not beautiful, you are not noticed.
Still running in 'stealth' mode. This summer has not turned out like I hoped it would be, not bad, just different. Nerdwife and I have been working very hard to give up the glamorous life of owning two houses. I hope the housing market holds for a few months yet so that we can sell our old house to at least get something out of it.
I know it is silly of me to worry over what I can get out of the sale of a house when there are people everywhere who do not own homes, or even have a place to live out of the elements. I have lived in that house for 11 years, owned it for 10. That house and its needs have consumed parts of me, time, youth, energy, money, emotions.
Am I a bad person for wanting something in return? We had thought about donating the house to charity (if you can even do that), but we still owe money on it, which sinks that idea. I hope someone will want it.
This conversation happened to me last night on my walk home from work around 20:00. It took place between myself and an older woman sitting on her steps outside her front porch.
Woman: Hello.
Myself: Hi.
Woman: Is your name X (where X = my name)?
Myself (stunned): Yes, my name is X.
Woman: Are you my new social worker?
Myself (still stunned and a little confused): No, I am not in social work, my name is X, but, no I am not a social worker.
Woman: I have a new social worker. His name is X. He looks like you. I thought you were maybe my new social worker.
The conversation ended at this point and I continued my walk home.
So on my lunch break I walked by the local 'Games by James' in the Galleria. In it I saw a handful of RISK games that I want to have!
Risk: Star Wars - Clone Wars - execute Order 66
Risk: Lord of the Rings - Destroy Mordor!
Risk: 2250 A.D. - Nukes, giant robots, underwater cities, moon bases...what else do you need?
Other games on my short list:
Warhammer 40k: Battle of Maccragge Starter Kit (Space Marines vs Tyranids) - so I can have pickup games when fellow WH40k nerds visit
Battlefleet Gothic Compendium (see my page for my Battlefleet Gothic group 'The League of Drifting Hulks')
WH 40k: Codex - Tau
Geez I am terrible at keeping this blog up to date. A lot has happened, but I am suffering from a case of writer's block and exhaustion so I don't feel like posting anything.
This was a fun read. And who might the Senator he was spanking, er speaking to be?... Norm Coleman, senator from my own state of Minnesota.
And, for those who have not read the most important news article in the last month (and possibly year), here it is.
Overall grade: B+
I still don't forgive you Lucas for ep1 and ep2, but ep3 was a lot better. Darker was better. The acting of Christensen and Portman was still flat, but better than the 'I hate sand' stuff of ep2. But he plays evil better than he does a good-hearted caring individual. Jar-Jar was there but did not speak, which is a bit of a cop-out, you made him a major character, so make him prominent.
Eventhough the acting was a little flat between Portman and Christensen, the others did well. The epic battles were epic. I have to admit, I loved the first 10 minutes, I said to 'Nerdwife', even if the rest of the movie sucks, the first 10 minutes were pure awesome.
Mon Mothma was supposed to be there somewhere, but she wasn't really introduced, which I haven't decided if it was cool or not. The digital rendering of Moff Tarkin was also very good.
Cars, the necessary evil.
I love to drive, I find it relaxing, but it is wasteful.
I used to love my car, but now it is just a source of frustration that costs $1500 a pop to fix.
Thank god I live in a place where I can walk or take the bus to work.
Wow, time has done what time does and flew by. On the 26th, the cubezoo blog will be 1 year old. Damn!
In memory, here is the f1rst post:
---snip---
5-26-2004
[Intro] is blog short for weblog or bitch-log?
So I have decided to delve into the world of blogging. Its strange and new and scary. So bear with me while I start out.
---snip---
I think in a year of blogging I now have the answer as to what blog stands for...
This blog was originally started as a place for me to brain-dump things, for all the world to see, because a few friends suggested that some of my ideas and rants should be made available for public consumption. Over the course of the year I have found it to be very interesting (and fun) to be a pseudo-journalist/editor/critic/writer/ranter/drama queen/liberal guerilla. I decided to open my blog to others (hence the explosive growth of 'team cubeZoo' as I think of them. The Internet(s) have given new power to the indirect communicators, now we too can think our opinions are important and spout them off in a public forum for all the world to ignore.
I've seen a couple of good yet very low budget science fiction films lately, and thought I'd comment. The first is my recent purchase of the DVD of "Primer", the winner of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Alfred P. Sloan Sundance award for films about science and technology. This is one of the coolest little indies I've seen in a while. Made for about $7000, it is the first film by Shane Carruth. What's more is it is a baffling puzzler, a HARD Science Fiction film (as opposed to soft scifi, science fantasy, or space opera). Not to mention the most compelling and well-done example of a scifi plotline that has all too often been (ahem) abused and badly wrought so many, many different ways. I won't say what kind of oft used theme lest I spoil the surprise. Worth a rental or even a purchase.
The other is "Star Wars: Revelations",
a low budget fan film taking place in the Star Wars universe. It is a free download and clocks in at about 46 minutes (about a 250 MB download). They even provide links to DVD images and artwork so you can burn your own DVD copy (including a behind-the-scenes making of bonus disc!). Not only was this a truly amazing example to me of what a few dedicated fans can do (and that nerds have a little too much time on our hands), but the characters were more involving than the flat and stiff offerings of the last two 'REAL' Star Wars films by Lucas, and I gotta say, even the effects sequences and chase come off as being more interesting and well executed than what even ILM has come up with, if perhaps a little lower res. And its FREE, so worth the time to download.
I guess this just confirms in my mind that all that is required for good scifi is a vision, some perserverance, a little ingenuity, but not necessarily a whole lot of dough.
'Metal Heart' by Garbage...ever since I heard it at the concert last Friday.
Here is a link to the lyrics.
