I want a tent that pitches itself when you pitch it in the air.
Month: July 2006
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Want to try some breast milk?
I have a couple of references to breastfeeding in my posts. I am an advocate of breastfeeding and think that there should be more advocacy and encouragement of breastfeeding particularly in public. That does not mean women running around flaunting their bosoms but that women should feel comfortable tending to the needs of their children in public without being told to go to the bathroom or scolded.
If you are in Ontario tomorrow, Jess Dobkin (that link should be work safe but I’ll tag it work questionable) will be doing a performance art piece called "The Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar" at The Ontario College of Art & Design Professional Gallery from 5pm to 8pm with an artist discussion at 8pm. This could be construed into breastfeeding awareness but to me the artist appears to like trying to shock the public. None the less, if you have ever wanted to try breast milk, Ontario is where you need to be tomorrow night.
…the pasteurized and culture tested by-product of six women would be available for tasting at the OCAD Professional Gallery on July 13 [Source (work questionable photo)]
Jess Dobkin received a $9000 grant to produce this piece! She will be tending the bar.
See also (no photos – work safe).
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Amanda Congdon’s Replacement!
Could it be her replacement?!
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Lost Solved!
The island was acquired in 1956 by a consortium of American business men and subsequently used as a base for research into eugenics and life extension.
The ultimate aim of this endeavour was to develop technology which could potentially bring about world peace.
The plane crash never really occured and the survivors’ memories are false. The survivors of flight 815, along with the other inhabitants of the island, are the only surviving members of the human race and the so-called ‘monster’ is really a drug-induced hallucination.
The Others are a group of brainwashed cult members.
The ‘incident’ mentioned in the orientation film refers to the accidental release of the genetically modified virus which has caused the mysterious sickness and pressing the hatch button every 108 minutes prevents the outbreak of ‘the sickness’ on the island.
Claire’s father is on the island, working for the Hanso Foundation.
The numbers represent a physical constant which is central to the physics of time travel.
Link courtesy of Ray Camdem.
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Morals, ethics and privacy
A friend gives you their child’s computer to cleanse of viruses and malware. In the process you discover a stash of porn. Do you:
- Tell the parent.
- Don’t tell the parent.
- Make a copy and compliment the kid on their good taste.
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Offsite backups are a good thing
You know… in light of the growing Orwellish government we’ve got going. And when I say offsite, I mean like burying backup copies in the yard at a friend’s house…just in case.
After lecturing at two Chinese universities "[a] retired University of Tennessee professor is under investigation of potentially violating a federal law barring the transfer of sensitive technology to other countries, according to interviews and documents obtained by the News Sentinel." [Souce]
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Help Mia!
Skip McDonald’s today and give Mia $5.00! Mia qualified for the National Junior Olympics in BOTH of her events: the 1500m and the 3000m. She has to pay roughly $2000 to attend the events (that’s hotel, food, transportation, etc.).
I find it interesting the small circles we read in. My wife reads Miss Zoot regularly. In the interest of not reading exactly the same thing my wife reads, I have intentionally avoided Miss Zoot. I read The Adventures of Latte Man regularly who yesterday posted a reference to Miss Zoot spurring me to ask, "Why don’t I read Miss Zoot?" so I had a look at her two most recent posts only to discover that KristyK, whom I read daily but I mostly didn’t read anyone yesterday, is having a fundraiser to get Mia to the races! I would love to do a study on the viral aspect of blog readership.
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From the mouths of babes
Yesterday I am on the driveway deciding what goes back in the garage and what goes in the garbage.
Sarah, steps into the garage and shouts out to me: "Mom said to tell you its thundering!"
Dad: *blink* *blink* -
Today’s unusual website
Some developers have too much time on their hands. Despite initial appearances, this is work safe.
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Two steps forward; one step back
With the beautiful weather and frustration at not being able to locate my tools, I took some time this weekend to clean out the garage. Much rejoicing was had as I found goodies to pass along to the children who hazarded closely enough to investigate the mysterious cave of a garage, some braving to linger long enough to be enlisted into cleaning while others took a quick look and ran. I can walk in my garage again much to the chagrin of the hundreds of camel crickets who thought this a nice residence.
You know that scene in Twister with the barn full of scythes and sharp farm tools. I reproduced it on a smaller scale when my free standing peg board holding chisels, screw drivers, saws (including one of those handy "I cut through anything" drywall demolition saws), and whatnot fell on me. I took that Indiana Jone "the ceiling with sharp spears is coming down on me and there is nothing I can do poses" and hoped for the best. I got the best.
Steps back? Time in the garage took away from time on the computer but in the long run the organization will save time and off loading the trash makes for a happier home.
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Building collapses in NY
Swap blog reports "A three story building just blew up in New York." Any confirmation on this?
Update: MSNBC reports "A three-story building collapsed Monday in midtown Manhattan after an explosion and fire at the site, fire officials said. Smoke rose high above the building, located on 62nd Street between Park and Madison avenues. "
Other information I’m hearing
- is that it was a doctor’s office.
- Possible gas leak
- NOT terrorism
- Power surge
- building 70 feet wide
- witnesses say didn’t sound like an explosion but like something fell
- 4 injuries, no deaths yet
So, what’s going on in Congress that needed a swing vote based on public sentiment?
Update: One person trapped alive in the rubble.
Not to make light of a horrible situation but does anyone get the feeling this will end with a fat man with bad flatuance ala Confederacy of Dunces?
UPDATE: I was just told that in an interview on MSNBC that the NYC fire chief confirmed the building collapse as a gas leak. CNN has the scoop and of course it is credible because, well, they quote Larry King who was in a hotel somewhere in the city when it happened.
Update: Word on the street is that suicide is being investigated as the leading cause of the building collapse…I guess even buildings gets depressed.
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Amanda Hits CNN
Andy Warhol eat your heart out!
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Study shows higher speeds make safer highways
The reason Knoxville wants to (or has..I don’t know) lower speed limits along I-40 is not for safety but in an attempt to reduce emssions so they can acquire federal funding for that stupid Orange Route. The air is too polluted to qualify for federal funding to destroy Harden Valley..I mean, build the useless road.
June 2005 is the deadline for air quality issues. The Long-Range Plan (LRP) must be met in order to get Federal funding. The LRP is updated every three years. [Source]
Wonder if they made it. Hey! Knoxville was part of the 1914 Dixie Highway. It befuddles me why Knoxville is so shortsighted as to try to steer commerce away from this wonderful downtown everyone wants to create. Not really, I understand that the 5 interchanges planned along I475 will make some political good ol’ boys some big cash while destroying some beautiful scenic countryside and historic caves for a matter of 24 miles of road. Think about the fortune we are spending to reduce travel time by about 15 minutes.
Hmm. Having read over the Knoxville Parkway information I can see why some of the arguments for the Orange Route are compelling. Still, I think it probably will turn out to be one of those things that looks better on paper than in reality. Let’s hope I’m just not turning into a curmudgeon because I think I’m too young for that. Anyhow, back to my point! Higher speeds make safer highways!
In 2005, according to new data from the National Highway Safety Administration, the rate of injuries per mile traveled was lower than at any time since the Interstate Highway System was built 50 years ago. The fatality rate was the second lowest ever, just a tick higher than in 2004.
As a public policy matter, this steady decline is a vindication of the repeal of the 55 miles per hour federal speed limit law in 1995.
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Of the 31 states that have raised their speed limits to more than 70 mph, 29 saw a decline in the death and injury rate and only two–the Dakotas–have seen fatalities increase.Source provided by Tom Maszerowski.
Questions and Answers from Knoxville Regional Long Range Transportation Plan Meeting
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Understanding CRONTAB
Time to write cron job to make sure a process fires every morning on a linux server. This sums it up quite well!
* * * * * command to be executed
– – – – –
| | | | |
| | | | —– day of week (0 – 6) (Sunday=0)
| | | ——- month (1 – 12)
| | ——— day of month (1 – 31)
| ———– hour (0 – 23)
————- min (0 – 59)So I’m looking at:
0 1 * * * /usr/bin/wget -q -O- myfile.php
To run every morning at 1am. -
Do you have sound studio access out west?
Do you have access to a sound studio in West Knoxville? Thought I’d ask before dragging the family to East Knoxville. I have a project to record a 15 second sound bite. I figure I need 5 to 30 minutes of studio time but this isn’t worth studio time so I need to do it on a favor or trade in service. I’d much prefer to do it somewhere near home than across town.
Doing it at Roland, Scripps, HGTV, or Jewelry TV would be cool!