Folks with an iTunes account, go pick this up: Gymnopedie for Piano #1, by Erik Satie. You’ve heard the melody from somewhere; Satie was an eccentric French classical composer, and the advertising weasels have used this composition to sell cars or dog food or something like that. From an excellent BBC program on the history of chillout music. (second link is Real format—sorry via boingboing)

Last night I finally got around to hanging the sad-looking lightbulb fixture in the office that Jen was so tired of bonking her head on. $7 and some new hardware later, I pulled out the old 40’s mounting hardware and replaced the box, hanger and threaded nipple; some new connectors over the old wiring and it was all set. Too bad I can’t get the white in the cable cover to come back. Flush with success, I thought I might try to splice into a line to put a plug next to the main panel (for plugging in a router, DSL modem, et. al.) but was stymied by the rat’s nest that is my basement wiring.