NPR did a story on cadaver plastination yesterday, which goes into more about the history of cadaver exhibits and not about the dubious pedigree of some of the cadavers on display (see the sidebar): “Critics say that at best those bodies probably belonged to people too poor to have been buried properly.” Personally, we found the exhibit fascinating, but I wonder if we would have seen it knowing the story behind them. (RealPlayer req.)
I took Jen to Jordan’s last night for a birthday dinner, after breakfast in bed, a day’s worth of flowers, and the promise (yesterday was a work day, after all) of a relaxing soak in a mineral bath with fresh lilies and scentless candles. Thursday night is live jazz night, so we were entertained by a guitar/bass combo who put a silky touch on jazz standards and Hendrix alike—it sounds strange, but believe me, it was perfect. The food was fantastic, and the ambiance was just right. We returned home to four birthday messages on our machine, a bottle of red wine, and more fresh flowers.
Happy birthday, baby. I love you.
Anybody growing up in the Tri-State area can dig on this: an original Carvel ice cream commercial, featuring Tom himself. Bonus: Cookie Puss!
Gizmodo linked to a story about setting up your own Subversion server at home. I don’t currently run version control software, but I’m considering it.
This wireless ditigtal music system showed up on BoingBoing this morning with a glowing review. I couldn’t buy it right now, but I’ll keep it in mind for the future.
I’m back in Bawltymore. I stuck around Monday morning for a second game of golf with my family and Grampy, taking advantage of the mercifully cool weather and cheap greens fees. My second crushing humiliation game went much like my pool game—my skill level increases commensurate with my intake of Bloody Marys. By the seventh hole, after hitting with my sister’s longer clubs, I was driving somewhat straight down the fairway and with reasonable accuracy.
I’m writing from New York State, where I’m winding down from this year’s golf outing and keg party, organized annually by my 90-year-old grandfather. The day turned out to be perfect, with 80° weather and a cool breeze blowing off the lake. I hauled my clubs out of the basement, brushed the sawdust and cobwebs off my bag, and proceeded to shoot a lousy game of golf, punctuated with infrequent moments of competence. Luckily, my family plays somewhat regularly, and between my father and sister’s drives and my mother’s putting, we didn’t embarass ourselves too badly.
After lunch and the prize announcements, we hit my uncle’s house on the lake for a continuance of partying (which, at this stage, means watching my cousins’ children run around in water wings while sipping beer, eating chips, and catching up with family) and a lazy afternoon boat ride on the lake. After eating dinner, we retired to my parents’ front porch where I proceeded to pass out for an hour with my feet on the railing as the sun fell below the horizon.
I took a bunch of pictures, which I’ll probably post tomorrow, and got a pretty decent farmer’s tan, which will be gone in three days. But right now, I’d like to strangle the drunk guy singing Rolling Stones covers at the lawn party down the street so I can go to sleep.
Web Developer is a very slick Firefox plugin which helps visualize a ton of information in real-time. Recommended.
OK player, this is viral video. (Mostly SFW, but turn the speakers down.) thx, Kev
OK player, this is viral video. (Mostly SFW, but turn the speakers down.) thx, Kev