I keep meaning to post a link to Open Culture, but I get sidetracked by watching/reading/exploring hours of links of video footage–lectures, documentaries, photo archives, and other great stuff. This site should have a Roku channel of its own.
So any woman who seeks an abortion in the state of Virgina is now required by law to have an ultrasound; thankfully they took the transvaginal part out before signing it into legislation. (For the uninitiated, transvaginal is where they use a huge plastic dildo). I’m glad to see that, in times of economic stress, our lawmakers continue to focus on the important things, like telling women what to do with their bodies. How’s that Republican majority working for you, Virginia?
The Colts have officially cut Peyton Manning, which makes about as much sense as cancelling the moon program while your guys are still in space. Seriously, what the hell are they thinking? Even on a bad day the guy is worth four quarterbacks. They’ve spent more than ten years building a team around him; they were 2-14 last year without him. It’s going to be a long couple of years in Indianapolis.
Apple announced another iPad I probably won’t buy (not because I don’t want one) but did update the AppleTV to 1080p, added AirPlay and iCloud support, which means there will be one in our immediate future once the new TV mount is finished.
Rush Limbaugh is losing advertisers left and right for being a douchebag, which makes me cackle with glee. Fuck you, Rush.
(Testing the del.icio.us auto-posting feature. Good deal. I think I may have to finally give up my links page, if I can find a way to display the de.icio.us links in category format.)
I looked at the Thing last night, and while I could visualize Jen and I cruising down the highway next spring with the top off, a song playing on the radio, and a bag of beach gear in the back seat, I couldn’t get past the beginnings of rust around the interior of the tub. Overall, it was in really nice shape- the doors (mostly) closed, the outer fenders were in decent shape (and replacements can be had for less than $100) and the interior was intact. One thing that was leaning me towards the VW was the ease of repair on both the engine and the body—I’d be more comfortable taking a cutting torch to the Thing than the Scout, with replacement parts being so cheap. However, common sense prevailed, and again, I thought about the truck in the driveway, all the miles and stories we’ve shared so far, and how she deserves to be rebuilt. So I’m putting $200 into a car cover for the winter and ending the insane search for instant gratification—I’m fully aware that’s what I’m seeking here—in favor of saving the money for a new Fiberglas tub and about ten years of restoration work.
Friday Link Fun: Found last night: the Baltimore County Legacy Website, featuring some excellent pictures of Catonsville, and Jen’s old apartment house, back in The Day. | While doing an image search for a ’69 Mustang (Todd’s mechanic is selling one) I ran across Cars In Barns, a site dedicated to pictures of “that junk heap behind the barn,” which sometimes turns out to be a Shelby Mustang or a SuperBird. Pull up a chair, get out a few hankies, and browse.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
Today I hijacked Nate and drove down to Timonium to look at a 19″ LCD monitor being sold off Craigslist. I should back up and describe our current office setup: We have a four-year-old G4 Mac tower and a 9-year-old Apple 17″ display as our main design system at the house. The monitor is so old that fuses blow when I power it up. It’s bigger than the Jeep and its highest resolution is 1024×768—big stuff for 1995 but unacceptable for today’s work. Plus, the refresh rate is about 4mhz, so it sends Jen into fits of seizure when she has to look at it for more than five minutes. I know I’ve been bellyaching for months about money, but this seemed like a no-brainer for $450. I have it plugged in to the Powerbook, and it’s absolutely beautiful.
Everybody welcome Stellan Heazlett online when you get a chance.
Eulogy. I drove out north yesterday to pick up Jen at Henry’s funeral yesterday, and was able to pay my graveside respects. He was, we agreed, a ‘peculiar’ fellow (I won’t go into the hotpants thing right now) but someone with a huge heart. During his eulogy, the rabbi mentioned that when Henry knew you had a problem, he offered his help without fail, and I’d have to agree with that. While talking about it last night, Jen and I realized that it’s been over a year since we saw him last: moving Jen out of her apartment, we had no way to get two old easy chairs and a couch to the dump. Henry drove up in his pickup and within five minutes had helped us wrestle two of the chairs on his truck, and by the next day had made all three disappear. Shalom, and thanks for the vanishing of the furniture, Hotpants Henry.
Clearing Out the Link Cache. Canon PowerShot strobe information. E-TTL info, or: does my frickin’ flash work? | Digital camera primer. SLR vs. point and shoot. | Replacement APC battery. My APC is dead as a doornail. | IHC lineset ticket codes. Deciphering my Scout’s lineset ticket, made easy. | Single-axle and enclosed trailers. Unfortunately, they are very expensive. | Card sorting for application/site design. Handy, but impractical for my 9-5 gig. | Upgrading an eMac. I have a freelance tech job this weekend. | Cheap iPod replacement battery. Jen’s iPod is still busted. | Finally, an interesting book on productivity, as well as a productivity application. I need all the help I can get.
After an abortive final attempt to set up my own WebDAV server at the house for publishing calendars from iCal, I broke down and gave up. Instead, I’m using iCal Exchange, a free WebDAV service set up to help normal folks like me. Sweet.
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
—Benjamin Franklin
Do we really need to hear any more bullshit? Kerry’s people had better wake up and start hitting back, or this election is already over. (fake Onion humor via metafilter) And I’m embarrassed to say that this dude is from Maryland. I hope Obama stomps him.
ford v-8, frederick, 7.24.04
Album of the Day: Sparta, Porcelain. From the punk ashes of At The Drive-In, this band rises to rock you out. (The iTunes biography calls them emo, but I don’t know where the line between rock and emo is drawn these days.)
Thanks to everybody offering support to my lovely wife during the ’04 Lockard World Hospital Tour; between cards, calls, and online shout-outs, I think she must feel a lot less lonely.
Random Fun Links: Airport Express Tips. In case you have $129 laying around asking to be spent. | Tricks of the Trade from the man known as Defective Yeti. (The butcher tip is fascinating.) | Recycle your old computer. Office Depot and HP are running a free recycling program until early September. Save some environment.