Morty's World

Trying again

2012-01-14T09:22:00.002-05:00

Victory over japan day.... What?!?

2011-08-08T18:43:00.004-05:00

Victory over japan day is the day formally recognized as the day we defeated Japan during world war 2. Its on September second. However, for some reason, Today is victory over japan day in Rhode Island. A state holiday. Nobody works. No other state celebrates this holiday either. What?

Perhaps other states could celebrate another day that we, as a country, massacred a bunch of people. Just dumb. And ignorant. Rhode Island, if you want the second Monday in August off every summer, just declare "Three day weekend day," or perhaps, "Fun in the sun day," or maybe, "We finally wised up Day."

Here's an article on the subject from the Sacramento Bee...

People want to remember the sacrifice of service men during world war II? Isn't that what memorial day is for? This holiday just seems like an excuse to leverage history over a competitor nation.

Things that I find Irratating or Annoying or Dumb

2011-07-11T07:12:00.004-05:00

I know posts have been few and far between (other than the lens review which was so easy to post here by clicking some boxes on adorama's website) and I need some new topics to jumpstart mortysworld again.

The first new, occasionally recurring topic, will be Things that I find Irritating, Annoying, or Dumb.

And first off is this dumb measuring cup from pyrex:

Did Pyrex hire a marketing design team who told them that new shape would attract a more "youthful clientele?" I'm pretty sure the only thing this will accomplish is lots of middle aged people walking into bed bath and beyond, taking one look at this weird flared shaped measuring cup (which is needlessly different from the old measuring cup) and then walking back out of the store to go to a yard sale, where invariably, they would find the old measuring cup.

Or how about this. Perhaps pyrex makes such solid, durable, and long lasting products, that people who bought the original measuring cub 30 years ago have no need to replace it unless there is some new marketing gimmick. Hence the new shape! Either way, I, who am looking to buy the normally shaped pyrex measuring cup for my mother in law (don't ask) find the new shape irritating, annoying, and dumb.

My Review of Pentax SMCP-FA 43mm f/1.9 Standard Auto Focus Limited Edition Black Lens - Refurbished by Pentax

2011-07-03T10:10:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at Adorama

Pentax SMCP-FA 43mm f/1.9 Standard Auto Focus Limited Edition Black Lens - Refurbished by Pentax

Fantastic Lens - superb results

By Dmort from Bronx, NY on 7/3/2011

Pros: Strong Construction, Rugged, Nice Bokeh, Durable

Best Uses: Landscape/Scenery, Weddings/Events, Wildlife Photos, Indoors/Low Light

Describe Yourself: Photo Enthusiast

Was this a gift?: No

A superb lens!! It is a little quirky with the auto focus - but once you get used to it (and this is definitely a lens you have to get used to...) you will be able to take incredibly pictures. Sometimes I look at the results and they are otherworldly! The manual focusing is very smooth. If you aren't a manual focuser this lens might make you into one!

(legalese)

A Blues in A Minor

2011-01-21T17:28:00.005-05:00

I'm trying to find things to do to occupy the time I have right now. Waiting for the baby is hard. This minor blues should transmit some of the "waiting feelings" I've been experiencing.

Click here to watch the video at youtube (you can access it in HD!!)

10 Android Tips

2011-01-11T10:21:00.003-05:00

Hey all,

I know some of you out there are sensible and didn't buy a phone that was obsolete the moment it was released (cough, iphone 4, cough, cough).

Here are some tips that I have for getting more out of your android device. Most of them are true for iphone as well though.

1. Cycle the battery. Makes a huge difference. Huge.

2. Buy an otterbox case. I have the commuter. Great protection without adding too much bulk but still maintaining some cool factor. The Otterbox impact skin is really well liked and is only 11 bucks on amazon.

3. Use a different UI. I'm using Dev Team Go Launcher. Its really great, smooth and easy to run. This interface has allowed me to cut down to three screens, instead of the standard 7. It is super customizable and it is easier to work with than the stock UI. My brother runs launcher pro and really likes it as well.

4. Go to Gelaskins.com and browse through their phone skins. If you find one you like, download the free wallpaper version of the skin and you can have that wallpaper on your phone. There are some really cool wallpapers there.

5. Use mint.com on your phone. If you don't use mint already, I suggest you check it out. It is really convenient to always know how much money you have across all accounts. Unless you have a massive student loan debt, in which case it may just be depressing.

6. Download the app, extended controls. It allows you to create customizable control widgets for managing things like connections (wifi, 4g, bluetooth, gps) and other phone settings (vibrate, silent, brightness, airplane mode, and many others). I hardly ever have to go into settings to manipulate settings any more.

7. For those that live in cities, I highly recommend the open table app. Opentable lets you make reservations, but the app also has menus and reviews built into it. When you use the app in map view, you can see restaurants around you, that have open tables, and you can review menu and reviews in one place. I use this way more than I use yelp, urban spoon, or any other social restaurant app.

8. Play pokemon. Seriously, this is the perfect game for a phone. Android lets you download a variety of nintendo emulators. I like the gameboy emulators because they have fewer buttons. Then you download an app called ROM buddy which lets you browse the games easily and quickly. I am playing pokemon red and it is great!! You have to pay for each emulator so you might want to buy rom buddy first, check out the games you might actually be interested in, then buy the emulator that matches the games. You can't do this on an iphone. insert sad face here.

9. Expand your messaging world. There are a lot of other messaging apps you can use with an android phone. Meebo for aim and gchat, kik for bbm style messaging, qik for video chat, google talk, and others. Its nice to be connected!

10. Widgets! Don't load up your home screens with apps. Leave them in the apps folder. Instead, use widgets! Microsoft claims their new os is great because it "gets you in and out quickly!" Thats because it is setup around widgets. You can do the same with an android phone. Many popular apps include widget interfaces. The nytimes app has a rss widget, springpad (which I only just got but so far really like for all note taking tasks) includes many widget options. Widgets make it so you interact with apps directly as opposed to having to navigate to the app, open it, then use it. Paired up with a different UI, like Go Launcher, my phone is super efficent now with widgets and the new UI

English Majors: Pwn'd

2011-01-02T10:02:00.001-05:00

Baby is coming Soon!!

2010-12-18T19:48:00.002-05:00

SO!! Recently we had a "scare," we were in the hospital overnight!! Lila was having light contractions, she couldn't feel them, but the hospital monitor was reporting them regular and constant so they kept us for observation.

No baby yet, but our OB thinks the baby will come early, right around 37 weeks. That's three weeks earlier than our due date of Jan. 20th.

We've kicked preparations into gear, we've got clothes, a dresser, a crib, a changing table, a porta-crib changing table combo, a regular sized bed, a rocking chair, a stroller, a car seat, an adapter that allows our car seat to be locked onto our stroller and a bunch of other paraphernalia.

We are both now on parental leave, I don't go back to work until April 4th. Lila won't go back until September 1st of next year!!

We're pretty nervous and excited!

One of the best things I've heard in a while

2010-10-30T14:17:00.000-05:00

The Girl from Ipanema

2010-09-09T10:00:00.004-05:00

This is my first video that I've uploaded to YouTube of me playing solo guitar. Enjoy!!

Technology

2010-08-18T22:57:00.003-05:00

Update #1: I have had a sprint htc evo for a while. It is sick. The battery life was poor when I got the phone. A rigorous program of power conditioning has enabled me to get battery life times of at least 12 hours, occasionally 24 (depending on how I use the phone). The thing is sick. Amazing. Better than the iphone.

Update #2: I have sold my Olympus e-system dslr kit and have switched over to the Panasonic G2. 720p video, great photos, a growing set of lenses, a touch screen, an external mic input, plus a very high quality evf... EVIL cameras are in people. Thoughts and photos to follow later in the week.

Update #3: Black Friday = Google Chrome Tablet = will be mine.

I'm back.

Check in at Mortys Beer!

2010-05-02T19:37:00.002-05:00

So mortysbeer is moving along... I just added a substantial new posting on three different beers I tried this week. Check out the blog and get involved! Leave a comment, regarding the beers consumed! I know some of this readership has tried some of these drinks...Also, if you want to hear my thoughts on a particular drink, send an email and I'll try to get to it!

In other news, I was officially accepted to the Phd program at Teacher's College. I was sort of in it, but not exactly. This ambiguity has been cleared up and now, provided I do the work, this blog will be renamed in about 2-3 years time, Dr. Mortys World. Look out.

This was a good movie. The 3-d was the cleanest I've seen yet, even better than Avatar. While Avatar had more depth and more realism, the 3d in How to train your dragon was crisper. Things that were meant to be perfectly in focus weren't fuzzy on the edges. While the story isn't fantastic, it certainly isn't bad. And anyways, there are some scenes when the camera is following the dragon's flight, and implemented in 3-d, the result is awesome. Go check it out!

Gmail is so smart that...

2010-04-22T14:26:00.002-05:00

It will ask you if you wanted to attach a file if you write the word attached in the body of your email! Pretty good. And there's this too: Mail Goggles

Other things that slipped by

2010-04-20T21:38:00.002-05:00

Hey... I just did my 150th post. Like 2 posts ago. Whoa!! That is kind of a lot!

Also. The post regarding facebook stalking achieved a total of 17 comments, 15 of which (I think) were spambots. 1 was my dad and 1 was Fred. That is a lot of spambots. Also newsworthy.

Avery and Fred: More Devoted followers than the rest of you

2010-04-20T21:32:00.003-05:00

Obviously I only have two followers for these reasons:

A: Google tells me I have two followers

B: Discounting spambots, only Avery and Fred ever comment on my blog.

Therefore:

Avery and Fred will receive special consideration in my new blog....

Anoucement:

Morty's Beer.

Blogs need a theme and frankly, my world, makes for a poor theme. Hence Beer. Let the consumption begin.

Possible new blog idea

2010-04-19T19:43:00.001-05:00

I'm thinking about starting a new blog about beer... It might be called For the Love of Beer. I will review a beer each week. There may be themes. Who will read this blog?

Cozumel - 2010

2010-03-27T17:52:00.003-05:00

Lila and I are back in Cozumel, Mexico. This is our fourth trip, and each time we've stayed at the Coral Princess. This trip, our friends, Brendan and Becky have come with us. It is oddly mature to go on vacation with another married couple.

We have plenty of scuba diving planned for the week, but as my underwater camera is currently non-functional, the only photos I'll be able to post will be from above ground.

Normally when we go scuba diving / snorkeling, I have to smear a bunch of silicone grease into my mustache so to get a good seal with my mask. Then it gets melty and gross. So to by pass that problem, I shaved my beard off.

Facebook Stalking

2010-02-03T22:30:00.002-05:00

Truthfully, I rarely use facebook. I actually want to delete my account. I only keep it because it is the only reliable method I have of getting in touch with my graduate school advisor.

But I guess, it can be fun. I just spent about half an hour looking at info pages of old high school friends. It seems that everyone I once knew has become a lawyer. /sigh.

Good Start to a new year

2010-01-03T00:49:00.002-05:00

Today I:

Ate myself a little sick (piece of pizza, swallow of wine, 3 egg omlet with shallots and goat cheese, steak, mushrooms, and coca cola.
Went to a bar
Went to sushi
Went to a bar
Played wii fit
Played the New Super Mario Bros (team) w/ lila
Had a good time.
Acted upset.
Had a good time.
Managed not to be too inappropriate in front of Lila's friends.
Did well in a darts game.
Had a good time.
Took out the trash!!
Happy New Years.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T00:04:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year all. I made it until 12:04.

Yawn.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T20:06:00.003-05:00

An eventful thanksgiving

2009-12-01T19:45:00.004-05:00

After a nice thanksgiving weekend, filled with visiting family members, I awoke on Sunday morning with a severe pain in my stomach area. Naturally, I assumed I had eaten too much, but gradually, I realized that this pain was not due to over eating. So I made a doctors appointment for monday, and stayed home from work.

Pretty much immediately, my doctor diagnosed me with appendicitis. I was sent off to confirm this by cat scan. The cat scan doctor took one look at the read out and said, "Yup, you have acute appendicitis, go to Mt. Sinai emergency room." I went over, and in the next few hours had surgery!

So, in traditional David Mortimer style, I ate a lot and went to the hospital. Right now, I'm on pain killers and out of work for a week. Although appendectomies are reasonably straightforward (mine wasn't ruptured) the recovery is still a little painful because your stomach muscles are all messed up. I can't lift stuff, or do anything that exerts those muscles.

Several family members have pointed out that I can now do any sort of extreme outdoor trip. Apparently, there are some trips out there that you aren't allowed to go on, unless you've already had your appendix out because there is no telling when you might get appendicitis and you aren't going to be an easy position to evacuate. Naturally, I won't be doing any of these trips.

My grandma in Maine asked Lila if there was anything she could do, and Lila said that a phone call would be nice. Grandma then said that she wanted to get me something. She said, "Girls get 'get well flowers' Dave gets 'get well giftcards'!"

Needless to say, Lila has been wonderful, helping me, managing phone calls, and just being all around great. She just asked me, "What's it like having a personal nurse?"

My Band

2009-11-23T05:57:00.004-05:00

Here's a series of videos that together are nearly a full performance of my band. We are called Dave and the Fogies because I said I "didn't think I was a fogie yet." Also, I did debate the spelling of fogie, but what are you going to do...

Rock.

Watch the video at the link.... now

2009-09-14T22:00:00.001-05:00

Death Star Destruction = 9/11

watch the whole video.

Scartlet B's - Moving!!

2009-08-27T11:21:00.002-05:00

Lila and I went to Scarlet Begonias two nights ago, we turned into park in the gravel lot to the right of Cote's and discovered that it had been turned into a new set of empty buildings! We were dissapointed to discover the easy parking option gone, but managed to find a spot on mainstreet.

After a great meal, and a little chit chat with Sallie, we learned that Scarlet B's is moving into one of those new buildings! They are going to have table service and a full bar!

They are either moving/opening october 1st!

While I'm happy that they are doing well enough to faciliate a move to a bigger and better space, I will miss the small feel and charm of the old restaurant. I remarked to a friend that "the nice thing about scarlet b's is when you are done, you're done! You've already paid! No fussing over the check, just smile, say goodbye, and go!"

Unlucky Fisherman

2009-08-20T09:48:00.002-05:00

First... I snapped the tip off of one of my spinning rods in the car window. Naturally, I just rolled that window right up... Shimano doesn't cover that, duh... So that's one rod down. Two days later, I'm fishing in this river and my feet start to feel funny. As if I'm not standing on something flat (like the inside of a shoe). I ignore it, thinking that it is just the river rock underfoot. A few minutes later, I realize that the boots on my waders have just disintegrated. Like literally feel to pieces.

Once again, Sierra Trading Post came to the rescue, the new waders arrive today. Perhaps a Customer Service Rep will find this positive feedback and leave a comment again!

Why is it that I have all the good ideas...

2009-07-22T23:10:00.001-05:00

It's no secret that I am a heavy World of Warcraft player; it's fun, social, and a really well designed game... The thing I wonder is when are we going to see MMORPG sports games... Think baseball, you could have minor leagues, majors, people can go to training, you can find a team, play, could be similar to PS3/2 games... I feel like there is a large untapped market here. EA - get your head in the game!

Party minus one

2009-07-19T03:13:00.002-05:00

JT had a party tonight, and while it was going, We started having a little jam between Jon, myself, and Jon's buddy Pete. We had two guitars and we kept passing them around. Pete is a really solid guitar player... and Jon and I are ok, but we don't have either the knowledge or the flair to be really impressive. As we were playing I thought about how, when playing with Pete, Jon and I filled similar roles as when we played with Fred.

Then, inspired, I thought about things from what I might consider Fred's perspective. Here's this guy who spent several years always playing beneath his level. Fred taught Jon and I a lot about music through jams and conversations.

Later, I thought about how I've recently been considering taking guitar lessons; I took group lessons as a kid, but I'm mostly self taught. I'd mentioned to Lila that I'd never really had a real guitar teacher, but then I just realized, I have, and he's Fred.

Thanks man.

Went fishing

2009-07-12T16:08:00.003-05:00

Had a pretty good day today in the Catskills... In the morning, went fishing in the ashokan reservoir...

Video from Trip

2009-07-05T11:01:00.002-05:00

if you want to see any of the photos in a larger, higher quality format, click the link in the sidebar to my picasa web album.

Photos from Trip

2009-07-05T00:02:00.001-05:00

I tried taking a lot of planned panoramic photos... I combine them in photoshop, although I'm not totally competent with the photomerge command. Here's one of Bryce Canyon that turned out well.

Las Vegas

2009-07-04T22:06:00.002-05:00

We spent our last night of our trip in Las Vegas, staying at "The Signature at MGM Grand." The Signature is a three tower complex attached to the MGM Grand that is just a little nicer... We had a suite with a giant jacuzzi tub, and a king size bed, kitchen, living room, multiple tvs; it was great.

We ate at Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill which was amazing. On the MGM Grand website, it is listed as casual dining, but I can tell you, there is nothing casual about the food.

Afterwards we saw Ka, a Cirque du Soleil show. I have to say, it was one of the best things I've ever seen in my life. Truly amazing. Most of the stuff the performers do, you wouldn't think possible. Ka only shows in Las Vegas, so probably you should buy an airplane ticket and get out there.

This morning, we spent a bunch of time at the Grand Pool, the outdoor water enjoyment complex at the MGM Grand. It was nice, but not the best aquatic experience of all time. Then we went and gambled a bit. I was pretty nervous about it... there is something intimidating about all the semi-drunk young people and slightly serious old people. So we played some slots and then a video blackjack game. We lost $11 bucks, but had a half hour of fun.

Finally, we hopped onto our Virgin American flight (interior is like a disco) and came back. Pictures will follow tomorrow as well as a little video. Fred: I really will make a little video this time!

Early Morning

2009-07-03T08:53:00.002-05:00

Lila and I woke up this morning at 5:30, got dressed quickly, and drove out to watch the sunrise over Bryce Canyon... It was amazing. The rocks were impressive looking enough in the dim light before the sun climbed above some of the mesas of the Colorado Plateau, but once the sun peaked through, the Canyon looked as if it was on fire!

Naturally, I took many photographs, none of which have made it to the web yet as I didn't bring my own laptop... all these posts have been through kiosks at hotels.

After a short breakfast, we are going back to the Canyon to do a hike, the 1.4 mile Navajo loop, which will bring us down into the canyon. The trail winds around hoodoos, arches, windows, and natural bridges.

Then, we'll clean out the car a bit (We already shipped home two giant boxes, just to lighten our load for the return trip) and drive to Las Vegas. En route, we'll cross out of the Mountain Time Zone and into the Pacific Time Zone, gaining an hour. One more hour to gamble and live it up in Las Vegas! We are going to a Cirque du Soleil show as well as eating dinner at Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill.

Bryce Canyon

2009-07-02T21:42:00.003-05:00

This morning, we departed Zion Canyon. Zion National Park is wonderfully run, with a very environmentally modern visitor center, to a fleet of propane powered park buses, the park is easily accesible and beautiful. Additionally, unlike other parks, it has a great town, just right outside! We ate lunch today in a restaurant called Oscar's Cafe. There, I had the best ribs I've ever had. Lila had fish tacos, also delicious. They played such classics as "Mr. Roboto" as well as "Don't you, Forget about Me..." Also the fish tacos were spelled "Phish" Tacos... so obviously I liked the place.

After a two hour drive to Bryce Canyon, we checked into the local Best Western and went to look at the Canyon. Skipping the obvious viewpoints, we continued to Bryce Point, less crowded with better views. Geologically, Bryce is easily my favorite canyon we've seen. Tall sandstone strucutres protrude from the canyon floor, Hoodoos they are called. Tomorrow, we plan to wake up to watch sunrise over the canyon and then to do a short 2 mile hike before we jump in the car and drive the 4 hours back to Las Vegas.

Zion National Park

2009-07-01T14:40:00.003-05:00

Today I'm posting from the Zion Lodge, its about halfway up the Zion Canyon... It is a beautiful national park although it is oppressively hot outside. I've been drinking a ton of water and I'm still sure that I'm dehydrated.

Although the scenery is great, our campsite is not. We had to rent an RV site, because of limited availablity, and it was infested with ANTS! Litterally, everywhere you looked there was an ant... We've readjusted our travel a bit to stay in some inexpensive motels for the next two nights, mostly to avoid the ants. A nice result of this is that we are going to get to actually stay by Bryce Canyon.

Grand Canyon

2009-06-29T17:59:00.003-05:00

Staying at a campground (Mather Campground) at the Grand Canyon has been a really relaxing experience. We walk around, look at the Canyon from different perspectives, read, take photographs, nap, eat, and walk around a bit more. Today we went to Shoshone point, an unadvertised viewing spot, used primarily by the park's service for weddings and events, which has unparralled views. It was pretty nice to eat lunch with near 360 degree views of the Grand Canyon.

Tomorrow morning, we drive to Bryce Canyon, for a quick look, and then on to Zion National Park where we'll spend the next three nights.

Colorado Plateau Part 1

2009-06-27T10:57:00.002-05:00

Lila and I flew in to Vegas yesterday and rented a car with little trouble... We flew on a Virgin America flight, which if you haven't done, is pretty fun as far as planes go. As you play with great inflight entertainment systems you're bathed in a purple light cast from the plane's overheads... It sort of feels like being in a lame club... At least what I think a lame club might be like!

We spent a while in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, picking up some stuff at REI that we didn't want to pack, and then buying a GPS unit.

Drove out of Vegas and went to the Hoover Dam... It is a pretty colossal construction, although there isn't that much to see. There is a tour that highlights the inner-workings, but we didn't grace the tour guides with our presence. Afterwards, we continued driving, for several hours, and finally made it to flagstaff where we had a room booked at a motel.

After a quick breakfast and some internet time, we are going to go pick up some food and camp stove fuel and head off to the Meteor Crater, a short drive to the east out of flagstaff. Then its off to the Grand Canyon!

Just finish the Job, Jobs

2009-04-27T19:28:00.002-05:00

So, if you spec out a pc laptop with as equivalent as possible parts as an apple, they typically run about the same price... sometimes the mac is even cheaper! For example, I just turned away from this post to spec out a dell laptop, a 13.3" screen model, for comparison to the macbook. With similar features to the macbook it comes out at right around $1000 bucks (a little under actually). Now the apple, with the same specs is more expensive... But if you factor in the cost of software that comes with the apple, they are neck to neck. You could consider buying the cheapest macbook, which albeit has a slower processor, but provides a much better graphics card. The GC in the dell is the same model as in the old macbook air, the intel x3100. A decent card, but nothing compared to the nvidia 9400.

So whats the point? Well the point is I think apple should give you iwork for free. You are already getting a great computer at a great price. Why not just finish the job and do the one thing that PCs never do... come with good word processing software, out of the box.

Pages is a great program, it is my word processor of choice! I hardly ever use word (twice a year for writing student evals)... Why doesn't apple produce pageslite? Something like wordpad (not notepad, wordpad, it is in accessories for all you pc users who didn't know it was there) but better. Most people don't need much from their word processor.

The other stuff, that's extra, presentation software, spreadsheet software, a lot of people don't use it. Make people pay for that. Lots of people use word processing!

Of course this is all really moot. Apple should really put out a web based verision of iwork and skip the computer altogether. Google docs, except by apple, and therefore, nicer looking and a little bit better functioning.

This was rambling. Sorry. But I'm in class and needed something else to pay attention to.

Here in MEXICO

2009-04-12T17:55:00.002-05:00

Lila, Lila's parents (tobe and meg)and I are in mexico.

We are in cozumel, a great destination and we are staying here.

Maybe in a day or so I'll upload some pictures. I didn't bring the cable for the underwater camera, so only above ground photos while we're here. Maybe we'll have some video on this trip!

Last minute

2009-04-09T10:26:00.002-05:00

Well today was an adventure...
I've misplaced my passport, I can't find it anywhere, and I've really looked. So a few days ago, I made an appointment at the Regional Passport Office in New York City. Basically, you can go in with the proper forms and get a passport same day, or next day.

I print my forms, fill them out, print out my proof of immediate travel, get my passport photos taken, get my certified copy of my birth certificate, and get all this prepared the day before. This morning, I wake up, and I get ready to go. Then I look to make sure I have everything, and the photos are gone! Completely gone. They were in an envelope, and now the are not. I assume that they slid out of the envelope somehwere...

What do you do at 7:00 in the morning when your appointment is at 8am and you need passport photos? Well you do what I did... freak out. Thankfully, Lila was thinking and made me stand against the wall (which is white) and she took some pictures with me with her camera. I raced down to Rite Aid, printed the photos then hailed a cab.

While I was in the cab, I measured and trimmed the photos to 2x2. Lila equipped me with sisccors and a ruler before I left.

I got to the passport office a few minutes late, but it wasn't a big deal. They sent me right up. Then the passport agent looked over my documents. I breathed this huge sigh of relief when he stapled the photo to the form.

It all worked out. I get my new passport tomorrow and I'll be able to go to mexico on Sunday.

Let this be a lesson to you. Don't loose your passport. If you have photos taken, SEAL the envelope. And, if you do it right, you can take your own pictures. Lucky for me, Lila was thinking this morning, instead of freaking out.

All you really need to play Quake for real...

2009-04-07T19:30:00.003-05:00

This are both real items. Anyone know where the aliens are?

A seriously awesome combo

2009-04-06T17:57:00.005-05:00

Try these together:
Polar Clock by the team at Pixel Breaker

And set it as your wallpaper with wallsaver

I had a little trouble getting Wallsaver to "see" PolarClock, although it supposely searches the directory that user installed screensavers go to... I moved it to ~/System/Library/Screensavers and then I had no problem.

Where I buy all apple related stuff from

2009-04-05T07:56:00.003-05:00

Check out these guys: Powermax.com

Since it is in Oregon, you don't pay sales tax, and their prices are definitely competitive with apple, especially for refurbished computers. My Macbook Air, after you factored in tax, was $300 less expensive than the identical model from apple.

Their customer service was superb, and the shipping was as fast as anyone else. Save some money and have a more satisfying and safe shopping experience with Powermax!!

Hardware Review

2009-04-02T20:17:00.005-05:00

Lets see:

If you already have a nice desktop, this is a great computer. I had problems with using remote disk, I think due to the Teacher's College firewall. Rather than spend some time on the phone with CIS, I decided that I really could use an external DVD-RW drive. Rather than buy the completely useless apple model (only, only works with the Air) I went for an LG model:

The drive has performed perfectly, and given that it is the same price as the apple model, and that it will work on any system (mac or pc) I can't imagine why you'd buy the other.

Obviously a sick laptop requires a sick case, and for that I turned to one of my three favorite computer bag companies, Waterfield Designs:

Mine's the same, except I put the flap on a vertical orientation to allow easier backpack access to the laptop. Hmm... I just realized how small this image is. Oh well!

Now, I'm thinking about mobile me... It seems like the type of thing that is a gimmick, but it really isn't that expensive... Only about $8 a month... And it will allow easier syncing across macines, of which I have three now... Hm... Lots of... Any one have any tips?

Cooling Your Mac

2009-03-27T00:12:00.003-05:00

For a little extra control over controlling the temperature inside your mac, check out Fan Control.

It gives you a window in System Preferences in which you can control at what temperatures the various internal fans "turn on" and you can control the speed at which they spin.

I think that the software works for all intel based macs, so go for it. If you want to mess with it. Which obviously I couldn't leave alone.

Two parts

2009-03-26T23:49:00.003-05:00

First:
You could live like a hobbit!

This guy, I think in England, built this place, and even though it conjures up odd (read enticing) images of Lord of the Rings, it is pretty cool.

Second:
How did I find this? Was I just googling for "build your own hobbit hovel?" No... I stumbled upon it. Stumble is awesome, and maybe the most interactive time waster I've ever found. You should try it. It'd be very web 2.0 of you.

Where'd we'd only go if you paid for it

2009-03-22T22:24:00.001-05:00

My brothers got us a gift certificate to Mario Batalli's restaurant, Babbo, in NYC. We made a reservation a month ago and went tonight for their pasta tasting menu with paired wines (which is an enormous amount of amazing food).

Needless to say, we are both stuffed, happy, and tired. Living in NY does have its perks...

Where we'd go, if you came to visit

2009-03-21T22:10:00.003-05:00

Recently, Lila's cousin invited us out to Queens to get some Chinese food. We took the 7 out to Flushing and went to Golden Mall.

The food is great, cheap, and fast. Today, Lila and I ate for about 12 bucks. And we are full! Here are some shots of the interior.

So, potential visitors, you could be as happy as these people!

Photo Blog

2009-03-18T07:01:00.001-05:00

Although I post most of the same photos, I also have a photo blog at http://picasaweb.google.com/davemortimer/. You should check it out as I occasionally post different things there.

Trip to Rome

2009-03-10T21:05:00.009-05:00

Obviously another update is long overdue... And no. This isn't a video update. Although there might be one in the near future. These are some photos from our trip to rome. We had a great time as I hope the pictures should show!
The Spanish Steps

The obelisk at Piazza de Popolo, there are obelisks all over rome, this one is great condition.

Lila in front of the Pantheon. The Pantheon is over 2000 years old and pretty much the best preserved structure from "the ancient world."

Lila in front of the Fountain of Neptune in Piazza Navona, a large piazza built on the site of ancient stadium. We stayed like 2 minutes from here.

Looking at across the Tiber River towards Hadrian's Tomb.

The view over the Vatican Museum from the top of St. Peter's Basilica.

The altar inside St. Peter's.

The Pantheon at night. We were staying about 5 minutes from here, so if we had a little time to kill we'd just wander over. It is a giant building right in the thick of the city.

The Trevi Fountain by night. Apparently the Trevi fountain was commissioned to commerate the completion of an aqueduct, which terminates at the fountain.

This is the inside of this italian bakery/pizzeria that we went to a lot of times. The pizza was amazing. It was easily the best pizza I've ever had, well maybe the best besides scarlet begonias. The baked goods were also great. They cut the pizzas with these 14-16" long knives with one big chop!

Lila standing in front of the Colosseum. The Colosseum is pretty impressive but there isn't actually much to see on the side. You wander around and imagine thousands of animals and people being slaughtered inside. I've read that the ancient Romans used to flood the inside of the Colosseum and stage mock sea battles!

This is the view from the Palantine hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, looking down over the Forum. The Forum is right by the Colosseum and walking around you can really get a feel for what ancient Roman life.

This is the Temple of Saturn, inside the Forum.

This is an evening shot of one of the 4 Santa Maria churches in Rome. Technically, when you enter this church you leave Italy and enter into the Vatican Sea, even though this church isn't really near St. Peters and the rest of the Vatican.

Lila is walking up the inside of the Dome inside St. Peter's Basilica. She is actually standing perpendicular to the floor and it is the dome that is curving.

This is a view taken from one of the many bridges in Rome looking out across the Tiber River towards the Vatican.

When we visited the Vatican we arrived really really early and so we were rewarded with about 20 minutes of crowd free viewing. Later in the day, it was literally shoulder to shoulder through much of the space.

This is Piazza Navona, looking towards the Four Rivers Fountain, sculpted by Bernini. When I was a child we visited Rome as a family and stayed nearby Piazza Navona, that's how I picked it as the location for our hotel for this visit.

This is a statue of a guy who's name I forget. He was a contemporary of Copernicus and was burned at the stake for challenging the Church's sun centered solar system model. The statue stands in Campo di Fiori, a great square that 6 days a week is covered with stands selling foods and vegetables and chickens and pork and all sorts of other stuff. During ancient times the city wasn't really built up much out here, mostly fields. Pompey, a roman general and later consul, built a theater right near here which is were Julius Caesar was stabbed. None of those original buildings still stand.

All in all we had a great trip - Rome is really fun city to visit and well worth a weeks visit. We were able to see the sights, eat enormous amounts of really good food, and have a relaxing time.

Format shift

2009-02-08T21:48:00.002-05:00

I got a camcorder - a sanyo HD700... So it perfectly possible that there will be video updates in the future. They will still be infrequent.

Could she be more beautiful???

2008-12-08T19:45:00.002-05:00

Should have put these up a while ago

2008-12-08T19:27:00.009-05:00

Some long awaited photos from the wedding....
Don't we look happy?

Lila and Parents walking down the aisle

The best picture of the ceremony

The Wedding Party

The 2005 bowdoin crew

The past and future bowdoin legacy

Spot the differences.....

2008-11-30T21:07:00.004-05:00

How many differences can you find??

inspired by highlights magazine - respond with your answers!

Thank You To all my friends

2008-11-30T16:49:00.003-05:00

Thank you to all my friends who gave Lila and I this wonderful gift. I really like it and I sit in it every day!

Thank you again!

Its been a long time

2008-11-29T22:42:00.003-05:00

A lot has happened since my last post. New president, thanksgiving, bought a new sofa... I haven't been posting as many photos recently as I've been putting them on my picasa account. You can access it via the link in the sidebar. I'm trying to organize my photos by location, so far, I've got Alaska, Catskills, New York, and Maine sections... I think Bowdoin people will enjoy the early morning photography down by Simpson's Point.

Happy Thanksgiving all. I celebrated by helping my brothers get really good deals on stuff.

2 Main thoughts

2008-10-29T20:06:00.002-05:00

Ok - I'm thinking about two things:

1. I accidentally sent my ipod through the washer and then the dryer. No damage. Plays perfectly. No problems. Can you believe it? I'm not joking. Reinforces my axiom, electronic devices are waterproof if there is no current flowing through them. Forget "I'm a pc," apple needs: "you can send this through the wash and it will still work."

2. I'm really not a political guy - I'm really not. I pay attention to it but I believe our future lies in science and technological progress, not political process. Elections, Presidents, Government, its all extremely important, but in terms of mankind as a whole, the next 1000 years, I truly believe that science has or will find the answers. All that being said.... Obama's infomerical (call it what you will) almost made me cry. I feel inspired. I want to call people and tell them to vote Obama, I want to blog Obama positive, I want to drive to Florida and go door to door, but....

I'm not going to. I'm going to read reviews of computers, watch videos on youtube, play world of warcraft, and generally to continue my semi-nerdy technical resistance. Oh, and teaching.

I was wrong

2008-10-25T14:39:00.003-05:00

The new macbooks are sweet - the are lightweight, sleek, incredibly elegant, and more powerful than before. Steve Jobs is still godlike and order is restored in my world. I'm even starting to come around on the macbook air!

Worried

2008-10-14T20:17:00.002-05:00

I've got to say... I love apple but I sort of think that they flopped with the new macbooks. They look amazing, and they're construction is great, but when you can buy a more powerful refurbished macbook pro from the refurb shop for less money, I really think apple has missed the mark. So, thats my verdict. It looks hot but it doesn't have as much under the hood as it should, especially compared to the old MBP.

Now for the good news -> The new MBP is sweet, the high end graphics card, the 9600GT is sick, especially in a laptop. Processor speeds at 2.8 ghz, hard drives at 7200 rpm, there are real reasons to buy this machine. But imo, the even bigger news:

Seriously? $899 for the new 24" screen is a bargain, that is a great quality screen and I'm going to have a real hard time not buying one to sit next to my imac.

To be fair, much of the upgrade was focused around design so you might find me recanting once I travel down to the cube and get my hands on the new models.... I think you really have to see these in person to decide if the refurb route is for you.

And finally, avery raises a great point, much of this upgrade has got to be setting the stage for Snow Leopard so until we know more about what that OS will bring, it is difficult to judge....

Microsoft Ads revisited

2008-09-23T05:34:00.001-05:00

Turns out Microsoft made those Ads on macs using adobe CS3. check it out.

A great way to waste a minute....

2008-09-19T19:42:00.001-05:00

And revisit a classic with a modern twist.

2008-09-19T19:27:00.004-05:00

Microsoft has got new ads out - the Seinfeld & Gates ads and the spoof "I'm a PC" apple ads.

First off, I think that the Seinfeld & Gates ads are really funny. They aren't laugh out loud funny, they aren't stupid stuff happening on MTV funny, but they are funny. Probably they are closer to English Office funny. Hey, most americans don't like the English Office.

In the "I'm a PC" there are only two funny parts:
This guy:

and the guy who sells fish:

Obviously, the point of the ad is to show people that PC users are not all "boring suits." But I think that the ad is a little too high brow and it can't really stand up to the Apple Ads.

The ad that does out manuever apple is the I don't wear a suit ad: It is short, sweet, and its got a guy from NASA which obviously makes it legit:

Follow this link over to gizmodo to watch the ads.

Probably Microsoft should ask me next time they start an ad campaign.

Evolution

2008-09-18T21:24:00.002-05:00

I've already mentioned that I think that the inclusion of magnetosphere as the new itunes visualizer is brilliant - but I've used itunes 8.0 a bit more and I've got some more comments.

Oftentimes apple's updates don't have a ton of visual implications for the user. Much of what is changed is "under the hood" so to speak and while there are new features, they don't compose the dominating bulk of the update.

Itunes 8.0 moves in a different direction. I feel that this is a true evolution of itunes, the genius feature is going to revolutionize music listening in the same way that the itunes store did. I've never felt that coverflow was really that great and I think the new implementation is also really nice.

I'm still exploring 8.0 but I'm finding listening to music with the new itunes to be a new experience compared to the old itunes, especially when you use the visualizer.

I've got a two screen setup and my left monitor is almost always set to show the visualizer now. Its just that good.

T-mobile?

2008-09-18T17:42:00.003-05:00

Most of the geeks amongst us carry some sort of snazzy cellphone these days. Whether its an iphone, blackberry, an LG enV2, so on an so forth, we've all got one. But the true geeks amongst us now have a tough decision to consider. Even though T-Mobile sucks, maybe we should switch?

On Sept. 23, Google, in partnership with T-Mobile is going to release their new phone running on the Android system. We've heard a lot about Android, the Google phone, and we don't really know much about it. But it will be cool. Google is a company with a near spotless track record of only producing cool and well functioning software and I'm sure Android won't be any different.

When the iphone came out on AT&T the big detractor was the network. But AT&T has improved and I'm sure that is in no small part because of the iphone. T-Mobile isn't known to be a stellar network (apparently in Hawaii though they are the only choice), but perhaps it will start moving along.

All in all, I'm tired of a cellular marketplace dominated by Verizon. Maybe in a few weeks I'll have a sweet phone and a crappy network. And in a few months, maybe the network won't be so bad.

Productivity goes down

2008-09-17T20:09:00.003-05:00

One of the great things about apple is that they are constantly innovating in the world of design. But thats not to say that when they see someone else putting something truly amazing together that they don't recognize it. The visualizer in iTunes 8 is one of those examples. It was developed by a software group called The Barbarian Group and although they no longer maintain it, apple has it.

If you select itunes visualizer in the visualizer menu, accessible through the view section in the toolbar you will be blown away by the seriously remarkable graphics. It was hard for me to even write this blog post. Combine the visualizer with the new genius function and prepared to be blown away.

First Day

2008-09-08T21:06:00.001-05:00

So some would say this was my first day of school! While I've definately taught before, I've never been a full year long classroom teacher. Things went pretty well I think - we have a lot of support at Bank Street.

Check out the school. It really is a wonderful institution.

Vista

2008-09-04T21:42:00.003-05:00

Lila got a new computer, an HP slimline, with an AMD 2.8ghz processor. Its got 4 gigs of RAM, a 500 gb hard drive, a decent graphics card and naturally it comes with Vista. Ignoring the possibility for a cheap joke here, the version of Vista it has is the best home version, not vista ultimate. We paired it with a 22" Acer LCD and picked up Office Student edition cheap, all from Newegg.

Got to give Newegg props, everything got here really really fast.

Vista is not so bad, I've decided. Running on a comp that is built for it, with a screen that is built for it, it runs quite nicely. Sure, I think we could squeeze a little more speed out of the system, but out of the box, it was ok. True, its not as easy a setup as a mac, nor as fast, but I found it acceptable.

I'm going to post anything I notice about it over the next few weeks or so. I figure a bunch of you people out there aren't ever going to switch (see the ad, Off the Air at the mac ads site) so you might be interested in what Vista's like from the perspective of a home user.

Seward and Talkeetna

2008-08-16T13:36:00.003-05:00

Seward is a small fishing town on the Kenai Peninsula. There is a fairly large harbor to accommodate all sorts of boats including, small powerboats and sailboats as well as cruise ships and shipping ships.

Seward is also home to the Alaska Sea Life Center which is a superb aquarium. They also had a large enclosure for marine birds.

The main reason people go to Seward is to see the Exit Glacier, a glacier that is part of the Harding Ice Field. The Harding Ice Field is over 4000 feet thick in some places and is home to 30 plus glaciers. The Exit Glacier is only a short hike from the Kenai Fjords National Park Center.

After two days in Seward, we took the train to Talkeetna. Here we are standing in front of the Talkeetna River, a partly glacial river (which explains all the silt in the river).

We went salmon fishing and both of us caught a bunch of silver salmon. Lila caught more fish than I did and here she is with probably the nicest salmon of the day! (Which she caught, she also caught the second nicest of the day) The guy next to her is the fishing guide, Danny.

After fishing we got to raft down the river. In a few minutes we are going to leave for the train to take us to Fairbanks. It is an eight hour train ride that will take us through Denali National Park.

Glacier Bay

2008-08-15T15:38:00.003-05:00

We spent a day on this fairly large sized boat going into Glacier Bay. We visited three glaciers, saw sea lions, bears, eagles, puffins, and great scenery.

This is an island that had a lot of birds flying on it. It was very fun to watch the puffins.

A great photo that lila took of the marjorie glacier. It was the largest of the three glaciers we visted. While we were looking at it, small parts of it were calving off. You could hear the ice cracking. Overall, it was really impressive.

Some sea lions we saw early on during the boat trip. Can you spot the bull?

Some people were nice enough to offer to take a picture of me and lila. We were really lucky to have blue skys the whole day.

A final view of the majorie glacier was we sailed away from it.

Glacier Bay was one of the most impressive places I've ever seen. Although the trip was a little touristy and kitchy, it was amazing.

Gustavus Part 2

2008-08-15T15:21:00.004-05:00

We spent a day in Gustavus with no real plan. So we went golfing!

Yes Gustavus, town of about 400 people has a 9 hole golf course and a driving range. You just walk up to this unattended shed, put some money in, grab some clubs and go. Needless to say, Lila and I are terrible at golf, we did the driving range, and it was fun.

We spent a fair amount of time at the pier watching fishing boats come in. Does anyone notice that southeast alaska looks a lot like coastal maine?

Its a long pier....

Gustavus Part 1

2008-08-11T12:14:00.003-05:00

Gustavus is a little town right outside of Glacier Bay National Park. It was about 400 year round residents and it reminds me a lot of small towns in Coastal Maine. The only way to get to Gustavus is to fly in, and the easier way is to fly on these little four seater planes. We went with a company called Air Excursions. The pilot was this young guy who never spoke to aircraft control (no need) and informed us that we were free to leave our cell phones on.

The Homestead Bed and Breakfast was one of our most favorite places we've ever stayed. They had bikes for us (a great way to get around a flat island). Here is Lila standing in front of their sign.

This is the "mall" in Gustavus, two businesses, one of which is the Homeshore Cafe. Homeshore is really the only restaurant in town, there are others attached to inns but they have set menus and are kind of pricey. Homeshore has sandwiches, salads, and pizzas and we ate there four times!

Catty Corner to the Homeshore cafe is THE gas station/museum. It looks cute from the outside but since it was never open while we were there, we can't comment on the inside.

This is a view of Lila and the dock in Gustavus. Everyday several fishing boats and whale watching boats go out. We came down to the beach a lot. Lila found lots of old fish guts but you don't have to see those pictures.

These last two pictures are from when we rented sea kayaking in Bartlett Cove, right at the southern end of the park. While kayaking we saw sea otters, sea lions, and a black bear. It was really nice to do some sort of outdoor activity.

We had great weather in Gustavus. The southerners on the island complained about the weather but clearly they hadn't been to New England in the winter, or any other time of year. Southeast Alaska really does look a lot like the Maine Coast, just there are mountains. I really liked it in Gustavus and so did Lila.

There are more gustavus photos coming, largely pictures from our day long cruise to the tidewater glaciers in glacier bay. I haven't offloaded those yet though.

Juneau

2008-08-11T11:46:00.004-05:00

After a little excitement getting to Alaska (cancelled flights that we weren't notified about) we arrived in Juneau to a very nice little inn called the Beachside Villa. Here is lila standing in front of the hot tub!

We ate breakfast twice at this place:

The Sliverbow Bakery. It was really good. We had the reddest lox I've ever seen. It was delicious.

Lila and I hiking Mt. Roberts. Mt Roberts is one of the mountains that overlook the city of Juneau. It was a beautiful day, according to some locals it was like the third sunny day that summer. It was really fun to go up from sea level to about 3500 feet.

This is the view of Juneau from most of the way up Mt. Roberts. You can see the city of Juneau on the right side of the photo, the island on the left is Douglas. That is were we stayed, it was about a 20 minute walk into downtown from there - it was nice to be away from the cruise ships.

This is the place that we stayed in Juneau. Its the building to the right of the long aluminum barn thingy. It was a really great place to kick off our honeymoon.

A panoramic photo that Lila took of the mountains from Mt. Roberts.

More pictures will come, we've been having trouble uploading photos. Right now we are in Anchorage and have a solid wi-fi connection. More to come!

Married

2008-08-07T14:24:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone who helped us have a successful wedding!

Lila's Mom's Garden

2008-07-28T22:28:00.004-05:00

I've got to say, Lila's mom is a terrific gardener. Here is just one photo of some of the great flowers in her garden.

The wedding is soon.

Bronx Zoo

2008-07-24T21:46:00.002-05:00

The Bronx Zoo is a pretty amazing place. I find it astounding that so many wild animals live within a stones throw of manhattan. Despite forecasts of thunderstorms today, Lila and I went to the zoo and enjoyed an afternoon of sunshine, reptiles, ungulates, large cats, apes, and the less well refined, nyc camp groups.

A Visit From England

2008-07-18T15:14:00.002-05:00

Shaun, one of our english friends who we worked with at Killington, came to visit yesterday and today. The itineary included the Museum of Natural History, The Staten Island Ferry, and the Central Park Zoo.

Dip

2008-07-09T14:32:00.002-05:00

My friends from High School, Matt, and his older brother mark started a company a few years ago that makes and sells bean dip. It is pretty tasty stuff and available a lot of supermarkets and specialty stores including whole foods! Maybe Camden has seen it on the shelves? In any case, check out the link in the sidebar. They're the shout out.

Also I have a new digital camera and I've decided to add a new section to my blog which will be computer backgrounds. I figure a lot of people like to have nature scenes as their wallpaper so I'm going to start posting some here. If you click the picture, your browser should open it up in a nice large window. The pictures are pretty high rez so they should be good for whatever screen size, unless you are Jon Todd. I hear he uses a 60" LCD these days.

Beach Day

2008-07-08T16:30:00.002-05:00

Today Lila and I went to Robert Moses State Park to go to the beach. We walked over to the fire island lighthouse and had a very good time.

Makes me want to buy "not a mac"

2008-07-03T10:48:00.001-05:00

Seriously, this is maybe the best comercial I have ever seen.

Ahoy!

2008-06-30T22:25:00.004-05:00

We've been out on the water a few times.

The Boat Arrives

2008-06-01T19:50:00.002-05:00

Lila and I bought a boat and today it arrived! I have to say its gorgeous. We rigged it today, for practice, and it will go into the water hopefully this weekend!

Blackberry Pearl 8130 review

2008-05-30T21:58:00.005-05:00

Despite the fact that I love apple, I went ahead yesterday and bought a blackberry. I was eligible for a new phone and the Blackberry Pearl 8130 was on sale at bestbuy so I went for it.

I'm really happy with it - the operating system is complicated and the suretype keyboard takes some getting used to... but it works flawlessly once you get it.

Naturally the first thing I did to my pearl was to download a theme to make it look more like an iphone. I had some trouble getting the theme to load on the phone but the customer service people at www.mobihand.com sorted it out for me.

One really cool feature is the case that it comes with. The case is unimpressive looking and sort of useless seeming since there is no belt clip. But the case contains a magnet that the phone "notices" when it slides in automatically putting the phone to sleep. You can change how the phone responds to emails for example depending on whether it is in the case or not. I ordered a third party case from otterbox, which comes with a holster that accomplishes the same feature. BTW, there are some videos on youtube of people tossing blackberrys in this case down stairs and into snowbanks.

The GPS feature of the phone, paired up with sprint service anyways, works really well. I used it to drive to some address in White Plains that I had no idea how to get there (I was picking up an ebay purchase, not driving around aimlessly). The gps took me there perfectly.

Overall, its a great phone and I highly recommend it to other people. If anyone out there has any questions I'd be happy to try to answer them!

Day in the park

2008-05-11T21:27:00.003-05:00

Lila and I went to Central Park last weekend for her niece cassidy's birthday. Then we say these two guys walking thru the park. Naturally a photo op ensued.

Yes. Thats Lila's older brother standing between Captain America and Spiderman. They said they lost a bet.

Cozumel 2008

2008-03-30T22:41:00.001-05:00

Lila and I went for a week to Cozumel, Mexico. We mostly went diving and relaxed at the hotel. The food was excellent.

Mix up in the mail

2008-03-19T08:37:00.003-05:00

I ordered this:

and got this:

Sierra Trading Post: Where jesus isn't exactly sure what you ordered.

A welcome houseguest

2008-03-02T21:30:00.002-05:00

Fred came to stay for the last four days and I've got a few things to list that I know to be true:
1. A labatts in maine tastes the same as a Labatts in NY.
2. A labatts with fred always tastes great.
3. Dave Duhalde is really loud. All the time.
4. Fred is probably Jon Todd's brother he never had.

If anyone thinks of anything else defining about fred why not post them here.

Keep moving forward!!

2008-02-27T22:06:00.003-05:00

I've learned something about myself. Whatever the last pixar movie that I watched is always the best movie I've ever seen.

The most recent:

The movie is all about scientific ingenuity and how you (really you there reading this) could invent the future!!!

And the plot moves wicked fast.

The best bumper sticker I've ever seen

2008-02-27T22:05:00.005-05:00

Even better than the darwin fish:

Buy one

Say What?

2008-02-18T20:48:00.005-05:00

Words.

Is there anything that unites people the way common language does? Words are complex, elegant, and simple. But I really never stop to think about words.

Here are two documentaries that I've seen that really made me think about words and their place in my life.

Wordplay

A great movie about crossword puzzles, the people who do them, and the people who create them. In my mind the under two minutes nytimes crossword solve contained in the film is equivalent two the crazy kids who solve rubic's cubes in under 30 secs.

Helvetica

This movie is a little slower, and not as exciting, but extremely interesting. Seemingly benign, fonts have a really interesting history brought forth in this very swiss movie.

Good Watching.

Cell phones

2008-02-13T09:01:00.002-05:00

Lots of cool stuff coming out of the Mobile World Congress (I can't explain Robert Redford either). Many new phones and the line between computers and cell phones are blurring.

An observant pursuer of information would notice the complete lack of mention of Apple. When do we get iphone 2.0?

The Best meal I've ever had cooked for me

2008-02-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

Lila just made me this extremely good fried shrimp dish out of "The Silver Spoon" cookbook. Those of you who know lila, know that she is a great cook. This recipe was so good that I've decided to risk copyright infrigement yet again and post it.

Fried Shrimp in pink sauce

Ingredients:
4 table spoons of tomato paste
3 tablespoons heavy cream
juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
1.5 cups dry white wine
1 teaspoon grated fresh root ginger
1 garlic clove
16 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 egg whites
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
all-purpose flour, for dusting
salt and pepper

Combine the tomato paste, cream, and lemon juice in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Pour the wine into a dish and add a pinch of salt and the ginger and the garlic. Add the shrimp, mix well and let marinate for about 1 hour. Stiffly whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl. Drain the shrimp and immerse them in the egg white. Heat the oil for deep frying in a large pan. Spread out the flour in a shallow dish. Holding each shrimp by the tip of its tail, dip it in the flour, then put it in to the hot oil and cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spatula and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and serve the pink sauce, handed separately.

Good eating

Nerdcore kinda

2008-01-21T14:59:00.001-05:00

was just shown this by lila's older brother. And yes, I'm really excited about adding youtube videos to my blog.

Tim Burton scares me again

2008-01-21T11:33:00.000-05:00

This was one seriously scary movie. There were funny bits, and sad bits, but mostly just scary bloody bits. You should probably go see it.

Voices from Macworld

2008-01-19T22:43:00.000-05:00

Jon and I left Macworld yesterday and I thought I'd post some show photos as well as some thoughts.

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This was the Apple show floor, pretty much the dominant feature of the expo. There was this big stage and pretty much every hour there was some sort of presentation. The focus of many of these was of course the...

The Macbook Air!!

Here we can see many Apple fans checking out the new ultra-portable. It is really cool. Although it doesn't come with a CD drive, it is able to use any other wifi enabled computer's cd drive. In my opinion the perfect companion to the Air is the mini. you could run a headless mini somewhere out of sight and just use it for storage and the drive.

Of course many other companies were at Macworld. Google had a cool booth...

Naturally there was no where to sit, few power outlets and the wifi didn't work...

All in all we had a really good time. San Francisco is a great city with lots of good food, fun places to visit, and plenty of bars. Also everyone is trendy. So we felt right at home.

Steve and Barry's

2007-12-27T13:47:00.000-05:00

Lila's brother, Joey, is on a budget and he needs new sneakers. What should he get? Can he be stylish and cheap? I suggested checking out Sierratradingpost but no, thats not cheap enough. Can you look cool and be cheap? Yes!! At Steve and Barry's you can!! You can be as cool as either, Stephan Marburry, Venus Williams, or Sarah Jessica Parker.

Encouraged by Joey, I checked out S&B's for gifts and yes I did buy some. But let me tell you why I won't do that again. Steve and Barry's occupies the niche that none of us knew existed between Old Navy (its a step below) and Walmart (its a half step above). Its kind of like target but only with clothes and the clothes aren't as nice.

To be fair, I know its nice for people to be able to get the gear that the pros wear at those prices (Marburry and Williams both compete in their own footwear). And if you want to look fasionable, well we all know that Sex in the City has told us that SJP is hot. So I guess shopping there is appropriate for some, but I don't think its for me.

The force is strong with this one

2007-11-21T19:32:00.000-05:00

As evidenced by my last post I've been thinking about evolution and religion recently. The question has been raised, can one reconcile religious belief with science? And I've come to the conclusion that at least I can't. If you are the strictest definition of a religious person, you hold content of your religious text to be true. What science proposes as the history of the universe, including all interactions on our own planet, is really at odds with religious texts. Can you really believe in evolution and believe in the bible or the koran or anything else at the same time? I personally can't.

I was telling lila that I don't think I believe in anything religious and that I think I'm an atheist. But then I decided that isn't really true, I believe in science. And one of the central tenants to all science is the first law of thermodynamics. Energy is conserved. Also, for something to exist it has to have some energy. Check out this debate. So one might say that energy flows throughout everything, binding everything together in one universal manner? Sound familiar? I'm not an atheist, I'm a jedi.

Creationism makes you dumb

2007-11-20T19:31:00.000-05:00

Watching a pbs video on evolution and it is striking. As an educated science type, you loose sight of the fact there are actually a lot of people out there who don't believe in evolution. To which I say: Are you out of your mind?

I recall an old doonesbury cartoon in which a doctor tells a patient they have cancer, an ever changing evolving disease. He then asks the patient what type of treatment they want, the creationist treatment or the evolution treatment. The guy asks the difference and the doctors says well in the evolution treatment we give you drugs and chemo, the whole nine yards. In the creationist treatment we pat you on the back, give you some penicillin and send you on your way. The patient, a creationist, asks to hear more about the evolution based treatment.

Recently in a wired magazine, I read an article from the international congress on science, in which they were discussing doing away with the word "theory" and replacing it with the word "law" as its basically the same thing anyways.

A lot of misunderstanding of science derives from a lack of understanding of normal words in a science context. While ignorance is unfortunate, what's even worse are the people who do understand what the words mean and take advantage of it.

And to top it off, this idiotic debate makes us the laughing stock of the rest of world. Health care, education, and now science ed. I hate this country.

What to Eat on thanksgiving

2007-11-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

OR

Truthfully I really don't like thanksgiving food. Turkey is ok, with barbeque sauce but everything else is not want I want to be eating. I'm always hoping that the thanksgiving dinner will fail and we'll have to go out to a Chinese Restaurant since they'll be the only ones open. I guess I'm not too american but thats just the way it is. You try eating salt free, fat free, skin free turkey and bad kugel for thanksgiving your whole life. You'd want Chinese food too.

Bowdoin from Birth

2007-11-05T19:19:00.001-05:00

Last night, Lila and I went out to dinner with my family and some other non-family but very close family members. In total there were four bowdoin grads, and adam who we figure is going to get in (college application process is kind of like the NY Lotto, hey you never know). We ended up singing Beneath the Pines (my favorite).

Also in other news, I, who normally surf the web and play computer games got a perfect score on my writing & literacy midterm. I'm the Fred of my TC class. Except I don't play Casey at the Bat and Requiems at the same time and throw stuff at people. It'd be hard to throw stuff at myself.