Friends

triangleites

greatblueheron

09:56 pm - orthopedist recommendation?

So, I have an injured finger & need, urgent care says, to see an orthopedist for follow-up. Anyone in the Durham area know of an orthopedist that they particularly recommend? Thanks in advance!

jwz

02:39 pm - A series of tubes.

Previously.

jwz

01:29 pm - dnalounge update

DNA Lounge update, wherein this battle station is now fully operational.

jwz

01:13 pm - Oh Internet, is there nothing you cannot sell me?

Mussolini's 'brain and blood for sale on internet'

The granddaughter of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini has said that blood and parts of his brain have been stolen to sell on the internet. Alessandra Mussolini, a former showgirl turned MP, said she immediately informed the police when she found out.

The listing, on auction site Ebay, reportedly showed images of a wooden container and ampoules of blood. The initial price requested for the material was $22,000.

jwz

10:55 am - Big Daddy 2

badger

10:42 am - calendar update

( weekly update )

badger

08:19 am - daily scorpion

( ooh SHINY! )

05:00 am - SkiFree

http://xkcd.com/667/

alchemist

09:54 pm - Convention and Holiday

So we survived Midwest FurFest 2009, <a href=”http://ursulav.livejournal.com/933269.html”>as you might have heard.</a> I must say it was great fun. It’s always good to hang out with our friends (the SHORT list is Mel, Tango, Dave, Diana, SF, Natasha, Heather, SofaWolf, Jen, Duncan, Takaza, Fiawol, the ENTIRE security staff…) and make new ones (dwalker, Gan, foxfeather and her beau, and then some…). Also a blast to meet and greet the FANS. Ursula’s Fans are amazing people, and I was very glad to meet each one of you. I had fun, Ursula had fun, and I cannot wait for Further Confusion 2010 - and our chance to meet her west coast fans.

So what’s up next? Thanksgiving around here. And as with prior years, I’m opening up my house for a Stray’s Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition many people do/have done, and I learned it from my friend Michelle in Raleigh MANY years ago when I was without a place to go on a very family oriented holiday. This is how I pay her (and many others, over the years) back for her hospitality.

For all you local people who need/want a place to go - mi casa su casa. Open to any and all who need it, just ask and tell me what side dish you can bring. A lot of you have invites, and if you know someone who can use one as well, share, or send ‘em my way. And if you need one don’t be afraid to ask.

And for the rest of you out there, have a wonderful holiday!

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

badger

08:30 am - daily scorpion

( blue )

jwz

05:19 pm - Miss, you got a bear on your head.

triangleites

ambermae

07:58 pm - Upcoming Classes at TechShop - Build Your Dreams Here

View and sign up for these classes and more at http://techshopdurham.com/classes

You do NOT need to be a TechShop member to take classes.

( November 23-29 )

What is TechShop?

TechShop is a 25,000 square-foot membership-based workshop in Durham that provides members with access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a creative and supportive community of likeminded people so you can build the things you have always wanted to make. TechShop is designed for everyone, regardless of their skill level. TechShop is perfect for inventors, “makers”, hackers, tinkerers, artists, roboteers, families, entrepreneurs, youth groups, FIRST robotic teams, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and anyone else who ever wanted to do something, but couldn’t.

Visit our web site at http://techshopdurham.com/welcome

badger

05:44 pm - how to lose a client

( if you do not want my business just say so )

10:36 pm - Scott Parkerson: Please Keep Telling Me This Until I Understand It [1]

http://www.smerpology.org/sprocket/article/1269/please-keep-telling-me-this-until-i-understand-it

I hold a cup of wisdom,
But there is nothing within.
My cup, she never overfloweth,
And ‘tis I that moan- and groaneth.

— Kate Bush
“Sat In Your Lap”

Every once in a while, I become massively stuck, either at work or in life.

This stuck-ness is almost always rooted in a desire to be perfect combined with the self-loathing I feel towards not being even close to ever achieving perfection. When applied to projects, this results in procrastination. Thus, a simple task like DOCUMENT THE SETUP AT THE COLO SO MERE MORTALS CAN TROUBLESHOOT ISSUES THAT MAY COME UP OVER THE HOLIDAY becomes completely bogged down in an internal argument that goes a bit like this:

—I need to put this in our Instiki-based wiki, but I’d really like to put them in a neutral format in case we change our wiki to something like Confluence. After all, we’re talking about doing that soon. So…
—Should I use text files?
—Or perhaps a note taking system like Evernote? or Tomboy?
—Perhaps I should just use our wiki. Write it all in Textile.
—But Textile sucks for writing technical stuff. Perhaps Markdown would be better? Also, Markdown looks better when viewed as plain text.
—Do I need to write a script to convert this into Textile when I put it in the wiki?
—Oh, let’s just start writing in the wiki, FFS.
—No, maybe …

After a while of listening to my own internal monologue, even I want to stab my brain with a Q-Tip™.

Tell Me Something Good

Whenever this happens, I find myself going back and reading the so-called Self Improvement Patterns over on the venerable c2 wiki. The one pattern that keeps jumping out to me over and over is this one:

Sometimes you delay doing some AmeliorationPattern because you want to do it in the best way. In meantime you stand with an AntiPattern, a GreyPattern or NoPatternAtAll?.

Therefore, start doing it immediately, as well as you can now.

However, be sure that having a partial X isn’t worse than no X at all.

— c2 wiki
Any X Is Better Than None

Following this advice for the task at hand, it would be far better if I stop bitching and write the damn thing in Textile right into the wiki. The task is to convey the information, not spend a lot of time worrying about how pretty it is. Fit, finish and formatting can be tackled later, after the essential task at hand is done. And, should we need to convert to Confluence or some other markup, deal with it then, not now (see also YAGNI).

Not Uncommon, Really

Evidently I’m not the only one who suffers from this malady.

Rafe wrote about this same tendency to be perfect right out of the gate when it comes to learning a new programming language.

Anne Lamott told her writing classes to go ahead and write lots and lots of “shitty first drafts”, as you’re better off getting your ideas out of your head and onto the page no matter what they look like. Once you’ve gotten it all down on paper or on the screen then and only then can you can edit mercilessly, iterating until you are proud (or at least far less embarrassed) of the results. And maybe you won’t ever be completely satisfied, but at least you’ll have something tangible you can look at, something that you have created. This is a lot better than just having a pile of regrets to look back on.

tl;dr

In most cases, ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. Stop worrying and just do it.

Now.

badger

08:58 am - daily scorpion

( blue )

05:00 am - Silent Hammer

http://xkcd.com/666/

syn_promo

wholesomedick

01:35 pm - jQuery blog

jQuery is a javascript library that is so parsimoniously awesome that a 13 year old could give a Google Tech Talk about it. It also has a blog that you can now read on your livejournal.

jqueryblog

pixiestarr

03:28 pm - Wasting time..

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.8
Mind:	7.6
Body:	8
Spirit:	7.5
Friends/Family:	5.5
Love:	6.2
Finance:	7.2
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

badger

12:18 pm - Norway on the Crabtree: AAR

( Saturday's show AAR )

badger

08:51 am - daily scorpion

( blue )

jwz

10:31 pm - stupid CSS tricks

Dear Lazyweb,

When you go to the DNA Lounge Webcasts page and click on the "Video Webcast" link, it pops up a chromeless window with the Justin.TV Flash embed in it.

I'd like to make it so that when you resize that window, the embed resizes with it.

This is what I tried. It works great in Safari, but in Firefox, the embed is always 100% wide and 1 pixel tall; and in Opera, it's always 100% wide but about 200 pixels tall.

Ideas?

08:32 pm - For rent: Carrboro partment

Hello all. If anyone is looking to move to the Chapel Hill / Carrboro area, I have an apartment available in Carrboro for sublet, $829/mo, includes washer/dryer, high speed internet, extended cable, and is on two bus lines (CPX and CW). If you know the area, the complex is Berkshire Manor West. It's a two bedroom one bath unit, available immediately - if you or anyone you know is interested, feel free to email me at jwb -at- unc -dot- edu.

triangleites

mediter

03:14 pm - Thanksgiving - at Bogarts

Hi guys - just thought I'd give you an update :)

I just made reservations at Bogarts American Grill for their Thanksgiving buffet. It's cheap ($30/each) plus the menu looks awesome.

So what's the consensus on Bogarts? I've been reading reviews but they're pretty mixed.

jwz

11:52 am - "Into the garbage chute, flyboy."

Summarize your sex life with a Star Wars quote

Also: instantchewbacca.com (contrast with instantrimshot.com).

badger

10:05 am - way to come from behind: Amanda Palmer and Nervous Cabaret in Carrboro

( ok opening, awesome finish )

badger

09:13 am - daily scorpion

( blue )

badger

02:22 pm - misc links and tab closing

( tab closing )

syn_promo

justeps

10:52 am - Central Subway Blog

San Francisco's Central Subway project will extend the current Third Street Light Rail line 1.7 miles northward, from the Caltrain terminal to Chinatown. Construction begins next year, with revenue service planned for 2018.

They've recently started an official blog, which you can follow here as centralsubway.

triangleites

mediter

01:01 pm - Thanksgiving

Hello my friends :)

I procrastinated & now I don't have plans for Thanksgiving.

Any restaurants open on this sacred turkey day? I've never been to Angus Barn (& they're booked). Anything else going on?

Cheers!

badger

10:03 am - Subscape Annex AAR last night, prep for Saturday's show

( looking backward, looking forward )

badger

09:23 am - daily scorpion

( pose )

jwz

01:02 am - Kap Bambino

jwz

10:37 pm - DO NOT WANT. Crunchy, though.

05:00 am - Prudence

http://xkcd.com/665/

badger

11:07 pm - why I am not attending the midnight premiere of Twilight: New Moon

( Bella, Uncle Bela has something to say to you )

triangleites

barebonedcrazy

07:22 pm

This little guy, who we've been calling 'Spenser' and 'The Noob', walked INTO our apartment a few weeks ago. He is about 6 months, we are guessing. We think he has been fixed, as well, but aren't positive. We, unfortunately, cannot have 3 cats in our apartment...and the other 2 were here first...so, he needs a new, loving home. I am trying to avoid putting him in a foster situation and just straight into a forever family. He is a wonderful, adoring cat who loves sitting in laps and snuggling. He is very clean ( I gave him a flea dip when we got him and there was nothing on him) and knows how to use the litter box. He also gets along GREAT with our 2 other cats, and I imagine he would also do just as well with dogs and even children. He is super adorable and if we could, we would keep him but we know that someone out there must love his little face as much as we do!

If you, or someone you know, is looking for a new friend--please leave a comment here for more info :) Thanks!!


[Edit:] Huge thanks to greatblueheron for giving Spenser his forever home!

jwz

12:49 pm - I can see time!

Fake Tree Vortex Threatens to Suck in Entire Backyard

"The wall and floor planes are actually entirely flat and perpendicular, and the tree vortex is an illusion created by the sloping lines."

syn_promo

wholesomedick

09:56 am - Powershell blog

It only took Microsoft about 20 years to make a popular, useful shell for (a few of) their operating systems. That shell is PowerShell, and it has a blog.

powershell

badger

10:47 am - whatisthenameofthisstory?, Time Machine repair, bumpy ride, and other items yesterday

A "can't remember the name of this story" query, SQL injection, TOT(E)M Airlines, etc., heavy rock, OS X Time Machine error and fix, lineup change for tonight. ( details within )

spot

10:05 am - Things an Unprivileged Linux User Must Not Be Able To Do

An Unprivileged Linux User Must Not Be Able to:

* Add, Remove, or Upgrade system software (packaged or otherwise)
* Read or Write directly to/from system memory
* Load or Unload kernel modules
* Start or Stop System Daemons
* Edit System-wide configuration files
* Access other users home directories (unless explicitly granted permission by another user)
* View or Change another users password
* Add or Remove User accounts
* Change the System Clock
* Shutdown or Reboot the System (unless they are the only user logged in, and they are logged in locally)
* Read from System Logs containing any information about user activities (System logs live in /var/log/*)
* Write to System Logs (directly)
* Write a file outside of /tmp or their user home directory (unless explicitly granted permission by another user)
* Load or Modify PolicyKit or SELinux policies
* Change SELinux Enforcement levels
* Listen on a network port lower than 1024
* Mount or Unmount Partitions or Network Shares (excluding automounted local devices such as USB flash drives, and devices explicitly configured by the root user for unprivileged use)
* Change or Disable firewall settings

What else am I missing?

Note: A user with sudo access is not an unprivileged user. A user who knows the root password is not an unprivileged user. A user placed into an "admin" group is not an unprivileged user.

badger

09:25 am - daily scorpion

( two shots )

pam

11:46 pm - Naming baby is HARD

Ugh. I don't know that Tom and I will ever agree on a name! It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't both want family names, and he hates almost all of mine! I really don't understand. What is wrong with Milliard, Howard, and Herbert? Or going back further - Ephraim, Melvin, or Nimrod? Stokes or Sidney or Wilbert? I mean, I can almost see why he objects to Bezaleel, but Ambrose? Mortimer? Enos? There's some perfectly good names. Humph.

And somehow the normal names in my family don't go with HIS family names. I mean, if he really wants to go with a vanilla name, there's one REALLY popular name in my family tree - it just happens to be his, Thomas. No Tommy Jr for us? Or how about Robert - no naming him after uncle Bobby?

Sigh. I guess we have a lot more talking ahead of us.

jwz

08:25 pm - season pass

I find that I barely watch actual movies any more, because they all suck. But Sleep Dealer was fantastic, and you should watch it at once. It reminded me of Varley's Blue Champagne mixed with Haldeman's Forever Peace.

Also Moon was really good.

I can't actually remember any other movies I saw this year that I enjoyed. (Oh, Up. That was cute.)

Then there's the televisions.

jwz

06:43 pm - When FFWD isn't F enough

I wish there was Mythbusters feed that omitted the interminably long and redundant "coming up next!" and "before the break!" bits. Do they think that people only watch the show accidentally while channel-surfing? I think it's a 20 minute show that they pad to an hour. (Ok, 42 minutes plus commercials.)

jwz

05:07 pm - dnalounge update

DNA Lounge update, wherein the War on Fun continues apace.

jwz

03:59 pm - Parts.

badger

10:54 am - calendar update

( weekly update )

badger

09:32 am - daily scorpion

( blue )

05:00 am - Academia vs. Business

http://xkcd.com/664/

alchemist

09:19 pm - Tuesday Ramblings

First things first : I hate coder’s block[1]. And I have it. So instead of sitting and staring at reams of source, I’m writing here. If for no other reason than to feel productive.

A lesson I’m learning from UrsulaV I suppose.

So what else is kicking around in my head tonight?

On being the Dungeon Master
I touched off a minor tempest in a teapot in the comments over here. I’m not going to argue wether what I did as a DM was a dick move or not[2] - what I am going to mention is that running an adventure is just as difficult, challenging, and FUN as I remembered it to be. And play-testing this particular module for a friend is going to get him some interesting feedback on certain challenges and encounters when I have the chance to write them up, because it seems that the whole group are those players - you know the kind, the ones that, despite the best efforts of the DM, are going to find the solution that just throws everything off track[3]. And I’m re-learning how to be flexible in the face of adversity, and sometimes the on-the-spot solution isn’t always the best way to handle things, but it is the course that keeps the game on-track, from a story perspective. Which is, sadly, one of the constraints of running someone else’s story - the options, you see, are somewhat limited. But I’ll adapt, and adjust, and get better at it, and tweak out the story so that maybe the next DM to run this one can learn from my mistakes and fumbles.

But hey, they survived, I made sure it was worth their while (both in XP and swag), and next session will be even more fun. Promise.

The new office rocks
My “man cave” - that is, new office - is just the space I want it to be. Needs more bookshelves, and more art, but it’s comfy, the cats like it, and I’m VERY happy with how it’s coming together. Plus it’s nice to have a networked printer again, and a low-end machine[4] to do nothing but stream internet radio and iTunes.

Convention prep!
Midwest Furfest approaches, and Ursula and I will be flying up to Chicago day after tomorrow. I’m excited, because I love meeting her fans, hanging with the other artists & artists’ keepers[5], and in generally being the outgoing person I turn into when I’m doing a public appearance of any sort. So, if you’re going to be there, stop by and say “Hi!”

So that’s it for tonight. I’m going back to staring uselessly at VBScript and banging my head against the wall[6]

Also, I realize it’s a bit of a shock, getting two updates in a week, instead of two updates every few months. Hopefully I can get back into the habit of blogging. Hopefully.

<i>Edit : Fixed a numbering issue with the footnotes…</i>

Notes :
[1] That’s the thing like writer’s block, except for programming.

[2] Oh hell, even I knew it was a dick move when I made it but I did my damnedest to adjust to the situation, and the combat was going to happen at some point ANYWAY, and damn if she didn’t miss that roll by ONE POINT…

[3] And I was warned - oh yes! Warned Strongly! - by Ursula’s former GMs and old gaming groups that she WILL take all your plans, and do just the thing that will make you throw them to the four winds with a “ah well, that’s four hours of prep in the shitter…” and you’ll be laughing the whole way.

[4] read : G3 iMac with OSX 10.4.11 - I need to clone my library to the network storage so it can stream EVERYTHING, and not just internet radio.

[5] She calls me her “sherpa” which isn’t too inaccurate, since I lift the heavy stuff and make sure she gets from point A to point B on time (sorta). Which is the job of the artist’s keeper. So is making sure she remembers to EAT, and gets SOME rest, and doesn’t kill herself doing commissions.

[6] It’s like having the right word JUST THERE in your brain and not being able to find it. Drives me nuts until the damn breaks, and code starts to pour out of me in a flurry and fury of typing…

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.