January 20, 2003

We're Not Rock Stars, But We Play Them On TV: Jen and I went to the Sam's Club this weekend to stock up on 44-lb. bags of cat litter, and while we were there we decided to stroll through the clothing section before checking out. (And before you snicker, let it be known that we found her a beautiful, comfortable and inexpensive suede coat at Sam's last year.) My eyes immediately went to a simple black leather jacket which looked to be cut the right way. Jen tried it on, and it looked too damn sexy to pass up, so we bought it. (It's also "smoother than a spanked baby's bottom", as my Uncle Brian would say.) Sunday we hit the Target to look for a new couch cover, and while Jen tried on some clothes there I found a suede jacket marked down three times to $40 from $100. For the total cost of $100, we are now both rockstars. | link

January 17, 2003

building3, 3dmax, 1.17

Yesterday I heard from two old friends of mine, Logan and Matt, who are both on the Left Coast. It was good to link back up with both of them. Logan is busy as hell, showing all over L.A. and supporting himself solely on his artwork. Good for you, Logan. Matt is living the slacker/freelance design lifestyle, trying not to knock himself out, and generally making the East Coast look like an asian sweatshop. Damn you, Matt, damn you to hell! (he can't hear me, he's off snowboarding.)

Ah, yes. From News Of The Weird this morning: "Among the performers at the International Professional Rodeo Association's show at the Hardeeville (S.C.) Speedway in October: Tim Lepard and his sheep-herding dogs (which is not so novel, in that dogs are bred to herd sheep in some countries, but Lepard's three dogs are ridden during the herding by small, screaming monkeys). Said Lepard, "I wanted to put an act together that people will always remember." [Carolina Morning News, 10-25-02 ]"

Note to self: Monkeys are always funny.

Today's music selection is Dirty Vegas, the folks responsible for that catchy beat behind the Mitsubishi commercial. | link

January 16, 2003

building2, 3dmax, 1.16

That Sucks. Looks like MightyGirl is out of a job. She is one of the better writers I've found online, so I hope she finds something good and fast.

Todd came by and dropped a book on my desk this morning: Baltimore: Then and Now, which is a pictoral history of the city in landscape format, where archive and historical photos of the city are updated with current pictures of the same location. A paragraph of text accompanies each photo, adding a wealth of historical information to each pair. Fascinating reading, and well executed. There are other books which cover the same territory (I remember a thicker book featuring a chapter on my old neighborhood and another on my current one) but this is a great view into some interesting features of the downtown skyline—the Bromo Seltzer Tower, the Hippodrome, and pre-1904 fire Pratt Street.

I'm currently listening to the Old 97's Too Far To Care. Thank you again, Todd.

This afternoon I found a link off to a very interesting design brief from Matt based on his redesign of the BBC site. You can find it here.

Breakthrough. After a long, long time wandering the desert, I've found my way back. I've been constructing buildings for a game for the past month or so, and while the learning curve was steep, it's getting very easy to work in this program. I can think of something I want to do and make it happen, which is a long way from my attempts last year (see the August 2001 log.) Slowly my skill increases, and I learn new things every day. I'm at the point now where I've exported three seperate building designs and composited one—and Pete has one set working (mostly) in the building editor. Thanks to all the folks who've helped me so far (and read this page). It feels good to be excited about work again. | link

January 15 2003

building, 3dmax, 1.15

Underworld's Everything, Everything is currently spinning in the ol' headphones. I'm creating a mixed-use building facade in Max, and it's very, very cold in this corner of the office. It's actually hard to type because the tips of my fingers are cold.

I've been trying to figure out what the best low-cost solution for a home server is. I think, for the peace-of-mind, I'm going to ditch all the old SCSI-era Macs in the basement and find a used iMac to serve from. I need to have something that can tunnel through the firewall, serve AFS volumes and also be available inside the house for MP3 consolidation, backup, and mail services. I've been scouring Ebay and other sites, but the common pricepoint is usually around $500. I'll have to just keep looking.

Ona related note, people, make damn sure you zero-format those drives before you pull them.

Behind the Curve. OK, so it's been out for a while, but A Rush Of Blood To The Head by Coldplay is a beautiful album.

I've been thinking that there hasn't been a whole lot of photography on this site since, well... last fall, really. I still have the camera, and I still take snapshots, but right now, in Baltimore, there's not a whole lot to take pictures of between my office and house that I haven't already shot. I realize I have to get out and explore more, but lately there's been this cold front sweeping through the area and I just don't want to get out of the damn car.

3:45 3DSmax is a buggy piece of crap that crashes as much as Quark used to back in the day. | link

January 14, 2003

Well, leave it to the morons at C|Net to get the story wrong. In a huge headline titled "Apple Snub Stings Mozilla", Some hack took a quote way out of context and claimed it was Apple bad-mouthing Mozilla. Read some history, Scooter. Zawinski hasn't worked for Mozilla in years and called the code a "bloated mess." Every ironic word in his post condoned Apple's choice of KHTML over Mozilla; there's a reason he quit the project. Shit, the guys running the project admit it's huge and overwritten. Apple wanted a small, agile browser, and they chose elegance and size over the blunt-force approach. Go figure...

Blue Screen of Death. That's the second time. I thought Win2000 was better than this?

When it rains.... We have a go on two major freelance jobs, as of about an hour of each other on the same day. It will be good to sink my teeth into some work again... I'm looking forward to a challenge. | link

January 13, 2003

I've been reading with interest some of the discussion among the Mozilla literati about Safari, its advantages, disadvantages, and how it affects the Mozilla project. Interesting, to say the least, because some of these guys I've heard of for years.

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy. Nate let me borrow his copy of Buckaroo Banzai, which when it was released was the most bizarre, original, and entertaining movies I had ever seen. I taped it off HBO and re-watched it a number of times, but this was the first I've ever seen it widescreen, with any more information besides what was on the tape. Looking around IMDB, i found out that the director also wrote the screenplay for another favorite goofy movie of mine, Big Trouble In Little China (based on the intended sequel for BB, ...Against the World Crime League), and later, Home for The Holidays (set in Baltimore.) The DVD is fun and provides a lot of insight into the making of the movie, but stubbornly holds on to one conceit: the commentary by the writer and director blather on about the title character as if he actually exists—I'd much rather hear about the making of the movie and all the silly stories behind the scenes. There is so much within this movie to see; I'd love to hear from the property master and his stories about how the sets were created. I'd also love to hear from some of the actors about filming it. Other than that, the disc has plenty of good stuff, as well as a very clean transfer—it's worlds better than the muddy VHS copy I made in 1986. | link

January 10, 2003

Love is: Staying up until 2am to proofread for your baby. | link

January 9 2003

I drove the Scout in to work today. I had a big smile on my face.

Leave it to the smarter folks in the world to show me how shortsighted I can be. Scanning over Kottke this morning I found he had posted a very good question: Why not have Sherlock, the Help Guide, and all the other HTML-based applications integrated into Safari? A very good point, and as someone who hates multiple open windows clogging the screen all the time, I wish I had thought of the question myself.

Obsessive-Compulsive dept. With each break that I take, I'm going through iTunes and cleaning up all the metadata for each song file in the catalog. Amazon's computers must think I'm the cheapest, most schizophrenic surfer imaginable, because I query their database to fill in the blanks I don't know for each song. I do know this: when that iPod comes, I'm going to be ready for it.

The dash light is telling me something. There are a total of four gauges on the Scout besides the speedometer. Two of them spend a total of about ten minutes a month actually lit and working— the other 432,190 minutes they remain dark, hiding just how rapidly the engine is inhaling gasoline. Which is probably a good thing. Now, I don't drive the Scout all the time, mostly because of the mileage issues, but when I do turn the key on the mornings I drive her to work, she fires up reliably each time. I have noticed a phenomena in the last few months which lead me to believe she's telling me something. This evening I pulled out of the parking lot at work and leaned off to the left to see how much gas I had by the weak light from the streetlamps. Somewhere between gassing up and merging onto the beltway, I looked down and noticed that the lights were back on. This is not the first time it's happened, and I think it's my truck's way of asking me to not give up on her.

The 'Joe Millionaire' guy from TV so needs to get punched in the face. Repeatedly. | link

January 8, 2003

I'm listening to a bunch of interesting new (to me) music these past couple of days: Sigur Ros, Low, and The Beta Band. Todd also brought in a copy of Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, which I haven't heard in a looooong time. Good to git some old punk on for sure.

Tonight I was able to use the compound miter saw my sister gave me for Christmas for the first time to build the first of many picture frames I have planned. Oh, Mother of God, it is a holy thing. The cuts are clean, sharp, and precise. The angles are exact, the feel is solid. There is something trancendent about working with wood and tools after staring at a computer all day... I did some basic sanding, then put all four sections in the jig, glued and sanded them. The frame went together like a fresh jigsaw puzzle. Apart from some poor planning (the cuts I made in the sides to fit the glass are much too shallow), the frame is perfect. Thank you, Renie.

I got in touch with an old friend from high school last night, the guy whose floor I slept on probably more than my own (he lived much closer to town than I did.) He's doing great, is engaged to marry this year, and is teaching a variety of music classes at my old school. I have to admit, I don't know what surprised me more— the fact that he's getting married or that my school installed a recording and mixing studio. | link

January 7, 2003

How do you explain to a client how much your services are worth? How do you explain this to someone who is used to bargaining with vendors over the price of their commodities? How do you explain to this person that your services are not the same as fluctuating commodity pricing? How do you explain that when they tell you they have checked with someone else who is willing to do something for half what you've quoted, you want to hang up on them? How do you keep a straight face and explain your methods, service and approach after being told that it's too expensive (and you're already taking a loss on the job?)

I downloaded and am using Safari, the new Apple web browser, and I have a few comments so far. The first is that it's fast. Much faster than IE on OSX, Mozilla, or even Chimera. The second is that I love the integrated Google search field. For a person who spends as much time on Google as I do, this is invaluable. I also love the approach to bookmarks- just like iTunes, and very well designed. For a UI design department that in recent years has gotten a bit fluffy and unfocused (the original iTunes UI comes to mind—remember the annoying volume spinner?) their use of space is much more refined. There are no huge useless buttons with redundant text, the bookmarks are small and the layout is intuitive. Nice job, Apple. | link

January 6, 2003

Last night I signed up for Apple's .Mac free trial period, having made the decision to migrate completely over to OSX this year. I've been interested in iCal and iDisk for a while, wondering how they worked—I like the idea of being able to publish a calendar online to keep track of scheduling between Jen and myself, and also having a secure external file server for client work. My first impressions are a lot like my impressions of OSX—powerful, but not friendly. The metaphor for .Mac's home is poor at best; I signed up with my own email address but I haven't gotten a confirmation or any other instructions; I don't know if I have a 'home page' or not, and I don't know how to find my published calendar.

I know that I haven't delved deeply enough into the service yet, but usually I can spend about a half hour in front of an application and figure out at least how it works, if not how to use it. Last night I spent about an hour trying to make sense of the .Mac site and metaphor and it still doesn't make sense. I'll report on my experience more in the future. | link

January 5, 2003

lakewood ave, 1.5

We are snowed in yet again. There's about 4" down on the ground right now, and the sky is that peculiar reddish-gray which accompanies snow in the city. The trees outside the window are draped with blankets, my neighbor is shoveling our walk and the street is free from traffic—the only sounds come from people quietly calling out to each other as they walk to and from the store. For a brief moment in time, the city is a peaceful place to be. | link

January 3 2003

So if I buy a Jetta, as discussed yesterday, my insurance rates will rise by about $400 a year. If I buy a Forester, they will raise by $300 a year. I priced out the TDI Jetta against the regular 4-cylinder model, and it's only about $15 cheaper, which is funny, because the diesel has a whopping 90 horsepower vs. the 115 for the base 4-cylinder gas model.

Assuming I drive about 16,500 miles a year (averaged from the last 3 years on the Taurus), if I was to believe the mileage ratings provided by Volkswagen and Subaru, here's the breakdown on gasoline costs (estimated.)

20 mpg gas engine	835 Gallons	X $1.50/gal	= $1252.50/yr.	+ Ins. $224/yr.	= Gas/Ins. $220/mo.
40 mpg diesel engine	417 Gallons	X $1.40/gal	= $584.50/yr.	+ Ins. $209/yr.	= Gas/Ins. $158/mo.

Providing I could actually get an interest rate of 3.9%, the monthly payment estimate on a loan of $12,000 is around $236 for a five-year loan. A four year loan is $290. At 4.9, the prices increase by about $5 across the board.

I have the break from Ghostwriter, one of the RJD2 tunes on the album mentioned yesterday, going through my head today.

Wow. The memory I ordered yesterday from Crucial arrived, via free shipping, this afternoon. That's good service. | link

January 2, 2003

I am totally jamming on a new CD recommended by Pitchfork Media, by Rjd2, called Dead Ringer. Very, very good stuff—the reviewer caught my attention with this summary: "The Private Press may have given us what DJ Shadow needed to give us, but Rjd2 gave us what we wanted."

Christmas was a very enjoyable one this year. Lots of goodies given and recieved; lots of good cheer and quiet family time as well. You'll notice I had my laptop with me over the break, and I took some time to re-organize my navigation on the left there.

Strange Offerings From Amazon.com Dept.:
"Customers who wear clothes also shop for: Clean Underwear from Amazon's Target Store."

I ordered 16MB of RAM for the Laserwriter this morning. I think, if I remember correctly, that the resolution increses as you add memory to the machine- we'll find out when it gets here. I also read with interest that Apple has discontinued making the 15" flat-panel iMac as of last october, and reports claim that they will discontinue manufacturing the 17" model this summer. Strange. I was hoping that I could afford one of these iMacs this year (along with a pony, a rocketship, and a retirement fund) so it will be interesting to see what happens next...?

In other consumer news, I'm now actively looking for a replacement for the Tortoise. The early front-runners, based on market research done through Consumer Reports, are the VW Jetta and the Subaru Forester. Right now, due to availability and price considerations, the VW is ahead by a nose. But the desire is leaning towards the Forester. Does anybody have good/bad stories about either? I'd love to hear them. | link

January 1, 2003

aurora, 12.28

I have a few thoughts about Trading Spaces, the show on TLC about neighbors who trade houses and redecorate a room simultaneously with the help of bitchy interior designers.

Anyone who signs up for this show is a moron. Every decent piece of furniture you own will be destroyed. Anything you specifically request will be ignored and anything you detest will be exploited. Your room will be painted in some single hideous color.

This show is a great barometer for how your neighbors feel about you. They will ask you to appear on the show because they hate you and they want to help destroy your house.

There is life after college for annoying sorority girls. They become hosts/designers on shows like this. | link

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