Webcrumbs

Webcrumbs Re-redux

Fri, 29 Nov 2002 03:53:33 GMT

I'm playing with movable type. For the time being, check there for new entries until I make up my mind...

New Scientist: Frequent Sex May Reduce Pregnancy Complications

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 05:45:10 GMT

I sure hope my wife reads this.

Today's dive into mark...

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 03:21:46 GMT

...is absolutely hysterical. I haven't laughed out loud at something like this since... uh... the last time I did. Anyway, well worth your time to read it.

"I got you!"

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 05:55:29 GMT

One final entry before I head to sleep. A quick little video of Jack playing in the leaves at the zoo today.

Fall Foliage Redux

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 05:50:31 GMT

I realized that there were five pictures I left off of my photo album of our fall foliage drive a few weeks back. The sunset was stunning. Go see for yourself. It's the last 5 pictures on the page. I can't wait until we get the pictures from the actual camera developed...

Trip to the National Zoo

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 05:20:10 GMT

When we took Jack to the National Zoo in July, he still could barely talk and he only cared about water. Excuse me, "wa wa." We have all this video footage that goes something like this: [Elephant walks by] Mom: Jack! Look at that elephant! Jack: Wa wa! [Giraffe pokes his yead up] Dad: Jack! Look! It's a giraffe! Jack: Wa wa! Today, he got really into the animals and had a great time. This picture is Jack's reaction to seeing elephants. He was so happy he hugged Ann.

You thought OtterCam was good, this is better...

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 05:17:21 GMT

I'd never seen otters in person before. They have to be, hands down, one of the funniest animals I've ever seen. They are so expressive and get right up and in your face. Literally.
This one kept opening and closing his mouth. Maybe he was trying to say something?

Do Police Breed in Captivity?

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 05:14:57 GMT

This is a small part of the map at the National Zoo. I love that there's finally a zoo where you can go watch Police. There's probably some sign saying not to toss donuts into the exhibit. There's also a bat cave joke here somewhere. Can't quite find it right now...

La Bonne Soupe

Sat, 23 Nov 2002 04:44:36 GMT

Ahhhh... I can't wait...

Poetic toast to 2002 Beaujolais Nouveau

Sat, 23 Nov 2002 04:39:06 GMT

And so it is time for our annual pilgrammage to La Bonne Souppe in Manhattan for fondue and Beaujolais Nouveau. This isn't a tradition we started or even tried to perpetuate. We just noticed the other day that we've always managed to go there at this time of year and that we just happened to be planning a trip up next weekend (after Thanksgiving)...

Weblog Systems

Sat, 23 Nov 2002 04:35:23 GMT

Blogroots has a good collection of blog systems and allows for reader reviews. I'm looking forward to more reviews appearing as I am seriously contemplating going from Radio Userland to Movable Type in the near future.

Did quark matter strike Earth?

Sat, 23 Nov 2002 04:25:58 GMT

Weird and somewhat creepy. This reminds me of an old James P. Hogan sci fi novel, Thrice Upon a Time, which has always been one of my favorites. In it, a new fusion reactor is brought online for testing and accidentally creates millions of tiny "quantum" black holes. They fell through the earth and shoot out the other side. Then fall back in again and go back through, over and over losing momentum the way a pendulum would. Meanwhile the Earth is turning so the mischief caused by these things is impressive. How they deal with this I will not reveal except to say that the title has something to do with it. Hogan's not the best writer by any stretch, but his ideas are quite fun.

Squeeeeek No More

Fri, 22 Nov 2002 12:20:44 GMT

Here's the kit I need. Hopefully I can find this in a local store (Home Depot or other) so I don't have to buy it online and wait the shipping time. The culprit is our bedroom floor. It's a large area and it's noisy. And we're always tiptoeing around it so as to not wake Jack up.

Fixing a Squeaky Floor

Fri, 22 Nov 2002 11:59:17 GMT

This is my weekend project. If I can find the kit I need. Lowes didn't have it for some strange reason. Home Depot! Here I come! (There are times when I just love being a homeowner -- when really big shit happens and I start dumping scads of money into something, I'm sure I'll feel differently).

Hoax Photo Test

Fri, 22 Nov 2002 04:43:16 GMT

I was 10 for 10 on level 1 but only 6 for 10 on level 2.

Mac OS X for Unix Geeks

Fri, 22 Nov 2002 03:55:36 GMT

Also on my reading list. Maybe not intellectual as the others listed below, but no less fun for me :)

Plumb Design Visual Thesaurus

Fri, 22 Nov 2002 03:51:14 GMT

This is the most beautiful java applet I've ever seen. Make sure you put it into auto-pilot mode (via the display options menu in the top of the window). Just incredible.

Someone is trying to tell me something...

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 04:40:01 GMT

About a year ago, I got a song stuck in my head.

I am Don Quixhote! The Lord of La Mancha!

I had to get the soundtrack for the movie of Man of La Mancha and listen to it. A lot. Then I had to get a copy of Don Quixhote. But then I got busy and I never read past the first 40 or so pages. At the end of February, we moved into our new house and I began my new commute taking a bus to the metro to work. It's 45-60 minutes each way. I began reading again in earnest. First, I worked my way through many David Brin novels (including all six books in the Uplift series, which are truly excellent science fiction) and then some other books, none of which I can recall at the moment. Then I grabbed Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis off the shelf. This sucked me completely in to the Revolutionary War time and I soon picked up Ellis' book on Jefferson, American Sphinx and then McCullough's book on John Adams. Among the meany things that struck me (aside from the fact that I have a very different and more negative opinion of Jefferson than I did going in to them) was how prominent Don Quixhote was. Jefferson spoke about reading the novel and discussed it often with, among other people, John Adams. Adams himself writes to Jefferson how he'd reread it on one of his trips across the Atlantic. Now I'm just finishing H. W. Brands' book, The First American, about Benjamin Franklin. And after repeated descriptions of various situations as being quixotic and at least one further reference to Cervantes, I realized that someone is trying to tell me something. So, gods help me, it looks like I'll soon be diving into Don Quixhote. We'll see how I do. Given that I know of only one other person who actually read and finished Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's The Illuminatus Trilogy I think I am up to the task of a monolithic book. If nothing else, it will make a hell of a lot more sense than Illuminatus ever did. Though, I do have one more history book on the shelf waiting for me, Reelecting Lincoln, which I should probably get to to keep with the American History theme...

The Onion A.V. Club Interview with Wil Wheaton

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 04:26:44 GMT

Good interview. Wil Wheaton is one of those people who really seem to have their head screwed on pretty damn well. One thing's certain: we'll never push Jack to be a child actor. Heck, we want to keep him all to ourselves!

Mr. Resident

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 04:06:38 GMT

Al Gore is finally talking. I remember being very on the fence about him before the 2000 election. But then I read an interview with him in Rolling Stone and I realized that he was a truly smart person who really understood what was going on in the world. I realized that he just had a terrible image problem and he wasn't helping himself by trying on different faces during the debates. I felt confident that he would be an excellent president. And then he lost. And as time wore on, I got angry and blamed him for a mismanaged campaign. That later grew into a feeling that he wasn't good enough for the job and didn't deserve it. Now, reading another interview with him, I'm realizing that my first instinct was right. Here is a smart person who would make a good President. Heck, the democrats need to find somebody who they can stand up after all of this mess. Can anyone name anyone better?