I've (stupidly) started playing World of Warcraft recently. They hooked me with the free trial. I've devoted at least 24 hours to it over the last two weeks, which have been otherwise filled with the stress and agony that being a grown-up entails. The thing is, it's not even that fun, compared to reading blogs or cooking (which are my favored tools of procrastination). I don't really enjoy violence in video-games (it's more fun when B and I play cooperatively). But WoW is maximally escapist; there's no real down-time in a MMORPG, so my brain never has a chance to interrupt and remind me of looming deadlines. It feels so good to have a real break from that. Plus, I love watching my dwarf girl wiggle her way into battle.



I suspect it's going to be a GPA killer, but it might also keep me from perpetuating any real-world violence.

In other internet news, I've started using Google Voice, which transcribes my voice-mails and texts them to me. This is super convenient, except when it comes to messages from my father, who has a thick Russian accent.

Recent messages from him, as transcribed by Google Voice:

"What he at Bosco it. What Your that there was no little credit, well then he has somebody and budnut most with this is ginger each of the pool or Martin wood bad light was just a moment. I'll talk to you okay."

"Bo, or you got that moments. Yeah, cheese, Jeff bridges and I will do. Brokerage it what it had to do if I could come over there a book without the You. I'll Talk to you will give me a quotation of as well, so if you need dot. Hey Steph of the business, all which."

I think the variety in transcription is especially interesting, since all my father's messages follow the same script.

Seriously Mr. President, find yourself a protocol officer already. At least you didn't give him an iPod and incompatible videos of E.T..


Source: Americanthinker.com


via Drudgereport.com

For some reason Her Majesty didn't rate


At least he hasn't tried to give the Chancellor a backrub. Yet.

The Rules:
1. Write your username.
2. Write your 2 favorite bands/groups of the moment.
3. Write something you ♥, aka lemme see your heart.
4. Write the name of your favorite person of all time.
5. Write the name of your recent favored person.
6. Tag 6 people to do this meme.

( So here is my writing. )

Compared to the state of the art, Firefox 3.5 moves at the speed of slow molasses (while IE was brought into the world stillborn). I really really like the Chromium developer builds, and the plugins being developed for it are really top-flight in these early days where the average Microsoft developer probably isn't bright enough to figure out how to even turn plugins on. Adblock+ on Chrome is a true gem, the level of customization you can do with your whole web experience revolutionary. And dear me is it fast. With Google Gears built in it won't be long that we'll be seeing heavy client apps in the web browser, and it might even make sense to do so.

Ah but Minefield (aka Firefox 3.6). Greasemonkey. Noscript. Adblock Plus (not to be confused with Adblock+). BetterPrivacy. Better GReader. CookieSafe. FacePAD. Xmarks. CustomizeGoogle. These are things which I will not do without, the little things that save time in my day. I've a notion that Google's open source initiatives will forever occupy the same niches as Linuxland. Superlative performance. Bleeding edge. Excellent for anything that doesn't require a lot of support. But at the end of the day, with its libraries being rewritten in total every couple of years, you'll go back to where your apps are, even if it's slothful and has long ceased to be cool. Dear me, Middle Age hath arrived.

History Repeats Itself,
Coiling down to the future.
When it's one second to twelve,
the hands touch and furrow deeper.


History Repeats Itself
I didn't learn,
I wouldn't listen.
I couldn't see the books were on the shelf
for my concern
I never missed 'em.


Wish I was standing by the shore,
feel the wind blow in my face;
see the waves roll in for an encore,
they take a bow,
they know their place.


I do not I want,
I do not feel.
I've turned inward on my self.
I can't find anything that's real,
but History Repeats Itself.

NEVER feed a Stormie after midnight. They get really big and insist on going to the hockey game with you, and then they threaten anyone who gets close to their "commander."

Fortunately, they shrink down again if you don't feed 'em for another day or two. TK-26 is safely locked back in the takeout box with the others now.

I don't know where he got the gun, though, or what I should do with it....

- worked on the resolution changing system some more (for instance, centering the worldmap display in the center rather than putting it in the top corner when the view size is large)
- made it display the view size changed to when you change to it (right now you can only change to it with a hotkey)
- made it save the view size when you change to it, so that when you restart a game it'll go back to the old size
- started working on adapting text boxes to the different sizes, which is a bit of a challenge because i'm wondering if i should adapt the font size as well, and if so, how many font sizes to have (more sizes slow down startup speed).

Photos from recent weekends: two Philadelphia skylines, one of which is from the highest point in southern New Jersey, Pine Barrens, fall colors, the continuing lack of a South Street bridge, work, cats, and dry-hopping our IPA.

( Read more... )