May 1, 2008
isn't goldilocks the one that gets eaten by a wolf?

today, clinton likened herself to a fairy tale character, but most coverage i've seen hasn't picked up on this gem:

guess what? we are going to expect you to move toward higher gas mileage cars. we just don't have enough of them that are affordable enough for everybody to be able to do it right now.

i liken that to something from a fairy tale. the internet has my back on this one:

i know this is not a fully scientific survey, but it clearly shows that, in fact, the opposite of what clinton says is true: fuel-efficient cars are more affordable than gas guzzlers. i don't know exactly what it means for the Yaris to be over twenty times more fuel-cost efficient as the M6, but fortunately that's not something clinton wants you to be concerned about "right now."

the only way to reduce america's financial burden of oil is to stop needing it. what does a gallon of whale oil cost these days? the answer is nobody cares. the sooner politicians stop trying to win votes by making people think it's still ok for them to drive cars everywhere, the sooner, well, i don't even know what. but it will be a good thing.

at any rate, perhaps in a couple of weeks the mainstream media will pick up on this one too, as they finally have with the gas-tax holiday, which i broke long ago.

May 2, 2008
the end of a week

just before they closed for the day, i managed to pick up a nike+ sportsband from marathon sports. i am excited about taking my running ocd to a new level.

today's shields and brooks had some great comments by mark shields, about obama's steadfast opposition to the gas tax holi-gate:

What Obama ought to do is say: This is the worst of Washington politics. This is what it is. This is bait-and-switch. This is Washington politics at its cheapest. They really think you're dumb. They think you're so dumb that they can buy you off.

...

And he ought to do it just on the basis and tie it -- this is the same kind of politics that had a "Mission Accomplished" sign up five years ago, that said there were weapons of mass destruction. That's what's wrong.

And I'm telling you what you don't want to hear. You want someone that tells you what you want to hear? You've got McCain, and you've got Clinton.

i haven't really gotten into the new portishead yet. i am a big fan of the vinyl+usb dongle distribution method.

May 3, 2008
saturdays are a waste

probably the highlight of today was buying a half gallon of milk that came in a glass bottle. their farm - or at least corporate headquarters - is 18 miles away from my house, which, coincidentally, how far i am to run tomorrow. there is a $1.50 bottle deposit for the milk, which is already half gone. it was good.

number two would probably be just about memorizing the 24-bar chord progression for the song i've been working on with my guitar teacher. i am also trying to figure out the keyboard part, which is maybe a little more fun.

btw i recommend the following abp filter if you are going to browse songmeanings.net:

songmeanings.net#DIV(style=font-size: 13px; text-align: center;)

May 4, 2008
sundays are for life

i had a good run, despite the claims by my wildly inaccurate nike+ to the contrary.

May 6, 2008
how i spent my day

i am going to provide a link in the next paragraph, and you should not click it. i am not even kidding. do not click it.

i spent almost all day watching videos on youtube of cats making other cats. the plots in most of these videos are the same: it starts out with one cat, and by the end of the film, there are between two and four cats, the newer ones being much smaller and grosser than the original. what sets the one above apart from the others, though, is the special effects. the sound crew did an excellent job, and it's nearly impossible to tell which bits are CGI. well done.

after watching nearly three dozen "related" videos, i simply don't understand how someone could continue to believe in god. i mean, those videos are really gross. what is up with that?

today was hill day, and i am going to feel it tomorrow. my nike+ was almost calibrated, but then it uncalibrated itself, thanks. also, thanks for making your whole website flash, so that firefox can't remember the password for me. i just have keychain generate my passwords, so i have to go and look it up every time i want to see your site tell me about how my sub-7:30 miles on sunday were done above 10:00 pace.

clinton has been hitting the eye-wincing rhetoric with both guns blazing lately:

We're going to hit some of those balls out of this stadium and out of our country stadium. ... We're going to round the bases, we're going to score a lot of runs and we're going to feel really good about the home team, namely the American team, the team we're all a part of!

i haven't the slightest clue what exactly a "country stadium" is, but i'm sure some of my friends might suggest that the "balls" she is referring to are things like "fiscal responsibility" and "military restraint". at least that's how they might put it in mixed company.

If you want to move forward you put it in D. If you want to move back you put it in R.

this is the stupidest thing i've ever heard. i wouldn't normally let this bother me, except somehow cbs is still america's most watched network? i don't understand people at all.

but this worst is this:

The Terrible Towel is clearly part the team - "I will wave it as we go across that goal line for a better America in January 2009," Clinton told the diners in Pittsburgh.

with this quote, not only has she become dead to me and almost everyone i've ever met, but if for whatever reason she manages to steal the nomination, she's given mccain an ad he probably only has to run twice to win ohio in a landslide on his way to the presidency. also, i haven't been able to find any photos from this event, but i suspect there may be a giant PANDERING ACCOMPLISHED banner hanging behind her.

when i saw obama speak here in boston back in october, one thing that impressed me was the fact that, although he did congratulate the city on the recent world series victory by the red sox, he said that he was actually a white sox fan, and that he wouldn't pretend to be a red sox fan just because he was in boston. and, for once, red sox fans took the "classy" road and nobody tried to run him over with their car (do not click the "[ + ] Enlarge" link there).

i can't wait until this election is over so i can go back to writing about my dreams again. i had a good one last night.

May 13, 2008
check out my new chainsaw and hockey mask

i just found two envelopes in my mailbox:

Jacob, You've Been Drafted!

it was for some cleveland browns credit card offer tie-in with the football draft.

This summer is going to be murder at WGBH.

i guess they're doing a new season of some mystery show this summer.

today's run was 10x800s at the track:

1. 3:12
2. 3:14
3. 3:18
4. 3:13
5. 3:18
6. 3:20
7. 3:15
8. 3:11
9. 3:13
10. 3:10

it was windy.

May 13, 2008
there will be nightmares

for some stupid reason i just watched this horrific show about people dying on everest, and now i am going to bed. at least the wind here has settled down.

May 14, 2008
a beautiful day in brookline

my neighborhood is just so beautiful in the spring, it's amazing.

despite my nike+'s most accurate run to date, today i exchanged it for some socks (size "12", i think). it's simply too inaccurate, and secondly doesn't provide access to enough of that inaccurate data for me to obsess over. i guess i don't really care enough to get a gps-based device, so it's back to google maps + my trusty ironman watch(es).

sunday is 20, which i love because i get to run to mile 13 on the marathon course, which is in a little commercial district in wellesley. my entire route is streetviewable, except, annoyingly, when using that link? also i haven't run this far in about six months, right around when everything started hurting and i took two months off. so it's exciting, and makes me hungry for pasta, bananas, and going to bed before 10.

May 18, 2008
fresh squeezed

nothing says "SUNDAY MORNING!" quite like that first packet of orange flavored goo.

May 21, 2008
free range

on my way out of the office today, i noticed a man smoking on a bench. i wish there was something in my life even half as enjoyable and rewarding as that cigarette appeared to be.

May 21, 2008
take me

my cd shelf sucks, so at about 5:20, i put it outside by the sidewalk with a piece of paper with TAKE ME written on it. at about 5:45 i left for my guitar lesson, and it was still there. but when i got back from my lesson, around 7:10, it was gone. success.

another thing that was gone was all of my money from my wallet. i didn't find this out until i tried to pay my guitar teacher. it was quite embarrassing, but he had no problem with me paying him next week.

but where did my money go? i had a bunch at lunch time, did i take it out of my wallet while i was cooking dinner? this didn't make much sense to me, but neither did the alternate scenario of a pickpocket on the T considerate enough to leave me my credit cards and IDs.

well it turns out my grandboss thought it would be funny to steal take my money. she claims i was watching her do this, but i have no recollection of this event, and it seems like the sort of thing i'd pick up on.

this is even after the last time she was here, when i risked stress fractures in both shins trying to return her wallet to her before she got into a taxi going to the airport. the kindness of strangers, indeed.

sounds like it's time to elevate this.

May 22, 2008
come on, now

we wouldn't want anything i posted in 2004 leaked to the internets. that would just be rude.

something else strange about my lesson last night. my teacher turned on the metronome while playing some 12-bar jazz blues, but instead of it counting out all four beats, he was using it only on 2 and 4. it sure makes sense... but i was just surprised that in all the years of doing percussion and stuff i don't remember doing anything like that before.

during my run this morning i got this song in my head. no idea why.

May 23, 2008
what's your favorite type?

earlier this week i ran out of bananas. so far, i've been too busy+forgetful to replace them. i have paid a price during my runs.

or, if you prefer haiku:

out of bananas
too busy and forgetful
need potassi-yum

May 25, 2008
exhausted in the afternoon

gross old red slippers
no idea when i got them
they're in the trash now

May 29, 2008
books are for nerds anyway

earlier this week i broke down and ordered a kindle. i'd like to think it wasn't due to my economic stimulus check; i also got an amazon gift cert in the mail that day, and besides, i've got a bunch of travel coming up and i have been meaning to catch up on my walt whitman.

anyway today it arrived with little fanfare. most of my favorite books aren't on there, which is ok since i've already read them, but that's the majority of books i'd be interested in reading right now. anyway it looks ok and it's not going to change my life or anything, but here are two actual complaints about the device:

1. you can't apply gift certs from the device

i was on my way back from the coinstar (woo! $32.24!) and was all set to order a 99 cent version of leaves of grass, but i had to wait until i got home.

2. it took me all of five minutes to get a poop stain on it

with normal analog books you can just rip out the offending page(s), but now with the stupid kindle i have to stop at the post office on my way to work tomorrow, and then wait for a replacement to arrive. "future of book reading" my ass.

May 30, 2008
major life changes vol. I

i don't know how else to put this. today is my last day at novell.

while there is a sense of disappointment -- that we didn't finish hula, despite the the all-star team, that there isn't much left of what i came to boston for, almost eight and one-half years ago, and the whole microsoft thing -- i've also recently had a sense of accomplishment, too. or something.

the other day i was going through some old emails from when i was applying to jobs after CFS, and was really surprised with how much more knowledgeable and confident in my abilities as a programmer has increased since before i started at novell. i am not exactly sure how this happened, but it has put a sort of silver lining on the post-hula cloud.

i will miss the stimulating discourse with my coworkers:

i have some more paperwork to fill out and then it's off to legal's for one last team meal. then i will destroy chris at ping pong.

May 31, 2008
major life changes vol. II

Boston -> Shannon

today is my last day in boston! tonight i'm flying over to europe to spend two weeks reading, relaxing, eating, riding trains, and taking in a couple of radiohead shows. then, i start my new life in a new city (and for the first time in a new time zone).

i am going to try to avoid as much of the internet as possible, and this will almost definitely include email (what little i get of it, anyway). i will be writing internets but probably won't post until i return. HOORAY!!

today is almost a perfect microcosm of how poorly concieved this whole trip is. i woke up early today to get in my twenty-two mile run, mere hours before i board for a six-hour flight. the return trip is even dumber.

hopefully it will be a little fun, although it's a little daunting to think i'll be going two weeks before i see anyone i know.

cheers!