Where's the Cream Filling?

Roald Dahl vs. Dr. Seus

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:34:00 GMT

A friend asked a question today: "Who would win in a fight between Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl?"

A thought provoking question indeed. My response follows...

"Dr. Seuss would win, hands down. While Dahl's Matilda like characters were fooling around trying to act all proper a Suess character would get all butter-side-down on their candy asses. Seuss was in the army's early version of the psychological warfare unit. He'll mind fuck his enemies to death with bits like Green Eggs and LSD enriched paper. "Are... Read More those eggs Green?", Dahl asked. "No" replied the good doctor as he beat the man to death with a frumpsicle. Besides, Dahl was in the air-force. They're pansies. ::ducks and covers::"

Who do you think would win?

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:38:49 GMT

"Every person's life is theirs by right. An individual's life can and must belong only to himself, not to any society or community, or he is then but a slave... It is treason against mankind to hold a knife to man's throat and dictate how he must live his life. No society can be more important than the individuals who compose it, or else you ascribe supreme importance, not to man, but to any notion that strikes the fancy of that society, at the never-ending cost of lives. Reason and reality are the only means to just laws; mindless wishes, if given sovereignty, become deadly masters."
-Terry Goodkind
Sword of Truth, Book 6: Faith of the Fallen

ShelfReliance

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:34:00 GMT

Clever title. Really clever system.

Shelf Reliance makes a FIFO canned food storage system. It's heavy duty and I really want to pick one up for my place in Queens. Unfortunatly, they're around $500. Thankfully, the nice folks at shelf reliance are giving them away in a contest. This blog entry is a shameless plug for said contest to up my chances of winning the system. Don't let that detract from the fact that it's a great system though. Take a look for yourself. Here's a youtube video with the system.

Random thought of the day....

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:28:54 GMT

Live life, love life, and love will come into your life.
-Me

Ah, the efficiency of the Queens Bureaucracy

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:35:57 GMT

So five years ago my family was fined for having an illegal apartment in our basement. Apparently they thought a tiny sink and stove, usually known as a summer or canning kitchen, made the basement it's own apartment. This was discovered after an inspector forced his way in past my grandmother's caretaker saying they had received complaints... abut what I don't know. We were never allowed to confront our accuser.
Well bottom line was we were fined $1600 and told that we had to restore the basement to it's original condition. Problem was that no one had the plans for the building on file... so how could they have no we changed anything? Well, turns out we never did. The stuff was all original to when the house was built. We appealed. That was 5 years and $1600 ago.
Today we received a notice in the mail saying our appeal was granted and that the violations were removed from the property. Huzzah for efficient government! Wait, where's our check reimbursing us the $1600 with interest? god damnit... here we go again...

Random thought of the day....

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:55:02 GMT

If knowing is half the battle, what's the other half?
Violence...

Alive and in Amsterdam

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:16:11 GMT

But man, the hotel I'm at charges 10 Euro's an hour for net access, or 20 euros for the day. That's way to expensive considering this is a high-end joint and net access really should be free here.
Ah well...

Upstate Todos

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:15:14 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

After walking the property at the cabin and seeing that there is quite a lot to do this year, I figured on making a list to keep things organized and get some input.

The main thrust of this year's activities will center around... the Lumberjack.
You see there was a lot of wind and ice damage this year and there are close to 20 trees that need to come down, get sectioned up, split, and stacked in the wood shed. There is also a huge amount of mulch that was dumped on the property this year by the local road cleaning crew. Free mulch is awesome. Free mulch is heavy and needs to be moved from the middle of the lawn.

So, what to do, in rough order...

~~Purchase some cinder blocks~~ Find some pallets and build compost, leaf mold, and mulch storage bins. Three separate bins in one area.
Get some field stone from the bulldozed walls and create a raised, flat area next to the wood shed to store non-split wood.
Extend the woodshed's roofline a bit further and make bins for kindling.
Use either a brush hog or riding mower to clear a trail wide enough for the truck to get near the downed trees.
Get the chainsaw working on low branches, badly leaning trees, any fallen trees, and the area where the orchard will be planted.
Get all the lumber sectioned up into 1 foot chunks for firewood (seems a shame but I have no room to store whole logs where they won't rot before I use them).
Load said lumber into the truck and dump it next to the wood shed on the new anti-rot pad.
While all this is going on, empty out the wood shed, re-level the floor and ensure good rot protection. Re-stack all the firewood.
Get to splitting. Maybe rent a log splitter since there will be a ton, literally, of splitting to do.
Haul any ~~bodies~~ loose brush to a rented chipper in front of the mulch bin and chip everything.
Mulch around the base of all trimmed trees (really eases mowing issues and promotes moisture and nutrient retention).

There are also some non-lumberjack things to do up at the cabin this year.

Get a survey of the land done. Friend Nick may help with this, but man renting survey equipment is expensive.
Throw out more garbage. It seems there's a never-ending supply of crap up there.
Maybe build an open carport off of the north wall of the garage... Maybe...
Have a BBQ Party with some friends. Stay for a few days eat beef, chop wood, shoot stuff, have good times.
Plant a winter rye cover crop to start soil improvement this year.

Thoughts?

Ain't it the truth...

Fri, 15 May 2009 05:10:51 GMT

"Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain

Thoughts on a Passive Archive

Wed, 13 May 2009 14:59:09 GMT

Image by outoforder2day via Flickr

If you could design a vault/archive to last the ages, how would you do it?
Criteria:

Must be able to hold a large Book/Record/Curio/Gun collection
Must be inexpensive to maintain
Must be secure
Must be able to last for a 2 week length of time without power
Designed for Upstate New York (cold winters, warm summers, medium humidity)

General thoughts:

Passive design elements are critical to 2, 3, and 4
Humidity must be controlled
Stability of temperature seems to be key
Could be attached to or part of an existing structure or complex.

More specifically now:
It would seem that an underground vault would have the advantage of temperature stability, but due to high water tables this is out. That temperature stability could be tapped with a geo-thermal heat-pipe system though. A geo-thermal system like this would require some power to keep the thermal medium flowing in the piping so alternate power becomes desireable. Further, having a large thermal mass to act as a temperature buffer should power systems fail is a solid idea, so the building should be made of thick stone or concrete walls. Now a big question that I still haven't found an answer to; how do you passively control humidity in such a structure? Sure the problem is minimized by temperature stability and reduced airflow in/out of the building, and I suppose you could use desiccants as buffers or run dehumidifiers via alternative energy, but is there a more elegant solution?

Some useful links:
www.getty.edu/conservation/science/climate/paper_toledo.pdf
www.padfield.org/tim/cfys/musdes/musdes.pdf
www.calintec.com/uploads/Passive_Storage.pdf
www.natmus.dk/cons/tp/arnemag/arnemagn1.pdf
www.padfield.org/tim/cfys/ppubs/getty_tenerife_tp2007.pdf
www.library.cornell.edu/librarypreservation/meolda/management/passiveclimatecontrol.html
www.padfield.org/tim/cfys/mm/shiner/shiner.pdf

Quality books

Mon, 04 May 2009 14:50:59 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

I went down to the Strand used bookstore in lower Manhattan yesterday and found a beautiful copy of Thomas Paine's "The Rights of Man" published by Easton Press. What make's this book so nice? Well, Easton is a specialty publisher of fine leather-bound books. Their features include:

Acid-free paper.
Gilded pages
Nicely tooled leather covers with gilded inlays
Fabric endsheets
Satin page markers

Buying from their online store can be very expensive (on the order of $50-90+ per volume) but they're such nice books. The good news is that Strand has quite a few Easton Press books, and several other books of similar quality at more reasonable used prices starting at around $30-40. I plan on picking up one or two a month to help build the great library. Sure they may not be super-rare collectibles since they're published in larger volumes, but they're still wonderful books to have that will last several lifetimes. What can I say, I'm a sucker for leather.

Man-Bear-Pig-Bird Flu... Or Media Driven Mass Hysteria!

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:19:49 GMT

Ok, seriously. What the hell. When did the flu become such a big deal that it becomes all you hear about on the news. When did a microscopic organism, which seems to just make people sick like a regular flu, create such mass hysteria that the folks in MA would let a bill like this pass.

People, seriously, come on! It's a step up from the common cold! You know what we need to do? Cover your mouth when you cough/sneeze. Wash your hands often. Maybe, just maybe, avoid large social events for a week or two. But man, it's not like people are dying left and right here! Yeah, 8 people died of it in Mexico (confirmed swine flu, 176 suspected). I'm sorry for their loss. So far one person has died here, and they had some underlying medical conditions which greatly hastened their passing.

It's great that people are getting prepared and becoming more aware, but from the news stories, you'd think everyone in NYC was coughing up bits of lung and blood. Guess what, we're outside enjoying the nice weather! This pandemic is affecting a small portion of the population and isn't much more of a threat than the common flu.

Pay attention to the budget that just passed the house. Pay attention to the socializing of private companies like Chrysler and the top banks in the country. Pay attention to the real issues of our day. It seems like everyone is watching the media and reacting without thinking. Media wants to sell you news so they can make a profit somewhere from it. They overhype event he simplest things. Give the TV a rest and enjoy the day.

Or, hide in you sanitized bathroom and Phear Man-Bear-Pig-Bird Flu...

The Great Library

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:56:57 GMT

Image via Wikipedia

I have a lot of books...
Even before my father passed away, I probably had around 1000 books of my own and since my dad was also a bibliophile with a collection of around 4000... well, I have a lot of books. The collection is spread out with approximately 1000 in Queens, 4000 in Manhattan, 20 in the office, and 100 or so upstate at the cabin (many of these are getting ruined due to the temp and humidity fluctuations). This collection isn't nearly as large as some that I've seen, but for a private collection it's not bad. The problem is that I have no idea what I have, or where it is.

Allow me to clarify: The collection on 57th is packed at least two books deep on every shelf in the house. Dad kept the books in a roughly categorical order, but there are some books that just defy categorization (like the 1740's era french books... still no idea what they're about). This presents a bunch of problems, not the least of which is locating them. Past that I have thousands of old books, out of print books, books with missing spines, books with no publisher information... I have a lot of books!

Yesterday I was looking for a book and it really dawned on me how many books I have. I looked for an hour for this one book, a fairly recent purchase which should have been near the top, and had no luck locating it. Well, enough is enough! It's time to get this collection under control!

Problem 1: Classification
After looking at several different methods to organize the collection, from the simple alphabetical by author, to custom categories to the Dewey Decimal system, I decided to settle on the Library of Congress Classification System. I've read that the system doesn't make sense for small libraries (under 20k books) but it definitely handles subject-specific libraries better than the others. My collection has a few large sections that are subject specific like computers, electronics, building sciences, etc. LOC will handle that a lot better in the long run. I plan to organize the shelves by major subject heading, then by subheading, then by number for the large subject-specific sections, and finally alphabetical by author.

Problem 2: The Database
After looking around at several options like Readerware, Koha (a full-featured library management system), LibraryThing (web based), I settled on Book Collector. Book Collector supports barcode scanners (more on this later), pulls data from various web sources, supports books without an ISBN, can track loaned books, and has decent support for the LOC and Dewey classification systems. It's not perfect, though. I still have to do a fair amount of manual lookups in the library of congress online database and worldcat, specifically to find the LOC classification. Ah well, now I've got something to do on school nights. To save time on building the database, I picked up the bundled Opticon Laser Scanner. This should let me make short work of at least the more modern books.

Problem 3: Physical Considerations
Books take up space. A lot of books take up a lot of space. Did I mention I have a lot of books? Currently I have less than half as many bookcases as I need, and good bookcases are expensive. Add to that the need for space for said bookcases... It's no wonder the collection is a mess right now. The solution is simple! Cinder Block Shelving...
Or not. I want this to look at least a little classy. Thought about doing glass block shelving as well, but decided against it. My dad built the bookcases where the majority of the collection currently resides, so I'll be doing the same for the rest of it. In the long run, the books will be stored in the back room in the basement of my place in Queens. This room will get wall to wall, floor to ceiling book cases against the walls and will get tracked bookcases in front of those if I need more room. This will be my Great Library and will hold as many books and records as I can cram in there in an organized manner. Oh, did I forget to mention that? I have 15,000 records that need a good home as well... But that's a story for another post.
The final physical consideration is that, since the books will be in a basement that flooded two years back due to a burst pipe... I'll be installing a sump pump and drain plug in the basement sump. If it ever floods again, water will just flow into the New York City sewer system. As for ambient air, a room ionizer/filter/fan to keep the dust down should do the trick. Though my library may never be as cool as that of Jay Walker's, it'll certainly be a nice start.

I... I... What?!?!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:42:54 GMT

I'm kinda shocked by this report from DHS on "Right Wing Extremists"... Certain parts of it trouble me deeply, in fact.
Thoughts anyone?

Edit: Link Fixed. Glad I downloaded it yesterday.

Service fees for accident response? WTF?!?

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:20:52 GMT

So, the bailouts were a good idea, right? What about the huge sums of money that need to be created to pay for it? Well, the tax man has finally started to rear his ugly head.
For your reading pleasure.

A summary: A woman received a bill for $316 from the city after her car was sideswiped and police/fire responded. Other cities and states are coming up with fees that are just as ludicrous. From "streetlight user fees" of $4.25 in Washington to per animal slaughterhouse fees in Wisconsin, fees and taxes are being raised across the board. More locally, New York will be increasing taxes again. Our budget was increased by 9% and we'll be spending all of our federal stimulus money (as some other states and companies are trying desperately to give it back). But, thankfully, members of the public employees union will see a 3% raise this year.

So here we are, blissfully increasing taxes, printing more money, and fucking up the economy more and more with each passing day. How long can this continue? Who knows. Next you'll see higher taxes on retirement income (stuff in 401ks, IRAs, etc.) and there has even been some mention of confiscation of retirement assets over a certain amount (need to be fair after all, everyone should be able to retire at the same level). Thank god we have Social Security to fall back on! Oh wait, it'll be bankrupt by 2010. No worries there, though. I'm sure we'll just increase our current contributions to pay for people already in the system. How is this not a ponzi scheme again?

I'll be at my local Tax Day Tea Party this evening. What's happening "Just Ain't Right". You can't get out of a depression by increasing government spending and passing along the burden through higher taxes.

Nietzsche on Women as Playthings

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:33:11 GMT

A friend sent this over to me and made me chuckle.

The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

I think that means that dating is the most dangerous game.

Happy Twinkie Day!

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:51:30 GMT

Happy Twikie Day everyone! On this date in 1930, god decided to show mercy on the poor, deprived snack food kingdom. He endowed Hostess bakers with the secret of the twinkie, and they have been making them ever since... Go out and buy a twikie today for old times sake.

Indulge your inner child. Enjoy it. Be one with it (the twinkie, not your inner child). Discover the all the secrets of the universe wrapped up in a perfect yellow cake (the main ingredient in the filling is a mystery after all). While you're at it, stock up your bunker for the upcoming zombie apocalypse (or depression, whichever). Think of it as a long term investment in your future!

Gun Control - New York 2009 style

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:27:21 GMT

And so it begins anew. This new amended ban would outlaw my .22lr plinking rifle... That thing barely kills squirrels.
The Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt brigade is out in full force. Easy access to guns? Have they ever tried to buy a gun in New York State? Background checks galore! Want a handgun? Prepare to be reamed, and wait 6 months to a year for your permit. Private party sales (between two people) aren't regulated here or in any other state... they're, ::gasp:: private party sales.

Here's a thought... maybe we should open up The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to everyone? For those of you that don't know the NICS is the system that lets dealers, with a 2-5 minute phone call, find out if someone can legally purchase a gun. Open up this system, require a simple registration for it, and then private party folks could actually check up on their buyers. Novel concept, I know. All the folks that I know who shoot are very conscious about safety, ethics, morals, etc. These folks would love to be able to check on a potential buyer before they sell a firearm, just for the piece of mind.

Here's another thought... Enforce the damned laws we've got, and make sure they're structured to let legal people buy and carry. I don't want psychos running around with guns any more than the next sane person, but that fact is that if you deny individuals the right to protect themselves in this manner, only the criminals will still have access to guns. Criminals don't care about the law.

I'd like to remind people of one thing: If you make a "gun free" zone, only law abiding citizens will listen. All criminals see is the following:

On delusion and paranoia

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:58:43 GMT

This was an interesting post on ZS by a chap named "Broken1".

Paranoia= Chronic mental disorders in which there has been an insidious development of a permanent and unshakable delusional system (persecutory delusions or delusions of jealousy), accompanied by preservation of clear and orderly thinking. Emotional responses and behavior are consistent with the delusional state.

Delusion= A false belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that persists despite the facts, and is not considered tenable by one's associates.

If you are convinced, without fact to support it, that something absolutely will happen then you are delusional, and possibly paranoid. If you are convinced, in spite of fact (I.e. Zombies), that something absolutely will happen then you are delusional, and definitely paranoid. If, in spite of facts, you declare that something is not going to happen, then you fall back into the delusional category. If you acknowledge, based on fact, that something is possible and plan accordingly to limit it's impact, you are neither.

Zombie Con 2009

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:55:51 GMT

Zombie Con 2009 - Wednesday June 17 to Sunday June 21 - Irondale MO
An event of Zombie Squad

I'm going this year! Woohoo!
So, It's a 16 hour drive from NYC according to google maps. Anyone care to carpool to share expenses?

View Larger Map

Items on the agenda are...

Wednesday (6/17/08):
Set up camp
Meet and greet your fellow ZS members
Watch some bad zombie movies

Thursday (6/18/08):
Morning PT
Seminars, presentations and discussion panels
Watch more zombie movies

Friday (6/19/08):
Morning PT
Field trip to a local shooting range (we supply trap device and clay pigeons)
Watch more zombie movies!

Saturday (6/20/08):
Morning PT
Breakfast provided by Zombie Squad
Canoe trip
MRE Lunch provided by Zombie Squad
Dinner provided by Zombie Squad
Watch zombie movies

Sunday (6/21/08):
Moan about being sore
Clean up and go home

Some of the seminars, presentations and discussion panels planned:
Radio Communications
Charity fund raising discussion panel
Self Defense Techniques
Primitive Fire Building
Into to Reloading
Astronomy - Night Navigation
A GeoCaching Course
Compass/Map Orienteering Course
and more...

On Bailouts, Bonuses, and AIG

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:10:01 GMT

I wanted to bring this up for people to read. It's a letter from an AIG employee who is resigning because he didn't get his bonus. Many folks would think he's a whiny little rich kid. Those are the folks that I urge to read this article and think for yourself before you jump to conclusions.

For those who haven't dealt with the compensation systems of executives may not realize this, but many upper level management and executive folks get paid exclusively by bonus. This is a method that allows you to closely tie compensation to specific metrics. Last year many AIG managers and executives were asked to take a $1 a year salary to support the company through its tough time. Those people were promised bonuses in lieu of a salary. They will no longer get that thanks to the US Public. Our representatives were actually talking about a tax of 100% against specific individuals… That goes against the constitution itself.

Please, folks, think long and hard before you act. The bailouts were a fear based reaction to a very bad financial situation. The patriot act was a similar reaction to the 9/11 attacks. Legislation that is poorly thought out doesn’t work. We need to slow down, think things through, and calm down. I firmly believe that the whole AIG fiasco is a big sign that the US is heading down a dark and dangerous path. We are losing our ethical compass and behaving like a god damned lynch mob.

On a related note, thanks to all this bad press, around 200 banks that were originally going to get this bailout money no longer want it. The ones that survive this mess will probably be amongst them.

Definition of Epic Win

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:40:19 GMT

Epic Win: A win or victory of some nature which falls in the following categories

An overwhelming Victory over an opponent
A victory thats been snatched from the jaws of defeat
An unexpected victory from an underdog
Something fantastic thats happened or worked out unexpectably well

Or just this...

I love you XKCD. More than I ever thought possible... ::runs away to cry in a corner::

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:27:21 GMT

“Question with boldness even the very existence of God, for if there be a God, he must surely rather Honest Questions over blindfolded fear.” From a letter to Peter Carr from Thomas Jefferson.

Kutiman-Thru-you - 01 - Mother of All Funk Chords

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:43:00 GMT

Found this guy's series through a link on Slashdot of all places. I have to say this is one of the more impressive mashups I've ever seen. In fact, all the one's he's done are damned impressive.

Steampunks Guide to Survival

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:42:22 GMT

Found this and had to share...
A steampunk-themed survival guide.
Thought it was neat.
-D