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Thursday, October 31, 2002
The power of Google. Now that it's the de facto search engine, it has a huge influence over which pages are ranked highest, and receive the most traffic. (0) comments Wednesday, October 30, 2002
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A while back my free subscription to InfoWorld magazine expired. To obtain a subscription you are required to fill out a form about your use of computers. I decided it wasn't worth it, and wondered how long it would take for the subscription to die. It's been about 6 months, and they are still threatening that "this issue is your very last one". I figure they are desparate enough for readers that I'll continue to receive copies for a while. (0) comments
The Fujitsu LifeBook P2000 is very close to what I consider to be the ideal computer. The latest version uses the 933 MHz cpu from Transmeta. (0) comments
It really feels like autumn now that daylight savings has ended and it's dark by 5:15 p.m. It's also been cold and rainy over the past few days. This is when good rain gear is essential for bike commuting. Finished reading Black Hawk Down, a great book that, more than any other I've read, gives some real insight into what war must be like. While the people of Iraq may not be as experienced in street fighting as Somalis, I image the war with Iraq being will be fought under similar conditions. Given the descriptions of some of the battle scenes, I'm not sure I want to watch the movie. Decided to do a search of Google News using the keyword Somalia, and it's sad to see that ten years later the fighting continues, the latest battle being fought this week after a ceasefire was signed on Sunday. (0) comments Monday, October 28, 2002
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There was a huge crowd at the anti-war rally in DC today. It was a diverse crowd, with as many 60's protest veterans as young kids. Let's hope Congress gets the message, since I doubt that George W would listen. (0) comments Friday, October 25, 2002
Took a day off and visited the National Gallery of Art. The Trompe l'Oeil show was excellent. When the museum guards are enthused, it's a good sign. The de Kooning show was OK, although as with many modern artists, he tended to do the same thing over and over again. The exhibit I enjoyed the most was An Artist's Artists: Jacob Kainen's Collection from Rembrandt to David Smith. Kainen collected many fine prints; I plan to return often before the show leaves in February. Also had time to view the excellent exhibit of Japanese prints at the Sackler Gallery. The Silk Road photographs were good too; there is nothing quite like the detail obtained by using a 14-by-20-inch large format camera. (0) comments Thursday, October 24, 2002
It's incredible how much the mood has changed in the DC area in the past 24 hours. People are actually walking the streets, going to stores, playing in the parks. The stress level was getting real high, and it's such a releif that the sniper is in custody. On my 25-mile round trip to art class, I saw so many more people outside compared to last week. (0) comments Wednesday, October 23, 2002
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I want one of these pens with a memory. After taking notes, the motion of the pen is captured in memory and can be downloaded to a computer via a USB connection. (0) comments Monday, October 21, 2002
Looking forward to reading Free Books: A Sneaky Success by Ben Crowell, and to browsing the free books offerred at The Assayer. (0) comments
It's about time that organic food is finally recognized by USDA. USDA recently issued new standards for definitions of what is labelled organic. They must have read my Master's research report on organic agriculture, which received a cool response from my review panel back in 1978. (0) comments
Was a guest on the Virginia Legislative Review tv show hosted by Virginia Delegate Ken Plum. The segment was shot today and will probably be aired next month. With the other guest, the president of the Virginia Bicycling Federation, we spent a half an hour discussing bike commuting, needed legislative and policy changes in Virginia, and other bike-related topics. I didn't faint once. It should be a big hit among the 5 or 10 people who actually end up seeing the show, which is shown on the local cable access channel. (0) comments
Attended the Shenandoah Fall Foliage Bike Festival in Staunton, Virginia over the weekend. We didn't see much sun, but the cool, overcast weather made for good cycling conditions. Didn't take many pictures though, and while the conditions were good, I'd much rather ride when it's sunny. Attended a meeting of the Virginia Bicycling Federation while there, and am now on the Board of Directors. (0) comments Thursday, October 17, 2002
Had a great drawing class today. It was one of those days when everything seemed to click. Every drawing was done effortlessly. There's nothing quite like the feeling of being completly absorbed in a drawing, especially when it's done well. When I find time I'll scan a couple of the drawings. It was a long, wet ride home. It rained for most of the 20-mile ride, quite hard at times. Luckily my drawings were wrapped in plastic and remained dry. On the ride down I spotted at least 15 white utility vans with ladder racks, the vehicle being sought in the sniper shootings. It's getting a little nerve-racking around here, when you can't even stop for a traffic light without thoughts of being gunned down. Everyone's parying that the sniper(s) is captured soon. (0) comments Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Have tried twice to transfer my domain, restondigital.com, from Verisign to another registry. Both times Verisign claims I didn't confirm the transfer via a response to their nonexistent email. Funny that their followup email denying the transfer came through just fine. I'm not the only person to which this has happened, and it's being investigated. It's a pretty sleazy way to try to retain a customer. Not surprisingly, it's happened before. Verisign claims competitors are “slamming” their customers by illegally transfering domains. (0) comments
Getting caught up on movies; saw Gosford Park the other night and really enjoyed it. May have to watch it again to catch who is who as the overlapping dialogue, which is typical in an Altman film, and in real life, was difficult to understand. (0) comments Sunday, October 13, 2002
Saw Possession over the weekend. Aaron Eckhart was the wrong person to play the role of the literature scholar, and mostly ruined the film for me. As usual, the book was much better than the film. (0) comments
Saw The Brad Mehldau Trio at The Barns of Wolf Trap on Friday. They put on a good show, but Mehldau looked awful and when he talked, sounded as bad. He was sick with an upper respiratory infection. Then I noted on the CD I bought earlier in the day, Introducing Brad Mehldau, that he appears to be a heavy smoker. Maybe it's time to cut back on the butts. Watching a good, creative jazz trio is like watching three painters painting together to create a single work of art. Also found a copy of A.M. by Wilco. Both CD's were on sale for $8.99 at Tower Records. I think they are unloading some of their back catalogues, which is great for those of use who still haven't replaced their extensive LP collections. (0) comments Friday, October 11, 2002
The level of tension and fear is at an all-time high here in the Metro DC area. Barely a day passes without a random sniper shooting. I've never seen so few people out in the open. Cycling feels even more like a high-risk activity. (0) comments Thursday, October 10, 2002
While riding home last night from a trails committee meeting I noticed something unusual. When riding in the dark, with a bright light such as the Niterider light, riding uphill seems much easier than in the daylight. With the one light source, you don't have a chance to anticipate the long climb. You just concentrate on the distance illuminated, and that small slope doesn't seem so difficult. Of course I could have been hallucinating. (0) comments Tuesday, October 08, 2002
Here's a review of the Sony Vaio C1MW PictureBook. It's also powered by a Transmeta chip. The price on these devices is still a little high, at around $2,000. (0) comments
Here are a couple of articles about Transmeta with mentions of ultra personal computers like the OQO: Transmeta chief: 'We're years ahead of Intel', and Transmeta touts the ultra personal computer. The low-power Transmeta chips are designed for use in mobile computers, which I think are about to take off in terms of popularity. Transmeta stock seems like a steal for $0.90, considering it's IPO price of over $40. But then again, there are a ton of stocks in a similar situation, and the NASDAQ keeps diving. (0) comments
Yesterday I was hauling my paper recycling in my BOB trailer, when suddenly I was hit by a nearly full soda bottle by a kid in an SUV. I yelled, then pulled over to see if I had my cell phone so I could call the police. I didn't have the phone, and as I got ready to start riding, the SUV passed again going the other direction. A couple of the kids were yelling obscenities. Luckily I wasn't within range, or they probably would have thrown something else at me. I'm tired of this kind of abuse while cycling. I called the police and they filed a report. I said I would press charges but I doubt much will happen. I got a tag number, but wasn't sure about the last digits. You can be I'll be on the lookout for that SUV in the future. (0) comments Monday, October 07, 2002
According to this article on Japanese electronic products, we won't be seeing the OQO subnotebook computer until next year. Instead, I might have to pick up one of the new 1.8-pound Sony Vaio U1, which measures 7.3'' x 5.5'', available only in Japan. (0) comments Sunday, October 06, 2002
The Post has an article about an exhibit of colored Master's prints at the Baltimore Museum of Art, many of which are by Dürer. I love old black and white prints, and thought I would not like the colored versions, but the examples in the paper were interesting. The color brings a completely different dimension to the prints. I plan to check them out in the near future. (0) comments
Found Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down and J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace, winner of the 1999 Booker Prize, both for a quarter at the local library. Finding bargains like these is why I can't pass the library without checking out the latest used books. (0) comments
Finished the write-up of our latest vacation to Oregon and the Crater Lake area. It includes a few of the many photos that we took while there. (0) comments
Had a great ride on the W&OD trail on a beautiful Fall day. I had thought that most Washingtonians would be huddled in front of their televisions watching NFL football games. There is hope for us after all, as many people were out on the trail. It was the most crowded I've seen it in a long time. (0) comments Friday, October 04, 2002
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I'll probably also be dangerous with my use of “proper quotes” (see below), especially after taking a proofreading class today. It's amazing how many grammatical rules there are for the use of numbers in a sentence, as found in The Gregg Reference Manual. (0) comments
I'm dangerous now that I have my “Rite in the Rain” notebook. It's a 3" x 5", 50-page field notebook that I found at a surveyor supply store. Now I can carry it in my bike jersey back pocket and take notes as I'm riding. I do some of my best thinking while riding, then promptly forget the great ideas once I get home. Yesterday I rode to the Art League drawing class about 25 miles away, and there were a couple of pages of notes on the way down, and none on the way back. I guess I don't think well while bonking. An energy bar and gatorade about 5 miles from home provided enough of a boost so I could at least finish the ride. It hurt when a dude on a knobby-tired mountain bike passed me. Granted, he didn't have 30 pounds of stuff in his panniers, but it hurt nonetheless. (0) comments
Just logged 2000 miles for the year on my commuter bike . Not bad for a bike I use just for commuting to work and running errands. It just shows that even a short commute of 3 miles each way, along with running day to day errands can add up. Rode to a meeting today at the government center about 10 miles away, then to another meeting at the state dept. of transportation, 5 or 6 miles away, then home. It took me about the same time as it would to drive, since traffic was crawling during each of the trips. (0) comments Wednesday, October 02, 2002
The lean, green machine, the NEC Powermate eco, the first truly green pc. While not very expandable, it looks like it would do most everything I need. (0) comments
The Post recently published two good articles on walking. Riding the Wave of Car Culture, discussing why, even when kids live within a mile of school, with good sidewalks, their parents drive them to school. When parents in Fairfax County petitioned their school to provide a crossing guard so their kids could walk, were told by the school principal that it cost too much, they would be bused instead. The other article, or series of articles, is about the benefits of walking. By the way, Happy Walk to School Day! (0) comments |
