scrap pad: 01/2008

1/27/2008

writer's strike

a little late on the uptake, but: useful chart of how the writers' strike affects some tv shows. except it doesn't mention Battlestar Galactica. I'm slightly annoyed with myself for even caring (at least Doctor Who shouldn't be affected...)

1/24/2008

(10:34 PM)

bic reviews

Reviews for Bic Crystal ballpoint pen on Amazon.co.uk. via defective yeti links.

1/21/2008

(11:13 PM)

ubuntu on the eee pc

Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon on an Asus Eee PC (linux + sub-laptop)

1/18/2008

(8:18 PM)

to-do list

goals for the night:

post-party wine (check!)
lounge by the fire (check!)
clean the kitchen

goals for the week:

pack for moving
walk the dog, frequently
go ice skating
fiddle with dad's banjo
dig out the sewing machine
clean my road bike and tune my mountain bike

whew! that's a lot to do in seven days. also I will be working.

1/16/2008

(6:46 PM)

Flickr: The Commons

Library of Congress photos on flickr: a joint project of flickr and the Library of Congress to make photos with "no known copyright restrictions" more available (more metadata, more exposure, etc.) via.

(10:18 AM)

"Drying of the West"

beautiful pictures about water shortages in the western US. via megan.

1/13/2008

(11:12 PM)

word: simulacra

meaning a likeness (or something). "Simulacra" is used in every 'braincase' post on the Skull A Day blog, so I've come to think of it as a thing/image that unintentionally suggests a skull.

p.s. this butternut squash skull is one of my favorites so far.

1/08/2008

(11:12 PM)

sea chanteys

There's a monthly chantey sing at the MIT Museum in Cambridge.

(5:45 PM)

recent reading

Yahoo!, Flickr, OpenID and Identity Projection
Tribe (on both the US's 2008 elections and tribalism's role in African politics).
It's too easy to dismiss African political stories as the legacy of tribalism. Assuming that people will behave a certain way because of ancient hatreds, of in- and out-groups denies people political agency.

(5:12 PM)

old time music

found this awesome old-time music compilation today: Miserable Music. It's 23 songs about horrible things from 1916-1941. Unfortunately, it's a RealPlayer playlist. Fortunately, the site also links to the Library of Congress' American Memory Collection. If you dig in, you can find a shit-ton of folk recordings.