My parents requested that I take pictures of my fully furnished apartment a few months ago. I delayed because, well, the apartment still isn't fully furnished. Additionally, the apartment is usually a complete mess. Since I had today off, Russell was gone, all of my friends are out of town and Kat was busy until dinner time, I decided to clean the place from top to bottom. Here are those long-awaited pictures.
Nov 28, 2003
You never know how hard it is to find an available dumpster until you need one. I just spent 20 minutes driving around a dark and rainy Bellevue looking for such a creature. I needed to dispose of a few plastic containers that I used to move in and our apartment complex only offers a chute for trash bags. These plastic totes barely fit into my hatchback, so they sure as heck were not going to fit down that chute.
Thankfully, there is a large string of medical centers about a block from here because of the hospital being so close. Friday night at 5 PM, the day after a holiday, few people are going to be in the office. I found a dumpster and it found my totes.
Thankfully, there is a large string of medical centers about a block from here because of the hospital being so close. Friday night at 5 PM, the day after a holiday, few people are going to be in the office. I found a dumpster and it found my totes.
Thanksgiving with Kat's family was quite enjoyable. From talking with her mom to playing with the cats to playing board games with everyone, a good time was had by all. Note to self: the combination of turkey, rich chocolate cake and port means you will fall asleep very soon after the meal.
Nov 26, 2003
Pitchfork: Top 100 Albums of the 1990s Redux: So many good albums, so many albums I still need to hear. No time for full analysis.
Nov 25, 2003
Slashdot: "You spend the first two years teaching a kid how to talk and walk, then you spend the next sixteen years telling them to shut up and sit down. Seems so pointless, doesn't it?"
Nov 24, 2003
I get to make my chocolate raspberry torte for Thanksgiving at Kat's parents this year! Every time I've made it, it's been a hit. I have an idea to improve it dramatically this year. I will make it the day before Thanksgiving and if it fails, I will make the original recipe.
Ford to drop SVT Focus, put entire SVT lineup on hiatus: No more SVT Focus! That is a shame because just about every review I've read of the car said it was outstanding. I really shouldn't think about the SVT too much because I want to kick myself for getting the ZX3 instead. The retail price on my ZX3 was MORE than a well-equipped SVT and the SVT is a better vehicle in almost all regards (other than noise and softness of ride). 170 HP, almost as fast as a 911 Carrera in the slalom, okay gotta stop thinking about it. If only I was more comfortable with a manual, I would have bought it back in July...
Anyway, back to the article. The ST model that is mentioned is probably similar to the UK-spec ST170: basically the same engine as the SVT (170 HP) but without the rest of the upgrades (suspension, tires, brakes, interior, transmission, etc).
Anyway, back to the article. The ST model that is mentioned is probably similar to the UK-spec ST170: basically the same engine as the SVT (170 HP) but without the rest of the upgrades (suspension, tires, brakes, interior, transmission, etc).
Weekend update:
On Sunday, I finally made it to a donation center. When I first moved out to Washington, I brought all of my college apartment furniture, electronics and applicances. I figured that I would have enough startup costs with moving into a new apartment and buying a car that I could use my old college crap for awhile to get me by. I dropped quite a bit on the down payment for the car and had to buy a few essentials for the apartment (sofa, bed, desk, dresser, bookshelves, everything for the bathroom, etc) so I was glad I brought everything else. I've slowly replaced a few items and instead of getting rid of them immediately, I just tossed them into the corner of the room! Basically, we had an extra TV, VCR and TV stand in our living room for the past three months. Kat showed me the local Goodwill donation center Sunday morning so I packed up the ol' Focus hatchback and finally made a donation.
I got rid of said TV, VCR and TV stand along with two huge garbage bags of clothes (cleaned and folded, thank you), microwave, toaster, coffee pot and some other assorted items. They didn't take the TV, so I just tossed it into the garbage/recycle room in my complex. If it's still there after trash day, I will probably take it to a real recycle center since Jeff informed me that the tube contains toxic materials.
After getting rid of so much stuff, I decided I need to fill those now-empty spaces with new stuff. I picked up a duvet cover and blanket (both in dark blue) and then Jeff and I went out shopping. On the way to Ikea, we decided to check out Fry's. It can only be described as a combination of the best parts of Best Buy and Radio Shack in a Wal-Mart sized setting. Automatic geekgasm. At Ikea, I picked up a frame for my Hokusai Katsushika print. It's not terribly Japanese, I know, but I simply like it for aesthetic reasons. Jeff had to continually remind me that I am heterosexual so that I wouldn't buy certain prints. But come on, with a blue and white theme in my bedroom, this would complement it well!
On Saturday, Jeff, Russ, his two visitors, Rebecca and Rob, and I went to Rocksport in West Seattle to see Michigan defeat Ohio State. I was about to say "upset Ohio State", but we all knew who was going to win! Rocksport was an interesting place to see the game. All but a handful of people were there specifically to cheer on the Wovlerines as the Seattle alumni association goes there for every game. They served (a fairly crappy) breakfast, but service was surprisingly good for a bar at 9 AM. After the game, Jeff and I hit Kenneth Cole (shoes in brown/tan, shirt, shirt in black). After a quick lunch, we hit the gym. That night, Kat and I went to Cutters for dinner (not terribly impressed) and then had a quiet night at home.
On Sunday, I finally made it to a donation center. When I first moved out to Washington, I brought all of my college apartment furniture, electronics and applicances. I figured that I would have enough startup costs with moving into a new apartment and buying a car that I could use my old college crap for awhile to get me by. I dropped quite a bit on the down payment for the car and had to buy a few essentials for the apartment (sofa, bed, desk, dresser, bookshelves, everything for the bathroom, etc) so I was glad I brought everything else. I've slowly replaced a few items and instead of getting rid of them immediately, I just tossed them into the corner of the room! Basically, we had an extra TV, VCR and TV stand in our living room for the past three months. Kat showed me the local Goodwill donation center Sunday morning so I packed up the ol' Focus hatchback and finally made a donation.
I got rid of said TV, VCR and TV stand along with two huge garbage bags of clothes (cleaned and folded, thank you), microwave, toaster, coffee pot and some other assorted items. They didn't take the TV, so I just tossed it into the garbage/recycle room in my complex. If it's still there after trash day, I will probably take it to a real recycle center since Jeff informed me that the tube contains toxic materials.
After getting rid of so much stuff, I decided I need to fill those now-empty spaces with new stuff. I picked up a duvet cover and blanket (both in dark blue) and then Jeff and I went out shopping. On the way to Ikea, we decided to check out Fry's. It can only be described as a combination of the best parts of Best Buy and Radio Shack in a Wal-Mart sized setting. Automatic geekgasm. At Ikea, I picked up a frame for my Hokusai Katsushika print. It's not terribly Japanese, I know, but I simply like it for aesthetic reasons. Jeff had to continually remind me that I am heterosexual so that I wouldn't buy certain prints. But come on, with a blue and white theme in my bedroom, this would complement it well!
On Saturday, Jeff, Russ, his two visitors, Rebecca and Rob, and I went to Rocksport in West Seattle to see Michigan defeat Ohio State. I was about to say "upset Ohio State", but we all knew who was going to win! Rocksport was an interesting place to see the game. All but a handful of people were there specifically to cheer on the Wovlerines as the Seattle alumni association goes there for every game. They served (a fairly crappy) breakfast, but service was surprisingly good for a bar at 9 AM. After the game, Jeff and I hit Kenneth Cole (shoes in brown/tan, shirt, shirt in black). After a quick lunch, we hit the gym. That night, Kat and I went to Cutters for dinner (not terribly impressed) and then had a quiet night at home.
Nov 21, 2003
Motor Trend Names Toyota Prius 2004 Car of the Year. I think I just found a reason to cancel my Motor Trend subscription (six days after I just renewed for two more years...). How in the world is the Prius the car of the year?! I believe that a car with at least a single, glaring issue should not be in contention for car of the year. The issue with the Prius? The back end. Just look at the boot on that car.
Toyota design engineers: "So, we've simply run out of ideas. We tried inverting the emblem and the lights and the fender, we've tried square tail lights, round tail lights, clear tail lights (damn Altezza), round back ends, square backends, triangle back ends, full trunks, full hatchbacks, half and half, we've tried everything! Well, almost everything. Let's try to 'reverse psych' our customers. We are going to take the ugliest rear known in existence, the Pontiac Aztec, and then squish it into half the space and give it clear tail lights! Briliant!" Ugh.
Toyota design engineers: "So, we've simply run out of ideas. We tried inverting the emblem and the lights and the fender, we've tried square tail lights, round tail lights, clear tail lights (damn Altezza), round back ends, square backends, triangle back ends, full trunks, full hatchbacks, half and half, we've tried everything! Well, almost everything. Let's try to 'reverse psych' our customers. We are going to take the ugliest rear known in existence, the Pontiac Aztec, and then squish it into half the space and give it clear tail lights! Briliant!" Ugh.
Just tonight, Jeff, Dan and I were discussing who are the worst drivers. It may be stereotypical, but women are not as good of drivers on average as men. Case in point, while waiting to turn left at a light, Jeff and I saw two cars pass that did not have their headlights on: both women, both on cell phones.
"A man will fall in love with some beauty, with a woman's body, or even with a part of a woman's body and he'll abandon his own children for her, sell his father and mother, and his country, Russia, too. If he's honest, he'll steal; if he's humane, he'll murder; if he's faithful, he'll deceive." - Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
Nov 19, 2003
SCO Hints at *BSD Lawsuits Next Year, And More: Best quote from the whole SCO fiasco about Darl McBride, "Darl is like a blind man on the street, swinging a bat, hoping someone will pay him to stop. Hopefully, the cops will get him before he does any real damage."
Here is a picture of the puppy that Russ and I almost decided to keep:
Microsoft OTG RAS Extranet site. This is for my own personal use; stay out.
Animals, animals and more animals. Russell's older brother is currently studying to be a veterinarian. Before we moved in together, Russ mentioned that he might want to get a dog eventually. Back then, I stated that I wouldn't have any problem with that whatsoever as long as he was the one to take care of the dog. I wouldn't mind having to ocassionally fill a food dish or take the pup out for a walk, but that would be about it. The topic was dropped then, but Russ' brother recently had to spay/neuter a puppy for his studies. Usually, these dogs are mutts from the Humane Society, but this one turned out to be a purebred doberman pinscher.
Since this dog was just so darned cute, Russ had to bring up the idea of getting a dog since his brother could give it away to anyone. I said the same thing as before but pointed out that this dog wasn't going to be small for very long. Also, he would probably destroy something if he was kept in the apartment by himself for 10+ hours a day. We agreed, no puppy for us.
Kat and her parents have a total of three cats. Two of them, Charlotte and Emily (the "Bronte Sisters") have been with the family for quite a few years now. They are a mix between what seems to be to be a Russian Blue or Chartreux and an orange English Shorthair. The third cat is Sebastian, a brown tabby, and is only 6 months old. Emily is fairly social, so it wasn't much of a surprise when she felt comfortable enough to come up to me. The other two are a different story. Sebastian is still in the playful kitty phase, but Kat told me that I'm the only person other than herself that he has cuddled with. As for Charlotte, she isn't terribly social so Kat is also surprised when she always comes up to me for affection. I think Kat is just jealous!
Kitties love me.
Since this dog was just so darned cute, Russ had to bring up the idea of getting a dog since his brother could give it away to anyone. I said the same thing as before but pointed out that this dog wasn't going to be small for very long. Also, he would probably destroy something if he was kept in the apartment by himself for 10+ hours a day. We agreed, no puppy for us.
Kat and her parents have a total of three cats. Two of them, Charlotte and Emily (the "Bronte Sisters") have been with the family for quite a few years now. They are a mix between what seems to be to be a Russian Blue or Chartreux and an orange English Shorthair. The third cat is Sebastian, a brown tabby, and is only 6 months old. Emily is fairly social, so it wasn't much of a surprise when she felt comfortable enough to come up to me. The other two are a different story. Sebastian is still in the playful kitty phase, but Kat told me that I'm the only person other than herself that he has cuddled with. As for Charlotte, she isn't terribly social so Kat is also surprised when she always comes up to me for affection. I think Kat is just jealous!
Kitties love me.
Nov 18, 2003
Totally Sidetalkin' Nokia N-Gage Style!! SIDETALKING 2003: Oh my god, my eyes are watering this is so hilarious! So, some of the newest Nokia phones are shaped pretty much like a taco. Instead of holding the taco flat to your face to talk, which would seem normal, you hold the edge of the phone (AKA bottom of the taco) against your face to talk. I thought I looked dorky with my Pocket PC Phone, but that just takes the cake. Observe:
Official Nokia demonstration on how to use the N-Gage
Talking on a taco in comparison
Official Nokia demonstration on how to use the N-Gage
Talking on a taco in comparison
Nov 17, 2003
NBC 4 - 4 Your Health - FDA Approves Chewable Birth-Control Pill: It's chewable, it tastes like mint and it will soon be found by some unsuspecting child who will probably eat them all. At least the babies wont be having babies.
Overall City Ranking Scorecard - Men's Health: Tell me something I didn't know! Seattle ranks 7th for overall men's health (the difference in how a city is better for men or women is never clarified) and Detroit is almost near the bottom. Rob must be livin' the healthy life over in Madtown though: #1.
Nov 13, 2003
So I'm back to including a bit of cardio into my exercise regime. On Tuesday, Jeff decided he wasn't up for racquetball so we did 30 minutes of cardio before lifting. I hit the elliptical for that entire time, burning over 400 calories. Lifting directly afterward felt so much different than normal where we start with lifting. Basically, every exercise seemed at least 15% more difficult. Anytime I have to grunt through an entire set of bench presses, I shouldn't be doing that much weight (nor does anyone actually want to hear me grunt). Last night, Jeff had two futbol games to play with his MS club so I hit the gym alone. Again, 400 calories on the elliptical.
Many people have commented on my increased size (I've assumed musculature so far since most of these people wouldn't say "Man, looking a little pudgy there, Mike!"), but I feel that all the added muscle mass is simply pushing the existing fat out farther. I'm almost tempted to scale back lifting in favor of cardio, but then I wouldn't be making progress in strength. I've added at least 25 pounds to my bench since we started working out at the end of the summer. Maybe I should just get liposuction and keep lifting!
Many people have commented on my increased size (I've assumed musculature so far since most of these people wouldn't say "Man, looking a little pudgy there, Mike!"), but I feel that all the added muscle mass is simply pushing the existing fat out farther. I'm almost tempted to scale back lifting in favor of cardio, but then I wouldn't be making progress in strength. I've added at least 25 pounds to my bench since we started working out at the end of the summer. Maybe I should just get liposuction and keep lifting!
When ordering a corduroy schoolboy jacket, I really wish online sites wouldn't shorten my order to "corduroy schoolboy". I have some decency, honest! I would never order a schoolboy if he was from Couduroy.
Nov 11, 2003
FCC allows home numbers to be switched to wireless phones - Nov. 11, 2003: When I first read this article, I thought "Great! So many people will love this feature." Now that I really think about it, how much use is this really going to get? Ever since cell phones became popular, adding a new phone number became a routine occurance. It is not that big of a deal to change a phone number. I could have a skewed viewpoint because almost everyone that has my phone number also has an email address. Everytime I changed phone numbers (which happened every year in college and once again when I moved out to Washington), I've sent out an email announcing the change. It could be much more difficult for other people that do not have an alternate form of communication.
I can see this being used by people that ran a business line in their home. They can keep the same number, which is probably on business cards, websites, etc but now have it tied to a mobile phone. Since I work in the mobile phone industry, any way to get more people to switch is fine with me!
I do see one issue with this ruling though. Up to this point, I believe that telemarketers relied on the fact that cell phones and landlines were completely seperate. They knew which extensions mobile operators had and would not call those numbers (since it is illegal to telemarket to a cell phone since it costs the customer money). Now, that line is completely removed. Is there going to be a national database of cellular versus landlines? How secure would that be?
I can see this being used by people that ran a business line in their home. They can keep the same number, which is probably on business cards, websites, etc but now have it tied to a mobile phone. Since I work in the mobile phone industry, any way to get more people to switch is fine with me!
I do see one issue with this ruling though. Up to this point, I believe that telemarketers relied on the fact that cell phones and landlines were completely seperate. They knew which extensions mobile operators had and would not call those numbers (since it is illegal to telemarket to a cell phone since it costs the customer money). Now, that line is completely removed. Is there going to be a national database of cellular versus landlines? How secure would that be?
Being constantly screwed over by your job but still being paid well and not wanting to ruin your resume by quitting before you put in two years has to be one of the most frustrating situations in the world.
Nov 10, 2003
Brits ready for face off: "In a key report to be published on 19 November, members will highlight a catalogue of concerns - focusing on the huge psychologicaland emotional difficulties patients associated with having a dead person's face."
Nov 7, 2003
When the load gets tough, the tough get loaded.
AutoWeek - Car News: "Mitsubishi trimmed 146 pounds of “nonessential” items from its already-stellar Lancer Evolution for even more performance. Those items include the wing; HID lights (replaced with halogens); rear wiper; air conditioning; ABS; power motors for the windows, doors, locks and side mirrors; the entire audio system; trim in the trunk; vanity mirrors; rear assist grips; map lights; lots of sound-deadening material and even that little piece of leather wrapping that goes around the parking brake lever." All that removed and it's only $3,000 cheaper. I'll pass.
UPDATE - Microsoft turns to IBM for next Xbox chip: "The next version of Xbox is expected to be announced in January by Microsoft founder and Chairman Bill Gates and to be on sale next fall ahead of the holidays, according to Doherty." A coworker mentioned to me on Wednesday night that Xbox2 would be out in time for next Christmas. I couldn't believe him, but here is an outside source saying the same thing. Not that I believe everything on the internet...
Nov 5, 2003
How to create an OpenBSD 3.4 ISO:
- Download the requisite files from ftp://ftp.openbsd.org. (I would suggest ports.tar.gz, src.tar.gz, sys.tar.gz and the entire i386 folder.)
- On your old OBSD machine (since you all have one), cd to the root of the new CD
- Use mkhybrid to make an ISO: mkhybrid -b i386/floppy34.fs -c boot.catalog -l -J -L -r -o obsd34.iso . (That final period is necessary! Isn't it always?)
Nov 3, 2003
Howstuffworks "How Dieting Works": "Try wearing form-fitting clothes instead of sweats. The tight clothing acts as a subliminal reminder of what you are trying to accomplish." Best dieting advice I've heard all year!
I need to cut caffeine again. As stated in this survey, my sleep requirements went from 8.5 to 5 hours when I quit caffeine. I wasn't exactly sure if it was the lack of caffeine or the dramatic increase in exercise that was the cause of the change. Now that I'm still working out just as much (or more) and I'm back on caffeine, my sleep requirements are back at 8.5 hours.
It wouldn't be such a bad thing if I wasn't falling asleep at inopportune moments...
It wouldn't be such a bad thing if I wasn't falling asleep at inopportune moments...
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