Every so often I see, in my referrer logs, someone coming from a potsdam.edu domain - I just want to say HI! to that person - I went to Clarkson! (University - also in Potsdam, NY - for the non-Potsdam-ists reading this.) Let's see... it's getting to be about Mid-March there - that would mean that there's only three more months of winter left! *grin* But what I really want to know is... is the Bagelry still there? I should hope so - I'd make the 3,000 mile trip just for one of their bagel sandwiches. And they delivered too - saving many students lives with that little policy. heh heh. :-)
posted:11:00 AM | link |

We actually had a - no kidding - THUNDERSTORM - here yesterday afternoon! Now, I grew up on the east coast where they are fairly common, but I haven't experienced one in California in probably three years - that brings my CA Thunderstorm total up to... TWO! LOL. Our dog Merlin, who barks at all the vehicles that drive by, barked every time thunder struck - I couldn't help laughing. :-)
posted:7:23 AM | link |

Cool! Seattle Earthquake as Artist - a pendulum captures the energy bumps and waves in sand. (link via memepool)
posted:12:36 PM | link |

Bjorn Borg is urging his fellow countrypersons to start procreating more because supposedly there's not enough babies being born to work and support other people's old age pensions. I couldn't believe it when I read it - he even took out a full page ad about it! Might as well just say, "Have more babies and shackle them to the work machine just so the old people get the money that's coming to them." Egad! I know there's probably a lot of OTHER issues around this, but the idea that having more babies JUST to keep the money coming in - ick!
posted:12:27 PM | link |

tom is in the process of changing servers with his "Nothing" blog and his whole domain (quantumslip.com) - those sites will be back up soon, and the 'out of context quotes' on the left column of fox vox (that are hosted at QS) are also scheduled to return at that same time. Change is good - LOL.
posted:8:13 AM | link |

Amidst all the so-called 'power emergency' in California, I just learned something interesting. Did you know that ENRON, one of the largest resellers of electricity, is in partnership with IBM and AOL in a venture they call New Power??? To quote from a Daria episode... "It really makes you think."
posted:8:12 AM | link |

Today's the GRAND OPENING of our new site, Abstract Weirdness!!!! It's an online gallery for, what else, weird and abstract flash animations and images. (You'll need the FLASH plug-in, BTW. If you have a more recent browser you probably already have it.) There are five animations and three still galleries there right now, and we'll just keep adding more as we go. You can also sign up to get an email when we update the site. While I did the main design for the site, tom did all of the kickass PHP programming, making this one of the easiest to update sites I've ever seen. *grin* I also learned a bunch of CGI - how to include files, how to install stat scripts - that kind of thing. So take a trip to Abstract Weirdness when you've had enough of concrete normalcy. (Oh, I just KILL myself - nyuck nyuck.)
posted:8:54 AM | link |

If you're interested in the future of content, art, artists, money, and the internet, there's a rather interesting discussion going on here about possible solutions, including micropayments, content vs. medium compensation, etc. (link via evhead) I think the whole idea is fascinating - not just because we need to figure out a new system because of the ease of digital copying, but also because all of these ideas raise questions about our base assumptions about the whole "money" and "compensation" and "making a living" model to begin with.

In new age circles I've heard many people say, "By 2012, money will no longer be used." Sometimes I think people want to believe that because of the massive negativity that is generally attributed to the symbol of "money" in the first place, and they'd just rather be rid of it altogether. This being the case, I think it's NOT just going to go away and we're going to have to transform it into something that DOES work "for us" instead of something we must sell our souls for in order to survive. :-) And throw the internet and the digital revolution in there and there's a TON of stuff to sift through and examine. Just what I need - something else to think about - LOL.
posted:4:08 PM | link |

New Zealanders are campaigning for Jedi to become a recognised religion. Pranksters are distributing an e-mail which says if 8,000 people claim Jedi as their religion on the census form, officials will have to recognise the knights from the Star Wars science fiction films. The e-mail campaign says: "It's a bit of an experiment in the power of e-mail," reports the Financial Times. Why call them 'pranksters'? I think this is a really great idea! *grin* (link via Metafilter)
posted:12:29 PM | link |

If anyone out there who's reading this remembers our friend Marsha, she has her own blog now - fresh and new - click here for Lompyville. Everybody tango! *grin*
posted:7:47 AM | link |

An interesting synch with your dream about being an observer in your body is that yesterday, we watched "Being John Malcovich", which I think you've said you saw already? Anyway, it was a terrific movie, more interesting than most I've seen lately - actually made me THINK. *grin* Also, they did a fantastic job of setting up a reality that's just, shall we say, a half step away from 'normal' reality? LOL. Talk about Alice in Wonderland - heh heh.
posted:7:40 AM | link |

This is a picture of the dam that tom and John built out of large rocks, logs, and tons of gravel. Note the two large beige rocks in the back of the picture, and the relatively low water level. (photo taken looking downstream)


After a day and a half of serious rain, here's another photo of that same area (photo taken looking upstream), with yellow arrow at those same beige rocks, so you can orient yourself.

Ahhh, California - it's a feast or famine weather state, it seems!
posted:10:35 AM | link |

Our domain isn't working right now (as I type this). Last week we had domain problems on Sunday because the ISP people were 'altering' the system. This Sunday? Maybe no one's there, I'm not sure. They don't answer the phone on Sunday. It's a small, local ISP, but this is silly. Most of our dial-up problems have happened on Sundays as well. I probably shouldn't say this, but we already have plans for using another service after we work out a few domain details with the registrar. So, sorry about all the weird outages - we're on it! :-)
posted:6:48 PM | link |

Wow - there is an AMAZING wind whipping through the area - shaking around our little schoolhouse almost as much as a small quake does! The windchimes I put up are wapping around like crazy, and our black lab, who seems to be a bit nervous around "big" weather, is trying to climb into my lap - makes typing a little hard - LOL. I think I'll take the dogs outside for a bit just to feel it all - it seems somewhat ODD to see clouds zipping by the hills so damn fast - supernaturally so.
posted:11:55 AM | link |