January 2006
Monthly Archive
think big
Posted by phil on 31 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
OK, so here’s what I want. First of all, at some point when I’ve settled down there’ll be this house I’ll live in, right?
Right, a house. A pretty decent one, sure—but that’s not enough. I’d really like any house I live in to have a turret.
OK, this is better. You might say it’s getting there. But we’re not done yet; not by a long shot. The next step involves a dentist chair—one that’s comfortable and has many adjustable arms. (Be patient, I will explain things.)
The next step involves attaching my two LCD monitors to the adjustable arms of the chair. Of course, since the arms are adjustable, they need not stay in this unergonomic position. Imagine them swiveling freely to accomodate the one seated.
Then you take the base of the chair, hollow it out, and put a computer in there as so:
The last step is to install the chair in the top of the turret. Extra points if you can set up hydraulics so that you can sit in the chair at the bottom, throw a switch, and be raised to the top of the turret. I think it goes without saying that the chair needs to be able to turn freely on its X-axis if the tower has a proper panoramic view.
I think you will all agree that what I’ve laid out here is pretty nifty. The view especially is what I’m looking forward to.
as i live, there is no evil that will stand
Posted by phil on 30 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
The spam-bots got to my site today. I’ve never had any problems with them before, but I guess they’ve figured out my fancy ajaxed comment forms finally.
Anyway, to fight the <expletive_deleted /> I’ve instituted a strict three-link maximum with a vengeance. Sorry for the commenting inconvenience, but until we’ve figured out a way to rid the world of these scum, (I keep saying a 9mm round to the base of the skull is the only way to be sure, but everyone keeps looking at me funny…) we’ve got some annoyance to live with.
photos i like
Posted by phil on 25 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
These are from our Christmas trip, I just haven’t gotten around to putting them up. It’s a good thing I’m not paying for bandwidth, or this would be a foolhardy move.
Singapore
These two are from the Botanical Gardens.
This is outside the famous Raffles Hotel where E.M. Forrester used to drink Singapore Slings. (Or so I am told.)
We rode a double-decker bus to see all the lights on Orchard Road.
Malaysia
First from our hike:
It was steep.
The fog was intense.
We hiked up a hill with a microwave tower on top.
We are tired.
MMMMMmmmmmoss.
This is the OMF guest house.
This is the beautiful Boh Tea House from farther away.
A close-up of the tea house.
This is a camellia sinensis plant from which tea leaves come.
beware: unsafe driver
Posted by alisha on 20 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Women are bad drivers. Yes, you read that correctly. Women are bad drivers. I used to argue with this sentiment until the fateful day last Friday. It was then, on Friday the 13th, that Phil and I bought our first car together. Now, don’t misunderstand me. This car is awesome. It is a silver Saturn SL1 with three (count them, one-two-three) doors. One of them is a backwards door, and if you look at the picture closely, you will be able to see where it is.
It is also…. a manual. This is where the problem comes in. I had never driven a 5-speed before. There is so much coordination involved!! I make sure that my left foot is firmly planted on the clutch while using my right hand to shift into gear. My left hand is on the steering wheel to make sure that I don’t accidentally hit something (or somebody!). My right foot is on the brake. I look in my rear-view mirror to make sure everything is clear. Then I slowly release clutch while quickly moving my right foot from brake to gas in a gentle manner. (Trust me, I know that it doesn’t like it if it is not gentle!) If I don’t stall (which is hopefully the case), I have to start all over again just to switch from reverse into first gear!
Today, however, I had a break-through because today was the first day that I drove to and from work on my own without Phil. I only stalled once!! And I recovered quickly!! (Although I don’t think that I will ever love hills again).
Hopefully, this woman won’t always be a bad driver. But beware! I do plan to frequent Imperial Highway during rush hour.
just things
Posted by phil on 19 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
The reason the young care so much about prestige is that the people they want to impress are not very discerning.
Paul Graham has another essay: go read.
Singapore had some simulated terrorist attacks the day after we left. Pretty crazy stuff. Wikipedia has extensive coverage of the excellent Singapore Mass Rapid Transit System, including stations that don’t exist yet.
