July 2004 Archives

This visual thesaurus is toooooo cooooool. I partly like it because the words dance around like they're having a little party on your screen :-)

There are all kinds of nifty word tools posted in this article.

(Link from Research Buzz)

In a nice bit of coincidence, I found a link to this article about deja vu only moments after a fairly strong deja vu experience at work. (I was typing klngRightLeft as a variable name in my program and it triggered a deja vu in which I was hollering at somebody about what a stupid variable name that was.... Sadly, all too plausible given my mood at work these days.) Anyhow, the article doesn't really have any answers, but it's kind of neat that someone is looking into it again. My deja vus always feel as if they are related to a previous dream, not to a previous actual experience. And usually I find myself fighting to make sure I do something differently, because usually the situation in the dream evolved unpleasantly, usually because of something I say or do. I like the idea of a brain cramp, though:

The Victorian-era British psychologist Sir James Crichton-Browne suggested that deja vu is caused by a "trifling and transitory" brain disorder, "like cramp in a few fibers of muscle."

(Link from GeekPress)

Lee came up with this brilliant bit of Engrish in an email at work today:

By the highest and biggest cheese head of [insert company name here], this meeting is postponed until a later unspecified date.

Well, okay, I'm self-published. After reading Bad News Hughes' spider story and the comment from a fellow Miata owner (well, ex-owner, but still) I just had to add my own comment.

Wednesday afternoon drive home = the Reggae Show on KTRU. AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!! To escape from the aural hell today I switched to KTSU and was greeted with syncopatic clapping that I instantly recognized as Nina Simone's "Sinnerman." After belting that one out along with The Diva (much to the amusement of my fellow rush-hour citizens, I'm sure), I was treated to two more venerable tunes before I got the grocery store. Definitely enough to make me forget all about the stupid reggae show :-)

First we see this post in the neighborhood email list:

Just wondering what all you guys think would be an acceptable time to start making noise that could be irritating to neighbors. Specifically, I'm thinking of yard equipment, such as mowers, trimmers, vacuums, etc. What time do you think is OK on a weekday? a weekend? Also, in my particular case, I have electric tools, and I think they're a bit quieter than the gas-powered ones. But perhaps they're noisy, too? Me, since I'm usually up early, I'm always thinking of getting out about 7: or 8: am to get a jump start on the day's work. I'm realizing that many people sleep late on weekends, but I don't know how late. So ... what time do you think is OK to start with power tools?

Maybe I was feeling cynical when I read it (I admit I've never met the poster, so I don't know what their intentions were) but it seems to me that the main point of this "question" is to get someone to suggest a valid starting time for "noise" so that this person can proceed to righteously complain anytime someone else violates the "neighborhood standard." I could be wrong, of course. But anyhow, Mark responded with this gem:

Given the gunfire, beat downs, drug use, prostitution, panhandlers, drunken bums, drunken speeders, sirens and new construction which occur basically 24/7, I really don't think it matters. But then, that's just me. If we lived in the suburbs your question may have some weight or relevance. But in East Montrose? Please.

You live in the city, you get city-type noise at all hours. Deal with it. A weedeater on Sunday morning is at least the sound of something positive happening! It will be interesting to see if anybody else replies.

Here is a different kind of aerial photography. This guy takes pictures from a kite! They're wonderful, esp. the panoramas he's posted from a trip to Scotland.

Bug Me Not is neat. It's kinda like the cypherpunk idea, but seems to actually work. I definitely like the concept.

This is so cool! These guys can make anything you can draw and you do it all electronically. It just gets your head spinning with all kinds of crazy ideas. Custom parts for anything! I don't know yet if it would be suited for JEWELRY COMPONENTS (hello!) but you know I'll be poking around with that in mind :-)

If this is real, what a nifty find: a precursor to Alice in Wonderland, scanned. I haven't tried to read it yet, because I'm supposed to be working :-) [Link via Boing Boing]

Pannier baskets for the cats, so they can fetch things for Mark while he's on crutches.

Here's a little bit of nostalgia from the Florida Heritage Collection: Jacksonville's Incomparable Beaches. The main collection is here, and thanks to Lileks for pointing it out via a soap wrapper.