Thursday, January 11, 2001
Oh God, soon you'll be coming to elan.org to get my genes. I'll be XML-ized. Have you expressed yourself in Gene Expression Markup Language today?
 11:03 PM
Curious George W. (thanks Jason) and I just received Shrub, chronicling W.'s short political career.
10:58 PM
Don't forget to Google the new people you meet that pique your interest.
5:52 PM
You know that flying trip I took Saturday. I brought a camera up with us.
This is the Piper Arrow we flew parked at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose. |
Before you fly you are supposed to check the gas for proper octane and lead content. The color of the liquid through the tube Barry is pretending to drink signifies the properties of it's content (blue in this case). He is also checking for sediment or water. An engine stalling in the air is not a good thing. |
Twin Peaks, San Francisco down town and the Bay Bridge from close to far. |
4:25 PM
Cool, I may experience a blackout at work or home.
4:10 PM
Wednesday, January 10, 2001
I feel weird being back in school, but it is wonderful to be part of organized learning again. I graduated two and a half years ago, though it feels like a long time ago. Now I sit in class with my mouth wide open, hanging on every word. I used to listen enough just to get by. Now that grades aren't important, fear of subjective evaluation isn't a factor.
Yesterday, I sat through the first day of Tibetan Buddhist Belief and Practice: The Autobiography of Shabkar. The amount of knowledge the professor has regarding religion, culture and history is mind boggling. Tonight, I attended Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop, which I hope will help me learn to write better, here and elsewhere. Tonight's class included about 20 people. Two are male (that two includes me). It wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention that almost all of the women are mothers or grandmothers. Yet, I still sit with my mouth wide open, hanging on every word. They all have a story. Their lives are rich with emotion, rich with conflict and rich with meaning. They all came to the class yearning for ways to share themselves through writing. How inspiring. I look forward to nine more weeks of hanging on every word.
11:05 PM
Part of me wants to go to sleep, but part of me doesn't. The day doesn't feel complete. I was productive at work, got there at decent hour, went to class, had a relaxing dinner, but something is missing.
11:01 PM
Yeah, two quotes in one day, but I like this one, too: "Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends."
-- H.L. Mencken
1:57 PM
"I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change."
-- Jim Rohn
8:54 AM
Tuesday, January 9, 2001
Xbox is Microsoft's upcoming attempt to compete with Sony, Nintendo and Sega gaming systems. In typical Microsoft fashion, the hype over this non-existent product ia humongous. As such, everybody is comparing other shipped and unshipped gaming systems to the Xbox. Naturally, the only true hype monster that Microsoft can't compete with is sex. The gaming kind that doesn't produce shipped systems (hopefully). Check out Xbox vs. Sex (nice find Pierre).
4:09 PM
"Age should think and youth should do."
-- German Proverb
1:01 PM
Make an action figure out of yourself (via brig). Or put yourself on your wedding cake instead of Ken and Barbie or have them make that voodoo doll of your x that you've always wanted.
11:08 AM
Responses to the sour cream question have been rolling in:
The liquid isn't bad for you. It was in the sour cream originally. It's not like dreidel boy snuck into your fridge and added something to your sour cream. It has something to do with the density of the cream. If you mix the liquid back into the cream, your cream will be thinner. If you pour it off the top, the sour cream won't be as watery. The same thing happens with cottage cheese. I prefer to pour the liquid off. -- Michelle
I always pour it into the sink too. Though, I'm probably a little more obsessive-compulsive than most. -- Someone
As near as I could always tell, it's simply water, albeit sour cream flavoured water. I think that the heavier parts of the sour cream settles to the bottom leaving the water on top. Kind of the opposite of the cream rising to the top, but then it IS sour cream after all. -- Someone else
Some people pour it off, some people mix it in. It depends on their learned behaviors and their sour cream texture preference. I know once, maybe twice in my life, when I poured out the liquid the sour cream accidentally went into the sink with it. Ron thinks it is called whey protein product and this report makes it look like we should be mixing it in.
10:42 AM
Mullets are becoming a national interest. Or more like a national joke, but that depends on who you ask. Books have been written. Now a movie is being made. Has anyone told the Mullets?
10:29 AM
Monday, January 8, 2001
Can't make money with your dot-com? Go non-profit (NY Times registration required). That's a good last minute strategy when you've run out of money, but don't want to see your good idea go bye-bye.
10:59 PM
Yes Amy, blogger is still be slow. No, I won't give them more money. Give them time to set up the servers. Why don't you give them some money? Geez. Ya know... some people's kids. :)
10:26 PM
"The best way to find happiness is not to search for it."
-- Jewish Proverb
4:06 PM
I was an influence on Perry, Alina and Amy to put up their sites and to use blogger. You know what happens when you introduce something to someone? Well, when it works great, they say thank you. But, when something goes wrong, oh boy do you know about it. When blogger goes down or slows down, I have at least three people telling me. I wouldn't know otherwise. The ironic nature of all of this is that I don't use blogger! However, since I love the whole blogger team (and Amy, Alina and Perry), I donated to their server fund. Now they were able to buy a new server, and I'm hoping that will make blogger faster for them. Now I hope the women will contact me to tell me how great the server is working. You can help to make me happier indirectly by donating to the fund, too. :)
9:51 AM
Sunday, January 7, 2001
someone is in love
10:26 PM
I went to a Jewish Singles Salsa event tonight. You'll be hearing more about Jewish Singles and me. I'm not embarrassed. It is one of the few methods to meet other Jews, male or female. Besides, if dancing is involved, I'm so there. Tonight I got a little better at Salsa and Cha-cha. When a song contains a Latin beat, my body naturally goes into Merengue mode. The problem is that when Salsa or Mambo is playing, Merengue doesn't cut it. I need a bunch more Salsa dancing until I feel as comfortable as I do with Merengue (which is just plain easy, that's why I can do it).
Anyway, you know what bother's me about these events. Well, one thing, because there are many things out of whack. But, what bothered me tonight were the men. They seem to refuse to talk to other men. I spoke to a few guys, who during the entire conversation where scoping the room with their eyes. It was almost a conversation, but it lacked some serious eye contact. Yeah, they aren't there because they are trying to meet other men (at least not at the singles events I go to), but still, geez, show some common courtesy.
10:07 PM
We need bacteria. Don't people realize it when they try to kill it? I read somewhere that 90% of our body is bacteria. Besides that, they are a natural necessary part of our eco-system. David found a recent NY Times article on the current obsessions with killing all things perceived as bad for us: Kill All the Bacteria!
11:37 AM
Saturday, January 6, 2001
AltaVista is a little messed up. If someone searches for "Aimee Mann lyrics", the last link (#10) they provide is to my web site. The page description they show is misleading. It seems to be from some other site, but the link points to my site. Technically, the link points visitors to a useless location that used to cause an error, but I just changed it so it sends them to an entry I wrote that included Aimee Mann lyrics.
6:55 PM
Jason found his true calling in life. He's going to clear dead animals off the road. What else is a Pennsylvania boy to do?
5:49 PM
I'm back from flying. It was fun and tiring. I think the altitude, vibration, sun and getting dehydrated makes you tired. We flew for a total of 2.5 hours. That was in three trips (and four landings, one was a touch-and-go). The first trip was up the Peninsula from San Jose, over my apartment, past the San Francisco airport, over and around the Golden Gate Bridge (twice), then back down the coast towards Half Moon Bay. We had lunch at a cafe that was practically on the runway. Then we flew down to Monterey, but didn't stop there because it was covered in fog. We stopped at another small airport and looked at all the gliders and WWII planes. Then we flew back to San Jose.
I had trouble understanding what the air traffic controllers were saying. We all had headsets on the plane because it was too loud otherwise. The headsets blocked out noise, but also enabled us to speak to each other. During one of the trips I sat upfront and flew the plane for a few seconds. That was cool, but I couldn't see where I was going. Next time I'll bring two phone books, or airport listing books, to sit on.
4:34 PM
Friday, January 5, 2001
I'm going flying tomorrow. Like in one of those little planes for like five people. One of my coworkers is a pilot and he's flying from San Jose to Half Moon Bay tomorrow. As soon as he invited me, I got scared. I got scared of falling out of the sky and dying. So, the first thing I told him was that I am fearful and the second thing I told him is that I'm going. I hope to be writing about it and sharing pictures tomorrow night.
9:04 PM
People tell you cool movies you should watch all the time. And every time I'm in the video rental store, I forget what those movies were. Today I was told about four awesome kung fu movies I need to watch. The movies are: The East is Red -
The Bride with White Hair -
The Killer -
Hard Boiled. I'm writing it so I have the list somewhere, but to maybe contribute to your list. You have a written list, don't you?
8:59 PM
Mark just wrote to inquire what a dreidel is and what it is for. One can never make assumptions about their audience, huh? Thank you for asking Mark, because when one person asks, they usually aren't the only ones wondering.
In simple terms, a dreidel is a wooden top with four sides to fall over onto. Each side has a different Hebrew letter on it and it is used as a "gambling" game during the Hanukah. I posted a picture of one January 3 in the middle of a Christmas tree decoration. You can sort of experience a dreidel and the game here.
2:22 PM
When I take out the sour cream from the fridge, after not having used it for a few days, there is always a thin white liquid film on top. Growing up I saw my parents pour the thin white liquid in to the sink and then use the rest of the sour cream. I assumed this meant the liquid wasn't good for you, so I did the same and continue to do the same. When Amy was visiting last week, she saw the same thin white liquid and instantly mixed it in with the rest of the sour cream. I was instantly appalled and disgusted. When Amy probed why I, of course, had no logical answer. So, I shut up, ate the sour cream and life was dandy. Now help me...
9:38 AM
Thursday, January 4, 2001
Jason found a gem: Singapore may take license with "SEX" car plates. I love that country. Though, you have to have a sense of humor to live there.
9:28 PM
Finally, someone created a book search engine closer to the way we think.
"I realized that people didn't just like books, they liked certain plots in books, certain kinds of characters in books, certain kinds and amounts of action and dialogue in books. if I could turn this idea into a database that could be accessed by a search engine, I would be doing the fiction readers and writers of the world a great service."
-- Steve in regards to AllReaders.com Steve also created AllWatchers.com with similar searching for movies.
4:37 PM
I was just sitting on the nice black leather plush couches in our office. I finished bagel with lox was relaxingly drinking my juice when a coworker walks up to me, looks at me for a second and says "You look stoned, I'm going to the bathroom."
12:14 PM
Max, why don't you make that talking fish of yours say something else?
12:34 PM
Wednesday, January 3, 2001
I went to my first Christmas tree trimming party a few weeks ago. You know, the kind where everyone comes together at someone's house to decorate their Christmas tree. (That explanation is for you sheltered Jews.) Caroline at work hosted the party and provided various raw materials (glue, glitter, paper, etc.). Well, I happened to have a dreidel in my pocket that I stole from work. I wanted to incorporate it in the tree so this is what I came up with:
Meet DreidelBoy. Today he is sporting his Christmas apparel. His heart is made of wood (not clay). He can hop along and hang out, but seems to have trouble spinning. If you send me ten bux, I'll make one for you, too.
9:28 PM
Nicole just moved to New York City from San Francisco. I've been reading her site for a half a year now I think. I was reading here and there to key in on her life in the area. Now our paths have crossed and I'm reading about her settling into a new life in Manhattan. She's settling into a city I never really lived in and never wanted to. She's living in a city I never really gave a chance. I wish her best of luck adjusting. Patience is too the thing that keeps me going while I continue to adjust.
I watched Family Man tonight. The movie takes place in Manhattan and Teaneck, NJ. That's the first time I experienced a movie that takes place in a location from my "past." I miss walking in a city where I recognize tall buildings and can find some place I've been within two blocks of anywhere I'm standing. I'm lost in San Francisco, though finding my way more and more during every trip there. If it was a grid, it would be a little easier. But, what will make it mine is a whole bunch of experiences and late nights that haven't happened yet.
12:11 AM
Tuesday, January 2, 2001
Boys are more sensitive than girls (via evhead). That's not a suprise to this boy.
6:31 PM
Consternation = constipation of the mind (caused by perceived obstacles?).
1:43 PM
80% of obstacles are perceived.
12:33 AM
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