October 5, 2002

Ohwha Tador Kiam [Filed under: Uncategorized]

LSAT: done. Please don’t ask me how I did. I don’t get the score for weeks, and right now I’d like to focus on killing my brain cells with beer. I will admit, though, that I closed my writing sample with: Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. I am an überdork.

My friend from work gets married tonight within stumbling distance of my apartment. Guess who’s going to enjoy himself at the reception tonight?

Me, in case that wasn’t clear.

NP: The Autumns, Rose Catcher

October 2, 2002

Operation: Enduring Freedom is in the house! [Filed under: Uncategorized]

So about a month ago my computer died while I was attempting to replace some dead CPU fans. In a panic, I ordered a new motherboard and CPU. Craziness ensued, and it took two weeks for my package to arrive. Last Friday, I installed the new mobo/CPU, but they didn’t seem to work. It was the same old problem: no video signal, and no sensible beep code from the motherboard. Yesterday, as I was contemplating returning the new motherboard and CPU, I decided to reinstall the old combo (because it was the most convenient way to store it) and on a whim I powered it up.

Naturally, it worked just fine.

So I’ve either got an extra motherboard/CPU to tool around with, or I will have thrown $30+ away in useless shipping costs. On the plus side, my computer seems to be working again… for now…

Get Your War On: I don’t know, I’m not really laughing at these, it’s more of a hearty sob tempered by a wry, cynical smile, but I think these cartoons are the greatest thing since Tom Tomorrow, and maybe even better. If you were a child of the eighties, make sure to read page eight. Operation: Enduring Freedom is in the house!

The Lost ’80s: the site is far from complete, but it sure looks promising. Some of the “toys” pages are great, and the “arcade” page has some great Java games to liven up the work day. Enjoy!

68

“I have done that,” says my memory. “I cannot have done that,” says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually—memory yields.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, from Beyond Good and Evil, translated by Walter Kaufmann

NP: Sing Sing, I Can See You on KEXP

September 24, 2002

A World of Minor Irritations [Filed under: Uncategorized]

Two days ago, in a fit of unrivaled clumsiness and stupidity, I managed to give myself a rather painful paper cut—on my eyeball. Please don’t ask me how I did it; the memories are far too embarrassing to relive. Trust, though, that YES it is possible to get a paper cut on one’s eyeball and YES it does hurt quite a bit. It is still quite bothersome today.

I am consoled, however, by my receipt yesterday of a package from Germany. My Blümchen CD arrived; for $10 I received an ultra-rare Verliebt Goldedition double CD and a bonus Blaue Augen single, shipping included (thank you, Bastian). I’ve been dancing all day. I think the people on the train this morning were somewhat annoyed…

NP: Blümchen, Achterbahn

September 21, 2002

Imitation of Swinburne [Filed under: Uncategorized]

Let us make haste, depart ; she will not dance.
Let us quaff our drinks and move to France.
She would not pluck the fruit from off the vine,
Nor help our Bacchanal one step advance.
How humourless she is! like hemlock wine ;
Yea, though we poured a thousand ants into her pants,
     She would not dance.

(Read more…)

September 19, 2002

Krugman in the NYT [Filed under: Uncategorized]

[Taken from MetaFilter] Paul Krugman, in Tuesday’s New York Times [registration required, sorry], highlights Secretary of the Army Thomas White’s involvement in Enron’s fraud. Also of note is Cheney’s golden handshake from his pals at Halliburton. I don’t have anything to add beyond another link in the datasphere to keep the info alive. Just thought y’all should know about this stuff.

Incidently, MeFi-er michaelonfs pointed out that Secretary White’s résumé has been tidied up a bit since the Enron debacle broke. Look at his current profile and compare it to what it looked like on June 29th, 2001.

NP: Luna, California (All the Way) via KEXP

September 17, 2002

Stress is bad. [Filed under: Uncategorized]

I’m having trouble breathing… I feel as if the air is made of lead, pressing in on my chest. It’s a very strange sensation, this inescapable dread of the next moment—even in my anxiety I am able to focus my attention on the sensation and observe my breathing, its shallowness, its timidity, its ineffectuality.

(Read more…)

September 16, 2002

Two Things to Be Happy About [Filed under: Uncategorized]

  1. All that is good in academic economics would include: David Levine’s work on intellectual property.
  2. All that is good in music would include: Blümchen, whose rare Verliebt Goldedition 2CD set I just won on eBay.de for €2.5.

NP: Coldplay, The Scientist

September 14, 2002

As it seems to me today: [Filed under: Uncategorized]

There is no such thing as personal tragedy. If a tree falls, with no one near to hear it, it never made a sound.

NP: Marine Research, Parallel Horizontal

September 10, 2002

I feel as if I’ve lost a limb [Filed under: Uncategorized]

I killed my computer dead. I’ve been having problems with it for awhile; the CPU fans died most horribly, shrieking and groaning for weeks, so the CPU has been running hot for some time. I finally decided to do something about it, and tried to replace the fans, but it seems I shorted out the board or my memory stick (I had to take it out to get at the CPU fan screws), or I jostled the CPU into oblivion, or something similar, but the thing won’t boot. It just lets off a series of shrill beeps and won’t turn off. I can’t do a thing about it.

As a result, I won’t be able to post very often until I get it fixed. No computer at home means no writing. Nothing tragic to you, I suppose, but I’m in the midst of a terrible desperation. It’s horrible.

There are certain projects I’ve been meaning to undertake; I need to respond to my friend Ben’s comments, I’ve wanted to write several email letters for quite some time, and there are a couple of small pieces I need to finish. All will have to wait indefinitely.

I have to do some work while I’m at work now, but I did want to mention that just this morning I’ve begun reading Kierkegaard’s Either/Or, Part I. I’m quite excited.

NP: Cocteau Twins, Lorelei

September 6, 2002

Just a few items in the news: [Filed under: Uncategorized]

Thank you, Jimmy Carter. Former US President Jimmy Carter wrote a piece for the Washington Post (apparently buried on page A31) decrying recent changes he perceives in traditional US foreign policy. He suggests that Washington is now in the hands of some wiry belligerents, “a core group of conservatives who are trying to realize long-pent-up ambitions under the cover of the proclaimed war against terrorism.” Let us be quite clear about who these war-mongers are: the old hawks Cheney and Rumsfeld. A theory about what their ambitions might include can be found in this Salon article from June 17. Carter restricts his attention to changes in human rights policies, our turn from “good-neighbor” participation in the global community, and our rôle in the Middle East peace process. That’s no small umbrella—it shelters an alarmingly broad coterie of crimes. Carter writes:

Peremptory rejections of nuclear arms agreements, the biological weapons convention, environmental protection, anti-torture proposals, and punishment of war criminals have sometimes been combined with economic threats against those who might disagree with us. These unilateral acts and assertions increasingly isolate the United States from the very nations needed to join in combating terrorism.

Also from the Post: September 11: ‘American Idol’ Seizes the Day. I don’t think I have anything intelligent to say about this one. Just read it—and weep with me.

NP: Future Bible Heroes, From Some Dying Star on KEXP