Electric range burner covers

Looking for something to cover the coils on the top of our electric range, to stop debris from getting into the drip pans.

Reviews online seemed consistently disappointed with thin metal covers, as they dent easily and discolor.

Needs:

• Sturdy
• Will not discolor easily...for example, when setting a hot pizza pan on top
• White, if preferable, to match our range

Then, I realized we probably had two problems. I wanted something on which to set a pizza pan, for cutting. Our pizza pan has holes, which means the slicing process makes a mess. So we really needed something to set that on, which did not make a mess over the oven.

I actually like these insights, even if it means more problems to solve...each problem gets a simpler solution. A trivet or silicone baking mat would work, for the pizza pan slicing. A burner cover would work, for general protection from getting dirty. Perfect.

Our countertop needs a 2'x2' mat. We ended up getting Clever Chef Professional Grade Silicone Nonstick Baking Mat - Full Sheet Pan (23.58W x 15.75L).

Steam Folder Migration: USB 3.0 external storage drive, to internal SSD

We recently complete updating storage on Dawn's laptop, adding additional capacity and modifying partition sizes.

Today, we moved the Steam folder, from a Samsung T1 Portable 250GB USB 3.0 External SSD, to her newly expanded laptop internal SSD, loosely following the instructions on the Steam web site:

• Exit the Steam client application
• Browse to the Steam installation folder for the Steam installation you would like to move (D:\Steam, for us)
• Copy the folder to the new location; for example: C:\Program Files\Steam
• Delete all of the files and folders, in C:\Program Files\Steam, except the SteamApps folder and Steam.exe
• Rename D:\Steam to D:\SteamBackup
• For the first time only, launch Steam via "Run as Administrator", then log into your account
• Running as non-Administrator, Steam produced an error which said (paraphrasing): "Could not connect; please connect to a network and try again
• Running as Administrator did not produce the error
• Verify integrity of game cache(s):
• From the Library section, right-click on the game and select Properties from the menu
• Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game cache... button
• Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes
• Once the process is completed, the Check Window will automatically exit
• Manually update the Start Menu shortcut, for Steam: right-click on the icon, select Properties, then change the location the shortcut points to, so it points to the new folder (for us, we changed it from D:\Steam\Steam.exe, to C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe)

Done. 

NOTES

• After you have some confidence that Steam works as expected, you can either keep D:\Steam as a backup, or delete it
• OK to start Steam as non-administrator, for all future uses...that first time, above, Steam needs administrator rights to repair itself

Previously, previously, previously.

Car tires

Was:
Goodyear Assurance P185/65R15 86T
Came with car

Now:
Bridgestone - Ecopia EP422 PLUS 185/65R15 88H, Manufacture #006138
$257.96 for four, with $70 multi-tire discount, plus install and fees, so ~$325 out the door.

Bob Zimway, Photographer

Subject's photographs appear at Westside Coffee Company's Almar Ave, Santa Cruz location.

Eggy bagel! : o )

Wool socks

On wool socks:

"That said, the suit-wearing man should usually be donning wool socks year-round. Wool socks do a better job of keeping feet warm in cold weather, and cool in hot weather. This is because wool socks are much superior at wicking water, keeping feet dry and regulating their temperature. All else being equal when it is warm cotton-encased feet will get hotter and sweatier, and when it is cold, they will get colder."

Via

Interested in the Dore Dore 100% Wool Over-The-Calf sock, but ... so expensive! Even on sale at $28/pair.

Smog Checks for California Hybrid Vehicles

The smogpocalypse! ; o )

http://www.bar.ca.gov/Industry/Industry_Resources/Q&As_Hybrid_Vehicles_in_the_Smog_Check_Program.html

Diploma frames

http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Frames-Certificate-Document-Mahogany/dp/B00G7KGU60/

http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-back-bevel-document-frame-black-8-5x11/-/A-10353622

UCSC McHenry Library Digital Newspaper Displays

Collecting info on the newspaper displays in the lobby of the McHenry Library, which rotate frontpages from around the world.

Lee Jaffe's installation photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ldjaffe/albums/72157626824825533

• Modeled after installation at UC Berkeley International House
• "These photos document work on a 6-screen installation that will feature front pages from newspapers worldwide. The architects left us with pretty much nothing we could use and in fact added some extra surprises. I'm working with Doug Russo, a carpenter, to design and build this installation that we hope will compensate for the deficiencies of the space in an attractive and secure manner."
• "...the electrical raceway [was] added for a different project just before we started our installation. Nobody thinks this was done well -- there is conduit all throughout the wall and it could have been routed differently -- but there is no money to fix it at this point. We were able to reposition our installation a bit to cover some of the raceway but we cannot hide it completely." (photo)
• Installation occurred during summer 2011

Gifts funding the creation: "UC Santa Cruz receives $350,000 to create global café and reading garden at University Library"
http://news.ucsc.edu/2007/01/1028.html

• "Stephen Silberstein--cofounder and former president of Innovative Interfaces, a library software company in Emeryville, California-has donated $250,000 to create a global cyber café in the campus's newly expanded and renovated McHenry Library."
• "Plans for the UC Santa Cruz café include a rotating digital newspaper display that spotlights up-to-date front pages of approximately 140 newspapers from around the world. Representing the varied geographic areas of Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, the newspaper exhibit is designed to contrast different global perspectives of current events."

UPDATE, 8/3/2015: A UCSC staff member writes:

"The person who was most directly involved with the implementation of this system has retired. I will try to answer your questions as best I can. 

The current newspaper display was installed in 2011 based on an earlier pilot installation in 2009. It uses Mac Mini computers and 30" Dell monitors. The image swapping is managed by the MacOS screen saver application. The newspaper images are .jpegs managed by newseum.org and those images are updated on that site daily. The library contracted with a programmer to do some customized scripting to automate the daily download of new newspaper images. Unfortunately, I do not have any contact information for that developer."

So, it sounds like a script downloads the fixed image URLs, from Newseum, which updates the image URLs, daily. For example, the Centre, Alabama, USA newspaper, "The Post". The script may copy the images to a folder on the computer driving each display (or perhaps a server folder). The computer then displays the images, in the configured folder, via native screensaver utility.

Seems pretty straightforward! I had wondered if Newseum represented the source; nice to see it confirmed. The script just iterates over a configured list of newspaper images, probably calling something like wget.

Note: Lee Jaffe may represent the retired staff member referred to, above. The 2009 installation seems to represents the install seen in several photos from Lee's Flickr account, prior to the McHenry Library remodel.

UPDATE: 04/08/2023 - 

Newseum as an organization dissolved in 2019. 

We stopped by the iHouse at UC Berkeley today and it looks like they removed their newspaper displays.

Here's how the UC Berkeley iHouse cafe displays looked as of September 17, 2019:

Photo courtesy IHouse UC Berkeley

 

"Computer Programming: What is the difference between developer, engineer, programmer, coder, architect, and consultant?"

• A programmer knows how to program computers.
• A developer is a programmer who sits in a cubicle and gets paid for it.
• A coder is a programmer who sits on a beanbag listening to techno in a black T-shirt and gets paid for it.
• An architect is a programmer who thinks up something really big for the other programmers to program, and gets paid for it
• A consultant was a programmer, but now wears a suit and tells developers, coders, and architects how they ought to develop, code and architect, and gets paid a lot for it.

Jon Peterson, via

Traceroute

oh?

"The default starting port in UNIX traceroute is 33434. This comes from 32768 (2 This comes from 32768 (2 15 ^ or the max value of a , or the max value of a signed 16-bit integer) + 666 (the mark of Satan)."

Via 

XOR Magic

Pretty cool!

Swap variables, without a temp variable : o )

Rocket Farms Bamboo

Purchased a Rocket Farms "Lucky" Bamboo plant (Dracaena braunii), at a local Trader Joe's.

The label details say it will "improve" luck...which represents a relief...sometimes they do not specify good or bad luck! ; o )

Care instructions

NOTES

• How I Keep My Houseplants Alive
• Water
• Filtered or distilled OK
• Tap water OK, but let sit overnight, so additives evaporate
• Low humidity can cause leaf tips to turn brown as well (via)
• In soil: should be kept moderately moist. Lucky bamboo doe not like to be soggy or dry. (via)
• Other (?)

Makers Market Santa Cruz

Visited the Makers Market Santa Cruz today, at Abbott Square.

We met local glass maker Zachary Rudolph, saw Nickelodeon popcorn for sale, and listened to live harp music, by local artist Jesse Autumn. Zachary had purple drinking ware for sale (note: other colors, as well). He practiced his sales-fu on us, but we resisted! : o ) Good stuff; hoping he keeps doing it.

Favorite Sounds

An ongoing list:

• Clacking of slow-moving, elevated light rail trains, from a distance
• Cicadas, in the summertime (audio)
• Frogs, at night
• Male woodland cicadas (Tibicen platypedia?), in redwoods: "...from male woodland cicadas, sending out their mating calls with "a cacophony of mechanical-sounding clicks." These little insects climb high into the trees, so that they're often heard but rarely seen." (via)
• Red-winged blackbird 💜 (example)
• Other (?)

Only as sick as your secrets

Having never attended AA, I had not heard this quote, until randomly hearing/reading about it the other day.

Hiyashi Tan Tan Men

Had this cold noodle dish at Ramen House Ryujin, in Sacramento.

Andrew Westerman

Westside Coffee, in Santa Cruz, features his photography.

Radio Songs

Heard on KOSF 103.7 FM, out of San Francisco, California:

• Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany-native Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)", from his 1983 album "Error in the System" on the Elektra and WEA Records labels. Video.
• London, England-native Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok", from the 1984 album "Chess" on the RCA label. Video. Note: Murray Head also sang "Superstar" from the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar".
• London, England-formed Talk Talk's "It's My Life", from their 1984 album "It's My Life" on the EMI label. Video.

Heard on KBLX 102.9 FM, out of Berkeley, California:

• Detroit-native Kem's "I Can't Stop Loving You", from his 2005 album "Album II", on the Motown Records label. Audio.

Heard on KUSP 88.9 FM, out of Santa Cruz, California:

• Heard a classical tarantella . A fun exchange where the host did not know how to pronounce "roulette".

Cloning, Increasing SSD Partitions of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 2nd Generation (Rel 2)

Used a Transcend 512 GB SATA III SSD, in the following enclosure, to clone the existing 128GiB SSD: "ZTC Thunder Enclosure NGFF M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter. Support UASP SuperSpeed 6Gb/s 520MB/s Black Model ZTC-EN004-BK"

• Really tough to insert the Transcend SSD drive into the ZTC M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter board (the adapter board and SSD then gets inserted into the enclosure)
• The adapter's USB 3.0 Micro-B receptacle seemed poorly soldered, most likely a factory defect
• After inserting the USB 3.0 Micro-B plug, Microsoft Windows recognized the adapter, then, after a few seconds, lost connection to it
• The adapter's blue LEDs turned on/off in the same way
• Physically bumping the adapter seemed to produce the same effect
• After some experimentation, I discovered flexing the USB 3.0 Micro-B receptacle, at a downward angle, allowed for a reliable connection
• After finding the workaround mentioned above, I sat for nearly 18 minutes, holding the adapter board perfectly still, at this angle, to complete the clone of the existing disk
• We did not use the aluminum enclosure, just the M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter...due to the faulty soldering...having the adapter in the enclosure did not allow for the workaround
• We used software Macrium Reflect Free, version 6.0.685 (17 June 2015); it worked perfectly--love it!

After cloning the internal disk, we replaced the 128GiB X1 Carbon internal SSD with the new 512GiB SSD:

• This went smoothly
• We needed to apply a non-trivial amount of force to unscrew the screw holding down the SSD
• Insertion of the Transcend 512 GB SATA III drive was no problem

Rebooting showed everything as expected!

Due to dual-OS configuration, on one disk, enlarging partitions had a few wrinkles:

• The original 128GB SSD had a hidden, 7GiB Intel Rapid Start Technology (IRST) partition, as the last partition
• We found no partition editors which would allow us to move this partition 
• After disabling BIOS IRST support and doing some research, we deleted this partition, with no ill effect
• The vendor seems to have labeled this partition "OEM", which caused a bit of confusion, initially...many posts advised, rightfully so, to not delete the OEM partition
• After deleting the IRST partition, we successfully moved the Ubuntu swap partition, allowing room to expand the main Ubuntu partition size
• After a reboot, we increased the partition size of the Microsoft Windows 8 C:\ partition (after taking a risk and deleting a 1.0 MiB partition which seemed unused)
• We also created a new IRST partition:
• Type = Unformatted
• Drive Letter = None
• Use diskpart to set the ID to D3BFE2DE-3DAF-11DF-BA40-E3A556D89593
• After creating the IRST partition, we re-enabled IRST in BIOS
• Hibernation works, as expected, with the system going into Microsoft Windows S4 sleep mode

So far, all seems well. Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows work, as expected. 

Cleanup tasks:

• Migrate files from external USB 3.0 SSD to internal USB 3.0 SSD
• Update Ubuntu
• (?)

Previously

Wanship

An "n"...or maybe an "r" (?)

Passed by this thought-provoking logo, on a trailer:

Note: Wanship seems to refer to the Utah city...however, the web site seems a bit vague.

Wisdom, from their History page: "Bruce said, the most important thing is to know what your costs are, and don’t run for less than your costs ! sounds simple, but as our industry has proven time and time again, overcoming that obstacle is something that is easier said than done."

"Dokdo Belongs to Korea"

Saw this sign, as I passed the dispensary, "Santa Cruz Mountain Herb," on Highway 17. It refers to Dokdo:

"The Liancourt Rocks,[a] also known as Dokdo or Tokto (Korean pronunciation: [tokt͈o]; Hangul: 독도; hanja: 獨島, literally solitary island) inKorean, and Takeshima (竹島/たけしま?, literally bamboo island) in Japanese,[2] are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan. WhileSouth Korea controls the islets, its sovereignty over them is contested by Japan. South Korea classifies the islets as Dokdo-ri, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province.[3] Japan classifies them as part of Okinoshima, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture."

Tom Paine Slough

A thing I passed.

"Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare...."

“Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare;
To-morrow's Silence, Triumph, or Despair:
Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why:
Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where.”

The Rubaiyat
By Omar Khayyam

Saw this today, at an Alhambra Theatre Fountain, now a Safeway, in Sacramento.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 2nd Generation (Rel 2) - SSD Replacement / Upgrade

Our refurbished laptop came with a 128GB SSD, which quickly filled-up, due to dual-booting, student software, and so forth.

So, time to upgrade!

Lenovo recommends the following storage options:

• 128GB SSD M.2
• Intel 180GB Opal SSD
• 256GB SSD M.2 eDrive Capable
• Intel 240GB Opal SSD
• 512GB SSD M.2

NOTES

• Lingo
• Second generation names:
• ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 2
• ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2nd gen
• New ThinkPad X1 Carbon
• ThinkPad X1C2
• m.2
• "The M.2 connector can have different keying notches that denote various uses of M.2 modules."
• Overview of what M and B+M means
• eDrive: 
• Per Wikipedia, "Microsoft eDrive is a specification for storage devices to allow compliant storage devices to use its built-in encryption."
• It seems "eDrive adds the additional capability of BitLocker in HW mode (IEEE1667)
• Opal: 
• Per Wikipedia, "The Opal Storage Specification is a set of specifications for features of data storage devices (such as disk drives) that enhance their security. For example, it defines a way of encrypting the stored data so that an unauthorized person who gains possession of the device cannot see the data."
• It appears Opal does not represent an acronym
• PCIe (PCI Express, or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)
• Overview of what 2280 means (note: please ignore PCIe, at the link)
• 2280 means, "22mm wide, 80mm length"
• 22mm width seems to represent the standard, with lengths set at 30, 42, 60, 80, and 110
• Reference
• Hardware Maintenance Manual, for machine types: 20A7 and 20A8
• Lenovo Product Specifications Reference (PSREF)
• Comparing mSATA (generation one) with m.2 (generation two)
• X1 generation 2, announced in January, 2014, comes in two machine types:
• 20A7
• 20A8
• The difference (?)
• Storage details:
• One commenter, on which drives will work: "...any SATA (not the newest PCIe) 2280 m.2 SSD with M or B+M keys."
• Seems to imply it needs the notch in the m.2 module in the "M" position
• 80mm length (or less, I guess?)...so, no 110mm form factors
• "Only one M.2 slot in the X1C2 will recognize SSDs" (via)
• Note: "The SSD in the X1C2 only supported SATA M.2 2280 NGFF SSDs. Which means that the port was only connected to SATA. With the X1C3, the socket is connected to both PCIe and SATAIII." That is, you can use PCIe SSDs.
• SSDs advertised as 480GB instead of 512GB...potentially the controller over-provisioning (?)
• Upgrade notes
• Video of removing chassis screws and replacing SSD, in a first generation X1 Carbon
• Clone the existing SSD to the new SSD
• Vendor options:
• SSD:
• Transcend 512 GB SATA III 6Gb/s MTS800 80 mm M.2 SSD Solid State Drive TS512GMTS800
• Reviews: positive and positive
• M+B keyed
• Micron MTFDDAV512MBF-1AN12A M600 512 GB Internal Solid State Drive - M.2 - 560 MBps Maximum Read Transfer Rate - 510 MBps Maximum Write Transfer Rate - M.2 2280
• Crucial M500 480GB SATA 6Gbps M.2 Internal SSD [Crucial PN: CT480M500SSD4]
• (?)
• Cloning
• M-Factors Storage "DT-119 (M.2 (NGFF) SSD to SATA adapter)" + Apricorn EZ Upgrade USB 3.0 enclosure + Apricorn EZ Gig software  
• Cloning hint: "The only tricky part was getting the X1 Carbon 2014 to recognize the Transcend ssd while it was attached externally through the USB 3.0 configuration. But this just requires that you run diskmgmt.msc (just do a search for it in the X1 Carbon 2014 start menu and then click on the program once you find it to open it) to right-click on unallocated drive-space to create a "New Simple Volume," partition so that the new SSD can then be formatted."
• ZTC Thunder Enclosure NGFF M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter. Support UASP SuperSpeed 6Gb/s 520MB/s Black Model ZTC-EN004-BK
• (?)
• Post-upgrade:
• "The SSD did not have the latest firmware. There is no update program for Windows 8, so it was necessary to create a bootable USB flash drive (or a bootable CD/DVD). The recommended program "Universal USB Installer" prepared the USB flash drive. It was not UEFI compatible, so it was necessary to temporarily disable Secure Boot and enable Legacy Boot mode. This was not difficult for me, but it could be for others. The firmware update was successful and no files were lost." (via)
• "I had troubles for the first two days ater installation due to Power saving configuration under windows 8." (via)

We determined to go with the Transcend and ZTC Thunder.

Cat maintenance

Spending some time today reviewing our cat maintenance setup.

CURRENT
Two domestic shorthair cats
Omega Paw Roll' N Clean Litterbox (3x)
PetSmart ExquisiCat Naturals Pine Cat Litter

PROBLEMS
The Roll' N Clean litter box does not work with pine pellets litter. It does work well with pine cobble litter, but the cobble tracks all over our carpets. The pine pellets track much less. The Roll' N Clean litter box takes some effort to turn over and sift, which means, in practice, it does not get done, as frequently as needed.

With a busy student lifestyle, minimizing maintenance represents a goal.

IDEAS

Feline Pine Self Cleaning Litter Box

• Pine sawdust falls into sub-tray
• Unused pellets remain in upper-tray (note: we dispose of many unused pellets, currently, as too much hassle to sift)
• Manually remove solids, daily
• "The sawdust that falls to the bottom absolutely REEKS when you go to scoop it out...I guess because it’s so concentrated and no air gets to it down there."
• A response: "I find that spreading a little bit of litter on the bottom pan to help absorb the urine soaked litter as it falls makes a big difference. When I do this, I don’t get the urine smell."
• Pellets get wedged in the holes (note: yes; have noticed this also on our tracking mats)
• Lower sides (?)

PeeWee Cat Litter Box (note: not in the United States (?) )

Smart Cat Box

• Non-absorbent safflower seeds
• Liquid drains to sub-tray, then collected, via slope, into sub-sub-reservoir
• Manually remove solids, daily

Tidy Cats Breeze litter box

• Zeolite pellets; exchange after one month
• Pads trap liquids, in sub-tray; exchange after one week
• Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate can use pine pellets
• Manually remove solids, daily
• "Runny/watery solids which will go all over the pellets and is tougher and takes longer to clean."

Iris Cat Litter Scoop

We determined to go with the Feline Pine Self Cleaning Litter Box.

Additionally:

We recently purchased a BISSELL SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner, 3624.

On Saturday, we wondered where to find BISSELL 2X Pet Stain & Odor Portable Machine Formula, 32 ounces, 74R7. Unfortunately, the ones we saw, at PetSmart, said, on the label, "for FULL SIZED cleaner only." So, we did not buy those. On the Bissell web site, they have some squishy answers (in my opinion) about this.

Bissell also recommend "pre-treating the area before cleaning for best results." So, we should probably do that.

Star Wars Review

For later:

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/

What is the purpose?

"To find it."

One answer!

Random Marshall Rosenberg Notes

Paolo Freire - regarding his efforts to teach literacy to Brazilian populace

Alfie Kohn - "Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes" (Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999)

O.J. Harvey - Research on the relationship between language and violence

Stimulus notebook, for later review

Dan Greenburg - "How to Make Yourself Miserable: Another Vital Training Manual" (1966)

Herb Gardner's play, "A Thousand Clowns" (1962)

Manfred Max Neef - "...urged a change towards "Human Scale Development" of local economies based on the satisfaction of nine fundamental human needs: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom. He measured the success of a development plan by how well it satisfied these nine needs for the community in question." (via)

Safety comes from how we respond to people, not how they respond.

Carl Rogers

Martin Buber

Choppy energy of people in the most need of empathy express it most violently. (Disk 4, Track 2)

Example of husband who denies own needs. (Disk 5, Track 3)

Dr. M.R. recommends making a list of things afraid to say and then think about why afraid to say it. If honest, others are ok (Disk 4, Track 10)

Santa Cruz Sunday

Walked from our apartment to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center / Long Marine Laboratory.

Smells of dill as we passed the Homeless Garden Project, the non-profit which currently operates the Natural Bridges Farm location, at 30 W Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz.

Watched two surfers floating and waiting for sizable waves, a few of which they caught and rode, for a short distance.

From there, we took the coastal path a short distance to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. An interpretive sign mentioned how the facilities use a coastal water intake to service their operations with sea water, which they return to the sea. A passing docent talked a bit about the gray whale skeleton (for example, she mentioned they favor one side when diving into the mud, at the bottom; also, they have not protected the bones with a cast, yet). We saw Ms. Blue, then headed to the Ocean Discovery Shop. At the gift shop, we saw the following:

• Starfish bracelet, vendor = (?)
• Coastal Classics technical long-sleeve running shirt (CC-172), with nautical map of Santa Cruz harbor, from vendor Altered Latitudes, out of Charleston, South Carolina
• Turtle purse, vendor = (?)
• Pajama bottoms, from vendor Lazy One, out of North Logan, Utah:
• Deep Sleeper Whale pajama bottoms
• Otter Be Asleep pajama bottoms
• Wide Mouth Goldfish socks, from vendor K. Bell, out of Inglewood, California
• Sea Turtles of the World poster, by Dawn Witherington, out of Florida
• Sea turtle ring (silver, #40946, $70), vendor = (?)
• Jewelry, from vendor Bamboo Jewelry, out of Alameda, California:
• Leatherback Sea Turtle pin
• Flatback Hatchling Sea Turtle necklace
• Sea Turtle tile, from vendor Pacific Blue Tile, out of Rough and Ready, California
• Jellyfish mosaic stationery/poster/etc., from vendor Lantern Press, out of Seattle, Washington
• A 2.25" square ceramic tile with a turtle, from vendor Cindy Searles, out of Occidental, California

On the way back, we noticed a car with a sticker reading "Can't Afford It", which seems to represent Santa Cruz resident Zachary Frandeen's enterprise, started in 2011-12.

Grandmaster Chess Blitz

Out of the blue, I saw an article on Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy, who lost to a complicated maneuver.

Interestingly, this represented the first chess Banter Blitz I have seen! So, I have watched a few, since then.

When Marnie Was There

Dawn and I viewed the 2014 Studio Ghibli film, "When Marnie Was There", at The Nick.

A wonderful film, one of the best animated films I have seen, ever.

Costco Jewelry

572458 - heart-shaped pendant, diamond, ruby
970951 - heart-shaped pendant, blue topaz
886221 - amethyst pendant
444915 - multicolor freshwater pearl necklace

Om Gallery - Egg Chair, Space Chair

Stopped at Om Gallery store in Santa Cruz and Dawn really liked this wicker hanging egg chair:

Note: photo via Om Gallery Instagram (price: 50% off, I think, as of 9/25/2015, so down from ~$900 to ~$450 (?))

Also liked the hanging turtles. And also a space chair two-seater (!):

Chair, on the right (tag read something like "hyacinth chair": ~$1500 (?))

UPDATE: "HALF-MOON WATER HYACINTH CHAIR"

Metrojuice Porsche, Tesla

At Jamba Juice for breakfast, on Thursday, and noticed a woman and a man talking. They exited, and she departed in a Tesla, while he left in a Porsche. They both carried what seemed like lunch bags with the logo "Metrojuice" on them.

Apparently, this refers to Metro Juice Kitchen and Drinkery, which plans to open a new location on R Street.

Notable only due to the vehicles!

Radio Songs

Heard on KFOG 104.5 FM out of San Francisco, California:

• Honolulu, Hawaii-native Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" from his 1990 album "Ka 'Ano'i" on the Discos Tropical, Mountain Apple, and Big Boy labels. Video.

Heard on FRSC (namely, "Free Radio Santa Cruz") 101.3 FM out of Santa Cruz, California:

• As mentioned previously, heard what sounded like ambient music, ala Hearts of Space, around 10:30 p.m.

Homey Cozy Lovey Dovey

So good!

Puuung
http://www.grafolio.com/illustration/detail.grfl?projectNo=31639

From the artist:

“Love” is something everybody can relate to.
And “Love” comes in ways we can easily overlook in our daily lives.
So, I try to find the meaning of love in our daily lives and make it into artworks. 

Red Knoll, LLC

In Sacramento, on S Street, between 15th and 16th Streets, the City of Sacramento has shuttered at least three homes:

The notices on the structures cites, in one case, a dangerous structure (the stairs), and, in the other case, junk left in the yard, poor upkeep, and so forth. City staff seem to have served the papers in the March-April time frame.

City staff have also shuttered the building on the corner of 15th Street and S Street. The building in-between all of these buildings also seems abandoned/empty.

However, the final two buildings, on that side of the block, an auto repair business and a private homeowner, seem OK. 

My first thought: someone plans to do development. My second thought: who is Red Knoll, LLC, out of Roseville, California, that owns and apparently has abandoned at least two of the properties?

Hrm. A mystery!

UPDATE: 10/2015: It seems this may represent a project in the works, to convert these properties into "76 residential units above 13,000 square feet of commercial space. Steve Whitesides of Roseville is the applicant." Via: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/07/29/five-story-mixed-used-building-proposed-for.html

Guitarist - Beat It, by Michael Jackson

Question: The guitarist for the song "Beat It", by Michael Jackson.

Answer: Who was Eddie Van Halen?

Nice! : o )

Santa Cruz Wave Photography

Photography on display at Westside Coffee, Santa Cruz:

MATT DOLL (worldwaveimagery)

I think they have this one blown up to 5'x4' (approx) (?)

Photo: Matt Doll; used for illustrative purposes only

Radio Songs

Heard on KSJS 90.5 FM out of San Jose, California:

• Los Angeles-formed Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's "Express Yourself" from their 1970 "Express Yourself" on the Warner Bros. Records label. Audio.

Heard on KPIG 107.5 FM out of Freedom, California:

• Canton, Ohio-native William Royce "Boz" Scaggs' "I'm Easy" from his 1969 album "Boz Scaggs" on the Atlantic label. Audio.

James Mickens - Zombie Preparation

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/mickens/thenightwatch.pdf

Via

Santa Cruz Japanese Cultural Fair

http://jcfsantacruz.org/

Santa Cruz poster

Java Junction, in Santa Cruz, near Petsmart, has this poster:

http://www.lanternpress.com/catalog/item/33335?from=

Houseboat living

http://www.sunset.com/home/architecture-design/houseboat

Radio songs

Heard on KISQ 98.1 FM out of San Francisco, California:

• ??? at 5/29 at 11:15 p.m.

Heard on KABX 97.5 FM out of Modesto, California:

• ??? Something with lyrics "I've got some news for you" from 6/1 at 11:55 a.m.

Heard on KRXQ 98.5 FM out of Sacramento, California:

• Worthing, England-based Royal Blood's "Little Monster" from their 2014 album "Royal Blood" on the Black Mammoth and Warner Bros. Records labels.

Dawn had this on her mind: 

"Camille Saint-Saëns Clarinet Sonata in E flat major, Op.167 - Allegretto" (audio)

Configuring HP LaserJet CP1525nw

Found myself configuring out network printer again, so recording for future reference:

• Connect printer to router via network cable
• Power on the printer
• Use menu "Reports" to discover the IP address of the printer
• Connect to that IP address via web browser
• Configure wireless settings
• Disconnect the network cable from the printer
• Reconfigure any printer settings on client devices

Copland clarinet concerto vs. Addams Family theme

In a continuation of classical themes re-use, a passage of Aaron Copland's Clarinet Conerto (1948) seems quite similar to the theme song from the television show The Addams Family (1964-66):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family_Theme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarinet_Concerto_(Copland)

Previously, previously

"Parity is for farmers"

Seymour Cray, 1963.

Note: later, he stated, "I learned that a lot of farmers buy computers."

Note: this use of the term seems to stem from a part of the New Deal, which aimed to pay subsidies to farmers, in exchange for not bringing their products to market. The idea: limit supply of certain farm products, drive up prices, and allow farmers to earn "parity" pay for their efforts, in comparison to other professions.

"...[S]cience has taken a turn towards darkness"

Darkness!

Dr. Richard Horton and Dr. Marcia Angell, editors of Lancet and New England Medical Journal, respectively call bull-shittake on a lot of medical research published:

“The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.”  

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/05/16/editor-in-chief-of-worlds-best-known-medical-journal-half-of-all-the-literature-is-false/

Reasons given?

• data is sculpted to fit a preferred theory
• important confirmations are often rejected
• little is done to correct bad practices
• omission of data: vaccine manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and health authorities have known about multiple dangers associated with vaccines but chose to withhold them from the public

Via

Place names: -chester, -caster, -cester, -shire, counties, parishes, and boroughs

 History!

When the Romans came to Great Britain, they built a bunch of forts called castra, which was Anglicized to chester. So, English cities whose names end in -chester, -caster and -cester were once Roman settlements, places like Manchester, Cirencester and Worcester. 

When the Anglo-Saxons arrived in England, they divided the land into shires, which is why so many English place names end in -shire. 

Finally, the Normans invaded England in 1066, and they subdivided the land into counties, from which we get the title of “Count”.

Of course, English settlers to North America brought the county system with them. And thus, every state in America is subdivided into counties, except for Louisiana (which is divided into parishes based on an old Spanish system) and Alaska (which is divided into boroughs).

Via

Japanese Film Festival - Sacramento, 2015

Films announced!

1. Like Father Like Son
2. I Was Born But...
3. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
4. Hafu, the Mixed Race Dxperience In Japan
5. Unforgiven
6. Pecoross’ Mother and Her Days
7. Under the Blood Red Sun

Erika Perloff

A painting of the Pacific coast, by Erika Perloff:

Morning Veils

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 2013 film

Saw a copy of the 2013 film, "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" on display and would like to view it, at some point.

The trees sang fire

I'm a poet and did not know it! ; o )

Thought of this line last night on the drive through Campbell/Los Gatos, at sunset, with the reddish/orange rays illuminating the sides of the redwoods.

Seemed like a good intro line for a book involving dragons! ; o ) As of today, Google returns no hits for that specific phrase.

Radio Songs

Heard on KEZR 106.5 FM, out of San Jose, California:

• Little Rock, Arkansas-based Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" from their 2003 album "Fallen" on the Wind-up and Epic labels. Video.

Heard on KBAY 94.5 FM, out of San Jose, California:

• London, England-based Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" (featuring the vocals of Bruno Mars) from his 2014 album "Uptown Special" on the Sony, Columbia, and RCA labels.

Heard on KZSU 90.1 FM, out of Stanford, California:

• DJ John Powell's show "Emotive Force" critiqued the score from the 2010 DreamWorks film, "How to Train Your Dragon"

Las Vegas Notes

Dawn and I recently weekended in Las Vegas:

• High Roller (Ferris wheel)--interesting; entry/exit while moving
• Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay
• Watched an endangered Green Sea Turtle scratch its back
• Dawn liked watching the near threatened Cownose Rays
• Homies Cinnamon Roll Cafe at the MGM (note: we tried the Homie's Awesome Apple Cinnamon Roll...it is!)
• HEXX chocolate & confexxions (note: we had chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwich, with Ecuadorian single-origin chocolate ice cream)
• Hershey’s Chocolate World--interesting, but did not purchase anything
• Various vended items:
• KidRobot
• Yummy World
• Frank Kozik's labbits
• Pusheen the Cat pencil case
• Pebblechild turtle keyrings
• Heart-shaped lamp designs at the Brighton Collectibles-Caesar's
• LUSH Cosmetics Mandalay Bay -- saleswoman named Sally cheered us up! 
• Chris Reccardi art--saw his work inside the High Roller ticketing area (note: he did The Ren and Stimpy Show)
• Fergus Greer portrait photography
• William H. Macy
• Elliot Gould
• Rod Steiger
• Dick Dale
• LL Cool J
• Rode the tram back, from Mandalay Bay to Excalibur
• Reached the ticketing counter for the monorail but decided we prefer to walk the couple of blocks, rather than pay
• The 2015 Rock In Rio concert coincided with our stay, but we did not have time to attend
• Planet Hollywood hotel room #3756 
• Room decor: the 1984 Robert Redford film "The Natural" (framed of Redford's "Knights" baseball jacket, framed promotional photos from the film, a side table with a faux-program and baseball card props, from the film)
• Opened in 2007, our room seemed a bit tired looking
• Ground transportation:
• Stretch limo transportation from the airport to the hotel! Just us...we found a water bottle in the cooler, which was perfect...LED rainbow lights around the cabin...we buckled out seatbelts
• Shuttle transportation from hotel to airport--with about 6-8 others
• Other (?)

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Taiikukan Live

A live concert! I believe the following video represents the second concert (that is, Taiikukan) of a two-DVD set, released in late 2010, to celebrate 20 years:

"Tokyo Ska Paradise Kokugikan & Tokyo Ska Paradise Taiikukan Live - (12/12/2010 Cutting Edge)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqTTclgeaSI

NOTES

• Japanese <> English translations:
• Kokugikan = sumo hall (seems like the Ryōgoku Kokugikan (両国国技館 Ryōgoku Kokugikan)
• Taiikukan = gymnasium (seems like the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (東京体育館 Tōkyō Taiikukan)
• Dates:
• March 27th, 2010: Kokugikan
• April 24th, 2010: Taiikukan
• Product Code: CTBR-92067 
• JAN Code: 4945817920676
• Female guest vocalist: Crystal Kay
• Track list:
• 1
• [Disc 2] OPENING / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] opening / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 2
• [Disc 2] BOPPIN` BUNNY / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Boppin' Bunny / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 3
• [Disc 2] WHITE LIGHT / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] White Light / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 4
• [Disc 2] A SONG FOR ATHLETES / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] A Song for Athletes / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 5
• [Disc 2] WORLD SKA CRUISE / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] WORLD SKA CRUISE / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 6
• [Disc 2] MEIKYOUSHISUI / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 明鏡止水 / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 7
• [Disc 2] STORM RIDER / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] STORM RIDER / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 8
• [Disc 2] KINOUKYOUASHITA / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] KinouKyouAshita -New horn arrangement- / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 9
• [Disc 2] LIKE JAZZ ON FIRE / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Like Jazz On Fire / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 10
• [Disc 2] TOKYO SKA MEDLEY 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] トーキョースカメドレー 20th Anniversary Special Issue / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 10
• [Disc 2] PERFECT FUTURE / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Perfect Future / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 10
• [Disc 2] TABOO SKA / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Taboo SKA / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 10
• [Disc 2] MANTECA / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Manteca / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 10
• [Disc 2] L.O.V.E / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] L.O.V.E / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 10
• [Disc 2] FINGERTIPS / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] FINGERTIPS / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 11
• [Disc 2] ZUTTO / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] ずっと (Vo.Crystal Kay) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 12
• [Disc 2] ONE EYED COBRA / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] ONE EYED COBRA / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 13
• [Disc 2] SHINONOME NIJUUGO JI / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 東雲25時 / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 14
• [Disc 2] JUGGLING CITY / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Juggling City / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 15
• [Disc 2] TAIYOU NI ONEGAI / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 太陽にお願い / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 16
• [Disc 2] AME NO KISEKI / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 雨の軌跡 / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 17
• [Disc 2] BOPPIN` BUNNY AGAIN! / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Boppin' Bunny again! / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 18
• [Disc 2] RYUUSEI TO BALLAD / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 流星とバラード (Vo.奥田民生) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 19
• [Disc 2] JUST SAY YEAH! / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Just say yeah! / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 20
• [Disc 2] HYMNE A L`AMOUR WITH STRINGS / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 愛の讃歌 with strings / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 21
• [Disc 2] KIMI TO BOKU 2010 / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] 君と僕 2010 (Vo.斉藤和義) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 22
• [Disc 2] PRIDE OF LIONS / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] Pride Of Lions (EC1) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 23
• [Disc 2] JUNGLE BOOGIE / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA with OKUDA TAMIO.Crystal Kay.SAITO KAZUYOSHI
• [Disc 2] ジャングル・ブギ (w/奥田民生、Crystal Kay、斉藤和義) (EC1) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ with 奥田民生、Crystal Kay、斉藤和義
• 24
• [Disc 2] DOWN BEAT STOMP / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] DOWN BEAT STOMP (EC1) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ
• 25
• [Disc 2] SKA ME CRAZY / TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA
• [Disc 2] SKA ME CRAZY (EC2) / 東京スカパラダイスオーケストラ

So good!

Radio Songs

Heard on KXJZ 90.9 FM out of Sacramento, CA:

• Faster Than Light music played as background music on May 12, 2015, around the 5:30 p.m. mark.

Heard on KSAN 107.7 FM out of San Mateo, CA:

• London, England-natives Led Zeppelin's "Bring It On Home" from their 1969 album "Led Zeppelin II" on the Atlantic label. Audio.

Heard on KFJC 89.7 FM out of Los Altos Hills, California:

• London, England-based The Damned's "Life Goes On" from their 1982 album "Strawberries" on the Bronze label. Audio. Note: "Captain Sensible" represents a great pseudonym!

Roman peace

Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant!

(To plunder, butcher, steal, these things they misname Empire: they make a desolation and they call it peace!)

-- Tacitus 

Stallman coined POSIX acronym

Interesting!

https://stallman.org/articles/posix.html

Good ideas

1. Good ideas do not need lots of lies told about them in order to gain public acceptance.
2. Fibbers' forecasts are worthless
3. The Vital Importance of Audit

Via, via

“Weird Al” Yankovic Mandatory World Tour - Las Vegas

Dawn recently won, with about ~50 others, the “Weird Al” Yankovic Mandatory World Tour Contest, which included the following:

• Two round-trip air tickets to Las Vegas, Nevada (for us, on Southwest ~$600)
• Two-Night Complimentary Stay at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino (~$600)
• Two Complimentary Tickets to Weird Al’s performance on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m., in the Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino (~$300)
• Upgraded tickets (slightly modified, as noted), to "The Mandatory Czar Experience" (+~$400):
• Premium reserved ticket in the first five rows (note: we sat in Row 'R', close to center, with other contest winners, most likely to accommodate seating of customers paying for the experience...this seemed to represent the only modification)
• Complete Set of 133 Weird Al Trading Cards (including brand new cards from Mandatory Fun) 
• Mandatory VIP badge
• Mandatory Czar blue event sticker
• One Exclusive, Limited Edition Poster 18"x24" personally signed by Weird Al (note: it reads, "Hi Dawn!", followed by his signature)
• Additional exclusive Weird Al merchandise gift (note: in our case, we received a military-themed tee shirt: "a t-shirt that sort of looks like the dictator jacket which Al is wearing on the cover of Mandatory Fun. Sort of like those tuxedo print t-shirts.")
• VIP pre-show party, held in the re-purposed Gallery Night Club at Planet Hollywood, starting at 5:30 p.m.
• VIP after-party, held in the same space as the pre-show
• $100 Food and Beverage Credit to Planet Hollywood
• Two Complimentary Tickets to the High Roller at The LINQ (~$75)
• Ground transportation from and back to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas (~$50)

Many thanks to Weird Al, CID Entertainment staff (event logistics), and Frosch Entertainment staff (transportation logistics). This easily penciled out to thousands of dollars, per winner and guest! We had a great time and have nothing but love for all the hard work everyone did to pull this off.

NOTES - CONCERT

• Celebrities in attendance at the performance we attended: Andy Richter, two of Neil Diamonds' keyboard players, Tom Lennon (of Reno 911! fame), (?)
• As noted, Las Vegas Magazine had a cover article on Weird Al, in their May 10, 2015 issue
• Highlight, for me: Dare to Be Stupid, live in concert (first time since 2011?)
• First concert, for us, since mid-2013 at the California State Fair
• I felt really salted-out and thirsty from the hot dogs and hamburgers
• The acoustic set reminded me of...a lounge act...in a good way (is that possible? I think so!)
• Confetti streamer cannon during Canadian Idiot
• No drum solo (retired?)
• Music (30 songs, total):
• Fun Zone
• Tacky
• Lame Claim to Fame
• Now That's What I Call Polka!
• Perform This Way
• Dare to Be Stupid
• Fat
• First World Problems
• Foil
• Smells Like Nirvana
• Party in the CIA / It's All About the Pentiums / Handy / Bedrock Anthem / Another One Rides the Bus / Ode to a Superhero / Gump / Inactive / eBay / Canadian Idiot
• Wanna B Ur Lovr
• Acoustic medley: Eat It / I Lost on Jeopardy / I Love Rocky Road / Like a Surgeon
• White & Nerdy
• Word Crimes
• Amish Paradise
• Encore:
• The Saga Begins
• Yoda
• Albums represented:
• "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983): 2
• "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (1984): 2
• Dare To Be Stupid (1985): 3
• Even Worse (1988): 1
• UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (1989): 1
• Off The Deep End (1992): 1
• Alapalooza (1993): 1
• Bad Hair Day (1996): 2
• Running With Scissors (1999): 2
• Poodle Hat (2003): 3
• Straight Outta Lynwood (2006): 2
• Alpocalypse (2011): 2
• Mandatory Fun (2014): 8
• Albums NOT formally represented (note: excluding EPs):
• Polka Party! (1986): 0

NOTES - PRE/POST-PERFORMANCE PARTY

• Pre-show details:
• Event staff wore red berets and military uniforms, in keeping with the propaganda-themed imagery of the album
• Brief, unannounced appearances:
• Suzanne Krajewski, Al's spouse, and their daughter
• Andy Richter
• Jim West, guitarist
• Easels displayed 3'x2' prints of propaganda-themed imagery, from the album art, as we walked to the night club
• Medium-sized lectern with faux-microphones--lots of attendees taking pictures with this as a prop, when not in use by the emcee
• Energy ebbed and flowed, but mostly upbeat and excited
• Spinnable Wheel of Fish with medium-sized blinking red light, at center (initially obscured by black banner with words "Top Secret")
• "Mandatory Cocktail" ($8, I forget the ingredients, but it had grapefruit juice, alcohol, and was served over ice in what looked like a highball glass)
• Four multimedia and poster displays showing a timeline of Weird Al from childhood to present
• Giant (~15'x10'?) Mandatory World Tour banner
• Large (~3' diameter) Mandatory World Tour circular promotional poster of some of the album art 
• Photo booth for taking/sharing pictures, in front of a green screen--note: ours may not have gotten posted to Facebook, even after the initial technical glitch (?)...always take a backup photo!
• Props for the photo booth: glittery mustaches on thin dowels, plastic bandolier, wigs, aloha shirt, metal eyewear frames (basically, you can appear as Weird Al, from the 1980's, or go with a more propaganda-themed album art imagery)
• I wore a wig and a floral shirt (over my floral shirt) and eyewear and bandolier and moustache
• Food and drink:
• Buffalo wings
• Mini hot dogs
• Hamburger sliders
• Carrots, celery, condiments
• Cash bar
• Music: variety of Weird Al songs played from all decades
• Party events
• Costume Contest
• Six contestants (* asterisk = finalist; ** = winner):
1. ** Smells Like Nirvana
2. * Lasagna chef
3. * Tinfoil hat
4. Tacky shirt
5. Tuxedo suit
6. Corporal (?) Spatula
• A crowd cheer eliminated three contestants, followed-by a dance-off to determine the winners
• Winner got a Weird Al Mandatory Tour circular patch
• Raffle #1 - Lip Sync battle
• Smells Like Nirvana contestant called up to stage to go first (did not get raffle ticket called)
• Lasagna selected as raffle winner and returned to stage
• Not sure who won!
• Raffle #2 - Wheel of Fish
• Raffle winner (tin foil hat girl?) got up on stage 
• Emcee revealed...the Wheel of Fish!
• Winner spun the Wheel, with marker landing on "trout"
• Emcee offered her a choice of the fish or the box
• Crowd and winner chose the box, which contained...nothing!
• Everyone got to take their picture with the Wheel of Fish, after this
• Prior to leaving the party, the emcee invited everyone to sing, "Harvey the Wonder Hamster"
• After-party details:
• Food and drink:
• Orange, black, and yellow tortilla chips
• Salt and pepper rippled potato chips
• Chex mix
• Guacamole
• Salsa verde
• Cash bar
• Subdued energy; people mostly talking in small circles
• Music: same as at pre-show party, a mix of Weird Al songs from across the decades
• Weird Al arrived in a brown tunic shirt and blue jeans after 45-60 minutes (he had other commitments, with other fans, first)
• Al signed 18"x24" tour posters for everyone (one per group)
• One cell phone photo, per group, with random requests considered (for example, Al posed with one woman in a dip dance move; another, he stood and posed, looking off to the distance, as did the fans)
• Jay Levey, Weird Al's manager, quietly observed the signing from the side
• Event staff members took the cell phone photos
• Overall party impressions -- ups and downs
• Bad news first:
• Cash bar prices--welcome to Las Vegas!
• Photo-booth malfunctions (note: per emcee, resolved after he called the photo-booth company president)
• Emcee seemed overheated in military uniform and overstretched, which seemed to distract him from connecting with the audience, a bit
• I sensed some awkward energy in the room during two of the unannounced pre-show party events...I think contestants and event staff handled things relatively gracefully but I wonder if event staff might consider discussing a more inclusive way to determine winners (?) Maybe it was just me and everyone had a great time (?) : o )
• At the after-party, one or two overly intoxicated individuals seemed fired up and edging toward belligerence...overheard the person relate to someone else, in a somewhat defensive tone, how someone earlier had commented on his drinking and/or behavior...he then proceeded to start going off on, "I won a trip to Las Vegas to have fun!", "Don't tell me what to do...", and so forth, and so forth...it set a more edgy tone to things than I preferred, for sure
• Thinking of things from a family-friendly angle, the night club represented a relatively subdued environment, compared to the Pleasure Pit gogo dancers visible below, on the casino floor, but the night club's back hallway--used as an exit after poster signing--did have a few larger-than-life racy pics...again, welcome to Las Vegas, parents ; o )
• Good news:
• Emcee--that voice!
• Technology (other than noted above) had everything on point--multimedia displays, lights, audio, music
• Props seemed right on point--banners, costumes, accessories for photo-booth, lectern, Wheel of Fish, and so forth
• Food seemed well done, to me--especially the hamburger sliders
• Resolved the photo-booth technical glitch
• After-party went off without a hitch, including food and handing out poster sleeves
• Al obviously exhausted, hand was a claw when he signed our poster, but soldiered on (please excuse the pun)
• Jay Levey appearance!
• Overall, a smashing success and it speaks very well to the entire team, moving forward!!

Information consumes attention

“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” – Herbert Simon

Via

Model-View-Controller song

Heard the Model-View-Controller song, for the first time, today! http://csl.ensm-douai.fr/noury/20#mp3
 (Note: see Ralph Jonshon's comments, at the end)

Via

See, also: http://www.headfirstlabs.com/books/hfdp/dm.html

3x3 cubes

http://thecubicle.us/yuxin-p-3939.html (used for current world record)

http://thecubicle.us/moyu-hualong-p-4253.html (normally the one used by current world record holder)

World record thread

Hostage negotiation

The most dangerous negotiation is the one you don't know you're in.

Cognitive bias modification

Noting as a part of an audio book I am listening to (Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, by Daniel Goleman)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias_modification

The Three Princes of Serendip

Today I learned...

"The story has become known in the English speaking world as the source of the word serendipity...."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Princes_of_Serendip

So Duh! Root Beer

Heritage Brewing, out of San Jose, California, makes this root beer, which we tried on Dawn's birthday. Moderate kick (in a good way).

http://rootbeerbarrel.com/2013/02/05/hermitage-brewing-so-duh-rockin-root-beer/
http://hermitagebrewing.com/

Frederic Laloux

A friend suggested I investigate this:

http://www.reinventingorganizations.com/

Sutton Hoo

One of my childhood friends, Jason Sutton -- his name may come from Sutton Hoo?

UPDATE

Probably not:

• "Sutton, meaning 'south settlement' in Old English, is a very common place name." (via)
• "The unusual name "Hoo" is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill, and is more commonly associated with East Anglia." (via)

Sacramento mopeds - Business deals turn violent

This happened near where I park each morning. Tragic for all involved.

Truck Tub

A wash for commercial semi tractor units, in California's central valley:
http://trucktub.com/

Noticed this the other day.

Relationship advice - Reddit

Wisdom and humor.

What's the best relationship advice you have ever heard? (self.AskReddit)
ckernan2 4726 points 5 days ago

On our wedding night, I told my wife that we now had a 2/2/2 rule. It goes like this:
Every 2 weeks, we go out for the evening.
Every 2 months, we go out for the weekend.
Every 2 years, we go out for a week.
We've stuck to it, and it really has made things awesome. We got married in August and people still ask how long our honeymoon phase will last. I think it'll last as long as we stick to our 2's.
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[–]tapsllew 3145 points 5 days ago
Oh I follow a similar 2/2/2 rule, but only at I-HOP...

Notepad++ and Geany plugins

Investigating how to port TextFX to Geany

NOTEPAD++
Source Code
Plugins HOWTO
Plugin Central
TextFX official site
Initial release

NOTEPAD++ NOTES

• "This plugin has no maintainer and wants one; please see TextFX's Future"
• "Currently, some plugins are taking over some areas where TextFX is being used:
• Code alignment
• NppConverter
• XBrackets Lite
• Tidy2"
• "The npp-plugins project features the v0.25 sources and the v0.26 binaries ([v0.26] changes are not deemed to be publcly available as sources by their author.)"

GEANY
Plugins
Github

ANALYSIS

So...it seems TextFX represents abandonware, last updated in 2009, and current strategy involves piecing it out into separate plugins. Which seems to imply the same strategy, for Geany.

VERDICT

Wait and see