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June 27, 2005
Ok, ok, uncle...
A number of folks have asked me for my take on Serenity. I've been resisting - 'cause I don't like spoilers, and I hate being the one to give them, but some people are insistent...
This guy, who I've never heard of, wrote a decent review, linked on Whedonesque, that I basically agree with. It doesn't speak "for" me, but it's in the right vein. No specific spoilers, but read at your own risk.
Posted by dberger at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2005
...paiton
Well, we saw it. And now we have to not talk about it 'till it releases at the end of September.
I hate wating...
Signed the big Happy Birthday banner for Joss (it was his 32nd Birthday yesterday, hence the 32 sneak showings) and saw a bunch of people "crazier than me" (which is always reassuring). One enterprising young woman was selling Jayne hats for $15 - and knitting on one while standing in line...
Posted by dberger at 9:36 AM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2005
Antici...
Tonight's the night. Got the ticket voucher for the Serenity sneak in my back pocket, and Dawnise has another copy in case I get mugged.
And I have a copy on my notebook.
And one on my desktop at home.
I am not missing this.
Continue reading "Antici..."
Posted by dberger at 8:03 AM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2005
Games, Dinner and a Faire
Friday night we had our first open-invitation game night at our place. Brad and Kat came over, but our new proto-friends Todd and Bronwyn had to bow out at the last minute. Since they were the only folks I had thought to actually tell about said invitation more than a few hours in advance, that was that. We made dinner, played a few games of Munchkin and Once Upon a Time, and generally had a good time.
Saturday morning we got up a bit late, did some errands around town, including getting rid of the TV the movers broke. I decided I wanted fish for dinner, and Dawnise had been saying she wanted to do the Pikes Market fish thing, so we hopped a ferry to Seattle and wandered around Pike's market for a few hours. We came home with two pounds of fresh Salmon, a pound of sashimi-quality Tuna, a half pound of scallops nearly the diameter of a soda can, and a bunch of fresh rosemary - not to mention other random and sundry stuff we picked up along the way.
I had called our neighbors up the hill, David and Marcia, and invited their answering machine over for dinner, but they hadn't called back by the time we got home and were starting to prep the fish. Just as I asked Dawnise to keep an eye out for their cars, Marcia drove past, on her way home from work. We flagged her down, discovered that David (who's a paramedic) was on shift, and invited her to come back down for dinner, which she did.
Continue reading "Games, Dinner and a Faire"
Posted by dberger at 6:08 PM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2005
The HD mind-set
Someone, please, explain something to me, 'cause I just don't get it.
Everyday I get on the ferry with a bunch of other bikes, and invariably some of them are Harley's. You can always tell the Harley's - they're the loud ones that visibly vibrate in place as they idle, and with riders who have "Harley Davidson" plastered all over themselves.
Today coming home I was behind a Road King with two big whip antennas on the back - and they were oscillating like an insects wings - drawing patterns in the air.
The rider seemed fairly oblivious to the fact that her innards were being put through this vibrational assault, so I conclude that it must look worse than it feels.
What's the attraction?
I just don't get the whole Harley "thing" - the cruiser "thing" I get, but the obsession with buying logo'd merchandise, tolerating a machine that's gratuitously noisy and looks like it wants to shake itself apart... That I don't get at all...
Posted by dberger at 6:40 PM | Comments (2)
New Bits 'o Kit
Since moving up here I'd noticed that the inclement weather sometimes got the better of our First Gear Kenya jackets. They're waterproof and all, and I've been very happy with mine for the 50,000-odd miles I've ridden in it, but since the jacket doesn't attach to the over-pants, sometimes the jacket would ride up and let water in.
In mostly sunny CA this wasn't a problem, but since morning mist and evening drizzle aren't uncommon up here in the northwest, something had to be done.
So I started looking for good deals on Kilimanjaros - and since we both ride, I had to find two.
Dawnise's turned out to be easy. Brand new Woman's XL on ebay - no one even bid against me. Got the jacket (MSRP $325) for $80, plus shipping. Shortly thereafter I found a "very lightly used" men's Large Tall (perfect for my 6'2"ish-ness) and put in a bid. It ended up not meeting his reserve price, so I dropped the guy an email. Turns out he bought a new Harley and the jacket "didn't look right" (whatever). He agreed to sell it to me for his reserve price of $200, including shipping.
So for $280 I picked up $650 worth of kit. Not bad, in my book.
They've made some small, but noticeable improvements to the line since we bought the Kenya's years back, but all the good stuff seems to have stayed the same. If you're in the market for a good year-round jacket, either model is a good choice. In wet or cold climates I'd go with the Kili, for a slightly sportier look, the Kenya. Even during the 100+ degree summer days in CA I'd take the fleece liner out, open the venting, and be comfortable enough for long rides.
Posted by dberger at 6:27 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2005
Code, Process, and Violent Monkeys
I remember reading about a study a few years back -- can't find it now for the life of me -- done with a group of monkeys. The short of it is that when any member of the population performed a specific action (like pressing a button), the whole of the population got negatively reinforced (that's psychology-speak for administering electric shocks). After a while, the population would stop performing the action - having associated the shock with the act. If a new monkey was introduced, it would inevitably try to perform the action - at which point all the other monkeys would persuade it not to (that's a polite way of saying they'd beat the snot out of the newcomer).
Over time, the whole of the original population was replaced with new subjects -- none of whom had ever actually been shocked, or seen what happened when someone pushed the button, but who had all tried to push the button and been roughed up for it.
Each newcomer would move to push the button, and the rest of the population -- monkeys that had no first hand experience getting negatively reinforced -- would move to stop them.
The conditioning was passed on across generations, in this case by administering pain. There's an oft-repeated story about a woman cutting the ends off a pot-roast - they do it because mom did it, mom did it because her mom did it,etc. Turns out, it's all because someone far enough back in the line didn't have a big enough oven (or roasting pan) ; it's the same concept - the "why" is lost, only the after-image survives.
Continue reading "Code, Process, and Violent Monkeys"
Posted by dberger at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2005
A Notebook lifestyle
When we were in the process of moving, work was kind enough to loan me a notebook that Dawnise could use in the apartment. The convenience of "compute anywhere" quickly became obvious, and she's had a habit of commandeering my notebook on occasion ever since (see my previous entry about getting Serenity tickets for a recent example).
A couple weeks back Dell had another $750 off a $1500 notebook event, and I decided that was probably a good time to get her a machine of her very own.
Yesterday (a day ahead of schedule) her shiny new Inspiron 6000 arrived (already obsoleted by the new models, of course), and we spent a couple hours last night setting it up.
After removing most of the crap that Dell so helpfully pre-loads for you (AOL, Earthlink, NetZero, MusicMatch, QuickBooks, WordPerfect Office, blah, blah, blah) and installing a few key apps (Firefox, Thunderbird, Rhapsody, Real Arcade (she's the main demographic)), she's off and running.
Continue reading "A Notebook lifestyle"
Posted by dberger at 10:12 AM | Comments (1)
June 14, 2005
Quote of the Day; Tuesday June 14 2005
"Well sure the government lies, and the press lies, but in a democracy they aren't the same lies."
- Alexis Gilliland
Posted by dberger at 4:13 PM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2005
The Scar
I finished The Scar by China Mieville the other night (excerpt). I found it very nearly as good as Perdido Street Station.
The concept of Armada - the floating city that most of the books action takes place on, in and under, wasn't original, but he executed it well - the claustrophobia of the place - and it's finite edges surrounded by infinite sea - were ever present.
The end was a bit weak, in my opinion, but not horribly so - and I'm not sure what else I would have done in his position.
I had tried reading Iron Council (also Mieville) and after a hundred pages it hadn't grabbed me. I've found that as I get older, and my leisure time is pulled in several conflicting directions, I have less patience to "plow through" novels that aren't holding my attention. I suspect Iron Council would have been good, and I'll probably give it another try at some point, on the basis of the rest of Mieville's work.
Posted by dberger at 6:32 PM | Comments (0)
Port Angeles Faire
On Sunday Dawnise and I drove up to Port Angeles Faire. Despite Google Maps saying it was a 2 hour drive, it really took about 75 minutes, and the scenery was beautiful.
The faire was small - about 2/3 the size of Corona, but we had a good time. For only it's second year, it did ok.
The Seattle Knights put on an amusing show - complete with mounted and field combat, and a chance to shoot arrows (blunt tipped) at a live armored "knight" (3 shots for $1). Their bow and arrows only :) (a little fiberglass number, probably about a 25lb draw). I didn't bother, but the line of kids seemed to have a blast.
We spent more time than we probably should have in the Ravenswood Leather booth - Regenald (the guy near the center of the top group of figures on that page) is very nice, and he and his crew do amazing work. Dawnise has her eye on a full length bodice/skirt getup that she may get measured for at the Pirate Faire next weekend. They had an awesome trenchcoat, but I couldn't justify the $600 for something I'd wear very occasionally.
I bought Dawnise a new hat - a really cool patchwork number made by a local milner on a treddle machine. She did very nice work, for very reasonable prices.
My biggest complaint about the faire was the lack of "faire food" - they had pizza, Thai, BBQ, and the like - but nothing that belonged at a Faire.
Ah well, so it goes.
Next weekend, Arrrrr..
Posted by dberger at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)
Neighbors, what a concept...
Saturday was the annual home owners association board meeting, elections, and neighborhood picnic.
Generally speaking, I've got no use for an HOA - especially in suburbia, where they exist only to make sure you can't paint your house the color you want, trim your bushes into topiary genitals, and generally get in a man's way.
Our neighborhood on the island, however, is a bit different. There's a private road to be maintained, and a communal well and water system - so there's actually something for the association to worry about. And the covenants are a whole 4 pages long (written on a typewriter and not changed for years), and say nothing about what individuals can do with their property.
Anyway - so I went to the board meeting and managed to get nominated and elected as "Member at Large" (dunno what the hell that means, but it seems basically that I have to show up to meetings and make sure there's some representation from non-board members.
The picnic was fun, despite the rain - many (but not all) of the roughly 10 families attended. Everyone brought meat, beverages, and a dish to share, the hosts provided the house, the BBQ, and typical hamburger/hot-dog condiments.
We bought Monkey Bread - which is a story in and of itself, that I'll let Dawnise relate on her blog.
Posted by dberger at 8:44 AM | Comments (1)
June 10, 2005
Mmmm, food...
This was a good week for eating. On Wednesday a group of folks from work went to Marrakesh. Dawnise and I had been before, but the rest of the party hadn't. Once folks got over eating with their hands (hand, if you want to be technical) dinner was a blast. This time we were there for the belly dancing, and she was quite good - she even got Dawnise to stand up and dance a bit (what can I say, my life doesn't suck ;) ).
This evening, our friend Donna was in town on business and we went to Zoe, on Second and Blanchard. We'd never been, but a co-worker had suggested it as an alternative for dinner on Wednesday, so we decided to give it a shot.
Now that I have been, I'm glad we did Marrakesh with the larger group - just more of a fun atmosphere. But Zoe was good. Really good. Probably some of the best food I've had in Seattle good.
It didn't start well. Donna has an allergy to Onions and it turned out that nearly everything on the menu had onion in some form or another. We offered a change of venue, but Donna was having none of it, and the waitress and chef were great at working with Donna to tailor a dish to her dietary needs.
The octopus appetizer was amazing, my pork tenderloin was equally so, as was Dawnises salmon and Donna's Halibut. Desert blew me away - I just had coffee, and sampled the ladies Pots du Creme and Molten Chocolate cake - both were superb. In fact, my only regret is that I ate a little too much of the Pots du Creme (and the whipped cream on top) and my lactose intolerance is reminding me that I did something foolish. :-/
I'd say we'd be going back often, but the menu choices may prove a bit limited for Dawnise (after the Salmon and the Tenderloin she'd start running out of likely candidates). It's definitely worth a second visit, though.
Posted by dberger at 9:24 PM | Comments (0)
Sometimes you should just stick with the singles...
I picked up a copy of Welcome to the Real World by Mr. Mister. Fortunately, I didn't pay much for it.
The well known singles ("Kyrie," "Broken Wings," and "Is It Love") from the 80's are what they are - you either like 'em, or you don't. Aside from that, the only track that really grabbed me on the album was the title track.
It's not that it was bad, just that it was utterly forgettable.
Posted by dberger at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)
Good Coffee
Whenever the topic of coffee comes up - which it does frequently, this being Seattle and all, a co-worker (thanks Scott) has raved about Espresso Vivace on Denny in Seattle.
I finally asked him to pick me up a half pound of beans, the next time he went, and he was gracious enough to deliver my order out of his stock. I've been grinding it fresh in the morning and brewing two mugs in a French Press.
I have to say, despite all his ranting, it's really good coffee.
The aroma is superb, it brews wonderfully, and one of these days I might even make espresso out of some.
The best part? They do an amazing water-process decaf.
Posted by dberger at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)
June 9, 2005
Spend $30, take a chance...
Amazon is selling the complete series (ok, it's only 14 episodes) of Firefly for $30. That's 40% off.
Give it a shot, what have you got to lose?
Stop drinking $4 coffees for a week or two (or brown bag lunch for a couple days) and your bank account need never know the difference.
Need a (birthday, unbirthday, it's Tuesday) gift for someone even marginally interested in SF? Seems tailor made, don't it?
Posted by dberger at 7:41 PM | Comments (1)
Time to buy a Television
I may have mentioned previously, but the movers managed to break our TV. It was a Sony Trinitron - nothing fancy, a decent 27" TV that was almost 10 years old.
Turns out, the way they dropped it (at least, that what I figure they did) broke it in the most expensive way possible - they would have literally had to disassemble the entire set to repair it. Not cost effective.
So they wrote us a check for the claimed replacement value.
They broke another couple items as well, but nothing major. And they paid for all of them.
Continue reading "Time to buy a Television"
Posted by dberger at 5:33 PM | Comments (1)
Persistance paid off...
Thanks to Dawnise's determination we have 4 tickets to the Seattle sneak.
The show sold out in under 8 minutes.
Less than 8 minutes from the time tickets went on sale, and they sold out the theater. I went back to get another two tickets in case we found someone else who wanted to come with, but it was already too late.
I'm stunned.
And I'm going to sleep.
G'night.
Posted by dberger at 1:08 AM | Comments (2)
The cost of being a hopeless fanboy
In case you haven't noticed - www.cantstopthesignal.com has been updated with the locations of a third sneak preview of Serenity. There's another one in Seattle - and according to the young lady at the theater, tickets go on sale sometime between now and 12:30 this morning.
So here I am, awake, trying to score a pair.
'course by the time you read this, your closest showing will probably be sold out...
Posted by dberger at 12:19 AM | Comments (0)
June 6, 2005
A Faire a Week, that's all we ask.
Dawnise and I haven't really considered ourselves "faire geeks" for years - not since the group of irregulars we used to hang out with at Southern gave in to entropy a bunch of years back.
So I was surprised at how much fun I had just hanging out at the Port Gamble Medieval Festival on Sunday. It was an SCA event masquerading as a faire - it was probably about the same size as Corona faire in So Cal, with a similar number of vendors, and more in the way of SCA-ish demo encampments. Weather was English (cool, damp, occasionally downright wet), but that didn't put a damper (sorry) on the attendees.
We bought some random stuff - a couple cloak pins, a belaying pin for my evolving pirate garb, and Dawnise got some hair jewelry.
Next weekend we're planning to head to the Port Angeles Renaissance Festival, and the weekend after that we'll head back to Port Angeles for Pirates of Port Angeles. In early August we'll probably head down to Gig Harbor and check out the Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire.
I suspect we'll find a faire in July, too.
We briefly considered heading over to the Northwest Renaissance Festival near Spokane, but a 6 hour drive seems a bit crazy.
I'm on the lookout for some good boots - having worn the same pair of Minnetonka moccasins for the last 15 (!) faire seasons. I've long lusted after a pair of Bald Mountains, but the price tag (they're up to almost $700 as of our visit to Georgia faire with my parents) has always seemed a bit excessive (or out of reach, as was the case when we were into faire enough to seriously contemplate them). I saw Son of Sandlar at Georgia Faire, and they make nice stuff, very comfy, but still nearly $400.
In case my mother-the-fair-nut is listening/reading - of course we can make the guest room available :) (That goes for most of the other folks who'd be reading this as well - just let us know in advance...)
Posted by dberger at 8:25 AM | Comments (1)
June 4, 2005
Things to do in Denver when you're dead (stuck)
My 5pm flight out of Denver got me back to Seattle around 11:30pm.
The 5:20pm departure became a 5:45 departure became a 6:10 departure, became "delayed."
They claim it was all weather - but I never saw the two Tornadoes they claim touched down in Denver. Sure there was lots of rain and wind, and you couldn't see the horizon, but peh - who's afraid of a little rain?
I think it was all a well orchestrated plot to divert as many planes as possible to Albuquerque - and to keep them there for as long as possible.
Oh, and to make sure the flight was memorable, I sat one row behind the proverbial screaming baby, and about half the flight was a constant bout of turbulence.
These are the only times I really resent the ferry ride home. It's 12:15 - and I have a 30 minute ferry crossing to go before I'm actually "home."
I'm so done.
And waiting for me, on the Bainbridge side, will be my loverly wife - who I haven't really spent any time with since she left for California in the middle of last week.
Posted by dberger at 12:18 AM | Comments (1)
June 3, 2005
Things to do in Denver when you're dead (tired)
I have a meeting tomorrow (today, if you want to be technical) in Denver - flew in tonight with a coworker from Seattle and met up with a coworker from SF. I almost didn't go - I spent a good portion of last night worshiping the porcelain god for reasons which are a complete mystery.
I haven't been to Denver in many years - and not since the new airport opened. Holy crap.
It's huge.
There's a 10 mile access road just to get to the airport from the freeway. That means cab rides start at $30, just to get out of the airport!
Our SF compatriot's flight was delayed, so rather than hang around the airport, we got the rental car and grabbed some food at the closest Outback (itself an adventure, involving us driving around Aurora, CO for 15 minutes trying to find a building we saw clearly from said access road, and including a brief stint of off-roading in the rented Ford Escape).
Time to go to sleep, fortunately the meeting isn't 'till 10:30 - so I've got an 8am wake up call, meet my fellow travelers for breakfast in the lobby at 9, and wander off in time for the meeting.
Posted by dberger at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)