Rapid Fire Saturday

• How to tell a good story
• Google unleashes free 3-D software
• A very interesting post on how a war with Iran is likely to function.
• LifeHacker on problem solving.
• LifeHacker on starting your own business.
• A guy in Colorado got caught with an infrared traffic light changer, and was only ticket $50! Totally worth it.
• A very good article on this ridiculous "Peak Oil" meme.
  

April is Ground Awareness Month

After I first started biking I had exactly one minor fall in 18 months. In the past three weeks, I've had two fairly serious (multiple places of bleeding and bruising) falls.

This one was more my fault than the last one: I had stopped at what I thought was a four way stop, but it turned out to be a two way stop. Oddly enough, the woman who almost hit me (which caused my sudden braking which caused the fall) had stopped at an area where there was no stop sign.

The two photos are the opposite ends of my trip today.

Quick zinger roundup

• "George W. -- We will be forever in his debt." (Bumper sticker quoted on Andrew Sullivan's site)
• "If he was shot in the head by the front, that is good marksmanship, if he was shot in the head by the back, that is good judgement." (from the WikiPedia entry on the outlaw and gunfighter John Wesley Hardin)
• "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car"
  
  and
  
  "like how you'd sound if you drank a quart of bourbon, smoked a pack of cigarettes and swallowed a pack of razor blades... Late at night. After not sleeping for three days"
  
  (people describing the singing voice of Tom Waits)
  

A causal dumping ground

Say you've got a bunch of garbage to get rid of; why not just throw it on the side of the bike path! Some people have no class. There is an old video game behind all of the above trash.

This says it properly

In convenient book form no less.

The last time I saw him, he was more annoying than Al Franken, which is no mean feat.

HT: Instapundit

Hilarious

An archive of Jimmy Kimmel's "Unnecessary Censorship" clips. Quite good.

Very odd

Someone just texted me a photo of a Texas-shaped waffle.

The goal of the fiddle series

Is to get a silhouette shot of this quality. Though the noir style is starting to grow on me.

Line of the moment

From Thomas Sowell

"Intellectuals' ability to think of people in the abstract is a dangerous talent in a world where people differ in all the ways that make them people."

The open mic night went well

I was quite pleased with my performance and the response. It's reassuring to hear yourself through the monitors. I did "Raining Here This Morning", "Red Clay Halo", "Walkin' Cane", and "Blackjack County Chain". I could have slowed them all down a tad, but on the whole, I'm pretty happy. A good first real open mic night.

Pecked to death by ducks

This would seem to be the month of work-related stress, aggravation and rage.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Why are people allergic to details?

Yet another gallery

My black and white phase continues with my visit to the Oakhurst Earth Day celebration. It was dark and I forgot the new monopod, so the photos turned out a bit grainy. I decided to accentuate the grainyness in most of the photos via photoshop.

Check out the new gallery.

The long ride

Yesterday, for no particular reason, I decided to go on a long bike ride. I originally wanted to just see where Ponce de Leon Road ended, but the countryside was so pleasant and the roads to bikeable that I decided to set a personal record. I wound up going 25 miles out to Conyers on a very pleasant day. My total mileage was 50.5 miles, in about three and a half hours. Surprisingly I'm not that tired today.

On the way to Conyers, I passed through Lithonia, which contains a store containing some form of Christian/Voodoo items (from what I could tell). The images below are of the front window of the store.

My first half century

I rode from my house to Conyers today (and back). It wound up being over 50 miles, which is a new record for me. I'm exhausted; it was fun though. More details later.

Interesting poll numbers

Bush hits 33% approval or so says Fox, and the affection isn't going anywhere else. Why isn't everyone happier about this? America is essentially having a libertarian perception of it's government (similar to the mid 90's actually). I'm thrilled, but the rest of the libertarian blogsphere seems to not notice this at all. It's odd.

Midnight at Atlantic Station

I decided not to let last night go to waste and went to the Atlantic Station / 17th Street Bridge area for photography. The bridge (pictured above) is definitly on the list for the fiddler series of portraits.

The Midnight at Atlantic Station photo gallery.

Just back in

I decided not to let the evening go to waste wound up having an interesting night of photography on the 17th Street Bridge and Atlantic Station. The photos will be up soon.

Grinding irritants

Before I go off on my little mini-rant, I should say that I've finally worked out that Tom Waits song for the open mic.

Now, here is what's been irritating me today:

• I still haven't heard from 3 people with impending projects
• I cancelled my photo shoot with my fiddle model after seeing a rainy forecast. Instead, it's the proper degree of overcast. Curse you Weather Channel.
  
• I've managed to open up my leg cut twice today, once in my sleep, and then a few hours ago, I'm not sure how. In general it's healing fairly well, but the deeper areas don't seem to respond to time or reason.
  

Something that should exist

A mood tracker that one could click on during the day, say at 30 minute intervals. Assuming it was used honestly, it would be interesting to see what averages out to "fine".

The article I referred to at lunch

Where did I have lunch? What was the reference?

These things are a mystery. However, here is the article

Man accused of diverting others' mail to himself

A man was charged with using scores of change-of-address forms to divert mail from all over the nation to his address in Beaver County.

Federal prosecutors this week charged Fred Hill of Aliquippa with wire fraud, accusing him of diverting mail from people both living and dead.

Postal inspectors said in court records that when they entered an Aliquippa home where Mr. Hill had stayed, they found "a significant volume" of abandoned mail along with lists of Social Security numbers and names of people in California, Georgia and Arkansas.
...
Since January, Fred Hill had used the Postal Service's Web site to file 170 change-of-address forms since January, authorities alleged in court records. The same credit card had been used to pay the $1 charge for filing change-of-address forms online, they said.

170!

On another note, Ralph of Luttrell Guitars did a wonderful job installing the new FishMan pickup.

That's been my day so far.

Everyone watching everything

Bruce Schneier has a very interesting post about the current state of internet monitoring, which would seem to be pretty total. He links to a Daily Kos piece, which states

Specifically, this equipment was the Narus ST-6400, a machine that was capable of monitoring over 622 Mbits/second in real time in May, 2000, and capturing anything that hits its' semantic (i.e. the meaning of the content) triggers. The latest generation is called NarusInsight, capable of monitoring 10 billion bits of data per second.

I recommend reading the whole thing. It seems to have no direct purpose, it doesn't break a single code, and it does absolutely nothing to discover anything about the use of steganography (messages in plain site). However it does seem like it would be useful to discover the terrorist (or whatever) networks (probably with a lot of false positives).

In any case, I think it's safe to say we have no digital privacy anymore.

Battle of the Banks

I've been searching for a new savings account lately, and my eye has been drawn to NetBank and HSBC Direct. Netbank has more fees, but they do publish their online Average Percentage Yield, whereas HSBC has no fees, but they do not list their APY outside of their promotion.

Have any of my loyal readers had any experience with these companies?

Monday round up

• Catch and release attention
• Google Earth now tracks flights.
• Michael Yon is in Afghanistan, with some stunning photography.
• A massive list of free utility software.
• Positive imaging.
  

30 miles

I decide to wreak my lonerism on the Georgia road system today and wind up going 30 miles; a personal best for the year. I also cracked 35 miles an hour on one downhill portion of the trek.

I rode to Stone Mountain and from there to Gwinnett county (Norcross I think) on Mountain Industrial, which changes names to Jimmy Carter Boulevard at some point.

I do NOT reccomend that particular route. Once you pass through Tucker the traffic gets quite scary in terms of both drivers and the actual roadway. I was the only biker I saw in the Gwinnett country portion of the journey.

The top picture was where I turned, it was some exit off of I-85. The low picture is sort of Easter-y I suppose.

Scouting photo sites

As soon as I get my model situation sorted out, the next fiddler photo series expedition will be shot here around sundown. I arrived too late last night for any good silouetting to occur, but I did fake it a bit in Photoshop.

An interesting evening at Mulligans open mic night

Last night I attended the Mulligans Acoustic Thursdays event. While not really geared for me (I like the strict structure and announced keys of bluegrass) it wasn't bad. I basically played with Matt Greenia and various members of the Sour Mash band for a few hours. While I am not a fan of the jam band sound, they do actually get up and play out, which is nice. I did figure out Me and Bobby McGee for this girl from the crowd to sing.

This should be a bumper-sticker

From the Mulligan's (home of the HamDog) MySpace page.

If it has a face, we can deep fry it!

A review of their Thursday open mic will be here soon.

For those who don't get the joke, the de facto motto of people who don't eat meat for ethicquoal reasons is that "They don't eat anything with a face."

Another interesting Steyn column

About the Persian Peril. It features the notable quote "Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue".

Meanwhile, over on FoxNews, you can read the article Academics Develop Formula for Perfect Butt.

Which is

(S+C) x (B+F) / (T-V).
* S = overall shape (a ripe peach being just about right)
* C = circularity (rounder is better)
* B = bounciness (less wobble is preferred)
* F = firmness (too much push to that cushion loses points)
* T = skin texture (no cellulite, please)
* V = the ratio of one's hips to waist. Finally, do the math.

...
But science really settles nothing, says booty expert Sir-Mix-A-Lot.

"They got to be juicy, round, with a little jiggle to it," the "Baby Got Back" rapper told The Post yesterday, laughing hysterically. "The bubbliness does matter."

But there's only one way to measure the most desirable derriere, he said.

"You know it when you see it," he said. "We could debate this all day."

Really, that was a real article.

But I had my fingers crossed.......

Here is most of last night's South Park courtesy of YouTube.com. It would seem that Comedy Central did indeed censor the episode, and that was not a pr trick. Oddly enough, the image of Mohammed DOES appear in the opening credits to the syndicated version of the program.

Garage Sale for a worthy cause

My friends Emily and Sam take in abandoned cats. Recently one of the cats came into some misfortune and racked up some massive vet bills. Sam and Emily decided to take in garage-sale type items from their friends (like me!) and sell them to cover the bills. There is a quite reasonably priced piano as well as an Olympus Camedia e-20 N Mega pixel (I believe it's a 4 mega pixel SLR) that showcase video was kind enough to donate. It's incredibly cheap as well.

___________The Details________________

Where:
1425 Miller Ave., 30307 (Google Map To This Location)
When:
Saturday, April 15th (Rain Date: Sunday, April 16th)
What Time:
9am 4pm
EARLY BIRDS DO NOT COME BEFORE 9AM. WE WORK NIGHTS.
Why:
Winky, our indoor cat, was attacked by dogs. (Long story...)
Her emergency vet bill is over $1,000.
Whats There:
Lots of people have donated cool items. Were talking furniture, art,
clothes, etc... come check it out!
The entire street is having a yard sale.

Wednesday rapid fire

• Immigrants' Jobless Rate Falls Below U.S. Natives'

  The jobless rate among immigrants fell below that of U.S.-born workers last year for the first time in at least a decade, according to new government data, during a hiring boom by construction, hospitality, and other companies that rely heavily on immigrant labor.
  
  Unemployment among immigrants was 4.6 percent in 2005, down from 5.5 percent in 2004. The jobless rate among native-born Americans was 5.2 percent, down from 5.5 percent a year before.

  That falls in line with Glenn Reynolds' comment of

  One difference between the demonstrations in France and the demonstrations in America: The French are demonstrating for the right not to work hard, while the demonstrators in America mostly want to work.

• How to Pull an All-Nighter
• Michael Yon is back
• Classic Tough Guy One Liners, my favorites

  
  "Fools get away with the impossible.",
  "She couldn't be all bad. Nobody is.' "She comes closest",
  and
  "You're better off than me... You got me for a buddy... I only got you."

• A nice general article on plug-in hybrids.

Another fine show by the Boo Hoo Ramblers

Last night I saw the Boo Hoo Ramblers, who now feature Jim Landt on dobro. It was their standard set played to a very deserted Blind Willies. Evidently they played Turner Field last week.

Amazing

Ticketmaster is now selling tickets to parking at their concerts. Bizarre.

Blood and guts edition

Yesterday I decide to go on a lovely bike ride. I go a bit further than I normally do, and on the way back I almost run over a cutting knife placed edge up on the bike path. I would presume it was placed there deliberately.

I pick up the knife and take it to the Clarkston police station, which was only about 100 yards away. I hand it to the cop (yes, I did walk up to a cop while holding a knife. He seemed cool with it.), tell him the story and he thanks me for doing it. All was good.

Then, while passing a jogger on the path, I misjudge the amount of room I have to work with by about half an inch and greet the ground at 15 miles an hour, landing knee, shoulder and head. Happily I was wearing a helmet at the time, otherwise I would have had to go to the hospital. I wound up having bad road rash on my leg, some shoulder bruising some minor neck pain/stiffness.

I took some photos of the blood and what not, but they turned out really blurry and I'm not going to post them.

That was my day.

A nice feature

The Knoxville daily newspaper has an interesting feature, called Random This, where they send a correspondent out with a video camera to document some feature of life in Knoxville. It's not hard news, but it is much more detailed than a column would be. 800 words about a visit to a tattoo parlor or shooting range would not be terribly interesting, but the video version is. It's a good example of something that could only be done online.

Grinding

The combination of spring break and tax time has made the past few days excruciatingly dull. Most of the people I work with are out out of town, the rest are doing taxes (like me) and that's thrown all organization out of whack, which is bad. I'm in the odd position of not having anything pressing going on, and no work related stuff to talk about, which happens very rarely. The combination has made me moody the past three days.

In other news, I did get the Garmin Street Pilot in today, I'm about to take it on it's first test ride. We'll see how it goes.

An unusually quiet day

Definitely one of the most quiet on record, I guess everyone really is on spring break.

On another note, I just visited this blog's Technorati profile and I find that I'm linked under "a loner's temperament" and experpted on a Malaysian blog.

Most surprising of all though is being linked from the Columbia Journalism review. They picked up on my Cheney - Abu Ghraib theory. It's quite flattering.

Now, back to taxes.

New gallery

I just finished with the photos that the lovely and talented Debra and I took last night. We would up taking all of them in the daytime (it was too cold after dinner) and I'm quite happy with some of them. I was careless with some of the angles and I left way too much stuff in the backgrounds (how many times can you see my shadow!?) but the bright sunlight and blue sky provided for many interesting opportunities in Photoshop.

While the last round of photos turned out to be quite dark and noirish, this one turned out to be more gothic and apocalyptic, nonetheless, some of them turned out quite interesting. I left some of the originals in so everyone can see the changes I made.

The goal for this photo series it to have fiddler silhouettes, which this round is not. I do like it though. In case anyone is interested, the Auto Exposure Lock made no appreciable difference. The location was on Howell Mill Road.

Thus I give you, Debra on the edge of forever.

GPS acquired

I got the Garmin StreetPilot I3 for a good deal on E-bay. A detailed product review will be here shortly after I get it.

Quote of the moment

"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." - Ansel Adams

Quick round up

1. Virtual Earth and Local.Live.com are very cool, with very good arial photography.
2. I am undecided about Geek Entertainment TV
3. Charles seems like a cool program.
4. Acronis seems to be a cool backup program.
5. A free book about information markets.
6. N-Unit ASP seems like a good tool.
7. The Russian birth rate is up.
8. Libertarian views on the Iraq war, from Reason Magazine.
9. A budget photography lighting system.
10. A wired article on arial photgraphy.
11. An interesting post from David Friedman about immigration and the welfare state.
12. European Demography.
    

The techno lust is strong for this one

Specifically, the Garmin Street Pilot I3. I think I'll have use for it on a project later this year. Amazon has it for $299 as well.

New and cool (Bruce version)

Amazon has a new Springsteen video on their site. It's from his new Pete Seeger tribute album, which I still think is an odd thing for him to do. He does not seem to be using Seeger's style, which would not be a good fit for him.

Also

'We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions' will be released in DualDisc format, with the full album on one side of the disc and DVD content on the other side. The 30 minute video side of the DualDisc contains extensive behind the scenes footage of the recording of the album. In addition, the DualDisc package will contain two bonus tracks and a special booklet including a note from Springsteen.

which is a nice touch. A very good way to get people to actually buy the disc instead of downloading it from somewhere.

And Pete Seeger's only worthwhile quote is "Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple."

Yet another good one from Jane Galt

It's about conflict between working and stay at home moms. It goes into it in ways I've never thought of before.

Amazing

Cynthia McKinney actually manages to top her "Negro Tolerance Level" quote with her most recent escapade.

Although nothing is as strange as:

Three Men Charged in 'Dungeon' Castration
Three men have been arrested on charges of performing castrations on apparently willing participants in a sadomasochistic "dungeon" in a rural house, authorities said Friday.

"It's extremely bizarre," District Attorney Michael Bonfoey said in a telephone interview. "It's incredible the amount of ways that people can find to run afoul of the law."

Sheriff's investigators said Richard Sciara, 61, Danny Reeves, 49, and Michael Mendez, 60, admitted performing at least eight surgeries, including castrations and testicle replacements, on six consenting clients over the past year. None of the three is licensed to practice medicine, officials said.

...

Each man faces 10 felony counts — five each of castration without malice and conspiracy to commit castration without malice — as well as eight misdemeanor counts of performing medical acts without a license. Each felony carries a maximum three years and three months in prison, Bonfoey said.

Stranger still is that there was already a law against this sort of thing. How often does this sort of thing happen?

Quick Saturday afternoon round up

1. Baltic Crusades - on WikiPedia. Interesting.
2. Tips for startup companies
3. The torn up credit card application - this is scary - get a shredder now.
4. An interesting article about the self-described "The Hell with them Hawks."
5. Interesting post from Marginal Revolution about inherent tensions in libertarianism.
6. Borders is refusing to stock a magazine that is showing the Mohammed cartoons. More here and here.