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April 28, 2005
Server Madness
All weekend I'll be moving my Red Hat (Fedora) Linux server to a new Mac Mini running Darwin. A first pass at moving SMTP/IMAP/POP was a freaking disaster, so I expect hassles all the way through. Don't be surprised if this website is hard to find. When it's over, I'll be able to power down the BelchFire 9000 whitebox PC that not-so-quietly heats the loft all year round, and in it's place will be a quiet, tiny Mac Mini.
Update
Doing this transition I have learned that the stuff that builds easily on Linux doesn't on Mac OS X. Feh.
I've hit dozens of irritating roadblocks in moving SMTP, IMAP, POP, and HTTPD from Linux to the Mac OS. I'm still far from done, but the pressing reason to do this has been put off (a bit) by lending my desktop PC to my friend who is buying the PC that runs Fedora (and is serving this content to you) so I don't have to finish this rollover right this minute. The pressure has added to my stress from work and this weekend I contracted a pretty nasty sore throat.
I'm still working on this mess ... IMAP has forced me to go deep into the code and I'm not happy about that, but that's life with a server-based e-mail solution. Hopefully tonite I'll get the Apache virtual hosts working and I can switch the web stuff off of Red Hat. We'll see.
Posted by Steven at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2005
Land of the Lost News
Will Ferrell has signed on to do a big screen release of the TV show. No word on whether or not it's a spoof.
Also, today the 3rd (and final) season came out on DVD. David Gerrold and Larry Niven worked on this show ... so it's weird and Dr. Whoish at the same time.
Posted by Steven at 04:57 PM | Comments (1)
Day Trip to Austin
Expect me on Thurs., 4/28. I can do dinner after 6pm (Tom, Cynthia are you interested?). I'd like to stay at the north end of town ... that is all.
Posted by Steven at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2005
Taekwondo Belt Test Weekend
Everybody had a belt test today, and everyone passed!
Alanna reached her Advanced Red belt, which is red with a black stripe down the center. She is now on the final approach to her Black Belt, with the "Skunk" and two Deputy Belts standing in between her and the Big One.
Anne advanced to Yellow Advanced belt with no problems.
Leo earned his Yellow belt which is his second belt! He did very well in the testing.
I sat through the whole five hour experience filming and video taping my family and the Slatons (that's not a typo).
Posted by Steven at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2005
Ma Cates' BD at Indian Palace
Anne and I joined the Schmalzired's at Indian Palace to celebrate Martha's birthday. We didn't ask how many years ... but we did have a great time chewing the fat, talking about parenting, politics and the new Pope. I brought a silly chimpanzee (APE themed) car for Ma ...
The best part of the evening was not having my usual post-Indian meal reading room session! I know ... TMI ... again ...
Posted by Steven at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2005
Happy Anniversary, Anne!
Ok, ok, so I'm a little slow on the uptake.
Today is my fifteenth wedding anniversary. Holy snapping arsenals. Surely by now, Anne has earned some kind of endurance award. And we did most of that time before TiVo and broadband Internet/AIM, so how we worked through the responsibility and the communications barriers (we have a better rapport online than in person, sometimes!) I don't know.
But the biggest surprise is (and my daughter hates to hear this) is the love life just gets better and better! Woot!
I'm getting Anne aluminum and wood for this anniversary: we're finally getting rain gutters and fixing the fence in front that is all but falling down.
What did Ralph Cramden say? Oh yeah ... Anne, you're the greatest!
Posted by Steven at 01:09 PM | Comments (2)
TV-B-Gone
 | Check out this new toy from ThinkGeek: TV-B-GoneEnter the TV-B-Gone, a small television remote that hangs on your keychain and turns off virtually any television with the press of button. "Now, what would be the purpose of such a device?" you may be asking yourself. Well, without revealing too much of our devious nature we can think of a few things. Imagine sports bars or annoying talking head shows that appear on monitors at the airport. Add to that your own creativity and we're pretty sure you'll come up with some ideas. All you need to do is press the button and keep pointing it at the TV until it turns off (which may take up to 69 seconds). The next 69 seconds will be spent quietly, or not so quietly, enjoying the perplexed expressions of the TV automatons. |
Posted by Steven at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2005
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Leo!
Leo's ten today ..! He had a big birthday party at Reid's Tae Kwan Do studio on Saturday, with most of his friends and classmates. He was given a ceremonial black belt for the day, which was a real treat. Lots of Star Wars and Lego™ toys were given. I'l post the photos (back dated) tonite on the RSB (this) blog.
Posted by Steven at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
It's Limerent Season
it's limerent season again. The middle of April, which in the Northern Hemisphere signals the beginning of Spring, is when the hormones and libidoes kick into high gear. The LA Times has a story about this time of year, but they don't call it what I do. Nonetheless, it's the time of year when young geeks dream of their fantasy lovers.
Forget about odes to spring. Neuroscience has taken the magic, not to mention the mystery, out of the poetry.That surge of optimism? Merely the serotonergic response to increased daylight. The distraction and dreaminess? The neurotransmitter dopamine is responding to light and warmth. And what about the "gathered fragrance" of romance in the air? Hardly poetic, since the sensitivity of the olfactory system has been proven to directly relate to pheromones, the essential chemical ingredient of sexual attraction.
And here the poets thought the "untaught harmony of spring" was inexplicable.
While a formal scientific study of the delightful disorder known as spring fever is yet to be undertaken, the serious work of scientists looking at other maladies and other biological phenomena goes a long way in explaining why this particular season makes us feel the way we do.
For example, the study of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, whose sufferers are morbidly depressed during the winter months and less so during the spring and summer, has shown how responsive our mood-defining neurotransmitters are to light. The intricacies of olfaction are intimately tied to human social, sexual and emotional responses. And the various chemicals involved in coupling, or what biologists call pair bonding — in the aching world of singles ads, the grimly unromantic "committed relationship" — seem to have special intensity in the spring.
In other words, the season's temperature, light and orgy of scents seemingly conspire to create a trifecta of feel-good stimuli. Interacting with those environmental stimuli, our hormones and neurotransmitters mix a heady cocktail for nearly everyone as the rain, chill and dark of winter give way to the warmth, sunshine and fecundity of spring.
"Anything that is novel and exciting drives up dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain," says Helen Fisher, author of "Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love." "In the spring we are more impulsive; we leap up and go into the park rather than drive. The novelty of spring, the warmth and the light all drive up our creativity, our impulsivity, our sex drive. And that sounds a lot like spring fever. "
This next week is the 28th anniversary of my one and only date to a school dance, when I walked on air for a week solid and saw 2001: A Space Odyssey for the very first time. Oh what a week that was ...
Posted by Steven at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2005
TMI
American Standard may have answered my prayers.
They have introduced the Champion brand flush toilet, which they claim will never clog or need plunging.
You see, a certain member of my family manages to completely destroy all the toilets in our house about twice a month (and while it's NOT me, I will not divulge the identity). We have plungers stationed at all heads, it's literally that bad. So if this toilet has the moxie the ads say it does, it well could solve this problem for us for good.
It just so happens that I could replace two of my three units and (hopefully) solve the problem at the same time.
I know, I know ... Too Much Information. This announcement, sadly, has made my day.
Posted by Steven at 04:29 PM | Comments (1)
April 18, 2005
Fans of Napoleon Dynamite, Rejoice
I can only assume this piece of legislation in the Idaho Statehouse is real. Joe Bob probably doesn't say, "Check it out". But I do.
Posted by Steven at 08:11 PM | Comments (1)
April 17, 2005
35th Anniversary of Apollo 13
Read this story in the IEEE Journal about the other problems that were overcome during the Apollo 13 mission. It's quite an eye opener.
Posted by Steven at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
John's Snorkel Photos
My brother recently returned from a week long sailing trip with my father, his wife, and five other friends. John bought a disposable underwater camera and took the photos you'll find at this link. Enjoy.
Posted by Steven at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2005
Leo's BD Party at Reid's Taekwando
Leo had a big birthday party at Reid's Tae Kwan Do Studio today. Mr. Vu, the top instructor in the studio, did a wonderful job with the kids. Everyone seemed to have a good time, even with half the kids present having autistic spectrum did not cause any undue strain. Altogether, it was great.
Do NOT give this kid a Samurai sword!
Leo breaking a board (yes, he did!).
Check out the rest of the photos here.
Posted by Steven at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2005
Accord Pie
We sold the Accord tonite. Finally.
For such a rare and popular car in such good condition (we had two different mechanics look at it), it sure took a long time to sell. This was probably easier to sell than either the Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo (didn't have a copy of the title) or the Honda CR-V (original model was underpowered and waaay unsexy when newer models came out), but it still felt like pulling teeth.
I ran an ad on cars.com (see below) and started getting calls that Monday morning.
The first couple was from Ft. Worth, and they drove all the way to my home to see the car. They loved it, and said they wanted to buy it. I made plans to drive it to Irving so we could close on Wed., all the while taking other callers phone numbers. Wednesday was a no-show ... they couldn't finance the car unless I was willing to sign over the title and then use their "new car" as collateral. No dice.
The second couple opted out as they couldn't buy before next week.
The third couple wanted to offer $3700, which was well below asking ($4500). No thanks.
On the way home on Wednesday, I stopped at the fourth couple's parent's home. They were looking for a car for mom, who is in her early thirties. She was very familar with the Accord Wagon and specifically wanted one -- bonus points. the husband looked the car over and checked all the fluids. He was quite pleased with the condition of the vehicle and found no flaws test driving. We spoke briefly about the price and agreed on $4200, which was down from the asking but which took into account the gasket work that was needed.
He wanted me to take it by his mechanic in the morning, which I agreed to. The second inspection was quick and it also resulted in a very good grade. I thought that we would close that day after lunch, but instead the husband shut down for a while (he's a drummer in a band and works late at night -- I was wrecking his sleep pattern for the day). It also turned out that he didn't have ready access to the cash from his insurance check (a hold was on it).
I was kinda pissed at this turn of affairs -- I assumed he would buy the car immediately. So I called the next guy on the list who turned out to work in Irving. We met at lunch and he drove the car with the same result -- he wanted to buy it. But he turned out to be car shopping for his younger brother who just destroyed his last Honda. This wasn't who I wanted to sell this car to -- he wasn't looking for a wagon, and the actual buyer was barely older than a teenage boy. The older brother called back and offered $4000; I told him $4200 or no deal. He didn't call back.
I had to pick up Anne's mom from D/FW so I just drove home in the Accord and worked from home the rest of the afternoon. Around 3pm, the couple from Wed. evening called saying they found the money and were coming up to buy the car.
Finally.
They arrived around 6:40pm and we had a nice visit, exchanged check and title, and I took a photo of them with their new "pre-owned" Honda Accord Wagon:
Weren't a Chevy, weren't real heavy,
but you never left us high n' dry.
And lots of folks tried to buy you by and by ...
but this is where we say, good bye.
This is where we say, good bye.
We owned this car for nine years, nine months and nine days.
Posted by Steven at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)
April 13, 2005
Apple Profits Up Sixfold
Apple Computer posted profits of $290M this quarter, more than six fold over the same quarter last year.
For the three months ended March 26, Apple's profit jumped to $290 million, or 34 cents per share, from $46 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding certain unusual items, the computer maker said it would have earned $299 million, or 35 cents per share. Revenue surged 70 percent to $3.24 billion from $1.91 billion. The company shipped 1,070,000 Macintosh computers and 5,311,000 iPods during the quarter, a 43 percent increase for computers and a nearly sevenfold increase for iPods from the same period last year. Profit margins also grew -- increasing to 29.8 percent from 27.8 percent a year ago.
Apple continues to amaze me.
Posted by Steven at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2005
Honda Update
We got a firm offer tonite for Anne's car from a family that drove up from Ft. Worth who have been looking for two months for an Accord Wagon. I got another caller and an e-mail as well, and I suspect I'll regret not pulling the ad sooner as I'm pretty sure the first caller will buy tomorrow.
Posted by Steven at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2005
Selling Anne's Accord EX
We're selling Anne's Accord (duh). Check out the flyer.
Update: Check out the online ad at cars.com.
Posted by Steven at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2005
Anne's New Car
Ok, now it's official ... we bought Anne a 2005 VW Jetta Wagon TDI (yes, the diesel, our second). Let's cut straight to the photos:
Leo reading the VW enthusiasts magazine.
Alanna surfing the net.
More of the waiting area with Leo.
Sales finishing rooms.
Front of the show room.
The Jetta Wagon with our salesman taking a call in the background.
Beauty shot of the car (front).
Beauty shot rear (right).
Beauty shot rear (left).
Beauty shot (rear).
Beauty shot (front).
Anne getting "the lecture" from the salesman.
I spent most of the morning getting the Accord ready to sell, as the paperwork for the Jetta was done by Friday. We had to wait behind two other families to close the deal, so we consumed their free sodas and cookies -- VW has made their dealerships as slick and cool looking as Apple Stores.
After the obligatory lecture on all the extra crap we didn't want to buy, we opted for a 5 1/2 year note which brought the payment down to $400/mo. even, and almost nothing down. We are expecting to gross $4000 on the Accord, so we did pretty good on this one (net cost of this car will be less than the Accord Wagon EX).
After we got the car, we went to Six Flags for the evening and had a great time. More tomorrow ...
Posted by Steven at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2005
Digital Yearbooks
Apple Computer is highlighting a high school that produced a DVD yearbook using Macintosh that blows away all previous yearbooks.
Most high school fundraising projects run along the lines of bake sales, carwashes, and the like, and the proceeds are typically limited. But at Los Alamitos High School (LAHS), students are looking forward to topping the $30,000 they raised during the 2003-2004 school year to create a state-of-the-art digital studio/lab. How will they pull this off? By producing a digital yearbook that will be sold at the end of the 2004-2005 term. Using such tools as Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro, “Los Al” students are learning sophisticated digital media production skills, even as they work towards their fundraising goal.
I could not agree more. This is the kind of setup and project I'd have jumped on in high school. And the skills these kids learn are useful in a wide variety of areas, not just video production.
Joe Bob sez check it out.
Posted by Steven at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2005
Google Eye in the Sky
Google's high resolution satellite image of my home.Check out Google's new Maps tool.
The New York Times did a story on it, too. This is spy quality photography, which when combined with Photoshop, gives one about the same capability that the U.S. government had in the mid-eighties ... on your PC.
Posted by Steven at 03:25 PM | Comments (3)
Anne's New Car
 | If all goes well, this Saturday Anne and I will pick up her new Volkswagen Jetta Wagon TDI. She's picked the Wheat Beige color and beige cloth interior, and I selected the GLS trim. It's very similar to the Golf TDI I drive, but it has the 100 HP deisel engine instead of my 90 HP, and it has the Tiptronic automatic transmission instead of a manual. We're hoping it'll get around 40 MPG in town and a touch better on the highway. |
We're retiring Anne's nearly ten year old Honda Accord Wagon EX. In fact, we'll be selling it (asking $4300 [Ed. checked Kelly Blue Book]). It's got all the EX features (power seats, windows, moon-roof) and an after market CD/MP3 player. We kept hoping that Honda would come to its senses and make another wagon, but alas, that has not happened.
As it stands, I'd rather have the better mileage of the TDI anyway. Gas hit $2.35 around here this last week and it's still going up. Driving 600+ miles on a tank is a wildly different experience than the more typical 250 miles in gas engine car, especially when a fillup still costs less than $30.
Note: We have not actually purchased this car; Anne will make a final decision Saturday. We've made app and put a deposit down, that is all. I don't imagine we'll bail on the deal, but until you see a photo posted here, don't assume we've done the deal. This post is just a "heads up" for friend and family.
Posted by Steven at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2005
Les Sans Culottes
Check out this NPR story about Les Sans Culottes, a faux French rock group that reminds me of Shonen Knife.
Posted by Steven at 03:16 PM | Comments (1)
April 01, 2005
Virtual Bubble Wrap
More wackiness online.
Virtual Bubble-wrap. Click on the bubbles to pop them, just like real bubble wrap.
It'll make a Pavlovian out of you ... trust me.
Posted by Steven at 03:29 PM | Comments (1)
Bling Pong
 | More ThinkGeek April Fools products: this time it's "Executive Pong". The stats alone are enough to shoot coffee through your nose:
Clearly these guys are having too much fun. |
Posted by Steven at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)
Cafe Brazil Coming to McKinney
Another startling breakthrough in McKinney ...
In the same shopping center that the new Half-Priced Books store has opened and where Snuffer's will open in Sept. is now a sign announcing that Caf� Brazil is coming soon! Woo hoo! Now if only Brook Mays would open in town, next to a VW dealership ...
Posted by Steven at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
For the Mature iPod User
I like to keep this site PG (well, PG-13), but this is too good to pass on. ThinkGeek's annual April Fools products include the sexy iCopulate device for mating two iPods. Too sexy!
Posted by Steven at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)