Author: cdwan

I’m going through documents describing a certain property in Detroit that is now my problem. In trying to establish exactly where it came from and where it will go, I’m digging through deeds and title history. It’s sort of interesting … the first notion that the land is owned at all is from 1825, when it was “located” by Samuel Smith. President J.Q. Adams granted the land to him that same year.

Skimming forward, in 1920 a property holding company sold a small piece of that land to my great grandparents for the sum of $7433. In the contract of sale, I found this gem:

Said second parties shall not use said premises herin described except for residence purposes and except that a dentist or physician may practice his profession in his residence. Said premises herein described shall not be sold leased or occupied by any other person than of the Caucasian race.

I’m sorry … but what?

Hey, remember that whole “monks being shot in the street” thing, in Burma? Whatever happened with that?

Oh, that’s right, the world turned a blind and impotent eye, and the bad guys won.

Word on the street is that having appeared in one of those protests is a 20 year jailable offense, and applauding or giving other public signs of approval is a 2 year offense. Keep in mind as well that “jail” in Myanmar usually works out to “hard labor camp.” People are still being rounded up from their homes … and we have no numbers on how many have been taken. Names for those in prison? Assurances that they’re actually *in* prison and not simply *gone*? Don’t be silly. We don’t even know how many there are.

The New York Times Coverage gives a pretty good summary.

I hear there’s some good shit on TV these days. Maybe I should try to get into that, instead of paying attention.

Due to a last minute change of plans, we have a single ticket available for Ani DiFranco’s show on Friday the 9th at the Orpheum in Boston. It’ll be me, redmed and robotify.

If you like Ani, have $40, and want to come to a concert on Friday at 8pm … drop me an email or a comment.

Kinda chugging along through my ever so interesting life.

I continue to fight with the City of Detroit. I’ve decided that my *favorite* is when an official city number just rings and rings … and that my runner up favorite is a busy signal. I’ve decided these things mostly because it means that the thing that happens most often is *also* one of my *favorites*! Yay!

Some motion seems to be happening at the new Karate school. At least, I’ve been invited to take part in the “regular” classes rather than being in the “beginner” classes. I look forward to seeing the difference. That said, anyone have any advice on a martial arts school for someone like me?

Work is work. I’ll be at Supercomputing next week. If you’re there, stop by the Silicon Mechanics booth. I’ll be the guy who’s not in the black polo shirt.

This desert upon which so many have been broken is vast and calls for largeness of heart but it is also ultimately empty. It is hard, it is barren. Its very nature is stone.

He poured the tumbler full. Drink up, he said. The world goes on. We have dancing nightly and this night is no exception. The straight and the winding way are one and now that you are here what do the years count since last we two met together? Men’s memories are uncertain and the past that was differs little from the past that was not.

Attended a talk about ants and their emergent behaviors.

Chatted with technolope for a few hours about life, love, and –CLASSIFIED–.

Chatted with the bartender about the preview for No Country for Old Men. Revealed that I had another book by the same author in my backback. Was questioned. Produced the book, while technolope explained that I not only *had* the book, but had been *quoting* from it that very evening.

Finished said deeply surreal, yet all too real book on the train home. Briefly looked up to notice that the other group on the train were arguing about Madison’s position in the Federalist papers. God, I love this town.

Found that the insurance policy for my grandfather’s house had been delivered to my building, despite having neither my name nor my apartment number anywhere on it.

Came home to find an inflatable “ostrich jockey” costume sprawled out over one of the dining room chairs. Have to ask redmed about that in the morning.

The quote I shared with technolope:

The truth about the world, he said, is that anything is possible. Had you not seen it all from birth and thereby bled it of its stangemess it would appear to you for what it is, a hat trick in a medicine show, a fevered dream, a trance bepopulate with chimeras having neither analogue nor precedent, an itinerant carnival, a migratory tentshow whose ultimate destination after many a pitch in many a midded field is unspeakable and calamitous beyond reckoning.

The universe is no narrow thing and the order within it is not constrained by any latitude in its conception to repeat what exists in one part in any other part. Even in this world more things exist without our knowledge that with it and the order in creation which you see is that which you have put there, like a string in a maze, so that you shall not lose your way. For existence has its own order and that no man’s mind can compass, that mind itself being but a fact among others.

I hereby renew my call for everybody in the adult world to refrain from name calling … at least as it pertains to political and social debate.

In ranting polemic, it may seem reasonable to talk about the dems, repubs, libs, neocons, chickenhawks, enviros, lefties, right-wingers, surrender monkeys, war junkies, abortionists, god-drunk fools, and so on. (That’s a short list of the ones to which I’ve been privy this week). Let me assure everyone that you are only talking to the most extreme of the people who already agree with you. You are pissing off the people you’re trying to talk to, and you are irritating the undecided.

One of the single, cardinal rules of actual communication is this: Address people as they wish to be addressed. If you can’t get past slapping each other with insulting monikers, you certainly won’t be able to come to any sort of agreement. Plus, what … you’re like five years old and out on the playground or something? If you want me to take your opinion seriously on matters of public policy, you ought to be able to get beyond “nanny nanny doo-doo head.”

If you’re referring to some person or group by a name other than that by which they would prefer to be called (within reasonable limits), you’re just doing it to piss them off and insult them. That’s name calling … and it needs to stop.

This is just as true in congress as it was in the 1st grade.

Good times today. I worked out with someone plenty stronger than me, and learned about lifting. Lots of reps to “tone” and build strength, a few reps at high weight to “bulk up.” Okay, I can do that. Seems simple enough. Hopefully I’ll be able to walk tomorrow. Then we sat and talked about life, war, women, religion, and intuition. It was a good afternoon.

Got home to discover that redmed tried to single-handedly deplete an IKEA of their stock. Holy God the house is filled with cost-effective and highly-sensible stuff now.

We had technolope and capital_l over for indian food last night. We opened up a 25 year old bottle of Blue Nun Riesling that they had found … and it was … different. We unanimously decided to go with the wine-in-a-box instead, and a good time was had by all. Conversation raged late into the night, and cats were run around the room using the laser pointer.

This morning, at robotifys suggestion, I went down to MIT to watch the DARPA autonomous vehicle urban challenge on a big screen webcast. They were actually driving the vehicles around out at an abandoned air force base in California. I was stunned to see 15 vehicles successfully driving around the streets of this town, all at the same time, with only minimal incident. AI has actually made some progress this decade.

Finally, I drove down to East Providence for a board breaking seminar in the afternoon. It was a good time. We learned some fancy breaks, which were both challenging and satisfying. Now, as Dan is quick to point out … the self defense utility of breaking boards is limited. Boards don’t hit back, they don’t move, they don’t sneak up on you or pull a knife, and they break pretty easily. On the other hand, it’s a lot of fun to break them.

Now, home for dinner. Tomorrow, to the gym!

At the urging of one of the cool kids, I have joined facebook. Now I look, and there are many other of you cool kids already there.

Hooray.