Author: cdwan

Jeremiah, 10:1-4

4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.

In that spirit, we have a tree. Getting the silver and gold out of the basement now.

A portion of my (scaled down) quest for a huge bottle has been accomplished. I found a 3 liter bottle with a Grolsch style ceramic and gasket lid which will be perfect for my eventual “massive bottle of wine” party.

The fact that it’s already filled with a Belgian Chrismas Ale is a side bonus. “Pere Noel”, a “Speciaal Kerstbrouwsel” from the “Brewery de Ranke”. I would totally have bought it empty.

So yeah, beer lovers come out of the woodwork. We’re gonna have to work together to empty this beast … and I need it empty pretty soon.

I returned from VA last night on a plane that got to the airport around 6:10pm. rang my phone while we were still docking with the mothership, to say that she was on her way to her corporate party (the route to which goes past the airport) and had brought a set of nice clothing for me in the event that my plane was actually on time. She came to the airport, I changed while waiting for my bags to emerge, and off we went.

Party was fun. Apparently “I make my own wine” is an even better small-talk conversation piece than “I make my own beer.” People dig it.

Who lives like this? Oh yeah, rock stars live like this. Of course.

Episodes 2 and 3 of Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica: Best episodes so far, hands down.

I cared. That’s all I ask of art.

I’m staying another night to make sure that the system works right. This would be nobler if they weren’t paying for the extra day. On the other hand, I don’t get the extra money anyway.

Mcfadden’s in Hampton, VA is not the place you want to eat dinner, if you’re me. I should have gone to the sushi place again.

I saw the “Borat” movie this evening, rather than stewing in the hot tub, or returning to the den of iniquity.

First thought: Wow, I’m not getting that hour and a half back, am I?

Second thought: Painful from two different directions – first because there’s a very good chance that some of the people in there weren’t in on the joke … and he was just making fun of them and filming how dumb they are. Second pain point – Wow … that’s my country and my countrymen, right there.

Third thought: He’s an amazing comedian. When he collapses back to a couple of simple one liners, they’re perfectly delivered … and he neatly wraps up several long running gags right at the end.

Fourth thought: The only one who pronounced his name right was the prostitute, and the only ones who truly welcomed him were the ones for whom I have the most scorn.

Fifth thought: The audience laughed in all the wrong places. That kinda scares me.

In other news, I had my traditional sushi feast this evening. The sushi chef and I have a very slow conversation going on in hour long bursts over the past six months or so.

Work was the usual: I crawled under the floor for a while to find power for the final 15 cluster nodes (total cluster size – 47 dual processor G5 Apples, a 90 TB storage array). I don’t know why I bother to wear nice clothing to this gig.

Corporate party last night. One of the major advantages of being a tiny company is that things are still personal enough to be classy and cool. The party consisted of a private room at a really fine restaurant in the North End of Boston. In case you’re looking for a room that seats ten, elegant decor, excellent food and service, and a general feeling of being well taken care of … I highly recommend Mamma Maria. They treated us right.

Party itself was fun. Despite occasional indications to the contrary, I do work with a smart, dedicated, interesting group of guys … and we have a matching set of witty, personable significant others. Conversation was lively, the food was great, the bottles of the Gemito Liberale were well received, and I got a bonus. Ah, sweet cash, how you motivate me to work.

Speaking of which, it’s time to shut the laptop and get on a plane for Virginia. Oh NASA, you are a cruel and unrelenting mistress.

Yes, that’s my house.

Plus, here’s a picture of me explaining stuff to Ray Kurzweil