I tested for my black belt today. I passed.
I feel as though I’ve been run over by a mid-sized herd of buffalo. Not as bad as it could have been … but still pretty darn strenuous. The leaves will probably have to stay on the lawn for another couple of days. That’s all I’m saying.
Now, I’m told, comes the traditional “being dragged to the bar by the senior instructors” part of the test. Gotta go.
I’ve returned to the estate, and am busily wrapping up loose ends. Of wire. In the basement. Ha ha, no, that’s the plan for Sunday.
My trip yesterday was “fun”. The “quotation marks” are around “fun” because there were 40MPH cross runway gusts of wind at my connection in Baltimore. The rain was pretty intense too.
My stomach: “You know, I put up with a lot for you.”
Me: “Hey, I appreciate it. Have I said ‘thanks’ lately?”
My stomach: “Actually, no. You haven’t. I just want you to know what I’m dealing with here.”
Me: “Ummmm,”
My stomach: “Buuuuuurp”
Me: “Hey, everybody be cool, we’re gonna land soon.”
My stomach: “Just say you love me.”
Me: “I love you man, just don’t do that again.”
My stomach: “Okay, I won’t. Just, a little respect now and again would be nice.”
The past turns away, the future beckons
The larger I dream, the larger the crowd of dreamers in my wake.
Light shines through the unlikeliest lens
Reassuring me that there are many roads to salvation.
I fell off the essay horse a couple of months ago. Here’s my effort to get back on: Moral Relativism.
As always, the rest are here.
Supercomputing is, as expected, awesome. Ray Kurzweil demonstrated an integrated reading device for the blind. It’s a digital camera plus OCR, plus text to speech, plus crazy image deconvolution. Basically, you carry it in your pocket, and it reads menus, signs, or whatever to you. There’s some crazy image processing in there, since the blind person isn’t necessarily going to point the camera exactly at the thing that they need to read.
Not getting that day back, either. redmed has posted her perspective too.
This morning, I finished off the new 20A line from yesterday. Then I (foolishly) thought: “Hey, what about that breaker that keeps blowing when we try to run the sewing machine and the XBox at the same time. The one where it’s always dark when it blows, since all these … basement … lights … are … on … it.”
With growing horror, I traced out the nightmare of cloth weave insulated, brittle wire which is circuit number 11 in my house.
Back to freakin’ Home Depot. Do NOT look at your house wiring.
Went to the Ani Difranco show this evening. It was intense and good. For all her fierce reputation, she put on a show filled with positivity and hope.
I’m fascinated by the process, and I read the book, so here’s a note from aledonne:
Now you can read an excerpt of Nothing in Particular through Amazon.com Hey all! Kate’s book now has the Search Inside! feature enabled on Amazon. Check it out and read an excerpt or two. Then buy a copy or two. 🙂
I started off this morning, assembling the shelves we bought from Ikea.
Somehow, this has led to two trips to Home Depot, and the installation of a whole new GDMF 20A circuit … from the breaker box out to the receptacle behind the shelves … pulling new three conductor cable through the walls included.
Take it from me: If the wiring looks funny, just leave it be and don’t look again. Looking costs you your whole Saturday.
I do, indeed, covet the hat.
Deeply happy about the elections.
Dear Democratic party: Please do not gloat. You did not win because of any positive aspects of yourselves, but simply because you are not Republicans. You are still part of the two party system, and therefore still scheduled for destruction.
Even more happy about Rumsfeld resigning.
Happy to be home, too.