now with pureed penguin

feedle @ 2009-07-02T11:24:00

2009-07-02T18:25:38Z

Somebody please tell me this isn't an identity theft scam: http://www.meet-safely.com

The fact that I get this to some of my CL postings pretty much guarantees to me that it is...

feedle @ 2009-06-29T06:07:00

2009-06-29T12:31:51Z

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. For those of you on those services who haven't added me, you should consider following me on Twitter or Facebook.. I tend to "tweet" a lot.

So, after I got laid off, I packed up my shit and started driving east. It's been a long time since I've visited a lot of friends in the places I've lived.. Billings, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Bakersfield. A lot of loose ends..

One of those loose ends was the ARRL Field Day with the Yellowstone Amateur Radio club. When I was living out in Billings, I helped Matt out with some of the initial footwork for Field Day.. but left town right around the time it happens. I haven't been out on a Field Day since the REACT club would "help out" on N6ME's Field Day activities.

Anyway, I had a great time. I'm a little bit sunburned, and certainly a little tired after staying up for two days straight playing radio.

As part of Field Day preperations, Matt helped me out making an "Instant Digital" station out of a Harbor Freight toolbox, an Asus Eee PC, and my Yaesu FT-817. I'll be taking some pictures and writing the thing up a little later, probably at some point on this trip when I stop driving for a few hours.

Another "loose end" was Bresnan, of course. I had lunch with Matt and a bunch of the friendlier people from there on Thursday. It sounds like my presence is certainly missed by some there, and that if I ever wanted to come back there's certainly some way things could be worked out. At this point, I wouldn't move back to Billings on a dare, but who knows what the future holds.

I also had a late lunch with shockqueen Friday. That was cool to catch up with him again.

I also got to meet someone that Matt has known for a while, "Blackcat". She's pretty cool: geeky, and too damn smart to be living in Montana. Hopefully, we'll keep in touch by E-mail or IM.

So, today I get on the road to Phoenix. I'm going to zip through Denver on the way, mostly because it's been a couple of years and it would be nice to see what they've done to the dump. I'll probably overnight somewhere south of Denver (like Colo Springs or Pueblo), and get back on the road towards Phoenix. I expect to be in Phoenix late Tuesday afternoon (or early evening). The plan is to stay for a couple of days, and then off to Los Angeles.

feedle @ 2009-06-20T05:15:00

2009-06-20T12:20:20Z

Going to be down at the Faire site this weekend. Being as there's fuck-all for cell service down there, you probably won't be hearing a lot out of me the next few days.

When I return, there's a tentative (only tentative because I'm waiting for my final paychecks to clear) trip to Billings, MT in the works, followed by a trip to Arizona. I've got a few loose ends in my life I need to tie up, plus it'll be good to work Field Day with YRC again (which is the major plan). I'll post an itinerary once I firm up plans. There will be a day in SoCal, and perhaps a side trip to the SF Bay Area.

So, June 23-July 4, I'll be on the move...

feedle @ 2009-06-18T15:08:00

2009-06-18T22:19:46Z

Well, I got laid off today.

I suspected something weird was going on. Things seemed kind-of.. odd around the office lately. Ever since the "cool boss" left for another company, I was wondering what the future was going to hold for our department.

I worked with ShoreTel phone systems. It's kind-of an odd creature: it has a lot of the same installation procedures as any other networking appliance, but then again it doesn't.

My thinking is that they feel that "any idiot can do this", and they're going to start leveraging other engineers to do the work.

My thinking is that's probably going to spell the "end" of ShoreTel being a profitable product for them.

Andee has a saying: "Rejection is Protection." I tend to think a little broader.. "things happen for a reason." I've already dropped a bunch of resumes around to their competitors (that's going to look good: "Hi, Structured laid me off, you guys need an extra hand?") and have already hit Craig's and gotten a couple of lukewarm hits. A couple of phone interviews scheduled already. Not bad.

So, I hope I'm going to be okay. I hope that this is just a momentary setback, and that there's a better job out there waiting for me to find it. I liked my job: I felt like I had found the place I belonged. It's a shame it was only for a little while.

feedle @ 2009-06-16T09:34:00

2009-06-16T16:52:23Z

Thank you, Fred Meyer, for being the first merchant since I wrote ranted about this over a year ago to actually VERIFY the signature on the back of my debit card with the signature on the sales slip.

feedle @ 2009-06-15T09:15:00

2009-06-15T16:24:01Z

Dear KTLA:

Nice touch, having Stan "The Man" Chambers turn off your NTSC transmitter for good. The man is deserving of the honor to turn off the first TV station west of the Mississippi.

Can you imagine working in an industry for 60 years? Watching it start, being there for the entirety of a technology's lifetime? Stan Chambers is that man. He's spent 60 years as a news reporter for Los Angeles' KTLA. He covered the Watts Riots. He broke the Rodney King videotape story. If there was news in Southern California, Stan was there with his microphone and clipboard.

Thanks, Stan, for being there to report on an important news story.. not just this time, but every time. The entire broadcast industry could learn a lot of lessons from your dedication.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FIfimH7Wlg

feedle @ 2009-06-14T10:49:00

2009-06-14T17:51:06Z

This cloudy weather is a drag.

Anybody in PDX have a lawnmower I can borrow? I just tried checking the mower out from the North Portland Tool Library yesterday, and apparently somebody already snagged it.

Yes, I got a "weed ticket." I've been dragging my feet on fixing the mower I have, and now I've got 15 days to figure it out before the city does it for me and sends me a (probably very expensive) bill.

Posted using LJ Talk...

2009-05-29T18:33:30Z

I'm just going to say this once. Regardless of the Dr. Who episode, stereo Bluetooth headsets rock. Oh, and the G1's ringtones/alert tones are in stereo, which is ... trippy.

feedle @ 2009-05-28T07:13:00

2009-05-28T14:15:02Z

Otto is once again operational.

And I did it myself! I'm actually kinda proud of that. This is the first "repair" I've done myself on the car. Granted, it was the fuel filter, and it wasn't that hard of a job (VW actually put it in a "smart" place that was easy to get at). I had to replace a blown fuse for the fuel pump (I suspect that the filter was that clogged).

The Best Food In Travel...

2009-05-26T16:42:48Z

So, I travel a lot.. both for work and for my own reasons. I can't say I'm a "well seasoned traveler" like a lot of people, but I've seen more than my fair share of the insides of airports, railroad stations, and bus terminals of North America.

And, the best traveling food show in America? You're not going to believe this, but it's on Amtrak.

Eating a Marionberry Cobbler while watching marionberry fields fly by out the window of the Cascades train is simply a sublime experience (and, with a hot cup of oatmeal, exactly what I'm enjoying right now). Similarly, sucking down a hot bowl of Ivar's clam chowder while navigating around the southern Puget Sound is equally a pleasure. And the crews on the Cascades route have to be the most cheerful, agreeable railroad employees you've ever encountered. And, at that, the prices are moderate as well ($10 will get you a "real meal", $20 will get you a near-gourmet meal with a glass of wine).

Yes, most of the food is microwave prepped. That is a given. But, what they choose to serve is stuff that can be prepared that way (although I would recommend against ordering a hot dog.. microwaved hot dog bun just isn't a fun experience all the way around). The menus are full of local delights: from the working-class Ivar's clam chowder to a salmon dinner plate. The "cheese and cracker" plate even has Tillamook cheddar.

So, I'd like to say a hearty "thank you" to Amtrak for restoring my faith that America can, in fact, run a railroad. And, perhaps the classiest regional transportation I've ever used.

This makes a lot of sense...

2009-05-24T15:03:18Z

Your result for What Gender do you Think and Feel Like?...

Wilting Romantic

Female Heart, Female Brain

Your thoughts and feelings are both feminine. Such combination can make you appear soft and malleable to people. This test is not about physical sex, but gender, which has nothing to do with what body you were born into or what your sexual orientation is. However, you express yourself in a very feminine way.

Take What Gender do you Think and Feel Like? at HelloQuizzy

Good news.

2009-05-22T20:29:15Z

A friend gave me $45 for a train ticket to Eugene, so I don't have to miss the SCA event I really wanted to attend. Since das Fix 'Em Haus can wait until Tuesday, I might as well go ...

#*%&#.

2009-05-22T17:35:04Z

Car broke down again. I have $100 to my name. Car won't be fixed anytime soon.

I don't know what this means for my job, which requires me to be able to drive to customer sites...

But, it certainly means I won't be going to the SCA event this weekend, and will instead be sitting at home watching the flies fuck.

feedle @ 2009-05-21T09:58:00

2009-05-21T16:58:49Z

Oh, and "feedle's livejournal" is now tweet-free.

feedle @ 2009-05-21T09:38:00

2009-05-21T16:46:47Z

After trying to do everything I needed a Windows machine for in Parallels, I finally broke down yesterday and built a Windows XP machine out of salvaged parts.

More people need my "salvage" pile: this is a monster of a machine in some ways. 768 MB of memory, a RAID array, a 500W power supply, and an okay video card. It is only an Athlon XP 2000+ CPU. Finding drivers was a bit of a challenge, but it all came together in the end.

Side note: rather than power the monitor off of another wall wart, I rigged up a power cable from the power supply. The monitor I'm using needs 12V, so that was simple. Why haven't computer makers figured this out yet? It seems like it would be a lot more efficient to just power the monitor off of the 12VDC rail on the PC power supply. We don't need 4A to power a flyback anymore, people...

Angiogram results

2009-05-19T22:31:39Z

The bad news is I do indeed have a small amount of bleeding in my retina.

The good news is it is nowhere near my visual center. So, that means that I will not have to have laser surgery at this time.

This horse is dead. I will therefore proceed to beat it.

2009-05-18T22:34:21Z

Six months have elapsed since I posted a short series of rants regarding copyright. During that time, I pointed out to a number of people who publish small press works that registration for copyright isn't TECHNICALLY required.. but you're a fool if you haven't filed.

You are supposed to file for a copyright and deposit works at the Library of Congress within three months of publication. Given the speed of which these government agencies operate (somewhere in between a lazy snail and molasses in January), an additional four months to process and update the database is not unreasonable.

So, I'm legitimately curious. How am I supposed to take your arguments seriously about eBooks facilitating theft when you haven't even spent $50 to file for a copyright on your own works? What possible reason do you have for not filing? Even after all the words I've said about the necessity of filing in a timely fashion so you can protect your rights, Take any book off your shelf, search here, and see how many books you can find that aren't there. I haven't found one, other than.. well, works from the people in question.

I'm serious. How am I supposed to take you seriously if you don't take yourself seriously enough to do what every legitimate publisher does?

I patiently await your answer, as I've been waiting for the last seven months.

feedle @ 2009-05-13T23:15:00

2009-05-14T06:19:52Z

On May 19, I have to go into the doctor's office for a.. what's it called again? Ah, a fluorescein angiogram. This is because I apparently have some signs of bleeding in the back of my retina, and this is a precursor to laser eye surgery to seal the area of my eye that's bleeding.

I'm kinda scared. For reasons I don't really want to go into right now, vision problems freak me the hell out. Normally, I react to medical stuff like this pretty well. But my eyes... that's another story entirely.

We'll let you know how it goes.

feedle @ 2009-05-11T16:23:00

2009-05-11T23:25:04Z

Big favor to ask. PLEASE E-mail me your contact information, or post it here (comments screened).. if you want me to have it, that is. I had to do a database purge, my personal address book was getting so trashed.

Please do this even if you think I already have it.

Thanks!

feedle @ 2009-05-06T13:03:00

2009-05-06T20:06:15Z

feedle @ 2009-05-01T10:14:00

2009-05-01T17:18:53Z

So, yesterday I picked up silverback2001 and headed out to Bagby. She had never been out that way, and I figured I could use the trip out there. There was still a little bit of snow on the ground, but it was absolutely fantastic. It was warm enough already to be a nice hike, and of course the soak in the hot tub was wonderful.

I think this year I'm going to spend a lot more time up that way..

It's alive!

2009-04-30T15:59:57Z

So, the listserv is reborn.

http://lists.feedle.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fof

A few of you have already been subscribbled.. you'll know if you get a message from the list telling you so. Everybody else is welcome to head over there and sign up.

Low-volume, designed primarily to be used for announcements and similar traffic.

feedle @ 2009-04-26T19:03:00

2009-04-27T02:03:04Z

feedle @ 2009-04-26T08:04:00

2009-04-26T15:56:01Z

There is a range of upcoming stuff here at the house.

LAN Party: First off, as a result of FeedleCON 2.0, we have rekindled the LAN Party. First and third Friday we get everybody in one room (well, two rooms, typically) and play Halo 2 until either our fingers fall off or our XBOXes overheat. More or less anyone is welcome to come.. even if you don't have an XBOX to add to the network. We typically have room for a few extra people to play. The next one is, of course, May 1.

Sunday Parkways: Last year, the City of Portland did an experiment here in NoPo. They closed off a loop of streets to traffic and created a wonderful route for cyclists, walkers, joggers, and pretty much everybody else. It was a great success, and the city is doing it this year as well.

Last year, the Parkways route missed us by one block. This year, we are on the parkway route!. As a way of getting everybody to explore (what I think is) Portland's most under-appreciated and misunderstood neighborhoods, I will be having a BBQ on Sunday, June 21st. We'll probably start things off at 1-ish, but come and go as you like!

Here's the route.

We Have Explosive: Right on the heels of Sunday Parkways is Independence Day. Yeah, this year it is on a Monday. That's not going to stop us from having a party!

For those who haven't been over to my house on July 4th, suffice to say I always spend WAY too much money on fireworks. Things will probably start at 6, with fireworks at sunset. Come by, blow stuff up.

I'm sure I'm missing something, which I'll no doubt post later...

When "good enough" actually is.

2009-04-22T23:39:53Z

We've reached a plateau, it seems, in Moore's Law.

Oh, don't get me wrong. This oft (mis-)quoted axiom of the computer industry is far from dead: tomorrow will no doubt produce computers that are twice as powerful as today. But we've reached an interesting point: where 99% of all the applications you'll ever want to run can be handled by a two-year old computer.

I'm using a Mac mini that is two years old this week. When I bought it, it wasn't the fastest, greatest, best machine Apple built. It wasn't even the fastest mini. However, it continues to run all the applications I need on a daily basis.. including the Windows ones in Parallels, without issue.

What would I get if I upgraded? Sure, I could go out and buy a new Mac. It would be faster, certainly. It would have more memory, quite definitely. But, how much could I do with a new Mac mini that I can't do with this one?

Real numbers? Loading times of common applications on this mini are already measured in single-digit seconds. Even loading a large Photoshop file only takes, tops, 10 seconds. My DVD-RW drive is already reading and writing discs "fast enough" for any application I put it through. 100MB/s networking is plenty fast. 2 GB of RAM is, in reality, "enough for everybody."

Along those lines, Slashdot posted a link today to a story about "Good Enough". And the comments on there are a real hoot.. you should read them.

I often compare the development of computers (and the infrastructure required to deliver "goods and services" to them) to the automotive industry. It has gone from the "horseless carriage" era, where it was largely an expensive hobby for the super-rich, through the Model-T era (which could be the Commodore 64 or early IBM PC clones, take your pick whereever you think it lands).

We are now at the beginnings of the Interstate Highway era of automobiles. Cars are now sufficiently fast and efficient to be of real use to the masses. There has been built infrastructure of sufficient speed and efficiency to make it really useful, and broad enough to service a significant majority of the population (and the holes are being filled rapidly).

But, an interesting thing happened to the automobile in the late 1950's. The form-factor started to stagnate. Yes, there were still more and more powerful cars being built, but rarely did you see these cars on the Interstates of America: because you don't need a 400 HP car to drive to Grandma's for Sunday dinner. You need 85 HP, built on a solid chassis with standard features and safety devices.

The kids who race their cars will always be building their hotrods. Soccer moms just want a minivan.

We've reached that plateau. The average PC can manipulate even HD video in near-real-time. My Mac mini, a two-year-old computer, can do this. I can mix down eight tracks in GarageBand. I can browse the web, run a word processor, chat client, iTunes, and still play a DVD in the background.. without a hitch.

The Law of Diminishing Returns is beginning to take hold. Sure, newer computers are faster. However, how much faster is really necessary? If NeoOffice already loads in less than a second, does it really need to load in half that amount of time?

Human beings have very fickle senses of distance, space, and time. Human brains seem to function on a "here, there, a long ways away" sense: it's either within arms' reach, within a few steps, or a "long ways away". When things are in the middle section, progress towards you is REAL easy to spot. But, once things are within easy arms reach, do we really perceive it getting another half-inch closer? Rarely, actually, unless something calls our attention to the difference (like a ruler or some other measuring mark).

The point is, every CPU built for personal computers today is capable of running 99% of the applications users will want to use for the lifetime of that chip (and I mean the REAL lifetime, not the "planned obsolescence lifetime). Even most games will run on the mid-range CPUs being built: a Core 2 Duo CPU is enough to run ALL of the games out there right now.

You can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on any TV that's smaller than 35". You can't. Don't give me any "well, _I_ can" bullshit. You can't. Nobody's eyesight is that good. The vast majority of people I know couldn't tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p at that size, unless there was a static image where the interlacing was obvious (say, for example, computer generated text). So, why do we need to build 1080p capability into 25" HDTVs?

Similarly, I'd suggest that the average computer user couldn't really tell the difference between a 2-year-old Core 2 Duo and a modern one running common applications (web browser, word processor, etc).

We've reached that plateau. Moore's Law is still playing out: but it's playing out on the bottom end. We can now buy VERY fast machines with 8GB of solid state storage for under $300. If this continues to play out, the $99 laptop may actually become a reality.

But even if it doesn't, a $300 netbook really is "enough computer for anybody." Coupled with a USB keyboard and a nice inexpensive external monitor, it's as competent a computing platform as any $600 desktop for the application: and it moves. And if it breaks, you're out $300.. not exactly a king's ransom, even in this economy.

To Be Continued...