Blog Master G

With temperatures in the toasty 30s-40s the past few days, we’ve been getting an early taste of spring here in Saratoga Springs. Much of the snow has melted and our back yard is a bit soupy.

Despite having missed Chowderfest this year (one of our favorite winter events from 2004), Jen and I had what was probably the busiest weekend in quite some time.

We started the weekend in Albany Friday night with dinner and cards at Alex and Cati’s place. I got my ass kicked at poker and hearts, as usual. I think I was the first loser in both games.

I spent Saturday day doing GAC administrative work (spreadsheets, accounting, etc.) and upgrading my site and others hosted by me to MT 3.15.

The main event of the weekend was Saturday’s annual black-tie gala held by Jen’s company at the Hall of Springs, a beautiful 1930s-era building in Saratoga State Park. The prom-like event gave me an excuse to wear my tux for the first time since our wedding. We even got a complimentary prom-like photo (not yet in digital form, otherwise I’d share it here). The event was great fun, with delicious food, desserts, and drinks galore. We left the car in the park and got a ride home from Anne and Tom.

Sunday was another gorgeous day with plenty of sunshine. After breakfast, I rode my bike the 3.7 miles back to the Hall of Springs to retrieve the car. Craving more sunshine and driving, I returned home for Jen and the dogs, then we headed to Saratoga Lake to walk around on the lake (yes, on the lake, much like last year’s lake driving).

We returned home for some various projects around the house, including getting a start on our taxes (oh what fun!) and some work on moving my blog’s back end into a more reliable setup. The DVD cabinet opened its left door by itself, something that neither Jen or I did, and would have been impossible for the dogs to do. Ghost aside, I still can’t figure that one out.

We capped off the weekend last night by joining Nat at his place for homemade sushi (thanks, Nat’s mom!), fruit galore, and some pug action. The pugs, Ducati and Walter, are a riot. They’re a lot like Stella and Happy, respectively. Walter is always on the go, nipping at Ducati’s heels and wanting to play; Ducati just wants to chill out.

The Super Bowl was pretty exciting, too, especially in the final seconds. The commercials were a disappointment, though, with only a single funny commercial (the guy with the cat and the sauce in the kitchen)… fuckin’ FCC… Janet shows a little nipple and suddenly all the edginess and humor are gone. Paul McCartney’s half-time show was excellent.

The Miscellany News / VassarChat open as tool to communicate and procrastinate:

Move over Vassar gossip servers: there’s a new tool to keep in touch with students, network with alumni, and, of course, procrastinate. Vassarchat.com exists for students and alumni to explore a number of different communication avenues and discuss all sorts of different interests, from academics to culture to a risqué “In the Bedroom” forum.

Alumni Benjamin Horst ’99 and Gabe ’99 started the website as a hope to connect “the current student population and the alumnae network.” The site, which opened on April 5, 2004, contains 550 posts as of Jan. 28. “[VassarChat] provides a community for both [student and alumni] groups to socialize within their own group, as well as to reach out and meet others from different generations and in different geographical locations,” Horst said. Different groups of people all have the same access.

Among its more popular forums are “Politics,” “Culture,” “People,” “Computing,” and “Reunions,” which speak to the diverse interests and demographics to which VassarChat caters. Its forum format makes all of these different conversations organized and easily accessible. “It will be whatever the community makes it,” said A_nderson. “We’ve put the infrastructure in place and would love to see it go to the next level—a vibrant, active place with a connection to or interest in Vassar to come together and exchange ideas.”

Currently, VassarChat is not affiliated with the College administration, and it is not likely the College will subsume the site. “We are open to collaboration [with administration] as long as we remain independent, nimble, and free to follow the paths we choose.” The Development Office has expressed interest in the site and the Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College runs a similar site to keep alumni in touch.

The site is funded through A_nderson’s web hosting business.

VassarChat is not monitored for content. Although the moderators will delete any computer advertisements, they will not censor users’ speech or ideas.

“It’s tough to predict how VassarChat will grow, as we allow it a great deal of freedom,” said Horst. In one regard, it might be used to help attract prospective students to the College.

For now, though, the site is up and fully active for Vassar students and alumni to join. Procrastinate your heart out.

Pretty cool, though my quote should actually read: “It will be whatever its community makes it. We’ve put the infrastructure in place and would love to see it go to the next level — a vibrant, active place for anyone with a connection to or interest in Vassar to come together and exchange ideas.”

A modest proposal: The copy ‘n paste feature built in to every modern computer should be awarded the greatest computing feature ever. Think about it.

Besides typing and mousing, what feature do you use more often than any other? Does a day go by without using copy ‘n paste? What other feature offers such an elegant blend of simplicity and power? What function spans the divide between text and images as elegantly as the copy ‘n paste? Whether for work, school, or play, the copy ‘n paste is no doubt a silent but ubiquitous part of all our lives.

I hereby nominate copy ‘n paste to be the Grand Daddy Supreme of all computing features.

What kind of sick brainwashing is happening in this country?

First Amendment No Big Deal, Students Say:

The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.

Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes “too far” in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.

“These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous,” said Hodding Carter III, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which sponsored the $1 million study. “Ignorance about the basics of this free society is a danger to our nation’s future.”

That’s for damn sure. The moment my writing has to be approved by some government agency is the moment this country has failed as a nation.

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, indeed.

truthout / The Story of the Ghost:

“United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam’s presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting. According to reports from Saigon, 83 percent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong. A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson’s policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam.”

– Peter Grose, in a page 2 New York Times article titled, ‘U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote,’ September 4, 1967.

…

Perhaps the most glaring indication that this “election” did little to settle the bloody reality in Iraq came three days before the ballots were cast. In a letter to congress dated January 28, the neoconservative think-tank/power broker known as The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) essentially called for a draft without actually using the ‘D’ word.

(Thanks, Jordan, for the heads-up.)

I spent much of the weekend watching episode after episode of Lost. Its Number 8 ranking on my list of Top TV Shows of 2004 really doesn’t do it justice. It’s far better than an 8. Of course, I put that list together after having seen only the first couple episodes of Lost.

Not only did I wade through the remainder of episodes collected by my DVR, but I successfully managed to get Jen sucked in to the show as well.

I’ve now seen all but 3 of the first 14 episodes. The only episodes I haven’t yet seen are Tablula Rosa (#3), Raised by Another (#10), and All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues (#11). It’s easy enough to fill in the important story gaps (Kate’s criminal ways, Claire’s abduction), but what’s more frustrating is ABC’s nonsensical decision to air reruns in no particular order. What the hell kind of sense does that make? Not realizing the order, I plowed through the DVR recordings based on when each episode was taped.

In retrospect, I suppose I could have referenced the episode guide first, then pieced together my viewing order. But why should I have had to do that?

Regardless, Lost is an awesome show. If you haven’t yet seen it, check it out this Wednesdsay.

In other news, we hung out Friday night with Seth, Niki, and Justin at Justin’s house. Saturday night we went out for dinner with Sarah, Eric, and Justin at Sushi Thai Garden, then went for drinks at the Tin & Lint (where we also spent New Year’s Eve).

Among other random projects this weekend — fixing a leaky PVC pipe, lining the edges of the pantry with steel wool to prevent our friendly neighborhood mouse from visiting — one was upgrading to Picasa 2.0 and indexing our thousands upon thousands of digital photos. Scanning through the collection, Jen and I enjoyed reliving memories from the Treasure Island days to Italy 2002 to our August 2002 trip from California to New York.

This photo, which we took August 8, 2002, is particularly striking:

My oh my, how times have changed. Imagine carrying this thing on a plane with you.

It turns out that the partially frozen pipes I addressed on Monday weren’t frozen at all. It was just a matter of old pipe sediment having built up inside the little drainage thing in the kitchen sink. That was quite the relief. So this morning, when it happened again, I felt like a pro, knowing exactly what to look for.

Earlier, while adjusting the timer on the thermostat — we’re getting tougher and tougher this winter and keep lowering the temperature (55 while we sleep, 60 in the evenings, etc.) because we want to save money on the utility bill — I heard a distinct “drip, drip” from down in the basement. “Uh oh,” I thought. It’s the infamous leaking pipe that causes the cellar to flood. I threw on my sandals and went charging down. Thankfully (knock on wood) the problem I found wasn’t all that bad. There was a leak from one of the PVC pipes, but it was pretty minor.

I found some blue masking tape (probably more effective than shipping tape but less effective than gaffer’s tape, which I thought I had around here somewhere) and applied the band-aid solution to the problem. Now I’m going to have to learn how to fix leaking pipes for real.

Oh, the joys of owning an 80-year-old house!

In other news, the treemometer is finally cooperating with me and showing sub-zero temperatures when it’s actually sub-zero. I suppose it had to get down to -14 before the treemometer would show -10.

Last week I posted this entry about the right-wing, anti-gay Christian groups who are going after Sponge Bob because, you know, he promotes the gay lifestyle. Yesterday Mark Morford tackled the subject, along with its greater implications in the world where hateful, ignorant people in groups like Focus on the Family and the AFA have a “shockingly powerful pull on American society.” I highly recommend reading it in its entirety.

SFGate.com / SpongeBob, Evil Gay Heathen / How sad to be a right-wing Christian in a world full of homo cartoons and scary nipples:

It’s because the frantically animated sea creature is now appearing, alongside noted pagan cartoon perverts Barney the Dinosaur and Winnie-the-Pooh and the Rugrats and Bob the Builder, in a nonprofit video sent to 60,000 schools and designed to promote that vile demon called, ahem, tolerance. And diversity.

(Our fair SpongeBob was singled out, by the way, because of his noted popularity with gay men, perhaps given his propensity for flamboyant exuberance and a love of show tunes and his very gayly named pet snail, Gary. Or something).

So then, the cute part: To the vast sentient population of the planet, people like those in Focus on the Family and the American Family Association (the other terrified little group that found SpongeBob to be sexually dangerous) are, well, just plain sad, small, lost in a world where everything is a threat and everything wants to stab at their mealy souls and everything reeks of debauchery and demonism and copious amounts of residual Astroglide.

More…