Whale Fundraiser tonight

For those of you who don’t know, the Whale, home of the Lamprey Group as well as batcave to Michelle Faust, Nat Ward and Kenneth Morrison burned down late in 2009. Efforts to rebuild need your help-there is a fundraiser tonight @ The Co-Prosperity Sphere.

There is a public facebook group for those of you who engage in that kind of thing (I don’t, and don’t allow my photos on facebook).

Here’s a few rescued photos of the Whale’s interior across the years:

Notice the quant curved hutch visible in the background
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The Kitchen, with art by Brady Haston
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Another shot of the front room.
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(these were pulled from the rescue file after the 2005 server crash, i lost the originals in the backup drive crash of 2007-so remember kids, you don’t actually own the file if you don’t have it in 3 places, on 2 different media types with one offsite…)

Happy new year

Title says it. Hope this new year doesn’t suck as bad as this year, or the previous eight.

Be careful on amateur night, and remember if you must drink and drive, you must be an idiot. Or worse.

Yes, i’m not on facebook

No, I am not on facebook. And I never will be (I’m cheap, but I won’t sell out that cheap). So please don’t send me links to facebook pages-I can’t see them.

I’m not psychic: rules for calling me from a blocked caller ID

I just had it out with a dear friend, who has blocked their cell phone’s caller ID. They’ve been calling me for weeks trying to get me to fix their computer, but I never called them back. They Never Left A Message. So to avert further catastrophes, let me explain how I answer the phone.

If you call me from a number that isn’t in my address book, I let it go to voice mail. I get too many calls for that child actress and I’m tired of arguing with kids. Skype, Gizmo calling card and other voip users, this means you-the number the call IDs as isn’t always yours, even if you have an account, so leave a message.

If you call me from a phone with blocked caller ID, I let it go to voicemail. If you dont’ leave a message, I Can’t Call You Back, because i have no way of knowing you called in the first place. If you call, don’t leave a message, and take your Mac to Geek Squad and they kill it, I’m sorry, but I can’t read minds.

If you call me from a number that ID’s as 555-xxxx or 111-xxxx, I let it go to voicemail. Yes, my phone usually ID’s as one of those numbers, when it’s nod IDing as Rupert Murdock, my mother or Paris Hilton, and yes, I don’t always leave a message. When I don’t, it’s not important. And I’m always aware as to what my phone IDs as, since I set it manually.

Finally, please don’t send me text messages. They cost me way too much, and while your “just sending one because it’s important” everyone else is to. And none of you are paying my cell phone bill…

wishlist 2009

UPDATE: will be updated later tonight as well…

The holiday guide for gifting your more problematic friends, or what to get the nerd who has nothing…

Long Underwear. Cabelas has a sale on Polartec wicking baselayer bottoms for $9.99 2x black. These are super thin, keep you from overheating when you move indoors and increase the efficiency of another pair of long underwear. I have pair from last year, paid 20 bucks at that time (regularly 30), and they kept me alive last week when it drop to 4° fahrenheit. Also on sale are the X-Tek tops, 2x, black $9.99 or the Polartec product (same size/color) for $19.99. For midweight bottoms go with the X-Tek 2x black, $9.99-they’re much better then the shredded cotton bottoms i wore over my polartec last week :-) Or if you feel like splurging, the Cabela’s Thermastat Medium Weight 2x in charcoal is on sale for $13.99 For socks, go with surplus USOA antimicrobial, large, black 3 pair for $9.99, from Chicago’s own Lincoln ave. Army Navy. And for boxers get their army surplus, black, 2x, 3 pair for $13.

iPhone Solutions. Amazon has this silicon iPhone case for One Cent, and this 2 pack of conductive styli (you need them to answer the phone with gloves on) for 19 Cents. No typos three bucks shipping each. For idiots like me with defective power blocks they have the actual Apple charger for $10, 20 bucks off. Tadgear still makes the best iPhone belt case, the iComm but the price has went up to $17.79. County Comm’s PCC case, large, black, coms in a second, hey get a few-they’re great for toting the rechargable batteries that your nerd uses in his flashlight…

Synth Parts. If your nerd is like me, he’s probably desperately short of parts for the analog synth he’s building. Relax, we’ve done the work for you, finding the cheapest parts online. Like 40 submini SPDT toggle switches for $19.60. How about 100 banana jacks for the ridiculous price of $9.87 from legendary electronics guru Don Lancaster? Large perf boards for $1.65, or 20 LM324 opamps for $4. And don’t forget the desperately needed +/- 15 volt linear power supply, $14.99, that’s impossible to find cheaper (usually 75 bucks!).

If you have a party in your pocket

You better use it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Title says it all!

Out of my pocket and into the web

It’s been nine years since I could pull a device out of my pocket and publish a blog post with it. Man, it’s good to be back.

Back out, H1N1 in

Nothing like another back injury, unless your washing it down with a crisp cold pandemic. H1N1. The must have virus this year. And the probable end of my thanksgiving plans

happy the birthday

yup. it’s my birthday today. says so on my state id.




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