I Believe!

Created 18 August 2005 [03:46 PM]

I'm in the University of Washington's Husky Union Building, working on a website, and I look over to the next table where a girl pulls out her laptop. It's a Powerbook, first of all, so she gets immediate geek cred. But then she starts playing World of Warcraft. And then she pulls up Penny Arcade.

Somehow, my faith in the world is restored. Unfortunately, my roommate from the last few quarters wasn't here to hit on her, but I'm almost tempted to give her his screen name because they're already such a perfect match.

I Love Chocolate

Created 28 July 2005 [10:33 PM]

For the first time in my life, I can honestly say I enjoy Chocolate. The capitalization is intentional, because while I still can't stand the product of the cacao plant, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is probably the best movie I've seen this year. The set design is excellent, Danny Elfman put out another incredible soundtrack, and the dialogue is just funny. I think Augustus Gloop's song is probably the best, but I do like the opening theme and the credits as well. Veruca Salt's theme is a bit too Beatles for me, and Teavee's is just ... meh, hard rock at its most mundane. Beauregard's was well done, but not quite as stunning or well-executed as Gloop's.

My Political Profile:
Overall: 35% Conservative, 65% Liberal
Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal
One quiz I'm not too ashamed to share the results of.

I think the above sums me up pretty well, though I object to the binary nature of some of the quiz items (Why is the 'liberal' answer to every fiscal question to make the rich pay for everything, for instance?). I get told by a lot of people I've met in Seattle that I'm not nearly liberal enough, but I suppose I'd lean more towards Libertarian if I were to be well and truly pigeonholed. Despite accusations to the contrary, I simply tend to vote Democrat because it's the most rational (e.g. effective) alternative to supporting the 'morals'-driven GOP. Nothing bugs me more than attempts to mix church and state.

Critical Like Me

Created 26 July 2005 [08:08 PM]

Was recommended to check out the Dandy Warhols and did so. Not too impressed that out of 27 songs I only liked two, but Get Off and Bohemian Like You are pretty good. Perhaps the others will grow on me eventually, but I'm not counting on that; the dry-white-male-voice plus background music seems to be something only Eminem has really pulled off. (And I'd suggest that his "music" is better viewed as social commentary than art.)

We let people run IE on Linux, and that's just sick and wrong...
—Jeremy White, Codeweavers

In an effort to not let today's entry sound entirely like a whiny music critique, we bring you an interview with Codeweavers, the guys who are attempting to provide binary compatibility with Windows software for Linux distributions. Supposedly they're planning on a version for the x86 version of OS X, which would be fantastic. I can't wait to ditch Photoshop for Paint Shop Pro on my Powerbook.

It'll be short, promise

Created 18 July 2005 [01:12 AM]

I'm aware the functionality of a lot of things is still broken. However, I've two papers and a midterm due in the space of 24 hours this week, and my car's doing its best to fall apart on me—so I'm stuck doing updates through direct SQL querying. It's fun, but rather tedious to remember all of the values.

Maybe if I'm good (and my alternator's under warranty) I'll catch up with Mr. Potter this next weekend. No one spoil the plot for me, please!

Really, now

Created 17 July 2005 [11:28 AM]; last modified 18 July 2005 [01:05 AM]

The Harry Potter series has encouraged millions of children (and adults) to improve their personal literacy and return to the archaic traditions of reading for pleasure. So when the sixth book comes out, what's the reaction of a prominent environmental advocacy group?

Of course they're not satisfied. What did you expect?

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