Impressions

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CD Exchange time is neigh!
It's time once again for the CD Exchange! In years past, diverse peoples have exchanged Drinking Songs, Songs of Joy, Songs of Madness and perhaps one or two others. Sometimes this a mix gets exchanged at the Pool Party, sometimes at Marscon, sometimes at Minicon. The timing is less important than the exchange.

Basic rules: We pick a topic, make the requisite number of copies, and exchange them with each other. Let us know (either here or in other's LJ or FB) so we know how many copies to make.

Suggested topics for this year include:

Colors (from

mle292)

Trees, Leaves, Brush and other foliage (inspired by

pegkerr, and I already have one)

Covers (one of my favorite sub-categories)

Songs From My Childhood (yet another)

I recall making other suggestions in previous years, but apparently not in my LJ. Does

dreamshark remember?

Current Music: Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton

"I am the best and I want to meet you"
I usually don't post spam, but I kind of like this one.

"Im woman. I have a blonde hair with golden shining. My eyes is purple. I am medium height. I have beautiful lips. My hair is medium straight. I live in a the capital. I work in commerce. I like to watch funny comedies. Representations in the circus. I like music . I like desert. If you talk about me I am loving cat. Most of all in men I value openness. When I you noticed store. right decided for myself that must. Because I can be for you a loving lover or someone great if you want. I'm write me on my e-mail."

Gosh. Think of the fun we'll have learning English together.

Hidden Minneapolis: The Old Arizona Edition
I tried a shorter video and fancier software. While most of the footage is from the Flip camera, this time I dumped the clips and pictures into iMovie. My major worry was alleviated: I can save to a HD format with the version I have (two or three iMovie iterations back, v. 6.03).

Major advantages to iMovie vs. the Flip software: Ability to add titles, subtitles (though I didn't do that this time), music, change music levels, and eventually use all the other iMovie capabilities.

Rendering time was much faster (though the YouTube processing still takes a while; not done as of this writing).

Upload time was much, MUCH faster: Even though the file was almost three times larger, the upload took five or six minutes vs. around 45 min.

Major disadvantages: File size much larger, though I don't know how much this was because of titles and music tweaking. Also, the Flip software let you share it with the Flip site with the push of one button (but upload takes about 45 min. for less than 3 min. of video for their site as well as for YouTube).

Lessons learned, after two videos: 1) I should use a tripod. A small tripod will be part of my convention kit, and I should have lugged the larger one on this journey. 2) It will take too much time to make complete videos during conventions. I'll probably have to stick with the simplest recordings. Timely videos will probably be instead of timely snapshots. Unless I do something drastic and get a laptop...

Current Mood: Hidden
Current Music: "Butterfly Road" by Folk Underground

Hidden Minneapolis: The KMart Edition (take 1)
My first YouTube video!

Original photo essay (fixed link)

It mostly works, though the HD is better on YouTube. Will have to deal with that. I used a Flip Camera. It was easy. In fact, it took longer to render and upload than it did to shoot and create the movie. Still, it has it's limitations... like moving camera...

Saturday Morning Quiz Stomping: Nixon's Birthday Edition
In honor of the birthday of Richard M. Nixon, we present The Return of the Facebook Status Updates. Various quizzes, challenges and other bits of anarchy from over on Baron Dave's Facebook. Some of these go back several months since the last collection, and are not in chronological order. Enjoy. Or whatever it is that people do with status updates.

Baron Dave Romm...

... is for mism. Are euphemism?

... is stationed to be. Are Eustachian Tube? [don't say this out loud]

... is for Eeyore. Are Euphoria?

... ain't da one who ripped dem up. Did Euripides?

... is confused by quarts and yards and ounces. Am Isometric?

... is part of a group that's losing interest in reggae. Are ouija board? [obscure note: "ja" is Jamaican for "god" and is used as an emphasis syllable in many reggae songs, to help them scan, like "yeah"]

... doesn't want to shlep the grain. Will eukaryotes?

... liked to sing Harry Belafonte songs at Capt. Bligh. Did Judeo-Christian? [say it out loud]

... (12/27) thanks all Wiccans and everyone who participated in a Solstice ritual. The days are getting longer! You did it! A grateful hemisphere salutes you.

... (12/31) has a suggestion as to what to call the new year: MMX

... joined the group, "I Bet I Can Find One Person To Join This Group! Please Spread The Word." which then closed since it had achieved its goal. Wow, Facebook is awesome.

... took the challenge, "What's your favorite obscure punchline that doesn't work without the joke?" with the result being "9W".

... (9/16) Facebook user base is nearly as large as the US Population, but I only have .5kilofriends. Where is everyone? Oh yeah, they're complaining about Facebook...

... will now always play the previous PowerBall numbers if no one wins with them. Hey, it could happen again.

"We had no domestic terror attacks under Bush," said Rudy Guiliani. Within minutes, Time Magazine revoked its Man of the Year award.

Previous batch (Hmm... I should make a tag or something)

Missed it by THAT much
With big cash prizes awarded for First, Second and Third places, I came in fourth. With a smaller cash prize for the weekly contest, I lost on the tiebreaker.

For a bit under a decade, the bar across the street has had a football pool. Free to enter. There are two ways to win prizes: Have the most points at the end of the season, and be the top picker for the week. We've just completed the final week, Week 17.

I generally do okay. Mostly, the way to the big prize is a slow and steady approach, which means you play the odds and rarely win the week. I've never won the big money ($500 top prize) and won a weekly prize $2 x number of correct picks) only once.

Two weeks ago I was way behind. Last week I did okay and worked my way up to tied for ninth. In the last week, I stayed with my system... and did very well. I guessed 14 of the 16 games, and did exceptionally well in the tiebreaker (was within one in guessing the combined score of the Vikings game).

Almost.

Final tally: I was tied for fourth. 14 points was the best anyone did for the week, and only two of us got that many... but the other guy got the prize. Either they picked the Vikings score exactly or the bar people messed up. Both have been known to happen.

Ah well. Bought a Flip UltraHD anyway. I've been a good boy.

Have flat, will travel
For the second time in less than two weeks, I had a flat tire. But this time, I knew better than to trust Midas, so only had to get it repaired... late at night on New Years Day.

After nice New Years/Borderlands CD Release parties, I slept in late. I got Johanna and and we went to the Hair of the Dog party in the afternoon. Had a great time, and met

wema_way and partook of the bounty of Larry's remodeled kitchen (see photo gallery). Despite me being the driver, she was tired and we left early. This turned out to be a wise decision.

Not too far from Larry's house, the car didn't sound right. I had a flat the previous week, and brought it into Midas (the closest place to the flat). This was a bad idea, for reasons explained elsewhere. They eventually had to reinflate all the tires. The Midas guy warned me about the right front tire, saying it might have a slow leak and I should check back in a week or so. 27 hours later, I pulled into The Wedge parking lot just to check. I didn't want to drive Johanna back to Crystal on an iffy tire, and didn't want to take Midas' word for how long it would last. Yup, it was deflated.

With the tire not completely flat, I went a block away to the SuperAmerica. It was nearly 6pm on New Years Day. Not many places are open that late anyway, and the holiday complicated matters. To make a long story short, Bobby and Steve's Auto World (on Washington and 35W) was open until 8. After warning that it might be 45 minutes or more, someone pulled up in about ten minutes to put on the spare tire. He followed us across town to the shop.

Last flat, I needed a new tire. This time, it was simply repaired. Four of my five flat tires (in 45.000 miles of driving) have been in sub-zero temperature. Coincidence?

They fixed the tire. I rang the bell. Drove Johanna home. Drove me home. Took a nap. Rebooted the computer, which was acting strangely (YMMX?) Posted images to Facebook.

Added images of New Years events to end of Facebook gallery.

MN-StF New Years and Borderlands CD Release parties
Both the MN-StF New Years and the Borderlands CD Release parties were loads of fun! I rarely party hop, but the weather was cold but clear. A good time was had by all. And... I got a CD out of the deal!

Public gallery on Facebook.

Happy MMX
Just posted over in supergee's LJ, which was related to a discussion in jrittenhous''s LJ and want to bring the discussion here.

Basically: what do you call this next secular year, and can you do end of decade summations when the decade doesn't end for a year?

Both questions are unimportant, and have therefore generated much virtual ink.

I'm likely to call the next secular year by whatever has the fewest syllables. Of the common suggestions, "Twenty Ten" comes out on top. I like my own suggestion of "MMX". On the other hand, I liked 1999 being "MIM" and few people took me up on that one.

Meanwhile: You can do a summary of a decade anytime you want. If you want to do a summary of the decade, you have to define your terms. The decade of living in this house, the decade of marriage, the decade since disco died.

I like to be precise, accurate, geeky and don't mind annoying the proles. But we're an odometer society and like our numbers heterogeneous. We also eat at McDonald's, watch American Idol and listen to rap. At some level, pointing out the fallacies in pop culture is too tiring. No, I'm not going to stop being snooty, but I'll probably be smiling, or at least smirking.

I'm seriously considering abandoning the whole "decade" thing (or downplaying it, anyway) for a review of the last 15 years. 15 years is a much more useful cycle to look at, since that's roughly how long it takes for something to affect society. And I can start anytime. I can do yearly 15 year reviews. And do them in March. Hah!

Happy MMX.

The One Minute Uncle
My nephew Jake is flying from Spokane, WA to New York City to spend time with his grandmother (my mother) with a stopover here in Minneapolis. Way back when the flight was made, his was scheduled to land today (12/23) at 6pm and depart at 7:30. Even with time spent boarding, that was enough for a visit, so we made plans.

Flash forward. As of this morning, the incoming flight arrived at 6:14 and went outbound at 7pm, in different terminals. Even a quick hello was worth it. Then it started snowing.

I was tempted to take the bus/light rail to the airport. That's the preferred method, short of being dropped off. Even on busy times, such as Thanksgiving, I've never had much trouble getting through security. However, this time was different: I wasn't taking a flight, I was visiting. I was told this wasn't all that hard, but I'd never done it before and didn't know how much time to allow. So I drove.

Unfortunately, I had neglected to allow for rush hour traffic. Fortunately, I found a parking space in Short Term Parking fairly easily. Unfortunately, I still had no idea which line to stand in for a Gate Pass. Fortunately, I guessed right.

I stood in the Self Serve line, which was much longer but moving much more quickly than the one booth with an agent. A Delta employee herding travelers into a queue longer than the rope lines confirmed that this was the right place to be. *whew* I had the Important Thing to get a Gate Pass, namely my nephew's Confirmation Number. (I don't know if this is really the case, but the ticket agent ((at Self Serve)) almost grabbed the piece of paper with the info out of my hand and started entering data. He tried to talk me out of going in, saying the connections were going to be very tight. He was right, but I was already there.)

To cut to the chase: Even though lines were long, things went fast. From the time I got into the ticketing level to when I was putting on my shoes after going through security was about 45 min. That means that every time I've gone to the airport, except when I've been dropped off, it's taken more time to get to the airport than it has get inside.

Okay then. Jake's flight was now scheduled to arrive at 6:23. No time for a shared meal, but I was hungry. A Maui Taco place was right opposite Jake's arrival gate. Airport pricey, but a fair amount of tasty Maui-Mex food, with a Salsa Bar. As I predicted, the hottest salsa wasn't very hot, but the pineapple salsa was interesting. For Jake, an always-hungry 19 year old, I got a turkey sandwich and orange juice from the News Wall place next door.

Jake's flight actually got in at 6:40. The outgoing flight had already made it's final boarding call. I asked the ticket agent if they could let them know we were coming. She said the flights look at the connecting flight logs.

Jake popped out, and I played Sherpa. We had to go from gate C4 to gate F1. Not the farthest one can go in the Lindbergh Terminal, but a good hoof. Halfway there, I was winded. Jake wanted to "book", and I agreed. I gave him the sandwich and oj, a copy of

thorintatge's book (which Thorin signed to him), and he shot off.

Being the responsible avuncular sort, I made it to the gate a few minutes later, and checked that he had gotten on the plane. He had. While I was there, two more people arrived and were let on. The flight eventually left at 7:17.

That is, it left the gate at 7:17. As of 7:59, the Flight Status is "Left Gate" on one screen and "Awaiting Takeoff" on another. It's not snowing very hard here in Mpls, and it's not snowing at LaGuardia, but the whole system is slow.

8:05, still on the ground. I don't really want to go out there again tonight...

Update: As of 8:10, the status on both pages is "In Flight". And he has a something to eat and read. Okay, I can hunker in.

Added later: Jake in a hurry

Dreampark caroling party
Pictures from the Dreampark Caroling Party held 12/20/09 at Sharon and Richard's. Even a few people I didn't recognize...

I had a great time. Good company, delicious oyster stew, grand decorations, mostly on-key singing. We went through the entire songbook;

dreamshark's songs, as formatted and edited by

skylarker (who added a few).

I stayed the whole time, since Trivia had been cancelled due to the evening Vikings game. Just as well I didn't watch that either.

Avatar: Robert Heinlein meets Anne McCaffrey -- a review w/spoilers
Avatar is a movie people will like for many of the wrong reasons, and dislike for the wrong reasons. It's a tremendous achievement, one where the strengths overshadow the weaknesses. Having said that, I'm going to harp on the weaknesses, which means major SPOILERS under the cut.
( Spoilers spoilers spoilers and a few cogent remarks )
I think Avatar is a good movie, one any sf fan should see eventually. The advances in technology work okay but feel like a work in progress. And be aware that it is NOT a kiddie flick. Despite its PG-13 rating, it's very violent and bloody.

Want to upgrade LiveJournal?
From the latest LiveJournal news release:

We're delighted to tell you about our holiday coupons, which will help you share the love with your LiveJournal friends! If you have a Paid or Permanent account, you can send up to 10 LiveJournal Basic/Plus users a $10 coupon for an annual paid subscription now through January 15th, 2010. Recipients can upgrade for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) for one year by enrolling in our automatic payment plan or make a manual payment of $15 (instead of $25). Please note that these coupons are not transferable and cannot be used to renew existing paid accounts. If you're a Paid/Permanent user, you can send out your holiday coupons now!

I don't know how delighted you are to hear this, but I'd be happy to send a coupon to any of my LJ Friends who want one. Just let me know (in comments or as a message) and I'll send it off.

Also, a new feature lets me see who has been reading my journal. (With limitations.) So... welcome lurkers! I don't know if you're visiting from a FriendsFriends page or come by from Facebook, but feel free to comment. Or even Friend me.

Alternate History Dreams
Hmm... I better write this down before it goes away.

I will often have dreams that are sequels of previous dreams. I'll have some sort of dream, forget it during the conscious phase of existence, then sometime later have a dream which is a continuation of a previous dream. The sequel can be fairly soon afterward or much later.

But this time, I had a dream which must have been just a few days ago. I was at a large sf convention. A group of us were headed toward a panel. On Being Weird, or somesuch. I was on the panel, as were several of the people I was with. We had a great time beforehand, after a long night of partying (or something), and everyone was in a boisterous mood, including the other panelists and audience (when we got to the programming room). We started way late, and finished early. In fact, we started so late that I could have taken a shower before the panel.

Last night, I started to have the same dream, but remembered that we had started late. So I excused myself to head to my room to take a shower. In my room, as in the first dream, was another party (I detect a bit of a theme here, actually). I successfully took a shower and changed clothes... and got caught up in the party in my room. Never made it to the panel.

Later, I met people who had been at the panel. From their comments, it was clear the panel had gone basically the same way as the one from the earlier dream. Which I had been to. I felt like I had some sort of secret knowledge. More importantly, I felt like I had been on the panel and could just continue as if I'd been there. Hey, it was my dream, twice. The second was not a sequel, but alternate history. I don't recall that happening in quite the same way.

I seem to be remembering dreams more, or at least remembering interesting ones long enough to make LJ entries. Perhaps it's the energy drinks I've been using instead of coffee, which have caffeine plus taurine and ginkgo biloba and such.

Blackwater: Worse than you thought
Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy, Vanity Fair Jan. 2010:

Erik Prince, recently outed as a participant in a C.I.A. assassination program, has gained notoriety as head of the military-contracting juggernaut Blackwater, a company dogged by a grand-jury investigation, bribery accusations, and the voluntary-manslaughter trial of five ex-employees, set for next month. Lashing back at his critics, the wealthy former navy seal takes the author inside his operation in the U.S. and Afghanistan, revealing the role he’s been playing in America’s war on terror.

"I put myself and my company at the C.I.A.’s disposal for some very risky missions,” says Erik Prince as he surveys his heavily fortified, 7,000-acre compound in rural Moyock, North Carolina. “But when it became politically expedient to do so, someone threw me under the bus.” Prince—the founder of Blackwater, the world’s most notorious private military contractor—is royally steamed. He wants to vent. And he wants you to hear him vent.

In other words, the supposedly "independent" contractor, who at various times have had nearly as many taxpayer-financed mercenaries in Iraq than the US had soldiers, was actually an arm of the CIA.

Sojourn to Washington DC, Thanksgiving 2009
I made a Facebook Gallery of my trip to Trip to Washington, DC, which can be seen by anyone. I think I'll laze out (laze in?) and not make separate LJ pics. And I'll only do a bit of a trip report.

Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I arrive at National, then go pick up my nephew Jake in another terminal an hour or so later. We call my brother's house to let them know we're coming. Sister-in-law Patty and niece Tua have just come back from Italy (delayed a day) and are too tired to receive visitors that late. Mom agrees to meet us at the B&B we're staying at. Jake and I cab in, getting there just before 11pm.

Usually, we can grab a snack at Joe's or order take out from nearby, but they've gone to sleep and DC closes. I haven't had anything to eat since an early lunch and Jake is a teenager. We walk down Connecticut until we get to the main plaza around the Woodley/Zoo Metro stop. If those places are closed, we're doomed. This, alas, is the case. My mother has the idea that the Marriott's dining room is open. We get to the hotel after 11. Not only is the restaurant closed, but the bar is closed. Sheesh.

Being my mother, she old-lady's the head bartender into giving us some cereal and milk. The cash register is closed, so they can't charge us anything. Mom nibbles while Jake and I wolf down the food in the bar lounge. When I got back to Mpls, I called up the Marriott and spoke to someone in HR, thanking the bartender and the whole staff for saving the life of people from three different states.

After Thanksgiving. I remember it's my avuncular duty -- my obligation -- to be a little subversive. I spend a day or so teaching my 2 3/4-year-old niece Tua the word "lilliputian". She used it (correctly!) a few times before I left. Will it take? We shall see.

Sunday, heading home. The Textile Museum is nearby Joe's place, the exhibits change a lot and mom likes to go. From there, the guy at the front desk calls us a cab. It happens to be the DC Karaoke Cab. There's a sign up, taped to the back of the front seat, about the cab (and the YouTube link, above). I ask about it. He starts singing.

This is why I carry around my interview kit. I pull out my iPod-with-a-microphone and camera. I miss the beginning of his song stylings, but catch the rest and take a few pictures. For your edification, I have edited it in two forms: The Karaoke Cab sings to Dave and Ethel and the more full audio, including the songs to me and mom, The Karaoke Cab sings us to Union Station.

In DC for Cranberry Day
I'm leaving in a few minutes for DC, to see Tua and Jake (niece and nephew, respectively) and families. I'll try to check in to LJ and such, but connections will be intermittent. Pictures posted after I get back late Sunday.

The Prisoner (2009)
Non-spoiler review: Ignore the first four episodes of The Prisoner and see the last two, shown in a block, "Schizoid" and "Checkmate". Still not great, but at least they're a semi-worthy follow-up.
( slightly more spoilerish review, but won't give away much )
AMC is showing the last two episodes in a block tonight (Thurs) and all six will be repeated. Presumably, they'll be on DVD fairly soon. No real hurry, except to have seen them before spoilers become common.

Well, that makes sense
"Why did you resign?"
"To drink beer." -- The Prisoner (2009)

Slogging my way through the new series at 4/6. Slow going. Not very interesting. More sex, less coherency. The best parts are the nods to the original. At least I can zip through the commercials. I'd be tempted to give up about now, but the only other show I'm recording tonight is V.

Do you have a sense of smell in your dreams?
I generally dream in black and white. Occasionally, I dream in color, and it's notable. (This is, of course, when I remember dreams at all, which is not particularly common. If I don't write them down soon after waking, even those dreams slip away.)

Last night I had a dream, that I barely remember so I won't go into the subject matter. But I do remember it involved some pungent odors. And those odors weren't part of the dream. What should have been fairly smelly was merely an unpleasant visual.

Does LJ Assembled remember smells in their dreams? Tactile sensations? Or is it straight visual processing? Can you get dizzy in a dream?