so glad to finally be failing

Portland

2009-11-01T15:43:24Z

I'm in Portland, Oregon today and tomorrow, then I'll be in Seattle the rest of the week. Dinner mob tonight, and Wednesday. Let me know if you're in the area.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Kerry's Town Hall on Health Care Reform

2009-09-03T22:09:29Z

Anyone hear how it went?

question for folks who believe

2009-08-30T04:16:56Z

I'm hearing a little more about how the Public Option health care thingie will provide ratings for doctors, which somehow affect the money they get for the work they do. Only a little, though, and I don't really want to take the time to read a bill for myself. So, here's my question:

How does the evaluation of doctors, and resultant feedback mechanism for improvement over time, compare to the evaluation of schools and teachers defined in the No Child Left Behind act?

Jehlen for Senate?

2009-08-27T19:59:55Z

Thoughts? How does the political machine work around here, anyway?

crs @ 2009-08-26T17:15:00

2009-08-26T21:15:38Z

I'll be watching Inglorious Basterds, 9:30pm, Somerville Theatre.

"Death Panels"

2009-08-24T03:39:25Z

So the guys talking about Death Panels, who hate the bill for that reason, are represented on The Daily Show by some woman in an interview that went over, and went out on the Internet unedited. And I watched it. And I realized, their complaint *can* be explained in terms that we can understand. I still disagree, but I understand now.

Her complaint, the one that actually came through in that interview: the bill provides positive incentives for doctors to discuss a living will with a patient, convincing them to have something on file saying what to do in the case they're incapacitated. She, and those like her, believe that in a time of good health, one is much more likely to say "yes, I don't want to go on living that way" than when faced with the actual situation.

Their problem is with living wills themselves; in some ways it's an extension of Terry Schiavo, but even worse; if Terry Schiavo had signed a living will asking to be removed from life support, these people would have argued that it should be ignored. I think. From what I hear in that interview.

So, they don't like living wills, and they really don't like the idea that more people will have them. It further validates what is, to them, a horrible weapon for a person to wield against their future selves... And in some ways, living wills provide the only legal path to assisted suicide in the country right now, albeit in extremely limited circumstances. And everyone knows what a great PR face Jack Kevorkian put on that issue.

So, I'll say this; while I disagree with the points, and I especially disagree with the way they are presenting their point... I do believe they're not necessarily making something out of nothing here; there is a bit of substance behind their complaint, and, if only we could have more civil conversations continuing where The Daily Show left off, we might find some common ground... eventually. Maybe.

returning from Gen Con

2009-08-17T22:09:08Z

While some of my friends had no issues returning from Gen Con whatsoever, others seem to have had a heinous time caused by (as usual) stormy weather at ORD (O'Hare). When I heard about it third-hand, I realized that this happens to someone every year coming back from Indy...

Next year I when people start talking about flights to Gen Con, I'm going to make sure to send everyone email: "ALL THESE AIRPORTS ARE YOURS EXCEPT FOR ORD. ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE."

Downpour!

2009-08-12T01:52:48Z

Biking home from the Galleria (after a quick post-work stop to swap my iPhone earbuds), I started to feel a few drops. Got a little worried as I passed under the commuter rail on Gore Street (hi, Stan!) but figured, eh, I can brave this little drizzle.

By the time I was on Somerville Ave., the deluge had begun. I pulled over under a convenient awning, and waited a few minutes for it to dry up. Packed my phone and new earbuds away safely and waited... and finally gave up waiting, and biked in the rain.

It was quite nice, actually. I got soaked, but as I passed through Union Square I decided I was up for a bit of a challenge, and went up Summer St. instead of Somerville Ave. This took me right over the peak of the hill, past that cathedral, and the only real issue I had with it was worry about cars passing me. The road's too narrow for a dedicated bike lane.

In any case, the beauty of that route is, once you hit the cathedral, you're done. I coasted all the way home. (Well, to cheonameg's house for basement storage, since I won't be using my bike til next Monday...)

Whee!

New feature

2009-07-30T19:02:33Z

http://maps.google.com/boston

Harry Potter

2009-07-25T12:21:05Z

Saw it, liked it. Not sure what exactly was missing, since it's been years since I read the book, but it seemed to hold together well enough, even for someone who last touched base with the Harry Potter universe when the 5th movie came out.

kajafoglio said it best, though: "As with all Harry Potter movies, it made me want to redecorate my house."

imagine my surprise...

2009-07-21T23:04:37Z

...when the obvious phishing attempt from Wizards.com to "reactivate my forum account" since it had been idle for a year was *actually* from them, and the "custhelp.com" link forwarded to the actual site, which picked up my cookie from my having logged in elsewhere and didn't even ask me for my password!

Who would have thought that custhelp.com could possibly be real? :)

[D&D] never thought it would happen to me...

2009-07-14T13:37:14Z

...but it seems my D&D character for Living Forgotten Realms has multiclassed from Warden into Avenger. I'll have to pick a deity soon, I guess. Anyone have any suggestions for a good Forgotten Realms deity for a Shifter Warden? The Avenger stuff I picked seems rather stalkery really, though "Sequestering Strike" is almost always used to opposite effect. :)

Man, it was fun following that eladrin wizard around the battlefield last night. Teleport me into that zone of acid, will you? Well, I'll teleport right back out atcha!

Me, playing a multiclass character... huh.

Speaking of elections,

2009-06-30T22:26:36Z

Congratulations, Senator-Elect Franken.

oh, well, that's all right then... nevermind.

2009-06-30T15:23:22Z

I guess they did some digging and found that the Iran election was valid, and had no tangible irregularities.

That sure puts my mind at ease.

D&D stuff

2009-06-26T03:03:28Z

Reading the 4th Ed Eberron Player's Handbook is like coming back home... This is what's been missing from D&D all this time, why everything seems so... lackluster.

Freakin' Forgotten Realms.

things i learned in the midwest

2009-06-25T04:53:41Z

- Apparently they still have a LOT of grass pollen there. I am, in fact, still very allergic, in a way I just don't experience on this coast.
- Corollary: it took me a long time of not living in the Midwest to stop associating going outside with feeling miserable, and I should enjoy the outdoors out on this coast when I get the chance.
- I much prefer sleeping in a too-cold room to a too-hot room.
- Arby's can be like Godfather's, to the right people.
- There's something awesomely tactile about the 3G iPhones that the original iPhones somehow lacked. I don't know what it is. In any case, the 3Gs makes me happy.
- I apparently need to see some fish sticks episode of South Park? So says my Dad, anyway.
- It's actually possible to practice moderation at Rochesterfest, once you're old enough. I kinda wish I had gone for a bratwurst though. I'll have to engineer a chance to grill some for myself.

The outdoor lessons might necessitate figuring out how much cash it'll cost to show up at the very last minute to Baitcon... Hmm.

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Craigslist

2009-06-16T04:28:17Z

Nice, it's Weird Al's new video, hot off the presses :)

Two years

2009-06-11T21:02:30Z

It's been two years since I started here at the Google, and it's still a blast. I've had some bumpy times, and some awesome time, and I'm really looking forward to year 3.

Yay!

working from Diesel

2009-06-10T16:44:33Z

On the third day of working from home, I decided I had enough of it... So I finally got out of the house, to come work at Diesel cafe. Stop on by and say hi. (And watch my stuff so I can go order some lunch ;)

at last

2009-06-02T13:40:28Z

For the first time in 3 weeks I am not missing some significant piece of stuff that is part of my life. The gym bag resurfaced.

It's nice not having that nagging feeling at the back of the brain. It might just be time to reorganize my room or something.

lost and found...

2009-06-02T00:29:10Z

grey satchel... lost, then found in my room, on top of the suitcase, under the laundry baskets.
glasses... lost, then found in the pocket of a bag I haven't had any need of for the last two weeks.

gym bag... lost, still outstanding. It's a lime green L. L. Bean-branded diaper bag, repurposed. The bag is enh, but the contents (my nice gym shorts and a combo lock whose code I've memorized) would be nice to retrieve.

I'm sure I'll find it somewhere obvious, eventually.

What is wrong with my brain lately?

FINALLY!

2009-05-29T22:34:08Z

A president creates a new position in the executive branch, to make someone be in overall charge of the Federal Government's interaction with something, and he DOESN'T USE THE WORD "CZAR."

We're going to have a Cybersecurity Coordinator, and it going to be AWESOME, because he or she will not be a czar!

I'm beginning to think Nukees had the right idea after all

2009-05-27T12:05:50Z

Someone should start a campaign to make atheist marriages illegal in California. If that passes, then the US finally has the ammo it needs to come in and say "Hey, that constitution of yours, it's insufficient for the purposes of being a state. Fix it." (Who could say that? The DOJ? The Supreme Court?)

impending GamesSurplus.com order

2009-05-25T14:14:32Z

I'm going to make an order from GamesSurplus.com soon, since they have the next RFTG expansion available. Who wants in, to get cheap prices for games and to save money by splitting shipping?

personal trainer blog

2009-05-22T18:12:51Z

My personal trainer has his own blog now, and it's full of realistic exercise information that should appeal to the engineers who normally read my stuff. Take a look.