Craigslist, for free: “Singer. NO. 95K40 machine. Manufactured July 1949. For light and medium weight fabrics. Maximum stitch 7 to the inch. Drop feed. Knee lifter. Maximum 4,000 stitches per minute.”
i has a singer
3
argentina’s charms
I have recently returned from my second trip to Argentina for my current employer..
While the work is generally hard, and I don’t get a lot of time outside of the office, what little time I do have to enjoy Buenos Aires is spent eating.
Here is a perfect summary of that experience, amazing writing, the sort I wish I had time to craft myself: Argentina on Two Steaks a Day.
I disagree with some of the opinions expressed; for instance, dulce de leche is fantastic in alfajore cookies and spread on your Sunday morning biscuits.My experience with mate is that I don’t get jittery like I do on coffee, and I don’t get tachycardia unless I drink 15 or 20 gourd-fuls, but Iwillingly admit it’s full of caffeine. (I suspect I’m sensitive to one of the other thousands of alkaloids in coffee that’s not present in mate. Why the obsession with just the one alkaloid, anyway?)
A worthwhile read, which should make your salivary glands kick into action (except you vegetarians out there. And you should read this anyway, since the Argentine approach to animal rearing is vastly more humane and reasonable than the North American approach.)
help me find this dvd – found!
Can anyone out there help me identify a film? It:
- exclusively has art on the dvd jacket
- of fairly non-descript people
- in pastels
- more stick figure than real life
- I believe they are looking depressed, or at least stunned/dazed
- has a one-word title
- It would have been on DVD by 2006
- It was not made prior to 1995, and probably not before 2000
- Tends to be available more in independent video stores than in your average Blockbuster
- I believe it was animated, but it might just be the cover art confusing my memory
- I believe MTV was involved in its promotion at one point
What I remember is given in reverse-order of me being sure about them.
edit: DVD identified as Happiness (1998). Thank you mengwong. I am reliably informed it is a “terrible but great” film, and that I will want to watch it precisely once.
political commentary of the week
warning: rated TV-MA for strong language and metaphor, and therefore probably not work safe.
more gorgeous pics from science
Nanowerk, via Gizmodo:
Color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph of an overflowed electrodeposited magnetic nanowire array (CoFeB), where the template has been subsequently completely etched. Taken in Montréal…go Canada!
2007 fractal art winners
Amazing stuff for those gorgeous LCD panels I’m sure you now have in your home somewhere. Mad props to the artists, this is some sick stuff.
irbs can be dumb sometimes
…tell me about it, New York Times. I guess that’s the price we pay for living in a litigious society more intent on self-preservation than actual improvement.
puerile humor
From WTSP – Tampa Bay’s 10 News – Tampa / St. Petersburg, CBS, @ http://xrl.us/bdsbn:
Fort De Soto Park, Florida — New information has been released regarding the sperm whale that came into the mouth of Tampa Bay over the weekend.
Really. That’s what it said. (They’ve edited it since on the live site; link is to Google cache.)
beware of camazotz
has anyone yet theorized that dark matter is the black stuff from Madeline L’Engle’s AWIT?
2007 accomplishments
A friend on LJ reminded me that I should post my 2007 accomplishments. I’m having a day (week? month?) of very low self-esteem, so it’s good to take a moment and reflect on what I’ve managed to achieve this year:
- Got my admissions corrected at University of Toronto from the M.Ed. program to the Ph.D. program. (2008 is the year of getting going on that again.)
- Became a certified Project Management Professional. That’s right, now I’m a certified P(i)MP. Donations of purple crushed velvet or felt hats now being accepted.
- Managed to stay at my job for another year. Despite being frustrated at corporate life, and how mega-corporations seem to stifle (then destroy) your creativity, they do pay well. And, when I’m not traveling to a project site, there’s about a 10 foot commute from my bedroom to my home office. Can’t beat that! (Seriously, I accomplished a lot for my employer, and they seem pleased with my performance. I should count my blessings.)
- Found the patience to spend more time with children, and helped when I could with my friend’s 18-month old. (No, I’m still not having kids.)
- Took the plunge and started work with $boy on the big workshop out back. I didn’t do as much on it as he did, or some of the people who have come by to help, but I did learn a lot about building design, the Toronto planning office, concrete foundations, and excavators.
- Visited both Brazil and Argentina for work, and made some good friends down there. If all else fails with my life, I can probably relocate to Mercosur and find happiness.
- Visited Japan for 3 weeks with $boy and $girl, seeing old friends and haunts alike. Had a great time.
- Climbed Mt. Fuji (from the 5th-station to the top, not from the very base. Still, about a 1km vertical climb.)
- Converted my US pilot’s license to Canadian. I can now rent and fly Canadian planes! Yay. Also completed some additional training I needed to do that.
- Attended no less than 4 weddings of some great people I’m pleased to know. (No, I’m still not getting married.)
- Helped a lot of friends (mainly on IRC) with their work/school/projects/music. I may not have been very creative on my own in 2007, but I think I deserve some brownie points for helping others.
- Acquired an exercise bike last month and started working on losing the 20 pounds or so Canada has put on my body (5-7 of those are “winter only” pounds.)
- Cooked big meals for lots of friends. Cooking remains one of my core joys.
- As much as I love OSS OSes…I learned to suck it up and actually be productive in Windows for work. I can now say I know more about XP & Vista than I have ever done; “at least it pays.”
- Strengthened my friendships with a lot of great people.
- Settled into home living. I think I am finally done with living in apartments (until I become too old to handle living in a home without assistance.)
- Visited my grandfather in New Orleans, at the home he’s moved into. Difficult but touching moment for me.