When I was in high school, you could tell who the nerds were, because we had our TI-30 calculators in pouches hanging from our belts. I don’t know what these kids today use for that purpose — I mean the purpose of identifying themselves as belonging to the nerd tribe, not doing math. But I’ve got a suggestion: they should try the Rock Band: it’s a strap that converts your iPod Nano into a wristwatch:
The sad thing? I kind of want one. (Via TidBits.)
One final vacation photo: looking down on Tanaya Lake from Olmstead Point. If facing this way is 12 o’clock, then Half Dome (the non-iconic side) is about 4:30.
Today, we’re going to hike around Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. It’s the last “activity” of our vacation: Thursday is “down” time (and packing), and Friday we’re driving home.
The picture is of the 727 (a former Air Force One) at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, an earlier stop on our vacation.
It hasn’t been that long since they came out with an album of new material, but I see that Relient K has released a compilation album: The First Three Gears. If you’d like to fill in the gaps in your collection, it’s an unbeatable bargain.
I’ve only used iMovie a handful of times, and frankly, that was too many. It gets the job done, but it’s inexplicable and bloody-minded. Here’s an example:
What happened was that I tried to import a movie, but I inadvertantly picked the wrong one. But I had lots of time to rue my error, staring at this dialog. Because, you see, iMovie doesn’t have a “cancel” button. Arrgh! That’s forgivable in an application that gets busy and makes you wait 2-3 seconds for something, but when it wants you to cool your heels for 10 minutes at a stroke, not having a cancel button is ridiculous. From the HIG:
Modelessness
As much as possible, allow users to do whatever they want at all times. Avoid using modes that lock them into one operation and prevent them from working on anything else until that operation is completed. … If an application uses modes, there must be a clear visual indicator of the current mode, and it should be very easy for users to get into and out of the mode.
Driving back from a funeral at Riverside National Cemetery, my car’s odometer hit 123,456.
The car rolled off the line in August of 1994, so let’s call that 21-22 miles a day, or 7716 miles/year.
Well. I lost track of Ed Fries in about 1989, when he was still doing Officey-things at Microsoft, before his move to the games division. He did that for 15 years or so, and then, after he made his pile, or got tired of Xboxes, or whatever it was, he left Microsoft. Now I know what he’s been up to: coding Halo for the Atari 2600. I’m not surprised he’s been involved with games: back in the day, he made his reputation by bringing down the Vax so he could play rogue in single-user mode. (Via DF.)
Like other area ministers, I write an occasional column for the Hi Desert Star. My article “What Do You Want From Life?” appeared there today.
But if you were listening to the right radio stations in the 1970s, you know that’s not just any question. It’s also the title of a song by the Tubes. They suggest several possible answers (“To kidnap an heiress and threaten her with a knife?” or “An Indian guru to show you the inner light?”) before concluding with the unfortunate news:
Well, you can’t have that,
But, if you’re an American Citizen,
you are entitled to…
…followed by several excellent entitlements, including:
A foolproof plan and an airtight alibi
…
A Las Vegas wedding, a Mexican divorce
And so forth. See the whole list at the Tubes’ lyrics site.
I had a chance to see an actual in-the-theater movie today, so I went to see Inception. I thought it was pretty good, in a the-dream-is-reality Matrix-y kind of way.
I was kind of shocked to see that movie tickets here cost $12.50. That’s the 4:00 pm showing. If they charge more after 6 pm, I don’t want to know how much it is.
I didn’t buy anything from the concession stand, so the theater didn’t make anything off me there, but they did rent my eyeballs to some commercial-packaging service for the last 20 minutes before showtime. I saw ads for some summer replacement program on TNT and various foods and drugs. Then showtime came, and I got another 10-15 minutes of ads for coming attractions.
I don’t care how bad the economy has gotten, it can’t be a depression. Because in the depression, people could still afford to go to the movies.
I guess part of the reason so much money changed hands was because the movie used a 4K digital projection system. Most of the time, that was fine, but for some shots it looked like it needed to be a 6K or 8K system. The theater was showing a 3D movie in the other room. I don’t know if that’s something you can do with a 4K projector or if they needed separate systems for each. But all that fancy equipment has to get paid for somehow.
The lot down the street is covered with vines like this one:
So when my eldest child and I took a walk this evening, we ended up throwing gourds to watch them break open and scatter their contents across the lot. The birds will enjoy themselves tomorrow, and next year, there will be even more gourds.
