tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99093762024-03-13T08:32:40.910-04:00Escapism ArtistE Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-56071607458229521992010-04-23T13:21:00.002-04:002010-04-23T13:25:17.427-04:00Awesome Word of the Day<span style="font-weight:bold;">Hydrofracking</span><br /><br />According to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/science/earth/24drill.html ">New York Times</a>, hydrofracking is shorthand for a technology called hydraulic fracturing, which involves blasting water mixed with chemicals into rock at high pressure to extract natural gas. The NY DEC has decided not to permit the drilling practice in two Catskills watersheds. <br /><br /><blockquote>We acknowledge that there’s a separate subset of issues that are independent of the safety of <span style="font-style:italic;">hydrofracking</span>.<br />- Stuart Gruskin, executive deputy commissioner for the environmental conservation department</blockquote><br /><br />Hydrofracking is an awesome word, and a term that I think perfectly encapsulates the intersection of resource exploration and watershed management.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-67686993456267006842010-02-11T19:57:00.002-05:002010-02-11T19:59:49.096-05:00Bad Fortune<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/S3Snr7G_1yI/AAAAAAAAACc/j7jR_Z2BGcw/s1600-h/IMG_0145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/S3Snr7G_1yI/AAAAAAAAACc/j7jR_Z2BGcw/s400/IMG_0145.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437155023186286370" border="0" /></a><br />NO, it ISN'T.<br /><br />Ignorance on Fire WOULD, however, make a great name for a prog rock band.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-51586705373283934372010-01-31T03:58:00.000-05:002010-01-31T03:59:03.726-05:00Game of the Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/S2VGRX6sqKI/AAAAAAAAACU/HDLozvgiNXY/s1600-h/ME2spaceham.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 297px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/S2VGRX6sqKI/AAAAAAAAACU/HDLozvgiNXY/s400/ME2spaceham.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432825789784303778" /></a>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-19190755057216525122010-01-19T11:35:00.004-05:002010-01-19T11:51:31.580-05:00On VotingGiven no other options, I will choose reliably mediocre over dangerously stupid.<br /><br />Unfortunately, we do not get to choose who we want to put in office, only between the options presented to us. <br /><br />Pretending that we ever have the opportunity to do otherwise is a prescription for misery or revolution.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-64047400635084235342009-12-04T21:06:00.000-05:002009-12-04T21:10:12.376-05:00Paradigm ShiftsDance is the new Pop<br /><br />'Shawty' is the new 'Baby'<br /><br />Auto-tune is the new sampling<br /><br />Sampling is the new falsetto<br /><br />Electronica is the new Jazz<br /><br />Jesuscore is the new Alternative<br /><br />Alternative is the new Classic Rock<br /><br />Country is still country, but it's much more profitable now and they'll let just about anyone in.<br /><br />Rock is dead.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-27895103317108075512009-12-01T22:30:00.001-05:002009-12-01T22:33:14.599-05:00Personal RequestTo everyone I like and respect:<br /><br />Please do not suddenly reveal your secret fandom for Sarah Palin. I wish to continue liking you.<br /><br />I will pretend she does not exist if you will.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-8278606502397759962009-11-21T23:29:00.001-05:002009-11-21T23:31:24.311-05:00Notes: Transformers 2This movie sucked so hard I could dryvac my floor with it. <br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-2371295442290078592009-09-14T10:45:00.005-04:002009-09-14T13:22:25.645-04:00Notes: Champions OnlineA good friend hooked me into this against my better judgement, and so far I'm really enjoying it. I know that MMOs are inherently bad for both one's wallet and mental health, so I'm going to try to very carefully manage my investment of resources - short subscription periods with no auto-renew, doing my homework before playing, etc. That micro-payment store they're setting up looks awfully dangerous, but we'll leap that building when we come to it.<br /><br />All that aside, Champions is proving to be quite a lot of fun. Made by Cryptic, it is essentially City of Heroes Only Better. While the previous franchise has fallen into subscription retention mode, eschewing further content development for easing player limits and offering free goodies, Champions revisits the whole superhero game genre and adds a lot of new functionality we haven't seen before. There are some embarrassing similarities, to be sure. Cryptic seems to have retained the rights to a lot of CoH's design assets - suspiciously familiar textures, meshes, sounds, and animations that pop up all throught the game. Luckily, the impressive sweep of original content and customization more than makes up for the legacy content.<br /><br />Despite the similar paint job, under the hood, Champions runs very different from its predecessor. Gone are the cookie-cutter map tile door missions with the repetetive "defeat all" requirement. While there are a handful of missions like this, they are usually quick filler, generated dynamically when a citizen runs up to you asking for help. Most of the content is delivered in more traditional MMO style (think World of Warcraft), with parameters, locations, and rewards varying greatly. There is an admirable focus on scripting, which allows for a lot of interactivity and variable NPC behavior. There is also a lot of great writing, and plots tend to be engaging and spread out over discernible arcs. I particularly enjoyed coming to the rescue of the Action News Team (with Ron Mahoghany). Classy.<br /><br />Game mechanics are fairly predictable - approach hostiles, unleash various attacks, manage aggro, win, recover, move on. Champions focuses primarily on energy management. Rather than forcing you to wait for regen or rely on a specific power to replenish your energy, as in CoH, Champions starts every hero out with a simple energy building attack power that you can fall back on between big blasts. Your energy also aturally recharges to an equilibrium state determined by your stats. The result is a very frenetic, flashy fight dynamic (as advertised) with very little downtime between action scenes.<br /><br />This doesn't work out well for all builds. Melée heroes have trouble building energy until they can get in close, and have to really focus on defense if they intend to take on groups. Champions seems geared toward small squad battles instead of big street-sweeping mobs, which is kinda disappointing but it keeps things balanced. Holds and crowd control seem to become more and more important as you advance, as you face more and more singularly dangerous villains that need to be neutralized quickly. I haven't yet been able to make anything other than a well-rounded blaster work yet. Experimentation is key.<br /><br />PvP is fun and fits seamlessly with the rest of the game - a first for superhero games, I think. There are lots of rewards just for playing, many inside jokes, and a lot of little features to keep players happy. You can throw trucks at bad guys. There are also some now almost standard MMO launch problems: driver issues, server crashes, balance changes, lag, forum drama, etc. Hopefully all of that will be ironed out soon.<br /><br />But I do have some big complaints:<br /><br />1. No documentation. They sell the game as something you can pick up and play without a lot of study. That's true, but there is also a very dense complexity under that "casual" veneer that becomes really engaging once you dig down into it. The problem is you have no clue how anything works. Every power framework has a gimmick. If you don't know the gimmick, you are likely to make some poor decisions that may go unnoticed until much later. Compounding this is the respec/"retcon" system, which forces you to backtrack character levels one at a time to make changes, and becomes prohibitively expensive more than 2 or 3 levels back.<br /><br />2. Broken economy. The devs are starting very conservatively in managing the nascent economy, which means very little money going in. They have acknowledged that this is a problem, and will be adding more soon, but the rest of the infrastructure is also lacking. The market interface is poor, comparative values of items are hard to assess (see item 1), and most excess items get recycled into skill grinding. And crafting is basically its own reward - there's not much you need to buy unless you are ignoring the skill system entirely.<br /><br />3. No need to team. The Ogre and I met up on Saturday to bust some suckahs up in game. In 5 hours or so, Foxy Chocolate and the Iron Ho each advanced 8 levels, stuck it to the man and kept it very Kung Fu funky. Very fun, but not very different from soloing. Missions to not appreciably change with more team members, and most of the very few team-oriented missions can be solo'd with a little work. Maybe team content gets fleshed out at higher levels.<br /><br />So overall, a solid game with a lot of potential, some lessons learned from previous outings, and assets quietly stolen from the Marvel Online development cycle. Plus you can launch rockets at a robot cowboy and then bash it over the head with a snowmobile. Sold. <br /><br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-78533520570502058572009-09-08T13:58:00.002-04:002009-09-08T14:43:32.258-04:00Ghost Shark CommunistI would like to produce a cable news show called Ghost Shark Communist. Every week's episode would feature 3 shocking stories about one the titular topics, but here's the gimmick: you don't know which fearsome terror you're learning about until halfway through the segment. Then, the big reveal with a loud splash page and a scream of GHOST, SHARK, or COMMUNIST!!!<br /><br />So maybe we start by showing a Caribbean ocean scene, with beaches and sunbathers and innocent, meaty children playing in the surf, but then we pull back and see an old pirate ship run aground nearby. GHOST!<br /><br />Then we have a story about a dying grandma whose pension is being seized by the progressive socialist government... of Atlantis! SHARK!<br /><br />Back to the ghost pirates... They've invaded a sugar plantation and started a co-op garden! COMMUNISTS!<br /><br />We'd get expert commentators and secret documents and all sorts of exclusive content that we made up on the spot, and every week would feature hushed portentious suggestions that these 3 forces were colluding to undermine the United States, or take away your freedoms, or put iodine in name brand cola or something. And we'd encourage you to phone your congressman. <br /><br />Oh, it would be grand.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-85364194221044416262009-07-20T23:17:00.003-04:002009-07-20T23:22:19.428-04:00Binary States1<br /><br /><br />On<br /><br /><br />Positive<br /><br /><br />Clockwise<br /><br /><br />Live<br /><br /><br />Married<br /><br /><br />Pregnant<br /><br /><br />Girl<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SmUzzr-4WII/AAAAAAAAACI/9Y7-Zrmzoos/s1600-h/US_baby01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SmUzzr-4WII/AAAAAAAAACI/9Y7-Zrmzoos/s320/US_baby01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360747894527252610" /></a>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-25557483727077526262009-06-26T10:40:00.002-04:002009-06-26T10:46:08.618-04:00A Classy Thing That Will Never HappenHere's an idea for the age of digital media that will never, ever happen:<br /><br />When a popular artist, author, or entertainer dies, for 24 hours after his passing, his entire body of work becomes available for free download. Just an idea.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-42070396874493295182009-06-21T19:57:00.005-04:002009-06-21T23:03:27.359-04:00Big ChangesSo, as some of you already know, I'm about to make a huge change in my life that I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for. It's something my wife and I have been talking about for a while now, but I was never sure it would really happen. I admit to being torn on the issue. I mean, it's something we both want - we've talked about all the benefits, the highs, the lows, the advantages and the perils. It seems like you're not truly an adult until you have one. But the expense can be considerable, and frankly a little intimidating. Let's face it, it's a serious commitment.<br /><br />Still, everyone says the advantages far outweigh the sacrifices, and life will never be the same once you have one. So, Courtney and I took a long hard look at our life, and finances, did some soul searching, and decided to go for it.<br /><br />Now that it's upon us, I don't blame her for being a little dubious - probably more so than myself - about the decision, but I'm confident that in time she'll come to view this as a great move for our family. Some of the benefits I don't think we'll even fully appreciate until it's staring us right in the face.<br /><br />So there's nothing left to do but wait. A delivery date has been set, and before long that little bundle of joy will be on our doorstep. I can't wait to hold it in my hands for the first time, caress it's face, and call up the AT&T activation number.<br /><br />Seriously, this is a choice upgrade we're talking about here. I was never really entranced by the first iPhone or the 3G, but there are a lot of great new features that just tipped the scale in favor of buying it. Plus, I've been using the same RAZR since 2006 and I'm getting tired of watching the battery fall out every time I grip the housing too tight. This is gonna be great.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/Sj7MRwwuyfI/AAAAAAAAACA/zYEznjNo22s/s1600-h/iphone3gs1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 324px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/Sj7MRwwuyfI/AAAAAAAAACA/zYEznjNo22s/s400/iphone3gs1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349938012881865202" /></a><br /><br /><br><br />Also, Courtney is pregnant.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-75071774463518984122009-06-02T19:25:00.003-04:002009-06-02T20:11:02.046-04:0031<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SiW_g_mX8FI/AAAAAAAAAB4/ouh6IUnglJU/s1600-h/EL017.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 225px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SiW_g_mX8FI/AAAAAAAAAB4/ouh6IUnglJU/s400/EL017.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342887106494066770" /></a><br />Still here.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-62593511828782266662009-03-27T19:40:00.002-04:002009-03-27T19:49:58.169-04:00Collective Memory and the Rule of Awful PeopleOne could hope that in the age of the Internet, our national memory would be a little bit better than in times past - that past errors and successes would be handily recorded and remain available to the masses for their consumption, and that the people involved in those decisions would be justly rewarded or shunned for their performances.<br /><br />(nicked from BoingBoing)<br />From The New York Times, November 5, 1999:<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/05/business/congress-passes-wide-ranging-bill-easing-bank-laws.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1&emc=eta1">CONGRESS PASSES WIDE-RANGING BILL EASING BANK LAWS</a><br /><blockquote>Congress approved landmark legislation today that opens the door for a new era on Wall Street in which commercial banks, securities houses and insurers will find it easier and cheaper to enter one another's businesses.<br />---<br />The decision to repeal the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall_Act">Glass-Steagall</a> Act of 1933 provoked dire warnings from a handful of dissenters that <span style="font-weight:bold;">the deregulation of Wall Street would someday wreak havoc on the nation's financial system</span>. The original idea behind Glass-Steagall was that separation between bankers and brokers would reduce the potential conflicts of interest that were thought to have contributed to the speculative stock frenzy before the Depression.<br />---<br />'The world changes, and we have to change with it,'' said <span style="font-weight:bold;">Senator Phil Gramm of Texas</span>, who wrote the law that will bear his name along with the two other main Republican sponsors, Representative Jim Leach of Iowa and Representative Thomas J. Bliley Jr. of Virginia. ''We have a new century coming, and we have an opportunity to dominate that century the same way we dominated this century. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Glass-Steagall, in the midst of the Great Depression, came at a time when the thinking was that the government was the answer. In this era of economic prosperity, we have decided that freedom is the answer.</span>''</blockquote><br />Guess which ideology is still calling the shots. Brilliant.<br />(nicked from BoingBoing)E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-85265868021168693542009-03-19T08:37:00.002-04:002009-03-19T09:01:06.145-04:00Bad WordsWe are not allowed to use bad language at work, which to anyone who works in a technical field, I imagine, is like not being allowed to urinate for 24 hours. If I don't cuss at an inanimate object or use a colorful adjective to describe a key concept at least 3 or 4 times a day, I start to do a little uncomfortable dance and cover my mouth. But my boss is conservative in ways I never expected to see this side of 1965, so we live with it, which is to say everyone in the office ignores this rule when he and his wife are both absent.<br /><br />I like to be the first one to break the rule in any given day because of the cascade effect. The first person to drop the F-bomb gives the green light to everyone in earshot. Suddenly I'm in a room full of sailors. If you listen closely, you can hear the release ricochet down the office corridor, like lighting a string of firecrackers. Fucking fun as shit.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-58259320312578263992009-02-28T21:24:00.003-05:002009-02-28T21:30:10.586-05:00Fish in a BarrelRush Limbaugh at the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/28/limbaugh.speech.cpac/index.html">Wingnut Convention</a>:<blockquote>"We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independent. We believe that <span style="font-weight:bold;">the preamble of the Constitution contains an inarguable truth, that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, freedom. And the pursuit of happiness</span>," he said, pausing several times for enthusiastic applause.</blockquote><br /><br />Preamble to the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Constitution of the United States</span>:<blockquote>We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.</blockquote><br /><br />Preamble to the United States <span style="font-weight:bold;">Declaration of Independence</span>:<blockquote>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. </blockquote>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-25651984047396449842008-11-20T18:14:00.004-05:002008-11-20T18:31:34.088-05:00Regarding Vista 64 Home Premium<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/brands/microsoft/VistaCertifiedLogo60Percent._V30573462_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 182px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/brands/microsoft/VistaCertifiedLogo60Percent._V30573462_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Let's say you're in the market for a new toaster. You got to the store and look around, and you find a really good one. It's all shiny and new and has a lot of great features - some of which you don't need, but what the hey, it's the biggest and best one out there and you might as well get it.<br /><br />One of the nice things about this particular toaster is that it has both a <span style="font-style:italic;">light</span> and a <span style="font-style:italic;">dark</span> setting. You think, <span style="font-style:italic;">hey, that's pretty handy. I'll probably want to make dark toast quite frequently</span>. So you plunk down way too much money for this new toaster with its light and dark settings, and the cashier hands you a box. You take the box home, because dammit, you have bread to toast, and it's not getting any toastier all by itself.<br /><br />Now, when you get that box home and open it up, I suppose you expect to find a nice toaster with a little dial on the front that says <span style="font-style:italic;">light</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">dark</span>. That would make sense. But what you actually find is a toaster with a dial on it that just says <span style="font-style:italic;">light</span>. No <span style="font-style:italic;">dark</span>. Well, hell, how do you make dark toast then?<br /><br />In the bottom of the box is a very politely-worded note explaining that you are a dumbass, and couldn't possibly be serious about making dark toast. It is a much too advanced process. But, if you really want to try to make dark toast (which is awesome, by the way), just mail in a check for $10, and they will happily send you ANOTHER TOASTER, which you technically already own, but which was not included in the box. This one will have a dial set to <span style="font-style:italic;">dark</span>.<br /><br />Oh, and the toasters both share a single unique power cord, so you can only plug in one at a time.<br /><br />And everything else in the kitchen is powered by the toaster.<br /><br />And if you lose or forget the serial number, the toaster dies.<br /><br />And the toast tastes shitty.E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-5372475748774065882008-06-13T10:16:00.002-04:002008-06-13T10:20:32.827-04:00Just in time for 4th EditionFound via <a href="http://boingboing.net/">Boing Boing</a>:<br /><br><br /><a href="http://www.christies.com/Lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4205385"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d42053/d4205385r.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><blockquote>A ROMAN GLASS GAMING DIE <br />Circa 2nd Century A.D. <br />Deep blue-green in color, the large twenty-sided die incised with a distinct symbol on each of its faces<br />2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm.) wide </blockquote><br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-91969967957084431712008-06-10T20:47:00.006-04:002008-06-10T21:05:07.409-04:00Gaslamp, Steampunk, Dragonsteel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SE8kMjhHY2I/AAAAAAAAABQ/1VJyhBf66ew/s1600-h/b_steel_021706_243b.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SE8kMjhHY2I/AAAAAAAAABQ/1VJyhBf66ew/s400/b_steel_021706_243b.jpg" border="0" alt="Copyright Shaun O'Boyle 2006"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210423092002120546" /></a><br />I stumbled across <a href="http://oboylephoto.com/ruins/">Shaun O'Boyle's collection of Modern Ruins Photography</a> the other day, and it got my, ahem, <i>gears turning</i>. There are some fantastic photos of industrial complexes, shipyards, and decaying facilities there in evocative black and white. The <a href="http://oboylephoto.com/rankin/index.htm">Big Steel</a> and <a href="http://oboylephoto.com/steel/index.htm">Bethlehem Steel</a> sections are particularly haunting for me, as they perfectly visualize the echoing metallic caverns of <a href="http://escapistblog.blogspot.com/2005/03/gentleman-and-officer.html">Ashworld</a>, from my Technologist <a href="http://escapistblog.blogspot.com/search/label/fiction">short fiction</a>. They are images of stark, mechanical, frequently claustrophobic environments - deep, echoing places where the works of man take on their own twisting jungle-like quality. I think they've shaken loose a few jammed cogs - maybe I should pick up writing those shorts again.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-14099089805325682172008-06-03T21:18:00.005-04:002008-06-03T21:42:34.138-04:0030<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SEXu8BMantI/AAAAAAAAABI/Z4p1dukz--A/s1600-h/skeleton.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_e0EVrnP7E20/SEXu8BMantI/AAAAAAAAABI/Z4p1dukz--A/s400/skeleton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207831259003920082" /></a><br />Sunday was my birthday. This is a milestone year, particularly if you count in hexadecimal. Saturday was my birthday (observed), and featured friends and cake and board games and swords with meat on them. I got all sorts of nifty gifts, including a cold, which I naturally blame on Marc.<br /><br />Courtney's birthday is on Friday, but I gave her her present early because we needed extra Wii controllers.<br /><br />Thank you to everyone who came or sent gifts.<br /><br />A lot of people seem to think that 30 is some sort of magic turning point, beyond which one is expected to settle firmly into whatever static form one's life is expected to take. Get hitched, buy a house, start seriously investing your excess income, shave or grow a beard depending on whether you plan on going into sales or academia. Well, I've got the marriage thing all planned out, but I think that mostly that sense of post-30 stability is an illusion. At some point you figure you'll be a "grownup", but that never seems to happen. Life is constantly in flux, and we compose mental snapshots of our lives as they are and as we want them to be in order to ease the nagging sensation that we're not doing as well as we could have, or not doing what we were <span style="font-style:italic;">destined for</span>.<br /><br />I don't feel any different today than I did at 29 (except in the strictest technical sense, what with the sneezing and the coughing), nor would I expect to. However, the one thing I really didn't expect at 30 is having to go job hunting again. It's like that line from <span style="font-style:italic;">Fight Club</span> about furniture:<blockquote>"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled."</blockquote><br />I feel the same way about careers. Which, now that I think about it, is probably part of the problem.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-38912600935574740072008-05-17T11:41:00.004-04:002008-05-17T11:44:38.652-04:00I am not a number. Oh wait...Just so you know, my face is now in the <a href="http://www.facebook.com">book</a>.<br /><br />I expect government agents and/or marketing drones to arrive on my doorstep any day now. Not that I even <span style="font-style:italic;">have </span>as doorstep, as far as They know.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-53816182959938010642008-02-04T19:28:00.001-05:002008-02-04T19:34:08.947-05:00The Pitfalls of Publishing<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-1431848-6337201?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=new+england+unbeatable&x=0&y=0"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/r_steeler/nineteenoh.jpg" alt="Change of plans" border="0" /></a><br /></div><p></p>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-37536421227797740472008-01-21T18:10:00.000-05:002008-01-21T20:16:01.466-05:00On the Passions of CompetitionFor those of you who don't know, I live in Patriot's country, which means that not a day goes by that I don't get to hear about the awesomeness of Tom Brady. This has spawned a new emotional response I have chosen to dub:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fantrarianism</span> (fān-trâr'ē-ən-ĭz'əm)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;" class="pg">n. </span> The condition of becoming an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc. in opposition of the majority, because the majority is rooting for an asshole team.<br /><br />[Origin: <span style="font-style: italic;">Americanism/Me </span>Fandom + Contrarianism]</blockquote>Which is not to say that I wouldn't root for Big Blue, anyway. But it does make it all the sweeter to say go Giants. It's nice having a horse in this race for a change.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/apmegasports/200801202230810337737-pf.h2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/apmegasports/200801202230810337737-pf.h2.jpg" alt="Mike Roemer / AP" border="0" /></a><br /><p></p>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-16488290237283810482007-10-24T19:28:00.000-04:002007-10-24T19:29:48.817-04:00Define Politics<a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2007/10/23/giuliani_commits_baseball_blasphemy_hes_rooting_for_red_sox/">Rudy Giuliani Rooting for Red Sox</a><br /><blockquote>"I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets," he said. "Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't because I'm loyal to New York."</blockquote>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9909376.post-29905043526292537472007-10-11T19:42:00.000-04:002007-10-11T19:45:16.144-04:00Masshole Report: Special EditionThree words:<br /><h2 style="text-align: center;">Motor Excise Tax</h2><br /><br />Fuck Massachusetts.<br /><br>E Machttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477120800938896900noreply@blogger.com2