eMusings

The Sonic Barrier

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:10:00 +0000

We ate at Sonic for the first time today. Food good. We split a Mocha Java Chiller that was the best mocha shake I've ever had. Better even than the one I had at Seattle's Best Coffee (in Seattle), which was my favorite until now. Yum.

The thing I hate about ordering at Sonic, and any drive-in, is the speaker system. It's often hard to hear the order taker. I noticed that the male order taker was louder than the female one at Sonic, and one of the boards was quieter than the others. We got the female order taker on the quiet board. hmph

What I hate about the system, though, is that I can't see who's taking my order. With cameras and monitors so cheap, they should have a webcam so you can see who's taking your order. Would that be so hard? I want to buy my meal from a human, not a clown-face or a faceless sign. Who's with me?

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Opinion

FaerieWorlds

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:06:00 +0000

Yesterday I attended the FaerieWorlds festival near Eugene, Oregon. I had a great time, surprisingly. I went mostly to see a band I like but also to jam with other musicians and to take photos. It was a target-rich environment. I've culled the shots down to about 70 of them. They're on Flickr. My FaerieWorlds set. Be gentle.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Images

The Pit is Opening!

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:56:00 +0000

Not the pit of Sarlacc that Luke Skywalker fought, but rather The Pita Pit, a food franchise opening in Bend, around the corner from the Blue Fish Bistro facing Drake Park. It opens Friday, and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: News

Excuse Me, Sir

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:47:00 +0000

As I mentioned in an earlier post about my friend's hurdy gurdy and the goth guy with good manners, hearing polite and refined speech from a young goth surprised me. This happened to me again on Wednesday. I was approached by a young goth guy who asked, "Excuse me Sir, but have you the time?"

I mentioned these events to our friend Kim Feer, who publishes the Newberry Eagle, a small newspaper in La Pine. She wasn't surprised by the goth's speech. She explained that since goths are into the Rennaisance and Victorian eras, and often into vampires, they adopt the speech patterns of that era. Now it all makes sense to me. Thanks, Kim!

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Chatter

Bumper Stickers

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:57:00 +0000

I've got about three blog posts accumulated in my head, but I need to rest up from a rafting trip and a festival in western Oregon first. In the meantime...

From the eMusings mailbag, via my sister-in-law:

Bumper Stickers

17. Jesus loves you... but everyone else thinks you're an asshole.

16. Impotence... Nature's way of saying, "No hard feelings."

15. The proctologist called... they found your head.

14. Everyone has a photographic memory... some just don't have any film.

13. Save your breath... You'll need it to blow up your date.

12. Your ridiculous little opinion has been noted.

11. I used to have a handle on life... but it broke off.

10. WANTED: Meaningful overnight relationship.

9. Guys... just because you have one, doesn't mean you have to be one.

8. Some people just don't know how to drive... I call these people
"Everybody But Me".

7. Heart Attacks... God's revenge for eating His animal friends.

6. Don't like my driving? Then quit watching me.

5. If you can read this... I can slam on my brakes and sue you.

4. Some people are only alive because it's illegal to shoot them.

3. Try not to let your mind wander... It is too small and fragile to be out by itself.

2. Hang up and drive!

AND THE NUMBER ONE BUMPER STICKER:

1. Welcome to America ... Now speak English!

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Humor

Hospital Humor (nsfw?)

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:29:00 +0000

Possibly NSFW. From the eMusings mailbag (thanks, Candace!):

Hospital Humor

A male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. A young, student nurse arrives to give him a partial sponge bath. "Nurse," he mumbles, from behind the mask. "Are my testicles black?"

Embarrassed, the young nurse replies, "I don't know, sir. I'm only here to wash your upper body and feet."

He struggles to ask again, "Nurse, please check. Are my testicles black?"

Concerned that he may elevate his blood pressure and heart rate from worry about his testicles, she overcomes her embarrassment and pulls back the covers. She raises up his gown, holds his manhood in one hand and his testicles in the other.

Then, she takes a close look and says, "There's nothing wrong with them, sir!"

The man pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at her and says very slowly, "Thank you very much. That was wonderful, but, listen very, very closely . . . "

" . . . A r e - m y - t e s t - r e s u l t s - b a c k ?"

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Humor

Funny Cat Video

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Check out this video of a cat that's been watching too much boxing. Muhammad "The Cat" Ali.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

How Americans Die

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:10:00 +0000

Interesting and scary chart with the odds of dying from various causes. How Americans Die. Cheery, huh?

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

Celebrity Meter

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Wired Magazine has a new Celebrity Meter widget that takes a few URLs from you and gives you a score on how famous you are on the Internet. I scored a 73. I don't wanna know what Jake scores.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: News

100 Free Things

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:44:00 +0000

Cool article about 100 Things to do During a Money Free Weekend.

Now if only that concept could be extended to a week, a month, a year...

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

Black Crayons

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Psychology is not a science. If you ask me, it'll be decades before it comes even close. At any rate, this funny story will amuse any parent: Black Crayons.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

Stalemate

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:25:00 +0000

Les Crane has passed away. It made the local paper a few days ago, which listed him as a late-night talk show host. Which he was, but that's not what he was to me.

In 1989, shortly before Thanksgiving, I was hired by The Software Toolworks, marking my transition from writing industrial automation software to writing games. As always, getting hired is not like pushing a button. You apply, you wait, you get interviewed. I was interviewed by then-Project Manager Dave Grenewetzki, a big, affable, funny, funny guy. After Dave had decided I was the one for the job, there was one more hurdle for me to jump. I had to get the "blessing" of Les Crane, the top dog. At that time, before it was a much larger company, Les liked to chat with every candidate himself before that person was hired. I don't remember the conversation, but I passed.

At The Software Toolworks, which was to later become Mindscape, I worked on many, many project over seven years, including Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and Chessmaster. My team taught the Chessmaster to speak, among other things. I learned to type really, really fast. (Thank you, Mavis.) I learned, from Dave Greno, to make mundane email amusing.

Les Crane had a hands-on approach to management. In addition to being the final approval of every new hire, and approving new games, he liked to walk around the building, seeing how projects were progressing, and often requiring changes to suit his vision. This was called MBWA... management by walking around.

It was sometimes frustrating having Les stop by and request sudden changes in your project, but I had to respect his care for the products, and his changes were usually for the better, even if it was just tweaking the color scheme.

Les was a funny guy. He once told me he wanted to open a shop selling Israeli cheese. He was going to call it "Cheeses of Nazareth". Ha ha.

Les had a passion for classical music. When I brought up the Disney movie Fantasia, he went on a rant against it. Les complained that when he listened to that music, he now had Disney's images in his head instead of his own images.

Les could be a touchy guy. He'd once been married to Tina Louise, "Ginger" on Gilligan's Island. (He had a later wife whose actual name was Ginger. Go figure.) He didn't like talking about Tina Louise, and any mention of her would result in a backlash. I can understand that. My parents divorced when I was young, and there are few things touchier than talking about an ex.

I enjoyed working at "Toolworks", and I enjoyed working for Les. He knew that, at the end of the day, the company's main assets went home for the night. He cared for the products and the people that produced them. He respected our abilities and let us do our jobs without micro-managing. He kenw us all by name. We had pizza on Fridays, we went on field trips and special outings. It was a fun place to work. That's something that starts at the top.

As is the destiny of all of us, Les eventually ran out of moves. Les Crane died from natural causes last Sunday at Marin General Hospital at age 74. Good game, Les.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: News

Mission Statement

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:32:00 +0000

My blogging buddy Lisa has written a mission statement. I think that's pretty cool. While I pretty much have a set of goals, I've never written them down as a mission statement. To remedy that situation, here in print is what I aim to do daily (numbered for reference, not priority):

1) Make every minute count. You'll never get one back. Sometimes making a minute count is just taking a moment to do nothing. (Ignore this if you're a politician. You're already doing too much nothing.) Life is precious. Make the most of it.

2) Look for the beauty in everything. Sometimes it's hidden, or not as obvious as more blatant features, but if you look you can usually find it. Sometimes beauty isn't in appearance, but in action or attitude or in relationship to something else. Find the beauty. If you can't find it, just google Angelina Jolie.

3) Don't sweat the small stuff. It's almost all small stuff. In a hundred years, will it have made a difference? If not, it's probably small stuff.

4) Extend courtesy to others whenever possible. Life is hard. If you can make it a little easier for someone, why not? Open doors for people. Leave a gap to let people out of driveways, especially if you're waiting for the car ahead of you anyway. Smile. Compliment someone. Say something funny. If everyone did this, how much better would the world be?

5) Appreciate what you have. Quick, before the government takes it.

6) Enjoy life. Get out and do things. Be part of a community. Dance. Listen to music. Listen to poetry. Cruise an art gallery. Be friends with people who aren't like you. (That's easy, 'cause there's nobody like me.)

7) Never stop learning.

8) Share what you have and what you know.

9) Do things with passion. Look for the passion in others, and draw it out of them. The best conversations ever are the ones where you touch somebody's passion. (Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter. That's my job.)

10) Every morning is a gift. Go outside, take a deep breath (unless you live in LA), and be thankful.

11) Don't dwell on the negative. Furnish your head and life and memories with beauty, not ugliness.

12) Minimize your waste and energy use.

13) Face your fears.

14) Give people respect. That includes children, waiters, service people and even teens that look like zombies. Someday they'll grow out of it.

15) Don't expect perfection from yourself or others.

16) Pick up litter. Make something beautiful. Make someone happy. Be productive. Every day, leave the world a little better than you found it.

17) Think about consequences. Think about how things interact and how sysems work. Always think about how you can do something better or make something better. Don't curse the things that bother you, either let them go or make them better.

18) Don't write long, boring lists. Oops.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Opinion

Google Knows All

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:59:00 +0000

Amusing YouTube video, part IV of The Googling.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

Simon's Cat #3

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:32:00 +0000

Third YouTube installment of Simon's Cat. Quintessential kitteh.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

Don't Read This

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:35:00 +0000

If you're easily offended by religious humor, don't read this post. In fact, you should probably avoid this blog altogether, because as you know, I'm rude, crude and socially unacceptable.

Still reading? Hah! I knew I could count on you. Anyway, I saw this bumper sticker on the back of a car in Bend the other day, and the more I thought about it, the more it amused me. It might even amuse you:

WHO WOULD JESUS BOMB?

Next thing you know, people will be getting bracelets with WWJB on them.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Humor?

Pas-de-Too

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:19:00 +0000

This dancing cockatoo on YouTube had Connie in stitches this morning.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

You Go, Dogg

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:02:00 +0000

I'm not a dog person, but I enjoyed this so much I had to pop it right here in the blog:

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: YouTube

Who?

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:51:00 +0000

I'm not watching you. I'm not. Really. I'm not watching you.

Okay, I'm watching you.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Images

Bend Observations

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:01:00 +0000

As I've mentioned previously, I have a new job as a programmer for a downtown Bend business. They let me work from home as much as reasonable, but I come in at least once a week for the weekly meeting. This gives me an opportunity to try various establishments at whim, such as Richard's donuts (wonderful!).

I'm looking forward to the opening of the Pita Pit. I plan to check out the crepe place. I had lunch the other day at the Full Throttle Deli. Since Boris keeps recommending it, I thought I'd give it a try. Somebody has to keep Boris honest!

How was it? Fan-licking-tastic! I had a roast beef on rye, which I haven't had in quite a while and have had a big hankering for. The rye bread was fresh and soft and tasty. That's one of the things that often go wrong with this sandwich: the rye bread is often dried out and chewy. But Full Throttle had wonderful rye. The cold, rare roast beef was indeed rare and very, very tender, and tasty. Too often the roast beef at other places is over-cooked, too tough or not fresh. The roast beef at Full Throttle just melted in your mouth. Probably the best roast beef I've had on a sandwich. I ordered it with lettuce, tomato and a little mustard. Perfection. I can see I'm going to be going up those stairs a lot.

At work our meeting room is in a corner office with big windows. I hate meetings. I feel unproductive and restless. I'd rather be pounding out code. So I unobtrusively look out the window a lot. (I hope it's unobtrusively!)

One of the things I love about Bend is the quantity of alternative transportation in use. Looking out the office window, I see people getting around with a wide variety of conveyences. People walk a lot. They ride bikes a lot. I've seen a Segway. Girls on motor-scooters (like a Vespa). Lots of skateboards. Roller blades. Thursday I saw a girl on an electric skateboard. I see pedi-cabs, electric cars, Smart cars, tandem bikes, recliner bikes, stilts and jogging strollers. Way to go, Bend.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Chatter

Independence Day

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:38:00 +0000

Hi, friends. I hope you've all enjoyed the holiday today. We sure had a busy one.

I started out the day by cleaning out the filter in the lily pond. Whee. However, one of the lilies was flowering, and I took some photos that I liked.

Then we headed to Drake Park and watched a belly dance performance by Gypsy Fire and their student troupe Sister Fire. Man, that's one of the largest, most impressive troupes we have. They are just so good. And they improvise it from cues.

After the belly dancing, we headed down to the theater and watched Wanted with Angelina Jolie and, um... ah, who cares? With Angelina Jolie! And Morgan Freeman. Odd movie, but very enjoyable.

Once we caught our breaths, we proceeded back downtown and had dinner at Taj Palace, where we watched our friend Phoenix do a solo belly dance. We were pleased to run into our friend Bali Ram there, a man with a long and fascinating history. But that's for another time.

Were we done? No. Over to Townshend's Teahouse where our friends Tim, Annie and Kevin were playing. Great sound. I sat in for a few sets on riqq, didge and shakere, and Ken Czepelka sat in with his hurdy-gurdy, and Laura added vocals. What a fun jam!

Boy, am I tired. Is it the weekend yet?

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Chatter

Recent Pics

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:22:00 +0000

A few photos I just uploaded to my Flickr account:

The view from the drum circle tonight at Drake Park.

Folk dancing last night at a friend's in Crooked River. When's the last time you danced on the front lawn?

A recent sunset as seen from our bedroom window.

Ground cover in our front yard. I love this stuff.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Images

Va-Va-Boom

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Funniest story of the day.

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links

Cruller Jones

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:30:00 +0000

I have a cruller jones. There was a donut shop where we used to live that had great crullers. Light, not too sweet, not glazed. Sometimes dipped in chocolate. mmmmm

So my question is... who has the best donuts in Bend? More to the point, who has the best crullers in Bend? Anyone? Bueller? Cruller?

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Chatter

Wallpaper

noreply@blogger.com (dkgoodman) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:54:00 +0000

As a professional nerd of long standing, I enjoy tweaking my computers to my current tastes. For a while now, my desktop theme has been the "secret" Royale Noir XP theme.

My wallpaper changes more often. I scan the Social Wallpapering feed every day, and occasionally use one as my wallpaper. My current wallpaper is this fantastic fantasy cat artwork. What eyes!

Posted by Dave Blog Tag: Links