I'm looking at my prospective furniture on the
web.
Moving into a new apartment is a psychologically- and
financially-hazardous endeavor. I think that the people who
run Bed, Bath, and Beyond have exploited this to maximum
effect. Most everyone I know has made a trip there recently
for some household necessity or other, and I am no
exception. After a couple of hours in the place searching
for the perfect trash cans, coat rack, etc., my brain became
strangely pliable. I was locked into a serious consumption
mode. I also find it clever that the store presents you
with a huge number of items when you walk in, making it seem
as if you will have a wide range of choices for each item
you need. When you go shopping for a *specific* item, you
find that there are only a few different styles to choose
from, but a huge pile of each style on the shelf. I'm
starting to believe Negativland's views on the illusion of
consumer choice :)
I have unwittingly been inducted into the Bay Area Cult of
IKEA. I haven't even been there yet, but I like the chairs
Maciej and Eskil brought home and assembled ('Adam', I
think). It somehow feels more civilized to eat dinner while
sitting in a chair, even if one's dinner table is a
cardboard box. The names of the furniture are great, too.
They have Eskil stools in the catalog but we haven't gotten
any. I wonder what item of furniture a Stephane would be
and what it would look like. Maybe a computer desk ;).
I have been spending lots of time at home since we moved,
even without DSL. I have great plans for my home network,
which I should start on so things will be ready by the time
we get our DSL installed. And Eskil is a good roommate,
even though I did not know him really at all when we first
started looking at apartments. Maciej is a good roommate
too, lest he read this and feel left out. :)
SCUBA diving is an equipment intensive sport. This I found
out firsthand by sharing a backseat with four tanks of air
and assorted wet, smelly dive gear (and my friend Simon)
while driving to and fro in Monterey. Being able to see
starfish, sand dabs, kelp, and jellyfish underwater was a
really cool experience, but I have a lot of trouble with my
ears and sinuses so I don't know if I will go diving again
for a long time. But I'd like to go down to the seaside
again and eat some fresh kelp. I guess it sounds weird, but
I really like the taste/texture of it.
I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium while visiting the city,
and enjoyed it greatly. We got a close-up look at some
penguins, and began naming them after various Linux
distributions based on their personalities. I also got
Maciej a nautilus shell. It was good to get out of the city
for a while, but I found myself really missing San Francisco
and my little flat as it was getting time to head home.
Sed can be your friend. Automation is also a sysadmin's
best friend. Either that, or lackeys to do your bidding,
but scripts are easier to maintain.
_Chicken Run_ was really good, though I find it really
ironic that there's a promotion for it going on at Burger
King, which would seem to be more on the side of huge
machines that make chickens into food than plucky,
freedom-loving cartoon chickens. I wouldn't consider it
"heartwarming family fun"...it's funny and touching without
being manipulative. I'm supposed to see _Titan AE_
tonight. I've heard it described as 'American anime'.
Congratulations Ryan...every geek I know
is talking about what you're doing!