Wednesday, August 31, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 13:08 Visiting the firm of Winkle, Gilboa, & Fox #
  • 15:15 Well, that took longer than I thought. #
  • 16:05 School of Music production meeting. #
  • 16:35 Good Person production meeting #
  • 17:25 Scheme scheduling meeting #
  • 18:18 Better do some Ellipses or something #
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 23:35 And the mountain of rehearsal reports begins. #
  • 00:51 Obsessing about something that isn't tomorrow. #wasteofsleep #
  • 09:34 Not driving today. See how it goes. #
  • 11:27 Fishing for technical design projects, got something good? send it my way. #
  • 12:02 (on the 2nd floor) "how do you get to the first floor" "um, go down the stairs?" #
  • 13:52 Technical Direction III - Class as company concept #
  • 16:26 @caryatiddreams like what? #
  • 16:27 Stagecraft I - Orientation #
  • 17:03 Crazy Scheme Orientation #
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Monday, August 29, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 23:40 @sailordoghandel no arrests #
  • 23:40 @keeboch get a move on #
  • 23:41 @XOMR sure, why not? #
  • 09:23 Really? No spaces in the Morewood lot? #
  • 09:38 @CarnegieMellon take your time, it's not a sprint #
  • 11:59 Technical Direction 1 - Role of the TD #
  • 12:01 @kernelbrooklyn I call that stretch of I70 "Raperland" #
  • 13:17 cut away during the hookup - bbbbbbbb #
  • 13:29 @kernelbrooklyn switch on the Otis #
  • 13:55 @kernelbrooklyn apparently thats all ive got #
  • 14:25 Starting a time tracking spreadsheet #thiscantbesmart #
  • 16:11 and the stagecraft schedule is up #
  • 16: 31 Don't trip #firstdayadvice #
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Sunday, August 28, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 00:19 you named your daughter after your daughter #
  • 12:43 @walt828 trudat, the cranky part. #
  • 17:42 Successful welcome back reception. #
  • 17:45 @papillonpress my understanding as with Pluto's planethood there is no triceratops. :-( #
  • 17:48 @kernelbrooklyn my thought exactly #
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Saturday, August 27, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 20:38 Burgatory. #
  • 22:00 @kernelbrooklyn mmm ha #
  • 13:26 No Victory samplers. How sad. #
  • 17:45 Stagecraft Syllabus, check. #
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Friday, August 26, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 07:32 Orientation 2: Grad Edition #
  • 09:04 Grad production orientation #
  • 09:11 Stupid Monday has changed from L to N #
  • 12:07 Upgrade! #
  • 14:33 Trying to put additional twitter feeds to a blogger blog. Failing. #
  • 15:12 Managed to keep myself from buying a $100 jacket I don't need at the bookstore. #
  • 16:46 I am David's complete lack of motivation #
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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Re-Orientation

I've missed orientation for a couple of years. I think. My recollection is that last year I was finishing up a house in Chicago - I could be wrong. I just looked at last august's posts and it appears I was here. A little bit though I think Tina did it.

A lot of it is the same. We still have to talk about the same things: check your email, call if you go to the hospital, don't turn in other people's work as yours. Much is different too. We used to center the discussion around our strategic planning pillars: Leadership, Experimentation, Community, Diversity, & Education. Sometimes that got a little wonky, but I did like always having a hook to hang things on. We used to do a balloon launch, now we plant a tree.

I talked about grading. I did it without saying "The Bradley Scale." I started by saying that left to our own devices we wouldn't start the year talking about grades but that the students really seem to want to hear it. Next I said that as a metric the quantitative feedback of a grade is some of the least useful feedback you'll get and that qualitative feedback from your instructor on an ongoing basis is much more useful. I told them an employer has never asked me how someone's grades were, but I conceded that someone might if they apply to grad school. I forgot to tell them that a bad grade isn't a punishment and a good grade isn't a reward. Then I explained that due to the rarefied air the school occupies and the level of talent we select that our standards are higher - that the scale is higher and the expectations are higher. It might take a 94% to get an A or a 70% to pass a class; that if you show up, awake, follow all the instructions and do everything you are supposed to do you might earn a C. If you want a B you have to do all those things well. I think I heard a small reaction to that. Finally I told them we expect them to do those things well and that they are expected to get B's. They seemed to take it in stride. Won't know until semester reviews I guess.

One thing that really struck me was accidental and not really part of the orientation. I noticed that we did a long bit about academic honesty and plagiarism, and then we followed it with a bit about the necessity of collaboration; sort of saying "You may not work together" followed immediately by "It is of paramount importance that you work together."

That reminded me of this:

If you've got 12 minutes you should give it a watch.

140 Characters or Less...

  • 20:55 @GovMikeHuckabee @tcschwa much of the spending causing that debt is tied to commitments forged during the prior administration. #
  • 11:41 forgot my phone... again #
  • 11:58 FWIW Dinosaurs lived 165 million years. #
  • 13:16 Just saw @CMUClusters new collaborative space in 5202. Looks great! #
  • 14:49 t.co/jbNo8Gp @matt_dollinger #
  • 15:04 @speak_true got my tickets!!! #
  • 17:37 @kernelbrooklyn really, why would you leave without seeing our new couch anyway? #
  • 19:26 Year opening inbox zero. Harder than it should have been. #
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 22:55 Great visit with Jess, Matt, Easton, & Tru! #
  • 23:25 @kernelbrooklyn some people just stay up late #
  • 23:27 @kernelbrooklyn trudat, usually its the people with five cats who sleep in #
  • 12:11 Thought I saw Milan on campus today #
  • 12:13 Really, all the way until Tuesday? Awesome. #
  • 12:21 RIP Design Launch 2004-2011. We hardly knew you. #
  • 12:23 @aerdin um, that would be "OSWALD" #
  • 12:26 @giantspatula start a tumbler as an index? #
  • 12:52 @keeboch gonna be called something else #
  • 12:52 @aerdin no, it's the design launch, its a meeting nobody ever really embraced under that name #
  • 13:14 There's Halloween stuff out at Lowes #waytooeffinearly #
  • 14:57 OH: Schedule conflicts the day before sc hool starts #
  • 16:56 Well, I did let the email pile up, didn't I? #
  • 18:39 Looks like I'll never find out what was happening on Rubicon. t.co/lf8TuHJ #
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New Rules

A certainly incomplete list of new rules for Congress.

  1. No "Pledges" - a candidate or sitting member of Congress may make no pledge beyond "to evaluate each piece of legislation on its own merits and make my decisions reflecting to the best of my ability the intent of my constituents and my personal judgement.
  2. "Pocket Confirmation" - any and all appointments made during a Congressional term not receiving an up or down, clean confirmation vote by the end of the following session are deemed to have been approved by the Congress.
  3. "Shutdown Charge" - should a federal budget and all the associated allocation bills for the next fiscal year not be complete by 3/4 of the way through the current fiscal year each and every member of that congress shall have their term expire with the end of the current Congress (provided the delay is not the result of Presidential action).
  4. "Shutdown Penalty" - should a continuing resolution be required to prevent the federal government from shutdown, or should the Federal government be forced to shut down due to the lack of a budget or associated allocations each and every member of that congress shall have their term end at the end of that Congress and those members shall be prohibited from running again for a period of not less than 12 years.
  5. "Answer the Damn Question" - candidates and sitting Congress members are required to answer the actual questions presented by media and constituents. They are allowed to say "I choose not to answer that question at this time" but simply pivoting to talking points is not allowed. A bi-partisan panel shall referee complaints as filed by the actual person that asked the question. For each adjudicated transgression the candidate must make a $5000 donation to the other party's congressional campaign committee (candidates may elect to prepay).
  6. "Factual Error Penalty" - for each and every "pants on fire" rating a Congress member receives from Politifact they are docked 10% of their salary for that calendar year (re-figuring after each offense). For every 10 infractions within a year (including repeating the same item) the member is docked one year of standing for their retirement benefits (candidates may accrue negative calendar standing). Personally held beliefs do not trump the independent audit.
Bonus item:
  • All candidates and sitting members of Congress must listen to "This American Life" and may never be more than 2 weeks behind.

140 Characters or Less...

  • 13:05 Bought me some Melissa tickets! @speak_true #
  • 19:48 Can't get my head far enough into the sand to not see the returning work emails. #toosoon #
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Monday, August 22, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 20:47 @caryatiddreams so far I'd say hang with it. #
  • 00:06 @AskDocG meh. Let it go. #
  • 00:07 Waitin up for visiting family. #
  • 01:47 Zzzzzzzz #
  • 13:13 Lunch at Phipps #
  • 15:40 Hangin with Easton on Amazing Kids Way #
  • 16:51 Lighting the grill #
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Nobody Asked

We had our first real event of the 11-12 school year today. It was an open q&a with new students and their parents. This was an event added by my prior boss that hadn't been part of orientation previously. She discovered that although orientation does a fairly good job of prepping students a lot of the information students get during the process doesn't make it's way back to parents. So now we talk to parents too.

Some things that didn't come up that I was thinking:

If you feel like you have a lot of time on your hands in the first week or so, don't be too quick to load up on additional commitments. School takes a little while to get going, and before you know it you will have more to do than you can really cope with. Take the calm time before the storm to build yourself a good foundation for work. Get your bearings. Meet as many people as possible. There will be an urge to sign up for three more classes or to join a dozen clubs. Take a breath. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It's always easier to add things than it is to shed them after you take them on.

So that's one thing. Here's another:

No matter what you might think, regardless of the impression you get, however what you are hearing doesn't match what you think it should be, your advisor is never out to get you. Ignoring, contesting, lawyering, evading, and any other adversarial postures are never the strongest choice. We want everyone to succeed. Sometimes that's going to mean that we're not going to put you into the assignment you want. Sometimes that might mean we're going to have very critical things to say. It might even mean we ask you to take some time off - or maybe leave the program entirely. But all of that feedback is to get you the best experience we can. Turning on your advisor or the faculty automatically means you are getting less than our best work. I can't stress how important it is to keep yourself pointed in the same direction as your mentors.

That second one, it's too dark for the first day. But it is something I really wish everyone understood.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 22:34 @caryatiddreams is very untorchwoody. #
  • 23:34 Would it have been so hard to cast Kevin Bacon as the father in the Footloose remake? #ifIwereincharge #
  • 23:44 @loudtweeter my daily deliveries are posting twice (and I've lost track of the control site). Little help here? #
  • 10:38 @thatdeafkid @caryatiddreams I didn't say it was bad, just less torchwoody, although it rallied a little in that respect this week #
  • 12:25 Forgot my phone. #greatstart #
  • 14:47 @kernelbrooklyn is that the one where you find out Don is gay? #
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Saturday, August 20, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 21:55 I wonder where she went? #toilettweeting #
  • 21:57 @keeboch rained a little bit #
  • 22:00 @keeboch t.co/KDsyJmP #
  • 22:00 @kernelbrooklyn have to be one or the other? #
  • 01:51 Oh Loudtwitter, everything is posting twice. #
  • 15:07 Muddy, muddy patio. #
  • 15:08 I pro bably won't vote Republican, but if I have to listen, I'd rather listen to @JonHuntsman #
  • 15:09 @48v alas no. Just happenstance. Like our new Steg? #
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Friday, August 19, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 20:09 @narcosislabs @mattigray Hello Devil, welcome to Skaro #
  • 20:10 @giantspatula sure thing #
  • 20:11 Well, the Eagles don't look so great. #
  • 23:35 @AskDocG could be the same D, expectations aren't equivalent. #
  • 11:32 What's the rule for the period when a sentence ends with an email address? Just stick it on and hope the reader isn't confused? #
  • 11:34 @Mboevers feels like I am forgetting something #
  • 11:35 @ellenjuhlin see and that's sort of my point, shouldn't need a work around #
  • 11:35 @DeMarko that seems like it would cause a run on #
  • 11:40 @DeMarko I've done that too. Looks wrong. #
  • 11:42 @ellenjuhlin well played #
  • 12:14 Anyone know if power is up on campus? #
  • 12:57 Impromptu auto service #
  • 14:03 Work is asking me to conserve power. I think I'll do that by staying away. #
  • 15:11 Hail in 15217. Swell. #
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No Screwing Around

Today we got some no screwing around rain in Pittsburgh.

A little bit it feels like April this week.


Times like this I am glad my driveway slopes up to the house rather than down.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 22:48 @aerdin I'll phone my attorney. #
  • 22:55 Great top play on the sportcenter top ten tonight. #
  • 13:01 @bpeoples do they give the temperature and humidity? #
  • 13:45 Hanging about, waiting for a delivery #
  • 15:02 It's come to this: Roomba theatre t.co/agDOXsZ #
  • 17:51 The next time I see "Quad" I think I'd like to see it performed by Daleks. #
  • 17:55 um @alfranken, fix this? t.co/icfPjW8 #
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Indiana State Fair Collapse--State Fair Management Has Blood on Its Hands

- John Huntington's Blog -:I'm glad to see that the media is starting to take the Indiana State Fair management to task. Regardless of the physical cause of the collapse (and the real cause of that should emerge from the investigation, and appropriate heads should roll if negligence is found or corners were cut), the fact that the show was not stopped when the fair site came under a severe thunderstorm warning is inexcusable, regardless of what else happened.

Top Shot

Do you watch "Top Shot" on History? They are into their third season, although I am not sure it's the third year. They get a bunch of people together who are ace marksmen in all different disciplines. They have armed forces folks and police and entertainers and even a few self taught shooters. In reality show format they have these folks face off in target challenges with all types of weapons. Mostly it's guns, but they've also done knives, bows, axes and some other odds and ends.

I guess maybe it's the hardware geek in me that the weapons appeal to. Last season they had this .22 pistol optimized for speed shooting. That was real cool. It seems like this year they are really taking out the stops because one of the weapons on the intro is a Gatling gun - not something you see every day. I like watching the players train on the new platform. I shot a .22 rifle and a bow at camp and a little bit I sucked. These folks are really good and excel regardless of the weapon.

Probably the coolest thing so far was when a US Marine Sniper hit a target 1000 meters away with a Barrett 50 cal in one shot (and as it turned out, he didn't even win that challenge).

Sometimes I actually think the reality show elements take away from the show as a whole. This season and last they made quick work of the women on the show. Last season four Marines colluded to make sure they were the last four left (although toward the very end this produced a fairly quirky twist). The show format does a team competition followed by the losing team selecting two members to "shoot for their life" so to speak, and then finishes with a head to head competition between those two.

If I could change one thing I would change the selection process. As is each shooter takes one shot at targets with all the shooters names. The two shooters with the most votes go to elimination. I guess having it all in the open makes some of the politics more telegenic. Sometimes though it means some folks shots pointless and sometimes I think people would vote a different way if they could do it privately. I think it would be cooler if they did it firing squad style everyone at once. I'd give everyone two rounds. They all shoot once simultaneously, look at the totals, and then shoot again. This way people could vote their conscience a little more freely. It might make the pre-nomination range scene less tense, but I think having the shooters have to guess who voted for whom would be an interesting dimension too.

But it's a good show as is. Check it out.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 23:23 After much angsting I downloaded the Slingplayer app and it works swell. #
  • 23:33 Should your governor or congressmen be allowed to block you on twitter? t.co/kZZutt8 #
  • 23:37 @LegNeato thanks. I gave up and found a lot of workarounds today, pretty much 99%. I like FIrefox too much to go to IE to get the toolbar. #
  • 23:43 Anyone have the DVD of Genndy Tartakovsky's animated Clone Wars cartoon? #
  • 12:41 @sdeutsch woohoo! #
  • 12:47 toes in the work pool #
  • 16:51 NPR ATC Doing a "temporary stages" story #
  • 16:54 listening to Karl on NPR @PlasaOnline #
  • 18:46 Read one email too many. #
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

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Coming to you LIVE

...from my garage.

I was thinking today about the ubiquity of the Internet and really of PC's in general. I guess in some really dweeby way I've been a bit of an outlier here as I have been using computers since junior high and have had email from the age of 14. That sounds run of the mill now but at the time it made me one of a very small group (there were maybe 5 of us playing with the TRS-80s).

In college I had email but I only recall using it for the class that taught you how to use the email. Maybe one or two people on my hall had computers. I had this high tech pen plotting typewriter thing (it's in my basement now, in it's box, probably never to be used again). I went all the way through undergrad without buying a computer. Now my students can't get to lunch without one.

Don't get me started on cell phones.

After grad school at my first job I did have a computer on my desk, but it wasn't something that could be assumed. The company had an AOL address for Internet access and it was only reachable from one machine. After a stint where my job didn't even have a desk let alone a computer my next gig did come with the assumption that everyone would have a machine (although there it was a week before I got a phone - you think being a project manager without email is hard...). But even that company didn't have ubiquitous email, just the one that went to a marketing person. By this time AOL had gone unlimited so I would use my own account from work for research and client communication. I never felt guilty about tying up a phone line for Internet. I probably should have.

Now, now I am sitting on a patio chair in my garage typing an entry for my blog on a tablet through our wireless. Really that's "last generation." Were I still an outlier I could likely dictate this post to my phone and have it post via cellular Internet. I guess while technology has driven forward I have dropped off the pace a little. Truth be told I think once this year I actually responded to an email with the dreaded "I can't open that file."

I used to think my grandfather saw the most exciting period of technological change. If I remember correctly he was born in 1898 and got to see the birth of the automobile, air travel, space travel, telephone, television, air conditioning, computers, cell phones, and everything that leveraged those things. But maybe, quietly, our time has also seen equally important but somewhat less splashy improvements. Maybe.

Monday, August 15, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 23:07 Owner wins a time victory #
  • 23:48 You know, that "Washington Spending" we hear so much about. Most of it gets spent on you. #
  • 11:40 And rinse #15217 #
  • 13:13 @walt828 I don't read that NYLACHI paper. #
  • 14:46 Today's half solved problem: t.co/KM69FIz #
  • 15:56 I've been wondering: if this is the direction the country will be going in, will I be ok? Regardless of the answer, it's a sad thought. #
  • 17:07 @keeboch he doesn't exactly say the collapse was preventable. Moreso that the weather conditions were predictable. #
  • 19:23 @narcosislabs Marisa says: "what are you? The rake police?" #
  • 19:25 @mitchpow jealous. Again. Again. #
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Ellipses...

I wonder what it means when there are no posts and no tweets? Social media meltdown... I hear they are going to restart the SETI program. Score one for the good guys... Hung artwork today in the house. I am officially a fan of the "Monkey Hook"... If the AT&T/T-Mobile thing goes through 80% of the market will be in the hands of 2 vendors. That can't be good for pricing. Maybe I should have been paying closer attention to this one... Went to see the "Apes" movie. It was ok. I wonder if all that motion capture really makes the movie better... Bachman wins the Iowa straw poll. I don't know if I should be happy, sad, or oblivious... One year ago today I was wrapping things up to put my childhood home up for sale. What a difference a little time makes... The burger at the Double Wide? It's a keeper... Is the solution on the marriage thing that the government just get out of the marriage business altogether? Is that even possible? I'm beginging to thing maybe yes, and then no... Our cats, after being confined for a period have decided they are keeping the room whether we let them out or not... HBO on the satellite box looks a lot better than HBO on the TV through the computer over the internet, and it should... Should I cancel some social media? How about my MySpace page? LinkedIn? Not sure there's any reason to have those anymore... I think my sister is coming to visit. That'll be the big fun... We went to dinner at Notion in Oakmont. It's a great meal. Bring your wallet... More and more I am stuggling with why so many prominent Republicans seem to be afraid of gay people. I just don't understand. It's not something you can catch... I've been following a particular Twitter account of a friend that might turn out to be too racy for me... I'm mid "stay-cation" right now. Trying to decide how long it should go... I wish I could go first class to Hawaii, for work. Must be nice... Really limited response to my query about other conferences we should go to. Guess I will have to be more aggressive... I d-listed an email today and upon further reflection I believe I may have over distributed it... Today was the championship day for summer league, I didn't play this season. Not feeling like the odds are too strong I will play next season. Maybe I'll look into starting a "masters" summer league... Putting your house numbers on your garage seems too be too out there... I think reporters are really going to have to up their game with the current crop of candidates. Have to get past their talking points. There's no there, there... The good guys lost their first preseason game. Well, it was only a preseason game... I miss my Google Toolbar... It's been a bad year for outdoor concert roofs. My thoughts are with the families...

Sunday, August 14, 2011

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 12:15 What's for lunch? #
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Friday, August 12, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 13:50 What's a little work? #
  • 16:33 @AskDocG @kernelbrooklyn fries and slaw, right on top. sounds messy. #
  • 17:18 so, very, slow #
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140 Characters or Less...

  • 13:50 What's a little work? #
  • 16:33 @AskDocG @kernelbrooklyn fries and slaw, right on top. sounds messy. #
  • 17:18 so, very, slow #
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Stop With the Gotchas

It's one of those things that news reporters these days love to write stories about and really I don't think it helps anyone. You see headlines like:

After Voting Against Stimulous Funding Governor Celebrates Program That Would Not Have Happened Without It

or:

2011 Senator: "Don't Fund UN," 2004 Senator: "Fully Fund UN"

There's just no there there. It's noise and it makes the candidate look foolish, but it doesn't really tell us anything about them.

Not taking advantage of programs you opposed would be stupid. I can see very clearly how a governor might have an ideological objection to a piece of legislation, publicly come out against it, and then still utilize the funding that came through over their objection. You have to live in the world we're in. That world includes that money and probably there are a lot of other things arranged around that money that need it for them to function properly.

I feel like its a much bigger story when someone opposes something, loses and then doesn't make use of the funds anyway. We're seeing that a lot around the health reform legislation. Where governors of states with dire financial situation are refusing federal funds on principle. That to me is a story. That someone thought there shouldn't be extended unemployment and then allowed the spending to go through after they lost, that's not a story that's pragmatism. We need more pragmatism.

That one is only slightly less ridiculous than trying to catch someone in a waffle with years between their statements. Just because someone was on one side of an issue years ago doesn't mean they have to be on the same side of the issue now, and that they aren't doesn't necessarily say something nefarious about their financial backers.

Believe it or not, the world changes as time goes by. Not having your positions evolve as the world changes would be foolish. So someone used to be in favor of something they now aren't. The economy isn't the same as it was, the world map isn't the same as it was, the makeup of the government isn't the same as it was. There are plenty of reasons for someone to change their position.

I think one of the biggest reasons peoples' positions change has to do with their own personal status. Someone without wealth acquires wealth, now all of a sudden they have opinions where they might not have. Informed opinions? Maybe, maybe not. Biased opinions? Maybe, maybe not. But it is perfectly reasonable for their position to change. Someone changes their job and their positions change. Someone has kids and their positions change. Someone buys a house and their positions change.

We all don't know everything all the time. If our positions didn't change with our experience that would be suspect. That they do change. That's pragmatism. We need more pragmatism.

Instead of calling out people for having their positions change maybe we could spend more time evaluating the voracity of their positions as is. How committed are they to the idea? How reputable is the idea to begin with? Is this a good idea? Who cares if they haven't always felt that way, what matters is how they will govern now.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 21:55 I have all the "Alphas" and all the "Falling Skies" on my DVR (along with too much other stuff). Watch or delete? #
  • 21:55 @euromandy 4:42? Not 4:40? Anal much? #
  • 21:56 @andreashock please refrain from reminding me. #
  • 12:45 Karla Boos sighting at Max Mex Shadyside #
  • 14:35 They told us the price of oil was due to growing demand. Did 60% of that demand just vanish? #theman #
  • 18:11 @jacobcoakley actually they said over and over it was emerging markets in China and India #
  • 18:12 @bpeoples article I read today suggests that $50-$100/gal is due to speculating and that the domino from that is up to 0.1% of GDP #
  • 18:13 @euromandy 0.1 of an hour? Metric time. Biz-arre. #
  • 18:13 @mitchpow do you know why movie call times are in 6 minute intervals? (cc: @euromandy) #
  • 18:19 I *really* wish I could close out my "F11 Schedule" folder, among others. #
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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 14:13 America, it's not supposed to be complicated. Drive on the right, pass on the left. #
  • 15:58 Down, safe. #
  • 15:58 @mitchpow jealous. #
  • 15:59 @bpeoples why am I confused? #
  • 16:12 iOS corrects "fedex" to "feces" #
  • 18:28 @bpeoples next you'll find an ornithologist from the aviary #
  • 18:29 and a bedroom set ...RT @XOMR: Anyone interested in a Dining table set? Cheap. bit.ly/p27m1I #
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Tuesday, August 09, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 09:46 megatelecommuting #
  • 11:03 @giantspatula oops #
  • 11:06 @kernelbrooklyn probably don't want to know, but what does that even mean? #
  • 13:12 @kernelbrooklyn when speaking to a chef I would imagine that description is pretty vague #
  • 13:13 @48v CALL FOY #
  • 15:57 @bpeoples I was gonna say... #
  • 15:57 @giantspatula Austin is cool. #
  • 15:58 @giantspatula town #
  • 15:59 @bpeoples just seemed like the only place it would be #
  • 16:10 My cousin just got a new Macbook and they said she could download Lion for free. Where would she do that, and should she? #
  • 16:12 @giantspatula that "app store" is NOT iTunes, yes? #
  • 16:14 @DeMarko should she have to pay if she bought the machine yesterday? #
  • 18:34 @KeithOlbermann in case anyone asks. I watched the whole Josh Gad interview. #
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I Have Rode the Mighty Moon Worm


Doctor Chemers sent me this portrait he'd done of me. That's right: Doctor Chemers.

Monday, August 08, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 13:27 @BirdbrainLabs so I've been thinking about if you'd like to come in and do an arduino project #
  • 13:28 @giantspatula what's locked up? Maybe I can make some noise. #
  • 13:30 Buy a new phone, try to move your music, have to upgrade a program, discover you need a new computer - well played Apple #
  • 13:31 I think I need a vacation script for my Facebook #
  • 16:05 We have changed our assumption because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues #
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Ellipses...

My inlaws have one cat. That's so many fewer than five... Hotel Internet is not fond of HBOGO. Too bad for the hotel Internet... Better to get a flat at the end of a trip than in the middle... When they downgrade the credit of a nation, do they downgrade the credit of everyone in that nation? Seems like it only follows... This page is down to a very, very few hits per week. It might be time to pull the plug... A ten game losing streak doesn't do much for your playoff plans... Gonna have to get me a Gotham Rouges jersey... With a couple of weeks left until the first day of class I am already being reminded of some of my least favorite things about my job... Driving through Ohio you'd never know their governor was being so difficult... I think maybe the movies tonight. Sounds like Cowboys and Aliens... I fixed the security settings on someone else's home network yesterday. While doing so I may have discovered that their low speed was due to their accidentally stealing a neighbor's Internet... So far all the Sodastream flavors have been very acceptable... All of my friends who are lawyers, please stop what you are doing and run for office... If you were buying a new laptop and had a choice of 2 gig or 4 gig, what would you do? I tend to go big or go home... I still haven't read that hardback I bought ages ago. I should do that... Still trying to get used to Evernote. Now it seems like just another place for things to accumulate... Really I thought Squish would have gone through with the marriage and that Mary would have turned her around and walk her back in...

Sunday, August 07, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 00:23 hard drives have become too big for virus scans #311minutesandcounting #
  • 16:12 @LisaLampanelli pie chart #
  • 16:32 Trying to leverage some time off. #
  • 18:50 Family IT guy. Limited knowledge proves sufficient #
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Saturday, August 06, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 10:40 @bblttg how goes it? #
  • 10:41 @aerdin I never know where ours is #
  • 12:13 @bblttg uneventful. Running errands on the other end of the world #
  • 12:15 @narcosislabs make sure you behave. "CMU professor disrupts movie shoot" #
  • 13:57 @narcosislabs are there Gotham Rouges tshirts to be had? #
  • 17:52 I wonder who won the Rouges game? #
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Friday, August 05, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 20:11 @XOMR genesis, is an investment though and I dont know if it's available #
  • 22:21 You've gone from crazy like a fox to crazy like Fox News #futurama #
  • 09:22 Precollege interviews #
  • 12:43 And more interviews... #
  • 15:12 And that's a wrap #
  • 15:22 @narcosislabs nobody wants to watch movies on that screen #
  • 15:46 @carriechiz all done but the paperwork #
  • 17:14 @XOMR boxes? #
  • 17:27 @dboevers @XOMR Gotta be someplace. Have to pick another time. #
  • 19:29 @sspuh find someone for Magnus? #
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Thursday, August 04, 2011

Buyer's Remorse

So I bought this thing:

I liked the form factor and I needed a phone charger for my office. So I've had it for a little while now and I thought I would share my thoughts with you.

What we first find is that even though the thing says it is iPhone compatible I don't think they meant 3G. So when I seat my phone it tells me it doesn't work with that phone. Mostly it does though. It's supposed to be able to get the time from the phone and it can't. But otherwise it does seem to connect like it's supposed to. It does charge the phone.

Then it says it isn't optimized for the phone. I am beginning to think any device with a radio that hooks to a phone says it isn't optimized so when you hear the phone ping tune network through the radio you aren't surprised. Whatever.

The radio works well. The remote is nice. The app that runs on the phone to be the clock hands is nice too. I wish it would launch automatically when you dock the phone. Maybe it does on a better phone.

With all of that I think I'd be absolutely satisfied with the purchase.

Except for this: the clock doesn't keep time. As it runs the clock loses maybe four minutes per hour. If first thing in the morning I reset the time by the end of the day it is behind by almost a half hour. It reminds me of stories from East Germany, where the electrical generation didn't have a reliable frequency. People were always coming to work late. Made for real problems when the city unified.

So the clock/radio/charger is just a radio/charger. I guess I should return it, but it looks like I'd rather be disappointed. Maybe I can fix it. Seems like it's probably a problem with the power supply. Maybe a project for my spare time.

If you were also enchanted by this form factor, I guess my advice is to look for something else.

140 Characters or Less...

  • 22:04 Holding "pro forma" sessions to block recess appointments while FAA inspectors are paying their own way is pretty sad. #
  • 14:55 Precollege Drafting: Studio time and resume feedback #
  • 16:21 Is now a good time to buy into the market, or is there more collapse coming? #
  • 17:42 um, yeh, we're definitely going to need to put a code on that new copier #
  • 18:12 Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor. bit.ly/nsagLZ #
  • 18:58 8! :00. David needs help with "work/life balance" #
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Wednesday, August 03, 2011

As If They Didn't Have Enough To Do

Yesterday one of the Precollege students asked me what I thought of his design project. He's doing a set design that includes an array of bamboo. I asked him "Where are the panda bears?"

Today when we were working in the shop they asked if I had been to my office yet. I was running late so I hadn't been there yet. After class I did go to my office and discovered why they were asking...

I guess I found the panda bears.

140 Characters or Less...

  • 22:54 @kanessie Yuk was the mascot of my college ultimate team 100 years ago #
  • 13:03 45 minutes at the register to make a tax exempt purchase. #
  • 15:27 Precollege Drama Stagecraft: Moar Dinosaur #
  • 16:03 @kernelbrooklyn good tip. We'll take them off the Friday night dinner playlist. #
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Tuesday, August 02, 2011

An Evening of Ultimate

Tonight I think for the very first time I went to watch a game of ultimate. I mean, I've watched ultimate before but usually games at a tournament where I was playing. I've never in my recollection set out to go watch a game for its own sake... until tonight.

The NexGen Ultimate Tour made a stop in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon tonight. It's a traveling team of college all-stars. They travel around the country playing local all star teams to build awareness for Ultimate. When I first saw the notice I gave a little thought to if I would ever have been good enough to have been involved in something like this had they done it 100 years ago. At the very peak of my game, which would have been my junior year at Carnegie, I would have been somewhere between 5 an 9 on our depth chart. We went to the national semi finals that year, so that puts me on one of the top four teams. At the very most optimistic, and I believe this to be too optimistic, that would have made me someplace around 20-36 in the nation (this of course neglects every player that was better than me on every team that didn't place that highly - could be another hundred players or more. I said it was optimistic, yes?).

NexGen has a roster of 15, so I am guessing no. There was a time when for sure I was one of the 15 best local college players though. So I guess I could have been involved in the Pittsburgh game, but not the tour.

Pittsburgh has a fairly large ultimate community. I have to say, I was expecting more people than this.


I guess there were maybe another two-dozen around the field, but overall not that many people. That was too bad, because the rain held off and the play was pretty good.

It's different experiencing Ultimate as a fan. I have to say that from the stands it can be kinda hard to follow until someone sent one long, then it's fairly obvious what is happening. But when it's really rolling in the center of the field even though I had a good idea where play was going to go it was kind of difficult to appreciate. I think I needed to be higher up. It's hard to watch the thrower and see the field at the same time. I guess it probably has a difficulty level someplace between Basketball and Hockey. I think watching Hockey on TV is real hard. People just appear out of nowhere. A little bit Ultimate can be like that too. You're watching the guy with the disk and a cutter coming in close, but then he looks him off and pivots to throw the other way to a person you hadn't been watching.

It's different when you are the guy holding the disc, or the one cutting.

The level of play was pretty high, although I think I've seen better in tourney play. NexGen was really good at a ticky-tack inside kind of play that I was never good at. I'm more of a big swing punch it up the side player. They had a lot of give & go and punch it up the middle. The Pittsburgh team (called "Oakland" to cover folks from Pitt and CMU I think) seemed pretty well rounded. Their long game was decent but occasionally they struggled to move the disc forward in smaller bites. Most of the highlight reel would have been on O. I don't remember seeing any stellar D. Pittsburgh threw a zone some at the beginning. It's nice to know some things never change. When I played club in Pittsburgh we always managed to throw in our Z, wind or no wind.

There didn't appear to be much wind tonight, but the game had an upwind/downwind feel to it anyway with almost all the scores going from my left to my right. Oakland went down quickly 2-1 but then managed to lead for much of the first half, only to fade a little and go into halftime trailing 8-7. They opened the second half scoring and evening the game 8-8 but then sputtered some and finally succumbed 15-11. It seemed like they were in it for most of the game. They didn't play their Z in the second half and it might have helped. It seemed to me that there were more calls than I am used to, but maybe I've gotten used to pick-up where people often let those things slide.

All in all a good use of a couple of hours on a nice summer night. If the tour is coming through your town you might want to check it out.

140 Characters or Less...

  • 00:04 @Brycecutler location manager, extras casting, FX supervisor, local location manager #
  • 00:05 @beccarebec not a requirement #
  • 12:03 I can has ginormous scale rule: t.co/WDHw2cF #
  • 13:23 Precollege drafting: studio time #
  • 13:35 Because someone asked: Stagecraft, CAD, Basic PTM, Scenic Fabrication & Installation, TD 1, TD 3, Ent. Rigging, PTM Pro Practice, Thesis #
  • 14:22 Tom Lehrer on! Spotify. Super. #
  • 14:39 For Dick: bit.ly/ppEvnc #
  • 15:04 Anyone within the sound of my voice looking for an academic TD job? #
  • 16:21 @stagedirections is not my job #
  • 16:34 Evernote last week. Dropbox this week. Really I don't need more apps. #
  • 16:47 @jowen42 dunno - right now its the Jenn Owen Batphone #
  • 16:59 @kanessie looking for people - already have the gig #
  • 17:22 plenty of room: "@pghultimate: Oakland Ultimate vs NexGen Ultimate at CMU's Gesling Stadium t.co/yiBQSZ9" t.co/idrGWib #
  • 17:28 @kanessie I'm trying to drum up applicants for a friend. I don't have much info. Job' at NYU. #
  • 18:08 2-1 next gen early. Cmon out #
  • 18:40 Pittsburgh down 8-7 to Next Gen Ultimate at half. #
  • 19:16 Throwaway/marker foul/stall sets up the last score. Next Gen wins 15-11. #
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Monday, August 01, 2011

140 Characters or Less...

  • 08:33 @narcosislabs well that's unfortunate. #
  • 08:37 Last contractor day? We'll see. #
  • 08:37 @scoutfinch2271 is that what puts the high in high faluten? #
  • 08:39 @XOMR is apocryphal the right word there? "non-canon" maybe? #
  • 12:23 Gridlock Scheduling Meeting #
  • 17:22 interesting Q&A with Magnus Rex production folks. #
  • 17:41 @what5g00d CMU Precollege thing. #
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