In the Competition for DVD Rentals by Mail, Two Empire Strike Back
Netflix is the original gangsta. Currently, Netflix has 30 distribution centers, 3 million members, 40,000 movie titles, and a price tag of $18. A forceful Blockbuster and lagging Wal-Mart have entered the foray. Blockbuster can offer rental coupons to Blockbuster stores and turn stores into distribution centers.
Wal-Mart kicks ass. Wal-Mart sells groceries and gas. Wal-Mart also cashes payroll checks, wires money, prints money orders, and pays utility bills – all for around 80% less than banks. What will Wal-Mart do next? Wal-Mart should sell cars. Some involvement in human trafficking would be sweet too.
I read in the Longfellow Messenger that the construction of a parking garage costs about $10,000 per parking space.
The city of Minneapolis is separating the stormwater fee from the sewer, water, and solid waste bill. The stormwater fee will be reevaluated as a function of impermeable surface on your property. One business owner's costs rose from $80/month to $740/month. Wow, that's a lot of money, but do you expect me to subsidize your parking lot and its impact on the environment. Are you a communist. How about a little personal responsibility.
The president of the University of Minnesota is proposing changes to the institution. I don't feel like talking about the proposals and I don't have a link.
The budget for the University of Minnesota is $2.5 billion.
U of M Revenue Sources
26% state of Minnesota
20% sponsored research
19% tuition and fees
the rest comes from various sources
Oil for food: A hell of a scandal
By the time the final Volcker report is released, the US will be implicated.
Europe has endorsed the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for the post of World Bank president.
Also, I think I forgot to mention Bolivian lawmakers rejected the resignation of President Carlos Mesa.
Visual of the day, from Nate:
Terri Schiavo is (was) an adult-sized fetus.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Boy Scouts, Child Pornography, and Gaia
Boy Scouts Executive Surrenders in Fort Worth on a Child Pornography Charge
Doug Smith is expected to plead guilty to a federal charge of receiving and distributing child pornography on the internet. "The investigation [which caught Mr. Smith] had been carried out under Operation Predator, an initiative announced in 2003 by the Department of Homeland Security 'to protect children from pornographers, child prostitution rings, Internet predators, alien smugglers, human traffickers and other criminals.'" Mr. Smith's lawyer said "[Mr. Smith] is not taking this well. I've got to tell you, this is a good man and I would hate to see the entirety of his life and the good things he's done defined by one incident."
Hmmm, Mr. Smith is a good man. Mr. Smith’s actions are contrary to my expectations of a good man. Therefore, in my eyes Mr. Smith is also a bad man. So, Mr. Smith is a good-bad man. I should probably find that unsettling and my binary brain should start smoking and resign nonplussed. I have always been fascinated with people's conceptions of good and evil, right and wrong, just and unjust, moral and amoral. In addition, I have been fascinated with people's inability or unwillingness to accept or reconcile contradiction, paradox, the Steppenwolf. Jude, help me out.
Study highlights global decline
What will happen when China per capita consumes as much as the United States?
What will happen when India per capita consumes as much as the United States?
I think I will be alive to see humanity grow old and ugly.
It's possible that sustainability is the most important issue to me. I realize sustainability is a broad category, encompassing issues such as overpopulation, aka the cancer of fecundity. Human rights is second. But who cares about human rights when commodities are scarce.
Doug Smith is expected to plead guilty to a federal charge of receiving and distributing child pornography on the internet. "The investigation [which caught Mr. Smith] had been carried out under Operation Predator, an initiative announced in 2003 by the Department of Homeland Security 'to protect children from pornographers, child prostitution rings, Internet predators, alien smugglers, human traffickers and other criminals.'" Mr. Smith's lawyer said "[Mr. Smith] is not taking this well. I've got to tell you, this is a good man and I would hate to see the entirety of his life and the good things he's done defined by one incident."
Hmmm, Mr. Smith is a good man. Mr. Smith’s actions are contrary to my expectations of a good man. Therefore, in my eyes Mr. Smith is also a bad man. So, Mr. Smith is a good-bad man. I should probably find that unsettling and my binary brain should start smoking and resign nonplussed. I have always been fascinated with people's conceptions of good and evil, right and wrong, just and unjust, moral and amoral. In addition, I have been fascinated with people's inability or unwillingness to accept or reconcile contradiction, paradox, the Steppenwolf. Jude, help me out.
Study highlights global decline
What will happen when China per capita consumes as much as the United States?
What will happen when India per capita consumes as much as the United States?
I think I will be alive to see humanity grow old and ugly.
It's possible that sustainability is the most important issue to me. I realize sustainability is a broad category, encompassing issues such as overpopulation, aka the cancer of fecundity. Human rights is second. But who cares about human rights when commodities are scarce.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Analyze This
I was talking to my parents yesterday and my Mom informed me that she did a search for me on the internet to see what she could find. She found a lot of race results, of course. She also found the blogs of Alf and Aaron. There was no mention of finding a link to my blog, which is good, because depending on who you are, you could view my blog as scatologic and perhaps even pornographic impropriety.
Somewhere in Nebraska 267 acres were sold for $2900 an acre.
About Acres
“An acre is a measure of land area in Imperial units or U.S. customary units. It is equal to 43,560 square feet, or 4,840 square yards. The precise meaning of this depends on the exact definition adopted for a foot: the international acre is 4,046.856 433 4 m² (for the UK, see [1] (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19951804_en_2.htm)). For measurements based specifically on the US survey foot the US survey acre is ca. 4,046.872 610 m².
An area of land one furlong (220 yards) long and one chain (22 yards) wide or a square with about 208¾ feet on each side has an area of one acre. A square mile has 640 acres, and a square parcel of land ¼ mile wide has 40 acres. A square parcel of land ½ mile on a side (¼ square mile) is 160 acres, the usual land tract under the Homestead Act in the United States. This results in common field lengths of ½ mile, with every rod in width equal to one acre.
In metric units, an acre is approximately 0.4047 hectare; to a good enough approximation for many purposes, it can be taken as 0.40 hectare or 4.0 km²/1000 acres. Conversely, a hectare is about 2.5 acres (2.471 acres).
The acre was selected as approximately the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This explains its definition in terms of the non-square one-chain by one-furlong parcel of land; a long narrow strip of land is more efficient to plough than a square plot, since the plough does not have to be turned so often.
An acre-foot is a measure of volume used to measure large volumes of water, an acre-foot being the volume necessary to cover one acre to a depth of one foot, 43,560 cubic feet (1233.5 cubic meters or 325 850 U.S. gallons). The volume of a reservoir may be measured in acre feet, for example. The acre-inch (102.79 m³, 27 154 U.S. gal) is also used.”
Somewhere in Nebraska 267 acres were sold for $2900 an acre.
About Acres
“An acre is a measure of land area in Imperial units or U.S. customary units. It is equal to 43,560 square feet, or 4,840 square yards. The precise meaning of this depends on the exact definition adopted for a foot: the international acre is 4,046.856 433 4 m² (for the UK, see [1] (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19951804_en_2.htm)). For measurements based specifically on the US survey foot the US survey acre is ca. 4,046.872 610 m².
An area of land one furlong (220 yards) long and one chain (22 yards) wide or a square with about 208¾ feet on each side has an area of one acre. A square mile has 640 acres, and a square parcel of land ¼ mile wide has 40 acres. A square parcel of land ½ mile on a side (¼ square mile) is 160 acres, the usual land tract under the Homestead Act in the United States. This results in common field lengths of ½ mile, with every rod in width equal to one acre.
In metric units, an acre is approximately 0.4047 hectare; to a good enough approximation for many purposes, it can be taken as 0.40 hectare or 4.0 km²/1000 acres. Conversely, a hectare is about 2.5 acres (2.471 acres).
The acre was selected as approximately the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This explains its definition in terms of the non-square one-chain by one-furlong parcel of land; a long narrow strip of land is more efficient to plough than a square plot, since the plough does not have to be turned so often.
An acre-foot is a measure of volume used to measure large volumes of water, an acre-foot being the volume necessary to cover one acre to a depth of one foot, 43,560 cubic feet (1233.5 cubic meters or 325 850 U.S. gallons). The volume of a reservoir may be measured in acre feet, for example. The acre-inch (102.79 m³, 27 154 U.S. gal) is also used.”
Friday, March 25, 2005
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus I Love To Hear
Blog Contents
-Terry Schiavo
-Bible Study with Ben
There was an article in the nytimes about William "Nostrums" Cheshire, an educated man with an uneducated diagnosis. Once the quack made his statement, Senators and media pursued and devoured the bullshit bread like famished ducks swimming in a cesspit of turbid morality.
A Diagnosis With a Dose of Religion
Some time ago, I reread the book of Matthew. There is a lot of good material in the bible. Today, I want to focus on Matthew 25: 31-40.
Here is the text:
(at www.biblegateway.com)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Now, you might be thinking, a man from Nebraska is telling me the parable of the sheep and the goats with the purpose of application to political party ideology, specifically, the miserly Republican party, which arduously advocates the denial of alms such as food, drink, clothing, and shelter to brothers and sisters.
Actually, my point is this: Jesus is crazy. I talk with Jesus about this. "Jesus, why are you so extreme?" I don’t have time to write about our conversations because I want to look up one more bible passage at BibleGateway.
Here we go:
1 Timothy 2: 8-15
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. "
Remember, this is the canonized word of God, the word spoken by God through His servants. You might be thinking Tim is crazy. But I’m thinking: Michele Bachman, what the hell are you doing in the Senate. How dare you tell me what to do. I command you to abdicate your seat. Either mother more children or get thee to a nunnery.
I think I should have typed that last part in caps, because I feel strongly about it. However, I can’t take credit for the idea to put Senator Bachman back in her place. Rev. Klinker, thank you for showing me the light.
-Terry Schiavo
-Bible Study with Ben
There was an article in the nytimes about William "Nostrums" Cheshire, an educated man with an uneducated diagnosis. Once the quack made his statement, Senators and media pursued and devoured the bullshit bread like famished ducks swimming in a cesspit of turbid morality.
A Diagnosis With a Dose of Religion
Some time ago, I reread the book of Matthew. There is a lot of good material in the bible. Today, I want to focus on Matthew 25: 31-40.
Here is the text:
(at www.biblegateway.com)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Now, you might be thinking, a man from Nebraska is telling me the parable of the sheep and the goats with the purpose of application to political party ideology, specifically, the miserly Republican party, which arduously advocates the denial of alms such as food, drink, clothing, and shelter to brothers and sisters.
Actually, my point is this: Jesus is crazy. I talk with Jesus about this. "Jesus, why are you so extreme?" I don’t have time to write about our conversations because I want to look up one more bible passage at BibleGateway.
Here we go:
1 Timothy 2: 8-15
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. "
Remember, this is the canonized word of God, the word spoken by God through His servants. You might be thinking Tim is crazy. But I’m thinking: Michele Bachman, what the hell are you doing in the Senate. How dare you tell me what to do. I command you to abdicate your seat. Either mother more children or get thee to a nunnery.
I think I should have typed that last part in caps, because I feel strongly about it. However, I can’t take credit for the idea to put Senator Bachman back in her place. Rev. Klinker, thank you for showing me the light.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Gays Responsible for Domestic Abuse
In the news...
Gays are at it again. And by it, I mean destroying society. According to a Nebraska man, gays are responsible for blocking the prosecution of people in unmarried heterosexual relationships who abuse their partners.
"I blame gays for domestic abuse, but people tell me the amendment to the Ohio Constitution to prevent gay marriage is culpable. That's bullshit."
Alf, nice personal ad on 365.
Gays are at it again. And by it, I mean destroying society. According to a Nebraska man, gays are responsible for blocking the prosecution of people in unmarried heterosexual relationships who abuse their partners.
"I blame gays for domestic abuse, but people tell me the amendment to the Ohio Constitution to prevent gay marriage is culpable. That's bullshit."
Alf, nice personal ad on 365.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Anthropocentric Chimeraphobia
I was just alerted of something very important.
Go to THOMAS, Library of Congress legislative information.
Under "Search Bill Text 109th Congress (2005-2006)," type in s659.
Click in the circle next to "Enter bill number" to designate a search for the bill by number.
Click the Search button.
If you need to be enticed, here's the title of the bill: Human Chimera Prohibition Act of 2005.
This means no centaurs or thundercats.
Go to THOMAS, Library of Congress legislative information.
Under "Search Bill Text 109th Congress (2005-2006)," type in s659.
Click in the circle next to "Enter bill number" to designate a search for the bill by number.
Click the Search button.
If you need to be enticed, here's the title of the bill: Human Chimera Prohibition Act of 2005.
This means no centaurs or thundercats.
May Goat and Terry Schiavo
Last night Klinker came over to my house with a twelve pack of Summit Maibock. Bock is a type of German beer named for the famous medieval German brewing town of Einbeck. Mai is German for the month of May. Bock is German for goat. So, we were drinking May Goat.
Summit brews four beers year-round: EPA, IPA, grand, and porter.
Here are Summit's seasonal beers:
Maibock - Spring
Hefe Weizen - Summer
Oktoberfest - Fall
Winter Ale - Winter
I should probably say a few words about the popular Terry Schiavo.
First, who is paying to keep her alive? Hopefully, I am not. I say keep her on medical assistance until her money runs out. Then let her parents pay for her. Then let those people who taped LIFE over their mouths pay for her. Or maybe Terry can rack up huge credit card debt paying for her medical assistance. Then she can file for bankruptcy. Or maybe we can end all the mania by pulling the tube when we need the money from her medical assistance costs to help balance the budget under a no new taxes pledge.
Fellow Americans, I believe you have a right to a shitty life. I believe you have unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe in your right to the vain pursuit of happiness. I will fight to bring you into this world. Leave no egg behind. But if you need anything from me before your imminent death, go fuck yourself. Fuck you and your inept, irresponsible existence. I believe in your right to suffer. But I’ll be there for you when your body tries to leave this world. To keep you alive, I will quench my fear of stem cell research, medical technology, pharmaceuticals, and all such things grotesquely unnatural. I will keep you alive by any means, except gay means.
Actually, what we really need is more prayer, then Terry Tinkerbell will emerge from her comatose state.
Summit brews four beers year-round: EPA, IPA, grand, and porter.
Here are Summit's seasonal beers:
Maibock - Spring
Hefe Weizen - Summer
Oktoberfest - Fall
Winter Ale - Winter
I should probably say a few words about the popular Terry Schiavo.
First, who is paying to keep her alive? Hopefully, I am not. I say keep her on medical assistance until her money runs out. Then let her parents pay for her. Then let those people who taped LIFE over their mouths pay for her. Or maybe Terry can rack up huge credit card debt paying for her medical assistance. Then she can file for bankruptcy. Or maybe we can end all the mania by pulling the tube when we need the money from her medical assistance costs to help balance the budget under a no new taxes pledge.
Fellow Americans, I believe you have a right to a shitty life. I believe you have unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe in your right to the vain pursuit of happiness. I will fight to bring you into this world. Leave no egg behind. But if you need anything from me before your imminent death, go fuck yourself. Fuck you and your inept, irresponsible existence. I believe in your right to suffer. But I’ll be there for you when your body tries to leave this world. To keep you alive, I will quench my fear of stem cell research, medical technology, pharmaceuticals, and all such things grotesquely unnatural. I will keep you alive by any means, except gay means.
Actually, what we really need is more prayer, then Terry Tinkerbell will emerge from her comatose state.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Hoops
Have you seen people in the NCAA tournament popping their jerseys? Remember the end of the Bucknell upset over Kansas. Hook your thumbs inside your jersey by your pecks and extend the jersey to showcase your school name. As a nytimes columnist put it, after you stretch the nylon, you have to pull the polyester. Personally, I prefer to pull my jersey across my pectoral muscle, exposing the slab of granite. Isaiah Rider copied me. It happens. I expect to have many more imitators now that I donned my new basketball shorts, one shorts leg is much shorter than the other. It's awesome. After I dunked on people, I used to pull up one shorts leg to show my leg muscles, and to show that I'm awesome. But then I thought, I'm strong and awesome all the time, and that's when I customized my shorts.
Student Kills 9 at Red Lake High School
Jeff Weise killed his grandparents, a security guard, a teacher, five students, and himself.
nytimes article
Fifteen people were killed at Columbine High School in 1999.
Two students were fatally shot at Ricori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, 18 months ago.
nytimes article
Fifteen people were killed at Columbine High School in 1999.
Two students were fatally shot at Ricori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, 18 months ago.
Technical Bla Bla
As I mentioned before, I can record using my iRiver and save the audio file as an mp3. There are sites such as FeedBurner that accept url feeds and provide post-processing service that allows publishers to enhance their feeds. By republishing their feeds through FeedBurner, publishers gain detailed feed statistics, maximum feed format compatibility, shockproofing to absorb bandwidth spikes, and more. However, I don't have a feed url.
My question:
After you save your audio file as an mp3, where do you host the file and how do you upload it onto blogspot? I can record my voice as an mp3 but I don't know how to post it on my blog. Any advice.
Answer courtesy of Devan of SayYum:
We have a separate hosting service we setup a while back where we host the mp3 file and then link to it from our Blogger post. The service we use costs about $8/month but has a bandwidth limit, which we're quickly approaching. I'd recommend using somewhere that has unlimited bandwidth, but limited storage.
A good one I've been thinking about moving to is http://www.libsyn.com. It starts around $5/month and doesn't require any long-term commitment. I think they not only handle hosting the mp3, but also the blog and RSS feed itself which will save you some headaches. But others are sprouting up rather quickly. Odeo.com, which is still in development by the original developers of Blogger, is supposed to have some level of free hosting service as well as tools to record your podcasts. But its anybody's guess when they'll actually launch.
I hope that helps. I'm happy to chat more about this if you like...Ireally dig this stuff. I'm trying not to overwhelm you with details in my first response. Short and simple...give libsyn a try for a month and see if it works for you.
Me: I'm looking for something gratis.
My question:
After you save your audio file as an mp3, where do you host the file and how do you upload it onto blogspot? I can record my voice as an mp3 but I don't know how to post it on my blog. Any advice.
Answer courtesy of Devan of SayYum:
We have a separate hosting service we setup a while back where we host the mp3 file and then link to it from our Blogger post. The service we use costs about $8/month but has a bandwidth limit, which we're quickly approaching. I'd recommend using somewhere that has unlimited bandwidth, but limited storage.
A good one I've been thinking about moving to is http://www.libsyn.com. It starts around $5/month and doesn't require any long-term commitment. I think they not only handle hosting the mp3, but also the blog and RSS feed itself which will save you some headaches. But others are sprouting up rather quickly. Odeo.com, which is still in development by the original developers of Blogger, is supposed to have some level of free hosting service as well as tools to record your podcasts. But its anybody's guess when they'll actually launch.
I hope that helps. I'm happy to chat more about this if you like...Ireally dig this stuff. I'm trying not to overwhelm you with details in my first response. Short and simple...give libsyn a try for a month and see if it works for you.
Me: I'm looking for something gratis.
Directions to AudioBlogging
Nate,
1. Login to Blogger
2. Scroll down and under Blogger Help on the right-hand side click on Blogger Help
3. Under Article Search on the right-hand side type in Audio
4. Under Search Results click on the first search result, AudioBlogger
5. Click on http://audioblogger.com/
6. Click the orange button Start AudioBlogging Now
7. Follow the directions
1. Login to Blogger
2. Scroll down and under Blogger Help on the right-hand side click on Blogger Help
3. Under Article Search on the right-hand side type in Audio
4. Under Search Results click on the first search result, AudioBlogger
5. Click on http://audioblogger.com/
6. Click the orange button Start AudioBlogging Now
7. Follow the directions
Monday, March 21, 2005
Audio Ben
There has been a lot of talk about podcasting and I was trying to figure out how to podcast. I can record my voice on my iRiver and save as an mp3, but where do I host my mp3 before I feed it through to my blog? I don't know. I found an easy solution. I can now call a number, enter my phone number, enter my pin code, record a message, and post the message. If I can call the number, then I can post audio. Sweet.
In other and extraordinary news, I spent some quality time with Jude and Michelle this weekend. Jude apparently got disoriented at the airport and ended up in Minnesota for spring break instead of Cancun. To warm his heart we had a foam party and then watched a little March Madness on the fuzzy display of a 1972 television. Pete Dillon was in the house too. Dr. Dillon will be applying his knowledge of physical chemistry to atmospheric studies at Berkeley this coming year. Go Pete. Pete and I went for a nice run Sunday morning. We will be communing every Sunday morning to spin the wheels and feel the holy spirit. Tim Pavlish, we will meet around 9:30 or 10:00.
I found one of the tastiest beers: Summit Maibock. Mmmmm.
Alf, you have been the only one so far to call me on the color of my blog.
In other and extraordinary news, I spent some quality time with Jude and Michelle this weekend. Jude apparently got disoriented at the airport and ended up in Minnesota for spring break instead of Cancun. To warm his heart we had a foam party and then watched a little March Madness on the fuzzy display of a 1972 television. Pete Dillon was in the house too. Dr. Dillon will be applying his knowledge of physical chemistry to atmospheric studies at Berkeley this coming year. Go Pete. Pete and I went for a nice run Sunday morning. We will be communing every Sunday morning to spin the wheels and feel the holy spirit. Tim Pavlish, we will meet around 9:30 or 10:00.
I found one of the tastiest beers: Summit Maibock. Mmmmm.
Alf, you have been the only one so far to call me on the color of my blog.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Delta on the Mississippi
So, I was thinking about the class of 2000 reunion, which is June 3-5. Brandon Guthrie and Kevin Shively will be in town. BLodge and Mr. Shively were runners at Macalester and each has an appreciation for urban development. I thought they would enjoy a tour of the cities because a lot has changed. That got me thinking about all the changes that have occurred since I came to Mac in the fall of 1997. Running high mileage gives a person a chance to escape the Macalester bubble and tour the city. Geographers also get a chance to learn more about the Twin Cities too.
First, there are the changes at Macalester: the razed Cultural House, the new Internaional Center, the new President’s House, the new Campus Center, the remodeled Kagin Commons, the renovated Wallace attic, the renovated and expanded Turck Hall, the median on Grand Avenue. Then there are the changes in the Macalester buffer zone. The Grand Café, where I bought my first illegal beer, is gone. Pad Thai is new. Red Fish Blue came and went. The Hungry Mind became the Ruminator, which choked while trying to masticate its debt. Coffee News is new. Eclipse Records came and went, RIP. Soul Flower now exists only on the ethereal internet. Domino’s moved closer to campus. The Old City Café was replaced by the Breadsmith and Jamba Juice replaced the Crazy Carrot. Spudza was replaced by Khyber Pass. Home Video burned down, much to the dismay of locals with prurient interests. Victoria Crossing welcomed Pottery Barn, Bound To Be Read, and J Crew. Chipotle moved in too. The Bonfire Grill replaced Ciati’s, which was the place where Marye and I went on our first date, Valentine’s Day. This is flowing. Let me break it off into St. Paul.
St. Paul
Remember the Stop Campus Sprawl signs? Well, they didn’t work. The University of St. Thomas is having thyroid problems and continues to grow up and out. Let’s run down Selby. You will see new housing, businesses, restaurants, and streetscape improvements. I would like to give a shout out to La Grolla, Solo Vino, and Box Office Video on the Cathedral Hill. Now we’re down by the Cathedral. By the way, what does the church ban from their premises? Hint: four letter word that begins with g and ends with s. Guns. When I arrived for mass wearing a sleeveless shirt, I found out they also don’t allow pipes. But I digress. Let’s go down Kellogg. Remember the enormous old brick house that stood prominently and absurdly in the middle of the parking lot facing the Xcel Center? It’s gone. Every man, woman, and child in St. Paul paid $4 to relocate the JM Armstrong House. Speaking of the Xcel Energy Center, it’s new. So are several bars that popped up to warm up the fans. So is the Holiday Inn and the Science Museum. The beautiful Central Library is reopened after renovations. A new Biomass Energy Cogeneration Plant generates power for most of downtown by burning wood waste. The Ramsey County Jail, which offers inmates a calming view of the Mississippi River, has failed to reduce recidivism and therefore will be moved to another location, leaving the riverfront property to circling developers. The Wacouta Commons development is new. Law enforcement has a new facility, the Public Safety Building. Lowertown has loft fever. There is a new library by Metropolitan State University. US Bank has a new home across the Robert Street bridge on the West Side. The Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center broke ground and will be the new home of the Neighborhood House, an organization where the cross country team volunteered during preseason my freshman year. Now, let’s run along the river high-bridge-right style. Harriet Island Park is finished and serves as the venue for fireworks and Irish Fair, among other activities. The most luxurious new development in St. Paul is the Upper Landing Urban Village on Shepard Road. The Xcel Energy power plant next to the Upper Landing will be converted from coal to gas. Further down the river we come to Island Station, home to an abandoned power plant - just north of the railroad bridge that crosses the river and just west of Pickerel Lake by Cherokee Regional Park. There are plans to renovate Island Station to housing units that provide sizeable contributions to property tax coffers. Schmidt brewery on Seventh Street has recently been zoned residential; Gopher State Ethanol has ceased operations in the structure and will auction off the property later this March. Ayd Mill Road was reopened in June 2002, increasing connectivity with the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood and triggering outcries of NIMBY. Ayd Mill currently terminates near Selby and Snelling. St. Paul Mayor “Really” Randy Kelly wants Ayd Mill to connect with 94. The Met Council bus garage at 94 and Snelling was torn down and petroleum-contaminated soil is being removed. The Midway said goodbye to Kmart and hello to Wal-Mart. There is talk of a Home Depot and a Best Buy in Midway too. That’s a long list. I was going to talk about Minneapolis but I’ll wait until another day.
First, there are the changes at Macalester: the razed Cultural House, the new Internaional Center, the new President’s House, the new Campus Center, the remodeled Kagin Commons, the renovated Wallace attic, the renovated and expanded Turck Hall, the median on Grand Avenue. Then there are the changes in the Macalester buffer zone. The Grand Café, where I bought my first illegal beer, is gone. Pad Thai is new. Red Fish Blue came and went. The Hungry Mind became the Ruminator, which choked while trying to masticate its debt. Coffee News is new. Eclipse Records came and went, RIP. Soul Flower now exists only on the ethereal internet. Domino’s moved closer to campus. The Old City Café was replaced by the Breadsmith and Jamba Juice replaced the Crazy Carrot. Spudza was replaced by Khyber Pass. Home Video burned down, much to the dismay of locals with prurient interests. Victoria Crossing welcomed Pottery Barn, Bound To Be Read, and J Crew. Chipotle moved in too. The Bonfire Grill replaced Ciati’s, which was the place where Marye and I went on our first date, Valentine’s Day. This is flowing. Let me break it off into St. Paul.
St. Paul
Remember the Stop Campus Sprawl signs? Well, they didn’t work. The University of St. Thomas is having thyroid problems and continues to grow up and out. Let’s run down Selby. You will see new housing, businesses, restaurants, and streetscape improvements. I would like to give a shout out to La Grolla, Solo Vino, and Box Office Video on the Cathedral Hill. Now we’re down by the Cathedral. By the way, what does the church ban from their premises? Hint: four letter word that begins with g and ends with s. Guns. When I arrived for mass wearing a sleeveless shirt, I found out they also don’t allow pipes. But I digress. Let’s go down Kellogg. Remember the enormous old brick house that stood prominently and absurdly in the middle of the parking lot facing the Xcel Center? It’s gone. Every man, woman, and child in St. Paul paid $4 to relocate the JM Armstrong House. Speaking of the Xcel Energy Center, it’s new. So are several bars that popped up to warm up the fans. So is the Holiday Inn and the Science Museum. The beautiful Central Library is reopened after renovations. A new Biomass Energy Cogeneration Plant generates power for most of downtown by burning wood waste. The Ramsey County Jail, which offers inmates a calming view of the Mississippi River, has failed to reduce recidivism and therefore will be moved to another location, leaving the riverfront property to circling developers. The Wacouta Commons development is new. Law enforcement has a new facility, the Public Safety Building. Lowertown has loft fever. There is a new library by Metropolitan State University. US Bank has a new home across the Robert Street bridge on the West Side. The Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center broke ground and will be the new home of the Neighborhood House, an organization where the cross country team volunteered during preseason my freshman year. Now, let’s run along the river high-bridge-right style. Harriet Island Park is finished and serves as the venue for fireworks and Irish Fair, among other activities. The most luxurious new development in St. Paul is the Upper Landing Urban Village on Shepard Road. The Xcel Energy power plant next to the Upper Landing will be converted from coal to gas. Further down the river we come to Island Station, home to an abandoned power plant - just north of the railroad bridge that crosses the river and just west of Pickerel Lake by Cherokee Regional Park. There are plans to renovate Island Station to housing units that provide sizeable contributions to property tax coffers. Schmidt brewery on Seventh Street has recently been zoned residential; Gopher State Ethanol has ceased operations in the structure and will auction off the property later this March. Ayd Mill Road was reopened in June 2002, increasing connectivity with the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood and triggering outcries of NIMBY. Ayd Mill currently terminates near Selby and Snelling. St. Paul Mayor “Really” Randy Kelly wants Ayd Mill to connect with 94. The Met Council bus garage at 94 and Snelling was torn down and petroleum-contaminated soil is being removed. The Midway said goodbye to Kmart and hello to Wal-Mart. There is talk of a Home Depot and a Best Buy in Midway too. That’s a long list. I was going to talk about Minneapolis but I’ll wait until another day.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Commuting
Usually I leave the house at 7:15.
* 5 minute walk to bus stop
* 3 minute wait for bus
* 8 minute bus ride
* 3 minute wait for LRT
* 13 minute LRT ride
* 7 minute walk to work
That's a 39 minute commute, from the kitchen to the seat in my cube.
Today I left the house in the car at 7:27.
I arrived in my cube at 7:51.
That's a 24 minute commute.
I guarantee I could bike to work in less than 24 minutes.
But then I would have to deal with something called ball sweat.
And if Ben left the house at 7:15 to travel on public transportation and anti-Ben left the house a pie at 7:15 and ran 5.5 miles to work, the two would collide and annihilate each other when they arrived at work at the same time.
* 5 minute walk to bus stop
* 3 minute wait for bus
* 8 minute bus ride
* 3 minute wait for LRT
* 13 minute LRT ride
* 7 minute walk to work
That's a 39 minute commute, from the kitchen to the seat in my cube.
Today I left the house in the car at 7:27.
I arrived in my cube at 7:51.
That's a 24 minute commute.
I guarantee I could bike to work in less than 24 minutes.
But then I would have to deal with something called ball sweat.
And if Ben left the house at 7:15 to travel on public transportation and anti-Ben left the house a pie at 7:15 and ran 5.5 miles to work, the two would collide and annihilate each other when they arrived at work at the same time.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Brick Shithouse
I toured the capitol and the state office building today. I have never been inside the capitol before, although I've ran up and down the stairs outside hundreds of times while punching the air. Marble is nice. I saw the portraits of past governors, so many women. Actually, none. At this time I would like to point out that when Kay Orr was elected governor of Nebraska in 1987, she was the first Republican woman to be elected governor in any state and the first woman to run against another woman for a gubernatorial post. Anyway, I met one of our lobbyists. I also saw the eminent Andrea Sternberg and her vault of an office. I picked up a trusty green book with information about every congressperson.
word of the day
clinker: 1) a brick that has been burned too much in the kiln 2) stony matter fused together: slag
used in a sentence
"Ben, you look like you've been working out. I dare say you're made out of clinker. You're built like a god damn brick shithouse."
Andy, do you remember the 1600 and 3200 record times of the Walter Johnson standout?
When I was a senior in 1997, I witnessed the breaking of the 400, 800, 1600, and 4x800 state records. Kearney had their distance studs step down into the 800 to put together a 7:45. The 400 record still stands at 47.25. After 1997, the 800 and 1600 records were broken by Brian Turner, who was a freshman when I was a senior. He still holds the 800 record at 1:50.82. The 3200 record was lowered to 9:06 by Dana Carne (Asada). Last year, Colby Wissel from Kearney ran a 4:10 and 8:55, setting state records in each event. I believe Kearney has won the state championship every year since I was a fifteen-year-old freshman.
In other news, I picked up The Jungle again. Jurgis is having a tough time.
word of the day
clinker: 1) a brick that has been burned too much in the kiln 2) stony matter fused together: slag
used in a sentence
"Ben, you look like you've been working out. I dare say you're made out of clinker. You're built like a god damn brick shithouse."
Andy, do you remember the 1600 and 3200 record times of the Walter Johnson standout?
When I was a senior in 1997, I witnessed the breaking of the 400, 800, 1600, and 4x800 state records. Kearney had their distance studs step down into the 800 to put together a 7:45. The 400 record still stands at 47.25. After 1997, the 800 and 1600 records were broken by Brian Turner, who was a freshman when I was a senior. He still holds the 800 record at 1:50.82. The 3200 record was lowered to 9:06 by Dana Carne (Asada). Last year, Colby Wissel from Kearney ran a 4:10 and 8:55, setting state records in each event. I believe Kearney has won the state championship every year since I was a fifteen-year-old freshman.
In other news, I picked up The Jungle again. Jurgis is having a tough time.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Track
I checked out the MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championship results. Good job Mac Pack. Carleton's Bucy looks sharp. Hamline sophomore Tony Klappa broke Paul Mausling's meet record with a 4:18 mile.
In other news, things in Bolivia don't look good. President Carlos Mesa plans to resign. Evo Morales is inciting trouble.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Wireless Fidelity
I'm at Dunn Brothers right now. My computer is connected to the internet, sans wires. I'm free, I'm free. Unfortunately, free lunch was not available from the comfort of our home. Do certain wireless network adapters have better signal receiving capabilitites than others? How does wireless internet work?
Friday, March 04, 2005
Clean Water Legacy Act
My sundry job duties just expanded. I will now function partly as a lobbyist. I’m going to the capitol to follow the progress of the Clean Water Legacy Act.
The purpose of the Clean Water Legacy Act is to protect, restore, and preserve the quality of Minnesota's surface waters by providing authority, direction, and resources to achieve and maintain water quality standards for surface waters as required by section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 42, section 1313(d), and applicable federal regulations.
Being new to the game, I follow references in bills. I already had Clean Water Act bookmarked and the Code of Federal Regulations bookmarked but I was not aware of the United States Code, so I learned something new. I also learned USC, title 42, section 1313, referred to "Assistance for United States citizens returned from foreign countries". Interesting. Upon further investigation, it seems to me the bill reference should be to USC, title 33, section 1313. Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but maybe there is a huge error in the bill.
The concept of the bill is simple: generate revenue from fees and use the $$ to improve water quality. There are already many programs in place to improve water quality; thus, the importance of revenue generation. The bill levies an annual fee of $36 on every residential dwelling (it’s a user fee). For nonresidential establishment the fee is as follows: (i) if average effluent flow is less than 10,000 gallons per day, $120 per year; (ii) if average effluent flow is 10,000 gallons per day or greater, but less than 100,000 gallons per day, $300 per year; and (iii) if average effluent flow is 100,000 gallons per day or greater, $600 per year. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce supports the bill; the fees on nonresidential establishments are paltry. I think the bill is being driven from a federal level. The feds might impose development restrictions on areas near impaired waters.
Some acronym argot:
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL):
Calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that may be introduced into a surface water and still ensure that applicable water quality standards for that water are achieved and maintained.
Sum of the pollutant load allocations for all sources of the pollutant.
Includes:
* wasteload allocation for point sources
* load allocation for nonpoint sources and natural background
* allocation for future growth of point and nonpoint sources
* margin of safety to account for uncertainty about the relationship between pollutant loads and the quality of the receiving surface water
Also:
Surface water that does not meet applicable water quality standards is known as "impaired water."
Great information research tool:
FindLaw
In other news:
I have completed a couple more phases in the transition to eBen. I have been ripping my CD collection to create an MP3 playlist. I am adding tags to the music files so that my iRiver will classify songs by artist, album, and genre. I bought a wireless USB network adapter at Office Max today. Will I finally be able to use the Internet at home? Will the Internet take me to a higher level of consciousness and pornoness?
The purpose of the Clean Water Legacy Act is to protect, restore, and preserve the quality of Minnesota's surface waters by providing authority, direction, and resources to achieve and maintain water quality standards for surface waters as required by section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 42, section 1313(d), and applicable federal regulations.
Being new to the game, I follow references in bills. I already had Clean Water Act bookmarked and the Code of Federal Regulations bookmarked but I was not aware of the United States Code, so I learned something new. I also learned USC, title 42, section 1313, referred to "Assistance for United States citizens returned from foreign countries". Interesting. Upon further investigation, it seems to me the bill reference should be to USC, title 33, section 1313. Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but maybe there is a huge error in the bill.
The concept of the bill is simple: generate revenue from fees and use the $$ to improve water quality. There are already many programs in place to improve water quality; thus, the importance of revenue generation. The bill levies an annual fee of $36 on every residential dwelling (it’s a user fee). For nonresidential establishment the fee is as follows: (i) if average effluent flow is less than 10,000 gallons per day, $120 per year; (ii) if average effluent flow is 10,000 gallons per day or greater, but less than 100,000 gallons per day, $300 per year; and (iii) if average effluent flow is 100,000 gallons per day or greater, $600 per year. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce supports the bill; the fees on nonresidential establishments are paltry. I think the bill is being driven from a federal level. The feds might impose development restrictions on areas near impaired waters.
Some acronym argot:
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL):
Calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that may be introduced into a surface water and still ensure that applicable water quality standards for that water are achieved and maintained.
Sum of the pollutant load allocations for all sources of the pollutant.
Includes:
* wasteload allocation for point sources
* load allocation for nonpoint sources and natural background
* allocation for future growth of point and nonpoint sources
* margin of safety to account for uncertainty about the relationship between pollutant loads and the quality of the receiving surface water
Also:
Surface water that does not meet applicable water quality standards is known as "impaired water."
Great information research tool:
FindLaw
In other news:
I have completed a couple more phases in the transition to eBen. I have been ripping my CD collection to create an MP3 playlist. I am adding tags to the music files so that my iRiver will classify songs by artist, album, and genre. I bought a wireless USB network adapter at Office Max today. Will I finally be able to use the Internet at home? Will the Internet take me to a higher level of consciousness and pornoness?
Thursday, March 03, 2005
mista mista
Here's what happened to me on the streets of downtown Minneapolis some time ago.
Sung by: Wyclef
Mista mista
Can I get five dollars
So I can get something to eat
HELL NO MOTHERFUCKA
You can't get no money from me
Cause everytime I give you a dollar
You go get shot up with more and more needles
And you tell me that you're drug free
Drug Free
Mista mista
I haven't ate anything for a week
Can I get a quarter?
HELL NO MOTHERFUCKA
What can a quarter get you?
Nothing motherfucka
You are just fucked up
Off them fucked up drugs
You know you need to leave alone
But you keep telling me that you're drug free
MOTHERFUCKA
You ain't drug free, you're a fiend
And everytime I try to help you
You pretend as if it's okay
Then later on in the week
You go back to shootin' needles, to sniffin'
Oh mf, but you told me you were DRUG FREE
DRUG FREE
You ain't drug free motherfucka
So you damn well, can't get no motherfuckin money from me
Here’s what really happened to me:
I was in Marshall Fields buying two Perry Ellis dress shirts and a bottle of Safari cologne. A man cloying of something other than cologne was harassing the woman employee behind the counter to give him samples of cologne. She gave him one sample, but he wanted more. She wouldn't budge. The man asked me to ask the lady for cologne samples. I said no, you smell of cigarettes and alcohol but not of body odor, you need a mint. Then I walked outside. I was walking down the street. A man asked me for money. He offered to sing to me for money so he could buy clean underwear. I said it never hurts to ask, but I'm turning you down.
Sung by: Wyclef
Mista mista
Can I get five dollars
So I can get something to eat
HELL NO MOTHERFUCKA
You can't get no money from me
Cause everytime I give you a dollar
You go get shot up with more and more needles
And you tell me that you're drug free
Drug Free
Mista mista
I haven't ate anything for a week
Can I get a quarter?
HELL NO MOTHERFUCKA
What can a quarter get you?
Nothing motherfucka
You are just fucked up
Off them fucked up drugs
You know you need to leave alone
But you keep telling me that you're drug free
MOTHERFUCKA
You ain't drug free, you're a fiend
And everytime I try to help you
You pretend as if it's okay
Then later on in the week
You go back to shootin' needles, to sniffin'
Oh mf, but you told me you were DRUG FREE
DRUG FREE
You ain't drug free motherfucka
So you damn well, can't get no motherfuckin money from me
Here’s what really happened to me:
I was in Marshall Fields buying two Perry Ellis dress shirts and a bottle of Safari cologne. A man cloying of something other than cologne was harassing the woman employee behind the counter to give him samples of cologne. She gave him one sample, but he wanted more. She wouldn't budge. The man asked me to ask the lady for cologne samples. I said no, you smell of cigarettes and alcohol but not of body odor, you need a mint. Then I walked outside. I was walking down the street. A man asked me for money. He offered to sing to me for money so he could buy clean underwear. I said it never hurts to ask, but I'm turning you down.
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