The Chronicles of Charlie: The Assassin Who’s Not Very Good At His Job
Dan | August 31, 2006
Via World Hum, I read about the derailment of the new China-to-Tibet train. The derailment doesn’t concern me much (trains derail, y’know?), but I was amazed at this bit:
It was the first mishap on the rail system, which reaches altitudes of 16,400 feet above sea level, since it began operating July 1. Also, earlier this [...]
Dan | August 31, 2006
I woke up early today (7:30), read a bit, then went for a run down to Stow Lake. At the center of the lake is a hill, which I like to sprint up because…well, I’m insane. That’s well-documented. A tai chi group was practicing on the top, and I ran down the other side, which [...]
Dan | August 30, 2006
I had my first day of school (did I have the right outfit? Were the cool kids impressed? OMG!) yesterday, and survived four hours of classes. Today I have six hours of classes. That’s a lot of class time in a row.
But this is ok, because I saw a bunch of things yesterday that threw [...]
Dan | August 28, 2006
Stolen without shame from Willo who is memifying her butt off right now:
“You’re going through a phase where you are going out and hooking up with people. You don’t like doing that, you’re in a stage where you want it to change, but one morning you wake up in a strange bed. You’re woken because [...]
Dan | August 28, 2006
I’m back home for a little while, after three weeks of constant back-and-forth. Between backpacking, Portland, and a boys’ weekend with my old high school friends (that phrase “boys’ weekend” is kind of hackneyed, but it’s what I have at the moment) I’ve been at my place about five days out of the past three [...]
Dan | August 25, 2006
I had a quick email exchange with a staff writer from an East Coast newspaper yesterday (burrito stuff), and his response bothered me. Not because of the content, but because he wrote it in all lower-case. With a spelling error. What the hell? I always thought that if writing was your job, you should take [...]
Dan | August 24, 2006
I have orientation for school today, and I’ve discovered several things:
I do not have a back-to-school outfit. I think I’m going to wear pants and a shirt
I’ve registered for two classes that are at the same time - I’m pretty sure I’m going to drop Experimental Fiction anyway, so that’s no big deal
I’ve got “Advanced [...]
Dan | August 23, 2006
You know you’re back in town when you go down to the Toronado to meet people before an indie-rock show and the place is packed with non-average dudes because it’s the site of a Metblogging party.
Dan | August 23, 2006
It’s getting to the point where I only write here on Wednesdays - not my fault, really! Portland was a total blast, but…well, something my brother said kind of stuck with me. He noted that at the wedding we attended, we came into contact with a world that we just never, ever see.
No, I’m not [...]
Dan | August 21, 2006
I’ve been very quiet here because I’ve been out of town (backpacking) and out of town (in Portland) and will be out of town next weekend (Santa Cruz). Doesn’t leave a whole bunch of time for blowharding on the Interwebs, but…
I love backpacking. I digs Portland. Take that for now. Back in San Francisco from [...]
Dan | August 16, 2006
Yep, I’m back and alive, and apparently can’t stay away from the Interwebs. It’s nearly midnight, I should be asleep, but it’s taken me this long (I started at ten) to check all of my email, scrub myself off, put away my gear, and get into bed.
What? No massive trip email from me? Not right [...]
Dan | August 10, 2006
I was walking home from the Upper Haight tonight at about 11:30 or so. Haight Street was quieter than usual - only a few people were wandering around. As I was walking past Buena Vista Park, I passed a middle-aged man in a brown jacket, holding a cigarette in his left hand and a walking/tapping [...]
Dan | August 9, 2006
I don’t know how I didn’t know about Readprint, a repository of classic books online. But it’s super-cool.
Dan | August 9, 2006
The California State Fair is on right now (bonus points for the URL: bigfun.org). I don’t think I’m going to make it, but I am going to go on record as, in general, supporting state fairs. I’ve been to a few in my time, and have always managed to have a blast. [...]
Dan | August 8, 2006
This is relating to a totally unrelated project I’m working on (if that makes any sense), but…
I get really frustrated working with sysadmins, especially young sysadmins who only work through email. I’ve spent three days attempting to get ftp access to a server so I can build a tiny (two hours work, max) website. Instead, [...]
Dan | August 7, 2006
So I was playing frisbee this evening, and it was warm and humid and I was running around and sweat was flying everywhere. My left upper cheek started itching, so I reached up to scratch it, and my finger clipped my left eyelid…
Yep, I lost a contact lens. AGAIN. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That’s twice this [...]
Dan | August 7, 2006
The title of this post is also the name of my favorite Magnapop song, a band that never made it big in the alt-explosion of the 1990s, and really should have been bigger. They were kind of like Letters to Cleo, but with better melodies and a singer who smoked more.
I have the feeling I’m [...]
Dan | August 4, 2006
Wonderful day. Read about it over a burrito. Met Paul Javier, who is an extraordinarily interesting guy, and digs a good burrito about as much as I do. Days like today I thank whatever the fates are for how good things can be.
Dan | August 4, 2006
Lunbergh shirts. You know what I mean. The kind of shirt that the smarmy boss wore in Office Space. Why is it that when you see a photo of somebody evil (corporate lobbyist, odious Republican Congressman, etc.), they’re always wearing one of these shirts? Does evil attract bad taste in clothing?
Dan | August 3, 2006
Many organizations use far too much jargon when simple words convey the same information. By doing this, companies actually sabotage their communication efforts. But, how to do you de-jargonize? What’s the best way to slim down and simplify your corporate communicaiton without losing the information you need to convey? I can help. If you’d [...]
The Spellman Files (The Spellm...
Shriek: An Afterword
The Wind in the Willows