Dan Grigsby has written a little chunk of code that, when embedded in a blog entry, will send the owner a AIM message telling them it has been read. I can't decide if I want to know about these events or not. Certainly it warms the dark corners of my heart to know that people read what I write. However, I mostly want to know about regular readers, and that I can easily see from the stats. Also, I think that one should be able to casually read weblogs without making a comittment to being A Reader.
Anyhow, an interesting piece of blogware.
My dear, dear friend Kyra has posted some sage wisdom for Guys Who Live Alone and Fear They May Be Creepy.
I took some silly portraits of people at the Virginia Inn, where a bunch of us met to have a drink before adjourning to the waterfront for the Bjork show.
I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
ALSO I found some misc photos of stuff from this summer, include a few shots I took at the Lake Bronson Regional Burn and a Beach Burn.
I don't often write about personal stuff here, but this is noteworthy. I got laid off today. In the face of tough times, and lack of work, our little company has come to the end of its ability to pay my salary. If things pick up, I'll continue to work with them as a contractor, freelance, or in whatever capacity works out.
In the meantime, I'm looking for short-term web dev and networking work. I can do designy clientside stuff with DHTML, CSS, Flash, and Javascript, as well as backend web-based-app stuff with Perl, PHP, ASP, MySQL. I've also done work with web services using XML and SOAP. I have a lot of experience with 802.11 wireless networking, and I can build out a network for your site.
Update: I am blessed by the many comments, calls, and gifts (yay cookies!) that my friends have shown me. I should mention that this is in fact mostly good news for my life, since it introduces some adventure and flexibility into my autumn. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next!
6mesh is another Linux micro-distribution that will turn a laptop or other small device into a mesh networking node. It uses the ADODV Linux Kernel module Yay for self-assembling networks!
Kia has posted a great recipe for Sangria, which is another excellent summertime sip. I can't wait to try it.
Sangria and glug (sp?) are the only mixed drinks I can think of that involve wine. Post in the comments if you can think of any others.
There are a couple of competing theories, but in the end it seems to come down to the fact that the sound system sucked. Her vocal monitors were almost nonexistant, its said. Read more at bjork.com.
I have an extra ticket that I am selling on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2187966050&category=16122
Please feel free to contact me at bug at s00k dot com if you want this ticket!
Sorry, the ticket has been sold
You can check out my Europe photos online. There are some duplicates, but this is the whole set.
I have an older but still excellent digital camera, the Olympus 2040. I've found an excellent piece of software that lets the computer control the camera, letting you take time-lapse photography for any length of time. There is similar software for other types of cameras as well. NAQOYQATSI here I come!
This is a cheap alternative to the expensive factory AC Adaptor, which you will need if you want to have the camera on all day. Also, this is a well-reviewed battery charger.
I write to you today, hot, sweaty, and tired, from a basement net-cafe on the Island of Ischia, a wonderful destination in the Bay of Naples. We sit in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, the Doom of Pompeii.
Tons of awesome travels have come to pass.
A long, long, LONG and hot train ride from Ljubljana, Slovenia to Rome, overnight. Two airless hours spent in Bologna thinking I was going to melt before the transfer train arrived.
Roma: everything moves a mile a minute in Rome. Its hot, HOT there. Ruins are everywhere, like the sky. Scribbles of graffiti are on everything. Imagine NYC with random piles of rubble around. There are little hydrants that dribble cool fresh water on 1/4 of the steet corners. Swarms of scooters.
Samantha, my travelling companion, speaks just enough Italian to get us around. Cruising around with her and her friend Max made me feel like I was seeing a side of Rome that I would never see otherwise.
Naples: The densest city in Europe. Picture San Francisco density for miles and miles, like 5x the size of Seattle. Endless. Guys offer you cellphones, wristwatches, and counterfeit handbags at every turn. We navigate and catch the ferry across the bay.
Ischia:
Not the desert island I was expecting, but rather a bustling and ancient vacation spot. Narrow streets with tons of pedestrians, motorbikes, and tiny trucks, all jockeying for position.
We had a hotel reserved, but a seemingy nice fellow approached us at the ferry dock and offered us a room in his house. Despite all warnings about such things being a scam, it turned out to be a nice room, close to everything, and cheap. We've spent a lot of time lounging about, sleeping late, and avoiding the heat with Gelato.
Friday night we happened upon a free outdoor concert given by the Italian equivalent to the Backstreet Boys. Mobs of underdressed teens crowded the intersection, and when things got to pushing and shoving we made a quick escape.
I have tons of photos from France, Slovenia, and Italy, which will probably make an appearance when I return on Wednesday.
All is well, I am having a fabulous time, and I will talk to you all soon.
Perhaps there will be another entry from Rome before I leave.
.bug