Today’s inspiration and encouragement comes from my downstairs neighbor. The only thing I can add is that, in the Author’s Corner, he writes, “this book was truly delightful to make”. I can visualize him saying that and I absolutely believe him. This is worthwhile. Click below and enjoy.
At Yuri’s night 2008 at NASA Ames, they had a ride called ISS. They’d put you in this capsule and slingshot you up to the International Space Station. We were really lucky because since the Space Station is orbiting so fast, only a few riders each day can get to see it up-close. You can see the space station in the reflection of the glass. It was really pretty spectacular! Charlotte and I had a great time. If you ever get the chance, you should absolutely go!
The fine folks at the Space Coalition hung out in low earth orbit and took photos of us tourists all night.
Update 9-12-08: If you’re looking to be reunited with fellow Neumannites, feel free to write in the comments below. You should spam-proof your email address because this is a public place. Do something like this: Lee at NOSPAM Lee dot org. (can you guess my email address?). If you see the comment of someone you want to hook up with and their email address is not displayed, post a request and I’ll forward the message. All this said, Classmates.com might be a better place to look for old classmates. If you remember your classmates’ names, services like LinkedIn, Plaxo etc are great. :-)
I graduated Neumann Prep, Wayne NJ in 1987. The school closed down in 1990 or so (my classmate George had a terrible time getting a transcript from the diocese after the closure!)
I went back to the school in May 2005. Here’s some photos of the place
The farm across the street from the school is apparently for sale. I’m sure the condos will be nice.
From this intersection, turn left and then the school is on your right. In front of you is a W.R. Grace Superfund site (local copy) that held radioactive thorium and uranium infused sand from mining. Directly to the left and behind is the farm. Behind and to the right is some ancient chemical dump (nobody knew much about it. It was said to be a Superfund site but I can’t find reference of it). Yup, high school, farm, nuclear waste dump and chemical dump all within 500 feet of one another.
They didn’t take much effort in changing the sign. Under that placard it still says “Neumann Prep”.
A panorama of the front of Neumann Prep. Click or right-click to download this very large image.
A panorama of the front lot. Click or right-click to download this very large image.
The front yard.
Looking in through the entrance on the right, near the chapel. Though I passed by here a thousand times, the thing I think about when looking at this is that the Junior Prom took place in the gym and a table was set up at that door you can see to take tickets. … … Hey, what happened to to the trophy case near the principles office?
The entrance to the left, the “Main” entrance. When I look here, I think about a lot… the library to the left (and the day a kid was walking out while I was walking in, he said with a laugh, “Hey, the space shuttle blew up.” I walked in to see the diverging con-trails on TV), the steps (where we ran up and down one day for Ms. Rawding’s physics class to figure out how many horsepower we could generate (about 1/3)), the door almost out-of-sight to the right where Latin class was (I didn’t take it) and yearbook met (where I was told that a previous class had sneakily scribed the word “FUCK” across the book with border-markings), the lockers around the corner (where the combination to my lock each year always had at least one “38″, weird!) and Father Lombardo’s theology class in the classroom through the wall to the right, and Mr… (ugh, I don’t recall his name! He had a bushy beard) music appreciation class… and… and… and…
Just outside the cafeteria. There were a few picnic tables here. That is where the super-cool kids ate lunch. I ate out there a few times but it was usually too cold, bright or… well, too super-cool for me. I like what they’ve done with the place with the bricks, shrubs, walkway and greenhouse.
As most people probably aren’t aware, tomorrow (April 3rd) is Cheese
Weasel Day! Happy Cheese Weasel Day to you!
In honor of this momentous holiday, here is the Cheese Weasel FAQ:
Q: What the heck is Cheese Weasel Day?
Every year, on April 3rd, the Cheese Weasel travels the world,
spreading good cheer and leaving a bit of cheese under the keyboards
of all good little boys and girls in the high tech industry.
Q: What kind of cheese does the Cheese Weasel leave?
Kraft Singles were once the cheese of choice, although as time went by,
the type of cheese became less important than the spreading of
dairy goodness and the types and shapes of cheese given by the Cheese Weasel
became varied. This was considered to be a Good Thing, especially considering
how often most people look under their keyboards.
Q: You made this up didn’t you?
Nope, I didn’t make this up.
C.W. Day is a holiday that evolved on the Internet, probably sometime
in the last eight to ten years. The first I heard of it was in 1992,
and it’s being celebrated quietly by dozens, dare I say hundreds of
software and technical folks around the country as you read this.
Hallmark doesn’t make a card, and the American Dairy Association is
as yet unaware of it, so it’s probably the least commercial holiday
going. Hey, we wanted to add some culture to our lives, right? What
could be more cultured than cheese? There’s even a Cheese Weasel Song!
The Cheese Weasel Day Song
(Sung to the tune of…..hm well there isn’t one that I know of.
C.W. Day predates MP3)
Who Brings the Cheese on April 3rd?
It’s the Cheese Weasel!
He’s not a silly bunny or a reindeer or a bird
He’s the Cheese Weasel!
He’s got a funny little tail and funny buck teeth
and he doesn’t bring fish and he doesn’t bring beef
so you’d better be good if you want to get some cheese
from the Cheese Weasel!!!!!
These coupon codes will get you 10% off your annual or bi-annual subscription to Mozy. They’re only good this month. So here’s what to do:
The code is only good April 2008. If you found this link after then, look on my blog for a more current Mozy discount code.
And I’m the named artist. :-)
Of course, SWARM is actually a rag tag fugitive fleet of about 25 people. But this is still pretty dern cool.
For the last 2 months or so I’ve been taking poi spinning classes with Jon Dickinson of Fire Arts Academy and Fire Arts Collective. All I’ve got to say is that he’s really good… a very good teacher in a good physical space with good students and… well, if you’re going to learn to spin poi, I highly recommend him.
Here’s his recent flier. If you missed these sessions, never fear, the cycle will repeat at some point!
Fire Arts Academy is offering sessions of Poi & Staff classes in Oakland. FAA is now taking registration for poi & staff classes in Oakland starting Tuesday March 11th. Private classes in San Francisco and weekend workshops are available, please contact us or check our website. (more…)
Internet Explorer viewers of this blog can now see what Firefox viewers have been enjoying for the last year or so…
The green bar behind “Lee.org” at the top of the blog wasn’t visible in IE til I fixed a .css file. Actually, the issue was that IE didn’t follow CSS specs, but it’s hardly worth griping about. IE 6 doesn’t see the background image in my CSS file when it reads as such:
background-image: /* url("http://lee.org/blog/images/reason-villege-old-spring-green.jpg");*/
url("http://lee.org/blog/images/reason-villege-old-spring-green-right-justified.jpg");
I suppose it’s because IE sees the text being on 2 lines (there’s a carriage return in there) as being 2 elements. But I’m not going to spend any more energy figuring it out.
The writing actually phonetically spells my name in Japanese. Logically, it’s an odd collection of thoughts… “Lee” sounds like “Reason”. Then “Son” and “ko” sound like “village” and “old”.
I have to thank Miki Kawabe for the translation. At Burning Man in 2004, we won the Second Annual Semi-authentic Finnish Wife Carrying Event. We won her weight in beer.
Yes, really!
2 weeks ago I found a CMS system called Pligg. Before using it, I took a look at the blog on the site. I noted what looked like an overly emotional post about Dreamhost and a billing problem they had recently.
The line was crossed not when they billed me prematurely for two years of service, but rather when they issued an apology email and blog post which felt unapologetic and insincere.
Dreamhost’s blog post opened “Um, Whoops” and had an image of Homer Simpson holding up his finger, an arrow pointing to his finger saying “fat finger”. The post was in Dreamhost’s usual overly plucky tone. If you’ve ever gotten one of their monthly updates, you’d know what I’m talking about. Every one is a parody of itself it’s so plucky… It’s their shtick.
I wrote on Pligg’s blog a comment describing what I thought about Pligg’s criticism. The comment didn’t show up immediately, the system said it had entered moderation, which is a common spam filtering method. I was very surprised when I came back a week later and my comment hadn’t been posted. So I posted it again. A week later, still nothing. Apparently, moderation isn’t just for spam but for differing opinions as well.
My comment was mostly a response to Eric “Yankidank” Heikkinen’s followup comment to his post
January 17th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Transparent about the whole thing? You mean admitting to charging users $7.5 million that they don’t owe? Dreamhost is a host I have supported for a long time, but their friendly/amateur approach to everything isn’t something that I’m comfortable with in situations like yesterdays debacle. I am especially upset when I feel that a sincere apology is due and they take their usual playful route “oops, we have a fat finger that caused some users to be billed for thousands of dollars”. Granted the charges were reversed within 24 hours…
Here is the comment I was trying to leave on the Pligg blog. Admittedly, it’s a bit sarcastic, but I welcome comments about it (unlike Mr Heikkinen)
>but rather when they issued an apology email and blog post which felt
>unapologetic and insincereWould the insincere part be the part where they explained exactly what went wrong, why it went wrong, how the problem was fixed, and how they made sure it wouldn’t happen again? Or is it the part about how this problem was discovered and remedied within hours? Maybe it was the part about taking full responsibility for the problem and then doing something about it. Any way you slice it, I see what you mean. I wouldn’t trust Dreamhost after this either.
>Dreamhost has lost our endorsement
And Pligg has lost mine. He he. Pretty funny, huh?
In a recent calendar update from Scott at PlantTrees.org, Scott interjected this one-liner:
High-Fructose Corn Syrup, High Fat Diet = Severe Liver Damage http://www.naturalnews.com/022836.html
I emailed a response to him today saying:
Scott,
You would do well to point out some of the other studies that indicate animals fed on high fat diets (sans high-fructose corn syrup) in a sedate lifestyle is also bad for 2 and 4 legged creatures. This recent mania about high-fructose corn syrup doesn’t seem overall helpful for the people or the land. This single product is not solely responsible for the many ills that have been attributed to it. Making it a scapegoat misdirects where the critisism should really lie. The real reasons for poor health are nearly as easily understood.Here are some articles about fat-sans-high-fructose corn syrup that I am referring to:
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=62967-liver-fat-sugar
http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2008/02/25/do_fast_food_binges_lead_to_liver_damage.php
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071101144851.htm
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112228929/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0Thanks and have a great day,
Lee Sonko
http://lee.org
From the Pocono Record
John T. Finnegan, 37, of Stroudsburg, died on Monday, March 17. Raised in Acton, Mass., he was the beloved son of Gail and Robert Finnegan. He was the loving husband of Colleen Ann Capuano, with whom he celebrated nine years of marriage.
John was employed by QA Associates and served as a respected quality assurance engineer. John Finnegan was one of the founders of the New England Roleplaying Organization, a national Live Action Roleplaying group. He was the organization’s heart and soul, spending countless hours enhancing the gaming experience. Its customers benefited from John’s magnetic personality and his extraordinary creative talent for unique stories and unforgettable characters.
John graduated from St. Anselm College with a bachelor of arts degree in history. He was an avid reader of the fantasy and science fiction genres. He loved to spend time with his many friends, playing video games and especially Dungeons and Dragons. John could always be relied upon to offer a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on.
In addition to his wife and parents, John is survived by his brother, Christian Finnegan, and his wife, Kambri Crews; his grandmother, Latrice Griffin; his brother-in-law, Patrick Capuano; his sister-in-law, Andrea Bacchi; father-in-law, Pat Capuano; mother-in-law, Laura Capuano; stepmother, Debra Finnegan; his stepsiblings, Matt and Sally McCracken, and Molly and Mirco Gaggiotti.
Visitation will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, March 21, at the funeral home. Additional visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the time of the service, Saturday, March 22, at the funeral home. A Catholic prayers service will follow at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22, from the Joseph J. Pula Funeral Home, 23 N. Ninth St., Stroudsburg, with the Rev. Fr. Thomas D. McLaughlin officiating. Cremation will follow the services.
In lieu of flowers and at the family’s request, donations may be made on behalf of his departed brother, Robert Finnegan Jr., to Children’s Hospital Trust, 1 Autumn St. No. 731, Boston, MA 02215-5301. Please attach a memo or note citing care of Robert Finnegan Jr.
I just received this (wonderful) announcement. Put the PTDR on your calendar!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, please brace yourselves for the following
double-barreled announcement.
You Said It Would Not Happen!
You Said It Was Better Last Year!
You Said There Was No Way You Would Stand In Those Concession Lines Again
BUT IT DID. AND IT WASN’T. AND YOU WILL.
Assorted parties are PROUD to present
The One And Only
POWER TOOL DRAG RACES
TWO WEEKENDS. . eekends. . . eekends. . .eekends
At The Maker Faire. . .aire. . .aire. . aire
Maker Faire Bay Area
May 3rd and 4th 2008
http://makerfaire.com/
And then AGAIN at ACE! International Speedway. . .eedway. . .eedway. .
.eedway. . . (more…)
Saturday
Went on 2 pretty good appointments, driving around the entire Bay (SF->San Jose->Oakland->SF) weee, I’m dizzy…
Met our new neighbor Samantha. The welcome committee (Laurie, Cindy and myself) offered her and her friends celery as an official welcome committee gift. Had Sam over for leftover Tartine bread pudding. Aaron told of his amazing and harrowing journey bringing Shani to Boston (where she eventually met Charlotte) involving unbearable heat, “No Vacancy, Go Away” signs on hotels in Peabody, MA, crossing deep underground rivers and very little sleep. Had terrific Hungarian chicken and spaetzle. Had wonderful home-made (Trader Joes mix + blueberries) cup-cakes. Had all manner of people in the apartment in and out… Laurie, Rick, Samantha, Cindy, Aaron.
Went to BootieSF with Charlotte, Rick and Aaron. Turns out that Aaron is a darn high-energy and fun dancer. Daydreamed a lot to mashups involving 80’s tunes (apparently, I still remember all the words to 99 Red Balloons). Got out a lot of energy dancing like a fool. Saw just 10 minutes of Trademark G’s show
Sunday
Saw Rick’s groovy Oakland pad complete with geektronics, tube amps, vinyl records and giant screen TV.
Went shooting at Chabot gun range with Charlotte, having a simply wonderful drive with the top down over swooping roads. And quite a bit of fun shooting. Met 2 shooters in the next stall and tried their Walter P38. Vowed to get a speed loader since our thumbs were killing us by the end of shooting.
Isn’t it odd that this downright silly post follows such a very very serious post about Lucille Rathyen. Some truths: You’re born. You live. You die. How well that middle part goes is entirely up to you.
I reported previously that the Geostationary Banana Over Texas crew was busy. Well, it seems that Caesar Saez and crew is really trying to do it. There’s an assurance contract on ThePoint.com. The GBOT Team will float a giant banana over Texas if we raise $1,500,000. They’ve got a video on their site that implies they are really trying to do it! Here’s a local copy:
I’d pay at LEAST $25 to see a 300 meter long banana in geostationary orbit over Texas. I put myself in for $25 and said I’d chip in more when they answered a couple questions like what the actual conditions for “success” were.
In 1989 I was a DJ at WMFO, Tufts radio station. I found a cart
(image via) in the music library called “Stairway to Gilligan’s Island”. I fell in love with it.
Last year, I came to mentioning the song to a guy in a tiki bar in Alameda (I was there with some friends from my Improv class) because the song had been floating around in my brain. Amazingly, he said that he knew the guy who made the song and he lived nearby. (small world, eh?).
I really should look him up. Here it is, Stairway to Gilligan’s Island by Roger and the Goosebumps:
I’ll likely be going to a mashup event Saturday night at the DNA Lounge, BootieSF.
Update: This promo has passed, look for more recent discount info on my blog here.
These coupon codes will get you 10% off your annual or bi-annual subscription to Mozy. They’re only good this month. So here’s what to do:
Mozy says they are expanding their “Mozy Pro” services for businesses. I’m a big fan of their non-commercial product. If you’ve got a small or medium sized business, Mozy might be just the thing to run your company’s entire backup strategy.
That code is only good this month. If you found this link and it’s not currently March 2008, look on my blog for a more current Mozy discount code.
The nation’s accountant and head of the Government Accountability Office, David Walker gave a speech at the National Press Club December 17th, 2007. It’s a very good speech. His news isn’t good. Here is the speech. Listen to the whole thing.
Here is the text of this speech.
I had found this speech via a Word for Word podcast. I see that David Walker and the GAO has a large archive of speeches. I’ll get to listening to them!
