Lee.org

Wanna shoot me? Here’s your chance!

I’m going to BattleSFO along with Sai from Noisebridge on November 14th. I’ll likely be volunteering to help run the games.

Join me!

They always have the best little Swiss finger food at these things!

You should register at the site below and write back to me if you’re going.

It’s free :-)

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COMPETITIVE MARKETS: BEAUTY OR BEAST?
Thursday November 5, 6.30pm-9pm
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In the aftermath of the financial meltdown, the virtue of competitive markets is being questioned. It is little appreciated, however, that the economic concept of “competitive markets” is abstract–just as a “vacuum” is an idealized environment for physicists–and that the theory rarely spells out how to implement markets in practical terms.

Peter Bossaerts, professor of finance at the California Institute of Technology, explains what economists mean by the term “competitive markets,” what the markets are theoretically supposed to do, and where they fail. He’ll also evaluate whether or not eBay, the New York Stock Exchange, the real estate market, the Over-the-Counter credit derivative markets, and other institutions are really instances of “competitive markets.” Audience members participate in hands-on demos of market behavior, so laptops are encouraged.

Details & Registration: http://www.swissnexsanfrancisco.org/activities/events/competitivemarkets
Location & Parking: http://www.swissnexsanfrancisco.org/aboutus/contact

A friend wrote to me…

>Fiend me on facebook!

Several years ago during Christmas I tried saying “Bah Humbug” as a joke whenever anyone wished me a merry Christmas. After a few days, I suprised myself when I said it to someone and actually meant it; it kinda freaked me out. The power of suggestion, even to yourself, is very real.

For the most part, San Franciscans are a bunch of dance-around-the-peace-tree hippys. That’s ok, I like dancing. And when the zombie revolution comes, it’ll be easy to repel their sorry undead asses with my patchouli scented bullets.

(Don’t stop at the following sentence, read the whole post because it gets weird)

In San Francisco, it is illegal to buy or have in one’s possession a  BB gun / air gun / pellet gun.

ARTICLE 9: MISCELLANEOUS CONDUCT REGULATIONS
SEC. 602. SALE OR POSSESSION OF SLING SHOTS OR TOYS PROJECTING MISSILES BY AIR OR GAS PROHIBITED.
It shall be unlawful for any person, except for a peace officer authorized under California Penal Code Section 12600, to buy, sell, offer or expose for sale, barter or exchange, have in his possession or use any sling shot.
It shall also be unlawful for any person to buy, sell, offer or expose for sale, barter or exchange, have in his possession or use any toy by which, whether used singly or in combination of units, missiles may be projected by force or compressed air, carbon dioxide, or any other chemical, gas, or other element, or combined thereof. Nothing in this section is intended to be inconsistent with Government Code Section 53071.5 or any successor statute regulating imitation firearms, BB guns or air rifles.
(Amended by Ord. 4782, Series of 1939, App. 1/6/48; Ord. 260-04, File No. 031932, App. 11/4/2004)

The state calls an air gun a “BB Device”. It is a form of “imitation firearm”.

California Article 1, Section 12001, subsection G:  For purposes of Sections 12551 and 12552, the term “BB device” means any instrument that expels a projectile, such as a BB or a pellet, not exceeding 6 mm caliber, through the force of air pressure, CO2 pressure, or spring action, or any spot marker gun.

The state says you can’t just tote an exposed imitation firearm (which includes BB guns) around.

12556.
(a) No person may openly display or expose any imitation firearm, as defined in Section 12550, in a public place.
(b) Violation of this section, except as provided in subdivision (c), is an infraction punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for the first offense, and three hundred dollars ($300) for a second offense.
(c) A third or subsequent violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor.

So you can’t run around with a BB Gun in California unless…

(d) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to the following, when the imitation firearm is:
(1) Packaged or concealed so that it is not subject to public viewing.
(2) Displayed or exposed in the course of commerce, including commercial film or video productions, or for service, repair, or restoration of the imitation firearm.
(3) Used in a theatrical production, a motion picture, video, television, or stage production.
(4) Used in conjunction with a certified or regulated sporting event or competition.
(5) Used in conjunction with lawful hunting, or lawful pest control activities.
(6) Used or possessed at certified or regulated public or private shooting ranges.
(7) Used at fairs, exhibitions, expositions, or other similar activities for which a permit has been obtained from a local or state government.
(8) Used in military, civil defense, or civic activities, including flag ceremonies, color guards, parades, award presentations, historical reenactments, and memorials.
(9) Used for public displays authorized by public or private schools or displays that are part of a museum collection.
(10) Used in parades, ceremonies, or other similar activities for which a permit has been obtained from a local or state government.
(11) Displayed on a wall plaque or in a presentation case.
(12) Used in areas where the discharge of a firearm is lawful.
(13) A device where the entire exterior surface of the device is white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue, bright pink, or bright purple, either singly or as the predominant color in combination with other colors in any pattern, or where the entire device is constructed of transparent or translucent materials which permits unmistakable observation of the device’s complete contents. Merely having an orange tip as provided in federal law and regulations does not satisfy this requirement. The entire surface must be colored or transparent or translucent.
(e) For purposes of this section, the term “public place” means an area open to the public and includes streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, front yards, parking lots, automobiles, whether moving or not, and buildings open to the general public, including those that serve food or drink, or provide entertainment, and the doorways and entrances to buildings or dwellings.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude prosecution for a violation of Section 171b, 171.5, or 626.10

… you can’t run around with a BB Gun in California unless you keep it in a box, you’re shooting it somewhere that it’s legal to shoot a gun, or the BB gun is painted some crazy ass color like bright purple! (Yes, the image of the Hello Kitty assault rifle above is real. Sanrio asked the maker of the rifle to remove the kitty and he did a while back. Then there’s the bARbie-15 :-)

So in brief, BB guns are more illegal than real guns in San Francisco. California law is more lenient, saying that as long as you keep it under wraps (or paint it bright purple), it’s not a big deal.

After having my bike stolen at Burning Man, I bemoaned to my friends that I now lived in Walk-in camping with no easy way to get there. A 10 minute bike ride is pleasant, a 35 minute walk is not.  My friends welcomed me into Illumination Village at 4:50 and Esplanade :-). It took a few hours to move but was well worth it!

One of the nights where fire was reigning supreme, (maybe Monday night?) I had a very nice talk with Dex. He talked to me about his plans for this incredible fire poofing vehicle. We spoke about it and exchanged ideas with glee. The thing that most impressed me was that he was showing off these amazing poofers on the back of his truck and we were talking, appropriately so, as equals. That’s really cool.

Later in the week I spoke with Nate Smith, creator of Fire Vortex and 2BLEVE, among other things.  We spoke about my plan for making my upcoming Fire Fog and he offered some really good suggestions. He even told me about his novel design for a mechanism that dissolves propane into liquid fuel! It’s part of the design that makes 2 BLEVE work so well.  I might use part of that design for Fire Fog :-)

Nate Smith! I talked shop with Nate Smith! That’s super cool.

(local copy of the Fire Vortex video)

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I’ve been using the Smart Archives plugin for a year to make a pretty and complete archive page for the site.

I just switched to Smart Archives Reloaded (author’s site). It works just as well and now updating my posts is much faster. The way the original Smart Archives plugin works, when you click “Publish” in WordPress, the user has to wait until the new archives page is generated before continuing. Now it’s done in the background. A 20 second wait is  now 5 seconds :-)

Thanks to the magic of open source, a really good plugin has been made even better :-)

Weren’t you wondering how all the cool blog commenters get their face next to their blog comments? Yes, you were.

It’s easy. Just sign up and put your face on a Gravatar. It works pretty good.