tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74288442251556280972024-03-13T20:32:40.627-07:00BlogsJKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.comBlogger440125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-73490082789110904442018-11-11T13:42:00.007-08:002022-08-21T09:13:08.807-07:00Derek - The Last Post<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-05-04T07:51:02-08:00">May 4, 2011 7:51 AM</abbr>
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Here it is. I'm dead, and this is my last post to my
blog. In advance, I asked that once my body finally shut down from the
punishments of my cancer, then my family and friends publish this
prepared message I wrote—the first part of the process of turning this
from an active website to an archive.<br />
If you knew me at all in real life, you probably heard the news
already from another source, but however you found out, consider this a
confirmation: I was born on June 30, 1969 in Vancouver, Canada, and I
died in Burnaby on May 3, 2011, age 41, of complications from stage 4
metastatic colorectal cancer. We <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/death">all knew</a> this was coming.<br />
That includes my family and friends, and my parents Hilkka and <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/">Juergen Karl</a>. My daughters <a href="http://twitter.com/l_meredith">Lauren</a>, age 11, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002095869517">Marina</a>, who's 13, have known as much as we could tell them since I first found I had cancer. It's become part of their lives, alas.<br />
<h3>
Airdrie</h3>
Of course it includes my wife <a href="http://talkingtoair.com/">Airdrie</a>
(née Hislop). Both born in Metro Vancouver, we graduated from different
high schools in 1986 and studied Biology at UBC, where we met in '88.
At a summer job working as park naturalists that year, I flipped the
canoe Air and I were paddling and we had to push it to shore.<br />
We shared some classes, then lost touch. But a few years later, in
1994, I was still working on campus. Airdrie spotted my name and wrote
me a letter—yes! paper!—and eventually (I was trying to be a full-time
musician, so chaos was about) I wrote her back. From such seeds a garden
blooms: it was March '94, and by August '95 we were married. I have
never had second thoughts, because we have always been good together,
through worse and bad and good and great.<br />
However, I didn't think our time together would be so short: 23 years from our first meeting (at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaka_Creek_Regional_Park">Kanaka Creek Regional Park</a>, I'm pretty sure) until I died? Not enough. Not nearly enough.<br />
<h3>
What was at the end</h3>
I haven't gone to a better place, or a worse one. I haven't gone anyplace, because <i>Derek</i> <a href="http://xkcd.com/659/">doesn't exist</a>
anymore. As soon as my body stopped functioning, and the neurons in my
brain ceased firing, I made a remarkable transformation: from a living
organism to a corpse, like a flower or a mouse that didn't make it
through a particularly frosty night. The evidence is clear that once I
died, it was over.<br />
So I was unafraid of death—of the moment itself—and of what came
afterwards, which was (and is) nothing. As I did all along, I remained
somewhat afraid of the <i>process</i> of dying, of increasing weakness
and fatigue, of pain, of becoming less and less of myself as I got
there. I was lucky that my mental faculties were mostly unaffected over
the months and years before the end, and there was no sign of cancer in
my brain—as far as I or anyone else knew.<br />
As a kid, when I first learned enough subtraction, I figured out how
old I would be in the momentous year 2000. The answer was 31, which
seemed pretty old. Indeed, by the time I was 31 I was married and had
two daughters, and I was working as a technical writer and web guy in
the computer industry. Pretty grown up, I guess.<br />
Yet there was much more to come. I had yet to start this blog, which recently turned <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/10th-blogiversary">10 years old</a>.
I wasn't yet back playing drums with my band, nor was I a podcaster
(since there was no podcasting, nor an iPod for that matter). In techie
land, Google was fresh and new, Apple remained "beleaguered," Microsoft
was large and in charge, and Facebook and Twitter were several years
from existing at all. The Mars rovers <cite>Spirit</cite> and <cite>Opportunity</cite> were three years away from launch, while the <cite>Cassini-Huygens</cite> probe was not quite half-way to Saturn. The human genome hadn't quite been mapped yet.<br />
The World Trade Center towers still stood in New York City. Jean
Chrétien remained Prime Minister of Canada, Bill Clinton President of
the U.S.A., and Tony Blair Prime Minister of the U.K.—while Saddam
Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, Kim Jong-Il, Ben Ali, and Moammar Qaddafi held
power in Iraq, Egypt, North Korea, Tunisia, and Libya.<br />
In my family in 2000, my cousin wouldn't have a baby for another four
years. My other cousin was early in her relationship with the man who
is now her husband. Sonia, with whom my mother had been lifelong friends
(ever since they were both nine), was still alive. So was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2001/11/city-girl-for-long-time-it-seemed-like.html">my Oma</a>,
my father's mom, who was then 90 years old. Neither my wife nor I had
ever needed long-term hospitalization—not yet. Neither of our children
was out of diapers, let alone taking photographs, writing stories,
riding bikes and horses, posting on Facebook, or outgrowing her mother's
shoe size. We didn't have a dog.<br />
And I didn't have cancer. I had no idea I would get it, certainly not in the next decade, or that it would kill me.<br />
<h3>
Missing out</h3>
Why do I mention all this stuff? Because I've come to realize that,
at any time, I can lament what I will never know, yet still not regret
what got me where I am. I could have died in 2000 (at an "old" 31) and
been happy with my life: my amazing wife, my great kids, a fun job, and
hobbies I enjoyed. But I would have missed out on a lot of things.<br />
And many things will now happen without me. As I wrote this, I hardly
knew what most of them could even be. What will the world be like as
soon as 2021, or as late as 2060, when I would have been 91, the age my
Oma reached? What new will we know? How will countries and people have
changed? How will we communicate and move around? Whom will we admire,
or despise?<br />
What will my wife Air be doing? My daughters Marina and Lolo? What
will they have studied, how will they spend their time and earn a
living? Will my kids have children of their own? Grandchildren? Will
there be parts of their lives I'd find hard to comprehend right now?<br />
<h3>
What to know, now that I'm dead</h3>
There can't be answers today. While I was still alive writing this, I
was sad to know I'll miss these things—not because I won't be able to
witness them, but because Air, Marina, and Lauren won't have me there to
support their efforts.<br />
It turns out that no one can imagine what's really coming in our
lives. We can plan, and do what we enjoy, but we can't expect our plans
to work out. Some of them might, while most probably won't. Inventions
and ideas will appear, and events will occur, that we could never
foresee. That's neither bad nor good, but it is real.<br />
I think and hope that's what my daughters can take from my disease
and death. And that my wonderful, amazing wife Airdrie can see too. Not
that they could die any day, but that they should pursue what they
enjoy, and what stimulates their minds, as much as possible—so they can
be ready for opportunities, as well as not disappointed when things go
sideways, as they inevitably do.<br />
I've also been lucky. I've never had to wonder where my next meal
will come from. I've never feared that a foreign army will come in the
night with machetes or machine guns to kill or injure my family. I've
never had to run for my life (something I could never do now anyway).
Sadly, these are things some people have to do every day right now.<br />
<h3>
A wondrous place</h3>
The world, indeed the whole universe, is a beautiful, astonishing,
wondrous place. There is always more to find out. I don't look back and
regret anything, and I hope my family can find a way to do the same.<br />
What is true is that I loved them. Lauren and Marina, as you mature
and become yourselves over the years, know that I loved you and did my
best to be a good father.<br />
Airdrie, you were my best friend and my closest connection. I don't
know what we'd have been like without each other, but I think the world
would be a poorer place. I loved you deeply, I loved you, I loved you, I
loved you.</div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-56590364235784723172018-11-11T13:40:00.002-08:002022-09-05T20:53:26.239-07:00Derek Apr 2011<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1 class="archive-title" id="page-title">
April 2011 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/i-can-speak-but-in-a-squeaky-way" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">I can speak, but in a squeaky way</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-27T22:36:03-08:00">April 27, 2011 10:36 PM</abbr>
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Today my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/02/strong-silent-type">voice returned</a>,
after more than two months. Some tight scheduling in Coquitlam
prevented a planned appointment here, so my dad, Air, and I drove to
Surrey.<br />
There, an ENT doctor injected one side of my vocal cords while his
colleague manned the nose cam to view the process from the inside.<br />
The result, so far, is a partial return of sound. My right cord is quite calcified, the doctor says, and may never <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/usual-whisper">firm up completely</a>.
So I have, for the moment, a voice whose pitch I can't control, but
which might get better. It's louder, which helps my dad. It isn't
whispery or raspy, which helps everyone else. It does the job.�We'll
hear if it improves, which should be good for the relatively little time
we all have left together.<br />
My stupendously difficult climb from car to main floor in our house
today tells me I won't be leaving in anything but a stretcher from now
on—it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm now officially
housebound, and even floor-bound.</div>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-23T21:09:39-08:00">April 23, 2011 9:09 PM</abbr>
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My friend <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/back-home-and-moving-slowly">Jean-Hugues</a>
discovered he had the same cancer I do at the same time in 2007, in
Paris, France, where he lives. He and his wife Laurence found this blog,
and together we made our way through treatment in part by sending
messages back and forth online.<br />
But he got better. His treatment worked. He was supposed to visit
this past December but was trapped in Europe by snow. Yesterday he
finally made it for his first visit to the Pacific coast, staying at the
nearby Hilton. I am much weaker now, but strong enough for him to sit
at my bedside while we talked (well, I rasped at least).<br />
He has spent these glorious Vancouver spring days traversing the
city, and he showed me photos. My wife and kids are pleased he could
visit too, visions of future trips to Paris drifting through their
imaginations.<br />
Today my mother made Easter dinner for 19 (!) people. She and my dad
live next door, so after Jean-Hugues and I spent an hour or so
discussing his day, we managed to join the party, and of course he could
stay much longer than I could. While his English is excellent, he
enjoyed speaking French with my uncle and cousins too.<br />
I can still hear laughing through the duplex wall. I'm amazed JH
would take time and spend money to see me, or that everything could come
together as it has.<br />
But it is our last chance, because it's my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/on-the-gravel-road">last chance</a>, my last Easter, my final spring.<br />
His flight leaves tomorrow. My father will drive him to the airport. It was brief but well worthwhile.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/to-vote" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">To vote</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-22T22:53:13-08:00">April 22, 2011 10:53 PM</abbr>
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Today was one of three days of advance polling for the upcoming Canadian federal <a href="http://elections.ca/">election</a>, formally held at the beginning of May. My wife Air urged me to go, so we did.<br />
She drove us down to our local high school gym and it was an easy in
and out, slowed mostly by my glacial pace behind my cane. It was also a
test to see if I might make it to my ENT specialist Monday, possibly
(really, I wonder now?) to have my voice returned to me after weeks of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/laryngitis">laryngitis</a>. And perhaps I might.<br />
But for now, it was to vote. In our parliamentary system, an election
can come almost any time. The advance polls fall somewhat arbitrarily
too, this time on Easter weekend. (Don't forget the mail-in ballots as
well, if you miss voting in person.) We pick one candidate, to represent
us in our riding (i.e. electoral district), and also to represent his
or her political party to us. It's very much how things work in Britain,
and not at all how they work in the U.S.A.<br />
The leader of the party who wins more ridings than any other becomes
the Prime Minister, and effectively heads the country. That can get
complicated if his or her party wins <i>more</i>, but not a <i>majority</i>.<br />
It's the way we work it in Canada. Yet I've voted in every municipal,
provincial, and federal election I could. My point is, sick as I am, I
researched the issues, the candidates, the leaders, and the party
platforms on what was important to me. I grabbed some shoes and shuffled
to the car, walked into the gym, signed a form, and voted.<br />
If I can drag myself out to vote—and that's not metaphorical, because I did have to <i>fucking drag</i>
myself out of the car and up the stairs at times—then you can too. If
you're a Canadian citizen, you have the duty, and plenty of chances.<br />
So damn well do it.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/sometimes" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Sometimes</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-21T10:36:15-08:00">April 21, 2011 10:36 AM</abbr>
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I'm still here, with a list of things that sometimes happen.<br />
But first, I have three new rules, things that <i>always</i> happen, no matter how annoying...<br />
Derek's Rule #1: There's always more poop.<br />
Derek's Rule #2: There's always another phone call.<br />
Derek's Rule #3: Even when "no one's coming to visit today," someone is
always coming to visit today, maybe seven or eight people.<br />
Fortunately, so far my wife Air has to handle only the last two. Here endeth the rules.<br />
So, sometimes I'm hacking and coughing away, sometimes we get a
proper motorized hospital bed installed in the living room for me,
sometimes I'm up in the bathroom in the middle of the night after an
entirely fictionalized dream about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poet_Laureate">Poet Laureate</a>
of the United States, and sometimes my wife and daughters and friends
have completely renovated the basement while I've spent most of my time
asleep.<br />
Sometimes people deliver cases of Diet Cherry Coke at odd hours;
sometimes the delivery is a care package with three cases, a nylon
athletic bag, and clothes my daughters wear to school the next day;
sometimes I crack a cold can of the stuff just to feel the bite of that
first sip at 3 in the morning; sometimes it takes me ages to read
through my Facebook messages and Twitter replies and blog comments and
email; sometimes I'm frustrated by email lists that <i>still</i> won't unsubscribe me.<br />
Sometimes Air and I acknowledge that we're distracting ourselves with
all these other things, because I'm dying, and it's obvious now. And
then we sit on the hospital bed, which is quite comfortable, and we cry.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/junk-food-situation" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The American junk food situation</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-15T12:53:44-08:00">April 15, 2011 12:53 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whyisjake/2532544751/" title="Diet Cherry Coke by Jake Spurlock, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Diet Cherry Coke" border="0" class="post" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/2532544751_c8fba037cf_m.jpg" height="161" width="240"></a>Now that we have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/on-the-gravel-road">the trivia</a> out of the way, I'll get to what you really want to know: what's the situation with the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/diet-cherry-coke-easy-cheese">Diet Cherry Coke and Easy Cheese</a>?<br />
In short, you guys are great. I've had so many friends drop by with a
supply of one or the other or both, we're getting nicely stocked up.
(If it was in the evening or nighttime, I either missed you or was in
pretty sad shape—sorry Boris and Rachael.) The Easy Cheese has made a
good snack on crackers or toast, and actually tastes more like cheese
than I remember. We're building a little wall of the cans in one of our
cupboards.<br />
The Diet Cherry Coke situation is even better. Being a drink, we go
through it faster, but people are delivering it at such a rate that
there's no shortage. And just as I remember, I really, really, really
like it. It has, in fact, replaced coffee and in my diet, since even
first thing in the morning I'd rather have the nice cold bite of a fresh
can of Diet Cherry Coke than a cuppa joe.<br />
In my correspondence with the Diet Coke folks (see below), I have also found out the big secret. <b>Yes! The answer is here! Why do they not sell Diet Cherry Coke in Canada?</b> Is it a grand conspiracy, a secret plan to keep this delicious beverage from us, a <i>sub rosa</i> war with Canada Dry and Orange Crush? Here's what Teresa from Coke wrote:<br />
<blockquote>
There does seem to be a very loyal following for the
beverage here in Canada, though demand is not high enough for us to
produce it for the Canadian market.</blockquote>
Sigh. Simple market supply and demand. There are lots of people like
me who enjoy Diet Cherry Coke (and Cherry Coke), some quite
enthusiastically—but not enough to make and sell it here. Damn, I wish
it were something more sinister.<br />
Coke has scheduled April 19 (next week) for their "care package" of
Diet Cherry Coke products to arrive at my house via FedEx Ground, so
I'll be interested to see what that includes. But if you've been
planning to bring some cans of Diet Cherry Coke cross-border for poor
cancer-riddled me (oh, as well as Easy Cheese), then keep it comin'. No
one will be manufacturing it to sell here anytime soon.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/on-the-gravel-road" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">On the gravel road</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-14T12:53:02-08:00">April 14, 2011 12:53 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavelog/118087092/" title="pavement-ends-closeup by Cavelog, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="pavement-ends-closeup" border="0" class="post" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/118087092_d67bf685ef_m.jpg" height="159" width="240"></a>I'm at the point with my cancer that the car has finally bumped down off the pavement and we're driving <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Wheels_on_a_Gravel_Road">on gravel</a>
now. What I mean is, the end of the road is somewhere up ahead, not too
far, and I'm not going back to smooth speedy travel, ever. To keep
moving at a reasonable pace, I have to pay more attention to details,
and a lot of stuff I previously took for granted requires effort—mine or
someone else's. This has happened faster than I expected, but life
often does.<br />
Several doctors have helped me manage my symptoms, and the celiac
block procedure I had last weeks seems to have helped with abdominal
pain, for one thing. While my chest cough persists, it is not from fluid
building up in my lungs. I am treating the cough, most often at night,
with a drug that dries tissues out locally so I can more easily find a
comfortable sleeping position. The Depends are <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/so-much-for-diaper-free">doing their job</a> too.<br />
Both of my feet and lower legs are swollen, but that appears to be a
regular consequence of my metabolism becoming wonky as the tumours
interfere with my various bodily systems. The treatment? Elevate my
feet, and wear super-tight compression stockings (I'll get thigh-high
ones fitted in the next few days, ooh-la-la). I remain stupefyingly
tired, especially on days like today when I decide not to take Ritalin
to perk me up.<br />
None of these symptoms will get much better. The only one that could is <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/usual-whisper">my voice</a>,
which has been nothing but a whisper for two months, but which I hope
Dr. Anderson will inject or spray on April 25, and perhaps I'll be able
to speak with my vocal cords again.<br />
<h3>
Real plans, for real. No really.</h3>
All the rest means that my wife Air and I are making plans, real
plans, about what the next few weeks and months are going to look like. I
am on the full B.C. Palliative Care benefits program—British Columbia
seems to be <a href="http://palliativecare.med.ubc.ca/">in good stead</a> when it comes to this somewhat uncomfortable specialty.<br />
I have signed the official B.C. Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) form, so if I
have a heart attack or other really drastic event, then my medical
team—plus first responders and hospital staff—know that I don't have
long to live, and don't want any overly-heroic treatments to keep me
alive at any cost. In particular, there's no point in having me on a
ventilator in intensive care when that space could go to someone who
might make a full recovery and live a long life.<br />
Emily the Burnaby Health Nurse comes again tomorrow to see what I
might need here at home, so that I can stay as long as possible—and to
determine who else on her team might be best to help my family and me
figure that out. While Burnaby Hospital's Palliative Care ward is
apparently extremely nice, and just down the hill, I'm not planning to
go there.<br />
Rather, we're physically preparing our house for me to live my last
weeks to months here, and likely for me to die here too. Burnaby Health
will even bring in a fully-adjustable hospital bed so I can set myself
up comfortably.<br />
<h3>
Being the Decider</h3>
I may sound a little cold and matter-of-fact right now, but in truth
it's surprisingly satisfying, even a bit joyful, for Air and me to be
able to <i>make decisions</i> about how my life will end—and to know that these decisions will take effect not in some abstract future, but <i>soon</i>.<br />
Personally I don't expect to live until autumn, and I don't know if
I'll get very far into summer. But if that's the way it happens, I'd <i>like</i>
to die during a beautiful Vancouver summer rather than one of our
grimmer grey seasons. Once I'm dead there'll be no further experiences,
so I may as well face a lovely city in the sunshine beforehand if I get
the chance.<br />
At the moment none of my doctors sees any particular single organ or
physiological system as a big scary killer lurking to take me down
suddenly, or with a series of cascading problems. More likely I'll
continue to become weaker and more tired, and I may need some help
breathing later. Then, eventually, weeks or a few months down this
gravel road, I'll simply shut down, and I'll die. There <a href="http://xkcd.com/659/">won't be</a> a Derek anymore.<br />
That sounds like a decent way to go.</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/so-much-for-diaper-free" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">So much for being diaper-free</a></h2>
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<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-10T09:10:03-08:00">April 10, 2011 9:10 AM</abbr>
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Back in 2001, when my youngest daughter toilet-trained
herself at 18 months of age, I thought we'd be a household free of
diapers for decades to come. Sure, there'd be (and has been) the
occasional night of babysitting, but we figured we wouldn't be <i>buying</i> any more diapers until any grandchildren came along.<br />
Well, maybe not so much. (Some text below might be Too Much
Information, just to warn you.) It's been well over a year since I
started wearing small protective pads to avoid accidents, especially at
night, but a couple of very close calls last week have demanded that, at
night, I wear a full set of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depend">Depend</a> adult diapers. Yes, the same kind Betty White keeps making jokes about, and that prompted the hilarious "<a href="http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/oops-i-crapped-my-pants/1049485/">Oops! I Crapped My Pants!</a>" faux-ads on <cite>Saturday Night Live</cite> a few years ago—no, the video won't play outside the U.S.<br />
They're essentially the same as the diapers my kids used to wear a
decade ago, merely a lot bigger, and without the cutesy girl patterns
and prints. The manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark, also makes Huggies, which
is only sensible. But man, they're expensive! Once I sort out the proper
size, we'll probably purchase them at Costco, where they work out to
about a buck apiece.<br />
I thought that if I ever needed Depends, then admitting it would be
humiliating for me. But after almost five years of cancer treatment,
including radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, vomiting, blood, bodily
fluids of many others sorts, and an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/home-from-surgery">ileostomy</a>,
it's just "meh." My wife Air and I were in the car last week, and I
simply said to her, "I need to buy some Depends." She went and picked up
a package for me soon after.<br />
Our friends <a href="http://www.worldwidewatercooler.com/">Jen</a>,
Neil, and their new baby Isaac dropped by yesterday for a nice long
visit. Holding a sleeping newborn remains a great way to bring down my
stress levels. Anyway, when we arranged the visit, my first thought was,
"Hey, now we'll have <i>two</i> guys in the house with diapers."<br />
It's not really funny, but it was true.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/diet-cherry-coke-easy-cheese" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Bring me Diet Cherry Coke and Easy Cheese!</a></h2>
<div class="asset-meta">
<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-06T13:07:40-08:00">April 6, 2011 1:07 PM</abbr>
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As my health has taken a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/time-will-come">sudden decline</a>, some of you (thanks especially to my parents, my in-laws, and <a href="http://www.nottobetrustedwithknives.com/">Beth</a>)
have offered to cook us food that we can freeze and reheat, and that
has been quite helpful. But not everyone likes to cook, yet many of you
still want to give me a hand somehow. So here's a suggestion you might
not have thought of. (It only hit me last night.)<br />
<div class="note">
<b>UPDATE:</b> It turns out that Coca-Cola
U.S.A. found this post, and will be sending me "a small supply" (I.e.
not a semi truck) of Diet Cherry Coke. Wow! Thanks to them.</div>
<div class="note">
<b>UPDATE 2:</b> Of course my network of
friends is even faster. Sylvia dropped by today with both Diet Cherry
Coke and Easy Cheese, courtesy of her visiting uncle. Another thanks!</div>
My family and I live in Vancouver. When we travel to the U.S., we
often pick up a couple of things that are simply unavailable here. One
is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/invinoveritas/216202971/">Diet Cherry Coke</a>.
No, nothing weird, none of the bizarre combinations of flavours that
the soda companies keep experimenting with. Simple: Diet. Cherry. Coke.
Like this:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Diet Cherry Coke, nectar of the gods" border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjrD2B42koe_UAMjOTKvfQGnMaJiNIXNWSKTvsuqxK7fRVZRsS_YqTvnj-a3BPrUqROHdAdHajfqzMAMbJmEI0IzadXdqORC2YF4-NSaGg8Pl2Ho1rdAtz8TFo9Tk_TMKNGsEqPVv4ft_eDmFLvOlJ2Uyb3iqd61juDcg=s0-d" width="450" /></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
I have never figured out why this wonderful drink, easily available
just across the border in Blaine, Washington, has never been for sale in
B.C.<br />
The second is a true guilty pleasure. It's Kraft <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/21800709/">Easy Cheese</a>, which sprays out of a can onto your cracker or other eating surface:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/21800709/" title="Easy Squeeze Cheese 1 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Easy Squeeze Cheese 1" border="0" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/17/21800709_87ac972a9c.jpg" height="450" width="300"></a></div>
In the 1970s, we could buy something similar here, but I haven't seen
it in a Canadian grocery store in decades. No particular flavour
(Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, whatever) is my favourite, it's the
squeeze-cheese experience that I enjoy.<br />
So if you're a Vancouverite travelling to the U.S.A., or you're a
U.S. resident visiting Vancouver, I'd be happy to reimburse you for the
cost of some Diet Cherry Coke, some Kraft Easy Cheese, or both.<br />
And if you say that those are horrible food-like substances that will give me cancer, I will just laugh and laugh.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/04/time-will-come" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The time will come</a></h2>
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<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-04-02T13:36:14-08:00">April 2, 2011 1:36 PM</abbr>
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Not many people have seen me in the past two or three
weeks. If you had, you'd probably say, "Derek doesn't look so good." And
you'd be right. After the high point of my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/my-living-wake">living wake</a> early in March, I took a turn downhill.<br />
Soon enough, I found it difficult to get myself out of the house for
such simple tasks as walking our dog Lucy. Right now I don't have the
strength to do even that, and I don't feel comfortable driving anymore
either. Going out for dinner with the family, or friends? Out of the
question.<br />
<h3>
A drag of a morning</h3>
Here, for example, was how a series of simple tasks went this
morning. I dragged myself out of bed (a pure mind-over-matter exercise
against my body), put on my bathrobe and slippers, and had Lucy come
with me. I opened our back door so she could go out in the yard, and I
followed her. Half-way down the back steps I had to sit down on the
stairs: I didn't have the energy to get all the way down to the back
yard in one go.<br />
A few minutes later I managed it, walking down the rest of the steps
and into the yard, and sat on our lawn chair while Lucy ran around and
did her <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4448343740/">usual doggy business</a>.
Ten minutes later it was time to go back inside. I propped the chair up
again the wall of the house and walked, very slowly, back around the
side of the house, up the stairs, and into the kitchen. Where I promptly
had to sit down again on the first chair I could grab.<br />
I had planned to make myself a bowl of corn flakes, but such a simple
task seemed daunting. Instead I went to lie down in bed for 15 minutes
to recover, after which I was able to prepare the cereal—but before I
was able to eat it, I puked in the sink. Afterwards, the cereal went
down fine, and I followed it with a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/the-drugs">Ritalin</a>, which I hoped might push me into the realm of "not completely exhausted" later in the day.<br />
<h3>
A slightly better afternoon</h3>
Sitting up in bed, I browsed a few websites and listened to CBC
Radio. At some point I nodded off for half an hour while my wife and
kids were out looking for paint colours for the kitchen. But I did wake
up feeling perkier. Right now I'm on the back porch typing this in the
vaguely-warm spring sunshine, with the dog once again snuffling about. I
feel like a tired but functional version of myself, rather than the
depleted and worn-out lump I did this morning.<br />
I saw my family doctor yesterday, and he told me that is the pattern
for cancer patients: the two major debilitating symptoms are pain and
fatigue, and my pain is under reasonable control. He encouraged me to
move around as much as I can—which is what I was trying to do during my
sit-on-the-stairs experience today—and to keep my mind active. At my
lowest, sometimes that in itself can be difficult.<br />
I wonder how long it will be before I can no longer walk unassisted?
Before I can't make a sandwich? Before I'm pretty much bedridden? No one
knows the answers, not my doctors, not me, but the time will come.
That's scary.</div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-17635998860296140772018-11-11T13:36:00.005-08:002022-09-05T20:54:28.741-07:00Derek Mar 2011<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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March 2011 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/tsunami-video" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Tsunami video</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-31T23:54:45-08:00">March 31, 2011 11:54 PM</abbr>
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In case you missed my brief mention a few weeks ago, and its original posting back in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/vfs-students-made-video-of-my-tsunami">2008</a>, here is a <a href="http://vimeo.com/749787">video</a> that three Vancouver Film School students made explaining tsunamis (like the recent one in Japan) in a couple of minutes:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/749787">Tsunami Infographic</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user282647">Shal</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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It's based on my 2005 <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/learn_about_tsunamis_2005-01.html">article</a> on the topic.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/worse-better-japan" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Worse and better in Japan</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-29T13:39:38-08:00">March 29, 2011 1:39 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenn-in-japan/3531948691/" title="West Moat (Explored) 6,000 visits to this photo. Thank you. by Glenn Waters ぐれんin Japan., on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="West Moat (Explored) 6,000 visits to this photo. Thank you." class="post" height="177" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3531948691_768d323b78_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>When I wrote about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/modern-japan-saved-lives">the day they happened</a>,
my post was optimistic, despite the obvious catastrophe. In many ways,
things have turned out worse than they first seemed. Surely the
situation in Indonesia and around the Indian Ocean was similarly awful
at the end of 2004—and took many more lives—but we didn't have access to
horrifying footage <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709850">like this</a> (watch the whole thing) to reinforce the point.<br />
The argument I made, that Japan's position as a modern country with a
robust infrastructure and vibrant economy, remains: unlike <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/01/12/132860125/planet-money-on-haiti">Haiti</a> especially, Japan will <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/03/25/134830408/why-japan-will-bounce-back">bounce back</a>
quickly. Fewer people died or were injured than would have been in
poorer and less-prepared nations from a magnitude-9.0 quake and massive
sea wave. Those who are homeless and displaced will find safe places to
live, and food, and comfort faster than in many parts of the world.<br />
But the dead, officially more than <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/24/japan-nuclear-injuries.html">10,000 people</a>
now, are still dead. More than half that number again, over 17,000
people, are missing. Villages, towns, and cities are destroyed, some <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/03/japan_-_vast_devastation.html">utterly annihilated</a>.<br />
<h3>
Distracted from a disaster by a crisis</h3>
That enormity should remain our focus, but it is not. Because the
cleanup and recovery in Northeast Japan is now an aftermath. And there
is an ongoing crisis at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_I_Nuclear_Power_Plant">Fukushima Daiichi</a>
nuclear power plant. Since it is right on the ocean near the earthquake
zone, I remain amazed that it survived the original quake and tsunami
as well as it did, but ever since then, it's been hard to figure out
what's going on at the facility: initially the situation seemed under
control, then not. There were explosions. Things were going well, then
poorly, radiation up, then down, in the soil, in the water, in food.
Workers evacuated, then returned.<br />
It's unclear to me how much of what has happened at the plant is an
inevitable cascading consequence of the initial disaster, and how much
has been made worse by insufficient information, poor analysis, bad
decision-making, and incompetence. It <em>is</em> clear that news
coverage of the nuclear accident, especially here in North America, has
been remarkably poor, stoking worries while ignoring facts, and even
confusing such basic distinctions as those between <cite>radiation</cite> and <cite>radioactive substances</cite>; between different types of radiation (alpha, beta, gamma); or between <cite>dosages</cite> and <cite>exposure rates</cite> (which is like forgetting the difference between miles and miles per hour).<br />
Here are a three quick resources that I've found helpful:<br />
<ol>
<li>XKCD's <a href="http://xkcd.com/radiation/">radiation dose chart</a> and accompanying <a href="http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/03/19/radiation-chart/">blog post</a>
gives you a sense of the scales of different exposures to radiation. It
has some problems, but as a heavily simplified go-to guide, it will
help you get your bearings.</li>
<li>Well-known blogger Anil Dash's father-in-law is a health physicist specializing in human radiation exposure, so Anil's <a href="http://dashes.com/anil/2011/03/tmi-fear-fukushima-and-facts.html">post on the topic</a>, while brief, provides some additional sane background on which to base your thinking.</li>
<li>The <cite>Christian Science Monitor</cite> (always a surprisingly good newspaper, despite how it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christian_Science_Monitor">was founded</a>) has a good article on lessons from Fukushima about <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0329/How-dangerous-is-nuclear-power-Three-lessons-from-Japan/From-Three-Mile-Island-to-Chernobyl-lessons-learned">nuclear safety</a> more generally.</li>
</ol>
<h3>
It's about Japan, not about us</h3>
I'd also like to point out a few things for people here on North
America's West Coast who are worried about radioisotopes carried here on
the wind. Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Those were <em>open-air nuclear detonations</em>
in Japan, and didn't affect people here. There were dozens and dozens
of atomic-bomb tests in Nevada (many also open-air), practically in our
back yards, and while some radiation levels were elevated, the health
consequences have been immeasurable. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site">Hanford Site</a> in Washington isn't even 300 km from my house, and is the most contaminated nuclear waste site in North America.<br />
CT scans, flying in aircraft, and even living at elevation in
Colorado yield higher long-term radiation exposure than any of these
other things, especially on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Oh, and
no matter what, taking iodine is of no help whatsoever: the radioactive
varieties coming from Fukushima have half-lives so short they decay
away (in addition to being dispersed) before even getting this far. Want
protection from danger? Get a flu shot next year.<br />
I'm neither an advocate for nor an activist against nuclear power. My
main concern has always been that we really don't know what to do with
spent fuel and other radioactive waste from the process (just as with
nuclear weapons production), and we never have. "Just bury it" seems a
paltry approach when we're talking about substances that could be
dangerous for tens of thousands of years. We're still doing a poor job
of burying the waste of just 65 years of nuclear production.<br />
But we have an industry here and now, and it has <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/29/japan-tuesday.html">its consequences</a>.
Let's at least try to understand and handle those rationally, and help
Japan work with them, because hysteria won't make it any easier.<br />
And remember the quake and the tsunami, and the 27,000 dead or still missing.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/20-years-on" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Twenty years on</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-26T17:33:16-08:00">March 26, 2011 5:33 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/478789122/" title="Derek at His Thinnest (1991), photo by Alistair Calder, posted on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Derek at His Thinnest (1991)" class="post" height="185" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/478789122_9cafb1b08b_m.jpg" width="200" /></a>In 1991, I had finished my Marine Biology degree and was part-way through a non-fiction writing diploma at the <a href="http://www.ubc.ca/">University of B.C.</a>
On Spring Break in March, I visited my parents, who were then living in
Toronto. I didn't feel well: tired, cranky, dehydrated, out of sorts in
many ways. Each night, I had to go to the bathroom several times, which
was unusual for me at the time. I was losing weight. My vision was a
bit funny, and I was unusually hungry. But I was only 21 years old, in
strong health, regularly riding my bicycle to school.<br />
Perhaps I had a kidney infection, but I wasn't sick enough to see a
doctor—I would wait until I returned to Vancouver. When the time came to
do that, I was <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/478789122/">skinnier than ever</a>,
constantly thirsty, fatigued, and grumpy as I boarded the plane. I
chugged free ginger ales the whole way back across the country. (I later
realized this was a bad idea.)<br />
<h3>
Too sick to wait</h3>
I arrived on a Thursday, and was getting even sicker. I phoned my
doctor's office as soon as I got home to make an appointment, but the
soonest he could see me was Monday. I went to bed. And stayed there. I
was too weak and tired to do anything on Friday or Saturday. My
roommates were worried about me: they'd seen how much I'd thinned out
while I was away, and how much weaker I was.<br />
They decided I couldn't wait till Monday: I was too ill, and I was
going downhill fast. They drove me to Burnaby Hospital's Emergency
department, no arguments from me allowed. Within minutes of being
brought past triage, a doctor smelled my breath and figured out what was
going on: the distinctive sickly-sweet scent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketoacidosis">ketoacidosis</a>, caused by my body breaking down muscle and fat instead of digesting food.<br />
It was almost certain that I had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_1">type 1 diabetes</a>.
Sometime in the past few weeks, my pancreas had stopped producing
insulin, preventing my body from metabolizing the food and drink I'd
been consuming. Glucose levels in my blood had been rising and rising,
and every meal and sugary drink I consumed had been making things worse.<br />
A quick blood test confirmed it. For normal people, glucose is
dissolved in the bloodstream at concentrations between 4 and 8
millimoles per litre (mmol/L). (Some other countries, such as the U.S.,
measure in milligrams per decilitre, where those readings would be
between 70-140 mg/dL.) That's normal, between 4 and 8. What was my
reading that night in the hospital?<br />
Thirty-two! Four times the highest regular reading, and almost off the scale for most consumer blood-glucose measuring devices.<br />
I almost smacked my forehead. I'd learned about diabetes during my biology degree. I had every <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-1-diabetes/DS00329/DSECTION=symptoms">sign and symptom</a>
in the book. But it had never occurred to me that I might develop the
condition: I didn't know of any family history, I was a strapping young
guy, and yet I was actually older than most people who get the disease.
It is an autoimmune disorder, where my own immune system attacked and
destroyed the insulin-producing cells in my pancreas, and most type 1
diabetics first develop it around puberty, which is why it's also known
as juvenile diabetes.<br />
<h3>
Learning to manage</h3>
But there I was, diabetic. The staff started giving me insulin,
rehydrating me, and getting my electrolytes and other body chemistry
back in balance. They started to explain diabetes to me in the simplest
possible language, but I stopped them and asked if they could track down
a textbook. Over the next few days I'd need to learn how to measure my
blood sugars and inject insulin to control them, along with adjusting
what, how much, and when I ate. Exercise and stress affect things too. I
figured if I read some background physiology on the disease, I'd be
better prepared.<br />
Soon enough I was admitted to a regular ward, and soon enough after
that, feeling healthy and starting to regain some weight, I was bored.
But I still needed to learn how to manage my diabetes, something I knew
I'd have to do the rest of my life. I learned as much as I could then (I
couldn't leave the hospital without the basics), and more afterwards at
various clinics over the years.<br />
And for 20 years now, I have managed it. Through university, jobs,
marriage, children, and especially during my cancer treatment—which
diabetes makes even <em>more</em> complicated—I've been keeping my blood
glucose under control. Not too high, not too low. I measure several
times a day by poking the end of a finger and having a tiny meter read a
drop of my blood. Enough insulin to handle my meals, but not too much. I
inject that at least four times daily. Adjustments for exercise.
Awareness of how it feels if my blood glucose suddenly goes low, and
what to do about it (quick answer: down a can of Coke).<br />
I always figured I would reach this 20-year milestone. Diabetes
hasn't been cured, but modern treatments, with accurate portable meters
and genetically-engineered insulin, make it easier than ever for us
diabetics to live relatively normal lives.<br />
While I haven't been perfect at the task, I've done pretty well, and have avoided any <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/type-1-diabetes/DS00329/DSECTION=complications">complications</a> for two decades. One twisted consequence of my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/02/little-less-each-day">terminal cancer</a> is that now I won't face them at all, since any complications that did arise would be decades away. I won't live that long.<br />
Without those modern treatments, I would have died early in 1991, and
never gotten married, had kids, started a blog, or developed cancer.
That's certainly something.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/better-when-busy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Better when busy</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-24T19:50:48-08:00">March 24, 2011 7:50 PM</abbr>
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It was shockingly quiet here in the house all week, just
me and Lucy the dog. I hardly went out, since I was pretty ill most of
the time. My parents dropped by to check on me, walk the dog, and drop
off food from time to time. But I spent the week—largely feeling content
and by my own choice—mostly alone.<br />
This afternoon my wife and two daughters returned from <a href="http://www.victoria.ca/">Victoria</a>, where she had been attending a conference, pulling up in the car close to 3 p.m.<br />
The transformation was instantaneous. Kids arguing, laundry flying,
puppy barking, snacks inhaled, sudden clutter making magical appearances
here and there. Air and I exchanged a few glances: she'd been dealing
with this type of chaos by herself for six days and nights.<br />
I had woken up mysteriously early this morning, and Air was tired
after an early morning and the drive and ferry, so we crashed out for a
nap while the kids played and watched TV. Despite the continued noise
(even Lucy decided to chomp on a squeaky toy while lying between us), I
had a smile on my face. It's better when the house is full.<br />
I'm sure I'll tire of the hullabaloo soon enough, but not today.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/usual-whisper" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The usual whisper</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-23T20:45:25-08:00">March 23, 2011 8:45 PM</abbr>
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When Dr. Anderson, the ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist I
saw today, grabbed his nasal endoscope (which I fondly thought of as
his "nose cam") and took a look down my throat—an interesting experience
for me, certainly—he was surprised. As a result, he's not treating my
laryngitis yet. Let's find out why.<br />
He asked me to try to hum, and I did, producing no sound at all, as expected. One of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_folds">vocal folds</a>
in my larynx wasn't vibrating, also as expected. When I try to talk,
only one of my two vocal folds becomes "adducted" into position, and
with no second fold to vibrate against, no sound happens. That's what
laryngitis, or dysphonia, is all about:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_folds" title="Vocal cords, via Wikimedia"><img alt="Vocal cord diagram" border="0" class="post" height="232" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vocal_cords.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
But the slack vocal fold wasn't the one everyone was expecting. With
all the information in my cancer patient file, describing all the
tumours in my lungs and around my spine, Dr. Anderson—like my doctors at
the B.C. Cancer Agency's Pain and Symptom Management Clinic last
week—figured some of those tumours might be affecting a particular
nerve. That is the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN), which connects my
brain to the <em>left</em> vocal fold.<br />
<h3>
Not the wacky nerve, not acid, not bacteria</h3>
For <a href="http://geophagus.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/why-evolution-is-true/">historical-evolutionary reasons</a>, in most vertebrates (including human) the <em>left</em>
nerve loops from the brain, way down into the chest, and then back up
to connect to the left side of the larynx—yes, even in whales and
giraffes, where the nerve makes <em>very</em> long detours. In my body, there are lots of opportunities in my chest for interference from tumours, swelling, and so on.<br />
But the <em>right</em> nerve takes a more direct route from the brain
to the larynx, and there's no evidence of cancer or anything else
interfering with the performance of that nerve. And, in my larynx, the
right side is the slack side.<br />
Dr. Anderson peered around with his nose cam (glurk), and saw no
evidence of scarring from injury, or stomach acid from my occasional
vomiting, or bacterial infection—which the antibiotic I took last week
would have addressed anyway. He asked me if my throat was or had been
sore (no), if I had any troubles with choking when I tried to swallow
(no), or if I had any throat spasms (also no).<br />
<h3>
Staying voiceless to reduce the risk</h3>
So he wants me to wait yet longer, and see if my vocal cords will
heal themselves. Had my left vocal fold been slack, he probably would
have treated it right away, because the source would be much more likely
to be nerve interference, and thus perhaps permanent. Spraying or
injecting the slack fold would snap it into the "adducted" position
where the functioning one could vibrate against it. (I think he might
use Teflon, though he didn't say.)<br />
<div class="note">
<strong>UPDATE:</strong> No, Teflon is <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/usual-whisper#comment-103594">not a likely agent</a>, it seems, since there are newer and better things to try. So, no jokes about my non-stick vocal cords, I guess.</div>
Sounds great, but he recommended <em>against</em> doing that to the
right fold, because if it's not paralyzed by nerve damage, and isn't
infected with bacteria, and doesn't seem to be affected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngopharyngeal_reflux">acid reflux</a>
from my stomach, it is much more likely to be something temporary, such
as a virus. After all, my laryngitis began after my whole family
developed a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/02/knocked-down-a-peg">viral infection</a> one weekend back in February.<br />
I still have a chest cough, and my immune system is weakened, of
course. Viruses can linger in my system for a long time, and if they've
knocked out my right vocal fold, that could take weeks to heal. (My
mother, by comparison, has been recovering from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_zoster">shingles</a> for six weeks, much as my wife had to do back in 2004.)<br />
So spraying my right vocal fold to lock it into position might be a
bad idea, because if it can heal on its own, then both sides of my vocal
folds will adduct naturally, and vibrate against each other, as they
should. If it's locked into position, then only one side, the left side,
will vibrate. It will work—though I guess my voice might sound
different. I got the impression that the spray might also potentially
injure the fold it locks into position, since that essentially forces it
from abducted (open) paralysis to adducted (closed) paralysis.<br />
<h3>
Fear and frustration</h3>
It didn't occur to me until just now, and Dr. Anderson said nothing
about this idea, but if we did snap the right side into a permanently
adducted position, and <em>later</em> the RLN became injured because of pressure from my chest tumours and paralyzed my <em>left</em> vocal fold, I'd lose my voice <em>again</em>. I'm not even sure what the consequences and implications of that are. It would suck, to say the least.<br />
So while it's tremendously frustrating, it does seem reasonable to
wait. I will see Dr. Anderson and his nose cam again in a few weeks. I
hope when I do, it will be with a naturally-recovered voice. If not,
I'll plan to go with the spray then, and hope that will bring back my
speech. In the meantime, if I talk to you, expect what I now think of as
"the usual whisper."<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/appointment-set" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Appointment set</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-22T15:45:40-08:00">March 22, 2011 3:45 PM</abbr>
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While the general trend of my health is—as anyone should <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death">expect</a>—downward,
it's hard to know when I'm having a down day or two, as opposed to
entering a new phase of declining health more generally. This past
weekend, while my pain was better than average, my fatigue kept me
pretty much stuck in the house hanging out with the dog, throwing up
occasionally. I started to wonder whether I was suddenly becoming
housebound. Yesterday's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/still-nothing">post</a> gave you a clue to my mindset.<br />
Yet today I was quite a lot better, more awake, able to do more
chores (cleaning out the fridge, a bit of laundry), just generally
feeling in a better mood, mentally and physically. I still didn't get
out, but at least I felt like I <em>could</em>.<br />
And tomorrow I will. I have an appointment to see an Dr. Anderson, an
ENT specialist in Coquitlam, in the afternoon about my laryngitis. If
anyone can find a solution, I'm hoping Dr. Anderson will be the guy. To
have <em>some</em> part of my body start working relatively normally
again would be a boost to my disposition. At the least, it would be nice
if people calling on the phone could expect to hear and understand me
clearly.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/still-nothing" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Still nothing</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-21T12:36:12-08:00">March 21, 2011 12:36 PM</abbr>
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What is the verdict following my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/vow-of-silence">full weekend</a> (62 hours) of self-imposed speechlessness? No effect whatsoever: my laryngitis (or, to introduce another term, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysphonia">dysphonia</a>)
remains in full force, and a whisper is still about the best I can do.
So among the doctors' referrals I'm waiting for, I'm hoping the
otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat) specialist contacts me soon. <br />
Tomorrow it will be a full month since I stopped being able to talk
full voice, or sing, or be heard in any but the quietest environments.
It's become pretty damn frustrating, especially for someone who's
usually as talkative as I am. Nor did I find the task of not talking on
Saturday and Sunday the least bit fun.<br />
The weather isn't helping. I perked up slightly yesterday when the
sun came out, but Vancouver has returned to grey spring drizzle today.
My aunt and uncle had enough of it last week, and took one of their
regular trips to the Nevada desert. I can understand their motivation.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/vow-of-silence" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Vow of silence</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-18T23:24:20-08:00">March 18, 2011 11:24 PM</abbr>
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I've now had <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/02/strong-silent-type">laryngitis</a>,
preventing me from speaking in more than a whisper or a rasp, for 24
days. I saw my doctors at the B.C. Cancer Agency yesterday, and they are
referring me to an ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist as soon as
possible. Despite a couple of minor <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/a-sesame-street-moment">encouraging signs</a> this week, simple rest and fluids didn't work, and an antibiotic didn't work.<br />
My friend Evie suggested early on that it could be result of, or exacerbated by, a type of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngopharyngeal_reflux">acid reflux</a>.
That's among the most common causes of laryngitis, and treatment for
reflux (which she didn't know she had) cleared hers up after four weeks.
It could be something more exotic, however (pressure on the body's most
famous nerve, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurrent_laryngeal_nerve">RLN</a>?), with potentially more exotic treatments (spraying one side of my larynx with Teflon?).<br />
Anyway, we'll see what the ENT specialist says. In the meantime, my
wife and kids are away for a few days, so I'm going to take the chance
tomorrow (Saturday) and the day after (Sunday) to rest my larynx by <em>not speaking at all</em>. No whispering, no rasping, no nothing. Most of you won't notice, since you only see what I type anyway. <br />
But I won't answer the phone. Whoever leaves a message will have to
have some other way—SMS, text chat, Facebook, Twitter, email—for me to
communicate back. Anyone seeing me in person will get messages written
out on pieces of paper (yes, that's faster than an iPad, shut up).<br />
Oft-time <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/extroverted-introvert">loner</a> that I am, I suspect I might enjoy it a bit.<br />
P.S. Yesterday my wife tweeted that I have "vocal cord paralysis,"
which alarmed a few people. I'll note that "vocal cord paralysis" and
"laryngitis" mean the same thing (as does "I've lost my voice"): my
vocal cords won't vibrate to produce sound. They describe a <em>symptom</em>,
but not what's causing it, or what could treat it. A different name
need not mean things are worse, or better, or different at all.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/adele-makes-me-cry" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Sometimes it lasts, sometimes it hurts instead</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-17T13:15:08-08:00">March 17, 2011 1:15 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecomplex/5534354098/" title="Adele – “Someone Like You” live video + download free mp3 by thecomplex, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Adele – “Someone Like You” live video + download free mp3" class="post" height="134" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5295/5534354098_a860d10507_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Last night, at bedtime, I put the new <a href="http://www.adele.tv/">Adele</a> album <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/21-Adele/dp/B004EBT5CU/?tag=insidehomerec-20">21</a></cite>
in my headphones and settled down to sleep. Within three songs, I was
crying hot tears, my face scrunched up so I couldn't see. I couldn't
stop. I didn't want to. I sobbed silently through nine more tracks and
40 minutes in the dark (weeping with laryngitis is one <em>more</em> weird experience), enough that I was worried I'd short out one of the earbuds.<br />
Music, that most human of instincts and inventions, can do that at
its very best: reach past our rational minds, through any analysis or
cynicism, beyond any physical pain or discomfort, directly to our
emotions. Then it can draw those feelings out and tap them to the
surface, even (especially?) when we didn't know just what was in there.
I've had it happen: listening to the astounding student choir in the
auditorium at the high school where my wife works, hearing <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">Stevie Ray Vaughan</a> play "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix, a few transcendent moments onstage with my own band in front of crowds big or small.<br />
But Adele's "furious tornado of a voice" (as Pitchfork's Tom Breihan <a href="http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12105-someone-like-you/">called it</a>) pierces me. She's half my age, British, and likes to hit the pub with her friends, but that voice and the <em>conviction</em>
behind it are why she's also a number-one selling artist in countries
around the world right now. She's the queen of heartbreak. Every time
she comes on with little but piano as backing, like on "Turning Tables"
or "Someone Like You," and "Hometown Glory" or Bob Dylan's "Make You
Feel My Love" from her previous collection, <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/19-Adele/dp/B0018QOIXU/?tag=insidehomerec-20">19</a></cite>, I completely lose it...<br />
Hang on. Have to take a break here for a second...<br />
<h3>
Heartbreak</h3>
Sheesh. It's like I'm a mopey '80s teen wallowing in my room to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cure">Robert Smith</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths">Morrissey</a> (and, back then, I wasn't). The funny thing is, Adele has a Cure cover on the album ("<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovesong_(The_Cure_song)">Lovesong</a>"),
and while it's very good indeed, it doesn't have the desperate edge of
the original. I don't know whether it's the riff, or the way Smith sang
"I will always love you" in 1989, but he made it clear that the love
wasn't coming back, and maybe never got there to start with.<br />
Adele's own songs often do accomplish that, in spades. Let's take one. At the end of her staggering BRIT Awards version of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qemWRToNYJY">Someone Like You</a>"
(the live recording went straight to #1 on the British charts), the
announcer says something like, "You don't need dancers and pyro and
lasers, do you?" Basically he's telling all the other acts at the
awards, from Rihanna to Arcade Fire, "This girl can kick your ass any
day of the week." And he's right. I'm sure she knows it, but whenever
I've seen her end a song, she appears like she has to shake it off a
bit, then she looks off to the side slightly, as if thinking, "Was that <em>me</em>?"<br />
But there's a more subtle part of the performance that's worth examining. Here are the lyrics for the chorus:<br />
<blockquote>
Never mind, I'll find someone like you,<br />
I wish nothing but the best for you, too,<br />
Don't forget me, I beg,<br />
I remember you said,<br />
Sometimes it lasts in love,<br />
But sometimes it hurts instead.</blockquote>
At the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qemWRToNYJY">BRIT Awards</a>
and at every other live performance I've heard of that song, Adele
sings the first four lines in the same, strong, high part of her vocal
range, then pulls it down a little for the last two. It works great.<br />
<h3>
The moment</h3>
But listen to the version <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=1fMt2kjc8iw&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Falbum%252Fsomeone-like-you%252Fid420075073%253Fi%253D420075185%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30">on the album</a>.
I think it's slightly too fast, but here's what I guess happened:
producer Dan Wilson asked Adele to try something different in the
chorus, to sing the third line ("Don't forget me, I beg...") <em>higher</em>
than her normal range, where it almost cracks. It's not an unusual
technique for even great singers to try straining on purpose, maybe
creating some of the finest moments in popular music. (Think of John
Lennon on the Beatles' "Twist and Shout," Roger Daltrey on the Who's
"Won't Get Fooled Again," or the entire careers of James Brown, Janis
Joplin, and AC/DC.)<br />
For Adele, that moment, right there, the one line—"Don't forget me, I
beg"—is the focus of the song, the crux of the album, the very keen
point of the ice pick when it first hits the diamond and shatters it,
the moment of heartbreak.<br />
And here's why it, and the rest of Adele's songs, made me cry like
that last night. There's the heartbreak of rejection, of unrequited
love. There's the heartbreak of breaking up, of losing love. There's the
heartbreak of getting dumped, of not being loved anymore. They ache,
they seethe, they're horrible. That's what Adele makes her business
singing about.<br />
But worst of all is the heartbreak of having been in love, for years, and both of you <em>still</em> being in love. But one of you is going to die. And no one, neither of you, not anyone else, can do anything about it.<br />
That's not what Adele is singing about, not directly. I hope she
never knows how it feels, or if she does, that it's many, many years
away. I didn't invite her voice there, but <em>it</em> seems to know, so when it breaks down my barriers and taps the depths, that's where it goes, and what comes out.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/orcas-make-a-fridge" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Killer whales make themselves a fridge</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-15T10:41:15-08:00">March 15, 2011 10:41 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dzroth/4651201326/" title="Orca, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia Canada by dzroth, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Orca, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia Canada" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4651201326_4aa53b5c35_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Catching up on some <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks">Quirks and Quarks</a> podcasts last night, I came across an amazing discovery about orcas (a.k.a. killer whales). Scroll down to "A Killer Diet" on <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2011/02/12/february-12-2011/">this page</a> to listen.<br />
Here's <a href="http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v421/p229-241/">the research paper</a> and a <a href="http://www.visitvanaqua.org/news/killerwhale-research/">summary</a> from the Vancouver Aquarium. Essentially, a group of transient orcas near <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=unimak+island&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.462243,58.886719&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Unimak+Island&ll=55.553495,-160.839844&spn=13.427513,29.443359&z=5">Unimak Island</a>
in the Aleutians hunt gray whales each spring, usually separating a
juvenile gray whale from its mother, then killing and eating it.<br />
For killer whales, that's not especially unusual: many of their
populations around the world hunt other whales much larger than they are
(even blue whales), using clever pack behaviour, often in the open
ocean. But the problem is that most whale carcasses sink after they die,
so the orcas can only get to some of the blubbery whale goodness before
it disappears into the abyssal depths. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall">Interesting stuff</a> can happen after that too, but we're on a different story.)<br />
The Unimak orcas have taken advantage of gray whales' defensive
behaviour, which is to retreat to shallow water. Separating the juvenile
prey from its adult defenders in the relative shallows (10 to 20 m) has
allowed the orcas to invent a refrigerator for themselves. Because even
a juvenile grey whale provides too much meat for a pack of killer
whales to eat all at once.<br />
So the orcas eat, then let their prey sink. But the rocky bottom is <em>right there</em>,
and a day or so later, they come back to dive down for leftovers. And
again, and again, for nearly a week—like a human fridge after
Thanksgiving. (It's Alaska just after winter, so the water is nice and
cold too.) In the meantime, other sea creatures—including sharks, as
well as invertebrates—chomp and grind away at the remains. Even local
bears get in on the action, salvaging bits that float ashore.<br />
This all shows why killer whales are among the most flexible,
ingenious, and successful large predators in the world. While they're
most common in temperate oceans near shore, orcas range throughout the
world's marine surface ecosystems, from the Arctic to the Antarctic,
from the Mediterranean to tropical seas. They are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_predator">top predator</a> in all those places: nothing else eats <em>them</em>.
In those different habitats, they often have specialized diets, hunted
with customized techniques learned, and then passed from generation to
generation.<br />
We have the Unimak gray whale fridge. Resident populations near my
home in British Columbia eat salmon; some people think the whales stun
the fish by focusing their vocalizations through the melons at the
fronts of their heads. Transient pods here eat marine mammals instead,
mostly seals and sea lions, sometimes tossing them in the air during
pursuit. But in one spot in South America, the killer whales ride the
surf, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2ZUkLVZDFk">emerging from the foam</a>
to snatch sea lions right off the beach. Off Norway, orcas trap schools
of herring in rings of bubbles. Near San Francisco, scientists recorded
orcas hunting a great white shark by flipping it on its back, which
immobilized the fish and eventually killed it.<br />
I suspect that no other type of carnivore has such a diversity of
hunting behaviour. That's probably because they are mammals (the
largest variety of dolphin) like us, with big brains—which they
obviously use very effectively. Most predator species, whether on land
or in the ocean, have common hunting behaviours, and often highly
specialized bodies to accommodate them. But killer whales have
evolved—as a species—to be generalists. They are smart, they can
improvise, they can plan, and they learn. They teach each other what
works and how to do it, and pass the knowledge down through families.
You might even say they have culture.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/a-sesame-street-moment" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A Sesame Street moment</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-12T21:53:30-08:00">March 12, 2011 9:53 PM</abbr>
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This weekend is brought to you by "The Big C" and the word <cite>phlegm</cite>—a word whose spelling I've always enjoyed. I do not enjoy horking it up all day, however. Time for bed.<br />
UPDATE March 13: The coughing and phlegm have almost entirely
subsided. I am much less exhausted than I was yesterday, though I am
still pretty tired. Most annoying, in all my hacking, I pulled muscles
on both sides of my ribcage and in both shoulder blades. I feel like I
was tossed into a CFL football game. I hope I didn't actually crack any
bones.<br />
There are a couple of encouraging notes, however. First, I've been
able to sleep on my left side, which I've always preferred, but which
I've been unable to do for weeks, because of mysterious pains which also
seem to have dissipated. Second, a teeny, tiny part of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/02/strong-silent-type">my voice</a> seems to be coming back, the first sign in almost three weeks that I might regain the ability to speak.<br />
I won't make any bets: my body has been a mess these past few days,
and who knows what it will do tonight or tomorrow, but at least there
are a few good signs. Now we need some damn spring weather.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/modern-japan-saved-lives" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The modernization of Japan saved hundreds of thousands of lives today</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-11T13:51:13-08:00">March 11, 2011 1:51 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709793" title="Quake and tsunami"><img align="right" alt="Tsunami comes in" class="post" height="169" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51636000/jpg/_51636413_011498990-1.jpg" width="275" /></a>Right after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami at the end of 2004, I wrote what turned into a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/learn_about_tsunamis_2005-01.html">long article</a> about it, and about tsunamis more generally. People found the piece useful, so following today's <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/earthquake-in-japan/">devastating 8.9-magnitude quake and tsunamis</a> in Japan, I thought I'd point it out again, particularly my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/learn_about_tsunamis_2005-01.html#general">general introduction</a> and the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/learn_about_tsunamis_2005-01.html#drawdown">Q&A</a> section later on.<br />
<strong>Today's situation is different, of course.</strong> Damaging
tsunamis seem to have been largely restricted to the coastline of Japan
itself; Hawaii and the rest of us around the Pacific Rim saw <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/03/oregon_coast_tsunami_serious_damage_reports_from_brookings.html">comparatively minimal</a> effects (the wide-open coasts of southern Oregon and northern California seemed to get the <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/03/man_in_crescent_city_swept_away_by_high_tsunami_surf.html">worst of it</a>),
if any. And Japan has probably the world's most sophisticated
earthquake and tsunami response system, as well as the most stringent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12codes.html">seismic building codes</a>.
Many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people died in Japan today, and
there will be vast costs in rebuilding—but in 2004 the death toll around
the Indian Ocean was <em>over 230,000</em>. Last year's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake">Haiti quake</a>, of far lower magnitude, killed hundreds of thousands too.<br />
As a measure of how much modernization has changed things, <strong>as recently as 1923 over 100,000 died in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kanto_earthquake">Kanto quake</a>,</strong>
which was not nearly as strong, but also generated tsunamis. Remember
that when people (as they inevitably will) start talking about the
relatively low death toll from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12711226">today's events</a> as "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/chilean-mine-rescue-no-miracle">a miracle</a>":
it was only a miracle comprising knowledge, understanding of history
and plate tectonics, planning, engineering, construction,
communications, discipline, and other sorts of hard human work.<br />
The low cost in lives and injuries does not, however, diminish the
pain and suffering encompassed in each of those lives. It does not make
it easier to witness one's house or office destroyed. It does not clean
debris from a formerly vibrant seashore, or put out a raging fire, or
comfort an orphan.<br />
It does tell us one thing. <strong>We have another reason, among many, to diminish poverty in the world.</strong> Because when a natural disaster strikes—<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/quake-risks">indifferent</a>,
in itself, to the wealth of its victims—those who are poor are least
prepared to face it, and more likely to find themselves under the rubble
than figuring out what to do once it's cleared away.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/womens-day-some-way-to-go" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Women's Day, some way to go</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-08T13:18:48-08:00">March 8, 2011 1:18 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mykcrawford/5510247680/" title="New Starbucks logo by mykcrawford, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="New Starbucks logo" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5510247680_514d1b9cb5_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>I found today one of mixed messages. Over the course of a few minutes' watching the news on TV this morning, I saw this:<br />
<ul>
<li>Today marks 100 years of <a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women's Day</a>,
focusing on reducing inequality and oppression. Much has changed for
the better in a century, but there remains a long way to go, especially
outside the Western world. In Canada, there are several hundreds events
underway.<br /></li>
<li>But today is also <a href="http://www.mardigras.com/">Mardis Gras</a> in New Orleans, where men toss cheap bead necklaces to encourage women to show their breasts.<br /></li>
<li>And Starbucks Coffee celebrates its 40th anniversary today by unveiling what I think is a fairly spiffy <a href="http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=starbucks+40th+anniversary+logo">new logo</a>. Yet at the <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2011/03/08/new-starbucks-logo-debuts-on-companys-40th-anniversary/">celebration event</a>
in Seattle, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was surrounded by a bunch of
male executives dressed (like him) in suits, then a bunch of baristas
(mostly female) in aprons.</li>
</ul>
Yes, some way to go.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/the-drugs" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The drugs</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-07T22:28:08-08:00">March 7, 2011 10:28 PM</abbr>
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I stopped chemotherapy and other treatments to fight my cancer back in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">November</a>, but I certainly haven't stopped taking drugs. The latest addition isn't one I expected: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate">Ritalin</a>.
No, cancer hasn't made me hyperactive. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'm
often tired and listless, and when I caught a virus a couple of weeks
ago, it not only gave me the persistent laryngitis I've been complaining
about, it also knocked me so flat I could hardly get out of bed to eat
or use the bathroom.<br />
Knowing that, one of the doctors at the B.C. Cancer Agency's Pain and
Symptom Management Clinic recommended the Ritalin, because one of its
uses is treating excessive fatigue—as well as sleeping disorders such as
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcolepsy">narcolepsy</a>. And
it seems to work! If I take it with breakfast, I'm much less likely to
need a long, long nap. One reason I made it through my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/my-living-wake">living wake</a>
on Thursday was taking one mid-afternoon that day. And today, sluggish
as all hell when my wife got home at dinnertime, I took one and perked
up to be with the family all evening.<br />
I can't take Ritalin daily, however. The doctor suggested I skip a
day or two each week—"pyjama days," she called them—or I might develop a
tolerance where I'd have to keep upping the dosage. Accordingly, I took
none Saturday (which was fine, I even went out for dinner) or yesterday
(which was a washout, sleepy and low-energy). It's nice to know that
it's possible for me not to be a complete slug most of the time.<br />
What other medications am I on? Oh, it's a long list: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domperidone">domperidone</a>, to reduce reflux and vomiting; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine">morphine</a>, both long- and short-acting, to counteract back and torso pain from my tumours; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loperamide">Imodium</a>, to try (usually unsuccessfully) to control bowel symptoms and diarrhea; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalteparin_sodium">Fragmin</a>, an anticoagulant injection to avoid further <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/popeyes-leg">blood clots</a>; and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol">Tylenol</a> and other painkillers if I have a fever or further aches.<br />
And of course there are long-acting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_glargine">Lantus</a> and short-acting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_lispro">Humalog</a>,
two varieties of customized human insulin made by genetically
engineered bacteria. As of this month, I've injected insulin multiple
times a day for 20 years, since March 1991, when I first developed Type I
(a.k.a. juvenile) diabetes. Without insulin, and the associated poking
of my fingers to test my blood glucose levels multiple times daily, I'd
have been dead back then, age 21, when my pancreas stopped making
insulin of its own.<br />
Without insulin injections, in other words, I would never have lived
to get married, have kids, write a blog—or develop malignant colorectal
tumours. I may only live half a "normal" lifespan because of my cancer,
but for most of human history, without modern medicine, diabetes would
have killed me before I even got half <em>this</em> far.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/my-living-wake" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">My living wake</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-05T13:12:49-08:00">March 5, 2011 1:12 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/reillyphoto/5496289860/" title="A "Living Wake" for Derek K. Miller by Jerk with a Camera, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="A "Living Wake" for Derek K. Miller" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5496289860_589e0df1b7_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>A
dying man can wish for many things, but one of them might be to have a
party with many family and friends: like a funeral, memorial, or wake,
but actually being able to be there, before he dies. That's exactly what
my wife Air put together for me a couple of nights ago, on March 3. We
had a "living wake" at the newly-renovated <a href="http://www.waldorfhotel.com/">Waldorf Hotel</a>
in East Vancouver, with a couple of hundred of the people in our lives
joining us for a great Lebanese buffet, lots of mingling and chatting,
and some fine live rock-n-roll music from my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSyJiIWMxUg">old bandmates and me</a>, as well as my friends in Vancouver's legendary group <a href="http://www.oddsmusic.com/">Odds</a>.<br />
We couldn't throw the invitations wide open because fire regulations restricted how many people were allowed in the grand <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/5495803497/">tiki-themed room</a>
in the Waldorf's basement—and we wanted to make sure that the people
who came really were those I knew, and didn't get crowded out. After
all, it was a wake, not just a party. Luckily, we didn't have very many
uninvited door-crashers (and a few guests missed out because of flu and
other illness), so we stayed within the limit, and it all worked out.<br />
<h3>
A dress-up crowd</h3>
Amazingly, in fact, few people I wished I <em>could</em> have invited
if I'd had contact info, and others I never expected to make it, showed
up anyway. Some I hadn't seen in many years, or came from very far
away, so that was a nice bonus too. There were family members I've known
my whole life, and friends I've had for 10, 20, even close to 30 years.
I think I had a chance to say hi to <em>almost</em> everyone. My apologies to the few of you I missed.<br />
Most of them had their pictures taken in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/reillyphoto/sets/72157626192201012/">photo booth</a> set up by the awesome Miranda and Reilly of <a href="http://www.blueolivephotography.com/">Blue Olive Photography</a>. There are other pictures appearing on Flickr, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=penmachine&search=tag">YouTube</a>, and elsewhere (<a href="http://www.nottobetrustedwithknives.com/2011/03/03/derek/">such as</a> blog <a href="http://www.hopstudios.com/nep/unvarnished/item/living_wake/">posts</a>) with the tag <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/penmachine/">penmachine</a>,
with more to come (if you have any from the event, please use that tag
yourself). You can also tag pictures and videos with my name <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine?sk=photos">on Facebook</a>. We had <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYdmgU1rdY">this slideshow</a> projected on the wall all night too:<br />
<br />I was shocked at how well I survived the evening. I did plan
carefully: I took the right combination of medications at the right
times, napped in the afternoon, avoided eating too much during the day,
and simply ran on endorphins until almost the very end of the evening.
During dinner I went upstairs and ate in the hotel room we booked, lying
on the bed, to recover some energy. Then, after far more stints <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiandpapa/5497009009/in/set-72157626197239398/">on the drums</a>
than I thought I'd be able to tolerate, I finally burned out and
announced to everyone that I needed to lie down, then disappeared to let
them wind things down. I paid for it afterwards, and all the next day,
but it was entirely worth it.<br />
Speaking of that announcement, yes, I still had (and have) complete <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/02/strong-silent-type">laryngitis</a>. Through the PA system, I rasped out a very few words, sounding like Christian Bale's Batman in <cite>The Dark Knight</cite>.
Out on the loudness of the floor, I was completely inaudible unless I
whispered directly into people's ears. I sometimes resorted to typing
stuff out on my iPhone for them to read. It was bizarre and frustrating,
but somehow appropriate—it was like being a speechless ghost, drifting
in the semi-background at my own wake. It also kept anyone from trying
to monopolize my time, since I couldn't engage in any serious
conversation.<br />
<h3>
The thank-you brigade</h3>
Others made up for it. My wife Air coordinated the evening (and
avoided crying, somehow), the guys in the band cracked the usual jokes,
and there were four extremely short and touching speeches from those
close to me: my friends <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/living_wake_1_tara.mp3" title="Listen to speech">Tara</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/living_wake_2_dennis.mp3" title="Listen to speech">Dennis</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/living_wake_3_johan.mp3" title="Listen to speech">Johan</a>, and my (pregnant!) cousin <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/living_wake_4_tarya.mp3" title="Listen to speech">Tarya</a> (MP3 files, between 1 and 4 minutes each). We had tremendous help from my parents Hilkka and <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/">Karl</a> (he made the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkYdmgU1rdY">slideshow</a> too), our friend <a href="http://thebipolarbadger.com/">Steven</a>, current and former members of <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">The Neurotics</a> and other bands I've been in, Pat and <a href="http://twitter.com/craignorthey">Craig</a> and Doug from the Odds, the staff at the Waldorf, and our kids <a href="http://twitter.com/marinaamiller">Marina</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/l_meredith">Lolo</a>,
who couldn't come because of B.C.'s stupid liquor laws, but who kept
themselves and another friend's daughter entertained at home until we
got back late.<br />
My biggest thanks, of course, go to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/talkingtoair/photosof/">Air</a>.
It was all her idea, and her work that made my living wake happen. She
has kept our family going through my four-plus years of cancer, through
surgeries and fear and chemotherapy and a prognosis of death. She made
this party happen now, while I could enjoy it and join my friends and
family, instead of after I die when I can't. We've been married more
than 15 years, and I've said before: that is not nearly enough.<br />
Thank you, too, to all of you guests who could come. I'll remember it
my whole life. I hope the rest of you will remember it even longer.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/wowee" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Wowee</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-03T11:02:37-08:00">March 3, 2011 11:02 AM</abbr>
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All I can say is <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/03/the-stars-above-the-luminescence-below/">wow</a>. And no, it's <a href="http://philhart.com/gallery/Astrophotography/Phenomena/">not Photoshopped</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://philhart.com/gallery/Astrophotography/Phenomena/" title="Star trails and bioluminescence by Phil Hart, Australia"><img alt="Star trails and bioluminescence by Phil Hart, Australia" border="0" height="600" src="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/files/2011/03/philhart_biolum_startrail.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
The light in the water is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence">bioluminescence</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/03/decade-march-firsts" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A decade of March firsts</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-03-01T12:48:05-08:00">March 1, 2011 12:48 PM</abbr>
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It's March 1, and spring approaches. What was I thinking about in the previous 10 years on this date? Since my blog is now <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/past">old enough</a>, we can find out:<br />
<ul>
<li>2001: I had just <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_03_01_news_archive.html#2590189">re-joined my old band</a>.</li>
<li>2002: I highlighted some of the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_03_01_news_archive.html#10291914">websites I worked on, and an online style guide I didn't</a>.</li>
<li>2003: I waited a few days, then spewed out stuff about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2003_03_01_news_archive.html#90408476">digital cameras, earplugs, software piracy, cheap pens, and the Editors' Association of Canada</a>.</li>
<li>2004: I went on one of my regular rants about how <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2004_03_01_news_archive.html#107816969743292763">human brains misunderstand statistics</a>.</li>
<li>2005: I marked the death of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/03/jef-raskins-battle-ends.html">Jef Raskin</a>, irascible pioneer of computer interfaces.</li>
<li>2006: The bizarre and unlamented <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2006_03_01_news_archive.html#114128595899130221">iPod Hi-Fi, women in science, and the Internet as oxygen</a>.</li>
<li>2007: I learned a good lesson <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/pain-management.html">about painkillers</a>.</li>
<li>2008: I almost passed out in a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/shitbagged">messy and embarrassing</a> way.</li>
<li>2009: A fantastic drive <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/deep-bathtubs-and-sound-of-surf">to Tofino</a> on Vancouver Island.</li>
<li>2010: The fun-yet-schockingly-lame <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-loved-closing-ceremony-of-vancouver">2010 Olympic Closing Ceremony</a>.</li>
</ul>
It's unlikely I'll live until March 1 next year, so that list should now be complete.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-1151301926690892562018-11-11T13:32:00.004-08:002022-09-05T20:55:52.241-07:00Derek Jan 2011<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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January 2011 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/hitchens-on-death" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Hitchens on death</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-29T23:31:02-08:00">January 29, 2011 11:31 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/those-damned-angry-atheists">Christopher Hitchens</a> holds some political views with which I disagree, but like him, I am a staunch <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/atheism">atheist</a>.
Last summer he found out that he, like me, has stage 4 cancer, which
will probably kill him, again like me, fairly soon. He has talked and <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/christopher-hitchens">written</a> a fair bit about it, eloquently of course.<br />
Most recent is this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeuLDRwfOhs">video interview</a> (with <a href="http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1322">text transcript</a>, via <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/new-interview-with-christopher-hitchens/">Jerry Coyne</a>),
where he talks almost entirely about his cancer and the prospect of his
own death. He still finds time to tear into Mother Teresa, though.<br />
<br />
He says many things that <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death">mirror</a>
my own thoughts. However, perhaps because his cancer is so much more
recent, he still thinks a treatment might come soon to keep him alive.
He also still wants to contribute to treatment experiments, regardless
of whether they might help him directly, which something I have decided I
no longer want—I have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/biweekly-butt-blowout">suffered</a> enough in four years.<br />
Hitchens realizes he might never again see his native Britain,
because travel is becoming more and more difficult. He acknowledges
that, even if he were to know how many months he might have left before
he dies, he'd need to know what kind of months those would be before he
could decide what to do with them. He talks of profound weakness, of
undertaking a simple task one day that might have been impossible the
day before, and might be impossible again the next. All give me pangs of
recognition.<br />
He and I have never met, or spoken, or communicated in any way, but I
feel kinship with Christopher Hitchens. He is 20 years older than I am.
Yet we are both on a short road to our deaths, which will be our end,
and we both <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">know it</a>.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/best-places-ive-been-3" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Follow me to visit the best places I've been - part 3</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-27T23:31:53-08:00">January 27, 2011 11:31 PM</abbr>
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Back in November, I published <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-1">a couple</a> of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-2">posts</a>
about my favourite places that I've visited around North America. I
haven't traveled especially extensively around the rest of the world
(I've never been to any part of Asia, Africa, or South America, for
instance), but I have seen some of it, including a few amazing things,
mostly in Italy, but also in a few other places. In rough order of when I
visited them, here's my last batch of favourite places:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/qsimple/4626787707/" title="Charing Cross London Underground by Qsimple, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Charing Cross London Underground" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/4626787707_73a8fc145e_m.jpg" height="140" width="210" /></a>There are vast and impressive underground rapid-transit systems in <a href="http://fakeisthenewreal.org/subway/">many cities</a> around the globe, but <b>the London Underground</b> (a.k.a. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground">The Tube</a>")
was the first. It was also the first to use electric trains, has more
stations than any other, and includes more track than any but
Shanghai's. The Tube has been around so long there are dozens of <a href="http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/">abandoned stations</a>, some many decades out of use. It also inspired one of the world's truly great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tube_map">maps</a>, and even several <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_(typeface)">typefaces</a>.
Personally, on my one visit to London in 1985, it simply amazed me how
easy (though disorienting) it was to be in one place, descend under the
city, take a train, and end up somewhere else.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcoses/5228294179/" title="Red Square - Moscow by rcoses, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Red Square - Moscow" class="post" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5228294179_9f6f095ed4_m.jpg" height="180" width="120" /></a>Moscow's <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Square">Red Square</a></b>
really is something. Outlasting both the czars and the Blosheviks, it
has been the city's hub, from which the spokes of Moscow's roads
emanate, for more than 500 years, centuries before the Soviets put <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin's_Mausoleum">Lenin's Tomb</a>
on one side. I visited not long after Mikhail Gorbachev took power in
the U.S.S.R. (again in 1985), so Red Square was still the hub of world
Communism. But standing in it, despite the indelible images of huge
military parades in my mind, it transcended such a narrow focus. The
fantasy onion domes of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral">St. Basil's Cathedral</a>, the imposing facade of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUM_(department_store)">GUM department store</a>,
the Kremlin wall—history mashed itself together while I stood in the
gigantic cobbled space of the Square itself. There was no doubt: I was <i>in Russia,</i> dammit, and it was a genuine, historic place, not simply the domain of Red Scare boogeymen.</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Museum"><img alt="File:HermitageAcrossNeva-2.jpg" border="0" class="post" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/HermitageAcrossNeva-2.jpg/800px-HermitageAcrossNeva-2.jpg" height="75" width="500" /></a><br />
My school group took an overnight train 400 miles from Moscow to St.
Petersburg (still known as Leningrad at the time). That city is as close
as I've ever come to my maternal grandparents' home country of Finland.
My key memory of Leningrad is really the bone-chilling winter wind
across the Neva River, but the place that made the biggest impression
was <b>the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Museum">Hermitage</a> Museum</b>,
which encompasses six huge buildings along the riverbank, and contains
the largest collection of paintings in the world. It is the stereotype
of what you think of as a classical museum: room after ornate room of
sculptures, pictures, jewelry, antiquities, and more, stretching beyond
your ability to comprehend. We had merely part of the day to see a
fraction of the Hermitage, and I was a somewhat-skittish teenager, so I
didn't pay as close attention as I should have. Still, I haven't
forgotten it.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/udowi/503725627/" title="Looking up - in Rome by uwi, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Looking up - in Rome" class="post" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/503725627_23d1366b50_m.jpg" height="140" width="210" /></a>The most peculiar thing about <a href="http://www.comune.roma.it/">Rome</a>
is that you can be walking down a modern, bustling city street, like
you might see in any city, then turn a corner and confront any number of
huge ancient marvels, right there in the middle of everything. <b>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome">Pantheon</a></b>
is one of those. First you see the ranks of stone columns holding up
the entranceway. Then, go inside and you stand under what is still the
world's largest unsupported concrete dome, constructed in honour of the
bustling throng of ancient Greco-Roman gods, and lit by daylight
streaming through the central oculus at the apex. It is a masterpiece of
architecture and engineering, still astonishing for its beauty and
symmetry: the crown of the roof, for instance, is 58 m above the floor,
and the dome is exactly the same diameter. It would be an amazing
achievement to build today; the Romans made it <i>almost 2000 years ago.</i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/maclobster/3181714858/" title="St. Peter's Baldachin Altar and Dome by maclobster, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="St. Peter's Baldachin Altar and Dome" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3181714858_e47e7efd3b_m.jpg" height="200" width="145" /></a>If you want evidence that the Dark Ages really were a stagnant time, go across town in Rome to the <b>buildings of the Vatican</b>.
It took a millennium and a half for architecture and art to surpass the
achievements of the Roman Empire, so these magnificent structures are
mere youngsters compared to the Pantheon or the Colosseum. Michelangelo
painted the dome of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel">Sistine Chapel</a> 500 years ago, and the dome of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter's_Basilica">St. Peter's Basilica</a>
was finished even more recently, in 1590. St. Peter's itself is
awe-inspiring, but also overwrought: every interior surface is festooned
with gold, marble, reliefs, sculptures, relics, tombs, and intricate
tile work. However, I was able to walk up the many, many steps to the
top of the dome (still the world's tallest) and look out over the
magnificent city—well worth the climb. And despite seeing it long before
the most recent restoration, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling">ceiling</a> of the Sistine Chapel and the wall featuring Michelangelo's "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Judgment_(Michelangelo)">Last Judgment</a>" were still mind-blowing—especially knowing some background about their controversies, then and now.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/msojka/3927887755/" title="Duomo di Firenze ~ Florence, Italy by Martin Sojka, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Duomo di Firenze ~ Florence, Italy" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/3927887755_76040c5096_m.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a>What?
Three Italian domes in a row? Okay, I know it's a bit ridiculous, but
each has its place in history, and its own appeal. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_del_Duomo,_Florence">Piazza del Duomo</a> (a.k.a. <b>The Duomo</b>)
in Florence is probably the prettiest from the outside, with the dome's
distinctive white marble sides and red top matched by its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giotto's_Campanile">bell tower</a>. The dome was created by Brunelleschi, the tower in part by Giotto. Together they were the nucleus of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance">Renaissance</a> beginning in the 1300s, where artists finally figured out how to paint with <a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit11/unit11.html">realistic perspective</a>
by rendering the buildings of the Duomo on canvas. In my brief school
tour of Italy in 1986, the historic centre of Florence—with red tile
roofs as far as the eye can see, surrounded by Tuscan hills—was my
favourite part.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2500000284/" title="Atop the Leaning Tower 1986 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Atop the Leaning Tower 1986" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2078/2500000284_4099a03b61_m.jpg" height="140" width="210" /></a><b>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa">Leaning Tower</a> of Pisa</b>
has always leaned. In fact, if there hadn't been a hundred-year
war-driven interruption in its construction (which let the soil settle),
it likely would have collapsed before it was finished, so flawed was
its original design and placement. And if the tower were entirely
leveled out, it would <i>still</i> curve a little to one side, because
its floors were constructed asymmetrically in the 13th century to try
to compensate for the tilt. However, it no longer leans as much as it
used to, and it's no longer tilting further all the time: restoration
and counterweighting completed in 2001 have stopped it. But when I
visited, it was still moving, and leaning about as far as it ever
did—about 5.5°. My friends and I scaled the steps to the top, which I
believe you're now allowed to do again. It's worth doing, because the
tower is such a cliché on so many badly-painted walls of cheap Italian
restaurants and pizza joints around the world. But it's <i>real</i>, and yes it <i>does lean like that</i>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23740556@N06/4926128321/" title="Gondole e colori.. by sirVictor59, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Gondole e colori.." border="0" class="post" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4926128321_092a5cc406_m.jpg" height="180" width="145" /></a>Our last stop in Italy might be the most amazing: <b>the City of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice">Venice</a>.</b>
How did it ever get built, a whole city that seems afloat, but is
instead inundated by design (though the Venetians of the past didn't
count on rising sea levels), and that even today houses 60,000 people
living on deep-driven piles on the surface of the sea? The old city is
Europe's largest car-free area—unique, beautiful, filled with fabulous
architecture, art, museums, restaurants, stores, bridges, cobbled
walking streets, and canals, of course. (It can be smelly too.) I was
heavily overcharged for a simple Coke in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_San_Marco">Piazza San Marco</a>,
ostensibly for the tunes played by live musicians between outdoor
tables at our restaurant. But I didn't care. There is no place else like
it.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lozinho/464950047/" title="Sydney panoramic by Lo M, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Sydney panoramic" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/464950047_e4620c0091_t.jpg" height="75" width="100" /></a>Let's cross several oceans and continents to the other side of the globe. I've never been to <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney,_Australia">Sydney</a>, Australia</b>—I
merely stopped over at the airport on the way to and from the Melbourne
Music Festival with my band in 1995. Yet the city left a lasting
impression because of the aerial view I had of Sydney Harbour, the
largest natural harbour in the world. As we descended, I marveled at the
intricate convolutions of the submerged valleys that form Port Jackson,
and suddenly the worldwide beach-going reputation of Sydneysiders made
sense. I wanted to come back and see the place from ground level, but I
never did.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonofwalrus/3514241308/" title="The Espy by sonofwalrus, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="The Espy" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/3514241308_461823e8cc_m.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>My
final favourite place on this list is more prosaic than the rest, and
rather newer. Unless you know about it while driving by, you might not
necessarily notice <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esplanade_Hotel_(Melbourne)">the Esplanade Hotel</a> (a.k.a. <b>The Espy</b>), across from St. Kilda Beach in Melbourne. But it is the oldest continuously operating <a href="http://theesplanadehotel.com.au/">live music venue</a>
in the country, originally built in 1878. Numerous attempts to
redevelop the site have met with furious protests from residents of the
city, because The Espy is legendary. In 1995, my band <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/02/flu-jangle-pop-ten-years-later.html">The Flu</a>
took out a loan to fly to Australia to be part of the Melbourne Music
Festival, and The Espy was one venue we played, as well as seeing
several other acts there during the month we were in town. I recall it
as a building where I've had some of the most fun in my life. If The Flu
had become the international pop-rock phenomenon we were trying to be, I
would identify this as the place where that really got started. Since
it didn't happen, I think of The Espy as the place where that <i>could have</i> gotten started.</li>
</ul>
Had I been to more places around the world in my life, I'm sure this list and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-1">its</a> two <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-2">predecessors</a> would be different. But these are the places I have seen, and liked. If you choose to go to any of them, perhaps you will too.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/eleven-years-old" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Eleven years old</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-26T23:09:27-08:00">January 26, 2011 11:09 PM</abbr>
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My younger daughter Lolo turned 11 today. She shares her birthday with my cousin Tarya, as well as <a href="http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/06/08/gretzky">Wayne Gretzky</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_DeGeneres">Ellen DeGeneres</a>, and <a href="http://www.australiaday.org.au/">Australia</a>.<br />
The year I was 11, back in 1980–81, the Iran-Iraq War began, <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Empire_Strikes_Back">The Empire Strikes Back</a></cite> ruled the box office, Ronald Reagan became U.S. President, the Space Shuttle <cite>Columbia</cite> made the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1">first-ever</a> orbital shuttle flight, John Lennon was shot dead (and Reagan and Pope John Paul II nearly so), <a href="http://www.terryfox.org/">Terry Fox</a> died, <cite>Voyager I</cite> passed Saturn, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite">Walter Cronkite</a> retired, AC/DC released <cite>Back in Black</cite>, and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada">O Canada</a>"
officially became our national anthem. I was attending the same
elementary school Lolo does now, and my family got our first personal
computer, a borrowed TRS-80 Model I with 4 KB of RAM and cassette-tape
storage.<br />
Will this be as momentous a year? No one knows yet. Sadly, though, it is <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/dont-lie-to-me">unlikely</a> I'll live to see Lolo's next birthday in 2012.<br />
Happy birthday, not-so-little one.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/millennium-falcon-coolest" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Why the <i>Millennium Falcon</i> is the coolest</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-24T22:20:42-08:00">January 24, 2011 10:20 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalekg/137474746/" title="Millennium Falcon by dalekg, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Millennium Falcon" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/53/137474746_acbae3d0d5_m.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a>Earlier this month I mentioned my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/childhood-obsessions">childhood obsession</a> with <cite>Star Wars</cite> (an epidemic among us pre-teens at the turn of the '80s), and the fabulous <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0545210380/?tag=insidehomerec-20"><cite>Millennium Falcon</cite> book</a> one of my daughters bought me for Christmas this year. Flipping through that book reminded me that the <cite>Falcon</cite> remains my favourite <a href="http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/287154/top_75_spaceships_in_movies_and_tv_part_6.html#falcon">fictional spaceship</a> of all time.<br />
A big part of that is how <i>real</i> the <cite>Star Wars</cite> movies made it. Not only did it fly through space in special effects shots, but there was a <a href="http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/kessel/f20060309.html">full-size version</a>
built for the movie soundstages, plus the interior and cockpit sets.
Movie viewers got a sense of the size and arrangement of the ship. One
of the key innovations in <cite>Star Wars</cite> was also how lived-in the worlds and the hardware looked, none more so than the <cite>Falcon</cite>:
there are blast marks and missing panels on the outside, and scuffs and
dirt around the interior. The shape is also asymmetrical and strange,
yet somehow <i>right</i>, both messily off-kilter and sleek at the same time.<br />
Perhaps most importantly, the <cite>Falcon</cite> is just the right size and design for an imaginative kid to dream about. <cite>Star Trek</cite>'s <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701)">USS Enterprise</a></cite> is fantastic too, but it's huge, like the Navy ships it's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise">named after</a>—or
an ocean liner. Big, quiet, efficient, run by a crew of hundreds. (Same
problem with a Star Destroyer.) Smaller vessels like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-wing">X-wing fighter</a> or <a href="http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/287132/top_75_spaceships_in_movies_and_tv_part_4.html#cylonraider">Cylon raider</a> are too cramped: just a cockpit and nowhere else for a pilot to go.<br />
But the <cite>Falcon</cite> is like a motor home crossed with a
Ferrari. It's beat up, but hot-rodded too. There's room inside to sit at
the controls, and sleep, and eat, and stash cargo—it's a working ship
with the proper facilities. (The movies never show a bathroom, but you
know it's there. Probably a beer fridge too.) There's space to hang out
with your friends, and space to be alone. My nerdy young self could
imagine a long cross-Galaxy hyperspace voyage, like a desert road trip
here on Earth. With just Han Solo and Chewbacca on board, Chewie would
take his turn at the controls, and maybe I—ahem, I mean Han—would walk
back into the hull, climb up the ladder to one of the gun turrets, sit
in the perpendicular gravity of the gunner's chair, and watch the stars
whiz by overhead.<br />
I had my own version of the <cite>Millennium Falcon</cite> in our basement, which I wrote about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/ping-pong-to-stars">a year ago</a>.
It's a tribute to that ship's appeal that we could reproduce it
satisfactorily with a ping pong table and some big cardboard boxes.<br />
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Transporter"><cite>Eagle</cite> Transporter</a> from <cite>Space: 1999</cite>
is a close second on my list of favourite spacecraft for similar
reasons: it's a sort of spacefaring Winnebago too, a no-nonsense,
utilitarian ship. The <cite>Eagle</cite> is not quite as cool as the <cite>Falcon</cite>,
though, because it's just as much a lumpy utility vehicle as it looks.
There were dozens of transporters at Moonbase Alpha, but only one <cite>Falcon</cite> anywhere in the Galactic Empire. And there are no hot-rod secrets under the <cite>Eagle</cite>'s hood—plus no hyperdrive or giant furry co-pilot either, of course.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/midi-drums-headphones-leo-laporte" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">I show you MIDI drums and studio headphones on TV with Leo Laporte</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-22T14:50:59-08:00">January 22, 2011 2:50 PM</abbr>
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Back in 2007 and 2008, my then–co-host <a href="http://vancouverpianist.com/">Paul</a> and I at <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> (IHR) regularly <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/index.php?s=%22lab+with+leo%22&searchbutton=Search">appeared on</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Laporte">Leo Laporte</a>'s <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lab_with_Leo_Laporte">Lab With Leo</a></i> TV show, made here in Vancouver. My final couple of 2008 segments are now available online, and are still useful:<br />
<i>The Lab</i> #187 had me talking with Leo about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4nfFRM_9R8">MIDI drums</a>, featuring a <a href="http://www.zzounds.com/a--925545/item--YAMDXPIV">Yamaha DTXpress</a> electronic kit I borrowed from a couple of friends:<br />
Episode #190 focused instead on different <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Xg4VVZwB0">types of headphones</a> for use in the studio and with iPods and other devices, including in-ear monitors from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007WZLDC/?ref=insidehomerec-20">Etymotic</a> and <a href="http://www.zzounds.com/a--925545/item--SHUSE115">Shure</a>, open-back headphones from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000089GN3/?ref=insidehomerec-20">Sennheiser</a> and <a href="http://www.zzounds.com/a--925545/item--AKGK240STU">AKG</a>, and closed-back reference monitors from <a href="http://www.zzounds.com/a--925545/item--SENHD280PRO">Sennheiser</a>, <a href="http://www.zzounds.com/a--925545/cat--Audio-Technica-Headphones--2934">Audio-Technica</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Y556DW/?ref=insidehomerec-20">Ultrasone</a>:<br />
More info at <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=883">the IHR site</a>...</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/movable-type-leaves-say-media" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Movable Type leaves the SAY Media nest</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-21T15:59:17-08:00">January 21, 2011 3:59 PM</abbr>
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Last spring, after much hemming and hawing and nerdy rumination, I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/same-as-the-old-blog">switched</a> this blog to using the <a href="http://movabletype.org/">Movable Type</a> ("MT") publishing system, following a decade using <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>. I've been happy with that decision.<br />
But I had some <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/six-apart-say-media-movable-type">nagging questions</a>
in the fall, when Six Apart, the company that made Movable Type, merged
with another firm to create the hydra-headed online advertising entity
known as <a href="http://www.saymedia.com/">SAY Media</a>. At that time I wrote: "Maybe SAY Media will do well by the software, or might sell it to some other firm that will."<br />
It turns out they went for <a href="http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2011/01/sixapart-japan-to-be-acquired.html">option 2</a>.
Essentially, the Japanese division of Six Apart, known as Six Apart KK,
has been the only part of the company working on Movable Type for some
time. It is taking full responsibility for the software and <a href="http://blog.saymedia.com/2011/01/movable-type-finds-new-home-at-infocom.html">being sold</a> to another Japanese firm, <a href="http://www.infocom.co.jp/english/aboutus/group/index.html">Infocom</a> (unrelated to the classic text games publisher of the same name, which made <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zork">Zork</a> decades ago). Both Movable Type and the Six Apart name now belong to Infocom.<br />
This is probably a good development for Movable Type and its users,
since there is no logical place within SAY Media for it. Still, it's
also sad, since MT was the product that launched Six Apart <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20010909051216/http://www.movabletype.org/">ten years ago</a>,
and now it's been jettisoned by the company that it helped create. That
does happen in the life of a business: the Hudson's Bay Company no
longer runs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company#Modern_operations">fur trapping</a> operations, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_Corporation">Sharp</a> stopped making mechanical pencils decades ago.<br />
Security updates for Movable Type continue to come out, and
apparently the new version 5.1 beta will be available next month. Those
are certainly good signs too. I hope MT settles in well with its new
owners, for whom it appears to have some actual importance. I wonder how
Six Apart founders <a href="http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail121.html">Ben and Mena Trott</a>
feel about their once-flagship product and self-named company (their
birthdays are six days apart) finally being out of their hands.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/vancouver-and-shanghai-growing-fast" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Vancouver and Shanghai, growing fast</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-20T20:30:52-08:00">January 20, 2011 8:30 PM</abbr>
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More than five years ago, I posted a photo showing the huge change in the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/10/skyward.html">downtown Vancouver skyline</a> between 1978 and 2003:<br />
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<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/false_creek_1978-2003.jpg" title="Vancouver - larger"><img alt="False Creek, Vancouver from the Granville Street Bridge, 1978 and 2003" border="0" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/false_creek_1978-2003-sm.jpg" height="167" width="450" /></a></div>
Here's an even more startling one (via <a href="http://wefollow.com/gresco">Greg</a>)—<a href="http://i.imgur.com/AqNdG.jpg">Shanghai</a> in 1990 and 2010:<br />
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<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/shanghai_1990-2010.jpg" title="Shanghai - larger"><img alt="Shangai, 1990 and 2010" border="0" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/shanghai_1990-2010.jpg" height="477" width="400" /></a></div>
As Vivian Lau <a href="http://twitter.com/lensflaaare/status/28167878133948416">reported</a> on Twitter: "My grandma went back last year and was like 'WHERE THE F#%! AM I?'"</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/gaming-google-20-years-early" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Gaming Google, 20 years before it existed</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-17T18:58:55-08:00">January 17, 2011 6:58 PM</abbr>
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Sometime during elementary school, more than 30 years ago, I decided to start using my middle initial, and calling myself <i>Derek K. Miller</i>. I'm not entirely sure why. I was probably inspired by science fiction writers like <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/farewell-to-sir-arthur">Arthur C. Clarke</a> and <a href="http://www.ursulakleguin.com/">Ursula K. LeGuin</a>, as well as <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/">my dad</a>,
who signs his name as J. Karl Miller but goes by Karl as his familiar
name to everyone. And I was starting to be asked for my signature on
documents: the extra <i>K.</i> added some flourish.<br />
It seems a little snobby and effete to choose to lengthen your name
as a prepubescent kid—and I suppose it was when I did it. But that is
the age where we start to establish our own identities apart from our
parents, and manipulating the names they give us is one means to that
end. (My younger daughter is seriously considering having everyone
address her by her middle name, for example.)<br />
My decision turned out to be handy a few years down the line, however. When I needed my first university email address, <i>dmiller</i> was already taken, but <i>dkmiller</i> was free, and I've used that as part of almost every email address I've created since, sometimes <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/public-service-announcement-learn-your">to my detriment</a>.<br />
In the early days of the Web, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/eac/2003-01_meeting/presentation/angelfire/">my site</a> was the first one you'd find searching for <a href="http://www.google.ca/search?q=derek+miller">Derek Miller</a>,
but that didn't last. Today there are quite a few Derek Millers out
there in the Google database. And to find me, you not only have to get
past them, but also two separate ones who are musicians like me—though
much more famous. One is a new <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/36954-rising-sleigh-bells/">indie sensation</a>, the other is even <a href="http://www.derekmillermusic.com/">Canadian</a> (and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-loved-closing-ceremony-of-vancouver">performed</a> at the Olympics Closing Ceremony here last year). But look for <a href="http://www.google.ca/search?q=derek+k.+miller">Derek K. Miller</a>, and you still get me.<br />
There's no way I planned that back at the turn of the 1980s, however. Some things just work out.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/stop-typing-2-spaces-after-period" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Six reasons to stop typing two spaces after a period</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-15T11:48:44-08:00">January 15, 2011 11:48 AM</abbr>
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Yesterday I met my friend <a href="http://llib.org/">Bill</a> for lunch, and as we were ending our visit, he half-jokingly pledged that, after I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4">die</a>, one way he will honour me is to avoid typing two spaces after a period in his writing. I posted that to <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine/status/26058360587550720">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine/posts/127789330622377">Facebook</a>, and was surprised at how many people report still using two spaces after sentence-ending punctuation, something that is <a href="http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/typespacing/a/onetwospaces.htm">typographically wrong</a>. Coincidentally, the same topic showed up <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2281146/pagenum/all/">at Slate</a> and at <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/01/one-space-not-too.html">Andrew Sullivan's</a> blog too.<br />
If you're a convinced two-spacer, please pick up any
professionally-typeset publication: a book, a magazine, or a newspaper.
Here, for instance, are bits from Yann Martel's award-winning novel <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0156027321/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Life of Pi</a></cite> (left) and an article from this month's <cite><a href="http://www.marieclaire.com/">Marie Claire</a></cite> magazine:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/type_spacing-life_of_pi.png" title="Life of Pi - enlarge"><img alt="Page from Life of Pi" border="0" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/type_spacing-life_of_pi.png" height="273" style="padding: 12px;" width="275" /></a> <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/type_spacing-marie_claire.png" title="Marie Claire - enlarge"><img alt="Page from Marie Claire" border="0" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/type_spacing-marie_claire.png" height="273" style="padding: 12px;" width="194" /></a></div>
Look at the end of each sentence: one space after a question mark,
period, or other sentence-ending punctuation. No multiple spaces
anywhere. So, unless you handle nothing but personal correspondence all
day long, chances are that <b>the vast majority of everything you
read each day, prepared by people whose job it is to know what they're
doing, uses single spaces.</b> And, chances are—even if you use two
spaces in your own writing—you've never noticed the difference in
publications or thought, "Gee, I wish there was <i>more space</i> after those periods."<br />
I never took typing lessons, and always modeled my typing (I've typed
pretty much every day for more than 30 years) on what I saw in print.
So when I heard that typing students were compelled to use two spaces, I
thought, <i>Why the hell would you do that?</i> And while people who do
it have given me all sorts of reasons (beyond, "that's what my typing
teacher demanded"), none of them refutes these six reasons why you
should only ever use one space:<br />
<ol>
<li>The most common explanation for why two spaces were introduced after the end of a sentence is because of the <a href="http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/cumming/WordForLinguists/Typography.htm">fixed-width characters</a>
on typewriters, where they supposedly helped legibility. (I don't
personally think so, but it's a reasonable argument.) However, few
people today use<code> fixed (a.k.a. monospaced) fonts: </code>we type with proportional characters on our computers, and typographers long ago <b>established that <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2281146/pagenum/all/">single spaces</a> work better for proportional type.</b> By the way, I'm typing this in a fixed-width font in my text editor, and I <i>still</i> don't find two spaces necessary or helpful.</li>
<li>As I've already noted twice, <a href="http://www.webtypography.net/Rhythm_and_Proportion/Horizontal_Motion/2.1.4/">single spaces</a> are what professionals use. You don't always have to follow authority, but <b>the
job of a typographer or page designer is to make words as clear,
legible, and pleasant to read as possible. None of them use two spaces
to do so.</b> There are plenty of circumstances in life where large
numbers of people, perhaps the majority, understand and do things the
wrong way. Typing two spaces because it's "more professional"—like
thinking that the Coriolis effect applies to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect#Draining_in_bathtubs_and_toilets">bathtubs</a>, or avoiding sleeping with a running electric fan because you <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death">might die</a>, or writing email messages with lots of different fonts and colours—is a misconception and a mistake.</li>
<li>Even if you're laying out your own text in a word processor or page design program, <b>single spaces automatically make text flow better on the page.</b> That's because more than one space often creates <a href="http://www.newsletterfillers.com/design/layout/article.aspx?articleid=%7Ba8468b21-3e35-4fe2-99bf-73cf1739dd81%7D">rivers of whitespace</a> that unconsciously distract your readers, reducing comprehension and slowing down their reading.</li>
<li>If you're publishing text on a web page—on a blog or wiki, in comments, on Facebook, or elsewhere—web browsers automatically <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/433493/why-do-multiple-spaces-in-an-html-file-show-up-as-single-spaces-in-the-browser">convert any multiple spaces</a>
into a single space, according to the HTML standard. There are many
reasons for that, both technical and historical, but the end result is
that <b>typing two or more spaces is simply wasted effort on the Web, because readers won't even see that you've tried.</b>
(Okay, you could take this behaviour as, "yay, I can type the way I
want," but that's like never learning to spell because your word
processor has a spell checker: you're asking for trouble when the
machine isn't there to help.)</li>
<li>In my long experience as an editor, the simple fact is that in documents from two-spacers, <b>sometimes there are two spaces after a sentence; sometimes there are three or four, or even more; sometimes one.</b> No one who prefers to type two spaces after sentences, it seems, can actually make it happen regularly in real life. <i>Every</i>
document I get from them that's more than a paragraph or two long has
inconsistent spacing. I don't know if that's because people hold down
the space bar too long so it repeats, or sometimes only hit it once
instead of twice, or if the extra spaces end up migrating around as
writers copy and paste sentences and phrases in their document. It
doesn't matter. I've learned that the first step I must take with any
manuscript is to search and replace multiple spaces with a single space.
The text I receive is always a mess in that respect, and the simplest
way to clean it up is to purge multiple spaces, wherever they are.</li>
<li><b>I'm asking you to do it.</b> This topic originally
arose because Bill thought (correctly) that I'd appreciate his changing
how he types spaces more than, say, bringing flowers to my memorial
service, or myriad other ways people might pay their respects to me when
I die. Better yet, you can make the change now, so I'll appreciate it
while I'm still alive! That's right, I'm playing the cancer card and
giving you a guilt trip about <i>typing two spaces</i>. If I'm willing to do that, this must be pretty important to me, right?</li>
</ol>
Since words have been my living and my interest for so long, I have
plenty of staunch opinions about other matters of English grammar,
style, and punctuation—from different types of <a href="http://www.kajhaffenden.com/articles/em-dash-en-dash-hyphen/">dashes</a> to the <a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/serial-comma.aspx">serial comma</a>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_infinitive">split infinitives</a> to positioning <a href="http://grammar.about.com/b/2008/03/26/prepositions-ending-sentences-with.htm">prepositions</a>. However, in most cases, I simply prefer that you be consistent, even if you choose differently than I would.<br />
For me, typing two spaces after a period is a mistake. It's like
smoking: an unfortunate bad habit. While I'm glad it doesn't have such
drastic health consequences, it's still a pity so many people learned
the practice as kids and continue to follow it when there are many good
reasons to stop.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/cancer-doesnt-require-inner-strength" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Cancer doesn't require inner strength</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-14T09:49:26-08:00">January 14, 2011 9:49 AM</abbr>
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My friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ari.giligson">Ari</a> sent me this, a letter to the <cite><a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/">Canadian Medical Association Journal</a></cite>, published <a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/183/1/83?eaf">here</a> (CMAJ.2011; 183: 83) if you have <cite>Journal</cite> access. It's a followup to <a href="http://www.ecmaj.ca/cgi/content/citation/182/14/1588">this article</a>, "Cancer: it's time to change the sign," by James Downar in October 2010:<br />
<blockquote>
<h5>
The "battle" against cancer</h5>
<small>by Paul J. Byrne MD<br />
Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, AB</small><br />
Downar is to be praised for his brave call to abandon the outmoded language of warfare in the "battle" against cancer.<br />
Our job is to help people with cancer survive their illness as well
as possible for as long as possible. We do them a terrible disservice by
suggesting that their individual strength of character and ability to
endure suffering will pull them through. To do so ignores all the
evidence about both low and high mortality rates for various cancers
despite maximal therapy and patient commitment to be cured.<br />
So much of the influence on survival either predates diagnosis or
depends on early diagnosis and treatment for so many cancers. We must
avoid the risk of adding insult to injury by mindlessly blaming the
patient for lack of response to treatment.<br />
As a lucky survivor of colon cancer, I credit the expertise of my
physician and surgeon for my survival rather than my own "inner
strength."</blockquote>
I made a related point <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death">a few weeks ago</a>, inspired by fellow cancer patients <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/09/hitchens-201009">Christopher Hitchens</a> and <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/19/DD211A4O4C.DTL">Barbara Ehrenreich</a>.
While I don't think being angry all the time is productive, trying to
force yourself to be chipper in some twisted version of that foul
phenomenon <cite><a href="http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2007/03/05/the_secret/">The Secret</a></cite> might be even worse.<br />
My cancer is not my fault. Being bummed out about it won't make it worse, and the fact that it's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">killing me</a>
isn't something I can counteract by being upbeat about it either. No
more than I could somehow cheer myself out of a severed limb.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/us-assassination-bubble" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The U.S.A., an assassination bubble</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-12T13:13:47-08:00">January 12, 2011 1:13 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rouleau/2182633497/" title="down the barrel by -Antoine-, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="down the barrel" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2098/2182633497_da5a895e5f_m.jpg" height="240" width="240" /></a>As
far as I know, there have only ever been two assassinations of
politicians in Canada: the shooting of federal Father of Confederation <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_D'Arcy_McGee">Thomas D'Arcy McGee</a> in April 1868, and the strangulation of Québec Minister of Labour <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Laporte">Pierre Laporte</a> after he was kidnapped during the October Crisis in 1970.<br />
If you're American, that might help explain why we outside your
country are so mystified (as well as saddened and horrified) by the <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/01/11/sneak-preview-of-the-cover-of-the-stranger-this-week-created-by-dan-savage-and-aaron-huffman">bloodshed</a> that has for so long accompanied political discourse in the United States—once again <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/01/12/arizona-tucson-shooting-obama-memorial.html">last week</a>.
Like the U.S., we have criminals with weapons here: gangsters who shoot
up restaurants and busy streets in drug wars; ruthless home-grown
terrorists who <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/air-india">blow up</a> airliners; men <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/07/24/f-honour-killings.html">willing to kill</a> their wives or girlfriends or daughters out of anger or spite or a twisted sense of honour; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre">unhinged gunmen</a> who walk into schools. We're not a peace-draped utopia in the Great White North.<br />
<h4>
A border with a real difference</h4>
And yet, the homicide rate in the U.S.A. is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Canada#United_States">three times</a>
what we have in Canada. (We do get our cars stolen 22% more often than
Americans do, however.) While 70% of murderers in the U.S. use firearms,
only 30% in Canada kill with them—roughly the same number that use
knives. Guns are harder to get here—both legally and illegally—and the
types of weapons and ammunition a private citizen can own are also much
more restricted. A mere <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada">2.3% of Canadian homes</a>
have handguns in them; nearly ten times as many households own rifles
and other hunting-style long guns. A little over 5% of the Canadian
population has a valid firearms license, though many more owners remain
unregistered.<br />
It's reasonable to guess that there might be as many as 10 to
15 million firearms in Canada, mostly long guns. By contrast,
authorities estimate more than 250 million guns in the U.S.A., with
roughly <a href="http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/13/gun-owners-buy-14-million-plus-guns-in-2009/">14 million</a>
purchased each year. That's something like twice the number of guns per
capita (the U.S. population is about ten times Canada's), and more guns
bought annually than <i>exist at all</i> north of the border.<br />
Politicians in Canada—especially the Prime Minister, members of the
federal Cabinet, and senior ministers in the provinces—certainly have
security details. Some may <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujjal_Dosanjh#Vaisakhi_Parade_controversy">need them</a>
more than others, but there's little sense that seeking high political
office entails risking your life. None of Canada's 22 prime ministers
since Confederation in 1867 has been assassinated, and it's hard to say
if the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/12/weekinreview/november-5-11-how-to-foil-an-intruder.html">one attempt</a> on Jean Chrétien in 1995 (an intruder with a knife in the PM's official residence) really was one.<br />
<h4>
No revolution, and Mounties</h4>
Like the U.S.A., Canada was (and is) a country of the frontier, with
our own Wild West and subjugation of native people, our own hurly-burly
industrial-age expansionism, our own 20th-century shift to urban living
in polyglot cities. But there was no Canadian Revolution or Civil War.
For centuries, the rules and infrastructure of much of our vast country
(especially that Wild West) were maintained by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police">Mounted Police</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company">Hudson's Bay Company</a>.
Our national slogan is not "life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness," but "peace, order, and good government." We have no gun
lobby with anything like the influence of the National Rifle
Association.<br />
We have not, in general, turned even the most heated political disagreements into a <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/10/lafantasie_political_violene">brawl</a>,
or a skirmish, or an internecine war. At rallies or campaign stops,
bodyguards' eyes may skim nearby grassy knolls and rooftops, but there
has almost never been anything of interest to see. No one in Canada can
walk into a store and buy an extended-clip Glock semi-automatic pistol,
then put it under his coat, take a cab to a rally, and shoot a Member of
Parliament in the head—along with however many bystanders he can hit
with his extra rounds.<br />
Nor, does it seem, is anyone inclined to. Whatever the complex stew
of influences that prompted alleged assassin Jared Loughner to follow
those steps in Arizona last week—delusion and derangement; pervasive
rhetoric of government and its agents as the enemy, perhaps even
treasonous; easy availability of high-capacity, rapid-shooting handguns;
much we don't yet know—the mix north of the border is different.<br />
<h4>
All but settled</h4>
I get little sense that America wants to change its mix, despite
losing several important leaders over its history, despite both
accidental and intentional gun-related deaths and injuries in the tens
of thousands every year, and despite the counter-examples shown by
Canada and similar successful western democracies with strict gun laws
and generally less violent political rhetoric.<br />
As cartoonist Tom Tomorrow <a href="http://www.salon.com/entertainment/comics/this_modern_world/2011/01/10/this_modern_world">put it</a>,
with a U.S. gun-control advocate (a masked penguin) talking to a U.S.
gun-rights advocate (a guy in a suit): "The gun control debate is all
but settled—and your side won. The occasional horrible civilian massacre
is just the price the rest of us have to pay. Over and over again,
apparently."</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Four years of cancer blogging, part 4 (2010-2011)</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-11T21:44:24-08:00">January 11, 2011 9:44 PM</abbr>
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Compiling 2010 and a couple of entries from 2011, this
concludes my links to every cancer post I've made on this blog over the
past four years. See <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1">part 1 (2006–2007)</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2">part 2 (2008)</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3">part 3 (2009)</a>
for the rest. 2010 began optimistically, with my tumours shrinking, but
by the end of the year they were growing again, and I'd run out of
treatments. I may not live long enough to blog the end of 2011.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<div style="float: left; width: 48%;">
<h4>
January 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/first-post-of-2010-four-days-in">First post of 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/death-pessimism-and-realism">Death, pessimism, and realism</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/funny-thing-happened-to-me-on-way-to">A funny thing happened to me</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/searching-for-plunger-at-1-am">Searching for a plunger at 1 a.m.</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
February 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-13-jobs">My 13 jobs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">So long, Blogger.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time">My tumours have shrunk for the first time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/four-eyes">Four eyes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/one-down">One down</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
March 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/winter-arrives-and-departs">Winter arrives, and departs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/end-of-my-live-music-career">The end of my live music career?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/weird-way-to-hit-weight-target">A weird way to hit a weight target</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
April 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/what-does-it-mean-to-be-old">What does it mean to be old?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/buzz-time">Buzz time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/scan-and-chemo">Scan and chemo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/tumours-still-shrinking">Tumours still shrinking</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
May 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/off-to-chemo-i-go">Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to chemo I go</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-recovery-northern-voice">Chemo recovery and Northern Voice</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/well-that-explains-it">Well, that explains it</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/disneyland">Disneyland?!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/movable-type-static-files-really-work">Movable Type's static files</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-delay-zappy-foot">Chemo delay and the zappy foot</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/digital-executors-your-online-stuff">Digital executors and your online stuff</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/bzzzt">Bzzzt!</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
June 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/poison-time">Poison time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/it-doesnt-relent">It doesn't relent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-to-me">Happy birthday to me</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
July 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/party-party-party">Party party party</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/what-a-great-day">What a great day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/listening">Listening</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/down-the-hole">Down the hole</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/fiddly-fingers">Fiddly fingers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/whee">Whee!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/feet-dont-fail-me-now">Feet don't fail me now</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">Tumours growing again</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 50%;">
<h4>
August 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/enough-for-now">Enough for now</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/gnomedex-song-2010">The Gnomedex Song 2010</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/curse-of-online-identity">The curse of online identity</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
September 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/always-new-places-to-vomit">There are always new places to vomit</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years">Living in dog years</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/always-crazy-first-week">The always crazy first week</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/open-up-the-sluices">Open up the sluices</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/links-of-interest-2010-09-28">Links of interest (2010-09-28)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/a-little-legacy">A little legacy</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
October 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/gear-purge-time">Gear purge time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/popeyes-leg">Popeye's leg</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/new-ways-to-vomit">New ways to vomit</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/would-john-lennon-envy-me">Would John Lennon envy me?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/tigh-na-mara-salish-sea">Tigh-Na-Mara and the Salish Sea</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
November 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/a-return-to-bleah">A return to bleah</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/welcome-back-morpheus">Welcome back, Morpheus</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/biweekly-butt-blowout">Big biweekly butt blowout!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/lest-we-forget">Lest we forget</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-1">The best places I've been, part 1</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-2">The best places I've been, part 2</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/too-thin">I'm too thin</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">The endgame</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death">Writing in the face of death</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/time-for-winter">It is time for winter</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
December 2010:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/latest-cbc-cancer-interview">My latest CBC cancer interview</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/burning-sun">The burning sun</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/ihr-final-episode-2010">2010's final episode of Inside Home Recording</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/helping-me-prepare-to-die">Helping me prepare to die</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/comfy-happy-christmas">A comfortable and happy Christmas</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/low-down-christmas">Low down Yuletide</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
<h4>
January 2011:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/my-last-year">My last year</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/dont-lie-to-me">You don't need to lie to me</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
Again, see <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1">part 1 (2006–2007)</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2">part 2 (2008)</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3">part 3 (2009)</a>.</div>
</div>
<br />
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<div class="asset-header">
<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Four years of cancer blogging, part 3 (2009)</a></h2>
<div class="asset-meta">
<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-10T23:54:40-08:00">January 10, 2011 11:54 PM</abbr>
</span>
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<div class="asset-content entry-content">
<div class="asset-body">
Following my list of cancer blog posts in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1">part 1 (2006–2007)</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2">part 2 (2008)</a>,
this batch covers 2009. By then, I was coming to realize that my cancer
wasn't going to be cured. At best, it seemed, I might be able to manage
it as a chronic condition long-term, perhaps. And that's what I did for
much of the year, taking <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/i-totally-missed-new-years-day">cediranib</a> daily and managing the awful intestinal side effects, until that drug <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">stopped working</a>, and I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/that-weekend-suuuuuucked">moved back</a> to more traditional and awful chemo.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<div style="float: left; width: 48%;">
<h4>
January 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/i-totally-missed-new-years-day">I totally missed New Year's Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/cancer-update">Cancer update</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
February 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/bit-of-shock">A bit of a shock</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
March 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li>Nothing!</li>
</ul>
<h4>
April 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/perspective">Perspective</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/drill-baby-drill">Drill baby drill</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/decent-cancer-news-from-my-ct-scan">Decent cancer news from my CT scan</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/morbid-linkage-on-earth-day">Morbid linkage on Earth Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/healthy">Healthy</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
May 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/canada-asbestos-problem">Canada's asbestos problem</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/ouch">Ouch</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/ignore-oprahs-health-advice-please">Ignore Oprah's health advice please</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
June 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/living-for-tomorrow">Living for tomorrow</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/i-be-on-cbc-radio-again-at-540-today">I'll be on CBC Radio again</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/keep-on-keepin-on">Keep on keepin' on</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/dodging-buses-my-new-free-mp3">"Dodging Buses," my new free MP3</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
July 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/making-stories-showing-off-for-rauls">Making stories, showing off</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 50%;">
<h4>
August 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/wakeup-time">Wakeup time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/proud-to-be-her-man">Proud to be her man</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life">Old man, look at my life</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
September 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/power-of-words">The power of words</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/hard-days-night">A hard day's night</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/book-review-say-everything">Book review: "Say Everything"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/jack-of-all-trades">Jack of all trades</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/scramble">The scramble</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
October 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/sunday-night">Sunday night</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">See my cancer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/ribs">Spin my ribcage</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
November 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dog-in-family">Dog in the family?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/family-and-flight">Family and flight</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/what-comes-and-goes">What comes and goes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">Step 1: put your pup in a box</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/my-interview-last-week-on-cbc-tv">My interview last week on CBC TV</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">Oh fuck</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
December 2009:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/back-on-train">Back on the train</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/that-weekend-suuuuuucked">That weekend suuuuuucked</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/2010new-year">I made it to another New Year</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
Again, see <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1">Part 1 (2006–2007)</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2">Part 2 (2008)</a>. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4">Part 4 (2010–2011)</a> finishes off the link series marking <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">four years</a> since my cancer diagnosis.</div>
</div>
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<div class="asset-header">
<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Four years of cancer blogging, part 2 (2008)</a></h2>
<div class="asset-meta">
<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-09T23:15:04-08:00">January 9, 2011 11:15 PM</abbr>
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<div class="asset-content entry-content">
<div class="asset-body">
Here is the next batch of my complete index of blog posts about my cancer and treatment. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1">Part 1</a> covered 2006 and 2007. This one comprises 2008, with <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3">part 3</a> rounding up 2009 and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4">part 4</a> finishing off with 2010 and a bit of 2011.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<div style="float: left; width: 48%;">
<h4>
January 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/rollercoaster">Rollercoaster</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/grey-band">Grey band</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/year-of-sometimes-salty-language">A year of sometimes salty language</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/food-network-vs-nausea">Food Network vs. nausea</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/needle-boy">Needle boy</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
February 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/02/fun-fun-fun">Fun fun fun</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/02/learning-to-say-no">Learning to say no</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/02/big-time-tech-support">Big time tech support</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
March 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/shitbagged">Shitbagged</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/good-ct-scan-results">Good CT scan results</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/braveblogging">Braveblogging</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/why-im-itching-to-get-back-to-work">Why I'm itching to get back to work eventually</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/chemotherapy-will-last-longer-than-i">Chemotherapy will last longer than I expected</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/no-hair-club-for-men">No-hair club for men</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/my-least-favourite-part-of-town">My least favourite part of town</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/dubious-milestones">Dubious milestones</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/life-death-and-blog">Life, death, and the blog</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
April 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/thank-you-mario-party">Thank you, Mario Party</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/what-blog-posts-should-i-read-on-radio">What blog posts should I read on the radio?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/full-length-spark-interview-available">Full-length "Spark" interview available</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/edited-interview-now-available">Edited interview now available</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
May 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/another-eulogy">Another eulogy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/using-our-share-of-canadian-health-care">Using our share of Canadian health care</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/more-of-same">More of the same</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/hips-dont-lie">Hips don't lie</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/another-fun-night">Another fun night</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 50%;">
<h4>
June 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/lets-twist-again-like-we-did-last">Let's twist again</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/derek-and-amazing-technicolor-vomit">The Amazing Technicolor Vomit</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/chemo-brain">Chemo brain</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/easy-way-to-donate-for-cancer-research">An easy way to donate</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/high-definition-fairview">High-definition Fairview</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/today-i-am-39-for-first-time">Today I am 39 for the first time</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
July 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/back-to-reality">Back to reality</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/blast">The blast</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/up-mountain-down-mountain">Up the mountain, down the mountain</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/my-face-hurts">My face hurts</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
August 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/my-face-no-longer-hurts">My face no longer hurts</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/cure-and-disease">The cure and the disease</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
September 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/i-like-to-cry-more">I'd like to cry more</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/chemo-is-suddenly-over-again-for-now">Chemo is suddenly over again for now</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/for-better-or-for-worse">For better or for worse</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
October 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/ill-be-indisposed">I'll be indisposed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/nearly-time-for-another-surgery">Nearly time for another surgery</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/home-from-surgery">Home from surgery</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/to-fight-or-to-live">To fight, or to live</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/living-part">The living part</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
November 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/ill-be-on-cbc-radio-again-this">I'll be on CBC Radio again</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/audio-of-my-cbc-interview">Audio of my CBC interview</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/treatments-and-repairs">Treatments and repairs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/another-new-song-in-phase-one">Another new song: "In Phase One"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/my-crazy-new-mutant-eyelashes">My crazy new mutant eyelashes</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
December 2008:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/taking-charge-of-cancer-treatment">Taking charge of cancer treatment</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/my-friends-at-work-know-me-well">My friends at work know me well</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/cut-down">Cut down</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/this-years-tree">This year's tree</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/christmas-toast-to-martin-and-james">A Christmas toast to Martin and James</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/mixed-bag">A mixed bag</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/home-safe">Home safe</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
Again, see <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1">part 1 (2006–2007)</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3">part 3 (2009)</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4">part 4 (2010–2011)</a> for more.</div>
</div>
<br />
<a class="twitter-share-button" href="http://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2&via=penmachine">Tweet</a>
</div>
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<div class="entry-asset asset hentry" id="entry-189">
<div class="asset-header">
<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Four years of cancer blogging, part 1 (2006-2007)</a></h2>
<div class="asset-meta">
<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-08T19:45:56-08:00">January 8, 2011 7:45 PM</abbr>
</span>
<span class="separator">|</span> <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-1#comments">7 Comments</a>
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<div class="asset-content entry-content">
<div class="asset-body">
In the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/dont-lie-to-me">exactly four years</a> since I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">found out</a>
I have cancer, this has not been exclusively a cancer blog, but I have
written a lot about it. Since you probably missed some (and also because
I've forgotten much of what I wrote), I'm listing links to every post
I've made on the topic. Let's start with December 2006 (when I didn't
know what I had) through December 2007. See <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2">part 2 (2008)</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3">part 3 (2009)</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4">part 4 (2010–2011)</a> too.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<div style="float: left; width: 48%;">
<h4>
December 2006:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/looking-forward-to-it.html">Looking forward to it?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/diagnosis.html">The diagnosis</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/scoperrific.html">Scoperrific</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
<h4>
January 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/in-preparation-for-colonoscopy-ill-be.html">In preparation for the colonoscopy I'll be having...</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">Please excuse the salty language</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/road-trip.html">Road trip!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/mystical-comfort-from-richard-dawkins.html">Mystical comfort from Richard Dawkins</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/forgetful-and-distracted.html">Forgetful and distracted</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/blowout-clearance-everything-must-go.html">Blowout! Clearance! Everything must go!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/still-in-woods.html">Still in the woods</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/why-im-getting-cancer-treatment-now.html">Why I'm getting cancer treatment now</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/thanks-to-gillian-for-this-one.html">Thanks to Gillian for this one</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/worlds-in-collision.html">Worlds in collision</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/its-getting-to-me-now.html">It's getting to me now</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/dereks-talkin-about-cancer-on-cbc.html">Derek's talkin' about cancer on CBC Radio</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/podcasters-impression-of-live-radio.html">A podcaster's impression of live radio</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/ill-be-calling-this-day-zero.html">I'll be calling this Day Zero</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/audio-from-my-cbc-interview-is-up.html">Audio from my CBC interview is up</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
February 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/what-do-other-cancer-patients-think-of.html">What do other cancer patients think?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/planning-accident.html">Planning the accident</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/losing-it-in-best-way.html">Losing it in the best way</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/no-dammit-i-don-know-surgery-date-yet.html">No, dammit, I don't know the surgery date yet</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/taking-walk.html">I'm confused</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/i-need-more-storage-so-that.html">Miracle cures, and being afraid</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/careful-what-you-wish-for.html">Careful what you wish for</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/filling-binder-moving-bed.html">Filling the binder, moving the bed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/i-have-tentative-surgical-dates-and.html">I have tentative surgical dates and a plan</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/and-todays-wild-swing-of-pendulum-is.html">And today's wild swing of the pendulum is...</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/getting-prepped.html">Getting prepped</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">Not a new thing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/time-set-purge-begun.html">Time set, purge begun</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/that-was-fun-or-not.html">That was fun—or not</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/one-down-one-to-go.html">One down, one to go</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/thoughts-and-congratulations.html">Thoughts and congratulations</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/ouch.html">Ouch</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/zonked-out.html">Zonked out</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/tough-morning.html">Tough morning</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/up-and-down.html">Up and down</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/how-to-make-cancer-treatment-go-better.html">How to make cancer treatment go better</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
March 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/pain-management.html">Pain management</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/one-more-day.html">One more day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/let-reset-that-timeline-again.html">Let's reset that timeline again</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/tidbits-from-sick-day.html">Tidbits from a sick day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/three-things.html">Three things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/bring-it-hell-on.html">Bring it the hell on</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/piece-of-advice.html">A piece of advice</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/on-conveyor.html">On the conveyor</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/all-guns-blazing.html">All guns blazing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/accelerated-treatment-is-good-thing.html">Accelerated treatment is a good thing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/busy-days.html">Busy days</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/thanks-to-late-stephen-jay-gould.html">Thanks to the late Stephen Jay Gould</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/last-day-before-chemo.html">Last day before chemo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/daffodils-and-ivs.html">Daffodils and IVs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/avast-or-avastin-toast-to-bevacizumab.html">Avast! A toast to bevacizumab!</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
April 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/side-effects-or-not.html">Side effects or not?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/appearing-on-cbc-radio-again-today-at.html">Appearing in CBC Radio again today</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/nap-tub.html">Nap tub</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/how-many-springs.html">How many springs?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/if-you-missed-my-cbc-interview-here-it.html">If you missed my CBC interview, here it is</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/my-cbc-interview-featured-on-bc-this.html">My CBC interview featured on "BC This Week"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/another-rough-night.html">Another rough night</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/much-better-today.html">Much better today</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/scheduling-and-meeting-friends.html">Scheduling and meeting friends</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/tomorrow-is-new-day-one.html">Tomorrow is the new Day One</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/so-far-not-too-bad.html">So far, not too bad</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/not-much-new-to-report.html">Not much new to report</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/that-weekend-sucked.html">That weekend sucked</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/started-out-bad-got-better.html">Started out bad, got better</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/morphine-is-my-friend.html">Morphine is my friend</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/dipped-in-metal.html">Dipped in metal</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/chemo-crushed.html">Chemo crushed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/you-never-know-what-youre-gonna-get.html">You never know what you're gonna get</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/my-day.html">My day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/not-recommended-weight-loss-plan.html">Not a recommended weight loss plan</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/cbc-tvs-2006-cancer-documentary.html">CBC TV's 2006 cancer documentary</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 50%;">
<h4>
May 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/bony-butt">Bony butt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/gonna-be-sleepy-one">Gonna be a sleepy one</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/i-hate-weekends">I hate weekends</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/off-grid">Off the grid</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/two-notes-about-bc-cancer-agency">Two notes about the B.C. Cancer Agency</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/going-with-evidence">Going with the evidence</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/adventures-in-toileting">Adventures in toileting</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/coming-out-of-shell">Coming out of my shell</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/so-much">So much</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/going-all-way">Going all the way</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/memories-of-cannon-beach-via-art">Memories of Cannon Beach via art therapy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/vancouver-web-geek-community-is-real">The Vancouver web geek community is real</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/im-not-brave">I'm not brave</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/major-repairs">Major repairs</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
June 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/paying-price">Paying the price</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/heres-how-to-help-me-out">Here's how to help me out</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/sometimes-i-lie">Sometimes I lie</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/small-pleasures-and-pains">Small pleasures and pains</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/radiation-side-effects-last-long-time">Radiation side effects last a long time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/im-idiot">I'm an idiot</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/cancer-benefit-concerts-in-ontario">Cancer benefit concerts in Ontario</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/so-how-we-do">So how'd we do?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/generator">Generator</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/mixed-messages-again">Mixed messages again</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">Dead man walking?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/lets-put-it-this-way">Let's put it this way</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/attention-seeker">Attention seeker</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/gonna-be-on-cbc-radio-again-on-friday">Gonna be on CBC Radio again on Friday</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/party-tonight-interview-posted-rock">Party tonight, interview posted, rock tomorrow</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
July 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/im-totally-spent-baby">I'm totally spent, baby</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/my-favourite-places-and-when-to-take-me">My favourite places, and when to take me there</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/having-surgery-off-grid-till-mid-july">Having surgery, off the grid till mid-July</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hi-from-hospital">Hi from the hospital</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/kickin-it-old-skool-pen-and-paper">Kickin' it old skool: pen and paper</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/back-home-and-moving-slowly">Back home and moving slowly</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/new-record">A new record</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/taking-it-to-strip">Taking it to the strip</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/morphine-withdrawal-side-effects-are">Morphine withdrawal side effects are not so good</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hey-so-where-you-go">Hey, so where'd you go?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/im-home">I'm home</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
August 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/so-tired">So tired</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/nose-crater-battle-scars">Nose crater battle scars</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/know-your-limit">Know your limit</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/slow-month">A slow month</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/outings-have-their-price">Outings have their price</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/thrown-about-by-bourne">Thrown about by Bourne</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/next-best-thing">The next best thing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/relief">Relief</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/turning-corner">Turning the corner</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/corners">Corners</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/crash">Crash</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/fame-in-uk">Fame in the U.K.</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
September 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/more-chemo-in-october">More chemo in October</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/i-slept-all-day-today">I slept all day today</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/my-wifes-birthday">My wife's birthday</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/buses-and-risks">Buses and risks</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/more-sedation-tomorrow">More sedation tomorrow</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/that-wasnt-all-that-bad">That wasn't all that bad</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/video-of-my-appearance-at-gnomedex">Video of my appearance at Gnomedex</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/family-and-friends">Family and friends</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
October 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/blue-fox-pushes-me-over-line-at-last">The Blue Fox pushes me over the line at last</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/bandages-and-partners">Bandages and partners</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/how-portacath-works">How a Portacath works</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/gearing-up-for-more-chemo-tomorrow">Gearing up for more chemo tomorrow</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/hows-that-chemotherapy">How's that chemotherapy?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/hiccups-as-side-effect-of-hic">Hiccups as a side effect of (hic!) chemotherapy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/owies">Owies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/what-metaphor">What's the metaphor?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/waaaay-belated-thank-you">Waaaay belated thank you</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/death-and-childhood-dreams">Death and childhood dreams</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
November 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/paying-price">Paying the price</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/staying-warm-and-dry">Staying warm and dry</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/why-2007-continues-to-suck">Why 2007 continues to suck</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/stylin-with-age">Stylin' with age</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/warming-cockles-of-geeks-hearts">Warming the cockles of geeks' hearts</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/chemotherapy-side-effects">Chemotherapy side effects</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/i-let-you-guess-how-i-feeling-today">I'll let you guess how I'm feeling today</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/shopping-time">Shopping time</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
December 2007:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/boilermaker">Boilermaker</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/last-chemo-before-christmas">Last chemo before Christmas</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/martin-s-1970-2007">Martin Sikes - 1968-2007</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/and-so-i-cried">And so I cried</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/hell-of-year">Hell of a year</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
More of the archive in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-2">part 2 (2008)</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-3">part 3 (2009)</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/4-years-cancer-blogging-part-4">part 4 (2010–2011)</a>.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/dont-lie-to-me" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">You don't have to lie to me</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-07T08:52:59-08:00">January 7, 2011 8:52 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tcdrushgeddy/3204346622/" title="Bodie Ghost Town Rusty Car PSIMG_4515DE by Tom DiMatteo, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Bodie Ghost Town Rusty Car PSIMG_4515DE" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3204346622_393679e1c6_m.jpg" height="170" width="240" /></a>I'm seeing a doctor at the Cancer Agency for a followup appointment today, <b>almost exactly four years <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">to the day</a> since I first found out from my family physician that I have cancer,</b> in January 2007. Back then I was freaking out, but nevertheless I didn't think the disease was as severe as it <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">turned out</a> to be. No one did. We thought we'd caught it early, but we hadn't.<br />
When I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/i-have-tentative-surgical-dates-and.html">left work</a> for my first surgery in February of that year, I thought I might be gone a few months at most. I've never been back, and I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/a-little-legacy">won't be</a>.
The company has had numerous employees join, work there for a pretty
long time, and leave again, all in the time I've been away. (Indeed,
there aren't very many people remaining from when I did work there.)<br />
There was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/ill-be-calling-this-day-zero.html">a time</a> when I counted the days I'd been under treatment, but I stopped that ages ago. I simply lost count, but I can <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html">calculate it</a>
out. From my arbitrary Day Zero at the end of January 31, I've now been
a cancer patient for 1438 days. Or if you take my diagnosis on January
8, 2007, then I'm now at Day 1461.<br />
In that time, lots of other people have developed cancer—such as <a href="http://web.me.com/sdorner">Steve Dorner</a>, creator of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudora_(e-mail_client)">Eudora</a>
email application. Some—including my online friend Jean-Hugues in
Paris, France—have gone into remission or been cured. Some, like actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Swayze">Patrick Swayze</a>, were diagnosed, had treatment, and then died from it, all while I was still chugging along.<br />
<b>So my cancer has neither been a worst-case scenario of swift
and painful death, nor a best-case scenario of quick treatment and cure.</b> I've managed to stay alive for four years, though my chances of reaching five in 2012 <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/my-last-year">are slim</a>. I haven't become an expert on cancer as a disease, but I have become an expert at <i>having</i> cancer.<br />
And having cancer is strange, because it is my own body betraying
itself. The tumour cells aren't invaders: they are my own, with my DNA,
malfunctioning so that they've lost the ability to be productive parts
of my physiology. They won't stop dividing and multiplying, and they do
nothing else. So far my medical teams and I have kept them from
overwhelming the rest of the cells in my body, so that my lungs and
heart and kidneys and liver and intestines and brain and other organs
are still working—mostly.<br />
But eventually, like a car that's rusting out, things will start failing, and then I'll die. I'm a lot <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death">less angry</a>
about that than I used to be, because being angry for four years would
have been terribly corrosive in its own way. It's been tough enough
emotionally already, on me and on my family.<br />
Some of the people I know continue to be convinced that I'll recover somehow, to say that <i>of course</i>
I'll still be alive next Christmas, to imagine that I'll get better, or
at least continue chugging along some more as I have so far. But to me,
they are like the many people who continue to hope that I'll have some
sort of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/religion">religious</a> conversion, or that I'll suddenly believe in their <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/going-with-evidence">evidence</a>-free miracle cures. That is, they're doing it for themselves, not for me.<br />
<b>Saying that <i>of course</i> I'll still be around next year
is a lie, and I don't like lying to myself, or being lied to because
it's supposed to cheer me up.</b> It's <i>possible</i> for me to survive another year or two, but it's unlikely. I could also become a famous rock star or win the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/randomness">lottery</a>, but I shouldn't expect either one, or live my life as if I will.<br />
If you want to say that I'm not near the end of my life, you may do
that, but understand that it's for your benefit, and to allay your own
fears, not mine. I'm the one who has this body whose cells have gone
wrong, and I can feel what it's like. Let's not deny it and pretend that
I'm not, okay?</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/childhood-obsessions" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Childhood obsessions</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-06T14:17:04-08:00">January 6, 2011 2:17 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/darthservo/277955438/" title="Millennium Falcon Model 01 by darthservo, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Millennium Falcon Model 01" class="post" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/277955438_b35dd5e8e1_m.jpg" height="151" width="240" /></a>While among adults, obsessions with particular types of objects are usually seen as disorders—and thus potential pitches for <a href="http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/2011/01/06/tlc_mental_illness_network">TLC television shows</a>—for kids it's quite normal to develop (temporary) passions for things. Sometimes strange ones.<br />
My younger daughter Lolo, for instance, collected cellular phones for
a long time. Not functioning ones, mind you: they could be toys, or
store demo mockups, or old phones that grownups had deactivated upon
upgrading. They could make noise and flash lights, or just sit there. It
didn't matter. She had them (still has them, actually) in drawers, in
purses, in pockets, on shelves. Well over a dozen of them. But since she
got herself a real functioning phone (a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Pre">Palm Pre</a>) and an iPod Touch last year, her interest in fake and non-functioning phones has waned.<br />
However, since her tenth birthday last year, she's become a little
fixated on something else: cash registers. She's loved playing "store"
since she was quite little, and for years has had various toy registers
and similar machines around her room. But she's moved beyond that now,
and since she's ten and knows her way around the Internet, she has been
searching Craigslist periodically for used <a href="http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/search/?areaID=16&query=cash+register&catAbb=sss">cash registers</a> in the Vancouver area. They're not cheap, at least not for a good one, so she's saving up her allowance.<br />
Today, my friend Tara brought her daughter Simone, who's almost
three, to visit. Simone is currently infatuated with vacuum cleaners and
ceiling fans. She repeatedly asked me where our vacuum cleaner was, and
what colour our fan is. When we dropped next door to visit my parents,
she asked the same thing. She also told me about the many ceiling fans
at Ikea, and that she had one in her bedroom during a recent vacation to
Mexico, which was very exciting. (Having the fan, I mean. I guess the
vacation was probably exciting too.)<br />
Like many young boys, back in the '70s my obsessions were <a href="http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/">dinosaurs</a> and <cite>Star Wars</cite>.
And my kids know it: this past Christmas, my older daughter Marina
found me a very cool cutaway book explaining the inner workings of Han
Solo's <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Falcon">Millennium Falcon</a></cite>. I read it cover to cover in one sitting.</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/peculiar-icicle" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Our most peculiar icicle</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-04T11:50:31-08:00">January 4, 2011 11:50 AM</abbr>
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Everyday items can defy common sense. Take <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5325598052/lightbox/">this icicle</a> that formed on the banister of our back steps just after the new year:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5324988197/" title="Weird icicle 1 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Weird icicle 1" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/5324988197_b854ed5c42.jpg" height="332" width="500" /></a></div>
In advance, I would have guessed that water dripping off the end of
the railing would have fallen downwards—you know, gravity and all—and
formed a vertically-hanging icicle like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/310677079/lightbox/">every other one</a>
I've seen in my life. Yet the surface tension of the water presumably
let each melted drop slide over the previous one, and the temperature
was just right to freeze it before it dripped off the end. The result:
an icicle matching the angle of the banister.<br />
Even more bizarre, the tip curled <i>up</i> slightly. The whole
thing was about 10 cm long. I wanted to see how much further it would
grow, but the weather conditions changed; by the next morning, it was
gone.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/still-a-great-little-car" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Still a great little car</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-03T22:34:39-08:00">January 3, 2011 10:34 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5325081000/" title="Mazda3 front end by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Mazda3 front end" class="post" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5010/5325081000_98064e0604_m.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a>It's now been more than six months since my wife Air <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/buying-new-miller-car">replaced</a>
our Toyota Echo with a much jazzier Mazda3 GT sedan. As it should be,
the Mazda is a better car in every respect. (The best thing? Heated
seats.)<br />
Back in the '70s, the first Mazda I remember noticing was the GLC, known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Familia">Familia</a>
in most of the world. The Mazda3 is a direct descendant of the
GLC—through other names such as 323 and Protegé. "GLC" itself supposedly
stood for "Great Little Car," and the Mazda3 remains that.<br />
The driving position in the Mazda is much sportier than in any of the
other cars we looked at, such as the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
For similar sporty reasons, it's also more difficult to see out the back
and side windows than from our Ford Focus station wagon—it's like a
cockpit in the Mazda, especially with the aggressive red-and-blue
lighting of the instruments.<br />
I also have yet to find anyone else who owns a Mazda3—which turns out
to be many people we know—who dislikes it at all. It's not just a great
little car, it's a car that seems to inspire loyalty. Our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/07/yesterday-i-turned-35.html">Toyota</a>
never really did that, even though we bought it on my birthday in 2004.
True, it was a bottom-of-the-line model, but the Echo was simply a car,
nothing more.<br />
The Mazda has more personality than that. It's not a true sports car, but it's as close as anything we've ever owned. And it's <i>fun</i>
getting it up to speed on a winding road (something we don't get a
chance to do very often). But our Echo, the Focus, the Ford Escorts we
owned before those, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/cars-used-to-be-crap">my old</a> AMC Hornet, Ford Fairmont, and Mercury station wagons never even prompted us to try.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/my-last-year" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">My last year</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2011-01-01T11:30:44-08:00">January 1, 2011 11:30 AM</abbr>
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It's an odd thing, looking out on what will probably be my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">last year</a>.
On television news shows yesterday, reporters were asking people about
their resolutions, their hopes and dreams, their expectations for 2011.
If I'd been one of those men on the street (though I wasn't feeling well
enough to be <i>on</i> the street), my answer wouldn't have been what the TV crews were expecting.<br />
"Hmm," I'd have said. "I have terminal cancer. So my hopes are that
my wife and kids get through this year okay, because I'll likely be dead
by the end of it."<br />
Chances are indeed very strong that I won't be alive to write a new
year's post in January 2012. The cancer's moving too fast for that. And
the past few days, I've really been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/low-down-christmas">feeling it</a>,
physically. Through our Christmas events, a family holiday in Victoria,
and especially yesterday, New Year's Eve, I felt crappy, weak, gassy,
in pain.<br />
Now, everyone feels ill from time to time. My wife and daughters were sick too, with my 12-year-old, <a href="http://twitter.com/marinaamiller/">Marina</a>,
even getting a throat infection while we were on Vancouver Island. But
what's different when I feel ill is that I always have to wonder: will I
get better?<br />
Today I am feeling a lot better, so far, and I hope it persists. I
slept in late (a good sign, meaning I didn't wake up early needing <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/welcome-back-morpheus">morphine</a>),
took the dog out in the yard, had some coffee, and now here I am
feeling energized to write something, which certainly wasn't true
yesterday. Today's plans include taking down the Christmas tree and
setting up the massive electric slot-car racetrack my wife bought me,
which has been half-assembled for a week.<br />
Eventually, though, I'll get sick and feel bad, and it won't
improve—not enough. Part of my mind is always watching out for it. The
cough that doesn't subside. The aches that my current medication won't
address. I've never been prone to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder">clinical depression</a>,
but I also have to keep an eye out for that, because it runs in my
family and could generate fatigue and hopelessness too—but it could be
treated if I get it.<br />
I'm already considerably weaker than I was for our trip to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/disneyland">Disneyland</a> in July, or my jaunt to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/gnomedex">Gnomedex</a>
in August. I've lost a lot of weight, which I'm finding hard to regain,
and I find the prospect of driving myself down Interstate 5 for a few
hours nearly impossible to imagine.<br />
But, compared to yesterday, when I couldn't see myself going to the
grocery store, or walking the dog around the block, or hauling the
Christmas decorations downstairs—well, compared to that, I'm much
improved. There are little tipping points everywhere, and my family and I
never know when I've crossed them permanently. Not yet, anyway.</div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-89575820700727861422018-11-11T13:29:00.000-08:002022-09-05T20:56:05.867-07:00Derek Dec 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1 class="archive-title" id="page-title">
December 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/vancouvers-arc-of-mountains" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Vancouver's arc of mountains</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-30T18:15:30-08:00">December 30, 2010 6:15 PM</abbr>
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Vancouver is hemmed in by an <a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=49.10804,-122.65686&spn=1.015861,1.826477&t=h&z=9">arc of mountains</a> on three sides, and Georgia Strait (part of the Pacific Ocean) on the other:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancouver-mountain-arc.jpg" title="Vancouver's mountain arc - enlarge"><img alt="Vancouver's mountain arc" border="0" height="395" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancouver-mountain-arc.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Those of us who live here know that, but it's not always obvious. Today it was. Returning from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5304944868/lightbox/">Victoria</a>
on the ferry, my family and I were driving through Tsawwassen when we
noticed how clear the day was. And all the mountains were fresh with
snow.<br />
From the Mount Baker <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/08/ring-of-fire.html">volcano</a> in the U.S.A. to the southeast, to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/cheam/">Mount Cheam</a> near Chilliwack in the east, to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2213100601/lightbox/">Golden Ears</a> in the northeast, to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157603778348574/">North Shore</a>
ski mountains, it was an unbroken line of blue and white, snowy peaks
across our entire line of vision, unobscured by cloud or haze, each
crisp and ominous. Our city is a flat little oasis in rough, beautiful
country.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/low-down-christmas" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Low down Yuletide</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-26T19:27:05-08:00">December 26, 2010 7:27 PM</abbr>
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I caught some sort of virus earlier this week, and have now passed it on to the rest of my family, so Christmas wasn't as <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/comfy-happy-christmas">comfortable</a>
as I had hoped—not for me on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and not
for any of us today now that we all have it. It's not severe, mostly
aches and mild fever, but in my already-weakened state I spent a lot of
time crashed on the couch. Not to mention vomiting in a parking lot on
the way to my in-laws' yesterday.<br />
Despite sucking a bit, it was far from a terrible time, and we did
have the warmth of a big crowd at my aunt and uncle's place on Christmas
Eve, and our small group with Air's family the next day, plus lots of
useful and fun presents. And two turkey dinners.<br />
Having the parties and shopping and craziness be over is good. Air,
the girls, the dog, and I are going to do our own thing this week, which
should let us recover a bit. I hope I can feel better: I was worried
that my zonked-out Christmas state might be semi-permanent. Today I'm
slightly improved, so I hope not. Regardless, I am safe and have a great
little family, in our home together.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/comfy-happy-christmas" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A comfortable and happy Christmas</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-24T11:12:10-08:00">December 24, 2010 11:12 AM</abbr>
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Years ago, on Apple's defunct iCards site, I found <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_12_01_news_archive.html#8153058">a photo</a> that remains my favourite image for Christmas Eve:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/winter_cabin_icard.jpg" title="Winter cabin"><img alt="Winter cabin" border="0" height="310" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/winter_cabin_icard.jpg" width="415" /></a></div>
I don't know who took it, but I hope that tonight you are as warm and
cozy as that picture feels. Christmas Eve is the night that my family
has always held our big dinner and celebration, European style, and that
will be the case again this evening.<br />
There is also a sad component. Three years ago, on Christmas Eve, my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/martinsikes/">friend Martin</a> died <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/and-so-i-cried">suddenly</a> in his sleep at age 39, so I think of it also as Martin's Eve.<br />
Finally, chances are that tonight will be <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">my last Christmas Eve</a>:
in December 2011, my family will gather again for Christmas. But by
then, most likely, I'll be dead. I don't want tonight to become a
maudlin event because of that, but it is the truth—and at least we all
know that now. It's something I've wondered about for three Christmas
eves now, and I feel a little relieved that it's become less of a
mystery.<br />
Christmas isn't a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/religion">religious event</a> for me, but a family one. Whatever it is for you, I hope yours is comfortable and happy, like <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/winter_cabin_icard.jpg" title="Winter cabin">the photo</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/helping-me-prepare-to-die" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Helping me prepare to die</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-22T12:24:37-08:00">December 22, 2010 12:24 PM</abbr>
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Today I had my first visit from Pierre, one of Burnaby's <a href="http://www.fraserhealth.ca/your_care/home_care_nursing/">home care nurses</a>. They haven't needed to visit my house since <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/slow-month">way back</a>
in the summer of 2007, when I was just home from my major cancer
surgery and still largely stuck in bed. I'm not like that now. Rather,
today was more of a planning meeting.<br />
Few people my age (41) need to plan how we'd prefer <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">to die</a>.
Many, whatever their age, would prefer not to think about it at all.
However, for me, since I know it's happening pretty soon, I'd rather try
to minimize both the burden on my family and whatever suffering I'll
have to undergo. That takes some preparation, such as evaluating hospice
care in <a href="http://www.fraserhealth.ca/your_care/hospice_palliative_care/">Burnaby</a> or <a href="http://www.vch.ca/your_health/health_topics/home_hospice_palliative_care/">Vancouver</a>, considering when to implement a Do Not Resuscitate order in the future, and so on.<br />
Complaints about Canada's health care system are routine, but I have
to reinforce that my experience throughout my cancer treatment, and now
after it, has been remarkably good. Because ours is a public system, and
I have had excellent support from my extended health plan through work
too, my family and I have faced absolutely minimal out-of-pocket
expenses. We paid nothing for today's home-care visit, during which the
nurse and I talked for well over an hour, for instance.<br />
In recent decades, British Columbia's Ministry of Health has begun to approach death as an <a href="http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/hcc/endoflife.html">integral part</a>
of its mandate. I appreciate that, because it gives me a context in
which to organize my next year or so. My life today is no longer so
directly about trying to manage and beat my cancer, but to take some
control over the process of dying that the disease has forced me into.
Today was a calm and reassuring part of that process, one that need not
be as terrifying as we might assume.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/congrats-history-of-rome" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Congratulations to the History of Rome podcast</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-20T10:25:46-08:00">December 20, 2010 10:25 AM</abbr>
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If my podcast <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=875">Inside Home Recording</a> is going to lose a <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">Podcast Award</a> to another Education nominee, I can't object that it's something as high-falutin' as <a href="http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/">The History of Rome</a>. Right now it's covering <a href="http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2010/12/120-interregnum.html">the Interregnum</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century">late third century</a> <small>A.D.</small><br />
Thank you to everyone who voted for us. I think it was a pretty close result. <i>Ubi concordia, ibi victoria.</i><br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/mccartney-snl-tribute-lennon" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Paul McCartney's classy SNL tribute to John Lennon</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-17T13:34:54-08:00">December 17, 2010 1:34 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmcnab/3105661876/" title="Lennon and McCartney by John McNab, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Lennon and McCartney" class="post" height="237" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/3105661876_eb16dd64ab_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Whenever I talk to one of my therapists or counsellors about my cancer and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/">impending death</a>,
I mention how I can't predict what will make me cry, though it happens
most often when I'm alone. I don't cry as regularly as you might expect,
maybe because I've been thinking about it all for several years now.
And the things that set me off are usually unpredictable and weird.<br />
Like <a href="http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/dec-11-paul-rudd/1264579/">Paul McCartney on <cite>Saturday Night Live</cite></a>
last week. At first, when he played slightly-wobbly versions of "Jet"
and "Band on the Run," I wondered why he was the musical guest at the
moment: most guests only play two songs, he wasn't plugging a new album,
and if he were promoting <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=1fMt2kjc8iw&offerid=146261.10005888&type=3&subid=0">the Beatles on iTunes</a>, I figured, you know, he'd do some Beatles tunes.<br />
But then he turned up for a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e00nq64v8Do">third performance</a>,
and from the first quiet acoustic guitar chords, I knew why he was
there on the stage in New York City, and my eyes watered up. The song
was "A Day in the Life," and he was playing it 30 years to the week
after its primary composer, his long-dead childhood friend John Lennon,
was shot not far away. Those two were the greatest songwriting team of
the 20th century, the song one of their most spectacular collaborations
(John wrote the beginning and the end, Paul the middle), from <cite>Sgt. Pepper</cite>, their most groundbreaking album.<br />
When McCartney and his band turned it into an audience-singalong
medley with one of Lennon's most lasting anthems, "Give Peace a Chance,"
I completely lost it, bawling (once again) by myself on the couch. Now,
he said nothing about Lennon, neither before nor after the performance,
nor later when, over the end credits, he performed a <em>fourth</em>
number, his own Beatles classic "Get Back." But those few minutes of
McCartney playing Lennon were the best tribute to the 30th anniversary
of John's death that I saw.<br />
On the actual anniversary, December 8, I was <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/1233408557/ID=1689541853">interviewed briefly</a>
by reporter Ian Hanomansing on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's
"The National" TV news, about Lennon's day-to-day influence on my life
as a musician, listener—and father of Beatles-fan daughters who were
born decades after the band broke up. (I was less than a year old then
myself, and 11 when Lennon died.)<br />
In part of the interview that didn't make it to air, I told Ian that
from what I knew, John Lennon was a complicated character, not a simple
emblem of peace and love, but an acerbic personality whose personal
relationships were often fraught, whose life was often <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/would-john-lennon-envy-me">not happy</a>,
and who frequently contradicted himself, consciously or unconsciously.
No doubt Paul McCartney knew that better than anyone, but last weekend,
he didn't try to sum it up by talking about John Lennon. He let the
man's music speak instead, and that's as classy a tribute as you can
get.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/wikileaks-desired-counter-overreaction" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">WikiLeaks and the desired counter-overreaction</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-16T09:12:47-08:00">December 16, 2010 9:12 AM</abbr>
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How do I feel about this whole <a href="http://wikileaks.ch/">WikiLeaks</a> brouhaha? Well, first of all, it's not a <a href="http://www.wikiweb.com/">wiki</a>, is it? That aside, here's how I <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine/status/12298242716864512">summed it up</a> on Twitter:<br />
<blockquote>
While I'm ambivalent about some of what WikiLeaks is
doing, the reaction by our supposedly democratic governments dismays me
unequivocally.</blockquote>
A longer take with a similar conclusion is from <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/12/05/Wikileaks">Tim Bray</a>, who says:<br />
<blockquote>
Thought leaders including Sarah Palin, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, Silvio Berlusconi, and Vladimir Putin tsk-tsk in unison;
those closer to the mainstream who are joining the chorus should be <em>very fucking nervous</em> about the company they're keeping.</blockquote>
I think it's worth looking at WikiLeaks' (or at least Julian Assange's) <a href="http://zunguzungu.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/julian-assange-and-the-computer-conspiracy-%E2%80%9Cto-destroy-this-invisible-government%E2%80%9D/">stated motivations</a> for releasing all this sensitive material: to be "only the catalyst for the desired counter-overreaction" by its target states.<br />
The overreaction <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/a-bayesian-take-on-julian-assange/">is happening</a>, in <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/14/manning">sometimes nasty</a> ways. Mission accomplished?<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/ihr-final-episode-2010" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">2010's final episode of Inside Home Recording</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-15T16:31:42-08:00">December 15, 2010 4:31 PM</abbr>
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Sometime early in 2011, I will be forced to end my nearly-five-year stint co-hosting <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>
(IHR), the longest-running podcast about recording music and audio in
your home or project studio. The reason is obvious: I'll most likely <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/time-for-winter">be dead from cancer</a> by the end of the year, and we're trying to smooth the transition on the show.<br />
My co-host <a href="http://gethatched.net/">Dave Chick</a> and I have just posted our <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=879">final 2010 episode</a>, IHR #85 (also available in <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=878">MP3 format</a>), and it includes a guest segment by <a href="http://37hz.net/">Hens Zimmmerman</a>
of the Netherlands, as well as my batch of suggestions for good
home-recording Christmas gifts under $200. We ask our listeners what the
podcast should do once I'm off the air too.<br />
Today is also the last chance for us to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/vote-ihr-best-educational-podcast">get votes</a>
for the 2010 Podcast Awards. I'd appreciate if you could vote (even if
you already have—you can do it once a day), since it will be my final
opportunity to win one, and this is the first year that IHR has even
reached the nomination stage.<br />
While Inside Home Recording is a lot of work and doesn't pay at all,
I've enjoyed doing it. As with any instructional task, I've learned at
least as much as I've taught since joining founder and original host
(and now my friend) <a href="http://www.vancouverpianist.com/">Paul Garay</a> on the program <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=41">in 2006</a>. As with many other things, I wish I could keep going.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/primeval-fears" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Primeval fears</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-15T09:27:52-08:00">December 15, 2010 9:27 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/coprolite/5005242488/" title="An old friend came a calling.. by the_coprolite, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="An old friend came a calling.." class="post" height="168" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5005242488_ec6758865b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>There's no shortage of <a href="http://www.miss604.com/2009/02/coyote-sightings-and-attacks-in-vancouver.html">coyotes</a>
in Greater Vancouver. In our Burnaby neighbourhood, I've seen them
regularly for years: they live and hunt in nearby Deer Lake and Burnaby
Lake parks, and when I used to come home from band gigs late at night
I'd regularly see small packs of them on suburban streets.<br />
When I was a child, my knowledge of coyotes came mostly from Road Runner cartoons, but they have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Adaptation_to_human_environment">extended their range</a>
in North America during the past few decades. Like rats, crows,
seagulls, raccoons, and a few other species, they seem to thrive near
human habitation, with urban dwellers perhaps even <a href="http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060105_coyotefrm.htm">living longer</a> than their rural counterparts. They're common enough now that my kids nicknamed our local park/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157611530511388">sledding</a> hill "the Coyote Park" because of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinafasbro/5152539639/">warning signs</a> the city posted there.<br />
However, this morning, my mom (who lives next door) spotted a mangy,
rough-looking coyote darting across our street in broad daylight. That's
unusual and a cause for concern: in urban areas, they are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Behavior">usually nocturnal</a>. But a hungry and ill coyote is more likely to attack pets, small children, or even <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/28/ns-coyote-attack-died.html">adult humans</a>.<br />
Our little dog, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/lucyversary">Lucy</a>,
would obviously be a prime target. So from now on this season, we'll
have to make sure we don't let her out of the house, even in the yard,
by herself—which is too bad, since she does like to run around out
there, inside the fence, without us. But I don't think our fence would
be much of an impediment to a determined coyote.<br />
The sighting has dredged up primeval worries in me. I feel that I
must now bring a big stick, a cane, or another weapon when I walk the
dog. No doubt people have felt that need for as long as we've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/prints-in-the-ash">been people</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/burning-sun" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The burning sun</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-13T21:56:51-08:00">December 13, 2010 9:56 PM</abbr>
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I have mixed feelings about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_K%C3%BCbler-Ross">Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross</a>. She was a pioneer in improving how Western societies handle death and dying, but she also held some <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2107069/">flaky New Age opinions</a> about death that don't fit how I see the Universe.<br />
However, her book <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Live-Until-Say-Good-Bye/dp/0684839482/?tag=insidehomerec-20">To Live Until We Say Goodbye</a></cite>,
which my wife found for me, contains this extraordinary quote: "Death
is staring too long into the burning sun and the relief of entering a
cool, dark room."<br />
Dr. K-R didn't write that: her patient Beth, a former New York model
who died of cancer at 42 in 1977, when I was eight years old, was the
one who did.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/camera-works-sports-action" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Camera Works: how to photograph sports and action</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-12T11:19:47-08:00">December 12, 2010 11:19 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4367604938/lightbox/" title="Sweden-Germany hockey 25 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Sweden-Germany hockey 25" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4367604938_edd47eb826_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>It's been a while since I added to my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks">Camera Works</a> series, an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/cameraworks">ongoing batch</a> of blog posts explaining why <a href="http://www.google.ca/custom?domains=www.penmachine.com&q=%22camera+works%22&sa=Search&sitesearch=www.penmachine.com&client=pub-0244838074492717&forid=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A219%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%2Fimages%2Fpenmachine_header.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en" target="itunes_store">still cameras operate as they do</a>.
The idea of the series is to provide background on how film and digital
cameras function, so you can use that knowledge to make better
pictures.<br />
My only qualifications are that I've been an enthusiastic amateur
photographer most of my life, some people like the photos I take, and
often enough they ask me questions about the subject. Today's topic
comes from a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/q/Nikon-D200-What-is-the-best-methodlenssettings-to-capture-fast-moving-sports-action-without-any/1431243034221">Facebook question</a>, which was:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2432522966/lightbox/" title="Canadian photographers in the wild - 04 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Canadian photographers in the wild - 04" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2432522966_3f1a06d8c9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<blockquote>
What is the best method/lens/settings to capture fast moving sports action without any blurring of the subject?</blockquote>
While some artistic blurring may occasionally be useful, that is the
goal of most sports and action photography: capturing a sharp image of
the subject, without blur. And to do that, <strong>you really need a digital SLR (DSLR), not a point-and-shoot pocket camera.</strong>
Whether you're talking a kids' soccer match, a professional basketball
game, or an airshow, a DSLR (with a long lens) gives you the best chance
of good photos. Manufacturers and sales reps may claim otherwise, but
they're wrong.<br />
<h3>
Why you need a DSLR—even a cheap one</h3>
Today's pocket camera models are incredibly small and convenient, and
can take very good video as well as beautiful still shots in many
circumstances where their subjects aren't moving much. However, for
action, even a top-of-the-line point-and-shoot—like the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0041RSPRS/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Canon G12</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WJR69E/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Panasonic LX5</a>—can't compete well with the cheapest DSLRs—like the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZYF3LO/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Nikon D3100</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CBKJGG/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Canon XS</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OEBTCI/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Pentax K-x</a>, or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TQN2VG/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Sony A390</a>.
Point-and-shoot big-lens "zuperzooms" don't do much better either, even
though they're almost the same size and weight as an SLR.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3644005999/lightbox/" title="Sports Day 2 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Sports Day 2" height="281" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3644005999_495bcc77b0.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Moreover, <strong>today's low-end DSLRs cost about the same (in the $500–600 range, with lens) as high-end pocket cameras.</strong>
DSLRs generally offer faster and more accurate autofocus, a much wider
range of lens choices, better LCD screens, proper optical viewfinders,
higher shutter speeds, better low-light performance, faster shot-to-shot
burst modes, better battery life, and more accessories. The main
advantage of point-and-shoot cameras is that they're smaller and
lighter, so you're more likely to carry them with you all the time, and
they're better at taking high-quality video more easily (something no
DSLRs did <em>at all</em> until a couple of years ago).<br />
If you're planning to take photos of a sporting event, it's best if
you plan to bring a bigger and heavier camera along, so go for the DSLR.
Almost any DSLR. If your budget is really limited, a used DSLR like an
older Nikon D40 or Canon Rebel XT via eBay, Craigslist, or your local
camera shop's used department will still probably work better than a new
cheaper point-and-shoot. You could even try for a used professional
sports DSLR from earlier last decade, which would have cost thousands
new but which will have depreciated drastically now, though the
cost-benefit tradeoff gets trickier there.<br />
<h3>
Choose a long lens—nearly any long lens</h3>
Especially when working on relatively close-up sports, such as
basketball, professional sports photographers tend to use a fast (and
expensive) zoom like a Canon or Nikon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033PRWSW/?tag=insidehomerec-20">70-200 mm f/2.8</a>.
For other sports where the action is farther away, they'll choose even
more expensive fast-aperture super-telephotos like 300, 400, or 500 mm
f/4 lenses, or insanely pricey multi-thousand-dollar 300 or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VDF5JC/?tag=insidehomerec-20">400 mm f/2.8</a> glass, often with teleconverters to extend the focal length of the lens further. With those big lenses, a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=monopod&x=0&y=0&tag=insidehomerec-20">monopod</a>
(not a tripod) becomes essential for vertical stability and to take the
weight off your shoulders, while still giving you enough flexibility to
move around.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3865292439/lightbox/" title="Pirate 2 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Pirate 2" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2522/3865292439_99bd40a8ca.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
However, if you're a normal person and can't afford those, <strong>in
bright light, particularly outdoors, regular telephotos and zooms that
extend to 200 or 300 mm or more (even inexpensive ones) can do great.</strong> Nikon's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O161X0/?tag=insidehomerec-20">55-200 mm</a>
kit zoom is cheap as dirt and works great, for instance, though you'll
be at f/5.6 at the telephoto end of that. I have a similar
plastic-bodied 80-200 mm lens. Newer lenses with an "ultrasonic" or
"silent wave" autofocus motor inside the lens are generally a bit faster
to focus than older AF lenses (which may include a louder, more
traditional motor or use a screw-drive motor in the camera body), but
that's not always true. A monopod is still good no matter which
telephoto or zoom you choose.<br />
<h3>
Fast shutter speed at almost any cost</h3>
The key thing in any action photography is to run in shutter-priority
("S" or "T") mode and to keep your shutter speed as fast as you can
manage it. The old rule of thumb is 1/[focal length], i.e. at 300 mm you
need 1/300th of a second or faster, but even that is for still
subjects. You need faster for sports: <strong>if you can run at 1/1000th
of a second or faster, and make sure you pan along with the action,
you'll have the best chance of good shots.</strong><br />
Consumer-focused DSLRs usually include a Sports preset (with a little
"running man" icon) that tries to do that for you. Relatively slow
sports like curling, tennis, soccer, football, baseball, or even track
and field, will do fine with those settings, whether you use Sports mode
or set shutter priority fairly fast. If you're getting into horse
racing, motor sports, or airshows or something, high shutter speed is
even more critical.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3865339223/lightbox/" title="Extreme Cross 3 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Extreme Cross 3" height="281" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2566/3865339223_44d7b05218.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
You may have to boost your camera's ISO/light sensitivity to make that happen in any sport, since <strong>it's better to have a sharp shot and some high-ISO grain than a blurry shot with less grain.</strong>
(Your camera's Auto ISO setting will do that automatically in
shutter-priority or Program mode, I think, but you may need to tweak the
settings to get it to do what you want.)<br />
Also make sure to use your motor drive/burst mode at its fastest
setting, and set your autofocus to Continuous, so that it will follow
your subject as best it can. Fire off lots of shots. Some of them will
be good and in focus, some won't, but you should get some you can work
with. Be prepared to crop them later too if that will get you better
framing.<br />
<h3>
Working with your camera</h3>
Full-time sports pros spend tens of thousands of dollars on lenses and thousands more on pro DSLR bodies like the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SQKVD0/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Nikon D3s</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TG3ZYQ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Canon EOS 1D Mark IV</a>:
those are expensive, huge, heavy high-speed SLRs optimized for
low-light performance, blistering autofocus and burst-mode speeds, and
resilience to getting bumped around and rained on. But Nikon, Canon,
Sony, Pentax, and others now make <strong>prosumer cameras that are also
pretty close to the pro models in performance, while pro-grade features
from a few years ago have trickled down to entry-level DSLRs today.</strong><br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4366846315/lightbox/" title="Sweden-Germany hockey 14 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Sweden-Germany hockey 14" height="333" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2759/4366846315_928b144c02.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
No matter what camera you have, you can adjust settings to get the
best results possible within its limitations. If you have an older DSLR,
its high-ISO and Auto ISO, burst speed, and autofocus performance might
not be as good as some newer models (even some cheaper newer models!).
If you don't have an SLR but instead a point-and-shoot, you might be yet
more limited in how far the lens can zoom, how fast the shutter can
fire, how quickly you can get a burst of shots, and how well the sensor
performs when its ISO is boosted.<br />
No matter what, though, if you buy a monopod, go as telephoto and
wide-aperture as you can afford, set high speeds in shutter priority and
burst mode, track your subject by panning with it as it moves, and keep
the autofocus in continuous-tracking mode, you'll get the best results
you can with your camera. With those things in mind, <strong>your main
task is to be there with your finger on the shutter release when the
magic moments occur, to capture them before they're gone.</strong><br />
<h4>
Previously in my Camera Works series</h4>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/learn-how-your-camera-works">Introduction: learn how your camera works</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-focal-length">Focal length, wide angle, and telephoto</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-aperture-and-f-stop-teaser">An aperture teaser</a> and a full article about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-aperture-and-f-stops">f-stops and depth of focus</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-crop-factors-35-mm">Crop factors and "full frame"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/camera-works-shutters-flashes-and-sync">Shutters, flashes, and sync speed</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/camera-works-intermediate-f-stop-values">Intermediate f-stops</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/camera-works-why-digital-lenses-are">Why "digital" lenses are cheaper</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/camera-works-image-stabilization-vr-is">Image stabilization, vibration reduction, and anti-shake</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/camera-works-pictures-that-tell-story">Pictures that tell a story</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/back-to-1978">Get better with your modern camera by going back to 1978</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/photograph-fireworks-without-a-tripod">Fireworks and other night photography without a tripod</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/vote-ihr-best-educational-podcast" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Please vote for my podcast Inside Home Recording as the Best Educational show by December 15</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-09T10:04:08-08:00">December 9, 2010 10:04 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/"><img align="right" alt="Podcast Awards" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://podcastawards.com/imageSelect.php?size=120x240" width="120" /></a>Thank you, everyone, for <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=861">nominating</a> my long-running podcast <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>
for this year's Podcast Awards in the Education category. This is the
first time in the six years of the awards that we've reached the voting
stage, so I'll now ask you to vote for us at <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">PodcastAwards.com</a>.<br />
<div class="note">
<strong>UPDATE:</strong> It turns out you can vote once per day, per person. So, uh, please <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">do that</a>.</div>
Simply <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">visit the voting site</a>
and click the radio button for Inside Home Recording in the Education
category (part-way down in the left column). Then, if you wish, vote for
any other podcasts you like in other categories (one winner each
category), look at the page to make sure every vote is the way you want
it, fill out your basic info at the bottom to avoid duplicates and
spammers, and click Submit. (<strong>You'll need to verify your vote with an email link.</strong>) If you have friends who'd like to vote for us too, please let them know.<br />
The <b>deadline for votes is the end of Wednesday, December 15,</b>
next week. Results will be announced shortly after that date at a live
online event. I'll be crass and remind you that because of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/death">my health</a>,
this will very likely be my last chance to accept a Podcast Award: the
rewards will still be around next year, but I'm likely not to be.<br />
<a href="http://gethatched.net/">Dave Chick</a> and I are recording
IHR #85 this week, so it will be out before Christmas, and with any luck
before the voting deadline too. Again, thanks for the nominations, and
thanks again in advance for your votes. We're excited!<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/vancity-visa-rewards-redeeming-sucks" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Redeeming Vancity's My Visa Rewards points is death by a thousand cuts</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-08T20:41:12-08:00">December 8, 2010 8:41 PM</abbr>
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<img align="right" alt="ARGH!" border="0" class="post" height="200" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-argh-2010.jpg" width="244" />While my wife and I have had the occasional difficulty with it over the years, I like our credit union, <a href="http://www.vancity.com/">Vancity</a>, quite a bit. <strong>But I really have to question the competence of the people they work with to create some of their online services,</strong> especially those associated with our Vancity <a href="http://www.visa.ca/">Visa</a> credit card.<br />
Take <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/06/verified-by-visa-did-not-actually-want.html">this problem</a> I had more than <em>six years</em> ago. In short, trying to use my Visa to pay online, I ran into the wonderfully annoying <a href="http://www.visa.ca/verified/">Verified By Visa</a>
program. It wouldn't let me register because (it turns out) the online
form wanted the birthdate of the primary account holder, who is my wife.
But the <em>error message</em> said it wanted my Social Security
Number, which (a) we don't have in Canada (it's a Social Insurance
Number here), (b) the form hadn't asked for, and (c) is not something
I'm comfortable giving out willy-nilly online. That led to a wild goose
chase until I figured out the solution by trial and error—while Vancity
and Visa's customer service reps were no help whatsoever.<br />
<h3>
Six years of not solving a problem</h3>
Vancity and Visa have spent the last six years not solving that
issue. In fact, on another website, they've exacerbated it. This time
the resolution was better, but the problem was even worse, because <strong>if I hadn't been on the ball it could have cost me almost $500, maybe more.</strong> Let's follow the steps:<br />
<ol>
<li>I wanted to <strong>redeem some My Visa Rewards points to book a hotel</strong> for a three-night stay. The site where you check your account balance, including points balances, is <a href="http://www.myvisaaccount.com/">MyVisaAccount.com</a>. However, you can't <em>redeem</em> points there. And there's no link to the site where you can, or indication of what it might be, as far as I could tell.<br /></li>
<li>The Vancity website (different from the MyVisaAccount site) has a link to redeem points at the <a href="http://myvisarewardsplus.com/">MyVisaRewardsPlus.com</a> website. But guess what? <strong>That link is broken,</strong> because you have to use the <a href="http://www.myvisarewardsplus.com/">www.MyVisaRewardsPlus.com</a>—if you omit the www, as <em>Vancity itself did</em>
on its own corporate website, the link won't resolve, even though
pretty much every website in the world (including mine here) lets you
use the www or not, as you choose. Professional!<br /></li>
<li>Once you get to the rewards site, you have to set up an account or log in using your Visa card number. <strong>But, just as in 2004, I had to use the card number of the primary account holder (my wife).</strong>
I couldn't use my card number, even though my card charges the same
account, and accumulates points there too. So I had to call her and get
the info, including expiry date and three-digit safety code, since she
was at work. Oh, and the login form (like most) refuses to process card
numbers entered with spaces—even though that's how they appear on the
card for readability. As a sometimes–web developer, I know it's rather
simple to have a computer skim a series of numbers and strip out excess
spaces or dashes. People <em>should</em> be able to enter their credit
card numbers however they want, but almost no e-commerce site does that,
Vancity's included. They all piss me off because of that, and this was
no exception.<br /></li>
<li>Once I found the hotel I wanted and had selected the dates and
room and everything, I had to fill in another form with contact
information. Some of it was helpfully filled in (with my wife's data, of
course), but some, including our city, province, and postal code, and
my wife's birthday, were not. Here's the fun part: <strong>the birthdate (like the account number) <em>must not</em> include spaces, but the postal code <em>must</em> include a space.</strong> Other variations fail, even though those requirements are <em>opposites</em>, and again, they're programmatically trivial to deal with however people choose to type them.<br /></li>
<li>The site asked me how many points I wanted to redeem, but <strong>while the My Vancity Account site and other pages on the rewards site displayed my points balance, the form itself did not,</strong> so I had to check in another window.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Nowhere on the booking form does it indicate how much points are worth.</strong>
So were my nearly-60,000 points enough to pay for the nearly-$500 hotel
bill? I had to guess. I tried 50,000, but that was too much. The form
did tell me that I couldn't over-redeem (i.e. couldn't use too many
points) by more than 100 points, and I had to use 100 point increments.
It did not have a way to fill in the point amount automatically, based
on my total planned purchase. And rather than tell me my mistake when I
guessed and then clicked the (unsurprisingly useless) Calculate button, I
had to submit the form and then have it rejected because I was trying
to use too many points.<br /></li>
<li>Fortunately, it let me try again without starting over. (If I had used <em>too few</em>
points, would it have gone on happily and simply charged the balance to
my card for me to pay in real money, even though I had more points to
spare? I don't know, but at this point I suspect it would. Small mercies
I didn't have to find out.) And I still didn't know what 100 (or
50,000) points were worth. <strong>I guessed wildly once more, and thought 100 points might be a dollar,</strong> so I entered 48,400 for my $483.50 bill. Bingo! $484.00—I had spent a mere 50 cents too much.<br /></li>
<li>Home stretch now. My transaction was processing. (Incidentally,
there was no final confirmation screen where I could confirm I had the
right hotel, or that my dates were correct, or that I really had booked a
suite as I intended to. It just started churning on the booking.) Then
what did I get? <strong>I am not kidding about this, I got a Generic Error Page.</strong> That was the title, and the headline, in big blue letters. In case you don't believe me, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-generic_error-2010.jpg">here it is</a>:<br />
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-generic_error-2010.jpg" title="Generic Error Page - enlarge"><img alt="Generic Error Page" border="0" height="325" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-generic_error-2010.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /></li>
<li><strong>So, had my purchase gone through or not?</strong> No idea. I had to assume it had failed, since that's usually what "error" means. So I went back <em>all the way to the home page</em>
and found the same hotel, same dates, same room selection, same price,
same points, and tried again. You guessed it, "Generic Error Page."<br /></li>
<li>Then I noticed something. My points balance had dropped by 48,400, so in some way the transaction <em>had</em>
gone through. There was no confirmation page to say so, no hotel
booking page to print out, no email to say the hotel was happy to come
have us visit. <strong>But <em>something</em> had transacted, somewhere.</strong><br /></li>
<li>One helpful thing is that there's a toll-free phone number at the top of each page on the rewards website. <strong>I
called and got right through to Marcie, who was everything the website
wasn't: helpful, friendly, quick, knowledgeable, and able to get me what
I wanted in short order.</strong> (I should have used the phone to
start with. But that's no excuse for the moronic website.) Anyway, after
Marcie confirmed I was who I claimed to be, she discovered that yes, <em>both</em> bookings had gone through, though no, confirmation emails hadn't been sent out to anyone.<br /></li>
<li>Of course, to the My Visa Rewards computer system, it seemed
perfectly logical for someone to book two identical rooms, with the same
number of guests whose children are miraculously the same exact ages,
for the precise same dates, purchased four minutes apart. <strong>So the first booking had used my points, and the second one (for another nearly-$500) had been charged to my (wife's) Visa,</strong>
and had I not called we might have had to pay for that. Marcie arranged
to cancel the double, and even called the hotel to make sure they had
the bookings and knew that one would be revoked because it was a
mistake.<br /></li>
<li><strong>In the end I got the booking I wanted, for the dates I wanted, at the hotel I wanted, in the city I wanted. I think.</strong>
Yay. But the confirmation email still hasn't come (well, I don't think
so—of course it has to go to my wife's email address, as the primary
account holder, so she'll need to check again in the morning when she
wakes up). I don't yet have a confirmation number for the hotel, or know
<em>for sure</em> that the points will be used to pay for the proper
room, and that the mistaken second room will be refunded. Marcie gave me
confidence, so I expect so, and I'll be watching like a hawk until all
the various flying bits and points and dollars resolve themselves. I'll
phone the hotel myself to triple-check our booking.<br /></li>
<li>Finally, the My Visa Rewards site does now show the purchases in
my redemption history, but only in the most generic possible way. Here,
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-booking_history-2010.jpg">look</a>:<br />
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-booking_history-2010.jpg" title="Transaction History - enlarge"><img alt="Transaction History" border="0" height="256" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/vancity-booking_history-2010.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
It tells me that I've booked a Redemption Type of "Travel" at a Component Type of "Hotel Online." <strong>No hotel name or city, no booking dates, and the Points Redeemed field is <em>blank</em> for both transactions.</strong> I don't even know which one will be voided and which will use my points. But they've been processed! Thanks!</li>
</ol>
<div class="note">
<strong>UPDATE Dec 9, 2010:</strong> Yay, we received
the official confirmation email. Just one, which is a good sign. I've
contacted the hotel to verify everything. I expect our booking is all
good, but I'll let you know either way.</div>
<h3>
What would normal people do?</h3>
Imagine, if you will, that I were not a guy who's been building
websites of my own for 13 years. Someone who hasn't worked at commercial
software companies and is not familiar (as I am) with how the
architecture of both the Web and credit card processing works. Someone
who hasn't also worked in the entertainment and hospitality industries,
and who does not (again, as I do) have some idea about how hotels
interact with external travel agents and online booking services.
Someone who isn't on medical leave with <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/cancer">terminal cancer</a>
(sorry, had to get that in), and who doesn't (as I do) have the spare
time—since I happened to feel well today—to power through this process,
making educated guesses along the way, and then write it all up in a
ranty blog post.<br />
<strong>Imagine if I were a normal person, in other words, not a freaky nerd who has an interest in the usability of web applications.</strong>
A normal person might have given up at any of the many initial
roadblocks and never booked the hotel (or, sensibly, might have tried
the phone first). Or he might have gone through the process and then
given up at the Generic Error Pages, not realizing that his points had
been used up <em>and</em> his card had been charged another $500 for a
duplicate room he didn't want. Or she might have never taken the trip,
only to discover next month on her credit card bill nearly $1000 of
mysterious hotel bookings for dates now several weeks past. Or, worst of
all, he might have booked and <em>paid for</em> another hotel, not
using points, and then later discovered that (a) he'd wasted his money,
and (b) the original hotel was cheesed off because two sets of guests
had been no-shows!<br />
On their own, each of these design problems, errors, and pointless
requirements is a small thing. Together, though, all in a row, they are a
spinning fan just waiting for the shit to hit it. The websites are not
pure chaos, like Microsoft Research's mercifully long-dead <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/07/microsoft-researchs-wallop-is.html">Wallop</a>
social networking site of five years ago (a sort of proto-Facebook
snuffed out in infancy, for good reason). But that makes them even
worse, because <strong>the Vancity Visa sites <em>look like</em> they know what they're doing, only to reveal themselves slowly as death by a thousand cuts.</strong><br />
<h3>
My questions for Visa and Vancity</h3>
Did the teams who built this system include any qualified interaction
designers? Did they do any usability testing with real people using
real credit cards trying to do real things, typing in numbers the way
real people might wish to do? Did they consider any edge cases at all,
such as a married couple who have separate cards on one Visa account
(something Vancity encourages), where the non-primary account holder
might want to redeem points as easily as he or she can buy things to
accrue points?<br />
I can only conclude that no, they did not. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancity">Vancity</a> is one of the largest credit unions in Canada, larger than many banks. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Inc.">Visa Inc.</a> is a member of the Fortune 500. <strong>That
they could, together, construct such a house-of-cards online system for
something as apparently simple as redeeming bonus points is shameful.
Incompetent, really.</strong><br />
So many other companies manage to get online commerce much more
right, so it can be done. In the end, I'm glad I got what I wanted. (At
least, I think I have.) I'm not angry. Marcie on the phone was a great
help. But I'm sad that the process revealed how little Vancity and Visa
seem to think of their shared service on the Web, and the customers who
want to use it.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/a-free-christmas-jam-mp3-recording-with-the-maple-ridge-three" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Some Christmas MP3s from the Maple Ridge Three</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-06T13:08:52-08:00">December 6, 2010 1:08 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/sean_derek_paul-elves2010.jpg" title="Sean, Derek, and Paul - enlarge"><img align="right" alt="Sean, Derek, and Paul, musical elves" border="0" class="post" height="200" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/sean_derek_paul-elves2010.jpg" width="200" /></a>Last night my friend and former podcast co-host <a href="http://www.vancouverpianist.com/">Paul Garay</a>
(who plays piano) and his wife Kelly held a little pre-Christmas party
at their house in the Silver Ridge neighbourhood of Maple Ridge, near
the snowy peaks of Golden Ears east of Vancouver. A few friends and
family dropped by, including my pal and bandmate <a href="http://www.noahnine.com/">Sean Dillon</a> (guitar), and Paul's cohorts <a href="http://www.violinandguitar.ca/">Renée Cook and Steve Bulat</a> (violin and guitar), to add to my slightly mad <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/music.html">drumming skillz</a>. My daughters, Paul's children, and other kids dropped in, plus my in-laws (who live down the road) and parents came too.<br />
We planned a Christmas carol jam session in Paul's basement, where
he'd set up a drum kit and PA system. Sean brought his Stratocaster and
amp, I brought my snare drum and some extra percussion to share around,
plus my bass and amp for someone to use.<br />
We called ourselves the Maple Ridge Three, and since it was in Paul
Garay's house, the session became "Rated PG with the Maple Ridge Three."
For the first few songs, our featured guests Renée brought her violin,
and Steve had his acoustic guitar, though we never ended up using it
since he took up the Fender bass instead.<br />
<h3>
The songs</h3>
Guess what? You can hear what we played, because I also brought my <a href="http://www.zzounds.com/a--925545/cat--Zoom-Recorders--3496">Zoom</a>
H4 audio recorder, which I simply plopped on a shelf and let run for an
hour or so. Here's what we hacked together, without any rehearsal,
planning, or any real idea of where we were going with the tunes. All
are MP3 files you can play on any modern device (composers are in
parentheses):<br />
<ol>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-01-we_wish_you_merry_xmas.mp3">We Wish You a Merry Christmas</a>" (Traditional, public domain)* - 4:20, 6.4 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-02-rudolph_red_nosed_reindeer.mp3">Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</a>" (Johnny Marks) - 5:14, 7.5 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-03-silver_bells.mp3">Silver Bells</a>" (Jay Livingston and Ray Evans) - 6:47, 9.6 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-04-secret_agent_man.mp3">Secret Agent Man</a>" (Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan) - 2:47, 4.1 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-05-jingle_bells.mp3">Jingle Bells</a>" (James Pierpoint, now public domain)* - 5:27, 7.8 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-06-nights_on_silver_ridge.mp3">Nights on Silver Ridge</a>" (Dillon, Garay, Miller)* - 3:04, 4.5 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-07-roxanne.mp3">Roxanne</a>" (Sting) - 7:16, 10.3 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-08-aint_no_sunshine.mp3">Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone</a>" (Bill Withers) - 5:33, 7.9 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-09-beds_too_big.mp3">The Bed's Too Big Without You</a>" (Sting) - 4:29, 6.4 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-10-coffee_break_blues.mp3">One-Minute Coffee Break Blues</a>" (Dillon, Garay, Miller)* - 0:56, 1.6 MB</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-11-thrill_is_gone.mp3">The Thrill is Gone</a>" (Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins) - 5:42, 8.1 MB</li>
</ol>
Sure, we veer away from Christmas tunes pretty quickly, the
performances are fairly sloppy (especially vocals, where we forget most
of the lyrics), there's occasional <em>blip-bzzt-bzzt</em> crosstalk
from a nearby cell phone, and much of the time we're not even sure what
song we're playing until we're well into it. But there are some nice
moments. I particularly recommend our original jazzy instrumental "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-06-nights_on_silver_ridge.mp3">Nights on Silver Ridge</a>," our Latin-influenced take on the Police's "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-07-roxanne.mp3">Roxanne</a>"
(at the end, you can hear Sean call out my parents for their excellent
dancing), and Paul's soulful reading of Bill Withers's "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/ratedpg-08-aint_no_sunshine.mp3">Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone</a>."<br />
The four *asterisked songs are fully free, podsafe, and share-able MP3s using a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ca/">Creative Commons Attribution</a>
license: since they're either public domain or our own compositions,
you can do whatever you like with the recordings, as long as you note
who wrote and performed them. The other tracks remain someone else's
copyright as compositions, so they're in more of a grey area. Enjoy, but
please don't try to make money with them or anything.<br />
<h3>
The musicians</h3>
The Maple Ridge Three are:<br />
<ul>
<li><em>Paul Garay</em> - keyboard (piano, organ, etc.), vocals</li>
<li><em>Sean Dillon</em> - guitar, vocals</li>
<li><em>Derek K. Miller</em> - drums, vocals</li>
</ul>
Our guests:<br />
<ul>
<li><em>Renée Cook</em> - violin (tracks 1 and 2)</li>
<li><em>Steve Bulat</em> - electric bass (tracks 3, 4, and 5)</li>
<li><em>Various kids and relatives</em> - tambourine, shakers, cowbell, triangle, background vocals, dancing</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Techie nerd details</h3>
These recordings are completely live off the floor, in the order we
played them, recorded to 320 kbps stereo MP3 using the default
equalization on the Zoom H4, which was positioned on a shelf at about
head-height for a sitting audience member in Paul's basement.<br />
The only production I did was split the one long MP3 into individual
uncompressed AIFF-format song files, trim out in-between chatter using
Rogue Amoeba's lovely, minimalist <a href="http://rogueamoeba.com/fission/">Fission</a> sound editor, and convert them to MP3 again via <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes">iTunes</a>.
Despite having the live limiter and a low-cut filter running on the H4
recorder, I did have the levels for the built-in stereo microphones set
slightly too hot, so there's a bit of distortion here and there.<br />
The <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/sean_derek_paul-elves2010.jpg" title="Sean, Derek, and Paul - enlarge">band portrait</a> comes courtesy of JibJab's <a href="http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/34jXxsjYBVc93gjN">Elf Yourself</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/noisy-cars" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Why do gearheads like noisy vehicles?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-05T14:39:33-08:00">December 5, 2010 2:39 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/calianssevan/4021811687/" title="Ferrari F40 by calians.sevan, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Ferrari F40" class="post" height="161" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2763/4021811687_56db3a4c7e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>A few months ago <a href="http://theemperorhasnotoque.blogspot.com/">the Badger</a> turned me on to the long-running British automative TV program <cite><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/">Top Gear</a></cite>.
As everybody in the world except me seemed to know already, the show is
a fantastic combination of pure car porn and wry English humour, quite
unlike typical bone-dry, boring car shows on television.<br />
One thing puzzles me, however. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/team/jeremy_clarkson.shtml">All</a> three <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/team/richard_hammond.shtml">members</a> of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/team/james_may.shtml">the team</a> that presents the series—like petrol-heads everywhere, it seems—really like the <em>noise</em> that fast cars make, the louder and more obnoxious the better. Through <cite>Top Gear</cite>
I discovered that many modern high-end sports cars have a "Sport" mode.
At the push of a button, useful things happen: the suspension stiffens,
automatic traction control is reduced for more feel and direct control
of the vehicle, the transmission becomes more aggressive—all sorts of
useful things for someone throwing a car around a track or a fast racing
road.<br />
"Sport" mode also does something else, though: it opens some valves
to make the car's muffler less effective, so the car is noisier <em>on purpose</em>. I've never understood that. <strong>When
a pack of Harley riders drives by with their brapping V-Twin engines,
it doesn't sound macho and cool to me: it sounds like they're all
drastically amplifying their farts.</strong> When a lowered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuner_(car)">tuner car</a>
or a Lamborghini or a big American V8 muscle car revs its "look at me"
growl and then takes off into the distance, here's how it sounds to me:<br />
<i>Asshoooooo... [shift]<br />
...ooooooooooo... [shift]<br />
...ooooooooooo... [shift]<br />
...oooooole...</i><br />
Like any guy, I appreciate a beautiful, fast car with good
performance. I'd love the chance to drive a Ferrari or an Aston Martin
or a similar rocket—though I'd probably need some lessons, since I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/cars-used-to-be-crap">never owned</a> a vehicle that powerful or potentially dangerous. (I saw my first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_DBS_V12">modern Aston Martin</a>
in a mall display downtown a couple of years ago, and yes, even with
the engine off it was quite drool-worthy in person.) But I'm of the mind
that <strong>a car that could blow past everyone else in subtle near-silence would be way cooler than a belching, revving monster.</strong> If you're going to show off a vehicle, show what it <em>does</em>, not what kind of foul sound it can make.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/easiest-vacations-ever" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Easiest vacations ever</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-04T00:59:44-08:00">December 4, 2010 12:59 AM</abbr>
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Since even before we had children, my wife Air and I have
enjoyed booking the occasional night at a fancy hotel in downtown
Vancouver, just for the hell of it. We did so again this evening, so we
had only a short trip after <a href="http://www.navarik.com/">Navarik</a>'s annual staff Christmas party to a comfy bed at the <a href="http://vancouver.suttonplace.com/">Sutton Place Hotel</a>. The kids are at home with their grandparents and the dog.<br />
Some people find it odd that we spend money to sleep in a strange bed
in our own city, but that's why we choose only the nicest downtown
hotels. It's a relatively cheap luxury experience, where we can order
room service, soak in a hot tub, have a maid clean our room, and get
easy access to city-centre shopping, while minimizing travel time and
hassle. (I even rode the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)">SkyTrain</a> down to check in before Air met me after work.)<br />
A few years ago, our friend <a href="http://www.trishussey.com/">Tris</a> pointed me to the then-new <a href="http://www.hotwire.com/">hotwire.com</a>, which offers superb (but non-refundable) deals on hotels, plus the sometimes-fun bonus of not knowing the <em>name</em> of your hotel until <em>after</em>
you book it. It becomes a mini-vacation with a bit of lottery
unpredictability built in—except, since any four- or five-star hotel
downtown is great (especially for less than $125 a night, as little as a
third of the standard price), there's no way to lose.<br />
If the concept of a stay-home trip seems odd or a waste of money to
you, I recommend you try it. It can actually be less expensive than a
fancy dinner and a show (though you could add those too), and often
feels like a longer getaway than it is.<br />
Plus: mmm, room service breakfast.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/science-pr-stunts-arsenic-bacteria" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">These science PR stunts piss me off</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-03T12:09:22-08:00">December 3, 2010 12:09 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2075"><br />
<img align="right" alt="New rule for science journalism" border="0" class="post" height="294" src="http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20101126.gif" width="240" /></a>Argh.
Once again, the biggest science story of the week is a bit of a mess.
NASA didn't help by teasing everyone with its advance <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/nov/HQ_M10-167_Astrobiology.html">press release</a>/PR
stunt about an "astrobiology discovery." The news was nothing of the
sort. Rather, scientists have found some very weird life—on Earth.<br />
The <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/02/nasas-real-news-bacterium-on-earth-that-lives-off-arsenic/">real story</a>
is fascinating, if you're into biology. Bacteria that appear to be able
to substitute arsenic in place of phosphorus in the very structure of
their DNA (and other bioactive molecules)—that's extremely cool. It
shows how innovative natural selection can be, because as PZ Myers <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/12/its_not_an_arsenic-based_life.php">points out</a>, the reason arsenic is usually lethal to living things is precisely <em>because</em>
it's chemically so similar to phosphorus (and nitrogen). Usually,
however, it screws up biochemical processes that it gets mixed into.
These newly-discovered bacteria from salty, alkaline <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Mono%20Lake">Mono Lake</a> in California have managed to co-opt arsenic instead of being killed by it.<br />
<div class="note">
<strong>UPDATE</strong> December 7, 2010: Actually, maybe they <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2276919/pagenum/all/">haven't done so</a> after all, and this whole ruckus has been a complete waste of time. Here, <a href="http://rrresearch.blogspot.com/2010/12/arsenic-associated-bacteria-nasas.html">read some more</a>.</div>
But the publicity and news coverage remind me of the hoopla over <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/missing-link-fossil-that-isn">Ida</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/ardi-fascinating-hominid-fossil">Ardi</a>,
the fossil primate discoveries touted last year. Again, cool science,
but woefully misrepresented to the public in its importance and meaning.
The connection between the GFAJ-1 bacteria from Mono Lake and potential
extraterrestrial life (which, I remind you, no one has yet found <em>any</em> evidence of) is so tenuous it's almost nonexistent: these critters tell us that it's <em>possible</em> for life to use a slightly different chemistry.<br />
But we're not talking about life <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horta_(Star_Trek)">based on silicon</a>
instead of carbon. This is a less fundamental difference. The bacteria
in question still use DNA. In the wild, in Mono Lake, they still use
phosphorus, and indeed they're healthiest when they do. But in the lab,
they can be <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/12/02/mono-lake-bacteria-build-their-dna-using-arsenic-and-no-this-isnt-about-aliens/">coaxed into</a> using arsenic instead, rather than simply dying in messy heaps like the rest of us earth beings would. Those are the basics.<br />
I guess it makes sense, in a way, for NASA to hype up the story. A
press release titled "Biologists discover life can use slightly
different chemistry" wouldn't bring out CNN, but hype also has <a href="http://xkcd.com/829/">its risks</a>:<br />
<a href="http://xkcd.com/829/" title="According to a new paper published in the journal Science, reporters are unable to thrive in an arsenic-rich environment."><img alt="Arsenic-based life" border="0" height="158" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/arsenic_based_life.png" width="550" /></a><br />
The problem is that hype can lull us into a cry-wolf syndrome. If
people hear about an amazing set of "missing links!!!" (but oh, they
aren't) and "signs of extraterrestrial life!!!" (but oh, they're
terrestrial), are we going to take it seriously when scientists say, for
instance, "Hey, global climate change looks like it's going to be a big
problem"?<br />
Many policy makers in the U.S. and elsewhere are already too ignorant
about important scientific issues today, even about such essential
ideas as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=symYfq51aho">how petroleum forms</a>, the reality of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ88l5ql_FQ">evolution</a>, or the usefulness of paying for <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100720/full/466420b.html">basic research</a>. Bait-and-switch tactics with scientific announcements surely don't help.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/12/latest-cbc-cancer-interview" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Audio of my latest CBC cancer interview</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-12-02T11:27:41-08:00">December 2, 2010 11:27 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/corestudio2_07/412384135/" title="CBC logo by corestudio2, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="CBC logo" class="post" height="100" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/412384135_965c3adbae_t.jpg" width="100" /></a>The last time I was on the radio with CBC's <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/onthecoast/bio.html">Stephen Quinn</a>, in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/audio-of-my-cbc-interview">November 2008</a>, I already knew that my cancer treatments weren't really shrinking my tumours, but I still had many <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">other options</a> to try. I was basically optimistic that I'd live a few years more yet. And I was right. Here I am.<br />
But what prompted Stephen to come to my house and interview me again yesterday is that I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/time-for-winter">no longer</a>
have a few years. I probably don't even have a couple. As he put it,
I'm not blogging about living with cancer anymore; I'm writing about
dying of it. So he and I chatted for about 40 minutes, and he edited
that down into a much shorter piece that was broadcast this morning on "<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/earlyedition">The Early Edition</a>," CBC Radio One's very popular Vancouver morning drive-time radio show. Our dog <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/lucy">Lucy</a> made a brief guest appearance.<br />
If you missed it (I did—it was 6:15 a.m.!), I've posted audio files for you to hear: the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/penmachine-cbc_endgame-edit.mp3">edited interview</a> (3.7 MB MP3 file, about 7 and a half minutes long) that went out today, and the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/penmachine-cbc_endgame-full.mp3">full unedited version</a>
(18.4 MB MP3 file, almost 40 minutes) that includes more than half an
hour of extra material. The music you hear at the beginning of the
broadcast edit is my instrumental mix of my song "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2006/05/youre-big-sky-instrumental-version.html">You're the Big Sky</a>" (grab the 4.5 <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/files/penmachine-bigsky-instrumental.mp3">MP3 file</a> if you like) from 2006.<br />
Both versions of the interview are © 2010 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-86429723573088233772018-11-11T13:27:00.001-08:002022-09-05T20:56:15.881-07:00Derek Nov 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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November 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/time-for-winter" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">It is time for winter</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-30T23:20:35-08:00">November 30, 2010 11:20 PM</abbr>
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I plan to post about non-death, non-cancer things again soon. But first this. My wife Air wrote <a href="http://www.facebook.com/airdrie/posts/173789949315295">something amazing</a> on Facebook a couple of days ago:<br />
<blockquote>
It will all be OK. No more grueling chemo. Think of a
tree in fall—beautiful and full. But then its leaves start to fall down.
Trying to tape them back on to extend the tree's beauty is futile.
Standing out in the cold and holding them up to the tree is exhausting.
It is time for winter. Enjoy each season.</blockquote>
I wrote 35 paragraphs about my prognosis in my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">recent</a> two <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death">posts</a>. She did it better in one.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/writing-in-face-of-death" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Writing in the face of death</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-29T23:37:23-08:00">November 29, 2010 11:37 PM</abbr>
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My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame">pre-death announcement</a> over the weekend turned into a monster: a huge spike in my regular number of daily website visitors, dozens and dozens of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame#comments">comments</a> (I didn't even know that Movable Type breaks them into pages of 50 until now), similar numbers of <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fendgame%2F">Twitter links</a> and Facebook "likes" (my friends Bill and Darren mocked up a preferable "<a href="http://llib.tumblr.com/post/1721597987/when-i-linked-to-dereks-devastating-post-this">un-fucking-like</a>" button instead), and quite a few emails and phone calls. It looks like I'll be <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/audio-of-my-cbc-interview">on CBC Radio</a> with Stephen Quinn again this week too.<br />
Thank you to everyone who wrote. It's overwhelming. I <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/penmachine/status/9142860884484096">joked</a> on Twitter:<br />
<blockquote>
Social Media Guru Tip of the Week™: Need
traffic/comments? Simply develop a terminal disease and announce it on
your blog! Ask me how!</blockquote>
If you find that in poor taste, sorry, but I think you'll have to get
used to it. As my wife Air says, either we laugh or we cry.<br />
Anyway, <strong>I'll admit, this is exactly what I hoped would happen.</strong> I've been a compulsive writer all my life. Like <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/01/01/WhatNext#skills">Tim Bray</a>, I can't <em>not</em>
write, but I've never been able to keep a diary, because I've always
wanted an audience. I write my blog for myself, of course, and as
something for my family and friends, as a record of my thoughts. But
deep down, selfishly, I also want an audience of strangers, people who
know me because of my writing, and who find some value in what I publish
on its own merits, not because they are my friend or my
relative.<br />
Sometimes I've found such an audience in magazines, or on television
or radio, or even among people who never knew I was the one who'd
written the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2001/03/something-okay-many-things-in-air-last.html">instructions</a> for their wireless modem. And I've genuinely found it here on my blog, more so than I could have imagined back in 2000 when I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/10th-blogiversary">started it</a>.<br />
So, instead of getting paid, it's largely for the boost to my ego—and
because I'm glad readers find value in my stuff—that I put together
long series of posts on <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks">why cameras work</a> the way they do, or on my opinions about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion">religion</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science">science</a>, or about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/music">music</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast">podcasting</a>, and other topics. That's why I try to write something <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/how-to-write-a-blog-for-10-years">every day</a>, on average (though I haven't managed it recently). It also keeps me in practice both writing and editing my own work.<br />
<h3>
What is comforting?</h3>
<strong>My most important legacy is with my wife and my two daughters,</strong>
but that is a personal one, in the real world, a legacy that is quite
peripheral to my writing, quite local, quite private. In public, it's
what I write and say that might have an impact.<br />
Yesterday, I received two especially moving emails. One was from
someone who's been reading my blog for several years, but who'd never
commented or written to me before. She told me that her father almost
died last year, and that some of my posts about death had helped her
handle the ordeal.<br />
Like me, she <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/save-a-step">doesn't believe</a> in spirits, souls, or an afterlife, so she appreciated my take on thinking about death without them, while considering <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/mystical-comfort-from-richard-dawkins.html">the joy</a> that trying to understand life on its own terms can bring to the human mind and heart. To try to see the Universe as it <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/09/our-place-in-universe.html">really is</a>, to understand how it works—and, so often, to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/going-beyond-common-sense">succeed</a>!—how can mere myths compete with that?<br />
<strong>What, I wondered after reading her message, do I find comforting?</strong> To know that we are all made of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk">star stuff</a> (in Carl Sagan's phrase, or <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=1fMt2kjc8iw&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Falbum%252Fwe-are-all-made-of-stars%252Fid303677502%253Fi%253D303677536%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30" target="itunes_store">Moby's</a>),
and will be again; to know that every other living thing on Earth is
our cousin; to see a blob in the sky and know it's the Andromeda Galaxy,
as it was 2 million years ago; not to worry that life is some sort of
perverse final exam, and to know instead that when it is over, that
really is <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/death-pessimism-and-realism">the end</a>
for each of us. Those things comfort me, not sadden me. Some find that
hard to understand, but I hope what I write can help explain my feelings
about it.<br />
<h3>
Not to fight</h3>
The second email was from someone I do know, whose brother died of
cancer about a decade ago. She recalled when he concluded that the
treatments weren't working, and how he decided to live after that, for
however short a time. (It was a few months.) She wrote that "he may have
stopped taking treatments, but he did <em>not</em> stop fighting."<br />
I agree with her sentiment, but I would change one word now, after
four years: "fight." I've used that word a lot too, but Christopher
Hitchens made me think of it differently after he got cancer this year.
It will probably kill him too. <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/09/hitchens-201009">He wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
People don't have cancer: they are reported to be
battling cancer. No well-wisher omits the combative image: You can beat
this. It’s even in obituaries for cancer losers, as if one might
reasonably say of someone that they died after a long and brave struggle
with mortality.</blockquote>
He's right. <strong>Why must it be a fight, a war, a battle?</strong>
(And Hitchens is no stranger to battles.) Those are stressful,
soul-draining nouns, with images of violence and winners and losers.<br />
I think less personally about my cancer than I used to. I fought it hard, I used to tell it to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">fuck off</a>,
I used to imagine the chemo snuffing it out like carpet bombing over
Cambodia. More recently I've thought instead, no, cancer has no mind, no
evil intent, no demon driving it. It is my own cells, my own tissue,
malfunctioning, not able to stop growing when they're supposed to, not
capable of doing their job of making body parts that keep me alive.<br />
My cancer is a random, unthinking, physiological mistake. Some
mutations cause cancer, some lead to new and wonderful forms of life. I
got the bad one. For me now, my cancer is no more malevolent than bad
weather, or an earthquake, or a rock I stub my toe on, or the asteroid
that killed the dinosaurs. There's no point getting angry at a rock, nor
at my cancer, especially now.<br />
I hate that it will kill me, and what that will do to my family. It's
sad and unfair. But there's no one and nothing to blame. It's a pure
example of "shit happens." (Oh, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/biweekly-butt-blowout">does it ever</a>.)
Like my correspondent's brother, my time has come to win the battle by
not fighting anymore, by pushing back against the desire to treat the
end of my life as a war and myself as a soldier. <strong>We all deserve better than war, whether in the mountains of Afghanistan or in the brain of a cancer patient like me.</strong><br />
I'll live my life, and when it's time to stop, I hope I can accept
that when face-to-face with it. In some ways I have it easy: the hardest
part is for everyone else, after I'm dead. By then I'll be gone, with
not a care (or a thought, or a feeling) in the world. Lucky me?<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/endgame" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The endgame</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-27T23:54:36-08:00">November 27, 2010 11:54 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/qu2rk/4277797533/" title="End Game by abaranda, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="End Game" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4277797533_18705ea7b9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><strong>In the next couple of years, about 100 million people will die around the world</strong>—of
old age or other natural causes, in accidents, of infections, from
pathogens or poisons, in wars and terrorist attacks, from congenital
defects, in fights, of suicide, in natural disasters, from medical
errors, of exposure, by misadventure, by assassination or murder, and of
various <a href="http://www.who.int/cancer">diseases</a> and conditions. Between 10 and 15 million of those people will die of cancer. Today I'm telling you that <strong>I'll be one of them.</strong><br />
It's good that Thursday, November 25, wasn't Thanksgiving Day in
Canada (it was in the U.S.), because that's when I found out. Doctors
are <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years">notoriously reluctant</a>
to predict life expectancy, and for good reason—they're often wrong.
But, with my wife Air in the exam room at the B.C. Cancer Agency with
me, I drew it out of my oncologist, Dr. Kennecke.<br />
"Do you expect I'll still be alive to visit you here in two years?" I asked, straight up.<br />
"Honestly, no," he said.<br />
There was more to it, of course, but that was the moment. It was no
surprise. It's why I had asked Air to come along—she hasn't needed to
join me for a doctor's appointment in a long while, but this week I
needed her there.<br />
<h3>
How do I know?</h3>
My chemotherapy isn't working anymore, and after almost four years of
different cancer treatments, standard and experimental, I've run out of
new things to try. My tumours are still growing in my lungs, chest, and
abdomen, so this week my doctors and I have agreed that I'm going to
stop taking the drugs. <strong>I've probably got about a year before I die, give or take.</strong><br />
I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">discovered</a> I have cancer at the beginning of 2007. Since <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/chemo-is-suddenly-over-again-for-now">at least 2008</a>,
it's been clear to me, after radiation, surgery, chemo, and everything
else, that none of the treatments was going to destroy it or cure it.
I've never been in remission, and with every <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">CT scan</a>
and blood test it's been plain that the number and size of the
metastatic tumours in my body has nearly always continued to increase,
slowly and steadily. The direction of the arrow has been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">obvious</a>—to me, to Air, to our two daughters—for a long time.<br />
Chemo is never easy. Coincidentally, I <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/books/review/Weiner-t.html?pagewanted=all">discovered</a> a couple of days ago that it was first developed from World War I bioweapons like mustard gas. Since late this summer, the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">latest cocktail</a>
has certainly felt like that. It's been brutal, probably doing more
harm than good, not poisoning cancer cells any more effectively than it
hammered the rest of my tissues. That led to side effects I'll be glad
to reduce, and the weight loss I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/too-thin">complained about</a> last time I posted here.<br />
My body is broken and failing. Precisely how long it will hold out, no one knows. But it won't be very long.<br />
<h3>
What happens now?</h3>
Importantly, I'm ready to accept it: <strong>I need to prepare to die.</strong>
That's not giving up, it's facing reality. Anyone who knows me well, or
who's read this blog for any time at all, knows I prefer to do that
than to be deluded or in denial.<br />
As lifespans have soared, our society has <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande">become lousy</a>
at dealing with death. I regularly receive emails from people I don't
even know, who seem desperate to tell me about a very specific miracle
treatment that I simply <em>must take.</em> They have good intentions,
but it also feels to me like they refuse to believe that an otherwise
fairly healthy 41-year-old man can get cancer and die, and there's
ultimately no way to stop it. It seems to offend how some people
understand the world.<br />
Yes, I've looked into the options those people suggest, and the evidence for their effectiveness just <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/going-with-evidence">isn't there</a>.
Many of the purported treatments would bankrupt my family and further
disrupt our lives, almost certainly for no good purpose. The truth is
that I have cancer, and it's going to kill me, soon.<br />
<strong>I don't yet know exactly how things are going to go.</strong> The <a href="http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/">Cancer Agency</a>
has teams of people to help once patients (and our families) determine
that we're terminally ill. I'll need more pain medications with time,
and stronger ones. Since most of the cancer is in my lungs, I'm guessing
I'll need supplemental oxygen eventually. At some point I may have to
move into a hospice or check into a hospital permanently.<br />
I don't play chess, but it includes the useful concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_endgame">the endgame</a>,
when tactics and strategies change because the remaining pieces are
few, and the players know the game is almost over. That's where I am, so
I know a few things.<br />
As I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years">predicted</a>,
our dog Lucy will outlive me. This might be my last Christmas, or I
might see one more. I may or may not reach my 42nd birthday next June.
I've probably bought my last <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/zoom-zoom">car</a> and pair of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/strat-o-glasses">eyeglasses</a>, but my final carton of milk and cup of coffee are some way off yet.<br />
Facing my own death isn't easy. It's tremendously hard for my
immediate family, for my parents, for my aunts and uncles and cousins.
It may be harder for them than for me—after all, I know I won't have to
deal with the aftermath. I'll <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">be dead</a>, and they'll be alive.<br />
Still, I've had a lot of time to think about death and dying since
the beginning of 2007. My wife and two daughters—my three wonderful
girls—have talked a lot with me about it too, and we'll keep doing that.
I'm not ready to die just yet, but I'm ready to prepare for it.<br />
Off we go.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/too-thin" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">I'm too thin</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-24T20:10:13-08:00">November 24, 2010 8:10 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5206010122/" title="Derek and Ginsberg by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Derek and Ginsberg" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5206010122_485b892aa2_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>There were lots of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_Simpson#World_War_II">odious things</a>
about Wallis Simpson, the late Duchess of Windsor, but one of the most
odious was her most famous quotation, that you can "never be too rich or
too thin." We can argue about being rich, but she was wrong as hell
about being thin. This year I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/not-recommended-weight-loss-plan.html">once again</a> become too thin, far too thin.<br />
After my most recent chemo treatment last week, <strong>my bathroom scale weighed me in at 163 pounds (about 74 kg).</strong> That's not the least I've ever weighed—<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hey-so-where-you-go">check me out</a>
at a skeletal 145 pounds back in July 2007, after a few weeks in
hospital following bowel-cancer surgery, and being unable to eat or even
drink for several days at a time—but it is far too little.<br />
For most of my adult life, I've weighed about 200 pounds (90 kg),
give or take. I never worried about my weight one way or the other. I
made it as high as 215 when I was really trying to pack it on in 2008.
My ideal healthy weight is probably around 190, so right now I'm close
to 30 pounds too light, and 12 pounds lighter than I was <em>when I went in</em>
for that surgery in '07. I'm on the verge of what happened back in the
post-hospital days later that month, when I found it hard to recognize
the skinny bastard in the mirror.<br />
The problem is threefold: First, <strong>I'm finding this current bout of chemotherapy especially brutal.</strong>
I have very little interest or ability to eat in the three or four days
after I get my treatment every two weeks, with nausea, fatigue, and
general relentless blecch-ness. What I do eat, I might very well puke
up. Second, even after I feel a bit better towards the end of the week, <strong>my appetite and the quantity of food I can consume are quite reduced</strong>
from what used to be pretty normal voracious Derek levels—and I'm still
likely to barf up a meal at nearly any time, out of the blue. Finally, I
suspect <strong>my digestive system is working less efficiently than it used to,</strong> so I'm not absorbing nutrients as well as before.<br />
My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/diabetes">diabetes</a>,
which I've had for almost 20 years, doesn't help, since I can't just
suck back banana splits at a whim. I still have to manage my blood
glucose and eat carefully when I do feel up to it. I sometimes have to
force myself to eat more than I really want—definitely a new experience
for me—and that can backfire. Last night I had a few too many delicious
perogies with sausage at dinner, and ended up heaving about a third of
them back up later in the evening. But earlier in the same afternoon, I
had eaten a big truck-stop sandwich with hash browns and a milkshake,
and digested it without trouble. I want to eat and food is still
delicious, but my body's reaction is hard to predict.<br />
I have a couple of packs of <a href="http://www.boost.com/">Boost</a>
diabetic dietary supplement drinks in the fridge, and those help
somewhat, though they're not the tastiest (the strawberry is okay,
especially blended with crushed ice), and so are no good during my
actual chemo-sick days. Strangely, sometimes I get cravings at the most
peculiar times, and am happy to give into them: the very day I had my
last chemo treatment a week ago Monday, I wanted a White Spot clubhouse
sandwich at dinnertime. My wife Air got me one while out for supper with
the kids, and I ate the whole thing. Shockingly, it stayed down. But I
hardly ate again for the next two days.<br />
I don't know if this is mostly a consequence of the chemotherapy, or
whether it's more that my cancer is now, after four years, directly
affecting my ability to eat and metabolize food. Likely it's some of
each. <strong>Right now, in bed, I can feel the vertebrae at the nape of my neck.</strong>
I have to buy men's size small T-shirts and sweaters, and even some of
those are loose. Most of my jeans would fall down without a belt that's
had extra holes punched in it. I'm really noticing our recent Vancouver
cold snap, since I lack body-fat insulation, and sitting on hard
surfaces can hurt because of my MPAL (Male Pattern Ass Loss).<br />
Can I gain back some weight, or at least stabilize it? I don't know
that either. I'll keep trying, one Boost and clubhouse and plate of
perogies at a time.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-2" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Follow me to visit the best places I've been - part 2</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-22T23:05:21-08:00">November 22, 2010 11:05 PM</abbr>
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Here's a second blog post about some of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/bestplaces">the places</a>
I've been that I recommend—some natural, some artificial, in rough
order from nearest to farthest from my house. Go back to read <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-1">part 1</a> or check out <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/best-places-ive-been-3">part 3</a> if you like.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/31369193/" title="Surf Babies 2 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Surf Babies 2" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/31369193_3d33e948db_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>My wife introduced me to <strong><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/cannon-beach-days">Cannon Beach</a></strong>,
Oregon in the 1990s. Near the northwest tip of that state's famous
Pacific coast, it's a somewhat pricey tourist town for a good reason,
with a long, stunning sandy beach punctuated by offshore seastacks and
the imposing monolith of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haystack_Rock">Haystack Rock</a>. We've taken the kids there on family summer vacations <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/tags/cannonbeach/">four times</a>
since they were born, starting when our younger daughter was only a few
months old. From Vancouver, we can reach it in a day by car, either via
Portland or via the Columbia River and Astoria—in many ways it's easier
to get there than to the also-wonderful <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3481117817/in/set-72157614364384312/">Long Beach</a> near Tofino on Vancouver Island, since there's no ferry and better roads. I hope we can visit Cannon Beach <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/my-favourite-places-and-when-to-take-me">at least</a> once more, like we did Tofino last year.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Pass" title="Rogers Pass on Wikipedia"><img align="right" alt="Rogers Pass summit" class="post" height="93" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Rogers_pass.jpg" width="240" /></a>Take
the Trans-Canada Highway or the Canadian Pacific Railway east from
Vancouver, into the Selkirk Mountains, and you reach the Continental
Divide at <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Pass">Rogers Pass</a></strong>.
Depending on the weather, you might not see much, or you might gasp at
the peaks overhead. Whether going by road or rail, you'll pass through
tunnels and snowsheds, and by train you'll cross over deep gorges via
astonishing bridges. In winter, the <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/bc/rogers/index.aspx">pass region</a>
features one of the most extensive avalanche control programs in the
world, where Canadian military guns blast dangerous snow accumulations
off the slopes to prevent deadly slides. Even if you're passing through
on the way elsewhere, don't forget to look up.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skettie/5012226304/" title="Sand Creek Canyon by skettie2001, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Sand Creek Canyon" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5012226304_ce88a189dd_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>Conversely,
if you drive west across the northern U.S. along the I-90 freeway,
there is a point in Wyoming where the Interstate veers north, skirting
the Rocky Mountain foothills. Near Ranchester, you can leave the I-90
and take <strong><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=44.832622,-107.308102&spn=0.115163,0.126171&t=p&z=13">Highway 14</a></strong>
west again into those foothills, and then up the steep, imposing
escarpment beyond Dayton, where the switchbacks take you from 4000 feet
of altitude to 7500 feet over only a few dozen miles of road, between
Steamboat Point and Horseshoe Mountain. (Make sure your car can handle
it.) From time to time, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skettie/5012226304/" title="Sand Creek Canyon by skettie2001, on Flickr">roadside signs</a>
tell you the age and type of rocks you're driving past, and you can
stop at occasional pullouts to admire the view of the parched landscape
you just climbed out of. When I read those signs in 1991, I noticed
something: as my friend Andrew and I drove higher and higher in my
parents' borrowed station wagon, the rocks were getting <em>younger</em>.
In forming the Rockies and more over tens of millions of years,
geological processes have not only thrust up the huge mountain ranges of
western North America, in the process they <em>flipped the land over</em> like a continental omelette. Holy crap.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/palojono/2612819756/" title="Bison at Grand Prismatic Spring Yellowstone National Park Wyoming by Palojono, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Bison at Grand Prismatic Spring Yellowstone National Park Wyoming" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/2612819756_92428fe56b_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>Keep
following Highway 14 and you'll climb up over 9000 feet above sea
level, then down, then up again, along valleys and canyons until
eventually you reach the remarkable caldera of <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park">Yellowstone National Park</a></strong>. You might feel a bit nervous knowing that you're standing on a potential <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera">supervolcano</a>, but you'll also be <a href="http://www.nps.gov/yell">seeing stuff</a>
you don't anywhere else: not only the famous geysers, hot pools,
prismatic springs, and ever-changing hydrothermal formations, but also
abundant and often fearless wildlife (including bison, bears, moose,
elk, cougars, and wolves), and forest ecosystems recovering from recent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988">fires</a>. At night, as at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-1">Crater Lake</a> in Oregon, the altitude and distance from cities give you an extraordinary view of the starry sky.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sebastien_mamy/3420154575/" title="Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona by landscape photography - sebastien-mamy.fr, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3420154575_2e5dd7a3ec_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>I've written before about the appeal of the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/green-and-orange">American Southwest</a> deserts, and their focus is, of course, the <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon">Grand Canyon</a></strong>.
Some places are less impressive than legend makes them out to be (giant
Redwood and Sequoia forests in California, for me, since they're much
like groves I can walk to from my house), some are exactly as you might
expect (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore">Mount Rushmore</a>,
which was pretty much as big as I thought, but no bigger), and some are
far more impressive than you can imagine in advance. The <a href="http://www.nps.gov/grca">Grand Canyon</a>
is one of those. Yes, that's a cliché, but because it's true. You won't
get an idea of the place until you go, and you should. While you're in
the area, visit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park">Bryce Canyon</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_National_Park">Zion National Park</a> in nearby Utah too—wonderful and beautiful in their own way, but not on the same scale.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46062921@N00/442216196/" title="Carlsbad Caverns Lunch Room by sdscott, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Carlsbad Caverns Lunch Room" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/442216196_cf18c936e2_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>No
doubt there are more impressive caves in the world, but one amazing
talent of Americans is making natural features accessible to regular
people, and <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlsbad_Caverns_National_Park">Carlsbad Caverns</a></strong> in New Mexico demonstrates that genius. You can, and should, hike into the massive <a href="http://www.nps.gov/cave">cavern complex</a>
using a reasonably easy paved trail with railings, lighting, and
benches to sit and rest. Or you can simply take a high-speed elevator
750 feet down into the Earth from the flat New Mexico desert (parking
nearby)—at the bottom there is a restaurant and even a post office where
you can mail letters to your friends and family from deep underground.
Some of the Big Room is wheelchair accessible. If you did hike down, the
elevator makes returning to the surface a breeze. Yet that doesn't
detract from the spectacle of the formations, which are enhanced by
coloured lights and explanatory plaques. I've been spelunking in
less-developed caves, with flashlights and hardhats, and that has its
own rewards. But at Carlsbad Caverns, you'll wonder at both the
stalactites and the engineering effort that went into making it easy for
you to see them.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/232138126/" title="Too Much Fun by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Too Much Fun" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/232138126_2c961b40c9_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>Since
the jet-travel revolution of the 1960s, Hawaii has been a favourite
destination for Vancouverites. In five hours or so, we can go from a wet
and cold Vancouver winter to a tropical volcanic Pacific paradise
that's still part of our neighbour the U.S.A. Yet I never visited it
until 2006, when I was 37 years old. Hawaii includes many wonders, but I
missed some of the most spectacular, such as eruptions on the Big
Island or the crater of Haleakala—my family and I only saw Oahu, and
even there the surf wasn't particularly large on the legendary North
Shore. However, <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu'uanu_Pali">Pali Lookout</a></strong>
was still something else. We have mountains here in British Columbia,
and sometimes crazy winds, but they don't come together like they do at
Pali, a cliffside perch overlooking Windward Oahu on the east side of
the island. A natural wind tunnel, it is one of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/232142168/">breeziest places</a> I've ever been, yet the blast is warm, not freezing as it would be at home. The nearby sheer <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/232123584/">mountainsides</a>
are unlike anything in my home province, striated as they are by deep
tropical erosion gullies and entirely coated in warm-climate vegetation.
Despite its precarious spot, Pali Lookout is easy to drive to in a car
or tour bus, being just off the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_Route_61">Pali Highway</a>.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmorrell/44126808/" title="CN Tower from CBC Tall by Andrew Morrell Photography, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="CN Tower from CBC Tall" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/29/44126808_1c3ba2b01a_m.jpg" width="120" /></a>The <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower">CN Tower</a></strong>
in Toronto was never the tallest artificial thing in the world, but for
more than 30 years it was the tallest freestanding structure—one that
doesn't need <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVLY-TV_mast">guy wires</a> or the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius_(oil_platform)">buoyancy of water</a>
to keep it up. It's still taller than any occupied building in the
Western Hemisphere. Given the rate at which new supertall buildings and
towers are now being built, it's unlikely any of them will hold the
title for that long. The CN Tower is not an especially pretty thing,
especially close up with its vast buttresses of concrete, but it has an
Apollo-era Tomorrowland rocket vibe that newer competitors don't
emulate. While visiting my parents in Toronto when they lived there, I
once went to the bar and ordered a 7-Up, which came in an appropriately
tall and skinny glass. From the Sky Pod observation deck you can look
out more than 100 miles over the flat expanse of Greater Toronto and
across Lake Ontario to the United States. You can also visit the <a href="http://www.cntower.ca/plan_your_visit/attractions/glass_floor/">glass floor</a>
to look down at the city below your feet, and the outdoor observation
deck to feel a high-altitude wind that only birds felt for millennia.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/burtyoungsters/2672536857/" title="Chrysler building by night by Burt Youngsters, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Chrysler building by night" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2672536857_3904c21f4f_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>I never went inside <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Building">the Chrysler Building</a></strong> during my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_12_01_news_archive.html#1578124">one visit</a>
to New York City ten years ago, but that's no matter. Its gleaming
metal spire with nested arches and triangle windows, Art Deco retro yet
still vibrantly modern, "always looks like the future," in <a href="http://www.salon.com/entertainment/masterpiece/2002/02/25/chrysler/">the words</a>
of Salon's Stephanie Zacharek back in 2002. Thankfully, no one so far
has ever considered renaming it either. You can stand near the Empire
State Building, like the CN Tower, and look up, saying to yourself,
"Man, that's tall." But with the Chrysler Building, night or day, you
say, "Man, that's beautiful." I wish Vancouver had even one skyscraper
so pretty. Then again, even Manhattan has only the one.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/best-places-ive-been-3">Next time</a>, we'll go overseas.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/please-nominate-my-podcast-inside-home-recording-for-a-podcast-award-by-sunday-november-21" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Please nominate my podcast Inside Home Recording for a Podcast Award by Sunday, November 21</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-19T23:52:50-08:00">November 19, 2010 11:52 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/"><img align="right" alt="Podcast Awards" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://podcastawards.com/imageSelect.php?size=120x240" width="120" /></a>I know it's been awhile since we posted a show, and we will have a new episode of my long-running podcast <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> <em>tomorrow</em> (Saturday, November 20), but my co-host Dave Chick and I need to get this out right away: please go to <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">PodcastAwards.com</a> <em>today</em> and nominate IHR (our URL is <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">http://www.insidehomerecording.com</a>) for a Podcast Award in these two categories:<br />
<ul>
<li>Best Produced (we hope!)</li>
<li>Education</li>
</ul>
Why today? Well, the nomination deadline is <strong>Sunday, November 21</strong>, this weekend. And of course, add in your other favourite podcasts in the other categories.<br />
<div class="note">
UPDATE: Here's the <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=863">new episode</a>, featuring modes, musical mental archaeology, Pro Tools 9, moving the IHR forums, and more.</div>
If we do <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">get nominated</a>, we'll remind you to vote when that time comes too. And watch for <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">IHR #84</a> tomorrow...<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-1" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Follow me to visit the best places I've been - part 1</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-15T00:03:51-08:00">November 15, 2010 12:03 AM</abbr>
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Given the severity of my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/cancer">cancer</a>,
it's unlikely I'll be traveling all that far from now on, no matter how
much longer or shorter I live. I have been fortunate enough, however,
to have visited a few of the world's spectacular and famous places.
Since I live in beautiful and spectacular British Columbia, some of them
are quite close by.<br />
This is the first of a series of blog posts about some of the places
I've been that I recommend—some natural, some artificial, in rough order
from nearest to farthest from my house—see <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/best-places-ive-been-2">part 2</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2011/01/best-places-ive-been-3">part 3</a>.
Many are popular tourist attractions and are quite easy to reach for
nearly anyone with just a bit of money and time. That's fine by me. They
deserve the recognition:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3719019761/" title="The Chief by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="The Chief" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/3719019761_4c532c8e20_m.jpg" width="180" /></a><strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stawamus_Chief">The Stawamus Chief</a></strong>,
a ridiculous sheer cliff face just south of Squamish, is a short drive
from Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. It's our local <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Capitan">El Capitan</a>,
and I've never even thought of climbing it, but my wife has hiked up
the back side with school groups a few times, and once I rode by its
rear base at the start of an adventurous mountain biking <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/indian-arm">trip</a>.
The Chief itself is over 700 m (2300 ft) high, a grey granite slab
rising almost straight out of the ocean. Even if all you do is stand
near the bottom and watch cliff climbers through binoculars, it's worth
the trip.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4888206599/" title="Whistler 2010 - Smoky valley by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Whistler 2010 - Smoky valley" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4888206599_c0ff434b41_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>The
world's longest and highest cable-car gondola isn't in the Alps, but
another hour or so north of the Chief, above the ski resort in Whistler.
It's the new <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_2_Peak_Gondola">Peak2Peak Gondola</a></strong>.
In the middle of the span between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, as
you cross above Fitzsimmons Creek, you are more than 430 m (1400 ft)
above ground. The 10-minute ride is smooth and safe, but no matter your
feeling about heights (I love them), somehow the trip still seems more
appropriate for a helicopter or a small plane.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/axiepics/2524410601/" title="mossy giants by axiepics, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="mossy giants" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2524410601_18c069cb5a_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>People
from Vancouver think we know old-growth temperate rainforests. We have
Stanley Park and the North Shore mountains, and dozens more parks and
watersheds full of immense trees dripping with moss, right within our
metropolitan area. But you need to take a ferry to Nanaimo, drive north
to Parksville, and then go inland so you can reach <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacMillan_Provincial_Park">Cathedral Grove</a></strong>.
The highway to Port Alberni slices right through it, so like the Chief
and the Peak 2 Peak, it's easy to reach. But unlike most of B.C.'s
coastal old growth, it's never been cut down for lumber, and is a prime
example of a rich rainforest valley bottom. There are firs and cedars
and spruces hundreds of years old, larger and taller than anything
you'll see without an arduous trip to distant B.C. wilderness, or to
California's Sequoia and Redwood preserves. Personally, I think B.C.'s
trees are prettier, especially in the snow.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerycho/3763522497/" title="Broken Island Group Near Ucluelet by jerycho, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Broken Island Group Near Ucluelet" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/3763522497_10546a24ec_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>Some claim that the world's largest tide pool is on <strong><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Easter+Island&sll=-32.249974,-114.960937&sspn=41.634358,58.798828&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Easter+Island,+Chile&ll=48.899935,-125.307655&spn=0.128193,0.229683&t=h&z=12">an island at the tip of the Broken Group</a></strong>
in Barkley Sound, off the West Coast of Vancouver Island in Pacific Rim
National Park. I've seen it, and I don't know if it really is the
largest, but regardless, it didn't blow me away. That's because most of
it is pretty barren of life, not chock-full of it like so many tide
pools in this area. I don't even know exactly what mini-island it's
supposed to be on—maybe <a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=48.858842,-125.351601&spn=0.064149,0.114841&t=h&z=13">Wouwer or Howell</a>—but
if you find it (you require a boat) and venture to its exposed
southwest coast, then instead of looking down, look up to the horizon.
Massive basalt <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(geology)">sea stacks</a>
offshore look like railway cars crushed into the ocean. Waves that have
crossed the Pacific explode into them, and you can feel the collisions
in your chest, even from far away. And then think about where you're
looking: directly south, beyond those sea stacks, there is nothing but
Pacific Ocean (no people, no islands) until you reach Antarctica,
9000 miles away. My band wrote a song about it once, in which I called
that spot the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorbidog/4291939463/" title="First 747-8 in Factory With Engines by gorbidog, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="First 747-8 in Factory With Engines" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4291939463_81908d5f61_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>It's
not easy to watch big planes get built. Military contractors are
expectedly secretive, and if you want to visit the Airbus factory in
Toulouse, France, you need to confirm in writing <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/travel/superjumbo-tour-inside-airbus-20090403-9n1j.html">at least 45 days</a>
in advance, with the waiting list still months long. Plus, you have to
find your way to Toulouse. Much easier is a trip to Everett, just north
of Seattle, Washington. If it's not the busy summer season, as it wasn't
when we went in May <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/airliners-are-modern-miracles-of">last year</a>, you can walk right up to a ticket counter at the <a href="http://www.futureofflight.org/">Future of Flight</a> museum, and be inside the <strong><a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/facilities/">Boeing Everett Assembly Building</a></strong>
in half an hour. You're prohibited from taking photos, or even bringing
anything resembling a camera with you, but then you have more attention
to turn to the activities within the most voluminous building in the
world. The new Boeing 787, the long-haul 777, the transatlantic champion
767, and perhaps the world's <a href="http://www.askthepilot.com/essays-and-stories/high-art-the-a380-versus-the-747/">greatest aircraft</a>, the Boeing 747, all come together inside this single structure. It is a marvelous testament to what people can do—and it's <em>absolutely goddamn huge</em> to boot.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheldonnalos/4164624670/" title="Crater Lake by Sheldon Nalos, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Crater Lake" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2550/4164624670_90df8a569b_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>The <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/08/ring-of-fire.html">Cascade Volcanoes</a>
are fearsome and beautiful, forming a chain of smoking peaks from B.C.
to northern California. My favourite of them, however, is extinct: <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_Lake">Crater Lake</a></strong>
in southern Oregon, formed from the carcass of Mount Mazama, which
erupted so violently a few thousand years ago that it collapsed on
itself, leaving a basin to be filled with rain and meltwater (no streams
run in or out). At its deepest it reaches nearly 600 m (2000 ft),
making it the ninth deepest lake in the world, and by far the clearest.
The blue colour of the water is unlike any you'll see anywhere else. The
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandisal/3893343998/">rimside lodge</a>
is spectacular. The views from anywhere around the lake are
astonishing. And a trip on a tour boat across the lake or onto Wizard
Island is remarkable. Because of heavy snowfall, the season is short,
but try to make a visit happen.<br /></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgt_spanky/4813374271/" title="Lunar Exploration Suit - JPL c.1959 by Kevitivity, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Lunar Exploration Suit - JPL c.1959" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4813374271_6faf1eaf17_m.jpg" width="131" /></a>Greater
Los Angeles has Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and Magic Mountain. It
has Beverly Hills and the Hollywood sign, as well as the La Brea Tar
Pits. It has an unbelievable tangle of freeways, and miles and miles of
famous surfing beaches. I do not know if it surpasses Rio de Janeiro for
plastic surgeries per capita, but I do know what L.A. has that nothing
else does: the <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a></strong>
(JPL), near Pasadena. Open houses happen only once a year, but I was
able to take a private tour with my dad (through his connections in the
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) almost 30 years ago, around the
time JPL was processing data from the <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2">Voyager 2</a></em>
probe as it passed Saturn. JPL is an unassuming place, nothing
spectacular to look at. It's an academic campus in the foothills, but
it's where people have revealed some of the first close-up images from
our solar system. When you hear the names of interstellar probes like <em>Mariner</em>, <em>Pioneer</em>, <em>Viking</em>, <em>Voyager</em>, <em>Galileo</em>, <em>Cassini-Huygens</em>,
and the Mars rovers, JPL is where they came from, and where they've
been piloted and run. Plus the people who work there get to say, "Yes,
this <em>is</em> rocket science!"</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/best-places-ive-been-2">Next time</a>, a wet windy lookout, the Grand Canyon (of course), and a not-especially-tall building.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/cars-used-to-be-crap" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Cars used to be crap</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-13T10:39:51-08:00">November 13, 2010 10:39 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620768728/" title="Waiting in the car by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Waiting in the car" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/4620768728_e82ec2f157_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Continuing my anniversary theme, our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_09_01_news_archive.html#5931304">Ford Focus</a> station wagon left its factory almost 10 years ago. Many drivers don't notice it, but our Focus is a sign of how <strong>all cars have become way, way better in recent years, in pretty much every respect.</strong><br />
Despite being a decade old, and being parked outside that whole time, our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(North_America)">2001 Focus SE</a>
Wagon has no rust. We've maintained it, and it has needed some repairs,
but overall it runs well. The interior's in good shape. With its
cavernous cargo compartment, it remains our go-to car when we need to
move stuff, even if I'm not schlepping a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/08/minor-differences.html">whole band's</a>
instruments and PA gear anymore. I just put some snow tires on it for
the winter, since we still use it for most family trips where we need to
bring a decent amount of luggage.<br />
My first car, by contrast, was a beige, late-'70s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Hornet">AMC Hornet</a>,
which I inherited from my grandmother. It was also a station wagon, a
model AMC called the "Sportabout." My Oma didn't drive—the wagon had
been my step-grandfather's car before he died in 1981. <strong>By the time I took it over in the mid-'80s, the Hornet was the same age as our Focus is now, but it was piece of junk.</strong>
The body was rusted through in several places, the driver's-side seat
springs had collapsed (to be fair, my Opa was a big guy, but still), the
windows leaked, the suspension creaked, the engine dripped oil, and at
intersections, I often had to put it in neutral and goose the
accelerator to keep the car from stalling.<br />
While the Hornet had a 3.8 L inline six-cylinder engine, that motor
only produced about 130 horsepower, and the car wasn't light, so it
drove like what could best be described as a tubby land yacht. The Focus
is a smaller, lighter vehicle, with a 2.0 L four-cylinder motor that
produces <em>the same</em> 130 hp, so it's a lot peppier, and has a
firmer, European-style suspension, so it's more fun to drive too. My
wife Air's brand new <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/buying-new-miller-car">Mazda3</a> sedan, with its 167 hp 2.5 L engine, is a step beyond that still.<br />
I'm not sure exactly when consumer automobiles made the transition
into this new generation of better-built, longer-lasting, more reliable
vehicles. I'm guessing it occurred mostly in the 1980s, when Japanese
and European manufacturers pushed their North American competitors to
improve by outselling them with much better cars—and when onboard
computers, electronic fuel injection, and other innovations allowed
vehicles to diagnose and adjust things automatically that formerly
required human intervention. (When we drove into the mountains in the
1970s, my dad used to adjust the engine timing under the hood for the
thinner air. No one has to do that now.)<br />
After a decade, that old Hornet was already a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalopy">beater</a>,
and it didn't last much longer. (I was a young driver too, so I didn't
treat it especially well, but it did get me to high school and
university.) I drove a couple of other hand-me-downs from my parents—a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fairmont">Ford Fairmont</a> sedan and a big <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Marquis#1973.E2.80.931978">Mercury Marquis</a> V8 wagon, both also old-school designs—before eventually discovering what a modern car was like in my wife's two-door 1992 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Escort_(North_America)#Second_generation_.281991.E2.80.931996.29">Ford Escort</a> sedan. That was a fine little machine, but it was also <em>too</em> little—when our second daughter was due, we traded it for a similar 1999 Escort wagon, with four doors and storage in the back.<br />
We might still have that Escort if it hadn't been rear-ended and
totaled at a red light by a Mercedes in the summer of 2001. The safety
systems did their job: my wife and kids were all inside when it
happened, and their injuries were pretty mild considering the severity
of the crash. The cargo compartment looked like it had been punched in
by a giant fist, spraying glass throughout the cabin. Our insurance
replaced the car, but by then the Escort had been discontinued, replaced
by the Focus. The one we have now was the last wagon we could track
down in the city at the end of that model year.<br />
<strong>Oddly, Ford no longer sells a Focus wagon (or even a
hatchback) in North America, so if we needed to replace it, we'd have to
buy from someone else.</strong> That's a pity, because I see a lot of
them on the road. It's obviously a useful design for many people besides
us, and the completely new <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/03/ford-focus-wagon-geneva-2010-live/">2012 wagon</a> looks great—but won't be available on this side of the Atlantic.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/lucyversary" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Lucyversary</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-12T08:09:08-08:00">November 12, 2010 8:09 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5169135249/" title="Lucyversary by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Lucyversary" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/5169135249_e0aeaf1bbc_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>We've had lots of occasions this year in our household. Our younger daughter L <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/another-birthday">turned 10</a>, and her <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-marina">sister Marina 12</a>, her last birthday before becoming a teenager. My wife and I had our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/happy-anniversary-from-afar">15th wedding anniversary</a> (though I was out of town for the actual day). My parents had <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/fish-house-45-years-later">their 45th</a>.<br />
We saw the 25th anniversary of the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/air-india-25-years">Air India bombing</a>, and the 30th since the big eruption of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/30-years-after-mt-st-helens">Mount St. Helens</a>. I marked <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/jimi-hendrix-died-40-years-ago">40 years</a> since Jimi Hendrix died, and what would have been John Lennon's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/would-john-lennon-envy-me">70th birthday</a> (it will be 30 years since his death <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_John_Lennon">next month</a>), 10 years since the release of Mac OS X and 25 since the appearance of the original <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/super-mario-macosx-anniversary">Super Mario Bros.</a> game. I passed <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/funny-thing-happened-to-me-on-way-to">three years</a> since my cancer diagnosis, and this blog even <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/10th-blogiversary">turned 10 years old</a>.<br />
Today is another significant event at our house. A year ago, we <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">bought a puppy</a> and brought her home in our station wagon. She was already almost <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/still-puppy-after-all-this-year">three months old</a>,
and we named her Lucy—my wife Air's idea, since her first dog as a
child also had that name. Despite some extremely tiring early days,
where I had to take her outside every couple of hours before she was
housetrained, it has been wonderful to have her here. She is warm, and
most often a calming and gentle presence in the house.<br />
When I'm alone here with her, as I often am when my wife's at work
and the kids are at school, the house is a more vibrant and alive place.
We've never regretted bringing her home, and we're glad we brought Lucy
into our family.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/lest-we-forget" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The young killers</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-11T13:04:46-08:00">November 11, 2010 1:04 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davemadethis/5167636530/" title="Lest we forget"><img align="right" alt="Lest we forget" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/5167636530_e7d7358738_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>It occurs to me on this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day">Remembrance Day</a>
that in all the wars ever fought, in all the thousands of generations
where people have been killing each other and destroying things for some
sort of political or ideological or territorial aim, the vast majority
of soldiers have been younger than I am now.<br />
I'm 41. Those who have battled and suffered and died, for causes good
and bad and irrelevant—whether in a Roman legion, a phalanx of Aztecs, a
Chinese Imperial Navy flotilla, a German army unit trying to gain
inches on a muddy trench-cut battlefield, a revenge raid in the
highlands of New Guinea, or a Canadian strike force in the Afghan
mountains—have usually been young men, often boys young enough to be my
children. And they have faced an enemy with that same face. Youths, sent
to kill each other.<br />
The context of how I face the prospect of my own <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/death">death</a>
is quite different. Cancer is slower and less surprising than a bullet,
a spear, a roadside bomb, or the hooves of an enemy horse. But those
youngsters who have set out to war have always shared a knowledge: <em>There's a good chance I won't make it.</em><br />
Many of them did. Many didn't, and never got to see age 41. I'm glad I have.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/save-a-step" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Why not save a step?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-09T22:59:28-08:00">November 9, 2010 10:59 PM</abbr>
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Today would have been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan">Carl Sagan</a>'s
76th birthday, though he died at 62, in 1996, of pneumonia brought on
by a bone marrow disorder. He was a big influence on me, in his many
publications, and particularly in his PBS TV series <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage">Cosmos</a></cite> and its accompanying book.<br />
Although I watched the whole series, and brought the book to school
with me often enough that the librarian gave me one of those
industrial-strength plastic covers to protect the dust jacket, the first
minute of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-_DdX8Ke0">this segment</a>, from Episode 10, "The Edge of Forever," still stands out in my mind.<br />
It was originally broadcast almost exactly 30 years ago, in November
1980, when I was 11. Sagan knew he was treading on dangerous ground,
especially in his native America, so he must have chosen his words very
carefully:<br />
<br />"If we wish to pursue this question <em>courageously,</em>" he
says about a godly origin to the Universe, "we must of course ask the
next question: where did God come from? If we decide that this is an
unanswerable question, why not save a step, and conclude that the origin
of the Universe is an unanswerable question? Or if we say God always
existed, why not save a step, and conclude that the Universe always
existed?"<br />
I had been thinking along <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">these lines</a> myself already. However, perhaps it was the budding writer in me, but I appreciated Sagan's <em>thrift</em> in that statement. It's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor">Occam's Razor</a> at its most efficient: "Why not save a step?" (And in the process, supersede all religions and theologies, incidentally.)<br />
If we can explain the workings of the Universe without the
supernatural, he was saying, we should do so. That is both to avoid
unnecessary complexity in our explanations, and because it's the basis
of science, which has taught us more about our world in the past few
hundred years (especially in the last century) than we learned in all
the millennia before.<br />
But perhaps more importantly, Sagan suggested, if we <em>cannot</em>
explain the workings of the Universe, or the Universe's very
existence—at least not yet—then supernatural answers don't magically
fill the void. Postulating an incomprehensible deity doesn't make the
answers clearer, but murkier. It <em>pushes them another unneeded step away.</em><br />
That's how we treat things in the rest of life. Take one of my other <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/about">favourite quotes</a>, from William Strunk, about writing:<br />
<blockquote>
A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a
paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing
should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.</blockquote>
By the same reasoning, a cosmology should contain no unnecessary
gods. That made sense to me at 11, and it still does. Thanks Carl.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/biweekly-butt-blowout" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Big biweekly butt blowout!</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-08T11:10:57-08:00">November 8, 2010 11:10 AM</abbr>
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The usual "perhaps too much information" warning applies
to this post, if you're not fond of tales about bodily fluids. Last
month I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/new-ways-to-vomit">wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
The pattern has become this: roughly a week after I first
receive the chemo dosage, my body decides to purge everything out of my
gastrointestinal tract.</blockquote>
It's actually remarkable how consistent that pattern has become. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irinotecan">Irinotecan</a>,
the main drug in my current chemotherapy cocktail, has diarrhea as its
primary side effect. But you'd figure, as with most drug side effects,
that would happen pretty much right away after I first take it.<br />
Not for me. I have chemo every 14 days. Almost exactly a week (in my
four treatments so far, either six, seven, or eight days) after my
treatment begins, what arrives is an event I now call the Big Biweekly
Butt Blowout. I had chemotherapy <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/a-return-to-bleah">last Monday</a>,
November 1. Last night, November 7, with little warning, things got
started around 6 p.m., and I was able to leave our downstairs bathroom
around 8:15. As my guts calmed down over the rest of the night, I was
able to get to sleep before midnight.<br />
Of course it sucked, and I'm sorry my family had to listen to me barf
up my dinner. But I quickly realized what was going on, and having been
through it three times before, I knew roughly what to expect, as well
as what I needed to do to ride it out. When I went downstairs with a few
supplies, I told my wife, "I'm heading down to the bathroom. I'll
probably be there for a while." I was quite right.<br />
While I'm tired today, things are better. I had a late breakfast. The
dog has been her usual great snuggler. If the rain continues, I'll meet
the kids after school to give them a ride home. This week should be an
improvement, before I get started with the process again next Monday.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/mountain-faces" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Mountain faces</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-05T18:48:00-08:00">November 5, 2010 6:48 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningclouds/2490775441/" title="Mont Blanc du Tacul by runningclouds, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Mont Blanc du Tacul" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/2490775441_cf17d7d33a_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I have a peculiar fascination with mountain climbing. Peculiar because I've never done anything like it, not even on <a href="http://www.bivouac.com/RggPg.asp?RggId=1230">local</a> peaks like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lions_(Peaks)">The Lions</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tusk">Black Tusk</a>. The most I've done is go from the ski area parking lot to the top of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Seymour">Mt. Seymour</a>, which is a hike, not a climb. (Like The Lions, I can see the summit of Seymour from our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2213905898/">front window</a>.)<br />
Maybe that's what interests me. Like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22557670@N00/sets/72157603322932386/">Antarctica</a> or outer space, high mountain peaks are somewhere I'll never go. I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2003_02_01_news_archive.html#90276578">written</a> about how <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2003_02_01_news_archive.html#390270862">dangerous</a>
high-altitude mountaineering is. As a child, I was fascinated by TV
documentaries on mountain climbing (I vividly recall a sherpa falling
into a mud sinkhole on the way to Everest, before the team had even
reached snow). Jon Krakauer's 1997 bestseller <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/0385494785/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Into Thin Air</a></cite> riveted me from the first sentence:<br />
<blockquote>
Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China and
the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a
shoulder against the wind, and stared absently down at the vastness of
Tibet.</blockquote>
It remains one of my favourite books. Today another one of those scary mountain stories bubbled up, via <a href="http://kottke.org/10/11/nobody-falls-up-mountains">Jason Kottke</a>: a <cite>Vanity Fair</cite> tale of two young British men who <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/11/prep-school-climbers-201011?currentPage=all">died last year</a> falling thousands of feet down part of <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&lci=org.wikipedia.en&q=45.833611,6.865(Mont+Blanc)&ie=UTF8&ll=45.833611,6.865&spn=0.226291,0.273972&z=12">Mt. Blanc</a>.
Because it's easy to access in the centre of Europe, but remains
treacherous with difficult slopes and unpredictable weather, Mt. Blanc
kills more climbers than any other peak in the world. Rob Gauntlett and
James Atkinson, the climbers who died, were far from inexperienced.<br />
A couple of years earlier, Gauntlett and James Hooper, both then 19,
had become the youngest Brits ever to climb Mt. Everest. They followed
that expedition with a trip from the northern geomagnetic pole to the
southern one, from North America through South America to
Antarctica—without any motorized power. At Mt. Blanc, Hooper and another
school friend, Richard Lebon, had decided not to follow their
colleagues up the mountain that day, and survived.<br />
Even out my front window, I can see places (or at least, the tops of
trees near places) where people wander off well-trodden tourist trails,
get lost, and never return. Often in the summer. Once, a plane crashed
on one of those slopes and wasn't found for decades. Mountains are
beautiful and alluring, but fickle, and can be deadly.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/welcome-back-morpheus" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Welcome back, Morpheus</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-04T15:39:02-08:00">November 4, 2010 3:39 PM</abbr>
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Back in 2007, before I had my big cancer surgery, I was taking <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/morphine">morphine</a> tablets a couple of times a day. As of yesterday, I am again—quite possibly indefinitely. It's because of that <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/pain">pain</a>
I've been having in my torso, which so far has no obvious source, but
which I'm guessing is simply the result of my ever-growing <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">tumours</a>.
In recent weeks it's been keeping me from going to sleep easily, or
waking me up in the night. I was taking too many Tylenol 3 and Advil
pills. For someone like me, morphine is a better and safer painkiller.<br />
The drug is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine">pretty amazing stuff</a>, really. When I had my last partial bowel blockage <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/derek-and-amazing-technicolor-vomit">in 2008</a>,
it was excruciating. But a single injection of morphine abated the pain
within minutes, and was able to keep it at bay in hospital while I
waited for my body to clear the obstruction. So far the low-dose,
twice-daily pills are working well against my current pain, and I have
shorter-acting tablets I can take if things act up in between.<br />
The team at the Pain Clinic yesterday also prescribed me <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopiclone">Zopiclone</a>,
a sleeping pill, in case I needed it. Last night I tried half a tablet
because the morphine hadn't fully kicked in by bedtime, but so far I'm
not a fan. I've been in a zombie-like state most of the day, much more
so than my usual chemo-recovery Thursday. I'm certainly in no shape to
drive or operate heavy machinery. Or light machinery, for that matter.
I'll keep the sleeping pills in reserve in case I <em>really</em> need them. But I think I'll sleep fine just reducing the pain first.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/11/a-return-to-bleah" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A return to bleah</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-11-01T10:12:10-08:00">November 1, 2010 10:12 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5136697394/" title="How I feel about going back to chemo today by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="How I feel about going back to chemo today" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1179/5136697394_4f990d5aba_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>For the first time in a month, I'm going back for more <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/cancer">chemotherapy</a> this afternoon. <cite>Dread</cite>
is hardly the word to describe my state right now. Even after a couple
of extra weeks off from the treatment because of that nasty <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/popeyes-leg">blood clot</a>, I still don't feel well.<br />
I continue to have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/enough-for-now">back and torso pains</a>
that move around, requiring painkillers (mild ones, so far), and which
have sometimes kept me awake. The only appointment I could get at the
B.C. Cancer Agency Pain Clinic is on Wednesday, when I'll still be in
pretty sad shape from the chemo—but I need to go to help manage my
symptoms. My intestinal tract is still periodically misbehaving itself,
which is never fun. I'm often weak and tired, and though the scale tells
me I haven't lost more weight, I'm still too skinny, but I can't eat as
much as I used to either because of the above-mentioned problems.<br />
That said, Halloween was fun yesterday: my wife and daughters and our friend <a href="http://theemperorhasnotoque.blogspot.com/">The Badger</a>
wandered the neighbourhood collecting goodies, while I manned the door
here at home. We had a pretty big mob of kids, though because of a
larger-than-usual candy purchase, we still have lots of supplies left
over. My youngest went so hard at the trick-or-treating that she didn't
wake up till 9:30 this morning—I'm working to get her to school for
lunchtime. I had fun setting up a new (to us) <a href="http://apple-history.com/?page=gallery&model=imac_late_06&sort=date&performa=off&order=ASC">iMac</a> I acquired from <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair</a>. The 24" screen is huge in our kitchen.<br />
The next few days are going to suck for me and for my family. You'd
think we'd be used to it, but no. Cancer doesn't give us even that
luxury.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-14356385921907712842018-11-11T13:25:00.003-08:002022-09-05T19:58:50.883-07:00Derek Oct 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1 class="archive-title" id="page-title">
October 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/happy-halloween" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Happy Halloween</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-31T00:23:21-08:00">October 31, 2010 12:23 AM</abbr>
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Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL <strike>battle station</strike>... I mean, jack-o-lantern!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/1794589419/" title="Awesome Death Star pumpkin by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Awesome Death Star pumpkin" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2317/1794589419_5f780791dc.jpg" height="463" width="500" /></a></div>
Not my photo or my pumpkin: originally © 2006 by <a href="http://www.fantasypumpkins.com/2006-pumpkins/deathstar1.jpg">Fantasy Pumpkins</a> (see their <a href="http://www.fantasypumpkins.com/">website</a>, via <a href="http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/10/show-us-your-ge.html">Wired</a>).</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/farewell-victory-street" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Farewell, Victory Street</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-28T22:04:34-08:00">October 28, 2010 10:04 PM</abbr>
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I've lived in three different houses in my life. Yes,
just three. In 1969 my parents brought me home from St. Paul's Hospital
to a 1930s-era house in East Vancouver, near the <a href="http://www.pne.ca/">Pacific National Exhibition</a>
grounds. My mother's parents lived there too. In 1971 we moved to a
three-year-old duplex in Burnaby, with those same grandparents next
door. I grew up on the west side of that duplex, staying even when my
mom and dad moved to Toronto (temporarily, it turned out) in '87, and
sharing my side with three roommates, Alistair, Andrew, and Sebastien.<br />
In 1991 my parents moved back, so it was time for me to ship out.
Sebastien, our friend Tara, and I rented a house only a few minutes
away, also in Burnaby, on Victory Street. We stayed a couple of years,
but by 1993 my grandparents had both died in their late 80s, and my
folks invited the three of us to rent out that half of the old place. We
agreed.<br />
Tara moved out a little later, and by 1995 I was engaged to Air, so
she moved in and we edged Sebastien out the door. He had been my
housemate for eight years in total. Air and I (and now our kids, and our
dog) have been here ever since. I've lived on one side or the other of
this duplex for 37 of my 41 years, and my daughters attend the same
elementary school I did in the '70s.<br />
Those other two houses? The East Van abode stayed in the family: my
mom's sister and her husband have lived there for over 35 years, and one
of their daughters (my cousin Tarya) shares the basement suite with her
husband and their cat. We visit often, and it's where we all eat dinner
each Christmas Eve.<br />
The Victory Street house is different. I've passed by fairly often
over the years, and the place saw a new paint job and what was probably a
succession of several renters. But a few months ago, it was gone,
replaced by the framing for a new townhouse complex. It had been an odd
structure, probably of 1930s vintage like my aunt and uncle's place, but
sort of half-renovated, with a new large master bedroom and
extended—but awkwardly empty—kitchen. It used oil heat, had one
windowless bathroom, and featured a huge yard often infiltrated by
raccoons (who once mauled our cat Guildenstern and left him cowering in
the woodpile, until we rescued him to take him to the vet).<br />
If you opened the window sash in the top floor hallway, it was
possible to crawl out onto the sloped shingle roof, and look far to the
south, across the Fraser River and as far as the San Juan Islands in the
United States. In the otherwise unfinished concrete basement, there was
a small wood-panelled room where my band used to practice and write
songs. One year while we lived there, I had a job at <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a> on Burnaby Mountain, to the northeast, and classes at the <a href="http://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>, far to the west in Vancouver. I rode my bicycle to both, and was in the best shape of my life.<br />
It was only my home for a couple of years in my early 20s, but
Victory Street generated many memories. I finally felt like an adult
there: it's the only home I've had with no real-estate connection to the
rest of my family. Now it's been bulldozed, so the memories, and a few
photos hiding in a box somewhere, are all that's left. Whoever moves
into the new townhouses can make some new memories instead.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/grainy-red-sun" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Blown away by the grainy red Sun</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-27T18:13:22-08:00">October 27, 2010 6:13 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael_karrer/126589006/" title="Sunset in H-Alpha-Light by Michael Karrer, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Sunset in H-Alpha-Light" class="post" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/126589006_dcdd80a5cb_m.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a>My <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/">dad</a> has been an amateur astronomer since his <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/2008/11/interested.html">childhood</a>.
The way my daughters have grown up around computers and cameras and
musical instruments, I grew up around telescopes. And while most
astronomical observing is of objects in the night sky, you can see some
pretty fascinating things during the day too—especially if you want to
examine our nearest star, the Sun.<br />
To that end, a few months ago my dad ordered an obscure piece of gear, something I'd never heard of before: a custom-built <a href="http://www.luntsolarsystems.com/visual-package.html">personal <i>solar</i> telescope</a> with a built-in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-alpha#Filter">hydrogen-alpha</a>
light filter. It just arrived, and he had a chance to try it today.
Compared to his other optical equipment, it looks small and unassuming,
almost like a large spotting 'scope. But there's a lot more going on
inside.<br />
I've been looking through his traditional telescopes with regular solar filters on them for decades. What you see there is a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/11/see-mercury-cross-sun.html">yellow-orange disc</a>.
Sunspots are easy to identify, but much of the rest of the Sun's
surface is pretty nondescript in that view, much like what you can see
through clouds or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624717084306/">smoky air</a>.<br />
What I saw when I peeked through his new solar telescope, though, was
astonishing. Instead of yellowish-orange, the Sun was deep red.
Sunspots, rather than simple blots, had complex edges. I could see the <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/the_sun.html#photo12">granules</a> that make up the solar surface, and at the Sun's edge, numerous spouting, filigreed <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/the_sun.html#photo1">prominences</a>
jetting off into space. Over time, those prominences changed shape, the
way clouds morph in the sky. And this was not some digitally enhanced
space-telescope image: I was looking at this stuff with my own eye, from
the back porch.<br />
The reason the solar telescope provides such a different view through
the eyepiece is that hydrogen-alpha filter. While a traditional solar
filter acts like a really opaque set of sunglasses, drastically reducing
the intensity of all visible wavelengths of light so you can look at
the Sun through a telescope without frying your eyeballs in their
sockets, an H-alpha filter does so extremely selectively. Using some
clever <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabry%E2%80%93Perot_interferometer">optical tricks</a>, it lets through only a tiny range of colours, in a narrow band of red wavelengths surrounding 656 nanometres.<br />
Those particular wavelengths are important because the Sun is a giant
roiling ball of nuclear fusion, turning hydrogen into helium, and the
656 nm wavelength (more precisely, 6562.8 Ångstroms) is the primary <a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/13405/color/emit.html">spectral emission</a> wavelength of hydrogen. That means that a lot of the interesting stuff that the Sun is doing (especially in its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosphere">chromosphere</a>) is visible at that wavelength, but normally it's hard to see because it's overwhelmed by the <i>other</i> light blasting out at all the other wavelengths, in the visible spectrum and beyond.<br />
So what I saw through my father's small H-alpha solar telescope was a
more active, detailed, seething star than I'd ever witnessed with my
own eyes. The Sun is, of course, the source of all the non-geothermal
energy here on Earth, the thing that keeps us and everything else alive.
Watching it seethe in real time gave me new respect for that.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/big-bangs-blog" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Big Bang's blog</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-25T12:23:57-08:00">October 25, 2010 12:23 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/4737641393/" title="Magellanic Clouds and Gum Nebula with Zeiss Distagon 21mmF2.8 May 2010 Light Version by hirocun, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Magellanic Clouds and Gum Nebula with Zeiss Distagon 21mmF2.8 May 2010 Light Version" class="post" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4737641393_5f4d6a8012_m.jpg" height="160" width="240" /></a>If you like the sitcom <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory">The Big Bang Theory</a></cite>,
you might wonder how much of the science referred to on the show is
realistic. David Saltzberg is the program's science advisor, and he has a
blog about that <a href="http://thebigblogtheory.wordpress.com/">very subject</a>, called The Big Blog Theory.<br />
Saltzberg <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/10/22/star-trippin-on-the-big-bang-theory/">consulted</a> Phil Plait, the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3843181110/">Bad Astronomer</a>, about the <a href="http://thebigblogtheory.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/s04e05-the-desperation-emanation/">latest post</a>,
listing the nearest stars to our solar system. Since I met Phil a
couple of summers ago, I guess I'm only a couple of degrees of
separation from the cast of the show (and the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/08/06/mythbustin-the-moon-hoax-part-4/">MythBusters</a> too!).</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/tigh-na-mara-salish-sea" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Tigh-Na-Mara and the Salish Sea</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-23T14:57:12-08:00">October 23, 2010 2:57 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5106426702/" title="View from our balcony at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort in Parksville, B.C. by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="View from our balcony at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort in Parksville, B.C." src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1404/5106426702_7d1461c85e.jpg" height="120" width="500" /></a></div>
This is where my wife Air and are <a href="http://www.tigh-na-mara.com/">spending the weekend</a>. This evening we're off to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss604/3696665268/">Grotto Spa</a>. A huge thank-you to my cousin Tarya and her husband T.J. for sending us on this jaunt across the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/07/15/bc-salish-sea.html">Salish Sea</a>, as a thank-you gift for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/big-batch-wedding-pictures">taking photos</a> at their wedding a few weeks ago.<br />
I don't believe in karma, but sometimes what goes around does come around.<br />
P.S. Portions at the resort restaurant are ridiculously large. I
might have been able to finish my delicious steak last night if I hadn't
ordered what turned out to be a huge (and also delicious) Caesar salad
first. You've been warned.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/bigotry-dead-children" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Accepting anti-gay bigotry = dead children</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-18T18:22:54-08:00">October 18, 2010 6:22 PM</abbr>
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Sex columnist, speaker, and podcaster <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/savage">Dan Savage</a> has been on a tear recently with his <a href="http://www.itgetsbetterproject.com/">It Gets Better</a>
campaign. Here's the gist: after recent high-profile media coverage of
yet more suicides by gay teenagers bullied at school, Savage encouraged
older gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people—as well as those
who support them—to post videos about how much better their lives
became as they grew up. In other words, he wanted to emphasize that the
despair of being young and bullied for having a different sexual
orientation need not last forever.<br />
As someone who was raised and schooled <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/10/12/who-you-gonna-believe">as a Catholic</a>,
Savage heaps particular scorn on churches and other religious
organizations (especially in the U.S.A.) for their promotion of bigotry
towards homosexuals like him, both within their congregations and in the
more general political and social sphere. He <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=5135029">minces no words</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
...many of your children—having listened to Mom and Dad
talk about how gay marriage is a threat to family and how gay sex makes
their magic sky friend Jesus cry—feel justified in physically abusing
the LGBT children they encounter in their schools.</blockquote>
And he <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/10/13/the-silence-of-the-lambs">doesn't go easy</a> on more liberal Christians either:<br />
<blockquote>
I'm sick of tolerant, accepting Christians whispering to
me that "we're not all like [anti-gay fundamentalists]." If you want to
change the growing perception that "good Christian" means "anti-gay"—a
perception that is leading many people to stop identifying themselves as
Christian because they don't want to be lumped in with the haters—stop
whispering to <i>me</i> and start screaming at <i>them</i>.</blockquote>
Dan articulates very well what I find frustrating (and doubtless gay
people find infuriating) about the way our society talks about and deals
with sexual orientation. Somehow it is <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/10/12/when-will-we-reach-the-tipping-point">still acceptable</a> to be bigoted against LGBT people, when other bigotries (about race, class, gender) no longer are—and even to <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/10/17/buttsore-bible-college-student-to-dan-hurting-my-feelings-is-unconstitutional">feel offended</a> when other people <a href="http://indiana.bilerico.com/2009/01/indiana_family_institute_and_the_lgbt_co.php">call you out</a> for it.<br />
That acceptance has real consequences:<br />
<blockquote>
You don't have to explicitly "encourage [your] children
to mock, hurt, or intimidate" queer kids. Your encouragement—along with
your hatred and fear—is implicit. It's here, it's clear, and we're
seeing the fruits of it: <i>dead children.</i></blockquote>
Yes, LGBT issues being mainstream is a pretty new thing. For
instance, despite Vancouver's progressive and liberal bent, when I was a
teenager in the '80s, homosexuality was still pretty taboo. None of my
high-school classmates was out, though several of them are gay. I doubt
any of us imagined that same-sex marriage would be legal in Canada
before our 20-year class <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/09/twenty-years-about-derek-miller-in.html">reunion</a>.<br />
But social change <i>should be</i> rapid. Once we as a society
realize that something is wrong, we shouldn't delay in correcting it.
Mollifying bigots and bullies is not an excuse to slow down, especially
if kids die when we do.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/end-of-mad-men-season-4" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The end of Mad Men season 4</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-17T23:51:54-08:00">October 17, 2010 11:51 PM</abbr>
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Two thoughts for the <cite><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/how-mad-can-you-get">Mad Men</a></cite> fans out there about tonight's season finale:<br />
<ul>
<li>Dr. Faye was right way back, about Don being a type, who would be remarried within a year.</li>
<li>Megan's French sounded like it was from France, not Montreal. Was that on purpose? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Pare">Jessica Paré</a>,
the actress who plays her, is actually Québecois, so perhaps it was. Or
maybe my ear for French accents is worse than it used to be.</li>
</ul>
Yes, count me in with the people who were <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2261483/entry/2271487/">hoping</a>
the marriage proposal was a dream sequence. But it remains true that
you can't predict where this show is going, even week to week.<br />
Given how long it's likely to be until season 5 starts (next summer), I hope I'm <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years">still alive</a> to see it!</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/afro-cuban-memories" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Afro-Cuban memories</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-16T11:17:20-08:00">October 16, 2010 11:17 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlorondinelli/2211614629/" title="art blakey by carlo rondinelli, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="art blakey" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2211614629_8221608877_m.jpg" height="240" width="240" /></a>My dad loaned me his new CD copy of Art Blakey's <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Suite-3-Bonus-Tracks/dp/B000CELO9K/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Drum Suite</a></cite> album, which I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/why-i-chose-those-16-albums">wrote about</a>
the other day, so I've had a chance to listen to it in full for the
first time in 25 or 30 years. (His old LP record was so scratchy he had
to replace it.) It showed me how selective memory can be.<br />
My deep childhood recollections are entirely of the first three
songs—side A of the LP—"The Sacrifice," "Cubano Chant," and "Oscalypso,"
which are all pulsating slabs of delicious Afro-Cuban jazz rhythms. I
must have heard side B before, but none of it sounded familiar. Even of
the three initial tracks, there are big chunks I don't remember at all,
like the piano parts in "The Sacrifice." But with other bits, like the
Swahili gang vocals at the beginning, or the bizarre, semi-atonal cello
strumming in "Oscalypso," I could sing or hum along seamlessly.<br />
<div class="note">
UPDATE: Reading the liner notes, I discovered that the original LP version of "The Sacrifice" had the piano and bass solos <i>edited out</i>
for length, so I remembered correctly that they hadn't been there. Or,
uh, when I didn't remember the piano, that was correct. Or something
like that. Anyway, the CD re-release restores the full recording, so the
piano and bass solos were new to me.</div>
In keeping with my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/would-john-lennon-envy-me">Beatles</a> discussion recently too, there's a possibly-apocryphal story that John Lennon <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_05_01_news_archive.html#76538970">derided jazz</a>, saying that it "never goes anywhere, never does anything." He had something of a point if you listen to side B of <cite>Drum Suite</cite>,
which is full of more typical late-'50s swinging bebop improvisation,
with noodly horns and tubby bass solos and the whole shebang. It's very
good if you appreciate the genre, but I could see why a teenage Lennon
in Liverpool might have hated the style, because it's intellectual,
complex, grownup music. If you're a bag of raging hormones, rock-n-roll
like Elvis and Little Richard and Gene Vincent would deserve to kick it
off the pop charts.<br />
Lennon and his fellow Beatles, of course, made sure that happened: as
far as I know, Louis Armstrong's version of "Hello, Dolly!" was the
last unequivocally jazz Billboard #1 hit, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hot_100_number-one_singles_of_1964_(U.S.)">in 1964</a>, the year the Fab Four took over the charts in the name of rock.<br />
But while it's also certainly jazz, the Afro-Cuban percussion ensemble on side A of <cite>Drum Suite</cite>
has a different emphasis. It's driven neither by melodic improvisation
nor by chords, but by the endlessly inventive, interlocking rhythms. Two
drum kits, congas, bongos, shakers, cowbells, timpani, piano, cello,
vocal shouts, and more. I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/why-i-chose-those-16-albums">speculated</a>
that the sound of those three tracks subliminally influenced my
decision to become a drummer 15 years or so after I first heard them.
Either that, or I had some predisposition for rhythm even as a very
young kid, which is why I wanted to hear those tracks over and over.
Perhaps a bit of both.<br />
In some ways, the story of twentieth century popular music is the
story of melody being taken over by rhythm. In America, and then
throughout the world, Western concepts of harmony and composition were
permanently altered by the pulse of Africa and the Caribbean. Blues and
ragtime became jazz, and filtered into R&B and rock-n-roll, then
soul and funk, disco and reggae, then dance, hip-hop and electronica. As
a result, the songs on today's pop charts have more in common with <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/negroprisonsongs">southern prison work songs</a> from 100 years ago than with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1910_in_music#Published_popular_music">polite popular ditties</a> of the same era.<br />
The dark, scary interval of the final vocal at the end of "The
Sacrifice" draws on those same work-song traditions, and still gives me
freaky shivers. Here, listen to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/media/art_blakey-sacrifice_end.mp3">the last 20 seconds</a> (MP3 audio) to hear what I mean.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/chilean-mine-rescue-no-miracle" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The Chilean mine rescue was no miracle. It was rather more impressive than that.</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-14T14:51:19-08:00">October 14, 2010 2:51 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/mine/mine.php" title="San Jose mine to scale, from cockeyed.com via j-walkblog.com"><img align="right" alt="San Jose mine to scale, from cockeyed.com via j-walkblog.com" border="0" class="post" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/sanjosemine.png" height="1750" width="25" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rescatemineros/5081843488/" title="Last Rescuers by Rescate Mineros on Flickr"><img alt="Last Rescuers by Rescate Mineros on Flickr" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5081843488_2cb79cc048.jpg" height="356" width="500" /></a><br />
<small>Photo: Hugo Infante/Government of Chile, October 14, 2010</small></div>
I'm no cynic. Yesterday, as <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/12/chile-mine-rescue.html">each of 33 trapped miners</a>
emerged from the Fenix rescue capsule, out of the dusty ground in the
mountains of Chile, then hugged his wife or girlfriend or child or
brother or other relative, I cried. Sometimes I wept openly in front of
the TV, or in the car as I listened to the radio. These were men who
could easily have been dead for months, but who are still alive, and
healthy, and now back with the rest of us.<br />
But so many people, from miners and rescuers and their families, to politicians and media correspondents, called it a <i>miracle</i>, and that bothered me. <b>This rescue was no miracle. It was a remarkable, difficult, challenging, and happy human achievement.</b> I posted on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/penmachine/status/27285654730">Twitter</a>
and Facebook that calling the rescue a miracle belittles the amazing
human work done by the rescuers, the teams of engineers and others who
planned and executed it, and the miners themselves.<br />
There was a lot of praying and thanking God from the miners, their
relatives, the politicians, workers and others onsite at the San José
Mine. Which is fine—they are entitled to believe what they want, and to
draw comfort and inspiration however they can—but no god dug that
amazing rescue shaft.<br />
Sadly, now representatives of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/11/chilean-miners-rival-churches-tussle">different churches</a> are trying to claim that <i>their particular</i>
prayers were the ones that helped save the miners. Yet, or course, none
are vying for their version of God to take the blame for the initial
disaster in the mine two and half months ago—or for the deaths of <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/14/chile-mine-safety-104.html">dozens of other</a> miners in Chile this year for whom there were no miracles. (UPDATE: For further context, in China, there were <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/07/china-mine-bosses-safety.html">over 2600</a> mine deaths last year, and more than 1250 so far this year.)<br />
<i>Miracle</i> does have a secular meaning, but from the President
of Chile on down, in this context people seemed to be using its most
direct definition: "godly intervention." Yet a real miracle would be if
the miners had just been magically teleported to the surface when the
collapse began, or if it hadn't happened in the first place. But people
had to dig the rescue shaft, and that is the wonderful achievement.<br />
I looked out my front windows yesterday and realized that what the
rescue did was pull each man on a thin strand through a drill hole 2000
feet deep, like bringing them up from the very heart of one of the North
Shore mountains to the top, on a wire:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4097929199/" title="First big snows on the Lions by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="First big snows on the Lions" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4097929199_6365da9c9e.jpg" height="281" width="500" /></a></div>
Here's a <a href="http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/mine/mine.php">visualization</a> to scale of the distance (via <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/Visualizing_The_Mine/">J-Walk</a>), which you can also see along the right edge of this blog entry.<br />
Doing that took skill, talent, knowledge, ingenuity, determination,
science, and meticulous planning. It was tremendous good luck (and at
least some credit in mine safety design—however flawed—plus training and
discipline) that the miners all survived the initial collapse back in
August, and the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/23/chile-miners-rescue.html">17 days</a> before anyone was able to contact them. But from then on, the rescue effort was pure hard work.<br />
However inspiring it is to some that people around the world were
thinking of and praying for the miners while they remained trapped in
their tiny, hot, humid rock chamber for months on end, it was not the
abstract thoughts and prayers that pulled them out. <b>It was the thinking and planning, drawing and building, drilling and feeding, testing and re-testing—it was the <i>doing</i> that brought them to the surface yesterday.</b><br />
I celebrate that.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/the-brawny-towel-of-religions" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The Brawny Towel of religions</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-13T14:48:36-08:00">October 13, 2010 2:48 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/4958157358/" title="Brawny Paper Towels, 2002 by Roadsidepictures, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Brawny Paper Towels, 2002" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4958157358_b944a6a769_m.jpg" height="240" width="133" /></a>The latest episodes of my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/favourite-podcasts">two favourite podcasts</a> reinforce why I like them so much.<br />
First, <a href="http://www.npr.org/money">Planet Money</a> #219 asks, would you <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/12/130512149/the-tuesday-podcast-would-you-rather-be-middle-class-now-or-rich-in-1900">rather live</a>
on $70,000 USD a year today (a middle-class living), or $70,000 USD a
year in 1900 (when it would have made you stupefyingly rich)? My answer
is easy: since I have both diabetes and cancer, I'll take now, since no
matter how much money I had, in 1900 I'd be dead. Your answer might not
be so obvious, though if you like air conditioning and the easy ability
to travel and communicate, you'll probably make a similar choice.<br />
My reason for liking <a href="http://doubtreligion.blogspot.com/2010/10/episode-75-confession-of-buddhist.html">episode #75</a> of <a href="http://www.doubtcast.org/">Reasonable Doubts</a> comes down to one quote: "Hinduism is like the <a href="http://www.brawnytowels.com/">Brawny Towel</a> of religions—it can really soak up and absorb just about anything." (The episode is actually about Buddhism.)</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/would-john-lennon-envy-me" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">John Lennon only made it to 40. Would he envy me?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-12T09:51:57-08:00">October 12, 2010 9:51 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmcnab/4237082804/" title="The Pre-Beatles, 1958 by John McNab, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="The Pre-Beatles, 1958" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/4237082804_9607607e04_m.jpg" height="161" width="240" /></a>Saturday would have been John Lennon's <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1319101/Yoko-Ono-reveals-Paul-McCartney-saved-marriage-John-Lennon.html">70th birthday</a>
(his son Sean turned 35 the same day). Lennon was shot dead in New York
City a couple of months after his 40th birthday in 1980. As a lifelong <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/yes-master">Beatles fan</a>, a musician who played a lot of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_12_01_news_archive.html#1599523">his songs</a> over the past couple of decades, and someone <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death">facing</a> my own <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/death">mortality</a>—and despite all my health problems over the past few days—I've been listening to some of my favourite songs from the band.<br />
As I mentioned <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/why-i-chose-those-16-albums">recently</a>, that set included <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Revolver-Remastered-Beatles/dp/B0025KVLTC/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Revolver</a></cite>, as well as <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Soul-Remastered-Beatles/dp/B0025KVLT2/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Rubber Soul</a></cite>, and the album (not EP) version of <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Mystery-Tour-Remastered-Beatles/dp/B0025KVLTW/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Magical Mystery Tour</a></cite>. What John Lennon songs do those discs include?<br />
<ul>
<li>"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"</li>
<li>"The Word"</li>
<li>"Girl"</li>
<li>"In My Life"</li>
<li>"Wait"</li>
<li>"Run for Your Life"</li>
<li>"I'm Only Sleeping"</li>
<li>"She Said She Said"</li>
<li>"And Your Bird Can Sing"</li>
<li>"Doctor Robert"</li>
<li>"Tomorrow Never Knows"</li>
<li>"I Am the Walrus"</li>
<li>"Strawberry Fields Forever"</li>
<li>"Baby You're a Rich Man"</li>
<li>"All You Need is Love"</li>
</ul>
Of that incredible batch of songs, I think only "Run for Your Life"
is a weak one (weak for the Beatles, anyway), and "Doctor Robert" is
merely rather good. The rest are in varying parts genius,
groundbreaking, soporific, anthemic, bizarre, sexy, psychedelic,
touching, classic, and inspiring. Surprisingly, in my particular list
there are no flat-out rockers like "Twist and Shout" or "Revolution." My
favourite? Probably still "Strawberry Fields Forever," followed by "She
Said She Said" and "I Am the Walrus." (Hmm, the druggy ones.)<br />
However, in the full listen through, I rediscovered a Beatles
favourite of mine that I hadn't heard in years, and didn't realize how
much I missed: Paul McCartney's "Got to Get You Into My Life." In it,
the Fab Four manage to out-Motown the horns-and-tambourine trademarks of
Motown itself, with a song that Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder or the
Supremes could easily have made a #1 hit. But for the Beatles it was
only an album track (until a 1976 re-release that took it to Billboard
#7).<br />
Now, I'm not a famous or influential musician, but despite my perhaps <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years">bleak prospects</a>, I've already lived longer (at 41) than many such entertainers (like Lennon) who accomplished quite a lot: Buddy Holly, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/jimi-hendrix-died-40-years-ago">Hendrix</a>,
Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Mozart, Mama Cass, John Coltrane,
the Notorious B.I.G., Marc Bolan of T-Rex, Charlie Parker, Kirsty
MacColl, Duane Allman, Jaco Pastorius, Sid Vicious, Jim Croce, Randy
Rhoads, Keith Moon, Tim and Jeff Buckley, Michael Hutchence, Janis
Joplin, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Tommy Bolin, Tammi Terrell, Robert
Johnson, Nick Drake, Bon Scott of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/return-of-acdc">AC/DC</a>, Selena, John Bonham, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2001/09/entertain-us-were-kurt-cobain-and.html">Kurt Cobain</a>, Charlie Christian, Karen Carpenter, Bob Marley, Jim Morrison, Tupac Shakur, Sam Cooke, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">Stevie Ray Vaughan</a>, and three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.<br />
Honestly, I think I've lived a better life than many of them did.
John Lennon, for all his success, rarely seemed genuinely happy, except
perhaps near the end. I've been lucky to grow up my whole life in
Vancouver, with good friends and family. I've never really worried about
whether I'd have enough to eat, or a place to live, or interesting
things to do. Yes, having metastatic cancer <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/new-ways-to-vomit">sucks big time</a>,
for all of us here. It's made the past few years hard, and things would
be far, far better without it. I wish I could live longer than I
probably will. But I have a wonderful wife and great relationships with
my daughters.<br />
Would John Lennon have envied my life? Likely not, but maybe. Maybe.</div>
<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/new-ways-to-vomit" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">There are new ways to vomit, not just new places</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-11T13:08:11-08:00">October 11, 2010 1:08 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3470930003/" title="Another eye by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Another eye" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3470930003_6786f68a25_m.jpg" height="160" width="240" /></a>During my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/popeyes-leg">brief stay</a> in hospital before the weekend, I had been afraid that my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/open-up-the-sluices">major diarrhea side effects</a> from chemotherapy would kick in while I was there. They didn't, which was fortunate. They waited until last night.<br />
My medical team tweaked my last chemo treatment on October 4 to try
reducing this particular side effect, but that made no difference. The
pattern has become this: roughly a week after I first receive the chemo
dosage, my body decides to purge everything out of my gastrointestinal
tract. Yesterday, after a perfectly decent day limping around on my
still-swollen leg, helping my kids with homework and school projects for
next week, I headed down the hall about 7:45 p.m. for a routine trip to
the bathroom, but then I couldn't leave.<br />
Good thing the kids had TV and video games, as well as the initiative
to make one of our beds and load the dishwasher. I didn't see them for
awhile.<br />
<h3>
Clear it out</h3>
I was in the bathroom for four hours, on the toilet, lying on the
floor in various positions to try to relieve gas pressure, in the shower
with hot water pouring on my back to reduce cramps, and so on. I puked
up my dinner as part of the process. My wife Air came home from an
evening out and brought me a cold glass of water and a couple of tablets
of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loperamide">Imodium</a> to try
to slow things down. I took them and then immediately barfed them up
again—the first time in my life I've ever thrown up <i>ice-cold</i> <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/always-new-places-to-vomit">vomit</a>, which was weird.<br />
Eventually, everything slowed down on its own, once there was
basically nothing left in my guts to purge. Around midnight, I came to
bed (only then noticing that yes, my left leg still hurts from the blood
clot, but perhaps a bit less) and lay there shaking. I got some Imodium
down, as well as some Tylenol for my entire lower abdomen, which by now
was achy and sore. I had to pop back to the bathroom a few times during
the next three or four hours as well, but I got sleep in between,
especially after I took an Ativan to calm my by-now-jangly nerves.<br />
Our dog Lucy, who sleeps between my wife and me on our bed, was
repeatedly freaked out by the growling monster noises emerging from my
belly under the covers. She almost barked at them once.<br />
<h3>
A long night</h3>
I slept till almost noon this morning, and I feel tremendously
better. Tired, yes, but my insides feel much more normal. Even my leg,
which I'd almost ignored through the ordeal, seems less swollen, though
I'm still limping when I walk on it—so it improved while I was
distracted. I ate some cereal—the first food to stay in my system for
about 17 hours. I'm hoping to make it to a family Thanksgiving dinner
this evening, though I'll probably be pretty subdued.<br />
It's been quite a week:<br />
<ul>
<li>chemotherapy</li>
<li>three days of recovery</li>
<li>an unexpected blood clot leading to an emergency hospital admission</li>
<li>a return home with a gimpy leg</li>
<li>a full night of intestinal chaos</li>
</ul>
It sucked, for me and for my family. It was hell and torture—as in,
if I had to do this stuff for a long time, it might just drive me off
the deep end into raving, pain-and-nausea–induced insanity. It was bad.<br />
Right now my instinct is to postpone my next planned chemo, scheduled a week from today. I want to recover.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/randomness" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">What randomness looks like if you win the lottery</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-09T13:52:22-08:00">October 9, 2010 1:52 PM</abbr>
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I've often written on my blog about how poorly the human brain intuitively understands <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/probability">probability</a>.
My very basic understanding from statistics courses (and a vague
interest) is the reason I don't buy lottery tickets. Yes, your chances
of winning a jackpot if you don't play are zero, but your <a href="http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/poker/lottery_simulator100.php">chances of winning</a> if you <i>do</i>
play are so close to zero it makes no difference. I might do better
wandering around town hoping to find a few million dollars lost in a bag
on the street (which <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/573472.stm">has happened</a>, here in Vancouver).<br />
People who know me are tired of my saying that if I ever do buy a
lottery ticket, my numbers will be consecutive: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 for the
Lotto 6/49, for example. Those are just as likely to be a winning
combination as anything else. Here's <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/Consecutive_Numbers_Win/">proof</a>: not just one, but <i>four</i> people in New South Wales, Australia just <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/womans-10-fingered-salute-to-jackpot-win/story-e6frfkvr-1225936258277">won a jackpot</a> using the numbers 1 through 10 as their picks, getting more than $2 million Australian each.<br />
I think it was my friend Karen who pointed out that choosing
consecutive numbers (or any other set that might be easy to think of, or
might have some meaning to people) isn't the smartest strategy. Why?
Because, as for those Australians, it's more likely that several players
will choose them, and that you'll have to split any winnings you do
get. That's because, unlike the numbers that win, many numbers that
players <i>pick</i> are non-random. Going with a random set of numbers
(the same ones or different ones, whatever) each draw would bring the
best likelihood—still trivially small—of keeping it all yourself, or
splitting with fewer co-winners. Nevertheless, I'd take $2 million and
the good story.<br />
But if I have a few bucks to spend, I'll probably still get myself a burger.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/popeyes-leg" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Popeye's leg</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-08T14:09:21-08:00">October 8, 2010 2:09 PM</abbr>
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Yesterday morning, I felt all recovered from this week's
chemo, only to find my left leg mysteriously swollen. It also hurt to
walk on. After the kids left for school, I saw my doctor, who
immediately sent me to Vancouver Hospital for an urgent ultrasound.<br />
It was good he did, because my swollen leg turned out to be the
result of a nasty blood clot. So I'm in hospital for a few days and will
continue taking blood thinners when I get out. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/rollercoaster">Clots</a> like this are a risk with my colorectal <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/cancer">cancer</a> and chemo, unfortunately.<br />
Thanks for all the kind messages on Twitter and Facebook. So far
hospital food is surprisingly decent (lunch was a tasty frittata with
soup and an excellent little salad), I got a private room (even my own
small washroom), and I'm feeling okay.<br />
Right now I'm restricting visitors to family only, since I'm still pretty tired. But I'll keep you posted.<br />
<div class="note">
UPDATE: I'm home already, the same night. Once things
got under control the hospital felt it safe for me to leave after
dinner. I'm back taking daily Fragmin (dalteparin) injections—the same
stuff I used to take (and should have kept taking, it seems!). And I'm
still hobbling around while the swelling subsides. It's good to have a
bath at home and go back to the big comfy bed. I missed my wife and kids
and puppy, even in a short absence.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/gear-purge-time" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Gear purge time</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-03T23:12:10-08:00">October 3, 2010 11:12 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3981239146/" title="Neurotics in Tsawwassen - Sticky 2 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Neurotics in Tsawwassen - Sticky 2" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3418/3981239146_3a0d808dcf_m.jpg" height="159" width="240" /></a>One year ago today, October 3, 2009, I played guitar and drums with <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">my band</a> out in Tsawwassen. I had a feeling (though I wasn't certain) that it might be the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/end-of-my-live-music-career">last proper gig</a> I would ever play, and now, in retrospect, it seems that was indeed the case.<br />
Whenever the possibility of a show has come up in the last year, my health hasn't been good enough, and that situation <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years">isn't improving</a>
as time goes on. I'm not well enough for the packing, transport, setup,
sound check, playing, breaks, teardown, re-packing, and traveling home,
even for simple local performances. Tremendously fun as it is, it's
also physically and mentally exhausting. After that final show last
year, I was wiped out for two days.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3803422372/" title="Heist at Cloverdale Pub 2 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Heist at Cloverdale Pub 2" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3803422372_12690025de_m.jpg" height="159" width="240" /></a>So,
I made money as a gigging musician for 20 years, and now it's over. And
that's okay, because 20 years is nothing to sneeze at as a musical
career. It's been my entire adult life, and half my life overall! (I
haven't held any other job nearly that long.)<br />
A benefit now is I can now decide what musical gear is worth keeping
and what I can give away to my family, friends, and colleagues, or sell:<br />
<ul>
<li>I'm still storing some <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/amp/">amplifiers</a> and speakers in the basement, whose owners I can ask to take them back before I attempt selling them.</li>
<li>I have two complete <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3980422985/in/set-72157622515038670/">drum kits</a>
with hardware and cymbals (a set for playing at home, another packed up
for gigs), one of which I can purge, either by selling it or by finding
a drum-playing friend or family member who might like it.</li>
<li>My computer/recording <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/299908762/">desk</a> holds more keyboard controllers than I know what to do with, especially since I'm not a keyboard player.</li>
<li>I've already started giving away and selling parts of my way-too-large <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2737019207/in/set-72157600012406765/">collection</a> of <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=539">guitars</a>.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/neurotics/images/stickydrums.jpg" title="Sticky Neurotic"><img align="right" alt="Sticky Neurotic" border="0" class="post" src="http://www.penmachine.com/neurotics/images/stickydrums.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a>I
don't plan to get rid of everything. My two daughters are quite
musical, studying piano and voice and now playing in the school brass
orchestra. (They've each had far more formal musical training than I
ever did.) There's a decent chance they might want to put a band
together in a few years, so it might be wise to have the minimum roster
of gear available to do that. Plus, for now I still like noodling around
and recording the occasional tune, in addition to co-hosting <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>.<br />
I've purged out old computer technology from that office/studio a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/10/its-all-crrrrrrrrap.html">couple</a> of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/geek-office-cleanout-redux">times</a> in the past five years. This is the next obvious step.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/favourite-podcasts" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Planet Money and Reasonable Doubts: my two favourite podcasts</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-02T23:30:48-08:00">October 2, 2010 11:30 PM</abbr>
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I don't listen to as many <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/">podcasts</a> as I used to, even though I am the co-host of a reasonably <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">popular one</a>, and also have an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/pepper-plant-and-spokesmodel-six-eight">occasionally-updated</a> largely musical <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast">one</a>
of my own. From 2005 through 2007 in particular, I devoured podcasts,
listening in the morning while getting the kids ready for school, on the
commute to and from work, sometimes at work, while driving in the car
or shopping or waiting in line, while falling asleep at night, and even
in hospital when I was recovering from surgery.<br />
There are many reasons my listening habits have changed. Since I've
been on medical leave for cancer treatment, I'm not commuting, and I'm
also not often working on non-language right-brain stuff (such as
editing images) that <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/12/left-brain-right-brain-music-brain.html">doesn't interfere</a> with spoken-word podcasts. Now that I have an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/iphone">iPhone</a> and an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/ipad-impressions">iPad</a>,
when I have time to kill either at home or out running errands, I'm
more likely to fire up Twitter or a web browser or a game than to listen
to a podcast.<br />
And, because of my newfound cancer-driven appreciation for the little
things in everyday life, when I go for a walk around the neighbourhood
(often <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/5002924980/">with the dog</a>), I usually leave the earphones at home, and simply <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/listening">listen</a> to the sounds around me.<br />
<h3>
Making a show un-missable</h3>
So while I still have quite a few podcasts in my iTunes subscription
list, I miss a lot of episodes and delete many of them unheard. There
are two shows I never miss, though: National Public Radio's <a href="http://www.npr.org/money">Planet Money</a>, and the indie show <a href="http://www.doubtcast.org/">Reasonable Doubts</a>. (Though I don't catch every episode, I also listen to <i>almost</i> every release—ahem—of <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/savage">Savage Love</a>, after a recommendation a couple of years ago from my wife, and CBC's <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/spark">Spark</a> is a regular too.)<br />
Here's why I find both Planet Money and Reasonable Doubts
un-missable: They're about the right length and frequency—around 20
minutes several times a week for Planet Money, less than an hour every
week or two for Reasonable Doubts—that I can stay caught up without
being overwhelmed (a problem for Leo Laporte's ever-increasing and
ever-lengthening stable of shows on his <a href="http://twit.tv/">TWiT network</a>).<br />
Both of my favourite podcasts are well-structured and excellently
produced, telling compelling stories in an interesting format. Most
importantly, I learn a lot about subjects that previously didn't
interest me much at all: business and religion.<br />
<h3>
Clarity and economics? Really?</h3>
Before <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=290783428">Planet Money</a>
came along, I found most business journalism about as interesting as a
fishing show, or the farm report that used to come on TV before cartoons
in the early mornings when I was kid: in other words, so dull it was
physically painful. But when the team that would later create the
standalone Planet Money podcast produced the "<a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/355/the-giant-pool-of-money">Giant Pool of Money</a>"
episode for This American Life in 2008, I was hooked. A single show
somehow managed to explain the global economic crisis of that year, and
the American housing-market meltdown that triggered it, clearly and
concisely, without dumbing the subject down.<br />
Planet Money takes a similar approach to all sorts of topics in
economics, global finance, and other business subjects that I'd never
normally want to delve into. Yet it fascinates me every time. This week,
for instance, I learned about how Brazil <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/01/130267274/the-friday-podcast-how-four-drinking-buddies-saved-brazil">changed its currency</a>
to stave off runaway inflation in 1994. Yawn, right? Not when the show
has a title like "How Four Drinking Buddies Saved Brazil."<br />
<h3>
Religions explained and criticized</h3>
<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/reasonable-doubts-podcast/id266671828">Reasonable Doubts</a>
doesn't emerge from a professional radio network like NPR. It's a
labour-of-love amateur effort by three academics in Grand Rapids,
Michigan (or "the clasp on America's Bible Bra," as they like to call
it): philosophy professor Jeremy Beahan, psychologist Luke Galen, and
English and mythology teacher David Fletcher. All three were raised as
fundamentalist Christians, but found themselves "de-converting" in
adulthood. So they bring a particularly well-informed approach to
talking about, explaining, and in the end debunking the tenets of
various religious traditions.<br />
There are <a href="http://www.csicop.org/si/show/skeptics_guide_to_podcasts/">plenty of podcasts</a>
about rationalism, skepticism, atheism, humanism, critical thinking,
and similar stuff, but many of them spend a lot of time taking apart
conspiracy theories, UFOs, New Age woo, ghosts, psychics, and
pseudo-medical quackery. Those are all fine, but as an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">atheist</a>
myself since childhood, I find that I don't know much about the
religions that influence most people around the world. And the
Reasonable Doubts team talks about them: Christianity (Protestant,
Catholic, and Orthodox), Islam (Shiite, Sunni, and other sects),
Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and more.<br />
It's not just cheap chat and atheist dismissal, either. I've learned about Christian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism">dispensationalism</a>, Buddhist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha">dukkha</a>,
and the philosophical debates around determinism and free will, for
instance. The hosts are careful to explain the subjects they address as
carefully and completely as possible, so that their analysis and
criticism make sense. And they're pretty funny in a nerdy white-guy way
that appeals to me.<br />
<h3>
Keep learning</h3>
I like these shows for the same reasons I enjoy the science essays
and books of Stephen Jay Gould, the TV series of James Burke, or radio
programs like "Quirks and Quarks." They teach me things I didn't know
before, and point me in interesting directions to learn even more.<br />
In the modern world, we're always encouraged to keep learning for a
lifetime. My favourite podcasts make that easy. I'd encourage you to
give them a listen too.</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/10/10th-blogiversary" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">This blog turns 10</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-10-01T23:02:03-08:00">October 1, 2010 11:02 PM</abbr>
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If you look back in my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/past">archives</a>, you'll see that in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_10_01_news_archive.html">October 2000</a>, I wrote <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_10_01_news_archive.html#1199969">this</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
I've just started using a new weblog service called <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>, recommended on the Web page of my friend <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair Calder</a>,
for news and updates. So, this first entry includes all the news up
until today, which I had previously entered manually (and not very
often).</blockquote>
So, as of this month, October 2010, it's now 10 years since I
formally started blogging. (You could argue that my earlier, infrequent,
reverse-chronological list of updates was also a manually-created blog
starting in 1997, but I won't.)<br />
That <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_10_01_news_archive.html#1199969">first post</a>
includes a lot of broken links, inevitably after this long. But it also
features a brief announcement of the birth of my second daughter, a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/fractal.html">few</a> internal <a href="http://photo.net/photodb/folder.tcl?folder_id=23583">links</a> you <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/old_look.html">won't</a>
easily find elsewhere on the site anymore, and an awareness—even so
early in my blogging career—that I'd like to preserve what came before.<br />
Happy 10th blogiversary, penmachine.com.</div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-47202676353048208292018-11-11T13:23:00.004-08:002022-09-05T19:58:19.622-07:00Derek Sep 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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September 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/blasphemy-day-2010" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Blasphemy Day 2010</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-30T20:38:27-08:00">September 30, 2010 8:38 PM</abbr>
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Today was <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/09/what_did_you_do_for_blasphemy.php">International Blasphemy Rights Day</a>, the second annual one, but it didn't <a href="http://mcgilldaily.com/articles/34133">get</a> as much <a href="http://www.examiner.com/skepticism-in-oakland/celebrating-blasphemy">publicity</a> as <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/blasphemy-funny-if-it-werent-often-so">last year</a>. I totally forgot about it until now, god damn it.<br />
There, that's better.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/a-little-legacy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A little legacy</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-28T17:59:17-08:00">September 28, 2010 5:59 PM</abbr>
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Five years ago, when my employer, <a href="http://www.navarik.com/">Navarik</a>, moved into a new building, the rooms within <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/44221077/in/set-439971/">the office</a>
didn't have names or numbers. On my own, I decided to give them
identities, and since we're in Vancouver, I named the various meeting
rooms after local <a href="http://vancouver.ca/parks/rec/beaches/">beaches</a>: English Bay, Jericho, and so on. I printed up little signs and glued them over the doors.<br />
I've been on medical leave from the company since I developed cancer <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/planning-accident.html">in 2007</a>,
three and a half years ago, but they're still using the room names I
picked. As far as I know, even my little signs are still there. I like
that.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/links-of-interest-2010-09-28" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Links of interest (2010-09-28)</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-28T10:17:32-08:00">September 28, 2010 10:17 AM</abbr>
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Yesterday was another <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/open-up-the-sluices">side effect hell</a>, but I managed to visit a few websites in bed between trips to the bathroom:<br />
<ul>
<li>"Even after all these other factors, including education, are taken
into account, atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons still <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/us/28religion.html">outperform</a> all the other religious groups in <a href="http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge">our survey</a> [of knowledge about world religions]." (I managed 14 out of 15.)<br /></li>
<li>The Prime Meridian line at the Royal Naval Observatory in Greenwich, U.K., <a href="http://parentingbeyondbelief.com/blog/?p=4760">actually is red</a>, like on maps.<br /></li>
<li>"But given the current arrangements, I'm being charged just a
little bit less than I pay for paper and getting a whole lot less, and
it just doesn't feel like a good deal. Of course, a setup like I'm
proposing would leave the publishing industry as we know it <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/09/26/On-Books">in ruins</a>. Which wouldn't bother me in the slightest as long as the authors and editors can still get paid."<br /></li>
<li>"Maybe <a href="http://www.markblevis.com/content-creation-death-and-digital-legacy/">death is a good time</a> to go offline."<br /></li>
<li>"But recent budgets have shown a carbon tax deficit: tax cuts have
completely swamped carbon tax revenues. While some were concerned that
the carbon tax would be a 'tax grab', instead we [have] <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/BC-Politics/2010/09/27/BC-carbon-tax-revenue-negative/">a carbon tax is that is revenue negative</a> not revenue neutral."<br /></li>
<li>"Perhaps 25,000 years ago, a child <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/09/shadows_on_the_walls_of_our_ca.html">visited the cave</a> and left a footprint, the oldest human footprint that can be accurately dated."<br /></li>
<li>"See, aspiring thief, you just never know what you're stepping into
when you hit up a random car on a random street. However badass you
think you may be, there is <a href="http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/09/20/tracked_down_my_thief">someone on the other side</a>
of the robbery. And in this particular case it was someone who escaped
the Iranian Revolution as a child; who roamed the world alone for five
years because her parents couldn't get out; who watched from a dozen
blocks away as the twin towers crumbled; who had just barely clawed her
way out of that concentration camp known as late-stage cancer, if only
because she was intent on raising her babies, come hell or high water.
And all of this before she even turned 40. Can you see how that someone
might be <em>way more twisted</em> than you?"<br /></li>
<li>I don't buy lottery tickets. Why? Here's a simple <a href="http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/poker/lottery_simulator100.php">lottery simulator</a>,
using the U.S. Mega Millions Lottery scheme—but many others, like our
Lotto 6/49, are similar. I simulated playing the same numbers twice a
week for 10 years. I "won" a total of $50 in that time, "spending"
$1040, for a net loss of $990.<br /></li>
<li>Worst <a href="http://climateprogress.org/2010/09/23/worst-oil-company-ad-shell-research/">oil company print ads</a> ever?<br /></li>
<li>Charlie Brooker's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHun58mz3vI">How to Report the News</a> (video) and Martin Robbins's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1">This is a News Website Article About a Scientific Paper</a>. Those cheeky Brits. And damn if they aren't completely right.<br /></li>
<li>"At its best, science fiction can help people better understand
science, explaining new ideas and theories in the context of a
thrilling, gripping story. And then there are these <a href="http://io9.com/5647504/the-most-ludicrous-depictions-of-evolution-in-science-fiction-history">10 utterly ridiculous</a> stories about evolution."<br /></li>
<li>"To accept something like residential cancer clusters are often
just coincidence is deeply unsatisfying. The powerlessness, the feeling
you are defenseless to the whims of chance, can be assuaged by singling
out an antagonist. Sometimes you need a bad guy, and <a href="http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/09/11/the-texas-sharpshooter-fallacy/">The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy</a> is one way you can create one."</li>
</ul>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/why-i-chose-those-16-albums" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Why I chose those 16 albums</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-26T23:24:39-08:00">September 26, 2010 11:24 PM</abbr>
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A few weeks ago I joined a Facebook trend and posted the first <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/15-albums-15-minutes">16 music albums</a>
(rather than 15) that came to mind as influential, and that will
"always stick with me." But, given how quickly I posted them, I didn't
say why, or think about it much. So I might as well explain them now.
Again, I'm listing the albums alphabetically by artist:<br />
<strong>Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Suite-3-Bonus-Tracks/dp/B000CELO9K/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Drum Suite</a> (1957):</strong>
This first choice is also perhaps my oddest, since I'm not much of a
jazz listener, I don't own this album, and I haven't even heard it in
full for at least 20 years, possibly 30. But it—and especially the first
track, "The Sacrifice"—are embedded deep in my childhood subconscious.
My dad owns the LP, and as a very young child I used to ask him to play
it from time to time, both because it was exciting and energizing and
because it freaked me out a bit. "The Sacrifice" begins with a distant,
spooky chant in Swahili, then launches into an intense seven minutes of
African drumming, punctuated by Blakey's full-tilt accompaniment on his
drum kit. The rest of the album includes more excellent Afro-Cuban jazz,
as well as some straight-ahead bebop in Blakey's more usual style. Back
in 1957, it was pioneering, World Music long before the term was
coined. But I simply loved (and feared) the sounds and the rhythms, and
now that I think of it, <cite>Drum Suite</cite> is probably a major
reason I like much of the other music I do (including some below), and
might be part of why I became a drummer myself many years later. I need
to go buy it again.<br />
<strong>The Beatles - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Revolver-Remastered-Beatles/dp/B0025KVLTC/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Revolver</a> (1966):</strong> No mystery here. The Beatles were <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/where-you-once-belonged">the greatest</a>
rock-n-roll band of all, and once I became a drummer, I played a lot of
their music in concerts for 20 years, so I got to know it very well.
While I love their brash and exuberant early work (from "I Saw Her
Standing There" to "A Hard Day's Night"), as well as much of their later
material (including "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Hey Jude," "I Am the
Walrus," and "Get Back"), I've always preferred the band's 1965–66
middle period. With the albums <cite>Help!</cite>, <cite>Rubber Soul</cite>, and <cite>Revolver</cite>, the Beatles took the basic concept of the pop song as far as it could go. And whenever I play <cite>Revolver</cite> (and <cite>Rubber Soul</cite>
too), I'm astonished that all those great tunes appeared on a single
disc: it's like a Beatles Greatest Hits record, except it was simply
what they managed to record as their new material from April to June
1966 (plus a little single featuring "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" too),
before embarking on their final concert tour. Almost 45 years later, it
remains a landmark and a masterpiece that can inspire (or depress) any
songwriter or musician who hears it.<br />
<strong>Crowded House - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Woodface-Crowded-House/dp/B000006MVE/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Woodface</a> (1991):</strong> From 1986 to 1996, Crowded House were the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/03/party-hearty-rock-out-weekend.html">best pop band</a> in the world, I think. And while the band's 1988 predecessor, <cite>Temple of Low Men</cite>, is probably overall a stronger collection, showcasing the always-brilliant songwriting of leader and singer Neil Finn, <cite>Woodface</cite>
is more sprawling, more interesting, funnier, and includes its own
roster of supremely written and performed songs, featuring Neil's
wonderful harmony singing with his brother Tim, who was a member of the
group for these sessions only. "It's Only Natural," "Fall at Your Feet,"
"Weather With You," and "Four Seasons in One Day" are compositions even
Lennon and McCartney might envy. Plus my friend <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair</a> had the cassette of <cite>Woodface</cite> as the only music on his car stereo for at least a year, yet somehow we never tired of it.<br />
<strong>James Brown - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Star-Time-James-Brown/dp/B000001G1E/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Star Time</a> (box set, 1991):</strong>
Maybe box sets are cheating in a list of albums, but I don't care. You
can't contain James Brown in a single disc anyway. Here's what <cite>Rolling Stone</cite> <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7480/37423">said</a>
about this set: "James Brown can seem like an insufferable braggart. He
makes no bones about his greatness, proclaiming himself not only the
King of Soul but the inventor of funk and the progenitor of rap and
disco—not to mention a leading exponent of black pride. To hear him tell
it, James Brown is one of the most dynamic and visionary musicians
America has ever produced. After examining the evidence set forth in the
seventy-two songs on <cite>Star Time</cite>, however, only one
conclusion is possible: James Brown is far too modest." I was no Brown
expert at the time I first picked up the box when it was released, but I
played its tracks over and over again for years afterwards. Presented
chronologically, they show how Brown took his manic R&B stage show
of the 1950s and stripped it down into a series of the tightest,
leanest, most cutting bands in history, creating funk and transforming
songs and music and voices into <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_07_01_news_archive.html#79560825">pure rhythm</a>. Music (and, after listening, my sense of it) hasn't been the same since.<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-1/dp/B000002J01/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Led Zeppelin</a> (1969):</strong> All the bluster and bombast, instrumental and vocal skill, unabashed <a href="http://earfarm.com/features/daily-feature/monday/1820">musical thievery</a>,
heavy-metal invention, explosive sexuality, and blues–folk–Eastern
mashupness that Led Zeppelin would unleash over the next decade are
there in their first album, recorded with minimal equipment after these
four British youths had discharged their obligations touring as the
final incarnation of the Yardbirds. With it and <cite>Led Zeppelin II</cite>,
they put the exclamation mark on the unequalled musical and cultural
transformations of the 1960s. And the first track, "Good Times Bad
Times," introduced the world to the terrifyingly excellent drumming of
John Bonham. Most drummers, myself included, still can't play it
properly.<br />
<strong>Massive Attack - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mezzanine-Massive-Attack/dp/B000006045/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Mezzanine</a> (1998):</strong>
My friend Tara bought me this album, from a group and a trip-hop genre I
knew basically nothing about, and I was instantly hooked. Everyone has
heard tracks from it now, with "Teardrop" becoming the theme for the TV
series <cite>House</cite>, and other tracks being used in <cite>The Matrix</cite> and <cite>The West Wing</cite>.
But potential overexposure hasn't depleted the dark power of these
songs, and the extraordinary production that makes them entirely
immersive, especially in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/headphonealbums.html">headphones</a> with the lights low. <cite>Mezzanine</cite> also finally convinced me that music driven by <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/04/ameries-1-thing-samples-oh-calcutta-by.html">samples and loops</a> wasn't a cheat of some kind, and could truly be newly creative.<br />
<strong>Midnight Oil - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scream-Blue-Midnight-Oil/dp/B0000028OQ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Scream in Blue Live</a> (1992):</strong>
I'm not sure why my two favourite bands of the '80s and early '90s
(Midnight Oil and Crowded House) both formed in Australia. Crowded House
had more finely crafted songs, but the Oils were by far the most
powerful live act I've ever seen. While a Crowded House performance was
(and is) full of jokes and silliness and fun, witnessing Midnight Oil
and their spastic, fearsome lead singer Peter Garrett was more like
entering a war zone. (Less fearsomely, Garrett is now the Education
Minister in Australia's federal governemnt.) This disc documents <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_05_01_news_archive.html#76484109">that assault</a>, compiling live tracks from 1982 to 1992. Live albums are often money-grubbing afterthoughts, but not <cite>Scream in Blue</cite>: more than any record except perhaps <cite>Live at Leeds</cite>
(see below), it captures all the force and passion that an unstoppable
freight train of a rock band can muster with some guitars, drums, and
singing. Released at the height of the distortion-heavy grunge movement
emerging from Seattle, this CD prompted <a href="http://beatpatrol.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/midnight-oil-scream-in-blue-live-1992/">another gem</a> from a <cite>Rolling Stone</cite> reviewer: "Never mind the Puget Sound, this is real guitar nirvana."<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nuggets-Original-Artyfacts-Psychedelic-1965-1968/dp/B00000AFWZ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968</a> (box set, 1998):</strong> Another box set, this time <a href="http://starling.rinet.ru/music/temp/nuggets.html">four discs</a>
of one-hit wonders and other oddities from one of the golden ages of
popular music: the DIY American garage-rock 1960s inspired by
Beatlemania. You've got the extraordinary Fab Four knock-offs the
Knickerbockers and "Lies," Todd Rundgren's original band Nazz and "Open
My Eyes," "Incense and Peppermints" from the Strawberry Alarm Clock,
"Woolly Bully," "Louie Louie," Creedence Clearwater Revival when they
were called the Golliwogs, and dozens and dozens of other bands made up
of usually barely competent musicians who somehow stumbled their way
(for a song or two) into genius and then stumbled back into real life
(perhaps Vietnam), inspiring countless other punk and New Wave and
garage bands for decades to come. "Buy some cheap gear at the pawn shop
and start rocking!" they beckoned. And <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/music.html">many of us</a> did.<br />
<strong>Odds - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bedbugs-Odds/dp/B0000A990B/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Bedbugs</a> (1993):</strong>
One of the bands inspired by those '60s garage rockers was Vancouver's
own Odds, formed in the late 1980s and supporting themselves as the
classic rock cover act the Dawn Patrol for years before backing up
Warren Zevon, releasing four great albums in the '90s, and then folding
(and reforming a couple of years ago). I like <cite>Bedbugs</cite> best,
with the singles "It Falls Apart" and "Heterosexual Man" being hits in
Canada, and the rest of the tracks simply being great big slabs of
clever guitar-powered pop-rock. I became an acquaintance, sometimes
bandmate, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/new-odds">friend</a>
of these guys (especially bassist Doug Elliott, who over the years
played on and off with my cover band the Neurotics and even helped me
create a short little <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2006/12/funkly-dougietude-with-doug-elliott.html">instrumental tune</a> for my podcast), but I started as, and remain, a fan. They're a great live band too.<br />
<strong>Peter Gabriel - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Security-Peter-Gabriel/dp/B000065VCP/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Peter Gabriel 4</a>, a.k.a. Security (1982):</strong>
I didn't realized it until I made this list, but this album's first
track, "The Rhythm of the Heat," bears a strong resemblance to Art
Blakey's "The Sacrifice," discussed up above. There's no jazz drumming
and it's loaded with bizarro electronic noises from the Fairlight CMI
sampler, true, but Gabriel's song skeeves me out in a similar way and
ends with an African percussion freakout that would fit right in on <cite>Drum Suite.</cite> Of course I came to <cite>Security</cite> by seeing and hearing "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/08/peter-gabriel-wants-you-to-remix-shock.html">Shock the Monkey</a>"
on TV (recommended on Canadian VJ Terry David Mulligan's TV show by
Duran Duran, of all acts), so I already knew Peter Gabriel might be a
bit insane, but I fell in love with it because of that insanity, and the
strange, shivery, hacked-together feeling of the music. In fact, it was
one of the first discs to be recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely on
digital equipment, so many of the tracks were <em>assembled</em> rather than really <em>recorded</em>,
and Gabriel took full advantage of that technology to create something
that sounded genuinely new. Plus the cover art remains scary and
entirely incomprehensible.<br />
<strong>The Police - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Synchronicity-Digipak-Police/dp/B00008BRB5/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Synchronicity</a> (1983):</strong> The unavoidable monster hit album of 1983 and 1984, and the one that finally sent the Police on their separate ways until the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/paying-price">reunion tour</a>
of 2007. I was 14, and I listened to it so much that I can still pretty
much replay the whole LP (plus the bonus track "Murder By Numbers") in
my head from memory, something I sometimes did while riding my bike to
UBC years later, before the era of the iPod. Even though much of the
reggae stylings and silly humour of their earlier work were gone by this
time, <cite>Synchronicity</cite> was proof that the best bands really are alchemy. Sting wrote and played bass and sang the songs, but he was <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/you-know-i-used-to-be-kind-of-cool-once,10932/">never again</a>
anything close to as good as when Stewart Copeland was drumming and
Andy Summers was playing guitar and they all hated each other and got
into fistfights and arguments and yet crafted gorgeous and memorable
recordings like "Synchronicity II" and "Every Breath You Take" and
"Wrapped Around Your Finger."<br />
<strong>Robert Johnson - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Recordings-Robert-Johnson/dp/B000002757/?tag=insidehomerec-20">The Complete Recordings</a> (box set, 1937/1990):</strong>
One more box set, okay? Pioneering blues-rockers like Eric Clapton and
Keith Richards had been raving about Robert Johnson since the 1960s, so
the man wasn't obscure. Cream's "Crossroads" is a Johnson song, after
all, and so is "Sweet Home Chicago." But Johnson himself died before
either of my parents was born, in 1938, at age 27, likely poisoned. The
set encompasses pretty much everything he ever recorded, in 1936–37
playing acoustic guitar and singing solo, and dominated by Delta blues,
but veering into uptempo pop in songs like "They're Red Hot." Among
early blues singers and players, Johnson is like the Beatles and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/jimi-hendrix-died-40-years-ago">Jimi Hendrix</a>
all by himself, writing and performing timeless, classic songs with
almost supernatural (some claimed underworldly) guitar skills. Anyone
who plays any style of music that came out of America in the 20th
century should knows these songs and the man who created them.<br />
<strong>Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Couldnt-Weather-Legacy-Vaughan-Trouble/dp/B003MX5OOY/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Couldn't Stand the Weather</a> (1984):</strong>
The blues had its ups and downs during that century, of course. The
mid-'80s heyday of synth-pop and post-Halen hair metal was definitely a
down time for gutbucket guitar-slingers and juke-joint howlers. Yet
sometimes someone is simply too talented, too good, too explosive to be
held back by musical trends, and Steve Ray Vaughan was certainly that.
I'd heard him on the radio and seen his music videos, especially the
funny "Cold Shot," and he seemed out of place carrying his beat-up
Stratocaster and wearing a huge Texan hat. I didn't yet know he'd played
the huge-toned solos on David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and "China Girl."
Then I heard the title track from <cite>Couldn't Stand the Weather,</cite>
with its stop-start tremolo guitar introduction and Stevie's
skittering, fleet-fingered lead lines, and something switched over in my
mind and heart. I <em>loved that sound</em>, and I had to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">hear more</a>
of it. I bought all his albums, and he taught me about Buddy Guy and
Albert King and Otis Rush and the blues roots of Hendrix and ZZ Top. He
became a superstar. Twenty years ago when I heard he'd died in a
helicopter crash, I was working in the Student Union Building at UBC and
I stumbled out of my office in a daze. That was my JFK or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2000/12/i-didnt-care-at-time.html">John Lennon</a> or Kurt Cobain moment: no no no, I thought, SRV couldn't be gone. Yet he was. I bought <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/strat-o-glasses">my first Stratocaster</a> that year.<br />
<strong>U2 - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Tree-Remastered-Expanded-Deluxe/dp/B000WZB944/?tag=insidehomerec-20">The Joshua Tree</a> (1987):</strong> When I bought <cite>The Joshua Tree</cite>,
compact discs still came in cardboard "long boxes," so they would fit
into the record-store shelves that used to hold LPs. The photo of U2 on
their long box was black and white, and stretched and distorted, but
they were still standing stoically in the desert, staring off into the
distance, obviously a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_12_01_news_archive.html#8299661">Very Important Band</a>
with a Very Important Album inside. It was the biggest record of the
year, and it was also a Very Important Year for me, when I turned 18,
when my parents moved (temporarily, it turned out) to Toronto, and when I
started a somewhat grown-up life of my own with roommates, and summer
jobs, and bills to pay, and university to manage on my own. <cite>The Joshua Tree</cite>
was my soundtrack. My favourite song on it, though it wasn't a single
or a hit, is "In God's Country." It's a short, beautiful, evocative tune
you could bang out on an acoustic guitar, elevated to greatness by the
interplay of The Edge's guitar and Larry Mullen's drums.<br />
<strong>The White Stripes - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elephant-White-Stripes/dp/B001AP11L6/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Elephant</a> (2003):</strong> If anyone's the definition of an old soul, it's Jack White. I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/review-it-might-get-loud">described him before</a>
as "a pasty-faced ghost from the 1950s or earlier, wrestling with his
ravaged and literally thrift-store Kay guitar, wearing a bowtie and a
hat and smoking stubby cigars, channeling Blind Willie McTell and Elmore
James, building a slide guitar out of some planks, a Coke bottle, and a
metal string, assembled with hammer and nails." The White Stripes had
been around for a few years before they released their big breakthrough <cite>Elephant</cite>,
but I didn't know about them. Yet when I heard "The Air Near My
Fingers" on the radio, it grabbed me instantly. Meg White is a less
proficient drummer than me (and that's saying something), but nothing
else would do to hold up Jack's guitar-and-vocal maelstrom. The band,
and the album, are like a peanut-butter-and-chocolate collision of the
British Invasion, Delta blues, and <cite>Nuggets</cite> spewed out of an
indie-rock candy-confection marketing plan. With the other albums on
this list, you can see why I liked it so much.<br />
<strong>The Who - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Live-at-Leeds-Who/dp/B000002OVJ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Live at Leeds</a> (extended version, 1970/1995):</strong>
I mentioned that my parents moved to Toronto for a few years in the
late '80s. I was visiting them there when I turned on the radio and
heard the end of the Who's fifteen-minute version of "My Generation" and
nearly eight-minute version of "Magic Bus" blast out—the station was
playing the second side of <cite>Live at Leeds.</cite> I'd already been a
classic-rock junkie for awhile, and in fact I'd taught myself the
original, acoustic-based version of "Magic Bus" on guitar. But <em>what the hell was that?</em> It wasn't the jangly Who of "The Kids Are Alright," or the majestic, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/08/my-love-is-vengeance">synth-driven Who</a>
of "Baba O'Riley," or the bouncy late-period Who of "Squeeze Box." This
was pure, overdriven heavy metal music before such a thing was really
supposed to exist, a broadside against Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath
and the other candidates for World's Heaviest Band at the turn of the
1970s. When I bought the original version of the album, with only six
songs, they were all like that. I'd heard legends about Who concerts,
and now I finally understood what the fuss was about. Alas, by the time I
finally got to see them play in 1989 (without the late Keith Moon, of
course), it was a much more polite affair. Pity.<br />
I'm not religious, so many of my transcendent and spiritual
experiences have come through music. I suppose, then, that these albums
form part of my canon, and now you know why.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/six-apart-say-media-movable-type" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Thoughts on Six Apart, SAY Media, and Movable Type</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-24T10:58:03-08:00">September 24, 2010 10:58 AM</abbr>
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A few months ago, I was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/blogging-software-and-static-files">forced to decide</a> what new blogging software to use on this site, and eventually settled on <a href="http://www.movabletype.com/">Movable Type 5</a>, to the puzzlement of many of my geek friends. Why puzzlement? Well, here's what I wrote at the time:<br />
<blockquote>
Movable Type's day in the sun may be past. While some
high-profile sites of people I know—such as John Gruber and Dave
Shea—use it, its popularity seems to have been in general decline since
the licensing controversies of version 3, way back in 2004. The current
version 5 (MT5) is brand new, and an open source project, but I don't
sense the same community vibrancy and wealth of third-party extensions
WordPress has. Six Apart, the company that created Movable Type, also
seems to have been focused on its other hosted blogging tools, TypePad
and Vox, for years. [...]<br />
I know there are lots of people who love it, but I just get the sense
that general enthusiasm for Movable Type has faded—even in the vibe I
feel after installing and playing around with MT5 last night. The basic
software is great, mature, and solid. But when I want to muck around and
extend it, the available resources are a little sparse and often out of
date.</blockquote>
Not exactly enthusiastic, was I? And if I was going to move to
Movable Type, why hadn't I done so five or six years ago, when it was <a href="http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2005/01/on-the-cover-of.html">still cool</a>? But then I actually tried <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2">using it</a>, and comparing it to the main alternative (and favourite of the cool kids today), <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>, with which I've been familiar for several years:<br />
<blockquote>
I'm warming to the way Movable Type works. It's taken
only a little effort to customize it, roughly to match my existing page
design and typography here—easier than I've experienced with WordPress.</blockquote>
I went with Movable Type in the end, and have not regretted it. It behaves the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/movable-type-static-files-really-work">way I want</a>, and I've found it intuitive and simple to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/like-or-tweet-your-choice">customize</a>
to my liking, despite some aspects (version upgrades and plugin
availability, most notably) where WordPress is unquestionably better.<br />
<h3>
A worrying merger?</h3>
So I was a bit nervous when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Apart">Six Apart</a>,
the company that created and supports Movable Type, sold itself to web
advertising firm VideoEgg this week to form a new company, <a href="http://www.saymedia.com/">SAY Media</a> (or Say Media—they've been a bit inconsistent in how that's supposed to be capitalized). It's <a href="http://www.onemanandhisblog.com/archives/2010/09/where_now_for_movable_type_and_typepad.html">not clear</a> what role Movable Type will play in this new company.<br />
There's nothing inherently destabilizing in a software company being sold, acquired, or merged. Pyra Labs, which created <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>, my former publishing platform, certainly gained stability when <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2003/feb/18/digitalmedia.citynews">bought by Google</a>
in 2003. And Six Apart itself hasn't been the most reliable home for
its bloggers, sowing confusion with Movable Type 3's controversial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movable_Type#History">licensing changes</a> back in 2004, buying and then selling <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2007/12/02/six-apart-sells-livejournal-to-sup/">LiveJournal</a>, and most recently shutting down <a href="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/six-apart-shuts-down-vox/">Vox</a> entirely. The licensing situation of Movable Type remains <a href="http://www.movabletype.com/download/pricing-faq.html">a little confusing</a>.<br />
So maybe SAY Media will clear some of that confusion up, get Movable
Type Enterprise updated to version 5 for those who use it, and do other
things people have been waiting for. Or maybe not.<br />
<div class="note">
UPDATE: As of November 2010, the SAY Media–Six Apart merger is <a href="http://blog.saymedia.com/2010/11/say-media-videoeggsix-apart-deal-is-closed.html">officially complete</a>, with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Trott">Ben Trott</a>,
one of the two people who created Movable Type years ago, as Chief
Technical Officer (CTO) for the combined company. The Movable Type <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/">software</a> has also seen a few minor updates, so that's at least a bit encouraging.</div>
<h3>
Buzzword compliant</h3>
The early days of the merger haven't been encouraging for Movable Type users:<br />
<ul>
<li>The initial <a href="http://news.saymedia.com/2010/09/videoegg-to-acquire-six-apart-and-create-say-media.html">announcement</a> mentions TypePad, but not Movable Type at all.</li>
<li>Movable Type appears only as a link at the bottom of the new company's <a href="http://www.saymedia.com/">home page</a>.</li>
<li>Even on Movable Type's <em>own site</em>, the blog post about the merger <a href="http://www.movabletype.com/blog/2010/09/introducing-say-media-good-news-for-advertisers-and-publishers.html">doesn't mention the product</a>.</li>
</ul>
And for a personal blogger, writer, and editor like me, the most
disturbing stuff is a sentence like this, from the merger press release:<br />
<blockquote>
Through the creation of social hubs and influencer-driven
custom content programs linked to the innovative AdFrames offering, SAY
Media delivers engagement across display and mobile.</blockquote>
Uh, what?<br />
Does that <em>mean anything?</em> Especially for someone who just wants to write and publish a clear and useful website? To me, the accompanying <a href="http://vimeo.com/15161208">video</a>
doesn't clarify, and with all the talk about helping "creators" or
"influencers" or whatever we're supposed to be called, seems mostly
focused on advertising. Which is fine for the company, if the people who
work there can tolerate speaking such buzzword-laden gobbledegook.<br />
<h3>
But I'm not going anywhere, yet</h3>
I still like Movable Type, and was pleased to see a bug-fix version
5.03 appear earlier this month. Maybe SAY Media will do well by the
software, or might sell it to some other firm that will. The open-source
version, and the fork at <a href="http://openmelody.org/">Melody</a>, will presumably remain in some form, and the option to move over to WordPress or another platform remains open, since I still <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">control all my data</a>.<br />
I'm not planning on making any rash changes so soon after moving to
Movable Type in the first place, but I'm keeping my eyes open to see if
SAY Media drops the ball. I expect the rest of the Movable Type user
community is too. Don't screw us over, guys.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/thanks-mac-station" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Thanks, Mac Station</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-23T14:07:03-08:00">September 23, 2010 2:07 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/180411545/" title="Apple Store Bellevue: not open all night by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Apple Store Bellevue: not open all night" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/70/180411545_4ec795d610_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I tend to keep my computers running for a long time. Four and a half years ago, I bought my workhorse <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/05/time-for-derek-to-shut-up.html">MacBook</a>, soon after the model was first introduced. It has had its <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/my-macbook-is-lemon.html">problems</a>,
but it has kept me entertained and productive, and still works with all
the latest software, even if the hardware is showing its age. It, and
my wife's matching black MacBook, are still the <em>newest</em> computers (not counting iPhones and the iPad) in our house.<br />
For some months now, however, the power button on my computer has
been flaky, sometimes working and sometimes not. That was fine as long
as I never shut the computer down—always either letting it sleep or
restarting it when necessary. Then I let the battery run down last week,
and the MacBook shut itself off. And although everything else seemed
fine, without a working power switch, there was no way to switch it on
again, and thus to do anything with it. The MacBook was a brick. (Of
course I have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/08/backup-done-right.html">backups</a>, so I wasn't worried about my data.)<br />
After trying my usual voodoo tricks (which failed), I had to take it
into the shop. Although the Apple Stores in Greater Vancouver are
convenient, I like to give independent retailers a chance when I can—and
as luck has it, <a href="http://www.macstation.com/">Mac Station</a> in
Burnaby is the nearest Apple-authorized repair centre anyway. I had them
take a look, and asked them to let me know what it would cost to fix.<br />
The answer? Nothing! Even though my MacBook is well over a year past
even its extended AppleCare warranty period, apparently there's some
sort of secret Apple warranty for the top case—the part of the laptop
housing that surrounds the keyboard, and includes the power button. My
top case was showing cracks, so Mac Station ordered a new one, and it
corrected the problem. Better yet, Apple covered the cost.<br />
So, thanks Apple, and thanks Mac Station, for keeping my MacBook soldiering on for some time yet.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/jimi-hendrix-died-40-years-ago" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Jimi Hendrix died 40 years ago today</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-18T18:55:31-08:00">September 18, 2010 6:55 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melmarcelo/2942080411/" title="Jimi Hendrix Art by Mel Marcelo, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Jimi Hendrix Art" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2942080411_a210e7d38c_m.jpg" width="127" /></a>The <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/guitartone.html">electric guitar</a> is the key instrument of rock and roll music, and by consensus, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/top-riff">Jimi Hendrix</a>
is its most important player. Born and raised here in the Pacific
Northwest, he died 40 years ago, September 18, 1970, in London, of an
accidental overdose.<br />
After so many decades and so many experiments in the sound of the guitar, it's not easy to recall how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix">revolutionary</a> Hendrix was in the mid-1960s. Yes, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/most-influential-guitarist-alive">B.B. King</a> and T-Bone Walker had helped create single-string blues-based solos, while <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=794">Les Paul</a>
had altered the guitar's sound in the studio and onstage. Yes, Ike
Turner and Link Wray had introduced amplifier distortion, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/yes-master">the Beatles</a>
(and the Who) had worked with feedback and recording effects. But no
one made sounds like Jimi, and in some ways no one has quite done it
since.<br />
Legendary guitarist Steve Vai once claimed to have been able to
figure out much of how Hendrix did what he did—"but," Vai wondered, "how
did he <em>think</em> of it?" Without Hendrix and his Stratocasters and
Marshall amps, it's hard to imagine how we could have gotten Vai, or
Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">Stevie Ray Vaughan</a>, or Eddie Van Halen, or Prince, or John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Jack White, or Eric Johnson, or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/review-it-might-get-loud">The Edge</a>,
or anyone who's played electric blues, heavy metal, progressive rock,
jazz fusion, or any other genre that uses the instrument.<br />
Plus he was a gifted songwriter and producer, a compelling singer, an
unmatched showman, a fashion innovator, a civil-rights and anti-war
activist (he had a brief and inauspicious Army career in 1961), and an
enduring sex symbol. Hendrix's career as a rock star lasted less than
five years—it's a profound shame we'll never know what else he might
have accomplished.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/like-or-tweet-your-choice" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Like or tweet, your choice</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-17T14:20:17-08:00">September 17, 2010 2:20 PM</abbr>
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Remember back when I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/why-im-not-on-facebook.html">didn't want</a>
to join Facebook or Twitter because they were just too new and trendy
and I figured they'd go the way of Friendster and ICQ and other
long-dormant online services that no one uses anymore?<br />
Ah, those halcyon days. I've been completely corrupted now. Like <a href="http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2010/08/boring-site-note-facebook-like-and-tweet-buttons.html">Darren Barefoot</a>,
I've just added a Facebook "Like" button and a Twitter "Tweet" button
to each of my blog posts on this site, the easier for you to highlight
them on those services, if you use them. (It was simpler than I expected
in Movable Type, actually.) I don't plan on adding the additional
potential forest of <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/getting_social/">other buttons</a> for sharing around the Web, just these two.<br />
Since I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/same-as-the-old-blog">converted over</a>
to my new publishing system here a few months ago, I've been tweaking
the templates from time to time (mostly altering typography a bit), but
this is probably the most noticeable addition.<br />
Let me know in the comments for this post if you find the new buttons either useful or annoying.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/open-up-the-sluices" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Open up the sluices</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-16T16:39:27-08:00">September 16, 2010 4:39 PM</abbr>
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You'd think I'd be able to predict my chemotherapy side effects fairly well by now. After all, I've been at it for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/daffodils-and-ivs.html">three and a half years</a>.
I thought so too. But oh no. (This post will officially count as Way
Too Much Information for some of you, particularly if you're squeamish.
You've been warned.)<br />
A week ago Monday, September 6, I had my first chemo treatment after a
six-week break, and as expected, I felt like crap for a few days
afterwards, then started to recover. I had a few random episodes of
vomiting, as well as intestinal cramps, but again, those were nothing
new. Then, a couple of days ago, <em>more than a week</em> after my
treatment, I was suddenly hit with tremendous diarrhea, coupled with
puking up my entire lunch into the downstairs bathtub, and violent
cramps that extended from mid-afternoon well into the evening.
Eventually things calmed down with some medication and time. But even
yesterday I was still a gassy, wincing mess.<br />
Today seems better, and there's no indication I'll be in the bathroom
for hours again. I've even been eating well. The intestinal chaos is,
unfortunately, an expected side effect of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irinotecan">irinotecan</a>,
but the week-long delay before it happened was a total surprise to me.
I'll have to see if there's a similar pattern next time, and I also have
to make sure that I keep anti-diarrhea medicine handy at all times if
it remains unpredictable. Unfortunately, I've also lost about ten pounds
since before the chemo, and I have to try to keep the calories in to
maintain my weight. Wanting to avoid the horrible Boost and Ensure
drinks I've occasionally had before, I'm just working on eating good,
substantial foods I can tolerate.<br />
There was one funny consequence, however: near the end of the ordeal
on Tuesday evening, as everything was clearing out and I was lying
sweaty and exhausted on the bathroom floor, I had a single fart that
lasted at least 30 seconds, perhaps 45. Despite my horrible condition,
it made me laugh out loud.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/super-mario-macosx-anniversary" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">25 years of Super Mario, 10 years of Mac OS X</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-14T23:06:52-08:00">September 14, 2010 11:06 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/david_a_lea/3277327391/" title="Happy Valentine's Day by david_a_lea, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Happy Valentine's Day" border="0" class="post" height="229" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3277327391_a5aa23bc72_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>It's both the <a href="http://laughingsquid.com/25th-anniversary-of-super-mario-bros/">25th anniversary</a> of the video game Super Mario Bros. and the <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/154036/2010/09/osxorigins.html">10th anniversary</a>
of the first public release of Apple's Mac OS X operating system. These
are nerdy occasions, to be sure, but also significant ones for a large
number of people (at least in the developed world).<br />
Mario and his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mario_series_characters">bizarre clan</a>
of mushroom-eating, head-stomping, turtle-shell–throwing game cohorts
were the first—and are still the most famous—characters to emerge into
popular culture from the world of video games. (I don't count the <a href="http://www.vintagecotton.com/shirt/space_invaders/">Space Invaders</a>
as "characters.") Millions of us have deep, muscle-memory childhood
associations with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong and his
primate family, Toad, Boo, Wario, and even the anonymous goombas and
tortoises, green pipes and coin blocks, and endless fields of pixelated
bricks and banana barrels we traversed for hours with our numb thumbs.<br />
For most, Mac OS X lies more in the background. No, it wasn't the
true revolution that the original Mac OS had been 16 years earlier, in
1984. But when the <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/09/macos-x-beta.ars">Mac OS X Public Beta</a> emerged with its shocking, "lickable" 3D <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_(user_interface)">Aqua</a>
appearance and modern technical infrastructure in 2000, it promised
that Apple would remain relevant in the world of computing—that there
would still be something to compete with PCs running Windows, and
present different ideas about how we would interact with the machines
that have come to dominate our lives.<br />
Up in our closet, my family has an old Super Nintendo Entertainment
System box with its controllers. We also have a Nintendo 64 and GameCube
stowed away, while the Wii sits next to our big LCD television in the
living room and we use it all the time. Our kids' piano teacher has the
original <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System">Nintendo Entertainment System</a>
hooked up in her studio, and our daughters sometimes play the 1985
Super Mario Bros. game cartridge on it to kill time, or via download on
our Wii at home. It's still fun, as it was when I first tried it at age
16, and as are its many successor games. They are as much a part of what
we share across generations in this house as fairy tales, Looney Tunes,
nursery rhymes, the Wizard of Oz, <a href="http://sesamestreet.tumblr.com/">Sesame Street</a>, or the Beatles.<br />
Totally aside from desktop or laptop computing, anyone who carries a
modern mobile phone, including my wife and I with our iPhones and our
daughters with their <a href="http://www.palm.com/pre">Palm Pre</a>
handsets, is living with the legacy of Mac OS X. iPhones, iPads, and
iPod Touches run a version of OS X (now called iOS) directly. But every
other iPhone-inspired device, from the Pre to the latest BlackBerry to
any Android handset, includes design elements, interaction cues,
technical requirements, and user expectations set, in part, by Apple's
decisions about how to build Mac OS X a decade ago. (Interestingly,
Microsoft's new <a href="http://www.winsupersite.com/mobile/wp7_rc_shots.asp">Windows Phone 7</a> seems to be trying something a little different.)<br />
Mac OS X isn't the only influence, of course, but the screen of a
freshly booted Windows 7 computer, Samsung Galaxy, iMac, Android phone,
or Palm Pre looks more like that lickable, colourful, three-dimensional
Aqua desktop from the Public Beta than it does the main screen on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_2000">Windows 2000</a> or ME, a PalmPilot, Mac OS 9, an old BlackBerry or Nokia or Motorola phone, or <a href="http://toastytech.com/guis/os24.html">OS/2</a>.<br />
A world where our viewscreens lacked heat-seeking red <a href="http://www.google.ca/images?q=mario+kart+red+shell">tortoise shells</a> or pulsating, drop-shadowed <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2000/01/macos-x-gui.ars/5">buttons</a> would probably still work just fine, but it would be a different one in many subtle ways.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/nine-years-after-911" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Nine years after 9/11</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-11T21:17:12-08:00">September 11, 2010 9:17 PM</abbr>
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My daughters are 10 and 12, entering the end years of
elementary school. They have never known a world where Canadians weren't
fighting a war in Afghanistan, where you could go through airport
security and keep your shoes on, where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad">Baghdad</a> was a mystical place in Bugs Bunny cartoons, or where New York City included the World Trade Center towers.<br />
But they also don't remember a world without iPods, cheap ubiquitous
sushi in Vancouver, the International Space Station, mobile phones (and
built-in GPS), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loonie">Loonies</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonie">Toonies</a> and Euros, cars with airbags and traction control, <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/">blogs</a>, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Google Maps, a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/end-of-wall">Wall-less</a> Berlin, and TV stations with nothing but kids' programming.<br />
The world is different than it was nine years ago, when I stumbled
awake to stare at the television in our kitchen, terrified and numb, and
later <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_09_01_news_archive.html#5634977">walked</a> my older daughter Marina to preschool under a sky without airplanes. Is it worse? Is it better?<br />
I don't know. Is it ever?<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/taking-offense-weakness" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">When taking offence is a weakness</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-10T13:51:22-08:00">September 10, 2010 1:51 PM</abbr>
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What dismays me most about the circus show of news in the U.S. these past couple of weeks, with the <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2265515/">Beckapalooza</a> and the hoo-ha over the Manhattan Islamic Center/"<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/09/10/clark.islamic.center.language/">Ground Zero Mosque</a>" and the planned <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/10/barack-obama-pastor-quran-burning">Burning of the Qu'ran</a>, is how little the various parties involved seem to think of their belief systems.<br />
Is Christianity really under any serious (or even <a href="http://www.venganza.org/">non-serious</a>)
threat in the U.S.A., especially from a moderate-minded president who
just managed to pass a watered-down health-care bill? Are American
ideals and patriotism so fragile that they cannot withstand someone <em>constructing a building</em>
a few minutes' walk from where the Twin Towers used to stand? Is the
supposed creator of the Universe so thin-skinned that it can't handle a
nutbar pastor/furniture salesman destroying copies of its book?<br />
Strong philosophies would respond to these "affronts" with minimal,
if any, concern. The religious and moral landscape of the U.S. has
changed often, and sometimes radically, in that country's 234 years. But
its bold experiment in building a free and diverse society has
survived, and flourished. Neither the Manhattan attack of 9/11 nor the
building of Cordoba House near where it happened should be able to usurp
that. And would Islam not be a strong and durable religion if its
adherents were easily able to brush off a silly stunt in Florida by
saying, "Allah is too great to be bothered with that"?<br />
(Okay, maybe the Tea Partiers do have something to worry about, but I don't think that the country their Founding Fathers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment">envisaged</a> is what's endangered.)<br />
On the other hand, if a religion or a socio-political structure can't stand up to contrary ideas or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/blasphemy-funny-if-it-werent-often-so">blasphemies</a> from non-adherents, I can't see how it should demand any respect at all.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/always-crazy-first-week" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The always crazy first week </a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-09T22:55:38-08:00">September 9, 2010 10:55 PM</abbr>
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My wife Air is a teacher, so it has been the usual crazy
first-week-of-school stuff. And our kids are back to class too, in
grades five and seven. Air's birthday is today, and it always falls
during this nutty week. Plus I had <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/chemotherapy">chemo</a>
on Monday, so I was only barely functional enough to get her some
flowers, a card, and some chocolates. My mom prepared a ham dinner,
joined by their house guests visiting from Germany. Simply a lot going
on. So, happy birthday, Air, despite the craziness.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/living-in-dog-years" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Living in dog years</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-04T23:34:59-08:00">September 4, 2010 11:34 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4698158140/" title="Freshly groomed puppy (oh, and me) by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Freshly groomed puppy (oh, and me)" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4698158140_b5075c4bf3_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Only
once in the past three and a half years, since I found out I had
metastatic colorectal cancer that had spread to my lungs, have any of my
doctors said anything about how long I might live. At the beginning, my
oncologist Dr. Kennecke noted that the <cite>median survival</cite> for patients with my condition is two years after diagnosis.<br />
That was, I repeat, three and a half years ago. You might think that
he predicted I had about two years to live, and was simply (and happily)
wrong. But that's not even what he was saying. Because he used the word
<a href="http://lymphoma.about.com/od/glossary/g/mediansurvival.htm">median</a>,
he meant that two years after diagnosis, half of patients with
metastatic colon cancer are still alive. Therefore, in 2007, my chances
of living <em>more than two years</em> were about 50% (assuming I was a typical patient—more on that below).<br />
And he was right about that, since I'm still here. However, if I'd died within two years instead, he'd <em>still</em> have been right, since I would have been in the other 50%. You can see why doctors like using medians for survival prognoses!<br />
<h3>
Woe to the prognosticators</h3>
According to <cite>Slate</cite>, doctors are <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2264380/pagenum/all">very, very reluctant</a>
to make any predictions about how long a specific patient will live,
mostly because they're notoriously bad at it, unless the patient is
pretty much at death's door—within days or hours of the end. In part
that's also because they don't learn how:<br />
<blockquote>
[In] major medical textbooks that have been used by medical
students (and practicing physicians) for decades [...] the relative
percentage of space for each disease entity devoted to prognosis
diminished with each subsequent edition, often to a paragraph or less.
[Doctors] focus almost exclusively on the ever-expanding sciences of
diagnosis and treatment, leaving prognosis almost entirely to the side.</blockquote>
But it's also difficult to predict correctly, especially for someone
like me. A typical colon cancer patient is over 50 (maybe decades over),
often with a family history of the disease, and perhaps other health
problems that go with advancing age. I got the disease in my mid-30s,
with no family history of it—and, later testing showed, no known genetic
predisposition either—as well a relatively healthy body otherwise,
despite having type 1 diabetes since 1991.<br />
So my personal chance of survival two years past diagnosis was
probably higher than the median, even if no one knew by how much. Plus
my cancer team has felt it worthwhile to try all sorts of
semi-experimental treatments, for which more typical patients might not
have been eligible. And they've been willing to subject me to fairly
high doses of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a>—of which I'll get more on Monday—that I'm guessing might kill someone in more fragile health.<br />
<h3>
Time is not infinite</h3>
However, all that doesn't mean I'm likely to live an <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/02/23/life-expectancy-canada.html">80-year lifespan</a> like your typical newborn Canadian in the 21st century. I've seen the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">CT scans</a>, and I've watched my cancer progress slowly but relentlessly over the past few years. It's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">never been in remission</a>, not once.<br />
When my doctors talk to me about my treatments, they never use the word <cite>cure</cite> anymore. When they see a treatment as <cite>successful</cite>, that means it has slowed or stopped or maybe <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time">slightly reversed</a>
the growth of my tumours for a few months, or perhaps a year. Success
means buying me time, extra months or perhaps years, but almost
certainly not decades—unless, during those extra months, some remarkable
new treatment becomes available, and it works for me.<br />
I can hope for that, but I can't expect it. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-to-me">I'm 41</a>
now. My own estimate, not made scientifically, but as an educated
guess, is that I'll be pretty lucky if I reach 45. I'll be absolutely
astonished if I celebrate my 50th birthday in 2019, and that's what I
tell people now. (I was a little bit surprised to reach 40 last year.)
The chances are pretty good that—in addition to my wife Air and my
daughters and almost all of my friends—my parents, my aunts and uncles,
and even <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157623094353645/">our pup Lucy</a> will outlive me. In other words, I'm living in dog years.<br />
Like that initial median estimate, those are all probabilities, not
certainties. There's no guarantee that my cancer will kill me within the
decade, but being reasonable and realistic means I have to treat that
as the most likely result, and live (and plan) accordingly. That's not
easy to do, especially for a procrastinator like me, but there it is.<br />
By the way, most of you will have to do the same eventually, but with
any luck not until your 70s or 80s. My time is probably briefer than
most, and I don't like that. I'm not okay with it. But I can live with
it. Woof woof.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/15-albums-15-minutes" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Fifteen albums in fifteen minutes</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-03T23:07:06-08:00">September 3, 2010 11:07 PM</abbr>
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This is one of those Facebook memes. I bent the rules a
little: (a) I posted it here on my blog instead of on Facebook, (b) I
included 16 albums instead of 15, just because, and (c) I didn't tag
anyone except those who already tagged me about it. If you want to make
your own version, go ahead—you don't need my permission!<br />
Anyway, the "rules" were: Don't take too long to think about it.
Fifteen albums you've heard that will always stick with you. List the
first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag
fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what
albums my friends choose. Or just comment here with them. (To do this,
go to your Notes tab on your Facebook profile page, paste rules in a new
note, cast your fifteen picks, and tag people in the note—upper right
hand side.)<br />
So, my list, in alphabetical order. I get a small cut from the links
to Amazon if you buy anything (which need not be what I link to, by the
way):<br />
<ul>
<li>Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drum-Suite-3-Bonus-Tracks/dp/B000CELO9K/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Drum Suite</a> (1957)</li>
<li>The Beatles - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Revolver-Remastered-Beatles/dp/B0025KVLTC/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Revolver</a> (1966)</li>
<li>Crowded House - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Woodface-Crowded-House/dp/B000006MVE/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Woodface</a> (1991)</li>
<li>James Brown - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Star-Time-James-Brown/dp/B000001G1E/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Star Time</a> (box set, 1991)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Led-Zeppelin-1/dp/B000002J01/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Led Zeppelin</a> (1969)</li>
<li>Massive Attack - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mezzanine-Massive-Attack/dp/B000006045/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Mezzanine</a> (1998)</li>
<li>Midnight Oil - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scream-Blue-Midnight-Oil/dp/B0000028OQ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Scream in Blue Live</a> (1992)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nuggets-Original-Artyfacts-Psychedelic-1965-1968/dp/B00000AFWZ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968</a> (box set, 1998)</li>
<li>Odds - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bedbugs-Odds/dp/B0000A990B/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Bedbugs</a> (1993)</li>
<li>Peter Gabriel - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Security-Peter-Gabriel/dp/B000065VCP/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Peter Gabriel 4</a>, a.k.a. Security (1982)</li>
<li>The Police - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Synchronicity-Digipak-Police/dp/B00008BRB5/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Synchronicity</a> (1983)</li>
<li>Robert Johnson - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Recordings-Robert-Johnson/dp/B000002757/?tag=insidehomerec-20">The Complete Recordings</a> (box set, 1937/1990)</li>
<li>Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Couldnt-Weather-Legacy-Vaughan-Trouble/dp/B003MX5OOY/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Couldn't Stand the Weather</a> (1984)</li>
<li>U2 - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Tree-Remastered-Expanded-Deluxe/dp/B000WZB944/?tag=insidehomerec-20">The Joshua Tree</a> (1987)</li>
<li>The White Stripes - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elephant-White-Stripes/dp/B001AP11L6/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Elephant</a> (2003)</li>
<li>The Who - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Live-at-Leeds-Who/dp/B000002OVJ/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Live at Leeds</a> (extended version, 1970/1995)</li>
</ul>
You might also like my 2003 list of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/headphonealbums.html">top albums to listen to in headphones</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/big-batch-wedding-pictures" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The big batch of wedding pictures</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-03T13:16:41-08:00">September 3, 2010 1:16 PM</abbr>
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Speaking of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/ipad-spontaneous-wedding-album">wedding photos</a>, here <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624726476879">they are</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945762007/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4945762007_bb434b9512_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946353166/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4946353166_db38e7db5e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946356918/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/4946356918_252b9052a1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945774153/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4945774153_9604f8698f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945778359/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4945778359_23156b4033_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945782851/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4945782851_d13a0b57e0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946371386/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4946371386_aa48f4894e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945790037/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4945790037_27f416fe37_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945795061/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4945795061_0796719d8d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945799493/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4945799493_564b39774a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945804579/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4945804579_190b629ac4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945807407/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4945807407_d13a2215c5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946396148/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/4946396148_156dc7eec9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946401694/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 14"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4946401694_41ccf111bf_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945820945/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 15"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4945820945_83c353626b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946410494/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 16"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Shower 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4946410494_85864a7c0d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946491386/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4946491386_0fa65678ed_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946497988/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4946497988_ed9a3f87f5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946501812/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4946501812_a4c324c97b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946507550/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4946507550_f613b2e0a7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945926321/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4945926321_9a6c4cb844_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945933041/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/4945933041_1c741b753b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945935565/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/4945935565_b8b6bae5bb_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945940363/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4945940363_88db154b41_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946530404/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4946530404_81ee64921b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946534130/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4946534130_098c92736f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4945956449/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Arrival and prep 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4945956449_85e2e00e23_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946546974/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - 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Ceremony 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4946800458_d8318d8279_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946800958/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4946800958_8055c85994_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946802358/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4946802358_aa8e4c17ca_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946803542/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4946803542_27f99da406_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946216467/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4946216467_38e345c62f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946809444/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4946809444_13f818a807_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946220905/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4946220905_06525a0d4b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946222097/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 14"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4946222097_caf05af6bc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946813528/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 15"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4946813528_b63d7465fd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946815228/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 16"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4946815228_9ed39a7db1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946817016/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 17"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 17" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4946817016_61bce306dd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946229173/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 18"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 18" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4946229173_756792e8d1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946821126/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 19"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 19" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4946821126_89577c7c81_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946821876/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 20"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 20" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4946821876_4b9117af04_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946824034/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 21"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 21" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4946824034_d0c80b1e55_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946826032/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 22"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 22" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4946826032_46080755ec_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946237939/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 23"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 23" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4946237939_f55e4a7d4b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946239577/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 24"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 24" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4946239577_453ba9242d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946241443/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 25"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 25" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4946241443_d74b11a4d0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946833928/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 26"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 26" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4946833928_ecf454fae2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946835868/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 27"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 27" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4946835868_80a0bba246_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946836736/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 28"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 28" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4946836736_a48a9928a3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946248487/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 29"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 29" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/4946248487_571e35c5aa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946249069/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 30"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 30" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4946249069_b742cd74ef_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946839114/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 31"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 31" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4946839114_83f9ee1f20_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946842410/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 32"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 32" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4946842410_7497e7aa5f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946843498/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 33"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 33" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4946843498_16aae7a515_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946846768/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 34"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 34" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4946846768_9f3d1dbfab_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946261419/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 35"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 35" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4946261419_129f154f5d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946852350/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 36"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 36" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4946852350_be1e61dbab_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946854644/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 37"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 37" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4946854644_1738ab44d8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946267167/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 38"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 38" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4946267167_ccea14dfd6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946856610/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 39"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 39" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4946856610_17f593e79a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946271159/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 40"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 40" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4946271159_51c16c563d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946271451/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 41"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 41" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4946271451_2106a875bc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946862124/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 42"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 42" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4946862124_b2f9c3cef4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946274051/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 43"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 43" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4946274051_0fd3f8991e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946275395/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 44"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Ceremony 44" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4946275395_4907228c4f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946810637/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4946810637_ec7e77d4af_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947401466/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4947401466_dfe4f705a6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946816043/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4946816043_3b5d3a3285_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947406822/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4947406822_fa5bb8f68e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946819851/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4946819851_296267fae0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946822243/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4946822243_a6daa8209a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946825089/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4946825089_d597fcebb4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946827221/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4946827221_b6ececac36_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947419872/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4947419872_2b2264057a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946832765/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4946832765_4d6f87d3fe_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946834511/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4946834511_ea362c4c70_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947427056/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4947427056_cfa8ae59cf_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947428124/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4947428124_608be2ec6f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946841331/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 14"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4946841331_66d206d67b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946843487/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 15"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4946843487_0be52aa241_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946844447/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 16"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4946844447_0c765510d2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947496674/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/4947496674_abce6ee190_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946910715/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4946910715_5e410c6f18_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947504090/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4947504090_029433279f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947507396/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4947507396_2bdcbe4b94_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946920437/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4946920437_e8f37cf9cd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946923553/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4946923553_5128917620_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946926619/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4946926619_c52d6a854a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947519996/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4947519996_ae132657d5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947523156/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4947523156_4e30737a6b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947524664/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4947524664_3caaca0165_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946937991/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4946937991_4f5a2ed85b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946941101/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4946941101_509a499a91_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946944187/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4946944187_e9deeeaa79_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946947625/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 14"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4946947625_a9d39eea79_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946949911/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 15"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4946949911_b9287c7e73_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946951053/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 16"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4946951053_11bf9db149_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946954145/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 17"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 17" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4946954145_016b1abc08_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947547974/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 18"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 18" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4947547974_44b10a673a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947551568/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 19"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 19" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4947551568_4f4f11e577_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946964705/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 20"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 20" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4946964705_6911361e26_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947557542/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 21"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 21" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4947557542_7936dc22c4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946970379/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 22"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 22" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4946970379_f7475efe88_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947564066/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 23"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 23" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4947564066_ab68e5be88_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947567194/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 24"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 24" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4947567194_d86106cfe8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946980195/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 25"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 25" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4946980195_ffb02e4be8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947572194/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 26"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 26" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4947572194_66616ef5f1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946983459/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 27"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 27" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4946983459_8a709e4e92_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947575724/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 28"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 28" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4947575724_995c0417c4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947577182/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 29"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 29" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4947577182_d6c99a97bf_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947579516/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 30"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 30" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4947579516_369ea9e1fa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946991859/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 31"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 31" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4946991859_7517932bfa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4947582044/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 32"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 32" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4947582044_a18e82377a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946993579/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 33"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Brunch 33" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4946993579_6311910eb2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953487960/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4953487960_849c75943d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952896191/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4952896191_5d8d7f5457_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952898969/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4952898969_b1b51c9f02_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953494364/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4953494364_60b4eb34d6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952902099/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4952902099_4e56da57e7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953497322/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4953497322_266fdbe953_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953497770/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4953497770_5490f07370_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953500250/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4953500250_754ce5c64f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953501780/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4953501780_76a14438a8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953502618/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4953502618_bc0136ce72_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953505390/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4953505390_fc6d491762_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952912503/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4952912503_733026cabc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953507310/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4953507310_cb3306af0c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953508240/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 14"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4953508240_ffdce29cb9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952915191/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 15"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4952915191_4443182313_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952918001/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 16"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4952918001_7f9ce2687a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952919639/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 17"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 17" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4952919639_74a5f2c1ef_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952922169/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 18"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 18" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4952922169_f695955205_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953518144/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 19"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 19" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4953518144_b40342a46c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952925303/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 20"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 20" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4952925303_91e3ff0c37_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952927151/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 21"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 21" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4952927151_7fb47beb12_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953523970/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 22"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 22" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4953523970_cb5b34c4a7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952932203/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 23"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 23" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4952932203_860a810132_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952933483/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 24"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 24" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4952933483_3d96575585_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953529516/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 25"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 25" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4953529516_baaae04fcb_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952938055/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 26"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 26" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4952938055_6a4ea78262_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953533644/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 27"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 27" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4953533644_bc58b42c10_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953535528/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 28"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 28" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4953535528_36427cd207_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952944403/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 29"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 29" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4952944403_bf7a33675f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953540434/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 30"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 30" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/4953540434_7c56e19ec2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952949029/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 31"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 31" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4952949029_d94ccd2144_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952950205/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 32"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 32" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4952950205_67d07ac380_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953545166/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 33"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 33" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4953545166_7ddc8cac8d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952952649/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 34"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 34" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4952952649_5ab892b9d7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953547930/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 35"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 35" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4953547930_75622cd9f5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953551174/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 36"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 36" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4953551174_c2f1a71465_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952959545/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 37"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Portraits 37" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4952959545_5854a0b171_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4952962125/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - 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Speeches 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4953757344_52cda6cd0b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953167971/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4953167971_d5b76bd090_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953761528/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4953761528_a8b941d526_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953172325/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4953172325_6bb65c5b38_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953174479/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4953174479_535378de33_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953176603/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4953176603_40cba50d3b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953769782/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4953769782_9a2d7bf1c2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953771096/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4953771096_61e42f4685_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953772882/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/4953772882_19c1f2f056_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953182949/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4953182949_fc8bc1a642_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953184725/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4953184725_ee8c8e9b20_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953777966/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4953777966_476cb5fd1e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953188591/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Speeches 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4953188591_162f751fd4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953190113/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 1"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4953190113_eac12d7513_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953782796/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 2"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4953782796_accdc50478_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953783928/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 3"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4953783928_26ec7366f2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953193677/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 4"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4953193677_15b6842904_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953786870/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 5"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4953786870_bcef708b8c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953788400/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 6"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4953788400_f0cffe6454_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953198917/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 7"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4953198917_b71bb7ceab_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953792352/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 8"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4953792352_a3008962bb_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953794188/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 9"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4953794188_a655eae154_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953796454/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 10"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4953796454_64fecfc36e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953206663/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 11"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4953206663_07b8bc0580_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953798602/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 12"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4953798602_815e848a3b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953209007/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 13"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4953209007_ce993bbf63_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953801864/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 14"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4953801864_ba28c80dfa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4953212387/in/set-72157624726476879/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 15"><img alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Cake and bouquet 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4953212387_574f1fa68f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/ipad-spontaneous-wedding-album" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">My iPad, a spontaneous wedding album</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-02T12:46:22-08:00">September 2, 2010 12:46 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4946816043/" title="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 3 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Tarya and TJ Wedding - Bride and groom 3" border="0" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4946816043_3b5d3a3285_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I think Tim Bray is right about what makes the new generation of tablet computers, led by the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/ipad-impressions">iPad</a> from Apple, <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/09/02/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab">actually useful</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
A tablet is, crucially, a <em>more shareable</em> computer. A
laptop, with its fragile hinge-ware and space-gobbling keyboard, is
just not comfy to share. A tablet is easier to bring to the café, easier
to hand across the table or along the sofa, easier to seize in the heat
of the moment, easier to hold up in triumph, easier to set aside when
you need to meet someone's eyes.</blockquote>
Here's how that played out for me this week, somewhat unexpectedly. I was the official photographer for my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/she-made-honest-man">cousin's wedding</a>
last weekend. That morning, I was preparing myself to take hundreds of
pictures with both my film and digital SLR cameras. But, having just
picked up the <a href="http://johnbiehler.com/2010/06/05/ipad-camera-kit-camerabag/">digital camera kit</a>
for my iPad earlier in the week, I thought it might be useful to bring
the iPad along as a quick backup device onto which I could dump the
digital files from time to time during the day. (Sometimes I'm <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_10_01_news_archive.html#85551575">a little paranoid</a> about backups.)<br />
After the ceremony itself, as everyone was settled in for the buffet
brunch, but before speeches began, I plugged in the adapter and my
camera's SD card and got most of the photos imported onto the iPad. (The
process was a little flaky: after the first few hundred, the Photos app
kept quitting, and though it remembered what it had imported, it would
only do a few more pictures at a time before crashing again.) I didn't
get everything backed up right then, but it was enough, especially since
pictures of the ceremony itself were safe.<br />
Then, as I flipped through the photographs to check them out, I realized something: <em>I could pass the iPad around</em>.
My cousin and her family and friends could see pictures of the wedding,
in a beautiful large picture-frame style that was easy and intuitive to
flick through, <em>before the event was even half over</em>. They loved it.<br />
Later that evening, I'd had a chance to get home, change clothes, and
import the rest of the pictures before heading over to my aunt and
uncle's house for the wedding after-party. There, more people, including
the groom and his mom (who was visiting from Toronto), were able to see
all the pictures on the iPad, the same day I'd taken them. A few of the
group portraits included the groom's extended family—who, it turns out,
had <em>never</em> all been in a photo together before, ever. He and his mom both got teary-eyed looking at them.<br />
A few months ago I might have brought my laptop to import photos onto
during the wedding. More likely, I wouldn't have bothered. And I
certainly wouldn't have passed it around, since it's more awkward,
fragile, and complicated to use when viewing pictures—particularly
standing around in a crowded room of people who've had a few drinks.<br />
I'm in the process of putting the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624726476879/">best pictures from the wedding online</a>,
and I'll give everything to my cousin and her husband on DVD too, but
the immediacy and poignancy of being able to display the pictures right
there, during the events of the wedding day, made the iPad well worth
what my wife paid for it in June.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/09/always-new-places-to-vomit" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">There are always new places to vomit</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-01T23:33:55-08:00">September 1, 2010 11:33 PM</abbr>
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This afternoon I puked onto a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/430593636/">CT scan machine</a>, which is a first. In fact, before today I hadn't vomited in weeks, since the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/whee">unfortunate incident</a> on the Ferris wheel at Disney's California Adventure—and that's because I haven't had <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a> since early July.<br />
But this Monday, Labour Day, I'm back at it, more chemo, and as usual I'm <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/my-least-favourite-part-of-town">getting anxious</a>. However, I'm not usually <em>that</em>
anxious. I didn't barf when I had blood tests on Monday, and I had no
reason to think I would today as I went for my scan. But there I was,
lying down and being motorized into the giant donut of the scanner, and I
said to the technicians, "I'm feeling nauseated right now. I don't know
why. I think I'm going to throw up."<br />
And so I did. They brought me one of those useless little cardboard
trays that might handle the stomach contents of a small bird. Then
another. Then we switched to a big trash can. It was all over very
quickly. I'd lost the salad and sandwich I'd had for lunch. The techs
had to slice off the right sleeve of the surgical gown I was wearing,
since I already had an IV in my arm but the gown was a mess. I threw
away one pair of underwear, but luckily I had another. My white T-shirt
wasn't entirely spared, but with some wet towels I cleaned it off well
enough.<br />
The technicians said, "You'd be surprised how often that sort of
thing happens," then they chucked a bunch of the soiled linens, replaced
them, and cleaned up the floor and scrubbed the impenetrable face of
the scanning machine. Just like that, the room was spotless again. Then
they got me to lie down and we proceeded with the scan. I doubt anyone
in the waiting room knew what just happened as I left, feeling much
better.<br />
Now, I had a rough night last night, with lots of intestinal problems
that kept me up until 3 a.m., and those resumed this evening in a
slightly altered form, though they seem to be calming down as we
approach midnight. They seem slightly different from the similar
problems I've had, in some form or another, since even before my cancer
diagnosis in 2007, so I may have a mild infection. Thus, I don't know if
this great big hurl came from nervousness about my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">upcoming chemotherapy</a>, an intestinal bug of some kind, or a combination of the two.<br />
But I reiterate my admiration for the consistently high spirits and good natures of the staff at the <a href="http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/">B.C. Cancer Agency</a>.
They laughed it off, as I tried to do, cleaned up both their facility
and me, and got back to their jobs as soon as they could. No one's yet
been able to cure my cancer, and quite likely <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/enough-for-now">no one will</a>, but I drove home feeling unembarrassed, and that's pretty amazing in itself.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-83301918497287602292018-11-11T13:21:00.004-08:002018-11-11T13:21:40.883-08:00Derek Aug 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1 class="archive-title" id="page-title">
August 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/ramadan-non-muslims-too" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Should non-Muslims have a Ramadan too?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-30T23:25:07-08:00">August 30, 2010 11:25 PM</abbr>
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While I'm a full-blown <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">atheist</a>, I find the idea of <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/ramadan_2010.html">Ramadan</a>
fascinating for its key component: fasting during daylight hours, and
only eating after the sun goes down, for a month. As an
insulin-dependent <a href="http://www.google.ca/custom?domains=www.penmachine.com&q=diabetes&sa=Search&sitesearch=www.penmachine.com&client=pub-0244838074492717&forid=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A219%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%2Fimages%2Fpenmachine_header.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en">diabetic</a>
who has to manage when and what I eat rather carefully, I couldn't even
do that if I wanted to. But aside from their religious significance,
the Muslim <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawm">sawm</a></i> (the fast itself) and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iftar">iftar</a></i> (the meal that ends it) are reminders of the significance of food and eating in all human societies.<br />
Humans are far from the only animal to share food. Our closest
relatives among the great apes do it. So do wolf packs and prides of
lions. The whole structure of many communal insect societies (anthills,
beehives, termite mounds) revolves around the procurement, storage, and
distribution of food. But with our big brains and language, and with our
elaborate methods of cooking and otherwise preparing meals, we have
ritualized eating like no other creature, going far beyond food's role
as fuel to keep our bodies running.<br />
We organize our days around mealtimes. A gift of food or drink is
appreciated as much—often more—than durable goods or money. Eating is a
big part of our celebrations of holidays, birthdays, graduations, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/wedding">weddings</a>,
and other special events. We also serve snacks at funerals, eat for
comfort when we are alone and sad, and offer a last meal to prisoners
facing execution. Personally, one of the very worst periods of my life
was three years ago, when I was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hey-so-where-you-go">unable to eat</a>
(or drink!) for several days in a row due to surgery. Our keenest
memories often involve food: there's a reason one of the most popular
new shows on the Food Network is <cite><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-best-thing-i-ever-ate">The Best Thing I Ever Ate</a></cite>.<br />
So when observant Muslims make a point this month of fasting each
day, all day, and then breaking fast—almost always in groups—at sundown,
it's a constant reminder of the value of food to all of us, and of our
rituals of food. It's a tradition that secular society could learn
something from, and perhaps even adopt in a less-regimented way, the way
we have co-opted Christmas to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the end
of the year with presents and coloured lights, and Easter to recognize
springtime (which, come to think of it, is how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule">those</a> holidays <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eostre">got started</a> anyway).<br />
At the least, a secularized version of Ramadan would be a great
incentive for a bunch of dinner parties, not to mention good business
for restaurants.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/she-made-honest-man" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">She made an honest man of him</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-29T22:46:15-08:00">August 29, 2010 10:46 PM</abbr>
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These <a href="http://twitpic.com/2jhvih" title="The happy couple @tkm1 on Twitpic">two handsome folks</a> got married today after ten years together:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://twitpic.com/2jhvih" title="The happy couple @tkm1 on Twitpic"><img alt="TJ and Tarya on Twitpic" border="0" height="450" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/tj_and_tarya_2010.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Tarya, the one on the right, is my cousin—some of you may spot our
resemblance, though she's much prettier than me. Her husband TJ is on
the left. The picture is by my lovely wife Air. Since I was the official
photographer at the wedding, I have a ton of other photos (more than
700!), but they need a bit of prep before I put some online.<br />
It was a remarkable day, and I managed to avoid crying all over my cameras. Just barely.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/no-more-cheap-costco-film-processing" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">No more cheap Costco film processing</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-28T22:39:30-08:00">August 28, 2010 10:39 PM</abbr>
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Since our local Save-On-Foods outlet <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/end-of-era">shut down its photo lab</a>
last year, I've been taking my rolls of film to the Costco down the
hill, which will process them, make prints, and scan at high resolution
to CD for a very reasonable price (about $9 Cdn per roll, taxes
included). They do a great job in an hour or so, giving me the benefits
of both film and digital photography.<br />
Alas, they are now scheduled to stop handling 35 mm film in
mid-September too. There's just not enough demand. (Apparently, they are
the only Costco outlet in Western Canada still processing photo film.)
So after that, I'll have to pay a higher price at one of the photo
specialty stores in the area. Good thing Costco is still doing the work
right now, though: I'm taking both digital and film photos of my
cousin's wedding tomorrow, so I'll have a big batch of pictures to run
through the service next week.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4936760126/" title="Contemplative puppy by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Contemplative puppy" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4936760126_94bf25207f.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
It's a pity. Film photography is <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmgoingaway.htm">not going away</a>, and people seem to like <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/my-black-and-whites-are-more-popular">when I use it</a>, but the days of truly cheap developing may be over.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/jellyfish-past-future" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Jellyfish, our past and future</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-27T23:36:06-08:00">August 27, 2010 11:36 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2874017809/" title="In the swarm by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="In the swarm" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2874017809_2127818990_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>Five years ago, for our tenth anniversary, my wife air got herself a tattoo of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/34931933/">a bee</a>,
with the number 10 in the middle of its back. The tattoo is awesome,
and at the time I considered getting myself something similar. But—as
I'm prone to do—I proctrastinated, and now with all the cancer and
chemotherapy and other crap that affects my circulation, immune system,
and blood clotting, it's apparently no longer safe for me to get myself
inked.<br />
Since I specialized in invertebrate sea creatures when I was studying
for my marine biology degree (back when Air and I first met in the late
'80s), I had considered designs based on a couple of those animal
groups: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/31104083/">sea stars</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2874848292/">jellyfish</a>. Both are fascinating, widespread, and remarkably alien to those of us accustomed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry_in_biology#Bilateral_symmetry">bilateral symmetry</a>, central nervous systems, and skeletons.<br />
While personally I find <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinoderm">echinoderms</a>
such as sea stars (and sea urchins, sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sand
dollars, brittle stars, and crinoids) more appealing, it seems that in
the long run, jellyfish are more important. They and their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidaria">cnidarian</a>
kin are ancient: the earliest fossils are around 580 million years old.
Relatively speaking, they are simply built, without brains or blood or
any hard structure.<br />
But they are remarkably resilient. As a <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/Jellyfish-The-Next-Kings-of-the-Sea.html">recent article</a> in <cite>Smithsonian</cite>
magazine reveals, it seems that as human activities change the Earth's
climate, we're making many ocean environments more amenable to
jellyfish—often to the detriment of other types of life, including
ourselves:<br />
<blockquote>
With the world's human population expected to increase 32 percent
by 2050, to 9.1 billion, a number of environmental conditions that
favor jellyfish are predicted to become more common. Jellyfish reproduce
and move into new niches so rapidly that even within 40 years, some
experts predict "regime shifts" in which jellyfish assume dominance in
one marine ecosystem after another.<br />
</blockquote>
There are genuine consequences for people too, not just in fisheries
and on beaches. Massive jellyfish blooms have clogged the water intakes
of electrical plants, causing power failures—and have apparently even
partially disabled a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier. Last month,
the CBC broadcast a documentary called "<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/wilddocs/2009/jellyfishinvasion/">Jellyfish Invasion!</a>" highlighting the increased prevalence of jellyfish in numerous locations around the world.<br />
Air and I witnessed several local jellyfish blooms when we worked as
park naturalists for the Greater Vancouver Regional District. I recall
sitting on the rocks near Admiralty Point in Burrard Inlet in the summer
of 1988, watching thousands and thousands of moon jellies (some of them
as wide as a truck tire), as well as the occasional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysaora_fuscescens">sea nettle</a>, drifting by in the tide. That bloom was probably part of the natural cycle around here.<br />
But increasing jellyfish blooms elsewhere are not so much an invasion
as a symptom of warming, acidifying waters, many of which may be our
fault as human beings. However, as that <cite>Smithsonian</cite> article notes, we...<br />
<blockquote>
...may be overreacting to a few isolated jelly outbreaks. Not
enough is known about historical jelly abundances to distinguish between
natural fluctuation and long-term change. [...] Are there really more
of the creatures, or are people simply more prone to notice and report
them? Are the jellyfish changing, or is our perspective? [Researcher
Steven] Haddock worries that jellyfish are taking the blame for messing
up the seas when we're the ones causing the damage.<br />
</blockquote>
One of Haddock's colleagues at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Chad Widmer, has a jellyfish tattoo, by the way.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/curse-of-online-identity" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The curse of online identity</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-26T21:17:55-08:00">August 26, 2010 9:17 PM</abbr>
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I spent most of today writing out URLs, usernames,
passwords, and instructions in a large spiral notebook, in longhand.
That sounds silly, but there were good reasons for it.<br />
A few months ago, my wife Air presented me with the notebook, asking
me to write down the details of all our online activities, because since
the very beginning of our relationship in 1994, I've been in charge of
most of those things. (I showed her how to use email back then, for
instance—though it was she who convinced me to join <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/okay-fine-fine">Facebook</a> and Twitter.) Now that I've had <a href="http://www.google.ca/custom?domains=www.penmachine.com&q=cancer&sa=Search&sitesearch=www.penmachine.com&client=pub-0244838074492717&forid=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A219%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%2Fimages%2Fpenmachine_header.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en">cancer</a> and have been undergoing <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/enough-for-now">treatment</a> for close to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">four years</a>, we have to prepare for a time when I could be <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hi-from-hospital">too sick</a> (or, to be frank, too dead) to handle that anymore.<br />
Initially, I put together a big list of URLs, usernames, and
passwords in a spreadsheet, and printed out a copy to put into the
notebook. But that wasn't enough: what are all those sites <em>for</em>,
anyway? What are the steps if we need to modify something, like renew a
domain registration or update to the latest version of WordPress
(easier than it <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/wordpress-automatic-upgrade-is-great">used to be</a>)?
Sure, I could have typed everything up in a word-processing document
and printed that out, but sometimes writing things with a pen, the way I
used to write essays <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_06_01_news_archive.html#78190842">on the bus</a> in high school, forces a better focus. Plus I could easily draw arrows and rule marks and circles and boxes if I wanted.<br />
I ended up with pages and pages of notes, and realized that in
addition to all the fairly complicated instructions they contained,
there were dozens of different usernames and passwords involved. Yes,
people like Air's former student <a href="http://www.identitywoman.net/">Kaliya</a>, organizations like the <a href="http://openid.net/">OpenID Foundation</a>, and companies ranging from <a href="http://www.sxip.com/">Sxip</a> to <a href="http://automattic.com/">Automattic</a> to Facebook, Microsoft, and Google have been working at reducing that proliferation of logins. But those efforts have had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live_ID#History">mixed success</a>, or have raised their <a href="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2008/12/as-facebook-con/">own concerns</a>.<br />
So now we have our notebook, to which we'll add as we think of new
things it should contain. It also got me thinking again of our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/digital-executors-your-online-stuff">digital legacies</a>—specifically, what of my online life (like this blog) I want to endure, and what (like my Windows Live ID or my Apple <a href="http://www.apple.com/mobileme/">MobileMe</a>
account) can be deleted or shut down. Not all those decisions are clear
yet, but at least now Air has a decent reference to have them
implemented, or to make them herself if I can't make them with her.
That's a relief.<br />
It occurs to me just now that I should make copies of those pages and
put them in our safety deposit box, because paper needs backups too.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/still-puppy-after-all-this-year" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Still puppy after all this year</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-25T11:33:42-08:00">August 25, 2010 11:33 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4892248300/" title="Lucy on a boat 3"><img align="right" alt="Lucy on a boat 3" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4892248300_b590dd2a6d_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>A
year ago, on August 25, 2009, a puppy—half shihtzu, half toy poodle—was
born. I don't even know exactly where that happened, but a little less
than three months later, we <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">bought her</a>, and named her Lucy. She's become accustomed to us, and now we're her pack.<br />
By the time dog is a year old, you probably shouldn't call it a puppy anymore, but since Lucy will always remain a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/breed-pets-for-cuteness">small dog</a>, we still think of her as one. Most often, when I return home and she's waiting, I greet her with, "Hello, Puppy."<br />
Until we got Lucy, I never imagined myself as a Dog Person. Dogs
always seemed like so much work as a pet—needy and inconvenient,
especially for a family such as ours that likes to travel. And yes, they
are. Yet our dog is also a great comfort, especially when I'm sick, and
she makes us all happier. I now understand the appeal of dogs, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication#Approximate_dates_and_locations_of_original_domestication">oldest</a> domesticated animal.<br />
Lucy is, of course, entirely unaware that she is one year old today,
or even that such a thing as "a year" exists as a concept. We mark the
occasion for our own benefit. Today we plan to take her to the dog park,
where she'll have some fun and meet some other dogs. Woof woof.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/unclear-on-the-concept" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Unclear on the concept</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-23T19:01:05-08:00">August 23, 2010 7:01 PM</abbr>
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A few weeks ago, while we were in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/disneyland">Disneyland</a>, I saw <a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4833330603_42f0b01968_b.jpg" title="Strawberry lemondade FOREVER - for a limited time">this sign</a> in the Downtown Disney shopping area:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833330603/" title="Strawberry lemondade FOREVER - for a limited time"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Unclear on the concept" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4833330603_42f0b01968.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Yeah, it's obviously supposed to be a play on "Strawberry Fields Forever," but did no one notice the conflict in the message?<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/gnomedex-song-2010" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The Gnomedex Song 2010</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-22T11:20:43-08:00">August 22, 2010 11:20 AM</abbr>
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So here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s93n0ctpLPw">the song</a> I sang yesterday, updated for 2010 (sort of like "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Stand_So_Close_to_Me#1986_single_release">Don't Stand So Close to Me '86</a>," I guess):<br />
<br />There are also a few photos of the experience around. Notice my Seattle-approved lumberjack shirt:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lockergnome/4915478470/" title="The Last Gnomedex Song by Chris Pirillo, on Flickr"><img alt="The Last Gnomedex Song" height="290" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4915478470_d2e90e7ce1.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2006/06/tell-me-about-gnomedex.html">original recording</a> of "Tell Me About Gnomedex" (a.k.a. "The Gnomedex Song") from 2006 is still online too.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/gnomedex-10-day-2-afternoon" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Gnomedex 10 day 2, the afternoon</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-21T17:41:39-08:00">August 21, 2010 5:41 PM</abbr>
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And here's the last day:<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>1:30 p.m. - Melissa Pierce (<a href="http://twitter.com/melissapierce">@melissapierce</a>):</strong> Maker of the film <cite><a href="http://lifeinperpetualbeta.com/">Life in Perpetual Beta</a></cite>,
funding crowd-sourced from people on Twitter and elsewhere, then via
Kickstarter. How do we process information coming into our brains? How
does text become context? And are we now in a contextual revolution?
Revolutions include the American, French, Industrial, Russian, Chinese,
Iranian. Even postal mail revolutionized the world. So did vaccines.
Paper cups. Email. Twitter. The one thing that's creating our contextual
revolution is access: to information, to ideas, to other people. We
went to the Moon using protractors and slide rules, now we hardly cross
the street without a GPS. Every click is a creative act.</li>
<li><strong>2:00 p.m. - Violet Blue (<a href="http://twitter.com/violetblue">@violetblue</a>):</strong>
Time for some sex talk. We can't make stable or sustainable online
social media models for sexuality. Culture and media talk about sex in
increasingly problematic ways: either as a bad and scary thing, or as
something that doesn't exist. Abstinence education caused spikes in
STDs, unplanned pregnancies, and more, for instance. A sex-positive
approach is descriptive, rather than proscriptive, and applies
principles of harm reduction to sexuality. Understand what consent is,
how safe sex works, and so on. Started podcasting in 2005, first female
podcaster—but there was a backlash when iTunes started podcast support,
and Violet was the top podcast. Another example of building a
sex-positive community and then having the rug pulled out. If you want
to see where things are most fragile, and where people are most
hypocritical, start talking about sex. In social media now, we're
swimming through an ocean of bullshit and snake oil. Facebook is
Wal-Mart for your communities. Why do Terms of Service vaguely exclude
sex, and get used to shut down sex talk online? Do 500 million Facebook
users never have sex? We need a harm reduction approach to social media.
Gatekeepers shouldn't decide what's okay and what's not okay to talk
about. Sexuality is not a drug, not an illegal substance. It's something
that keeps us connected to our bodies. It's beautiful, and gatekeepers
can't keep telling us it's not.</li>
<li><strong>2:25 p.m. - Jason Barger:</strong> "<a href="http://www.stepbackfromthebaggageclaim.com/">Step Back From the Baggage Claim</a>."
Traveled to seven cities in seven days without leaving any airport or
plane. How do we choose to move with each other in the world? Do we all
crowd against the baggage claim, consumed in our own entitlement? Small
moments of behaving better can change the world in aggregate. 90% of our
interactions with others is negative, 80% of our internal dialogue is
also negative. How do we reframe that, giving ourselves space to think
about why we do what we do, and what we want to put out into the world?</li>
<li><strong>3:00 p.m. - Steven Fisher and Michael Dougherty:</strong> <cite>Browncoats Redemption</cite> is a fan-made <cite>Serenity</cite> full-length followup film for charity. I missed most of this talk, so that's all I'll say.</li>
<li><strong>3:45 p.m. - Tim Hwang (<a href="http://twitter.com/timhwang">@timhwang</a>):</strong>
Playing databall: online influence and the future of social hacking,
Analytics, how things move, how online communities work. Founder of
ROFLCon, worked at the Berkman Center, Web Ecology Project, the Awesome
Foundation. Inspired by <cite>Moneyball</cite>: as in social media,
strategies were vague and value was hard to assess. Social wargaming:
get teams to compete trying to influence a group of people online, who
don't know they're part of the game. What gives you online credibility?
How can you figure it out by analyzing data about people's online
behaviour. Figuring out how to manipulate that behaviour and then doing
it on a large scale with bots could make interesting things happen. And
people can also defend against those attempted influences. Another rise
of the quants. Could even use such analysis to hack the legal system,
putting certain inputs into lower courts to maximize the chance of
reaching a certain high court and attaining a certain result. But what
are the ethical implications? Sleeps well at night—for now—knowing that
the vast majority of bots online are extremely stupid.</li>
<li><strong>4:30 p.m. - Matt Inman (<a href="http://www.theoatmeal.com/">The Oatmeal</a>):</strong>
The Oatmeal is about a year old, and it's doing really well. Started
with a dating site, viral-marketed with blog posts, comments, etc. that
strike at the heart of geekdom. Quizzes worked even better ("How many
cannibals could my body feed?"), with result badges that linked back to
the dating site. Next moved on to comics, fake Zombie dating sites, etc.
And they made the dating site outrank Match.com, eHarmony, etc. The
Oatmeal followed after that, as a site just for the funny stuff. The
formula: articulate a gripe, pick things everyone can relate to, create
stuff that's easy to digest, create an infographic, talk about memes and
current events, and incite an emotion.</li>
<li><strong>5:00 p.m. - Seattle Wine Gal:</strong> How to taste wine.
Look for clarity, smell it, then taste it. Only take it as seriously as
you want. Take a medium-sized sip, hold it in your mouth, suck in a bit
of air through pursed lips, swish it around, then swallow. Think about
what the "finish" is like to you. Avoid wearing scents. You don't need a
new glass for each pour. You don't need to drink everything. Slow down,
ask questions, feel free to try again.</li>
</ul>
Chris's entire family came up onstage to look back on 10 years of
Gnomedex, featuring his parents speaking about what it's accomplished
and where we can go from here. And then I sang <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/gnomedex-song-2010">a little song</a>, and Chris thanked everyone, and we had a party with trapezes. The end.<br />
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-21T13:31:37-08:00">August 21, 2010 1:31 PM</abbr>
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<ul>
<li><strong>9:05 a.m. - Bill Schrier (Seattle CTO):</strong> Chief Geek
of City of Seattle. Current mayor used social media to help win his
election. Always innovative in Seattle: carbon-free electric utility,
Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon, and newer startups. A Seattle
company powers data.gov and data.seattle.gov. But that's just data: how
do we turn it into information? That's what the Open Government
Hackathon/Tinkerstorm will help today. Because governments shouldn't be
the ones building applications with the data.</li>
<li><strong>9:15 a.m. - Amy Karlson (Microsoft Research):</strong> MR
works like a big Computer Science department, Amy in the visualization
and interaction field specifically. How do people interact with their
different devices (e.g. mobile phone and desktop PC)? What are the time
relationships, the changes of context, what tasks do they perform, and
so on? Different people use their devices differently, but tend to be
consistent in their own behaviour day to day. Web and email remain the
dominant activities right now, frequently moving back and forth between
them. Handing off activities from phone to PC to phone, etc. It looks
like the activities on the two types of devices are similar and related,
but the devices don't necessarily take that into account. We might not
expect enough from them, because people have some synchronization, but
not true continuation of tasks between devices. 75% of the domains
people visit on their phones are the same as those they look at on their
PCs. Our devices can be smarter about that, but it's not a simple
problem making it a good experience. For instance, often we'll read an
email on our phone but forget to follow up with it on the desktop, and
that's a failure of design. Desktop and mobile apps designed similarly
don't reflect how mobile and desktop computing are fundamentally
different experiences, with different sources of interruption. How do
users work around that (e.g. Mark as Unread, Save as Draft)?
Interruptions can include network problems (no connection), output
problems (small screens, rendering issues), input problems (too hard to
type, certain input not possible), missing features (different mobile
functionality), environmental distractions, cost-benefit tradeoffs. Some
of these can be improved, but some are simply inherent in mobile
computing, all of them are independent of the specific tasks involved,
and each has its own level of frustration (e.g. network problems are
more frustrating than most environmental interruptions, mapping and
media problems are more frustrating than email problems). Interestingly,
following up on the same device can be more frustrating than switching
to another. Even with email, which works fairly well between devices,
people are hacking together workarounds that computing systems should
handle automatically. Tasks do span devices, so we need to design for
migration between them. Mobile task interruptions are inevitable, so we
need to design to resume those tasks. People deliberately suspend tasks,
so we need to design tasks to be broken into travel-size chunks that
are still productive. State syncing is not enough, because where things
happened first are important. The cloud is the right away to go, but it
doesn't solve all the problems.</li>
<li><strong>10:00 a.m. - Shauna Causey and Melody Biringer (<a href="http://twitter.com/techmavens">@TechMavens</a>):</strong>
Women in top technology positions. Melody has been dealing with small
women-run businesses where there's a lot of fear about technology and
the online world. By contrast, Shauna has always worked with big
companies, and was often the only woman at tech events. Working together
with a team, they won first place at Startup Weekend. Decided to write a
book, and asked people online for nominations of trailblazing women in
technology. Tech Mavens was born, at least as an idea: a non-profit
organization focused on women doing amazing things in tech. Women
dominate on the social web, and own 40% of small businesses, but only 8%
of venture-backed firms. Need a set of role models, which is what Tech
Mavens can be. Launching <a href="http://www.techmavens.com/">the website</a> right now, this second! Take a look to see what the current ideas are.</li>
<li><strong>11:00 a.m. - Larry Wu (<a href="http://www.mysmartcup.com/">SmartCup</a>):</strong>
Assembling trends into interesting food products. How do I think about
product development? Society, Technology, Environment, Economic,
Political (STEEP) factors influence behaviour. For example, the trend of
humanizing pets leads to pets controlling human behaviour, and yields
ideas for food for pets. You can trigger human behaviour around products
if you understand what's driving it. Some trends today, for instance:
artisan products (food, furniture, housing, etc.), cultural fusion (food
and music), fingerprinting (personalization), health monitoring (self
treatment using "light," "anti-oxidant," etc.), hyperlife (multitasking
everything), memory marketing (retro cool, nostalgia), merit badges
(collecting experiences like bungie jumping), ready-set-go (innovation
met with convenience). Can you trigger more than one macro-trend with
your product or service? Giving people something they don't know they
want yet.</li>
<li><strong>11:30 a.m. - Scott Draves (<a href="http://twitter.com/spot">@spot</a>):</strong>
Artist with a Ph.D. in computer science. Computer art, Electric Sheep
screen savers, and beyond. Working on computer art since the '70s,
showing us examples from 1991 of "patch-based texture synthesis,"
available at <a href="http://www.draves.org/">draves.org</a>. Flame is an
open-source visual language that initially took hours to render one
frame with millions of variables, trying to make computers do
unpredictable and surprising things: creates organic images, now used by
amateurs, professionals, and even filmmakers. Bomb was an interactive
visual-musical instrument 1995-2000, using audio and instrument input to
create interactive music and visuals. Started commercializing artwork
after that, which became Electric Sheep starting in 1999. Abstract
animations based on the Flame code, working as a distributed
supercomputer with other Electric Sheep users a la SETI@home, votes (yes
or no) drive a genetic algorithm that evolves via Darwinian-style
selection (adapting to please people), and which can also be edited
manually. But bandwidth was a limit on resolution, it was taking too
much time to maintain, and flashy-trashy sheep tended to win out over
genuinely beautiful ones. Scott has now extracted, improved, and
enhanced ones he considers beautiful and is selling them. Over time, his
artwork has been getting slower, more like painting than television.
Relationships (or mergers) between people and machines, but not
necessarily negative ones. What is the source of creativity? It can be
collective instead of solitary.</li>
<li><strong>12:00 p.m. - Alex and Scott Mueller:</strong> Sorry, missed this one.</li>
</ul>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-20T16:53:46-08:00">August 20, 2010 4:53 PM</abbr>
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The coupon code "Gnomedex" works at <a href="http://www.throwboy.com/">Throwboy</a>, <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/">ThinkGeek</a>, and <a href="http://www.hover.com/">Hover</a> for discounts, contest entries, etc.<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>1:45 p.m. - Tom Nugent (<a href="http://www.lasermotive.com/">LaserMotive</a>):</strong>
An invisible extension cord... TO SPACE! People were excited about
space in the '60s and '70s: what could you do with lots of people in
space? But we need cheap, fast launch capability. Right now it's
$5,000-$10,000 per kg into orbit. Does the launch capability or the
market for it come first? A chicken-and-egg problem. What about a space
elevator? Might happen eventually, but not for some time. The two main
problems are (a) strong and flexible materials, and (b) power
transmission for propulsion (onboard fuel is extremely inefficient).
Microwaves were an early idea, but lasers are more effective, and are
becoming more advanced in part because of laser hair removal (no
really). First attempt in 2007 for a NASA-sponsored robot cable-climber
contest failed—but so did everyone else's attempt. Time for testing and
iterating designs is very, very important. In 2009, tried again, naming
the climber "Otis" in honour of its elevator heritage. A strange
combination of components from off-the-self consumer electronics parts,
military supplies, space-grade solar panels, eBay, industrial auction
sites, etc. Simulated climbs in the lab using a "cable treadmill," and
even cooked hot dogs in the laser beam (which still took 4 minutes, so
it's no death ray). And, when the competition came, the climber made it
1000 m and 3.8 m/s: success! Tried again by removing everything they
could to reduce weight, but other technical problems and sleep-deprived
mistakes prevented it from reaching the second-level prize of 5 m/s.
Next round should be in 2011. But there are ways to use power beaming on
Earth, and those can even make money: drone aircraft; disaster relief;
rocket launches without explosive onboard fuel (inert gases instead) and
small redundant systems instead of single massive motors. Eventually,
those sci-fi orbital power stations may be feasible.</li>
<li><strong>2:15 p.m. - Todd Welch (<a href="http://www.trusttour.com/">The Trust Tour</a>):</strong>
Thinking about Integrity and Trust: "IT." Integrity is within you,
trust between you and someone else. Maybe we should treat the "trust
space" between each other as an ecosystem, which needs to be nurtured
and maintained, avoiding corruption and pollution. Trust relies on
integrity, which means "to be whole." Perhaps lack of trust is the #1
problem of our time—and maybe of all time. So, Todd's 1000-day Trust
Tour around the world. Examining trust in business, in medicine, in
athletics, in entertainment, in nuclear energy, in the military, in
mental health. You don't have to agree with someone to trust them: you
just need to know where they stand, and respect each other. Really
notice the lies (even the little ones), the corruption, the pollution,
and resolve not to be a part of it. Be a filter in that ecosystem,
instead of contributing to the mess. Strive to have integrity, to be
honest, to be trustworthy. We need to do better.</li>
<li><strong>3:00 p.m. - Willow Brugh (<a href="http://twitter.com/willowbl00">@willowbl00</a>):</strong>
Transhumanism: the grey area between human and posthuman, the conscious
evolution of humanity via technology. I'm very careful about my
capitalization because I read a lot of weird poetry as a kid. Not life
extension, youth extension. We use all sorts of technologies, from
eyeglasses and laser eye surgery to cochlear implants. But what about
artificial oxygenation of blood, modafinil to stay awake longer,
prosthetics (some DIY) that work better than our natural parts, memory-
and productivity-enhancing drugs, magnetic-sensing implants, interactive
tattoos, implant hacking? Biology vs. machinery? What can our genomes
and brains handle? Will people with more money be more transhuman than
others? How does this reflect the way humans have always used tools to
change our relationship with our environment? (We die in car crashes
because we're not evolved to go that fast and then stop suddenly.) If
you're upset that you can't run three miles, then isn't the best
approach to go try, not to wish you had robot legs?</li>
<li><strong>3:30 p.m. - Johnny Diggz (<a href="http://twitter.com/johnnydiggz">@johnnydiggz</a>):</strong> Tropo and <a href="http://www.gwob.org/">Geeks Without Borders</a>. (UPDATE: See Pat Luther's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/gnomedex-10-day-1-afternoon#comment-6831">comment on this post</a> for how the <a href="http://www.geekswithoutborders.org/">Geeks Without Borders</a>
name has actually been in use by an unrelated organization since 2002.
Whoops!) Went through a whole bunch of different communications startups
and projects since the early '90s. Geeks Without Borders started with
the idea that "Doctors [Without Borders] need to look shit up too."
Intended to help people whose survival is threatened by lack of access
to technology and communications. Need to create a communications hub
that can work with all different methods of transmitting information
(landline, mobile, SMS, IM, Skype, Twitter, social media, voicemail,
smoke signals...). Also backpack networks: mini hubs in a backpack via
satellite or other IP uplink. Applications that work with the hub based
on simple development tools to local people can build what they need to
on top of it (e.g. "Is there water in the well today so I don't have to
walk five miles unnecessarily?"). Launching in some formal way on
October 10, 2010 at 10:10 a.m. (10/10/10 at 10:10). Having a
"Tinkerstorm" (hackathon) at the Edgewater Hotel next door over 24 hours
from 5 p.m. Saturday (tomorrow) till 5 p.m. Sunday.</li>
<li><strong>4:10 p.m. - Darren Barefoot (<a href="http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/">darrenbarefoot.com</a>):</strong>
Open-source activism. Worked with the tcktcktck initiative trying to
get a "fair, ambitious, and binding" climate change agreement in
Copenhagen last year. A radically open approach to campaigning (anyone
from an individual to Greenpeace could participate, with a simple
universal message), quite a contrast to the traditional NGO structure.
350.org took the idea and ran with it. Alas, the desired result didn't
come about, but the structure turned out to be useful. Roll out the
resources and assets and then let them go so the world can create your
movement.</li>
<li><strong>4:20 p.m. - Kyle:</strong> How social media are affecting
the volatility of decision making. After the Challenger shuttle disaster
in 1986, Morton Thiokol stock stopped trading after falling within
minutes (and years of investigating showed that Thiokol was indeed to
blame). After the 2010 Apple iPad launch, reactions are all over the
map, with stock prices fluctuating by the second during Steve Jobs's
speech. Our decisions have become much more volatile and instantaneous.
The VIX "fear index," invented in 1993, has become something people care
about in the past five or six years.</li>
<li><strong>4:30 p.m. - Frank:</strong> Why is my digital privacy (i.e.
my personal information) a marketable commodity? Coca-Cola basically
invented marketing in the 20th century. We've always been willing to
give up our personal information for free shit. We're always evaluating
that tradeoff. There's no way to get free stuff without consequences.
Anyone who thought Facebook would be free forever with no personal
downside is deluding themselves, for instance. We have cognitive
dissonance about that: we want openness, but we want privacy too. Your
privacy is a currency. Make sure you're getting your money's worth.</li>
<li><strong>4:35 p.m. - John Donnelly:</strong> Geeks have been cool for
quite a while, and non-geeks need help to get a clue. I can't read well
(dyslexia), I have no website, I'm not good at explaining myself. ("My
daughter's calling, hang on. Ig-nore.") For me, Twitter makes people
like the collective intelligence of an anthill. Why would geeks want
someone with so few geek skills to be part of the anthill? They have
skills outside that geek domain. How do we bring them in?</li>
<li><strong>4:45 p.m. - Rob Knop (<a href="http://www.seattlerep.org/">Seattle Repertory Theatre</a>):</strong>
"The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," April-May 2011. A play about
the rise and fall and rise of Steve, with background information from
Foxconn, with the agony of our relationship with globalization.</li>
<li><strong>4:50 p.m. - Omni Tech News Crew (<a href="http://www.omnitechnews.net/">OmniTechNews.net</a>):</strong>
Why kids should be in social media. Kids aren't participating in social
media as much as you might expect, but they'll be part of the future of
the online world. Kids have fewer of the limitations an inhibitions in
their ideas than adults, so they're where some of the best new ideas are
going to come from.</li>
</ul>
And hey, I just won a free night at the <a href="http://www.hotelmaxseattle.com/">Hotel Max</a>! Yay! Looks like Air and I will be coming down to Seattle again sometime soon...<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/gnomedex-10-day-1-morning" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Gnomedex 10 day 1, the morning</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-20T11:49:40-08:00">August 20, 2010 11:49 AM</abbr>
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Point-form notes? An attempt at completeness or accuracy? Bah! Here's what I've got, typed up using <a href="http://www.secondgearsoftware.com/elements/">Elements for iPad</a>. There is also live streaming video at <a href="http://www.gnomedex.com/">Gnomedex.com</a>:<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>9:15 a.m. - Brian Solis (<a href="http://www.briansolis.com/">briansolis.com</a>):</strong>
You have the right to post whatever you want to Facebook, Twitter, the
Web, whatever. But no one has to give a shit. Just because you can tweet
doesn't mean it's automatically interesting. Still, social networks are
reducing the distances between people, say from six degrees of
separation to four. And they're increasing our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number">Dunbar number</a>
from about 150 to several times that number, because each niche has its
own context for you. You're in control of your idea of celebrity and
relevance and how long you're famous for. Audiences have audiences with
audiences. You have a public life, and a private life, and a secret
life: which one are you putting online? Influence is not popularity. And
women are both the majority and the most influential on social
networks. Anyone who says they're a social media expert is fucking lying
to you.</li>
<li><strong>9:40 a.m. - Trish Millines Dziko (<a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=trishdex">#trishdex</a>):</strong> Public schools need <a href="http://www.techaccess.org/">some help</a>.
While at Microsoft's high-school outreach, discovered that people of
colour and low-income people were not getting access to information
technology. The brightest students in the U.S. are still near the bottom
worldwide in measures of student achievement, especially in math and
science, even though they <em>think</em> they're near the top. 48% of
people entering college in Washington need remedial classes. Kids in
communities where parents and families can make up for public
underfunding do much better. You can have a small class with a crappy
teacher in front of it. Those with less education are not only more
likely to be incarcerated, more likely to be poor, and so on—they're
more likely to die. And each high-school dropout costs $200K in public
assistance over a working lifetime. You can't create a new society
without a proper education. So what works? Raised expectations,
leadership at every level (in school, in class, etc.), measurement, etc.
Projects include TechStart, TAF Academy, Teach21, and Community
Learning Space. Download "A Right Denied" and devour the data. If kids
could vote, we would have a better public education system. Unlike in
other countries, the U.S. does not honour teachers, doesn't pay them
well and doesn't support them, and as a consequence, those who get
teaching degrees are in the bottom 25% of SAT scores. Legislators and
public servants have absolutely no backbone, and in some cases have no <em>power</em> to have backbone. Brick walls are most often made of flesh.</li>
<li><strong>10:50 a.m. - Charles Brennick (<a href="http://www.interconnection.org/">InterConnection.org</a>):</strong>
Reusing old computers around the world. In South America, 8% of people
have home computer access, 1% in Africa. But they still want access to
the communication, education, job skills, support, health information,
news, and entertainment that computers provide. 14 million PCs discarded
every year, and at least half can be reused. InterConnection has a
facility in Seattle that refurbishes PCs (wiping or destroying the hard
drive for data security), training people in the process and getting
them free computers, and recycles ones that can't be reused.
Distribution of refurbished machines throughout the world, focused on
South America and Africa—and recipients are checked to see that they
have power and Internet to make the machines useful. Computer donations
can be made by mail (primarily laptops), by U.S. nationwide pickup
(mostly corporate or enough to fit on a pallet), local drop-off in
Seattle. Starting to get into smartphones too, partnered with Datadyne
for software: much more promising in areas with little electricity or
connectivity. Contest for an Xbox Kinect: send business leads to
xbox@interconnection.org or donate a PC. Older computers like 286 and
486 machines are worth more for recycling because they have more metal
in them (gold!).</li>
<li><strong>11:20 a.m. - Austin Heap (<a href="http://twitter.com/austinheap">@austinheap</a>):</strong>
Censorship Research Center. Recently helping Iranians access the rest
of the world. There are cycles of how information flows around, out of,
and into countries with repressive regimes. Text, email, phone cams,
YouTube, mainstream media, rebroadcast via pirate radio, and now
Twitter. But Twitter isn't going to overthrow a government. The tools
don't matter, it's the people that matter. Still, tweets managed to find
free flights, contacts at the UN, a big law firm to work pro bono, and
even a leaked document showing how Iran's entire filtering system
worked—so it's insanely valuable. Haystack is a tool to bypass that
filtering, which encrypts data and then obfuscates it to make it looks
like Iranians are visiting innocuous websites. But making it available
contravened U.S. sanctions against Iran! Unfortunately, the ragtag team
that went to Washington, D.C. was naive (and sometimes dumb and
inappropriate) when dealing with legislators and regulators. Eventually
became the first-ever U.S. organization licensed to export
anti-censorship software to Iran, and hopefully soon elsewhere. That
happened fast by D.C. standards, but that's still very slow in
real-world terms. Iran is 70 million people who are exactly like us: now
have made <a href="http://www.thisisforneda.com/">a film</a> for HBO about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan">Neda Agha-Soltan</a>,
including 15 hours of interview footage with her family, who were
willing to take that risk. Made it available online in various languages
and formats (including 3GP for phones), and even illegally broadcast
via satellite into Iran—which seems to have prompted a power shutdown in
Tehran. Online piracy sites also re-ripped the DVD format for
distribution, even though it was already available as a torrent from the
legit site. 35% of the Internet is under some form of government
restriction, so this is not a problem that's going away or getting
better.</li>
</ul>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/happy-anniversary-from-afar" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Happy anniversary from afar</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-19T22:40:14-08:00">August 19, 2010 10:40 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4909970365/" title="One big clubhouse by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="One big clubhouse" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4909970365_3ee0359b6f_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today, August 19, my wife Air and I celebrate our 15th anniversary, but I'm in Seattle for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/the-last-gnomedex">Gnomedex</a>
(we had dinner and a movie last night). I'm pretty sure it's the first
time we haven't been at home or travelling together on our anniversary.<br />
So to my wonderful wife, I toast <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4909970365/">a margarita</a>, on the rocks, from afar in the bar of the <a href="http://pphrseattle.wordpress.com/">Pan Pacific Seattle</a>. Mwah.<br />
P.S. I ate a bit of a clubhouse sandwich too, as you can see.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/prints-in-the-ash" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Prints in the ash</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-18T23:21:14-08:00">August 18, 2010 11:21 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrosinia/1258838/" title="Laetoli footprints"><img align="right" alt="Laetoli footprints" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/1/1258838_d627549503_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>There is a set of <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/07/1/l_071_03.html">footprints</a>
in Tanzania, a few dozen metres long, preserved in stone that hardened
from fresh volcanic ash, which had been rained upon. Those walking on
that ash were side by side, close enough to touch one another. The
prints are 3.6 million years old, and they were left by two (or perhaps
three) sets of feet—human feet.<br />
But the walkers had much smaller brains back then, so some might call
them humanoid rather than human. Whatever you call them, they were our
relatives (though not actually our direct ancestors). Their footprints
include nothing fossilized from their bodies, not one bone. Yet the
prints tell us remarkable things: that the apes that left them <em>were</em> human, in that they walked like us, upright on two legs evolved to walk that way, with feet that look like ours.<br />
If you didn't know the prints were millions of years old, you could
easily mistake them for a recent set, left by people walking barefoot on
the beach. I think that, from the perspective of modern humans, they're
one of the most remarkable fossil finds ever. Look at them, and you can
easily imagine a group of australopithecines, maybe <a href="http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=laetoli+footprints&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=l-ZsTMfGIo2isQP3tZ2gCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CD0QsAQwAw&biw=1207&bih=668">a family</a>,
walking across the plain. Some researchers say the gait of one of the
walkers implies it was carrying something, perhaps even a young child,
on its hip.<br />
As far as I know, we don't have access to the footprints of Plato or
Aristotle, Caesar or Cleopatra, Buddha or Jesus or Muhammad, Shakespeare
or Moliere or Confucius, or even of my own grandparents. But we have
these ones, eons older. We don't know what happened to those ape-humans
of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetoli">Laetoli</a> after they passed over the ash, but they were walking into their future. And here we are.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/enough-for-now" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Enough for now</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-16T11:44:11-08:00">August 16, 2010 11:44 AM</abbr>
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Despite going to and having fun at a couple of big
parties this past weekend, I wasn't feeling good. Saturday night in
particular was unpleasant. I had an ache on the left side of my back
reminiscent of a similar <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/it-doesnt-relent">pain</a> I felt <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/power-of-words">last year</a>,
which by all accounts was probably a relatively minor intestinal
problem. Unlike a year ago, however, sitting up in bed didn't help, and I
slept very little. By Sunday morning, when I took some Advil and ate
some food, the pain subsided and I was able to nap in our hammock for an
hour and a half, which kept me going for the rest of the day. And last
night was better, though I still have a bit of an upset stomach this
morning.<br />
These are complaints, part of the territory of having cancer and
getting a bit older. But I know that eventually I'll develop one of
those pains and it won't go away, because it won't be something simple
or minor. It's strange to say, but I've been relatively lucky because,
since my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hey-so-where-you-go">major cancer surgery</a>
in 2007, the pain and discomfort and nausea and other symptoms I've
suffered have been mostly from my treatments, not from my disease.<br />
However, I'll be heading into yet another round of
throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks chemotherapy in
September. That's happening because my previous chemo <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">wasn't working</a> anymore, just like the treatment <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">before that</a> wasn't, and the one <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/chemo-is-suddenly-over-again-for-now">before that</a>,
and so on. (There have now been so many I've lost track of them.) Even
if this new regimen is effective, given my experience over the past
three and a half years, it's not likely to stay that way in the long
term. And as far as I know, there aren't many other options beyond it.<br />
The cancer I have, spread through <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">both of my lungs</a>,
doesn't tend to go away. It's too widespread for surgery or radiation,
and chemotherapy and other systemic treatments have merely slowed it
down or shrunk the tumours temporarily. It's possible, though rather
unlikely, that some upcoming treatment will really beat my cancer back.
But success in a case like mine is almost always measured in extra years
of life, not extra decades.<br />
So I've been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/travel">packing in the fun</a>
this summer: Disneyland, Whistler, the beach, weddings, parties, geek
conferences, and more. That's because someday—likely not especially far
off—I'll develop symptoms that are from the cancer, that won't subside,
and that will need management. For at least a couple of years now,
whenever I feel pain of any kind (unless it's from something obvious
like whacking my shin on a table), I wonder if it will be that one, the
one telling me something in my body is failing. I wondered that on
Saturday night, but the pain went away, so perhaps it wasn't one to
worry about that way, not yet.<br />
Am I okay with this situation? No, I'm not. It's fucking stressful.
It sucks for me, for my wife, for my daughters, for the rest of my
family, and for my friends. But I think I have come to accept it. More
accurately, I <em>have had to</em> come to accept it.<br />
So today, I can still walk the dog and buy some groceries, enjoy some
food and the hot summer weather. I can move, and laugh, and appreciate
the day. It's enough for now.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/how-mad-can-you-get" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">How Mad can you get?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-13T08:02:10-08:00">August 13, 2010 8:02 AM</abbr>
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Like many others, my wife Air and I have become big fans of AMC's television series <cite><a href="http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-scott-buckwald-prop-master-for-the-hit-tv-show-mad-men/">Mad Men</a></cite>,
set in New York's hard-drinking, hard-smoking, philandering advertising
industry of the early 1960s. Aside from the usual reasons to like the
program (i.e. it's really good), it intrigues me because the character
of Peggy Olson, played by Elisabeth Moss, is the same age my mother was
at that time—though I think my mom had a better time of it.<br />
If you're a <cite>Mad Men</cite> enthusiast too, I recommend the post-show analysis published each week at <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house">The House Next Door Online</a>'s <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/tag/mad-men/">Mad Men Monday</a>. Here are the followups for this season's <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2010/07/mad-men-season-4-episode-1-public-relations/">first</a>, <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2010/08/mad-men-season-4-episode-2-christmas-comes-but-once-a-year/">second</a>, and <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2010/08/mad-men-season-4-episode-3-%E2%80%9Cthe-good-news%E2%80%9D/">third</a> episodes, for instance. For me they provide good critical thought without trying to be too clever, as reviews can often do.<br />
So far each episode this season has been set around a holiday:
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve 1964. Will this week see us
at Valentine's Day '65? In real life, that was the one right before my
parents got married in April.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/breed-pets-for-cuteness" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">We breed our pets for cuteness</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-11T11:26:35-08:00">August 11, 2010 11:26 AM</abbr>
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Since last November when we <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">bought her</a>, I've posted <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-know-i-know">more photos</a> than are sensible of our dog <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157623094353645/">Lucy</a>
online. We find her irresistibly cute still, even as she approaches her
first birthday, and pretty much everyone else she encounters seems to
agree:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4854780059/" title="Well hi there by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Well hi there" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4854780059_1e3079e6af.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
That is no accident. As <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/dawkins-coyne-shubin-greatest-show">Jerry Coyne</a> explains, we find <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/why-are-animals-cute/">certain animals cute</a>. More specifically, in breeds like the shihtzus and poodles that are Lucy's ancestors, we have <em>made them cute:</em><br />
<blockquote>
...in the big eyes of the Chihuahua, the short snout of
the fluffy Pomeranian, in the round face and small ears of the Scottish
fold cat [...] in all the features of animals bred for appearance rather
than work, we find our desires, evolved and otherwise, sculpting the
beasts in our environment.</blockquote>
Lucy is growing out of her puppyhood—she's reached close to her
maximum size, her behaviours are changing and settling down (for
example, she is better housetrained and a bit less hyper than before,
and now she barks at unfamiliar dogs instead of staying silent and
unnoticed), and she seems comfortable with her place in our household
(or, more accurately in her doggy mind, our pack hierarchy).<br />
But while she <em>acts</em> less like a puppy, she still <em>looks</em> like one, and she always will. Not only that, she looks more like a <em>human</em> baby or child than any wild <a href="http://www.google.com/images?q=wolf+cub">wolf cub</a>, ancestral dog puppy, or typical newborn mongrel mutt does. That's because as humans bred her ancestors—especially the <a href="http://www.google.com/images?q=shihtzu">shihtzus</a>—they preferred:<br />
<ul>
<li>Smaller size</li>
<li>Rounder, higher foreheads</li>
<li>Floppier, less pointy ears</li>
<li>Bigger eyes relative to the rest of the face</li>
<li>Shorter snouts</li>
<li>Coats more like hair than shedding fur</li>
</ul>
It makes sense that we find human babies cute. Indeed, sometimes
their cuteness seems like the only thing that keeps us parents going in
the early <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/puppy-vs-infant">sleep-deprived</a>
days of parenthood. And so it makes sense that we have bred many of our
pets, especially the most popular ones that are mammals (as well as
many fish and birds) for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny">neoteny</a>, to resemble our children too.<br />
People must have other reasons for getting reptiles or spiders or
other creatures as pets, though, since none of them are inherently cute
on the face of it. Surprisingly, and probably by mere coincidence, <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081110-cute-octopus-ancestor-photo.html">some cephalopods</a>
are. But, with their generally short lifespans and hard-to-maintain
aquarium requirements, squid and octopuses make lousy pets anyway.<br />
I'm not sure about this, but I think we even speak in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_talk">baby talk</a> to Lucy more than we did to our own children when they were little.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/green-and-orange" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Green and orange</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-09T23:14:19-08:00">August 9, 2010 11:14 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybastean/414359444/" title="Grand Canyon & Painted Desert"><img align="right" alt="Grand Canyon & Painted Desert" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/414359444_03e75f0391_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Most likely, I love the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_United_States">American Southwest</a>
for a simple reason: while not especially far away, it is so unlike the
Pacific Northwest where I've grown up and lived my whole life. That,
and it was the setting for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner">Road Runner and Coyote</a> cartoons I loved watching with my dad as a kid. (Bonus: they're making <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/08/03/looney">new ones</a>.)<br />
Here around Vancouver we have magnificent trees in lush forests,
towering mountains, beautiful oceans, snow and glaciers, sun and rain
and a distinctive kind of slanted <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/267294935/lightbox/">sunlight</a> that helps those in the know identify movies and TV shows that are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_filming_locations_in_the_Vancouver_area">filmed here</a>. We are a wet and green place.<br />
In contrast, much of eastern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas,
Utah, and Nevada is dry and orange. (Colorado and Wyoming are sometimes <a href="http://www.americansouthwest.net/">included</a> too, though look at a map and they're not very south and not especially west in the U.S.A.) There are canyons, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/katebodger/329381578/lightbox/">hoodoos</a>,
pueblo architecture, sagebrush, cactuses, and often relentless heat.
I've travelled through much of that area, including the Colorado River a
mile below me, Santa Fe, Meteor Crater, Zion National Park, Las Vegas,
Carlsbad Caverns, and El Paso (which was, to be honest, a pit). I even
saw a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2003/02/successful-landing.html">Space Shuttle land</a> on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base near the wonderfully-named town of Boron, California.<br />
When I think about that vast dry Southwest, I remember dust devils
swirling across the Interstates; watching "Beavis and Butt-Head" on MTV
for the first time in a motel on Route 66; the Hungry American Texas Pit
Bar-B-Que in Roswell, New Mexico; a squirrel stealing food during my
lunch break hiking part-way into the Grand Canyon; saguaro cactuses
growing around the University of Arizona the way Douglas firs grow here;
a rainbow made up only of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns in the
sediments of mesas and escarpments; and the blast of hot air when
opening the door to get out of an air-conditioned station wagon at each
fuel-and-snack stop.<br />
Of course it also evokes images of cowboys and miners, freight trains and wagon trains, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/bomb-days">nuclear tests</a>
and UFO sightings, the Navajo and Hopi and Zuni and the extinct Spanish
Empire. It is both a new and modern place and an ancient one, sculpted
by wind and heat and sand and eroding rivers in a different way than our
Northwest landscape carved by the Ice Age, rainstorms, our own big
rivers, and vegetation.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/the-last-gnomedex" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The last Gnomedex?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-07T12:32:58-08:00">August 7, 2010 12:32 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2838825814/" title="Chairs by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Chairs" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/2838825814_58dfa40ec7_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>Since 2005, I've been going to (or at least <a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/derek-millers-cancer-story/">involved with</a>) Chris Pirillo's annual <a href="http://www.google.ca/custom?domains=www.penmachine.com&q=gnomedex&sa=Search&sitesearch=www.penmachine.com&client=pub-0244838074492717&forid=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A219%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%2Fimages%2Fpenmachine_header.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en">Gnomedex</a> conference in Seattle. A couple of weeks from now will be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomedex_(conference)">Gnomedex 10</a>, and from the sounds of it, that will be <a href="http://twitter.com/gnomedex/status/20530202794">the last one</a>.<br />
I hadn't planned on attending this year: it's been a busy summer, and
my wife Air and I didn't quite have the budget to go. (Plus the first
night falls on our 15th anniversary.) But now, hearing that this
pioneering leading-edge nerd-fest might soon be over, and being <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">on a break</a>
from chemotherapy, I'm seriously considering booking a last-minute
ticket for myself and driving down for that weekend—like last year, Air
and I can celebrate our anniversary <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/proud-to-be-her-man">a day early</a>, perhaps.<br />
It's hard to describe what gives Gnomedex its <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/gnomedex-gets-back-its-mojo">mojo</a>:
while it is irredeemably geeky, and often covers trends in technology
and society before they hit the mainstream, it's neither a dry technical
meeting nor a science-fiction con. In a way, it's like an annual
online-community family reunion, except all you need to do to join the
family is show up. I've made lots of friends and deepened other
friendships there. It's where I finally understood <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">podcasting</a>, jammed with one of the <a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/jamming-at-gnomedex/">Presidents</a> of the United States of America the same night I saw an original Monet "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies">Water Lilies</a>" painting, and stared in awe at a photo of the Earth from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1JsWq9PnI">surface of Mars</a> while listening to a talk by one of the people who helped take the picture.<br />
With luck, I'll get myself together enough to go, and see Gnomedex
out in style. If this is the final one—which will be a pity—it will
still have outlasted its (satirical) namesake <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COMDEX">COMDEX</a> by seven years.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/08/mellow-with-smoke" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Mellow, with smoke</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-08-03T16:57:29-08:00">August 3, 2010 4:57 PM</abbr>
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I'm up in Whistler for a few days. Don't think I'll be writing much when there's a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4858510808/lightbox">pool</a> to hang out next to:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4858510808/" title="Poolside by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Poolside" height="162" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4858510808_0c39a62671.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
It's sunny and very warm (28°C) here. The weather also includes the
risk of a few light showers and, unfortunately, lightning strikes, which
might trigger more forest fires in the area. Whistler itself is so far
largely unaffected, except for some haze from the Jade Mountain <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/08/03/bc-wildfires.html">fire</a> not all that far away. A large firefighting helicopter flew over about an hour ago on the way there.<br />
Thanks to my aunt and uncle Christine and Norbert for use of their condo while we're here. It's become a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157606341136510">rather</a> nice <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157621296960421">tradition</a>—although
this time my wife Air stayed in Vancouver with our dog Lucy, and our
friend Leesa from Australia has joined us to visit this resort town,
which happens to be chock full of Australians all the time anyway.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-85880906091749808102018-11-11T13:18:00.003-08:002018-11-11T13:18:51.062-08:00Derek Jul 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1 class="archive-title" id="page-title">
July 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/new-census-disservice-tol-canadians" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The new census plan is a disservice to all Canadians</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-31T12:49:24-08:00">July 31, 2010 12:49 PM</abbr>
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I was going to write a long ranty post about the federal Conservative party's asinine plan to <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/07/16/clement-house-census.html">scrap the long form</a> from the next Canadian census in 2011. But Beth <a href="http://www.nottobetrustedwithknives.com/2010/07/19/census/">did a much better job</a>.
What's puzzling is that Statistics Canada is renowned around the world
for its excellent work, and I've never heard it accused of misusing or
leaking census information.<br />
Despite opposition from groups of all political stripes across the
country, the government is being intransigent. I hope that if they do
manage to screw up our next census by removing the long form, the
Conservatives get turfed next election and the new government will
reinstate it. I'm dismayed that senior ministers today seem either not
to understand how demographic statistics work and must be used, or are
letting a poisonous ideology override what understanding they might
otherwise have.<br />
Regardless, cancelling the mandatory long form (available <a href="http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/NHS-ENM/ref/Questionnaires/2011NHS-ENM-eng.cfm">from StatsCan</a>, if you want to see the "controversy") is a stupid move, and a disservice to everyone in the country.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/flying-at-1000-mph" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Flying at 1000 mph</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-30T21:39:53-08:00">July 30, 2010 9:39 PM</abbr>
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After yesterday's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again">big bummer</a> post, let's go back to something lighter and more fun. During our flight home from L.A. on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624467557121">Monday</a>, I took a couple of videos using my Nikon D90 SLR, one on takeoff and one on landing. Now I've <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4842618873/in/set-72157624467557121/">combined them</a> and sped them up eight times:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/-pkeLDzObQ8">https://youtu.be/-pkeLDzObQ8</a><br />
<br />
The apparent speed of the plane in the video (our WestJet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737#737-700">Boeing 737-700</a>)
is more than 1000 mph, which is why the landing seems a little rough.
The sounds are sped up too, so the squeaky noises on takeoff comprise
the flight attendant's announcements. Both parts of the flight are
looking north from row 5.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/tumours-growing-again" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Tumours growing again</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-29T20:54:02-08:00">July 29, 2010 8:54 PM</abbr>
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Since February or so, the aggressive, high-dose <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a> I've been taking since last December was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/tumours-still-shrinking">shrinking the tumours</a> in my lungs, an encouraging trend. But now, not so much.<br />
In the three and a half years I've known I have cancer, I've come to
expect a certain result whenever I meet with my oncologist Dr. Kennecke
about a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ctscan">CT scan</a>:
after 16 or 17 of those scans now, I know that most often, my tumours
have grown a little, not a lot, and there may be one or two new little
ones. That's my default position going in, before I know anything. If
things are <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time">better</a>, I'm happy. If they're <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">worse</a>, I'm sad. But if that's roughly the result, I may be disappointed, but I'm not crushed, as I might be if I were a <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/19/DD211A4O4C.DTL">relentless happy-happy</a> must-think-positively type.<br />
And that was roughly the result this month. I had another scan a few
weeks ago and met with Dr. K. at the B.C. Cancer Agency this past
Tuesday, the day after returning from my family trip to California. As
usual, things have grown a little in both lungs. Nothing has spread to
any other organs, and there's no change in my left kidney, which has
been slightly wonky ever since my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/back-home-and-moving-slowly">major surgery</a> back in 2007, when my surgeons managed to save it instead of having to remove the kidney altogether.<br />
The growth is enough that Dr. K. thinks the current chemo is no longer working. Somewhat like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic_resistance">antibiotic drug resistance</a>,
chemotherapy drugs often become less effective over time in patients
like me, who take it over the long term. (Coincidentally, in fact, CBC
Radio's science show "Quirks and Quarks" recently rebroadcast an <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/09-10/qq-2009-10-31.html">excellent program</a>
from last October, which describes the phenomenon in the context of new
treatments that allow people—again like me—to live with cancer as a
chronic disease.)<br />
Essentially, a particular chemo regimen poisons and kills cancer
cells that are susceptible to it. But cancer is a disease of mutation,
and there may be mutant cells left over that can resist the poisonous
effects of the drugs. As the poisoned cells die, the more resistant
cells can come to dominate, and then grow more tumour tissue, requiring a
change to different drugs to poison them.<br />
So that's what comes next. We're discontinuing my current three-drug
cocktail of 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin (known together as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOLFOX">FOLFOX</a>), and will replace it with another drug (which, like FOLFOX, I tried previously some time ago), called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irinotecan">irinotecan</a>,
perhaps in combination with other agents. This is sucky news, yes, but
as I mentioned, it's the kind of sucky news I expect and have
encountered many times in the past few years—indeed, I've lost track of
how many different drug combinations I've tried by now. For me, it's
more a bummer than a crisis, though it's harder for the rest of my
family.<br />
There is one big, nice benefit. Dr. K. recommended that I let my
body—especially my immune system—recover a bit from the FOLFOX
treatments before I start the new stuff. So I'll have no chemo until
after Labour Day, about six weeks away. I can enjoy the end of summer
without being laid out in bed for three days every couple of weeks.
Maybe, with luck, my oxaliplatin-induced <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-delay-zappy-foot">neuropathy</a> will abate somewhat too.<br />
When I'm supposed to be taking things one day at a time, six weeks of summer in one of the world's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3774107740">most beautiful</a> cities, and feeling what's likely to be somewhat better, is an unexpected bonus.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/photograph-fireworks-without-a-tripod" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">How to photograph at night without a tripod</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-28T22:27:23-08:00">July 28, 2010 10:27 PM</abbr>
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Taking pictures of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/photoessays/2002_08_fireworks">fireworks</a> or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/photoessays/2004_08_pne/2004_08_pne-Pages/Image5.html">light shows</a> or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613293346/in/set-72157624074058242/">night cityscapes</a>
without a tripod is a fool's game. But sometimes I'm foolish, and try
it—and sometimes it works. But you need to know a few things, so I'll
give you some suggestions if you find yourself in a nighttime
photography situation without a normal camera support.<br />
These days, cameras (especially digital SLRs) are remarkably capable
and smart. In most situations you can put them in Program or Full Auto
mode, compose your shot, and press the button to get a good result. When
I'm snapping family pictures, that's usually what I do. But when it
gets really dark, the camera's smarts usually fail, even if today's
amazing digital sensors can still pull good images out of the murk. But
you need to figure out the proper settings in your camera's Manual mode.
So I find having a few decades of photographic experience and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks">nerdery</a> under my belt helps me know what to do.<br />
<h3>
A sandbag substitute</h3>
Here, for example, is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835474096/">a shot</a> of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624592278500/">World of Color</a> water-and-light show displayed each night at Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim this summer:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835474096/" title="Disneyland day 4 - World of Color 15 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Disneyland day 4 - World of Color 15" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4835474096_7c43895e23.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /></div>
For a scene like that to come out well, I needed to use my Nikon D90
camera's lowest sensitivity (ISO 200) to avoid nasty grain and noise,
but that meant I also needed to use a fairly long <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/camera-works-shutters-flashes-and-sync">shutter speed</a> (half a second) and a small <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-aperture-and-f-stops">aperture</a> (f/8) to keep details in focus.<br />
Normally that would result in a blurry picture without a tripod,
because a half-second exposure reveals all sorts of camera shake from
unavoidably unsteady human hands. We just can't hold still enough.
Here's how I sidestepped that problem:<br />
<ol>
<li>I was sitting down on a bench, with my Crumpler <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3761376944/">shoulder bag</a>
and one of my daughters' sweaters on my lap. I could set my camera down
on them (as some photographers do with sandbags) and adjust the bag and
sweater to keep it level and aimed in the right direction. <i>Voilà</i>—tripod substitute.</li>
<li>The zoom lens I was using includes <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/camera-works-image-stabilization-vr-is">vibration reduction</a>, which helps reduce camera shake electromechanically. I also zoomed out as far as the lens could go (18 mm <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-focal-length">focal length</a>) so any visible blurring was reduced by the wide field of view.</li>
<li>I took lots of photos, one after the other, and only kept the
good ones. Some shake is still unavoidable, but since it's random, a few
pictures come out sharp anyway. I could have used my wireless remote
shutter release and self-timer delay to minimize shake further, but that
was more work than I wanted to do.</li>
</ol>
<h3>
Hold your breath</h3>
Okay, how about <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834987271/">a picture</a> of some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624592279238/">fireworks</a> from the next night?<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834987271/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 16 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 16" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4834987271_8778555fb0.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /></div>
In this case, there was nowhere to sit down, so my family and I were
standing among the throng at the north end of Main Street U.S.A. in
Disneyland. Ideally, there would have been some object (a rock, the edge
of a lamppost, a fence support) that I could have propped the camera on
or against, but no luck. Photographing fireworks without a tripod,
standing up, and without any nearby supports is especially difficult,
because not only are there shaky hands to deal with, but there's a shaky
torso and legs too.<br />
Fireworks <em>require</em> a slow shutter speed (at least one second,
as here, preferably more) to record the pretty trails and bursts rather
than freeze them as mere dots, and in this situation I used an f/8
aperture again most of the time, and ISO 200. What did I do to get
reasonably sharp results?<br />
<ol>
<li>It was the same lens with vibration reduction, which probably
helped a little, and I once again zoomed out a fair bit but not all the
way (to 26 mm focal length this time), since the fireworks were a tad
farther away than the water show the previous night.</li>
<li>I stood with my legs a little more than shoulder width apart,
feet flat, to be as steady as possible. Rather than keeping the camera
up at eye level looking through the viewfinder, or worse, holding it in
front of me to look at the LCD screen, instead I held it tight against
my chest, once more for maximum steadiness, and pointed my lens in
roughly the proper direction. Not looking through the finder also let me
enjoy the show while watching it with my own eyes, instead of through a
lens as might happen otherwise.</li>
<li>Once more, I took lots of photos hoping for a few keepers by
luck of the draw. For each picture, I squeezed the shutter release as
gently as I could while keeping my other hand firmly pressing the camera
body against my sternum, and I held my breath both before and during
the exposure—something I've heard snipers do too, to steady their
weapons. Thus it was inhale, hold breath, squeeze, wait for shutter,
breathe out, inhale, hold breath, squeeze...and so on.</li>
<li>Every once in a while, but not for every shot, I looked at the
LCD screen to see if I needed to adjust anything, in case things were
over- or underexposed. I tried sequences of pictures with different
shutter speeds and apertures to see if they produced better images.</li>
</ol>
There were a lot of rejects, but a decent number of nice photos too. I
was surprised how well the breath-holding method worked. But it sure
would have been better with a tripod, when exposures as long as 8 or 10
seconds or more are feasible, yielding <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/photoessays/2002_08_fireworks/Pages/3.html">still prettier pictures</a>.<br />
<h3>
When you have to crank the ISO</h3>
My last challenge came at the end of our flight home on Monday, as we
passed over Washington and the B.C. Lower Mainland after the sun had
set. I always enjoy photographing our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157594265993164">local volcanoes</a>, and this time we got great views of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836293195">Mt. Adams</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836911272">Mt. Rainier</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836303589">Mt. Baker</a>, as well as the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836310171">gleaming lights</a> of Vancouver and its suburbs as we came in for a landing:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836310171/" title="LAX to YVR - Vancouver and Grouse Mountain lights by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Vancouver and Grouse Mountain lights" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4836310171_36b8743303.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /></div>
Unfortunately, even a tripod would do no good in this situation (not
to mention the awkwardness of setting it up on an airplane seat). By
this time it was very, very dark: I could see the city lights, but could
only barely make out the silhouettes of the mountains in the
background. It looked a fair bit darker than the photo shows, in fact.
And camera shake was not really an issue: the key problem was that the
plane was moving at several hundred kilometres per hour. Long shutter
speeds were out of the question.<br />
This is when the drastically improved low-light sensitivity of modern
cameras comes in handy. I guessed that the slowest shutter speed I
could get away with was about 1/30 of a second, though even that was
pushing it:<br />
<ol>
<li>I propped the front of the lens against the window and shaded it with my hand to prevent any reflections from the cabin lights.</li>
<li>At a zoom of 50 mm to get the framing I wanted, the best
aperture the camera could provide was f/5, which meant boosting the ISO
(sensitivity) to 3200. (The D90 has an ISO 6400, but that's so noisy I
never use it.) I set all that manually, and even then the picture was
significantly underexposed as I shot it.</li>
<li>Finally, because of the underexposure, I boosted the levels even
more on my computer after I'd downloaded the photo from my camera. With
that fiddling, the orange sky and water reflection emerged from the
gloom, and the lights became starlike points rather than dull spots.</li>
</ol>
There are a lot of digital artifacts in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836310171/in/set-72157624467557121/lightbox/">final result</a>, particularly in the sky, but it's still quite pretty and I was happy to post it.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/eight-days-of-photos" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Eight days of photos</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-27T22:49:54-08:00">July 27, 2010 10:49 PM</abbr>
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I've now posted a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624467557875">complete set</a> of photos from our trip to Southern California last week:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833210165/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Miller girls on plane"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Miller girls on plane" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4833210165_cd374beae7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833212137/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Derek on plane"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Derek on plane" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4833212137_2dfb55e0ac_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833213277/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - WestJet"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - WestJet" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4833213277_4e49e1351c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833214129/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - volcanoes"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - volcanoes" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4833214129_5144eb3640_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833214549/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Crater Lake"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Crater Lake" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4833214549_bcbd43ae21_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833215801/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - fields"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - fields" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4833215801_b1b80ffa5f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833828078/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - staying occupied"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - staying occupied" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4833828078_2398571222_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833217735/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - irrigation"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - irrigation" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4833217735_9650a5e52a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833219119/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Lolo and Dad"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Lolo and Dad" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4833219119_31272c5e6e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833831350/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Bunny"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Bunny" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4833831350_5fddfa4b08_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833832734/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Marina Miller"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Marina Miller" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4833832734_167354f478_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833834284/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - LAX bus stop"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - LAX bus stop" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4833834284_4efa3e5d36_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833835576/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - The sprinkler"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - The sprinkler" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4833835576_8b4102d21b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833226223/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Highway"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Highway" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4833226223_db057a9986_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833838318/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Sleepy Lolo"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Sleepy Lolo" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4833838318_a557774ed2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833839608/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Marina and Derek at Bubba Gump's"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Marina and Derek at Bubba Gump's" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4833839608_1376826fec_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833841108/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Air and Lolo at Bubba Gump's"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Air and Lolo at Bubba Gump's" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4833841108_430908390f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833231705/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Flashy glasses"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Flashy glasses" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4833231705_ca91330482_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833233089/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Lolo in the A"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Lolo in the A" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4833233089_0b473217c9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833234505/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Girls on the L"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Girls on the L" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4833234505_f94619db51_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833235899/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Mulholland Madness"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Mulholland Madness" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4833235899_b268d6bc07_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833237285/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Evil Lotso"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Evil Lotso" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4833237285_14538a5ed8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833238901/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Air on the barfy Ferris wheel"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Air on the barfy Ferris wheel" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4833238901_8a2fbed457_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833850884/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Air and Lolo and the evil wheel"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Air and Lolo and the evil wheel" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4833850884_8cd95c8aa3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833852570/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Sugar insanity"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Sugar insanity" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4833852570_49a2a55eda_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833243339/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Bug flyer"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Bug flyer" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4833243339_a20028f8bd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833244555/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Lady bug spinner"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Lady bug spinner" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/4833244555_2c0c6ccd1b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833856536/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - That's it"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - That's it" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4833856536_b803864e4a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833246661/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Professional sprinkler dancers"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Professional sprinkler dancers" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4833246661_31e5330034_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833858168/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Bridezilla"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Bridezilla" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4833858168_445d6df372_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833859508/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Award Wieners"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Award Wieners" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4833859508_5b6160cc3f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833861182/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Muppet Beatle boots trunk"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Muppet Beatle boots trunk" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4833861182_e104a4ae9a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833862618/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - 3D family"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - 3D family" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4833862618_d5f2712203_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833864242/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Dinner at dusk"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Dinner at dusk" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4833864242_3b22c4afb8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833865616/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 1 - Sundown"><img alt="Disneyland day 1 - Sundown" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4833865616_9c6c793c70_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833884456/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Castle Inn"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Castle Inn" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4833884456_e9bf6e691b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833274925/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Shuttle buses"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Shuttle buses" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4833274925_b9169dd6f1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833276659/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Air and Lolo"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Air and Lolo" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4833276659_9f2613a847_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833888950/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Pirates"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Pirates" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4833888950_f999434735_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833279913/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Who did it?"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Who did it?" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4833279913_53505bfffc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833281537/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - On the train"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - On the train" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4833281537_a60e7c4848_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833282933/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Fan time"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Fan time" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4833282933_30c1d251ed_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833894812/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Conductor"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Conductor" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/4833894812_a4e220a713_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833895930/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Pleiosaurs"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Pleiosaurs" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4833895930_ca7661b016_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833286755/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Triceratops"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Triceratops" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4833286755_23cdd70216_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833287905/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Train seats"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Train seats" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4833287905_03fab3fb99_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833288677/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - No boogie allowed"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - No boogie allowed" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4833288677_301720c4a3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833900686/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Heavyweight"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Heavyweight" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4833900686_1b6fd01fe2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833291453/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Bend the bars"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Bend the bars" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4833291453_26a469b21b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833292153/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Hat sew 1"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Hat sew 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4833292153_060e2064f5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833292939/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Hat sew 2"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Hat sew 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4833292939_88a97014c0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833294509/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - New hats 1"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - New hats 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4833294509_b99fe92493_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833906306/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - New hats 2"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - New hats 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4833906306_e4a7116b8e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833907878/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Fire 1"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Fire 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4833907878_61ba7d59e4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833299073/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Fire 2"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Fire 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4833299073_b69a6669a2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833299371/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Space Mountain"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Space Mountain" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4833299371_56f526351d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833300877/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Autopia driver"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Autopia driver" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4833300877_bfd6ea21d3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833302131/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Hi Mom"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Hi Mom" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4833302131_84b8537a92_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833914206/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Hi Lolo"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Hi Lolo" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4833914206_73961793d9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833917018/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Main Street"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Main Street" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/4833917018_2423ace3c8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833917688/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Matterhorn"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Matterhorn" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4833917688_cb9351685f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833918646/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Bubbles 2"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Bubbles 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4833918646_a30c85cdd8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833919280/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 1"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4833919280_b9065fe108_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833920778/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 2"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4833920778_a67c1b5af2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833922376/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 3"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4833922376_c172b98ff8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4833313513/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 4"><img alt="Disneyland day 2 - Wet grizzly run 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4833313513_fba1ff590f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835802648/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - He's got a mane"><img alt="San Diego - He's got a mane" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4835802648_a4eba0a2ab_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836415312/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - The big guy"><img alt="San Diego - The big guy" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4836415312_514879bbf9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835775974/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Getting food"><img alt="San Diego - Getting food" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4835775974_97f7882d68_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835835504/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Llama"><img alt="San Diego - Llama" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4835835504_79bfd456b9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835735968/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - California condor"><img alt="San Diego - California condor" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4835735968_a57a48e4b4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835260675/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Meerkat sentry"><img alt="San Diego - Meerkat sentry" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4835260675_628326f96e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835204913/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Hyena"><img alt="San Diego - Hyena" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4835204913_510c01f0e7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835818233/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Wallabies"><img alt="San Diego - Wallabies" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/4835818233_dd99e94dca_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835795559/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Sleepy grizzlies"><img alt="San Diego - Sleepy grizzlies" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4835795559_706e2db51f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835180911/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Giraffe"><img alt="San Diego - Giraffe" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4835180911_51a27ba321_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835178697/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Giraffe chews cud"><img alt="San Diego - Giraffe chews cud" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4835178697_28ca7a27e3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835250053/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina gorilla"><img alt="San Diego - Marina gorilla" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4835250053_23dff3b83d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835863862/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina koala"><img alt="San Diego - Marina koala" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4835863862_af7aef310a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835157425/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Funky skull"><img alt="San Diego - Funky skull" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4835157425_bda2fa965d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835143385/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Duck and ducklings"><img alt="San Diego - Duck and ducklings" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4835143385_b5d6ffa00a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835117805/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Balboa tower, dome, jet"><img alt="San Diego - Balboa tower, dome, jet" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4835117805_e0b156bed1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836376242/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Mini-deer"><img alt="San Diego - Mini-deer" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4836376242_ab9968424a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835785179/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Resting"><img alt="San Diego - Resting" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4835785179_e176449066_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836381722/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - More peccary"><img alt="San Diego - More peccary" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4836381722_2569d9ec2a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835198191/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Hi there gazelle"><img alt="San Diego - Hi there gazelle" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4835198191_18319f2987_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835773562/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Gazelles and tower"><img alt="San Diego - Gazelles and tower" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4835773562_4123a2eb8d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835823212/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Kudu"><img alt="San Diego - Kudu" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4835823212_feeae8103d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835232709/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Lolo reads a book"><img alt="San Diego - Lolo reads a book" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4835232709_995ce1d5bc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835789255/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Ride the polar bear"><img alt="San Diego - Ride the polar bear" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4835789255_6e65edbb97_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835799241/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Snoozing polar bear 1"><img alt="San Diego - Snoozing polar bear 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4835799241_c4047a023d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835800281/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Snoozing polar bear 2"><img alt="San Diego - Snoozing polar bear 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4835800281_a56bf2dee7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835869762/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina's helicopter"><img alt="San Diego - Marina's helicopter" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4835869762_a259576747_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835825670/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Lauren's helicopter"><img alt="San Diego - Lauren's helicopter" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4835825670_df55200092_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835856652/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina bear"><img alt="San Diego - Marina bear" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4835856652_ae1f951c5b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835251581/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina in pith helmet"><img alt="San Diego - Marina in pith helmet" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4835251581_f56c88565c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835133565/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Civilized zoos sell beer"><img alt="San Diego - Civilized zoos sell beer" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4835133565_da96ee8b83_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836400582/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Riding the American lion"><img alt="San Diego - Riding the American lion" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4836400582_3625e03209_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835847446/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina and mammoth"><img alt="San Diego - Marina and mammoth" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4835847446_160ac53a80_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835816141/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Underfoot"><img alt="San Diego - Underfoot" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4835816141_d62208dc3b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835104535/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Air and elephants"><img alt="San Diego - Air and elephants" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4835104535_a61cb009cf_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835186569/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Girls with tusks"><img alt="San Diego - Girls with tusks" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/4835186569_2ece8a07aa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835779357/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Ouch"><img alt="San Diego - Ouch" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4835779357_e40590ae12_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835873126/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Meet the sabre-tooth cat"><img alt="San Diego - Meet the sabre-tooth cat" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4835873126_66d9baee0a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835867364/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina rides a cat"><img alt="San Diego - Marina rides a cat" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4835867364_10ca1b7a30_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835762414/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Food toy"><img alt="San Diego - Food toy" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/4835762414_332c322f65_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835229211/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Lolo face"><img alt="San Diego - Lolo face" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/4835229211_6169c0dc54_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835248263/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Marina face"><img alt="San Diego - Marina face" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4835248263_2c40d2ff5f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835811953/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Trucking for food"><img alt="San Diego - Trucking for food" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4835811953_d09f508c9b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835735302/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - By the bars"><img alt="San Diego - By the bars" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4835735302_d80fdc7480_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835783194/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Giant raptor and Lolo"><img alt="San Diego - Giant raptor and Lolo" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/4835783194_e5db8d6f87_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835177631/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - Giant raptor and Marina"><img alt="San Diego - Giant raptor and Marina" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4835177631_c725a6f27a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835808869/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - The elephant wall"><img alt="San Diego - The elephant wall" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4835808869_f5de8f5fb2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835775203/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="San Diego - One to stay one to go"><img alt="San Diego - One to stay one to go" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4835775203_2b233aa2cc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834978365/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 8"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4834978365_6d349768c4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834979003/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 9"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4834979003_8cb6cf7e39_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834979869/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 10"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4834979869_2259ab883b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834981019/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 11"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4834981019_558fc9cc02_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835592118/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 12"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4835592118_fb0a542984_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834984577/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 13"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4834984577_4dd68b053e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834985525/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 14"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4834985525_2f37f815ff_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835595212/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 15"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4835595212_b3b3c3e597_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834987271/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 16"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4834987271_8778555fb0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835597826/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 17"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 17" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4835597826_64e4d5554b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834990017/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 18"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 18" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4834990017_cff80376ff_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835599738/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 19"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 19" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4835599738_30a780352d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835600304/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 20"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 20" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/4835600304_195964436d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834991839/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 21"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 21" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4834991839_507e6954df_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834993655/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 22"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 22" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4834993655_642e1ddf4c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835604134/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 23"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 23" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4835604134_4be93ba79e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835605506/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 24"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 24" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4835605506_68e24dcbb4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4834998977/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 25"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 25" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4834998977_297f1d8f1d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835609570/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 26"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 26" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4835609570_570467fba9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835002435/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 27"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 27" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/4835002435_2d459b88f0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4835004939/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 28"><img alt="Disneyland day 5 - Fireworks 28" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4835004939_a8d5f3ffcb_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836229899/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Statues"><img alt="Anaheim - Statues" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4836229899_13b7c596a5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836231879/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - New shoes"><img alt="Anaheim - New shoes" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4836231879_8cbf612c0e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836233813/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 1"><img alt="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4836233813_878e41d833_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836845704/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 2"><img alt="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/4836845704_8c7cb796b9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836237669/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 3"><img alt="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/4836237669_e1e188efec_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836239375/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 4"><img alt="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4836239375_d06804e5a9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836241495/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 5"><img alt="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4836241495_eac3fee14f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836853006/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 6"><img alt="Anaheim - Bowling at 300 - 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4836853006_ec2f70f5b4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836854990/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Never meant to fly"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Never meant to fly" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4836854990_4360f1446b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836855584/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Our WestJet 737"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Our WestJet 737" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4836855584_ba02017ee3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836856622/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Marina at charging station"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Marina at charging station" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4836856622_147ae49367_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836858344/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - At gate 22"><img alt="LAX to YVR - At gate 22" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4836858344_ddd313eac0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836858880/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Refuel"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Refuel" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4836858880_0021cc5ba1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836860696/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Waiting at the gate"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Waiting at the gate" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4836860696_5d1fc8b029_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836251879/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Ground crew dude"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Ground crew dude" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4836251879_f884ea9c7d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836861780/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Southwest over In-N-Out"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Southwest over In-N-Out" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4836861780_82198aeef2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836863402/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Virgin Airbus"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Virgin Airbus" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4836863402_4c8abc0bd2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836865310/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - TACA Air France Aeromexico"><img alt="LAX to YVR - TACA Air France Aeromexico" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/4836865310_8e20edfd13_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836867640/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Southwest posse"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Southwest posse" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4836867640_ab5a6e5295_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836259359/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Shoreline at takeoff"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Shoreline at takeoff" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4836259359_51589b9581_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836261157/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Jet over Los Angeles"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Jet over Los Angeles" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4836261157_589630a0ff_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836872988/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Shore and mountains"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Shore and mountains" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/4836872988_d433f5f06a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836875918/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - At the seaside below"><img alt="LAX to YVR - At the seaside below" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4836875918_e012958750_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836268121/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Smog and sprawl"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Smog and sprawl" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4836268121_160875d83f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836270425/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Arid hills"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Arid hills" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4836270425_363a7fe0e7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836882128/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Hilltop"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Hilltop" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4836882128_5bb28041bb_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836883938/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Dam number 1"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Dam number 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4836883938_2f2e117721_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836276713/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Dam number 2"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Dam number 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4836276713_98a5c6a05f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836278319/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - San Andreas Fault"><img alt="LAX to YVR - San Andreas Fault" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4836278319_77750b7c79_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836889980/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Erosion"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Erosion" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/4836889980_e4828d82ee_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836892074/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Farms and foothills"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Farms and foothills" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4836892074_62e37d4eb1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836894020/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Forest fire"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Forest fire" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4836894020_e6bbc34d32_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836894720/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Another Southwest jet"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Another Southwest jet" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4836894720_45c6a53319_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836286225/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Lolo and Potato Head"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Lolo and Potato Head" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4836286225_c80cb0f886_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836897520/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Potato Head in new garb"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Potato Head in new garb" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4836897520_3258823708_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836899300/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Moonrise"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Moonrise" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4836899300_910ed706aa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836900962/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Moon and wing"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Moon and wing" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4836900962_6b40aac449_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836293195/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Mount Adams 1"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Mount Adams 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4836293195_8f72eb2ecb_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836904590/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Mount Adams 2"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Mount Adams 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/4836904590_1e63c38b1c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836297083/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Mount Adams 3"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Mount Adams 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/4836297083_d365e0da52_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836299345/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Mount Rainier 1"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Mount Rainier 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4836299345_efdc85851b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836911272/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Mount Rainier 2"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Mount Rainier 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4836911272_5e200e87a9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836303589/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Mount Baker and Bellingham suburbs"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Mount Baker and Bellingham suburbs" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4836303589_d12871afa2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836915808/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - New Westminster"><img alt="LAX to YVR - New Westminster" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4836915808_b94fdd3f7d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836917772/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Burnaby"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Burnaby" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4836917772_8ac9729453_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836310171/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Vancouver and Grouse Mountain lights"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Vancouver and Grouse Mountain lights" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4836310171_36b8743303_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4836312353/in/set-72157624467557875/" title="LAX to YVR - Vancouver-Burnaby border"><img alt="LAX to YVR - Vancouver-Burnaby border" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4836312353_9eba69a969_s.jpg" width="75" /></a>
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In addition to pictures from <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/whee">Disneyland</a>, the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/feet-dont-fail-me-now">San Diego Zoo</a>, and elsewhere in the vicinity, I got some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624467557121">nice shots</a> yesterday from the plane home.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/pictures-from-sunny-california" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Pictures from Sunny California</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-24T19:04:16-08:00">July 24, 2010 7:04 PM</abbr>
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The Internet connection at our hotel near Disneyland is fairly slow and flaky, so I haven't uploaded any pictures to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine">Flickr</a> yet because the full-size photos would take forever to get there. I'm going to wait until we get back to Vancouver to try them.<br />
However, smaller photos posted to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine">Facebook</a> work fine, so if you want to see what we've been up to, you can check out our pics from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=458883&id=785130596&l=3f2ffb8658">Orange County</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=459457&id=785130596&l=30d9d8d9f8">San Diego</a>.
The weather has been just about perfect (mid to high 20°s Celsius and
mostly sunny), and even my health has been cooperating most of the time.
You can see it in the images.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/feet-dont-fail-me-now" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Feet don't fail me now</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-23T09:29:59-08:00">July 23, 2010 9:29 AM</abbr>
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After three days of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/whee">Disney craziness</a>,
my whole family's feet were feeling sore, so yesterday we rented a car
and drove from Anaheim to San Diego to visit our friends Henry and
Margarete, who had never met the kids. Margarete prepared us a wonderful
home-cooked roast chicken lunch (a nice change of pace from chain
food), but unfortunately the marine cloud made it not quite beach
weather.<br />
So what did we do with our tired feet? Spent the afternoon traversing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Zoo">San Diego Zoo</a>,
of course. I used to come to San Diego with my parents every summer,
but I'd only visited the Zoo once, back in the 1970s. I hardly
remembered it, so it was like a brand-new experience for all of us. (As a
child, I preferred the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Zoo_Safari_Park">Wild Animal Park</a>, but that's a bit farther out of town.)<br />
Afterwards we found an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-N-Out_Burger">In-N-Out Burger</a>
for dinner, drove through San Diego's Mission Bay and La Jolla
neighbourhoods, and then found our way back to L.A. just in time to see
the Disneyland fireworks through our windshield as we were returning to
the hotel. Surprisingly, despite some health issues early in the
morning, I was much less tired at the end of the day than I expected.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/whee" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Wheeeeeee...</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-19T23:09:28-08:00">July 19, 2010 11:09 PM</abbr>
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We're at <a href="http://www.disneyland.com/">Disneyland</a>,
my first visit in almost 25 years. I puked today—my own fault for a
poor ride choice (the giant Ferris wheel's swinging, swaying cabins,
oddly enough).<br />
Otherwise it was a great day, despite our waking at 5 a.m. to catch
our plane. Very tired. Back at it tomorrow. With luck, no more barfing
then. I think I've learned my lesson.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/how-to-write-a-blog-for-10-years" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">How to write a blog for 10 years</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-18T07:45:52-08:00">July 18, 2010 7:45 AM</abbr>
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This October will mark <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2000/10/">a full decade</a>
since I started posting entries to this blog. (Some version of this
website, without very regular updates, existed for more than three years
beforehand.) That's longer than I've worked at any job, studied at any
school, or owned any car. The site overall is older than <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/">either</a> of my <a href="http://babylolo.wordpress.com/">daughters</a>, and I've been blogging since before my youngest could walk.<br />
Most blogs—most websites—don't last that long. Many bloggers are
comfortable letting their writing peter out, or just stopping and
deleting the thing, and maybe starting up another some other time. For
some reason, even though I've never regularly written a diary, I've been
more stubborn than that, and wanted to keep this thing going.<br />
Some years ago, I set two guidelines for myself that seem to have kept this site from stagnating:<br />
<ol>
<li>Publish one post per day, <em>on average</em>.</li>
<li>In each post, include at least one link.</li>
</ol>
That's it. It doesn't mean I write something here every day, but that
some days I write one entry, some days two or three, and some days
nothing. Some are <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/11/its-art-deco-future.html">a few words</a> long, some <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/camera-works-shutters-flashes-and-sync">many pages</a>.
Every once in a long while, I do a quick calculation, and now that I
have thousands of posts online, my average has been a little over one
post per day for a long time (as of today, it's about 1.03). At this
point, I'd have to publish nothing for close to <em>three months</em> before that average would dip below my self-set guideline—and I can always collect some <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/linksofinterest">Twitter links</a> to avoid that.<br />
I tell myself to include at least one link because this is the Web,
and that's what it's about. It also means that even if I write something
really short, people reading this site will probably find it
interesting, since it sends them somewhere <em>else</em> with more to look at.<br />
Over time, I've also decided that my archives are <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">important</a>,
and that I want them to stay online as long as possible. So instead of
several personal blogs scattered at various domains, I've kept <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/past">everything here</a>.
A lot of those outbound links I've put into posts are now dead, of
course, but for the most part, if someone else linked here, even six or
seven years ago, that link will still work.<br />
Does it matter? It does to me, and the results seem to bring a couple of thousand people a day here, somehow. That's enough.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/ads-your-man-could-sell-like" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The ads your man could sell like</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-16T18:50:36-08:00">July 16, 2010 6:50 PM</abbr>
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Not long ago I wrote about how much I like the current wry <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/old-spice-and-dos-equis">ad campaigns</a>
from Old Spice and Dos Equis. As anyone who was around the Web at all
this week knows, Old Spice has now blown the doors off with its
on-the-fly series of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/oldspice">video responses</a> to people on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, and elsewhere.<br />
What amazed me was not only that a major consumer-products company
like Procter & Gamble would go for this kind of campaign, but that
the team behind it would handle the process so deftly. The dozens and
dozens of short videos they produced this week were consistently funny
(frequently hilarious), often <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWCVhGzrAT0">surrealist</a> and bizarre, and stupendously successful in pretty much <a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/07/no-seriously-what-the-old-spice-ads-can-teach-us-about-news-future/">every way</a>. Actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah_Mustafa">Isaiah Mustafa</a>,
who plays the impossibly handsome shirtless Old Spice Guy, walked the
razor's edge of deadpan self-parody with the skill of Peter Sellers—and
apparently often did it <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_old_spice_won_the_internet.php">in one take</a>.<br />
There has, so far, been no cynical backlash online, which I find
astonishing. I wrote myself on Twitter that I want to go buy something
from Old Spice now, even if I never use it, simply to reward the group
of people who made the last couple of days of my chemo recovery more
pleasant with so much funny stuff.<br />
My guess is that sales of their products will skyrocket, and
deservedly so. Most interesting, they haven't changed Old Spice itself
at all: Procter & Gamble still sells the classic-scent aftershave,
along with a few different scents in different sorts of grooming
products that they've introduced over the past couple of decades.
They're still using the same <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBeP8yc5P64">whistled jingle</a>, even.<br />
The transformation is entirely in how they present the brand, and how
we buyers have come to think of it as a result. A decidedly uncool,
old-man's aftershave that none of us really thought much about has
turned into The Thing That Won The Internet, mostly by <em>making fun of itself</em> and the style of its own <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL5S6cm7J5g">macho-manly ads</a> of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t0z04Qz61Q">30 or 40</a> years ago.<br />
Marketing and advertising people the world over have surely been
standing, mouths agape, at that transformation. And wondering what on
earth Old Spice will do next.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/fiddly-fingers" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Fiddly fingers</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-14T17:34:58-08:00">July 14, 2010 5:34 PM</abbr>
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I've mentioned before how one of my current chemotherapy medications gives me <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-delay-zappy-foot">peripheral neuropathy</a>,
where my fingers and toes are numb and tingly. Most of the time that's
not too big an issue—it's annoying, not painful, and I can still do most
things I like to do. Typing is fine (though I may be a tad slower than I
used to be), the buttons and dials on my cameras are still easy to
operate, and even playing guitar is okay, since I was no <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2009/03/dereks-heavy-metal-debut-video.html">shredding speed demon</a> on the fretboard to start with.<br />
However, tasks requiring really fine motor control are difficult. For
instance, the other day my daughter Marina asked me to help her put on a
necklace, with one of those super-tiny lobster-claw fasteners in the
back. While I could get my thumbnail under the catch, I didn't have the
precise feeling in my fingertips to get the tension just right, to keep
the clasp open yet not have my finger slip right off. I had to ask my
wife Air to help instead.<br />
Similarly, peeling labels off their wax-paper backing and even
opening the pop-tops on soda cans are now clumsy manoeuvres for me. When
opening a Diet Dr. Pepper, I now usually resort to prying the pop-top
up with a butter knife or a car key, then using my fingers once there's
some good leverage to open it the rest of the way.<br />
I'm not sure how much worse it's going to get, or what else that was
once easy might become harder. Some people have suggested treatments
such as acupuncture which might reduce the numbness. I might try that if
the neuropathy becomes at all debilitating. It's the end for any
aspirations of my being a neurosurgeon, anyway. Good thing I never had
those to start with.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/down-the-hole" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Down the hole</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-12T08:03:25-08:00">July 12, 2010 8:03 AM</abbr>
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More <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/tag/chemotherapy">chemo</a> today, so expect little posting here for a day or two or three.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/listening" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Listening</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-11T15:37:59-08:00">July 11, 2010 3:37 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4936762584/" title="On the pathway and dreaming by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="On the pathway and dreaming" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4936762584_b0a85fed00_m.jpg" width="159" /></a>Yesterday
around lunchtime I was pretty tired (cancer-treatment side effects, but
I'll avoid detail today), so I went out in the yard with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/tags/lucy">the dog</a>
and sat in the sun for a spell. I noticed that the stone pathway tiles
down the side of our house had only recently been shaded from the sun,
and were still very warm, so I lay down on them. It was like a hot-stone
spa treatment, quite wonderful.<br />
Then I closed my eyes and listened. We humans are primates, and thus
vision dominates our senses. Most of the time we filter out sounds, but
this time I focused on trying to detect everything I could hear from our
suburban yard. It's not easy to pay attention to it all. There were
lots of noises.<br />
Rustling leaves in the trees. Flies buzzing around each other,
probably mating. The slightly different buzz of bees pollinating flowers
in the grass. Crows chattering or cawing at one another from tree
branches or power lines. The occasional chickadee. A distant low
continuous roar which, in a different century, could have been a river,
but which I know was traffic on the Trans-Canada highway down in the
central valley of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CentralBurnaby.jpg">Burnaby</a>,
north of where we live. The occasional car passing by. Commercial jets,
one after the other with a few minutes' delay between them, flying
overhead on their way into a long slow U-turn to Vancouver Airport. A
distant siren—police or ambulance. A couple walking by with their dog,
and our dog barking at them. The horn of a train, also down in the
valley, and the deep thrum of its engine.<br />
If I hadn't been paying specific attention, I might only have
consciously noticed Lucy barking, and the planes. A couple of hundred
years ago, our property was forest, so only the leaves and flies and
bees and crows and songbirds would have been here. Despite all the
different sounds, I was surprised how quiet it is around here, despite
our proximity to B.C.'s largest mall and major streets like Kingsway.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/ipad-impressions" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">iPad impressions</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-10T22:35:32-08:00">July 10, 2010 10:35 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4783509723/" title="iPad and Apple Bluetooth Keyboard by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="iPad and Apple Bluetooth Keyboard" border="0" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4783509723_e4f1b4b192_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I've now had the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-to-me">iPad</a>
my wife and kids gave me for my birthday for a little under two
weeks—long enough to give you some early impressions. Rather than a
review or a comprehensive pros-and-cons list, I'll simply note some of
the things that surprised me about this device once I actually got it in
my hands:<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>Battery life.</strong> Holy cow, I've never seen a
gadget like this last so long on a charge. I've repeatedly used it for
hours on end, to the point where my iPhone would normally be well into
the red zone near depletion, and figuring I'd need to plug the iPad
in—and then noticed that the battery was still as high as 72% charge. I
likely get better-than-average battery life because I don't watch a lot
of movies on it, and have the Wi-Fi–only model without the extra
electricity-sucking 3G modem or GPS. Still, Apple's claimed 10-hour
battery life actually seems <em>conservative</em>, in my estimation, and I've been able to leave the iPad for several days without a charge, and still have it ready to go.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Typing.</strong> No matter what some might claim, the onscreen keyboard <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/02/02/provost-ipad-typing">sucks</a>
for typing anything of any length, especially if it involves numbers or
punctuation, and especially HTML as I like to type for this blog here,
with all its angle brackets, slashes, and quotation marks. It's actually
worse than the iPhone's onscreen equivalent, because the iPad's screen
keys are so much bigger and thus slower for my fingers to move between. I
find I'm often typing letters in the bottom row of keys by accident
when I mean to hit the space bar, for instance, and I have to position
my hands in an exaggerated claw-like pose (like a concert pianist) to
avoid triggering mistaken keypresses with other parts of my fingers and
palms. So my first accessory purchase, made today (with one of my
birthday gift cards—thanks!), is not a case, but a Bluetooth keyboard,
which I'm using to write this post. Aah, much better. On the plus side,
however, the screen keys are nearly silent, so I can at least type short
stuff if I'm awake late, and not disturb my wife sleeping beside me.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Safari.</strong> Apple's advertising promises all the world's websites on the iPad. Well, sort of. There's the well-publicized lack of <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/29/steve-jobs-publishes-some-thoughts-on-flash-many-many-thou/">Flash support</a>,
but I can't stand most Flash-based sites anyway, so that doesn't stress
me out much. But there are other peculiar incompatibilities, such as
the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/safari-google-bug">embedded font issue</a>
I described earlier (now partially fixed, by the way, likely by
Google's font team), and a problem where pasting text into my Movable
Type blog editing window doesn't work properly. Both work fine on the
desktop version of Safari. There are more, but it's obvious that mobile
Safari and its desktop equivalent are close cousins rather than
near-identical siblings. That means web developers will have to test
with Yet Another Browser (probably more than that, since I'm not sure
the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch versions of Safari behave the same
either). That's kind of a pain.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Portrait and landscape.</strong> Until I started using
the iPad, I'd forgotten how much I liked reading web pages, emails, and
documents in portrait (vertical) orientation, something I did a lot with
my old rotating <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/jerker_desk.html">Radius Pivot</a>
CRT monitor in the '90s and early 2000s. (The iPad has a higher screen
resolution than that bulky Radius beast did, by the way.) But the ease
with which you can flip the iPad around means it's easy to change from
one orientation to another depending on what you're looking at or doing
at any moment. There's also no wrong way: the display will reorient
whichever way you twist it, even 180° upside down. Fortunately there's
also a hardware orientation lock switch for when you <em>don't</em> want that to happen. (If someone takes an iPad to the International Space Station, they'll be using that a lot, I guess.)<br /></li>
<li><strong>Heat and weight.</strong> As our summer temperatures
reached 30° C and higher this week, I appreciated that the iPad doesn't
seem to heat up with regular use, not as much as my iPhone and certainly
nothing like the baking underside of my MacBook. Again, not playing
movies, running Flash, or having 3G or GPS surely helps, but so does
having no hard drive, not multitasking much, and using Apple's
power-efficient A4 processor. However, the iPad is also surprisingly
heavy for its size. Nothing like a MacBook, but since you hold the iPad
upright, rather than resting it on your lap, it can get tiring on your
wrists and arms.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Books and magazines.</strong> Its weight affects the
iPad's usefulness for reading longer-form, traditionally offline
material, such as books and magazines. I have an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/books-old-and-new">Amazon Kindle</a>
too, and while nearly any document looks much prettier on the iPad's
full-colour backlit screen, the Kindle is so much lighter that it's far
easier to read for extended periods. (Notice that both ebook readers
like the Kindle and tablets like the iPad don't prop up quite the way
books do either, so while they might be lighter than a thick dead-tree
slab of Tolstoy, the electronic readers still require more active
holding.) The iPad's great screen means that complex colour
layouts—particularly magazines with lots of artwork or photography—look
far better than on the Kindle. But the Kindle's low-power greyscale
electronic ink display is far less strain on my eyes for reading long
swaths of text, like a regular book. Still, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ipad">Kindle app</a> for the iPad is very nice too—I'd rather <em>browse and buy</em> books on the iPad, then <em>read</em> them on the Kindle. On the iPad, Apple's <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/02/apples-ibooks-app-now-available/">iBooks app</a> is very good for reading PDF files, and other apps such as the <a href="http://www.zinio.com/">Zinio</a> reader do a decent job with some mainstream magazines. The iPad certainly gives you more choices.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Syncing and charging.</strong> Given Apple's usual laser
focus on a product's market position, I was puzzled that the iPad seems
to have a mixed opinion of itself: is it an adjunct to your computer or
a standalone device? It's not quite powerful or flexible enough to be
someone's only computing gadget, at least not for someone who wants to
do more than the most bare-bones stuff. Indeed, an iPad won't even work
unless it's been synced to a computer running iTunes first, and some
tasks like subscribing to new podcasts are only really possible via
iTunes on the desktop. But iTunes has evolved so far beyond its original
role (and name) as a way to manage music on Macs and sync it with iPods
that—while it still works okay—it seems creaky and overextended as a
way to interact with Apple's mobile devices today. The list of tasks for
iTunes now includes Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, iTunes U courses, Books
and PDFs, Apps, Ringtones, Internet Radio, and iTunes DJ and Genius
playlists, as well as CD ripping, audio file conversion, and file
sharing for iWork documents. But while the iPad requires iTunes for some
things, you can also buy songs, videos, and apps wirelessly on it, and
set up email accounts, Twitter and Facebook profiles, and so on, without
plugging in. I just wish you could do <em>all</em> your stuff (especially syncing) without requiring a sync cable. (Microsoft's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/zune-would-be-fun-if-i-didn-have-to">Zune</a>
supported wireless sync back in 2006, you know!) Another funny things
is that, since all our Macs are pretty old in our house, none of them
can provide enough power through USB to charge the iPad up—they'll keep
it at its current charge level when plugged it, but actually filling the
battery requires using a USB wall-plug adapter like the one the iPad
comes with. (Newer Macs and some PCs can supply enough juice via their
USB ports too.) So sometimes the iPad wants to be the child of a desktop
computer, and sometimes it wants to be its own thing. It's like a
teenager.<br /></li>
<li><strong>iOS 4 can't come soon enough.</strong> Having updated my iPhone to <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/06/ars-reviews-ios-4-whats-new-and-notable.ars">iOS 4</a> as soon as it became available a few weeks ago, I find that the iPad's remaining at iOS 3.2 until <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/152159/2010/06/ios4.html">later this year</a>
to be frustrating. The improved multitasking and recently-used apps
interface, broadened support for background audio streaming, universal
email inbox, and especially folders for organizing apps are all things I
miss when I fire up the iPad after using my iPhone. So in some ways,
for now, the user interface on my year-old iPhone 3GS feels more modern
than the brand new iPad. That should change soon enough, and I expect
the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad to receive OS updates in a more
coordinated manner after that, but for now the iPad is behind.<br /></li>
<li><strong>Bigger really is bigger, though not necessarily better.</strong>
Yes, on first glance an iPad does seem simply like a bigger version of
the iPod Touch and iPhone. But sometimes quantitative differences—a
bigger housing and screen and more pixels in this case—really do make a
qualitative difference too. An iPhone or iPod Touch feels like a
pocket-sized computing device for while you're on the go (and maybe when
you need to make phone calls). The iPad isn't as likely to be something
you'll use waiting in line for coffee or a bus, but for lounging in
front of the TV or in bed, or at a restaurant or café, or at a meeting
or conference, or (in my case) out in the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/morning-routine">back yard</a>
first thing in the morning, it feels like much less of a production to
bring along than a full-size laptop, and a more pleasant and immersive
experience than pecking at an iPhone. It's <em>different</em>, and not yet mature, but it's a decidedly <em>good</em> experience, and does feel like <a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/28/arthur-c-clarkes-2001-newspad-finally-arrives-nine-years-late/">the future</a>.</li>
</ul>
How will the iPad change things? I won't predict or generalize too
much, but I could see a specific scenario for our household: instead of
replacing one of our aging MacBooks with another, I could see getting a
desktop-bound iMac instead (which offers more power and a bigger screen
for the same or less money) and using the iPad for lounging around
elsewhere in the house. Maybe. We'll have to see how that really works
out when the time comes.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/nerd-glasses-rock" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Nerd glasses rock</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-09T22:49:27-08:00">July 9, 2010 10:49 PM</abbr>
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My wife Air has been talking for a few months about
getting herself some new nerd glasses—you know, big ones with thick
black frames, sort of old-school <a href="http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/luceneweb/fullimage.jsp?photoId=S72-37009">Mission Control</a> style. They're coming back into fashion, and so aren't hard to find.<br />
Well, she found an <a href="http://www.mobypicture.com/user/airdrie/view/6963104">excellent set</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/air_nerd_glasses.jpg" title="Air's D&G nerd glasses"><img alt="Air's nerd glasses" border="0" height="450" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/air_nerd_glasses.jpg" width="338" /></a></div>
Hot, I say.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/most-influential-guitarist-alive" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The most influential guitarist alive</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-07T15:23:34-08:00">July 7, 2010 3:23 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/BBKing07.JPG" title="B.B. King by Roland Godefroy at Wikimedia Commons"><img align="right" alt="File:BBKing07.JPG" border="0" class="post" height="163" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/BBKing07.JPG/800px-BBKing07.JPG" width="240" /></a>The one time I've seen <a href="http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/kin2bio-1">B.B. King</a> play live, more than 20 years ago, he didn't even have one of his famous Gibson guitars, nicknamed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_(guitar)">Lucille</a>.
His then-current Lucille was held up in transit somewhere, so for his
gig at the 86 Street Music Hall in Vancouver, B.B. used a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/guitartone.html#strat">Fender Stratocaster</a> rented from Calder Music (now <a href="http://www.tomleemusic.ca/">Tom Lee Music</a>) in North Van. As far as I know, they still have a photo on their store wall of him with that guitar.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King">King</a> is one of the best-known guitarists of all time, and almost certainly the most influential one still alive today—maybe only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Berry">Chuck Berry</a>
can compete. B.B. started his career in the late 1940s, and has largely
outlived and outplayed his influences (such as Charlie Christian and
T-Bone Walker), contemporaries (<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/thank-you-les-paul">Les Paul</a>, Muddy Waters, Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins), and even many of his musical descendants (George Harrison, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/top-riff">Jimi Hendrix</a>, Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">Stevie Ray Vaughan</a>).<br />
If you hear someone play an electric guitar solo—whether in rock,
jazz, country, R&B, even metal and punk—B.B.'s tone and approach are
almost certainly in there somewhere. Horn-like phrasing, artfully bent
notes, and a wide, liquid vibrato, as well as a full yet piercing tone
tinged with overdrive, sometimes verging on feedback: those are the
sounds of electric blues music, one and the same as the sounds of B.B.
King's guitar playing. The sound extends to every player who's ever
sustained a note with a wiggled fretting hand while holding his or her
picking hand to the sky.<br />
That influence is entirely aside from King's also-substantial legacy
as a singer and relentlessly-touring live performer. When I saw him in
Vancouver, B.B. had already been on the road for over 40 years, but his
infectious energy and obvious joy in playing to an audience were still
fresh, and taught me how to put on a good show during my own 20-year <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/end-of-my-live-music-career">live-music career</a> that followed.<br />
B.B. King is still playing a show <a href="http://www.bbking.com/events/">almost every day</a>, and he'll be back in Vancouver in November, a couple of months after he turns 85 years old.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/what-a-great-day" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">What a great day</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-06T19:56:03-08:00">July 6, 2010 7:56 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4769863718/" title="Marina and Derek"><img align="right" alt="Marina and Derek" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4769863718_0a2bded7c9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Summer
finally hit Vancouver today, and various bits of our family went
different ways to enjoy it: my younger daughter to daycamp, my wife Air
and our friend Steven on a <a href="http://theemperorhasnotoque.blogspot.com/2010/07/day-11-of-badger-goes-mental-poor-sleep.html">road trip</a>, and my older daughter Marina, our dog Lucy, and me to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&sll=49.233771,-122.997809&sspn=0.007692,0.014141&ie=UTF8&hq=Lighthouse+Park&hnear=Lighthouse+Park,+West+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V7W+1K6,+Canada&z=14">Lighthouse Park</a> in West Vancouver. I haven't been there in years, decades probably.<br />
It was a longer walk through <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4769841640/in/set-72157624439163432/">the forest</a> to the water than I remembered, but once there we clambered over the rocks, snacked, explored a bit, and enjoyed the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4769075418/in/set-72157624439163432/">wonderful view</a>
before trundling back to the car, tired and sunkissed and ready for the
beautiful drive home. I don't have good days all that often right now,
but this was one.<br />
After I grilled some meat skewers for dinner, Air and the girls went
to a movie. Lucy has been asleep almost the whole time, exhausted from
our trek today. I've been watching some TV, and then I'll clean up the
kitchen.<br />
Then? A beer in the yard as the sun sets. I feel good.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/clumsy-bugs" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Clumsy bugs</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-05T23:53:59-08:00">July 5, 2010 11:53 PM</abbr>
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Last night, after sundown, I took our dog Lucy out in the
yard a last time before bed. As we walked under one of our conifer
trees, I heard a sound above me, a buzzing like an aging electrical box.
I looked up and saw dozens of big, fat insects, like bumble bees,
flying around the crown of the tree.<br />
They weren't building a nest or a hive as far as I could see, mostly
buzzing around the outside. Lucy and I moved around the yard a little,
and a few minutes later I saw (and heard) that the bugs had moved to the
crown of our chestnut tree a few metres south. They were gone from the
cedar.<br />
While it was too dark to see their coloration, I could see in
silhouette how they were clumsily bumping into the big chestnut leaves. I
could hear it too: thwack, thwack. They were all gone by morning.<br />
Inside, my wife Air pointed out they were unlikely to be bees, which
aren't nocturnal and generally fly more accurately. She noted they were
probably beetles, likely <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_bug">June bugs</a> or maybe the adults of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_chafer">European chafer beetle</a> grubs that have become a lawn pest across temperate North America.<br />
By the morning, they were gone, and I don't think they were there tonight. The beetles have moved on.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/behold-the-mandelbox" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Behold the Mandelbox</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-04T21:03:51-08:00">July 4, 2010 9:03 PM</abbr>
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Remember back in the '90s when we all went wild creating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal">fractals</a> on our computers, especially renderings of parts of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set">Mandelbrot set</a>? (If not, you could be nerdier.) I certainly did it, creating desktop pictures galore. A late example is the image in my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/fractal.html">penmachine.com logo</a>, which is a Julia set. And yes, I know it looks like a Philishave razor, with a nod to the CBC "<a href="http://www.google.ca/search?q=cbc+exploding+pizza">exploding pizza</a>" logo.<br />
There's nothing especially complicated about <a href="http://www.coolmath.com/fractals/fractals_lesson.html">the mathematics</a> behind fractals, but to visualize them requires the kind of computing power that's only been available recently.<br />
So, what is <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/mandelbox_jesse_fractalforums.jpg">this thing</a>?<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/images/mandelbox_jesse_fractalforums.jpg" title="Click to zoom in"><img alt="Mandelbox by Jesse at Fractal Forums" border="0" height="450" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/mandelbox_jesse_fractalforums.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
<small>Image by Jesse at <a href="http://www.fractalforums.com/3d-fractal-generation/amazing-fractal/">Fractal Forums</a></small></div>
No, it's not <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg_starships">the Borg</a>. It's a new fractal—yes, there are still such things. It's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbox">the Mandelbox</a>, a multi-dimensional fractal (in this case shown in three dimensions), discovered earlier in 2010 by <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/mandelbox/">Tony Lowe</a>.
Again, it requires a lot of brute-force computing to see, but our
computers keep getting more powerful, so we can find new stuff like it.<br />
Depending on the colours you choose, parts of the Mandelbox can look
like a massive cathedral, or a vast framework of skeletons, or a
colossal jungle garden. Here's a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO9ugnn8DbE">video tour</a> of the Mandelbox (via <a href="http://waxy.org/links/archive/2010/06/">Andy Baio</a>), with some complex 3D rendering including haze effects to give the illusion of distance:<br />
<div align="center">
<br /><br />
</div>
But the Mandelbox doesn't actually have a size, big or small. It's
just pure math—geometry, like a number line, or a circle, or a cube, or a
parabola. Amazing, still, though.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/party-party-party" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Party party party</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-04T12:26:03-08:00">July 4, 2010 12:26 PM</abbr>
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My birthday was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-to-me">a few days ago</a>,
but the party was last night, to fall on the weekend, and to give me a
few more days to recover from chemo. It was great. As we've done for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/im-totally-spent-baby">several occasions</a>
these past few years, we just invited everybody and their dog (only one
pup showed up), and most of them came. It was a fun happy mob.<br />
In fact, it was so busy I had little time to talk to most of you, and
have yet to open any of the gifts you all brought. So I'll say thank
you in advance for those—and also to everyone for making time to come,
and to those who couldn't make it, since I know many of you were out of
town or otherwise occupied over the Canada Day/Fourth of July break.
We've spent the morning collecting empties and tidying up, but there
wasn't as much of that as I expected. (The big Rubbermaid bins labeled
"EMPTIES" certainly helped last night.)<br />
If you took photos or video, feel free to post them over on Flickr using the tag <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/penmachine41">penmachine41</a>, or to the Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132914500062710">event page</a> in the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?view=all&oid=132914500062710">photo section</a>. I'd appreciate it.<br />
I have a wonderful group of family and friends. Thanks for being here.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/toy-story-3-review" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Toy Story 3: excellently, wonderfully awesome</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-01T23:40:16-08:00">July 1, 2010 11:40 PM</abbr>
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I wonder if Pixar will ever make a bad movie, or even a genuinely mediocre one. Okay, maybe <cite>Cars</cite>
wasn't fantastic, but it still had Paul Newman and was a fun time. The
company could probably release a film with no clues to its subject, just
"New From Pixar!", and we'd all still go see it.<br />
After <cite><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/toy_story_3/">Toy Story 3</a></cite>, I certainly would. While I might give its 1999 <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/toy_story_2/">predecessor</a>
a slight edge on a better intro, marginally better villains, and
funnier end credits, this might be the best of the trilogy, and quite
possibly Pixar's best movie yet—which makes it a great movie, period.
Disney had planned on making a third film in the series by itself before
it bought Pixar (Disney had the rights). Luckily that earlier attempt
was shut down, because in less deft hands a computer-generated, animated
story about plastic toys could easily have been profoundly lifeless.<br />
This story of toys is far from that. My daughter Marina, who's 12 and
getting pickier about movies, said in amazement, "There were no boring
parts!" All five of us who went today, ages ranging over four decades,
were happily teary-eyed at the ending. And I'm always impressed with how
<em>thought out</em> Pixar's plots are, even for brief moments. The
toys, returning home, make sure to wash themselves off with a garden
hose to remove the detritus of their many adventures, for example. Not
as impressive as Woody's arm becoming re-damaged in the second film, but
still, a detail worth noting because rendering time is expensive, but
the filmmakers knew that detail needed to be there.<br />
The <cite>Toy Story</cite> series, like Pixar's other work, defies the stereotypes of work done by committee. I guess all you need is a <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/process_pixar/">brilliant committee</a>.
A second sequel that improves on its excellent forbears is rare in big
mainstream pictures, and in films generally. I'm tempted to say that
Pixar should leave well enough alone and keep it a trilogy, a hat trick.<br />
But you know what? If they decide that another <cite>Toy Story</cite> deserves to be made, I'll trust their judgment. They've earned that trust.<br />
By the way, the opening <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFEE-Jgr7sw">short film</a> (traditional with Pixar releases) does something I've never seen done with 3D before. Don't miss it.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/07/old-spice-and-dos-equis" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Old Spice and Dos Equis, I still love those ads</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-07-01T18:59:03-08:00">July 1, 2010 6:59 PM</abbr>
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It takes skill to create commercials that make fun of
macho manly-manness, and yet appeal to both men and women at the same
time. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTIowBF0kE">Old Spice</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVwG1t-NVAA">Dos Equis</a> continue to do it:<br />
<div align="center">
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
<br /><br />
</div>
You can also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDk9jjdiXJQ">find out how</a> the "I'm a Horse" Old Spice ad was made. Somehow, it's still funny all these months later too.<br />
Oh, and happy Canada Day.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-55013923119392084362018-11-11T13:11:00.003-08:002018-11-11T13:11:43.432-08:00Derek June 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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June 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-to-me" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Happy birthday to me</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-30T11:13:26-08:00">June 30, 2010 11:13 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4747717016/" title="Gaaah! iPad!"><img align="right" alt="Gaaah! iPad!" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4747717016_35340bccc1_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Okay, honestly, I feel like crap today. It's only been two days since my last <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=2&tag=chemotherapy&limit=20">chemotherapy</a> treatment, so that's to be expected. But it is my 41st birthday, and my wife and kids bought me <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad">an iPad</a>! (The 16 GB Wi-Fi model, if you're interested.) So that already makes it an improvement over other chemo days.<br />
This is <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/party-tonight-interview-posted-rock">also</a> my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/today-i-am-39-for-first-time">fourth</a> birthday <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/dodging-buses-my-new-free-mp3">since</a> I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">found out</a>
I have cancer back in 2007. Birthdays are milestones for everyone, but
for me in particular, reaching another one is always a good sign.<br />
Thank you to everyone who has wished me well on Twitter, on Facebook,
on the phone, by mail, and in person. I hope the weather's decent for
our party on Saturday.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2224924715/" title="Rock out! by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Rock out!" border="0" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2358/2224924715_3e5e22d4c9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Monday
was the last full day for my kids this school year and, as you would
expect, there wasn't much schooling going on. In fact, my older daughter
Marina organized an air guitar contest for her class, and asked me to
put together a CD of appropriate heavy-shredding music that they could
wail away to. When I mentioned it online, some of my friends asked for
the list.<br />
Here it is. I didn't put the whole songs on CD. Instead I excerpted
just the appropriate guitar solos, or edited down a shorter section.
They're listed in order from shortest to longest solos:<br />
<ol>
<li>Takin' Care of Business - Bachman Turner Overdrive (Randy Bachman)</li>
<li>Get a Leg Up - John Mellencamp (David Grissom)</li>
<li>All Day and All of the Night - The Kinks (Dave Davies)</li>
<li>You Really Got Me - The Kinks (Dave Davies)</li>
<li>You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC (Angus Young)</li>
<li>Beat It - Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen)</li>
<li>Even Flow - Pearl Jam (Mike McCready)</li>
<li>Are You Gonna Go My Way? - Lenny Kravitz (Craig Ross)</li>
<li>Hard To Handle - The Black Crowes (Rich Robinson)</li>
<li>Heartbreaker - Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)</li>
<li>Peelin' Taters - Junior Brown</li>
<li>Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes (Jack White)</li>
<li>Back in Black - AC/DC (Angus Young)</li>
<li>Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (Kurt Cobain)</li>
<li>New Year's Day - U2 (The Edge)</li>
<li>Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)</li>
<li>Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)</li>
<li>Scuttle Buttin' - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble</li>
<li>Oye Como Va - Santana (Carlos Santana)</li>
<li>Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green)</li>
<li>La Grange - ZZ Top (Billy Gibbons)</li>
<li>Mississippi Queen - Mountain (Leslie West)</li>
<li>Crossroads - Cream (Eric Clapton)</li>
<li>All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix</li>
<li>Time - Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)</li>
<li>Sugarfoot Rag - Junior Brown</li>
<li>My Sharona - The Knack (Berton Averre)</li>
<li>Eruption - Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)</li>
<li>Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (Brian May)</li>
<li>Blues Jam - Greg Koch</li>
<li>Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins)</li>
</ol>
I've listed the guitarist in parentheses. Notice that all but two of
these tracks were recorded before any of the kids in her class was born.
Nevertheless, they know many of them from "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Band">Rock Band</a>," "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Hero">Guitar Hero</a>," and retro video shows on TV.<br />
Sure, there are some famous solos missing, from the likes of Guns 'n'
Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith, and the like, but I think it's a pretty
decent list anyway. And of course I included "<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=1fMt2kjc8iw&offerid=146261.3436862&type=2&subid=0">Free Bird</a>" last.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/presentation-advice-spool-tufte-olson" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Better presentation advice from Spool, Tufte, Olson</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-26T09:23:59-08:00">June 26, 2010 9:23 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3324246403/" title="Day 2 - Emote, dammit! by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Day 2 - Emote, dammit!" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3324246403_02229d868d_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>For almost seven years now (!), I've been compiling an occasionally-updated <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/presentations_2003-12.html">list of tips and tricks</a>
on giving good presentations and talks—and avoiding bad ones. That
takes the form of links to articles and advice from experts around the
Web on the topic.<br />
You can always find the list at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/powerpoint">penmachine.com/powerpoint</a>—but it's not really about Microsoft PowerPoint. In fact, much of my commentary is about <em>avoiding</em> PowerPoint, or at least not giving presentations the way it generally leads you to do them.<br />
A good talk is three things: informative, memorable, and entertaining. I hope the advice I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/presentations_2003-12.html">link to</a> can help all three parts of your talks be better. And if you want to see how all three can really come together, watch <a href="http://feasthouse.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/art-and-tech-are-old-pals-prezo-from-wordcamp-whistler/">Dave Olson's WordCamp Vancouver session</a> from earlier this month, "Art and Tech Are Old Pals," or any of <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/daveo">his others</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/inside-home-recording-81" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Inside Home Recording #81, finally</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-25T23:49:09-08:00">June 25, 2010 11:49 PM</abbr>
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My co-host <a href="http://www.hatchedproductions.net/">Dave Chick</a> and I have posted the latest episode of our podcast <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>, which is <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=846">number 81</a>. This one features:<br />
<ul>
<li>Listener Paul Hogue talking about the Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville, TN.</li>
<li>Dave and, from the Home Recording Show podcast, <a href="http://www.homerecordingshow.com/bio/">Ryan Canestro</a> talking about audio phase.</li>
<li>Me discussing the merits of small guitar tube amplifiers.</li>
<li>An editorial on whether audio mastering is... a scam?</li>
</ul>
You can get our show in two formats: <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=846">Enhanced AAC</a> (with pictures that appear as you play on your iPod, iPhone, iPad, or in iTunes), and <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=845">audio-only MP3</a>. This is our first episode in a couple of months. Hope you like it—if so, you can <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/subscribe">subscribe</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/marina-and-lucy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Marina and Lucy</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-24T22:35:28-08:00">June 24, 2010 10:35 PM</abbr>
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They say that dogs and their owners come to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4731824157/">resemble</a> one another:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4731824157/" title="Two doggies by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Two doggies" height="450" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1027/4731824157_593b5a059b.jpg" width="300" /></a>
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I don't know. I'm not sure I see it.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/air-india-25-years" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A quarter century after Air India</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-23T16:04:30-08:00">June 23, 2010 4:04 PM</abbr>
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Today is the 25th anniversary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182">Air India bombing</a>. I wrote a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/air-india">big post</a> about it more than three years ago, which I think is still relevant:<br />
<blockquote>
[Canadian] governments and police and the general public treated the conflict between Canadian Sikhs in the '80s as a <em>foreign</em> problem, and <em>Indian</em>
problem. It was not. It was a Canadian problem. And I don't think that
very many people believed in our hearts that we Canadians could
germinate terrorists capable of such mass murder. But we did, and worse
yet, we didn't stop them.<br />
</blockquote>
A report <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/18/major-rcmp018.html">released</a>
last week reiterated the point: we screwed up. We could have stopped
those killers, yet we didn't. And we didn't catch them afterwards
either. We failed. For that, we should all be sorry, and hope that we
have learned.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/oil-on-the-water" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Oil on the water</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-22T23:17:12-08:00">June 22, 2010 11:17 PM</abbr>
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"What we can't seem to accept," says <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/06/heres_another_fine_mess.html">Roger Ebert</a>, "is that the oil is leaking and we can't stop it."<br />
My friend <a href="http://www.staticphotography.com/">Kris Krug</a> and web acquaintance <a href="http://journal.duncandavidson.com/">Duncan Davidson</a> are two great photographers who recently <a href="http://tedxoilspill.com/">traveled</a> to the Gulf of Mexico to see what's going on. Some of their results:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/x180/4713692309/"><img alt="TEDxOilspill" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4713692309_6b4b677e74.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/4710672992/"><img alt="TEDxOilspill" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4710672992_243bcf7993.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/4722468657/"><img alt="TEDxOilspill" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1174/4722468657_e558343129.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/x180/4710670727/"><img alt="TEDxOilspill" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4710670727_eddc63391e.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
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I have a degree in marine biology, granted to me at UBC 20 years ago.
In the back of my mind, I often think these days of what the oil is
doing to the physiologies of the animals, plants, and microorganisms in
the Gulf. (And what oil is doing elsewhere to organisms in the waters of
Nigeria, Venezuela, northern Alberta, the Persian Gulf, and elsewhere.)<br />
There's irony. Petroleum is a natural product: millions of years ago,
in an ancient ocean, microscopic algae absorbed sunlight and used the
energy to build their tiny cells from carbon dioxide dissolved in water
from the air. Similarly tiny zooplankton ate some of the algae. Then
they all died, and were buried, and with heat and pressure and eons of
time their remains <a href="http://geology.about.com/od/petroleum/a/aa_petroleum.htm">turned into</a> goopy sludge buried in layers of sedimentary rock.<br />
There were titanic numbers of those microorganisms, so there's a lot
of sludge in our planet's crust, trapped here and there. We extract it,
process it, and burn it. The CO<sub><small>2</small></sub> returns to
the atmosphere, eventually to our detriment. Oil power is an extremely
awkward, inefficient, roundabout, and time-delayed form of solar power.<br />
And the oil gushing out from a hole we drilled into the bottom of the
Gulf of Mexico? The organisms now living in that sea are being poisoned
by the remains of their <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/06/radial_tree_of_life.php">remote ancestors</a>. It's as if the cities of western North America were being inundated by a spewing geyser of fossil <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/05/climate-and-demise.html">dinosaur</a> bones, unleashed from the Badlands east of the Rockies, burying us in the petrified skeletons of our distant relatives.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/safari-google-bug" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">A weird Safari-Google bug</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-21T19:51:14-08:00">June 21, 2010 7:51 PM</abbr>
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A little while ago, I started using a couple of Google's <a href="http://code.google.com/webfonts">embeddable web fonts</a> here on my website. If your browser supports web font embedding, you'll see my headlines in <a href="http://code.google.com/webfonts/family?family=Yanone+Kaffeesatz">Yanone Kaffeesatz</a>, and body text in <a href="http://code.google.com/webfonts/family?family=Droid+Sans">Droid Sans</a>. (If not, you'll see different fonts that are on your computer already.) <a href="http://www.apple.com/safari/">Safari</a>, the default Mac and iPhone browser, supports font embedding, but I discovered something odd.<br />
On a Mac, Safari displays everything, as do other modern browsers
like Firefox and Opera. But on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, their
version of the browser (known as Mobile Safari) embeds fonts just fine,
but it only displays text in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII">ASCII</a>
character set. Extended characters (letters with accents, long dashes,
curly quotes, and so on) appear either as blank spaces or as "missing
character" boxes.<br />
I reported the inconsistent behaviour as a bug to Apple (#8067325).
When their developer support team got back to me, they suggested I try
using the developer features of Mac desktop Safari to have it pretend to
be Mobile Safari, by reporting its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_agent">User Agent</a> string to websites (and Google) as if it were running on an iPhone. Lo and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4723289622/">behold</a>, extended characters don't display anymore on <em>the desktop version</em> of Safari:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4723289622/" style="active: none;" title="Safari vs. Mobile Safari by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Safari vs. Mobile Safari" height="456" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/4723289622_b49cf3cd20.jpg" style="border-color: #ccc; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px;" width="450" /></a></div>
Notice that the fonts look different too: a bit smaller and thinner.
(It's hard to detect that difference if you're actually using an iPhone,
since the screen is so different from a desktop or laptop Mac.) It
turns out that Mobile Safari <a href="http://blog.themeforest.net/tutorials/how-to-achieve-cross-browser-font-face-support/">doesn't support</a> as many embeddable font formats as the desktop version, so Google sends an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SVG">SVG</a>
font version to iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, or anything
pretending to be them. And it looks like Google's SVG fonts contain only
ASCII characters, while the other formats have full character sets.<br />
I thought this was an Apple browser bug, but it appears to be a
Google font bug instead. There are probably workarounds, but so far I've
decided not to bother with them. I expect either Google will extend
their SVG font character sets, or Mobile Safari will start supporting
more font formats. In the meantime, I apologize if you're a user of
Mobile Safari (or another browser that gets SVG fonts from Google), and
miss out on a few letters or dashes here and there in my blog posts.<br />
I think we'll all live.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/not-a-stuffed-toy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Not a stuffed toy</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-20T01:45:56-08:00">June 20, 2010 1:45 AM</abbr>
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As an early Father's Day present, our dog Lucy decided to
give me (and my wife Air) some extra space in the bed today, and sleep <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4716783786/">on a pile of clothes</a> on the bedroom floor instead:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4716783786/" title="Lucy, asleep on the bedroom floor by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Lucy, asleep on the bedroom floor" border="0" height="338" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4060/4716783786_939a13ee51.jpg" width="450" /></a>
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No, she's not actually a stuffed toy.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/ipad-blogging" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">iPad blogging</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-18T12:32:51-08:00">June 18, 2010 12:32 PM</abbr>
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I'm testing this post from an <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad">iPad</a>
at the Apple Store to see how feasible it is to type a blog entry on
the screen. Not bad, though some features of the Movable Type web
interface don't work quite right, like category selection.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/zoom-zoom" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Zoom zoom</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-17T19:35:46-08:00">June 17, 2010 7:35 PM</abbr>
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And <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/buying-new-miller-car">here</a> it is, Air's <a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1307/4710021569_01136a485b_b.jpg">Mazda3 GT</a> with five-speed Sport Mode automatic transmission and power moonroof:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4710021569/" title="Air's new Mazda3! by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Air's new Mazda3!" height="338" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1307/4710021569_01136a485b.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
It's even nicer than expected. My wife has excellent taste in cars.<br />
Now, being a technical writer and all, I just have to go through the <em>five-hundred page</em> (!) Mazda3 owner's <a href="http://mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/pdf/manuals/2010_Mazda3_OM.pdf">manual</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/buying-new-miller-car" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Buying the latest new Miller car</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-17T15:30:05-08:00">June 17, 2010 3:30 PM</abbr>
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Today we're bringing home a new car, to replace the Toyota Echo we <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/07/yesterday-i-turned-35.html">bought in 2004</a>,
almost exactly six years ago. There's nothing wrong with the Echo, but
my wife Air, who drives it, was finding it a bit bare-bones, with its
manual windows and locks, and—most crucially—lack of air conditioning.
(As our kids say every summer, "Why did you buy a <em>black</em> car with no AC?")<br />
Extra features like a sunroof (which every manufacturer calls a <em>moonroof</em>
now, I guess because long ago, sunroofs didn't include glass) and
cruise control were also on the menu. We were looking in the small-sedan
market, one step up from the true econoboxes like our Echo, with enough
options to put the price over the $20,000 Cdn mark, but not into the
$30,000 range of true mid-size cars.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?make=Kia&model=Soul" title="Kia Soul"><img align="right" alt="2010 Kia Soul 4U" border="0" class="post" height="139" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/2010kiasoul.jpg" width="240" /></a>Kia Soul</h4>
The small-car market is certainly competitive. At times we wished there were <em>fewer</em> choices so the decision would be easier. At the recommendation of a few friends, including <a href="http://talkingbadgerfilms.com/">Steven</a> and <a href="http://johnbiehler.com/2009/05/24/2010-kia-soul-car-tech/">the Biehlers</a>, we first looked at the <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?year=2010&make=Kia&model=Soul" title="Kia Soul">Kia Soul 4U</a>,
which I suppose you'd call an "urban crossover" vehicle. I think it
might still be my favourite, but while Air liked it, she prefers sedans
over the Soul's more truck-like stance, engine sound, and slightly
quirky look. (The quirky look is probably why it appeals to me.) It
certainly offers the best features for the money, and the longest
warranty.<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Toyota&model=Corolla" title="Toyota Corolla sedan"><img align="right" alt="2010 Toyota Corolla LE" border="0" class="post" height="144" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/2010toyotacorolla.jpg" width="240" /></a>Toyota Corolla</h4>
At the extremely non-quirky end of the scale is the <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Toyota&model=Corolla" title="Toyota Corolla sedan">Toyota Corolla LE</a>,
pretty much the definition of the basic family sedan for the past few
decades. Toyota seems to have pushed the Corolla into slightly more luxe
territory recently, with the interior of the LE model including very
Euro-style faux-wood paneling, keyless entry and push-button starting, a
spacious trunk, and a remarkably quiet and smooth ride compared to its
competitors. But it's not an exciting car. Still, for Air, it was top of
the list almost to the end.<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Suzuki&model=SX4%20Sport" title="Suzuki SX4 sedan"><img align="right" alt="2010 Suzuki SX4 Sedan" border="0" class="post" height="131" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/2010suzukisx4.jpg" width="240" /></a>Suzuki SX4</h4>
I expected to be impressed with the <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Suzuki&model=SX4%20Sport" title="Suzuki SX4 sedan">Suzuki SX4 sedan</a>,
but the company seems to be overcharging for what it offers. Even
without the all-wheel drive from higher-end SX4 models, its price fell
into the same territory as the other cars here, but without the same
level of fit and finish. It's also a genuinely <em>small</em> car, more
in line with the Echo we have already, and not very inspiring to look at
or sit in. I didn't even test-drive it. By comparison, Suzuki's new
Kizashi sedan is a beautiful machine, but is also several thousand
dollars out of our price range.<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Honda&model=Civic" title="Honda Civic Sport sedan"><img align="right" alt="2010 Honda Civic Sport" border="0" class="post" height="117" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/2010hondacivic.jpg" width="240" /></a>Honda Civic</h4>
For me, the <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Honda&model=Civic" title="Honda Civic Sport sedan">Honda Civic Sport</a>
sedan deserves its place as Canada's best-selling passenger car. It
looks good, drives wonderfully, and has a space-age interior with a sexy
but functional two-tier dashboard display. Alas, despite all the
available adjustments, Air didn't find the driving position comfortable.
The current Civic also lacks stability and traction control, which are
standard on most of the other cars we tried, and will soon be mandatory
in Canada anyway.<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Ford&model=Focus" title="Ford Focus SEL sedan"><img align="right" alt="2010 Ford Focus SEL Sedan" border="0" class="post" height="125" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/2010fordfocus.jpg" width="240" /></a>Ford Focus</h4>
We already own a Ford Focus station wagon, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_09_01_news_archive.html#5931304">from 2001</a>, so it made sense to check out the current <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Ford&model=Focus" title="Ford Focus SEL sedan">Focus SEL sedan</a>—although that's not what I wanted to do. I visited our local Ford dealer to see the new <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2011&make=Ford&model=Fiesta">Ford Fiesta</a>, prominently advertised on the company's <a href="http://www.ford.ca/">website</a>.
But the Fiestas aren't actually arriving for a few weeks, so a Focus
test drive would have to do. The car was perfectly fine, an improvement
in ride and power over our wagon, but less distinctive in appearance
inside and out. Not in the same league as the top contenders, in other
words. Despite a full-court press from the salesman, I left the lot
somewhat underwhelmed.<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Mazda&model=Mazda3" title="Mazda3 sedan"><img align="right" alt="2010 Madza3 Sedan" border="0" class="post" height="113" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/2010mazda3.jpg" width="240" /></a>Mazda3 - the winner</h4>
I was completely uninvolved in our final purchase decision, but I'm
still happy with the result. While driving our friend Steven home from a
visit to our house, Air dropped in to see the <a href="http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/overview.aspx?year=2010&make=Mazda&model=Mazda3" title="Mazda3 sedan">Mazda3 sedan</a>, and she loved it. My cousin and my friend <a href="http://vancouverpianist.com/">Paul</a>
already own older models of the same car, and the 2010 version looks
slightly sportier still. Air got a better trade-in for our Echo than
other dealers were offering, and added some higher-end features such as
Bluetooth connectivity and a six-CD changer for a similar price. Oh, and
tinted rear windows.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
<br />
One thing I found universally annoying: car company websites use way,
way, way too much Adobe Flash—especially in places where it's entirely
unnecessary, like spec sheets and build-and-price applications. As we
webby types have known <a href="http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001029.html">for years</a>,
while often pretty, the overuse of Flash makes it impossible to
bookmark or link to specific pages, uses more processing power on my
computer than it should, and is entirely useless on devices like the
iPhone and iPad that <a href="http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/">don't support Flash</a>.
As those devices become more popular, I expect the design houses that
the car makers hire to build websites will be forced to change soon
enough. I can't wait.<br />
Anyway, Air and the kids are off to pick up the car as I write this.
Unfortunately, I'm still recovering from my latest chemotherapy
treatment on Tuesday (at least I'm awake today), so I'm still popping
Gravol pills, and don't feel well enough to spend an hour at the car
dealership. I'll wait to get my first look at our new vehicle when she
brings it home. We'll post pictures, of course.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/red-robin-entrees" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">It's entrées, not entree's, Red Robin</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-13T16:34:29-08:00">June 13, 2010 4:34 PM</abbr>
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As a writer and editor, I find knowing that <a href="http://www.redrobincanada.com/">Red Robin Canada</a> printed and laminated thousands of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4697283932/" title="Really, Red Robin? Really? by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr">these menus</a> a bit depressing:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4697283932/" title="Really, Red Robin? Really? by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Really, Red Robin? Really?" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4697283932_a4e428ef6a.jpg" width="375" /></a>
</div>
At least the website gets it right, even using the proper accent on
"entrées." But the website would be way easier to fix if it were wrong,
wouldn't it?<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/theft-unscrupulous-marketing" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Theft and unscrupulous online marketing</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-12T11:26:03-08:00">June 12, 2010 11:26 AM</abbr>
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If you put a lot of stuff on the Web, as I do, sometimes
people will use it in questionable ways. Even though I make it easy and
authorized to make use of my blog posts, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine">photos</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast">music</a>, and other things with my <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/">Creative Commons</a> licensing schemes, often enough some <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define:splog">splog</a> will, for instance, republish my posts without attribution, or someone will claim a photo of mine as their own, or whatever.<br />
Most of the time that's no big deal. Yes, it's theft, but I also
think a bit of shady reuse is part of the price I pay for being as out
there online as I am. But yesterday something small happened that I
couldn't let pass, because not only did it include unauthorized use of
one of my photos, it simultaneously made it look like I'd written and
endorsed something that I certainly do not.<br />
I won't link to the web page in question, since it doesn't deserve the publicity, but I found it using one of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egosurfing">ego search</a>
feeds I maintain (most of which rarely turn up anything interesting,
but which occasionally alert me to something worth noting, like this).
In this case it was a search at <a href="http://www.icerocket.com/">IceRocket</a>,
which pointed out an article about "alternative cancer treatment" that
included the byline "by Derek K. Miller." And it wasn't by me.<br />
I clicked over to the page, and it turned out that the article—a
generic piece about alternative cancer treatments, including some pretty
questionable assertions, obviously designed to generate search-ad
revenue and to link to an alternative-treatment centre in the
U.S.—featured a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/376187725/in/set-72157594514688789/">photo</a>
of my face, purloined from my Cancer Treatment set on flickr.com. The
picture was "attributed" to me with the line "by Derek K. Miller"
underneath, with a link back to Flickr.<br />
That would have been fine in some circumstances, but it violated the
terms of my license because the splog was obviously a commercially
promotional site (my photos are only for sharing non-commercially unless
you get my permission otherwise). More importantly, the attribution
appeared in such a way that, while it <em>theoretically</em> credited me for the <em>photo</em>, because of the layout and because it was also a picture <em>of</em> me, it appeared that I was being credited for the <em>article</em>, and that the picture was some sort of author's image.<br />
I don't like people using my stuff improperly, but even worse is
making it look like I've written an article that I didn't write, which
is endorsing claims and a company that I don't endorse, or have any
affiliation with at all.<br />
I left a comment to that effect on the site, and while it never got
published, whoever made the page got the point: within an hour my photo
and byline were gone—which was far quicker and easier than I expected.
The article is still there, and it's still crap, but it no longer seems
to be crap that I had anything to do with. And that's all I wanted.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/good-and-bad-ideas" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Some ideas are good, some are bad</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-10T23:10:24-08:00">June 10, 2010 11:10 PM</abbr>
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A couple of days ago, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayaan_Hirsi_Ali">Ayaan Hirsi Ali</a>—author, politician, activist, and polarizing figure worldwide—<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/books/MT/2010/06/ayaan-hirsi-ali---islam-the-west-and-her-new-book-audio.html">appeared on CBC's Q</a> radio show to discuss her second memoir, <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439157316/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Nomad</a></cite>, with host Jian Ghomeshi.<br />
Ali, who was born in Somalia and raised there, as well as in Saudi
Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, later emigrated to the Netherlands and
became a strong critic of Islam (especially how Muslim societies treat
women) and of multiculturalism policies in the West. As a Dutch
parliamentarian, she faced threats of assassination from Islamist
extremists, and eventually moved to America.<br />
I blasted through her first memoir, <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743289692/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Infidel</a></cite>,
a few months ago—it's a riveting account of her physical and mental
journey. There's little doubt why she thinks the way she does now. She's
a little younger than me, but her life well deserves two books (so
far).<br />
It seems to me that the core of Ali's argument on the radio was that
no moral or political ideas should be respected or endorsed simply
because they emerge from religion or other ideologies, culture, or
traditions. She pointed to societies that cling dogmatically to such
ideas, as in Somalia, who remain backward and fail. Conversely,
societies like those in the Netherlands, the U.S., and Canada are
largely successful, prosperous, and safe because we analyze and debate
ideas of all kinds, make decisions about which ones are better—and then <em>improve</em> because of it.<br />
We're far from perfect at it, of course, but it is an ideal we strive
toward. And it applies not only to ideas coming from immigrant
communities, but to long-standing homegrown ideas as well. In Canada
over the past few decades, analysis and debate helped us decide that
Indian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system">residential schools</a> were wrong, fomented the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet_Revolution">Quiet Revolution</a> in Québec, and are bringing gay people into the legal and cultural <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/how-innocuous-gay-marriage-has-become">mainstream</a>. Similar progress happens much more slowly, if at all, in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/may/26/saudi-women-religious-police">Saudi Arabia</a>, Afghanistan, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/world/asia/10koreans.html">North Korea</a>, Haiti, Burma, <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/06/guilty-of-being-gay-ctd.html">Malawi</a>, or even <a href="http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/06/riding-the-dragon/">China</a>.<br />
Isn't it an inherently good idea that one of CBC's top-rated national
radio shows is hosted by a guy named Jian Ghomeshi, who didn't have to
change that name to seem "more Canadian?" It would have been
unimaginable 40 or 50 years ago.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/more-world-oceans-day" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">More World Oceans Day</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-08T19:56:53-08:00">June 8, 2010 7:56 PM</abbr>
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A few more from my photo collection, once again all of the Pacific Ocean.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3854435661/" title="Sailboat passes the Moon by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Sailboat passes the Moon" height="332" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3854435661_48659c40d2.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3325088260/" title="Surfing the Apocalypse by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Surfing the Apocalypse" height="281" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/3325088260_abe8645244.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3312888073/" title="Wingtip by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Wingtip" height="253" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3630/3312888073_74a4254356.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3322685207/" title="Foam B&W by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Foam B&W" height="253" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3322685207_2561b2ff1a.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/228044715/" title="Waikiki Reef by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Waikiki Reef" height="298" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/228044715_0f422f04c0.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620190844/" title="May photowalk B&W - cormorant silhouettes by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - cormorant silhouettes" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/4620190844_f797613260.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/31369105/" title="Beneath the Stack by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Beneath the Stack" height="300" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/31369105_bf0cad47a8.jpg" width="450" /></a>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/world-oceans-day" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">World Oceans Day</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-08T07:51:37-08:00">June 8, 2010 7:51 AM</abbr>
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More <a href="http://www.worldoceanday.org/">about it</a>...<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/375184326/" title="Pacific by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Pacific" border="0" height="265" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/375184326_5a991c5753.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2113993985/" title="Kelp Forest by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Kelp Forest" border="0" height="338" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2216/2113993985_068554307b.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/62337965/" title="Towing Home by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Towing Home" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/62337965_120aee9c3d.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/227527272/" title="Mr. Surfer Guy Heads Out by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Mr. Surfer Guy Heads Out" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/60/227527272_9c0d21e440.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/31104083/" title="Pisaster by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Pisaster" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/22/31104083_e5e7ea720b.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2599377983/" title="Georgia Strait solstice sunset - 9:25pm 21 June 2008 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Georgia Strait solstice sunset - 9:25pm 21 June 2008" border="0" height="294" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/2599377983_89a77ff274.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2874016481/" title="Nettle 2 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Nettle 2" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2874016481_0dd6973bda.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/33262083/" title="Sandcastle's End Wallpaper 1600x1200 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Sandcastle's End Wallpaper 1600x1200" border="0" height="338" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/33262083_6d3ffdbd4e.jpg" width="450" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3212576116/" title="Island vessels HDR by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Island vessels HDR" border="0" height="291" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3535/3212576116_b45eab3a58.jpg" width="450" /></a>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/it-doesnt-relent" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">It doesn't relent</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-07T13:10:26-08:00">June 7, 2010 1:10 PM</abbr>
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I don't have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_pain">chronic pain</a> in the clinical sense, but after more than <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/one-down-one-to-go.html">three years</a>
of cancer treatment, I've come to realize that I'm almost never
entirely comfortable. Something in my body hurts, or itches, or aches,
or feels off pretty much all the time.<br />
Most of the time I'm not in real <em>pain</em>, but it's nevertheless pretty tiring. My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-delay-zappy-foot">feet tingle</a>, or my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/cancer-update">guts churn</a>, or I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/searching-for-plunger-at-1-am">vomit unpredictably</a>,
and so on. Often it's a vague combination of symptoms, such as a slight
stomach upset combined with swollen-feeling fingers and a bad taste in
my mouth. Something like that woke me at 4 a.m. today, after six hours
of sleep, and kept me awake, so I'm <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine/status/15626815197">up for the day</a>
now, it seems. (Oh, and having been awake for three hours without
eating, I of course barfed when I finally got out of bed to get myself
some food. Sigh. But I'm fine now.)<br />
Once again, I'm 40, but my body <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life">acts much older</a>.<br />
This isn't easy on anybody in the house, not me, not my wife Air, not
my daughters. Not even the dog, who when I'm feeling poorly doesn't
always get as long a walk as she should. But it's surprising what your
body can get used to.<br />
It's also given me a perspective on something I've never understood viscerally: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/addiction">addiction</a>. I'm not on painkillers right now, but I have been in the past, and I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/morphine-withdrawal-side-effects-are">felt withdrawal</a> when I stopped. But that was almost entirely physical. It was unpleasant, but I didn't feel a <em>need</em> for the morphine. I don't seem to be prone to addiction, at least not to anything I've tried in my life so far.<br />
Yet when I feel the constant, low-level, nagging discomfort, I can
imagine it being not that much worse so that I'd need medicine to go
about my day. And then I can take another step, and imagine that the
discomfort and pain weren't physical, but emotional, and how I'd want to
do almost anything to dull them. And I can see where that could go.<br />
I still don't really understand what that would be like. I have no
idea what it would be like to be there. But I can imagine better, like
seeing it from closer than I used to.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/fake-blogging-the-iphone-4" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Fake blogging the iPhone 4</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-07T12:30:11-08:00">June 7, 2010 12:30 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/firefish45/4679220665/" title="apple-wwdc10_502"><img align="right" alt="apple-wwdc10_502" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4679220665_264b6f8ff7_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>While
Steve Jobs was onstage at Apple's World Wide Developers' Conference
(WWDC) in San Francisco this morning, announcing the new <a href="http://db.tidbits.com/article/11325">iPhone 4</a>, we techies on Twitter were, of course, typing furiously. Those commenting on his keynote speech used the <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23wwdc">#wwdc</a> "hashtag" to identify the topic.<br />
But there were a few of us, spurred by <a href="http://blog.glennf.com/">Glenn Fleishman</a>, who wrote snarky commentary <em>as if</em> we were attending the event, using the <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23fakewwdc">#fakewwdc</a> hashtag (in the spirit of <a href="http://www.fakesteve.net/">Fake Steve Jobs</a>).<br />
If you're into that sort of insanely in-joke nerdery, here are selections from my "Fake WWDC" tweets, roughly following <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/06/wwdc-keynote-steve-jobs-liveblog.ars">the chronology</a> of the real announcements, to be imagined in Steve Jobs's voice:<br />
<ul>
<li>"Exclusively on iPhone, Farmville will subsidize you heavily if you grow only corn for high-fructose syrup production."</li>
<li>"iPhone 4 is so thin it actually has negative thickness, and is only visible in four-dimensional space. Hence the name."</li>
<li>"iPhone 4's new screen has pixels so dense, the display is a
rectangular black hole, something physicists told us was impossible.
Suck it, physics!"</li>
<li>"We called it Retina Display because it's now just as bright as the surface of the Sun, and will sear your retina accordingly."</li>
<li>"The new built-in gyroscope lets you ride your iPhone like a
Tilt-a-Whirl. I've personally measured a time-to-vomit of less than 30
seconds!"</li>
<li>"Following iPhone 4's new HD movie recording capability, we've
partnered with Panavision on a full-harness Steadicam and rack-focus
cinematography rig for iPhone 4 video. It weighs only 85 pounds."</li>
<li>"We've completely automated iMovie for iPhone. So much that you can't actually record your own footage, but who needs that?"</li>
<li>"Sure, iMovie for iPhone looks great, but alas, it uses private
APIs and crashes a lot, so we've been forced to reject it from the App
Store."</li>
<li>"iOS 4 bypasses multitasking for RetinaTasking™, which is like the Retina Display, but for tasks. No, I don't get that either."</li>
<li>"The iPhone 4 gyroscope also enables it to feel heavier and heavier as you buy more iBooks."</li>
<li>"Our proudest iAd brand by far is Glenn Beck's Goldline, integrated right into your app! What? Why is everyone leaving? Hello?"</li>
<li>"My engineers backstage have just developed an EMP-generating
worldwide Wi-Fi kill switch, which I will now use. ZZZZZT!" (NOTE:
Freakishly, Glenn tweeted something <a href="http://twitter.com/GlennF/status/15648286118">almost identical</a> at the same time. Spooooky.)</li>
<li>"The iPhone 4 camera's digital zoom automatically plays Bob and Doug McKenzie saying 'zoom in on me, eh?'"</li>
<li>"One more more thing: iPhone 4 comes in black, white, and blwite, a new colour we invented (which is NOT grey), for $75 extra."</li>
</ul>
You can read the entire stream everyone wrote (including some posts in what I think were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagalog">Tagalog</a>) on <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23fakewwdc">Twitter</a>. Most of the others were funnier than mine.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/why-publish-a-book" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">If you've published a book, why, and how'd it go?</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-05T16:13:58-08:00">June 5, 2010 4:13 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg" title="Gutenberg press in 1568 from Wikimedia"><img align="right" alt="Gutenberg press in 1568 from Wikimedia" border="0" class="post" height="258" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Printer_in_1568-ce.png" width="200" /></a>I have a few friends who've written non-fiction books and had them published, including <a href="http://capulet.com/friendswithbenefits">Darren and Julie</a>, <a href="http://trishussey.com/category/books/">Tris</a>, <a href="http://www.buzzmarketingwithblogs.com/weblog/item/blogging_for_dummies_iii_look_for_it_in_2010/">Susie</a> and <a href="http://www.shanesworld.ca/blogging-dummies-comes-out-tomorrow">Shane</a>, <a href="http://brightcreative.com/portfolio/publications/">Dave</a>, and <a href="http://www.kriskrug.com/2005/09/28/bit-torrent-for-dummies-chapter-1-and-table-of-contents-online-and-available/">Kris</a>.
I haven't, and while I'm not planning on writing one, I do wonder what
the experience is like. If you've published a book, how did you find the
process, and why did you go through it?<br />
I ask because I've copy-edited and proofread books, and written many <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/pdfs/1-Max5_Ecommerce_Guide-DKM.pdf">booklets</a> (PDF file), brochures, <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/linux/cdpd/Proyecto/PDF/CDPD/2130006.pdf">technical documents</a> (PDF file), proposals, manuals, <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/53658/2006/10/decmobilemac.html">magazine articles</a>, and other publications—and people often say to me, "You should write a book!" Maybe about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks">photography</a>, maybe about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast">podcasting</a>, maybe about <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=site:penmachine.com+cancer">my cancer experience</a>. I even have a <a href="http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=12,197,284,0">Diploma in Applied Creative-Non Fiction</a> writing, so I could be considered academically qualified for the task, whatever that means.<br />
But my question is always, "Why?" Because none of the people saying I
should write a book has been someone wanting to publish it.<br />
Yes, there's still a lot of prestige in being a <span style="font-family: Zapfino, Apple Chancery, Lucida Handwriting, Monotype Corsiva, Mistral, cursive;">Published Author</span> and having a printed and bound copy of your work on a shelf, but publishers <a href="http://nymag.com/news/media/50279/">large</a> and <a href="http://hughmcguire.net/2008/08/06/books-out-smelly-candles-in/">small</a> have been in trouble for awhile now. Many writers, from Salon's entertaining aviation columnist <a href="http://www.askthepilot.com/ask-the-pilot-a-cautionary/">Patrick Smith</a> (whose 2004 book <cite>Ask the Pilot</cite> is a great read, but won't see a printed update anytime soon) to my friend and former podcast co-host <a href="http://www.vancouverpianist.com/">Paul Garay</a>
(who wrote an entire huge book on Logic, the digital recording
software, only to see it never get published at all), put in a lot of
work and receive little but frustration in return. (Then again, even
back in the print-heavy 1800s, Mark Twain found it necessary to
supplement his considerable publishing royalties with public
speaking—though that was mostly because he invested his other money <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain#Financial_troubles">very badly</a>.)<br />
So, I'm curious what motivates non-fiction writers today. (Fiction is
a whole other ballgame, but that would be interesting to find out about
too.) I want to know, if you've had a book published, why did you write
it? How did the process go? What benefits did you get from it, direct
or indirect? Would you do it again, and if so, what would you change?<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/blogging-stays-not-dead" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Why blogging keeps being not dead</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-03T14:16:40-08:00">June 3, 2010 2:16 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307451372/?tag=insidehomerec-20" title="Say Everything by Scott Rosenberg"><img align="right" alt="Say Everything" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3851833041_eabf2369d4_o.jpg" width="104" /></a><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/book-review-say-everything">Last year</a> I reviewed <a href="http://www.wordyard.com/2010/06/01/say-everything-in-paperback-and-new-postscript">Scott Rosenberg</a>'s book <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Say-Everything-Blogging-Becoming-Matters/dp/0307451364/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Say Everything</a></cite>, which is a (very good) history of blogging. It's now coming out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307451372/?tag=insidehomerec-20">in paperback</a>, and has a new postscript, which you can read in full at the <a href="http://www.sayeverything.com/postscript-four-cases-for-the-persistence-of-blogging/">book's website</a>.<br />
It's a sign of the Internet's speed of change that this book, less
than a year after first publication, needs an update like that. But I
think it's wise of Scott to write it, because he fits the latest
"blogging is dead" topics in with older ones. The new supposed
blog-killers are Twitter, Facebook, the Apple App Store, and so-called
"content farms," where online articles are written specifically to
generate search revenue, without any concern for whether anyone would
want to read them.<br />
He makes a reasonable argument that while these new platforms all <em>affect</em> blogging, none of them <em>replace</em>
it. I've certainly noticed that in my own writing online. Short links
and comments I might previously have posted on this blog tend to appear
in my <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter stream</a> instead (though I'll <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/links/">occasionally</a> collect <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest">some</a> of the better ones here for posterity). I interact with a lot of people on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine">Facebook</a>, where we might previously have commented on one another's blogs or emailed each other.<br />
Yet neither of those have stopped me from writing here almost every
day. Often things I find out on Twitter and Facebook are what inspire a
new blog entry, in fact.<br />
The App Store? At first I had trouble imagining what it had to do
with blogging at all. But then I realized that there are people in
old-school publishing who like iPhone and iPad apps that once again
charge discrete prices for written material—or, as Scott puts it, "a
genie-bottling move that might allow them, once more, to package and
sell media products the old way."<br />
That has no impact on me whatsoever, and whatever effect it might
have on blogs would be, perhaps, on those published by major media
outlets that might turn their efforts to the App Store instead. I guess.
Whatever.<br />
As for content farms like the not-very-useful <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/11/storyboard-demand-media/">eHow</a>, they're essentially another form of Internet pollution, like email and comment spam, <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/splog">splogs</a>, and so on. We'll learn to work around them in time. Scott's take:<br />
<blockquote>
...there is little evidence that the material produced by the
content farms holds any value outside of Google. These articles are good
at generating click-throughs from search results. But, having clicked
on the story's headline, is anyone ever happy to read the body?<br />
</blockquote>
It took me a long time to think of penmachine.com as a <cite>blog</cite>. I preferred to consider it a <cite>website</cite>, and blog software as an easy way to update it and maintain an archive. Indeed, that's what I highlighted about it in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_10_01_news_archive.html#1199969">my very first post</a> close to ten years ago. Whether <cite>blogging</cite>
survives in the long run as something we call by that name is
irrelevant. I'm more interesting in preserving interesting, useful
writing online—and making whatever small contribution to it that I can.<br />
From my perspective, good writing online doesn't seem to be going anywhere. There's more of it than ever.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/06/poison-time" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Poison time</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-06-01T06:47:31-08:00">June 1, 2010 6:47 AM</abbr>
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Back to chemo today, finally, for the first time in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/off-to-chemo-i-go">almost a month</a>. I hope my body is well enough <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-delay-zappy-foot">recovered</a> this time.<br />
If so, I'll see you again in a few days. Happy June.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-85368101145708589862018-11-11T13:09:00.002-08:002018-11-11T13:09:42.609-08:00Derek May 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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May 2010 Archives</h1>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/bzzzt" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Bzzzt!</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-30T16:57:48-08:00">May 30, 2010 4:57 PM</abbr>
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A couple of years ago, my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2287204343/">annoying chemo hair</a>
prompted me to shave my head for the first time. My hair isn't as
annoying now, but I thought I'd try it again, this time doing it myself
instead of letting hair professionals try it. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4654524934/in/set-72157624045087487/">Compare</a> the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2351178604/">results</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2351178604/" title="The monk look by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="The monk look" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2351178604_4f0e0b476b_m.jpg" width="159" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4654524934/" title="2010 shaveoff 5 - front by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="2010 shaveoff 5 - front" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4654524934_a362a2a785_m.jpg" width="180" /></a><br />
<small>2008 (left) vs. 2010 (right)</small>
</div>
The <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4653901987/in/set-72157624045087487/">back</a> is hard to get right when you can't see it in process (I took photos in order to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4654508128/in/set-72157624045087487/">get a look</a>, then corrected by feel from there), but I managed to get it pretty even by the end:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4654523420/" title="2010 shaveoff 6 - top by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="2010 shaveoff 6 - top" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4654523420_2cd454bd31_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4653901987/" title="2010 shaveoff 4 - back by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="2010 shaveoff 4 - back" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4653901987_ceec7d6f7f_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>
</div>
I plan to let it grow out to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/buzz-time">buzz cut length</a> again through the spring and summer.<br />
Thanks once more to <a href="http://www.vancouverpianist.com/">Paul Garay</a>, who back in 2008 gave me his salon-style electric trimmer, without which this effort would have been impossible.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/seabus-fare-machine-coin-photocopiers" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Remembering the original SeaBus fare machines and their long photocopied coin receipts</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-30T14:33:23-08:00">May 30, 2010 2:33 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcfs/4559452703/" title="Burrard Pacific Breeze departing Lonsdale."><img align="right" alt="Burrard Pacific Breeze departing Lonsdale." border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/4559452703_c9944aa59e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>For the first time since the original two vessels were launched <a href="http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2010/01/transit-flashback-the-orange-seabus/">in the 1970s</a>, Vancouver has a new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaBus">SeaBus</a> passenger ferry, the <cite><a href="http://www.miss604.com/2009/12/new-seabus-pacific-breeze-now-in-operation.html">Burrard Pacific Breeze</a></cite>, in operation since the end of last year. (Lame name: the previous two are the <cite>Burrard Beaver</cite> and the <cite>Burrard Otter</cite>. Should have stuck with the aquatic mammal theme, I say.)<br />
The two pioneering SeaBuses have been remarkably reliable for well
over 30 years. When they premiered in 1977 with their flashy full-orange
paint jobs, the system included the city's first automated fare
machines—ancestors of the units now found on every one of our buses and
at every SkyTrain station. Those introductory units in the two terminal
buildings were a bit more primitive, yet delightful. I'm not sure how
long they were in use, but they were certainly gone by the mid-'80s.<br />
They were essentially photocopiers. You'd drop your change into them,
push a big round plastic button, and the machine would spit out a long,
cash-register–style receipt that showed black and white images of every
coin used for your fare. This was before Canada had dollar or
two-dollar coins in regular circulation, and before transit fares were
high enough that anyone would need to use bills.<br />
So if you paid with pennies—as you could, and as kids like me often wanted to do—you'd get a <em>really</em>
long receipt (sometimes a metre or more) with dozens of photocopied
pennies on it, which you'd have to roll up or fold and carry with you as
proof of purchase. I kept many of mine in my room for awhile, and wish
I'd preserved one for posterity—although I suspect the images might have
faded to nothingness by now.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/our-dog-is-a-nerd" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Even our dog is a nerd</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-29T23:50:57-08:00">May 29, 2010 11:50 PM</abbr>
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I didn't notice when I took <a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4644282690_b2a28c9557_b.jpg" title="Firefox puppy">the photo</a>, or even when I first posted it, but <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddudek">Dave Dudek</a> pointed out that our dog Lucy tried to duplicate the logo for the <a href="http://www.getfirefox.com/">Mozilla Firefox</a> web browser. Look:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/3634829160/" title="Firefox logo"><img alt="Firefox logo" border="0" height="159" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/3634829160_74a40723fe_m.jpg" width="153" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4644282690/" title="El Sluggo by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="El Sluggo" border="0" height="159" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4644282690_b2a28c9557_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>
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Sorry Lucy, but...<br />
NERD!!!!<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/digital-executors-your-online-stuff" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Digital executors and what happens to your online stuff</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-28T16:40:48-08:00">May 28, 2010 4:40 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evablue/4380790081/" title="pcto2010 016"><img align="right" alt="pcto2010 016" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4380790081_1cbcb573ec_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I had a long Skype conversation with <a href="http://www.adelemcalear.com/">Adele McAlear</a> (pictured, courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evablue/4380790081/">Eva Blue</a>) from Montreal today. Adele is researching a book about <a href="http://www.deathanddigitallegacy.com/">death and digital legacies</a>, which is something I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/life-death-and-blog">talked</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/full-length-spark-interview-available">talked</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/audio-of-my-cbc-interview">talked</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/my-interview-last-week-on-cbc-tv">talked</a> about over the past couple of years—though I haven't <em>done</em>
very much about it. I have made an inventory of usernames and passwords
that my wife Air can access, and mentioned to some of my tech-savvy
friends that I'd appreciate if they could help her with some of the more
obscure aspects of my online life when I die, but that's about it. It
may also be enough.<br />
I've also some efforts to make sure that the stuff I'd most like to
preserve online, such as the contents of this website, is relatively
easy to keep running too. That motivation, for instance, is the source
of my weird obsession with using <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">static text files</a> to publish my blog—much to the puzzlement of my friends who use <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/">WordPress</a> or <a href="http://www.drupal.org/">Drupal</a> or other great software that doesn't meet my particular need.<br />
<h3>
Chances are you haven't thought about it</h3>
The gist of my gabfest with Adele was that, as far as we can tell, <strong>most
people online, and most companies that run services online, just
haven't thought at all about what will happen to users' online stuff if
they die.</strong> They also haven't thoroughly considered what to do to
preserve stuff that needs preserving, or destroy stuff that needs
destroying, or even which stuff might be which.<br />
It's quite easy to assume some things to be permanent (photos and
videos you've embedded on your blog, say) when they might not be. It's
also easy to think that other things are ephemeral and semi-private
(maybe tweets, Facebook wall posts, even emails) when they can become
public and archived. In short, our gut assumptions can be radically
wrong.<br />
It's true that many people, especially non–senior-citizens, haven't considered what to do with <em>any</em>
of their stuff when they die, or how to preserve or destroy it. But our
physical, non-virtual stuff has a long history of laws, regulations,
and established procedures for how to deal with that: probate and
property laws, next-of-kin rules, and so on.<br />
<h3>
Who decides now is not who used to decide before</h3>
Not so online. If you haven't thought about and planned for what you
want to do with your blog entries, photos and videos (including those
directly uploaded from your phone), email, PayPal funds, Twitter posts,
Facebook updates, online ad revenue, and so on, then if you die or are
incapacitated, or if you simply want to get rid of them, or let someone
else manage them for you, <strong>you may be at the mercy of whatever policies your particular service providers have in place.</strong> Those policies can be wildly inconsistent from one service to another, and they may change. You may not agree with them either.<br />
Adele gave a good example of what's new about that. If a loved one
has kept a personal written diary in paper books for years under his or
her bed, then when he or she dies, someone close (family, friends,
others living in the house) will probably come across it and decide
what, if anything, to do with the contents. But if that same person
wrote the same things on a private <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/">LiveJournal</a> (and told no one the password), it's <em>LiveJournal</em> that is the gatekeeper, and decides who gets access. Their policies <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/07/socialnetworking.myspace">don't seem formalized</a>, but Adele's investigations indicate that a private LiveJournal archive might <em>not</em> be shared with anyone, ever, as if it never existed.<br />
There can even be money involved (and lost!), such as if you have a significant balance in a <a href="http://www.paypal.com/">PayPal account</a>, or with an online bank without real-world branches, or if your blog generates advertising or affiliate-program revenue.<br />
In the worst case scenario, such as if you use very secure passwords
and don't share them with anyone (or don't write them down and put them
in a safety deposit box), then your family and friends may be completely
unable to access any of your accounts. Then, your online presence might
be frozen (in some cases), unceremoniously deleted (in others), or
simply slowly vapourize as accounts expire or services shut down and
move.<br />
<h3>
Make your own choices</h3>
If that's what you want, fine. But if you prefer that some of it be
preserved, or some of it be deleted and never seen again (perhaps if you
blog anonymously and don't want that tracked down), then someone will
have to do that for you—a <cite>digital executor</cite>. At the very
least, that person (whoever it is) needs to be able to find out your
email username and password, from which many other accounts can have
their passwords reset, and go on from there. But more may be necessary.<br />
While I currently appear to be the #1 Google result for <a href="http://www.google.ca/search?q=digital+executors">digital executors</a>, and might have even coined the phrase a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/edited-interview-now-available">couple of years</a> back (I'm not sure), Adele has a <a href="http://www.deathanddigitallegacy.com/2010/01/08/what-is-a-digital-executor/">much better post</a> about what they are, and also has a <a href="http://www.deathanddigitallegacy.com/2010/01/22/gmail-for-digital-executor-instructions-and-access/">great how-to</a> on using Gmail to set up instructions for yours.<br />
She also told me about the recent first <a href="http://digitaldeathday.com/">Digital Death Day</a> meeting, which grew out of the <a href="http://www.internetidentityworkshop.com/">Internet Identity Workshop</a>. Quite coincidentally, that was founded by "Identity Woman" <a href="http://www.identitywoman.net/">Kaliya Hamlin</a>, who just happened to be a student of my wife's quite a few years back.<br />
It's a small online world. Make sure <strong>you've made some decisions about how long the evidence of your existence</strong> in it will persist.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/links-of-interest-2010-05-28" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Links of interest (2010-05-28)</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-28T00:05:15-08:00">May 28, 2010 12:05 AM</abbr>
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<ul>
<li>Since he lost the ability to talk or eat, Roger Ebert has turned
into one of the world's best bloggers. (He did win a Pulitzer Prize
decades ago, after all.) Here he is writing about <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/05/putting_a_better_face_on_thing.html">his new face</a>.</li>
<li>Why fixed (non-zoom) lenses <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fixed-lenses-take-better-pictures.htm">take better pictures</a>, and let you carry less while doing so.</li>
<li>Dave Olson's <a href="http://feasthouse.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/northern-voice-2010-video/">wonderful video</a> from Northern Voice 2010. (He couldn't attend in person because of surgery. I know what that's like.)</li>
<li><a href="http://licorice-pizza.blogspot.com/2010/05/im-crazy-bout-you-baby-but-baby-youre.html">Nick Curran</a> plays the best off-the-hook Little Richard–style rock 'n' roll since the 1950s.</li>
<li>The <a href="http://vimeo.com/11673844">sexiest CPR instructional video</a> ever.</li>
<li>U.S. baby boomers grew up in a time of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/us/18divide.html">remarkably low immigration</a>, and that affects their attitudes now.</li>
<li>Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, who <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1649711/the-man-who-changed-the-ears-of-the-world-rip-dr-fritz-sennheiser?partner=rss">changed the world of headphones</a>, has died.</li>
<li>The frighteningly ugly new London 2012 Olympic mascots <a href="http://shogungamer.com/forums/off-topic/2012-london-olympic-mascotsso-ugh-what-do-you-think-they-look">fit right in</a> with the Power Rangers.</li>
<li>I've started using Google's <a href="http://code.google.com/webfonts">free embeddable web fonts</a> on this website.</li>
<li>Nikon's <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-best.htm">10 best lenses</a> (actually, it's 12). Also, the company's <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/10-worst.htm">worst lenses</a>.</li>
<li>A "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skooksie/4621299323/">thank you BP</a>" cake.</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1T8Z4G/theoatmeal.com/quiz/twitter_spell">Twitter spelling test</a>.</li>
<li>"Markets <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/05/21/rand_paul_calls_obama_un_american/">did not clean up smog</a>
in Los Angeles or bring Lake Erie back to a semblance of life or rescue
the California condor from extinction." Indeed, "Political philosophy
can <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/05/just_libertarianism_1.php">never be free</a> of history."</li>
<li><a href="http://musicmachinery.com/2010/05/21/the-swinger/">The Swinger</a> takes any song and makes it all jazzy and swingy, sometimes with hilarious results (such as with Metallica).</li>
<li><a href="http://thebigcaption.com/">The Big Caption</a> is often poignant or funny. <a href="http://thebigcaption.com/post/508164766/fuck-you-flowers-original">This one</a> made the rounds last week (beware: swearing).</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/05/evolution-of-camera.html">evolution of the camera</a>.</li>
<li>"Microsoft, despite J Allard's best efforts, never went native, never really figured out how be <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/05/25/is_microsoft_relevant">part of [Internet] culture</a>."</li>
<li>Even if you work full-time, you probably <a href="http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/are-you-spending-enough-time-with-your-kids-funny-i-should-ask/">spend more time with your kids</a> than your grandparents did with theirs.</li>
<li>How the CEO of "identity-protection" site LifeLock <a href="http://www.cringely.com/2010/05/lifeblocked/">had his own identity stolen</a> 13 times (!).</li>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-27T00:02:26-08:00">May 27, 2010 12:02 AM</abbr>
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<ul>
<li>Really, really, <em>really</em> big <a href="http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/06/largest-human-made-art-on-earth.html">sand art</a>. No really, it's <em>big</em>.</li>
<li>Of all the things the MythBusters have blown up, I still like the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q">water heater rocket</a> demolishing the little red house the best—especially the slo-mo around 2:40 (video).</li>
<li>It's a bit of a puzzle why matter and antimatter didn't entirely
annihilate one another in the early Universe. But there are clues now
about <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/science/space/18cosmos.html">why there was matter left over</a>—enough to make everything that now exists, including you and me.</li>
<li>Greta Christina wonders <a href="http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2010/05/why-are-y.html">why anyone is still Catholic</a>. She also wonders what it means to <a href="http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2010/05/on-being-ageappropriate.html">be age-appropriate</a> in choosing clothes.</li>
<li>A <a href="http://kottke.org/10/05/not-exactly-dogtown">wonderful skateboarding video</a> that satirizes skateboarding videos and yet has a delightful fun charm all its own.</li>
<li>Microsoft Research <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5536173/how-microsoft-captures-remarkable-stills-from-lousy-flash-videos">combines many frames</a> of fairly crappy video to make a pretty nice still image.</li>
<li>Eight websites <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/websites_stop">you need to stop building</a>.</li>
<li>Neko Case absolutely kills it with her live version of Harry Nilsson's "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9KrotLtC-Y">Don't Forget Me</a>." Made me cry (video).</li>
<li><a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1802364">World War II</a> as a Facebook news feed.</li>
<li>Why does the Moon look bigger at the horizon, when <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/05/13/why-does-the-moon-look-so-huge-on-the-horizon/">it's not</a>?</li>
<li>Octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish—although they are molluscs like clams and slugs—are "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Intelligence">honourary vertebrates</a>" as far as the U.K.'s animal cruelty laws are concerned.</li>
<li>Love the name of this Bollywood-themed <a href="http://www.bollywoodshenanigans.com/">live comedy show</a>: "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken."</li>
<li>How do you know when a rabid, virulent, anti-gay activist is in fact gay? The answer is, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlnQZVTAcRc">Well, duh!</a>" (video).</li>
<li>Facebook's <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/04/facebook-timeline">eroding privacy policy</a>: a timeline.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/04/30/notes043010.DTL">Ten amazing truths</a> you already suspected.</li>
<li>An L.A. resident found a highway sign confusing, so he sneaked up
and fixed it himself. His helpful alteration remained in place for <a href="http://jalopnik.com/5516635/">almost ten years</a>.</li>
<li>Great <a href="http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/tag/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill/">ongoing coverage of the Deepwater Horizon</a> oil blowout disaster by the gCaptain blog.</li>
<li>Eleven music superstars who are <a href="http://www.11points.com/Music/11_Music_Superstars_Who_are_Technically_One-Hit_Wonders">technically one-hit wonders</a> (includes Hendrix, Garth Brooks, Rush, and Iggy Pop).</li>
<li>We carry <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/we-carry-neanderthal-genes/">Neanderthal genes</a>.</li>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/links-of-interest-2010-05-26" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Links of interest (2010-05-26)</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-26T14:27:25-08:00">May 26, 2010 2:27 PM</abbr>
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In case you haven't been following my <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter feed</a>. You can also look at some of my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest">older entries</a> like this one.<br />
<ul>
<li>The Nicli Antica Pizzeria will finally bring <a href="http://scoutmagazine.ca/2010/04/21/real-neapolitan-pizza-coming-at-last-with-nicli-antica-pizzeria/">proper Neapolitan-style pizza</a> to Vancouver.</li>
<li>People want sofas, not "machines for living." The <a href="http://cheerfulsw.com/2010/dont-listen-to-le-corbusier%E2%80%94or-jakob-nielsen/">same for software</a>.</li>
<li>Turn any website into a horrifying 1999-era Geocities site with <a href="http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/">Geocitiesizer</a>. Here's <a href="http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/content.php?theme=2&music=11&url=www.penmachine.com">this site</a>.</li>
<li>A moving <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/04/27/hubble-gotchu/">soul tribute</a> to the Hubble Space Telescope (video).</li>
<li>Wearing polarized sunglasses can make you think your iPhone, iPad, or laptop has a <a href="http://db.tidbits.com/article/11232">broken screen</a>, when it doesn't.</li>
<li>Why can't all alarm clocks be <a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2257-an-alarm-clock-in-ginza">like this one</a>?</li>
<li>Twenty years after the online magazine TidBITS started, here are the stories of how <a href="http://db.tidbits.com/article/11205">some of the staffers got there</a>. (TidBITS was apparently the first Internet publication to accept advertising, incidentally.)</li>
<li>Fifty <a href="http://best.complex.com/lists/Kon-Amir-Present-The-50-Greatest-Samples-In-Hip-Hop-History/holy-thursday">awesome R&B, funk, and soul records</a> that were samples to launch a gazillion hip-hop tracks.</li>
<li>Photos of the <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/first_of_the_last_space_shuttl.html">last launch</a> of the space shuttle <cite>Atlantis</cite>. Check out this shot of <a href="http://twitpic.com/1odxcb"><cite>Atlantis</cite> over the Canary Islands</a> too.</li>
<li>The original <cite>Law & Order</cite> TV show has been cancelled after 20 years. Some claim that with declining crime rates, there are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/arts/television/15law.html">more murders</a> portrayed on the three Law & Order programs each year than actually occur in Manhattan during that time.</li>
<li>"Slowly disintegrating [Facebook's] social context without choice isn't consent; <a href="http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/05/14/facebook-and-radical-transparency-a-rant.html">it's trickery</a>."</li>
<li>If you've never tried <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk">lutefisk</a></i> (also known as <i>lipeäkala</i>), don't. It's a Scandinavian "delicacy" consisting of whitefish <em>boiled in lye</em>. Even bacteria won't eat it. It's one reason I'm convinced that many delicacies originate in desperation.</li>
<li>Bagpipes are pretty rare in rock 'n' roll songs. Here are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UaJ9UKM7kk">the best rock bagpipes ever</a> (video).</li>
<li>Everything bad about Canada in <a href="http://jesssloss.com/everything-bad-about-canada-summarized-in-one">one photo</a>.</li>
<li>It seems that some people think that dust flecks illuminated by camera flashes are <a href="http://blogs.forteana.org/node/116">the souls of the dead</a>. Seriously.</li>
<li>The honey badger is the <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/the-worlds-most-fearless-animal/">world's most fearless animal</a>. There's video of one trying to eat a poisonous puff adder, getting bitten and knocked out for two hours, then waking up and <em>finishing the snake off.</em> Yikes.</li>
<li>Here's a way to feel inadequate: a 16-year-old Australian girl just <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126848754">sailed around the world</a> by herself.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.kungfugrippe.com/post/603986036/notdickless-via-gregrutter">Inappropriate jazz hands</a>.</li>
<li>Holy crap does Google own <a href="http://www.neowin.net/news/google-is-way-bigger-than-you-realize">a lot of servers</a>.</li>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-25T19:56:09-08:00">May 25, 2010 7:56 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Neutrophil.jpg" title="Neutrophil granulocyte smear, MayGrunwal-Giemsa. 100x oil immersion"><img align="right" alt="Neutrophil cell" border="0" class="post" height="150" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Neutrophil.jpg" width="200" /></a>I
was supposed to have chemotherapy today, but it didn't happen because
my body isn't ready for it yet. Despite taking an extra week off from
the treatments since my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/off-to-chemo-i-go">last one</a> at the beginning of May, blood tests showed my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrophil_granulocyte">neutrophil</a> counts to be too low, so we're waiting another week. (Other blood readings were okay.)<br />
Neutrophils are white blood cells, a key part of my immune system. They're cool <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Neutrophil.jpg" title="Neutrophil granulocyte smear, MayGrunwal-Giemsa. 100x oil immersion">under a microscope</a>
because they have a three-lobed cell nucleus (most cells have one).
Chemo hammers them just as it does with cancer cells. Normal neutrophil
levels for healthy people are between 2.5 and 7.5 x 10<small><sup>9</sup></small>
(2.5 to 7.5 billion) cells per litre of blood. We'd normally go ahead
with chemo if my levels were at 1.5 or higher, and might even proceed if
they are as low as 1.0. But today they were 0.9, too low, so I had to
come home from the Cancer Agency.<br />
I'd already taken some of my anti-nausea and anti-anxiety medication,
however, so by the time my dad drove me back, the Gravol and Ativan
were kicking in, and I fell asleep for five and a half hours. Now I'm a
awake and feeling a little more normal after some good Chinese food.<br />
The human body can take a surprising amount of punishment, and I'm
good evidence of that. But the punishment does have its price: I was in
the bathroom for several hours last night with other side effects, and
injuries heal more slowly than usual too. I skinned my knee on the edge
of our bed a few weeks ago, and there's still a noticeable bruise there.<br />
The weirdest thing right now? One of the drugs I'm taking, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxaliplatin">oxaliplatin</a>, causes peripheral nerve damage, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropathy">neuropathy</a>
(also a risk from the diabetes I've had for almost 20 years). Both of
my feet feel a little numb and tingly all the time. And now, if I face
my head forward and rapidly move my chin down, like I'm nodding, I get a
pronounced pins-and-needles "shock" in my soles.<br />
Nodding has no effect on the rest of my body. If I turn my head
sideways and nod, I don't get the zap. If I nod down slowly enough, I
also don't feel it. But a sharp downward nod produces a noticeable jolt.
I'm probably slightly squeezing a nerve or something. It's not painful,
nor alarming, just strange. And a sort of cool. Sometimes I find myself
doing it for fun.<br />
So I have one more week to be reasonably well before I descend into
the chemo pit again. I'm a bit disappointed not to get treatment moving
once more, but another week without debilitating nausea is also okay by
me.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/facebook-privacy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Three increasingly drastic ways to deal with your Facebook privacy concerns: my thoughts</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-24T16:12:16-08:00">May 24, 2010 4:12 PM</abbr>
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I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/why-im-not-on-facebook.html">resisted</a> joining Facebook for some time, but eventually, after my wife and friends actually <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/peer-pressure">created a Facebook group</a> to get me to join, I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/okay-fine-fine">signed up</a>.
It's been useful, a great way to find people I couldn't track down any
other way online, and a means to keep up with what my friends and
acquaintances are doing.<br />
But there's been <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2010/05/what-do-you-think-about-facebook-and-privacy/">a kerfuffle</a>
recently about how Facebook treats its users' privacy. Some history is
useful here. Facebook started out in 2004 as a service only for college
students, and was set up to keep things largely private, with updates
confined to friends or people at the same school. That has <a href="http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/">changed radically</a> in the six years since, not only as the site expanded to let anyone join, but as its privacy <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/technology/personaltech/13basics.html">policies</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/12/business/facebook-privacy.html?ref=personaltech">settings</a> became both increasingly complex and, by default, less private.<br />
<h3>
Facebook's interests vs. yours</h3>
That's the heart of the problem. As the company has tried to figure
out how to make money and grow, it has frequently changed its policies
and settings unilaterally, without adequately informing Facebook
users—and usually making those users' information more widely available
than they previously wanted. Getting that privacy back usually involves
some <a href="http://www.airbagindustries.com/archives/airbag/meltdown.php">heavy spelunking</a>
through a maze of confusing checkboxes and drop-down lists, just to get
back to some semblance of the settings you had before. If you can even
get there.<br />
That doesn't matter much to me personally. On this website and
elsewhere, I've generally treated anything that's online as fully
public, and I've done the same with Facebook since I joined. I also
consider it a temporary and ephemeral service: I'm completely prepared
for Facebook to shut down or disappear or eat the information I've put
into it at any time—or for people to stop using it, so it loses its
value. (Remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompuServe">CompuServe</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Source_(online_service)">The Source</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AvantGo">AvantGo</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendster">Friendster</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut">Orkut</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaiku">Jaiku</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICQ">ICQ</a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FriendFeed">FriendFeed</a>? No? My point exactly.)<br />
But many, perhaps most, people don't treat Facebook that way. (And
something like 5% of the Earth's entire population is on Facebook, so
that's <em>a lot</em> of people.) There are many ostensibly private conversations and updates on the service that <a href="http://youropenbook.org/">aren't actually private</a>, or that used to be but have become public without their participants' knowledge. Some <a href="http://youropenbook.org/?q=i%20hate%20my%20boss">of them</a> can be <a href="http://youropenbook.org/?q=%22not%20racist%20but%22">a tad embarrassing</a>. (Not to mention revealing atrocious grammar and spelling.)<br />
<h3>
Trustworthiness</h3>
It <a href="http://calacanis.com/2010/05/12/the-big-game-zuckerberg-and-overplaying-your-hand/">seems clear</a>
that the people running Facebook don't have great concern for their
users' privacy, and likely can't be trusted to make decisions in their
users' best interests most of the time. If you want to continue using
Facebook, I suggest you do so with that in the back of your mind. Assume
anything you post (including personal messages, photos, and videos)
could:<br />
<ul>
<li>become public</li>
<li>be passed or sold to another organization</li>
<li>be deleted or altered</li>
</ul>
All without your knowledge or consent, at any time. And there could be <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/11/another-security-hole-found-on-yelp-facebook-data-once-again-put-at-risk/">security breaches</a> too, entirely aside from what Facebook exposes intentionally.<br />
<h3>
What to do?</h3>
If that doesn't really bother you, go ahead and keep using Facebook as-is, and maybe <a href="http://www.sophos.com/security/best-practice/facebook/">tweak some settings</a>.<br />
<div class="note">
UPDATE: You might want to check out the <a href="http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/">Reclaim Privacy</a>
tool, which works as a browser bookmark and can automatically scan your
Facebook privacy settings anytime and help you secure them better with
just a few clicks. I just used it, and plan to re-scan periodically in
case Facebook changes things without notice again.</div>
If, on the other hand, Facebook's recent privacy changes do bother
you, then you have some options, in increasing order of drasticness:<br />
<ol>
<li><strong>Turn off the most egregiously data-sharing aspects of Facebook,</strong> like Instant Personalization and the ability of your friends to make public information that you might not want them to. <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/04/25/disable-facebook-instant-personalization/">Here's how</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Create an absolutely minimalist Facebook profile</strong> that lets you do what you want to do, while revealing as little as you possibly can about yourself and your activities. <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5538697/how-to-quit-facebook-without-actually-quitting-facebook">Here's how</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Delete your Facebook account completely</strong> and
stop using the site. (That goes beyond simply "disabling" your account,
which is the first option Facebook offers you, and which doesn't delete
anything.) <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Permanently-Delete-a-Facebook-Account">Here's how</a>, with the key "delete" page being <a href="https://ssl.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account">this one</a>.</li>
</ol>
I've only gone as far as step 1, which is comfortable for me. I'd
prefer to be somewhat in control of when websites send my information
back and forth among themselves. Check out the other alternatives and
see what feels best for you.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/all-hail-the-blue-whale" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">All hail the blue whale</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-23T23:35:21-08:00">May 23, 2010 11:35 PM</abbr>
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A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale">blue whale</a> is an astonishing creature: the largest, heaviest species of animal that <em>has ever lived</em> since multicellular animals first arose on Earth more than 600 million (UPDATE: or was it <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100630171711.htm">2.1 billion</a>?)
years ago. Bigger than any dinosaur, extinct aquatic reptile, shark, or
squid; longer and heavier even than many trees; more massive than a
fully-loaded 757 airliner. Yet blue whales feed almost exclusively on
stupendous numbers of krill, tiny shrimp-like marine crustaceans. And we
are alive at the same time, sharing the planet with a few thousand of
these cetaceans, who range throughout the world's oceans.<br />
The new <a href="http://www.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/">Beaty Biodiversity Museum</a>
at the University of British Columbia has just unveiled one of the few
blue whale skeletons on display in the world, and my kids and I went to <a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4633068724_08caa16910_b.jpg" title="My daughters and a blue whale at UBC">see it</a> yesterday:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4633068724/" title="Beaty Museum - blue whale 1 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Beaty Museum - blue whale 1" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4633068724_08caa16910.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
It's hard to capture how large and yet elegant the skeleton is. You can walk underneath it, and when I did that to shoot <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4632863370/in/set-72157623996337491">this movie</a>, it took about 30 seconds to stroll the 26 metres from its chin to its tail:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
You could easily fit a car within the whale's rib cage, and a van within its <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4632484331/in/set-72157623996337491/">vast mouth</a>. But the overall shape of the skeleton, with its stupendously <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4632492717/in/set-72157623996337491/">long spine</a>, is lithe and streamlined, well optimized for slipping through the water.<br />
You can also see from the skeleton that whales and humans are not too
distantly related (at least compared to other animals in the world).
Whales are, of course, warm-blooded, air breathing mammals. They share a
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_cetaceans">common ancestor</a> with large land herbivores like hippopotamuses, probably around 50 million years in the past.<br />
You can see that relationship directly in the bones of this whale at
UBC, a fairly large female that died and washed up on a Prince Edward
Island beach in 1987, and which spent two decades buried in the soil
nearby before it was moved here to the West Coast and reconstructed over
the past three years. The spine shows how she swam, moving her tail up
and down, the way we bend our own backs—not side to side like fish and
crocodiles.<br />
And check out these <a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4632490249_4b8f8f1d8a_b.jpg" title="Vestigial pelvic bones of a blue whale">funny "floating" bones</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4632490249/" title="Beaty Museum - blue whale 7 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Beaty Museum - blue whale 7" border="0" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4632490249_4b8f8f1d8a.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
They are invisible in the living animal, buried in muscle and blubber, but they are vestigial <em>pelvic bones</em>,
so small on the whale that they're of similar size to the ones in our
own human bodies—the ones that form our hips and anchor our legs. But
blue whales have no hind legs: their pelvic bones are reminders of the
legs their ancestors used to have, many millions of years ago.<br />
The titanic vertebrae above those little floaters are about the size
of a large home appliance, like a stove or a barbecue, but their
structure is the same as the ones in your spine. Even cooler, look at
the <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3357/4633083012_4edb2c720f_b.jpg" title="Fin bones of the blue whale">bones in the fin</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4633083012/" title="Beaty Museum - blue whale 6 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Beaty Museum - blue whale 6" height="450" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3357/4633083012_4edb2c720f.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
You don't have to be trained in anatomy to see how much they look like an elongated hand. Someone who <em>is</em>
trained in human anatomy can see the same bones we have in our wrists,
palms, and fingers. When this whale was alive they formed a giant
steering paddle instead of a foreleg, with the "fingers" hidden by
tissue, like an enormous mitten.<br />
Though there are various <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/75417681@N00/sets/72157612527926317/">whale watching</a>
locations around the world where you can see them, rather few people
get a chance to observe blue whales in the wild. They are solitary
animals with similar lifespans to humans, living perhaps 60 years. They
can travel at speeds comparable to that of a cargo ship, about 20 km/h,
or 11 knots.<br />
It was a privilege to see even the remains of one of these remarkable
animals up close. If you're in Vancouver during one of the few other <a href="http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2010/05/21/ubc-blue-whale-exhibit-welcomes-first-visitors-canada%E2%80%99s-two-blue-whale-exhibits-meet-via-live-webcast/">preview days</a>
this summer, or once the museum opens officially in the autumn, I
recommend you go look. Maybe hold up your hand to those huge fins, or
feel your hip bones, and compare them yourself.<br />
</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/new-boots-not-tasmanian" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">New boots, not Tasmanian after all</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-21T16:17:19-08:00">May 21, 2010 4:17 PM</abbr>
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Two of my three <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_02_01_news_archive.html#10116288">old pairs</a> of Tasmanian-made Blundstone boots now have worn-out, leaky soles (no big deal—the first ones I bought are more than <em>nine years</em> old, and the newest ones are almost six, and are still going strong), so I bought a <a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4627662818_87c0942819_b.jpg" title="Shiny red boots">new pair</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4627662818/" title="Shiny new red Blundstones by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Shiny new red Blundstones" height="400" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4627662818_87c0942819.jpg" width="300" /></a>
</div>
They're rather red (the first time I've seen them in that colour),
and super-shiny from waterproofing wax, but will dull down a bit with
time. Blundstones remain the most comfortable and useful footwear I've
ever owned.<br />
Alas, this pair, while of apparently equal quality to my old ones and just as expensive, was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blundstone#Factory_closure">not made</a>
in Australia, but in Vietnam, something I didn't notice until I got
home. I had simply assumed that "Blunnies" were still Tasmanian in
origin, as they had been for well over 100 years. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/not-always-buying-from-china">Bad assumption</a>: the globalization of manufacturing marches on.<br />
Though, had I seen the tag at the store, I'd still probably have bought them anyway.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/sochi-stalins-home-away-from-home" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Sochi, Stalin's home away from home</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-21T10:42:22-08:00">May 21, 2010 10:42 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-world-in-irchiks-eyes/4579102491/" title="Enjoying the calm and quiet evening"><img align="right" alt="Enjoying the calm and quiet evening" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4579102491_99f977dcdb_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Before it won <a href="http://sochi.ru/">the bid</a> for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the next ones following our recent games here in Vancouver, I hadn't heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi">Sochi, Russia</a>. Neither had a lot of other people in North America, I think.<br />
But that's odd, because in reading the book <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400076781/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar</a></cite>, I discovered that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin">Josef Stalin</a>
spent a huge proportion of his time at his dachas and the spas in
Sochi, sometimes for months in a row, while he was leader of the
USSR—especially in the 1930s while he orchestrated the terrible <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_famine_of_1932%E2%80%931933">peasant famines</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge">Terror</a>, during which millions died.<br />
For Stalin, his Sochi residences were like Hitler's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berghof_(Hitler)">Berghof</a> in Bavaria—his main base of operations outside Moscow. In fact, Stalin established Sochi as Russia's main seaside resort.<br />
It still seems a strange place for a Winter Olympics in Russia, like
Vancouver was here in Canada: one of the warmest places in a country
dominated by winter cold, even if (as here) there are ski mountains
nearby. But Sochi <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/discovering-vancouvers-winter-olympics">still wins</a> for bizarreness, because it's always been best known as a <em>summer</em>
resort (Stalin went there for spa treatments, gardening, fishing, and
camping, not skiing or skating), and they have palm trees.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/vancouver-in-black-and-white" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Vancouver in black and white</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-20T10:34:26-08:00">May 20, 2010 10:34 AM</abbr>
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The <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/photowalk-city-of-glass">other day</a> I said I'd post my black-and-white film photos (taken with my new/old Nikon FE) from the May <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624074058242/">Vancouver photowalk</a> when they were ready. Here they are:<br />
<div align="center">
<a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620185040/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - blocks"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - blocks" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4620185040_ee42771968_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619572667/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - spacers"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - spacers" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4619572667_cdb7d61209_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619574645/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - Granville Bridge"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - Granville Bridge" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3456/4619574645_06702ea293_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620190140/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - Fan Sea"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - Fan Sea" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/4620190140_406881b26f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620190844/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - cormorant silhouettes"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - cormorant silhouettes" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/4620190844_f797613260_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620191476/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - cormorant catches crab"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - cormorant catches crab" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/4620191476_e446341e9f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619578311/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - hungry cormorants"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - hungry cormorants" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4619578311_9a04594167_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620193064/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - masts"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - masts" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4620193064_dfb7ce71cf_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620195808/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - Monk's lamps"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - Monk's lamps" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4620195808_7b9c8b202c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619582549/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - don't wake the gulls"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - don't wake the gulls" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/4619582549_7e00a8e8df_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619583091/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - MV Britannia"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - MV Britannia" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/4619583091_1acd051601_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620197882/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - Aquabus"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - Aquabus" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/4620197882_b9b18da0d0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620199008/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - habitat island closed"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - habitat island closed" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/4620199008_3d6e079fe3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619586655/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - stone house"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - stone house" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4619586655_67ae675254_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620201658/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - spiky art"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - spiky art" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4620201658_4f0710b4fc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619589191/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - shed"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - shed" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4619589191_9115413d71_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620203422/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - we'll cross that bridge"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - we'll cross that bridge" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/4620203422_cd0e7bb6f4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620204882/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - Jon"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - Jon" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4620204882_b3f8189b2f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br /><a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620206516/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - slab"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - slab" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4620206516_79ae6363b3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4619593989/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - towers"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - towers" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/4619593989_5ee7f95796_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="image_link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620209074/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk B&W - contemplative Rio"><img alt="May photowalk B&W - contemplative Rio" border="0" class="pc_img" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4620209074_ffe53de9f4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a>
</div>
I'd also like to re-post something I wrote as a comment on another blog, since it seems appropriate. <a href="http://blog.deliciousjuice.com/2010/05/19/exiled-to-mantua/">Kimli recalled</a> her experience loving Vancouver even more after having lived away from B.C. for several years.<br />
I was born and raised here, and so were my mom, my wife, and my kids.
But you don't need to move away to know how lucky we've got it. I
traveled a fair bit when I was younger, and saw all sorts of places,
from Moscow and (then) Leningrad to London, Rome and Florence and Milan,
New York and Chicago and Denver and San Diego, Melbourne and Honolulu,
Toronto and Ottawa and Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary. And (as a
traveling musician) most of the B.C. Interior and Vancouver Island.<br />
I could probably manage living in San Diego or Melbourne. Maybe
Portland or Seattle, because they share similar climates and topography.
But they're still not Vancouver. We've lived on the north side of the
Metrotown hill in Burnaby most of my life, and we're way too used to the
unbelievable view from our front window. But every once in awhile,
there's a big snowfall followed by a sunny morning, and we get <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4097929199_6365da9c9e_b.jpg" title="First big snows on the Lions, 2009">this</a> (and that's just part of what we can see):<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4097929199/" title="First big snows on the Lions by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="First big snows on the Lions" height="253" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4097929199_6365da9c9e.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
My jaw still drops when that happens—merely from the what-it-looks
like part. Sure, we're not as culturally vibrant as Austin or London or
Montreal; not as hopping as Tokyo or NYC; not has historic as Berlin or
Quebec City or New Orleans or Buenos Aires; not as architecturally
interesting as Prague or Paris; still a bit prissy about when and where
you can drink and party. Sure we haven't sorted out <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/looking-glass">our problems</a> with poverty and addiction and such.<br />
But we're shiny and new and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2003/01/who-we-are.html">polyglot</a>,
and you can buy cheap great sushi everywhere, and eagles fly by my
window and I can walk 20 minutes from my house and see a real live wild
beaver lodge, and my kids like going to both the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2114772714/">Aquarium</a> and the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/2730172351/in/set-72157606529482632/">Pride Parade</a>, and I have good friends and all my family here.<br />
When you visit a tourism website or see a brochure, or when the
Olympics coverage features sweeping helicopter beauty shots of the city
and mountains, you can say, "Wow. Yeah, it really is like that a lot of
the time."<br />
I wouldn't move if I had any choice, and if I had to, I'd want to
come back as soon as it was feasible. That's my black and white. Sorry,
rest of the world.<br />
</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/morning-routine" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Morning routine</a></h2>
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<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-19T09:59:11-08:00">May 19, 2010 9:59 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620160099/" title="Lucy rolls by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Lucy rolls" border="0" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4620160099_576a18958b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Like most dogs, our puppy <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">Lucy</a>
needs to go out of the house each morning (at least if we want her not
to make a mess on the floor). So I've developed what's turned into a
pleasant routine.<br />
I wake up and drag myself out of the bedroom—I've never been a
snap-out-of bed morning person—and Lucy, who's usually snoozing between
our pillows at that time (and who <em>does</em> snap out of bed),
toddles along after me, her claws clacking on the hardwood. I say good
morning to the kids, who are watching TV by that time, then put a
bathrobe over my pajamas, and make a cup of coffee. Then Lucy and I head
to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4448343740/in/set-72157623094353645/">back yard</a>.<br />
I grab a lawn chair and sip my coffee while Lucy does her business, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4488747622/in/set-72157623094353645/">runs around</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4620160099/in/set-72157623094353645/">rolls on the lawn</a>.
This past few weeks the weather has been pretty nice, so I'll often sit
out there in the morning sun for 10 or 15 minutes and finish my cup.
Maybe the kids will drop by too.<br />
Then I'll wander back inside—Lucy follows eventually—and get the
morning started, making the girls some lunch for school and so on. It's a
nice slow start to the day.<br />
</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/30-years-after-mt-st-helens" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Thirty years after Mount St. Helens</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-18T00:43:52-08:00">May 18, 2010 12:43 AM</abbr>
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Before it erupted exactly 30 years ago, on May 18, 1980,
Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington State—about 300 km away from
my house—was a <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/4618128782_15688d6fc5_o.jpg" title="Mount St. Helens 1978 - before the eruption">beautiful peak</a>, often compared to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Fuji">Mount Fuji</a> in Japan:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4618128782/" title="Mount St. Helens 1978 - before the eruption by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Mount St. Helens 1978 - before the eruption" height="267" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/4618128782_3962529ee8.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
It doesn't look much like that <a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/226443592_81c8029b41_b.jpg" title="Mount St. Helens 5">anymore</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/226443592/" title="Mount St. Helens 5 by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="Mount St. Helens 5" height="300" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/226443592_81c8029b41.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
<div class="note">
<strong>UPDATE:</strong> Via <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/05/18/mount-st-helens-30-years/">Phil Plait</a>, here's a very cool <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/sthelens.php">NASA page</a> where you can click each year (starting in 1979) to see a satellite view of the area around St. Helens. There's also a <a href="http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/30Years/framework.html">USGS page</a>
on the anniversary, which (despite its old-fashioned web page design)
has lots of cool stuff, including some excellent video retrospectives.</div>
For months before the eruption, the north side of the mountain had
been swelling (at up to 6 feet per day!), expanding ominously as
scientists monitored numerous escalating quakes emanating from its magma
chamber. An eruption seemed to be coming, but until that May morning no
one had seen a volcano erupt sideways, so quite a few people were
uknowingly in the danger zone to the north.<br />
At 8:32 a.m. that morning, St. Helens did erupt sideways. The north side of the mountain <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRnVhbfIKQ">rocketed downslope</a>
in one of the largest landslides ever recorded, releasing the ash,
rock, and other pyroclastic material it had been holding back,
superheated to hundreds of degrees. The blast flared out across the
landscape, flattening trees, burying lakes, destroying logging
equipment, burying and partially melting cars and trucks, and killing
nearly everything—animals, plants, people, whatever—for 30 km in that
direction. It took less than a minute, then the eruption proceeded
upward, ash blowing east with the prevailing winds.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens#Direct_results">Fifty-seven people</a>
died, but the numbers would have been much higher if it hadn't been a
Sunday morning and Weyerhaeuser loggers had been working in the blast
zone. We <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/boom">heard the sound</a> (loudly!) in Vancouver, though those winds blew the massive ash cloud a different direction and none landed here.<br />
Though much has <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/05/mount-st-helens/funk-text">come to life</a> again there, the land north of St. Helens is still a <a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&ll=46.257746,-122.173462&spn=0.260641,0.41748&t=h&z=11">grey-brown scar</a>. Thousands of dead logs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SpiritLake.jpg">still float</a>
on the surface of Spirit Lake, from when the eruption pushed its entire
contents up a ridge and the water then sloshed back, dragging trees
with it back into its basin.<br />
I was just about to turn 11 when the eruption happened, and I became a
bit obsessed with it, as 11-year-old boys are prone to do. I collected
books, newspapers, and magazines, and read them all. When my parents and
I drove down Interstate 5 that summer on the way to California, I was
glued to the window as we passed ash-choked rivers and roads still under
repair.<br />
The photos at <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/mount_st_helens_30_years_ago.html">The Big Picture</a>
bring those memories back: the maw of the mountain belching hellacious,
evil pillows of mushroom clouds; the overflowing grey rivers taking out
bridges and trains; huge evergreen trees stripped of branches and
foliage, snapped off at their bases like chopsticks and spread across
the landscape as if steamrolled; helicopters landing on moonscapes to
find nothing and no one alive.<br />
Mount St. Helens taught me that the Earth is powerful and
disinterested, that it can shift and crack and explode, and we can do
nothing to prevent it. The danger can be <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3854574505/">close by</a>,
and it's worth knowing about, so we might prepare as best we can, and
learn as much as possible, so that maybe we can predict. But only
sometimes.<br />
</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/photowalk-city-of-glass" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Photowalking the City of Glass</a></h2>
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<span class="byline">
By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-16T18:58:52-08:00">May 16, 2010 6:58 PM</abbr>
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If you watched the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics">Olympics</a>
in February, and if you don't actually live in Vancouver, you probably
wondered whether this place really is as pretty as all those sweeping
helicopter shots made it out to be. The answer is <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/4613293346_8ea534a46b_b.jpg" title="Benches and False Creek">yes</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613293346/" title="May photowalk - benches by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img alt="May photowalk - benches" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/4613293346_8ea534a46b.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Last night, a few of us took a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photowalk">photowalk</a> along the south shore of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_Creek">False Creek</a>
just as the sun was going down. We enjoyed the boats going by, saw a
seal and a great blue heron, observed a cormorant catch and eat a crab
(my photos of that are coming), and watched the lights of the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/10/skyward.html">City of Glass</a> wink on as it got dark.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613184400/in/photostream/">Jon and Brennan</a>,
two of the participants, brought substantial photo rigs, with multiple
digital SLR bodies, lenses, and tripods in backpacks. I learned a couple
of summers ago that doing so isn't a wise move for me: after hauling my
full <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2705107710/in/set-72157606341136510/">pack o' gear</a>
up Whistler Mountain, I ended up using only my camera and the one lens
I'd first mounted on it—the rest was just uncomfortable wasted weight.<br />
So this time I tried to be more minimalist. Despite bringing two camera bodies (my digital <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3664144754/in/set-72157604348168836/">Nikon D90</a> and my recently-purchased vintage <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4607401027/in/set-72157604348168836/">Nikon FE</a> film camera), I took along only three lenses, all relatively compact non-zoom <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_lens">primes</a>:
a 24 mm wide-angle, a 50 mm normal low-light, and a 135 mm telephoto
for the FE. Despite also bringing a monopod for when it got darker, I
didn't need a camera bag at all, just my pockets and my usual green
Crumpler <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3761376944/">man purse</a>.<br />
Here are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624074058242/">the pictures</a> I took with the D90 (thanks to Brennan for lending me his wacky <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm">Tokina 11–16 mm</a> zoom lens for a few <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612604885/in/set-72157624074058242/">shots</a>):<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/photos/penmachine/4612567095/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - I chose the smaller camera"><img alt="May photowalk - I chose the smaller camera" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4612567095_400f26730f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613184400/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Jon and Brennan"><img alt="May photowalk - Jon and Brennan" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/4613184400_c680f670a6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612573657/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Brennan"><img alt="May photowalk - Brennan" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4612573657_f8bfca4c92_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613191494/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - waterfront cone"><img alt="May photowalk - waterfront cone" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/4613191494_bb7e5525b9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613194422/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Masumi and Ryoma"><img alt="May photowalk - Masumi and Ryoma" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4613194422_03500d9be8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612584365/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Village scallop"><img alt="May photowalk - Village scallop" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4612584365_81493a8f80_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613203556/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - prohibited waterway"><img alt="May photowalk - prohibited waterway" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4613203556_cc4b6a84e4_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612591877/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - condos"><img alt="May photowalk - condos" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4612591877_c90bd0c61c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613209650/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - checking the LX3"><img alt="May photowalk - checking the LX3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4613209650_0552e5d5a6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612597941/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - wide sunset"><img alt="May photowalk - wide sunset" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4612597941_9244a279d1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613216832/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - happy face"><img alt="May photowalk - happy face" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3330/4613216832_76c9ac4516_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612604885/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - hello Rio"><img alt="May photowalk - hello Rio" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4612604885_40564de7dd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613223156/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - big Brennan"><img alt="May photowalk - big Brennan" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4613223156_55af40f3d0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613226120/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Derek wide"><img alt="May photowalk - Derek wide" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4613226120_13a8e2ef15_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612614399/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - harbour ferry"><img alt="May photowalk - harbour ferry" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4612614399_4ab40875cd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613233150/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Monk's marina"><img alt="May photowalk - Monk's marina" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4613233150_9a8a31ac66_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613236464/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - sailboat"><img alt="May photowalk - sailboat" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/4613236464_3e9d340d20_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612622835/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - rhodo"><img alt="May photowalk - rhodo" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3405/4612622835_2a6a1f8082_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613241486/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - purple"><img alt="May photowalk - purple" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4613241486_6ce4f5d320_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613244782/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - marina sunet"><img alt="May photowalk - marina sunet" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/4613244782_87d267ba0c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612633031/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - ominous Cambie"><img alt="May photowalk - ominous Cambie" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4612633031_0beac49dbe_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612637283/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - old and new"><img alt="May photowalk - old and new" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/4612637283_00c4ac6d9e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613255676/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Cambie Bridge"><img alt="May photowalk - Cambie Bridge" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4613255676_27c08666c5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612643951/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - City of Glass"><img alt="May photowalk - City of Glass" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4612643951_357aff0381_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612646675/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - towers and sky"><img alt="May photowalk - towers and sky" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3567/4612646675_f3cf98927e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612649435/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - East False Creek"><img alt="May photowalk - East False Creek" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4612649435_78d850ff81_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613267108/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Science World"><img alt="May photowalk - Science World" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3347/4613267108_9976a52b3e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612654829/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - Edgewater Casino"><img alt="May photowalk - Edgewater Casino" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/4612654829_6359cfbaf8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613272356/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - waterfront walk"><img alt="May photowalk - waterfront walk" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4613272356_7375a37901_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613274940/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - ghostly shooters 1"><img alt="May photowalk - ghostly shooters 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4613274940_42e763ac99_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613278174/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - lamps"><img alt="May photowalk - lamps" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/4613278174_d220ae46d3_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613281006/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - ghostly shooters 2"><img alt="May photowalk - ghostly shooters 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4613281006_a583c76f57_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612669125/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - railing"><img alt="May photowalk - railing" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/4612669125_c113da86e7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613286332/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - bridge"><img alt="May photowalk - bridge" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/4613286332_6b36871f24_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613288864/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - bridge and wood"><img alt="May photowalk - bridge and wood" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4613288864_c1d76c205a_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613290600/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - surface"><img alt="May photowalk - surface" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4613290600_dc5d61b413_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613293346/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - benches"><img alt="May photowalk - benches" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/4613293346_8ea534a46b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4612680005/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - moon condos"><img alt="May photowalk - moon condos" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/4612680005_2c3cfa7285_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4613296412/in/set-72157624074058242/" title="May photowalk - sun leaf art"><img alt="May photowalk - sun leaf art" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/4613296412_9c6b8931b2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a>
</div>
The black-and-whites will have to wait till I process the film (UPDATE: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/vancouver-in-black-and-white">Here they are</a>,
with commentary). And my health held out: I managed the whole
almost-three-hour expedition without any side-effect meltdowns, at least
until I got home. Plus I grabbed some McDonald's afterwards. Mmm, Filet
O'Fish.<br />
</div>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/what-kids-learn-about-sex" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">More on what kids learn about sex</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-14T13:10:13-08:00">May 14, 2010 1:10 PM</abbr>
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Most of the comments I received about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/kids-sex-online-world">yesterday's post</a> were positive, but my friend <a href="http://www.bockman.ca/">Darren</a> wanted me to clarify:<br />
<blockquote>
Sex isn't about babies? I mean, in our enlightened
technologically advanced time, we have the luxury of making choices that
include intercourse 'without consequences' (there's always consequences
whether emotional or otherwise) but for the majority of the past this
hasn't been the case. Most in the past would have always had to consider
the possibility (as we still should) that there was a good chance that a
child would be the result of their union. That was kinda the point,
particularly if you're talking evolutionarily speaking.<br />
Regardless sex has always included the need for responsibility,
and the move to ensure everyone views it as a recreational activity no
more dangerous or life-affecting than riding a bike (so wear your helmet
and elbow pads, Jimmy) is what bothers me the most.<br />
</blockquote>
First I made a quick correction to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/kids-sex-online-world">my post</a>, adding an extra "only" to this bit:<br />
<blockquote>
...we in Western society [...] have taught kids that sex is
dangerous, dirty, shameful, and to be hidden. And only for straight
married people, of course, <strong><em>only</em></strong> to make babies. But that's all a lie.<br />
</blockquote>
<h3>
Separating sex and reproduction</h3>
Of course sex is to make babies—<em>if that's what you want</em>—and
of course it requires responsibility because it has consequences. But
for humans it has never been purely reproductive (in mammal species
where that is the case, females go into heat when they're fertile, and
aren't interested in sex the rest of the time); it's part of how
intimate partners maintain their relationships, even if they're brief.
Very few people who never want babies, or don't want them right now,
forgo sex to avoid pregnancy. And I think that's not only good, but
entirely feasible now.<br />
Yes, until very, very recently, pregnancy (for straight couples,
anyway) was a very likely consequence of sex. But it need not be
anymore, because modern forms of birth control (and disease prevention!)
are very effective <em>when people know how to use them properly.</em>
So today, sex and reproduction can be separated—something people tried,
and mostly failed, to do before the modern era—but only if the people
involved are knowledgeable. The Pill and its progeny, the ubiquity and
reliability of condoms, and the <em>reduction of ignorance about sex</em>—these have changed things, profoundly, and in my opinion for the better.<br />
Unless you're, say, Lance Armstrong, sex is indeed generally more
life-affecting that riding a bicycle, but it need not be more dangerous,
and I think it's good to see it as a recreational activity too, because
that's how our brains seem to treat it. When my kids learned to ride
bikes, we gave them a few tips and let them go on their way to figure it
out on their own, with the associated bumps and bruises. But I think
sex is much more important than that, which is why they need to learn a
lot about it than they did about bicycles, both before and after they
become sexually active—something they will do at some point, likely not
in too many years.<br />
<h3>
Comfortable, normal, expected—and better</h3>
My wife and I have tried to make their learning about sex something
comfortable and normal and expected as they grow up, much like learning
about earning and saving money, or being politically and socially aware,
or becoming independent people more generally. The evidence seems
pretty clear that sheltering them from that knowledge, especially now
that they're soon to be teenagers, wouldn't mean they won't have sex or
that they're likely to wait longer, just that they'll be less informed
when they do, and likely to make poorer choices. Conversely, the <a href="http://www.avert.org/sex-education.htm">more they know</a>, the better choices they're likely to make.<br />
I've been lucky in my sexual history that I haven't had any genuinely
bad experiences. But do I wish I'd known more than I did, at a younger
age? You bet. (And I knew an okay amount thanks to supportive parents
and decent resources through school and elsewhere.) I don't think it
would have made me more sexually active than I was, but I would have
known more about what I wanted, and learned more about what my partners
wanted, earlier, and maybe had even better experiences than I did.<br />
<h3>
Finding happiness</h3>
And it's not all even about sex. My kids know people who are straight
and people who are gay, and people who are somewhere in between. People
with infants, kids, or grown-up children; and people who have no kids
yet or plan never to have them. People in long-term, steady, monogamous
relationships; single people; and people in considerably more
complicated arrangements. While those relationships <em>involve</em>
sex, that's not all they are about, and my daughters see how people can
live all sorts of lives, and still be happy and fulfilled. That, I hope,
will help them be open to figuring out what makes them happy and
fulfilled, sexually and otherwise.<br />
Being a parent is often trying to make things better for your kids
than they were for you. I include whatever sex lives my daughters choose
to have as one of the things I would like to be better for them.<br />
And no, I don't want to know very much about it when they get there!<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/kids-sex-online-world" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Kids and sex and the online world</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-13T08:08:15-08:00">May 13, 2010 8:08 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4590929794/" title="Danielle, Steff, Monica by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Danielle, Steff, Monica" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4590929794_2ae2d99f28_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>A bunch of sexy things came together this past weekend. You can parse that sentence however you wish, but I'll explain what <em>I</em> mean by it.<br />
First of all, this year is the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/opinion/08collins.html">50th anniversary</a>
of the availability of the birth control pill, and thus of the many
revolutions it spawned. I didn't remember the anniversary at the time,
but it turned out to be appropriate last Saturday, because perhaps the
most thought-provoking panel during that day of the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=site:penmachine.com+%22northern+voice%22">Northern Voice</a> conference I've been blabbing about was "<a href="http://2010.northernvoice.ca/four-letter-word-called-sex">A Four Letter Word Called Sex</a>," which featured <a href="http://twitter.com/fiercekitty">Danielle Sipple</a>, <a href="http://cuntinglinguist.com/">Steffani Cameron</a>, and <a href="http://www.yourdoseoflunacy.com/">Monica Hamburg</a>, with a special appearance by <a href="http://deliciousjuice.com/">Kimli</a>.<br />
The panel got me thinking, and I posted this <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine/status/13628502058">on Twitter</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
I wonder whether recent backward moves in sex ed are simply the repressed old world convulsing as it dies.<br />
</blockquote>
<strong>Western society, and we in North America in particular, have long been conflicted and hypocritical about sex.</strong> That's only been amplified since the Pill, and in some ways things are more fraught than ever. Americans have both <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/savage">Dan Savage</a> and <a href="http://www.purityball.com/">purity balls</a>. We Canadians have had nationwide legal same-sex marriages <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/how-innocuous-gay-marriage-has-become">since 2005</a>, yet a tiny <a href="http://littlesisters.ca/">Vancouver bookstore</a>
has been battling Canada Customs about importing gay books and
magazines for over two decades, and we're still generally uncomfortable
with <a href="http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.06-society-the-unrepentant-whore/">transsexuality and prostitution</a>. We're even confused about <a href="http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/newsletter/win2010/researchwin2010.html#sex_meaning">what sex is</a>.<br />
<h3>
Privacy and sexuality</h3>
<strong>But I still think that the old repressed world is dying,</strong> even if—as with the rise of Tea Party–style reactionary approaches to <a href="http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/04/07/sex_ed_prosecutor_wisconsin/">sex education</a> and <a href="http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2009/04/tea_party_american_family_association_homosexual_agenda.php">civil rights</a> in the U.S.—it's being especially loud, obnoxious, and <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/05/07/rekers-beliefs-no-consistent-with-the-science-rekers-himself-not-credible">ridiculous</a> in the process. And the Internet has a lot to do with the change.<br />
One of the links that appeared during the Northern Voice panel was a 2007 <cite>New York Magazine</cite> feature called "<a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/27341/">Say Everything: Kids, the Internet, and the End of Privacy</a>." Unlike so many similar articles, it is not alarmist. Writer <a href="http://www.emilynussbaum.com/">Emily Nussbaum</a>
is calm and level-headed, if a little bewildered—as many of her (and
my) generation are—by her subjects. (Incidentally, I found out Nussbaum
is married to geek celebrity writer and frequent <cite>Wired</cite> contributor <a href="http://www.collisiondetection.net/">Clive Thompson</a>.)<br />
Now, I'm far from a sex blogger—what little I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/violence-and-sex">written</a> about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/what-does-film-about-gays-and-religion">sex</a> here has been pretty analytical and impersonal—but I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/less-who-we-were">said before</a> that, despite being 40, I seem to have the online privacy instincts of a 17-year-old. The <cite>New York</cite>
article reinforces that idea: I find myself regularly siding with the
subjects of the article who are half my age, rather than the worrying
oldsters who actually <em>are</em> my age, perhaps because I'm among a small cohort in my generation that has been online since our early teens.<br />
In that article, and elsewhere, it's obvious that sexuality and our
choices about online privacy are often deeply intertwined. Naked
pictures, sex tapes, frank discussions of sexual preferences, nasty
gossip, bawdy party photos, amateur porn—all these are part of the
fabric of life for many teenagers and young adults now. And I don't
think it's necessarily a bad thing.<br />
<h3>
Telling the truth</h3>
<strong>People have always had sex (it's why we're still here, after all), and they've always started in their teens.</strong>
But for too long, and for reasons rooted in outdated reproductive and
societal structures and in antiquated religions, we in Western
society—and to an even greater extent in some others—have taught kids
that sex is dangerous, dirty, shameful, and to be hidden. And only for
straight married people, of course, only to make babies. But that's all a
lie.<br />
Sex is part of who we are, and we ought to be honest with our kids that it can be—is <em>supposed</em>
to be—healthy, fun, and nothing to be ashamed about. While it is
private, sex is also something we should at least be a little open about
at the right times. Most people <em>will</em> become sexually active in their teens, because they <em>want to</em>.
They should learn how to be respectful, safe, and happy about it when
they do. And, for the majority of us who get married eventually (and
equally for those who don't), it's a good idea to have some sexual
experience first. That's so we know what we like and what we don't, so
we can figure out <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/05/mister-and-miss-manners-eric-raymond.html">what we're doing</a>, and so we know whether we're sexually compatible with our prospective spouses and partners. For humans, sex is <em>not</em> just about making babies—it's also recreational, and our very physiology confirms it.<br />
<strong>The Internet helps bust the lie, but it's not enough on its own.</strong>
As with medicine or climate science or any other field of knowledge,
without some background and a skeptical approach, you can easily go
astray and misinform yourself about sex on the Net. That's why we
parents and educators need to be honest with our children too.<br />
<h3>
Making mistakes out there</h3>
I mentioned a couple of months ago that my daughters are starting to want to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/privacy-transition">establish their identities</a> online. Of course there are potential dangers with that, but let's not forget that there are dangers in <em>everything</em>:
driving a car, taking a bath, making friends, going skiing, eating and
drinking, having sex, having children, piloting a helicopter, buying a
house—you know, life in general. The key is to learn to understand the
risks and benefits, and to try to manage them.<br />
Kids don't suddenly and magically figure that stuff out when they're
18, whether online, in a car, or in bed. Thinking otherwise is <a href="http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2008/2/22kleid.html">just silly</a>, and evidence shows it <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9504871/">doesn't work</a>.
As far as sex education is concerned, I'm firmly in the
knowledge-is-power camp. And I think that those who prefer ignorance are
just going to fall <a href="http://kottke.org/10/05/red-families-vs-blue-families">further behind</a>, out of touch and out of relevance, at least in the West. At least I hope so.<br />
That also means I fully expect that <strong>in the next few years, my kids are going to start posting stuff online I'm really not comfortable with</strong>—not to mention <em>doing</em>
stuff I might not want to know much about. I hope that before then, my
wife and I (and their school, and the other people they know and trust)
can help them decide to do those things consciously and knowledgeably,
knowing why they're doing them and what the results might be.<br />
At that point, I'll want to know if my daughters are healthy and
happy, and at least some of why that is. If there's something I'd rather
<em>not</em> know about my kids' lives, at least in detail, then I'll
probably have to decide not to read about it, rather than wishing they'd
never done it or revealed it.<br />
I'm not a utopian. My kids will make mistakes, as we all do. The way
we all are online now, then maybe the mistakes will be public and
embarrassing ones. <strong>What I hope, and want to help happen, is that
my daughters will be both strong and confident enough to get through
those mistakes, to learn from them and become better women.</strong><br />
That could sum up what the goal of being a parent is, in fact.<br />
</div>
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/movable-type-static-files-really-work" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Movable Type's static files really work</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-12T12:57:57-08:00">May 12, 2010 12:57 PM</abbr>
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The main reason this blog now runs <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2">Movable Type</a> (MT) is because that software publishes <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">static files</a>. Unlike my other favourite blog platform, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/blogging-software-and-static-files">WordPress</a>
(WP), once MT publishes a file for an entry or a page to my website, it
doesn't have to be running or have a functional database for the file
to stay alive and be visible on the Web. That is, for my own somewhat
obscure and nerdy reasons, important to me.<br />
Now, I had tested Movable Type before choosing it to make sure it was
really true: that the static files work if MT or the database it uses
are disabled. But I hadn't tried again since I actually <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/same-as-the-old-blog">made the move</a> a couple of weeks ago. Not until today.<br />
You see, one of the disadvantages of Movable Type is that upgrading
it is still rather a pain. It's stuck where WordPress was a few versions
ago, where security patches, bug fixes, and version upgrades require
replacing old files on your web server with new ones, restoring plugins
and stuff from backups, and generally mucking around with files and
permissions and database changes until everything works again. By
contrast, WordPress has long had a <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-automatic-upgrade/">plugin</a>, and now <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Updating_WordPress">built-in</a> functionality, to upgrade with just a few clicks within the program itself. That's far better.<br />
Today, Six Apart released a minor <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/appendices/release-notes/movable-type-502.html">5.02 upgrade</a> for Movable Type, and I had to do the whole update <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/installation/upgrade-movable-type.html">rigamarole</a>
manually. That's fine, I'm nerdy and I can handle it. It only took
about 20 minutes, including waiting for all the backups and new uploads
to complete. I had to mess with some <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/installation/troubleshooting.html#file-permissions">file permissions</a>, but then everything went smoothly.<br />
The one bonus is that, during the upgrade, I completely disabled
Movable Type itself in order to replace its application files with the
new ones. I couldn't log in, or manage entries, or moderate comments, or
do anything while that was happening. But I checked, and my blog itself
continued to work fine—although a few things like links to <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/administrator/managing-blogs/managing-tags.html">tags</a> and trying to enter new comments obviously wouldn't work.<br />
Once I had the new files in place, all the features returned, just as
before. This gives me confidence that if, in future, I bork something
up with my Movable Type installation, my blog can keep running while I
try to fix it. By contrast, when I've done that with WordPress (which,
without a hacky plugin, publishes live from its database all the time),
the whole blog disappears until I repair the error.<br />
More seriously, if my health declines and it looks like I might kick
the bucket, I can lock down comments and a few other things, and my
website can keep working without having to maintain or upgrade Movable
Type or the database at all. For most people that's not much of a
concern, but over time, for more and more of us it <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2008/04/full-interview-derek-k-miller-on-digital-executors/">will be</a>.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/family-on-porch" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">The family on our porch</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-11T09:50:19-08:00">May 11, 2010 9:50 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/146620158/" title="Chickadee 3"><img align="right" alt="Chickadee 3" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/146620158_e5beb92508_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>For <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/tags/chickadee">several years</a>
now, we've had a little birdhouse hanging from the eaves on our back
porch, and each spring chickadees raise a brood (or sometimes more than
one) in it.<br />
We never see the chicks inside, but they're <em>loud</em>. When a
parent bird approaches with a beakful of grubs, the house is silent, but
as soon as the larger bird pops in through the tiny entrance hole, the
chorus of <em>squee, squee, squee</em> can actually disrupt our conversation a bit.<br />
The behaviour of the parents as they approach is also fascinating.
They'll fly up with food in mouth, yet land not on the house itself.
Instead, they perch briefly less than a metre away, on the clothesline,
or our hanging strands of Christmas lights. They peer around. They seem
to be thinking, <i>Safe? Safe?</i><br />
Sometime's they'll make their distinctive calls: <em>bee-boo</em> or <em>chicka-dee-dee-dee</em>. But after a few seconds, they bolt straight into the birdhouse without pausing. The <em>squee</em> chorus mounts, and a few seconds later the parent flits off again without looking back—time to find more food.<br />
The birds don't seem to mind when we're on the porch watching them.
Even Lucy, our dog, pretty much ignores them. Given where the birdhouse
hangs, it's nearly impossible for predators (especially rodents) to get
at it, and the parents are bringing back juicy grubs every few minutes
from gardens around the neighbourhood, so the chickadees have found
themselves a good set of digs.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/derek-the-cowboy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Derek the cowboy</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-09T22:48:55-08:00">May 9, 2010 10:48 PM</abbr>
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Here I am at <a href="http://www.northernvoice.ca/">Northern Voice</a> yesterday:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/4592014282/" title="northern-voice-10-9226 by kk+, on Flickr"><img alt="northern-voice-10-9226" height="450" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4592014282_822c66552d.jpg" width="300" /></a>
</div>
I look like I'm about to go wrassle some horses. Photo by the always-awesome <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/4592014282/in/set-72157623888136701">Kris Krug</a>, just returned himself from Bolivia.<br />
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<h2 class="asset-name entry-title">
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/moms-day" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Mom's day</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-09T11:16:06-08:00">May 9, 2010 11:16 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4593691754/" title="Dad, me, and Mom at YVR by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Dad, me, and Mom at YVR" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4593691754_d944a0e74d_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>My
parents and I made a close-knit family: since I was an only child, it
was just the three of us most of the time throughout my childhood. There
were school days, lazy weekends, and long car voyages to California,
with me reading the AAA map in the back seat of the station wagon.<br />
When my dad was away on his occasional business trips, sometimes it
would be just Mom and me. We took that time to go out to eat the kinds
of food my dad doesn't like (spicy, garlicky, tomatoey), or to go
shopping, and from time to time we'd take a PCL Coach Lines bus from
downtown Vancouver all the way to Victoria on the ferry, just for a day
trip. It's been decades since we last went, just the two of us, but I'll
never forget doing that.<br />
Today is my mom's 41st Mother's Day. <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html">Icelandic volcano</a>
permitting, her granddaughters and I will be driving her and my dad to
the airport for their latest two-week trip to Germany. That, I think, is
a pretty nice Mother's Day, especially on a glorious sunny Vancouver
spring afternoon.<br />
Happy Mother's Day, Mom.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/disneyland" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Disneyland?!</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-07T22:54:41-08:00">May 7, 2010 10:54 PM</abbr>
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I think the last time I visited Disneyland was in 1986.
I've had a couple of near-misses since: on our honeymoon, my wife Air
and I had to skip a planned one-day visit there because of food
poisoning (though we saw the fireworks from our motel pool), and Air and
the kids went in 2007 while I was covering <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/last-shovel-of-january.html">the NAMM Show</a> next door at the Anaheim Trade and Convention Center. They also went back <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/happy-canada-day">in 2008</a>, but I didn't feel comfortable traveling that far across the border back then, and stayed home.<br />
My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/cancer/">cancer</a> isn't really better, nor is it in remission, but it does seem to be <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/tumours-still-shrinking">stable or shrinking</a>
under my current chemo regimen, so we're thinking about taking another
trip to Anaheim this summer—assuming my health remains largely as it is.
I love the idea, but it freaks me out a bit too.<br />
While there's no reason to think I'd have any catastrophic
cancer-connected illness while we're there (and it is only a couple of
hours away by air), I haven't been further into the U.S. than Seattle
since I began my treatments more than three years ago. I simply haven't
felt comfortable doing it, given how drastic medical costs can become
when we Canadians cross the border.<br />
But before that, I traveled pretty widely in America, particularly
the westernmost part, with my parents, friends, and bandmates. I"ve been
through at least parts of Washington, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/08/oregon-coast-notes.html">Oregon</a>,
California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado,
New Mexico, Texas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2000/12/city-that-never-rests-never-mind.html">New York</a>, and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/08/yup-its-pretty-nice.html">Hawaii</a>. I've probably seen more of the U.S.A. than of my native Canada, come to think of it.<br />
But not recently. The last time I was at Disneyland, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%27s_California_Adventure_Park">California Adventure</a>
was still a big parking lot, and Pixar had yet to make a film of its
own, even a short one. I'm looking forward to seeing what's new, and I
hope I'm ready. I'm also perfectly prepared to go back to our motel and
lie down sometimes while we're there. That's the way things are for me
now.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/well-that-explains-it" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Well, that explains it</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-07T20:16:12-08:00">May 7, 2010 8:16 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4588184164/" title="Shane and Steff"><img align="right" alt="Shane and Steff" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/4588184164_cd29729990_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Why did I feel <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-recovery-northern-voice">so extra-crappy</a>
through my chemo treatment? It's no mystery now: it turns out I have a
nasty cold, but it was masked by the chemotherapy side effects until
yesterday. Now I just feel like a normal coughing, sniffling mess (which
is a big improvement from feeling like I'll puke all the time).<br />
I managed to make it out to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157624014649220/">Northern Voice</a> today, and as promised I took pictures. It was a fun day, despite how tired I was (thank you, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_06_01_news_archive.html#77643911">Tylenol Cold</a>). I'll plan to be there with my wife Air tomorrow too, but we'll see how I'm doing.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/chemo-recovery-northern-voice" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Chemo recovery and Northern Voice</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-06T12:10:14-08:00">May 6, 2010 12:10 PM</abbr>
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Whoo-ee, that <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/off-to-chemo-i-go">bout of chemo</a>
was hard. Before each session, I get blood tests to see how well my
immune system is doing, and this time my readings were definitely
borderline—but not too far from where I was last time, a couple of weeks
ago. So my oncologist and I decided to proceed with the drugs.<br />
I don't know if it was my low blood counts or something else, but I
was completely flattened from Monday through Tuesday—enough that I was
barely awake or out of bed except to use the bathroom—and awake, but
barely functional, yesterday. You know it's bad when "feeling a lot
better" (which I did on Wednesday) means "feeling only vaguely like
puking all the time." That pattern is similar to what I've been feeling
since returning to chemotherapy <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/that-weekend-suuuuuucked">in December</a>, but it felt more pronounced this time.<br />
Fortunately, I'd sort of planned for that happening, or at least for what to do afterwards. With the sixth annual <a href="http://www.northernvoice.ca/">Northern Voice</a>
conference coming up this weekend, and my parents (who help out quite a
bit during the days I'm shut off from the world) traveling to Europe
for a couple of weeks, and the general busyness of spring, my wife Air
suggested I postpone my subsequent chemo an extra week, till late May,
so I get a three-week break instead of just two before the next poison
infusion. I asked, and my medical team agreed that was a good idea.<br />
After the past three days, I think it was an <em>extra</em>-good
idea. So while I won't be attending the Northern Voice pre-conference
party tonight, I do plan to be out at UBC for the main event tomorrow
and Saturday.<br />
I also just realized that this is the first time I've mentioned this
year's Northern Voice event here on my site. That's weird. To
compensate, here's a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/duanestorey/2289944327/">big angry Northern Voice moose mosaic</a> from <a href="http://www.duanestorey.com/">Duane</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/duanestorey/2289944327/"><img alt="NV mosaic" border="0" height="440" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/2289944327_ec09f6bf03.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
If you're going, my cameras and I will see you there.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/off-to-chemo-i-go" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to chemo I go</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-03T09:44:32-08:00">May 3, 2010 9:44 AM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4568577037/" title="Black and white starpilot by Derek K. Miller, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Black and white starpilot" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4568577037_40dbd1d2e6_m.jpg" width="206" /></a>It's chemo day. I have these every two weeks, and I've been through dozens in the past three years, enough that I've lost count.<br />
While I know what to expect, it never gets easier. Chemotherapy is
not something your body gets used to. Side effects and symptoms get
progressively worse. The two-week breaks are necessary because my immune
system gets hammered and has to recover. I'm normal enough after 14
days to take another pounding.<br />
So I'm packing up my big metal barf bowl, a bunch of pills, and my
warm gloves for the chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, and heading
down to the B.C. Cancer agency today. Woo-hoo.<br />
At least it seems to be <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/tumours-shrinking">doing something</a>.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/theme-and-variations" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Theme and variations</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-02T16:44:42-08:00">May 2, 2010 4:44 PM</abbr>
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I've been to a lot of weddings. A lot. Dozens and dozens, mostly those of people I don't know. Playing in a <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">band</a>
that performs at weddings gives you plenty of exposure to a variety of
marriage ceremonies, plus associated parties and receptions.<br />
While there are only a few things required to get legally married—a
license, a recognized officiant, certain declarations, signatures from
the bride and groom (or brides or grooms here in Canada now),
witnesses—there are of course many traditions, some religious, some
derived from religions, some secular. What I remember about any
particular wedding are the ways, small and large, that it differs from a
"stock" wedding.<br />
Our friend <a href="http://netchick.net/">Tanya</a> married <a href="http://iamajenius.net/">Barry</a> yesterday here in Vancouver, before they both <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/movie-from-still-frames">move to Calgary</a>. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolexpv/4571808968/">Air and I</a> were pleased to be invited. Here are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157623973195868/">some pictures</a> I took:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570503404/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 1"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 1" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4570503404_461859d727_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569866989/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 2"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 2" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/4569866989_382a03ea6c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570506008/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 26"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 26" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4570506008_25027706c1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570507418/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 3"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 3" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4570507418_b16cd0005c_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570508822/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 4"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 4" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4570508822_9485bbfb1f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569872661/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 5"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 5" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4569872661_48e8692346_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569873951/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 6"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 6" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4569873951_e129d23c70_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569874399/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 7"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 7" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4569874399_b5523f8e73_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569875883/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 8"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 8" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3427/4569875883_f3486e3bfa_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569877361/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 27"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 27" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3439/4569877361_9375c813ee_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569878687/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 9"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 9" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4569878687_6912148aa7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569880097/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 10"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 10" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3470/4569880097_8bb3cd8360_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569881479/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 11"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 11" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4569881479_286af6b2d5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569882717/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 12"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 12" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3516/4569882717_cd2a9c1011_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569883909/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 13"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 13" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4569883909_5a24e88ccc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570523022/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 14"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 14" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4570523022_9b9cc8ec20_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569886347/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 15"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 15" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4569886347_ddd43395bd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569887263/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 16"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 16" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4569887263_4de47da8ab_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570526596/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 18"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 18" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4570526596_6be37fd9dc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570527620/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 17"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 17" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/4570527620_32b2568e64_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569891315/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 19"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 19" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4569891315_7b23dde566_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569892845/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 20"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 20" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4569892845_55896e5f56_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570530974/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 21"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 21" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4570530974_7ab374a915_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570531392/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 22"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 22" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/4570531392_2bb0f63033_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569895037/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 23"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 23" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4569895037_4ef7712dc1_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569895793/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 24"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 24" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4569895793_d1a5f4d7c6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569897607/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 28"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 28" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/4569897607_7328fc0c56_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569899125/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 25"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 25" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4569899125_5c513071c7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569899827/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 29"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 29" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4569899827_4b375dbdf6_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4570539086/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 30"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 30" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4570539086_1c35072220_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569903095/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 31"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 31" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4569903095_6dbfd9474b_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569904447/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 32"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 32" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4569904447_b1b24ff1e5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569905873/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 33"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's wedding - 33" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4569905873_bd1788541d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/photos/penmachine/4572135406/in/set-72157623973195868/" title="Tanya and Barry's First Dance"><img alt="Tanya and Barry's First Dance" border="0" height="75" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4572135406_d657cd27a7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a></div>
What was different about this one? If you take the full-on
traditional Canadian wedding as a template, then first of all, it wasn't
in a church and there was a marriage commissioner rather than a
minister or priest. And it was on a boat. But none of those is unusual
in Vancouver.<br />
(Incidentally, by total coincidence, the commissioner was a retired
former teaching colleague of my wife's, whom the two of us also bumped
into, in San Luis Obispo back in 1995, during our own honeymoon.)<br />
Let's see. The groom was in a tuxedo, and the bride did wear a big
flowy dress, but he wore a necktie rather than a bow tie, and her gown
was a spectacular <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569903095/in/set-72157623973195868/">black and silver-grey</a>.
They didn't have a big wedding cake to cut, or to smush into each
other's faces. They dispensed with the garter-and-bouquet bit.<br />
Oh, and it was video-streamed live on the Internet, as well as <a href="http://netchick.net/2010/05/01/tanya-and-barrys-wedding-liveblog-and-livetweets/">live-blogged</a>. There was an official tag for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=netchickweds&s=rec">Flickr</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=netchickweds">Twitter</a>, and so on: <cite><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=netchickweds">netchickweds</a></cite>.<br />
If you know Tanya, none of that should be a surprise. She's called
"Netchick" for a reason: she started blogging earlier than anyone else
in Vancouver, back in <em>1997</em> (!), three years before me. She's on the first page of results when you <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=tanya">Search for "Tanya"</a> on Google. She's as plugged-in as can be, and Barry (no slouch online himself) seems fine with that.<br />
Looking around <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569866989/in/set-72157623973195868/">the dinner seating</a>
on the boat, I realized that being online is definitely not a
nerds-only thing anymore. It's what people do, for trivial things like
our latest lunches, or important things like our weddings. And I think
it's good.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/pillow-puppy" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Pillow puppy</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-01T14:02:42-08:00">May 1, 2010 2:02 PM</abbr>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569213734/" title="Air and pillow puppy"><img align="right" alt="Air and pillow puppy" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3589/4569213734_4ce5e72df8_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>We
have this pillow, you see. It's blue, and we call it a "squish,"
because of a previous pillow we had with the Skwish brand name. It has
some sort of microfibre cover and it's filled with tiny plastic beads,
and while small, it is stupidly comfortable.<br />
Our dog <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4568579933/">Lucy</a>
has decided that, while on our bed, the squish is her pillow if she can
possibly get at it. She doesn't use it like her other dog pillows, to
sit on or to yank around and chew. She puts her chin on it, to rest and
to sleep.<br />
I'm not posting this for any real reason, other than that I had to publish <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4569213734/">that photo</a>, you know.<br />
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/same-as-the-old-blog" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Meet the new blog, same as the old blog</a></h2>
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By <span class="vcard author"><a class="fn url" href="http://www.penmachine.com/">Derek</a></span> on <abbr class="published" title="2010-05-01T00:25:50-08:00">May 1, 2010 12:25 AM</abbr>
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Okay, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/ready-move-movable-type">it's alive</a>. I have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movable_Type">Movable Type</a> installed and working, and I've turned off the old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger_(service)">Blogger</a>
FTP publishing service, which itself shuts down permanently later
today. The differences between the two versions of my blog are <a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4566949971_c0803e1103_b.jpg">pretty subtle</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4566949971_c0803e1103_b.jpg" style="class: nohover;" title="Click to enlarge"><img alt="Penmachine old and new - May 2010" height="220" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4566949971_c0803e1103.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
I also found time last night to publish <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=838">Episode #80</a> of Inside Home Recording, the podcast I co-host with Dave Chick. And now that I've re-opened comments, you can <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/05/same-as-the-old-blog#comments">leave one</a> if you like, to let me know what you think.<br />
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-52914270501280409202018-11-11T13:07:00.004-08:002018-11-11T13:07:40.392-08:00Derek Apr 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
29 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5498540672250355511"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/ready-to-move" title="permanent link">Ready to move</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
On Saturday, I'll be <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">switching</a> this blog from the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/wordpress-hack-response">Blogger</a> publishing system, which I've used for almost <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/09/one-more-new-word.html">ten years</a>, over to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2">Movable Type</a>. I've been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/server-move-comments-disabled">preparing</a> for the move for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/blogging-software-and-static-files">a few weeks</a>, and everything is pretty much ready.<br />
<h3>
What will change?</h3>
For you as a reader, not much:<br />
<ul>
<li>If you read my posts on my website at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/">penmachine.com</a>,
you'll see a few minor alterations to the site layout, but overall
things will be familiar. Similarly, if you read them as Notes on <a href="http://facebook.com/penmachine">Facebook</a>, everything will continue as normal.</li>
<li>If you subscribe to my blog feed at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/index.xml">penmachine.com/index.xml</a>,
some recent entries might appear twice, but new ones will only be there
once, so it will soon settle back to normal. If you're using one of my
older feed addresses (something like penmachine.com/rss.xml or
penmachine.com/rss/rss.xml), things should redirect automatically. But <strong>if you don't see any updates in the first two days of May</strong>, then please re-subscribe using the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/index.xml">proper address</a>.</li>
<li>My Penmachine Podcast feed remains at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/index.xml">penmachine.com/podcast/index.xml</a>. Nothing has changed there, and I haven't updated it since July 2009, so don't expect anything new for the moment.</li>
<li>There will be a new subscription feed for comments on my blog, at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/comments.xml">penmachine.com/comments.xml</a>, but as of today (April 29), that's not active yet.</li>
</ul>
Speaking of comments, perhaps the biggest change (which has happened already) is that <strong>you can no longer post new comments on any of my archived posts from October 2000 to April 2010</strong>,
including this very entry. That's not the way I'd prefer it, but in
starting fresh with Movable Type, it's just easier to lock down all the
old stuff and move on.<br />
You'll be able to post comments on new entries I publish from May
2010 onward. How you do that will look a little bit different than it
used to, but will work essentially the same way as before, with a bit
more flexibility for you.<br />
<h3>
Smooth, real smooth</h3>
I'm hoping that what is a fairly major technical transition for me is
a smooth and barely noticeable change for you many kind folks who read
this blog. What should matter to you (at least a little) is what I
write, not how I publish it. There will likely be a few minor bumps and
anomalies in the first week or so, but I hope to iron those out quickly.<br />
Then I can get on with the <em>next</em> ten years of stuff.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/ready-to-move" title="permanent link">12:46 AM</a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1063934209009174811"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/following-camper" title="permanent link">Following the camper</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My former co-worker <a href="http://cgbrownlee.posterous.com/">Chris</a> got married to Kerry recently, and they're posting <a href="http://cgbrownlee.posterous.com/across-the-border-2">travel photos</a>
from their camper-van U.S. honeymoon, which have been great fun to
follow. What I especially like is that their wedding presents included
sponsorships of various parts of their journey, and they include
thank-you printouts in many of the pictures, like <a href="http://cgbrownlee.posterous.com/thank-you-barrett-and-matt">this</a> and <a href="http://cgbrownlee.posterous.com/thank-you-erin-michael-tyler-and-chloe">this</a>.<br />
It's all just terribly charming. I've traveled a lot in the western
U.S.A. over the years, especially Oregon and California, so their photos
bring back many fond memories. Oddly, I've never visited <a href="http://cgbrownlee.posterous.com/yosemite-160">Yosemite National Park</a>. Maybe someday, if my health improves. Maybe.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/navarik" rel="tag">navarik</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/wedding" rel="tag">wedding</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/following-camper" title="permanent link">11:35 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1063934209009174811"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4815654392410655569"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/two-more-arguments-for-learning" title="permanent link">Two more arguments for learning statistics</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
One of my repeated <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/probability">themes</a> here over the years is how <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/feeling-safe-vs-being-safe">genuinely lousy</a> the human brain is at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/03/bad-brains.html">intuitively</a> understanding <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/immunity-and-treatment">probability and statistics</a>. Two articles this week had me thinking about it again.<br />
The first was Clive Thompson's latest opinion piece in <cite>Wired</cite>, "<a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/04/st_thompson_statistics/">Why We Should Learn the Language of Data</a>," where he argues for significantly more education about stats and probability in school, and in general, because:<br />
<blockquote>
If you don't understand statistics, you don't know what's going on—and you can't tell when you're being lied to.<br />
</blockquote>
Climate change? The changing state of the economy? Vaccination? Political polls? Gambling? <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">Disease</a>?
Making decisions about any of them requires some understanding of how
likelihoods and big groups of numbers interact in the world.
"Statistics," Thompson writes, "is the new grammar."<br />
The second article explains a key example. At the NPR Planet Money blog (incidentally, the <a href="http://www.npr.org/money">Planet Money</a>
podcast is endlessly fascinating, the only one clever enough to get me
interested in listening to business stories several times a week), Jacob
Goldstein describes why <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/04/why_longshots_arent_long_enoug.html">people place bad bets</a> on horse races.<br />
After exhaustive statistical analyses (alas, this stuff isn't easy),
economists Erik Snowberg and Justin Wolfers have figured out that even
regular bettors at the track simply misperceive how bad their bets are,
especially when wagering on long shots—those outcomes that are
particularly unlikely, but pay off big if you win, because:<br />
<blockquote>
...people overestimate the probability of very rare events.
"We're dreadful at perceiving the difference between a tiny probability
and a small probability."<br />
</blockquote>
In our heads, <em>extremely</em> unlikely things (being in a commercial jet crash, for instance) seem just as probable, or even <em>more probable</em>, than simply <em>somewhat</em>
unlikely things (being in a car crash on the way to the airport). That
has us make funny decisions. For instance, on occasion couples (parents
of young children, perhaps) choose to fly on <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1127209/Kate-Winslet-Sam-Mendes-fly-fear-crash-orphan-children.html">separate planes</a>
so that, in the rare event that a plane crashes, one of them survives.
But they both take the same car to the airport—as well as during much of
the rest of their lives—which is far, far more likely to kill them
both. (Though still not all that likely.)<br />
Unfortunately, so much of probability is counterintuitive that I'm
not sure how well we can educate ourselves about it for regular
day-to-day decision-making. Even bringing along our iPhones, I don't
think we should be using them to make statistical calculations before
every outing or every meal. Besides, we could be <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/what-clown-on-a-unicycle-studying-cell-phone-distraction/">so distracted</a> by the little screens that we step out into traffic without noticing.<br />
Our minds are required be good at filtering out irrelevancies, so
we're not overwhelmed by everything going on around us. But the modern
world has changed what's relevant, both to our daily lives and to our
long-term interests. The same big brains that helped us make it that way
now oblige us to think more carefully about what we do, and why we do
it.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/airport" rel="tag">airport</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/games" rel="tag">games</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/magazines" rel="tag">magazines</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/probability" rel="tag">probability</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/psychology" rel="tag">psychology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/two-more-arguments-for-learning" title="permanent link">12:29 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4815654392410655569"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
25 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4921218316306225659"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/brief-visit-to-2010-vancouver-camera" title="permanent link">A brief visit to the 2010 Vancouver Camera Show</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23088601@N03/3480728219/" title="Vancouver camera show 2009 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Vancouver camera show 2009 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3344/3480728219_dc0942e3de_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today was the <a href="http://www.jerkwithacamera.com/2010/04/22/vancouver-camera-show-and-swap-meet/">2010 Vancouver Camera Show</a>, held by the <a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/wcpha/">Western Canada Photographic Historical Association</a>
at the Cameron Rec Centre in Burnaby, near Lougheed Mall. I wasn't
planning to go, but it turned out that my daughter Marina's new lenses
for her glasses, which we got yesterday, were flawed, and needed to be
replaced by the optician at that mall, so the two of us were in the area
and had some time to kill.<br />
Marina was enthusiastic—she was interested in looking at old Polaroid
cameras and to see what the event was like. We walked from the mall,
and I paid my $5 admission. (Marina was free.) And wow, it's a heck of
an event.<br />
The rec centre gym was filled with dozens of tables with thousands of
items of photographic and movie equipment, most of it of some vintage,
like the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/back-to-1978">Nikon FE</a>
I bought the other day (or a bit newer, or a lot older). Cameras,
lenses, flashes, tripods, bellows, enlargers, filters, parts—a photo
geek's dream.<br />
It was still very busy, even though we were there barely an hour
before closing time. The crowd skews heavily male, and older, but Marina
and I had fun poking around at the various obscurities, most in black
and chrome, or maybe even leather. I didn't bring much money, nor did we
buy anything, yet we hardly noticed the time pass before her glasses
were ready and we had to leave. I didn't even take any pictures!<br />
I'll plan to attend again next year, if I'm healthy, and to go
earlier. Both Marina and her sister might like to come along, if their
photographic interest persists until 2011. Honestly, if I'd gone myself,
I probably could have browsed all day. But like a gambler, I'd have to
bring cash in advance and set myself a hard limit.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/conferences" rel="tag">conferences</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/meetup" rel="tag">meetup</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/brief-visit-to-2010-vancouver-camera" title="permanent link">6:20 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4921218316306225659"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
23 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3170437188840043224"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/what-darwin-didnt-get-wrong" title="permanent link">What Darwin didn't get wrong</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Last October I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/dawkins-coyne-shubin-greatest-show">reviewed three books</a> about evolution: Neil Shubin's <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Your-Inner-Fish-Journey-3-5-Billion-Year/dp/0307277453/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Your Inner Fish</a></cite>, Jerry Coyne's <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0670020532/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Why Evolution is True</a></cite>, and Richard Dawkins's <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence-Evolution/dp/1416594787/?tag=insidehomerec-20">The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution</a></cite>. It was a long review, but pretty good, I think.<br />
There's another long multi-book review just published too. This one's written by the above-mentioned <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/i-review-what-darwin-got-wrong-and-the-greatest-show-on-earth-in-the-nation/">Jerry Coyne</a> (who will be <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/peregrinations-2/">in Vancouver</a> for a talk on fruit flies this weekend), and it <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100510/coyne">covers</a> both Dawkins's book and a newer one, <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Darwin-Wrong-Jerry-Fodor/dp/0374288798/?tag=insidehomerec-20">What Darwin Got Wrong</a></cite>, by Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, which has been getting some press.<br />
Darwin got a lot of things wrong, of course. There were a lot of
things he didn't know, and couldn't know, about Earth and life on it—how
old the planet actually is (4.6 billion years), that the continents
move, that genes exist and are made of DNA, the very existence of
radioactivity or of the huge varieties of fossils discovered since the
mid-19th century.<br />
It took decades to confirm, but Darwin <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/darwin-day">was fundamentally right</a>
about evolution by natural selection. Yet that's where Fodor and
Piattellii-Palmarini think he was wrong. Dawkins (and Coyne) disagree,
siding with Darwin—as well as almost all the biologists working today or
over at least the past 80 years (though apparently not
Piattellii-Palmarini).<br />
I'd encourage you to read <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100510/coyne">the whole review</a> at <cite>The Nation</cite>, but to sum up Coyne's (and <a href="http://bostonreview.net/BR35.2/block_kitcher.php">others'</a>) analysis of <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Darwin-Wrong-Jerry-Fodor/dp/0374288798/?tag=insidehomerec-20">What Darwin Got Wrong</a></cite>,
Fodor (a philosopher) and Piattelli-Palmarini (a molecular biologist
and cognitive scientist) seem to base their argument on, of all things, <em>word games</em>.
They don't offer religious or contrary scientific arguments, nor do
they dispute that evolution happens, just that natural selection, as an
idea, is somehow a logical fallacy.<br />
Here's how Coyne tries to digest it:<br />
<blockquote>
If you translate [Fodor and Piattelli-Palmarini's core argument]
into layman's English, here's what it says: "Since it's impossible to
figure out exactly which changes in organisms occur via direct selection
and which are byproducts, natural selection can't operate." Clearly,
[they] are confusing our ability to understand <em>how</em> a process operates with <em>whether</em> it operates. It's like saying that because we don't understand how gravity works, things don't fall.<br />
</blockquote>
I've read some excerpts of the the book, and it also appears to be laden with <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/eumerdification-writing-to-impress">eumerdification</a>:
writing so dense and jargon-filled it seems to be that way to obscure
rather than clarify. I suspect Fodor and Piattelli-Palmarini might have
been so clever and convoluted in their writing that they even <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/fooling-yourself">fooled themselves</a>.
That's a pity, because on the face of it, their book might have been a
valuable exercise, but instead it looks like a waste of time.<br />
Coyne, by the way, really likes <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence-Evolution/dp/1416594787/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Dawkins's book</a>, probably more than <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/dawkins-coyne-shubin-greatest-show">I did</a>. I certainly think it's a more worthwhile and far more comprehensible read.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/books" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/darwin" rel="tag">darwin</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/what-darwin-didnt-get-wrong" title="permanent link">12:12 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3170437188840043224"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2049471453466288136"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/geek-office-cleanout-redux" title="permanent link">Geek office cleanout redux</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Almost <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/10/its-all-crrrrrrrrap.html">five years ago</a>,
I cleaned out a bunch of old electronics and cardboard from my
office/studio downstairs. Yesterday, Earth Day, I got started on it
again, this time <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4544117381/" title="Goodbye, 20th century tech by penmachine, on Flickr">shipping out</a>
four old CRT monitors, two printers, two desktop Macs, an old
PowerBook, a couple of keyboards, a scanner, an external CD-ROM drive, a
broken camcorder, and a whole mess of wires:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4544117381/" title="Goodbye, 20th century tech by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Goodbye, 20th century tech" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4544117381_38c5ae6b39.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
I had an incentive to do it today because, on her way to work, my wife Air noticed a one-day Earth Day electronics <a href="http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/47551--get-rid-of-e-waste-this-earth-day">recycling event</a> at Killarney Secondary School, which is where I took the heap. It was gone in less than five minutes.<br />
My happiest discard was a drawer full of particularly beige <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCSI">SCSI</a>
cables, adapters, and terminators. If you've grown up connecting things
to computers with USB or FireWire or Ethernet cables, or using Wi-Fi,
be thankful you didn't have to deal with SCSI and its predecessors,
which often required flipping tiny switches, swapping cables around,
adding thick cable terminators to devices in apparently random
combinations, and fiddling with software—and still often didn't work
right. Good riddance, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4544747612/" title="A fistful of SCSI by penmachine, on Flickr">SCSI cables</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4544747612/" title="A fistful of SCSI by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="A fistful of SCSI" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4544747612_b7868eb5e7.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
I felt like Perseus with the head of Medusa there. And yes, I reformatted my hard disks before donating them.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/green" rel="tag">green</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/geek-office-cleanout-redux" title="permanent link">5:11 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2049471453466288136"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
22 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6826510019826539926"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/tumours-still-shrinking" title="permanent link">Tumours still shrinking</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A couple of months ago, my regular CT scan showed the first-ever <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time">shrinkage of cancer tumours</a>
in my three-year history with the disease, but I warned that, "I still
have cancer, a lot of it all over the inside of my chest, but just a
little less of it than I did a couple of months ago." One scan was not
yet a trend.<br />
But two could be, and my latest scan showed further shrinkage, with
the biggest malignant blob in my left lung going from 3.1 cm down to
2.9 cm in diameter, which means it is smaller than it was in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">this scan</a> from September:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4031154906_2f11d37fba_o.jpg" title="Derek's tumours CT scan - Oct 2009 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Derek's tumours CT scan - Oct 2009" height="467" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4031154906_df27dc1e1b.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Some of the others have also shrunk, while other smaller tumours have
simply not gotten bigger. The aggressive and sometimes horrific
chemotherapy I take every two weeks is doing <em>something</em>. I feel pretty good about that.<br />
I'll remind you that this is not remission, not a cure, not me being
"all better." I'm not sure if those things will ever come, and I've
already <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">beat the odds</a>
on this disease by staying alive as long as I have. What it does mean
is that I'm likely to live a while longer yet (whatever "a while" is),
which is the most realistic thing I can keep hoping for.<br />
Oh, and happy Earth Day, everyone.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/tumours-still-shrinking" title="permanent link">9:24 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6826510019826539926"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4242592299323859157"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/back-to-1978" title="permanent link">Back to 1978</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A couple of years ago, I bought an old <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/monster-film-camera-arrives">Nikon F4</a> film camera (introduced in 1988), and I've enjoyed taking pictures with it, especially in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/more-luscious-black-and-white">black and white</a>. It's a pretty big beast, though, and over time I've been thinking about the first camera I bought for myself in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2499174049/">early '80s</a>, a manual-focus <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4451793087/">Nikon FG</a>. Then I spotted a surprisingly cheap deal on eBay, and this week it arrived:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4541610499/" title="Nikon FE by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Nikon FE" height="328" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4541610499_5c9a4c3cc6.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
It's a <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/fe.htm">Nikon FE</a>,
a slightly older (introduced in 1978) and slightly higher-end model
than my FG, and it came with a manual-focus 50 mm Nikkor lens. For many
years, the electromechanical FE, its companion mechanical FM, and their
successors the FE2 and FM2 were often the backup camera bodies of choice
for professional photographers—less expensive than the top-of-the-line
F2, F3, or F4, but still rugged and simple to use.<br />
Like my F4, this thing feels like a brick, because unlike the digital
cameras most people buy today, the FE is almost all metal, including
the lens housing. It's also surprisingly small, since it lacks the
rubberized covering and big handgrips that digital SLRs like my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3664144754/">D90</a> have. (Since film is out of fashion, the FE also cost me a tiny fraction of the price of the D90.)<br />
Besides my general Gear Acquisition Syndrome and the dirt-cheap
price, another reason I bought the FE is that my younger daughter L has
been wanting to learn a bit more about photography, and the principles
are much easier to demonstrate on an old film camera. With a fixed
(non-zoom) lens on it, there are really only three things to adjust: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-aperture-and-f-stops">aperture</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/camera-works-shutters-flashes-and-sync">shutter speed</a>,
and focus. DSLRs let you change ISO (sensitivity) and white balance
too—among many, many other features—but with the FE those are determined
by the film you choose.<br />
I've loaded the FE with some 400-speed black-and-white film, and
we'll see how the first photos turn out, and how the photographic
experience compares to the F4 and D90. A nice feature of film cameras
(despite the inconveniences) is that, whenever you buy new film, you're
effectively putting a new sensor inside, so they don't really become
obsolete the way digital cameras do.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks" rel="tag">cameraworks</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/back-to-1978" title="permanent link">5:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4242592299323859157"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4948361507532308460"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/fish-house-45-years-later" title="permanent link">The Fish House, 45 years later</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
On Saturday, April 17, 1965, my parents were married in <a href="http://www.standrewswesleychurch.bc.ca/">St. Andrews Wesley Church</a>
on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver. They held their reception that
evening, in a building constructed as the Stanley Park Sports Pavilion
in 1930. Today it's the home of the <a href="http://www.fishhousestanleypark.com/">Fish House</a> restaurant.<br />
Last night, 45 years later, also on a Saturday, they returned to the Fish House for an anniversary dinner:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4530557184/" title="Dad and Mom by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Dad and Mom" height="338" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4530557184_f42262f4b7.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
My wife Air, our daughter Marina, and I were happy to join them. (Our younger daughter was at a friend's birthday sleepover.)<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4529914445/" title="45th anniversary dinner by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="45th anniversary dinner" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4529914445_e9e321d739.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
I haven't been to the Fish House in at least 15 years, but I won't
wait that long again. The food was great—with the added benefit of
legacy dishes imported from Vancouver's legendary and recently-closed
seaside restaurant, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4293437869/">the Cannery</a>.
The salmon, prawns, and scallops I ate were excellent, but the rare
tuna steak that Air ordered (and which she let me try) was
extraordinary.<br />
In August, Air and I will mark 15 years since our wedding in 1995. I hope we can make it to 45, however <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">unlikely</a> my health makes that seem right now. In the meantime, happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. Thanks for inviting us along.<br />
P.S. Here were my parents <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/berlin-1965">later in 1965</a>, in Berlin, on their honeymoon:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3047424416/" title="Honeymoon in Berlin 1965 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Honeymoon in Berlin 1965" height="500" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/3047424416_48562c6255.jpg" width="364" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/restaurant" rel="tag">restaurant</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/fish-house-45-years-later" title="permanent link">10:33 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4948361507532308460"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8647666493581838676"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/pretty-psychedelic-man" title="permanent link">Pretty psychedelic, man</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Thank you, <a href="http://blog.deliciousjuice.com/2010/04/16/full-of-stars/">Kimli</a>, for finding <a href="http://www.appshopper.com/photography/phototropedelic">PhotoTropedelic</a> for the iPhone. It is just <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4529105567/" title="Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds by penmachine, on Flickr">too much fun</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4529105567/" title="Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4529105567_1afb51ae97.jpg" width="375" /></a>
</div>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/iphone" rel="tag">iphone</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/pretty-psychedelic-man" title="permanent link">5:10 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8647666493581838676"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
16 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8396589245335294358"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/scan-and-chemo" title="permanent link">Scan and chemo</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Today I had yet another <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/ribs">CT scan</a>,
to see how my various cancer tumours are doing. It probably won't be
evaluated by a radiologist for a few days, so it's unlikely to disrupt
my next <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a> treatment on Monday. But I will communicate soon with my oncologist Dr. Kennecke to find out the results.<br />
Am I nervous? Yes and no. I've been at this so long, having scans every couple of months for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/dereks-talkin-about-cancer-on-cbc.html">over three years</a> now, that I don't find worrying about the results to be too productive. Still, last time the news was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time">somewhat good</a>. I'm a little nervous about that.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ctscan" rel="tag">ctscan</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/scan-and-chemo" title="permanent link">11:33 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8396589245335294358"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4605177814495454137"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/sunny-days-at-camp-jubilee" title="permanent link">Sunny days at Camp Jubilee</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/_poh/3992563778/" title="Camp Jubilee! at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Camp Jubilee! at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2440/3992563778_52da1fbe1f_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I
can almost see the place where my daughter Marina slept last night, and
will again tonight. But not quite. She and her school classmates in
grades 6 and 7 are at <a href="http://www.campjubilee.ca/">Camp Jubilee</a> for a two-night, three-day outdoor education adventure.<br />
The camp sits near the tiny shoreline community of <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=frames&sll=49.371336,-122.88826&sspn=0.015369,0.025578&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Frames,+North+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia,+Canada&ll=49.372056,-122.890577&spn=0.003842,0.006394&t=h&z=17">Frames Landing</a> (which I'd never heard of until I looked it up just now) on the west shore of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/indian-arm">Indian Arm</a>,
the fjord whose mountain boundaries I can see from my front window. But
those mountains are so steep and packed together that, though the camp
is closer to our house than the ski slopes of Grouse Mountain that we
can see clearly every day, it is entirely hidden behind several
tree-coated ridges.<br />
The only way to reach Camp Jubilee (or the homes at Frames Landing)
is by boat. The camp has one to ferry visitors back and forth from Deep
Cove, the urban harbour about 15 minutes to the south that is the
easternmost part of North Vancouver. The kids have been incredibly lucky
this week: the weather has been sunny and unusually warm, and looks to
remain so through tomorrow when they come back.<br />
I'm sure they've had a great time, and Marina will be pooped when I
pick her up at school in the afternoon. Her younger sister will be
returning from her own day trip with her classmates snowshoeing on <a href="http://www.grousemountain.com/">Grouse Mountain</a>. I expect they'll be a couple of sleepy girls come Friday night.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/sunny-days-at-camp-jubilee" title="permanent link">8:10 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4605177814495454137"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7722865034699487732"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2" title="permanent link">Movable Type vs. WordPress, Round 2</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A bit more blogging platform geekiness, but much shorter this time.<br />
Contrary to my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/blogging-software-and-static-files">first impressions</a> a couple of days ago, I'm warming to the way <a href="http://movabletype.com/">Movable Type</a>
works. It's taken only a little effort to customize it, roughly to
match my existing page design and typography here—easier than I've
experienced with <a href="http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>.<br />
So, two days later, it looks light I might end up using Movable Type 5
after all. But we'll see if my further experiments blow it up in some
nasty way.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2" title="permanent link">9:49 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7722865034699487732"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">8 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
12 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6680312332386436161"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/blogging-software-and-static-files" title="permanent link">Replacing Blogger: Movable Type vs. WordPress</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
This is a big long nerd brain dump about behind-the scenes
software stuff on this website. Even if you're not a web geek, there's a
possibility you might find some of it interesting. But if not, you've
been warned.<br />
<div class="note">
UPDATE: A couple of days later, I may have changed my mind about my apparent decision below. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2">Find out more</a>.</div>
<h3>
Gotta move</h3>
Since Blogger announced the shutdown of its venerable <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">FTP publishing system</a> a couple of months ago, I've been working to figure out what <strong>new system I'm going to use to publish my writing</strong> here. (I'm glad Blogger <a href="http://blogger-ftp.blogspot.com/2010/02/migration-deadline-extended-to-may-1.html">postponed the shutdown</a> for an extra month, but of course that meant I simply procrastinated about it until now.)<br />
I have about three weeks to make the change, and I've boiled it down
to two options, neither of which is ideal, but both of which are
serviceable:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a> (currently at version 2.92), a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP">PHP</a>-based system, with the <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/really-static/">Really Static</a> plugin.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.movabletype.com/">Movable Type</a>, written largely in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl">Perl</a> programming language (currently at version 5.01).</li>
</ul>
They are two of the most popular and long-running blogging platforms
on the Web. There are other possibilities, but I don't need all the
complexity of <a href="http://drupal.org/">Drupal</a>, and don't find other options like <a href="http://expressionengine.com/">ExpressionEngine</a> all that compelling. Movable Type has always used the <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/documentation/administrator/publishing/static-and-dynamic-publishing.html">static files</a> publishing model I prefer, while WordPress requires a plugin like Really Static to hack it into doing what I want.<br />
<h3>
Movable Type in the sunset?</h3>
However, Movable Type's day in the sun may be past. While some high-profile sites of people I know—such as <a href="http://daringfireball.net/">John Gruber</a> and <a href="http://mezzoblue.com/">Dave Shea</a>—use it, its popularity seems to have been in general decline since the licensing controversies of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movable_Type#History">version 3</a>, way back in 2004. The current <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/2010/01/mt5.html">version 5</a>
(MT5) is brand new, and an open source project, but I don't sense the
same community vibrancy and wealth of third-party extensions WordPress
has. <a href="http://www.sixapart.com/">Six Apart</a>, the company that created Movable Type, also seems to have been focused on its other hosted blogging tools, <a href="https://www.typepad.com/">TypePad</a> and <a href="http://www.vox.com/">Vox</a>, for years.<br />
There's <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/2009/06/meet_melody.html">a fork</a> of Movable Type called <a href="http://openmelody.org/">Melody</a>
too, which is cool. But forks like that tend to arise when the
originating platform is losing air. Yes, I know there are lots of people
who love it, but I just get the sense that <strong>general enthusiasm for Movable Type has faded</strong>—even
in the vibe I feel after installing and playing around with MT5 last
night. The basic software is great, mature, and solid. But when I want
to muck around and extend it, the available resources are a little
sparse and often out of date.<br />
<h3>
WordPress on a tear</h3>
Just when Movable Type stumbled in 2004, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2287121128/">Matt Mullenweg</a>'s WordPress—itself a fork of the awkwardly-named b2/cafelog blogging platform—was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPress#History">hitting its stride</a>. I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2006/02/get-started-with-blogging-spoken-word.html">know Matt</a> a bit, and have been using WordPress on other websites (most notably <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> and <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/">Lip Gloss and Laptops</a>)
since 2006. I like it and recommend it to friends, despite its
sometimes-sprawling nature, and its reliance on a dynamic, on-the-fly,
database-driven publishing approach that I find somewhat brittle.<br />
Indeed, that dynamic approach really was <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">the only thing</a> keeping me from switching to WordPress right away. <strong>I understand WordPress and how to tweak it</strong>, I like the wide range of <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/">themes</a> and <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/">plugins</a>
available for it, most of my geek friends use it in some form or
another, and the community is second to none. Recent versions are also
very easy to upgrade in place, which is a big improvement over the way
most installable blog platforms (WordPress and Movable Type included)
have usually worked.<br />
So when Matt Mullenweg's colleague, Victoria-based <a href="http://foolswisdom.com/">Lloyd Budd</a>, pointed out the <a href="http://www.sorben.org/really-static/">Really Static</a>
plugin to me, it looked like a perfect solution. It takes a regular
WordPress blog and generates plain-old text files which otherwise
continue to look and work pretty much just like the original WordPress
pages. Nice.<br />
<h3>
The showdown</h3>
Therefore, last night, after all that procrastinating and evaluating,
I installed both WordPress 2.9.2 (with Really Static) and Movable Type
5.01 into test directories on my server. The WordPress install went
smoothly, since I've done it before. Movable Type took a couple of
tries, but I got it working without too much trouble. Disabling either
software installation seems to leave the resulting static blog pages
essentially intact, which, after all, is my key criterion in this whole
production.<br />
As I said above, I found Movable Type underwhelming. I really, really
wanted to like it, because it would be interesting for me to learn how
to work with and tweak a new publishing system. The default appearance
theme is certainly nicer than WordPress's, and its more modular system
of templates and styles is also a bit more elegant. Though not a key
feature for me, it's much easier to publish multiple blogs with a single
Movable Type installation (at least <a href="http://wordpress.org/development/2010/04/wordpress-3-0-beta-1/">for now</a>). Some tech-head friends I respect a lot think its Perl-based CGI architecture is inherently better than WordPress's <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2006/02/17/PHP">collage of PHP</a> scripts.<br />
All that may be true, but <strong>MT5 looks, to me, like it's catching up to features and polish that WordPress has offered for at least two or three years</strong>. Searching for some alternative themes and styles, as well as fairly simple plugins (displaying my recent <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter posts</a>
on my home page, for instance), didn't yield very many options, and
most of the results I did get seemed to be talking about MT installs a
version or two old.<br />
Not that the WordPress option is perfect. The forest of PHP files
that WP uses can make heavy customizing kind of a chore ("which of those
250 files was I supposed to edit again?"). The Really Static plugin
remains a hack, though an effective one, so making it do what I want
requires some duplication of template files, some advance planning of
how I want to structure my blog and archives, careful pruning of HTML
pages on the server if I choose to delete something, and the awareness
that when WordPress releases a new version (like the upcoming 3.0, or
even a service update like 2.9.3), I might have to wait to make sure
Really Static plays nice with it.<br />
So right now, <strong>I'm leaning heavily toward the WordPress/Really Static approach</strong> [but wait! see my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/movable-type-vs-wordpress-round-2">April 14 post</a>
to find out if I changed my mind]. Any Movable Type advocates (or
people with different suggestions) who want to convince me otherwise can
<a class="e-mail" href="mailto:dkmiller@penmachine.com" title="Launch your email client">email me</a> or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/old/2010_04_01_.php#comments">leave a comment</a> here—at least until I disable comments on this post at the end of the month (see below).<br />
<h3>
Other housekeeping</h3>
One annoying thing about moving away from Blogger as my publishing system is that <strong>I'm going to have to lock down my blog archives</strong>.
What I mean is, I'm not planning to import all my nearly 10 years of
existing blog posts into the new system and republish them. Indeed, one
of the advantages of the static-files approach I'm choosing is that I
can just leave my old posts exactly as they are, whether from <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_02_01_news_archive.html">2001</a> or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/old/2009_02_01_.php">2009</a>.<br />
But since I'll no longer be able to update the pages from Blogger,
that also means that no one will be able to post new comments to those
posts—or, more accurately, if I leave things as they are, people can
write comments, but they'll never show up on this website. So my plan,
over the course of the next three weeks, is to disable new comments on
my old posts, and gradually disable them on newer and newer ones until
FTP publishing stops working at the end of the month. Then, if I time
things right, I can seal off comments on my latest entries, tie up the
old blog in a bow, fire up the by-then-ready new system, and be done.<br />
I've already started. Want to comment on one of my posts from <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2007_04_01_news_archive.html">April 2007</a> or earlier? Sorry, you can't. Same for entries for my occasional Penmachine Podcast <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2009_06_01_archive.html">from last year</a> or before. They were never much for comments either.<br />
<strong>Yeah, it's a bit of an awkward transition, but after a decade
of largely smooth sailing with Blogger, I can hardly expect anything
else.</strong> I'll miss the simplicity and familiar orange-and-blue
colour scheme of writing in Blogger, but I won't miss its bizarre system
of labels, its strange way of handling podcast enclosures, and of
course the consistent unreliability of FTP publishing in the first
place. Besides, for the geek in me, making the change is sort of fun.<br />
As long as I don't screw anything up too badly over the next few weeks, anyway.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/blogging-software-and-static-files" title="permanent link">9:33 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6680312332386436161"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="9131880197399778982"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/buzz-time" title="permanent link">Buzz time</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Once again, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a>
is doing bizarre and nasty things to my hair. It's thinning, while
getting wiry and bushy and annoying. But rather than do the full <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2351178144/">Peter Garrett</a> shave as I did <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/no-hair-club-for-men">two years ago</a>, I went for my preferred <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4506493382/">buzz cut</a> again:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4506493382/" title="Buzz cut before and after by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Buzz cut before and after" height="327" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4506493382_5713420dbc.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
My "before" look on the left was about as as good as I could make it appear, but there was still something vaguely <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robotalphabet/3809613125/">Kim Jong-Il</a> about it. I prefer the shorter version on the right, and I'll try to keep it that way.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/buzz-time" title="permanent link">9:58 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=9131880197399778982"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4102884098343867856"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/what-does-it-mean-to-be-old" title="permanent link">What does it mean to be old?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<cite>New Scientist</cite> has published a widely-linked <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627550.100-the-shock-of-the-old-welcome-to-the-elderly-age.html?full=true">article</a> (via <a href="http://kottke.org/10/04/the-old-age-age">Kottke</a>)
this week called "The Shock of the Old," about how the world's
population is aging. Author Fred Pearce is perhaps a bit too optimistic
about what that means, but it's nevertheless a worthwhile read. It
reinforces something I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/immunity-and-treatment">written</a> about before. As Pearce puts it:<br />
<blockquote>
We should be proud that for the first time most children reach adulthood and most adults grow old.</blockquote>
But old doesn't mean what it used to. I regularly hear news reports about an "elderly" person of age 70. But that's how old <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4444342621/">my parents</a>
are, and they don't seem at all elderly to me. Yes, my mom retired some
years ago, but that doesn't seem to have slowed her down. My dad is
still running his own business and driving to service calls almost every
day. He'll happily climb a ladder to the roof of the house to clear out
the gutters.<br />
And of course, these days they're both in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life">better shape than I am</a>, at age 40.<br />
I think societies like Canada's, where our population is aging
rapidly, will have to adjust, to support people based not on the number
of years they've lived, but on the capabilities they have. In some ways,
we already do that—I'm receiving Canada Pension disability benefits,
for instance. I don't know what that adjustment will look like, and I
may not even live long enough to see the change, but it's coming.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/age" rel="tag">age</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/magazines" rel="tag">magazines</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/work" rel="tag">work</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/what-does-it-mean-to-be-old" title="permanent link">9:02 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4102884098343867856"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8969215239491745588"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/another-relative" title="permanent link">Another relative</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23925401@N06/4502990014/" title="Craneo de Australopithecus sediba at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Cráneo de Australopithecus sediba at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4502990014_fb2e86c26c_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>It's
quite astonishing how many fossils of extinct human relatives that
paleontologists have found in recent years. Just in the past year, I've
mentioned <i><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/ida-now-just-nice-fossil">Darwinius</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/ardi-fascinating-hominid-fossil">Ardipithecus</a></i>. And this week we hear about <i><a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/new-australopithecine-described/">Australopithecus sediba</a></i>, which sheds <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/science/09fossil.html">further light</a> on how ancient apes transitioned to walking upright like we do.<br />
It's a relief that in the latest coverage, the scientists involved have gone <a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/2010/04/08/us_sci_new_hominid">out of their way</a> to say that <i>A. sediba</i> is <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2250212"><em>not</em></a> a "missing link":<br />
<blockquote>
"The 'missing link' made sense when we could take the
earliest fossils and the latest ones and line them up in a row. It was
easy back then," explained Smithsonian Institution paleontologist
Richard Potts. But now researchers know there was great diversity of
branches in the human family tree rather than a single smooth line.</blockquote>
All of evolution works that way: branching, somewhat messy
relationships between organisms, with many extinct species and a few (or
perhaps many) survivors. In the case of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominid">hominids</a>,
we humans are the only bipedal ones left, and we're also by far the
most numerous of the surviving lineage, which includes chimpanzees,
bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans too. So our evolutionary past can <em>look</em>
linear, at least during the past 5 to 7 million years since our
ancestral line diverged from the chimp ancestral line, even though it
wasn't.<br />
While we have found quite a few fossils of human relatives, that's a
very relative term. Until the past few thousand years, there weren't
many of us around at all. All the <i>Australopithecus</i> fossils ever found can be outnumbered by the number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite">trilobite</a>
fossils (which are hundreds of millions of years older!) in a single
chunk of stone at any rocks-and-gems store. Hominid fossils are still
extremely rare things, so we can't reconstruct the branches of our
family tree with perfect accuracy. That's because we can't be sure which
(if any) of the species we've unearthed were our direct ancestors, and
which were our "cousins"—branches of the tree that died out.<br />
Still, we can <a href="http://www.darwiniana.org/trees.htm">make attempts</a> with the data we have, some making more assumptions than others, and the options being <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladistics">quite complex</a>. Yet as we find out more, and discover more, our family tree becomes clearer. That's pretty cool.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/africa" rel="tag">africa</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/another-relative" title="permanent link">11:18 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8969215239491745588"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7509845835257020724"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/my-first-microwave-experience" title="permanent link">My first microwave experience</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
The first time I ever used a microwave oven was at my friend <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/long-lost-friends">Brent Spencer</a>'s house, sometime in the mid-1970s. I'm pretty sure it was an <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmv/19941160/">Amana Radarange</a>. Brent's father <a href="http://www.vef.org/?p=158">Ken</a>, who would later go on to found the digital printing company <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/01/bought-out.html">Creo</a>, is an engineer, and often had interesting gadgets well before the rest of us got them.<br />
(Some examples: Ken borrowed a projection television for a few weeks,
which I got to watch in their basement; was the first person I knew to
have a phone in his car; and loaned us their family's TRS-80
microcomputer while they went on a long vacation in 1980.)<br />
Anyway, the first thing Brent showed me how to make in the exotic
Radarange was Triscuits with Kraft process cheese slices melted on top. I
stared in wonder through the oven window as the cheese rose into what
seemed like an impossibly big bubble, then popped into a goopy mess.
Delicious.<br />
Recently I did the same thing: 30 seconds on high power, with
Triscuits and Kraft slices. You know what? They still tasted great.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/age" rel="tag">age</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/my-first-microwave-experience" title="permanent link">11:18 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7509845835257020724"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6474232776511941870"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/how-did-it-get-here" title="permanent link">How did it get here?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A desiccated <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4490844525/">fruit husk</a>, about 5 cm long, sat delicately on a nearby lawn this afternoon. I spotted it while walking the dog:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4490844525/" title="Desiccated fruit husk by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Desiccated fruit husk" height="300" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/4490844525_49ba3f1ecd.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Did dry out like that naturally? I've seen similar veins-only leaf skeletons around, but this seems much <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4490842075/">more fragile</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4490842075/" title="Fruit husk closeup by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Fruit husk closeup" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4490842075_fa27bc6319.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
I wonder what kind of fruit it was, and how it got there.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/how-did-it-get-here" title="permanent link">4:49 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6474232776511941870"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 April 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4299687936788949515"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/strat-o-glasses" title="permanent link">Strat-o-glasses</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A few weeks ago, when I bought my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/four-eyes">new eyeglasses</a>, both my wife Air and my daughters' <a href="http://www.crowestudios.ca/">piano teacher</a> Lorraine independently said that one pair—my set of black Ray-Bans with pearloid decorations on the sides—strongly resembles a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/how-to-unblock-stratocaster-tremolo.html">Fender Stratocaster</a> guitar, like the black and white one I own. I didn't notice it when I picked the specs, but they're <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4488763826/">quite right</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4488763826/" title="Strat and glasses 4 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Strat and glasses 4" height="300" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4488763826_c434e52de6.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
In this photo, I also bear a frightening resemblance to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Offer">Vince the ShamWow guy</a>. That too was entirely unintentional, believe me. (Though maybe I can make America skinny again, one chord at a time!)<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/celebrity" rel="tag">celebrity</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/glasses" rel="tag">glasses</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/guitar" rel="tag">guitar</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/04/strat-o-glasses" title="permanent link">8:40 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4299687936788949515"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-31164581473802979982018-11-11T13:04:00.005-08:002018-11-11T13:04:29.527-08:00Derek Mar 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
31 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="932583100250635442"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/eumerdification-writing-to-impress" title="permanent link">Eumerdification: writing to impress academics</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Deep in the notes at the back of philosopher Daniel Dennett's 2006 book <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00263J6EK/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Breaking the Spell</a></cite>, there's a funny little <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=yWtwDDqR61QC&pg=PA405&lpg=PA405&dq=eumerdification&source=bl&ots=zIs0u0Dyry&sig=TPGy34Zq0JduKioKCVl85UYjFIw&hl=en&ei=sGixS_iyIJCcsgPZgpWPAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCsQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=eumerdification&f=false">story</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
John Searle once told me about a conversation he had with the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Foucault">Michel Foucault</a>:
"Michel, you're so clear in conversation; why is your written work so
obscure?" To which Foucault replied, "That's because, in order to be
taken seriously by French philosophers, twenty-five percent of what you
write has to be impenetrable nonsense." I have coined a term for this
tactic, in honour of Foucault's candor: <cite>eumerdification</cite>.<br />
</blockquote>
The word is much nicer in French, since in English it would be something like <cite>shittifying</cite>. So here's the definition:<br />
<dt><cite>eumerdification</cite></dt>
<dd>Making academic writing at least 25% incomprehensible crap, to seem smarter.</dd>
I love that. I suspect there's some eumerdification in this <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/women_web_2004-04.html">article I reformatted</a> several years ago.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/editing" rel="tag">editing</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/education" rel="tag">education</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/work" rel="tag">work</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/eumerdification-writing-to-impress" title="permanent link">11:40 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=932583100250635442"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6541487014006980049"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/crime-sin-and-authority" title="permanent link">Crime, sin, and authority</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I've tried to figure out why the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/europe/25vatican.html">escalating sex abuse scandal</a>
in the Catholic Church is making me so angry. I mean, there's the
obvious stuff: some priests and other Church officials have been getting
away with the rape and beating of children for decades. And much of the
Church hierarchy and bureaucracy, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/24/children.childprotection">including</a> the man who is now Pope, has been working hard to cover it all up, often with the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8059826.stm">tacit assistance</a> of governments and other civil authorities.<br />
A few of my friends and acquaintances are Catholics, but as far as I
know none of them have been victims of these monsters—which is a relief.
And I'm not only not Catholic, I'm not Christian or religious at all,
but a happy <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/blasphemy-funny-if-it-werent-often-so">atheist</a>.
However, I'm not gloating about the Catholic scandals, in some sort of
twisted "I told you so" way. I'm sad and viscerally infuriated, in a way
I hope many Catholics are, and quite a few do <a href="http://ncronline.org/print/17592">seem to be</a>. Occasionally, learning new details makes me want to vomit. (Then again, that's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">not hard to do</a> in general these days.)<br />
I think my fury is it's because <em>it's been going on for so bloody long</em>:
not just the physical and sexual abuse, but public knowledge of it and
Church inaction about it. More than 20 years ago, following the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Cashel_Orphanage">Mt. Cashel Orphanage</a>
sex-abuse scandal in Newfoundland, a friend of mine and his girlfriend
(who weren't afraid of being a bit tasteless) came to a Halloween party
dressed as a priest and an altar boy, respectively. Even in the 1980s,
the concept of a molesting priest was so widespread that everyone at the
party got the reference.<br />
It's also been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system#Reconciliation_attempts">12 years</a>
since the Canadian federal government began attempts to apologize for
sexual and physical abuse of native students at residential schools run
by the Anglican, United, and Roman Catholic churches across the country
until the 1960s, and to compensate the victims financially. And that's
just here in Canada.<br />
There are, unfortunately, small proportions of sexual predators and
sadists in positions of authority inside some institutions that care for
children, including schools, hospitals, foster homes, summer camps, and
so on—and also including churches and religious organizations outside
Catholicism. And sometimes there are coverups. But once exposed, those
coverups can, should, and usually do result in shame, dismissals,
apologies, and <a href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/quest/">criminal charges</a>. Even decades after the events.<br />
Many groups and individuals within the Roman Catholic Church have had
integrity, trying to get the molesters fired, charged, and punished.
Yet men of authority within the institution, throughout its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_hierarchy">hierarchy</a>—from
priests and bishops to archbishops, cardinals, and apparently right up
to the Pope—have used its power, influence, and worldwide reach to deny,
deflect, hide, obfuscate, and in many cases abet those of its members
who abuse children.<br />
Their priority seems to have been to protect their Church, and the
pedophiles within it, at the expense of their victims, the most
vulnerable and innocent of its billion members. When pressed by
incontrovertible evidence and public pressure, those same authorities
have released <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/opinion/25thur1.html">half-hearted</a>
and defensive apologies. The situation is abominable, and the scandal
deserves to be global front-page news, as it has become in recent
months.<br />
The Catholic Church claims to be the highest possible <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-11-17-Bishops-morality_N.htm">moral authority</a>
on Earth. Of course, personally, I think that's ridiculous. The
horrifying enormity of child abuse and coverup within the Church over
decades—more likely centuries, if we're honest with ourselves—only
reinforces my conviction.<br />
Indeed, it's hard to think of crimes more vile. If the beating and rape of children—<em>as well as covering up those acts and enabling them to continue</em>—are
not sins worthy of excommunication, and presumably hellfire in the
afterlife, I don't understand what could be. So if Catholics intend to
continue taking claims of moral authority seriously, they must demand
some large-scale changes in their Church, and the Pope and his
underlings must listen to and act on those demands.<br />
Given the glacial pace of change in Rome, and the stupefying weight
of dogma and doctrine and history, I'm not optimistic. But I also
genuinely hope that I am wrong.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion" rel="tag">religion</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sex" rel="tag">sex</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/crime-sin-and-authority" title="permanent link">2:28 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6541487014006980049"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3549909652421111407"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/weird-way-to-hit-weight-target" title="permanent link">A weird way to hit a weight target</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4447534643/" title="Titanium glasses by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Titanium glasses" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4447534643_a283565259_m.jpg" width="161" /></a>A few years ago, before I got <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">cancer</a>,
my doctor told me that an ideal weight for someone of my height and
build was around 185 or 190 pounds (84 to 86 kg). Since I'd been
hovering around 200 pounds for some time, I didn't worry too much about
it. I was relatively healthy (despite my long-time Type 1 diabetes),
eating reasonably well, cycling to and from work, and so on.<br />
Then, of course, came <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">the diagnosis</a>. Over the next three and a bit years, among a hell of a lot of more alarming things, my weight fluctuated wildly—as low as <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hey-so-where-you-go">145 pounds</a> (in mid-2007) and as high as 215 pounds (a couple of years later).<br />
When I started on my latest <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a> regimen <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/back-on-train">in December</a>,
at first I seemed to be losing about 5 pounds each treatment, which
wasn't a good trend. I adjusted what I ate (i.e. more, when I could
eat), and things stabilized. Guess where?<br />
Yup, between 185 and 190 pounds, pretty much.<br />
I would not advise this method to reach a weight your doctor recommends for you, however.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/weird-way-to-hit-weight-target" title="permanent link">7:53 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3549909652421111407"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
23 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3965412495258001274"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/another-party-movie" title="permanent link">Another party movie</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Reilly made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aomQRVSZ5r8">a movie</a> of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/spring">the party</a> we went to on the weekend:<br />
You might recall <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/movie-from-still-frames">another one</a> of his videos I posted a couple of weeks ago.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birth" rel="tag">birth</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/party" rel="tag">party</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/another-party-movie" title="permanent link">2:53 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3965412495258001274"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5658414986321960160"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/spring" title="permanent link">Spring</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
It's <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/03/20/fakequinox/">Spring</a> now, and in Vancouver, it feels like it:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4448436952/" title="Burnaby cherry blossoms by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Burnaby cherry blossoms" height="253" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2770/4448436952_8501f7cb6c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4448433698/" title="Crocus by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Crocus" height="302" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2712/4448433698_87b11547b4.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
In part to celebrate, Air and I went to <a href="http://talkingtoair.com/2010/03/21/cat-princess-derek-air-and-catherine/">a party</a> last night, where everyone dressed up. We also got some of my favourite photos ever of us. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4452581702/">Here's one</a> with a cat, a young princess (who left early), me (in fedora), Air (pink hair), and our pal <a href="http://www.catherineomega.com/">Catherine</a>, who had the evening's best hat:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4452581702/" title="Cat, princess, Derek, Air, and Catherine by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Cat, princess, Derek, Air, and Catherine" height="353" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4452581702_0d6aab62e0.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Thanks to <a href="http://www.jerkwithacamera.com/">Reilly</a> and happy 30th birthday to <a href="http://twitter.com/Mirandal">Miranda</a>, who were our hosts. I have my next bout of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">chemo</a> tomorrow, so it was good to do something fun while I could.<br />
And didn't my wife look <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4453125210/">fabulously hot</a>?<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4453125210/" title="Glam chair, baby! by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Glam chair, baby!" height="400" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4453125210_0bebd420cf.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
Especially with the martini and the bubble chair. It was like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Aarnio">1968</a>, baby! Except with iPhones.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/party" rel="tag">party</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/spring" title="permanent link">10:33 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5658414986321960160"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4736796479391529752"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/would-he-be-ok-with-fake-one" title="permanent link">Would he be OK with the fake one?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
There's some great logic in <a href="http://www.geckotemple.com/liz/?p=1327">these conversation snippets</a>
with kids. They reflect straightforward thinking and plain speaking,
which we adults often spend a lot of time overthinking around.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/would-he-be-ok-with-fake-one" title="permanent link">11:36 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4736796479391529752"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3921850635382052137"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-know-i-know" title="permanent link">I know, I know</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
People who put pictures of their pets on their blogs are a Web stereotype. I know. But <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4445142926/">come on</a>...<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4445142926/" title="Puppy portrait 1 crop by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Puppy portrait 1 crop" height="310" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4445142926_f0bd81dc6f.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
...what am I supposed to do? Not post that?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-know-i-know" title="permanent link">11:29 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3921850635382052137"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">13 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6675197995329786879"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/nikon-fm3a" title="permanent link">The Nikon FM3A</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielygo/4030999950/" title="Nikon FM3a - 3 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Nikon FM3a - 3 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3520/4030999950_a9e1604211_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Camera nerds have strange obsessions. Among film cameras, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M_mount">Leica M series</a> of small <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangefinder_camera">rangefinder</a> devices is probably top among photo fetishists, who might argue about whether the original 1950s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M3">M3</a> or the current <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/m7.htm">M7</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_MP">MP</a> is the optimum design.<br />
But to me, the manual-focus, precision-built electromechanical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_FM3A">Nikon FM3A</a>
SLR is the real star of these old-school cameras. It was an oddity when
Nikon introduced it in 2001—by which time ergonomically-shaped,
plastic-bodied autofocus cameras were what almost everyone used, and
digital was poised to take over from film almost entirely. (Even the <a href="http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/fa.htm">FA</a> of 1983, or the intro-level <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_FG">FG</a> I owned around the same time, had more modern features in many respects.)<br />
But Nikon was intentionally building a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_FM3A">modernized retro camera</a>
for those fetishists. It offers basic but powerful light-metering,
manual focus assistance, fill-flash compatibility, and aperture-priority
automation if you want it. But it is also a fully-mechanical machine
that will operate perfectly (except for the light meter) without any
batteries. All the power to run it can come from energy stored in
springs when you ratchet the film advance lever with your thumb,
something that's hard to comprehend for anyone who's used to today's
battery-sucking digital beasts, or even my 1988 autofocus <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/monster-film-camera-arrives">Nikon F4</a>.<br />
Nikon only made the FM3A for five years, and manufactures nothing at
all like it today. (Indeed, almost no one besides Leica makes fully
mechanical cameras anymore.) If you can find one, it sells for <a href="http://shop.ebay.com/?_nkw=nikon+FM3A&_sacat=See-All-Categories">pretty close</a>
to the $800 the model fetched when new, which is still a fraction the
cost of a Leica or a top-of-the-line digital Nikon SLR. And it will use
most Nikon-mount lenses made between 1977 and quite recently, when the
company stopped including <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/camera-works-intermediate-f-stop-values">aperture rings</a> on their SLR lenses.<br />
I'd compare this rugged Nikon with modern versions of the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/08/young-at-50.html">Fender Stratocaster</a>
guitar, or a brand-new fountain pen: the FM3A looks superficially like
something created decades earlier, and works pretty much that way too,
but it has some clever modern enhancements that smooth the way for
enthusiasts or professionals to use it elegantly. It's neat that Nikon
ever decided to create it, and like the still-manufactured <a href="http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/f6.htm">Nikon F6</a> film SLR, it's probably among the last of its kind.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/nikon-fm3a" title="permanent link">11:22 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6675197995329786879"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">8 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
16 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7544165866623070916"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/end-of-my-live-music-career" title="permanent link">The end of my live music career?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3980451403/" title="Neurotics in Tsawwassen - Sticky Neurotic by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Neurotics in Tsawwassen - Sticky Neurotic" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3500/3980451403_fcb6cf2ab7_m.jpg" width="159" /></a>This piece is a text transcript of my segment on the <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=833">latest episode</a> (#79) of my podcast <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>.<br />
<hr noshade="noshade" />
Most of my music career has had nothing to do with recording. It's been about playing live, mostly in a <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">cover band</a>. I've been doing that since 1989, more than twenty years. And I think that has now come to an end. Let me explain.<br />
The first live performance I remember giving was on nylon-string
guitar, to a group of senior citizens, I think at a music recital at a
local church. It was organized through my elementary school, about 30
years ago. I was playing "Romanza," a well-known classical piece. And I
forgot to tune my guitar beforehand. They applauded anyway, and I
learned my lesson.<br />
A few months later I played the same piece for a school talent
contest. I remembered to tune this time, and I won the contest. But it
was nerve-wracking. While I loved being in plays and skits, I found
precision of live music performance a bit terrifying.<br />
After I took my Grade 4 Royal Conservatory guitar exam in 1982, and
then changed high schools, I quit guitar lessons, and stopped playing,
and forgot everything, including how to read music. Every once in awhile
I'd be startled by a string breaking inside the guitar case in my
closet, but I never even bothered opening it.<br />
I was inspired to take up music again at the end of 1987, when I
discovered I could play drums half-decently without ever having tried it
before. In 1988, my roommate <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3189301872/">Sebastien</a> and I decided to form a band with our other roommates <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/flostrand">Andrew</a>, and my friend <a href="http://web.unbc.ca/~otterk/">Ken</a>. We'd all play instruments, and we'd all sing.<br />
One day Sebastien and I went out with the agreement that I would buy a
drum kit and he would buy an electric guitar. We got the cheapest,
crappiest instruments we could find at pawn shops, and we were on our
way.<br />
The next lesson came when the bunch of us got paid for a show. But we
didn't use our instruments, because it was a lip-sync contest at UBC.
We were very silly and overblown, with costumes, makeup, props, a giant
wall constructed of cardboard boxes (for a Pink Floyd song) and even
some unauthorized flames (for our Alice Cooper impression). We won, and
received $600. That was more than we'd get paid for a gig for quite a
long time.<br />
The lesson was that showmanship was important. Sometimes more
important than musical skill or talent, especially when you're starting
out and don't even know how to sing proper harmonies. You need to put on
a damn show.<br />
Our first real gig, in the spring of 1989, was at a year-end
university party where we sounded great because the audience was really
drunk. We played up the schtick, calling ourselves the Juan Valdez
Memorial R&B Ensemble (though we played little R&B) and
featuring Batman logos on our instruments and T-shirts, for no
particular reason other than that we played the theme from the "Batman"
TV show.<br />
In some form or another, Sebastien and I have played in bands
together on and off ever since, me on drums and him on guitar. We even
tried it full-time for awhile in the mid-1990s, with a short-lived
original act called <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/02/flu-jangle-pop-ten-years-later.html">The Flu</a> we took as far as Australia, and cover bands with names like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3183655285/">The Love Bugs</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3107902097/">HourGlass</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457064906/">The Neurotics</a>
to pay the bills. Sometimes we busked in downtown Vancouver for spare
change. The direct rewards were a great way to learn what people liked,
or at least what they'd pay for.<br />
I left the band for a few years after I got married and had kids, but
still guested when they needed a drummer in a pinch from time to time. I
returned in the early 2000s when the gigs were more stable and better
paying. We even got flown to New York City once for a single night's
show in the fancy Sherry-Netherland Hotel.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2401515110/">The Neurotics</a>,
our long-running cover act, has had a rotating cast of musicians for
years, but it's always been both about the songs—the classic hits people
always respond to—and the show, including glittery jackets, wigs, fake
British accents, improvised jokes, crazy stage-leaping, and
intentionally mangled lyrics. This past decade, I can't think of a gig
where I haven't laughed uncontrollably at least once at the antics of my
bandmates, either onstage or in the dressing room between sets.<br />
It's been so much fun that even after I found out I had colon cancer
at the beginning of 2007, I tried to keep playing as much as I could. On
Canada Day that summer, less than a week before my major surgery, and
hopped up on morphine against the pain, I <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/691692116/">played drums</a> and sang in the sun on the shores of Vancouver's Coal Harbour. Luckily our substitude drummer, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3980447887/">Christian</a>, was there on percussion, and could take over on the kit when I needed a break.<br />
I didn't play again until the following February, having lost more
than 60 pounds and then regained much of it. Once more, Christian and I
spelled one another off, and I made it through. I kept playing through
that year and the next, weaving around chemotherapy and immunotherapy
treatments, more surgery, side effects, and fatigue.<br />
But it was getting harder. In 2009, I had to turn down more and more shows. Paul Garay invited me to fill in on drums with his <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3803427694">new band Heist</a>
that July, for a long daytime outdoor pub booking. It was great, but
setup, playing, and teardown exhausted me for days afterward. I had to
refuse an offer for a two-night gig a few weeks later.<br />
The Neurotics had two shows, at the end of September and beginning of
October 2009, a week apart. Sebastien suggested that, for the first
time in years, I try playing rhythm guitar with the band, in addition to
drums and percussion alternating with Christian.<br />
I spent a couple of weeks woodshedding to figure out chords to songs
I'd played for decades, but always on drums, and we had one rehearsal,
because there were other new people in the lineup. Always confident
behind the kit or the mic, I was nervous with the guitar around my neck,
but I got through.<br />
The <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157622515038670/">last show</a>
was on October 3, at a golf club in Tsawwassen, one of Vancouver's
southernmost suburbs. I did okay. My drumming and singing were fine, and
I didn't miss too many chords on guitar. But the two gigs, even days
apart, wiped me out. I slept a lot over the next few days.<br />
Since then, I've returned to a more aggressive chemotherapy schedule
to try to combat the cancer that long ago spread to my lungs and chest.
I'm often nauseated, immensely sleepy, and unreliable. I can't in good
conscience say yes when Sebastien calls me about an upcoming gig,
because I can't promise I'll even be able to show up.<br />
So, unless my cancer improves and I can take less nasty
treatments—which isn't all that likely—I've had to admit to myself that
my time as a regularly gigging musician is probably over. Sure, I might
appear as a guest from time to time with some of my old bandmates at the
occasional show, for a song or two, maybe.<br />
But I've had to look at my studio at home now and think of how to
rearrange it. For at least ten years it's included drums and PA
equipment, cymbals and mics and stands and cases, packed on shelves and
in bags, ready to load into the car. I think I can take them down, and
maybe set them up to play at home instead.<br />
It's no longer a storage room and preparation space for my job as a
player, but a space for me to practice music as a hobby, when I feel up
to it. I think now I may as well make it work that way.<br />
Like many things I've had to jettison as my health has declined, I
regret the change. But it had to come eventually. Even if I could live
to 95, I don't think I would ever be like <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=794">Les Paul</a>,
gigging until weeks before his death of natural causes. But I also
didn't burn out and die drunk in a hotel room on the road somewhere,
like others have.<br />
The choice to stop playing live has been forced on me, but at least I get to make it. And I still have music all around me.<br />
Besides, if <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2996671221/">my kids</a>
ever want to start a band after all their years of piano and singing
lessons, then the rehearsal space is right here. And they don't need to
buy a thing. Plus, I can teach them about how to put on a damn show.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/neurotics" rel="tag">neurotics</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/end-of-my-live-music-career" title="permanent link">11:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7544165866623070916"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">10 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5960870004413591619"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/studying-for-jobs-that-dont-exist-yet" title="permanent link">Studying for jobs that don't exist yet</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
After high school, there are any number of specialized
programs you can follow that have an obvious result: training as an
electrician, construction worker, chef, mechanic, dental hygienist, and
so on; law school, medical school, architecture school, teacher college,
engineering, library studies, counselling psychology, and other
dedicated fields of study at university; and many others.<br />
But I don't think most people who get a high school diploma really
know very well what they want to do after that. I certainly didn't. And
it's just as well.<br />
At the turn of the 1990s, I spent two years as student-elected representative to the <a href="http://bog.ubc.ca/">Board of Governors</a> of the University of British Columbia, which let me get to know some fairly high <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mucky+Muck">mucky-muck</a>
types in B.C., including judges, business tycoons, former politicians,
honourees of the Order of Canada, and of course high-ranking academics.
One of those was the President of UBC at the time, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Strangway">Dr. David Strangway</a>.<br />
In the early '70s, before becoming an academic administrator, he had
been Chief of the Geophysics Branch for NASA during the Apollo
missions—he was <em>the guy</em> in charge of the geophysical studies
U.S. astronauts performed on the Moon, and the rocks they brought back.
And Dr. Strangway told me something important, which I've remembered
ever since and have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/11/i-wanna-grow-up-to-be-weapons.html">repeated</a> to many people over the past couple of decades.<br />
That is, when he got his physics and biology degree in 1956 (a year before <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/cccp8">Sputnik</a>), <em>no one seriously thought we'd be going to the Moon</em>.
Certainly not within 15 years, or probably anytime within Strangway's
career as a geophysicist. So, he said to me, when he was in school, he
could not possibly have known what his job would be, because NASA, and
the entire human space program, didn't exist yet.<br />
In a much less grandiose and important fashion, my experience proved
him right. Here I am writing for the Web (for free in this case), and
that's also what I've been doing for a living, more or less, since
around 1997. Yet when I got my university degree (in marine biology, by
the way) in 1990, the Web <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_World_Wide_Web">hadn't been invented</a>.
I saw writing and editing in my future, sure, since it had been—and
remains—one of my main hobbies, but how could I know I'd be a web guy
when there was no Web?<br />
The best education prepares you for careers and avocations that don't
yet exist, and perhaps haven't been conceived by anyone. Because of Dr.
Strangway's story, and my own, I've always told people, and advised my
daughters, to study what they find interesting, whatever they feel
compelled to work hard at. They may not end up in that field—I'm no
marine biologist—but they might also be ready for something entirely
new.<br />
They might even be the ones to create those new things to start with.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/education" rel="tag">education</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon" rel="tag">moon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/work" rel="tag">work</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/studying-for-jobs-that-dont-exist-yet" title="permanent link">11:13 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5960870004413591619"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1663792813092098251"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/privacy-transition" title="permanent link">The privacy transition</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/4006100459/" title="Marina Miller"><img align="right" alt="Marina Miller" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2591/4006100459_b8c89f0d33_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>A few weeks ago, my daughter Marina, who's 12, asked me to start mentioning her by name on this website, and when I link to <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/">her blog</a>, photos of her <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=marinamiller&w=95601478%40N00&s=rec">on Flickr</a>, the <a href="http://landmsrunway.blogspot.com/">new blog</a> she just set up with her sister, and so on.<br />
Until now, I've been pretty careful about just calling her "M" or
"Miss M," because while I'm personally comfortable putting my own name
and information on the Web, that's not a decision I should have been
making <em>for</em> my kids, especially before they were able to
understand what its implications are. (For similar reasons, here on the
blog I generally refer to my wife by her nickname Air, at her request.)<br />
But Marina has started to find that annoying, because when she searches for "<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=marina+miller">Marina Miller</a>,"
she nearly always finds other people instead. She's starting to build
herself an online profile—and the first component of that is
establishing her online existence.<br />
I was online around that age too, but at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/geek-communities-then-and-now">the turn of the 1980s</a>
it was a very different thing. In fact, no one expected to be
themselves: we all used pseudonyms, like CB radio handles. And it was a
much smaller, geekier community—or rather, communities. I had no
Internet access until the decade was over, so connections were local,
and each bulletin board system (BBS) was its own island, accessed by
dialup modem, often by one person at a time. The Web hadn't been
invented, and the concept of a search engine or a perpetual index of my
online life was incomprehensible.<br />
On a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2010/03/spark-105-march-7-9-2010/">recent episode</a> of CBC Radio's "Spark," <a href="http://www.danah.org/">Danah Boyd</a>,
who researches these things, noted that today's adults often look at
our online exposure in terms of what can go wrong, while our younger
compatriots and children look at it in terms of its benefits, or what
can go right. It's not that they don't care about privacy, but that they
<a href="http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/01/25/public_by_defau.html">understand it differently</a>.<br />
Marina is now closer to adulthood than toddlerhood, and her younger
sister, at 10, is not far behind. I think that's a bit hard for any
parent to accept, but in the next few years both our daughters have to
(and will want to) learn to negotiate the world, online and offline, on
their own terms. Overprotective <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent">helicopter parenting</a> is a temptation—or today, even an expectation—but it's counterproductive. Just like we all need to learn to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/children-are-safe-and-should-be-outside">walk to school</a> by ourselves, we all need to learn how to live our lives and assess risks <em>eventually</em>. I'd rather not wait until my kids are 18 or 19 and only then let them sink or swim on their own.<br />
I think I share the more optimistic view about being myself on the
Web because, unlike many people over 40 today, I have been online since
even before my teens, and I've seen both the benefits and the risks of
being public there. I hope my experience can help Marina and her sister L
(who hasn't yet asked me to go beyond her initial) negotiate that
landscape in the next few years.<br />
That is, if they continue to want my help!<br />
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<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/privacy-transition" title="permanent link">1:03 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1663792813092098251"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
11 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7120124807578059302"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/winter-arrives-and-departs" title="permanent link">Winter arrives, and departs</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/4424422039/" title="Slushy march! at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Slushy march! at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/4424422039_45f12d1c14_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I'm just emerging from another few days of post-chemotherapy haze, but this morning was an interesting way to emerge.<br />
After many a joke during the Winter Olympics about how there was no
snow here in Vancouver in February, we actually got our first proper
dump of snow—less than two weeks before the start of spring. My daughter
Marina <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/4424422039/">photographed it</a>.<br />
Of course, since we're in Vancouver, it has almost all melted now in the rain. That's okay. Like most of us, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/winter">I remember</a> last <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/vancouvers-blizzards-have-rendered-my">year</a>.<br />
P.S. Marina and her sister set up a <a href="http://landmsrunway.blogspot.com/">fashion design blog</a> yesterday. It's pretty cool—especially since they required no grown-up assistance at all, as far as I know.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/snow" rel="tag">snow</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/winter-arrives-and-departs" title="permanent link">2:27 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7120124807578059302"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3566104014759273308"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/get-tami-show-on-dvd" title="permanent link">Get the T.A.M.I. Show on DVD</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Any musician or music geek worth his or her salt knows about <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_T.A.M.I._Show">The T.A.M.I. Show</a></cite>, a one-off 1964 TV special/theatrical movie. It capitalized on that year's Beatlemania with an astonishing evening of concert <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpYIWThQbYU">performances</a> by hitmakers from the U.S. and the U.K. in Santa Monica near the end of October of that year:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
The film is now <a href="http://www.amazon.com/T-M-I-Show-Collectors/dp/B0030ATZIA/?tag=insidehomerec-20">available for purchase</a> for the first time (yes, the first time in 46 years). Like The Beatles' <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Submarine_(film)">Yellow Submarine</a></cite>, <cite>The T.A.M.I. Show</cite>
has been mired in copyright and ownership disputes for decades—bootlegs
have abounded, but even those lacked footage of The Beach Boys, who had
their part removed after the initial theatrical release in '64.<br />
<cite>The T.A.M.I. Show</cite> is best known for the explosive performance (and amazing hairdo) of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/like-sex-machine.html">James Brown</a>,
then nearing the peak of his powers as a singer, dancer, bandleader,
and musical innovator. (He would basically invent funk the next year,
with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag.") If you were among those who thought
The Beatles were strange and radical in 1964, then this footage of James
Brown and the Famous Flames would have simply exploded your head.<br />
But check out the <em>rest</em> of the lineup too: The Barbarians,
Marvin Gaye, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Lesley Gore, Jan and Dean (who
hosted), The Supremes, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, and Smokey
Robinson and The Miracles. Plus a few other acts you might have heard
of: Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones. All on one
concert stage.<br />
It's a shame the movie has been essentially underground since before I was born, but now it will be easy to find <a href="http://www.shoutfactory.com/browse/312/the_tami_show.aspx">starting March 23</a>. I made sure to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/T-M-I-Show-Collectors/dp/B0030ATZIA/?tag=insidehomerec-20">pre-order</a> a copy, and I'd like to thank <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/">Tim Bray</a> for telling me it was showing on PBS tonight. I've been trying to see the whole thing since the 1980s.<br />
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<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/get-tami-show-on-dvd" title="permanent link">12:01 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3566104014759273308"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
06 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="9196063096101565187"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/movie-from-still-frames" title="permanent link">Movie from still frames</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Our friends <a href="http://www.blueolivephotography.com/">Miranda and Reilly</a> had going-away party last night for <a href="http://netchick.net/">Tanya</a>, who's moving to Calgary with her fiancé Barry. <a href="http://www.jerkwithacamera.com/2010/03/06/saying-goodbye-and-good-luck/">Reilly</a> made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDBlSTXIUCM">a video</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Interestingly, he used a digital still camera. Not even the movie
mode on a still camera, but the super-high-speed burst shooting mode of
his top-of-the-line Canon <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS1DMarkIV/">EOS-1D Mark IV</a> digital SLR, which can fire away at up to 10 frames per second. (Miranda and Reilly are the kind of people who are <em>supposed</em> to have expensive cameras. They're wedding photographers, and very good ones.)<br />
The final video, compiled from over 5000 individual photographs, is
arty, and a bit strange. My wife Air and I are in it, mostly in the
background, but we're featured about four and a half minutes in, just as
we were leaving. I'm Mr. Handshaking-Guy-in-a-Hat.<br />
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<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/movie-from-still-frames" title="permanent link">11:05 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=9196063096101565187"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1861755375709616529"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/ida-now-just-nice-fossil" title="permanent link">Ida: now just a nice fossil</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Remember the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/missing-link-fossil-that-isn">crazy hype</a>
last year about "Ida," the beautifully preserved 47 million–year–old
primate? The one I called a "cool fossil that got turned into a
publicity stunt?"<br />
It turns out that, yes, the original authors seem to have rushed
their paper about Ida into publication, presumably in order to meet a
deadline for a TV special. And even by the loosest definition of the
term, Ida is <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/ida-not-a-missing-link/">no "missing link"</a> whatsoever, and <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302131719.htm">not closely related to humans</a>. (Not that relatedness to humans is what should make a fossil important, mind you.)<br />
So now, like <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/ardi-fascinating-hominid-fossil">Ardi</a>,
who's ten times younger, Ida is what it deserves to be: a fascinating
set of remains from which we can learn many things, but not anything
that fundamentally revolutionizes our understanding of primate
evolution. And that's a good thing.<br />
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/ida-now-just-nice-fossil" title="permanent link">10:46 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1861755375709616529"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1089902014798589017"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/chirp" title="permanent link">Chirp</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Last week, around 3 a.m., there it was.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
Somewhere in the house. Was it electronic, or alive? Probably
electronic, but it didn't sound like any of our cordless or mobile
phones when their batteries die. Then again, a few seconds later.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
I got out of bed and stood in the hall, in the dark.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
It seemed everywhere and nowhere. Was it upstairs or down? Living room? Kitchen? Bathroom? Downstairs office? <i>In the walls?!</i><br />
I waited.<br />
Nothing. It had stopped before I could isolate it. Was it a battery not quite depleted enough? Or something that <i>heard me?</i> No way to know, so I went back to bed.<br />
In the morning I saw that our new PVR was full, deleting the oldest
recorded programs to make room for new ones. Perhaps it had chirped a
warning? I purged some archives, leaving lots of room. Taken care of,
perhaps.<br />
I'm not sure if it was the next night, or maybe two later. 5 a.m.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
I was up immediately, head cocked to the side. Where was it? What was it?<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
Maybe it was a phone after all, left out on a table or sucked inside
the couch cushions. Or some other device we have that I'd forgotten
about, an old Tamagotchi or McDonald's Happy Meal promotional toy,
perhaps?<br />
Silence again. Nothing. Back to bed, until the next night, only 1:30 a.m. this time.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
Wait, it was quieter in the kitchen and bathroom. More to the front of the house.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
Downstairs! I crept down our creaky steps, not wanting to wake everyone else.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
In the carport? That didn't make sense.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
Nope. Laundry room.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
And I was staring at it, right over my head. The basement smoke
detector, whose 9-volt battery was weakest late at night, when the house
is coldest and electron-moving chemical reactions slowest. I pulled it
down, removed the battery, and stomped back to sleep.<br />
We had peace at night now. Until a couple of nights later, 2 a.m.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
What the hell?<br />
I immediately went downstairs. No, it wasn't the laundry room smoke
alarm. That still lay on the dryer, dead battery beside it. Pushing its
test button did nothing.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
My younger daughter L's room. I'd forgotten that we'd bought two
smoke detectors, of the same brand, with the same batteries in them, on
the same day when we renovated her bedroom so she could move downstairs.<br />
<i>Chirp.</i><br />
I wanted to rip it off the wall, but L was asleep right there, so I
gingerly rotated it out of its mount, took it to the laundry room, tore
out the battery, and left it in a heap beside its twin. In the morning
she asked me why it was missing from the wall, and I explained.<br />
Both alarms have new batteries now, and next time I hear that chirp, I'll know exactly where it's coming from.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fire" rel="tag">fire</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gadgets" rel="tag">gadgets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sleep" rel="tag">sleep</a></div>
<br />
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/chirp" title="permanent link">11:42 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1089902014798589017"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">10 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
01 March 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1818363957131498467"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-loved-closing-ceremony-of-vancouver" title="permanent link">I loved the Closing Ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics...</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hazelbrae/4397726306/" title="Lighting the Flame at the Closing Ceremonies at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Lighting the Flame at the Closing Ceremonies at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4397726306_eb9152a709_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>...until the end part.<br />
I wanted to like the whole thing, I really did. I've turned into a
total Winter Olympics fanboy in the past two weeks, and I watched it on
TV and made my way to several of the Olympic sites. I cheered and cursed
and got myself in knots over curling (curling?!) and snowboard cross
and hockey and bobsleigh and speed skating, and even events where Canada
wasn't in the medal running, like the men's 4x10 cross-country ski
relay.<br />
<div class="note">
First, let me note that the <a href="http://www.derekmillermusic.com/">Derek Miller</a> playing guitar and singing with Eva Avila and Nikki Yanofsky early on was <em>not</em>
me, though since the camera angle was pretty wide, I probably could
have gotten some good mileage from pretending he was. But no, he's won
Juno awards and is way more talented than I am.</div>
Anyway, watching the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Winter_Olympics_closing_ceremony">Closing Ceremony</a> on TV today with my family, I liked its tone, happy and respectful when it needed to be, delightfully cheeky beyond that:<br />
<ul>
<li>The "repair" of the cauldron that malfunctioned at the Opening
Ceremony, with Catriona Le May Doan on hand to relight it (she missed
out on her earlier chance because of the snafu).</li>
<li>The informal, casual <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/olympics/2010/writers/sl_price/03/01/closing.ceremony/">return</a>
of the visibly relieved and tired athletes to the stadium—in a loose,
milling throng instead of the regimented blocs of nations from the
also-lovely Opening Ceremony a couple of weeks ago.</li>
<li>The beautiful seaside figure skating piped in from Sochi, Russia as part of their feature during the event.</li>
<li>The spontaneous (and lengthy) standing ovation after Vancouver
chief organizer John Furlong's brief but apt tribute to dead Georgian
luger <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/doing-it-right">Nodar Kumaritashvili</a>.</li>
<li>William Shatner's Canadian semi-slam poem. I mean, come on, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shatner">The Shat</a>, my friends! People <a href="http://trueslant.com/lorrainemurphy/2010/02/12/2010-olympic-torchbearer/">joked about</a> the idea online beforehand, and then IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED! Awesome. (I just wished they'd beamed him up at the end. After all, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Doohan">Scotty</a> was from Vancouver, you know.)</li>
<li>The whole every-Canadian-stereotype-and-the-kitchen-sink production
number with Michael Bublé. Loved when the Mountie-ettes tore off his
Red Serge uniform, when the giant inflatable beavers appeared, when the
hockey players broke into a brawl. I'm not sure everyone around the
world got the intended irony, but I don't care. It was hilarious.</li>
</ul>
Alas, the musical cavalcade during the finale was a disappointment.
There is so much more diversity, talent, and power across the Canadian
music scene, and much of it was on hand for the free <a href="http://livecityvancouver.ca/">LiveCity</a> concerts during the course of the Games.<br />
But not at the Closing Ceremony. Neil Young played "Long May You Run"
as the flame was extinguished. Good job. k-os finished the evening with
some of his distinctive and rousing hip-hop. Also good. In between, we
got Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, Simple Plan, Hedley,
and Marie-Mai. All very mainstream, white, big-selling pop acts.<br />
None of those acts, on their own, was particularly problematic. (Lots of people have a <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=337">hate on</a> for Nickelback, sure, but like the absent Céline Dion, they <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/juno-night">sell the records</a>). However, all of them together reflected a profound lack of imagination.<br />
The reaction among Canadians online, which had been mixed before that point, turned savage. <a href="http://twitter.com/stevenpage">Steven Page</a>, former singer of the Barenaked Ladies (he or his old band should have been there), got in some of the best digs:<br />
<ul>
<li>"It's easy to make fun of Nickelback, but there are worse things. And Chad's hair looks nice. Like Katie Couric's."</li>
<li>"I have nothing to say about Avril. Except I wish it was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil!_The_Story_of_Anvil">Anvil</a>."</li>
<li>"Wow. If I just arrived on Earth now, I'd believe that sports were better than music."</li>
</ul>
Entertainment Weekly piped up with, "Where is Rush? Be cool or <a href="http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/03/01/olympics-closing-ceremonies-recap/">be cast out</a>,
Canada..." Comments from my friends and other rank-and-file Twitter and
Facebook users were less kind. At the end, my friend Ryan pointed me to
<a href="http://twitter.com/kaler">Parveen Kaler</a>, who summed it up with this:<br />
<ul>
<li>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Bird#Meme_status">FREE BIRD</a>."</li>
</ul>
Think about some of the other options: Sloan, Blue Rodeo, Spirit of
the West, Stompin' Tom Connors, Arcade Fire, Jessie Farrell, Tegan and
Sara, Matthew Good, Alexisonfire, Bruce Cockburn, Hot Hot Heat, K'Naan,
The Trews, Paul Anka, D.O.A., Mother Mother, Skydiggers, Lights, Sarah
Harmer, Robbie Robertson, Metric, Diana Krall, The Tragically Hip,
Bedoin Soundclash, Jann Arden, The Guess Who, Divine Brown, Odds (with
my friend and sometime co-musician Doug on bass), The Stills, 54-40, Sam
Roberts, Cowboy Junkies, Colin James, Great Big Sea, Bif Naked, Wide
Mouth Mason, The New Pornographers, Shania Twain, Feist, and I could go
on. Wouldn't it have been nice to see some of them in the mix?<br />
I'm not even including French Quebec, jazz, country, blues, metal,
R&B, folk, reggae, bhangra, and hip-hop artists I don't know much
about. Doubtless there's a huge list there too.<br />
So, as with its opening counterpart, I loved the ceremony part of the
Olympic Closing Ceremony, and all the staff and volunteers did great
work bringing it together. For this fan of Canadian music, alas, its
musical finale felt like a fizzle.<br />
Fortunately, the two-week-long street party that several parts of Vancouver have become continues, especially after the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/02/28/bc-hockey-gold-medal-vancouver-olympics-celebration.html">big hockey gold medal</a> yesterday afternoon. I bet some of those revelers are singing Nickelback songs too.<br />
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<br />
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/03/i-loved-closing-ceremony-of-vancouver" title="permanent link">1:28 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1818363957131498467"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">8 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-44104165318771257102018-11-11T13:02:00.003-08:002018-11-13T14:57:38.949-08:00Derek Feb 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
25 February 2010</h3>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/i-wish-i-discovered-craig-ferguson-five" title="permanent link">I wish I'd discovered Craig Ferguson five years ago</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/arrikj/4170683017/" title="2009-11-13 345 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="2009-11-13 345 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4170683017_5c2fd4b2a2_m.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a>I've only occasionally stumbled on <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Late_Late_Show_(CBS_TV_series)">The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson</a></cite>
since he started hosting the program in 2005. It starts after
12:30 a.m., after all, and I'm not the night-owl musician I used to be. I
always found him funny.<br />
Since we got an HDTV and a PVR in January, we're not only easily able
to record whatever shows we want, but we also have access to channels
such as CBS Detroit that are on East Coast time—so <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ferguson">Ferguson</a> is on at a much more reasonable hour. I've been watching him pretty much every day.<br />
That's because he's both extremely smart and entirely hilarious. I
don't think I've ever laughed as much at any other late-night show, not
Johnny Carson, not David Letterman, not Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart.
Interestingly, while <cite><a href="http://www.cbs.com/latelateshow">The Late Late Show</a></cite>
has a fairly traditional talk-show format, with a monologue and guests,
Ferguson has no co-host/sidekick, and no band. And he's better for it.<br />
He's also keen to disassemble how talk shows work, to change the
format, to take humour out of awkward pauses and improvisations. (His <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onstk0S99CY">1000th episode</a> last year was performed almost entirely by puppets.) It clicks completely with the kind of humour I like.<br />
His memoir, <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-on-Purpose-ebook/dp/B002OMZTSU/?tag=insidehomerec-20">American on Purpose</a></cite>, is also a great read as I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/choosing-disposable-books">recommended</a> before. And you can follow him <a href="http://twitter.com/craigyferg">on Twitter</a>. But he shines on late night, and you should watch him there. I wish I'd discovered his show five years ago.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/i-wish-i-discovered-craig-ferguson-five" title="permanent link">2:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5540162153925168643"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
22 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3775129767332719426"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/shortest-winter-olympic-event" title="permanent link">Shortest Winter Olympic event?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I asked this <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine?v=feed&story_fbid=374473563568">on Facebook</a>
already, but I'm still wondering. Curling seems to be the Winter
Olympic discipline with the longest event time (matches can last for
hours), but which event is the shortest? Moguls, snowboard halfpipe, and
freestyle aerials seem to be candidates (tens of seconds per
run)—anyone know which takes the shortest-event crown?<br />
Let's ignore sports outside the Winter Olympics: events like the
100-metre dash or diving in the Summer Games are obviously extremely
quick, under ten seconds.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sports" rel="tag">sports</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/shortest-winter-olympic-event" title="permanent link">8:11 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3775129767332719426"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4982242786336691529"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/out-front" title="permanent link">Out front</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Many Olympic victories are won by the slimmest of margins.
For example, today, Canada's Christine Nesbitt garnered a gold medal in
speed skating by <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/speedskating/story/2010/02/18/spo-ss-womens-1000.html">1/50th of a second</a>, while traveling <a href="http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=9c416536-e3b9-4e38-a383-76d89f97d282&cid=rss">as fast as a car</a>.<br />
But then there are those athletes who so dominate their runs that
they're almost in a different race. Maëlle Ricker did that in her
gold-medal <a href="http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=91ebec6c-71fe-4a22-b4ec-2d8edeedce07">snowboard cross event</a>
a couple of days ago, opening up a huge lead within the first five
seconds and disappearing beyond the other riders' horizon shortly after.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaeeia/4366794225/" title="Maëlle Ricker by Gaeia on Flickr.com"><img alt="Maëlle Ricker by Gaeia on Flickr.com" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4366794225_e1b7b7645a_m.jpg" height="300" width="450" /></a><br />
<small>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaeeia/4366794225/" title="Maëlle Ricker by Gaeia on Flickr.com">Gaeia</a></small></div>
China's Wang Meng performed a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/content/events/short-track/womens-500-metre/results.html">similar feat</a>
in short-track speed skating, setting an Olympic record and leaving her
rivals, including eventual silver medalist Mariane St-Gelais of Canada,
to battle for the other two medals.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrisonha/4355145177/" title="Wang Meng by Harrison Ha on Flickr.com"><img alt="Shaun White by Lee LeFever on Flickr.com" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4355145177_616c8b0e60_m.jpg" height="300" width="450" /></a><br />
<small>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrisonha/4355145177/" title="Wang Meng by Harrison Ha on Flickr.com">Harrison Ha</a></small></div>
And of course there's Shaun White, the American snowboarder who already had the halfpipe gold medal sewn up, but used his <a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/3072328-shaun-whites-gold-medal-winning-half-pipe-run-2010-olympics">second run</a> to <a href="http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=2e045b99-5963-4088-b381-e58fc703a8d4">annihilate</a>
any prospect of competition from other riders. I was at the Irish House
pavilion in downtown Vancouver when his run appeared on the big screen,
and you could see jaws drop across the huge room. I don't know much
about snowboarding, but even I knew that his near-impossible tricks
meant no one could touch him.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leelefever/4368742262/in/set-72157623337241757" title="Shaun White by Lee LeFever on Flickr.com"><img alt="Shaun White by Lee LeFever on Flickr.com" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4368742262_54a396f691.jpg" height="300" width="450" /></a><br />
<small>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leelefever/4368742262/in/set-72157623337241757" title="Shaun White by Lee LeFever on Flickr.com">Lee LeFever</a></small></div>
The Olympics often seems like a huge circus of media and
entertainment and money and megaproject building. It can obscure the
actual sports. But when you witness the achievements of truly
outstanding individuals, you remember, and you have to admire what they
can make the human body do.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sports" rel="tag">sports</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/out-front" title="permanent link">7:07 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4982242786336691529"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3266620077806288459"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/discovering-vancouvers-winter-olympics" title="permanent link">Discovering Vancouver's Winter Olympics vibe</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Today, while the kids were at school, and after I had another one of my chemotherapy-induced <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/searching-for-plunger-at-1-am">random barfs</a> at home, I took the SkyTrain into downtown Vancouver to check out the Winter Olympics vibe. And what a vibe it was.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4361277653/" title="Vancouver Art Gallery HDR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Vancouver Art Gallery HDR" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4361277653_eb4e9b6204.jpg" height="300" width="450" /></a></div>
I <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Main+Street+and+Terminal+Avenue,+Vancouver,+BC&daddr=Robson+Street+and+Howe+Street,+Vancouver,+BC+to:780-999+Canada+Place,+Vancouver,+BC+V6C+3C1,+Canada+(Canada+Place)&hl=en&geocode=%3B%3BFdAS8AIdHWyp-CHqsPFH6tWFbClhG8LdgnGGVDFpbnz415mm3g&mra=ls&dirflg=w&doflg=ptm&sll=49.284954,-123.117653&sspn=0.015396,0.028496&ie=UTF8&ll=49.280348,-123.110476&spn=0.015398,0.028496&t=h&z=15">walked</a>
from Science World (currently the Russian Pavilion) past the various
provincial pavilions, up the downtown escarpment, along Georgia Street,
to Robson Square, then down to Canada Place and the Olympic Cauldron on
Coal Harbour. On the way I ate at the world famous <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4360434659/">Japadog</a> hot dog cart for the first time (yes, even for a native Vancouverite!), and before I came home I had a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4360424261/">coffee</a> at the very civilized Cascades Lounge in the Pan Pacific Hotel.<br />
I've lived my whole 40 years in Vancouver, and I have never seen it like it is this week. Even during <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_86">Expo 86</a> (check <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4360428919">this throwback</a>
I spotted), the crowds and events were largely confined to the Expo
site on False Creek, while the Olympics—aside from being more intensely
focused by being two weeks instead of five months long—permeate the
downtown core, as well as extending elsewhere in Greater Vancouver and
up to Whistler. But we are a more global, better-known city than we were
24 years ago too.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4360432407/" title="Hockey House by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Hockey House" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4360432407_565cefe71a.jpg" height="300" width="450" /></a></div>
There are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4360426941">seas of people</a>
young and old downtown, night and day. Many are dressed in Canadian
red, but others are sporting colours and languages from many other
nations. Way out from downtown, at Metrotown near my house, the mall is
full of Russians. There are flat-screen TVs all over the place showing
live and repeat Olympic competitions.<br />
I returned home, exhausted, to walk the dog, meet the kids on their
way home from school, and then soak my feet. I didn't go inside any
pavilions or Olympic attractions, and I hardly spoke to anyone. A number
of my friends had been in the downtown area, but were busy at press
conferences and other official events, and I was happy to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/extroverted-introvert">go it alone</a>, to get a sense of how downtown is transformed.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4362020232/" title="Olympic cauldron HDR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Olympic cauldron HDR" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4362020232_62a3abdbcb.jpg" height="295" width="450" /></a></div>
It is an odd thing, for a sporting event to energize my still-young,
laid-back hometown. I expect something similar will happen when the next
Winter Olympics come to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi">Sochi</a>,
Russia in 2014. While almost the same age as Vancouver, Sochi is
smaller and certainly less familiar to the rest of the world. It also
has many palm trees—perhaps a first for a Winter Games host city? It may
be unusually warm here for February, but it's not <i>that</i> warm.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sports" rel="tag">sports</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/whistler" rel="tag">whistler</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/discovering-vancouvers-winter-olympics" title="permanent link">11:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3266620077806288459"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4581407286168832037"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-marina" title="permanent link">Happy birthday, Marina</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4357868347/" title="Candles out at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Candles out at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4357868347_c2b61b9a4e_m.jpg" height="200" width="240" /></a>February
14 has many meanings for me. It's Valentine's Day, of course—the 16th
my wife Air and I have spent together. It is also our daughter <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/">Marina</a>'s 12 birthday. But with the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2003/07/being-selfish.html">Winter Olympics</a> here in Vancouver, including Canada's first <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/freestyleskiing/story/2010/02/14/spo-mensmoguls.html">gold medal</a> of the event, there's extra resonance, since one of our athletes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catriona_Le_May_Doan#Speed_skating">won gold</a> on the day Marina was born back in 1998 too.<br />
Air had a long, hard labour that February, and with the Nagano
Olympics half a world away, we were able to watch many events live as a
distraction in the middle of the night. Now our daughter is nearly a
teenager, with her own mobile phone and <a href="http://twitter.com/marinaamiller">Twitter account</a>. (I got my first mobile phone when Air was pregnant that first time. I was 28. And getting on Twitter? I was 37.)<br />
Happy birthday, Marina. Happy Valentine's Day to my lovely,
wonderful, resourceful, smart, sharp, and stylish wife Air. Happy
Olympics to all of you too.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/love" rel="tag">love</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/party" rel="tag">party</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-marina" title="permanent link">10:06 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4581407286168832037"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
12 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8074002389527577838"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/doing-it-right" title="permanent link">Doing it right</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46780781@N04/4353017706/" title="Kumaritashvili's Georgian teammates. at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="title|Ultimately the question of the night -- how to simultaneously celebrate and show respect? -- was answered best by the Kumaritashvili's Georgian teammates. at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2494/4353017706_ed40f3e4c8_m.jpg" height="160" width="240" /></a>Tonight's Winter Olympics opening <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/story/2010/02/12/spo-openingceremony.html">ceremony</a> was <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42737841@N05/4352841658/">impressive</a>, if often a bit <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/02/12/opening.ceremonies/">phallic</a>. There was one <a href="http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=40174.html#le+may+doan+left+standing+cauldron+malfunctions">technical glitch</a> with the hydraulics for the first, indoor cauldron in B.C. Place Stadium, but the ceremony did the most important thing right.<br />
That was to remember Nodar Kumaritashvili, who <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/luge/story/2010/02/12/spo-luge-georgian-alert.html">died this morning</a>
in a terrifying crash during a training run on the Whistler luge track,
at the age of 21. (He was born the year the Winter Olympics were last
in Canada, in Calgary in 1988.) He was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodar_Kumaritashvili">fourth athlete</a> to die during a sporting event at the Winter Games since they began in 1924.<br />
Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee,
pre-empted his prepared remarks with a memorial to Kumaritashvili.
Vancouver head organizer John Furlong also included the late athlete in
his <a href="http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-spectator-guide/celebrations-and-ceremonies/ceremonies/opening-ceremonies/opening-ceremonies---john-furlong_274284dm.html">speech</a>. There was a minute of silence during the ceremony, and a standing ovation for the remaining members of the small <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46780781@N04/4353017706/">Georgian team</a>, walking sadly wearing black armbands.<br />
And the bonus? Instead of the rumoured Celine Dion, we got a spectacular k.d. lang. Good choice.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sports" rel="tag">sports</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/doing-it-right" title="permanent link">11:42 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8074002389527577838"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
11 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4866705018231308929"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/one-down" title="permanent link">One down</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Three years ago, I set a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">couple of goals</a>:
to try to beat back cancer long enough to see the Winter Olympics come
to Vancouver, and to live a couple of years longer so I could renew my
driver's license when it expires in 2012.<br />
Well, I hit the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157623411711556/">first one</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4350028896/" title="Burnaby Willingdon torch relay - 14 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Burnaby Willingdon torch relay - 14" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4060/4350028896_3c47a8353d.jpg" height="300" width="300" /></a></div>
That's the Olympic torch being carried up Willingdon Avenue, about
four blocks from my house, on its way through Burnaby and Vancouver to
the opening ceremony tomorrow. Two years and a bit from now, maybe I'll
get that new driver's license too.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/driving" rel="tag">driving</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/one-down" title="permanent link">9:30 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4866705018231308929"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8677065131827947644"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/four-eyes" title="permanent link">Four eyes</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Every <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/new-specs">few years</a>,
I get new glasses, not because my prescription has changed (it's been
pretty stable for about a decade), but because my old spectacles simply
get old and worn out. This year, I took advantage of a two-for-one sale
and got one set of new plastic frames (centre <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4347271800/" title="Glasses old and new by penmachine, on Flickr">below</a>) and one set of metal ones (right):<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4347271800/" title="Glasses old and new by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Glasses old and new" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4347271800_a216a0902a.jpg" height="210" width="450" /></a></div>
They're not a big change from my old set (left), but I like the new
looks, though I'm not sure which of the two I prefer. Back in 2008 when I
bought my last set, I wasn't sure I'd survive long enough to need new
ones, but here I am. Yay.<br />
Which pair do you prefer?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ego" rel="tag">ego</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/glasses" rel="tag">glasses</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/four-eyes" title="permanent link">2:21 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8677065131827947644"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">13 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2790148144312325179"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/choosing-disposable-books" title="permanent link">Choosing disposable books</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
For Christmas, my longtime friend Sebastien bought me an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/kindle">Amazon Kindle</a>
ebook reader. It's been great—while it has its flaws, it's a convenient
and non-fatiguing way to read electronic documents, much more pleasant
than the backlit screens of my laptop or iPhone (or, probably, the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/living-in-future">iPad</a>). But I find it has also influenced my reading choices in an interesting way.<br />
I first read a few ebooks that I had kicking around on my hard drive,
mostly in plain-text format. I honestly don't remember where I got
them, since I've had them so long. They're almost all science fiction
titles, and judging by the oddball typos, most of them were obviously
illegitimately scanned and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition">OCR</a>ed years ago. But the Kindle does a good job with plain text, so I was impressed.<br />
Next, I moved on to buying a few books at Amazon's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Books/b/?node=1286228011&tag=insidehomerec-20">Kindle Store</a>.
And it's the store that altered my choices. So far I've only bought
three ebooks there, but the ones I've sampled without buying have been
similar, and uncharacteristic for me.<br />
Kindle books, like most ebooks these days, are locked down by <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/death-of-drm.html">DRM</a>,
making then significantly less portable and shareable than plain-text
or other open formats, or than traditional paper books, and more likely
to suffer <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/books-old-and-new">digital rot</a>,
likely making them inaccessible years down the line. So the ebooks I
have bought and read aren't the type I would previously have kept on my
bookshelf. All of them, oddly enough, have been memoirs, not a genre
I've previously chosen much:<br />
<ul>
<li><cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infidel-ebook/dp/B000NY12CI/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Infidel</a></cite> by Ayaan Hirsi Ali</li>
<li><cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Vice-American-Reporter-ebook/dp/B002RYXA0Y/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Tokyo Vice</a></cite> by Jake Adelstein</li>
<li><cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-on-Purpose-ebook/dp/B002OMZTSU/?tag=insidehomerec-20">American on Purpose</a></cite> by Craig Ferguson</li>
</ul>
I recommend all three, by the way, though <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infidel-ebook/dp/B000NY12CI/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Infidel</a></cite>
is the best if you choose just one. But I consider memoirs generally
disposable: I can read them once and not have much interest in
re-reading them in the future. Maybe that's why my mom has always been a
reader of memoirs and biographies. For decades, she has picked them up
second-hand and breezed through them in a few days.<br />
My gut feeling is that DRM-protected ebooks should cost less than
they do: $5 to $7 feels about right, while the current $11 to $15 range
for many mainstream titles (like the three I read) is too much—though I
might regularly pay the higher price for unlocked ebooks. I don't think
I'm alone in this: notice that many of Amazon's Kindle <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Books/b/?node=1286228011&tag=insidehomerec-20">bestsellers</a> are in the cheaper price range. Also notice that many of those books are old enough to be <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-and-Prejudice-ebook/dp/B000JMLFLW/?tag=insidehomerec-20">public domain</a>, so no one has to pay the authors anymore. You can even get them <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1342">for free</a>, and unlocked, elsewhere.<br />
Ebook prices can be more flexible than traditional hard-copy paper
book prices, though. Publishers seem to want to charge $15 and up for
in-demand new titles, and then lower prices to pick up more
price-sensitive readers later—and they seem willing to <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/01/30/a-quick-note-on-ebook-pricing/">fight</a> to be able to do that. I'm willing to wait, so I guess that sort of arrangement would be okay with me.<br />
I'd still prefer they ditched the DRM. And I'd still pay a bit more for that if they did.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/amazon" rel="tag">amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/books" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/drm" rel="tag">drm</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ebooks" rel="tag">ebooks</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gadgets" rel="tag">gadgets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/money" rel="tag">money</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/choosing-disposable-books" title="permanent link">7:14 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2790148144312325179"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5977611650825728329"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time" title="permanent link">My tumours have shrunk for the first time ever</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4331260263/" title="Flowers for shrunken tumours by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Flowers for shrunken tumours" class="post" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/4331260263_204cb5f541_m.jpg" height="240" width="180" /></a>Today
I heard something I've never heard before: "your tumours have shrunk."
Through all the many different varieties of chemotherapy and radiation
and immunotherapy and experimental Phase 1 drug trials I've put myself
under during the past three years, only <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/kickin-it-old-skool-pen-and-paper">surgery</a> has ever knocked my cancer back. Everything else, at best, kept it <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">at bay</a>.<br />
Until now. Of course this is good news—but that's all relative. The tumours I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">showed you</a>
back in September are still pretty big, but they are measurably smaller
than they were in November. And that includes the new ones that had
just appeared in the fall. So I still have cancer, a lot of it all over
the inside of my chest, but just a little less of it than I did a couple
of months ago. As I wrote to some friends, I'm not out of the woods,
but at least I'm no longer sinking slowly into quicksand either.<br />
Thus, this afternoon on the way out of the cancer clinic, my wife Air and I smiled a little, held hands, and bought <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4331260263/">some flowers</a>
to put in the house in celebration. Later on we had takeout sushi with
the kids. And tomorrow I go back in for more chemotherapy, which I hope
will continue to beat the shit out of those metastatic growths.<br />
So I'll be a sleepy, nauseated lump of crap for the next three or
four days. A bit of good news doesn't suddenly make things go easily,
you see.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/love" rel="tag">love</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-tumours-have-shrunk-for-first-time" title="permanent link">9:19 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5977611650825728329"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">26 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4335392373733952429"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/server-move-comments-disabled" title="permanent link">Server move, comments disabled</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<div class="note">
UPDATE: My files seem to have moved successfully, and now I'm just waiting for the Internet-wide <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System">DNS</a>
updates to do their thing, so when everyone types www.penmachine.com
they go to the right place. If you can read this, you already are.</div>
I'm going to disable comments for half a day or so here, because
tomorrow morning, February 4, my blog will be moving to an upgraded
server computer at the Texas server farm of my host <a href="http://www.jaguarpc.com/">JaguarPC</a>.
That means, to avoid losing anything, I should lock down the site while
the move is taking place. Comments will return later in the day, I
expect.<br />
This is all in preparation for my installing <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp">new blogging software</a> in the next few weeks. I have not yet decided what exactly I'll be using to publish yet (here's a <a href="http://blogtipz.com/2008/07/07/forget-wordpress-and-blogger-30-alternative-blog-services/">big list</a>
of options), but it can't hurt to be running the latest and greatest
web thingies to do so. I'll let you know when it's all finished.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/hardware" rel="tag">hardware</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/server-move-comments-disabled" title="permanent link">11:59 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4335392373733952429"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4325982468587691431"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp" title="permanent link">So long, Blogger.com: I need a new blogging platform to publish static files</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><img align="right" alt="Blogger logo" border="0" class="post" src="http://www.penmachine.com/images/bloggerbutton_purple.gif" height="93" width="264" /></a>For close to a decade, since <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_10_01_news_archive.html">October 2000</a>, I've published this home page using <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>,
the online publishing platform now owned by Google. That entire time,
I've used the original hacky kludge created by Blogger's founders back
in 1999, where I write my posts at the blogger.com website, but it then
sends the resulting text files over the Internet to a web server I rent,
using the venerable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol">FTP</a> (File Transfer Protocol) standard—which was itself last formally updated in 1985. This is known as <cite>Blogger FTP publishing</cite>.<br />
While often unreliable for various technical reasons, Blogger FTP
works effectively for me, with my 13 years of accumulated stuff on this
website. But I am in a small, small minority of Blogger users (under
0.5%, says Google). Almost everyone now:<br />
<ul>
<li>Uses Blogger's own servers for their sites.</li>
<li>Or another hosted service that takes care of everything for them.</li>
<li>Or if they want to publish on their own servers, another tool like <a href="http://www.movabletype.org/">Movable Type</a>, <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>, or <a href="http://expressionengine.com/">ExpressionEngine</a>, which you install on your server and publish from there.</li>
</ul>
So, as I've been expecting for years, Blogger is now <a href="http://buzz.blogger.com/2010/01/important-note-to-ftp-users.html">permanently turning off FTP publishing</a>,
as of late March 2010. And, in my particular case, that means I need to
find a new blog publishing tool within the next month or so.<br />
<h3>
This has been coming for a long time</h3>
Blogger has all sorts of <a href="http://blog.grogmaster.com/2010/01/bloggers-ftp-migration-plan-tricky.html">clever solutions</a> and <a href="http://blogger-ftp.blogspot.com/">resources</a>
for people using FTP publishing who want to migrate to Google's more
modern server infrastructure, but they don't fit for me. I have specific
and very personal needs and weird proclivities about how I want to run
this website, and putting my blog on Google's servers simply doesn't
meet them.<br />
That's sad, and a little frustrating, but I'm not angry about it—and I
think it's misguided that many people commenting on this topic seem to
be. I realize that I have been getting an amazing, easy publishing
service <i>for free</i> for almost a quarter of my life from Blogger. It has enriched my interactions with thousands of people. Again, <i>for free</i>. (Actually, I did pay for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyra_Labs">Blogger Pro</a>
back in the day before the 2003 Google acquisition, but that was brief.
And as thanks, Google sent me a free Blogger hoodie afterwards—I still
wear that.)<br />
The vast, vast, vast majority of users find the newer ways of
publishing with Blogger meet their needs. And any of us who has used FTP
publishing for years knows it's flaky and convoluted and something of a
pain in the butt, and always has been since <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Williams_(blogger)">Ev</a> and his team cobbled it together. I've been happily surprised that Blogger has supported it for so long—again, <i>free</i>.<br />
Yes, it was a distinguishing feature of Blogger that you could use a
fully hosted editing and publishing system to post to a web server where
you don't have to install anything yourself. Very nice, but I think
there are good technical reasons that no other service, free or
paid—whether <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/">WordPress.com</a>, <a href="http://www.typepad.com/">TypePad</a>, <a href="http://www.squarespace.com/">SquareSpace</a>, or anything else—ever offered something similar.<br />
I applaud the Blogger team for trying to do the best they can for us
oddballs. And it serves as a reminder: Blogger FTP can go away. <a href="http://www.gmail.com/">Gmail</a> could go away. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> could go away. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a> could go away. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">Twitter</a> could go away. <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/">WordPress.com</a> could go away. If you're building your life or business around free online tools, you need some sort of Plan B.<br />
I've had this possibility on my mind at least since the Google
takeover, seven years ago. Now I have to act on it. But I'm thankful for
a decade of generally great and reliable free service from Blogger. I
haven't had ten free years of anything like it from any other company
(online or in the real world), as far as I know.<br />
<h3>
Getting nothing but static</h3>
One other thing I've always liked about Blogger's FTP publishing is that it creates <cite>static files</cite>:
plain-text files (with file extensions like .html or .php or .css, or
even no extensions at all). It generates those files from a database on
Google's servers, but once they're published to my website, they're just
text, which web browsers interpret as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML">HTML</a> (Hypertext Markup Language) to create the formatting and colours as such.<br />
Most other blogging tools, including Blogger's hosted services,
generate their web pages on the fly from a database. That's often more
convenient for a whole bunch of reasons, and I'm happy to run other
sites, such as <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> and <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/">Lip Gloss and Laptops</a>, with a database-dependent tool such as WordPress.<br />
But this site is my personal one—the archive of most of my writing
over the past 25% of my life. And I'm a writer and editor by trade. This
website is my thing, and I've worked fairly hard to keep it alive and
functional, without breaking incoming links from other sites, for well
over a decade now. I've always wanted to keep it running with static
files, which is one reason I didn't migrate from Blogger to WordPress
four or five years ago. Over on Facebook, <a href="http://gunson.ca/blog/">Gillian</a> asked me why I'm so hardheaded about it. (She's a database administrator by trade.)<br />
I'll be blunt about the most extreme case: I have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">cancer</a>.
I may not live that long. But I'd like my website to stay, even if only
so my kids can look at it later. If necessary, if I'm dead, I want
someone to be able to zip up the directory structure of my blog, move it
to a new server, unzip it, and there it is, live on the Web. I don't
want to have to plan for future database administration in my will.<br />
In that worst case I won't need to update my site anymore, but I
think static files on a generic web server are more reliable in the long
run. To make a bulk change, a simple search-and-replace can update the
text files, for example, to note that it's not worth emailing me, since,
being dead, I'll be unable to answer.<br />
On other blogging and content management systems I've worked with,
I've had MySQL databases die or get corrupted. Restoring from MySQL
backups is a pain for non-techies, or even for me. I've blown up a
WordPress site by mis-editing one part of one file, and I've been able
to fix it—but I don't want someone else to have to do that.<br />
Right now, if Blogger died entirely, my site would still work exactly
as-is. If my web host went belly-up, anyone with a teeny bit of web
savvy and access to my passwords and one of my computers could redirect
penmachine.com to a new server, upload the contents of one of my backup
directories to it by FTP, and (other than visitors being able to post
new comments) it would be up and live just like it was within a day or
two.<br />
In addition, tools like WordPress are brittle. I like using them, but
there are security updates all the time, so the software goes out of
date. That's fine if you're maintaining your site all the time, but if
not, it becomes vulnerable to hacks. So if a database-driven site
choogles on without updates, it's liable to get compromised, and be
defaced or destroyed. That's less likely with a bunch of HTML files in
directories—or at least I think so.<br />
<h3>
Betting on text</h3>
Plain text has been the language of computer interchange for decades.
If the Web ever stops supporting plain text files containing HTML,
we'll all have big problems. But I don't think that will happen. The <a href="http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html">first web page ever made</a> still works, and I hope and expect it will continue to. My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/eac/2003-01_meeting/presentation/angelfire/index.html">oldest pages here</a>
are mild derivatives from pages that are only five years younger than
that one. They still work, and I hope and expect that they will continue
to.<br />
At worst, even a relatively non-technical person can take a directory
dump backup of my current website and open the pages in a text editor. I
can do that with files I've had since before the Web existed—I still
have copies on my hard drive of nonsensical stories from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system">BBSes</a> I posted to in the '80s (here's an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/oldschool/t_and_c-1.html">HTML conversion</a> I made of one of them). I wrote those stories with my friends, some of whom are <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/martinsikes/eulogies#derek">now dead</a>, but I can still read what we wrote together.<br />
Those old text files, copies of words I wrote before some of the
readers of this blog were born, still work, and I hope and expect they
will continue to. Yeah, maybe a SQL backup would be wise, but I'll still
place my bets on plain text. Okay, I'm weird, but there you go.<br />
<h3>
Suggestions</h3>
Okay, so I need a new blogging platform. Probably one I can install
on my server, but definitely one that generates static files that don't
depend on a live database. Movable Type does that. ExpressionEngine
might. More obscure options, like <a href="http://www.blosxom.com/">Bloxsom</a> and <a href="http://nanoc.stoneship.org/">nanoc</a>, do so in slightly more obscure ways.<br />
If you know of others I should look at, please <a class="e-mail" href="mailto:dkmiller@penmachine.com" title="Launch your email client">email me</a> or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/old/2010_02_01_.php#comments">leave a comment</a>. However long I'm around, I'll remain nostalgic about and thankful to Blogger. It's been a good run.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/blogger-alternative-static-files-ftp" title="permanent link">8:47 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4325982468587691431"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">16 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
01 February 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="969585646005853483"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-13-jobs" title="permanent link">My 13 jobs</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
This month, February 2010, marks <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/that-was-fun-or-not.html">three fricking years</a>
since I first went on disability leave for cancer treatment. (And,
incidentally, since we got our Nintendo Wii.) This got me thinking about
all the jobs I've had in my life, starting back when I was still in
high school.<br />
It turns out that I've worked for 13 organizations, if you include my
own company when I was freelancing. I did not enjoy every job, but each
taught me something:<br />
<div align="center">
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="7">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Year(s)</th>
<th>Job</th>
<th>Lesson</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1985?</td>
<td valign="top">Graveyard-shift self-serve gas station attendant</td>
<td valign="top">Don't be a graveyard-shift self-serve gas station attendant. Also, burnt coffee smells really bad.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1988</td>
<td valign="top">Park naturalist</td>
<td valign="top">Science is fun, five-year-olds aren't patient, but
summer jobs are a great place to meet your future wife. Also, avoid
flipping your canoe.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1989</td>
<td valign="top">Science centre floor staff</td>
<td valign="top">Science is fun, but you'll spend most of your time telling people where the bathrooms are.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1990</td>
<td valign="top">Student handbook editor</td>
<td valign="top">Choose your fonts carefully, and people never get things in on deadline.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1991</td>
<td valign="top">Student society admin assistant</td>
<td valign="top">It's a <i>long</i> way to pick up your printouts across campus when you type them on a mainframe computer.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1991</td>
<td valign="top">English conversation coach</td>
<td valign="top">Japanese girls definitely interested in learning English; Japanese boys (who smoke like chimneys), not so much.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1992–1994</td>
<td valign="top">Student issues researcher</td>
<td valign="top">Creating your own job is great, but it sure would be nice to have an office with a window.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1994–1995</td>
<td valign="top">Full-time rock 'n' roll drummer</td>
<td valign="top">Playing live music onstage is often awesome. Everything offstage, however, usually sucks.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1995–1996</td>
<td valign="top">Magazine advertising assistant</td>
<td valign="top">No matter how nice your co-workers, a bad boss can ruin the whole experience.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">1996–2001</td>
<td valign="top">Various software company jobs, from developers' assistant to webmaster</td>
<td valign="top">Even if you know almost nothing about how to do it,
when someone asks you if you want to run a website, it's still
worthwhile to say "sure!"</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">2001–2003</td>
<td valign="top">Freelance technical writer and editor</td>
<td valign="top">The paperwork to run your own business is immensely boring.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">2001–2003</td>
<td valign="top">Semi–full-time rock 'n' roll drummer</td>
<td valign="top">Rock is more fun when you mostly stay in town and get paid better.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">2003–2007</td>
<td valign="top">Communications Manager, Navarik</td>
<td valign="top">Working with friends can be a good thing, especially
when they have good ideas. Oh, and a decent extended-health plan is
really, really important.</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
In the late '80s, I also helped my friend Chris install alarm systems
in people's homes and businesses, but while I got some money from it,
it wasn't quite a job in the same way. It was more like when I helped
him repair cars and resell them around the same time. Though in those
cases, I did learn that I dislike crawling around in fibreglass-filled
attics running wires, and that I'm not too fond of all the grease, gunk,
and rust involved in auto work either.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/editing" rel="tag">editing</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ego" rel="tag">ego</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/navarik" rel="tag">navarik</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/neurotics" rel="tag">neurotics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nintendo" rel="tag">nintendo</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/wii" rel="tag">wii</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/work" rel="tag">work</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/02/my-13-jobs" title="permanent link">2:34 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=969585646005853483"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-74694025988559245682018-11-11T12:59:00.002-08:002018-11-11T12:59:37.688-08:00Derek Jan 2010<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<br />
<div id="header">
<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3371629332952627423"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/disappearance-of-phil-agre" title="permanent link">The disappearance of Phil Agre</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Years ago, I regularly read the <a href="http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/rre.html">Red Rock Eater News Service</a>, a mailing list run by Phil Agre, then a professor at UCLA. He was smart and opinionated, and his enthusiasm for <a href="http://lists.jammed.com/RRE/2003/05/0001.html">cheap-but-good</a> fineline <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2003/03/small-pleasures.html">pens</a> helped me during my days as a full-time editor.<br />
I found out today that he has been <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/philipagre/">missing</a>
since sometime in late 2008 or early 2009, which is particularly
worrisome because of his bipolar disorder. I did not know him at all,
but his disappearance is <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2009/11/the_mysterious_disappearance_o.html">strange</a>, especially because it hadn't been at all publicized until <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/FriendsColleagues-Search/49222/">three months ago</a>. It seems he had been behaving erratically before his disappearance.<br />
I've known a few people who have vanished in a similar fashion, and
those cases did not end well. I hope things are different in Agre's
case.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/editing" rel="tag">editing</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/mentalhealth" rel="tag">mentalhealth</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/disappearance-of-phil-agre" title="permanent link">6:48 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3371629332952627423"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="9007598678074690893"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/searching-for-plunger-at-1-am" title="permanent link">Searching for the plunger at 1 a.m.</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I had another <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">CT scan</a> today, to see whether my current chemotherapy is doing any good to slow or reverse or do <em>something</em> to the ever-expanding <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">tumours in my chest</a>. I'll find out the results, and what that means for my chemo regimen, next week.<br />
In the meantime, following my most recent chemo treatment last weekend, the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/funny-thing-happened-to-me-on-way-to">side effects</a> continue. A relatively new one is that if I haven't eaten for an hour or two, the first thing I pop in my mouth causes the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salivary_gland">salivary glands</a>
on either side of the back of my tongue to ache as they kick in. I can
almost feel them pumping. It's not really painful, just bizarre.<br />
And there is the endless fun with my digestive system. Last night I
was in the bathroom for nearly an hour, then, when I thought I was done
and was brushing my teeth to prepare for bed, suddenly my GI tract
decided things needed to clear out from the other end as well, and I
puked into the sink.<br />
Next, to top it off, the sink clogged. I stared at it in disbelief
for a moment, then searched our closets for the plunger at 1:00 a.m.—and
I'm sure glad it worked once I found it. Very pleasant, I must say,
especially in my chemo-nauseated state.<br />
I didn't sign up for this. But at least I'm alive to complain about
it, and I have a wonderful sleepy wife and puppy to keep me warm once I
do get into bed tonight. They should help me sleep very, very well.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ctscan" rel="tag">ctscan</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/searching-for-plunger-at-1-am" title="permanent link">10:13 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=9007598678074690893"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="377282000600282645"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/living-in-future" title="permanent link">Living in the future</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristencruz/4312116468/" title="Apple iPad at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Apple iPad at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="190" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4312116468_254ab54142_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Not having seen or touched Apple's new <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad">iPad</a>
myself, I can't contribute much new to the vast conversation that has
been swirling around this device over the past day. But I can say two
things:<br />
<ul>
<li>Until yesterday I would have planned to replace my current <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/05/time-for-derek-to-shut-up.html">MacBook</a> with another laptop when it wears out. I’d now consider getting an <a href="http://www.apple.com/imac">iMac</a> (or even maybe a <a href="http://www.apple.com/macmini">Mac Mini</a>)
as a primary computer, and using an iPad as a living
room/kitchen/bedtime/on the road companion device. In the roughly-$2000
price range you could get a 15-inch MacBook Pro, or a 21-inch iMac, <em>plus</em> an iPad. I can see a lot of power users and tech heads going that route.</li>
<li>We'll get used to it, but <i>iPad</i> is a dumb name. On a lark, I started a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=296018432291">Facebook group</a> suggesting that we call it the <i>Slabapple</i>, which is also a dumb name I made up, but which I think is less dumb than <i>iPad</i>. Feel free to join us, for whatever that's worth.</li>
</ul>
The key thing, I think, is that this is the first version of the
device. My guess is that it will have legs, and that—as happened with
the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/on-much-more-chipper-note.html">iPhone</a>—whatever iPad is available in two or three years will have everyone forgetting the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=ipad+sucks">many complaints</a> about today's version.<br />
P.S. Oh, and <a href="http://snarkmarket.com/2010/5093">this</a> (via <a href="http://twitter.com/jcroft/status/8336271541">Jeff Croft</a>).<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gadgets" rel="tag">gadgets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/imac" rel="tag">imac</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ipad" rel="tag">ipad</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/macbook" rel="tag">macbook</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/living-in-future" title="permanent link">11:54 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=377282000600282645"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7805583664720583013"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/another-birthday" title="permanent link">Another birthday</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4308650084/" title="Miss L's 10th birthday - 12 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Miss L's 10th birthday - 12 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4308650084_af0c6e0bd7_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/happy-birthday-miss-l">daughter L</a> turned ten today. She was born at St. Paul's Hospital, as was her older sister, and as was I.<br />
She had a party on the weekend, but unfortunately I was so doped up
on chemo and antinauseants that, as expected, I slept through the whole
thing. Fortunately, my wife took some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157623292951088/">great pictures</a>, so I have some idea what it looked like.<br />
Happy birthday, L. I'm glad I made it to see her hit two digits.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/another-birthday" title="permanent link">11:01 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7805583664720583013"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
25 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6117744856822060498"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/ping-pong-to-stars" title="permanent link">Ping-pong to the stars!</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
More than 30 years ago, I was a <cite>Star Wars</cite>–obsessed kid, like most of the pre-teen population at the time. I had a ton of action figures, as well as a large <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Falcon">Millennium Falcon</a></cite> playset for them (which I'm pretty sure is in our attic somewhere).<br />
My parents indulged my obsession in a pretty cool way. In our
basement we had a ping-pong table we didn't use much. Because my dad's
job involved installing and repairing vending machines and video game
consoles of various sorts, he also had access to extremely large and
sturdy cardboard boxes. We took a number of those boxes and connected
them with duct tape to form a series of tunnels around the table—for me
and my friends, they made corridors like the ones in the <cite>Falcon</cite>, though we had to crawl through them rather than walk.<br />
The central area under the table was like the lounge where Chewbacca and the droids play <a href="http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1121">3D chess</a>
and Luke learns to use his lightsaber. To top it off, my dad installed a
modified old broken video game console at one end of the table. It
included an aircraft-style steering console and a radar screen with
lights behind it, as well as buttons to generate laser-like noises.<br />
As you can imagine, this was pretty much the Coolest Thing Ever when I
was nine or ten years old. My friends and I played in that spaceship so
much that we had to replace the boxes periodically, because they tended
to get destroyed as we thrashed our way around the cardboard hallways,
perpetually escaping asteroid fields and attacking Imperial forces.<br />
I can't remember playing ping-pong even once on that table.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/starwars" rel="tag">starwars</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/ping-pong-to-stars" title="permanent link">7:28 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6117744856822060498"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="240072337711937650"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/review-it-might-get-loud" title="permanent link">Review: "It Might Get Loud"</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
If you're a guitar or rock music nerd (<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/03/feeding-addiction.html">like me</a>), you need to see <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Might-Get-Loud-Jimmy-Page/dp/B002RVZV9K/?tag=insidehomerec-20">It Might Get Loud</a></cite>. My friend Andrew recommended it to me a few weeks ago, and I was reminded about it on the <a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2081-it-might-get-loud-and-the-importance-of-knowing-what-you-dont-want-to-be">37signals blog</a>. The film is a documentary featuring <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Page">Jimmy Page</a> (of Led Zeppelin), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Edge">The Edge</a> (of U2), and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_White_(musician)">Jack White</a>
(of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), talking about how they came
to be guitarists, playing individually, and jamming together on a
faux–sitting-room set built in a warehouse. <br />
So if you're a guitar nerd, you might be off to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Might-Get-Loud-Jimmy-Page/dp/B002RVZV9K/?tag=insidehomerec-20">buy the DVD</a> right now. Still, it's worth knowing why this is not just some self-indulgent <a href="http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail36.html">guitar wank-fest</a>, and why it's also worthwhile for general music fans too.<br />
No doubt Page, Edge, and White are three of the most influential and
popular electric guitarists of the past 40 or 50 years. It would have
been interesting to add, say, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Morello">Tom Morello</a>
or Eddie Van Halen to the mix, but I think director Davis Guggenheim
was wise to structure the film around a tripod of players—Page from the
'60s and '70s, Edge from the '80s and '90s, and White from this past
decade.<br />
Each of them talks about individual songs that helped propel them to
their current careers. Jimmy Page, resplendent in a long coat and silver
hair just the right length for an elder statesman of rock 'n' roll,
listens to Link Wray's "Rumble" crackle from a 45 rpm single—he jams
along on air guitar and also turns a phantom tremolo knob on an
invisible amp to demonstrate how Wray took that classic instrumental to a
new level, and grins in sheer joy as he must have as a teenager.<br />
The Edge recalls watching The Jam blast away the twee pop and bland '70s rock that dominated <cite>Top of the Pops</cite>
on British TV in his youth. Jack White puts Son House's skeletal
"Grinnin' in Your Face" (just vocals and off-time handclaps) on the
turntable and says it's been his favourite song since he first heard it
as a kid.<br />
And that's the funny thing. White, who's 34, turned five years old in
1980, the year Led Zeppelin disbanded and U2 released their first
album, <cite>Boy</cite>. For most guitarists of his generation, walking
into a room with your guitar to meet Jimmy Page and The Edge would be
terrifying, especially when they asked you to <em>teach them</em> one or
two of your songs. But in some ways White comes across as the oldest of
the group, a pasty-faced ghost from the 1950s or earlier, wrestling
with his ravaged and literally thrift-store Kay guitar, wearing a bowtie
and a hat and smoking stubby cigars, channeling Blind Willie McTell and
Elmore James, building a slide guitar out of some planks, a Coke
bottle, and a metal string, assembled with hammer and nails:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
While Page and The Edge both grew up in the British Isles, and have
never held any jobs besides playing guitar, White is from Detroit, and
his hip-hop and house-music–listening cohorts in the '80s and early '90s
thought that playing an instrument of any kind was embarrassing, so he
didn't come to guitar until he'd already worked as an upholsterer.
Somehow, though, if White and Page are rooted in gutbucket, distorted
blues, it's still The Edge who seems to be coming from outer space. When
he plays his echoing, beautiful intro to "Bad" alone on the soundstage,
it's a sound neither of the other players could have created.<br />
During the guitar summit, each of the guitarists teaches the others a
couple of his songs. The Edge's first one is "I Will Follow," and it
works better than any of the rest, in part because, as he explains, he
often creates guitar parts with the absolute minimum of notes, so that
they sound clearer, more distinctive, and less muddy when played really
loud. And Page and White play really loud. Together <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8lNvc_QRX0">the result</a> is, as Jimmy Page says, "roaring."<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/guitar" rel="tag">guitar</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/review-it-might-get-loud" title="permanent link">8:43 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=240072337711937650"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6816528348472431495"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/considering-avatar" title="permanent link">Considering "Avatar"</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I'm still not sure quite what I think—on balance—about <cite>Avatar</cite>,
which my wife and I saw last week. In one respect, it's one of very few
movies (pretty much all of them fantasy or science fiction) that show
you things you've never seen before, and which will inevitably change
what other movies look like. It's in the company of <cite>The Wizard of Oz</cite>, <cite>Forbidden Planet</cite>, <cite><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/10/im-afraid-i-cant-do-that.html">2001: A Space Odyssey</a></cite>, <cite>Star Wars</cite>, <cite>Blade Runner</cite>, <cite>Tron</cite>, <cite>Zelig</cite>, <cite>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</cite>, <cite>Jurassic Park</cite>, <cite>Babe</cite>, <cite>Toy Story</cite>, <cite><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2003/11/real-time.html">The Matrix</a></cite>, and the <cite><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_01_01_news_archive.html#8392136">Lord of the Rings</a></cite> films. It's tremendously entertaining. Anyone who likes seeing movies on a big screen should watch it.<br />
I also don't know if anyone is better at choreographing massive action sequences than <cite>Avatar</cite>'s
director, James Cameron—nor of making a three-hour film seem not nearly
that long. Maybe, with its massive success, we'll finally see fewer
movies with the distinctive cold blue tint and leathery CGI monsters
stolen from the <cite>Lord of the Rings</cite> trilogy. (Maybe in a few years we'll all be tired of lush, phosphorescent Pandora-style forests instead.) <cite>Avatar</cite>
is also the first truly effective use of 3D I've seen in a film: it's
not a distraction, not a gimmick, and not overemphasized. It's just part
of how the movie was made, and you don't have to think about it, for
once.<br />
But a couple of skits on last night's <cite>Saturday Night Live</cite>, including "<a href="http://io9.com/5450294/james-camerons-epic-snl-laser-cats-5">James Cameron's Laser Cats 5</a>," in which both James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver appeared, reminded me of some of <cite>Avatar</cite>'s problems:<br />
<ul>
<li>Cameron has been thinking about this project since the beginning
of his career over three decades ago, and it shows. Or rather, it shows
in <em>every other movie he's made</em>. That's because <cite>Avatar</cite> includes a grab-bag of common Cameron concepts: humanoids that aren't quite what they seem (<cite>The Terminator</cite> and <cite>Terminator 2</cite>); kick-ass interstellar marines—including a butch-but-sensitive Latino woman—piloting big walking and flying machines (<cite>Aliens</cite>); state-of-the-art CGI effects pushed to their limits (<cite>The Abyss</cite>, <cite>Terminator 2</cite>, and <cite>Titanic</cite>); money-grubbing corporate/elite bad guys (<cite>Aliens</cite>, <cite>Titanic</cite>), hovering, angular, futuristic transport vehicles (<cite>True Lies</cite>, <cite>The Terminator</cite>, <cite>The Abyss</cite>, <cite>Aliens</cite>); a love story that turns one of its participants away from societal conventions (<cite>Titanic</cite>); people traveling to distant planets in suspended animation (<cite>Aliens</cite>), and of course a lot of stuff that Blows Up Real Good.</li>
<li>The storyline, despite its excellent execution, is remarkably
simplistic, and could easily have been adapted from a mid-tier Disney
animation like <cite>The Aristocats</cite> or <cite>Mulan</cite>, or (most pointedly) <cite>Pocahontas</cite>. It's the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage">Noble Savage</a>
rendered in blue alien flesh. No doubt much of that is intentional,
since some of our most powerful and lasting stories are simple. But I
think all the talent and technology behind this movie could have served
something more sophisticated, or at least more morally nuanced.</li>
<li>With all the spectacle of Pandora—the glowing forest plants, the
bizarre pulsing and spinning animal life, the floating mountains, the
lethal multi-limbed predators—somehow it didn't feel <em>alien</em>
enough to me. The most jarring foreign feeling came in the views of
Pandora's sky, reminding us that it is not a planet but one of many
moons of a looming, ominous gas giant like Jupiter. The humanoid Na'vi,
despite all the motion capture that went into translating human actors'
performances into new bodies, still seem, in a way, like very, very
well-executed <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PeopleInRubberSuits">rubber suits</a>. The pre-CGI aliens of <cite>Aliens</cite> (especially the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alien_(1986)_-_Alien_queen.jpg">alien queen</a>) were, to me, more convincing despite often actually <em>being</em> people in suits.</li>
<li>Overall, <cite>Avatar</cite> isn't James Cameron's best film. I'd choose either <cite>Aliens</cite> or <cite>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</cite>
as superior. I remember each one leaving me almost speechless. That's
because they were exhilarating and—more important—profoundly satisfying,
both emotionally and intellectually. <cite>Avatar</cite>, despite its many riches, didn't satisfy me the same way.</li>
</ul>
Now, if you're among the 3% of people who haven't seen <cite>Avatar</cite>
yet, I still recommend you do, in a big-screen theatre, in 3D if you
can. Like several of the other technically and visually revolutionary
movies I listed in my first paragraph (<cite>Star Wars</cite> and <cite>Tron</cite> come to mind), its flaws wash away as you watch, consumed and overwhelmed by its imaginary world.<br />
James Cameron apparently plans to make <a href="http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1628605/story.jhtml">two <cite>Avatar</cite> sequels</a>.
Normally that might dismay me, but his track record of improving upon
the original films in a series, whether someone else's or his own (see
my last bullet point above), tells me he might be able to pull off
something amazing there. Now that he has established Pandora as a place,
and had time to develop his new filmmaking techniques, it could be very
interesting to see what he does with them next.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sciencefiction" rel="tag">sciencefiction</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/considering-avatar" title="permanent link">3:29 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6816528348472431495"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3190331672732014208"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/olympic-mascot-quatchi-visits-downtown" title="permanent link">Olympic mascot Quatchi visits the Downtown East Side</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I like the Olympics, but I have to say the Flickr photo set where <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow/sets/72157622341970967/">Quatchi the 2010 mascot</a> tours Vancouver's poor Downtown East Side neighbourhood is clever and to the point:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow/3959853164/in/set-72157622341970967" title="Get up, sir from The Blackbird on Flickr"><img alt="Get up, sir from The Blackbird on Flickr" border="0" class="post" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3443/3959853164_c92ed86678.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Quick PR tip to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee: trying to
shut this piece of satire down as trademark infringement or something
would probably be a bad idea.<br />
<strike>I'm off to chemotherapy this morning, so don't expect much in
the way of blog posts and such for three or four days while I sleep it
off.</strike> Actually, it turns out my chemo is postponed a week: my
neutrophil, platelet, and hemoglobin levels are borderline, so I need to
recover more. Yay for no nausea for now; boo for offsetting plans we've
made this month and in February based on my previous chemo schedule.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/poverty" rel="tag">poverty</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/olympic-mascot-quatchi-visits-downtown" title="permanent link">9:37 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3190331672732014208"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3410686528165813936"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/quake-risks" title="permanent link">Quake risks</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Haiti_earthquake_damage_overhead.jpg" title="Haiti earthquake damage, via Wikipedia"><img align="right" alt="Haiti earthquake damage" border="0" class="post" height="167" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/d/d5/20100114072605%21Haiti_earthquake_damage_overhead.jpg" width="250" /></a>Five years ago I wrote a long <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/learn_about_tsunamis_2005-01.html">series of posts</a>
about the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, compiling information
from around the Web and using my training in marine biology and
oceanography to help explain what happened. Nearly 230,000 people died
in that event.<br />
Tuesday's magnitude-7 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake">quake in Haiti</a>
looks to be a catastrophe of similar scale. I first learned of it
through Twitter, which seems to be a key breaking-news technology now.
Hearing that it was 7.0 on the Richter scale and was centred on land,
only 25 kilometres from Port-au-Prince, I immediately thought, "Oh man,
this is bad."<br />
And it is. Some 50,000 are dead already, and more will die among the
hundreds of thousands injured or missing. Haiti is, of course, one of
the world's poorest countries, which makes things worse. Learning from
aid efforts around the Indian Ocean in 2005 and from other disasters,
the Canadian government is offering to <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/01/14/haiti-canada-aid.html">match donations</a> from Canadians for relief in Haiti.<br />
This is a reminder that we live on a shifting, active planet, one
with no opinions or cares about us creatures who cling like a film on
its thin surface. We have learned, recently, to forecast weather, and to
know where dangers from earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, storms, and
other natural risks might lie. But we cannot predict them precisely, and
some of the places people most like to live—flat river valleys, rich
volcanic soils, fault-riddled landscapes, monsoon coastlines,
tornado-prone plains, steep hillsides—are also dangerous.<br />
Worse yet, the danger may not express itself over one or two or three human lifetimes. My city of Vancouver is in an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/learn_about_tsunamis_2005-01.html#pacificnorthwest">earthquake zone</a>, and also sits not far from at least a couple of substantial <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3854574505/">volcanoes</a>.
Yet it has been a city for less than 125 years. Quakes and eruptions
happen in this region all the time—on a geological timescale. That still
means that there has been no large earthquake or volcanic activity here
since before Europeans arrived.<br />
We would, I hope, do better than Port-au-Prince in a similar earthquake, but such chaos <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hanshin_earthquake">is not</a>
purely a problem of the developing world. The Earth, nature, and the
Universe don't take any of our needs into account (no matter what
foolishness people like <a href="http://salon.com/life/feature/2010/01/13/haiti_satan_pact/">Pat Robertson</a> might say). We are at risk all over the world, and when the worst happens, we need to help each other.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/disaster" rel="tag">disaster</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/probability" rel="tag">probability</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/quake-risks" title="permanent link">12:38 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3410686528165813936"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7032377892583723666"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/have-nice-day" title="permanent link">Have a nice day</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My friend KK posted something <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kriskrug?story_fbid=248255126610">utterly remarkable</a>
to his Facebook wall a few hours ago. He has a son, who is eight, with
severe autism, and who lives far away with his mother. The boy has never
spoken, or really communicated with words to anyone.<br />
Except this week <em>he started fucking typing.</em> His first message, to his sister, who dropped her coat on the floor when she came in the house:<br />
<blockquote>
pick up your jacket<br />
</blockquote>
Then, a little later, via email:<br />
<blockquote>
Hi dad . how are you. Have a nice day.<br />
</blockquote>
On our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3843142310/">car trip to Seattle</a>
last summer, KK told us quite a bit about his son and his son's
condition. I wondered at the time, and sometimes since, how much the kid
is thinking that he hasn't been able to express his whole life. When my
wife Air pointed out today's Facebook post, I burst into tears beside
her.<br />
You know, a lot of my life has sucked over the past while, but sometimes the world is beautiful. It really is.<br />
<small>P.S. Want more proof? Read <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/01/nil_by_mouth.html">Roger Ebert</a> this week, especially his last sentence.</small><br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/mentalhealth" rel="tag">mentalhealth</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/have-nice-day" title="permanent link">11:34 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7032377892583723666"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4330369014800943548"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/funny-thing-happened-to-me-on-way-to" title="permanent link">A funny thing happened to me on the way to the chemo ward</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Today is exactly <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/please-excuse-salty-language.html">three years</a>
since I found out I have cancer. I had it longer than that, at least
since the spring of 2006, but that's when I knew. Three years of hell,
total hell. So, another cancer post—but that won't be all I write here,
just as it hasn't been since January 2007.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotherapy">Chemotherapy</a>
is weird. Not the concept of it, really, which is pretty simple: poison
your body with chemicals that try to poison cancer cells more than
healthy cells. But <em>being on</em> chemotherapy is weird.<br />
Every combination of chemo drugs is targeted a particular variety of
cancer, and every person gets different side effects depending on the
drugs and on our own physiology. I've been through numerous rounds of
different types of chemo in the past three years. The stereotypes of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/food-network-vs-nausea">nausea</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/04/not-recommended-weight-loss-plan.html">weight loss</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2287204343/in/set-72157603958479446/">hair falling out</a>
are true—all too true in some cases, such as when I barfed up my entire
breakfast yesterday morning—but they are not universal. I've only had
to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/no-hair-club-for-men">shave my head</a> once (so far), for instance.<br />
But most chemo regimens have a variety of other, much stranger side effects too. There was that <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/my-face-hurts">brutal acne</a>
I had a couple of summers ago, for instance. The warnings to avoid
anything containing grapefruit or starfruit in other instances (though
oranges, lemons, limes, and other citrus were fine). Strange <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/466679960/in/set-72157594514688789/">black lines</a>
developing in my fingernails. Sensitivity to sunlight. Lots of bizarre
and nasty intestinal side effects that sometimes had me in the bathroom
for three or four hours at a time. And so on.<br />
This time around, I have several different oddball side effects at the same time:<br />
<ul>
<li>My skin is remarkably sensitive to cold. On Christmas Eve, some of my family went for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157622956699081/">a walk</a>
for about 20 minutes. The weather was just around the freezing mark,
and I was wearing a hat, gloves, and a scarf wrapped around my face. But
when we got back to my aunt and uncle's house, the tip of my nose and
my fingers felt almost frostbitten, burning until they warmed up. I have
to be careful simply taking cold drinks out of the fridge.</li>
<li>Speaking of which, I can't drink cold liquids either. For
instance, I had some orange juice out of the fridge last week. No one
but me in our house likes juice with pulp, so I was surprised when this
one was full of pulp. Except it wasn't—my mouth and throat were reacting
to the cold and making it feel like the drink was full of globs of
pulp, even though it was clear. Then it hurt.</li>
<li>The knuckles on both my hands are dry and the skin has darkened.
When I put my hands palm down, they have stripes of brown pigment
across the fingers.</li>
<li>Cuts and bruises take longer to heal. I <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine/status/7210233185">drew blood</a> during some Ikea furniture disassembly more than a week ago, and it still hurts as the scab seals up.</li>
<li>I have nausea, but other than when I'm actually on the chemo,
it's wildly unpredictable. That breakfast I lost yesterday? A minute
before I vomited, I felt fine. Same a minute later. And one of the only
things I can eat no matter how I feel is Cheese Pleesers—those extruded
cheese puff snacks.</li>
<li>Then there are my feet. They're not exactly sore, but my soles
are extra-sensitive, almost as if they have blisters on them. Sometimes.
Most often I don't notice it, but I can't stand having a bathmat in the
tub when I shower because it irritates my feet, and I wear socks pretty
much all the time otherwise, even to sleep.
</li>
</ul>
There may be more symptoms coming, I don't really know. But it's weird. And exhausting.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/funny-thing-happened-to-me-on-way-to" title="permanent link">10:15 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4330369014800943548"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6855107771313609239"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/death-pessimism-and-realism" title="permanent link">Death, pessimism, and realism</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death">mused</a> about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life">death</a> often <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/christmas-toast-to-martin-and-james">enough</a> on <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/less-who-we-were">these</a> blog <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">pages</a>, especially since I developed cancer in 2006 and it spread into my lungs since 2007, and now that it's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">gotten worse</a>. I've also <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion">discussed</a> my <a href="http://www.dad-camp.com/2009/11/free-thinking-kids/">atheism</a> and how that affects <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">my attitude</a> about death.<br />
Some people think that without any belief in an afterlife, or a soul,
or Heaven, death for me must be a scarier or emptier than for those who
believe in such things—that somehow I must face death without comfort
or solace. But that's not true. I have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/mystical-comfort-from-richard-dawkins.html">tried</a> to explain it before, but yesterday blogger Greta Christina <a href="http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2010/01/atheism-death-pessimism-realism.html">did a better job</a>. She calls it "the difference between pessimism and realism," and it's worth a read, whatever you believe.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion" rel="tag">religion</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/death-pessimism-and-realism" title="permanent link">8:11 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6855107771313609239"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 January 2010</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7804945471827714669"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/first-post-of-2010-four-days-in" title="permanent link">First post of 2010, four days in</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Okay, I'm back. I slept almost solidly for three days after <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4234966996/">chemotherapy</a>,
and right now I'd say I'm feeling about 60%. Maybe less. It depends on
how well the Gravol is working at any particular moment.<br />
My mom made some soup, and I think I will eat it now. End of report.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2010/01/first-post-of-2010-four-days-in" title="permanent link">1:24 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7804945471827714669"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-17374036381101606772018-11-11T12:57:00.003-08:002018-11-11T12:57:32.974-08:00Derek Dec 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
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<h3 class="datehead">
31 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8762499362298472643"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/2010new-year" title="permanent link">I made it to another New Year</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/draggipage/4219484743/" title="2010...new year at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="2010...new year at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2777/4219484743_1b5a774fc1_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Will I survive another decade? I'm only 40 now, but with all this <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">cancer crap</a> in my life since 2007, every New Year's Eve is a gift. And I have already <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/martinsikes">outlived friends</a> I didn't expect to.<br />
Ten years ago, as 1999 ended, things were different for all of us.
Yes, I was living in the same house with my wife and daughter, who was
close to two years old—but we had another daughter due in a few weeks,
whom we didn't know was a girl yet. I had kept the same stable job at a <a href="http://www.maximizer.com/">software company</a> for over three years. The dot-com boom had not yet bust. I wouldn't end my five-year hiatus from <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">my band</a> for almost 11 months.<br />
The big news in digital cameras was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D1">Nikon D1</a>, which had a 2.7 megapixel sensor and cost $5500 USD. At work, we had a <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp950/">Coolpix 950</a>,
which had similar resolution and took photos good enough to convince me
that digital would eventually be the way to go for photography.
Eventually.<br />
But even ten years ago, we lived in a world without Mac OS X, iPods,
and iPhones, with Napster but without an iTunes Store. "Wi-Fi" was a
strange new word—those of us who networked our computers all used
plugged-in wires, and I spent a good amount of time running Ethernet
cables through our house for that purpose. Most of them are still there.<br />
The term "hanging chad" had yet to be invented. As a society, we were worried less about international terrorism than about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem">Y2K bug</a>.
The World Trade Center towers in New York City still stood, bustling
with people. You could take your own drinks aboard commercial airliners,
not to mention more carry-on baggage than was strictly allowed. Cockpit
doors were nearly always open to the cabin. Almost no one in the West
had heard of Kandahar (in Afghanistan) or Banda Aceh (in Indonesia),
substantial cities though they are.<br />
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station">International Space Station</a> was in early construction in orbit, very small compared to its current size. It was sometimes serviced by the space shuttle <cite>Columbia</cite>, which would only exist for another <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2003_02_01_news_archive.html#90276578">three years</a> before breaking up on re-entry. Only a few <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasolar_planets">extrasolar planets</a> had been discovered. The Human Genome Project had not yet completed its sequencing.<br />
People were wondering when James Cameron would make a follow-up movie to <cite>Titanic</cite>, since it had already been so long (two years). Guns 'n' Roses' new album <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Democracy">Chinese Democracy</a></cite> was supposed to come out any old time. Justin Timberlake was still a member of N'Sync. <cite>The X-Files</cite> and <cite>Ally McBeal</cite> were still on the air; <cite>Survivor</cite> and <cite>CSI</cite> had yet to begin. Charles Schulz was still alive and drawing new "Peanuts" comic strips. The <cite>Concorde</cite> was still flying.<br />
I'd already had and managed my diabetes for almost nine years. My
varicose veins were under control. I thought that any form of cancer I
might get would be many decades away. There were lots of things I didn't
know. And lots I still don't.<br />
I still have a wonderful family. My wife and I both made it past 40,
and our kids are now almost 10 and 12. Our family now includes our
first-ever <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/picture-time">puppy</a>. Have a happy 2010. I hope to see you again for New Year's 2011. Fingers crossed.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/party" rel="tag">party</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/2010new-year" title="permanent link">11:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8762499362298472643"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1019894832138657036"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/books-old-and-new" title="permanent link">Books old and new</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
When my mother was a little girl, she received a copy of the classic children's book <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heidi-Johanna-Spyri/dp/1604590351/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Heidi</a></cite>, printed in 1945. This year, she dug that same copy out and gave it to my older daughter M as a Christmas present.<br />
One gift I received this year from my friend Sebastien was an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Generation/dp/B0015T963C/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Amazon Kindle</a> e-book reader. You can, of course, get <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heidi-ebook/dp/B00139MFIW/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Heidi</a></cite> for it. The two make an interesting <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4219229871/">contrast</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4219229871/" title="Heidi old and new by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Heidi old and new" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4219229871_66a22db4c9.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
The chances that my Kindle will still be around and working in 65
years, to give away to a grandchild? Virtually zero, of course.<br />
P.S. I should note that, as public domain works, <cite>Heidi</cite> and Johanna Spyri's <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/s#a2491">other books</a>
are available for free online too. You can put them on your Kindle as
plain text files that work just great, instead of spending the $3 for
digitally-locked DRM versions.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/books" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/books-old-and-new" title="permanent link">12:28 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1019894832138657036"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
24 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5193377350348670542"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/noodlemas-eve" title="permanent link">Noodlemas Eve</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
In the spirit of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster">Pastafarian</a> season, I'd like to say thank you to our friends Tara, Morgan, and Simone for a wonderful <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4211137073/">last-minute addition</a> to our Christmas tree:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4211137073/" title="FSM ornament by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="FSM ornament" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/4211137073_d5b93205b0.jpg" width="332" /></a>
</div>
We're off to a European-style dinner with my side of the family
tonight, Christmas Eve, before we join Air's side of the clan tomorrow.
I hope you have as much fun as we will.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/noodlemas-eve" title="permanent link">12:53 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5193377350348670542"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
22 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5734633831639957430"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/merry-christmas-yall" title="permanent link">Merry Christmas, y'all</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
The weather at the beginning of this winter has been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/12/winter">nothing like last year</a>; the only snow locally in Vancouver is on the mountains. So I'll post our family <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/family/cards/xmas2009.html">Christmas card</a> (the first to include our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">new puppy</a> Lucy) a bit early:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/family/cards/xmas2009lg.jpg"><img alt="[The Miller family, Christmas 2009]" height="600" src="http://www.penmachine.com/family/cards/xmas2009.jpg" style="z-index: 0;" width="510" /></a>
</div>
From left you have my daughter M with Lucy, my mom, me (top) and my
dad (bottom), my wife Air, and my daughter L. Oh, and my parents'
etchings, of course.<br />
I hope you're all warm and safe, and will be well fed this week.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/merry-christmas-yall" title="permanent link">3:39 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5734633831639957430"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2035452828986674249"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/lip-gloss-and-laptops-podcast-shuts" title="permanent link">The Lip Gloss and Laptops podcast shuts down</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/109945631/" title="Lipgloss & Laptops Photoshoot at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Lipgloss & Laptops Photoshoot at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/109945631_3a2faea8af_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Yesterday my wife Air and her co-host KA posted their <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/podcast/?p=506">150th and final regular episode</a> of Lip Gloss and Laptops, the podcast they started way back in 2006. The <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/">blog</a> will continue, with frequent updates about the cosmetics and beauty industry, but the podcast had become too much work.<br />
As for the vast majority of podcasters, the LGL show was a hobby, not
any kind of paying job, and so was only worth continuing while it was
fun. When <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/podcast/?p=447">KA left</a>
as regular co-host earlier this year (she started grad school), the
podcast became a lot more work for Air, even with other guest hosts in
the interim.<br />
And then my latest new cancer growths dropped our family into a yet
more intense pit of chemotherapy and medical treatments and side effects
and general hell, so that not only takes more of Air's time, but also
makes it more difficult technically, since I've been the engineer and
producer of the show since the beginning.<br />
Nearly <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/podcast/?p=4">four years</a>
and 150 episodes is a pretty long run for a podcast. Lots of people
will miss Lip Gloss and Laptops, me included, but it was a good time
while it was going. And you never know—some one-off special episodes
might yet appear from time to time.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/lipglossandlaptops" rel="tag">lipglossandlaptops</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/lip-gloss-and-laptops-podcast-shuts" title="permanent link">11:41 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2035452828986674249"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">8 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
16 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6876420486390086973"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/lululemon-clever-retail-satire" title="permanent link">Lululemon's clever retail satire</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lululemonathletica/4188632237/" title="toque, toque and toque at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="toque, toque and toque at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2569/4188632237_1e39d7321f_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Last year, Old Navy tried making some <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/old-navys-non-olympic-clothing-line">unofficial Olympic clothing</a>,
but Vancouver's Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) and the
International Olympic Committee shut that down because the jackets were
too close to official trademarks for the upcoming Winter Olympics.<br />
Now Vancouver yoga retailer <a href="http://www.lululemon.com/">Lululemon</a> has tried a cheekier approach, releasing <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/12/16/consumer-lululemon-olympics.html">a line</a> of clothes <a href="http://www.canada.com/life/Lululemon+irks+Olympic+officials+with+rogue+clothing+line/2345215/story.html">pushing the line</a>
of Olympic trademark infringement, without quite crossing it. The line
is called the "Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia
Between 2009 & 2011 Edition," which gave me a laugh.<br />
I like the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_02_01_news_archive.html#9993981">sporting events</a> of the Winter Olympics, but VANOC and the IOC have been <a href="http://2010legalobserver.wordpress.com/censorship-gallery/">overzealous</a>
in emphasizing the business aspects of the event, rather than the
sport. So I appreciate Lululemon's retail satire. The stuff looks good
too, so I might buy some.<br />
I wonder if it will be hard to get into Olympic events wearing the Lululemon clothes in February?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/clothing" rel="tag">clothing</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/money" rel="tag">money</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/lululemon-clever-retail-satire" title="permanent link">8:54 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6876420486390086973"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1378454437121718723"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/picture-time" title="permanent link">Picture time</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
What with all the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">new cancer</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/that-weekend-suuuuuucked">chemo</a>
(more this Friday!) and stuff, I've neglected to upload new photos in
quite a while; they've just been accumulating on my camera's memory
card. Time to fix that. Here are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4184753867/in/photostream/">a few</a> of my recent favourites:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4185510308/" title="Brined turkey experiment 3 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Brined turkey experiment 3" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2738/4185510308_231a101a71_m.jpg" width="159" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4185494064/" title="Full Moon over Burnaby by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Full Moon over Burnaby" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/4185494064_071e6cdfcd_m.jpg" width="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4184722047/" title="It's a little Schweber by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="It's a little Schweber" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2533/4184722047_8ac8146088_m.jpg" width="159" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4185501736/" title="Air and Lucy by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Air and Lucy" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/4185501736_e11fbc6bae_m.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4185512880/" title="Puppy peek by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Puppy peek" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2729/4185512880_23631d99e0_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4184738061/" title="Tree's done by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Tree's done" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/4184738061_3ea19ded16_m.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4184731031/" title="S and L 3 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="S and L 3" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/4184731031_54c1d73e73_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4184726551/" title="Wispy face by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Wispy face" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2538/4184726551_653ff80950_m.jpg" width="240" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4185507098/" title="Belly rub by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Belly rub" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2799/4185507098_381aa8e17f_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4185495686/" title="Lions by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Lions" height="270" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4185495686_4a3fd0b245.jpg" width="480" /></a>
</div>
Yes, there are many many puppy pictures. Get used to it.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/picture-time" title="permanent link">10:17 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1378454437121718723"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5426750203104799607"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/top-riff" title="permanent link">The top riff</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofarsocute/2193669093/" title="Jimi Hendrix at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Jimi Hendrix at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="200" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/2193669093_ca871f2903_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>British music site Musicradar recently published one of those visitor-voted lists of the <a href="http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/the-top-50-guitar-riffs-of-all-time-25-1-226933">50 greatest guitar riffs</a>
(not solos, or rock songs) of all time. It's pretty much what you'd
expect: heavy on the '70s, with plenty of Zeppelin, AC/DC, Metallica,
Black Sabbath, and (being British) Radiohead, Muse, and such thrown in.<br />
But I have to say that the top 10 is an interesting result, climbing
from "Satisfaction" (number 10?!) through "Day Tripper," "Enter
Sandman," "Back in Black," "Layla," "Smoke on the Water" (number 4?!),
and "Whole Lotta Love" to "Sweet Child o' Mine" at number 2. Not a
surprising list of candidates, though I wouldn't have predicted that
order.<br />
Number one, though, I would never have forecast in the top 10, never
mind at the peak, even though I personally agree it's the right choice:
Jimi Hendrix's "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85zp1zVVDAQ">Voodoo Child (Slight Return)</a>," from 1968. Here, watch the full psychedelicness:<br />
Hendrix and his band basically jammed the song out in the studio
while creating footage for a visiting film crew. The song as a piece is
like a whole weather system, and it's hard to know exactly what
Musicradar's users were voting for—is it Jimi's slinky, ominous solo
wah-wah raindrops at the beginning, or the full booming open-string
thunderstorm once the full band comes in?<br />
It doesn't really matter. I think either one wins. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">Stevie Ray Vaughan</a>, my favourite guitarist, used to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSpbuFSr2o">play</a> "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" all the time, but even the best he could do was basically replicate Jimi nearly note-for-note.<br />
Many music fans might know the song, but the riff certainly isn't
among those people hum to themselves, like "Killing in the Name,"
"Sunshine of Your Love" or "Ticket to Ride." Certainly no beginning
guitarist would attempt it, as they would "Satisfaction" or "Smoke on
the Water" or "You Really Got Me," which is on the Musicradar list, but
shamefully not in the top 10. I can't play a lick of it.<br />
Yet "Voodoo Child" stands apart. (Joe Satriani called it "the
greatest piece of electric guitar work ever recorded.") That main
thundering riff is both separate from and weaved throughout the song—you
never know when Jimi will drag it back out from the maelstrom. It's
scary and beautiful and bluesy and futuristic—like Jimi himself in a few
notes.<br />
I think I'll go listen to it again.<br />
P.S. Of course I have quibbles with the list too. Three riffs
mysteriously missing are the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun," Van
Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," and of course Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home
Alabama." How did people miss that one?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/guitar" rel="tag">guitar</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/lists" rel="tag">lists</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/top-riff" title="permanent link">8:53 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5426750203104799607"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2664624924599899099"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/that-weekend-suuuuuucked" title="permanent link">That weekend suuuuuucked</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I'm back in the world of the living again. It was a pretty
rough weekend, I tell you. I had chemo like this back in 2007 and 2008,
but I don't think I had all three of these chemicals (oxaliplatin,
leucovorin, and 5-FU) all together previously, and the infusion bottle I
had from Friday to Sunday at home also dispensed more of the 5-FU in it
than I'd received before, so I was getting a larger dose than I'd
encountered in earlier rounds of chemo.<br />
So, in short, it suuuuuucked. I didn't actually throw up, but I
basically doped myself up with prescription anti-nauseants and Gravol so
that I slept most of the weekend, and felt like death when I was awake.
I was out of commission and useless to my family for three full 24-hour
days at least. It was only this morning that I felt anything like
normal again, so I'll rest today and may get back to some sort of
functional life until I do it again in a couple of weeks.<br />
Chemo is no fun, that's for sure. I recommend avoiding cancer just so
you can not have chemotherapy, entirely aside from all the other
reasons.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sleep" rel="tag">sleep</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/that-weekend-suuuuuucked" title="permanent link">10:28 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2664624924599899099"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 December 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5780045273586862538"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/back-on-train" title="permanent link">Back on the train</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Today I saw my oncologist to find out about my next round of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">cancer treatment</a>,
but even before that, the chemo ward called me yesterday and said
they'd had a wait-list cancellation. My first appointment tomorrow is,
Friday, at 2 p.m.<br />
So by tomorrow at this time, I may feel like throwing up for two or
three days (or not—some new anti-nausea drugs are now available). On the
other hand, I'm ready to get the hell started. This regimen is similar
to some of the chemotherapy I've had before, so I have a decent idea
what to expect. Unfortunately, it's not much fun.<br />
I'll post more information as soon as I feel like it.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/12/back-on-train" title="permanent link">4:21 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5780045273586862538"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">8 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
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</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-41295834732348146442018-11-11T12:54:00.002-08:002018-11-11T12:54:21.046-08:00Derek Nov 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3313323701680251485"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/how-innocuous-gay-marriage-has-become" title="permanent link">How innocuous gay marriage has become in Canada</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Thank you everyone for your outpouring of support and more than 50 comments on my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck">last post</a>,
about the resurgence of my cancer. I'm pleased to know so many of you
are thinking about me and my family. But it's also a bit of a bummer to
have that be the thing sitting at the top of my blog for days and days,
so now on to something else.<br />
While surfing around the Web in the past week, I've come across a few
banner ads from TD Canada Trust, presumably targeted at me because I
have a Canadian IP address. Here are a couple of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4147837837/" title="Same sex TD ad couples by penmachine, on Flickr">examples</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4147837837/" title="Same sex TD ad couples by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Same sex TD ad couples" height="368" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2589/4147837837_f5079b6cc1_o.png" width="450" /></a>
</div>
They're pretty run-of-the-mill bank ads, except for one thing: the couples in them are all men. (Well, in the vertical one, I <em>think</em>
they're both supposed to be men.) The ads are presumably aimed at gay
couples—who, as you will recall, have been legally able to get married
across Canada <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Canada">since 2005</a>—but the photos are the only element specifically focused at them.<br />
Clicking on the ads doesn't take you to any special place on the TD site; indeed, once you get there there are just <a href="http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/250offer/">single individuals</a> in the trademark green TD armchair.<br />
Fifteen years ago, IKEA received <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-3112.html">bomb threats</a> when it included a same-sex couple in a TV ad. Even this year, the company faced <a href="http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikeas-ian-and-steve-family-model-in-poland/">controversy in Poland</a>
for a similar print campaign. Including male or female homosexual
couples in non-gay media advertising (however innocuously) has long been
a hot-button issue, especially in more conservative areas.<br />
But look at what's happened here in Canada. Same-sex marriage has
been legal for almost five years. Many of us old-school straight couples
now know gay people who are married (and yes, some who have gotten
divorced). For all of us, life has gone on as normal. Yes, I admit that
for me, even in Vancouver, I still <em>notice</em> a gay couple holding
hands or leading their young children down the street—it hasn't yet
faded into the background completely. Obviously, neither have these TD
Canada Trust ads.<br />
But for TD on the Web, including gay couples in their ads seems to
have become routine, just part of the regular range of ad campaigns.
That's a good thing, and our Canadian experience in general is good
evidence against <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/californias-proposition-8-is-stupid">those elsewhere</a>
who claim that legalizing same-sex marriage will somehow ruin life for
the rest of us. Even the big old conservative Canadian banks don't think
that anymore.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/media" rel="tag">media</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/how-innocuous-gay-marriage-has-become" title="permanent link">2:33 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3313323701680251485"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5912358202242843590"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck" title="permanent link">Oh fuck</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I found out yesterday that there are new cancer tumours in
the centre of my chest—several of them, each 2 to 3 cm in size, near
where my lungs meet. They showed up on the CT scan I had Monday, and
they were not there on the scan <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">in September</a>. That means they've grown quickly, which is fucking bad news.<br />
After meeting with my doctors at the B.C. Cancer Agency yesterday,
I've stopped using cediranib, the drug that had kept my existing lung
tumours growing only very slowly over the past year. I'll likely return
to more conventional and aggressive chemotherapy again sometime in the
next couple of weeks.<br />
Since I found out about my cancer almost three years ago, it has
never been in remission. Some people who read this blog or know me in
person have, mistakenly, thought otherwise, because I've often appeared
in good health.<br />
But my cancer has never shrunk, only slowed down. It started in my
large intestine, then spread to my lungs from there. The bowel tumours
came out with <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hi-from-hospital">surgery</a>
in 2007—otherwise I would probably have died later that year. But the
lung metastases can't really be tackled with surgery or radiation,
because there are too many, too widely spread, and too deep in my body.
Chemo is the best option.<br />
This is serious. Faster-growing metastatic tumours near my lungs, my
heart, my trachea, and my esophagus are dangerous and potentially
lethal. In addition to attacking them with chemo, in a few months there
may be some clinical trials of MEK inhibitor drugs available to me, but
that's not certain. Those experimental medications operate on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAPK/ERK_pathway">kinase cascade</a> metabolic pathway that helps cancer cells grow. So we'll see about those too.<br />
New, fast-growing cancer is not what anyone wants in my body, but I
can't say it's unexpected, or a genuine surprise. This is how cancer
often goes. Treatments work, sometimes better, sometimes worse—and then
sometimes they stop working. It's always a fight, and one I might lose.<br />
My wife and children and <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/2009/11/bad-news.html">parents</a> and family and friends are sad. My head is swimming with thoughts of all sorts. Time to walk into the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">unknown future</a> again.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/oh-fuck" title="permanent link">10:41 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5912358202242843590"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">67 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
24 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1773802379165443006"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/mama-mama" title="permanent link">Mama? Mama?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
This video might just possibly be the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY">best thing ever</a> (via <a href="http://www.digittante.com/">Alex</a>):<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
It will be horribly overexposed any minute now, but I don't care, because it is so awesome.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/muppets" rel="tag">muppets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/youtube" rel="tag">youtube</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/mama-mama" title="permanent link">3:06 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1773802379165443006"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3045613264719488599"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/origin-at-150" title="permanent link">"The Origin" at 150</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsevis/3288860652/" title="Charles Darwin for Time Magazine at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Charles Darwin for Time Magazine at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/3288860652_f80beebe59_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I wrote about it in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/darwin-day">much more detail</a> back in February, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species">today</a> is the actual 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's <cite><a href="http://www.bartleby.com/11/">On the Origin of Species</a></cite>, which was first published on November 24, 1859. That was more than <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100542500">two decades</a> after Darwin first formulated his ideas about evolution by natural selection.<br />
Some have called <cite>The Origin</cite> the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120692695">most important book</a>
ever written, though of course many would dispute that. It's certainly
up there on the list, and unequivocally on top for the field of biology.
Darwin, along with others like <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16077-darwin-vs-galileo-who-cut-us-down-to-size.html?full=true">Galileo</a>, radically changed our perceptions about our place in the universe.<br />
But Darwin was a scientist, not an inventor: he discovered natural
selection, but did not create it. We honour him for being smart and
tenacious, for being the first to figure out the basic mechanism that
generated the history of life, and for writing eloquently and
persuasively about it. His big idea was right (even if it took <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_evolutionary_synthesis">more than 70 years</a> to confirm), but some of his conjectures and mechanisms turned out to be wrong.<br />
He was also, from all accounts, an exceedingly nice man. Among
towering intellects and important personalities, that's pretty unusual
too.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/books" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/origin-at-150" title="permanent link">12:10 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3045613264719488599"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
23 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4307590298680155416"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/they-all-grow-up" title="permanent link">They all grow up</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/4125623651/" title="Derek and Aiden at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Derek and Aiden at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2604/4125623651_8f07effa31_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>We had some visitors yesterday: four-week-old <a href="http://www.blogaholics.ca/archives/2009/11/welcome-to-aiden-riley.html">Aiden Schweber</a> and his mom and dad. Holding a newborn is special, because they are that small and squirmy for a very short time. (It <em>seemed</em> like forever when our kids were infants, but I have a different perspective now without the sleep deprivation.)<br />
For instance, every time I see <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3666950937/in/set-72157620666234660/">Simone</a>, who's now almost two, I'm amazed, because I still think of her as a tiny, chicken-legged thing like Aiden. Even my cousin's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/4097482158/">daughter A</a> remains a baby in my mind, though I see her reasonably often (most recently not even two weeks ago), and she's already turned <em>five</em>.<br />
I'm still—just barely—able to carry my nine-year-old daughter L
downstairs to her bedroom if she's fallen asleep. I had to give up on
that for her older sister M, who's eleven, several years ago. And
yesterday was another milestone too: M went to her first movie with just
her friends, no grownups present.<br />
You know, I'm glad I've been able to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">stick around</a> long enough to see all this.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/they-all-grow-up" title="permanent link">3:18 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4307590298680155416"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5987415466225267127"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/see-world" title="permanent link">See the world</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/onepixelearth/51937954/" title="Sao Miguel - Landsat True Colour at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Sao Miguel - Landsat True Colour at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/28/51937954_2c1f310a0e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Since 1972, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsat_program">Landsat</a>
satellites have been photographing the surface of the Earth from space.
However, the amount of data involved meant that only recently could
researchers start assembling the millions of images into an actual map,
where they could all be viewed as a mosaic.<br />
NASA has posted <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalLandSurvey/page1.php">an article</a>
explaining the process. The map covers only land areas (including
islands), but it is not static—it includes data from different years so
you can see changes in land use and climate.<br />
Here's the neat thing. Back in the 1980s, while the information was
there, putting even a single year's images into a map would have cost
you at least $36 million (USD). Now you can get <a href="http://landsat.usgs.gov/science_GLS2005.php">the whole thing</a> online for free. <a href="http://glovis.usgs.gov/">Take a look</a>. If you <a href="http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/">poke around</a>, there's a lot more info than in <a href="http://earth.google.com/">Google Earth</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/astronomy" rel="tag">astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/see-world" title="permanent link">11:07 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5987415466225267127"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1592253239493712973"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/my-interview-last-week-on-cbc-tv" title="permanent link">My interview last week on CBC TV</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Last week, reporter Theresa Lalonde from CBC interviewed me
at my house about how people can plan for what to do with their online
presence after they die. The <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/BC/ID=1334554832">TV video report</a> is now online, and soon I'll post the audio radio versions she did as well.<br />
The topic is similar to a much <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/edited-interview-now-available">longer interview</a>
I had with Nora Young at CBC's "Spark" last year. There are basically
two components to the whole enterprise: figuring out which online
activities of yours to shut down and how, and figuring out which ones to
keep going and how.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/my-interview-last-week-on-cbc-tv" title="permanent link">6:09 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1592253239493712973"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6519996061867651959"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/help-me-win-peoples-choice-podcast" title="permanent link">Help me win a People's Choice Podcast Award</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/" title="Vote for Inside Home Recording at PodcastAwards.com"><img align="right" alt="Vote for Podcast Awards" border="0" class="post" height="100" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2684/4108662300_91c39ccb22_o.png" width="300" /></a>The podcast I've co-hosted since 2006, <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>, has been nominated for a <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">2009 Podcast Award</a>, in the Education category. We're up against some heavy hitters, such as <a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/">Grammar Girl</a> and <a href="http://www.theskepticsguide.org/">The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe</a>, so to have a chance of winning, I'm asking for your help.<br />
Simply go to <a href="http://www.podcastawards.com/">PodcastAwards.com</a>
and choose Inside Home Recording in the Education category. (Feel free
to pick any other shows in other categories too.) Then put your name and
email address at the bottom and confirm your vote when it reaches your
email box. Finally, if you can, please <em>do it again</em> tomorrow, and each day until voting ends on November 30. Each person can apparently vote once per day.<br />
I'm not sure how good a shot we have, and the prizes aren't huge, but it would be fun to win. Thanks!<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/help-me-win-peoples-choice-podcast" title="permanent link">9:14 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6519996061867651959"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="966024987452728452"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/puppy-vs-infant" title="permanent link">Puppy vs. infant</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/4102461564/" title="new rain coat for Lucy at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="new rain coat for Lucy at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/4102461564_0f4b22ecd0_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>I promise not to turn this into a full-on dog blog, but at least indulge me during our first few days in puppydom here.<br />
Puppies, it seems, are easier than infants, at least if my
ten-years-removed newborn recollections of our kids remain accurate. A
puppy needs lots of attention, yes, but it can eat independently, move
around by itself, and learn to go to the bathroom outside.<br />
However, I've discovered the sleep deprivation can be similar. Until we've figured out <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box">Lucy</a>'s
nighttime patterns, we're all a little on edge, sleeping with one eye
open to make sure she's okay and not doing anything untoward.<br />
And we're housetraining her, of course. So while we don't have to get
up nearly as often as you do with a baby, at least with a baby you can
stay in the nice warm house. Training a puppy means trekking into the
rainy yard at 4:30 in the morning. That can take a toll on your state of
mind the next day.<br />
But, just like a newborn, Lucy makes up for it by being almost
painfully cute. In fact, my wife Air figured out that our dog looks
disturbingly like <a href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=ewok">an Ewok</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/starwars" rel="tag">starwars</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/puppy-vs-infant" title="permanent link">11:53 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=966024987452728452"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
13 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="737159054769956225"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box" title="permanent link">Step 1: put your pup in the box</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
It took a little over <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dog-in-family">ten days</a>, but we found ourselves <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4101858936/in/set-72157622673500235/">a puppy</a>! (I've posted a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4101205015/in/set-72157622673500235/">short movie</a>.)<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4101858936/" title="Step 1: put your pup in the box by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Step 1: put your pup in the box" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2455/4101858936_05b9d77c60.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
We've called her Lucy. She was born around August 25, 2009, and is half <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shih_Tzu">shihtzu</a> and half <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poodle#Poodle_sizes">toy poodle</a>, making her a <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shih-poo">shih-poo</a></cite>, or, as I prefer the term, <cite>shpoo</cite>.
Housebreaking Lucy appears to be the first challenge, but she has
adjusted to our house and family shockingly fast otherwise. She is also
surprisingly quiet for a little dog, which is nice.<br />
She even kept me company in the bathroom during one of my bouts of intestinal side effects from my cancer medicine today.<br />
Oh yeah, I also finally <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dont-try-to-get-iphone-first-day">got an iPhone</a> yesterday. But it doesn't seem like a particularly big deal now.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/iphone" rel="tag">iphone</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/step-1-put-your-pup-in-box" title="permanent link">6:12 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=737159054769956225"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">8 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
11 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4563896771851404272"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/death-and-idealism" title="permanent link">Death and idealism</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I have heard there was a time when some of the older veterans at today's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day#Canada">Remembrance Day</a>
ceremonies thought there might be no more wars. They fought, and died,
and killed, and saw the waste and destruction—and believed that perhaps
the cost was too great. That nations and societies could decide to put
the barbarism behind us.<br />
There were young veterans at the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/11/11/remembrance-ceremonies.html">ceremonies today</a>, much younger than me, returned from Afghanistan and elsewhere. Sadly, I don't think they can share in that old idealism.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/remembranceday" rel="tag">remembranceday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/war" rel="tag">war</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/death-and-idealism" title="permanent link">2:11 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4563896771851404272"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="705360353491371104"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/what-comes-and-goes" title="permanent link">What comes and goes</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I've been a little sick this week. Not with an infection, but with what I think are side effects both from my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/see-my-cancer">cancer medication</a> and from the H1N1 and seasonal <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/11/06/f-swine-flu-vaccine-rollout-timeline.html">flu shots</a>
I had last week. My right arm, where the H1N1 vaccine went in, is still
sore like I've been punched. I've had periodic mild fevers all week,
I've slept a lot, and the intestinal symptoms I usually have are more
pronounced than usual.<br />
I assume it's the combination of side effects that have made me a bit
more ill, but it's hard to know. My cancer is growing very slowly in my
lungs, but it's not shrinking. So I can expect that eventually it, or
the effects of long-term therapies, or both together, will make me
weaker and give me more pain. I don't think that's happening now. I
expect and hope that as my immune system builds antibodies to the two
flu strains (something that takes a week or two), I'll perk up a little.<br />
I can't be certain. I always have some fear that a new weakness or
pain I develop won't get better. The fear itself can be tiring, either
at its usual low level or when it flares up. But that too is something
I've become used to. Fear, like pain, like fatigue, comes and goes.<br />
Some other things, I have discovered, do not. They stay. Love is one.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/love" rel="tag">love</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/what-comes-and-goes" title="permanent link">11:05 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=705360353491371104"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1824149373803920319"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/end-of-wall" title="permanent link">The end of the Wall</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardsajdak/802468322/" title="Berlin_wall_12tritone at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Berlin_wall_12tritone at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1163/802468322_1a4c8563b3_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>When I saw the footage of people <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/irisheyes/4079109660/">hammering away</a> at the Berlin Wall <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/11/08/berlin-wall-anniversary.html">20 years ago</a>,
I cried. I've never been there (the closest I came was Frankfurt
Airport, three years earlier), but it's where my dad was born in 1939. <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2234900">Berlin</a>
has always loomed large in my family's history—through stories from him
and my aunt, from my grandmother and step-grandfather, of the War, and
the Blockade. And in the phone calls and letters to and from the city,
where we still have relatives.<br />
Berlin is where my grandfather Karl, my father's father, died in
1947. Thin and weakened in a Russian PoW camp, he returned to his family
when the War ended, but never regained his full health. In the ravaged
city, medical care wasn't quite good enough, or medicine available
enough, to save him when he caught an infection—perhaps pleurisy,
perhaps something else. With modern antibiotics and intensive care, he
would probably have lived. And I would almost certainly never have been
born.<br />
My parents will be in Berlin <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/family-and-flight">again</a>
this week, able to cross back and forth across the city. The Wall is
only shards now, the city and Germany itself now whole, if sometimes
awkwardly. I visited Moscow and what was then Leningrad in 1985, while
Russia was still fully Communist, though waning. Where today there are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33096876@N00/3903468186/">billboards</a>,
then the signs were only massive revolutionary slogans. To my children,
the Cold War is history, long gone before they were born.<br />
But it's not really gone. Current events emerge from what happened
then. And my father told me that, a few years ago when he visited the
village in the former East Germany to which he'd been evacuated late in
the War, the buildings still had bullet holes in the walls.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/europe" rel="tag">europe</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/war" rel="tag">war</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/end-of-wall" title="permanent link">9:12 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1824149373803920319"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
06 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2055919166150527701"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/raising-free-thinking-kids" title="permanent link">Raising free-thinking kids</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<i>(Cross-posted from Buzz Bishop's <a href="http://www.dad-camp.com/2009/11/free-thinking-kids/">DadCAMP</a>.)</i><br />
Back in the mid-1970s when I grew up in Vancouver, almost all the
stores were closed on Sundays, because of a piece of legislation called
the <cite>Lord's Day Act</cite>. Every day before class in elementary school, we said the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Prayer#English_versions">Lord's Prayer</a>.
These were vestiges of a general assumption, made since British
Columbia was colonized a century earlier: even if everyone in B.C.
wasn't Christian, the province would still run as if they were.<br />
But Metro Vancouver has become remarkably secular in the three decades since then. In the 2001 Census, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Vancouver#Religion">40% of the population</a>
identified itself as having "no religious affiliation," and the
proportion is probably even bigger now. (That's two and a half times the
average across Canada.) My wife and I fit the trend: <strong>we have raised our two daughters, ages 9 and 11, in a non-religious household.</strong> Like us, few of our friends attend a mosque, temple, or church.<br />
Buzz asked me to write this post because he saw that I just joined the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Parenting-Beyond-Belief/77773055518">Facebook group</a> for <a href="http://www.parentingbeyondbelief.com/">Parenting Beyond Belief</a>,
a website run by Dale McGowan from Atlanta, Georgia. I signed up not
because I needed much advice about raising children without religion
(something many of us now do, especially in Vancouver), but to note
publicly that it's been the approach in my family since our kids were
born.<br />
[<a href="http://www.dad-camp.com/2009/11/free-thinking-kids/">Read more at dad-camp.com...</a>]<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion" rel="tag">religion</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/raising-free-thinking-kids" title="permanent link">10:22 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2055919166150527701"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4054878927644975132"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dont-try-to-get-iphone-first-day" title="permanent link">Don't try to get an iPhone the first day</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Today was the first day that my mobile carrier, <a href="http://www.telusmobility.com/en/BC/iphones/">Telus Mobility</a>
(once BC Tel, the former British Columbia telephone monopoly), offered
Apple's iPhone for sale. I've been a Telus mobile customer since 1998,
and have generally had a good experience with customer service, wireless
coverage, and phone performance—quite in contrast with <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/11/farewell-telus-you-blew-it.html">how I felt</a> when I quit using Telus broadband Internet four years ago.<br />
I've decided to get an iPhone. I've had a first-generation <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/11/ipod-touch-my-first-impressions-and">iPod Touch</a> (kindly given to me by my employer <a href="http://www.navarik.com/">Navarik</a>)
for two years now, and my wife has been using an iPhone 3GS on the
rival Rogers network since earlier this year. The combination of my iPod
Touch and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/shiny-shiny">LG Shine 8700</a>
flip phone has worked just fine for me, but I've also seen what those
two lack and the current iPhones offer—the camera, GPS,
always-accessible email and web surfing, better speed, and so on.<br />
However, today, the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/10/telus-and-bell-go-iphone-in-canada">first day</a>,
was not the one for me to try upgrading. With a little over a year left
on my current phone contract, the basic policy is that I'd have to
spend several hundred dollars more than the fully-subsidized $200 price
for a new iPhone 3GS, and I'm not interested in that. But because I've
been with them so long, Telus has offered me deals in the past—if I talk
to their phone reps first.<br />
Yet while there seemed to be plenty of iPhones on hand, the Telus
retail computer system for its storefront franchisees was up and down
all day, the phone customer service was overwhelmed, and I was unable,
despite a couple of long waits on hold and a dropped call, to find out
whether I would be able to get buy one cheaply. By the time I tried
phoning a second time after that dropped connection, Telus wasn't even
accepting new calls (!).<br />
I had to step back and stop fuming that this was yet another occasion
when a wireless carrier turned an exciting prospect into a frustrating
runaround—you know, "I want to give the company more money, but it
doesn't seem to want to take it." Yes, Telus should probably have been
better prepared to handle the obviously substantial demand for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/x180/354638930/">this crazy phone</a>.
But the people I talked to were all unfailingly friendly and as helpful
as they could be. They were simply let down by a technical sales
infrastructure that didn't work for any of us.<br />
Patience is still worthwhile. I'll wait a few days and try again. Telus hasn't quite blown it for me this time. Not yet.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/iphone" rel="tag">iphone</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/telecommunications" rel="tag">telecommunications</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/telus" rel="tag">telus</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dont-try-to-get-iphone-first-day" title="permanent link">10:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4054878927644975132"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2163629700843591401"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/family-and-flight" title="permanent link">Family and flight</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4079070295/" title="Mom, Dad, and Derek at Fairmont YVR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Mom, Dad, and Derek at Fairmont YVR" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2560/4079070295_42d5692dc6_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today my parents flew to Frankfurt for a couple of weeks in Germany. They're staying with friends in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Zwischenahn">Bad Zwischenahn</a>, as well as visiting some of my father's relatives in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/berlin-1965">Berlin</a>,
where he was born and lived until 1955. They had enough airline points
to travel First Class, which I don't think they've ever done before.<br />
Their trip is shorter than they had initially planned. My parents
live next door to us in our duplex, the same house where I grew up, and
they offer us a lot of support, especially with the kids, and
particularly since I've been ill over the past few years. I told them a
few weeks ago that their initial trip seemed too long to me. It was hard
to admit that—I'm 40 years old and don't like having to depend on my
parents again.<br />
Yet it wouldn't have been fair not to ask. I have <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life">a lot</a>
of side effects from the cancer medications these days, and while we
can handle not having my mom and dad nearby for a week or two, longer
than that is likely to put a lot of pressure on my wife, and my
daughters, when I'm not feeling well.<br />
The three of us, Mom, Dad, and I, drove to the airport today, and had a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4079070295/">fancy lunch</a> in the <a href="http://www.fairmont.com/VancouverAirport">Fairmont Hotel</a>
overlooking the jetway. I dropped them at the gate, then walked around
the airport a bit and watched the planes some more. Then I drove home
and spent an hour in the bathroom, as happens these days.<br />
I'm sure they'll have a fun trip, and I'm glad they could go. I'll be happy to pick them up when they return too.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/airport" rel="tag">airport</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/europe" rel="tag">europe</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/family-and-flight" title="permanent link">10:47 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2163629700843591401"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3107779620818734538"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/scary-stuff-kiddies" title="permanent link">Scary stuff, kiddies</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsolved_problems_in_physics"><img align="right" alt="Gravitational lensing" border="0" class="post" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Gravitationell-lins-4.jpg/577px-Gravitationell-lins-4.jpg" width="192" /></a>For a long time (maybe a couple of years now), I've been having an on-and-off <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/billion-years-or-600-million-give-or">discussion</a>
with a friend via Facebook about God and atheism, evolution and
intelligent design, and similar topics. He's a committed Christian, just
as I'm a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">convinced atheist</a>. While neither of us has changed the other's mind, the exchange has certainly got each of us thinking.<br />
Something that came up for me yesterday when I was writing to him was
a question I sort of asked myself: what elements of current scientific
knowledge make me uncomfortable? I try not to be someone who rejects
ideas solely because they contradict my philosophy. I don't, for
instance, think that there are Things We Are Not Meant to Know. However,
like anyone, I'm more likely to enjoy <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/12/review-why-beautiful-people-have-more">a teardown</a> of things I disagree with. Similarly, <strong>there are things that seem to be true that part of me hopes are not.</strong><br />
<h4>
Don't be afraid of the dark</h4>
Recent discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology are a good example.
Over the past couple of decades, improved observations of the distant
universe have turned up a lot of evidence for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter">dark matter</a> and (more recently) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_energy">dark energy</a>.
Those are so-far hypothetical constructs physicists have developed to
explain why, for instance, galaxies rotate the way they do and the
universe looks to be expanding faster than it should be. <strong>No one knows what dark matter and dark energy might actually be—they're not like any matter or energy we understand today.</strong><br />
But we can measure them, and they make up the vast majority of the
gravitational influence visible in the universe—96% of it. So the kinds
of matter and energy we're familiar with seem to compose <em>only 4%</em> of what exists. The rest is so bizarre that <cite>Nova</cite> host and physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson <a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Musings+of+a+solo-ist+astrophysicist.-a0207350180">has said</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
We call it <cite>dark energy</cite> but we could just as easily have called it <cite>Fred</cite>. The same is true of <cite>dark matter</cite>;
85 percent of all the gravity we measure in the universe is traceable
to a substance about which we know nothing. We can call that <cite>Wilma</cite>,
right? So one day we'll know what Fred and Wilma are but right now we
measure the distance and those are the placeholder terms we give them.<br />
</blockquote>
We've been here before. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson-Morley_experiment">Observations</a>
about the speed of light in the late 1800s contradicted some of the
fundamental ideas about absolute space and time in Newtonian physics.
Analysis yielded a set of new and different theories about space, time,
and gravity in the early years of the 20th century. The guy who figured
most of it out was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity">Albert Einstein</a>
with his theories of relativity. It took a few more years for
experiment and observation to confirm his ideas. Other theorists
extended the implications into relativity's sister field of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics">quantum mechanics</a>—although there are still ways that general relativity and quantum mechanics don't quite square up with each other.<br />
And if that seems obscure, keep in mind how much of the technology of
our modern world—from lasers, transistors, and digital computers to GPS
satellite systems and the Web you're reading this on—<a href="http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~ianb/history/">wouldn't work</a>
if relativity and quantum mechanics weren't true. Indeed, the very
chemistry of our bodies depends on the quantum behaviour of electrons in
the molecules that make us up. Modern physics has strange implications
for causality and the nature of time, which make many people
uncomfortable. But there's no rule that reality has to be comfortable.<br />
<h4>
Bummer, man</h4>
To the extent that I understand them, I've come to accept the fuzzy,
probabilistic nature of reality at quantum scales, and the bent nature
of spacetime at relativistic ones. Dark matter and energy are even
pretty cool as concepts: most of the composition of the universe is
still something we have only learned the very first things about.<br />
But dark energy in particular still gives me the heebie-jeebies.
That's because the reason physicists think it exists is that the
universe is not only expanding, but expanding faster all the time. <strong>Dark energy, whatever it is, is pushing the universe apart.</strong><br />
Which means that, billions of years from now, that expansion won't
slow down or reverse, as I learned it might when I was a kid watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc">Carl Sagan</a> on <cite>Cosmos</cite>. Rather, it seems inevitable that, <em>trillions</em> of years from now, galaxies will spread <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_an_expanding_universe">so far apart</a>
that they are no longer detectable to each other, and then the stars
will die, and then the black holes will evaporate, and the universe will
enter a permanent state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_death">heat death</a>. (For a detailed description, the later chapters of <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/">Phil Plait</a>'s <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Skies-These-Ways-World/dp/0670019976/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Death From the Skies!</a></cite> do a great job.)<br />
To understate it rather profoundly, that seems like a bummer. I wish
it weren't so. Sure, it's irrelevant to any of us, or to any life that
has ever existed or will ever exist on any time scale we can understand.
But to know that the universe is finite, with a definite end where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy#Consequences_and_applications">entropy</a> wins, bothers me. But as I said, <strong>reality has no reason to be comforting.</strong><br />
Either dark energy and dark matter are real, or current theories of
cosmology and physics more generally are deeply, deeply wrong. Most
likely the theories are largely right, if incomplete; dark matter and
energy are real; and we will eventually determine what they are. There's
a bit of comfort in that.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/astronomy" rel="tag">astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/time" rel="tag">time</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/scary-stuff-kiddies" title="permanent link">3:43 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3107779620818734538"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">11 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6674272439946630952"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/listen-to-salish-sea" title="permanent link">Listen to the Salish Sea</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salish_Sea"><img align="right" alt="Salish Sea" border="0" class="post" height="198" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/PNW-straits.jpg" width="168" /></a>When I interviewed CBC Radio producer Paolo Pietropaolo <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=718">back in January</a> on the Inside Home Recording podcast, he talked about his upcoming documentary on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salish_Sea">Salish Sea</a> here in British Columbia.<br />
The <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/outfront/listen/2009/09-05-15.html">original version</a> appeared in the spring, and a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200911/20091102.html">documentary edition</a>
was broadcast this morning on the Canada-wide radio show "The Current."
You can listen to both. They might work best in headphones, even though
they weren't broadcast in stereo.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/seattle" rel="tag">seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/listen-to-salish-sea" title="permanent link">9:30 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6674272439946630952"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
01 November 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8246096852590339906"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dog-in-family" title="permanent link">Dog in the family?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/4067189161/" title="Meet cute by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Meet cute" class="post" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2506/4067189161_b114b8ef68_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I've
never owned a dog, not even as a child. I've had fish (we have them
now), and back in the early '90s, my roommates and I had a smart black
24-toed cat named Guildenstern, who died too young and is buried in the
back yard. But never a dog.<br />
We're probably going to get a dog. It has to be hypoallergenic, since
my wife Air is allergic to most furry things. But our experience with a
couple of friends' dogs (including dogsitting <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3177670173/">Podcast Puppy</a>) has shown us that a few breeds, usually poodle crosses, don't set off her immune system.<br />
I've always been reticent to adopt a dog because our family likes to
travel, but with my cancer, I can't and don't travel very far these
days, and with my wife at work and the kids at school, I'm often home by
myself. The right dog would make a good companion for me, and get me
out of the house more. I need that. And most dogs seem to like me. Plus
caring for a dog is something new to learn.<br />
I've warmed considerably to the idea. We visited some puppies today. It probably won't be long. I'll keep you posted.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/11/dog-in-family" title="permanent link">11:56 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8246096852590339906"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">10 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-15372983166207149972018-11-11T12:47:00.000-08:002018-11-11T12:47:06.164-08:00Derek Sep 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3823727928575122867"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/blasphemy-funny-if-it-werent-often-so" title="permanent link">Blasphemy: funny if it weren't often so dangerous</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mieke/3180200923/" title="oh no god by Spring Globe on Flickr "><img align="right" alt="Atheist bus sign" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3370/3180200923_decd820785_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today is <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6247329/International-blasphemy-day-from-Danish-cartoons-to-Jerry-Springer---The-Opera.html">International Blasphemy Day</a> (of course there are a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blasphemy-Day-International/143655943748">Facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50200339561">group</a>). The event is held on the anniversary of the 2005 publication in Denmark of those <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy">infamous cartoons</a> of the Prophet Muhammad. Subversive cartoonist <a href="http://www.rcrumb.com/">Robert Crumb</a> is coincidentally in on the action this year too, with his <a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/r-crumb-zaps-the-bible/">illustrated version</a> of the Book of Genesis.<br />
Blasphemy Day isn't aimed merely at Islam or Christianity, but at all and any religions and sects that include the concepts of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy">blasphemy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy">apostasy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desecration">desecration</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrilege">sacrilege</a>, and the like. "Ideas don't need rights," goes the tagline, "people do."<br />
While my grandfather was a church musician, and my parents had me
baptized and took me to services for a short while as a youngster, I've
never been religious, so no doubt I blaspheme regularly without even
thinking about it. I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion">written plenty</a> about religion on this blog in the past few years, often blasphemously in someone's opinion, I'm sure. In 2007 I wrote my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/02/not-new-thing.html">preferred summary</a> of my attitude:<br />
<blockquote>
The beauty of a globular cluster or a diatom, the jagged height
of a mountain or the depth of geological time—to me, these are natural
miracles, not supernatural ones.</blockquote>
In that same post, I also wrote tangentially about blasphemy:<br />
<blockquote>
...given the scope of this universe, and any others that might
exist, why would any god or gods be so insecure as to require regulated
tributes from us in order to be satisifed with their accomplishments?</blockquote>
If the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/world/asia/23iht-24afghan.9450877.html">consequences</a>—imposed by humans against each other, by the way—weren't so <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/mar/23/austria.arts">serious</a>
in so many places, the idea of blasphemy would be very funny. Even if
there were a creator (or creators) of the Universe, how could anything
so insignificant as a person, or even the whole population of a
miniscule planet, possibly insult it?<br />
We're talking about <i>the frickin' Universe</i> here. (Sorry, should be properly blasphemous: <i>the goddamned Universe</i>.) You know, <a href="http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html">13.7 billion</a> years old? Billions of galaxies, with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ex__M-OwSA">billions of stars</a> each? That one? Anything happening here on Earth is, on that scale, entirely irrelevant.<br />
To my mind, there are no deities anyway. But if you believe there
are, please consider this: it's silly to think that a god or gods could
be emotionally fragile enough to be affected by our thoughts and
behaviours, and even sillier to believe that people could or should have
any role in enforcing godly rules. Silliest yet is that believers in a
particular set of godly rules should <a href="http://bible.cc/leviticus/24-16.htm">enforce</a> those rules <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depictions_of_Muhammad#Wikipedia_article">on people</a> who <a href="http://atheism.about.com/b/2003/11/14/hindu-blasphemy.htm">don't share</a> the same belief.<br />
Being a good person is worth doing for <a href="http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismmyths/p/AtheistsMorals.htm">its own sake</a>, and for the sake of our fellow creatures. Sometimes being good, or even simply being <a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071214163519AA51fPB">accurate</a>, may require being blasphemous by someone else's standards. Today is a day to remember that.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion" rel="tag">religion</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/blasphemy-funny-if-it-werent-often-so" title="permanent link">9:59 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3823727928575122867"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">16 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2937282003389595412"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/for-sale-2005-12-inch-ibook-g4-450-cdn" title="permanent link">SOLD: 2005 12-inch iBook G4, $450 Cdn</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<div class="note">
UPDATE: As of the beginning of October, the iBook is sold, sorry! Thanks to those who were interested.</div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/25957513/" title="Start Up the iBook by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Start Up the iBook" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/25957513_e53c1a858a_o.jpg" width="180" /></a>Back in 2005 my wife Air bought her first laptop, the excellent workhorse <a href="http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/stats/ibook_g4_1.2_12.html">12-inch iBook G4</a> (the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/25957513/" title="Start Up the iBook by penmachine, on Flickr">photo</a>
shows her starting it up for the first time back then). She replaced it
with a MacBook earlier this year, and we're not using the iBook as much
as we thought, so it's time to sell it to someone who'll take good care
of it.<br />
<b>We're asking $450 Canadian.</b> Our friends and blog
readers get first dibs, and if you're in Greater Vancouver, we'll
deliver it or arrange to meet you. If you want a small-size 12" Mac
notebook, this is one of the last ones Apple made (with a matte screen,
even). Air has been the only owner, and she's treated the iBook very
well.<br />
The details: it has a 12" screen (1024x768 resolution), 1.2 GHz
PowerPC G4 processor, 768 MB RAM, 30 GB hard drive, Combo Drive (CD,
DVD, CD-R, CD-RW), AirPort Extreme (Wi-Fi 802.11g) wireless built in,
and ATI Radeon 9200 graphics. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, iLife '09, iWork
'09 are installed. You get the original iBook install and restore disks,
box, packaging, cables, etc., and a new battery.<br />
I just completely restored the software install, so the machine boots
up with the Setup Assistant like it's fresh from the factory for you to
configure as you like, including all the swoopy Apple multilingual
"welcome" space graphics and groovy "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZCtPSAGOw">do do dee-do do</a>"
startup soundtrack. The case, screen, and keyboard are all freshly
cleaned. It's white like a kid's teeth before they're old enough to
drink Coke, coffee, or red wine.<br />
<a class="e-mail" href="mailto:dkmiller@pobox.com" title="Send email to Derek">Email me</a> or contact me via <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine">Facebook</a> if you'd like to make a good home for this little cutie.<br />
P.S. I think we have a couple of mini-VGA to VGA and mini-VGA to
composite video adapters we can throw in too, so you can hook the iBook
up to a projector, external monitor, or TV.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/forsale" rel="tag">forsale</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/macosx" rel="tag">macosx</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/for-sale-2005-12-inch-ibook-g4-450-cdn" title="permanent link">10:23 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2937282003389595412"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8752839794410494592"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/scramble" title="permanent link">The scramble</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I played <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/jack-of-all-trades">the gig</a> last night at the tony private <a href="http://www.shaughnessy.org/">Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club</a>,
covering percussion, some drumming, background vocals, and (the first
time for a performance that long) rhythm guitar. I was a bit of mess—my
health was fine, but the three instrumental roles, plus singing, include
lots of mental and physical gymnastics, so I usually felt like I was
scrambling along a bit behind the others. I did okay, and I had a lot of
fun.<br />
It was also the first time this particular band lineup had worked
together. We have another show next Saturday, and I expect I'll do a bit
better, particularly since I'll improve my sense of what I should play
on different songs. I also think a week is about the right amount of
recovery time. Thanks to Jeremy, Dave, Rose, Sebastien, and Christian
for having me sit in for these two Saturdays. It's been a nice break
during my ongoing cancer-treatment nastiness.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/scramble" title="permanent link">11:43 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8752839794410494592"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6839677416649009880"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/links-of-interest-2009-09-26" title="permanent link">Links of interest (2009-09-26):</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<ul>
<li>Photo sharing site Flickr has these new <a href="http://www.flickr.com/help/galleries">Gallery</a> things.</li>
<li>Homemade <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/the-150-space-camera-mit-students-beat-nasa-on-beer-money-budget/">stratosphere camera rig</a> goes sub-orbital to 93,000 feet (18 miles). Total cost? $150.</li>
<li>Suw Charman's life is "<a href="http://chocolateandvodka.com/2009/09/16/yeti-shaving-and-the-project-kill-file/">infested with yetis</a>."</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Identification_System">AIS</a> is the way that commercial ships and boats report their near-coastal positions for navigation. The <a href="http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/">Live Ships Map</a> uses AIS data to show almost-real-time positions for vessels all around the world. Zoom in and be amazed.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail204.html">Strong Bad Email #204</a> had be laughing uncontrollably. Make sure to click around on the end screen for the <a href="http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/dictionary#Easter_Eggs">easter eggs</a>.</li>
<li>Julia Child boils up some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pt0rIZ3ZNE">primordial soup</a>. Really.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.oyemodern.com/designers/re-vision/">Funky bracelets</a> made from old camera lens housings. Nerdy, yet cool.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelmac/features/?view=topnew">Adobe Photoshop Elements 8</a>: most of the cool features, about 85% cheaper than regular Photoshop.</li>
<li>Vancouver's awesome and inexpensive Argo Cafe finally <a href="http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/asian-cuisine-as-diverse-as-vancouver/">gets coverage</a> in the <cite>New York Times</cite>.</li>
<li>When people ask me to spell a word out loud, I notice that I scrunch up my face while I visualize the letters behind my eyelids.</li>
<li>Via <a href="http://www.buzzmachine.com/">Jeff Jarvis</a>: in the future, if politicians have nothing embarrassing on the Net, we'll all wonder <a href="http://joakimblog.nejdeby.se/2009/09/privacy-and-online-persona.html">what it is they're hiding</a> and why they've spent so much effort expunging it.</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cartoon" rel="tag">cartoon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/flickr" rel="tag">flickr</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest" rel="tag">linksofinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/marine" rel="tag">marine</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/restaurant" rel="tag">restaurant</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/links-of-interest-2009-09-26" title="permanent link">1:39 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6839677416649009880"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
23 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4773511980338094996"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/question-about-pets" title="permanent link">A question about pets</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Dave has a <a href="http://itripped.blogspot.com/2009/09/not-good-start-to-week.html">stroller</a> for his little dog. Ianiv and Arieanna have had to put their cat <a href="http://www.blogaholics.ca/archives/2009/09/cats-and-pregnancy.html">on antidepressants</a>. How is it that pets are easier than children again?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pets" rel="tag">pets</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/question-about-pets" title="permanent link">3:10 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4773511980338094996"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
22 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8922120712645515666"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/big-cry" title="permanent link">The big cry</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I've been digitizing some of our old home videos (using a DVD recorder and a Video8 camera borrowed from <a href="http://www.vancouverpianist.com/">Paul</a> to replace our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/12/need-help-converting-analog-video8.html">long-broken one</a>). Footage of my daughters as babies prompted me to hunt for a particular old scan—<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3945439116/">this one</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3945439116/" title="Cry by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Cry" height="170" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2480/3945439116_9870e6b047_o.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
I think I took the two pictures in 2002, when my daughter was about
two and a half. She's nine years old now. And I doubt she'd let me get
away with taking a similar photo today.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/big-cry" title="permanent link">10:48 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8922120712645515666"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8269381601851428449"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/jack-of-all-trades" title="permanent link">Jack of all trades</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/85930876/" title="Derek Miller at Rolands Rabble 12Jan06 - 4.JPG at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Derek Miller at Rolands Rabble 12Jan06 - 4.JPG at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/85930876_dd98a5981b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I
studied classical guitar as a kid, between 1978 and 1982, but I was
never especially good at it. I quit when I changed schools and forgot
pretty much everything about it, including my rudimentary ability to
read music.<br />
A few years later I discovered a talent for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3183655285">the drums</a>, and with my then-roommate <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3189301872">Sebastien</a>
learned to play classic sixties garage rock. By the end of the 1980s
we'd formed a band and played our first gig. Twenty years later, he and I
are still in <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">The Neurotics</a> together, playing many of those same songs.<br />
I don't play as often as I used to, because my cancer and the
associated medication side effects make me weak and unreliable, but the
group is kind enough to let me sit in when I can, alternating with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2827610861">Christian</a>
on drums and percussion on nights I can make it out. This upcoming
weekend, I plan to play yet another show, but in addition to drums,
percussion, and vocals, I'll be trying my hand at electric guitar for a
good chunk of the set—the first time I've done that live onstage in any
serious way for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3183656373">many years</a>.<br />
Of course I resumed playing guitar a long time ago, not long after we
started that first garage band in 1989, and I've even recorded a whole <a href="http://buy.penmachine.com/">album</a> of guitar-based instrumentals, derived from my irregular <a href="http://podcast.penmachine.com/">podcast</a>.
But that was by myself, in the basement, where I could fix my mistakes.
Live, in front of an audience, I don't get that chance.<br />
So I'm spending some time re-learning all those songs I've known for
decades, but this time I have to know what key they're in and what the
chords are. My fingers are a little sore from the practice, but one
other advantage is that I'll know a bunch of tunes I can teach my
youngest daughter, who says she's ready to start playing the guitar I
bought her a few years ago. She's nine, the same age I was in 1978.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/guitar" rel="tag">guitar</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/jack-of-all-trades" title="permanent link">11:13 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8269381601851428449"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8761002118810224097"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/summer-clouds" title="permanent link">Summer clouds</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
By mid-September, Vancouver weather has usually shifted to
the grey and dreary stereotype we live with much of the year. While
we've had a bit of that, this month has exhibited an unusual share of
full-on hot summer sunshine, with more looking to come next week.
Yesterday, with the kids at school and my wife at work, I found a
pleasant spot in a park atop Capitol Hill in Burnaby and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3931854095/">watched the clouds go by</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
The movie is yet another time-lapse video I assembled using my Nikon D90 and Apple's iMovie software. I was in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=harbour+view+park,+burnaby,+bc&sll=49.287656,-122.98486&sspn=0.000481,0.000872&ie=UTF8&ll=49.288754,-122.984734&spn=0.003674,0.006974&t=h&z=17&iwloc=A">Harbour View Park</a>, but the foliage is thick enough right now that you can't really see the harbour. It is visible from a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3931813635/">couple</a> of nearby <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3931823793/">streets</a>, however.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/park" rel="tag">park</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sunshine" rel="tag">sunshine</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/summer-clouds" title="permanent link">6:02 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8761002118810224097"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1953912608168471996"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/book-review-say-everything" title="permanent link">Book Review: Say Everything</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Say-Everything-Blogging-Becoming-Matters/dp/0307451364/?tag=insidehomerec-20" title="Say Everything by Scott Rosenberg"><img align="right" alt="Say Everything" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3851833041_eabf2369d4_o.jpg" width="104" /></a>It's a bit weird reading <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Say-Everything-Blogging-Becoming-Matters/dp/0307451364/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Say Everything</a></cite>, Scott Rosenberg's <a href="http://www.sayeverything.com/">book</a>
about the history of blogging. I've read lots of tech books, but this
one involves many people I know, directly or indirectly, and an industry
I've been part of since its relatively <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_10_01_news_archive.html">early days</a>.
I've corresponded with many of the book's characters, linked back and
forth with them, even met a few in person from time to time. And I
directly experienced and participated in many of the changes Rosenberg
writes about.<br />
The history the book tells, mostly in the first couple of hundred
pages, feels right. He doesn't try to find The First Blogger, but he
outlines how the threads came together to create the first blogs, and
where things went after that. Then Rosenberg turns to analysis and
commentary, which is also good. I never found myself thinking, <i>Hey, that's not right!</i> or <i>You forgot the most important part!</i>—and according to Rosenberg, that was the feeling about mainstream reporting that got people like <a href="http://www.scripting.com/">Dave Winer</a> blogging to begin with.<br />
Rosenberg's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400082471/?tag=insidehomerec-20">last book</a> came out only last year, <a href="http://www.dreamingincode.com/">in 2008</a>, so much of what's in <cite>Say Everything</cite>
is remarkably current. He covers why blogging is likely to survive
newer phenomena like Facebook and Twitter. And he doesn't hold back in
his scorn for the largely old-fashioned thinking of his former newspaper
colleagues (he used to work at the <cite>San Francisco Examiner</cite> before helping found <a href="http://www.salon.com/">Salon</a>).<br />
But then I hit page 317, where he writes:<br />
<blockquote>
...bloggers attend to philosophical discourse as well as
pop-cultural ephemera; they document private traumas as well as public
controversies. They have sought faith and spurned it, <i>chronicled awful illnesses</i> and mourned unimaginable losses. [My emphasis - D.]</blockquote>
That caused a bit of a pang. After all, that's what I've been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">doing here</a> for the past few years. It hit close to home. Next, page 357:<br />
<blockquote>
For some wide population of bloggers, there is ample reason to keep writing about a troubled marriage <i>or a cancer diagnosis</i>
or a death in the family, regardless of how many ethical dilemmas must
be traversed, or how trivial or amateurish their labours are judged.
[Again, my emphasis - D.]</blockquote>
Okay, sure, there are lots of cancer bloggers out there. I'm just
projecting my own experience onto Rosenberg's writing, right? Except,
several hundred pages earlier, Rosenberg had written about an infamous
blogger dustup between <a href="http://www.mappingtheweb.com/2007/08/13/calacanis-winer-gnomedex/">Jason Calacanis and Dave Winer</a> at the Gnomedex 2007 conference in Seattle.<br />
The same conference where, via video link, I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/video-of-my-appearance-at-gnomedex">gave a presentation</a>, about which <a href="http://www.wordyard.com/2007/08/13/derek-miller-at-gnomedex/">Rosenberg wrote</a> on his blog:<br />
<blockquote>
Derek K. Miller is a longtime Canadian blogger [who'd] been
slated to give a talk at Gnomedex, but he’s still recovering from an
operation, so making the trip to Seattle wasn’t in the cards. Instead,
he spoke to the conference from his bed via a video link, and talked
about what it’s been like to tell the story of his cancer experience in
public and in real time. Despite the usual video-conferencing hiccups (a
few stuttering images and such), it was an electrifying talk.</blockquote>
Later that month, he mentioned me in an article in the U.K.'s <cite><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/aug/29/comment.digitalmedia">Guardian</a></cite> newspaper. When he refers to people blogging about a cancer diagnosis, he doesn't just mean people <i>like</i> me, he means <i>me</i>.
Thus I don't think I can be objective about this book. I think it's a
good one. I think it tells an honest and comprehensive story about where
blogging came from and why it's important. Yet I'm too close to the
story—even if not by name, I'm <i>in</i> the story—to evaluate it dispassionately.<br />
Then again, as Rosenberg writes, one of blogging's strengths is in <i>not</i>
being objective. In declaring your interests and conflicts and forging
ahead with your opinion and analysis anyway, and interacting online with
other people who have other opinions.<br />
So, then: <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Say-Everything-Blogging-Becoming-Matters/dp/0307451364/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Say Everything</a></cite> is a good book. You should read it—after all, not only does it talk about a lot of people I know, I'm in it too!<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/books" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gnomedex" rel="tag">gnomedex</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/book-review-say-everything" title="permanent link">6:12 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1953912608168471996"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
13 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8935188679636928186"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/it-looks-like-leica-is-back-finally" title="permanent link">It looks like Leica is back, finally</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bfishadow/3909095064/" title="Leica M9 by bfishadow on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Leica M9 by bfishadow on Flickr" border="0" class="post" height="161" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3420/3909095064_65d851b9b9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Back in the early 20th century, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_Camera">Leica</a> cameras were the first to make <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-crop-factors-35-mm">35 mm film</a>
practical for still photography (instead of movies). For decades, they
defined well made, technically innovative photographic tools. But since
the autofocus and digital revolutions of the 1980s and 2000s, Leica
seemed to lose its way. Though the company made partnerships with
Minolta and, more recently, Panasonic—repackaging Panasonic cameras as
Leicas with a few cosmetic and firmware changes, and charging a lot more
money for the name—its flagship German-made <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_R_bayonet">SLR</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M_mount">rangefinder</a> cameras fell behind the rest of the industry.<br />
Some professionals continued to use Leica cameras, mostly because of
the superb lenses, but among amateurs and enthusiasts, the brand became
more of a cult, with its extremely high-priced cameras and lenses
fetishized by collectors, but used less and less by regular people
taking pictures. In 1982, Leicas were the official cameras taken by the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/mount_everest/">first Canadian expedition</a>
to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Almost 30 years later, it would be
hard to imagine such an expedition making a similar choice.<br />
Yes, today's popular cameras (amateur and professional) include a lot of what the <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/leica-man.htm">Leica Man</a>
would call superfluous. But even hard-core photographers—or especially
them—now demand autofocus, intelligent computerized exposure metering,
and state-of-the-art digital capture. Leica, in contrast to Japanese
latecomers like Canon, Nikon, and even Sony, could offer none of these
things. Technically, Leica's bulletproof M-series rangefinders were
stuck in the '60s, and their R-series SLRs in the '70s. For the huge
amounts of money Leica charged, their digital offerings like the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/leica-slr-lets-you-swap-film-and">crop-frame M8 rangefinder and Modul R digital back</a> seemed (quite literally for the Modul R) like bolt-on afterthoughts.<br />
But this week, Leica introduced these:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3917878568/" title="New Leica X1, M9, and S2 - September 2009 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="New Leica X1, M9, and S2 - September 2009" height="722" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3430/3917878568_fce462e214_o.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
They are the new Leica <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0909/09090908leicax1.asp">X1</a> compact camera ($2000 USD), <a href="http://kenrockwell.com/leica/m9.htm">M9</a> full-frame digital rangefinder ($7000 USD), and <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/leica-s2-first.shtml">S2</a>
medium-format digital SLR ($22,000 USD). (The X1 and M9 are just
announced; the S2 first appeared last year, but only now is getting near
release, with an actual price.)<br />
No, I did not accidentally add an extra zero to those prices. Leicas
remain among the most expensive still cameras available to those outside
the military, space programs, and specialized technical and scientific
fields. Their lenses, if you can believe it, are even more upscale and
(many say) of unsurpassed quality. For the M series rangefinder cameras,
a "low end" f/2 Summicron 50 mm is $2000 USD, while its big brother,
the top-of-the-line f/0.95 super–low-light Noctilux 50 mm is
$10,000 USD. The S-series lenses <i>start</i> at $4500.<br />
And yet, for once, these cameras are unique and innovative. All three
are assembled in Germany, to start. The X1 is probably still
overpriced, but it does include a genuine Leica lens and an unusually
large (and thus low-noise) sensor for a compact camera. The M9 is, for
many aficionados, the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/leicam9/">holy grail</a>
they've been waiting for since digital cameras became mainstream: a
Leica rangefinder, of the same dimensions and metallic heft of its
predecessors, fully compatible with nearly every Leica M lens made since
1954, yet with a full-frame 18-megapixel digital sensor like those in
high-end digital SLRs.<br />
The S2, while well out of reach of any normal photographer (even
those who might consider an M9), is the really unusual one: Leica's
first real foray into medium-format photography. The sensor is more than
50% larger than a full-frame 35 mm chip, but the camera itself is
similar in size to <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS1DSMarkIII/">Canon</a>'s smaller-sensored 1D and 1Ds Mark III and <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond3x/">Nikon</a>'s D3 and D3x cameras, and has a much simpler interface than other modern DSLRs.<br />
The S-series lenses are huge and heavy, but until now (with the marginal exception of the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/04092902mamiya_zd.asp">Mamiya ZD</a>), digital medium-format photography hasn't had the convenience of autofocus SLR handling and simplicity. From the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/articles/leicafactory2009/page4.asp">initial quick impressions</a>
of people who've tried it, Leica may have created a winner for high-end
studio and landscape photographers in the S2. And, for the first time
in many years, Leica has a truly modern camera that no one else can
match. For now.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canon" rel="tag">canon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/leica" rel="tag">leica</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sony" rel="tag">sony</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/it-looks-like-leica-is-back-finally" title="permanent link">3:59 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8935188679636928186"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
11 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3787009277264530732"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/lonely-cactus" title="permanent link">Lonely cactus</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<div align="center">
</div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3911680126/">Time lapse video</a> between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. I had hoped one of the flowers would open, but no such luck. Music is from my track "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2007/12/striking-silver.html">Striking Silver</a>."<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/lonely-cactus" title="permanent link">11:28 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3787009277264530732"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5274409788328031218"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/few-short-movies-by-me" title="permanent link">A few short movies by me</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I made three short videos a little while ago, but forgot to link them up here. Silly me. Here they are:<br />
<div align="center">
<br />
<small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3869559104/">Whistler lifts (with bears)</a></small></div>
<div align="center">
<br />
<small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3868877175/">Gnomedex 9 welcome party</a></small></div>
<div align="center">
<br />
<small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3869778602/">The <cite>Norwegian Pearl</cite> departs Seattle</a></small></div>
All three were taken with my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3663335437/in/set-72157620610598266/">Nikon D90</a> SLR, which has a video mode.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/conferences" rel="tag">conferences</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gnomedex" rel="tag">gnomedex</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/meetup" rel="tag">meetup</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/seattle" rel="tag">seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/whistler" rel="tag">whistler</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/few-short-movies-by-me" title="permanent link">11:00 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5274409788328031218"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8229579857363333800"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/hard-days-night" title="permanent link">A hard day's night</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My wife Air had a hard day today, for various reasons,
which is too bad, because it was her birthday. But I was glad to be in
good health myself, so I could help her out. Things have improved a bit
this evening, so tomorrow should be better. She'll probably try for a
fun-birthday do-over on the weekend.<br />
<br />
On the plus side, I bought <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/09/5-beatles-rock-band-tunes-were-ready-to-rock-5-well-miss/">Beatles Rock Band</a> today, and we all had fun with it. My 20-year tenure as drummer/vocalist for a '60s rock revival <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">band</a>
helps with the drumming and especially the singing, but knowing how to
play a real guitar or bass only tends to confuse things. Air is also a
naturally good singer, so she could handle those John Lennon melodies
with aplomb. The kids loved flailing away too. It was pretty fab.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/beatles" rel="tag">beatles</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/guitar" rel="tag">guitar</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/videogames" rel="tag">videogames</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/hard-days-night" title="permanent link">10:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8229579857363333800"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5808177526616484239"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/wordpress-hack-response" title="permanent link">My lazy personal response to the latest WordPress hack</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A few days ago, many people running slightly out-of-date versions of <a href="http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a> blogging software on their servers had it hacked in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/09/wordpress-hacking-blogging">very nasty ways</a>. Understandably, that's caused <a href="http://ihnatko.com/2009/09/06/ihnatko-com-fixed-mmmmmmaybe-3/">a lot</a> of <a href="http://scobleizer.com/2009/09/05/i-dont-feel-safe-with-wordpress-hackers-broke-in-and-took-things/">consternation</a>, including suggestions (via <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/09/07/ceglowski-hacked">John Gruber</a>) that you <a href="http://idlewords.com/2009/09/how_to_not_get_your_blog_hacked.htm">shouldn't run</a> that kind of software on a public server yourself. Indeed, perhaps you should use <a href="http://idlewords.com/2009/09/using_wordpress_to_generate_flat_files.htm">crazy complicated workarounds</a>
involving Unix terminal commands and such instead. (As if doing so is
less complicated than keeping WordPress up to date, but anyway...)<br />
Now, to be clear, I do run several sites using WordPress, and was
lucky enough to have all of them up to date so that they weren't bitten
by this hack. But <i>this</i> site, my personal blog, has always used <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>, the <a href="http://www.wordyard.com/2009/09/02/bloggers-10th-birthday-party/">original</a>
easy blogging application. Not only that, but I use it in its original
configuration, which provides the benefits of the weird Unix approach
above, but without the hassle.<br />
I didn't come to this approach because I'm especially security
conscious. Mostly, it's just inertia and laziness. I started publishing
this blog using Blogger almost nine years ago, in October 2000. It
works, so I just kept publishing it that way, through several redesigns
and a couple of hosting moves. In other words, I got lucky. On to the
details.<br />
John <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/09/07/ceglowski-hacked">wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
[Creating blog posts on a local, non-public computer] is how a
lot of early blogging software worked. The software generated static
files and uploaded them to the publicly available server, which meant
the software was not publicly available. This is very secure, especially
if you’re using SFTP, but the downside is that you can't post from
multiple machines.</blockquote>
...and Maciej Ceglowski <a href="http://idlewords.com/2009/09/how_to_not_get_your_blog_hacked.htm">said</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Either host your blog with a competent centralized site (like
LiveJournal or Blogger) that takes the burden of upgrading, backing up
and patching off your hands, or use whatever personal publishing
software you like (WordPress, Movable Type, and so on), but keep it on a
local machine.</blockquote>
I wrote to John that:<br />
<blockquote>
There is a third way. Blogger still allows you to use its
original, intermediate model: access the blogging software on Blogger's
server, but <a href="http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=12460">publish via FTP or SFTP</a>
to your own server (i.e. the files travel from Blogger's server to your
web server). That's the way I've run penmachine.com since 2000, and it
has the advantages of:<br />
<ol>
<li>publishing static files that don't require Blogger or a database to stay alive.</li>
<li>having Blogger maintain upgrades, backups, and databases.</li>
<li>working from any computer with a web browser.</li>
</ol>
Many people don't know this option still exists, and many of the more
newfangled features of Blogger's newer templates, widgets, and so on
don't work with it, but since I create my own templates and don't want
the extra stuff, that's not an issue for me.</blockquote>
I should note that my approach permits comments via Blogger or a <a href="http://www.haloscan.com/">third-party service</a>,
as well as other plug-ins and whatever else you want to do via regular
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and so on. The approach is slightly more
technical than using a hosted service like <a href="http://www.blogspot.com/">Blogspot</a>, <a href="http://www.typepad.com/">TypePad</a>, <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/">WordPress.com</a>, <a href="http://www.squarespace.com/">Squarespace</a>, or whatever—but it's a lot less tricky than <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress">installing WordPress</a> (five minutes? yeah right)—or, for that matter, installing <a href="http://www.movabletype.com/">Movable Type</a>, or <a href="http://expressionengine.com/">Expression Engine</a>, or <a href="http://drupal.org/">Drupal</a>—on your own server in the first place.<br />
Oh, and publishing via Blogger and FTP or SFTP is not perfectly
secure, of course. Someone could still hack my Google/Blogger account,
or compromise my server, or (more unlikely) both. But I can regenerate
my blog via Blogger's database (if the server is hacked), via my server
(if Blogger is hacked), via my hosting provider's backups, or from my
own local copies of my blog. So I'm in a better position than someone
running everything on the server without proper backups.<br />
Then again, anyone who <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/10/back-to-archives.html">has backups</a> is in a better position than someone who doesn't, always.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/security" rel="tag">security</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/wordpress-hack-response" title="permanent link">12:14 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5808177526616484239"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2434667255246181704"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/under-reconstruction" title="permanent link">Under reconstruction</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3899546712/" title="School construction 3 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="School construction 3 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/3899546712_fb06c5363e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Like other children across the continent, my daughters return to school tomorrow. I'm hoping the school is ready for them.<br />
All during the 2008–2009 school year, construction crews performed a <a href="http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/capitalplanning/seismic/">seismic upgrade</a>
to the building. The school district set up some portable classrooms on
the upper field, and the kids rotated through using them while
different classrooms in the structure were rebuilt. By June, the crews
seemed to be finishing up, reaching the last class.<br />
But then, over the summer, the building was further gutted, and even
this past week there were still heaps of construction materials fenced
off in the schoolyard. Old light fixtures littered the grounds and
interior, the gym was filled with workers and dust and mess, and there
were <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3898765227/">ominous pits</a> dug here and there.<br />
The men have been working furiously, including Saturdays, to get the
school ready for tomorrow's onslaught. I'm sure there was a lot of
overtime paid this Labour Day weekend. Yet I'll be interested to find
out what state the school is in tomorrow. Maybe they worked some
miracles.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/construction" rel="tag">construction</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/under-reconstruction" title="permanent link">10:03 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2434667255246181704"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
06 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6045128193237388450"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/les-paul-legacy" title="permanent link">Les Paul's legacy</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/driver49/3820274903/" title="Les Paul at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Les Paul at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2457/3820274903_fb99b2baa9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>A few weeks ago I wrote about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/thank-you-les-paul">Les Paul</a>, who died in mid-August at the age of 94. My podcast co-host <a href="http://hatchedproductions.net/">Dave Chick</a> and I decided that our next episode of <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a>
would be a Les Paul special edition, dedicated to different aspects of
Les's career, because as the inventor of multitracking and pioneer of
solidbody electric guitars, he was so important to modern recording.<br />
Tonight, we put that tribute episode (IHR #74, available as an <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=794">enhanced AAC</a> or <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=793">audio-only MP3</a>
podcast) online. In the process of putting it together, both Dave and I
were astonished by how much Les Paul accomplished that we didn't even
know about—most of it before we or any of our listeners were born.<br />
I came to the conclusion, expressed in the our editorial at the end
of the show, that Les was the single most important person in the
history of modern recorded music—more important, on balance, than Thomas
Edison or Leo Fender or Elvis or the Beatles or any of the other
contenders.<br />
You can <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=794">listen to the show</a>
to find out if you agree. But it's indisputable that anywhere in the
world where there is a microphone or a speaker, a Record button or a set
of headphones—from every music studio or TV soundstage to every car
stereo or iPod earbud, from every crummy punk dive bar to every high-end
hip-hop nightclub, from the Amundsen-Scott outpost at the South Pole to
the International Space Station—Les Paul played a part in making them
what they are.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/guitar" rel="tag">guitar</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/jazz" rel="tag">jazz</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/les-paul-legacy" title="permanent link">11:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6045128193237388450"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 September 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6080015779153428272"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/power-of-words" title="permanent link">The power of words</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3886114772/" title="Thumbs up? I guess? by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Thumbs up? I guess?" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/3886114772_62a2c4a46b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life">last post</a>
(and the delay since I wrote it) emerged from worry and fear—which was
perfectly reasonable, but has abated today. I'll explain.<br />
A couple of weeks ago, while my wife Air and I were at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/gnomedex-2009-day-2-and-wrapup">Gnomedex</a>
in Seattle, I took a break from my current cancer medication for a
couple of days to avoid nasty intestinal side effects during the
conference. That's nothing unusual: I do the same every month at some
point. But this time, as my digestive system slowed down, I got some
strange pains in the middle of my back during the night. They kept me
awake until I discovered that sitting up in bed reduced them, and I
could sleep. They disappeared once I resumed the pills (and the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/cancer-update">poopfests</a> that result).<br />
But the pains came back, more frequently, sometimes waking me up in
the night, or keeping me from getting to sleep. Eventually they appeared
during the day. The feeling, sharp and deep, reminded me of the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/derek-and-amazing-technicolor-vomit">bowel blockage</a>
I had last year, which landed me in hospital for a few days—only
(luckily) about 10% as painful this time. But nothing was blocked,
believe me. And that lack of blockage provided regular relief, as the
pains moved around and then went away, to come back another time.<br />
Having pain that came and went, but always started just below where I
know there are tumours growing (slowly) in my lungs was—needless to
say—disconcerting. Fearsome. Perhaps even terrifying. So I was nervous
when I visited the B.C. Cancer Agency today for my regular monthly
checkup.<br />
But two doctors and a nurse all think, given my long-winded
explanation of what was going on and how the pain behaved, that it's a
fairly simple digestive problem, likely treatable with something as
simple as Maalox Plus and, at most, some Tylenol with codeine. My
intestines have certainly been <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/10/home-from-surgery">through the wringer</a>
over the past couple of years, and there could be adhesions or scar
tissue in there—or they could simply be misbehaving because of what the
cediranib I'm taking now inflicts on them.<br />
Anyway, there's no reason to think it's the cancer getting
substantially bigger. My kidneys aren't failing. There's no blood clot
or heart attack going on. So now, while I'm uncomfortable some of the
time, the pain is no longer terrifying. Behold the power of comforting
words.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/surgery" rel="tag">surgery</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/09/power-of-words" title="permanent link">6:58 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6080015779153428272"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<br />
</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-79180211747131492202018-11-11T12:43:00.004-08:002018-11-11T12:43:42.404-08:00Derek Aug 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8344560094741662544"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life" title="permanent link">Old man, look at my life</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3865271631/" title="Hello turtle by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Hello turtle" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2472/3865271631_115ebbf6c4_m.jpg" width="159" /></a>I've come to realize something in the last few days. My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/living-for-tomorrow">cancer treatment</a> drags on, keeping me alive but not really getting me better. I continue to manage my diabetes and live with an artificial <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/how-portacath-works">IV port</a> in my chest. I take lots of pills and shots, get medical tests, and see doctors all the time. I can't safely travel very far.<br />
More to the point, I hurt, and I'm tired. Many parts of my body
simply don't work the way they're supposed to. Most of the time, I'm
nothing close to genuinely well. I may never return to <a href="http://www.navarik.com/">my great job</a>. I've been like this in some form or another for more than two and a half years.<br />
So here's what I realized. I'm a 40-year-old man whose body has
become much older. I'm a youngish guy in an oldish container. There are
plenty of people three decades beyond my age—including <i>my own parents</i>—who
feel better than I do, and can do more. And the hard part (for all of
us) is knowing there's a good chance they'll live longer than me too.<br />
For the vast majority of human history, living to age 40 was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy">an achievement</a>
in itself. Even a hundred years ago, Type 1 diabetes like I have was a
death sentence too—I would have died in my early 20s, before I had a
chance to marry my wonderful wife or have two great children. I'm glad
I've had those chances.<br />
If I were (for instance) 75 years old now, it would be easier to
accept what cancer has done to me, and to acknowledge that living (for
example) another five years would be a pretty good achievement. I'm
trying to think more like that—not to be fatalistic, but to be
pragmatic, to know that while I'll keep fighting, without radical new
treatments or some very good luck, it's probably a losing battle. But
that's not a failure.<br />
I'm sitting on the back porch in the sun, drinking a coffee. In a few
minutes I'll help my kids make some cake. It's a good life.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/age" rel="tag">age</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/diabetes" rel="tag">diabetes</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/navarik" rel="tag">navarik</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/old-man-look-at-my-life" title="permanent link">12:34 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8344560094741662544"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">17 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5438732928284795900"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/all-pne-all-time" title="permanent link">All PNE all the time</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
As we (and many fellow Vancouverites) do every year, my family visited the <a href="http://www.pne.ca/">Pacific National Exhibition</a> yesterday, and had a lot of fun. My kids had already been there with <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/2009/08/time-with-granddaughters.html">my parents</a>, and we're going again next week, but that didn't stop anyone:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3865295363/" title="Swing chairs 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Swing chairs 2" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3435/3865295363_9496f08499.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3866101576/" title="Mini donuts by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Mini donuts" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3458/3866101576_0e672c5fde.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3865339223/" title="Extreme Cross 3 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Extreme Cross 3" height="250" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2566/3865339223_44d7b05218.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3865349815/" title="1001 Nights 5 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="1001 Nights 5" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/3865349815_f51cc04df1.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Despite some medication side effects, I even made it through the
whole day. I no longer go on the rides myself (I've been prone to
barfing from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/3863021199/">spinny rides</a>
for at least 15 years, and the cancer meds certainly don't help), but
my wife and kids used their all-day ride passes to full effect.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/playland" rel="tag">playland</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/all-pne-all-time" title="permanent link">6:04 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5438732928284795900"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
25 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1515490347715589745"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/gnomedex-2009-day-2-and-wrapup" title="permanent link">Gnomedex 2009 day 2 and wrapup</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3849526489/" title="Baby and Microsoft Surface at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Baby and Microsoft Surface at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2487/3849526489_2667d4acfa_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/gnomedex-2009-day-1">Gnomedex 9</a>
ended several days ago, but I needed to think about it a bit before
writing my overall impressions. Each year (I've been part of five
Gnomedexes now) has a different vibe, and this one was a bit hard to pin
down.<br />
It was certainly less confrontational. For whatever reason, none of
the previous web-heavy-hitter attendees—Dave Winer, Steve Gillmor, Sarah
Lacy, Jason Calacanis, Mark Canter, Doug Kaye, Adam Curry, et. al.—was
there this time, which made for less high-level arguing (or
grandstanding). And while many of the sessions were fascinating, I
didn't get my mind blown the way some of <a href="http://www.gnomedex.com/video/scott-maxwell-mars-30">last year's talks</a> did to me.<br />
I think, perhaps, it was not quite as <i>inspiring</i>, but more <i>fun</i>. Notes and quotes:<br />
<ul>
<li>"Anybody still use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life">Second Life</a>?
One person? How's it workin' for you?" - Chris Pirillo (At Gnomedex 6.0
in 2006, Second Life was the Current Big Thing. Not anymore.)</li>
<li>"<a href="http://www.socksummit.com/">Sock Summit</a> is Gnomedex
for sock knitters. Thousands of women—and one guy —descended on
Portland." - Beth Goza (Something I didn't know about knitters: they go
on "yarn diets" to stop spending money on new yarn, i.e. fight the
addiction.)</li>
<li>"If anyone here is a mathematician, I made this up!" - Micah Baldwin</li>
<li>"We're not geeks, but we're really really trying hard to be." - Leah Nelson</li>
<li>In a brief appearance onstage, I mentioned a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiandpapa/299200310/in/set-72157594373865084/">photo of the planet Mercury</a> my dad took in 2006, and an Astronomy Picture of the Day of the <a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080730.html">International Space Station</a> taken in a similar way.</li>
<li>Mark Horvath said that, "The average homeless person is America is nine years old." But it didn't take long to find out that's <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/to-be-young-like-9-on-average-and-homeless/">not true</a>. Regardless, the story of <a href="http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/2009/06/james-homeless-nickelsville-seattle/">James</a> (who isn't nine, and who came onstage too) was compelling, and we raised some money for him.</li>
<li>The un-seeable space of the Internet makes us all astronaut-style cyborgs in its space, according to <a href="http://twitter.com/caseorganic">Amber Case</a>.
And these days, you break your cellphone and you say, "Crap, now I
can't hear all the way to Egypt at the touch of a button anymore." Also,
"People have enough trouble with driver's ed right now, so, uh,
jetpacks?"</li>
</ul>
I was also glad to have a hug with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/3843585366/">Drew Olanoff</a>, who was diagnosed with cancer only three months ago and has turned it into a worldwide fundraising effort already. I <a href="http://blamedrewscancer.com/">Blame Drew's Cancer</a> that I didn't manage that when I found out about my cancer in 2007.<br />
On our last night in Seattle, Air and I spent the dinner hour pounding open <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3854384315/">steamed crab legs</a> with little wooden hammers, then had a drink and watched <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3854435661/">the Moon set</a> behind a sailboat at our hotel. The next morning as we left the hotel driveway, we saw this:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/3854706338/" title="Plane on a train"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2487/3854706338_c196ab201d.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
I'd say it was worth going.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/conferences" rel="tag">conferences</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gnomedex" rel="tag">gnomedex</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/seattle" rel="tag">seattle</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/gnomedex-2009-day-2-and-wrapup" title="permanent link">11:58 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1515490347715589745"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6415462542919792788"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/gnomedex-2009-day-1" title="permanent link">Gnomedex 2009 day 1</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3843974814/" title="Photographing the MakerBot head by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Photographing the MakerBot head" class="post" height="159" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/3843974814_ebe78ae78e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>My wife Air <a href="http://talkingtoair.com/2009/08/">live blogged</a> the first day's talks here at the 9th annual Gnomedex conference, and you can also watch the live video stream <a href="http://www.gnomedex.com/">on the website</a>. I posted <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157621978179935/"> a bunch of photos</a>. Here are my written impressions.<br />
Something feels a little looser, and perhaps a bit more relaxed,
about this year's meeting. There's a big turnover in attendees: more new
people than usual, more women, and a lot more locals from the Seattle
area. More Windows laptops than before, interestingly, and more Nikon
cameras with fewer Canons. A sign of tech gadget trends generally? I'm
not sure.<br />
As always, the individual presentations roamed all over the map, and some were better than others. For example, <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/">Bad Astronomer</a> Dr. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3843182424/in/set-72157621978179935/">Phil Plait</a>'s
talk about skepticism was fun, but also not anything new for those of
us who read his blog. However, it was also great as a perfect precursor
to Christine Peterson, who invented the term <cite>open source</cite> some years ago, but is now focused on <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1090558142066879341">life extension</a>, i.e. using various dietary, technological, and other methods to improve health and significantly extend the human lifespan.<br />
<ul>
<li>Some stuff Dr. Plait said: "Skepticism is not cynicism." "You
ask for the evidence [...] and make sure it's good." "Be willing to drop
an idea if it's wrong. Yeah, that's tough." "Scientists screw it up as
well." "It sucks to be fooled. You can lose your money. You can lose
your life."</li>
<li>Christine Peterson: "Moving is how you tell your body, I'm not
dead yet!" "You see people hitting soccer balls with their heads. Would
you do that with your laptop? And that's backed up!" (You might like my
friend Bill's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine?story_fbid=123361667421">reaction</a> on my Facebook page.)</li>
</ul>
As <a href="http://twitter.com/leelefever/status/3456176658">Lee LeFever</a>
quipped on Twitter, "The life extension talk is a great followup to the
skepticism talk because it provides so many ideas of which to be
skeptical." My thought was, her talk seemed like hard reductionist
nerdery focused somewhere it may not apply very well. My perspective may
be different because I have cancer; for me, life extension is just
living, you know? But I also feel that not everything is an engineering
problem.<br />
There were a number of those dichotomies through the day. Some other notes I took today:<br />
<ul>
<li>Bre Pettis passed out 3D models "printouts" created with the <a href="http://www.makerbot.com/">MakerBot</a>
he helped design. "Bonus points for being able to print out your...
uh... body... parts." "Oh my god, you should put this brain inside Walt
Disney's head!" "What's black ABS plastic good for?" "Printing evil
stuff."</li>
<li>One of the most joyous things you'll ever see is a keen
scientist really going off on his or her topic of specialty. Firas
Khatib on <a href="http://fold.it/">FoldIt</a> protein folding was one of
those. For a given sequence of amino acids, the 3D protein structure
with lowest free energy is likely to be its useful shape in biology—and
his team made a video game to help people figure out optimum shapes,
which in the long run can help cure diseases.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.oilman.ca/">Todd Friesen</a> is a former
search engine and website spammer. He had lots of interesting things
today. In the world of white and black search engine optimization (SEO),
SPAM = "Sites Positioned Above Mine." For spammers, RSS = "Really
Simple Stealing" and thus spam blogs. Major techniques for web spammers:
hacking pages, bribing people for access, forum posts and user
profiles, comment spam. Pay Per Click = PPC = "Pills, Porn, and
Casinos."</li>
<li>I liked these from the Ignite super-fast presentations: "There
are more social media non-gurus than social media gurus. Which means we
can take them." On annual reports: "Imagine waiting A YEAR to find out
what a company is doing."</li>
</ul>
We had a great trip down to Seattle via Chuckanut Drive with <a href="http://www.kriskrug.com/">kk+</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/fiercekitty">Fierce Kitty</a>.
Tonight Air and I are sleeping in the Edgewater Hotel on Seattle's Pier
67, next to the conference venue, and tonight is also the 45th
anniversary of the day the Beatles stayed in this same hotel and <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/409468_beatles21.html?source=rss">fished</a> out the window.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/conferences" rel="tag">conferences</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gnomedex" rel="tag">gnomedex</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/gnomedex-2009-day-1" title="permanent link">11:59 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6415462542919792788"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="522835137674921061"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/geek-density-maximum" title="permanent link">Geek density maximum</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2787502638/sizes/l/" title="Bell Harbor crazy Gnomedex 8.0 laptop panorama 2008 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Bell Harbor crazy Gnomedex 8.0 laptop panorama 2008" height="50" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3294/2787502638_d63c1a4302.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
We're off to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/old/2009_08_01_.php">Gnomedex</a>, the fifth year Air and I will be participating. It has to be one of the densest collections of nerds around (as my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2787502638/sizes/l/">panorama</a> from last year shows)—sort of a web society annual family reunion. Including some of the emotional blow-ups that entails.<br />
Watch for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=gnomedex&ss=2&s=rec">lots of photos</a> from me and others, as well as some <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gnomedex">posts here</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/conferences" rel="tag">conferences</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/gnomedex" rel="tag">gnomedex</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/seattle" rel="tag">seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/geek-density-maximum" title="permanent link">9:51 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=522835137674921061"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
19 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="115270834784437324"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/proud-to-be-her-man" title="permanent link">Proud to be her man</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3836209800/" title="Happy Anniversary dessert by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Happy Anniversary dessert" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3836209800_975c4b3a26_m.jpg" width="159" /></a>As
of today, August 19, 2009, my wife Air and I have been married 14
years. As on our wedding day, the weather was Amazing Vancouver Summer
last evening, our Anniversary Eve: mid-20s Celsius, sun glinting off the
water. The kind of weather which impels people to spend thousands of
dollars to visit. We went to <a href="http://www.crestaurant.com/">C Restaurant</a> on False Creek, where we'd last dined exactly three years ago, just before our 11th anniversary.<br />
You know that "in <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">sickness</a>
and in health" thing? Don't take it lightly—we've had more than our
share of that seesaw over the past decade and a half. Even yesterday, it
was touch-and-go whether we'd have to cancel our reservation.<br />
You see, I was tuckered out after moving some of the kids' furniture
all afternoon, and feared the onset of the dreaded chemo-induced <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/cancer-update">Jurassic Gut</a>. But with the help of some medicine, the prospect of an excellent and relaxing meal, the sheer <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3836209800_975c4b3a26_b.jpg" title="Happy Anniversary dessert by penmachine, on Flickr">fabulousness</a>
of looking at my wife, and a lot of willpower and positive thinking, I
not only made it downtown, but was symptom-free throughout dinner and
the whole trip home. (And then everything got rolling once we returned,
but I won't give you details...)<br />
The restaurant provided some little extras for us: custom <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/3835224339/">chocolate script</a>
on our dessert plate, plus post-dinner ice wine on the house. We spent a
leisurely two and a half hours eating wonderful, creative seafood, and
we held hands to look out across <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talkingtoair/3835223017/">the water</a>, making occasional snarky comments about passersby on both land <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3836204852/">and sea</a>.
When we told the waiter we were celebrating 14 years, he asked, "Did
get married when you were teenagers?" That's a nice compliment, since we
were <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3499519404/">both 26</a> back then.<br />
Air and I have been happy and sad, content and afraid together. I'm
not as strong or healthy as I used to be, and I'm greyer and far more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/1000502565/">scarred</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/03/my-least-favourite-part-of-town">broken</a>. But I am proud to be her man, and I'll do my damnedest to be here for as many more anniversaries as I can.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/love" rel="tag">love</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/restaurant" rel="tag">restaurant</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/proud-to-be-her-man" title="permanent link">12:01 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=115270834784437324"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5763689087149359295"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/quick-gourmet" title="permanent link">The quick gourmet</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/3832069393/" title="IMG00968.jpg at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="IMG00968.jpg at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3832069393_e2b22cd104_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>In her quest to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/cooking-with-pearls">follow</a> Julia Child, my eleven-year-old daughter has already progressed from making poached eggs to preparing a full meal of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/3832069393">steamed mussels</a> in white wine sauce for the family.<br />
I helped a little, but only with some of the heavy pot-lifting and
slicing of bread for dipping. She did all the difficult stuff, like
chopping and measuring and timing and setting the table.<br />
I think I'm liking this trend. The mussels were damn good too.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/quick-gourmet" title="permanent link">12:24 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5763689087149359295"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8543832467780682270"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/my-video-course-now-at-london-drugs" title="permanent link">My video course now at London Drugs</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Remember my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/learn-garageband-from-me-on-dvd">GarageBand training video</a>? The one you can <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/mvt">buy from MacVideoTraining</a> (with a 20% discount using the checkout promo code <i>ihr</i>)? This one?<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
It's now available online from <a href="http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Product+Detail/Computers.htm?BreadCrumbs=Computers;Computers;Software;Macintosh%20Software;Quick%20Start%20to%20GarageBand&Catalog=Computers&Category=Macintosh%20Software&ProductID=3785029&ProductTab=3">London Drugs</a>
too, as well as on DVD in their stores here in Western Canada. Why not
buy some copies for your friends (and enemies, for that matter)?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/education" rel="tag">education</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/itunes" rel="tag">itunes</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/paulgaray" rel="tag">paulgaray</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/my-video-course-now-at-london-drugs" title="permanent link">9:05 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8543832467780682270"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="945176751710273903"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/cooking-with-pearls" title="permanent link">Cooking with pearls</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/3814976937/" title="Julia child pearls at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Julia child pearls at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2521/3814976937_d2152b68d2_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>My wife and daughters went with my mom to see <cite><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135503/">Julie and Julia</a></cite> the other day, and my older daughter M was inspired. Seeing the efforts of an inexperienced <a href="http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/">blogger</a> cooking up the famous <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-One/dp/0375413405/?tag=insidehomerec-20">recipes</a> of Julia Child, M has decided to <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/julie-and-julia/">put her mind</a> to cooking, which she hasn't done much of yet. (She's eleven.)<br />
You can <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/">follow her progress</a> on her blog. Her first step was simple, a <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/the-beginning-has-started/">poached egg</a>, and she's since moved on to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigm/3815443159/">chopping onions</a>
and more. When my wife, a teacher, returns to work in a few weeks, M
and I plan to work on dinner together each night. Since I'm not much of a
cook either, I'm sure we'll both learn something. Will we ever get to <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Boeuf-Bourguignon-102144">beef bourguignon</a>? I doubt it, but you never know.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/cooking-with-pearls" title="permanent link">7:34 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=945176751710273903"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
13 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2486770050960359629"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/thank-you-les-paul" title="permanent link">Thank you, Les Paul</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Cross-posted from <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=790">Inside Home Recording</a>...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/matteats/456390090/" title="Mr.Les Paul by matteats on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Mr.Les Paul by matteats on Flickr" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/456390090_473cdcf293_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>No one who performs popular music, or records music of any kind, hasn't been affected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul">Les Paul</a>, the legendary guitarist, musical innovator, and inventor who <a href="http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/News/les-paul-passes-away-at-94-813/">died today</a> at <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/13/les-paul-guitar-legend-dead-at-94/">age 94</a>.<br />
Many people know him only for the solidbody <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Les_Paul">electric guitar</a> that bears <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8O5wZAd2z4">his name</a>—indeed,
he hand-built his own solidbody electric years before that, but Gibson
was uninterested in the design until rival Fender successfully sold
similar concepts in the early 1950s. Still, Paul was not only a talented
and prolific player (who continued a regular live gig in New York until
very recently), but also a hit-making jazz and pop artist, as well as
the inventor of multitrack recording and overdubbing, as well as tape
delay and various phasing effects:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
He was a constant tinkerer, heavily modifying even his own Les Paul
guitars with customized electronics and switching, and often acting as
his own producer, engineer, and tape operator. Every listener to Inside
Home Recording, and every musician or recording enthusiast today, owes
him a massive debt, and we'll all miss his talent and contributions.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/death" rel="tag">death</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/jazz" rel="tag">jazz</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/thank-you-les-paul" title="permanent link">6:19 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2486770050960359629"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7792480261408145711"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/more-luscious-black-and-white" title="permanent link">More luscious black and white</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
It's partly because of the look of using a larger frame of
film, partly the texture it imbues, and partly because I'm just more
careful when using an expendable resource, but as I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/my-black-and-whites-are-more-popular">mentioned before</a>,
I get more keeper photographs when I shoot with black and white film
than when I use my digital SLR. These are from a couple of recent rolls:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3810100550/" title="Another killer L portrait by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Another killer L portrait" height="332" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3497/3810100550_fd595b4d29.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3809093399/" title="Rainy pinwheel by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Rainy pinwheel" height="332" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/3809093399_f87cbc53ba.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3809888276/" title="Summer bike 4 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Summer bike 4" height="332" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3809888276_98b1212f32.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3810100540/" title="Succulently wet 6 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Succulently wet 6" height="332" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2465/3810100540_5921e5183a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3809922094/" title="Bottles by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Bottles" height="500" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3559/3809922094_7e373d0791.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
I didn't have to go far to get them either—I took all these pictures
either in our house, in the yard, or at my kids' school up the street,
all with natural light and no flashes or reflectors. I'm certainly not
regretting my purchase of that used <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/goin-back-to-cali-i-mean-film">Nikon F4</a> or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3689107760/">macro lens</a> last year.<br />
Time to pick up another roll or two of B&W, I think. I've run out for now.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/more-luscious-black-and-white" title="permanent link">11:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7792480261408145711"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8712719392492522829"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/snowbirds-overhead" title="permanent link">Snowbirds overhead</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
This weekend in Vancouver included the <a href="http://www.abbotsfordairshow.com/">Abbotsford Airshow</a>, the <a href="http://www.burnabybluesfestival.com/">Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival</a>, the <a href="http://volcano.resist.ca/">Under the Volcano</a> festival, and the closing ceremonies of the <a href="http://www.2009wpfg.ca/index.php">World Police and Fire Games</a> (WPFG). Twice over the past few days, I've seen the Canadian Forces <a href="http://www.snowbirds.dnd.ca/">Snowbirds</a>
aerobatics team fly directly over my head in conjunction with some of
those events. Once in Stanley Park (presumably to promote the Airshow):<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3799560119/" title="Jets overhead 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Jets overhead 2" height="300" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2517/3799560119_8fd9f0182f.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
And once this evening right in our front yard, when the Snowbirds
flew right over our house (on the last of four passes). At first I
thought it was for the Blues Fest, but I think it was really for the
WPFG finale:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3806018413/" title="Snowbirds closest approach HDR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Snowbirds closest approach HDR" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3524/3806018413_76a710931d.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Both times, I could almost read the markings on the bottoms of the
planes. It still amazes me that human beings, we apes from the savannah,
can control flying machines traveling at hundreds of kilometres an hour
in formation:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3806004989/" title="Snowbirds over Metrotown 5 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Snowbirds over Metrotown 5" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3513/3806004989_1fdfd9efcf.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Such brains we humans have.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/airport" rel="tag">airport</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sports" rel="tag">sports</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/snowbirds-overhead" title="permanent link">9:06 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8712719392492522829"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4924245029611022220"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/come-see-me-play-drums-in-cloverdale" title="permanent link">Come see me play drums in Cloverdale</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2827600137/" title="Arbutus Club - Derek at setup 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Arbutus Club - Derek at setup 2" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3058/2827600137_883e705c11_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>If you're in the Vancouver area and aren't going to <a href="http://vinocamp.com/">VinoCamp</a>
tomorrow afternoon (Saturday the 8th), you could head out to the
Blueberry Festival in Cloverdale, which features vintage cars, various
activities and entertainments—and the band Heist, with whom I'll be
sitting in on drums.<br />
It's the first time in several years I've played with any band except my usual gigs in <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">The Neurotics</a> and <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/hourglass.html">HourGlass</a>,
but it's the same kind of classic hit rock 'n' roll material, so when
we rehearsed on Monday I felt right at home. My old podcast co-host <a href="http://www.macvideotraining.com/mac-video-training-info.html">Paul Garay</a>
(with whom I've also made some training videos) plays keyboards with
the group, and brought me in while their regular drummer is out of town.<br />
We'll be at the <a href="http://cloverdalestation.ca/">Cloverdale Station Pub</a> from noon till 5 p.m. If the weather is decent we'll be outside; if it rains (which it might), then inside. The pub is about <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=hastings+st+%26+cassiar+st,+vancouver,+bc&daddr=5858+176A+St,+Surrey,+BC,+Canada+(Cloverdale+Station+Neighbourhood+Pub+Ltd)&hl=en&geocode=%3BFXtX7QIdkzuv-CEfHHUPy1oOvw&mra=ls&sll=49.28046,-123.029795&sspn=0.007629,0.014098&ie=UTF8&z=11">30 minutes east from Vancouver</a> along Highways 1 and 15. I'll even do some singing for you.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/paulgaray" rel="tag">paulgaray</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/come-see-me-play-drums-in-cloverdale" title="permanent link">6:32 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4924245029611022220"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5244114934738159462"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/another-kind-of-splashdown" title="permanent link">Another kind of splashdown</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepaa/3662548497/" title="Splashdown Park at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Splashdown Park at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3662548497_0cabd5c83b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I've lived in Vancouver all my life, and anyone who has knows about <a href="http://www.splashdownpark.ca/">Splashdown Park</a>, the most famous of our local waterslide parks, in Tsawwassen (and surely named after the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/splashdown">heyday</a>
of the space race). I've driven by the place dozens of times on the way
to the ferry terminal to Vancouver Island, which is a couple of minutes
further down the road. Yet somehow, I'd never been to Splashdown until
today.<br />
While it's not quite the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/escaping-vancouver-heatwave">heatwave</a>
it was last week, today was sunny and warm. My wife Air said she last
went as a teenager, but I suspect little has changed about the
experience: I'm sure <a href="http://www.rock101.com/">Rock 101</a>
radio was blasting pretty much exactly the same songs (Rush, Ted Nugent,
The Doors, Steppenwolf, more Rush) and the seagulls were just as
marauding in the 1980s.<br />
It was great, and different from waterslide parks I've been to in <a href="http://www.bridalfallswaterpark.com/">Chilliwack</a>, Kelowna (where <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair</a>
got a terrible sunburn a couple of decades ago), and elsewhere. I do
regret never visiting the water park that sat behind Coquitlam Centre
when I was a kid. It's been gone for years.<br />
You know what's weird about Splashdown Park? The washrooms have
water-saving dual flush toilets. Of all places. Is that sort of like a
carbon offset?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/park" rel="tag">park</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/another-kind-of-splashdown" title="permanent link">11:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5244114934738159462"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3074858915330404386"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/when-we-are-one" title="permanent link">When we are one</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
While <a href="http://www.daniellevitin.com/">researchers</a>
continue to study it, no one is yet sure why music moves us—how we can
be affected emotionally by timed sequences of sounds. But we are. And
while I play <a href="http://buy.penmachine.com/">rock drums</a> and love me <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/10/longer-better.html">some guitar</a>, in my life, the most affecting music has been live, vocal, and collective.<br />
Here's what I mean. One of the most astonishing things I've ever
heard was the student choir at Magee, the high school where my wife
teaches. Years ago I attended one of their concerts. They are, and have
long been, an excellent choir. You can get a tiny sense of it from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdTuxTrRjHA">this video</a>, but the sound doesn't do it justice (plus, Christmas carols in August sound weird):<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
That's a pale simulation of the true experience, though. At that
concert years ago, held in the school's old auditorium, the singing was
enveloping, and overpowering, from a full-size choir onstage. I almost
cried from the sound alone.<br />
Here's <a href="http://vimeo.com/5732745">another example</a> that had me getting teary for no good reason:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Thanks to <a href="http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2009/08/bobby-mcferrin-and-the-pentatonic-scale.html">Darren</a> for the link.<br />
Those of us who were around in the '80s best remember Bobby McFerrin
from his annoying novelty song "Don't Worry, Be Happy." But he is a
powerful and innovative jazz singer, who is at his best when <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgvJg7D6Qck">co-opting audiences</a>.
When he does that, when the audience sings along as a mass of voices, I
lose it. I nearly cried right now as I listened to the audience come in
on "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgvJg7D6Qck">Ave Maria</a>" at the link I just posted—and again at the end:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
So beautiful. There's no way I could have held it in if I had been there.<br />
I can think of other instances: <a href="http://www.celsomachado.com/">Celso Machado</a>
and the crowd I was in at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre more than
15 years ago, or a packed-full B.C. Place Stadium singing the end of
U2's "40" ("How long/To sing this song...") long after the band had left
the stage in 1987. You get the idea.<br />
Whatever the reasons we evolved to love music, one of its benefits is
how it joins us. When you sing with a group, or even if you're just <i>there</i>
when one is singing well, you become part of that group in a way that's
almost impossible by any other means. You could be singing "Ave Maria"
with McFerrin, or chanting "Die! Die! Die!" with Metallica, but when it
happens, you're all one. We're all one.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/when-we-are-one" title="permanent link">11:53 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3074858915330404386"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 August 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2526709663891814713"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/wakeup-time" title="permanent link">Wakeup time</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<img align="right" alt="Seven-segment display" class="post" height="188" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Seven_segment_display-animated.gif" width="150" />A
couple of days ago, I woke up and looked at my clock radio, reading
1:22. That surprised me—I didn't think I'd slept in till well in the
afternoon. But it turned out I was just at a funny angle, and couldn't
read the top of the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-segment_display">seven-segment</a> digital numeral. It was actually 7:22 a.m., so I went back to sleep and woke up a couple of hours later instead.<br />
Then there was today. My current <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">cancer medication</a>
causes somewhat unpredictable intestinal side effects. Last night
included some of the worst. I was in the bathroom from midnight until
just before 2 a.m., then again from 4 to 6, then up and down every half
an hour or so until at least 9:30 a.m. In other words, I had perhaps
three hours of sleep before morning.<br />
So, when things had calmed down enough, I feel asleep again. Guess what time I woke up? 1:22 p.m., for real this time.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fatigue" rel="tag">fatigue</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sleep" rel="tag">sleep</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/08/wakeup-time" title="permanent link">2:01 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2526709663891814713"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<br />
</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-77303535803425265092018-11-11T12:22:00.000-08:002018-11-11T12:22:07.922-08:00Derek July 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
31 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="50684643448801857"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/escaping-vancouver-heatwave" title="permanent link">Escaping the Vancouver heatwave</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
The past two days were the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/07/30/bc-090730-heat-record.html">hottest ever recorded</a>
in Vancouver: over 34°C (94 Fahrenheit) at the airport at sea level,
and at least 40°C (104 F) at our house a little bit inland. Since that
kind of weather is so unusual in Vancouver, very few people have air
conditioning (we don't), and our home was becoming unbearably hot,
except for some of the basement. We chose what turned into a wise
alternative:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3774107740/" title="Vancouver Convention Centre HDR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Vancouver Convention Centre HDR" height="300" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2649/3774107740_1a6235052b.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
That was <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3774107740/" title="Vancouver Convention Centre HDR by penmachine, on Flickr">the view</a> from the pool deck at the <a href="http://www.panpacific.com/Vancouver">Pan Pacific Hotel</a>
in downtown Vancouver, where my wife and I stayed with our two
daughters—with full air conditioning—for the past two nights. We
returned home (by public transit) this afternoon, after the worst of the
heatwave broke, to a house that is now a much more tolerable
temperature.<br />
Our tropical fish in the aquarium at home seem to have survived just fine.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/escaping-vancouver-heatwave" title="permanent link">4:20 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=50684643448801857"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2802078129466355272"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/making-stories-showing-off-for-rauls" title="permanent link">Making stories, showing off (for Raul's Blogathon)</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
This is a re-post of <a href="http://hummingbird604.com/2009/07/25/guest-post-making-stories-showing-off-by-derek-k-miller/">the guest entry</a> I wrote for Raul's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/blogathon">Blogathon</a> on Saturday.<br />
<hr align="center" noshade="noshade" width="250" />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3714162137/" title="Derek 1974 vs. Derek 2007 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Derek 1974 vs. Derek 2007" height="117" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3714162137_eab8bc86ba_m.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 8px 8px;" width="240" /></a>Here's a story. Two years ago this week, I weighed <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/1503010201">145 pounds</a>,
about 70 pounds less than I do now. I looked like I'd been in a PoW
camp, pale and skeletal. I'd just left St. Paul's Hospital, where I'd
been for close to a month after major cancer surgery and an intestinal
blockage.<br />
By October I'd gained back 30 of those pounds. Within a year I'd taken a bunch more chemotherapy, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2351178144">lost my hair</a>
and grown it back, and had terrible chemo-induced acne. A year after
that, the cancer is still here, but I'm fighting it, and I feel pretty
good. End of story, for now.<br />
We all grow up making stories—when we're kids, we call it playing, whether it's using an infant mobile or a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/my-daughters-made-star-trek-movie">video camera</a>.
And our stories are best when we make them for others, or with them.
Unfortunately, many of us become unused to playing, thinking it
childish. We grow up terrified of giving speeches, or we write our
thoughts only in diaries instead of for reading. We become shy.<br />
For whatever reason, that didn't happen to me. I've been passionate
about many things in my 40 years—computers, photography, public
speaking, music, making websites, writing and language, science and
space, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/photoessays/2001_08_sierra/">commuting by bicycle</a>,
building a life with my wife and family—but when I took at them all,
each one is really about making stories for others. Or, as my wife
succinctly pointed out, about <i>showing off</i>. I'll admit to that.<br />
Some examples, in no real order:<br />
<ul>
<li>Helping put together a school newspaper in sixth grade (or high school, or <a href="http://ubcpubs.library.ubc.ca/?db=432">university</a>).</li>
<li>Donning a smoking jacket and hand prosthetic to play Captain Hook on the elementary school stage.</li>
<li>Setting my daughters up with blogs and email addresses before they each turned ten.</li>
<li>Posting photographs to <a href="http://macdesktops.com/?keyword=&author=derek&res=TRUE&search=Search">MacDesktops</a> in the late '90s and <a href="http://photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=184237">photo.net</a> a few years later.</li>
<li>Playing in <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">a band</a> in crappy bars or luxury New York <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2000_12_01_news_archive.html#1578124">hotels</a>.</li>
<li>Editing my high school yearbook (with others) and the UBC student handbook (by myself).</li>
<li>Teaching <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/word">courses</a> about Microsoft Word.</li>
<li>Talking about my cancer <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2008/12/why-blog-about-my-cancer-spoken-word.html">on the radio</a>.</li>
<li>Talking about geeky stuff <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4891561178533673242">on TV</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Recording songs</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast">giving them away</a> for free.</li>
<li>Helping my wife Air put together <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/">her podcast</a>.</li>
<li>Uploading <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine">thousands</a> of pictures and videos to Flickr.</li>
<li>Crafting <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/techie/">obscure technical documents</a> to make them <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks">understandable</a>.</li>
<li>And of course blogging and blogging and blogging for close to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/news_archive.html">nine years</a>.</li>
</ul>
I've done many of these things for no money (and some for lots of
money), but for almost all of them, I wanted other people to know.<br />
Okay, yes, I wanted to show off. Is that healthy?<br />
For me, on balance, I think so. Whether for my jobs or my hobbies,
being a ham and wanting others to see and appreciate what I do prods me
to make those stories good, and useful. Humans are natural tellers of
stories, and we enjoy anything presented in a story-like way. So I've
tried to make all of those things in the form of a story. Whether a
discussion of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/darwin-day">evolutionary biology</a>, a fun <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2005/07/meltdown-man-as-heard-in-paper-or.html">rockabilly instrumental</a>, a bunch of rants about <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/powerpoint">PowerPoint</a>, or a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3129073708/">pretty photograph</a>
(or yes, even the instruction manual to install a wireless cellular
modem in a police car), I want it to generate a story in your mind.<br />
Stories don't always have an obvious structure. They don't
necessarily go in predictable directions, or have a moral or meaning. I
certainly didn't see it coming when all this cancer stuff from the past
two and a half years happened. But I've been able to make it <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">a story</a> that other people can read, understand, and maybe find helpful. So too with my other passions.<br />
So whatever you're trying to do, whatever hobby or job or habit you
have, if you want to share it with others, try to craft it like a
story—short or long, visual or auditory, but something that flows. Show
it off. That, it seems, is what I like to do.<br />
<hr align="center" noshade="noshade" width="250" />
<i>Derek K. Miller is a writer, editor, web guy, drummer, photographer, and dad. Not in that order. He's been blogging at <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/">penmachine.com</a> since 2000, and has been on medical leave from his position as Communications Manager at <a href="http://www.navarik.com/">Navarik Corp.</a> since 2007. His wife and two daughters have put up with his show-offishness way longer than that.</i><br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/charity" rel="tag">charity</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/editing" rel="tag">editing</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/making-stories-showing-off-for-rauls" title="permanent link">3:04 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2802078129466355272"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3070780093715151208"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/booze-smokes-girls-advertising" title="permanent link">Booze, smokes, girls, advertising</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Here's what I'd look like if I were on the TV show <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Men">Mad Men</a></cite>, set at the turn of the smokin', drinkin', womanizin' 1960s of Manhattan advertising men:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3763857421/" title="Derek "Mad Men" scene by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Derek "Mad Men" scene" height="280" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3418/3763857421_2b1097b639.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Image made using the <a href="http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/madmenyourself/">Mad Men Yourself</a> tool (via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/09/07/mad-men-yourself">Kottke</a>).
My wife and I are making our way through the Season 2 DVDs right now,
and I feel like I'm getting second-hand smoke through the television.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cartoon" rel="tag">cartoon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/booze-smokes-girls-advertising" title="permanent link">8:42 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3070780093715151208"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4273922052660976214"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/my-new-crumpler-man-purse" title="permanent link">My new Crumpler man purse</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
On the way down to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157621728707805/">Workspace</a> to visit the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/blogathon">Blogathon</a> crew yesterday, my daughters and I passed by the <a href="https://www.crumpler.ca/">Crumpler</a>
store at the edge of Gastown in downtown Vancouver. After nearly losing
my wallet on a chairlift in Whistler earlier in the month (I did drop a
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3726125342/in/set-72157621296960421/">snack bar</a>), I realized that my old <a href="http://www.hedgren.com/">Hedgren</a> shoulder bag/man purse, at least five years old, needs replacing.<br />
I've been searching for something that can hold all the stuff I haul
with me (insulin, blood glucose meter, Leatherman tool, wallet,
emergency sugar, mobile phone, etc.), plus my monster <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3702425468/">DSLR camera</a> and whatever extras I might grab for a particular day. Something bigger than I had been carrying, in other words:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3761376944/" title="Hedgren bag and Crumpler Barney Rustle Blanket bag by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Hedgren bag and Crumpler Barney Rustle Blanket bag" height="300" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2591/3761376944_7af2ce943f.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
<i><small>Old Hedgren bag on the left, new Crumpler bag on the right.</small></i></div>
Since I sling my bag over my shoulder everywhere I go, I know what I need. I like my bags, and have blogged <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2002/11/life-symbols.html">about them</a> a couple of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/08/groovy-geekbag.html">times</a> before. But none of my current <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157594241447483/">other bags</a>
would do the job. I had no luck finding a replacement along Vancouver's
outdoor-gear row on Broadway near Cambie Street, but Crumpler had <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3761376944">something</a> I liked: the <a href="https://www.crumpler.ca/Lite/English/Products/Barney-Rustle-BR12A.html">Barney Rustle Blanket</a> shoulder bag.<br />
Yes, Crumpler has pretty weird names for <a href="https://www.crumpler.ca/lite/english/products.html">its products</a>. Check out the names of the various bags <a href="http://johnbiehler.com/?s=crumpler&search=Search">John Biehler</a> has bought over the years, for instance. You can pick up the Barney Rustle <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crumpler-Barney-Rustle-Blanket-Messenger/dp/B001TINGE4/?tag=insidehomerec-20">in green</a> on Amazon for $125 USD, or some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crumpler-BARNEY-RUSTLE-Blanket-Messenger/dp/B000KB0PUY/?tag=insidehomerec-20">other colours</a> for less, but even Crumpler's <a href="http://www.crumplerbags.com/">own site</a> doesn't offer prices as good as the real-world store. I got my Barney Rustle for $89 Canadian, plus tax.<br />
Yeah, it's a lot bigger than my old bag. I could stuff my SLR into
the old bag, but it was then completely full, and prone to unzipping and
falling open. The new one takes the camera with a big lens, plus my
flash, with room to spare. I could drop a laptop inside if needed. The
thing is built like a medieval fortress in nylon. I'm still figuring out
just how I prefer to pack it, but I definitely like it so far.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/bags" rel="tag">bags</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/my-new-crumpler-man-purse" title="permanent link">11:37 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4273922052660976214"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
25 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1133395529151515093"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/zap" title="permanent link">Zap: Vancouver's July 2009 lightning storm</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
We had a bit of a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157621831968666/detail/">lightning storm</a> in Vancouver tonight, which is unusual around here.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3756289967/" title="Lightning 8 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Lightning 8" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3477/3756289967_e9ba0d5f01.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
My photo was <a href="http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/Couple%20concussed%20lightning%20strike%20Golden%20Ears%20Park/1829725/story.html">featured on</a> the website for <cite>The Province</cite> newspaper this evening too. Thanks to my wife Air for suggesting I send it to them.<br />
<div class="note">
<b>UPDATE JULY 26:</b> While my photo above
was one of the first posted on Flickr (and on a newspaper website), many
other more spectacular shots appeared once people got home from the
Celebration of Light fireworks and so on, especially with pictures taken
as sunset cast the sky a Martian red. Check out some of the lightning
images I found from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/happygilmore_s_d/3760929940/">happygilmore_s_d</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/drlube/3760685734/">drlube</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16903046@N02/3759839781/">gordzilla68</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfairchildphotography/3759597771/">danfairchildphotography</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/weaktight/3759017053/">weaktight</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy6white/3759709566/">andy6white</a>, another from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy6white/3758848985/">andy6white</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shiftybatter/3759332342/">shiftybatter</a>, one more from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shiftybatter/3758538403/">shiftybatter</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cisley/3759226078/">cisley</a>, and an extra from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cisley/3758331851/">cisley</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobbybobbydigi/3758236157/">bobbybobbydigi</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33905699@N05/3759025604/">An Eagle in Your Mind</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/c-a/3757965449/">c-a</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenlangevin/3758704826/">lenlangevin</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/n8brophy/3757721447/">n8brophy</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38119197@N08/3756890031/">Fleeting Light</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncle_buddha/3757466156/">uncle_buddha</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melodiedawn/3757448226/">melodiedawn</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/treygeiger/3756632793/">treygeiger</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cazasco/3757390190/">cazasco</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrissyshome/3756582217/">chrissyshome</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mystify/3756561245/">mystify</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vitrain/3756561603/">vitrain</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingtoast/3756559247/">kingtoast</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/realaworld/3756400989/">realaworld</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/flickr" rel="tag">flickr</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/zap" title="permanent link">11:39 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1133395529151515093"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3599947202667351214"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/blogathon" title="permanent link">Blogathon</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<div class="note">
<b>UPDATE 11:50 p.m.:</b> Guest posts for Blogathon on Raul's site by <a href="http://hummingbird604.com/2009/07/25/guest-post-disco-stick-by-airdrie-miller/">my wife</a> and <a href="http://hummingbird604.com/2009/07/25/guest-post-making-stories-showing-off-by-derek-k-miller/">by me</a> are now online. The Blogathoners have a little over six hours left. Go go go!</div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss604/3755076674/" title="Blogathon 2009 photo by Rebecca Bollwitt"><img align="right" alt="Blogathon 2009 by Rebecca Bollwitt" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3517/3755076674_55b8184416_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Words change. <i>Marathon</i> was originally (and still is) a plain in Greece, but after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon">a battle</a>
there between Athenians and Persians in 490 BC, legend says that
messenger Pheidippides ran a little over 26 miles to relay the result,
and died from heat and exhaustion. More than two thousand years later,
his distance was established for races at the Olympics and elsewhere,
now called <cite>marathons</cite>. Deaths, fortunately, are now rare.<br />
Over time, <cite>marathon</cite> also came to mean anything that took a long time and a lot of effort. After the invention of television, we got the <cite>telethon</cite>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telethon">fundraisers</a>
broadcast on TV over many hours or days, focused on a particular
charity or cause. Many of us raised in the 1970s don't think of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lewis">Jerry Lewis</a> as a movie star, but as the guy who ran the telethon.<br />
Now we have <cite><a href="http://www.blogathon.org/">blogathon</a></cite>,
where numerous bloggers (close to 200 this year from across North
America and beyond) post something every half hour for 24 hours. This
year's event began at 6 a.m. today, and runs till the same time tomorrow
morning. Each participant can choose his or own charity, so there are
lots of options. Here in Vancouver, we have quite a few friends doing
the blogathon:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://hummingbird604.com/">Raul</a> is blogging for the B.C. Cancer Foundation (<a href="http://donate.bccancerfoundation.com/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1250&pxfid=5990">donate here</a>), and will be publishing guest posts both from my wife and from me later today.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.miss604.com/">Rebecca</a>, <a href="http://www.worldwidewatercooler.com/">Jen</a>, <a href="http://raincoaster.com/">Lorraine</a>, <a href="http://www.duanestorey.com/blog/">Duane</a>, and <a href="http://www.drbethsnow.com/blog/">Beth</a> are also in on the action.</li>
<li>Numerous others in town, listed on <a href="http://www.miss604.com/blogathon">Rebecca's page</a>, are blogathoning today too.</li>
</ul>
Many of the blogathoners are at <a href="http://abetterplacetowork.com/">Workspace</a> in Gastown today, and I plan to drop in with my kids sometime this afternoon to cheer them on for a bit. Visit <a href="http://www.miss604.com/blogathon">their blogs</a> and choose a worthy cause for a donation, why don't you?<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/charity" rel="tag">charity</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/blogathon" title="permanent link">10:22 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3599947202667351214"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
24 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3667197442422319871"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/splashdown" title="permanent link">Splashdown</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Today we mark 40 years since the Apollo 11 Command Module <cite>Columbia</cite> splashed down in the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=13.317%C2%B0N+169.15%C2%B0W&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.871902,61.435547&ie=UTF8&ll=13.923404,-167.915039&spn=11.604051,15.358887&t=h&z=6">middle</a> of the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred kilometres from the now-closed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_Atoll">Johnston Island</a> naval base:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3738747586/" title="Apollo 11 in the water by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Apollo 11 in the water" height="297" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/3738747586_1aa4c8e8f2.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Our first (and sixth last!) trip to the surface of the Moon was over. The seared, beaten <cite>Columbia</cite>
(weighing less than 6,000 kg, and which had remained shiny and pristine
until its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere), with its passengers,
was the only part of the titanic <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/launch-day">Saturn V rocket</a>
(3 million kg) to return home after a little over one week away. Every
other component had been designed to burn up during launch or return, to
stay on the Moon's surface (where those parts <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/apollosites.html">remain</a>), to smash into the Moon, or to drift in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_in_heliocentric_orbit">its own orbit</a> around the Sun.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3737954255/" title="Lifting Columbia by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Lifting Columbia" height="350" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/3737954255_e3050445c6.jpg" width="344" /></a></div>
All three astronauts returned safely, and suffered no ill effects,
despite being quarantined for two and a half weeks, until August 10,
1969, when I was six weeks old.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/astronomy" rel="tag">astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon" rel="tag">moon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/splashdown" title="permanent link">9:15 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3667197442422319871"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4523654054845338446"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/going-home" title="permanent link">Going home</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Just before noon today, Pacific Time, marks exactly 40 years since Neil armstrong and Buzz Aldrin launched their Lunar Module <cite>Eagle</cite> and left the surface of the Moon, to rendezvous with their colleague Michael Collins in lunar orbit:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3738744642/" title="Leaving the Moon by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Leaving the Moon" height="379" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2465/3738744642_94724eea8b.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
They were on their way home to Earth, though it would take <a href="http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_11i_Timeline.htm">a few days</a> to get back here.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/astronomy" rel="tag">astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon" rel="tag">moon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/going-home" title="permanent link">11:54 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4523654054845338446"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5384129857045935102"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/my-daughters-made-star-trek-movie" title="permanent link">My daughters made a Star Trek movie</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Speaking of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/today-was-day">space stuff</a>, you might enjoy <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2J1mbsK514">this video</a> my kids made (with a little of my editing help) this week:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Drama! Excitement! <i>Evil croissants!</i><br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sciencefiction" rel="tag">sciencefiction</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/startrek" rel="tag">startrek</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/starwars" rel="tag">starwars</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/youtube" rel="tag">youtube</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/my-daughters-made-star-trek-movie" title="permanent link">12:02 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5384129857045935102"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3077435948086229088"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/today-was-day" title="permanent link">Today was the day</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
The beginnings of human calendars are arbitrary. We're using a Christian one right now, though <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini">the start date</a>
is probably wrong, and the monks who created it didn't assign a Year
Zero. Chinese, Mayan, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and other calendars begin
on different dates.<br />
If we were to decide to start over with a new Year Zero, I think the choice would be easy. The dividing line would be <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/">40 years ago today</a>,
what we call July 16, 1969. That's when the first humans—the first
creatures from Earth of any kind, since life began here a few billion
years ago—walked on another world, our own Moon:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3738748098/" title="Buzz on the Moon by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Buzz on the Moon" height="500" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/3738748098_337cce5e9f.jpg" width="379" /></a></div>
They <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11_40th.html">landed</a> their vehicle, the ungainly <cite>Eagle</cite>,
at 1:17 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (the time of my post here). Just
before 8 PDT, Neil Armstrong put his boot on the soil. That was the
moment. All three of the men <a href="http://www.kottke.org/09/07/the-giant-apollo-11-post">who went there</a>, Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, are almost 80 now, but they are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_11_crew_members.jpg">still alive</a>, like the rest of the relatively small slice of humanity that was here when it happened (I was three weeks old).<br />
If the sky is clear tonight, look up carefully for the Moon: it's <a href="http://www.tutiempo.net/en/moon/phases_7_2009.htm">just a sliver</a> right now. Although it's our closest neighbour in space, you can cover it up with your thumb. <i>People have been there,</i> and when the Apollo astronauts walked on its dust, they could look up and cover the Earth with a gesture too—the place where <i>everyone</i>
except themselves had ever lived and died. Every other achievement,
every great undertaking, every pointless war—all fought over something
that could be blotted out with a thumb.<br />
Even if it doesn't start a new calendar (not yet), today should at
least be a holiday, to commemorate the event, the most amazing and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon">important thing</a> we've ever done. Make it one yourself, and remember. Today was the day.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/astronomy" rel="tag">astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon" rel="tag">moon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/today-was-day" title="permanent link">1:17 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3077435948086229088"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
16 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2293326227008641454"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/launch-day" title="permanent link">Launch day</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Forty years ago today. July 16, 1969, 9:32 a.m. EDT, Launch
Complex 39A, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Three nearly hairless apes—human
beings in pressure suits—<a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/07/remembering_apollo_11.html">left for the Moon</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3725399981/" title="Apollo 11 liftoff by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Apollo 11 liftoff" height="360" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/3725399981_c91f23caa6.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
They were aboard the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/world-greatest-machines">world's greatest machine</a>,
which put out about 175 million horsepower during launch. Less than
three hours later, they exited Earth orbit and were on their way.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/astronomy" rel="tag">astronomy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon" rel="tag">moon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/launch-day" title="permanent link">6:32 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2293326227008641454"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8577471641650574275"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/links-of-interest-2006-07-05-to-2006-07" title="permanent link">Links of interest 2006-07-05 to 2006-07-13</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Yup, still on a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/blog-break">blog break</a>. So, more of my selected <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter posts</a>, newest first:<br />
<ul>
<li>Vancouver to Whistler <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3719929260/">in one minute</a> (okay, I cheated):<br />
</li>
<li>We're in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157621296960421/">the mountains</a>, but in a civilized way. Pool/hot tub, grocery store across the street, Wi-Fi. But, uh, there is mountain weather.</li>
<li>Super-duper <a href="http://photojojo.com/uncut/2009/07/07/charming-stop-motion-made-from-60000-photos/">stop-motion movie</a> with 60,000 photo prints (ad for Olympus, via <a href="http://www.mostlylisa.com/">Lisa Bettany</a> and <a href="http://photojojo.com/content/">Photojojo</a>). <a href="http://finiteattentionspan.wordpress.com/">Chris Atherton</a> points out that this follows <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmkLlVzUBn4">Wolf and Pig</a>.</li>
<li>Okay camera nerds, here's some <a href="http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0907/m8-bp.html">rangefinder pr0n</a> for you.</li>
<li>The stereotypically <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=6lOoId21B1Q">blingtastic (and boobtastic) video</a> diminishes Karl Wolf's tolerable version of Toto's "Africa." (And I'm no Toto fan.) It's like a live-action <a href="http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/">Hot Chicks with Douchebags</a>. Yes, the choirboy harmonies are actually kind of charming, but <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/new_rap_song_samples_billie">he's going P-Diddy</a> on it in the end.</li>
<li>In the storage closet, my kids found <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3714868682/">something of mine</a> from 1976 that is EVEN GEEKIER than my <i>U.S.S. Enterprise</i> belt buckle:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3714868682/" title="Aye Captain! by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Aye Captain!" height="240" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3714868682_7c9a5d2b6e_m.jpg" width="159" /></a><br />
Red shirts were available back then, as well as the blue Mr. Spock style, but I chose Kirk. Of course.</li>
<li>The only sounds I can hear right now: the dishwasher, the fan in the hallway, and the birds in the trees outside the window.</li>
<li>During my biology degree, <i>Platyhelminthes</i> was a favourite organism name. Now there's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27110021">a plush toy</a>! (With 2 heads!!)</li>
<li>When I used to busk with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3183655285/">the band</a>, our biggest victories were scaring away the holy rollers across the street (we got applause).</li>
<li>Neat. When a ship is built, here are the <a href="http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/milestones-in-ship-construction/">differences between milestones</a>: keel laying, christening, commissioning, etc.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Psfn6iOfS8">AutoTune the News #6</a>. Even more awesome.</li>
<li>Picked up kids from Aldergrove camp. Sadly, there was a terrible
accident on the Port Mann Bridge. We took a long Langley/Surrey/New
Westminster detour.</li>
<li>Google's <a href="http://dashes.com/anil/2009/07/googles-microsoft-moment.html">changing culture</a>. Point: Google now has more employees than Microsoft did at launch of Windows 95.</li>
<li>Time lapse: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3708732817">8 hours from my front window</a> in about 1 min 30 sec, made with my new Nikon D90 and free <a href="http://www.sofortbildapp.com/">Sofortbild</a> capture software (and iMovie):<br />
<br />Something like John Biehler's <a href="http://johnbiehler.com/2009/01/20/12hrs24fps-still-more-time-lapse/">Nikon Coolpix P6000</a>
is better for timelapse long term; the D90's mechanical shutter, which
is rated for 100,000 uses, would wear out in less than 6 months if used
for time lapse every day. P.S. <a href="http://www.andygagliano.com/">Andy Gagliano</a> pointed to a <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/141637/2009/07/time_lapse_video.html">useful Macworld podcast</a> about making time-lapse movies.</li>
<li>Depressing: most Internet Explorer 6 users use it at work, because they're <a href="http://blog.digg.com/?p=878">not allowed</a> to use another browser.</li>
<li>These <a href="http://www.mahalo.com/asians-doing-christopher-walken-impressions">Christopher Walken impressions</a> are way funnier than I expected.</li>
<li>The way <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/07/oh_no_monkeys_are_smarter_than.php">monkeys peel a banana</a> shows us we've all been doing it the needlessly hard way all these years.</li>
<li>Um... <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/07/09/is-disquieted-the-word-for-it">hot</a>!</li>
<li>Most appropriate <a href="http://www.homestarrunner.com/loadingscreens.html">Flash cartoon</a> ever?</li>
<li>Drinking whisky and Diet Dr. Pepper, watching <i>MythBusters</i>. Pretty mellow.</li>
<li>A <a href="http://kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm">good photo</a> is "not about the details or the subject. It's what your subconscious pulls out of it all without thinking."</li>
<li>Just picked up another month's supply of horrible, nasty, vile, wonderful, beautiful, lifesaving <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">anti-cancer pills</a>. Thanks, Big Pharma Man.</li>
<li>My wife tells me she's discovered a sure-fire tip for a gal to attract quality guys in public: carry a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/drunkcat/3715508933/in/pool-cameraporn">huge SLR camera</a> over your shoulder.</li>
<li>"For the great majority [...] blogging is <a href="http://www.wordyard.com/2009/07/08/why-people-blog-and-why-journalists-keep-missing-the-point/">a social activity</a>, not an aspiration to mass-media stardom."</li>
<li>Just talked to younger daughter (9) for first time after three days at summer camp. She's a little homesick, but having fun.</li>
<li>I took a flight over a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3700706020">remote landscape</a>:<br />
</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1658545,00.html">50 worst cars</a> of all time (e.g. "The Yugo had the distinct feeling of something assembled at gunpoint").</li>
<li>I haven't seen either Transformers movie, but that's okay, <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=KRS90V8BQGo">I saw this</a>.</li>
<li>Dan Savage: cheating on your spouse should now be known as "<a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=1775835">hiking the Appalachian Trail</a>." Good point in the article too.</li>
<li>You can still buy a station wagon with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3696450985/">fake wood paneling</a>!</li>
<li><a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/like_watching_a_train_wreck/">Train vs. tornado</a>. It does not end well. Watch without fast-forward/scrubbing for maximum tension.</li>
<li>Just lucked into a parking spot on Granville Island. Time for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3696460225">some lunch</a>.</li>
<li>Sent the kids off for a week of horse-riding camp today. Wife Air
and I had sparkling wine in the garden. Vewwy vewwy quiet around here.</li>
<li>Just sorted a bunch of CDs. Still several discs missing cases, and cases missing discs. I feel like a total '90s throwback.</li>
<li><a href="http://gawno.com/2009/05/78-photography-rules/">Rules of photography</a> (via <a href="http://www.alastairbird.com/">Alastair Bird</a>).</li>
<li>When did the standard <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/364290653/">Booth Babe</a> uniform become cropped T-shirt and too-short <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scriptingnews/3691301066/">schoolgirl kilt</a>?</li>
<li>Listening to "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kind-Blue-Miles-Davis/dp/B000002ADT/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Kind of Blue</a>." It's been awhile.</li>
<li>"A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it." - Jerry Seinfeld (via <a href="http://sisyphean.org/">Ryan</a>).</li>
</ul>
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/audio" rel="tag">audio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/flickr" rel="tag">flickr</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/google" rel="tag">google</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/microsoft" rel="tag">microsoft</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sex" rel="tag">sex</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/startrek" rel="tag">startrek</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/whistler" rel="tag">whistler</a></div>
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/links-of-interest-2006-07-05-to-2006-07" title="permanent link">8:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8577471641650574275"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 July 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3255976405226927370"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/tweets-2006-06-28-to-2006-07-04" title="permanent link">Links of interest 2006-06-28 to 2006-07-04</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Once again, while I'm on my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/blog-break">blog break</a>, my edited <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter posts</a> from the past week, newest first:<br />
<ul>
<li>Photo of Obama <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/3683208451/">picking up</a> his infamous housefly victim.</li>
<li>Guess that U2 iPod is <a href="http://twitter.com/alistaircalder/status/2478535368">never coming back</a>.</li>
<li>And now: "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3689107760/">Ant and Buttercup</a>," my debut HD macro closeup movie from our summer garden:<br />
</li>
<li>My first <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688800818/in/set-72157607121981019/">experiments</a> with off-camera flash during close-up photography:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688800818/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 1"><img alt="Veins 1" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3688800818_79d8496120_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688001971/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 2"><img alt="Veins 2" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3688001971_a1b245acdd_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688805240/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 3"><img alt="Veins 3" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2524/3688805240_655dc817c8_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688807014/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 4"><img alt="Veins 4" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3600/3688807014_632b4303bc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688809590/in/set-72157%20607121981019/" title="Veins 5"><img alt="Veins 5" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3688809590_5b2b7c50bc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688811662/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 6"><img alt="Veins 6" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2563/3688811662_8a0a5d54a9_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688813632/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 7"><img alt="Veins 7" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2560/3688813632_cdfb51c7af_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688816296/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 8"><img alt="Veins 8" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3629/3688816296_fe7aa54b47_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688018475/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 10"><img alt="Veins 10" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2506/3688018475_000f895717_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688818668/in/set-72157607121981019/" title="Veins 9"><img alt="Veins 9" class="post" height="75" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/3688818668_26ede4c400_s.jpg" width="75" /></a></li>
<li>If I'm passed at high speed by someone with a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/applephoneshow/3592055965/">Washington plate BOKEH</a>, I now know who it is. He says he'll wave.</li>
<li>Mammals will play, even between species, even when you'd never expect it—<a href="http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/play/audiogallery/soundseen.shtml#slideshow/">wild polar bear and huskies</a> (slide show via <a href="http://www.scripting.com/">Dave Winer</a>).</li>
<li>A couple of crows are nesting nearby; they keep landing in our
birdbath and on the house and lamp stands, looking ominous. Too smart,
crows.</li>
<li><i>Sitting in a B.C. garden<br />
No waiting for the sun</i></li>
<li>CompuServe finally <a href="http://www.basexblog.com/2009/07/03/compuserve-requiem/">shuts down</a>.</li>
<li>Just in case you're looking for a <a href="http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_veyron_convertible">$2.1 million convertible</a>.</li>
<li>Congratulations to <a href="http://www.buzzbishop.com/blog/2009/07/04/with-this-ring/">Buzz Bishop</a>, Jen, and Zacharie.</li>
<li>I presume this <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/bfa3/?cpg=froogle">tiny USB-driven monitor screen</a> is Windows-only, because of drivers? Looks pretty swell. (Via <a href="http://twitter.com/nealcampbell/status/2465738868">Neal Campbell</a>.)</li>
<li>Definitive proof I'm not afraid of heights: I love <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1196967/Dont-look-Terrifying-view-glass-box-balcony-jutting-skyscrapers-103rd-floor.html">this idea</a>.</li>
<li>Via <a href="http://www.johnbiehler.com/">John Biehler</a>, I found that as well as MythBuster <a href="http://twitter.com/donttrythis">Adam Savage</a>, his co-workers <a href="http://twitter.com/grantimahara">Grant Imahara</a> and narrator <a href="http://twitter.com/voicework">Robert Lee</a> are also on Twitter.</li>
<li>When I had my first Nikon 25 years ago, I wouldn't have believed I'd ever own one (a <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90.htm">D90</a>) with 66 pages of the manual (out of a couple hundred total, in a <a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/D90_ennoprint.pdf">16 MB PDF file</a>) <i>just for menu options</i>.
Then again, 25 years ago, a friend showed me a shoulder-mounted Betamax
camera from Hong Kong, and it was the latest in high tech video too.</li>
<li>That's the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdR9-PIjDYI">funkiest beat</a> I've ever heard a marching band play (via <a href="http://twitter.com/jmspool/status/2464759329">Jared Spool</a>). Maybe some James Brown next?</li>
<li>Has anyone pinpointed the exact day that <a href="http://images.google.com/images?q=victoria%20beckham">Victoria Beckham</a> stopped being able to <a href="http://entertainment.oneindia.in/hollywood/top-stories/scoop/2008/julia-roberts-genuine-smile-260808.html">smile</a>? Angus Wilson speculates, "whatever day she began to look less like a hot English babe and more like a velociraptor."</li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/megfowler/status/2461603227">Meg Fowler</a>: "Sarah Palin's quitting politics like Ann Coulter's quitting evil."</li>
<li>As the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing approaches, some <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/photos/10-great-views-memories-from-the-moon/">fabulous photos</a> from the missions, via <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/">Bad Astronomy</a>.</li>
<li>From <a href="http://miazmatic.com/">Ben Englert</a>: "Thank you, <a href="http://gdgt.com/">gdgt</a>, for institutionalizing the arduous task of dick-measuring by figuring out who has more toys."</li>
<li>Ten <a href="http://listverse.com/2009/06/30/10-best-uses-of-classical-music-in-classic-cartoons/">best uses</a> of classical music in classic cartoons.</li>
<li>Our fridge magnet: "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3687914597/">I love not camping</a>."<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3687914597/" title="Our favourite fridge magnet by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Our favourite fridge magnet" height="240" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/3687914597_74a1dafdb1_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></li>
<li>How did I manage to bite the inside of my upper lip while eating a
peach? If this were high school, the guys would say, "Each much?"</li>
<li>Back to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3682478075/">short hair</a> for summer. And now I realize that it's <a href="http://www.paulanealmooney.com/stephen-colbert-hair-cut-pics-from-iraq-watch-steven-colbert-video-below-with-new-shaved-haircut/621/">Colbert hair</a>.</li>
<li>I think my guts have calmed down now. Time for bed. In the meantime, enjoy a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Mq9HAE62Y">naked Air New Zealand flight crew</a>.</li>
<li>In case you'd like to watch Jeff Goldblum reporting on his own "death," on Colbert Monday: links for <a href="http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-colbert-report/full-episodes/june-29-2009/#clip188407">Canada</a> and <a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/220019/june-29-2009/jeff-goldblum-will-be-missed">the U.S.A.</a> (sorry if you're elsewhere!).</li>
<li>Didn't attend various Canada Day parties because of tired family
and my usual intestinal side effects. Hope you had fun in my stead.
Managed to avoid intestinal chemo side effects for a few days, but
they're back with a vengeance. Could be a looooong night. (And it was.
At 2 a.m., my chemo side effects were "over" and I went to bed. Bzzt!
Wrong! Finally got to sleep at 9 a.m., woke up at 1 the next afternoon.
As Alfred E. Neuman says, Yecch.)</li>
<li>Whatever you think of the 2010 Olympics here in Vancouver, VANOC is doing a good job with <a href="http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/news/feature-stories/-/68964/32574/1mdah8a/official-posters-of-the-games.html">graphic design</a>.</li>
<li>I, too, welcome our <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8127000/8127519.stm">new ant overlords</a>.</li>
<li>I had no alcohol on my birthday yesterday, but still had a Canada Day headache on July 1. Here's my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2009/06/dodging-buses.html">new free instrumental</a>.</li>
<li>Inside Home Recording #72 is out: Winners, Studio Move, Synth 101, Suckage! <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=776">AAC enhanced</a> and <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=775">MP3 audio-only</a> versions.</li>
<li>Normally I really like our car dealer's service dept, but today the
steering wheel came back oh-so-slightly to the left. They had to re-fix
it.</li>
<li>World's <a href="http://www.throwboy.com/">geekiest pillows</a> (via <a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/geek-pillows-for-your-home-furniture/">Chris Pirillo</a>). My guess: they didn't license the Apple icons. Get the pillows while you can.</li>
<li>Officially made it to 40. Thanks everybody for the birthday wishes.
Most people are bit melancholy to reach 40, but I am extremely glad to
have made it.</li>
<li>Just returned from a Deluxe Chuck Wagon burger (with cheese) at the <a href="http://www2.canada.com/northshorenews/news/taste/story.html?id=be2ea484-6ecc-46ff-8ea4-d17c6f90321f">resurrected Wally's Burgers</a> in Cates Park, North Vancouver:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3676829181/" title="Derek Wally's burger 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Derek Wally's burger 2" height="159" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2433/3676829181_39414ca5cb_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></li>
<li>From <a href="http://twitter.com/RobCottingham/status/2392265443">Rob Cottingham</a>: "The hell with putting a ring on it. If you liked it, you shoulda made a secure offsite backup."</li>
<li>Info about recording old vinyl records into a computer: You need a
proper grounded phono preamp, with good hot signals into an audio
interface or other analog-to-digital converter. A new needle might be
wise if yours is old, but the real phono preamp (w/RIAA curve) is the
most necessary bit after that. Route it thru an old stereo tuner if
needed! See <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=186">my old post</a> from 2006 at Inside Home Recording.</li>
<li>Myth confirmed: Baby girl evidence (named <a href="http://twitter.com/grantimahara/status/2392765060">Stella</a>) shows <a href="http://twitpic.com/9culg">MythBusters</a>' Kari Byron actually was <a href="http://www.pregnancy360.com/kari-byron">pregnant</a>.</li>
<li>My new Twitter background image is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3667880260/in/set-72157620666234660/">the view</a> we saw at sunset during my birthday party on Saturday. (I've since <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3688811662/">replaced it</a> again.)</li>
<li>Back from another <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157620655062509/">fun sunny summer BBQ</a> at Paul Garay's new house—it's been a burgers-n-beer weekend.</li>
<li>Photos from my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157620666234660/">40th birthday party</a> now posted (please use tag "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/penmachinebirthday">penmachinebirthday</a>" if you post some).</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cartoon" rel="tag">cartoon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest" rel="tag">linksofinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/moon" rel="tag">moon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/mythbusters" rel="tag">mythbusters</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/paulgaray" rel="tag">paulgaray</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/usb" rel="tag">usb</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/07/tweets-2006-06-28-to-2006-07-04" title="permanent link">12:36 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3255976405226927370"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-8608667911331774072018-11-11T12:19:00.001-08:002018-11-11T12:19:07.257-08:00Derek Jun 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1434055473387915622"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/dodging-buses-my-new-free-mp3" title="permanent link">"Dodging Buses," my new free MP3 instrumental</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3676827061/" title="Derek Wally's burger 1 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Derek Wally's burger 1" class="post" height="159" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3676827061_e3fbcda6e9_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I turn 40 today, and in honour of that, here is "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2009/06/dodging-buses.html">Dodging Buses</a>" (<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/files/penmachine-dodgingbuses.mp3">3.7 MB MP3 file</a>), a three-minute instrumental number. Like many of my others, it has that signature <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast">Penmachine</a>
granky guitar-bass-drums sound, with a hint of AC/DC. I started
recording it back in March, using my Yamaha Pacifica electric guitar
tuned to an open E chord, but only in this past week did I add bass,
mix, and then master it.<br />
The name comes from something I've said numerous times during my past
two and half years of cancer treatment: the saying goes that you could
get hit by a bus anytime, but personally, I feel like I'm dodging buses
every day. It's licensed for you to share and reuse, as long as you <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ca/">give me credit</a>, so have fun with it.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/free" rel="tag">free</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/penmachinepodcast" rel="tag">penmachinepodcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/dodging-buses-my-new-free-mp3" title="permanent link">7:39 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1434055473387915622"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="859826779955505944"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/tweets-2006-06-21-to-2006-06-27" title="permanent link">Links of interest 2006-06-21 to 2006-06-27</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
While I'm on my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/blog-break">blog break</a>, more edited versions of my <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter posts</a> from the past week, newest first:<br />
<ul>
<li>My wonderful wife got me a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3663335437/in/set-72157620610598266/">Nikon D90</a> camera for my 40th birthday this week. I'm thinking of selling my old <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/224040763/in/set-72157594274405293/">Nikon D50</a>,
still a great camera. Anyone interested? I was thinking around $325. I
also have a brand new 18–55 mm lens for sale with it, $150 by itself or
$425 together. I have all original boxes, accessories, manuals,
software, etc., and I'll throw in a memory card, plus a UV filter for
the lens.</li>
<li>Roger Hawkins's drum track for "<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=1fMt2kjc8iw&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%253D880831%2526id%253D880871%2526s%253D143441%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30">When a Man Loves a Woman</a>" (Percy Sledge 1966): tastiest ever? Hardly a fill, no toms, absolutely delicious.</li>
<li>Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who came to my 40th birthday party—both for your presence and for the presents. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157620666234660/">Photos</a> from the event, held June 27, three days early for my actual birthday on Tuesday, are now posted (please use tag "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/penmachinebirthday/">penmachinebirthday</a>" if you post some yourself).</li>
<li>I think Twitter just jumped the shark. In trending topics, <i>Michael Jackson</i> passed <i>Iran</i>, OK, but both passed by <i>Princess Protection Program</i> (new Disney Channel movie)?</li>
<li>AT&T (and Rogers, presumably) is trying to charge MythBusters' Adam Savage <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/26/mythbuster-adam-savage-leads-twitter-revolt-against-att/">$11,000 USD</a> for some wireless web surfing here in Canada.</li>
<li>After more than 12 years buying stuf on eBay, here's our first ever <a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330340367228">item for sale</a> there. Nothing too exciting, but there you go.</li>
<li>Michael Jackson's death this week made me think of comparisons with
Elvis, John Lennon, and Kurt Cobain. Lennon and Cobain still seemed to
have some artistic vitality ahead of them. Feel a need for Michael
Jackson coverage? <a href="http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/qpodcast_20090626_17543.mp3">Jian Ghomeshi</a>
(MP3 file) on CBC in Canada is the only commentator who isn't
blathering mindlessly. But as a cancer patient myself, having Farrah
Fawcett and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerri_Nielsen">Dr. Jerri Nielsen</a> (of South Pole fame) die of it the same day is a bit hard to take.</li>
<li>Seattle's KCTS 9 (PBS affiliate) showed "<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musicinstinct/">The Music Instinct</a>"
with Daniel Levitin and Bobby McFerrin. If you like music or are a
musician, it's worth watching, even if it's a bit scattershot, packing
too much into two hours.</li>
<li>New rule: when a Republican attacks gay marriage, lets assume he's cheating on his wife (via <a href="http://jaksview3.wordpress.com/">Jak King</a>).</li>
<li>The blogs and podcasts I'm affiliated with are now sold on Amazon
for its Kindle e-reader device, for $2 USD a month. I know, that's
weird, because they're normally <i>free</i>, and are even accessible
for free using the Kindle's built-in web browser, so I don't know why
people would pay for them—but if you want to, here you go: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ECE936/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Penmachine</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ECE94A/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Inside Home Recording</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ECE98Q/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Lip Gloss and Laptops</a>. Okay, we're waiting for the money to roll in...</li>
<li>Great speech by David Schlesinger from Reuters to the International Olympic Committee on <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/reuters-editors/2009/06/24/rethinking-rights-accreditation-and-journalism-itself-in-the-age-of-twitter/">not restricting new media</a> at the Olympics (via <a href="http://www.buzzmachine.com/">Jeff Jarvis</a>).</li>
<li>TV ad: "Restaurant-inspired meals for cats." Um, have they seen what cats bring in from the outdoors?</li>
<li>I planned to record my last segment for <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> #72, but neighbour was power washing right outside the window (in the rain!). Argh.</li>
<li>You can't trust your eyes: the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/24/the-blue-and-the-green/">blue and green</a> are actually the SAME COLOUR.</li>
<li>Can you use the new SD card slot in current <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/141026/2009/06/macbookrefresh.html">MacBook laptops</a> for <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/time-machine.html">Time Machine</a> backups? (You can definitely use it to <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/141401/2009/06/mwvodcast114.html">boot the computer</a>.)
Maybe, but not really. SDHC cards max out at 32GB (around $100 USD);
the upcoming SDXC will handle more, but none exist in Macs or in the
real world yet. Unless you put very little on the MacBook's internal
drive, or use System Preferences to exclude all but the most essential
stuff from backups, then no, SD cards are not viable for Time Machine.</li>
<li>Some stats from Sebastian Albrecht's <a href="http://www.buzzbishop.com/blog/2009/06/23/sebastian-albrecht-sets-record-with-13-grouse-grind-climbs-in-one-day/">insane</a> thirteen-times-up-the-Grouse Grind climb in one day this week. He burned 14,000+ calories.</li>
<li>Even though I use RSS extensively, I find myself manually visiting the same 5 blogs (<a href="http://daringfireball.net/">Daring Fireball</a>, <a href="http://kottke.org/">Kottke</a>, <a href="http://darrenbarefoot.com/">Darren Barefoot</a>, <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/">PZ Myers</a>, and <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/">J-Walk</a>) every morning, with most interesting news covered.</li>
<li>I never get tired of NASA's rocket-cam <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=j-5t4de6jjI">launch videos</a>.</li>
<li>Pat Buchanan hosts conference advocating English-only initiatives in the USA. But the <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/english-only/">sign over the stage</a> is misspelled.</li>
<li>Who knew the Rolling Stones made an (awesome) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZBmhEMFdl0">jingle for Rice Krispies</a> in the mid-1960s?</li>
<li>Always <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/">scary stuff</a> behind a sentence like, "'He is an expert in every field,' said a church spokeswoman."</li>
<li><a href="http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/shoptalk-3/">Kodachrome</a> slide film is dead, but <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/fuji/velvia-50.htm">Fujichrome Velvia</a> killed it a long time ago. This is just the official last rites.</li>
<li>My friends <a href="http://itripped.blogspot.com/2009/06/nous-allez-ride-report.html">Dave K.</a>
and Dr. Debbie B. did the Vancouver-to-Seattle bicycle Ride to Conquer
Cancer (more than 270 km in two days) last weekend. Congrats and good
job!</li>
<li>My daughter (11) <a href="http://hoyya.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/superstar/">asks</a> on her blog: "if Dad is so internet famous, I mean, Penmachine is popular, then, maybe I am too..." </li>
<li><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hVOW2U7K4-M/SWLozP1QUNI/AAAAAAAA1pM/A6n7HNBUloE/s640/63e5ur6thrthrt.jpg">Evolution</a> of a photographer (via <a href="http://www.photofocus.com/">Scott Bourne</a>).</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/amazon" rel="tag">amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/backup" rel="tag">backup</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest" rel="tag">linksofinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion" rel="tag">religion</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/twitter" rel="tag">twitter</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/tweets-2006-06-21-to-2006-06-27" title="permanent link">10:30 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=859826779955505944"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6719810791684487341"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/tweets-2006-06-14-to-2006-06-20" title="permanent link">Links of interest 2006-06-14 to 2006-06-20</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
While I'm on my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/blog-break">blog break</a>, here are some selected, edited, and concatenated versions of my <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter posts</a> from the past week, newest first:<br />
<ul>
<li>A DJ is a fake DJ if he plays music that he composed and recorded himself.</li>
<li>For photo nerds, a <a href="http://lenstip.com/114.1-article-50_years_of_Nikon_F-mount_%E2%80%93_Nikkor-S_5.8_cm_f_1.4_vs._Nikkor_AF-S_50_mm_f_1.4G_Introduction.html">fun shootout</a> from Poland of Nikon's 1960-era 58mm f/1.4 lens vs. a new (2008) autofocus 50mm f/1.4.</li>
<li>The sunset is beautiful and calming. Wish I could say the same for the state of my digestive system.</li>
<li>My kids are suddenly obsessed with Devo's "Whip It" and Lipps
Inc.'s "Funkytown." Sounds like 1980 around here. They are also keen on
"You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)" and "We're Not Gonna Take It."</li>
<li>Best tilt-shift time-lapse <a href="http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/port-operations-amazing-time/">movie</a> yet (check it out <a href="http://vimeo.com/5137183">in HD</a>).</li>
<li>When Robert X. Cringely isn't trying to predict, he can be very wise. Here he is on <a href="http://www.cringely.com/2009/06/teens-dont-twitter/">SMS and Twitter</a>.</li>
<li>I'm uneasy about the proposed new Canadian <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4069/125/">Internet surveillance law</a>.</li>
<li>In case Iran distracted you, note that Obama is taking <a href="http://wockner.blogspot.com/2009/06/gay-tsunami-slams-obama.html">lots</a> of <a href="http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-06-18/news/politics-city-county-government/stampp-corbin-the-doma-brief-ruined-everything">heat</a> from the U.S. gay community this week.</li>
<li>Listening to "One Thing Leads to Another" by The Fixx (1983).
That's one killer guitar tone, I tell ya. [...] Have moved on to "I'm a
Man" by the Spencer Davis Group. Hard to believe Steve Winwood was only
18. Sounds like an old soul shouter.</li>
<li>Sometimes when listening to a good podcast, I’ll pick a <a href="http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2009/06/adieu-boredom.html">longer line</a> at the grocery store so I can listen to more of it.</li>
<li>I believe the commercial jingle for MTI Community College (on <a href="http://www.mticc.com/">their site</a>) may be the worst such tune ever made.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyi/sets/72157619833958006/">Photos by Andy Ihnatko</a> using the improved camera on the new iPhone 3GS. Tap-to-focus also invokes spot metering, which makes a HUGE difference.</li>
<li>Since I took a break from blogging a few days ago, I'm tweeting and
commenting on other blogs quite a bit more. Can't not write, I guess.</li>
<li>Roger Ebert <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/06/the_oreilly_procedure.html">writes</a>
that right-wing TV blowhard Bill O'Reilly tells viewers, "You're right,
but you're not right ENOUGH! I'm angrier about this than you are!" And
that is corrosive.</li>
<li>How the human brain <a href="http://luminous-landscape.com/essays/art1.shtml">perceives images</a>.</li>
<li>As 11:30 news ends, they say, "See you on the morning news at 4:30." Uh, sure.</li>
<li>Is there anything that will more instantly provoke itchy eyes than a Visine ad?</li>
<li>For recording a podcast with two people, the Blue Snowball USB
microphone is okay, but there are better USB mic options now. If you
want to use a single mic for 2 people, the Snowball is actually better
in its omni mode than in unidirectional. Alas, to change its hardware
gain setting you need to change firmware (available from Blue site),
which is annoying. Look also at Samson's C03U, and don't ignore the
possibility of using a small USB audio interface and traditional mics
too. For two people you'll do best with two mics. Modern lavalier
(clip-ons) like the Audio-Technica PRO 70 do very well there.</li>
<li>DCResource on the tiny new <a href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/e_p1-review">Olympus DP-1</a> Micro Four Thirds camera.</li>
<li>Is this <a href="http://establishedmen.com/">real or a spoof</a>?</li>
<li>"Dancing Queen," "Brown Eyed Girl," "I Saw Her Standing There"—some songs work regardless of the audience.</li>
<li>Any entrepreneur worth his or her salt talks about their actual business, not "entrepreneurism."</li>
<li>Not chuffed; rather, chafed.</li>
</ul>
That'll do in the meantime, won't it? Oh, and happy Father's Day to <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/">my dad</a>, other dads out there, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157620036305625/">and me</a>!<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest" rel="tag">linksofinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/twitter" rel="tag">twitter</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/tweets-2006-06-14-to-2006-06-20" title="permanent link">3:06 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6719810791684487341"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
13 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4570692739874357522"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/blog-break" title="permanent link">Blog break</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3296111859/" title="Stairs HDR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Stairs HDR" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3296111859_9317199b1c_m.jpg" width="159" /></a>Except for the occasional <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/07/hiatus.html">vacation</a> or trip to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/hey-so-where-you-go">the hospital</a>,
I've written on this blog most days since October 27, 2000 (and more
intermittently for three and a half years before that, before it was a
blog). Including this post, that's 3446 entries in 3152 days, or an
average of 1.09 posts per day, through raising our kids and work and
travel and illnesses and treatments galore.<br />
For most of my life I've written compulsively. In the words of <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/01/01/WhatNext#skills">Tim Bray</a> and <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2006/03/09/Mark-Pilgrim">Mark Pilgrim</a>,
I write this blog because I "can't not write." Or at least I did. But
today it feels forced, an annoyance, something it should not be.<br />
I need a break. So I'm taking one. I don't know how long.<br />
I'll probably still post to <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/penmachine">Facebook</a>,
but not as much. I'll be on email too, though I plan to unsubscribe
from a lot of lists and notifications that clutter up my inbox, and
maybe try to pare down the 1800 messages sitting there. There will be
photos on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine">Flickr</a>. Maybe I'll find a way to bring some of that material over here automatically. We'll see.<br />
Other things also won't change. I plan to continue co-hosting with Dave Chick the <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> podcast once a month or so. I won't be offline or off the grid. If you subscribe to my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/rss.xml">RSS feed</a> you'll see when something new appears here, whenever that might be. I'll let you know if there's any big news.<br />
In the meantime, it's almost summer. Go outside. Be with your friends and family. Talk. Love. I plan to.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/facebook" rel="tag">facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fatigue" rel="tag">fatigue</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/flickr" rel="tag">flickr</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/twitter" rel="tag">twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/blog-break" title="permanent link">2:35 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4570692739874357522"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
11 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5262706216486571538"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/going-beyond-common-sense" title="permanent link">Going beyond common sense</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A few <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/fooling-yourself">months ago</a>, I posted two quotes about how science works, and why it's effective:<br />
<blockquote>
<cite>The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.</cite> - Richard Feynman<br />
<cite>If common sense were a reliable guide, we wouldn't need science in the first place.</cite> - Amanda Gefter</blockquote>
Feynman and Gefter sum up what makes science different from many
other intellectual pursuits, and why it has so radically changed the
human experience over the past few hundred years. Not fooling ourselves
turns out to be surprisingly difficult. That's because (to dig up
another thing I write about frequently here) our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/rejecting-reality-and-believing">brains aren't built</a> to find the truth. Often, we have to work against our own thinking to do that.<br />
We evolved to get by and reproduce as hunter-gatherer primates on the
savannah of Africa, not to follow two or more independent lines of
evidence to confirm <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/07/the-universe-is-expanding-at-742-kmsecmpc/">how fast the universe is expanding</a>.
Yet we have figured that out, because scientific thinking is designed
to counteract our tendencies to fool ourselves. Sometimes we still do,
for awhile, but science also tends to be self-correcting, because it
tries to force reality to trump belief.<br />
There's an <a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/2331741806807x22/fulltext.html">excellent article</a> in the current issue of the academic journal <cite>Evolution: Education and Outreach</cite>, titled "Understanding Natural Selection: Essential Concepts and Common Misconceptions" (via <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/06/reaching_creationists_heres_th.php">PZ Myers</a>).
Yes, it's academic and thus (for a web page) pretty long, but there's
lots of meat there, and it's written for a general audience. It's worth
reading through.<br />
The first part summarizes how natural selection works. The second
part asks "why is natural selection so difficult to understand?" After
all, it is elegant and logical, and has mountains (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgess_Shale">literally</a>, in some cases) of evidence behind it, collected and analyzed and correlated and compared and verified over <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/darwin-day">150 years</a>. However:<br />
<blockquote>
Much of the human experience involves overcoming obstacles,
achieving goals, and fulfilling needs. Not surprisingly, human
psychology includes a powerful bias toward thoughts about the "purpose"
or "function" of objects and behaviors [...] the "human function
compunction." This bias is particularly strong in children, who are apt
to see most of the world in terms of purpose; for example, even
suggesting that "rocks are pointy to keep animals from sitting on them".</blockquote>
In other words, one reason it's hard to understand natural selection
(or quantum mechanics, or the weather, or geological time) is that we're
predisposed to believe that <i>the whole universe is like us</i>.<br />
Indeed, that's often not a bad place to start. Seeing that
populations of organisms change over time, early evolutionary theorists
proposed that the organisms changed, in effect, because they wanted to,
and passed those desired changes on to their offspring. But those ideas
had to be discarded when the evidence didn't support them. Similarly,
long tradition indicates that many alternative medical therapies might
be worth examining, but research shows that most of them <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31190909/">don't work</a>.<br />
Intuition and common sense are a good way to find your way through
day-to-day life, but they're not especially reliable when trying to
figure out how reality works, and thus how to do things that are
genuinely new.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/psychology" rel="tag">psychology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/going-beyond-common-sense" title="permanent link">11:01 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5262706216486571538"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2046525553354388299"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/camera-works-pictures-that-tell-story" title="permanent link">Camera Works: pictures that tell a story</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Here are three photos I recently uploaded to my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine">Flickr account</a>, each with an accompanying story but otherwise unrelated. The first one shows the practical applications of knowing how your <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks">camera works</a>, while the others are just for fun. Click each photo to zoom it:<br />
<h4>
Two waterfalls:</h4>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3588299260_ec5f62633b_b.jpg" title="Two waterfalls by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Two waterfalls" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3588299260_ec5f62633b.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
Actually, it's two photos of the same <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3588299260/" title="Two waterfalls by penmachine, on Flickr">waterfall</a>,
taken a few seconds apart using my Nikon D50 digital SLR and a 50 mm
lens, showing how you can change an image by controlling the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-aperture-and-f-stops">aperture</a> and <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/camera-works-shutters-flashes-and-sync">shutter speed</a>.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>For blurry water:</b> I snapped the left photo at f/22 (a
small aperture) for 1/8 of a second, blurring the water with a long
shutter speed. I didn't have a tripod, so I rested the camera against
the edge of the fountain for stability.</li>
<li><b>For frozen splashes:</b> The right photo was at f/3.5 (a
wider aperture) for 1/800 of a second, freezing the motion of the water
with a short shutter speed. The camera was in the same place, but
because of the fast shutter I didn't need to be so careful about not
moving it.</li>
</ul>
<b>Depth of field differences:</b> It's not that easy to see, but the
right photo with the fast shutter speed also has shallower depth of
focus because of the larger aperture. That's particularly noticeable
when you compare the concrete edge at the lower left corners of the two
frames.<br />
<b>Where is this?</b> The fountain is on <a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=49.263979,-123.13389&spn=0.000473,0.000939&t=h&z=20" rel="nofollow">Birch Street</a>
between Broadway and 8th Avenue in Vancouver, if you want to visit it
yourself. It's pretty cool: two streams flow down on either side of a
set of steps. This is the north side.<br />
<h4>
Drama at the birdhouse:</h4>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3605776263_9a227c6114_b.jpg" title="Drama at the birdhouse by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Drama at the birdhouse" height="217" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3605776263_9a227c6114.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
This isn't quite as dramatic as it looks at first glance. While the photos are in the correct order, the chickadee <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3605776263/" title="Drama at the birdhouse by penmachine, on Flickr">didn't eat the wasp</a>—it just scared the insect away, with food already in its mouth.<br />
We have chickadees raise babies in this birdhouse on our back porch
every year. But this year this one bird (the mom?) looks especially
beat-up and scraggly, and has looked that way for weeks. Is is just old,
or did something nasty happen to it? Seems to be feeding the kids just
fine, though.<br />
I used a long focal length, higher ISO (sensitivity), and fast shutter speed (plus some patience) to get this series.<br />
<h4>
Exploded Coke Zero:</h4>
<div align="center">
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/3614653746_49572ae715_b.jpg" title="Exploded Coke Zero 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Exploded Coke Zero 2" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/3614653746_49572ae715.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
I guess our downstairs fridge was set a bit too cold. Good thing
sugar acts as an antifreeze, so that it was the sugar-free (and
non-sticky) Coke Zero that froze and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3614653746/" title="Exploded Coke Zero 2 by penmachine, on Flickr">exploded</a> first. Still a bit of mess to clean up inside the fridge, though.<br />
This photo required a flash, both because the room was a bit dim and
because I wanted to highlight the glittery goodness of the unintentional
Coke Zero slush.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks" rel="tag">cameraworks</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/camera-works-pictures-that-tell-story" title="permanent link">1:45 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2046525553354388299"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1829829147946675956"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/keep-on-keepin-on" title="permanent link">Keep on keepin' on</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
That makes two consecutive <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/living-for-tomorrow">CT scans</a> showing my tumours to be stable. This drug may keep me around for awhile yet.<br />
But man, these side effects. Just got back to bed after another hour
and a half in the bathroom. There's always a price to be paid to stay
alive, I guess.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ctscan" rel="tag">ctscan</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/keep-on-keepin-on" title="permanent link">11:03 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1829829147946675956"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">9 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="602987863715511437"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/i-be-on-cbc-radio-again-at-540-today" title="permanent link">I'll be on CBC Radio again at 5:40 today</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/445642940/" title="Cancer Treatment: Day 62 (in Studio 31) at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Cancer Treatment: Day 62 (in Studio 31) at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/208/445642940_d04c15b0b2_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I'll be <a href="http://www.google.ca/custom?domains=www.penmachine.com&q=%22on+the+coast%22&sa=Search&sitesearch=www.penmachine.com&client=pub-0244838074492717&forid=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23008000%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A663399%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A219%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%2Fimages%2Fpenmachine_header.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.penmachine.com%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en">on the radio</a> again, but it's not about cancer this time—I get to nerd out instead! This afternoon, CBC Radio Vancouver's "<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/onthecoast/">On the Coast</a>" drivetime show will be talking about the City of New Westminster's feasibility study/pilot project to create a <a href="http://www.newwestcity.ca/Press%20Releases/2009/05-12-09_Wi-Fi.htm">citywide Wi-Fi network</a> (from the <a href="http://www.newwestcity.ca/cityhall/Leg_Info/Electronic_Packages/2009/0511_May11/CW/Minutes/CW_2009_MAY_11_MINUTES.pdf">May 11 New West council meeting</a>). I'll be on the panel by phone, not in the studio as in the photo.<br />
UPDATE: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2009/06/minicipal-wireless-internet-in-new-west.html">Audio</a> of my interview is now available at my podcast. You can also grab the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/files/penmachine-cbcwireless.mp3">MP3 file</a> directly (2.3 MB).<br />
The broadcast panel begins at 5:40 p.m. Pacific Time on 690 FM or 88.1 FM in Vancouver, or you can listen to it <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/listen/streams/r1_vancouver.html">online</a>. I'll try to record the stream and post the panel to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast">my podcast</a> shortly. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_wireless_network">Municipal Wi-Fi</a>
was a big idea a few years ago, but many of the utopian early
predictions of free wireless service across big cities haven't panned
out, and the rise of high-speed cellular data coverage (such as with the
iPhone), more free hotspots in cafés and such, and commercial WiMAX
networks like <a href="http://www.rogers.com/portableinternet">Rogers Portable Internet</a> have made it seem a little less necessary.<br />
If you have any thoughts about this topic that you think I should address on the air, leave a comment below, <a class="e-mail" href="mailto:dkmiller@penmachine.com" title="Send email to Derek">email me</a>, or send me a message <a href="http://twitter.com/penmachine">on Twitter</a> in the next couple of hours and I'll see if I can incorporate your ideas.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/penmachinepodcast" rel="tag">penmachinepodcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/i-be-on-cbc-radio-again-at-540-today" title="permanent link">3:38 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=602987863715511437"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">11 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1591171826815490532"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/living-for-tomorrow" title="permanent link">Living for tomorrow</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3592824025/" title="That's intense by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="That's intense" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/3592824025_6497128bd2_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>Sometimes, for a few days, it's easy to forget <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">how sick</a> I am. But I found out I have cancer two and a half years ago, and I've been under some sort of treatment—<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radiation">radiation</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/surgery">surgery</a>, or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain">recovering</a> from those things—the whole time. Tomorrow I'll hear the results of my latest <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ctscan">CT scan</a>, good or bad. That will help determine what comes next.<br />
Last night I hardly slept. I was in the bathroom at least once an
hour, sometimes several times, right through till 6:00 a.m., and luckily
my wife Air was able to get up and make sure the kids got off to
school, which is usually my job. Side effects of cediranib, my current
medication, kept me up. They're hard to predict, so when I felt them
coming on last night I had no idea whether they might clear out my
intestines in an hour, or whether it would take all night. All night it
was.<br />
I will also note, without further comment, that the bag of popcorn I ate when I took the kids to the movies on Saturday was a <i>very bad idea</i>.<br />
Now I'm awake, taking some Advil and hoping to recover enough to get
out of the house sometime today. Before she went out to her appointments
this morning, my wife put a second coat of varnish on our stairs. They
look good, and there's a fan helping them to dry. We need milk and
butter, the baby <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3605776263/">chickadees</a> are growing in our birdhouse, I love my family. Life continues.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/ctscan" rel="tag">ctscan</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sleep" rel="tag">sleep</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/living-for-tomorrow" title="permanent link">10:31 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1591171826815490532"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1173334058416158470"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/help-find-daniel-hughes" title="permanent link">Help find Daniel Hughes</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
UPDATE July 2009: Sadly, Daniel's <a href="http://josieshoes.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/daniels-body-has-been-found/">remains were found</a> on the lower slopes of Mt. Seymour in July, not too far from where he left his bicycle a few weeks earlier.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/morganandtara/3604382772/" title="Daniel Hughes, with bicycle at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Daniel Hughes, with bicycle at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3656/3604382772_ec5fab305a_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://www.news1130.com/news/local/more.jsp?content=20090606_221043_8144">Daniel Hughes</a>
is a friend of a friend, and he disappeared on the morning of Friday,
June 5. He is an enthusiastic bicyclist, and was apparently going for a
bike ride in Vancouver—but never came home.<br />
Here's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/morganandtara/3604382772/">a photo</a> of him with his bicycle. If you see him or might have any information about what happened to him, please <a href="http://vancouver.ca/police/911/policecontact.htm">contact</a> Vancouver Police. His family and friends are very worried about him.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/police" rel="tag">police</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/help-find-daniel-hughes" title="permanent link">12:04 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1173334058416158470"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
06 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6813456606002464737"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/han-solo-pi" title="permanent link">Han Solo, P.I.</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I would have <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYntjR4-pY4">loved this show</a> about 30 years ago:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Via <a href="http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20090605/han-solo-pi/">All Things D</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/space" rel="tag">space</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/starwars" rel="tag">starwars</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/han-solo-pi" title="permanent link">12:41 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6813456606002464737"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2752005546883773973"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/where-white-things-are" title="permanent link">Where the white things are</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3598711134/" title="Where the white things are by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Where the white things are" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2448/3598711134_e9039a77c4_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Vancouver is a heavily <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/12/post-ethnicity.html">multiethnic</a>
city, and most of the time you see that wherever you go. But there are
some events—even ones that don't have a specific cultural or religious
focus—that slice our population into a demographic so narrow that if you
attended them, you'd think this place was a monoculture.<br />
One of those was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dane_Cook">Dane Cook</a>
comedy show that my wife and I attended last night. It was a fun
evening, with three comedians mostly telling sex jokes. But holy crap, I
don't know if I've ever seen so many white people in one place. Well
over 10,000 fans at Vancouver's GM Place, and overwhelmingly it was
young white boys with baseball caps, logo T-shirts, and plaid
knee-length shorts; and girls of a similar age with long straight hair,
spaghetti-strap tops, big sunglasses, and high heels or flip-flops.
(The blazing hot weather outside surely contributed to the dress code.)
We had to look long and hard to find the smattering of Asian, black, and
Indian faces in the crowd. In Vancouver, that is damned weird.<br />
Cook himself isn't the most laugh-out-loud comedian I've ever seen,
but there's a mysterious appeal to his stage character, which is a sort
of potty-mouthed Han Solo: roguish, handsome, kind of a prick, and yet
strangely vulnerable and appreciative. He plays the same kinds of guys
in his movies most of the time—the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/DCinVAN">charming asshole</a> best friend who likes to talk about his penis.<br />
But back to the audience. While Cook is closer to my age (nearing 40), his fans skew very young. While there were <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3598711134/">a few of us</a>
approaching middle age, it was easier to spot a set of braces or the
giddy emotions of someone whose prom dance might have been last week.
And pretty much everyone completely ignored the three announcements that
"cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited." There were
camera flashes and the orange glow of digicam and phonecam focus lights
during the whole multi-hour show.<br />
The concert brought back a memory of a very different event my wife and I attended about seven years ago. It was a show by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Finn">Neil Finn</a>
(of Crowded House and Split Enz) at the Vogue Theatre, and while the
crowd was almost as Caucasian, it was much smaller, and rather than
young, everyone else was our age. It was a high-school reunion for the
Class of 1986. Perhaps that's what a Dane Cook show will seem like in
another 15 years too.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/entertainment" rel="tag">entertainment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/where-white-things-are" title="permanent link">11:08 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2752005546883773973"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6661662753899262187"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/digital-decline-of-annie-liebovitzs" title="permanent link">The digital decline of Annie Leibovitz's photography</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.louisvuittonjourneys.com/"><img align="right" alt="Louis Vuitton astronaut picture" class="post" src="https://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/files/2009/06/louisvuitton.jpg" /></a>Bad Astronomer Phil Plait <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/03/astronauts-in-the-bag/#comment-188803">likes the photography of Annie Leibovitz</a>,
such as this ad photo for Louis Vuitton bags featuring astronauts Sally
Ride, Buzz Aldrin, and Jim Lovell. Despite her fame and the excellent
work she's done in the past, I find most of Leibovitz's current work
aesthetically repulsive.<br />
A bit of a rant here. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Leibovitz">Annie</a>
used to take good photos, and she still occasionally does, but her
advertising work (including this picture) and many of her portraits long
ago strayed much too far into over-Photoshopped territory. One critic
even called a picture she created last year <a href="http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2008/12/the-worst-photo.html">the worst photograph ever made</a>, and I'm inclined to agree.<br />
I think this would have been a much better photo with the same
people, all of whom I admire, plus the same truck and the same bag,
outside on a sunny day, maybe on the landing strip at Edwards Air Force
Base. Maybe in black and white. The example here is overlit,
over-processed, oversaturated, and ingenuine. Their facial expressions
aren't that great. And yeah, if they're supposed to be looking at and
lit by the Moon, it's in entirely the wrong place in the image. Even a
non-nerd can probably detect that intuitively.<br />
Compare her classic portrait of Whoopi Goldberg in the bath (11th down on <a href="http://www.mdolla.com/2008/04/annie-leibovitz-portraits-21-photos.html">this page</a>) to her recent Photoshop monstrosity of Whoopi (second down on <a href="http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_Disney_Dream_Portrait_Series_by_Annie_Leibovitz_20080125">this page</a>).<br />
I admire surreal photography and well-executed photo manipulation,
whether using Photoshop or high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging. But
Leibovitz isn't doing that. She and her team of assistants have
manipulated the life out of her images. Much of her new stuff reminds me
of velvet paintings of dogs playing poker. The astronaut ad is no
exception.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/digital-decline-of-annie-liebovitzs" title="permanent link">11:51 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6661662753899262187"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">15 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2144933363154930825"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/rise-and-fall-of-general-motors" title="permanent link">The rise and fall of General Motors</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
There's <a href="http://kottke.org/09/06/why-gm-failed">a lot of talk</a> about why General Motors slid into bankruptcy protection this week, but I think you can summarize the situation with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3591401346/" title="The fall of GM in two cars by penmachine, on Flickr">two</a> of the company's old cars (photos from the 2009 <i>New York Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/05/31/business/20090531_GM_TIMELINE.html" rel="nofollow">GM Timeline</a>):<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3591401346/" title="The fall of GM in two cars by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="The fall of GM in two cars" height="367" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3595/3591401346_2414b4663c.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
Top left, the amazing and beautiful 1938 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Y-Job">Buick Y-Job</a>
concept car prototype (not a beautiful name, but still...), driven by
GM design head Harvey J. Earl. That car appeared as the world's first
concept vehicle, as GM was ascending to its all-time high U.S. market
share, which reached 54% in 1954. It heralded the beginning of artistic
design in automobiles, which through the 1920s had looked purely
functional and utilitarian.<br />
Bottom right, the 1980 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Citation">Chevrolet Citation</a>,
a front-wheel-drive response to smaller Japanese cars from Toyota,
Honda, and Datsun. The Citation was a big red hunk of meh, which drove
poorly and lost sales in each of its five years on the market. The 1980s
saw GM and other American car makers creating poor imitations of more
successful foreign design ideas. GM was by then descending into its
current state.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/design" rel="tag">design</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/money" rel="tag">money</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a></div>
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/rise-and-fall-of-general-motors" title="permanent link">9:41 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2144933363154930825"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2945413250788627187"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/those-damned-angry-atheists" title="permanent link">Those damned angry atheists</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a> was his usual bombastic and arrogant self on <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2009/06/how_relevant_are_the_ten_comma.html">CBC's "Q"</a> today (<a href="http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/qpodcast_20090602_16511.mp3">MP3 file</a>). That's no surprise, since he is perhaps the angriest—or at least the most provocative—of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_atheism">angry New Atheists</a>
who have had bestselling books over the past few years. Many religious
people, and a good number of my fellow atheists too, think Hitchens's
take-no-prisoners approach is wrong and counterproductive. Why, they
ask, should atheists antagonize believers the way he and others, like <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/01/mystical-comfort-from-richard-dawkins.html">Richard Dawkins</a>, do?<br />
"Q" host Jian Ghomeshi asked Hitchens a similar question today:<br />
<blockquote>
Tell me who you think your audience is, because you're quite
aggressive with your argument. [...] If you really want to change
things, it might take some effort to overcome organized religion in the
world, but I'm wondering if [...] being a little softer in your approach
might be more effective?</blockquote>
It's true that most atheists would prefer to be more conciliatory
towards the world's religious majorities. But I think Hitchens and his
compatriots serve a valuable purpose. With their polemics, their public
profiles, indeed with their anger, they have made atheism <i>visible</i> in this new century, especially in America. Without them, we might not have heard Barack Obama's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-waldman/obama-touches-the-untouch_b_159538.html">acknowledgment of non-believers</a> in his inaugural address.<br />
The angry New Atheists are like the activist vanguard of the LGBT
rights movement, and of other civil rights movements before it. Not
every gay person wants to march in protests, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outrage_(documentary)">make films</a>
outing hypocritical homosexual politicians. But the demands and
self-righteousness of the vanguard are why same-sex marriage is a
reality in Canada, and in several European countries and American
states, today, rather than decades from now.<br />
I grew up in an ostensibly secular Canada in the '70s, but we still
said a prayer every morning in public school, and the Lord's Day Act
prevented stores from opening on Sunday. Those rituals didn't offend me
at the time, but as a non-religious youngster, I still felt like an
outsider. The assumption seemed to be not only that everyone was
religious, but that we were all Christians too. That has changed,
largely because of Canada's increasing multiculturality.<br />
High-profile writers like Hitchens and Salman Rushdie and Douglas
Adams and Barbara Ehrenreich; scientists like Richard Dawkins and David
Suzuki and Richard Feynman; comedians like Julia Sweeney and Ricky
Gervais and George Carlin; musicians like Ani DiFranco and Mick Jagger
and Eddie Vedder; actors like Omar Sharif and Eva Green and Emma
Thompson and Ian McKellen and Katharine Hepburn; and others from Penn
and Teller to Linus Torvalds to the MythBusters to Nigella Lawson—around
the world, all profess their atheism.<br />
In doing so, they affirm that the non-religious and non-spiritual
among us are part of the full and honourable diversity of human society.
So the audience for Christopher Hitchens need not be religious people
he is trying to de-convert (even if that is his goal). Rather, it can be
the millions of us who believe in no gods or spirits, and who are
comfortable saying so, because Hitchens is shouting it too.<br />
UPDATE: Biologist Jerry Coyne, who is outspoken in his assertion that science and religion are incompatible, has an <a href="http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/chris-mooney-and-barbara-forrest-love-the-faithful-more-than-me/">interesting post</a> on this same topic.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/religion" rel="tag">religion</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/those-damned-angry-atheists" title="permanent link">11:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2945413250788627187"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
01 June 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1377916207408384055"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/search-engine-moves-to-tvo" title="permanent link">Search Engine moves to TVO</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3590763887/" title="Search Engine old and new by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Search Engine old and new" class="post" height="167" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3590763887_055ce427a8_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Last year, I wrote about CBC's two radio tech shows, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/04/spark-me-up">"Spark" and "Search Engine"</a>,
and how they were sometimes hard to tell apart. CBC management felt the
same—"Search Engine" was downgraded from a full radio show to a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/06/sayonara-search-engine">podcast only</a> last year, and recently got cancelled altogether, despite being one of the network's most popular podcasts.<br />
Fortunately, TVOntario <a href="http://www.tvo.org/searchengine">picked it up</a>, and host Jesse Brown has now put out two episodes at the podcast's new home. (You can subscribe using the <a href="http://feeds.tvo.org/tvo/searchengine">RSS feed</a> or <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=315348503">at iTunes</a>.) The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4787796669">Facebook group</a> stays the same, with the new name. If you were a "Search Engine" listener before, I encourage you to subscribe at the <a href="http://feeds.tvo.org/tvo/searchengine">new feed</a>.<br />
And I do have to say, Brown's new <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3590763887/" title="Search Engine old and new by penmachine, on Flickr">clean-shaven look</a> is a big improvement over his old scruffy '70s rock star beard.<br />
P.S. "<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/spark">Spark</a>," to which I've occasionally <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2008/05/episode-35-april-30-may-3-2008/">contributed</a>, continues on at CBC, and is growing from a half-hour show to a full hour on the radio in the fall.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/facebook" rel="tag">facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/06/search-engine-moves-to-tvo" title="permanent link">11:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1377916207408384055"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-51595838722225631802018-11-11T12:17:00.001-08:002018-11-13T14:49:37.224-08:00Derek May 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
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<h3 class="datehead">
31 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6612319984523043614"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/ignore-oprahs-health-advice-please" title="permanent link">Ignore Oprah's health advice, please</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Like most TV shows, <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oprah_Winfrey_Show">The Oprah Winfrey Show</a></cite> is entertaining as its first goal. And like most men, I've rarely enjoyed it much—because it's not aimed at me. That's fine.<br />
But when she discusses health topics, Oprah <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/200025">can be dangerous</a> (here's a <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/200025/output/print">single-page version</a>
of that long article). You have to infer from her show that on matters
of health and medical science, Ms. Winfrey herself doesn't think
critically, taking quackery just as seriously as, or more seriously
than, anything with real evidence behind it. For every segment from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Oz">Dr. Oz</a> about eating better and getting more exercise, there seem to be several features on snake oil and magical remedies.<br />
<a href="http://shirleywho.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/an-open-letter-to-oprah/">Vaccines</a> supposedly causing autism, strange <a href="http://theblogthatatemanhattan.blogspot.com/2009/01/oprahs-talking-hormones.html">hormone therapy</a>, offbeat cosmetic <a href="http://www.realself.com/blog/thermage_oprah.html">surgery</a>, odious mystical crap like <a href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/03/05/the_secret/">The Secret</a>—she
endorses them all. Yet even when the ones she tries herself don't seem
to work for her, she doesn't backtrack or correct herself. And, almost
pathologically, she remains <a href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/01/27/oprah_depression/">obsessed with her weight</a> despite all her other accomplishments.<br />
Obviously, anyone who's taking their health advice solely from Oprah
Winfrey, or any other entertainment personality, is making a mistake.
However, I'd go further than that. Sure, watch <cite>Oprah</cite> for
the personal life stories, the freakish tales, her homey demeanor, the
cool-stuff giveaways if you want. But if she's dispensing health advice,
<em>ignore what she has to say</em>. The evidence indicates to me that,
while she may occasionally be onto something good, chances are she's
promoting something ineffective or hazardous instead. Taking her advice
is not worth the risk.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/media" rel="tag">media</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/ignore-oprahs-health-advice-please" title="permanent link">11:30 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6612319984523043614"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3678960992989657566"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/luck-and-randomness" title="permanent link">Luck and randomness</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Randomness works in strange ways, at least as far as our
minds are concerned. The stars in the sky are distributed essentially
randomly (from our viewpoint), yet we see patterns in them—that's
because a random distribution is clumpy, not even.<br />
Since our brains seek patterns, we tend to see patterns in random
things, like clouds, stains, or the browned surfaces on pieces of toast.<br />
Now <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/?/weblog/posts/unlikely_series_of_dice_rolls/">check this out</a>: New Jersey grandmother Patricia Demauro played craps at a casino, and rolled a pair of dice <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1901663,00.html">154 times</a> without ever rolling a seven, over the course of more than four hours. The odds? 1.56 trillion to one against. But it happened.<br />
It wasn't impossible, just supremely improbable. Yup, that's random.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/games" rel="tag">games</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/probability" rel="tag">probability</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/psychology" rel="tag">psychology</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/luck-and-randomness" title="permanent link">11:52 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3678960992989657566"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8159364450629813578"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/one-weird-ass-ship" title="permanent link">One weird-ass ship</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayakaya/3284707022/" title="Chikyu / ちきゅう at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Chikyu / ちきゅう at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/3284707022_30204c0310_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>At
first, you might think a cruise ship collided with an oil rig and then
crashed into part of a highway overpass, but no, it's just the <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikyu_Hakken#Drilling_Vessel_Chikyu">M/V Chikyu</a></cite> (via the <a href="http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/chikyu-aka-offshore-ocean-monster/">Maritime Blog</a>). Here's how the BBC <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8071021.stm">describes it</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
The idea was simple. Scientists wanted to drill down into the
Earth's crust—and even through the crust—to get samples from the key
zones 6 or 7 km down where earthquakes and lots of other interesting
geological processes begin; but that was impossible with existing ships.<br />
Solution: find six hundred million dollars, and design and build a new one.<br />
</blockquote>
The <cite><a href="http://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/CHIKYU/data.html">Chikyu</a></cite>
was built in Japan, is 210 m long (almost 690 feet, as long as a
decent-sized cruise ship), and 130 m from the keel to the top of the
drilling rig (about 425 feet, taller than a Saturn V rocket floating
upright in the ocean). It has a crew of 150.<br />
The crazy structure on the front is a helicopter landing pad. During
construction, the ship was nicknamed "Godzilla-maru." And you know,
$600 million is a lot of money, but it's not outrageous considering what
this vessel does. It's the same price as only <a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/prices/">two or three 747 jets</a>, for instance.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/japan" rel="tag">japan</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/one-weird-ass-ship" title="permanent link">10:16 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8159364450629813578"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2723995682101547243"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/learn-garageband-from-me-on-dvd" title="permanent link">Learn GarageBand from me on DVD</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My <a href="http://www.macvideotraining.com/garageband-help.html">Quick Start to GarageBand</a> video course from MacVideoTraining (a company co-founded by my former podcasting partner Paul Garay) is now available on DVD:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3570547759/" title="My GarageBand video course now on DVD by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="My GarageBand video course now on DVD" height="450" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3407/3570547759_bc152b9ab9.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
You can get it at London Drugs and many other retailers in North America, or if you use the promo code <i>ihr</i>, you can get a 20% discount if you buy a <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/mvt">DVD or download</a> online. The discount code also works for John Biehler's <a href="http://johnbiehler.com/2009/05/24/quick-start-to-itunes-course-now-available/">iTunes course</a> and other stuff from MacVideoTraining, including bundles.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/education" rel="tag">education</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/itunes" rel="tag">itunes</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/paulgaray" rel="tag">paulgaray</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/learn-garageband-from-me-on-dvd" title="permanent link">1:24 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2723995682101547243"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3832846405434650513"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/seventh-times-charm" title="permanent link">Seventh time's the charm</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Photography website The Luminous Landscape has a
fascinating, short essay on how photographer Art Wolfe went through a
series of attempts (all shown) to get what turned out to be a <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/wolfe/night_fisherman.shtml">great photo</a>.<br />
Aside from his attempts at different composition and lighting,
perhaps what's most interesting is that Wolfe took enough pictures for
his fisherman subjects to get bored. By the end they were no longer
posing, just going on with their work, and that's when the best photo
happened. The lesson: keep trying.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/art" rel="tag">art</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/seventh-times-charm" title="permanent link">10:08 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3832846405434650513"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1752813782080664821"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/extroverted-introvert" title="permanent link">An extroverted introvert</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3333140655/" title="PhotoFunia - Derek retail by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="PhotoFunia - Derek retail" class="post" height="157" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3556/3333140655_3a7016944d_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>People are supposed to be either <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion">introverted or extroverted</a>, but I've never been sure where I fit. Perhaps I'm an <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ambivert">ambivert</a> (yuck, an ugly word):<br />
<ul>
<li>Most of the time, I like meeting new people; I have stage love instead of stage fright (hence why I've <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/word">taught courses</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2008/03/life-death-and-blog-spoken-word.html">given speeches</a> and <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">been in a band</a>
for so long); I'm decent with small talk at a party or in a crowd; and I
can be quite a chatterbox—not to mention loud—in the right context.<br /></li>
<li>On the other hand, I always enjoyed being an only child; when I'm uncomfortable or <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain">in pain</a>
I tend to become quiet and withdrawn; I despise making unsolicited
phone calls and am not fond of telephone conversation in general; when
out and about (either in my own city or somewhere else) I'm far more
likely to wander about alone, take pictures, and think to myself than to
strike up conversations with strangers; and I need significant time
alone every day, time I often take when the rest of my family is asleep.</li>
</ul>
So I found Sophia Dembling's "<a href="http://www.worldhum.com/features/speakers-corner/confessions-of-an-introverted-traveler-20090309/">Confessions of an Introverted Traveler</a>" (via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/09/05/how-introverts-travel">Kottke</a>) fascinating. I like her thesis:<br />
<blockquote>
Though I don’t need to talk to a lot of people, I love watching them. [...] I travel for the travel.<br />
</blockquote>
I suspect I may be primarily an introvert—like Dembling, I find the
North American preference for extroversion a bit oppressive. That
doesn't mean I prefer solitude in all circumstances, but that social
interactions take energy for me, and I need time alone to recharge. I
like activities with friends, and especially with my wife and children,
but given time to myself, I'm unlikely to want to meet anyone for lunch
or a night out. Instead, I might go out by myself, and it doesn't feel
at all lonely.<br />
I recall last year's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2787502638/sizes/l/">Gnomedex</a>
conference in Seattle, an intense three-day geekfest of ideas and
discussion together with hundreds of my peers in a Seattle meeting room.
The hotel my wife and I chose was a good 20-minute walk away up the
waterfront escarpment and through downtown. Despite the physical
difficulty of making the trek with my rolling bag of computer and camera
gear while suffering cancer-treatment side effects (as I still do), I
enjoyed the trip each day. That's because I could be alone and enjoy
people-watching as I trundled through the glass tower canyons and Pike
Place Market, and either charge up on the way to the meeting, or get my
energy back on the way to the hotel.<br />
Right now is a good example too. I've had a rough couple of nights of
side effects this week, and my wife is out for the afternoon, but now
that I'm finally feeling good, rather than setting up a lunch meeting,
or saying hi to my parents (who live next door), I'll probably just go
for a solitary walk. That's just what I need.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/psychology" rel="tag">psychology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/extroverted-introvert" title="permanent link">12:36 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1752813782080664821"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
23 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8261777491260585439"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/missing-link-fossil-that-isn" title="permanent link">Ida the fossil primate isn't a missing link, but she's become a PR stunt</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvery/3550252412/" title="Google Logo Celebrating Discovery of Darwinius Masillae Fossil at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Google Logo Celebrating Discovery of Darwinius Masillae Fossil at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="120" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/3550252412_6257d1b4e7_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>If you watched the news or read the paper last week, or surfed around the Web, you probably came across one or two or ten <a href="http://everyone.plos.org/2009/05/22/weekly-plos-blog-and-media-round-up/">breathless news stories</a> about <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinius">Darwinius masillae</a></i>
(nicknamed "Ida"), a 47 million-year-old fossil primate that was
described, over and over again, as a "missing link" in human evolution.
It even showed up in the ever-changing Google home page graphic.<br />
But something in the coverage—many things, really—set off my bullshit
detectors. That's because, in years of watching science news, and
getting a biology degree, I've learned that the sudden appearance of a
story like this (whether a medical miracle cure, a high-energy physics
experiment, or a paleontological discovery) indicates that <strong>something else is pushing the hype.</strong>
Most often, there's solid science in there, but the meaning of the
study is probably being overplayed, obscured, or misrepresented. And
sure enough, that's the case here:<br />
<ul>
<li>First of all, it is a <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/05/darwinius_masillae.php">wonderful fossil</a>. <strong>A very old, essentially complete preserved skeleton and body impression of a juvenile lemur-like primate,</strong>
which may or may not actually belong to the group of primates that
later would include hominids, like us humans. That is super-cool. The
fossil also apparently has an interesting history: it was first found
over 25 years ago, and kicked around various private collections and
museums in more than one piece until quite recently. Only in the past
year has it been fully reassembled and analyzed, with the results
published this week. That's news.</li>
</ul>
But, but, but, BUT...<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Darwinius</i> obviously name-checks <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/darwin-day">Charles Darwin</a>.
That's grandiose to start with: scientists naming a fossil after Darwin
obviously think it's pretty important, and are hyping it up even before
anyone else has a chance to evaluate that claim. Yet for precisely that
reason, <strong>the name feels like a PR stunt to me.</strong> Actually, it makes me think of the Disney division that calls its toys <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Einstein">Baby Einstein</a>.<br /></li>
<li>The whole "missing link" business is a crock, whether the publishing scientists actually claim it or not. <strong>Evolutionary biology is 150 years old this year—old enough that <em>there aren't any missing links</em>.</strong> What I mean is, sure, scientists find <em>new links</em>
in the relationships between living organisms all the time. They've
been doing that since before Darwin and Wallace first figured out the
mechanisms of natural selection.<br /><br />
But the term <em>missing</em> implies that we're still waiting for
evidence that organisms evolve, that science still needs something
convincing—when we've had overwhelming evidence since Darwin's <cite>Origin of Species</cite> in 1859 (and before!), while more keeps accumulating all the time. Even aside from all that, <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2009/05/poor_poor_ida_or_overselling_a.php">there's <em>no indication</em></a> that <i>Darwinius</i>
is a human ancestor. It may be a link to something, and from something,
but it's probably not a link from even older primates to us, which is
what the news reports are saying.<br /></li>
<li>The first paper about a fossil touted as such a very important,
even revolutionary discovery should appear in one of the major global
journals, such as <cite>Science</cite> or <cite>Nature</cite>, or maybe the <cite>Journal of Paleontology</cite> or another high-profile publication in the field. Instead, <i>Darwinius</i> is first <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005723">appearing</a> in <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLoS_ONE">PLoS ONE</a></cite>, an interesting but somewhat experimental online journal from the excellent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Library_of_Science">Public Library of Science</a>.<br /><br />
I'm not knocking it, because <cite>PLoS ONE</cite> is legitimate, and
peer-reviewed—indeed, it's doing what many scientists have argued for
since the dawn of the Web in the '90s, which is make quality original
scientific research available online without the insane subscription
fees of traditional journals. But it's also less than three years old.
If the <i>Darwinius</i> paper were otherwise unimpeachable, publishing it in <cite>PLoS ONE</cite>
would be a great example of bringing important, leading-edge science
into the 21st century of publishing. However, it felt to me instead that
it appeared there because it was <strong>a fast way to get the paper out for a looming deadline.</strong><br /></li>
<li>Ah, the press conference. <strong>It's always suspicious when a scientific discovery is announced at a press conference</strong>.
When the media event happens simultaneously with, or even before,
publication of the formal paper. When experienced science journalists
and fellow researchers get <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/05/21/science-held-hostage/">no chance</a>
to dig into the details before the story goes live to the wires. When
there's obviously some other motive keeping the research secret until
the Big Reveal.</li>
</ul>
And that's what it comes down to. It turns out that the U.S. History
Channel paid what is surely a lot of money for exclusive access to the
research team for a couple of years now, and that the TV special about <i>Darwinius</i> premieres this coming week. What's it called?<br />
Yup, it's called <cite><a href="http://www.history.com/content/the-link">The Link</a></cite>:<br />
<blockquote>
Missing link found! An incredible 95 percent complete fossil of a
47-million-year-old human ancestor has been discovered and, after two
years of secret study, an international team of scientists has revealed
it to the world. The fossil’s remarkable state of preservation allows an
unprecedented glimpse into early human evolution.<br />
</blockquote>
That entire summary paragraph is <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/05/everything_changes.php">crazy hyperbole</a>, or, to put it bluntly, mostly <em>wrong.</em> By contrast, here's what the authors say in their conclusion to the <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005723">paper itself</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
We do not interpret <i>Darwinius</i> as anthropoid, but the
adapoid primates it represents deserve more careful comparison with
higher primates than they have received in the past.<br />
</blockquote>
Translated, that sentence means "we're not saying this fossil belongs
to the big group of Old World primates that includes humans, but it's
worth looking to see if the group it <em>does</em> belong to might be
more closely related to other such primates than everyone previously
thought." It's a good, and typically highly qualified, scientific
statement. <strong>Yet the History Channel page takes the researchers'
conclusion (not a human ancestor) and completely mangles it to claim the
very opposite (<em>yes</em> a human ancestor)!</strong><br />
It seems that what happened here is that the research team, while
(initially at least) working hard to produce a decent paper about an
amazing and justifiably important fossil, got <a href="http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/idalized_the_brand_of_a_fossil/">sucked into</a> a TV production, rushed their publication to meet a deadline a week before the show is to air, and then let themselves get <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/05/the_darwinius_hype_is_beginnin.php">swept into</a> a media frenzy that has seriously <a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd051809s.gif">distorted</a>, misrepresented, and even lied about what the fossil really means.<br />
In short, <strong>a cool fossil find has turned into a PR stunt</strong> for an educationally questionable cable TV special.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/missing-link-fossil-that-isn" title="permanent link">2:21 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8261777491260585439"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">10 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5129387461294431255"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/ouch" title="permanent link">Ouch</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3544478565/" title="Bored by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Bored" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3544478565_b963f7097b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Okay, maybe we did pay a price for <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/airliners-are-modern-miracles-of">our fabulous little trip</a>.
Not because of all the heavy food, but from the intensity of the
activity. Aside from our outings, we also did a bit of shopping and
quite a lot of swimming in the hotel pool. So, after all that, once we
got home, my cancer medication side effects kicked in and I was in the
bathroom till 2 a.m.<br />
Then, this morning, we were all so wiped out we could hardly struggle
out of bed. The kids were tired enough that I kept them home from
school so they're in better shape for Thursday (or maybe after lunch
today), and I've been resting. Alas, my wife had to make her way to a
couple of medical and dental appointments, so she dragged herself out of
the house.<br />
Anyway, I think the weekend was enough of an educational experience
that it's okay for the girls to miss a bit of school. The Woodland Park
Zoo and the Boeing factory are a killer field trip, right?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/seattle" rel="tag">seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/ouch" title="permanent link">11:27 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5129387461294431255"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
19 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6321465961755094080"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/airliners-are-modern-miracles-of" title="permanent link">Airliners are modern miracles of science and engineering</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3545275020/" title="Toucan by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Toucan" class="post" height="200" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2471/3545275020_bf31cea4b9_m.jpg" width="200" /></a>We've
just returned from a whirlwind trip. My daughters had an extra day off
school, a professional day following the Victoria Day long weekend, so
we made quick plans to stay in a hotel in the Seattle suburb of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynnwood,_Washington">Lynnwood, Washington</a>,
a couple of hours' drive south of here. But to thread the needle of
long weekend border traffic, we crossed our station wagon into the USA
on Sunday and returned Tuesday.<br />
I'm not quite sure how we fit all we did into the 54 hours we were
away, but it included a number of family firsts. My older daughter is a
big fan of shrimp, and has been enticed by endless ads for the <a href="http://www.redlobster.com/">Red Lobster</a>
chain of restaurants. We have none in Vancouver, so Lynnwood offered
the closest location, and despite lingering memories of a 1995 food
poisoning incident at a California location on our honeymoon, my wife
and I agreed to go. We all enjoyed our meals there Sunday night, without
later illness.<br />
That was the least of the newness, though. My wife Air and I have traveled to Greater <a href="http://www.google.ca/custom?q=site%3Apenmachine.com+seattle">Seattle</a>
many times over the years, separately during our childhoods and
together since we started dating, both with our kids and without, for
fun and on business, as a destination and on the way elsewhere. Yet
somehow neither of us had ever visited the wonderful <a href="http://www.zoo.org/">Woodland Park Zoo</a>, or Lynnwood's famous <a href="http://www.olympusspa.net/">Olympus Spa</a>, or Boeing's widebody jet <a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/facilities/">factory in Everett</a>. This trip we covered them all: the kids and I hit the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157618363859307/">zoo</a>, Air visited the spa, and all four of us took the Boeing tour today on the way home.<br />
The zoo impressed me, especially the habitats for the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3545300518/in/set-72157618363859307/">elephants</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3545270304/in/set-72157618363859307/">gorillas</a>, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3545285586/in/set-72157618363859307/">orangutans</a>,
but while it was a much shorter activity, the Boeing tour was something
else. If you live in this part of the world (Vancouver, Seattle,
Portland, and environs), and you're a geek who likes any sort of
complicated technology, or air travel, or simply <em>huge-ass stuff</em>, you <em>must</em> go, especially considering there's nowhere else in the world you can easily see something similar. The <a href="http://www.taxiway.fr/">Airbus</a>
factory in France requires pre-registration months in advance, with all
sorts of forms filled out and approvals and so forth. We just drove up
to Everett, paid a few bucks each, and half an hour later were on our
way in.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3548194460/" title="Boeing 727 - M's preflight checks by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Boeing 727 - M's preflight checks" class="post" height="150" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3548194460_b46b1aca8a_m.jpg" width="200" /></a>Unfortunately, you're prohibited from taking cameras, electronics, food, or even any sort of bag or purse beyond the <a href="http://www.futureofflight.org/">Future of Flight</a> exhibit hall where the tour begins, so I have no photos of the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Boeing_Everett_Plant.jpg">assembly plant</a>
itself. Trust me, though, it is an extraordinary place. A tour bus
drove our group the short distance to the structure, which is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Everett_Factory">most voluminous building</a>
in the world. (Our guide told us all of Disneyland would fit inside,
with room for parking. Since the plant is over 3,000 feet long, I
figured out that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai">Burj Dubai</a> tower, the world's tallest building, could also lay down comfortably on the factory's floor space.)<br />
From two separate third-level vantage points inside, accessed by
walking down immensely long underground tunnels, then taking freight
elevators up into the factory's rafters, we saw more than a dozen of the
world's largest aircraft in various stages of assembly. They included
several units of the venerable and massive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747">Boeing 747</a> (its still-revolutionary design is older than me); a couple of nearly complete <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_767">767</a>s; a string of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777">777</a>s in their slow-crawling, constantly-moving U-shaped assembly line; and finally a trio of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787">787</a>s—a
design so new that they are built mostly of composite materials instead
of metal, and not even one has yet entered commercial service.<br />
The end of the tour took us outside again on the bus, past the
painting hangars and numerous planes waiting for pickup by airlines, as
well as one of Boeing's three <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747_Large_Cargo_Freighter">Dreamlifter</a>
cargo monsters, created by cutting off most of the upper half of an old
747 and installing a huge new fuselage top, purely to bring in
assembled parts for the new 787s, to be fitted together inside the
factory.<br />
While that facility is one structure, which has been expanded over
time, each type of plane built there demonstrates how aircraft
construction, and industrial assembly lines in general, have changed in
the past 40 years. 747s are still built at numerous discrete stations,
as they were when the Everett plant first opened in the 1960s. As I
mentioned, 777s come together in a single, steady-moving U-shaped line,
apparently inspired by the envied <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System">Toyota Production System</a>, each plane edging forward steadily at 1.6 inches per hour.<br />
Finally, the new 787 comes together in a short, simple line across
the width of the building. That's because (as with competitor <a href="http://www.airbus.com/">Airbus</a>'s
planes) sections of each aircraft arrive nearly complete from other
factories around the world on the Dreamlifter cargo carriers, and are
put together in Everett, rather than built from scratch.<br />
I came away newly inspired by the modern miracle of science and
engineering that is a jet airliner. These machines are what enable us to
complain about waiting around in airports for a few hours, and about
substandard in-flight food as we fly between continents—while forgetting
that not many lifetimes ago, and for all of human history beforehand,
similar voyages might take have taken us <em>years</em> instead of hours, facing danger and starvation and death, if they were possible at all.<br />
Then, on the way home, we bought a bunch of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/21800709/">squeeze cheese</a>, also unavailable here in Canada.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/airport" rel="tag">airport</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/seattle" rel="tag">seattle</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/airliners-are-modern-miracles-of" title="permanent link">9:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6321465961755094080"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2659966218921767323"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/boom" title="permanent link">Boom</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/226441717/" title="Mount St. Helens 1 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Mount St. Helens 1 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/226441717_fad8944c83_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>On the morning of May 18, 1980, exactly 29 years ago, I was camping with my Boy Scout troop at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry%20Creek">Furry Creek</a>,
north of Vancouver on the shore of Howe Sound. (The location is now
part of a large golf course development, but at the time was essentially
just forest near the highway.)<br />
We awoke, terrified, to an enormous thundering crash. It was not, as
we had thought, a train derailment on the railroad right near our
campsite. It was the titanic sound of the eruption of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens">Mount St. Helens</a>—a
sound which had arrived after traveling about 300 km northwest from the
explosion. Back in Vancouver, my dad thought our water heater had
exploded in the basement.<br />
It was a good reminder that we live in a zone of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2005/08/ring-of-fire.html">earthquakes and volcanoes</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/volcanoes" rel="tag">volcanoes</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/boom" title="permanent link">8:32 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2659966218921767323"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6392996411161600147"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/black-destroyer" title="permanent link">Black Destroyer</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Enthusiasts agree that science fiction's Golden Age began with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._E._van_Vogt">A.E. van Vogt</a>'s short story "<a href="http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743498747/0743498747___5.htm">Black Destroyer</a>," published in July 1939, two months after my father was born. You can <a href="http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743498747/0743498747___5.htm">read the story</a> online, and you'll recognize a lot in it.<br />
So many SF stories have followed in its tradition, but few have done
the most interesting thing van Vogt tried: he got inside the head of the
lone alien monster, and told most of the tale from its point of view.
The atomic power in the story seems a bit hackneyed now—but recall, it
was 1939, <em>six years</em> before the Manhattan Project.<br />
Van Vogt, a Canadian, lived a long time, and he saw real voyages
through the solar system. He died on January 26, 2000, coincidentally
the same day my younger daughter was born. And "Black Destroyer" is
still one of the coolest SF short story titles I can think of.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/writing" rel="tag">writing</a></div>
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/black-destroyer" title="permanent link">10:48 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6392996411161600147"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3879911904141792342"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/choosing-enlargements" title="permanent link">Choosing enlargements</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Last week, for Mother's Day, I had some enlargements made to frame and put on our walls. The <a href="http://www.londondrugs.com/">London Drugs</a>
photo lab did a great job—certainly better than anything I could have
accomplished on a home printer, and on proper Fuji photo paper too. Most
are family shots, though I did choose <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3057145339/" title="Mt. Baker from the Fraser River HDR by penmachine, on Flickr">one</a> of my more arty images to turn into a 12x18" print. Here's what we picked:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2204821122/" title="Sledding at Forglen - 03 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Sledding at Forglen - 03" class="post" height="300" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2160/2204821122_d975c26c92.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2697195613/" title="M portrait by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="M portrait" class="post" height="338" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/2697195613_c7271f94aa.jpg" width="221" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2663025924/" title="Miss L by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Miss L" class="post" height="338" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2663025924_b17e38f83f.jpg" width="221" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3057145339/" title="Mt. Baker from the Fraser River HDR by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Mt. Baker from the Fraser River HDR" class="post" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/3057145339_9a766c9dff.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3481117817/" title="Surf hug by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Surf hug" class="post" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/3481117817_ff82fc1c08.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3481245973/" title="L in the Focus by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="L in the Focus" class="post" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3481245973_f12f60c93f.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
Some of those photos are digital, some film, some colour, some
black-and-white. I don't think I would have so many favourite images to
pick from, and be able to have them printed and framed so inexpensively,
in any photographic age except this one.<br />
Yet, in another way, they could have been taken almost anytime.
Closeups of young faces, kids laughing on a snowy slope or a sandy
beach, a fishing boat and distant volcano—all could have been 20 or 40
or 60 or 80 years ago, and much the same. I guess that's one reason I
like them.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a></div>
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/choosing-enlargements" title="permanent link">9:10 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3879911904141792342"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
13 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5417104197874189998"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/bc-voters-prefer-lame-status-quo" title="permanent link">B.C. voters prefer the lame status quo</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
The BC Liberals won the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/todays-vote">British Columbia election</a>
again last night, as I expected. B.C. citizens gave them basically the
same proportion of the vote and a slightly larger percentage of seats in
the Legislature. Much more depressingly, voter turnout was yet again
lower and <a href="http://www.stv.ca/">BC-STV</a> was resoundingly defeated. That's over. We're back with what we had before.<br />
The BC Liberals are not my preferred choice, but they are at least
tolerably competent in many respects. I guess I can live with that.
However, the STV referendum gave us the chance to make our provincial
government more representative and more interesting in the future, and
we British Columbians turned it down.<br />
My gut reaction is that yesterday, we B.C. voters were, on balance, lazy and chickenshit. That half of eligible voters <em>didn't even bother</em>, and that of those who did, a significant majority thought our current skewed system is <em>just fine</em>—well, that chafes.<br />
I don't know if the numbers bear it out, but to me it feels like more
people cared about how the Canucks did in the hockey playoffs than
about deciding on the people we pay to respond to climate change, or to
combat poverty, or to <em>run the bloody province</em>. And that we'll
will bitch and complain about roads or homelessness or white-elephant
megaprojects or the Olympics or cronyism and then <em>not even vote</em> when we get the chance.<br />
On the bright side, perhaps the Liberals will be emboldened by a third straight victory to go beyond <a href="http://www.straight.com/article-214390/bc-deserves-better-environmental-policies-bc-liberals-and-ndp">baby steps</a>
in their environmental policy. Maybe they can take a real lead in
Canada on that most important of issues. They have a mandate to. I'm not
optimistic, but I hope they run with it.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a></div>
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/bc-voters-prefer-lame-status-quo" title="permanent link">10:47 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5417104197874189998"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">25 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
12 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="367918832975798999"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/todays-vote" title="permanent link">Today's vote</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
We're having a <a href="http://www.elections.bc.ca/">provincial election</a>
in British Columbia today, to decide which of our political parties
will form the government for the next few years here on Canada's west
coast. As in the British and Canadian federal parliamentary systems, we
elect a local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and whichever
party elects the most runs the province.<br />
<a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/05/10/BC-Election">Tim Bray</a> summarizes the situation much the way I would—however, despite my distaste for the social democrat <a href="http://www.bcndp.ca/">NDP</a>'s pandering on environmental policy, I'm still voting for them, rather than for the <a href="http://www.greenparty.bc.ca/">Greens</a> as Tim is.<br />
That's a strategic choice. Like him, I think the referendum on
electoral reform we're also holding today is even more important: the
BC-STV (<a href="http://www.stv.ca/">Single Transferable Vote</a>)
proposal is, I think, a good one, and would allow a vote for the Green
Party (or other less mainstream parties and candidates) to mean
something in subsequent elections. I hope it passes, as it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_electoral_reform_referendum,_2005">nearly did</a>
in 2005. If it fails, I think any idea of electoral system reform in
Canada will be dead for a long, long time, which would be a shame.<br />
My wife and I voted about half an hour ago, and foot traffic at our
local poll was brisk, but there were no lineups. Unlike in the United
States, we continue to use simple paper ballots, marked with pencils,
for all our elections here in Canada, and the results always come in
quickly and efficiently. While counting might take a tad longer, that
will still be true next election if BC-STV passes, despite the "it's too
complicated" tactics of the No To STV campaign. As for today's vote,
we'll know by late this evening what the results are.<br />
If you're a B.C. citizen of eligible age, please make sure you vote
today—you have a little over five hours until the 8 p.m. closing time at
the polls. (Bring your yellow voter card and a piece of ID with your
address, like a driver's license.) Even if you don't know or care enough
about the parties or candidates to elect an MLA, if you support BC-STV,
then please go out and vote just for that. It's important.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a></div>
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<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/todays-vote" title="permanent link">1:58 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=367918832975798999"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2773953255270655464"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/redeeming-prequel" title="permanent link">Redeeming the prequel</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobbdobbs/3509086242/" title="To Boldly Go... at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="To Boldly Go... at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3331/3509086242_96476b9312_m.jpg" width="163" /></a>Remember back in 2006 when I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/12/sexy-beast.html">raved about</a> the then-new <cite>Casino Royale</cite>? It defined how to reboot a movie franchise. And the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(film)">new <cite>Star Trek</cite></a>, which I saw tonight, learned that James Bond lesson, in spades.<br />
<cite>Trek</cite> never shied away from time travel—the old crew used it to do everything from keeping <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_on_the_Edge_of_Forever">the Nazis</a> from winning the War to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_IV:_The_Voyage_Home">saving the whales</a>
(and the Earth). But the new movie is especially clever with it,
managing to maintain the integrity of the original series and movies,
and all their sequels, while giving the "new" crew entirely different
directions to go.<br />
In another way, that hardly matters. My kids enjoyed the movie
tremendously, even though they know basically nothing about previous <cite>Trek</cite>s. It's just a great big ball of fun. Despite all the <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_11/">praise</a> it's received, it was also still considerably better than I expected.<br />
But that was Winona Ryder? Didn't even recognize her.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/startrek" rel="tag">startrek</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/redeeming-prequel" title="permanent link">10:53 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2773953255270655464"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7555801766552513669"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/kindle-dx-is-getting-there" title="permanent link">The Kindle DX is getting there</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cksample3/3507756667/" title="Kindle DX Press Event, May 6th, 2009 at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Kindle DX Press Event, May 6th, 2009 at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/3507756667_a8d83ed33d_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I have to say, Amazon's newly-announced <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Amazons-Wireless-Generation/dp/B0015TCML0/?tag=insidehomerec-20">Kindle DX</a>, with a much <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/06/amazon-kindle-dx-first-hands-on/">larger screen</a>
than the original Kindle, is looking pretty good as an e-book reader.
It's bigger, has more storage, and reads PDFs natively without
conversion.<br />
Too bad that, like its predecessor, it's unavailable in Canada (or anywhere outside the U.S.). It remains a bit of a <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/06/engadget-on-the-kindle-dx/">polarizing</a>
device, but Amazon obviously believes this is where things are going.
They're one of the only companies that might make it happen—if they're
right about e-books being the future.<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
The DX is pricey, at almost $500 USD, and its e-ink technology is
still a bit immature. However, maybe in a few years we'll be reading
those Stanley Kubrick–style <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2001interview.jpg">book pads</a> after all, only a decade or so late.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/amazon" rel="tag">amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/books" rel="tag">books</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/kindle-dx-is-getting-there" title="permanent link">8:34 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7555801766552513669"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="906931017065544699"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/flutebox-and-beardyman" title="permanent link">Flutebox and Beardyman</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
[Cross-posted from <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/">Inside Home Recording</a> (IHR).]<br />
We've highlighted <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=292">some</a> fine <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=278">beatboxers</a> at IHR over the years, but these two (Flutebox and Beardyman, from the U.K.) are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3kyNGVK-hI">the best</a> I've ever seen:<br />
There's so little technology here (two mics, two voices, and a
flute), such a performance could theoretically have happened 50 years
ago, but no one would have thought of it. Eighteen minutes may seem
awfully long for a web video, but I promise you'll be mesmerized. It's
worth watching all the way through.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/youtube" rel="tag">youtube</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/flutebox-and-beardyman" title="permanent link">9:00 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=906931017065544699"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7001183774357020536"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/disneys-coordinated-maw" title="permanent link">Disney's coordinated maw</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
What's wrong with me? My wife goes out of town on a fun
vacation for a few days, and I get all cranky and ranty on this blog.
(Fortunately, only here, not with the kids or anyone else.) First it's <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/canada-asbestos-problem">asbestos</a>, then <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/knowing-reactor">knowledge vs. understanding</a>, then <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/children-are-safe-and-should-be-outside">child safety</a>.<br />
Today? Well, via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/09/05/regarding-the-jonas-brothers">Kottke</a>, it's something big: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Brothers">Jonas Brothers</a>.
Even my daughters, in the prime Jonas target demographic at ages 9 and
11, hate them. Because, as musically inclined children, my kids told me
without any prompting that the Jonases can't sing or write a decent
tune. But it's <a href="http://classicalgeektheatre.blogspot.com/2009/03/regarding-jonas-brothers.html">worse than that</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
Teenage life <i>is</i> sexual emergence and rock music often times <i>is</i> sex. The problem is that The Jonas Brothers <i>conceal</i> sexuality under the guise of sex-free fun.<br />
</blockquote>
My daughters aren't yet teens, but they can already sense something
fundamentally false about the Jonas Brothers' "rock and roll purity." My
girls do enjoy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miley_Cyrus">Miley Cyrus</a>,
who may be part of the same Disney machine, but at least she can sing
(despite all the Auto-Tune processing on her recordings), she's shown
hints of creating an interesting career for herself in the future, and
her sitcom is pretty funny. Yet they've also noticed the seemingly
endless succession of new "stars" coming out of Disney's coordinated maw
at the moment.<br />
They still prefer <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/where-you-once-belonged">The Beatles</a> to any of the others, anyway. Now there's a boy band we can believe in, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmcnab/3105661876/">sexy too</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/disneys-coordinated-maw" title="permanent link">10:33 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7001183774357020536"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4362411825665360838"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/children-are-safe-and-should-be-outside" title="permanent link">Children are safe, and should be outside</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/419755056/" title="School Walk 5 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="School Walk 5" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/419755056_c90d9e6842_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Lenore Skenazy's <cite><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Free-Range-Kids-Children-Freedom-Without/dp/0470471948/?tag=penmachine-20">Free-Range Kids</a></cite> sounds like a fascinating book (she has an accompanying <a href="http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/">blog</a> too). Her argument, essentially, is that the crime rate today is equal to what it was back in 1970, and <a href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/05/04/free_range_kids/">kids should go outside alone</a>,
as they always did in human history. "If you try to prevent every
possible danger or difficulty in your child's everyday life," she says,
"that child never gets a chance to grow up."<br />
Our daughters have been walking to school by themselves for awhile
now, but they're not wandering the neighbourhood all day as I used to 30
years ago. They probably should, but I don't think the idea has even
occurred <em>to them</em>. That despite the likelihood that today's
environment has probably made our kids safer than any kids have ever
been, particularly when you take <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/10/immunity-and-treatment">disease prevention</a> into account.<br />
In Vancouver, though, we can blame this new parental paranoia on <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/olson-clifford/">Clifford Olson</a>, and it has spread across much of the Western world. I think Skenazy's instinct to let her nine-year-old son <a href="http://www.nysun.com/news/why-i-let-my-9-year-old-ride-subway-alone">explore New York City alone</a>
last April—with a transit pass and some quarters for a pay phone if he
needed them (he didn't)—is a good one. He wanted to try, and he was
ready.<br />
"We become so bent out of shape over something as simple as letting
your children out of sight on the playground that it starts seeming on
par with letting them play on the railroad tracks at night. In the rain.
In dark non-reflective coats," writes Skenazy. "The problem with this
everything-is-dangerous outlook is that over-protectiveness is a danger
in and of itself. A child who thinks he can't do anything on his own
eventually can't."<br />
Our experience bears this out, in an odd way. The only injuries my
daughters have ever suffered that required hospital visits happened, (a)
stepping out of our bathtub, (b) bouncing on a bed, (c) being
rear-ended in a crash in our car, and (d) scraping a chin at a swimming
pool. In all cases, <em>we were right there</em>, and we didn't make them any safer. There are dangers in all of our lives, but they're not generally the ones we fear.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/newyork" rel="tag">newyork</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/probability" rel="tag">probability</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/children-are-safe-and-should-be-outside" title="permanent link">11:44 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4362411825665360838"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">11 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4339008662380954511"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/knowing-reactor" title="permanent link">Knowing the reactor</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony-/1297616835/" title="Nuclear de Cofrentes... at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Nuclear de Cofrentes... at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1244/1297616835_feae2e0464_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>It's been just over 30 years since the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident">Three Mile Island</a>
nuclear power plant had a partial meltdown. In many ways, Three Mile
Island marked the end of the age of innocence for nuclear power, with
the door slammed seven years later by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster">Chernobyl</a>.<br />
I was nine, but tech columnist Bob Cringely <a href="http://www.cringely.com/2009/03/three-mile-island-memories/">was there</a>. He says the accident happened because:<br />
<blockquote>
[The operators' job] was to follow the manual. All knowledge was
inside the book. So knowing the book was everything. Unfortunately
knowing the book isn’t the same as knowing the reactor.<br />
</blockquote>
How many of us, in the things we do, <em>know the book</em> but don't <em>know the reactor</em>?
We know the processes, or the steps, but not the reasons behind them.
But knowing how and why something works lets you handle the unexpected.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/knowing-reactor" title="permanent link">11:01 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4339008662380954511"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
01 May 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2377804038574394563"> </a>
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/canada-asbestos-problem" title="permanent link">Canada's asbestos problem</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/asbestos_pix/3476754516/" title="Asbestos Corrugated-Paper Pipe Insulation - Damaged at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Asbestos Corrugated-Paper Pipe Insulation - Damaged at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3638/3476754516_a925ea790a_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Mine is a pretty sensible country, just like our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police#Popular_awareness_of_the_RCMP">stereotype</a>, but not always. A key example is our bizarre asbestos industry.<br />
Asbestos is <a href="http://www.canada.com/Health/Health+Canada+report+ties+asbestos+lung+cancer/1502361/story.html">nasty shit</a>:
"All forms of asbestos," says Leslie Stayner, director of epidemiology
and biostatistics at the University of Illinois School of Public Health,
"cause both mesothelioma and lung cancer." Anytime asbestos is
discovered in old construction here in Canada, the location is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/22/bc-asbestos-bc-ferries.html">shut down</a> for thorough removal of the mineral. Numerous countries around the world have banned use of the substance outright.<br />
Yet in a few Quebec towns, asbestos mining continues, supporting
about 500 jobs and bringing in about $100 million a year. (My wife
visited one of those towns, <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=thetford+mines,+qc&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.273371,59.677734&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=12&iwloc=A">Thetford Mines</a>,
on a French exchange when she was a kid and the industry was larger.)
Since it's illegal to use here, our asbestos gets shipped overseas, to
India, Indonesia, Thailand, and elsewhere where it's still permitted.
There, it presumably kills people by giving them cancer.<br />
The puzzling thing is that the Canadian government acts like it's still <a href="http://archives.cbc.ca/health/public_health/topics/608/">the 1940s</a>, arguing that the form of asbestos we mine and sell, called <i>chrysotile</i>,
can be handled and used safely. Perhaps it can, though it seems
unlikely—plus I highly doubt construction projects in developing
countries do so anyway.<br />
Even our erudite new Leader of the Opposition, Michael Ignatieff, seems to have been <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Federal-Politics/2009/04/30/AsbestosExport/">cowed by the asbestos lobby</a>,
moving from a strong anti-asbestos position a couple of months ago to a
"we need more research" stance. Yet we've known for decades that the
stuff is a substantial, carcinogenic health hazard in all its forms.<br />
It's sad to say, but if Canada's asbestos industry were anywhere
other than Quebec, it probably would have shut down years ago,
especially since it is now such a small part of our economy. <a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/179/12/1257">Continued support</a>
from our two major federal parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives,
seems to me a cynical political move, to avoid offending Quebec
nationalists and the <a href="http://www.chrysotile.com/">chrysotile lobby</a> based in that province.<br />
So one of our long-simmering domestic political quagmires keeps us
selling a toxic mineral to the developing world. Not very sensible.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/05/canada-asbestos-problem" title="permanent link">11:16 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2377804038574394563"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-14903219276632498702018-11-11T12:14:00.002-08:002018-11-11T12:14:56.684-08:00Derek Apr 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1075560841803570106"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/photojojo-has-wonderful-camera-things" title="permanent link">Photojojo has wonderful camera things</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
How the heck did I not know about <a href="http://photojojo.com/">Photojojo</a> and the <a href="http://photojojo.com/store/">Photojojo Store</a> before? Such awesome stuff!<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/shopping" rel="tag">shopping</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/photojojo-has-wonderful-camera-things" title="permanent link">2:54 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1075560841803570106"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
28 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4190449362201993798"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/healthy" title="permanent link">Healthy</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
It's a cliché that without health, we have nothing, but clichés exist for a reason. Here are my kids when they're healthy:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3481245973/" title="L in the Focus by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="L in the Focus" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3481245973_f12f60c93f.jpg" width="450" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3482028708/" title="M in the Focus by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="M in the Focus" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3482028708_a86fba974f.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
This week has been a bit of a worry because our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3481245973/" title="L in the Focus by penmachine, on Flickr">younger daughter</a>
(top, in yellow) has been home sick for a couple of days with a vague
malady (nothing like swine flu, fortunately), while yesterday, our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3482028708/" title="M in the Focus by penmachine, on Flickr">older daughter</a>
(bottom, in fuchsia) tripped during gym class and made a total
face-plant on the school gymnasium floor, leading to a doctor's visit to
rule out a concussion.<br />
(Coincidentally, two other kids also hurt themselves during the same
gym class, even though they weren't doing any oddball activities—one
gashed his head, the other just banged his leg and didn't have to leave
school.)<br />
Of course, I'm often laid up with side effects from my cancer
medication, and this week even my wife had to ice an ankle she twisted a
little while ago. So we've seen an inkling of what it could be like if
we were all out of commission. I'm glad that's not the regular state, at
least for the other three members of my family.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/healthy" title="permanent link">4:20 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4190449362201993798"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6375172617946414757"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/worrying-about-mac-security" title="permanent link">Worrying about Mac security</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Last week's TidBITS has a great set of tips from Rich Mogull to <a href="http://db.tidbits.com/article/10218">evaluate Mac security claims</a>, as to whether they're worth concern. (Some are.) Not sure how I missed it when it came out, but <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/old/2009_04_01_.php">John Gruber</a> highlighted it. The basic questions:<br />
<ol>
<li>Is the Story Based on a Vendor Press Release?</li>
<li>Is the Story Really New?</li>
<li>Is the Security Issue Really New?</li>
<li>What's the Mechanism of Action?</li>
<li>Does the Story Defend Mac Security Based Solely on History?</li>
</ol>
While a lot of claims of Mac vulnerabilities, exploits, viruses, and
trojans are questionable, Mogull notes that, "The latest version of
Windows (Vista, not that most people use it) is provably <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2917">more secure</a> in the lab than the latest version of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard."<br />
Incidentally, TidBITS is <a href="http://db.tidbits.com/article/10244">turning 19</a>
this month—it is one of the very oldest Internet publications that has
continued to operate that entire time. It remains a valuable resource
for techies in the know. I can't even recall when I first subscribed,
but I must be somewhere around 15 years as TidBITS a reader myself.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/macosx" rel="tag">macosx</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/security" rel="tag">security</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/tidbits" rel="tag">tidbits</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/worrying-about-mac-security" title="permanent link">11:34 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6375172617946414757"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1987587151662992629"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/taking-photos-doesnt-make-you-terrorist" title="permanent link">Taking photos doesn't make you a terrorist</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
As far as I know, no actual or suspected terrorist has ever
scoped out a potential target by walking around or in it in plain view,
with a big camera and lens, and taking pictures. The 9/11 hijackers
didn't, the <cite>U.S.S. Cole</cite> attackers didn't, the bombers of the London Underground and Madrid and Bali didn't. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_de_libe%CC%81ration_du_Que%CC%81bec">FLQ</a> kidnappers in 1970 didn't. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Ressam">Ahmed Rassam</a> didn't. Suicide bombers in Israel and Iraq and Afghanistan don't.<br />
So ads like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3476632809/" title="Photography is not a crime in Canada, you know by penmachine, on Flickr">this one</a>, postered at SkyTrain stations here in Vancouver as the 2010 Olympics approach, bother me:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3476632809/" title="Photography is not a crime in Canada, you know by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Photography is not a crime in Canada, you know" height="327" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3301/3476632809_63a85dd292.jpg" width="450" /></a>
</div>
The theme of the ad campaign is "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cabbit/3366186067/">report the suspicious, not the strange</a>." It's an odd slogan. What's the difference between, "Hey, that's strange" and "Hey, that's suspicious"?<br />
And the examples it gives are ridiculous. In this particular
instance, if you see a camera floating in mid-air with a translucent,
ghost-like figure beneath it, you should apparently call a paranormal
investigator. But if you see a man with a DSLR taking photos of the
security camera in the station, report that to the Transit Police,
because he could be a bad guy.<br />
Here's the thing. Taking photographs in public places <a href="http://ambientlight.ca/laws.php">isn't illegal</a> in Canada. (Is a SkyTrain station a public place? Interesting question.) Neither is it illegal <a href="http://photographyisntacrime.com/">in the U.S.</a>, nor <a href="http://www.thefirmmagazine.com/features/496/Live_life_through_a_lens,_keeping_clear_of_a_life_sentence.html">in Britain</a>—though laws are more restrictive in the U.K.<br />
A U.S.-based lawyer has put together a quick <a href="http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm">PDF card</a> about photographers' rights, and it's also interesting to note that <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/511073@N24/discuss/72157615505511301/#comment72157615635862536">TransLink</a> itself has responded to photographers' concerns about the campaign:<br />
<blockquote>
Specifically, the image of the photographer is not intended to
say photography and photographers are bad. It's intended to say that a
person who is intently making records of specific transit security
elements like cameras should raise a flag as suspicious activity.</blockquote>
...<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03/20/bc-surveillance-translink.html">but</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
They're taking pictures of wiring, pipes, electrical panels. Well, I'm sorry, not many people go around doing that.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/wiring">Really</a>? Sure <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/pipes/clusters/industrial-abandoned-urban/">about that</a>? <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/electricalpanel">Hmm</a>?<br />
The problem, of course, is that while TransLink staff and police may
understand that intention (I hope!), the implication is that if members
of the general public see a photographer taking pictures of something
other than friends and family, they should be suspicious and report it.
In short, that they should be afraid.<br />
There's a more general message in these types of campaigns, and the way some <a href="http://www.nycphotorights.com/wordpress/">reporters</a> and photography enthusiasts <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/jamieson/181978_robert14.html">are treated</a> by authorities, too: that <i>big</i> cameras with big lenses are particularly evil, as <a href="http://www.theagitator.com/2009/04/17/morning-links-174/#comment-263072">this satire</a> notes:<br />
<blockquote>
I don’t want to be too technical, but the focal length of the
lens is directly correlated with hatred of America. It goes something
like this:<br />
You have a a cell phone camera, point and shoot, or 20mm wide
angle lens: you are a red blooded American who wants to celebrate our
national heritage by taking pictures of popular tourist locations.<br />
A 50mm lens: you are also, by and large, a good American, but you
have a disturbing interest in “understanding” the terrorists and why
they attack us.<br />
An 85mm lens: you loathe your own country and secretly admire the
9/11 hijackers for giving us our comeuppance. You are not a terrorist,
but your camera should probably be confiscated and your pictures
deleted, lest they find their way to al Jazeera message boards. Your
middle name may be Hussein.<br />
A 200mm lens: you are an al Qaeda henchman actively scouting for security vulnerabilities.<br />
A 300mm lens: you ARE bin Laden!</blockquote>
This approach, of course, is the very opposite of sensible. If
terrorists really were checking out a target, they would probably work
to be as surreptitious as possible. Use small cameras, like the camera
phone I used to photograph the ad poster. Memorize things and sketch
them out later. Steal plans. <i>Not</i> plop down a big-ass tripod out
in the open and carefully compose an image with a huge DSLR and a
monster chunk of lens mounted it. At the very least, all that gear would
make it hard to get away quickly and unobtrusively.<br />
You know what I think has really prompted this <a href="http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/04/the_feeling_and_1.html">security theatre</a>? Spy movies and TV shows. <i>That's</i>
where you see the telephoto lenses in the hands of the bad guys, and
the good guys, for that matter. (Then again, James Bond prefers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_gadgets#On_Her_Majesty.27s_Secret_Service">small cameras</a>.)<br />
What this approach fails to notice is that those are <i>fiction</i>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/olympics" rel="tag">olympics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/terrorism" rel="tag">terrorism</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/transportation" rel="tag">transportation</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/taking-photos-doesnt-make-you-terrorist" title="permanent link">4:51 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1987587151662992629"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
24 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2502282444759264670"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/neighbourhood-of-weird-signs" title="permanent link">The neighbourhood of weird signs</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Most of the street-name signs in Burnaby, the Vancouver
suburb where I live, are the standard metal stick-out-from-the-post
type, like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3469405217/">this one</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3469405217/" title="Normal sign by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Normal sign" height="500" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3469405217_50eef78153.jpg" width="333" /></a>
</div>
However, a couple of decades ago, just up the block from us, the city installed <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3470216200/">this one</a>,
entirely vertical in design and mounted on a girder rather than a post.
And I haven't seen another like it anywhere in Greater Vancouver:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3470216200/" title="Weird sign by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Weird sign" height="500" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3470216200_561b10c40f.jpg" width="333" /></a>
</div>
It's not genuinely bizarre—it's still white on green, and if all the
signs were like that, things would work just fine. I just wonder why
it's different from all the rest. (<b>UPDATE:</b> In the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/neighbourhood-of-weird-signs#comments">comments</a>, visitor RentingSucks provides the explanation, which is funny, and logical.)<br />
Across the street from those two is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/1463293631/">this masterpiece</a>, which I still consider the most confusing road sign ever:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/1463293631/" title="World's most confusing road sign by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="World's most confusing road sign" height="450" src="https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1196/1463293631_01fcdc13a8_o.jpg" width="299" /></a>
</div>
Maybe there's a secret road sign experimentation division down by
Burnaby City Hall that I don't know about, and our street is its main
lab.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/design" rel="tag">design</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/signs" rel="tag">signs</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/neighbourhood-of-weird-signs" title="permanent link">9:34 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2502282444759264670"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
23 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2791761018658378007"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/videos-that-are-scary-dumb" title="permanent link">Videos that are scary-dumb</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<b>Example the First:</b> I stumbled into this <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=pJ6D-an7Ugs">fine satire</a>
of a climate change denial video the other day. It's hilarious, with
its ironic attempts at hipness, images of the world exploding, and
with-it clip art youth proclaiming "Shut up!", "What the hell?", and "No
way!"<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Except, um, it's not a satire. It's an actual, serious video from our pals here at Vancouver's right-wing think-tank <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_Institute">the Fraser Institute</a>. I think it may very well be the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Organization_for_Marriage#.22Two_Million_for_Marriage.22_initiative">Gathering Storm</a>" of anti–global warming videos—so ridiculous it's laughable.<br />
<b>Example the Second:</b> Via <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/04/23/speaking-of-texan-doomism/">Phil Plait</a>, I found this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=symYfq51aho">astonishing record</a>
of Texas congressman Joe Barton, yesterday asking the U.S. Secretary of
Energy Steven Chu (also the winner of a Nobel Prize in Physics, by the
way) where all the oil in Alaska came from. Chu is obviously puzzled at
why Barton would ask something so basic, but as the congressman
continues his question, Dr. Chu realizes that Mr. Barton apparently
doesn't have the first clue about geology or plate tectonics:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Wow. Even more depressing, Mr. Barton thought he'd <a href="http://twitter.com/RepJoeBarton/status/1587377008">stumped Dr. Chu</a>, and said so on his Twitter account! The rest of the Twitterverse (me included) quickly <a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=repjoebarton#search?q=repjoebarton">corrected</a>
the congressman. Since Dr. Chu only had six seconds to respond, and was
obviously so aghast at Mr. Barton's lack of knowledge, he couldn't
formulate a proper response. Given a minute, he could have said:<br />
<blockquote>
Hundreds of millions of years ago, when Alaska was in a different
place on the globe because of continental drift, trillions of
microorganisms lived and died there. Immense heat and pressure converted
their bodies, buried deep underground by geological processes, into
simpler hydrocarbons, like oil. That’s why they’re called <i>fossil</i> fuels.</blockquote>
<b>Not an Example:</b> As a relief from those, here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o">something amazing</a> (via <a href="http://tbray.org/ongoing">Tim Bray</a> and <a href="http://www.kriskrug.com/">kk+</a>):<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
That's more like it.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/bicycle" rel="tag">bicycle</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/extremesports" rel="tag">extremesports</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/videos-that-are-scary-dumb" title="permanent link">6:01 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2791761018658378007"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="191834240222620376"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/big-bugs-and-more" title="permanent link">Big bugs and more</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://scienceblogs.com/photosynthesis/">Photo Synthesis</a>
is a new blog started this month that will showcase science photography
from around the Web. Right now it's almost all insect macrophotography
(close-ups), but I'm sure there will be different stuff soon. At least I
hope so—many people get creeped out by giant close-up pictures of ants,
no matter how cool they are.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/big-bugs-and-more" title="permanent link">9:19 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=191834240222620376"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
22 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1579539848602345507"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/morbid-linkage-on-earth-day" title="permanent link">Morbid linkage on Earth Day</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3448090621/" title="Blossoms 4 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Blossoms 4" class="post" height="350" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3448090621_38e0a0936e.jpg" width="197" /></a>I don't scour the Web for cancer news. <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">Having cancer</a>
myself means the topic is enough on my mind already without reading too
much more about it, and I don't seem to be the type to leap
wholeheartedly into cancer advocacy as some do. Yet interesting stuff
still comes my way.<br />
It's also easier to read that stuff since my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/decent-cancer-news-from-my-ct-scan">last CT scan</a>
was more encouraging than usual—even if today I'm having a
worse-than-usual bout of side effects from my medication. I've been
sitting on our recliner couch most of the day, and have to stay close to
the bathroom all the time. (Hey, minimal carbon footprint!) So, some of
my reading today:<br />
<ul>
<li>First, my friend <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair</a> sent a link to <a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1162">this comic</a>,
which reinforces that "curing cancer" isn't a realistic goal, because
cancer isn't one simple thing. It's a bit of a bummer, really, but also a
good reality check.</li>
<li>Speaking of bummers, this <a href="http://www.romainblanquart.com/Roro/Bride_0.html">series of photos</a> (via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/09/04/the-bride-was-beautiful">Kottke</a>)
of a young cancer patient who kept herself going so she could get
married to her high school sweetheart, but died five days later, is
wonderful. Tremendously sad, yet uplifting too.</li>
<li>I know this is a Big Pharma ad, but the Pfizer "<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=pfQUnuvEmCQ">Be Brave</a>" commercial slays me every time.</li>
<li>A couple of years ago, when I thought I might die soon, I posted about what I'd like to <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/my-favourite-places-and-when-to-take-me">happen to my body</a>
once I'm dead. Now, I seem to be carrying on, but that stuff is still
worth considering for anyone, and I discovered recently that it's
surprisingly easy to <a href="http://www.physiology.ubc.ca/bodyprogram.html">donate your body</a>
for anatomical study and medical research at my alma mater, UBC. They
even have a consent form to download right from the site. Unfortunately,
"advanced metastatic cancers" may prevent a body from being useful for
what they need, so that's a bit annoying. Maybe donating <a href="http://www.unm.edu/~osteolab/faq.html">just my skeleton</a> somewhere would be better. Fortunately, it looks like I have some time to investigate this stuff now...</li>
<li>My Flickr pal <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/e_hoogie/3458348290/">e_hoogie</a> has a rare genetic condition that makes her prone to all sorts of different cancers, and she's been treated for <i>five</i> different kinds, but she's still going, five years later. Inspiring.</li>
</ul>
As for me, I expect the side effects to calm down this afternoon or
evening. I may go take some pictures in the yard right now. Maybe
tomorrow I can get out and snap some more in the sun, and then go see
one of my daughters read at her school for literacy week.<br />
This is my third spring with cancer, and I'm glad to see it. Here's hoping for a bunch more.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/morbid-linkage-on-earth-day" title="permanent link">3:23 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1579539848602345507"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
21 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4265536259233559136"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/derek-fanboy" title="permanent link">Derek the fanboy</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My daughter M and I just calculated that over my
computer-using lifetime, I've owned 35 out of the 114 or so models of
computers, iPods, and input devices that Apple has released since 1976
that appear in <a href="http://www.edibleapple.com/photo-of-every-apple-product-ever-released/">this collage image</a> (via <a href="http://www.tidbits.com/">TidBITS</a>).
It doesn't list printers and some other accessories, and there are a
few missing (I don't see the Apple ][ Plus, Power Mac 7100, or Power Mac
G3 desktop, for instance) so I've actually had a few more in my house
since 1982.<br />
I guess I fall into the fanboy camp, right? Especially because I could pick out the missing items off the top of my head.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linkbait" rel="tag">linkbait</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/derek-fanboy" title="permanent link">9:19 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4265536259233559136"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4456282701535413679"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/win-155-worth-of-aveda-body-products" title="permanent link">Win $155 worth of Aveda body products from my wife's podcast</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My wife's podcast <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/">Lip Gloss and Laptops</a>
is giving away two $155 Aveda Earth Day gift packs of various cosmetics
and body products. The draw is open to Canadian residents only, and you
have to enter by the end of Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2009. If it
sounds like your kind of thing, the details are over at <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/podcast/?p=369">the LGL site</a>.<br />
What's the Earth Day connection? I haven't read the press info for
the bundle, but I can tell you that the packaging is definitely green in
colour, and you get a really sturdy canvas shopping bag if you win too.<br />
Incidentally, I've never known how to say <a href="http://www.aveda.com/">Aveda</a> (or AVEDA, as they sometimes capitalize it). Ah-VEE-dah? Ah-VEY-da? AH-ve-dah? Anyone know?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/contest" rel="tag">contest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/lipglossandlaptops" rel="tag">lipglossandlaptops</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/win-155-worth-of-aveda-body-products" title="permanent link">1:18 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4456282701535413679"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3812845684365507403"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/photos-from-sun-run" title="permanent link">Photos from the Sun Run</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Well, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157616965500181/">there you go</a>...<br />
<div align="center">
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456218481/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Swingy needs a coffee"><img alt="Sun Run - Swingy needs a coffee" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3456218481_e18b311fdc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457039598/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Breakfast at Tim's 1"><img alt="Sun Run - Breakfast at Tim's 1" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3565/3457039598_8794b4d928_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457042136/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Breakfast at Tim's 2"><img alt="Sun Run - Breakfast at Tim's 2" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3457042136_9bd735a561_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456226777/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - new glasses"><img alt="Sun Run - new glasses" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3456226777_b5a66186a7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457047136/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - banner"><img alt="Sun Run - banner" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3662/3457047136_16e1a4f138_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456230583/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Dilly tunes up"><img alt="Sun Run - Dilly tunes up" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3456230583_f13d817b67_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456232643/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Ringy tunes up"><img alt="Sun Run - Ringy tunes up" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/3456232643_5950c27439_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457053760/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Swingy, Stoney, Dilly, and Ringy"><img alt="Sun Run - Swingy, Stoney, Dilly, and Ringy" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3588/3457053760_7c5c501a74_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457056908/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Dilly's glasses"><img alt="Sun Run - Dilly's glasses" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3457056908_4424c4c74f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457059684/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Stoney and Bumpy"><img alt="Sun Run - Stoney and Bumpy" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3498/3457059684_755420b565_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457062864/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Dilly, Stoney, and Bumpy"><img alt="Sun Run - Dilly, Stoney, and Bumpy" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3457062864_d704a7a185_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457064906/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Sticky and Stoney"><img alt="Sun Run - Sticky and Stoney" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3524/3457064906_af9e99e899_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457068130/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Swingy's hairdo"><img alt="Sun Run - Swingy's hairdo" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3457068130_16a0f6e5fc_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456254039/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - the hardcore group"><img alt="Sun Run - the hardcore group" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3456254039_08a28a50b5_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457074372/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Balloon arches"><img alt="Sun Run - Balloon arches" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3485/3457074372_75b237b9f7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457077766/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Swingy the Serious"><img alt="Sun Run - Swingy the Serious" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3559/3457077766_be9f6e252d_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456261013/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Sticky the Sloucher"><img alt="Sun Run - Sticky the Sloucher" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3456261013_42df29483f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456263941/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Stoney and Dilly"><img alt="Sun Run - Stoney and Dilly" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3456263941_5e7a8f3e39_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457084042/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Bumpy's fine hair"><img alt="Sun Run - Bumpy's fine hair" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3457084042_734ae1f52f_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456268295/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Bumpy's glasses"><img alt="Sun Run - Bumpy's glasses" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3592/3456268295_e4f1a38a5e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457088716/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Stoney Neurotic"><img alt="Sun Run - Stoney Neurotic" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3457088716_c4b682bbda_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456272763/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Dilly Neurotic"><img alt="Sun Run - Dilly Neurotic" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3456272763_a0586a1e22_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457093664/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Stoney's glasses"><img alt="Sun Run - Stoney's glasses" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3457093664_2eef6e8ee7_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457096334/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Ringy in shades"><img alt="Sun Run - Ringy in shades" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3457096334_db4ac89988_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456279723/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - The crowd 1"><img alt="Sun Run - The crowd 1" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3620/3456279723_74246bfd6e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457100338/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Swingy encourages the rock"><img alt="Sun Run - Swingy encourages the rock" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3576/3457100338_853988f6ac_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457229832/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - smiley beachballs"><img alt="Sun Run - smiley beachballs" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3457229832_88fa6aa235_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457231682/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - The crowd 2"><img alt="Sun Run - The crowd 2" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3457231682_15cc4a4cd2_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456414711/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - The drummers"><img alt="Sun Run - The drummers" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3606/3456414711_8cb6b03c27_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457233478/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Sticky Neurotic"><img alt="Sun Run - Sticky Neurotic" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3649/3457233478_ee439c0707_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457299822/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Sticky, Stoney, and Dilly"><img alt="Sun Run - Sticky, Stoney, and Dilly" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/3457299822_7ed8a03524_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456484961/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Dilly and Ringy"><img alt="Sun Run - Dilly and Ringy" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3568/3456484961_69b33c5ff0_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457305160/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Some runners"><img alt="Sun Run - Some runners" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/3457305160_3749532853_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456489267/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Sticky counts down"><img alt="Sun Run - Sticky counts down" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/3456489267_0731067828_s.jpg" width="75" /></a><br />
<a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457308722/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - The crowd 3"><img alt="Sun Run - The crowd 3" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3457308722_4465a7257e_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3457311328/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Neurotics and crowd"><img alt="Sun Run - Neurotics and crowd" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3486/3457311328_f42c74cf81_s.jpg" width="75" /></a> <a class="post" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3456496193/in/set-72157616965500181/" title="Sun Run - Stoney fires the horn"><img alt="Sun Run - Stoney fires the horn" class="pc_img" height="75" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3645/3456496193_fdeae38394_s.jpg" width="75" /></a>
</div>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/neurotics" rel="tag">neurotics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sunrun" rel="tag">sunrun</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/photos-from-sun-run" title="permanent link">9:02 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3812845684365507403"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2187257264183270909"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/join-neurotics-at-sun-run-tomorrow" title="permanent link">Join me and The Neurotics at the Sun Run tomorrow</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<div class="note">
UPDATE: Here are the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/photos-from-sun-run">latest photos</a> from the 2009 run.</div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2428512209/" title="Neurotics onstage at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Neurotics onstage at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2156/2428512209_8f971536ae_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>The biggest shows I've ever played with <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">my band</a> The Neurotics have been our annual performances atop a scaffold, at the starting line of the <a href="http://www.sunrun.com/">Vancouver Sun Run</a>. Tomorrow, Sunday April 19, 2009, marks the sixteenth time the band will <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2428512209/in/set-72157594195154963/">play at the event</a>,
and is the tenth time I'll be there on drums. (I left the band for a
few years in the '90s, and missed 2007 because of chemotherapy.)<br />
Anyway, it's quite the crowd—last year more than 55,000 people ran past our stage, which is like playing for a sold-out <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BC_Place_Stadium">B.C. Place Stadium</a>.
Sean, one of our guitarists (turning to the left in the photo) calls
the gig a "heads-up hockey" show: there are lots of stops and starts,
usually without much warning, as run organizers make announcements and
start each wave of the run. There are few if any breaks. We have to be
hyper-aware of what's happening for several hours in a row. But it's
lots of fun.<br />
This year we're taking a different approach than usual. Every other
year we've had four musicians on the scaffold, but this time we'll have
six, adding an additional percussionist and a singer. We'll be just as
silly as usual, however, so if you're heading down to the Sun Run, wave
hi. I'll be on either drums or percussion when you come by. Alas,
chances are I won't be able to see you in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/457105450/in/set-72157594195154963/">the mob</a>, but you never know.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/neurotics" rel="tag">neurotics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sunrun" rel="tag">sunrun</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/join-neurotics-at-sun-run-tomorrow" title="permanent link">6:57 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2187257264183270909"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="252081206977876240"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/cannon-beach-days" title="permanent link">Cannon Beach days</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/31368936/" title="Haystack Highway by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Haystack Highway" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/31368936_68670615e2_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>My wife, kids, and I have spent quite a bit of time in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/tags/cannonbeach">Cannon Beach</a>,
Oregon, where we took our summer vacations several years in a row. We
like the place: it's in the United States, another country, yet it's
part of the same sort of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/31104083/">coastal ecosystem</a> as we have here in British Columbia. So it's familiar, yet foreign, and one of my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/07/my-favourite-places-and-when-to-take-me">favourite places</a>.<br />
Today my parents, who are returning from a road trip to San Diego,
have happened into staying a night in Cannon Beach too. They phoned me
tonight as they had a light dinner and wine on the patio of <a href="http://www.thewavesmotel.com/">their motel</a>, watching the sunset. Today is also their 44th anniversary. They like the place too.<br />
Incidentally, after they checked in, my mother realized that, decades
ago, she had stayed at the same motel with her longtime friend Erlyne.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/americas" rel="tag">americas</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cannonbeach" rel="tag">cannonbeach</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/cannon-beach-days" title="permanent link">6:14 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=252081206977876240"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5243751017439590803"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/links-of-interest-2009-04-15" title="permanent link">Links of interest (2009-04-15):</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Most of these come via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/">Jason Kottke</a> or <a href="http://daringfireball.net/">John Gruber</a>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Nine <a href="http://blog.oup.com/2009/03/science-fiction/">science words that came from science fiction</a>. See the (inevitably snipey) comments for some others, like <cite>robot</cite>, <cite>cyberspace</cite>, <cite>waldo</cite>, <cite>grok</cite>, <cite>avatar</cite>, and the delightful <cite>thagomizer</cite>.</li>
<li>"I can’t think of a way that the entire [computer] <a href="http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/94591835/warning-a-long-rambly-exploration-of-the-state">desktop metaphor can be overhauled</a>
without either everyone in the world switching over at once (which
won’t happen), or becoming a 'data island' like the Newton or Classic
Mac OS."</li>
<li>The MythBusters have a <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/mythbusters/">regular column</a> in <cite>Popular Mechanics</cite>.</li>
<li>"If you're married to page views, never assume that I am. If
you're angling for 1,000,000 Twitter followers whom you pretend to read,
never assume that I am. And, if your project is based on generating
compulsory year-over-year growth vis-a-vis market domination and
fiduciary responsibility, <a href="http://www.43folders.com/2009/04/10/free-me">never assume that I am</a>."</li>
<li>Rush Limbaugh's <a href="http://mtblog.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/03/rush-limbaughs-10-dumbest-remarks.html">10 dumbest remarks</a>.</li>
<li>Stephen Colbert won't get a space station module named after himself, but he will get a <a href="http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2009/04/nasa-gives-colbert-the-run-around.html">space treadmill</a> instead.</li>
<li>Our pal <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/sets/15886/">Kris Krug</a> takes great photographs of people, and is enormously prolific in publishing them online, and <a href="http://www.blueolivephotography.com/portfolio_weddings.html">Miranda and Reilly Lievers</a> make amazing wedding pictures. But when my other friend <a href="http://www.alastairbird.com/people1.htm">Alastair Bird</a>, who's made his living as a photographer for many years, publishes the occasional portrait online, there's something about his <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51046685@N00/3366990792/">shallow-focus work</a> with a medium-format camera that I find <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51046685@N00/3197774364/">just astounding</a>.</li>
<li>A nice summary by "Bad Astronomer" Phil Plait of Jerry Coyne's book <cite><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/04/15/why-evolution-is-true/">Why Evolution is True</a></cite>.</li>
<li>I am a <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/photic_sneezing/">photic sneezer</a>, and it runs in my family (my grandmother did it, I think my dad does it, and one of my daughters does too). I'm glad to read <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227041.400-why-some-people-sneeze-when-the-sun-comes-out.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news">an explanation</a>.</li>
</ul>
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/design" rel="tag">design</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/evolution" rel="tag">evolution</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/language" rel="tag">language</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/mythbusters" rel="tag">mythbusters</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/politics" rel="tag">politics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/links-of-interest-2009-04-15" title="permanent link">11:11 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5243751017439590803"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
14 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7286350767083886401"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/decent-cancer-news-from-my-ct-scan" title="permanent link">Decent cancer news from my CT scan</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I don't write as much about my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">cancer</a>
here as I did a couple of years ago. That doesn't mean it's gone, or
going away—I still have nine malignant metastatic tumours in my lungs,
but my treatment has turned into a routine, something of a drudgery. I
take <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/cancer-update">a small but nasty pill</a>
every day, and have side effects that keep in me in the bathroom for an
hour or more every night or two. Every two months I go to the <a href="http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/">B.C. Cancer Agency</a> and lie down in a big doughnut-shaped machine for a CT scan, and then a few days later I meet an oncologist to get the results.<br />
And today, for maybe the first time ever, the news is relatively
positive. I usually walk into the clinic expecting bad news, such as
that the tumours would have grown substantially. If that had been the
case, I planned to stop the current drug and take a break, then try
something else in a couple of months. Yet there aren't a lot of
something elses anymore, so that would have been a bummer. Still, it's
what I expected, since it has been the pattern. I had asked my wife to
come with me, expecting I'd need her support.<br />
But instead, today the doctor told us that there has been <i>no measurable change</i> in my lung tumours. No, they haven't shrunk, but they are no bigger either.<br />
Apparently there is one lymph node they had noticed before (though I
hadn't heard about it) which has grown a bit, but overall he called it
called it "no change," i.e. the cancer has been stable over the past two
months. That means the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cediranib">cediranib</a>
pills are probably doing something, at least keeping the tumours at
bay, and while the side effects aren't fun, they're manageable.
Otherwise, I feel pretty good.<br />
So, more of the same treatment for now. Pills, and side effects, but a
livable life. And we'll see how things are in two months. I'm
encouraged: this is the first time that the lung metastases haven't
grown significantly between scans. I can plan for the summer and maybe
ride my bike some, and we can do our thing here at home. That's good
enough for me today, and I have some spring in my step this afternoon.<br />
Plus, it looks like I may <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/06/dead-man-walking">see the Olympics</a> come to town after all.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/decent-cancer-news-from-my-ct-scan" title="permanent link">12:26 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7286350767083886401"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">13 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
13 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8916486194032360748"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/my-song-meltdown-man-in-movie-trailer" title="permanent link">My song "Meltdown Man" in a movie trailer</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
If you watch this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-j5zQDV9Iw">trailer</a> for the documentary film <cite><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985061/">Paper or Plastic?</a></cite>, around the 1 min 35 sec mark, you'll hear my tune "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2005/07/meltdown-man-as-heard-in-paper-or.html">Meltdown Man</a>," which the filmmakers licensed from me last year:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
The movie about the <a href="http://www.movingpicturesmagazine.com/featuredarticles/guestcontributor/alexddasilva_paperorplastic">world grocery bagging championships</a>. Yes, you read that right. I haven't seen the whole film yet, but it looks fun.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/free" rel="tag">free</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/penmachinepodcast" rel="tag">penmachinepodcast</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/my-song-meltdown-man-in-movie-trailer" title="permanent link">1:03 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8916486194032360748"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2047543219496008467"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/my-review-of-garageband-09" title="permanent link">My review of GarageBand '09</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=738" title="Read the review at InsideHomeRecording.com"><img align="right" alt="30 - GarageBand 09 on iMac" class="post" height="200" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3404057867_98cbaca7cb_m.jpg" width="200" /></a>Over the past year, I've put myself forward as something of an <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/get-20-off-my-garageband-video-course">expert on GarageBand</a>,
Apple's intro-level audio recording and podcasting application. I've
been using the program intensively, through every version upgrade, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2004/07/groove-on-pocketbook.html">since it first appeared</a> in 2004, and I've kept <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/07/garageband-improvements.html">in touch with Apple</a> (through both formal and informal channels) about it ever since.<br />
Plus you can now buy a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/get-20-off-my-garageband-video-course">comprehensive video course</a> I recorded to show you how GarageBand works.<br />
So you might wonder what I think of Apple's newest version of the program. If so, I've just published a <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=738">big GarageBand '09 review article</a>
over at the Inside Home Recording blog, which should interest you.
There's also a link to my audio review from a couple of weeks ago.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/education" rel="tag">education</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/review" rel="tag">review</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/software" rel="tag">software</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/my-review-of-garageband-09" title="permanent link">7:14 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=2047543219496008467"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7844123661857720690"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/terrorists-you-read-hear-and-view" title="permanent link">The terrorists you read, hear, and view</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Buzz Bishop has a <a href="http://www.cyberbuzz.com/2009/04/09/media-are-the-real-terrorists/">good point</a>:
if you measure the effectiveness of terrorism by the fear it generates
and the behaviours it changes—the goals of terrorist organizations,
after all—then the biggest terrorists are the news media. We humans, as
usual, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/05/feeling-safe-vs-being-safe">suck at evaluating risks</a>, so TV, paper, and radio news often take advantage of us because of that.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/probability" rel="tag">probability</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/security" rel="tag">security</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/terrorism" rel="tag">terrorism</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/terrorists-you-read-hear-and-view" title="permanent link">11:44 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7844123661857720690"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4025555988695850450"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/yes-master" title="permanent link">Yes, master</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
There's been a bit of hype over the <a href="http://beatles.com/core/news/">new re-mastering</a>
of the Beatles music catalogue, for a new set of CD releases and a
Beatles version of Rock Band coming in September. The press release says
that Apple Corps. (the Beatles record companies) are:<br />
<blockquote>
...delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been <i>digitally re-mastered for the first time</i>...</blockquote>
(My emphasis.) That's a marketing lie. <b>The catalogue was digitally re-mastered in 1987 for the first CD releases.</b>
It had to be. You can't make a CD (or any other digital music medium)
out of analogue audio without digitally re-mastering it first. Unless
EMI and Apple Corps. consider the 1987 occasion the "first digital
master" and the new ones the "first digital RE-master," which is a "that
depends on what <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4XT-l-_3y0">your definition of 'is' is</a>" kind of semantic distinction.<br />
<h4>
What are mastering and re-mastering?</h4>
Mastering is the phase of audio production where you prepare audio
files for their final medium. In the days of LPs, mastering engineers
evened out the levels of different songs so their average volume didn't
vary too widely, then applied <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization">various types of equalization</a>
to the master tapes, designed for the way record players were
manufactured, and to prevent heavy bass frequencies from causing the
needle to hop out of the grooves. Setting standards for those masters
were one of the things the Recording Industry Association of America
used to do before it turned to suing its customers for file sharing.<br />
There would need to be different masters for cassettes or eight-track tapes, by the way.<br />
Engineers mastering for CDs didn't have to worry about the groove
hopping, but for music recorded on analogue equipment (i.e. tape
machines), they did have to digitize it into ones and zeroes using
what's known as an A/D (analogue-to-digital) converter, as well as still
making sure the various songs were of comparable average volume. That's
the <i>digital re-master</i>.<br />
<h4>
Digital and analogue masters</h4>
These days pretty much everything is recorded digitally, either
directly in a computer or by digitizing signals from microphones and
guitar cables right at the source, so for new recordings the <i>digital master</i>
is the first one. Re-mastering might be done later to make it sound
different—or, with a bit of irony, to convert it to analogue for special
LP pressings or DJ vinyl singles. That would be an <i>analogue re-master</i>.<br />
So it's true that these new Beatles CDs (and, with luck, eventually iTunes tracks) will be <i>new digital re-masters</i>, but they won't be the <i>first</i>
ones. If you already have a complete collection of Beatles CDs from
those 1987 digital re-masters, these new ones will probably sound
different, maybe better. But they could sound worse.<br />
<h4>
Avoiding the Loudness Wars</h4>
The trend in the past decade has been to master or re-master pop
recordings to sound way too loud, and to crush all the dynamics (the
difference between the loud and soft parts) out of songs. That's why
listening to a top-hits radio station, or a playlist of current top pop
hits, can actually be physically exhausting. Your ears never get a
break. It's called the Loudness Wars, and we've <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=site:insidehomerecording.com+loudness+wars">talked about it a lot</a> at my Inside Home Recording podcast. While it has seen a <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=689">bit of a backlash</a> recently, the risk is that EMI's engineers might have succumbed to the trend.<br />
It happened a few years ago, when Genesis released re-mixed and re-mastered <a href="http://www.hitsquad.com/news/hardware/remastering_genesis_back_catalogue/">versions</a>
of many of their albums (even in surround sound). The audio compression
wasn't especially extreme, and the re-mastering was useful for some
very early recordings and bootlegs with poor sound quality, but many of
the band's well-known albums from the '70s and '80s sounded too
modernized—and, for die-hard fans, simply <i>wrong</i>, almost like cover-band versions of the tracks, or the "<a href="http://www.fecundity.com/pmagnus/greedo.html">Greedo shoots first</a>" special editions of the <cite>Star Wars</cite> movies.<br />
I haven't heard the Beatles results yet, but I find it encouraging that EMI has also gone to the trouble of making new <i>mono</i>
re-masters of the Beatles catalogue as part of the current set. If
they're willing to be that retro, I suspect they've probably avoided
over-compressing the stereo mixes too. I sure hope so.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/yes-master" title="permanent link">9:57 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4025555988695850450"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">18 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8217874604851800282"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/drill-baby-drill" title="permanent link">Drill baby drill</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/perspective">first-ever filling</a>
is done. As I expected, it was pretty straightforward. It took about 20
minutes once the freezing was in, on a beautiful sunny day with a
wonderful view of downtown Vancouver from the dentist's chair. The only
surprise was how sore my jaw got from keeping it open the whole time,
with the dental dam in my mouth.<br />
The local anaesthesia is starting to wear off now, but even that's
not too bad. My upper lip no longer feels like a flap of rubber, for
one. Unfortunately, I'm having some of those interminable <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/01/i-totally-missed-new-years-day">intestinal side effects</a> from my cancer medication now. That doesn't help, but it does make any residual dental pain the least of my problems.<br />
Time to watch <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyed_In_Seconds">Destroyed in Seconds</a></cite>.
It's a good distraction while I'm out of the bathroom. Speaking of
distractions, I picked a better one to hear on my iPod during the
procedure: the always incisive and funny <cite><a href="http://podcasts.thestranger.com/savagelove/">Savage Love</a></cite> sex advice podcast.<br />
I had to turn up the volume during the drilling.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/drill-baby-drill" title="permanent link">5:54 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8217874604851800282"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8174390736997750873"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/20-years-behind-kit" title="permanent link">20 years behind the kit</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<img align="right" alt="Derek as Sticky Neurotic" border="0" class="post" height="280" src="https://www.penmachine.com/neurotics/images/sticky.jpg" width="200" />Twenty years ago this spring, I played my first gig as a drummer, at the Last Class Bash for the UBC <a href="http://sus.ubc.ca/">Science Undergraduate Society</a>. Our band, the Juan Valdez Memorial R&B Ensemble, was a five-piece with me on drums, my roommates <a href="http://www.alistair.com/">Alistair</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3107928403/">Sebastien</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/Flostrand">Andrew</a> on guitars and bass, and <a href="http://web.unbc.ca/~otterk/">Ken Otter</a> (now a professor of zoology) on another guitar.<br />
We'd spent months rehearsing, but we still didn't know how to sing
proper harmonies. Our playlist included mostly old songs from the '60s:
"Gloria," "Long Cool Woman," the theme from "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P46bQNssQWQ">Batman</a>."
I skipped a final lecture for one of my high-level biology courses to
set up for the show in the Student Union Building party room. Our friend
<a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~hillman/">Steve</a> ran the rented PA system.<br />
We were relatively terrible, but we were silly, and we had a good time. So did the heavy-drinking audience.<br />
I'm still playing in a <a href="http://www.theneurotics.com/">later version</a> of the same band. Sebastien is still on guitar, I'm still on drums when I <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">feel up to it</a>. We're still playing some of those same songs. I've spent half my life in this act.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/anniversary" rel="tag">anniversary</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/neurotics" rel="tag">neurotics</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/20-years-behind-kit" title="permanent link">8:59 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8174390736997750873"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="46678526706923709"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/cosmic-bowling" title="permanent link">Cosmic Bowling</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3410152385/" title="Cosmic bowling at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Cosmic bowling at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3410152385_3b2bcaa794_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>Our older daughter is at a birthday party this evening, so we decided to take her younger sister down to <a href="http://www.revs.ca/holdom/">Rev's</a> for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3410152385/">Cosmic Bowling</a>.<br />
Little L, my wife Air, and I are all... let's say <i>novice</i>
bowlers. In fact, I realized once I got there that I've never in my life
played ten-pin bowling, only five-pin with the much smaller balls. We
asked to have the gutter bumpers pulled up to get at least a decent
chance at a tolerable score.<br />
We had tons of fun, though, as well as dinner at our table at the lane. (They serve booze too!) I think we'll go back.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/birthday" rel="tag">birthday</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/sports" rel="tag">sports</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/cosmic-bowling" title="permanent link">7:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=46678526706923709"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
01 April 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4973246404328506972"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/perspective" title="permanent link">Perspective</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3405579051/" title="Teeth at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Teeth at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3405579051_1a5ffff62a_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I inherited my <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2001_11_01_news_archive.html#7190792">Oma</a>'s
strong teeth: when she died at age 91, she still had most of her
natural teeth, despite having lived through two world wars, the Berlin
Blockade, and a career as a restauranteur. While I had lots of
orthodontics when I was a kid, and had to have all four widsom teeth
removed in 1990, I have never had even a single cavity.<br />
Until now. When I went to see my dentist this afternoon for a routine
cleaning, a bit of sensitivity and an X-ray showed a tiny amount of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_caries">decay</a>
on the front surface of the last molar on the top left side of my
mouth. I'll set up an appointment to have a filling next week.<br />
Since my teeth have put up with almost 40 years of abuse so far, I
can't really complain. Especially considering how minor a cavity is
compared to the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer">other shit</a> I'm dealing with these days. A few years ago I would have been pretty disappointed by tooth decay; now it's almost laughable.<br />
In fact, there's a good chance the only reason I have this cavity is because the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a>
and other cancer treatments I've had over the past couple of years are
pretty hard on my immune system and the rest of my body, teeth included.
My dentist said my gums are actually in surprisingly good shape,
considering. My Oma-teeth are still holding in pretty strong.<br />
Not only that, but after all the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/surgery">surgery</a>
and stuff I've experienced recently, and all the heavy-duty painkillers
and other drugs I've had to take, a bit of dental work is about as
threatening as a mosquito bite. I'll drop in for 45 minutes, have my jaw
frozen, listen to my iPod, and head home. From my current perspective,
it's a piece of cake.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cancer" rel="tag">cancer</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/chemotherapy" rel="tag">chemotherapy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/fear" rel="tag">fear</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/pain" rel="tag">pain</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/04/perspective" title="permanent link">9:55 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4973246404328506972"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<br />
</div>
</div>
JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428844225155628097.post-41864141714443808892018-11-11T12:10:00.001-08:002018-11-11T12:10:11.944-08:00Derek Mar 2009<div id="ZoomSpin" style="left: 10px; position: absolute; top: 10px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 525;">
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<h1>
Penmachine</h1>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
31 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7388595108580784670"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/ihr-and-lgl-posted-for-march" title="permanent link">IHR and LGL posted for March</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
My wife Air and her co-host KA have posted <a href="http://www.lipglossandlaptops.com/podcast/?p=354">Lip Gloss and Laptops #132</a>, and my co-host Dave and I have published <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=735">Inside Home Recording #69</a> (dude).<br />
The shows cover GarageBand '09, Simply Ageless Foundation, different
types of audio delay, Barry M Cosmetics, too much Nickelback, and
Rejuvelash Natural Declumping Lash Exhilarator. I'll let you guess which
podcast addresses which products.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/lipglossandlaptops" rel="tag">lipglossandlaptops</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/ihr-and-lgl-posted-for-march" title="permanent link">11:27 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7388595108580784670"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
30 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1897723209028018100"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/juno-night" title="permanent link">Juno night</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3397783466/" title="Great Big Sea with Hawksley Workman by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Great Big Sea with Hawksley Workman" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3397783466_bfe3835603_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Last night my wife and I went to the <a href="http://www.junoawards.ca/">Juno Awards</a>
(Canada's English-language music industry awards, like the Grammys) at
the GM Place hockey arena here in Vancouver. We were waaaay up in the
rafters, but still had a decent view. However, one of the ushers told me
the lens on my SLR camera was "too big"—you know what they say about
the size of man's lens—so I had to be surreptitous about it, and thus
didn't get too many <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3397770896/in/set-72157616107558314/">photos</a>.<br />
There was lots of music, as you would expect. But the acts I liked best surprised me. Dallas Green's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_and_Colour">City and Colour</a>
(with guest Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip) topped my list, even
though I'd never heard of Green before. I'm a musical oldster, you see. <a href="http://radio3.cbc.ca/blogs/2009/03/Watch-Kathleen-Edwards-Juno-Performance-with-Bryan-Adams">Bryan Adams and Kathleen Edwards</a>
were also remarkable, singing without a backing band and turning out a
marvelously affecting acoustic performance of "Walk On By," with strong
harmonies. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3396955737/" title="Bloggers in the rafters by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Bloggers in the rafters" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3659/3396955737_98ffb36737_m.jpg" style="margin-top: 8px;" width="222" /></a>And <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3388665641/in/set-72157615877133321/">Divine Brown</a>
again showed the amazing voice I'd heard a few nights before—she needs
to get out from the overdone dance production on her album, I think.<br />
We also spotted our live-blogging pals <a href="http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/liveblog-at-the-2009-juno-awards.html">Miss604</a> and <a href="http://www.blogaholics.ca/archives/2009/03/juno-awards-2009-live-blog.html">Arieanna</a> (who had an <a href="http://www.blogaholics.ca/archives/2009/03/baby-on-the-way.html">awesome announcement</a> the next day) in the rafters across from us. I snapped <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3396955737/in/set-72157616107558314/">a picture</a> before I got busted by the usher.<br />
Since it was broadcast live across the country, the Juno ceremony
started early (5 p.m.), and was over promptly at 7. We were home before
the sun even went down, which is often just as well for us these days.<br />
P.S. Yes, Nickelback started the show with a song called "Something
in Your Mouth." And pyro effects coming from stage props designed to
look like giant chrome exhaust pipes.<br />
P.P.S. Does anyone know who buys all those Nickelback albums?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/juno-night" title="permanent link">10:34 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1897723209028018100"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
29 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3326683553388329103"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/long-lost-friends" title="permanent link">Long lost friends</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3418711100/" title="Derek and Rand by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Derek and Rand" class="post" height="192" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/3418711100_2e1eb77a39_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>In
1974, on my first day of kindergarten, I made some friends. One of my
earliest memories of school that year was three of us working on an art
project. Rand, one of my friends, had a huge (huge for five-year-olds,
at least) bottle of white glue turned upside down, but like a ketchup
bottle, it was jammed.<br />
Brent, my other friend, sang out, "There's no more gluuuuuue!" And
then a huge glop of it fell onto the paper, completely covering up what
we were working on.<br />
I stayed friends with Rand and Brent for many years afterward. When
Brent's family took a year away to go sailing around the Caribbean, we
borrowed their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80">TRS-80 Model I</a>
personal computer, the first one we had in our house. Rand and I spent
hours at each other's homes, or with his family at their cabin on <a href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2008/06/11/Keats-Island">Keats Island</a>, playing with <cite>Star Wars</cite> action figures.<br />
Even when Rand changed to a <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/east-van-east-side-east-end-west-van">West Side</a>
private school and his family moved out that way, we kept in touch, and
a couple of years later I went to that school too. We lost touch with
Brent slowly after that, though he was in my Boy Scout troop until 1982,
and I have seen him from time to time in the interim.<br />
Rand and I once tried making smoke bombs at his place, and drying
them in the microwave. Not a smart move. We had to open all the windows
and pull out the smoke alarm battery, hoping things would clear before
his parents got home.<br />
Eventually, he moved to yet another school and, as happens, we
drifted away from one another. He emigrated to New York City almost 20
years ago, got married, and had a son. I stayed here in Vancouver, got
married, and had two daughters. My daughters started kindergarten at the
same school where Rand and I met a few years ago. They're still going
there.<br />
Recently Rand and I got in touch again on Facebook. He and his wife
and son were in town last week to visit his family, and on Friday night
my girls and I <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157616006243266/">met them downtown</a>
for dinner. It was a short visit, but fun—the first time Rand and I had
seen each other for more than 25 years. Long enough that he had time to
grow <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3390839055/">taller than me</a>.<br />
We were both pretty big nerds back in the '70s and early '80s. Our
nerdiness has mellowed, and it's also cooler to be geeky these days than
it used to be. So we're different, yet not. Just like Vancouver.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/newyork" rel="tag">newyork</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/long-lost-friends" title="permanent link">11:27 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3326683553388329103"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
27 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8370712454823278895"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/my-photo-on-q-home-page" title="permanent link">My photo on the Q home page</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
After I took some pictures of the taping of <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/being-in-audience-for-q">CBC's "Q"</a> last night, I let CBC know about them, and this morning, here was the result:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3390855290/sizes/o/in/set-72157615877133321/" title="Click for a full-size screen capture"><img alt="CBC Q home page with Derek's photo - closeup" height="350" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3629/3390043375_b635cc0eeb.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
That's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3388661225/in/set-72157615877133321/">my photo</a> as the headline picture on the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/q">"Q" home page</a>. You can also <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?42#ref42">listen to the podcast version</a> (<a href="http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/qpodcast_20090327_13634.mp3">MP3 file</a>) of the episode.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/my-photo-on-q-home-page" title="permanent link">11:46 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8370712454823278895"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
26 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7342488800531197408"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/being-in-audience-for-q" title="permanent link">Being in the audience for Q</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
CBC Radio's "<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/q">Q</a>" is a national, Toronto-based, daily arts, culture, and entertainment show hosted by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jian_Ghomeshi">Jian Ghomeshi</a>.
For some reason I don't quite understand, I wasn't too fond of him
before—I'd garnered a bad impression and it just stuck with me. (Maybe
it was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxy_Fruvous">Moxy Früvous</a> hangover.)<br />
Anyway, tonight my daughter M and I trotted down to the CBC building
in Vancouver for a live-in-front-of-an-audience taping of "Q," to be
broadcast on the radio tomorrow. The show has been in Vancouver all week
before the Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent to the Grammys) on Sunday,
which my wife and I will be attending. I took some <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157615877133321/">photos</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3389479872/in/set-72157615877133321/" title="Jian Ghomeshi and banners by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Jian Ghomeshi and banners" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3389479872_c194e28680.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Musical acts performing tonight included <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksley_Workman">Hawksley Workman</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Brown_(singer)">Divine Brown</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Hot_Heat">Hot Hot Heat</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bif_Naked">Bif Naked</a> also dropped in for an interview, as did Torquil Campbell of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_(band)">Stars</a>. And I have to say, in person Ghomeshi is engaging, open, and personable. I think I've become a fan.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cbc" rel="tag">cbc</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/being-in-audience-for-q" title="permanent link">11:17 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7342488800531197408"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
24 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="9190263313146564635"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/i-made-goofy-little-metal-video" title="permanent link">I made a goofy little metal video</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.winsupersite.com/">Paul Thurrott</a> and <a href="http://leoville.com/">Leo Laporte</a> have used my tune "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2006/01/more-red-than-red-windows-weekly-theme.html">More Red Than Red</a>" as theme music for their <a href="http://twit.tv/ww">Windows Weekly</a> podcast since 2006. But on their <a href="http://twit.tv/ww99">latest episode</a>,
they thought about maybe replacing it with the title track from the
album "Enigma," by Microsoft's retired chief of Windows development (and
longtime guitarist) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Allchin">Jim Allchin</a>. So I tried to dissuade them at the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/">Penmachine Podcast</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<small><a href="http://vimeo.com/3829093">IHR TV #5 - A Plea to Paul and Leo of Windows Weekly</a><br />from <a href="http://vimeo.com/ihrtv">Inside Home Recording TV</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</small></div>
The "Turrican Van Halen" reference is part of the Windows Weekly show—it refers to the old Commodore 64/Atari/Amiga game "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turrican">Turrican</a>."<br />
I made this available as <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.tv/">Inside Home Recording TV Episode #5</a>. You can also <a href="http://media.blubrry.com/ihrtv/media.libsyn.com/media/insidehomerecording/IHR_TV_2009_03_23.m4v">download it</a> (H.264 video) or watch it at <a href="http://www.viddler.com/explore/Ihrtv/videos/6/">Viddler</a>, <a href="http://blip.tv/file/1912000">Blip.tv</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1126672005416">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dvyuRhdGb0">YouTube</a>, and <a href="http://vimeo.com/3829093">Vimeo</a>. Licensed for you to share and reuse, as long as you <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ca/">give me credit</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/leolaporte" rel="tag">leolaporte</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/penmachinepodcast" rel="tag">penmachinepodcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/windows" rel="tag">windows</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/i-made-goofy-little-metal-video" title="permanent link">3:15 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=9190263313146564635"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
22 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5508059812164066052"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/get-20-off-my-garageband-video-course" title="permanent link">Get 20% off my GarageBand video course</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
A few months ago I recorded a big series of more than 50 short instructional videos for the <a href="http://www.macvideotraining.com/garageband-help.html">Quick Start to GarageBand</a> course at <a href="http://www.macvideotraining.com/">MacVideoTraining.com</a>,
a new video training company co-founded by my former Inside Home
Recording (IHR) podcast co-host Paul Garay. Some of their other training
DVDs are available at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3293554189/">lots of retailers</a> throughout North America.<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/mvt" title="Enter coupon code ihr at checkout"><img alt="MacVideoTraining.com discount for Inside Home Recording listeners" height="250" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3369566332_05abd1b301_o.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
However, if you want a better deal, you need to do it online. You can
buy my course, or one of several others from the company, with a 20%
discount on any single video or bundle, through a new affiliate program
at IHR. Just go to <a href="http://www.insidehomerecording.com/mvt" title="Enter coupon code ihr at checkout">insidehomerecording.com/mvt</a> and enter the coupon code <b>ihr</b> at checkout.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/apple" rel="tag">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/education" rel="tag">education</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/insidehomerecording" rel="tag">insidehomerecording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/get-20-off-my-garageband-video-course" title="permanent link">5:41 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5508059812164066052"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="115944746610653840"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/feel-of-it" title="permanent link">The feel of it</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3280277099/" title="iBook G4 12" by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="iBook G4 12"" class="post" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/3280277099_655cbce1fc_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Men
often obsess about our gadgets—computers, cameras, cars, fishing gear,
barbecues, TVs, stereos, whatever. But too often, we get wrapped up in
the stats and numbers, and forget about the <i>feel</i> of what we
use. Not that it's unimportant, but frequently when we're researching a
new purchase, we'll ignore it in favour of the specs, and only learn
about the subjective experience of using the device later. Sometimes to
our detriment.<br />
What brought this to mind was a <a href="http://babylolo.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/new-laptop/">blog post</a>
my younger daughter L, who is nine, made a couple of days ago. A few
months ago my wife replaced her old laptop, so our daughter gets to use
it now. (Her sister has a different desktop computer.) So L wrote:<br />
<blockquote>
This laptop is very special to me. I love the way the keyboard feels when I type. The way the lock opens when I ummm… open it.</blockquote>
I had to think, <i>yeah.</i> How the keyboard feels and how the
lock opens are important. They're what make the laptop familiar, what
define how she interacts with it, what makes it different from other
technology around the house. Along with the programs she uses and the
way she sets up her desktop and so on, they're what makes it hers. The
speed of the processor, the size of hard drive, the amount of RAM—as
long as there's <i>enough</i> of those things to do what she needs, they're irrelevant.<br />
So next time you're looking at getting a new mobile phone, or a new
TV, or a new camera, or whatever, take some time to figure out whether
it feels right first. If you're not allowed to get it out of the package
and try it, find one you can.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/design" rel="tag">design</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/feel-of-it" title="permanent link">2:28 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=115944746610653840"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
20 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5038919102707113195"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/dead-dead-trees" title="permanent link">Dead dead trees</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
It's been all over the web this week, but Clay Shirky's article on the <a href="http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/">death of newspapers</a> is still a worthwhile read:<br />
<blockquote>
When reality is labeled unthinkable, it creates a kind of
sickness in an industry. Leadership becomes faith-based, while employees
who have the temerity to suggest that what seems to be happening is in
fact happening are [...] ignored <i>en masse</i>.<br />
It makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing
industry, because the core problem publishing solves—the incredible
difficulty, complexity, and expense of making something available to the
public—has stopped being a problem.<br />
That is what real revolutions are like. The old stuff gets broken
faster than the new stuff is put in its place. [...] When someone
demands to know how we are going to replace newspapers, they [...] are
demanding to be lied to.<br />
The expense of printing created an environment where Wal-Mart
[through its advertising dollars] was willing to subsidize [a
newspaper's] Baghdad bureau. [But] they’d never really signed up to fund
the Baghdad bureau anyway.<br />
So who covers all that news if some significant fraction of the
currently employed newspaper people lose their jobs? I don’t know.
Nobody knows. We’re collectively living through 1500 [when the printing
press was introduced], when it’s easier to see what’s broken than what
will replace it.</blockquote>
When I was in university, I helped found a couple of <a href="http://stikine.library.ubc.ca/ubcpubs/The_432/the_432_form.html">student newspapers</a>,
and I imagined myself working for a big newspaper one day. I never did,
though I did get jobs at a couple of magazines over the years. If I
were graduating today, a couple of decades later, I'd still want to
write, but I don't think I'd have those ambitions anymore.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/web" rel="tag">web</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/dead-dead-trees" title="permanent link">6:56 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5038919102707113195"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
18 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4101456264281502368"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/camera-works-image-stabilization-vr-is" title="permanent link">Camera Works: image stabilization (VR, IS, and SR)</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3366672599/" title="Red rockfish by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Red rockfish" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3461/3366672599_09dc4613a0_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I
just acquired my first stabilized camera lens, and I'm impressed so
far, especially because it didn't cost me anything. Here's the story.<br />
<h3>
Sent for service</h3>
Last year I had my relatively new <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-135.htm">Nikon 18-135 mm</a> zoom lens (designed for the D80 SLR, but bought for my D50) <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/05/curse-of-new-ish-lens">repaired</a>
under warranty, after the autofocus became unreliable and the lens
housing felt loose. Unfortunately, Nikon's low-end lenses don't seem to
stand up especially well to the usual wear and tear of enthusiastic use,
because recently I had the same problem again with the same lens:
unreliable autofocus and loose feel with the lens mounted on my camera,
less than a year after the repair.<br />
<br />
<b>Warning</b>: include(): http:// wrapper is disabled in the server configuration by allow_url_include=0 in <b>/home/thelab1c/public_html/penmachine.com/old/2009_03_01_.php</b> on line <b>640</b><br />
<br />
<b>Warning</b>: include(http://www.penmachine.com/cameraworks.php): failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in <b>/home/thelab1c/public_html/penmachine.com/old/2009_03_01_.php</b> on line <b>640</b><br />
<br />
<b>Warning</b>: include(): Failed opening
'http://www.penmachine.com/cameraworks.php' for inclusion
(include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in <b>/home/thelab1c/public_html/penmachine.com/old/2009_03_01_.php</b> on line <b>640</b><br />
(By the way, I have a <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018daf.htm">couple</a> of <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55af.htm">much older</a>
but higher-end Nikon lenses that continue to work flawlessly despite
their advanced age and considerable use. The problem is either with the
company's more cheaply made lenses or with the particular one I owned.)<br />
Anyway, the lens is covered by Nikon's excellent five-year warranty.
So once I sent the zoom in for its second repair, Nikon had a look at it
and decided to send me a replacement instead: the newer <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-105mm.htm">18-105 mm VR</a> zoom, introduced with the new D90 SLR a few months ago. While it doesn't zoom in quite as far, the newer lens includes Nikon's <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/image-stabilization.htm">vibration reduction</a> system—that's what the VR stands for.<br />
<h3>
What is vibration reduction?</h3>
What Nikon calls <i>vibration reduction</i> (VR), other camera makers call <i>image stabilization</i> (IS) or <i>shake reduction</i>
(SR).They're all the same thing. Vibration reduction is a new
technology, emerging in commercially available optical devices only in
the last ten years. It can be built into the lens (as Nikon and Canon
do) or the camera body (as Sony and Pentax do), but both work basically
the same way: motion sensors detect the tiny shaky movements you make
when hand-holding a camera and compensate for them by moving lens
elements (Nikon, Canon) or the camera sensor (Sony, Pentax) with tiny
motors.<br />
At slow shutter speeds or long focal lengths, that reduces
shake-induced blur in your photos. The technology doesn't make moving <i>subjects</i> (people, vehicles, animals) less blurry, because it can only compensate for things that make the <i>camera</i> vibrate.<br />
<h3>
The results</h3>
But within its limitations, VR works quite well. Take <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3366696041_37f183ccd8_o.jpg">a look</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3366696041_37f183ccd8_o.jpg" title="Vibration Reduction example = click to enlarge"><img alt="Vibration Reduction example" height="245" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3366696041_f98c2936ab.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
When using VR, looking through the viewfinder can be a bit strange,
because the image you see is steadier than your hands. It's even more
noticeable on my dad's image-stabilized binoculars, which magnify the
image quite a bit more than my zoom lens, and stabilize both eyepieces.
You can feel your hands shaking quite a bit as you look through them,
but the image moves in a much more "damped" manner.<br />
The result is great, because both in a camera and through binoculars,
you can see more clearly when VR is on. And when you take photos of
stationary subjects, you can shoot with <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/09/camera-works-shutters-flashes-and-sync">shutter speeds</a> one or two stops slower (i.e. taking in only 25% as much light, maybe even less) and still get decently <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3366672599/">sharp pictures</a>.<br />
It's not the same as having a lens with a wider maximum <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/08/camera-works-aperture-and-f-stops">aperture</a>, or a camera with better <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/11/camera-works-intermediate-f-stop-values">low-light sensitivity</a> (ISO), but it's another tool to help make better images.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/cameraworks" rel="tag">cameraworks</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/repairs" rel="tag">repairs</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/camera-works-image-stabilization-vr-is" title="permanent link">5:07 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4101456264281502368"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
17 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="306750869224269973"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/small-victories" title="permanent link">Small victories</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
There it is: "In what must be the ultimate exercise in navel-gazing, an Austrian scientist has <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4883791/Revealed-The-secrets-of-belly-button-fluff.html">solved the mystery</a> of belly button fluff" (via <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/buzz/archives/163339.asp">Brian Chin</a> at the late <cite><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Post-Intelligencer">Seattle Post-Intelligencer</a></cite>).<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/news" rel="tag">news</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/small-victories" title="permanent link">9:31 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=306750869224269973"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
16 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5878756139040316460"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/little-walk" title="permanent link">A little walk</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
This is my kids' <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3362439756/">walk to school</a>—and since I attended the same school in the '70s, it's also the same walk I took each day 30 years ago:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Compiled from 47 photos taken with my Nikon D50 every 15 to 20 steps on the way, and made with iMovie '09. Music is my tune "<a href="http://www.penmachine.com/podcast/2006/02/camp-walk.html">Camp Walk</a>," from 2006.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/movie" rel="tag">movie</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/nikon" rel="tag">nikon</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/penmachinepodcast" rel="tag">penmachinepodcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/little-walk" title="permanent link">11:43 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5878756139040316460"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
15 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5285324225251479261"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/plus-ca-change" title="permanent link">Plus ça change...</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Here's our friend Lisa at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3355327089/" title="Christina and Lisa by penmachine, on Flickr">her wedding yesterday</a>, saying hi to our other friend Christina during the reception dinner:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3355327089/" title="Christina and Lisa by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Christina and Lisa" height="450" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3355327089_008dc54d31.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
And here was Lisa in a plaid skirt back in 1992 <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3184904455/" title="Lunatic Fringe 2 by penmachine, on Flickr">dancing to my band</a> (a later incarnation of our band also played at the wedding yesterday, by the way):
<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3184904455/" title="Lunatic Fringe 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Lunatic Fringe 2" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3184904455_fdf5e7e989.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
Other than the wedding dress in one and the early-'90s fashions and hair in the other, she <i>looks the same</i>, 17 years later! I certainly can't say the same for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3183656373/in/set-72157612337878507/">myself</a>.<br />
Thanks to <a href="http://www.vicmassage.com/">Simon</a> for the '92 picture.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/age" rel="tag">age</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/party" rel="tag">party</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/wedding" rel="tag">wedding</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/plus-ca-change" title="permanent link">1:06 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5285324225251479261"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
12 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6790037729191243130"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/that-rocks" title="permanent link">That rocks</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
In case you doubt that a mashup can be true art, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPtWh5XjiH0">see here</a>:<br />
Via <a href="http://twitter.com/allenwagner/status/1320705317">Big Al</a>.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/mashup" rel="tag">mashup</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/video" rel="tag">video</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/youtube" rel="tag">youtube</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/that-rocks" title="permanent link">11:13 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6790037729191243130"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
11 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7397075168987031963"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/calling-bs-on-new-high-fibre-foods" title="permanent link">Calling BS on new "high fibre" foods</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Noticed how many more prepared food products (yogurt,
cookies, ice cream, etc.) are advertising fibre content in the past year
or so? Have food makers smartened up and started putting whole grains
in a whole bunch of foods? As you would expect, no. The companies are
simply able to put <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2213354">artificial fibre additives</a> into a wider variety of foods than they used to. However:<br />
<blockquote>
The problem with this is that nobody knows if these fiber
additives possess the same health benefits as natural fiber found in
whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.</blockquote>
So that new high-fibre yogurt that doesn't taste high-fibre—well, it
may not be any better for you than the old stuff, and is very likely not
as good for you as real whole-grain food. No shock: these new
fibre-enriched foods are more marketing than nutrition.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/calling-bs-on-new-high-fibre-foods" title="permanent link">9:37 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7397075168987031963"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">10 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
10 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8723296632737810267"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/fooling-yourself" title="permanent link">Fooling yourself</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Back in 1974, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman">Richard Feynman</a>,
one of the most famous physicists of the 20th century, gave a
commencement address at the California Institute of Technology. He
called it "<a href="http://wwwcdf.pd.infn.it/~loreti/science.html">Cargo Cult Science</a>" (<a href="http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/02/CargoCult.pdf">PDF</a>). It contains what I think is the best succinct summary of the scientific process:<br />
<blockquote>
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.</blockquote>
Then, he said, "it's easy not to fool other scientists. You just have
to be honest in a conventional way after that." The entire structure of
science—in universities and journals, online and at symposia, and in
the principles of being able to repeat experiments, falsify theories,
and predict results—is an attempt to keep from fooling ourselves about
reality.<br />
That shows how hard it is to avoid being foolish: scientists and the rest of us still <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hendrik_Sch%C3%B6n">fool ourselves</a>
all the time. But the process also does a good job correcting mistakes,
so our foolishness doesn't last. As a human system, science isn't
perfect, but it does well at refining our knowledge, letting us weed out
imperfections in what we understand about our world and universe.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/publicspeaking" rel="tag">publicspeaking</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/school" rel="tag">school</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/fooling-yourself" title="permanent link">10:59 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=8723296632737810267"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
09 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1708238380468930956"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/excuse-me" title="permanent link">Excuse me?</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I looked <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3341968860/" title="March. Vancouver. WTF? by penmachine, on Flickr">out the window</a> this morning and I was actually angry. I don't anger easily, but here's the view now, after I <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/min/991751414.html">shoveled</a> the walk and driveway and cleared off the car:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3341968860/" title="March. Vancouver. WTF? by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="March. Vancouver. WTF?" height="300" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3341968860_26e22da487.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This is Vancouver. In March. In contrast, here's what we were doing in your yard in <i>February</i> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2294407243/" title="Footie by penmachine, on Flickr">last year</a>:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2294407243/" title="Footie by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Footie" height="267" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2294407243_87f1606587.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Or, for that matter, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3291015813/" title="Playgrounders 1 by penmachine, on Flickr">three weeks ago</a> at the schoolyard:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3291015813/" title="Playgrounders 1 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Playgrounders 1" height="267" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3349/3291015813_ebda5111b4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Even my kids looked out at the snow today and said, "Not again!"<br />
I mean, WTF?<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/annoyances" rel="tag">annoyances</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/snow" rel="tag">snow</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/weather" rel="tag">weather</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/excuse-me" title="permanent link">10:11 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1708238380468930956"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">3 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
08 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4571449366990601400"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/match-of-wits" title="permanent link">A match of wits</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Our <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/return-of-pecker">problem woodpecker</a> has returned, a month later, and seems undeterred by our <a href="http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/2009/02/woodpeckerwar.html">protective chimney cages</a>.
We thought weather or the bird itself might have disturbed them, but
no, they are still firmly in place. So the first move is to make the
cages bigger—our Northern flicker may be large enough to get its beak
right between the mesh to the metal.<br />
Whenever I've heard the hammering (around 7 a.m., or 8 now that we're
in Daylight Saving Time), I've made a quick leap into my bathrobe and
slippers and tossed some pebbles from our yard onto the roof, which
seems to scare it away each time. But, clever as this bird is, it
doesn't seem to learn from the experience. As my dad said, "it's a match
of wits." So far, the woodpecker is outwitting us.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/annoyances" rel="tag">annoyances</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/biology" rel="tag">biology</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/match-of-wits" title="permanent link">12:16 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4571449366990601400"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">7 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
07 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3849271264746860594"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/links-of-interest-2009-03-07" title="permanent link">Links of interest (2009-03-07):</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<ul>
<li>The first animals that people domesticated were wolves—we call
them dogs now. Coincidentally, within an hour last night I read a <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2213121">Slate article</a> and saw an episode of "<a href="http://www.itv.com/Lifestyle/Dogs/default.html">Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs</a>" on that very topic.</li>
<li>From Salon: "To this day when I walk into a grocery store and see a mom with her teenage daughters, <a href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/03/07/live_through_this/">I have to leave</a>.
Every time I just get tearful, I just can't be in the same room, even
after all these years. It just kills me that I don't get that time
back."</li>
<li><cite>The Economist</cite> makes a compelling argument that all recreational drugs—yes, even hard drugs like heroin and cocaine—<a href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13237193">should be legalized</a> (via <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/03/06/_a_century_of_manifest_failure">Dan Savage</a>). That's a pretty radical position, but the magazine posits it as the "least bad" option, after "the <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/01/looking-glass">war on drugs</a>
has been a disaster, creating failed states in the developing world
even as addiction has flourished in the rich world. By any sensible
measure, this 100-year struggle has been illiberal, murderous and
pointless."</li>
<li>Don't forget to put your clocks <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_around_the_world#Canada">forward by an hour</a> tonight for Daylight Saving Time, if you're in a part of the world that invokes it early Sunday morning.</li>
<li><a href="http://scanwiches.com/">Scanwiches</a> are sandwiches, cut in half and imaged on a flatbed scanner—which I presume needs very frequent and thorough cleaning (via <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/scanned_sandwiches/">J-Walk</a>).</li>
<li>New Homestar Runner meta-cartoon: <a href="http://www.homestarrunner.com/4gregs.html">4 Gregs</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/addiction" rel="tag">addiction</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animation" rel="tag">animation</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/food" rel="tag">food</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest" rel="tag">linksofinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/security" rel="tag">security</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/time" rel="tag">time</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/links-of-interest-2009-03-07" title="permanent link">9:23 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=3849271264746860594"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">5 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
06 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1207533572088272638"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/links-of-interest-2009-03-06" title="permanent link">Links of interest (2009-03-06):</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<ul>
<li>Transom.org has some wonderfully comprehensive audio articles for podcasters, like the <a href="http://www.transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200508.mic_shootout.html">stand mic shootout</a>, <a href="http://transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200608_handheld_mic_shootout/">handheld mic shootout</a>, and <a href="http://transom.org/?p=1165">recording phone calls tutorial</a> (via <a href="http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2009/02/27/everything-about-recording-phone-calls/">Doug Kaye</a>).</li>
<li><a href="http://photofunia.com/">PhotoFunia</a> lets you put your own face into various stock photos (via <a href="http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/photofunia/">J-Walk</a>). Some work better than others. A couple of sample pictures of one of my daughters and me:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3333978516/" title="PhotoFunia - Miss L Esquire by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="PhotoFunia - Miss L Esquire" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/3333978516_f582c305d4_m.jpg" width="160" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3333140563/" title="PhotoFunia - Giocondamachine by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="PhotoFunia - Giocondamachine" height="240" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3334/3333140563_2ee42252b5_m.jpg" width="171" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.macosiphone.co.cc/">Mac OS iPhone project</a> (via <a href="http://www.caffinara.ca/2009/03/ticking-away-moments-that-make-up-dull.html">Melanie</a>). It was bound to happen.</li>
<li>Photographic shit disturber <a href="http://kenrockwell.com/tech/pma-09.htm">Ken Rockwell</a> points to these <a href="http://gonecity.blogspot.com/2009/03/digital-cameras-thrill-is-gone.html">two</a> great <a href="http://gonecity.blogspot.com/2009/02/upgrade-to-film-with-nikon-fm2.html">posts</a> about film photography from John Sevigny, on the theme of <i>digital cameras: the thrill is gone</i>:
"Many of the film oriented products introduced at PMA [this week's big
photo tradeshow] are far more interesting than anything digital that
bothered to show up to the party. [...] My advice: get [a used Nikon]
FM2 for less than $500, three or four lenses for another $500 total, and
a 35mm film scanner for another $500. [...] Use the remaining $6,500 to
fly to Brazil, China, Mexico or Thailand and spend several months
photographing there."</li>
<li><a href="http://www.moritherapy.org/article/mentalhealthcamp-a-whole-conference-about-mental-health-and-blogging/">Isabella</a> and <a href="http://hummingbird604.com/2009/02/22/mental-health-camp-2009-a-proposal/">Raul</a> have started organizing <a href="http://mentalhealthcamp.pbwiki.com/The-beginning:-Organizational-Plans-and-Ideas">Mental Health Camp</a>, an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference">unconference</a> here in Vancouver about mental health issues, April 25, 2009 in Gastown. (<b>UPDATE:</b> It now has its own URL at <a href="http://www.mentalhealthcamp.org/">MentalHealthCamp.org</a>.)</li>
<li>Remember that <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2007/09/leica-slr-lets-you-swap-film-and">crazy Leica R9 SLR camera</a> I blogged about in 2007? Well, Leica long ago stopped making the digital back, and now they're <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0903/09030501leciarsystemdiscont.asp">discontinuing the camera and lenses</a>
too. But not to worry: an all-digital, autofocus R10 will come
eventually. And will be amazingly high-priced, just like its upcoming
big sibling the <a href="http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/s_system/">S2</a>.</li>
<li>Rebecca posts about <a href="http://www.miss604.com/2009/03/vancouver-history-rudyard-kipling.html">Rudyard Kipling's visits</a> to Vancouver in the 1800s and early 1900s, and how much our city changed during that time.</li>
<li>The Onion's "<a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/san_francisco_historians_condemn">San Francisco Historians Condemn 1906 Earthquake Deniers</a>" is almost as good as the old "<a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39512">Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory</a>."</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/controversy" rel="tag">controversy</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/linksofinterest" rel="tag">linksofinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/mentalhealth" rel="tag">mentalhealth</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/podcast" rel="tag">podcast</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/recording" rel="tag">recording</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/science" rel="tag">science</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/links-of-interest-2009-03-06" title="permanent link">10:25 AM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=1207533572088272638"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">2 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
05 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="6696147292578905659"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/lightswitch-dimmer-that-fits-in-old" title="permanent link">A lightswitch dimmer that fits in the old slot</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
Inspired by the halogen lights in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3305806870/in/set-72157614364384312/">hotel rooms</a>
we visited last week, my wife and I bought some inexpensive new light
fixtures for our kitchen yesterday. Even after swapping the bulbs for
lower-wattage versions, we discovered that they can be pretty bright. So
today I tracked down a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3332119776/" title="Clever dimmer switch by penmachine, on Flickr">clever dimmer switch</a>, the first of its kind I've seen:<br />
<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3332119776/" title="Clever dimmer switch by penmachine, on Flickr"><img alt="Clever dimmer switch" height="265" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3563/3332119776_fb4dae6d92.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
The switch fits in a regular old-style wall plate, the kind we've had throughout our house since it was built <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/journal/2002_03_01_news_archive.html">in the 1960s</a>.
The main toggle is slightly narrower than usual, and operates the
regular way. Next to it is a tiny, thin, fingernail-operated slider that
operates the dimmer. Neat.<br />
Whenever we repair or repaint something in the house, it becomes
suddenly obvious how old and dirty some of the unchanged stuff is. In
this case, the beige old wall plate and switch make it clear not only
how not white they are, but how grimy the switch itself is after over 40
years of use. Ew.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/home" rel="tag">home</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/homedepot" rel="tag">homedepot</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/repairs" rel="tag">repairs</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/lightswitch-dimmer-that-fits-in-old" title="permanent link">4:26 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=6696147292578905659"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">6 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
04 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="7967934192233195801"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/another-goldfish-commercial" title="permanent link">Another goldfish commercial</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
I'd forgotten <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/adam-woodall-on-virgin-radio-vancouver">yesterday</a> that my friend Adam Woodall appeared in not one but <i>two</i> Goldfish Cracker commercials a few years ago. Here's the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_5UuMrI2o">second one</a>. No orange powder this time:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/humour" rel="tag">humour</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/television" rel="tag">television</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/another-goldfish-commercial" title="permanent link">8:59 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=7967934192233195801"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
03 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4383288292214522816"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/adam-woodall-on-virgin-radio-vancouver" title="permanent link">Adam Woodall on Virgin Radio Vancouver</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2581320137/" title="Jesse Tucker, Jesse Godin, Adam Woodall at Flickr.com"><img align="right" alt="Jesse Tucker, Jesse Godin, Adam Woodall at Flickr.com" border="0" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2581320137_ea59b513ce_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>My friend and sometime co-musician <a href="http://www.adamwoodallband.com/">Adam Woodall</a>
has been part of the music scene here in Vancouver for over 15 years,
and he's finally getting some radio play: his song "Coming Home Soon"
from the 2006 Adam Woodall Band album <cite><a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2006/09/two-music-releases-from-people-i-know.html">Silver Ring</a></cite>.<br />
Virgin Radio DJ Buzz Bishop has posted his <a href="http://www.buzzbishop.com/blog/2009/03/03/adam-woodall-interview-on-virgin-radio-vancouver/">interview with Adam</a>
online. Give it a listen to hear about Adam and the AWB, and for a
couple of mean live solo acoustic versions of "Coming Home Soon" and
"Hit Me Baby One More Time" (yes!).<br />
Don't forget to check out Adam's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnNvcNkV5Ys">YouTube harmonica lessons</a> too. He's not only a great singer and a tasteful and talented guitarist, but an <i>awesome</i>
harmonica player. In fact, the first time I ever met Adam back around
1994 or so, I got his business card, and all it said was "Adam Woodall -
Harmonica."<br />
Finally, if you're wondering about his appearance in the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agmyrs4bczE">Flavor-Blasted Goldfish commercial</a>, here it is:<br />
<div align="center">
</div>
Adam's on the left. Yes, he really did get coated in orange powder for that.<br />
<div class="blogger-labels">
Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/band" rel="tag">band</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/music" rel="tag">music</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/radio" rel="tag">radio</a></div>
<br />
<div class="byline">
# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/adam-woodall-on-virgin-radio-vancouver" title="permanent link">11:15 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4383288292214522816"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">0 Comments</span></a> </div>
</div>
<h3 class="datehead">
02 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5488769624052789714"> </a>
<br />
<h2>
<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/end-of-era" title="permanent link">End of an era</a></h2>
<div class="blogPost">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3324394947/" title="Photo Centre 2 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Photo Centre 2" class="post" height="180" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3324394947_530686284b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today I brought some rolls of black-and-white film photos, which I'd taken at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=northernvoice09+blackandwhite&w=95601478%40N00&ss=2&ct=6&s=rec">Northern Voice</a> and our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=rec&ss=2&ct=6&w=95601478%40N00&q=tofino+blackandwhite&m=text">vacation</a> last week, to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save-On-Foods">Save-On-Foods</a> one-hour photo lab at Metrotown in Burnaby. Since the film was not regular silver halide B&W, but <a href="http://silfver.blogspot.com/2006/09/kodak-bw400cn-other-blackwhite-film.html">the kind</a> that can be processed in a colour print minilab, Save-On developed, printed, and scanned the pictures in an hour.<br />
But at the end of the week, Save-On is shutting down its one-hour
lab. That's the end of an era for me—I've been having film developed, as
well as both film and digital pictures printed there, for about 20
years. It's a sign. Hardly anyone but photo enthusiasts uses film
anymore. Since I started shooting film again <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2008/07/first-roll">last summer</a>, I've hardly ever seen anyone else bringing film into the Save-On lab. Usually the attendant is reading a book.<br />
There are plenty of other options nearby, including the inexpensive
Costco one-hour lab down the hill, the nearby London Drugs, and maybe
one or two in the mall. There are also numerous proper pro labs in the
city that will process and print nearly any kind of film with loving
care—and for a price. But I'll miss the corner of Save-On with its
now-outdated <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3324394947/">big-ass sign</a> featuring a giant model film roll and 60-minute stopwatch.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/film" rel="tag">film</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/geekery" rel="tag">geekery</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/history" rel="tag">history</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/photography" rel="tag">photography</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/vancouver" rel="tag">vancouver</a></div>
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/end-of-era" title="permanent link">10:15 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=5488769624052789714"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">4 Comments</span></a> </div>
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<h3 class="datehead">
01 March 2009</h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4876847548580946227"> </a>
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<a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/deep-bathtubs-and-sound-of-surf" title="permanent link">Deep bathtubs and the sound of surf</a></h2>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3315795936/" title="Highway 4 by penmachine, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Highway 4" class="post" height="160" src="https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3613/3315795936_4a3e4bd674_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I still have some more <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/sets/72157614364384312/">photos</a> to upload, but early this evening we got back home after seven and a half hours and <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=1431+Pacific+Rim+Hwy,+Tofino,+BC+V0R+2Z0,+Canada+(1431+At+Cox+Bay)&daddr=Burnaby,+BC,+Canada&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=53.409532,-114.213867&sspn=14.775856,29.399414&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=8">nearly 300 km</a>
by car and ferry returning from Tofino and Parksville. It was a great
trip, one that will leave memories. As a nice capper, we managed to meet
up with my friend <a href="http://www.vicmassage.com/">Simon</a> on the ferry in Nanaimo and, once we crossed the water, gave him a ride into West Vancouver to visit his family.<br />
We live in a huge part of the world. I mean huge oceans, huge mountains, huge trees, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/02/eagles-from-window">huge birds</a>,
huge beaches, and huge distances. At highway speeds (except for the
really twisty parts, and lunch), it took us three hours to drive in the
rain about half the way, across one of the narrowest parts of Vancouver
Island. It's apparently a faster trip <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Galway,+Ireland&daddr=Dublin,+Ireland&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=52.656394,-6.789551&sspn=3.599112,7.349854&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=8">right across Ireland</a>.
We passed between snow-blanketed mountains 1400 m high—taller than any
in Britain, to make another cross-Atlantic island comparison.<br />
It's common for us British Columbians to take day trips or short
vacations over distances that would cross several countries in Europe,
as my family did this week. I'm glad to be home, but as I noted on <a href="http://http//twitter.com/penmachine/status/1268190453">on Twitter</a>,
I miss the huge, deep, comfortable hotel bathtubs. And the heated tile
floor in Tofino. And the sound of surf, gentle or roaring.<br />
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Labels: <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/animals" rel="tag">animals</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/canada" rel="tag">canada</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/europe" rel="tag">europe</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/family" rel="tag">family</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/friends" rel="tag">friends</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/memories" rel="tag">memories</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/oceans" rel="tag">oceans</a>, <a href="http://www.penmachine.com/labels/travel" rel="tag">travel</a></div>
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# <a class="nohover" href="http://www.penmachine.com/2009/03/deep-bathtubs-and-sound-of-surf" title="permanent link">11:20 PM</a> | <a class="nohover" href="http://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8323756464766188140&postID=4876847548580946227"><span style="text-transform: lowercase;">1 Comments</span></a> </div>
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JKMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08658125810252546468noreply@blogger.com0