-
free program for PC which will print out paper models of proteins for you to cut and fold
-
"Soothe a burn, cure a toothache, clear a stuffed nose..."
-
freeware, shareware, and playable demos for old-school gaming
-
"We actually found that sugar snacks, not artificially sweetened snacks, are better self-medications for the two most common types of stress -- psychological and physical"
Circadian Shift
Surfing the information tsunami.
« October 2005 | Main | December 2005 »
Another week. Another grid.
It was yet another week of dark and cold, and trying to get a good night's sleep.
Even though we've yet to reach the end of November, I went and downloaded some MP3s from eMusic, thanks to having purchased a "booster pack" for an extra 50 tracks, which I can download at any time. I've only made use of 7 downloads thus far, having bought some nice calming tunage to play at bedtime:
- Gas - Koenigsforst -- featuring an array of string samples taken from vinyl LPs, backed with a drum machine; this isn't entirely suitable as bedtime music, but it is good for quieter evening listening thank to its droning atmospheric sound
- Kelly Howell - Sound Sleep -- consisting of a single hour-long track titled "Music with Delta Waves", this is meant to be listened to through headphones so that the delta waves can induce your brain into a sleeping state; unfortunately, sleeping with headphones on is not particularly comfortable, but I still found it to be somewhat useful to be played softly through speakers in the background
I also bought a couple songs from iTunes:
- Laika - "Alphabet Soup" -- yet another dirtyradio discovery, this tune is all spacy and electronic, with vocals that remind me of Kate Bush
- Alice Cooper - "Clones (We're All)" -- one does not ordinarily associate Alice Cooper with New Wave, but he did produce some work in the early 80s that fits reasonably well in the genre; "Clones" combines a Gary Numan aesthetic with Brave New World imagery for just under three minutes of enjoyable listening
Other highlights of the week include all-day Friday and Saturday sessions for this taxonomy and metadata course that I'm taking (nothing says "rip-roaring good times" like parking your ass in a classroom on Saturday morning to learn about faceted classfication and controlled vocabularies), and getting my flu shot for this year. Yes, it's sad that those count as "highlights".
-
get your own Fender Stratocaster electric guitar with Hello Kitty on it (a Badtz Maru bass is also available)
-
TIME Canada article on the 'JACK-FM' radio format
Oh, look, it's another grid filled with stuff.
This whole sleeping poorly thing is really starting to wear on me. Lately, my nights have consisted of either one, or in some cases both, of the following occuring:
- I'm groggy and lethargic all evening, but as soon as I go to bed, my mind starts racing and I can't fall asleep
- I wake up at a ridiculously early hour, such as 4.30 or 5 am, and then can't get back to sleep until about 6.30 or so -- then, the alarm goes off at 7 (this is the more common scenario of the two)
This occasionally makes it hard to concentrate and do stuff during the day, like write (current working gig requires me to do a lot of writing), or sit in the library quietly and read articles for class, like I tried to do today. I also would up bailing early out of Blamb's party last night, because I was tired. (Thanks for the invite, Brett -- sorry we didn't chat much before I left.)
Anyway, not much else to report, except that this is the first week that it's really been cold, and then it snowed on Friday. Winter is well on its way.
(BTW, all images on this week's board are from stock.xchng.)
-
search tips and pointers to places that link to or provide free music online
-
if you've spent any time keeping up with the MP3 blogs, most of these names will be familiar; there are a couple surprises (Kelly Clarkson?!)
-
book by 'Dilbert' cartoonist Scott Adams, now available as a free PDF download
-
DIY signage fun
-
why the record companies want Apple to vary the prices it charges for tracks in iTunes
-
I am both repelled and intrigued
-
there've been a few other lists like this; this is a recent one from Pitchfork Media
-
it's "a personal aircraft that can hover or fly at 55 knots"
-
tiny ultralight airplanes
-
"listening to soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer"
-
"Aspergillus fumigatus, the species most commonly found in the pillows, is most likely to cause disease; and the resulting condition Aspergillosis has become the leading infectious cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients."
Thanks to "N" for bringing this Globe and Mail article to my attention:
For one in seven, the sandman's a stranger
For one in seven Canadians, the sandman's nightly visits are few and far between, according to a new Statistics Canada study.
According to the report, released Wednesday, about 3.3 million Canadians aged 15 (should be "aged 15 and older" -- jv) have trouble falling or staying asleep, suggesting that they suffer from insomnia.
"Life stress" was discovered to be a common factor in insomnia (duh), but -- interestingly -- "work stress" was not. Other factors include performing shift work, chronic pain conditions (such as arthritis), and obesity. Age was also a factor, with insomnia being more prevalent in older groups.
Here is an article from StatsCan about the study, as well as the 18-page report (PDF, 210 kb).
I was in The Bay yesterday shopping for pants (never a fun activity, and of course nothing fit), and realized that they were playing Christmas music.
We're not even halfway through November yet, and already some idiot decides that it's time to start "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (which in itself isn't so bad a song, but it doesn't merit being played 50 gazillion times before the 25th rolls around).
Anyway, to combat the schmaltz and appeal to the hipster kiddies, Gorilla vs. Bear has already released a Holiday Mixtape, featuring a dozen tunes from the likes of Sufjan Stevens, The Polyphonic Spree, The Arcade Fire, The Walkmen, Deathcab for Cutie, Feist, and (an oldie but a goodie) The Waitresses.
I have my own Christmas mix that I was waiting to put up at the beginning of December (have it backed up on CD somewhere), but I might move it ahead by a week.
Yet another seven days of what has become a very routine existence. I found myself lacking ideas/subject matter for this week's board.
I wound up going to Image*After, typing the word "blue" into the search box, ripping the thumbnails from the results page (I also saved some full-sized pics for later use), and throwing a few into the grid that I set up in Corel PhotoPaint.
Meh. It worked out OK, but I seem to be locked into a grid pattern.
This Monday, I'll be starting a new class, so you'll get to hear me whine about things like readings and assignments for the next four weeks or so.
Meanwhile, this "sun down by five" thing is not fun.
In response to my previous post, which contained a link to this overview of social bookmarking services, Maria asked:
So I don't understand that "social bookmarks" thing. I've tried to, but I guess I'm a bit daft. Could you explain it to me?
Wherein I will respond by posting this definition of "social bookmarking" from Wikipedia (more on the Wikipedia page itself):
Social bookmarking is an activity performed over a computer network that allows users to save and categorize (see folksonomy) a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. Users may also take bookmarks saved by others and add them to their own collection, as well as to subscribe to the lists of others—a personal knowledge management tool.
Which hopefully answers your question, Maria. However, I feel obligated to supplement that that with a mini link-vomit, which may possibly be of interest to someone:
- Social Bookmarking Tools (I): A General Review -- from D-Lib Magazine, published in April 2005
- Social Bookmarking Tools (II): A Case Study - Connotea -- also from D-Lib; Connotea is a bookmarking service geared toward the academic community
- Organizing links from references -- from easternblot, Eva's science blog; Eva talks about using CiteULike (another bookmarking service for academics) as well as del.icio.us
- Social Bookmarking Tool Comparison -- has some additional definitions and linkage concerning related technologies
- Social Bookmarking Resources -- a list of links from H20 Playlist, which in itself appears to be a social bookmarking service for people at Harvard Law School
- Social Bookmarking -- brief article which likens the social bookmarking phenomenon to what happens in file-sharing networks like Kazaa
Info-junkie that I am, I rather like the social-bookmarking thing as a quick-and-dirty way to capture interesting things that I find online. My "Drive-by Linking" category here on this blog draws in the links that I post to my del.icio.us account. I actually use Spurl as my front-end to capture the links, which get cross-posted to del.icio.us (there were reasons why I started doing that which no longer apply, but I still do it the same way just because).
I've also tried out Furl, which I never really got into (there has also been a Furl backlash), and occasionally use Simpy and Jots.
The thing with bookmarking with bookmarking a ton of links for later, however, is finding the time to go back and revisit them. But that is the subject of another post...
-
overview of 19 different social bookmarking services (such as del.icio.us, Spurl, Furl, Jots, etc.)
-
recipes for cooking meals in one pot; fewer dishes to wash is always a good thing
-
feature-finder for various blogging software
-
type international characters and other symbols using the ALT key and various numbers
-
a blog about caffeine
-
"most animal species need to sleep, suggesting that human slumber has an evolutionary history reaching back over half a billion years"
Of course, I am late with the mood board.
The start of the month meant more MP3s from eMusic. I got three albums:
- Delerium -- The Best Of -- dancy electronica with lush synth arrangements, a few exotic "World music" touches, and ethereal vocals from an array of female guest singers; fave tracks: "Silence" with Sarah McLachlan, and "Euphoria (Firefly)" with Jacqui Hunt (channeling 90s-era Madonna)
- Elliott Smith -- Either/Or -- gentle acoustic arrangements and double-tracked vocals make for quiet, soothing listening; fave track: "Rose Parade"
- Brian Eno -- Nerve Net -- more progressive and up-front than Eno's well-known "Ambient" series, but still very atmospheric; fave track: "What Actually Happened?"
Also bought some tunage from bleep.com:
- The Go! Team -- "We Just Won't Be Defeated" and "Hold Yr Terror Close" -- these two tracks appear on the re-mixed North American edition of Thunder Lightning Strike!; having bought the UK edition of the album a few months back, I of course didn't get these tracks; they're OK, but nothing special, really
- The Fiery Furnaces -- "Tropical-Iceland" -- a discovery from back in the spring via Dirtyradio (which now appears to have returned after a long absence); whimsical, with a catchy chorus
Other happenings from the week included my attendance at a Saturday matinee performance of Les Miserables (which just finished up its run at the Canon Theatre), many weeknights of sleeping badly, and of course Saturday's ill-begotten NaDruWriNi exercise.
BTW, walking home just past 5 with the streetlights already on really sucks.
Sunday may be summarized thusly:
Ow.
I even missed brunch (sorry, N).
Mr. Marc Weissblott provides this most erudite re-cap of my evening:
Circadian Shift blogger Jen expressed her enthusiasm for the concept with a bottle of Glenfiddich single malt scotch whisky, left undrunk for eight years. Based on her sequence of entries, Jen spent the night contemplating the contents of her dusty bar cart, lost control of her noun usage and faculties for writing code, then was drained all motivation before midnight.
Well, good, I'm glad to see that me making a jackass of myself didn't go completely unnoticed.
I obviously failed to anticipate how much effect drinking a Glenfiddich of unknown potency and in unknown quantity (out of an oversized coffee mug -- not the full mug, but filled partially, then refilled partially) would have.
So, I can now safely cross NaDruWriNi off my list of "Stupid Things to Do That May Seem Like Good Ideas at the Time".
Of some of the other NaDruWriNi participants:
- Stennie: "I told you it was going to happen. I fell asleep... I think my first experience at NaDruWriNi is a failure. I think I need to participate in a team next year, or not at all."
- BrockLi went dumpster-diving
- Miss Hannah: "Listen to me.....DRINK WATER. Between every drink! For serious! You'll thank me!!" (Damn, wish I read that sooner.)
- Ed posts a re-cap of his recent dating history and ponders a crack in the ceiling
- girl in black: "yeah, this was a fucking mistake. you live, you learn."
(Additional fun-filled linkage available via Technorati and del.icio.us)
The problem with taking inventory or one's liquor cabinet is that now said bottles are now scattered all over one's desk and one's bed's, which means that going to lie down now is most inconvenient.
There's a fine line between having one's ethanol consumption function as a way to unblock the ol' synapses, thereby allowing one to write whatever one damn well pleases, and having said consumption drain one of all ambtion to write altogether.
My friends, I am teetering on that line right now.
Even almost started putting together a post on fave brunching places in Toronto (since am meeting "N" for brunch tomorrow morning, thereby must be coherent and presentable enough to drag myself to said brunch), but now don't feel like it.
BTW, must compliment Ms. Ice Queen on her verbose stream of consciousness NaDruWriNi post.
BTW, writing HTML in addition to your own own stream-of-consciousness ethanol-fueled ramblings is hard. Remember, kids: don't drink and code.
Y'know, have noticed that, in responding to comments from other NaDruWriNi 2005 participants, I seem to have dropped usage of nouns.
V. Bridget Jones of me.
Y'know, as long as I'm sitting here participating in some lame-ass blogging meme that everyone seems to like in theory, but doesn't seem to actually follow through on, now is just as good a time as any to share to following bitchy mean-spirited links that seem to bring out the worst in people (just like BWI):
- GoFugYourself -- dissing the bad fashion choices of the rich and famous since, uh, a few months ago
- Threadbared -- sewing patterns (or at least their covers) are funny; really
- AwfulPlasticSurgery -- when the quest for beauty takes a detour into hell
Admit it -- they're funny. You know they're funny.
Awright, where the hell is everyone?
While the blogosphere seems to not lack for people who have expressed interest in NaDruWriNi 2005, clicking around thus far, I'm not seeing too much evidence of people actually proceeding with it.
And what about the crowd here in T-dot? Ice Queen? Eva? Maria? You mean I'm doing this all by myself???
Perhaps it is still early yet. Am very disappointed.
(Bloggers who do appear to be playing along include Stennieville, BrockLi, and SciFi Ranter Girl.)
As mentioned in the previous post, I have several unopened bottles of liquor that have been sitting around for a number of years, including a bottle of Glenfiddich that I bought when I turned 30.
Well, this past September, I celebrated birthday number 38, which means that the poor Glenfiddich has been sitting there for eight years. Which just seems very, very wrong.
I am now actually drinking the stuff (so if I turn up dead tomorrow, you all will know why), which leads to the question: How does it taste?
Maybe I'm just out of practice with my scotch drinking, but it damn near took my head off at the first sip. It stills seems very strong now, but it otherwise apparently potable.
Will continue web-surfing and drinking, wherein NaDruWriNi 2005 will continue. Stay tuned.
There was a time and a place in my life when I actually prided myself on having a well-stocked liquor cabinet. There always seemed to be friends dropping by, and I had a nice big place to myself (was residing in a condo owned by my parents), so it seemed like a cool thing to do.
In fact, when I first moved out of the condo into my first apartment in The Annex (spacious two-bedroom digs that I shared with a friend from school), I bought two microwave carts from IKEA: once of which was actually used to hold a microwave, while the other became a dedicated bar cart.
Now I am esconced, and have been for some time, here in The Hovel. The "bar cart" is still here, but hasn't been opened since (I think) Bill Clinton was still in the White House -- until tonight:
Here's what I found in the liquor cabinet:
- Unopened bottles:
- Glenfiddich single malt scotch whisky (750 mL) -- I remember when I bought this; it was shortly after I turned 30; the bottle came with a 'bonus' Glenfiddich bar towel, which has long since disappeared
- Absolut vodka (375 mL) -- the blue lettering on the label seems a bit faded, but otherwise things look perfectly intact
- Cuervo Expecial tequila (375 mL) -- I think this was a 30th birthday present from my coworkers, most of whom did not witness the time a couple years previously that I got very very damaged on tequila during a Friday night bar outing with other coworkers from the same company, otherwise they would probably have picked something else (I hope)
- Kahlua "Licor de Cafe" (200 mL) -- unknown vintage
- Open bottles, partially consumed:
- Bacardi amber rum (750 mL) -- level only about an inch down from the top; if I had to take a guess, I probably bought this around Xmas to mix with eggnog
- Martini extra dry vermouth (500 mL) -- level two inches down from the top; I used to sometimes bring my own cocktail shaker with me to social gatherings and mix martinis for everyone there
- Bottles with a few dregs in them (one inch or less left in the bottle):
- Campari (750 mL) -- probably a late-90s nostalgic throwback to my late-80s/early-90s evil Yuppie wannabe phase, when I drank a lot of the stuff
- Cinzano vermouth (1 L) -- no doubt a leftover from the aforementioned martini-girl phase
- Ricardo coconut rum (750 mL) -- was probably making pina coladas
- O'Darby Irish Cream (375 mL) -- for hot chocolate or coffee
- Unopened wine bottles:
- Codorniu Classico Brut sparkling white wine (750 mL) -- this possibly could have been a pre-New Year's Eve purchase, but I can't for the life of me think when
- Inniskillin Chardonnay (1993) (750 mL) -- a gift maybe?
- Valpollicella -- the lack of other information on the label would lead me to believe that this was made by a friend
And you may ask yourself, "How did I get here?"
NaDruWriNi (National Drunken Writing Night) is the perfect event for those of us who lack the ambition to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). As I am home alone this evening, I figured I might as well go for it.
The evening's choice of intoxicant will be Glenfiddich
Stay tuned.
The thanks (or blame) for this event crossing my radar may be ascribed to Eva.
-
"Employees at IT company Nutzwerk Ltd, in Leipzig, have to agree to be in a good mood as part of their employment contract." Brrrrrrr....
-
"'We found a large a variance - larger than we anticipated - in the caffeine content in each of the espressos,' he said. 'The range was 25 milligrams to 214 milligrams, which was far greater than we'd anticipated.'"
-
15 minute podcast; part 2 of 2
-
several articles looking at communicating from the angles of technology, science , commerce, culture, and more