AgBlog

The Onion is right on target, as usual.

Luv Deluxe 0 cmts

This music video for the Cinnamon Chaser song “Luv Deluxe” explores a new relationship made on the road. When it sours, we rewind and try again with different choices, hoping for a better outcome.

Tue

Aug

From the archives: an interview with Ralph Silverman 1 cmts

I wrote the following for a school assignment in 1996, when I was 12 years old. Grandpa died two days ago at the age of 87.

Ralph Silverman My grandfather has had a very eventful and wonderful life. He is the only member in his generation of his family to go through college. My grandfather also served in the military for two years and started his own business, which has been in operation for the last thirty-six years. His life has been very rewarding to not only himself but also to all of those who were influenced by him. My grandfather is a wonderful and caring person who leaves a distinct impression on whoever he meets. I have told his story here, as best I can perceive it from two interviews. I know that if he was the one writing it, however, this story would be very different. I have highlighted the main events in his life as best I know them. Of course, I cannot get into his innermost thoughts and cannot show key incidents in great detail, since I was not actually there, but I know that from reading this paper you will understand a part of my grandpa.

Fri

Aug

Green dreams 2 cmts

I had a scary dream last night in which I thought I had transferred money from my savings account to my checking account but Bank of America had delayed the transfer, and so I was hit with tons of $35 overdraft fees for a whole bunch of little purchases I had made, and it had gotten so bad BofA was going to sic some goons on me to take all my money.

Is this what it has come to? Nightmares about big banks ruining my life? You know what I blame this on the downfall of? Society!

Sun

Aug

Relatively Fit 3 cmts

I was under the illusion that I am fit: I do half hour lunchtime swimming or running workouts a few days a week, and go on the occasional day hike or kayak trip or bike ride on weekends.

Half an hour on the frisbee field this afternoon kicked my butt. I haven’t played Ultimate in a while now, and after thirty minutes in the heat I was wiped out. I’m trying to decide whether this should be discouraging — I’m woefully out of shape and don’t know where I’ll find the time to do the sort of work necessary to become competitive; or encouraging — I can work to build up my speed and stamina and go back to playing a game I really enjoy.

With summer almost over, though, I’m leaning towards the first option. Especially since a lot of the people playing seem to have naturally a level of fitness I can never hope to achieve by effort.

Fri

Aug

The MoviePeg is the simple, compact, versatile iPad stand I’ve been looking for 1 cmts

I sure hope so anyway…I’ve already bought a couple useless cases and stands along the way.

Mon

Aug

Everything’s Ducky 0 cmts

I am home. Nine days of transit and vacation filled constantly with the frenetic energy of children. At home, once the cat has settled down, I am greeted with a deafening silence. I turn on WBUR and listen to the sound of people talking — some sort of interview about cows. Better than nothing.

The television was almost never on. There were no radios. There were many iPods, all set to shuffle. I kept up with the news of the world and my various internet feeds via my iPad. None of it seemed particularily important, none of it moved me. The only thing I felt the need to check in on daily was the comics.

There wasn’t much of a plan, aside from go to the beach now or go to the beach later. We sailed in the sound. A kayak ended up in a swimming pool. Lacking a volleyball, we used an enormous beach ball as a surprisingly effective substitute. I played RISK for the first time. I won at RISK for the first time. We made tacos, and the kids were enthralled. Near the end of the week, the jellyfish invaded.

Wed

Jul

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 3 cmts

This post contains spoilers for the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign.

My gaming has mostly been limited to Starcraft and Halo, and wishing to expand my horizons a bit, I embarked upon the single player campaign for Modern Warfare 2, a game recommended by friends and critics alike. My thoughts on it are decidedly mixed, with a general feeling of ambivalence and discomfort towards the game as a whole.

First off, I found the game’s setup confusing: the player starts out as one character, then after that character dies jumps to another character, then a third, then back to the second, etc. In different “missions,” characters that you were previously playing as show up as your non-controllable companions, with dialogue and everything. It took me a while to understand this and get used to it, it feels very strange, but apparently it is common to the previous Call of Duty games.

Wed

Jul

Drowning doesn’t look like drowning 0 cmts

[Drowning] is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) –- of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening.

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning. Well worth a read. At a recent pool party I was keeping an eye on the kids in the pool, but I wonder if I would have actually spotted a drowning incident in time.

Fri

Jul