Ploafmaster General

Oh boy...the only government that scares me more than my own has apparently conducted a successful test of a nuclear weapon. I'm not even going to link to a story - just search for North Korea, and some source's copy is bound to pop up in the top ten results.

And what could possibly be the best response to such brazen exercises? Why, none other than the thinly-veiled-yet-still-empty threats of or illustrious leader, Dubya. Go ahead Jerge, give the insane despot what he wants...more attention. That's the ideal way to deal with the troll of the political landscape.

Sheesh...I'm exhausted, it's Monday, and the song, "Working Overtime," by New Order is playing on Radio Paradise right now.

I just want to go home and go back to bead.

Or just skip to Friday.

I love pancakes. Jake might even say that I freakin' love pancakes.

Tonight, for the second time, I came to the realization that Galaxy Diner in Carytown has the best flap-jacks in Richmond. There are two reasons.

1. These pancakes actually taste, well, cakey. I don't know whether they make their own batter or found a way to perfect Bisquick, but it sure is a rich, moist, cake-like texture - not the semi-dry and crumbly stuff you typically find in an American household.
2. These puppies are cooked perfectly. Really - in addition to the moist and soft texture of the interior, each pancake was cooked to a satisfying crispiness on the top side without being burnt on either.

I suppose it'd be fair to place pancakes in that same venerable category as pizza and biscuits; while not as simple from an ingredients standpoint, pancakes are quite as deceptively simple to prepare. Few eateries, however, seem capable of getting it right.

If you're one of the 3 to 4 sporadic readers of my website, you've probably noticed a number of comments by my buddy Jake (you can tell by the goofy names he chooses).

Well, he wants me to post more frequently (I did just post two days ago...), so here goes!

This is a test post. This is only a test post. If this had been an actual post of any substance, I would have created it in my own time, without prompting by one of my impatient friends.

This concludes the test of my posting abilities. Stay tuned for more writing to be read by less than half a dozen people when I feel like it :-)

Today is my second wedding anniversary, so just suck it up and deal as I spout in a sappy manner about my love for my wife :-)

In the two years that Val and I have been married, I don't actually feel like a whole lot has changed - but that's not a bad thing. We were dating for a bit more than three years when we married, so there wasn't a whole lot left to find out. We have, however, grown closer as we've moved through life changes and challenges, and the stressful process of buying a home this year. Valerie has helped me cope with some bitter family conflict, laughed at my dopey jokes, and put up with my slovenly life-style around the house. She's everything I could ask for in a spouse - loving, caring, understanding, forgiving, uplifting, and extraordinarily complementary to my personality.

I love her more today than I did last year, and I'm confident that I'll be writing many more saccharine posts like this in years to come.

You remember the old days of the web when page after page was littered with wretched animated .GIF files? I recall countless web pages that ground my old computer's processor to a halt because of the myriad animations which filled the screen...mostly cheesy graphics of fire burning, people driving cars, or three frames of animation to otherwise give the impression of movement.

Those days seem largely to have passed (unless you dig through MySpace).

Today, however, I was reminded of a hilarious graphic whilst perusing the comment boards on Radio Paradise, and it's too hilarious not to share:

Whoa...last night I saw a FREAKIN' INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE.

My friend Robert invited me to come with him to the opening event at the John Paul Jones arena at UVA - The Dave Matthews Band. They were incredible. The musicianship was excellent to witness. The arena was exciting, and the seats were incredible. While my preference is still for more intimate club shows, I was reminded of why arena shows can be so excellent - the noise and anticipation of the crowd was infectious, and made it that much more fun to be there.

Good show, Carrothers, good show.

From a brief overview by the fellas at 37signals, I decided to check out Moo - a company dedicated to making your sundry web-ephemera tangible.

Currently, Moo only handles these delightfully ingenious "calling cards" made (full bleed, apparently) from your cropped photos on Flickr. It's stupidly easy to use, works like a charm to set up, and if you have a Flickr Pro account (like I do), you can try it out for free and get a ten-pack of cards made from up to ten different pictures. You can customize the text on the back as much as anyone needs to, and it's a snap. Four main steps, and you're done!

I hope to post an update when I receive my cards "up to ten days" from now.

Mugs is writing! He's planning to release a serialized novel over a twelve month period, starting November 1st, via his blog.

READ IT!

Ahhh...it's a fine thing to rouse yourself from a groggy Saturday morning slump with the fine cappuccino of Cafe Gutenberg.

I'm sitting here this morning, quarter-to-nine, having just finished a breakfast panini, and I can't help but love this coffee/book shop even more in the AM. It's quiet, and the few patrons here are dicussing books, the past week, or what-have-you, their muted voices comingling with the hiss of the espresso machine and the traditional jazz on the speakers.

It's a fine continuation of my weekend, too - last night I witnessed some of the finest musicians of my young life: John Winn, Robbie Sinclair, and Daniel Clarke of the John Winntet, and formerly of VCU as well. These fellas know jazz like they know breathing, and the seven dollar cover left me feeling like I was cheating them out of something.

As if the music itself wasn't fantastic, I was treated to the comfortable atmosphere of Bogart's back room lounge for - amazingly, in my nearly four years since turning 21 - the first time. I plan on returning frequently.

Now I turn from my laptop to my second cappuccino, and after that an espresso :-)

Ciao!

So maybe nobody read the football post, or perhaps even my friends and brother have stopped reading! Either way, I removed the following from the football post so it wouldn't be lost in the shuffle.

Originally in a post a few days ago:

On an unrelated note - it just struck me that I've been doing this Blog thing regularly for over a year now! It's too late to do some hokey Blog Birthday crap, but I just have to say that I'm amazed I kept up with some pseudo-writing endeavor this long. July 2005, I posted my first entry here, and I've been at it ever since. And still with a readership of about 3 people :-)

So post a comment here if you're actually reading, eh? Just to let me know who's out there.

Alright, the Steve Jobs speech at the Apple press event is starting in a minute...

Go to Mac Rumors for auto-updating second-hand coverage.

What'll it be? I'll update this post when I have a summary...

UPDATE:
So here's what happened:
1. Updated video iPods, better storage, not many new features.
2. New Nanos...multi-color aluminum like ye olde Mini.
3. New Shuffle - little aluminum square - wicked tiny at 1 Gb capacity.
4. Movies on iTunes.
5. HOLY CRAP - SNEAK PREVIEW - New media integration device for your living room...looks like half a Mac Mini...purely delicious, and I want one when it comes out Q1 next year....

Yeah, so I suppose I'm turning into a total Apple nut, but hey, they've been crankin' out slick stuff for several years straight, now.

Yesterday Dave and I went for a stroll around Shockhoe Bottom and Church Hill, takin' pictures as we walked. It was a good day to be outside for a few hours, and some of my snaps turned out decent.

Here they are - they're the first 20 in my list.

Wasted day, wasted time. Wasted opportunity. I have what's essentially man time all weekend long, because Valerie is taking a prep course for her certification exam. What have I accomplished?

I spent 4 hours watching cartoons this morning. I got my hair cut. I bought rat traps and a weed eater. I met a buddy for lunch and went for a walk. I came home and set out one of the rat traps.

I've pushed the lawn to tomorrow afternoon. Ugh. Sometimes I just feel like I have no motivation.

When I read this article, I had trouble not laughing out loud in my cubicle. This is some seriously funny shiz.

Yay-uh!

And yet, simultaneously, boo-hoo.

Last night was the opening game of the NFL football season, and I watched, first eagerly then despondantly, as my Miami Dolphins put up a half-hearted fight against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I was nice to watch some football in widescreen HD - definitely a treat, but that means I got to see Daunte Culpeper throw two horrible interceptions in rich detail. I know it's only week one, but it looks like the Dolphins have another mediocre season ahead.

Here's lookin' forward to Sunday, where I get to watch the ever-entertaining Indianappolis Colts put a hurtin' on my New York Giants (my NFC boys). Manning vs. Manning as the hype relays, with most of the pressure on Eli in my opinion.

Well, we'll see, I suppose.

UPDATE:
I suppose I'll move the section about "how long I've been bloggin" to a post all it's own...Either nobody noticed it because they didn't read this post, or nobody reads this anymore :-)

For a nice reminder about how Microsoft (and any company with shareholders, really) operates:

Quickest Patch Ever.

Aight...amazingly, in one day, I'm putting up the pictures I promised! So here they are:


Dave, showing off his mad scientist kitchen creation.



A close up of MAN PIE!!! A hollowed out crust of bread filled with the following: four-cheese mashed potatoes, turkey, and roast beef. Toppings? The rest of the bread, bacon, and chedder cheese. Sooooooooo good.

Pictures from this past Sunday in Manhattan after the bump...

The Washington Arch in Washington Square Park at the bottom of Fifth Avenue, Manhattan.



Saw this while walking through Manhattan…Still haven’t looked up the website yet, but it’s hilarious enough as is.



Nerd that I am, I had to snap a pic of the new Apple store on 5th Avenue - especially after all the glass architecture in Prague.



A plaque commemorating a nearly forgotten American literary figure, nearly lost in the bustle of Times Square. Sad and unfortunate.


Anyway, that’s all the photonography I have for ya this evening…check out my Flickr account to see the rest o' what I got.

I've returned from New Jersey, and I had a blast...but the driving sucked.

When I get a chance (perhaps this evening?) I'll hook up the digicam to my laptop at home and post a few interesting pics I took in Manhattan (ya happy, Jake?).

I can tell you already...thank heavens this is a three day week for me...

It's kind of funny, that on this, the 12th annniversary of my move to Virginia, I'm driving back up to New Jersey.

Val and I are headed up for the weekend to see my grandma and dad. Should be pretty fun seeing the ocean at Sea Girt, and the trendy bustle of Red Bank.

Additionally, we should be meeting up with our buddy Rebecca in Manhatten. Should be a blast :-)

So this is totally nerdy, but hey...I am what I...whatever.

I have a Firefox extension called Sage that lets me keep track of my RSS feeds for websites I read daily. For the longest time, I've had Digg in my list of feeds - Digg, of course, used to be a tech-centered website, peer edited, as it were. Users submit content and vote on it, and that's how the front page stories are decided. Novel idea, really sweet. Excellent for generating buzz over a new product, idea, or news story.

Today, however, I got fed up and dropped it from my RSS stack. Why?

A few reasons...First, I got tired of the horrible commentary. I feel as if 10-year-old children are writing the banter you see on the site. Or the personal attacks. Second, even before they created less tech-centric news categories, the content was sooooooooooo off-topic. Now, with more generic comments, we're treated to countless submissions of blogspam, and inflamitory stories like, "Liberals do this..." or "Religious Right does that..."

I suppose I see it as a failure of the pure methodology of peer editing. I like, personally, more focused content providors. That's why I subscribe to Engadget, TUAW, MaCNN, and Signal vs. Noise, to name a few. That's why I still subscribe to Slashdot, where content is almost entirely provided by users, but carefully edited. Are they slower than Digg? Certainly, but the quality is higher, and the commentary (especially when filtered) is much more useful.

END NerdPost;

Right.

And monkey's might fly out of my butt.

Check it.

Oh yeah, and who sold Israel these delightful goodies? Bet you can't guess...

Wow, so I must say...

{{sheepishly blushing}}

MySpace has been quite effective in my first few days...I've already found a cousin, some friends from college and high school, and even my childhood home dog from NJ.

I'll just be over there in the corner questioning my Techie Elitism...

How do you get a 24-year-old guy who typically watches Adult Swim to watch the Primetime Emmy Awards?

That's right - invite Conan O'Brien to host them.

I know where I'll be at 8 pm tonight...

Oh boy...so against my better judgement and general tech snobbery, I set up a MySpace page. I'm hoping that I'll be able to drive some more traffic here, but I've already come across two old friends, one from high school, and one from childhood. Half of me feels like I'm behind the curve here, and the other half feels like a total elitest...I'm sure I'll get over it.

Ciao,
Daniel