Zellyn

Tim Bray on Republicans

2011-08-02T13:06:00.000-04:00

Heh.

There may be one or two Republican readers out there, and to them I’m sorry, but in the Dubya-and-since era, treating that party as substantially either crazy or stupid is a fairly mainstream position. Possibly the Republicans are right that homosexuality weakens marriage and tax cuts don’t cause deficits and imprisoning a world-leading proportion of your population increases public safety and deregulating the finance industry is good economics and invading large Middle-Eastern nations (then staying) improves America’s security, as does spending more on the military than the rest of the world put together. And maybe the rest of the world is wrong on these things. I doubt it, though.

-- Tim Bray

Things I would like to build (real world)

2010-03-13T20:41:00.001-05:00

A puddle duck racer
An orb

Things I would like to build (software)

2010-03-13T20:30:00.003-05:00

A python equivalent of Chef or Puppet
A python equivalent of Vagrant
A new auth system for Django that works with: OpenID/OAuth, Facebook Connect, Facebook app authentication, CAS, etc.

Adventures with Django

2009-10-11T02:08:00.004-04:00

On Thursday evening, I gave a short talk at PyAtl on Django at the AJC. It went well, and there were a good number of questions afterward on our system and architecture, as well as on how Django is perceived within the company.

Unfortunately, our ridiculously amazing Django group at the AJC is being broken up. In a move that makes a lot of sense, Cox is pulling web development into a central group that will take care of 128 radio stations, television stations, and newspapers across the country. However, they're shrinking the number of development positions by almost half. We are keeping a team at the AJC, but it too is shrinking by half, and shifting focus a bit to deal more with legacy system integration and AJC-specific projects.

We have to apply for positions within the new organizations: resumes, interviews, the whole shebang. While completely understandable, the uncertainty, unknown timeframe, conflicting schedules, and confusing process are making things difficult for everyone involved. The 50% shrinkage means that we all have to be looking for jobs outside of AJC and Cox too, just in case. The AJC has already lost the best manager I have ever worked for, and I'm sure there will be more.

These are certainly exciting times to be working in the media industry: whether exciting-good, or exciting-bad, it's sometimes hard to tell! I will be more than happy if I get to keep doing what I'm doing now, either at the AJC or in the new central group.

And if you are looking to hire Django developers: sadly, I may have a few amazing candidates for you shortly.

Biking

2009-05-23T11:29:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, we joined Charles and Dawn and Leif, and Mark and Donna Marie and Gwennan and Will, on a crazy adventure, biking to Anniston, Alabama. The first day, Bevin and Dawn rode 27 miles, while Charles pulled Leif in a bike trailer. We joined up with Donna Marie (in the minivan) for lunch in Rockmart, and then the girls and Leif joined the minivan crew while the guys rode the remaining 56 miles to Anniston. Foolishly, I decided to join them. I think I only slowed them down by an hour or two, and only cramped up badly enough to have to walk once! The next day, Bevin and I biked 44 miles back to Cedartown, keeping just ahead of a rain storm that unfortunately caught everyone else while they were waiting for babies to finish bottles, etc. The picture shows Bevin and I just inside Georgia, looking back towards the border where the Silver Comet Trail becomes the Chief Ladiga trail. The stretch of trail from Anniston to Cedartown is beautiful, and although it passes through some decently large hills, it follows an old rail line as is almost perfectly flat. Between Piedmont, AL and the border, the trail criss-crosses Terrapin Creek repeatedly over beautiful bridges. So, 71 miles for Bevin and 127 miles for me in two days! A new record, for sure. Weather permitting, Bevin and I are planning on biking from the border to the beginning of the Silver Comet trail on Monday… we'll let you know how it goes!

Martinis on the Titanic

2009-03-15T20:31:00.002-04:00

I started working for the city paper in Atlanta in October, almost a year and a half ago. As we brace for layoffs, Clay Shirky has reminded me why these are such interesting times to be in, and especially to work for a newspaper.

We are watching the complete destruction of the print-based publishing world we all grew up in. The internet is doing to the printing press what the printing press did to hand-copying illuminated texts, and things are getting fascinating.

Working at a paper gives me a ringside seat. I sometimes morbidly joke that we're sipping martinis on the deck of the Titanic, watching the water and the great ship as she slides under the waves. But it's important to remember that this is not the death of Journalism. It's just the ruthless removal of all the artificial frictions of publishing. In the post-post-Gutenberg world, this is publishing. Already, almost a quarter of the earth's population has internet access, and could theoretically read this blog post. That's almost as crazy as the fact that about 60% of the earth's population has cell phone access, and could hit 10 or 15 buttons to call me and talk right now!

Crazy times… and exciting. Let's see where we go next!

Being famous takes work

2008-11-14T14:35:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted a fake beauty post in a while, so here's something in a similar vein: Celebrity beauty is a full-time job.

It's depressing how “attractiveness attributes” (low weight/high weight, no tan/suntan) match with whatever you'd need disposable income and leisure time to accomplish.

Who is Barack Obama?

2008-11-05T01:44:00.003-05:00

The next president of the United States of America!

What to say? We watched the coverage at Ben and Jen's house, then drove down Peachtree and part of Auburn at about 1am to enjoy sporadic revelry.

I am excited and honored to have taken part in this historic election. I will proudly tell my children that I voted for Barack Obama.

Wicked

2008-11-01T16:40:00.002-04:00

Last night, we went to see Wicked at the Fox. It was awesome. We got the last two seats available, so we couldn't see the whole stage, and we couldn't hear a lot of the words because, well, it was the Fox, but it was still awesome. I am a total sucker for musicals, though: I even liked High School Musical, which we watched the other evening.

Today is perfect weather, part of which I spent dozing in the sun on the lawn at my parents-in-law's house, which makes a very nice end to a rather horrible week. I have been calling insurance people all week, and finding out that my poor Malibu is “totalled” — the repairs will cost more than 70% of the book value. RIP Malibu: 1999-2008.

I should edit this more, but I have vague intentions of following the one-post-per-day thing for November, so I want to be able to see improvement over time!

Amen

2008-10-23T11:40:00.000-04:00

“Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president?” — Colin Powell

Politics

2008-10-20T20:46:00.005-04:00

Oh damn it! I am excited about Obama becoming president. I am not impartial. I am not detached, disinterested, jaded, cynical, skeptical, disbelieving, or apathetic. I will be disappointed if Obama is not elected. And I will be disappointed if he does not live up to the promise he has shown.

In 1994, I voted in my first election, in the first free South African elections, driving down to Atlanta with my Dad. To my shame and everlasting regret, I didn't vote for the ANC, thinking in some teenage-logical way that since the result was certain, keeping things slightly more balanced was important. I voted against Nelson Mandela.

I learned that my vote may not count mathematically, tactically, or practically, but voting is not just numeric: mysteriously, you vote also with your heart. The slips of paper, the tallies, glow with something borrowed from the human spirit.

….…

Of course, I see flaws, inconsistencies, dangers, reversals, politicking, unknowns. I don't think things are simple, and I don't pretend to understand enough to know how things like economics and foreign policy really work. I know that to some extent, all we see are polished, manufactured images. I want to avoid the mindless adulation/hate and/or hate/adulation craziness, and the endless batting back and forth of pre-rolled talking points. But I also want to avoid the cynical disengagement, the simplifying decision to assume that all candidates are equally fake.

For better or for worse, I like both candidates. I believe they are both gloriously and ingloriously human, they both care deeply, they both struggle to do right and best, they are both motivated by the fair, the noble, the admirable, as well as the other crap. Are we not all? I like McCain, and think he would make a fine president. But right now, Obama has my heart!

Weekend Camping Trip

2008-10-20T19:58:00.003-04:00

This weekend, Bevin and I went camping at Lake Conasauga with the Rothnies and the Sims. It was beautiful: wet and misty at first (and freezing at night), and sunnier as time went on (and freezing at night). We left on Friday and returned on Sunday afternoon, taking it easy and not feeling the need to hurry. It was Spenser's first camping trip — he did great, and loved it, although he got a lot of, “You're very pretty to be out here” comments because the poodle people gave him a super-poofy hairdo.

On the way home, we ate at our favourite Mexican restaurant in Ellijay, out on the dog-friendly porch — cheap and delicious!

We'd love to go camping more often!

On page numbers and electronic texts

2008-09-19T18:41:00.002-04:00

I recently signed up for an account on Readernaut (still in closed ßeta), a beautifully and thoughtfully designed reading community site. It uses page numbers to track progress, giving the option of avoiding “spoilers” by hiding notes from other readers pertaining to unread pages.

Alas, I am now reading mostly on my new Kindle, which displays an abstract “position” but no page numbers. I'd love for Amazon to include “real-word” page numbers in its electronic book format, but unfortunately, the problem goes deeper…

Right now, I'm reading Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow on my Kindle. I found an HTML-converted Project Gutenberg text, and cleaned it up a bit myself before converting it and loading it onto my Kindle. Although it was undoubtedly displayed on pages of a book long ago, the numbers are long since gone.

And what about articles, essays, or even longer works written for the web? They never even had page numbers! Should they?

Readernaut's creator, Nathan Borror, argues that for digitized books at least, page numbers are essential UI, and their absence is a design flaw. I have to agree.

For my Black Arrow conversion to include page numbers, Project Gutenberg would have to settle on a simple text markup convention for noting page numbers, we'd have to come up with a matching convention in HTML, and Amazon would have to teach the Kindle about page numbers. Let's get started!

The Dark Knight

2008-07-22T22:18:00.006-04:00

Bevin and I went to see the latest batman movie tonight. It was extremely well done, and very suspenseful. Overall, it was... okay.

I say “okay” because it was so psychotic. Other than that, it was pretty amazing. I think perhaps it will grow on me, though...

Doctor Horrible

2008-07-16T16:45:00.000-04:00

Doctor Horrible

Techie Stuff

2008-07-08T11:07:00.003-04:00

For all of you out there who would like to learn how to build web pages, Opera is publishing a free Web Standards Curriculum, “a course designed to give anyone a solid grounding in web design/development, no matter who they are.”

Ze Frank's Experiment

2008-07-07T10:30:00.003-04:00

Interesting that the two write-ups (as of now) of Ze Frank's Facebook experiment both record amazingly productive, enjoyable weeks while cut off from facebook.

suds

2008-04-22T14:57:00.003-04:00

If you're using SOAP in Python, give suds a try. It's very simple to use, and the maintainers are very responsive.

Two Good Movies

2008-04-12T21:50:00.002-04:00

Two surprisingly good movies this weekend: Lions for Lambs and Meet Joe Black. Not that they have much in common with each other. Actually, I suppose the questions of mortality and purpose and meaning are common to many good films!

Ghost Ride the Prius

2008-03-24T09:02:00.001-04:00

“Oh man, I went to the Too Short show last night. So hyphy man, so hyphy. You should come by some time and we’ll ghost ride the Prius.” —stuffwhitepeoplelike

Achieving Nirvana at Quizno's

2008-03-19T22:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I watched Jill Bolte Taylor's TED talk about her stroke, and about left/right brain functions. Then I walked down the street to buy a cookie. I tried to experience the world as she described in her talk, and it worked! I enjoyed the buzz of human activity in the crowded, noisy sandwich shop in a way I have seldom enjoyed it before.

I usually “zone out” by retreating into specific thoughts, like holding my breath and diving underwater (computer programmers are very good at this). In fact, I usually experience the world that way—I am seldom on the surface, noticing my surroundings. It makes me very quick at logical reasoning (useful or not), and very bad at experiencing the world of my senses. I think you would be surprised how little I notice of the world around me if you could step inside my thoughts!

During my walk, I managed to “zone in” and float on the surface - noticing only the shapes and colors of writing or the sounds of talking. It was a very interesting experience. I understood for the first time how some people find being in a crowd energizing—when the sounds, the music, the din of overlapping conversations were not an unwelcome distraction to be blocked out, they became a welcome presence of activity, of the energy of life happening around me. It was fascinating, and oddly relaxing.

I realized during that walk that I risk information addiction. Or left-brained, language-based concept addiction. And that I need nature—somehow the colors, shapes, and and movement of natural things are calming—almost like they seep in through the eyes and ears and gently press the "degauss button" on my brain. Or perhaps it's more like turning the etch-a-sketch upside down and letting a thousand tiny pebbles wipe away the lines and figures.

Nerdfotainment

2008-03-19T22:08:00.000-04:00

I can't always take RandsInRepose, but sometimes he's dead on. Nerdfotainment

TwitterSnarking

2008-03-19T22:07:00.000-04:00

verb: to make snarky comments on twitter or other messaging media about a meeting, while the meeting is in progress.

Thanks!

2008-02-22T17:42:00.002-05:00

To whomever the kind soul is that found my ID badge and Marta pass and came to my office and turned them in, thanks!

Stuff White People Like

2008-02-19T09:32:00.002-05:00

Stuff White People Like

More Obama Pushing

2008-02-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't watched Lawrence Lessig's video on why he supports Obama yet, but I have read the transcript.

I totally agree with Lessig. I think that electing Obama would send the strongest signal abroad that we regret the path America has been on, and want to change. I don't think rewarding the Republicans with another four years would send that message. And while I think she'd make a pretty good president, and that it's about time we elected a woman (50% of the population, 0% of the presidents, WTF??), to me Clinton seems like more of the same, not something new.

The Drowsy Chaperone

2008-01-27T16:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we got half-price tickets and went to see The Drowsy Chaperone. It was hilarious, entertaining, and all-around fabulous. I liked it better than Spamalot.

Georgia Names!

2008-01-25T10:02:00.000-05:00

So I finally have a simple, interesting answer to the question, “What sort of thing do you do at work?” Check it out: Georgia Names

2008-01-23T14:33:00.000-05:00

For months, it turned out, an agent was assigned to steal her baby stroller and covertly let the air out of her bicycle tires when she went grocery shopping with her two toddlers. "If I had told anyone at the time that the Stasi was giving me flat tires, they would have laughed at me," she says. “It was a way to discredit people, make them seem crazy. I doubted my own sanity sometimes.” — wired

Go watch The Lives of Others right now, if you haven't yet!

Interview

2007-12-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Interesting interview with Kim Stanley Robinson. (I have his Mars trilogy if you'd like to borrow it.)

US vs RSA

2007-12-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

“Whoever imagined that you would hear from the United States and from Britain the same arguments for detention without trial that were used by the apartheid government,” Archbishop Tutu said. story

This Christmas

2007-12-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

This year, I'm feeling more Christmasy than I have in years. We have a beautiful, fragrant tree, with retro opaque coloured lights. I've even listened to local radio Christmas music!

This evening, we watched This Christmas. I've been seeing previews for it on the Marta televisions, and my curiosity was piqued. I thoroughly enjoyed it: 4 out of 5 Zellyn stars^TM (Side note, the preview for First Sunday was totally hilarious, but probably very silly!)

Training

2007-11-29T20:01:00.002-05:00

Today, we finished up a four-day training class at work, learning Ruby on Rails. It was a lot of fun - it's amazing to have a really knowledgable instructor who knows both how to communicate the information you're learning, and a wealth of background information. My brain is a bit tired, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Between that and learning Django over the past month, I feel thoroughly prepared to build highly functional websites!

Dad's Web Site

2007-11-28T19:44:00.001-05:00

Here's Dad's web site: Angus Hunter

Photos Taken in Atlanta

2007-11-21T09:16:00.001-05:00

Photos taken in Atlanta

I want...

2007-11-16T09:20:00.000-05:00

...one of these

Dirty Monitor?

2007-11-02T21:43:00.000-04:00

Try this.

New Job

2007-10-16T21:09:00.000-04:00

As of October 8^th, I'm working at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. So far, it's great. I'm on a really super team, learning interesting stuff, I ride Marta to work, and I'll get to work from home one day a week. Sweet!

Al Gore and the Internet

2007-09-07T09:45:00.000-04:00

I knew it was too silly to be true. Turns out Gore was partly responsible for the creation of the internet. Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf (who really did invent the internet) weigh in.

Cumberland Island and Harry Potter

2007-08-13T20:51:00.001-04:00

Cumberland Island... was magical and beautiful: We saw wild horses within arm's reach, sand dollars lying on the beach, miles of empty white sand, endless live-oak forests, ruined and restored mansions, lovely dunes, and a friendly little armadillo. However, we managed to visit during some kind of heat-and-humidity wave, with the heat index hovering above 110, and once we had seen everything there was to see nearby (within 7 miles or so by bicycle), we decided that it would make more sense to enjoy than to endure our vacation time. We returned early and enjoyed our air-conditioned house thoroughly! Hopefully we can return sometime in cooler weather.

For much of the time, there was nothing to do except reading and trying to avoid the heat, so Bevin and I read two books each in about three days! For me, it was the sixth and seventh Harry Potter books, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The last two books seemed much less evil than the earlier ones (I think I've only read books one and two), and by the time I finished the final book, I was quite sad to part with the now-familiar cast of characters.

For all you Harry-Potter-haters, I'm fully aware that you now think I'm either irretrievably lowbrow, or sliding down the slippery slope towards witchcraft and sorcery. I don't care: I'm too busy buying pentagrams. At Walmart!

If you Care

2007-08-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

For the reference, Bevin and I really enjoyed Knocked Up. Nobody else that I've talked to that's seen it seems to agree. YMMV. (If you do try to see it on video, I would guess, judging from our experience with The 40 Year Old Virgin, that you should avoid the "Unrated" version like the plague.)

Heh.

2007-07-11T09:54:00.000-04:00

Silly

Another TED Video

2007-07-03T11:19:00.001-04:00

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/140

Myspace vs Facebook

2007-06-25T19:00:00.000-04:00

Myspace vs Facebook (I'm in the preppy facebook-loving camp.)

Random: Just in Case

2007-06-18T17:31:00.000-04:00

Just in case you need to write about Africa.

Not a real post

2007-05-03T09:31:00.000-04:00

German Coast Guard

I must be a Scientist

2007-03-28T10:50:00.000-04:00

Up Series

2007-02-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

We're watching the Up Series, in order. Last night we watched 35 Up. You should watch all of them:

Living in Atlanta is...

2007-01-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

...resetting my trip odometer on Friday evening, and noticing it had hit 230 miles as I reached work on Monday morning.

Bevin's Grandfather

2006-12-20T13:40:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we found out early on Saturday morning that Bevin's grandfather had died on Friday night. The funeral was on Monday morning at 11. It seems that he died peacefully while sitting on the edge of his bed getting ready to go to sleep, and just fell back - Bevin's grandmother discovered him there early on Saturday morning. He was 80 years old, and was still playing golf and hunting until just this past year.

We will all miss Papa very much. Our thoughts are especially with Granny, his wife of 58 years.

Torture

2006-12-12T09:56:00.000-05:00

If we were to judge the United States by its penal policies, we would perceive a strange beast: a Christian society that believes in neither forgiveness nor redemption. — Monbiot

This stuff doesn't seem to bother most Americans, which I find really strange. In the last election, I voted the anti-Guantonamo vote. But I didn't really even hear it mentioned as an issue before the elections.

Lasik

2006-12-05T16:06:00.000-05:00

I knew it! Nobody is getting their laser near my eyeballs!

What Do You Eat in a Week?

2006-11-29T16:30:00.001-05:00

What do you eat in a week?

Weekend Update, Y'all!

2006-11-27T13:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm cribbing Trent's Weekend Update format. So what?

Thursday: Crazy Thanksgiving at the Sims household. Four generations in attendance. Bonus appearances by Chris McDaniel, and Joanna.
Friday: Sat on the couch, reading Anne (of Green Gables) books, and watching To End All Wars. It was decently made, not spectacular, but the story somehow drew us in and made a deep impression. Went to see Stranger than Fiction with Jeff and Cassie, and Steve and Brynn, a couple from my ADT class. It was a fun movie, and a really fun evening.
Saturday: Sat around reading Anne. Went to a Ian's one year birthday party at the Sims household. Four generations in attendance again, with bonus appearances by Charles and Dawn, and Charles' parents. Ian was horribly cute, smearing an entire cake over his face, opening wrapping paper, hugging stuffed bears, and racing around in his new Radio Flyer wagon.
Sunday: Went to church, went to lunch, got a haircut, stayed at home (reading Anne, playing music, tidying) while Bevin went to lifegroup with Nathaniel and Shauna and Ian.

Oh, and the whole while, Bevin was working on schoolwork, since she has a million papers and tests this week. :-(

Home Sick

2006-11-20T15:59:00.000-05:00

Hi all. I'm home from work, sick. If I told you everything that we've been doing in the last few weeks, just reading it would make you tired, and possibly sick too!

I don't have a lot of blog-writing mojo right now, but I will leave you with an amazing video: Hans Rosling at TED

Filesharing!

2006-10-25T12:20:00.000-04:00

I know I should be posting more personal stuff here, like how disappointed I am that A.J. got kicked from America's Next Top Model, but I need to warn you about the dangers of filesharing.

Dove Self Esteem Fund Video

2006-10-16T13:15:00.000-04:00

Here's another. Beauty through makeup and photoshop!

Mood: Office Zombie

2006-09-15T11:25:00.000-04:00

Office Zombies

The mindless tedium of employment at GigantaMegaCorp has crushed their spirit and turned these once bright, flowering young go-getters into hopeless Corporate Zombies. They spend their days staring blankly at computer monitors and shuffling through the cube maze, occasionally grunting something about brains. Each set comes with four 2-3/4" tall posable plastic figures with eerie green skin that glows-in-the-dark and seven different plastic office accessories.

Daily Pope Link

2006-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Three Stages in the Program of De-Hellenization (a reaction)

Morning Quiet

2006-08-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes in the morning, when it's still, I like to just sit and contemplate the world.

Like this:

My Korean Friends

2006-07-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

My Korean Friends (aka Reeve's Band) will be playing at Midtown Church this Friday (28th). Let me know if you want more details. I'll post when I get them.

Update 1: Apparently (see comments) they are “freakin' good.”

Update 2: Apparently, it's 8pm. I found this event listing on the My Korean Friends myspace.

Update 3: Apparently, it's not 8pm. That's just the default time on myspace. I'll post another update when I have more information.

Finally!

2006-07-11T13:03:00.000-04:00

Hallelujah!

Books Can't Do This

2006-06-26T07:55:00.000-04:00

Check out this blog post about an online version of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Principles of Orchestration - you can watch and hear the score simultaneously! Crazy!

Zombo.com

2006-06-07T08:09:00.000-04:00

This is my new favourite internet site: zombo.com (make sure your sound is on)

Memorial Day Weekend

2006-06-01T09:19:00.001-04:00

This weekend, Bevin and I went camping at Crooked River State Park. The main reason was to visit Cumberland Island, which was well worth it. Dungeness was a ruined mansion surrounded by green lawns, with wild horses galloping past dried-up fountains or straying beneath live oaks. There was a deep quiet, a mixture of the bright sunny emptiness of departed humanity found at battlefield cemeteries and the thick, shady reverence of a sleepy forest. Across the dunes, flat beaches stretched for miles. We saw a tiny deer, a huge crab, a living sand dollar, wild turkeys, wild horses, old-fashioned cars rusted to pieces. We will be back, camping there.

Alien Rain

2006-06-01T09:19:00.000-04:00

A strange red rain that fell on India may be an alien life form. I may be really excited about that! It might be exactly like something out of the scifi books I read endlessly as a kid . If it's true, shouldn't we declare a holiday or something? A moment of silence? Our first encounter with alien life!

I wonder if they'll turn it into a health supplement - I mean, who needs echinacea and vitamin C? Give me 50mg of alien life form comet dust! Wave goodbye to allergies, colds and flu, and wondering whether we're alone in the universe.

Bogus Competition III

2006-06-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

This time with comments from the artist, Brian Dilg.

My small part in fighting the false images bombarding us from magazine covers.

Da Vinci Update

2006-05-25T12:53:00.000-04:00

This review explains what I thought of the movie better than I could.

Da Vinci

2006-05-22T07:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, Bevin and I went to see the Da Vinci Code. I found the main hypothesis of the movie unpleasant, but I was expecting that. I wasn't expecting it to be a really bad movie in every other respect too. Well, except for some pretty shots of Paris, the Louvre, some cathedrals, etc. If you want to know what all the fuss is about (which was part of the reason we went to see it), I recommend you read about it.

Money

2006-05-17T10:25:00.000-04:00

For the record, if you pay me $23,064.00, I will probably sell you zellyn.com

Unfair Competition

2006-05-12T09:18:00.000-04:00

Another one for the ladies: unfair competition

UK and the US

2006-05-11T08:56:00.000-04:00

Dang. Check this out. Americans are sicker than people in the UK. Weird, huh?

Zombie Chorus + Code Monkey

2006-04-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Damn. Sorry, but I couldn't help the content-free link-post. Cue the Zombie chorus on Re Your Brains. And then, a lament for the Code Monkey.

Baby Got Back

2006-04-28T09:36:00.000-04:00

Man, it's been a while. Bevin just got done with finals for this semester. Spenser ate half a razor blade and had to have it surgically removed at great expense - pretty much swallowed the trip to Italy or France we'd been hoping for from our tax return. I have been reading My Name is Asher Lev and The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. I am very tired.

Oh, the post title. Check out this cover of Baby Got Back

Robots II

2006-03-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

I tell you, the robots are coming!

I Want - Part V

2006-03-29T07:35:00.000-05:00

To see an aurora. (aurora info)

Grups?

2006-03-28T09:09:00.000-05:00

“Grups”

The other day at Whole Foods (hah, no comments!), I saw a guy in worn corduroys, with those striped almost-bike-shoes, a tight logo'd t-shirt, and shaved head, and it all suddenly started looking like a uniform. I wear my Genuine South African Scruffiness™ with pride!

Cool Carpet

2006-03-23T14:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I promise to post something about me sometime soon (hi, Mom!), but for now, I really love this carpet. I want one!

Accidental Heroism

2006-03-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I think Seth Worley will appreciate this story about accidental heroism.

Poetry

2006-03-16T09:43:00.000-05:00

O Canadian Fedex Lady

Uncanny Valley

2006-03-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

This seemed creepy to me. Cool, but creepy. Maybe it's the Uncanny Valley effect. Maybe it's just the fact that there's no face behind that visor. I suppose robots will be running after people with guns eventually.

Your carefully defended certainty crumbles inwards

2006-03-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

Liar, Lunatic, Lord, or Legend? A sad story? I think disbelieving your lame-duck idea of God is progress. Hopefully he won't stop there.

If God is real, we all need His idea of Him, not ours.

One Year

2006-03-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, Bevin and I were married.

It has been the best year of my life so far.

We're no longer newlyweds, technically :-)

Your Ideal Self is Fake

2006-02-24T11:59:00.000-05:00

Ladies, you are competing with something that is not real (click Portfolio then before/after).

Poodle Destruction

2006-02-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when your puppy has a few hours of fun with your glasses. And I thought they were almost indestructible.

I Want - Part IV

2006-02-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

I (too) want to live somewhere beautiful.

Cheesy and Sad

2006-02-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

Ha. Bevin and I are definitely the perfect pair. For Valentine's Day, she gave me a double CD of Phil Collins Love Songs, and I gave her Back to Bedlam, containing the songs that made us both cry, twice, while watching SNL one night.

The Invisible Art

2006-02-15T12:16:00.000-05:00

I have created another blog, called The Invisible Art. It's about programming. Don't worry, it's cool. I'll keep posting here.

“We are more than the inhabitants of our cubicles”

2006-02-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

This I believe

How Computers Should Work (closer)

2006-02-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

The parts of this video that deal with photos and maps are amazing. I thought the stuff on Minority Report was mostly nonsense -- I guess not!

I Want - Part III

2006-02-08T12:18:00.000-05:00

I want to stop trying so hard to keep people around me happy all the time. It's not my responsibility, and it doesn't work, anyway. All it does is cause me to exhaust myself and then withdraw. I feel held hostage even by our puppy when I come home - I must see to him and make sure he gets the attention he needs before I can relax.

I'm not sure where along the line I picked up this way of interacting with my world, but after 30 years or so, I'm worn out. I know how to care deeply, and I know how not to care at all. What I don't know very well is how to care deeply without feeling responsible. A lot of my life has been spent snapping back and forth between intense involvement and disconnection.

These sort of realizations and struggles are one of the reasons I'm attending an eleven month course at the counseling office where Bevin works. There are 14 students in the class, and it is a great group. I'm excited about getting to know them better, and figuring out a bunch of our questions together.

Fake Trailers Rule

2006-02-03T14:34:00.000-05:00

Yeah. Here's the latest. Brokeback to the Future

I Want - Part II

2006-01-26T08:37:00.000-05:00

To go to China.

Random Theological Post

2006-01-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting article on the Catholic view of a literal six day creation, “Reading Genesis with Cardinal Ratzinger.” I love Cardinal Ratzinger's frank questions: “Is the distinction between the image and what is intended to be expressed only an evasion, because we can no longer rely on the text even though we still want to make something of it, or are there criteria from the Bible itself that attest to this distinction?”

Sometimes I think that if I did not feel catholic enough to claim unity with all of Christendom, I would follow Chesterton down the path of Orthodoxy and become Catholic.

I Want - Part I

2006-01-19T11:37:00.000-05:00

I want to work in a room with real walls, and windows that open when the weather is good, with a view to red brick and green plants through white wooden window frames. Preferably old and slightly peeling. I want the light in the room to change when the clouds and sun move. I want to be able to take a walk during the middle of the day without feeling that I should stay that many minutes extra at the end. I want to be able to leave early on Friday if I have worked well, not if I have worked 40.0 hours.

Tyrannosaurs in F-14s

2005-12-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

I was listening to "I saw three ships come sailing in" on Sufjan Stevens' Christmas album, and looking for more information.

I found an old carol, mentioned for its similarity:

All sons of Adam, rise up with me,
Go praise the Blessed Trinitie, &c.
Then spake the Archangel Gabriel, said, Ave, Marie mild,
The Lord of Lords is with thee, now shall you go with child.
                                        Ecce ancilla domini.
Then said the virgin, as thou hast said, so mat it be,
    Welcome be heavens King.
There comes a ship far sailing then,
Saint Michael was the stieres-man;
    Saint John sate in the horn:
Our Lord harped, our Lady sang,
And all the bells of heaven they rang,
    On Christ's sonday at morn, &c.

There's something magical about the imaginative willingness to place saints, disciples, Jesus and Mary in a boat, as sailors and musicians! It's a conglomeration of favourite images, bundled together out of sheer delight, with no regard for any kind of organizing principle. Oh God, awake my imagination, and let me delight in you and everything you have made, realistic or not!

Spenser

2005-12-22T17:29:00.000-05:00

Here's the newest member of our family: Born on Sep 23, 2005, Spenser is a black Standard Poodle. He's adorably cute, and the sweetest thing ever.

Why do you work so hard?

2005-12-22T09:49:00.000-05:00

Hmmm. Why do you work so hard?

Skype?

2005-12-02T15:58:00.000-05:00

Does anyone out there use Skype? I just installed Skype, and I'd like to try it out to see whether it works on my computer. My usernam is zellynhunter

Long Time No Post

2005-11-21T10:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, since I haven't posted for a while, and since I haven't thought about Sufjan for a while, here's a couple of articles that I found interesting:

We had a fabulous but busy weekend. On Friday, we took Marta to Atlantic Station, Atlanta's new close-to-downtown outdoor mall, a cross between a couple of city sidewalk blocks and a shopping center. Right now the perfectly regularity of the brick facades, as they change colour and texture from building to building in an attempt to simulate a real grown city is a little creepy, since it's all brand new. The effect is something between Disneyland and a model railroad prop version of a city district. I'm guessing they went with a cheaper architecture firm, and should have been more daring. Of course, that would have cost much more.

Perhaps surprisingly, it's not as bad as it sounds, and I think it will grow into itself over time, especially as it gets busier. The Atlanta skyline definitely helps. It was fun to take public transport and walk, instead of driving.

We were there to see H.P. That's Harry Potter for you non-teens. The auditorium was large and full of kids and teenagers, which was fun. The movie was pretty good - I think I may have to buckle down and read the books at last. Damn.

On Saturday, we helped Nathaniel and Shauna (Bevin's brother and his wife) a little as they put new floors into their house before the baby arrives, and then went to a church fellowship, where we sat outside and roasted marshmallows and talked. Yesterday, we skipped church, had brunch with Rob and Mindy. It was great to see everyone.

Now we're ready for Thanksgiving, which is interesting, because all plans are tentative: we have no idea when Ian Sims will be born! We're going to be Uncle Zellyn and Aunty Bevin for the first time, so we're very excited.