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Monthly Archives: October 2002

New pinko commie tabloids!

Thursday, October 31, 2002

Well, not really. Funny that I get my hometown news via a Pittsburgh blog. Anyway. Via Jilly: the Chicago Red Streak and Red Eye Chicago, two new offerings from the major papers that are aimed at “young, urban adult commuters” and deliver no discernible news that I can see, just a whole lot of fluff. Maybe a sort of “Entertainment Weekly” meets . Or substitute your favorite filler magazine for EW. It’s all the same to me.

Argh, what’s the point? If on the commute is the one chance during the day that these people will get to read a newspaper, I sincerely hope that they don’t pick up either of these new offerings. Pick up the Reader instead and read it on a lazy Sunday if you want to read that sort of stuff. It’s better to keep abreast daily of actual news. Makes you a better informed citizen in ways that matter more.

And about the “commuter-friendly format”: I’ve always seen it as a mark of distinction to be able to read a broadsheet newspaper while straphanging. New Yorkers know what I’m talking about: the ability to read the Times main section while crammed in on a downtown 4 train during rush hour. I scoff at the “commuter-friendly format.” Pheh!

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Perspective

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

I can definitely say that working here has given me the opportunity to see certain things through other people’s eyes. Cooper, to an extent, has offered me similar chances, but not like here. Recent discussions, both with my peers in the department and ongoing discussions at my old high school, have made me look at my current situation with a different point of view.
(Continued)

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Browsers ugggggggh.

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

So, it has been brought to my attention that my pages don’t display correctly in certain browsers (i.e. not Mozilla and not IE). When I consider the history of the Web’s evolution, specifically on the issue of standardization, I find I have little motivation to code for multiple browsers. It bugged me enough that Mozilla and IE rendered blocks differently, depending on my usage of margin and padding values. Oh, take me back to a simpler time…

I could layout using tables, but that seems evil to me. What do you think?

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Fully functional

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

So, the photolog has been set up… and in transferring everything over and making sure it’s working, I realize I haven’t posted there in awhile. Soon, soon… quality, not quantity. Go and look at my photo album, if you haven’t already. For me, the novelty of having integrated the album design and the satisfaction of having mastered the intricacies of the album script have already worn off, and I’ve seen those pictures a thousand times over, so it’s kind of dull to me, but who knows? It might be fun for you.

Everything’s up and running here, from what I can tell. “We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Any difficulties you continue to experience are your own problem.” If anything’s broken or inconsistent, let me know. Don’t know how often I’ll be checking in, since my mind is being occupied by getting ready for ISMRM abstract submissions and the other various responsibilities I unwittingly signed myself up for.

But, just a thing or two to post: for a couple of days this past week I’ve dreamt of people that used to be rather prominent in my life. One dream had both Janice, a former fellow Cooper inmate, and Jenni, from the days of the maize, in it. Another (one which I took some time to document, in fact) featured ba ba ra ra. It was a strange dream, and it prompted me to send her an equally strange email.

In all, they were bittersweet dreams, in which I was both relieved and disappointed to wake up.

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Just an observation

Sunday, October 27, 2002

There are better ways of motivating people to excel than telling them how they can be as good as someone else, especially when the comparison being made is ridiculous to begin with and when the impetus for the motivation is completely misguided and misinformed.

Maybe I’ll expound upon this later, but for right now I want to take advantage of recouping that hour I gave up earlier in the year.

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Welcome to mongoosedog.net!

Friday, October 25, 2002

www.mongoosedog.net is up and running! Many thanks to yukino for setting everything up.

Mostly everything should be in order. My resume still needs updating, of course. If anything is broken, let me know.

The photolog will be transferred over sometime soon.

The photo album, which was and is powered by Dave Madison’s album script, was integrated into the overall site design. Also, the album now contains video clips that were recorded with my digital camera. The clips’ file sizes are indicated beside the thumbnail or respective link, so you have an idea of how big a download you’re in for.

Nothing new contentwise otherwise, but if you-all have any ideas, I’m listening.

Share and Enjoy!

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They Were Here Before Your Grandparents Were Born

Monday, October 21, 2002

Every so often, I’m reminded of just why I liked New York and why I find myself missing it every so often.

Tell the truth, I get a kick out of commuting. In New York, it’s especially fun. Your train gets delayed–watch everyone whip out their phones to let people know they’ll be late. The stupendously long line for a taxi at Penn Station. Sidewalk maneuvering. Pre-walking in the subway. I miss it–but I am comfortable with the way things are right now.

The streets and sidewalks just pulse with life, all hours of the day every day. Some people might see the dense city as suffocating, but I look it as a constant reminder of being alive and living.

At night, the inhabitants pack into the bars and restaurants to hang out, socialize, nourish, and imbibe. Me, I spent many a night in one particular place, McSorley’s Old Ale House, a popular little spot on East 7th Street that’s been around since the 1840s. McSorley’s Old Ale House only serves one kind of ale, and that’s McSorley’s. McSorley’s comes in two varieties: dark and light. A round is composed of two mugs that can either be both dark or both light, or one of each. Waiter service is available at the tables, where you will be served by a right proper Irishman who will take good care of you. No matter how big your party is, he will bring all the beer that is due you in a round: it’s amazing how many mugs these guys can carry in one hand.

My friends and I went pretty regularly, usually on Thursdays around 5, which is the best time to go if you want to beat the crowds. At 5pm you will be served by a friendly man by the name of Tommy, who is one of the best waiters you’ll find at this establishment. In the grand tradition of Matty U!, we always left generous tips (so now you know where all my money went).

But graduation came, and we all went our separate ways out of the city, so our at-least-weekly McSorley’s runs came to an end. On graduation day, Gene, Joe, and I went to the saloon to drink our last round–as students, anyway.

On a recent visit to NYC, Gene and I dropped by McSorley’s to grab some lunch and some beer before heading back to his place. It was shortly past 11, so they were barely open. Besides the two of us and another couple that had just wandered in, the place was empty. What’s more, the sun was streaming in through the windows…strange. We ordered a couple of burgers apiece and a round of dark. Halfway into eating, who should I spot but Tommy, dressed quite suavely and heading towards the back. I acknowledge him with a nod. I expect him to just say “Hello, how are you fellows today?” but he stops and, having recognized us, turns around, extends his hand to me and Gene, saying “Good to see you fellows!” A few minutes later, he’s walking towards our table from the bar with four mugs of dark, sets them down with a flourish, saying “Here you are fellows, always good to see you,” and shakes our hands again.

When we get up to settle accounts, our tab is $7 less than what it should have been. Good ol’ Tommy bought us a round! It’s little things like that that make me feel all good inside. It’s little things like that that make me miss New York.

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WATCH THIS SPACE

Saturday, October 19, 2002

Work busy! At least I’m getting things accomplished (I think).

Site revamping in progress. Also, content will be moved over to another server and the site will reside under its own domain name.

In the meantime, here are some notes: one of my pages is #7 on a Google search for “wtc towers light memorial”; Mom visited for a week and cooked food aplenty; realized that I live in a place called “Pittsburgh” while driving back from the airport and looking at all the place signs; where’s the water? rivers don’t cut it; a clip from The Hire‘s first season, “Star,” was filmed in Pittsburgh–it’s hilarious and the driving’s awesome, makes me wish I had a more powerful engine but just watching the shifts and the maneuvers and remembering how that feels like on my aunt’s M3…*haargle* Seriously, I love driving, especially fine vehicles like Beemers. And to those who can’t be bothered to learn how to drive a manual tranny…you’re missing out.

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It’s not funny because it’s true

Wednesday, October 16, 2002

Goodwill Toy Section Most Depressing Thing Ever. Very much, indeed.

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Eh, who reads this drivel, anyway.

Thursday, October 10, 2002

Finally got X Windows to work with my nForce chipset, somehow. Next, I must reconfigure the partitions on my 80GB drive such that they’re readable in both XP and Linux (Linux no like NTFS partitions). Then I will only need Windows for my Warcrafting.

Ran into Smriti, a fellow Cooper survivor, at the bus stop this morning. “You’re not surprised to see me?” she said. “Nah, not really.” Nothing could have surprised me that morning, nothing personal. I figured it would happen sooner or later, but I figured it would happen somewhere around CMU/Pitt and certainly not near home.

Weather’s nice in general, though today was dreary. Temperatures are pleasant. But, truth be told, I want the cold. I want the snow. I want the freezing and the b’hey and the glaivin’. Winter landscapes just bring so many memories to the forefront. Why is it that images of winter can do that, but images of summer do not?

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