Category Archives: random thoughts

Homebrewing, random thoughts, Technology

Day after Xmas… at werk.

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I came in today thinking i’d be feeling creative and write a post. Well, here I am at 12:30 EST with no such creativity, but at least I’m writing. I plan to blog more in 2009, but then again, I think “Write more” was my resolution for 2008, and that went basically nowhere.

there are three other people in my group here today with me. I think there are maybe another 5-10 people here in addition. Makes sense to open the office for alllllll of those people, eh?

i got a new flash for my camera for xmas … Nikon SB-600. i don’t know what i’m doing with it, yet. guess this also locks me into Nikon, not that it’s a bad thing. the grass is always greener over at Canon…

my girlfriend is out shopping for her family’s party tomorrow. i’m sitting in the office freezing with the other people, all of whom are wearing jackets or other heavy attire. it’s current 39 outside in NYC.

i plan to brew on Sunday – an imperial stout. my last porter didn’t come out so great. a bit lacking in body, a bit too much alcohol burn, not enough vanilla. still very drinkable, just not fantastic. 5/10.

my inbox is barren, facebook is dead, no one’s on twitter, and even my rss feeds aren’t entertaining me.

why is it that we’re here today? i guess this is the entitlement society i keep hearing about. even Hale and Hearty doesn’t have a full selection of soups today.

yes, i’m bitter. and cold.

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Champ Car Racing, Motorsports, Politics, random thoughts, Technology

The Airing of the Grievances

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Yea, it is time that we put up the Festivus Pole, engage in feats of strength, and air the year’s grievances. So we call upon Our Lord Frank Costanza, and shout Serenity Now! Here are my grievances for 2008:

  1. To unhelpful RSS feeds that don’t display the content of a post. A headline only is generally not enough information to make me want to click through to your site.
  2. To Adobe, for charging ridiculous upgrade fees. $499 to upgrade, when I just spent that much less than 18 months ago, on products that are mature and stable?
  3. To the GOP, for ignoring our environmental issues, screwing up government oversight, our worldwide status, the Iraq War, and everything else over the past eight years.
  4. To my current employer, for not giving us off the day after Thanksgiving and Xmas. This year both holidays fall on a Thursday, so wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy a long weekend? Nope, if you have vacation days left, you have to take them. if you don’t, guess where you’ll be? Here in the office, which leads me to…
  5. The building managment company, as well as my current employer, for turning the heat down enough on weekends that Mondays are freezing. I bought cashmere socks just for Monday mornings. If you walk around the office, you’ll see people wearing hats, scarves, and jackets. Winter jackets.
  6. To Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe, co-owners of the now defunct Champ Car World Series, which merged with the Indy Racing League (IRL) earlier this year. When I say merged, I mean sold the fuck up the river a few weeks before the season was due to start. This is a topic very dear to me, as I followed Indy/Champ Car since I was a wee high schooler, and the Meadowlands Grand Prix came to town in the mid-to-late-80s. I could take up six months’ worth of posts on this topic, so i’ll leave it at that.
  7. To Tony George, who fucked it all up to start with.

There are certainly more, but these are the ones that are nagging at me. Check back in case there are more grievances!

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random thoughts, Technical Writing, Tools

Happy Little Errors

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So I’m working on designing buttons, icons, and interface items for a new release. The buttons I’ve created looked… nice, but still not what I wanted them to look like.

Somehow along the process, I cropped the template file a little too judiciously in Photoshop. Buttons I created a week ago were taller by six pixels. I’m still not sure how I did this, as all the guides were in the same place, and making the button taller changed the alignment of text.

While playing around, trying to figure out WTF I did, I ended up using a clipping mask with an existing layer – and it looks great! The only downside, of course, is now I have to recreate approximately 50 buttons. But, I’m happy now they finally look good!

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Beer, Drumming, Music, NYC, random thoughts

How to Get a Free Drink in New York City

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This past Saturday night I saw Minus the Bear at Webster Hall. It was an awesome show; they are a very tight band that brought the crowd through a wide range of emotions. I was damn surprised that their drummer plays a basic, clear fiberglass Ludwig four-piece set with only two crashes, a ride cymbal, and hi-hats. His sound is generally much fuller than the equipment portrays. It’s great seeing bands in small venues, where you can actually see the performers’ faces instead of resorting to a big screen.

Afterwards, with time to kill before my train home, I went to my most favorite place on Earth (ok, my favorite bar at least) for some libations. Despite the large crowd in this oddly laid out location, I grabbed a seat at the bar, and had my first beverage. As I was consuming my second, a girl came up to me, “Excuse me, sir”.

Oh boy.

Long story short, these four girls were out for a bachelorette party (… at the Blind Tiger?!). As part of the bride-to-be’s scavenger hunt, she was required to kiss a man’s scalp. I guess scavenger hunts are what people do at bachelorette parties? As a male, I am used to bachelor parties consisting of severe intoxication that is generally paid for all day the next day, and barely clothed women asking for money at expensive locations to which I normally don’t go.

So, being the intoxicated good sport I normally am, I took off my hat, and tilted my head towards the woman who will probably only remember kissing my sweaty pate (I was at a concert, y’know) because of the photos her friends took.

As I wiped the last bit of lipstick off my head, the bartender placed an empty glass upside down, and she said “your next beer is from the lady wearing the tiara”.

I chose that delicious beverage as Avery Brewing’s Reverend Belgian Quad. A stellar way to finish right before I stumbled to the train station. I was considerate: it wasn’t the most expensive beer in the place, and as I left, I both thanked and congratulated the bride-to-be.

And I wasn’t even that hungover the next day.

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