A day in the life

last.fm

2009-06-18T13:29:15Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

I created a profile and populated my library with artists from our CD/MP3 collection.

Been tinkering around with the site and listening to music as I have time at my desk since yesterday. It’s interesting and entertaining, and I sometimes like music to play in the background as I work.

I also added a link to my last.fm profile on my Google Profile.

Family History

2009-06-14T14:53:10Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Found this interesting presentation (PowerPoint) on Google about my Chinese/Taishanese family history. Apparently we’re descended from royal potters (which would explain why the name is actually a combination of three radicals: west, earth and tile).

Here’s a copy embedded from Google Docs:

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Gravlax Again

2009-05-28T00:22:20Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Just notes from the current (in-progress batch).

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Hola from DreamWidth

2009-05-01T20:21:44Z

I am now "perigee" on DreamWidth too.

Likely as not, I will continue posting primarily on my own Blog and crossposting here or on LJ.

But feel free to come and add me or whatever.

This entry was originally posted at http://perigee.dreamwidth.org/631.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

It’s the 1st of May!

2009-05-01T11:35:43Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

This post is entirely unsafe for work, or for innocent eyes. But since I am off of work today, this being the every other Friday I get off for working 9 hours (usually 10 or 11) a day, I don’t feel so badly about posting it during working hours.

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Office of Science & Technology Policy

2009-04-27T15:31:19Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

They’ve got 6 Principles up for RfC.

I commented on Principle (e).

A Google Profile

2009-04-27T13:34:12Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Because I got sick of stalker types (or just strangers trying to get in touch) getting it wrong, I made a Google Profile.

Kamado Grills - Market Research

2009-04-23T14:13:41Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

As I’ve been getting interested in charcuterie and curing, I’ve been trying to think how I’m going to do some smoking of meats, fish, etc.

The ceramic, high efficiency grills/smokers appeal to me for a number of reasons, including the really good seal, reputation for durability and the fuel efficiency/quick starting.

Here’s the results of about 30 minutes of googling/reading/viewing various sources (the caveat here is that I have never owned a kamado-style grill, so this is just stuff I learned on the Internet):

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One last AmazonFail post

2009-04-15T17:45:18Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

A link roundup and a link especially to a blog called Adventures in Ethics and Science, which I am pleased to say sums up my response to Amazon pretty much completely at this point.

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Dreamwidth

2009-04-15T13:52:41Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

First, if anyone’s got one and is feeling charitable, I’d love an invite code. If you are being charitable, you can use my malcolm.gin@gmail.com address.

Second, I wanted to just point out that despite Dreamwidth’s promises to support open expression, diversity and open operations, they still have a pretty broad set of rights they’ve reserved for themselves in the Terms of Service. I am pointing this out because I know a lot of folks are probably migrating their journal-keeping to Dreamwidth based on feeling limited in expression over at Livejournal and are moving to Dreamwidth based on their priority on open expression.

I’m not trying to be overly negative or anything, just trying to urge caution. It also makes sense that they would reserve these rights in the Terms of Service. They have to in order to do business in the world (and in the United States - their domain is registered in Hayward, CA). But it also means that despite their other promises, at base, they reserve the right to do a lot of things you may not want with your content.

In my case, even though I don’t publish a lot of crazy things, I chose to self-host WordPress blogs (and thus have my content have my hoster’s TOS apply instead) and use syndication technologies to update my LJ account.

Specific Dreamwidth TOS details follow.

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Amazon - closed

2009-04-15T00:48:17Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Apparently getting sarcastic was the trick. My account is finally closed. Now to rebuild the video games wishlist somewhere else.

Amazon 4

2009-04-14T19:20:33Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Another go ’round with Amazon.

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Amazon 3

2009-04-14T13:01:00Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

The hits keep on coming.

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Sekrit Project - Progress

2009-04-07T18:21:30Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

I’m working on a semi-secret project (it’s not actually hidden, I’m just not being all that specific about it because it’s not really ready for prime time, but you can probably find out about it via Google and Whois soon). It’s about Taoism, books, activism, life, work, etc, and I’m taking advantage of my self-imposed time off of publicly writing about activism to focus on being a lot more rigorous about writing about Taoism and philosophy.

Anyhow, I just got my affiliate code from IndieBound, which is an American Booksellers’ Association sales affiliation site. Woot! I’m glad they approve of my proposal.

Wordpress Easter Egg

2009-04-05T23:11:18Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Try comparing the same version of a post or a page.

I don’t know if this works in any other version than current (2.7.1) but it’s delightful.

Looking for the sun

2009-03-22T16:14:05Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

I should say a little about solar energy, which I looked into this past week (for planning and budgeting).

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Various

2009-03-22T12:46:39Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Various updates, including another about the 2nd gravlax, the letter I wrote to the president, etc.

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2nd Gravlax Notes

2009-03-20T13:12:21Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

I took it out and cleaned it up and sampled the thinner of the two pieces last night, about 68 hours into the cure. It came out too salty. But that was fairly easily fixed.

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Curing and Related Book Adventures

2009-03-18T01:58:55Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

As I noted in a recent Facebook status update, the second gravlax is underway. This time the base fish is two slabs of a farm-raised Atlantic salmon.

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Lockout

2009-03-15T17:22:39Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Hey folks, just an administrative note. I was trying out a Firefox/GMail plugin called Iconix Truemark on my GMail account (where I keep almost all messages of any note at all in the Inbox, not archived away anywhere), and it started downloading ALL of my email headers to try to ID forged headers.

This triggered a GMail usage bot to lock me out of the account. I don’t know when I’ll get back in again, but I understand it can take up to 24 hours.

UPDATED: Not nearly as bad as I thought. I was only locked out for a few minutes. I’m back in now.

Tapping out

2009-03-15T14:03:59Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

It’s been an informative few days.

I want to declare publicly that while I am Hanne Blank’s partner, her words are hers and mine are mine. Any conflation of the two is solely the responsibility of the conflater.

Otherwise, I need to take leave of the discussions about activism, race, racism, etc. These discussions are getting too hot for my blood. I may return to the discussions later or I may not.

Racefail 2009 Meme

2009-03-13T12:56:19Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

There is a meme going around toward the idea that we should not be silent about our feelings and reactions to Racefail 2009 and our lessons learned.

How do I put this?

I am no stranger to the idea that speaking out and getting as many opinions as possible is a good thing. When done in a way that is not compelled and completely freely done by volunteers it can be an effective way to establish that a certain phenomenon or feeling is more prevalent than is generally suspected. Great for issues where silence=death, and yes, there are a lot of those, racism and its effects certainly one of those issues.
I am also no stranger to the idea that this sort of thing can get out of hand. When a social movement has enough power or leverage to do real town-meeting type shamings where folks get called out and humiliated for all to see, where apologies and capitulation are not just convinced but compelled, where loyalties are sniffed out and undesirable ones are extinguished, where friends, families and extended families are deemed unsuitable by the mob and sundered.
Oh? We are doing loyalty oaths now? That’s wonderful! And how do we think that will work out for us?
Witch hunts? No, we were never guilty of that! Pshaw!
I have until now called myself an individualist antiracist, because I’ve been getting really uncomfortable with the direction the main antiracist activism crowd has been going with respect to anger and the search for justice and recompense and not been comfortable calling that part of the movement my allies. I think I’m going to have to sadly call it a day/month/year, and find something else for me to call myself. At this point, I feel that the main body of antiracist activists is to varying degrees becoming guilty of abuse of the power to be heard that they have recently gained and I am ashamed to call myself a part of the movement. So I will not.

I have some things to say to individual parts of the constituents of Racefail 2009.

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Gravlax

2009-03-09T01:44:25Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

It must be said that I am a creature akin to an otter. If I ever had a totem, it would be a river otter. I say this by way of explaining my deep and abiding love for the flesh of this fish. I have it every time I have nigiri sushi or sashimi. I have it often as my protein of choice if I am at a restaurant and am not keeping vegetarian. I would sneak if it I had to. I order gravlax at ruinous prices from deli counters I trust. There is almost no end to the appetite I have for salmon.

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Tao of the Warrior 8: Mercy

2009-03-01T20:46:59Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Unlike the other portions of these writings, I will not list 8 aspects of this one to keep in mind while you do your warrior’s thing. Because this one is directly number 8, I will leave the fine points here to your imagination.

Mercy maps to marsh, which is in a way a compromise between water and earth, and a making of common cause between two ancient, stolid and deep-running forces that might otherwise obliterate each other.

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Happy happy happy!

2009-02-26T02:48:55Z

Originally published at perigee's WordPress Blog. Please leave any comments there.

Today is nearing the end of my love’s birthday. She’s celebrating a birthday that is a multiple of ten, and I think it should be one of the sweetest birthdays that you have, though my Mom says they only get better as you go.

It’s been a rough day for both of us and I wish I could have made it easier, but part of it is the roof being replaced and part of it is loving but sometimes difficult relatives who have Opinions, and part of it is just that this birthday is a traditionally difficult one for most folks.

But she’s soldiering on and being good about being good to herself, and I hope that she looks back and finds that if not today was the best day ever, that one of the days this year becomes so, and I hope she’ll let me celebrate with her.

And maybe she’ll let me pay for some extravagant dinner to be shared with good friends and good company on some other, less overall stressful evening.

Happy natal anniversary, my love.