Year End Punch List

Now that 2009 is but a few hours away, i have decided to make a todo list for next years blizzard, icy hinterlands return.

• Urinate in the Snow. Unsanitary, gotta do it though. The horses do.
• Snow angels. Make note to avoid urine impregnated snow, i.e. yellow snow

• Snowman or men/women. My second snowperson needs to be to scale. Evil nightmarish indian burial ground vibe aside, not impressive if my boots tower over it
• Build snow gatling gun, trebuchet, or snow siege device.
• Snow castle!
• Snow starship!
• Working replica V8 engine done entirely of snow!
• Take Ed's idea and make a snow cocktail of somesort. Again, avoid the urine snow.
• Snow plate lunch!

That is all for now.

Happy New Year!

That White Stuff Gets Wet...

The snow has begun to melt across Yamhill county. Giant dirty boulders of snow and ice litter freshly plowed parking lots and roads. It's warming up a little, enough so i don' have to worry about the water tub freezing over, not enough to start thinking about shorts or putting away the winter duds. As if.

On another note, we went to McMenamins after a giant Hillsboro chinese firedrill. In particular, this one.

So there. When having an expedition in Oregon, one must venture to a McMenamins to add to the experience. How can you not love a place that plays Thin Lizzy?

Old enough to think this is still cool

Merry Christmas

It's a day late; the roads were icy, what can i say?

Merry Christmas from me, M, JC, S, T, En, Em, W, JG, BKD, BKD2, and BKD3


Send sushi. There is no sushi in Yamhill. Did i mention that there is no sushi in Yamhill? Yes, there is no sushi in Yamhill, Oregon. In Yamhill no sushi there is.

Mele Kalikimaka!

24 Dec 2008

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say,
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day,
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway,
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright,
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night,
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say "Merry Christmas" to you...

-R. Alex Anderson

In Memoriam: Majel Barrett-Roddenberry

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
Feb 23, 1932- Dec 18, 2008

Sleighbells Ring, Are YOU Listening?

In a world covered in snow, one blogger... will post pictures of Yamhill.
Cold yeah?

The Shining

I have just come to grips with the fact that i have just walked through 1.5 to 2 feet of snow. In my yard. In my yard,in Yamhill, Oregon. For emergency use only, i have kept two dollars worth of quarters in my nightstand. Yes, this is bus fare from Yamhill to Mililani. Do you think i have get a transfer?


Please send axes and typewriters. Good scotch, blowtorches, and alien technology (transwarp drives, wormhole generators, and sushi molds) are much appreciated.

Mabuhay and Aloha!

Violate EULA is not a type of flower...

Do you like computers? I like computers. Look at this website, it's about computers. I hope you will enjoy it fully, without let or hindrance.

12.

It dropped to 12°F overnight. Brutally Brutal Brutality! The snow and the low temperatures are to continue throughout the week-into the weekend.

This is what cold looks like:



Couple of tips:

1)Wear your damn gloves

2)If it looks like pavement, it probably isn't; step in the snow to avoid the Curly Shuffle

3)Wear a damn hat with your damn gloves

4)....

5) Profit!

Run To The Hills

via NOAA:

000
WGHW50 PHFO 112008
FFWHFO
HIC003-112315-
/O.EXT.PHFO.FF.W.0023.000000T0000Z-081211T2315Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1008 AM HST THU DEC 11 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS EXTENDED THE

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  THE ISLAND OF OAHU IN HONOLULU COUNTY

* UNTIL 115 PM HST.

* AT 1005 AM HST... THE USGS GAGE ON LAKE WILSON SHOWED A WATER 
  LEVEL OF 82.81 FEET AND THE HONOLULU DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY 
  MANAGEMENT IS PREPARING TO EVACUATE OTAKE CAMP IN WAIALUA. RUNOFF 
  FROM EARLIER RAINFALL ALSO REMAINS VERY HIGH ESPECIALLY ALONG 
  KAUKONAHUA STREAM AND WAIKELE STREAM IN CENTRAL OAHU. RAIN 
  GAGE AND RADAR DATA OVER EAST OAHU SHOWED RAIN RATES OF 1 TO 2 
  INCHES PER HOUR. 

* THIS WARNING INCLUDES ALL LOCATIONS ON OAHU.

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNING REPLACES THE PRE-EXISTING WARNING THAT WAS
IN EFFECT FOR THE ISLAND OF OAHU IN HONOLULU COUNTY.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS FLASH FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING
IN STREAMS...ROADS AND LOW LYING AREAS. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND NOW.

RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM MAY ALSO CAUSE ROCK AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP
TERRAIN.

WE HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS REPORTS OF CLOSED ROADS.  DO NOT CROSS 
FAST FLOWING OR RISING WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE OR ON FOOT. TURN 
AROUND...DON/T DROWN.

THIS WARNING MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED BEYOND 115 PM HST IF FLASH
FLOODING PERSISTS.

LAT...LON 2159 15833 2179 15793 2125 15755 2125 15817

$$
KODAMA

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was M's b-day. Happy Birthday!

JCHS. Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, United States

Some good does come out of Ewa Beach, after all:

Campbell High a rising star of college prep on Leeward Coast.

via The Honolulu Advertiser

Computers? I have heard of these devices, tell me more....

DSL Blues in A Minor

Duh da duh da duh..


226-File successfully transferred
226 8001.947 seconds (measured here), 89.38 Kbytes per second
732372992 bytes received in 2:13:22 (89.37 KB/s)
ftp>

ick. 89 KB UP? I got me "The train keeps my DSL upload capped" blues..

A Vodka Martini

Here is a recipe:

1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz dry vermouth

Shake vodka and vermouth together with several ice cubes in a shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with an olive and serve.

Commonly known as the "Vodka Martini" more correctly, a "Vodka Cocktail"...looks pretty easy right?

In Yamhill, ordering a Vodka Martini is like having three two inch high number 6's branded onto your forehead -or something similar. It is our humble goal to bring some of that fancy pants Hawaii vibe to this corner of Oregon, one fancy pants glass at a time.

Now if we can only get a Sashimi pupu platter as regular bar fare..

Tualatin/Tigard

Under the stained glass rotunda, two plates of rare seared ahi were presented to the lunch guests.
(With Ogo, fancy that)

There was much rejoicing.

As i've mentioned before, like a Ryans and Palominos, except not in Honolulu...and dare i say better. i did. It's on mother Internet, so it must be true.

Post Giving of Thanks De-briefing.

On thursday, 27 November, 2008 a group of expat 808 residents ensconced themselves in a motel near an abandoned road in Scappoose, Oregon. There was no dark, nefarious meaning to all of this, no hidden subtext of conspiracy and fear. This was, internet peoples, an actual Thanksgiving celebration. Eat, drink, be merry and play Wii. Talk story and hang out. Discuss various food traditions for Thanksgiving in the U.S. based on ethnic background. Did any of you just have pasta? Was there any squid luau to be found on your table? Kim Chee? Adobo? Pansit? Pizza? TurDucken? Linguica ? Jai ? Sashimi ? Poke? Get the idea? Should I continue? Any other type of interrogative ?

The spread was the traditional Norman Rockwellian image of Thanksgiving, the participants were not.

Turkey, stuffing, dressing, crannberry sauce, and all that you would expect filled the stomachs and sinuses of the guests. i am happy to report that i got up late.

For all of this, this expedition into oregon ( whoa. i should use that..) a night with my family and friends and new friends- in a motel on an abandoned road- i am truly thankful.

The Giving of Thanks

Kûmaka ka `ikena iâ Hi`ilawe
Ka papa lohi mai a`o Maukele

Pakele mai au i ka nui manu
Hau wala`au nei puni Waipi`o

`A`ole nô wau e loa`a mai
A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwi

He hiwahiwa au na ka makua
A he lei `â`î na ke kupuna

No Puna ke `ala i hali `ia mai
Noho i ka wailele a`o Hi`ilawe



Today is my first ever Thanksgiving away from Hawaii. Currently the temperature is an Ewa Beach like soul melter of 28°F. Hoo brah, stay hot. We will be venturing deep in to the hinterlands of Scappoose to hang out and celebrate turkey subjugation day with other Hawaii expats. To give you, the internet audience, a feeling for what life is like out here in Yamhill, i will include a photorealistic depiction of the previous morning. Behold:



(pen on legal pad, A portrait of the artist. 2008 Yamhill)


Let us talk about the use of negative space in this stunning, hyper-realistic portrait of the hard scrabble life in Yamhill. Ok, maybe not. That is not a bong in the picture, its a thermometer. Note the fine lack of brush strokes and the choice of legal paddery. While one could be forgiven if you were to think that i am composed of one dimensional lines and have an obvious lack of genitalia...i think it looks pretty close to what life is like out here in Yamhill. Don't you?

Aloha and Happy Thanksgiving.

The Fancy City

On Saturday, we went here.

Mmmmmm, Pancreas.


Thank you to former ISP co-workers Ms. C and Mr. E for hanging out and making it a great evening.

Seared Ahi In Bridgeport

Far from Yamhill, beyond Newberg, beyond Sherwood, even farther than Tualatin there is a mall. Within the vast street saddling area of this outdoor ode to capitalism, you will find a restaurant. Not just any restaurant in Oregon, but a link in a chain of restaurants. This link, you will discover, serves Seared Ahi. Yes, i was skeptical, yes i had my doubts, yes i was ready to spit very rare fish onto the floor of this fine food establishment. Surprise. It was awesome. It had ogo, ginger, wasabi and soy. It had the flavors i haven't tasted in almost a year. The Blackened Salmon Burger was winners. The Mrs. gave a glowing review of the French Onion Soup and Chicken Pasta dish.

To keep myself amused, i've been trying to find analogs of places familiar to me in the state of 808.
M&S is like Ryans and Brew Moon with a hint of Palominos.

Will we go back? Of course ! Coathooks man, Coathooks.

The Report

For the second day in  a  row, the Giant Yellow Ball Of Light and Heat made an appearance over the skies of Yamhill. While this has not had any impact on my new hobby, mud collection, it has certainly allowed one to remember the color of the sky. It is blue right?

To help with the conservation of grass, the horses have been put away in their stalls at night. This  means cleaning stalls. If you've never done it before, you should give stall cleaning a try...it's really the same fun as cleaning a cat litter box- if we assume the cat weighs a ton and the litter box is the size of your bedroom. Once you are comfortable with the sense of scale, please pick up your favorite pair of rubber boots and lend a hand. Caution: You might get a little dirty.

Percipitation? Please !

It rains in Oregon. It rains in Yamhill, as well. Did i mention the rain? Rain it does, and does it rain. Wet and wooly fun awaits! Thrill and marvel at the two inches of wet mud as it threatens to de-bootify your feet! Gasp in awe as you suddenly lose traction and are taking lateral steps to avoid doing the Curly Shuffle! Feel the invigorating 40°F Rain! Laugh at the lack of sun and potential for cabin fever, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and a possible Vitamin D defficiency!

Having said all that, Yamhill is still fit for the oft used phrase "God's Country".

Wanna help with the leaves? Aloha!

How To Play Chords On Guitar

Considering it's an election year, some amongst you may think this song appropriate..

Ladies and Gentlemen, the author of "Chord Chemistry", the incredible Ted Greene:

Wither Thou Weather?

It's supposed to rain for the rest of the week. If i'm not mistaken, i think there has been one day of sunshine in the last two and a half weeks. While the rain is totally good for the Aina, mucking out stalls and carrying around wet horse poop in 40 degree rain might put a slight dent in my normal sunny disposition.  

A good idea for work at home types would be  a laptop with heated keys, a built in 5000 lumen sun lamp for the prevention of Seasonal Affective Disorder ( you could place the Sun Lamp in the LCD so as to fully bathe the user in soothing radiation ), and perhaps a device near the  trackpad/mouse that mists the user in psychotropic drugs that prevent cabin fever.

Just a thought, the farm awaits...

What Makes Oregon, Oregon

Besides the weather and the fact the Drivers Study Guide reminds you to remove all firearms from your vehicle before your road test....did you know Oregon is a Vote by Mail state? You cannot, by law, pump your own gas? State stores from which to purchase hard liquor?

Whats that you say? Who did I vote for?


Get out and vote, interwebbers..

Just Add Water

Have you seen some of the instructions for making Saimin (top ramen/cup-o-doodles, etc)?
Some are written thus:

• Add soup packet and boiling water.
• Let stand for three minutes
• Stir
• Enjoy

Yes some do say, "stir and enjoy...". What are the alternatives? Dislike? Express Disgust? Grudgingly Accept ? Please, for the love all things, enjoy your Noodles.

With that in mind- i make it a point not to discuss politics and certain other subjects here. However, if you are a legally registered to vote in the United States of America, you know what to do today.

Vote.



That is all.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.."

Declaration of Independence

The End of RocktOber

I have been in hiding for the last week or so, carefully observing the color change of the leaves, from the safety of Forward Operational Base Yamhill Freedom. Absolutely nifty, super nifty even.
With the turning of the leaves and inescapable arrival of DST, we come to the end of RocktOber and the visit of little kids in scary outfits- demanding their sweet sweet reward before melting into the cold night.

Cliche'

It was time to take the recycling in. Not knowing how to turn the heater on in the car is a slight disadvantage. Trying to pull your gloves out of your vest pocket while driving and shivering at the same time adds to overall fun quotient. Good Times...

This day was also monumental as it was my first solo trip to the farm supply store. Will i get lost? Will they have the stall powder in stock? Will it be warm in the store?

No. Yes. Yes.

The reward was the drive back. It's fall, i've never experienced it, ever! The colors, the insanely cold air! The colors! Just leaves dying? Much more than that. The oft used phrase "God's Country" came to mind. Yes it is a cliche', yes it's overused, i know.

It works here in Yamhill County, no doubt.

Yesterday Over The Net

I was surprised by a Video IM yesterday; through the magic of the Internet, the world of dark cubicles looking of Japanese Tea Houses and the ever present reverse print aloha shirt  revealed themselves on my workstation monitor. 

The size of the pacific ocean was reduced for about 20 minutes or so...

We Go Grind!

The Poke' Bowl * via The Tasty Island

Chili Pepper Water, some beer.... You are set, internet people. Totally, absolutely set!

*I've never been,  my Faves are Golden Mart, Fort Ruger Market, and Tamuras.

Your Weather Forecast For Today

It is now 31°F in Yamhill, with ground cloud and ground ice phenomenon in full effect. Will wonders ever cease?

Here are some pictures the recent mornings:

It's A long Way To The Top

Correct! the posts for the month of ROcktober are following a definite theme, thank you for being observant.

For this Copyright violation, we are reminded of the distance to zenith or apex when performing modern electric based music.

10/13/08

Happy Birthday, Kiddo! I love you dearly!

The Book of RocktOber; chapters AC to DC

Rocking!

All I Smell Is Raw Power And Speed

Link

StarBux.

When was the last time you had starbucks?

The Horse Radish: Carlton, Oregon.

As you may know, i work from home. Lots of typing. It was suggested that we visit the Horse Radish in Carlton as they have "Open Mic Night" on Wednesdays, and it might cure me of my occasional bouts of cabin fever.


Guess what we did last night? Here is the short review...

The food:

Any place, and i mean any place that serves Humboldt Fog cheese rocks mightily. Period.
She ordered the small tasting platter that included that particular goat delight, as well as Sopressata, peppers, and their handmade bread. Winnaz.

The Drinks:

Good Selection of beer, i did not try the wine, even though it is a Wine and Cheese Bar.

The Music:



You know, there is never enough Judas Priest...what you gonna do?



i can review myself: couldn't hear ( no monitors ) wasn't playing my primary instrument- i had my little acoustic instead ( that's right, there is no pickup on the guitar. it was mic'ed. Open Mic Night , remember ? )

As i lay my butchery of "Crossroads" and "Tush" to the unaware citizenry of Carlton, it dawned on me i was having fun. You betcha.

Will we go again? Of course.


The Horse Radish

RocktOber: Part the Thoid.

You cannot have RocktOber without this particular ditty. (My favorite version, after Physical Graffiti, of course...)

RocktOberfication.

Lemmy. Nuff Said.

CERN Grid Computer Launch

For you CompuNerds, Alpha-Geeks, KeyBoard Cowboys, Router Jockeys and UberDoinks; an interesting article on the largest distributed (grid) computing system in the WORLD. It's designed to crunch data for the LHC (Large Hadron Collider),the biggest particle accelerator ever constructed.

Article Here

Follow Up. The DMV

That's how we roll, bitches. McMinvilleizzle. You may now go back to your Questing, Mudding, IM'ing, chatting, IRC'ing, torrenting, blogging, Cloud, Gopher, Archie , Veronica, and RSS fed Internets.

Interestingly enough, being somewhat familiar with WWII era aircraft, my number stands out. A bit.

Report from Forward Operations Base: Yamhill Freedom

1746: HRS PST.

Rain? Check.
Cold ?Check.
Dark? Check.

Where are we again? Oh yeah.

Internet? Check.
Trees? Check.
Czech? Check.
Cheque? Check.

Rocktober

Another month passes and we take time to remember that we want our guitars to sound like giant alien monsters from Proxima Centauri. For your Interneting pleasure- the original, the first ,the only guitar hero: Jimi Hendrix

Killing Floor


Wild Thing



Voodoo Chile (BBC- The Lulu Show 1969)

Hawks

Last afternoon, i spotted 9 hawks flying a giant figure "8" above the cedars trees. A good omen? One can hope.

I don't write poetry, but it's nice to see it.

Ever Get The Feeling You Were Being Watched?

This is either a picture of the Steeds of the RingWraiths awaiting their Dark Evil Lords, or the two clowns waiting for their breakfast in Yamhill. Damn right it's cold..

Aloha!

Zen Roshi Stan Lee

Once, i removed my eyes from my terminal...having felt like i lost my way, i went in search of Zen Roshi Stan Lee




An old pine tree preaches wisdom/And a wild bird is crying out truth.





Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water; after enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water.





First there is a mountain,/Then there is no mountain,/Then there is.


At once, i achieved Satori- if only for an instant, and thanked Zen Roshi Stan Lee. I returned to my terminal to contemplate the lesson.

Cat in Yamhill Reacts to Android Announcement

Tasha wonders about the long term effects of Google's Android/T-Mobile announcement.



Via Engadget

Via Walt Mossberg

Bitching and Moaning on the Internet

1: There is no Starbucks in Yamhill proper

2: It would seem the Oatcakes i was so fond of in the land of 808 are only found in 808!

3: Number 2 was disclosed to me by a barrista/rock god in the 901 state.

4: There will be no item #5. I have turned off the whine sign, you are free to roam about the InterNets...

Yamhill Stars.

i have a soft spot for things that deal with Astronomy or Cosmology. Please note that Hawaii is at  21 degrees N Lat. while  Yamhill is at 45 deg N Lat. Needless to say i  was  surprised the first time  i tried  to get my bearings at night. Finding Ursa Major was a challenge. Yes, smart guys. i know where North is... that many degrees of arc is significant, it sends the message that i'm not in Kansas anymore...and by Kansas I mean Mililani or Ewa Beach.

The Pros? light pollution out here is non-existent. You really can see the milky way quite easily. The cons? Southern stars that an 808 state person would expect aren't there. We won't even discuss the temperatures.

Messier objects? Yes. Jacket? Yes. Coyotes? Yes.

Sky full of stars ?

 

Yes.

Sunday Steppe Singing

See it? The horses, the steppe?

By Mooonlight

Dinner by moonlight in Yamhill

9/11

Computers

Computers are to Music as Guitars are to...

Wait. Strike that. Nothing like guitars, at all. 

Your New Guitar

Yes, Your new guitar. A Thing of beauty. Blacker than the blackest black, times infinity.



Pictured Left to right: Toki Wartooth, Doctor Rockzo, William Murderface, Tommy Blacha, your new guitar, Skwisgaar Skwigelf,Nathan Explosion, Pickles the Drummer, Charles Foster Ofdensen, Thor Von Clemson, Brednon Small. Now get cracking on those diatonic sextuplet richter scales in attack mode!

My Birthday, My Precious...

How i spent my birthday yesterday:

Unbeknownst to me, a group of my friends from Hawaii have been living in the cedar trees for the last week.

At the predetermined time, the clandestine group sprang into action. Like Ninjas, or an Elite Swiss Alpine Counterterrorism unit, they descended from the trees. Maybe they were Elite Half Swiss, Half Marshmallow tree Ninjas? Each one these shadow warriors were clad in camouflage, bearing a Hawaiian state flag on their backpacks and a lit sparkler on their heads. Their "Little Mermaid" balaclavas were meant to conceal their identities and intimidate the squirrels.

The last of the Swiss Alpine Ski Team Ninjas brought a blue tarp and a cooler down from the largest of the trees.

All of the ninjas bore with them white styrofoam boxes from Keneke's, filled with foods from an exotic and far away land. (Don't spill the fruit punch, Ninja 6..)

As we consumed 42 pounds of poke', the "main" present was revealed. My daughter had secretly and illegally driven a pristine example of 1989 Ferrari 348 TS, VIN ZFFFAXMNIN09061966, and had parked it next to the Barn of Doom*, then covered it . How did the young lady hide it so well? It turns out the car cover was made by clever Elven hands on a magical loom, in the lands of Auendueill't'ylam'mithr'andirl'e'e'n. This car "cloak" made the vehicle visible only to the Elvish eyes (and the kid, duh) and not the eyes of man. My daughter uncovered the car, and there it was ...pink with a red leather interior, carefully decorated in the traditional "Hello Kitty" racing livery. The car stereo, of course, had the obligatory ABBA/Meshuggah/Maiden/TedNugent/Bach/SlackKey/Polka/Raga mix.

The odometer read 9066 Miles. The Tank was full...


Ok. It didn't quite happen like that.

M brought me a cake, a card, and a refreshing adult beverage. Thank you to all the well wishers! Please call me with your ninja outfit size, thanks.

Aloha!

*no footnote, you knew that right ?

Clarificiation For First Post:09/06/08

In case you're wondering the topic of the first post for today:

0b101010=0x2A=

0b11111011000 - 0b11110101110

In other words, 09/06/1966

What Difference A Year Makes...

Today we discuss time:

If you told me when i was nineteen that i would be typing for a living...i would have politely asked you to leave.

If you had told me a year before last that i would be taking a cruise in a little red sports car around the island... i would be thinking that you're pretty high.

If you had told me last year that i would sell everything and leave Hawaii forever... i would have asked who your pharmacist was.

The point, you may ask?

We're not allowed to see into the future, no matter how hard we try.

The surprises (trials? tribulations ? Book of Job? ) are what make life interesting, frustrating, sad, happy, and worth living. I'm looking forward to what comes next, believe it or not. See you at Trask Mountain Outpost. You can buy the beer, i'll buy the martinis...

Cheers.

Tiny Zpools of Goodness

Dell has released the Inspiron Mini 9, a teeny tiny, itsy bitsy, sub-notebook computer running on the Intel Atom platform. The tiny computers are available with 4, 8, or 16 GB SSD drives. Screen res 1024x 600 and it weighs in 2+ Lbs.

Preloaded with Ubuntu Linux $349

Upgrade to Windows Xp ( Hey that's on the Dell site, don't fucking yell at me...) $399.

Libretto 2008? Sure you betcha! Who amongst you will be the first brave soul to run Solaris or OpenSolaris on the aforementioned mighty mites? Who amongst you will birth tiny zpools onto the world? Perhaps someone will hack another SSD into the miniscule case and run a veritable orgy of ZFS filesystems? Perhaps someone, some brave pathfinder, will find a way to run Windows Me, or even NT Workstation 4.0?  The mind reels!

Coverage via Gizmodo

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 site

Apple MacBooks  because this is what you want... i'm seriously..

Guitar Repair Blog

I love guitars. And you should too; to read about the adventures, hijinxs, loves lost, wood dust, fret crowning and neck resets from a plucky band of luthiers and techs go here:

Daily Guitar Repair

Vegas Shred

Please go here and give "ADD" a listen. Brutally Brutal Brutality, in the language of guitar:

Adrian English

The Visitors. Book III, verses 23.186^16 to 24

Behold, a white chariot hath borne strangers to our land from the West, but they are known to us...for they are former and current people of the lands from the deep water known as the eight hundred and eight.

And lo, they have brought forth tales of their travels; tidings from the land of the eight hundred and eight, from the distant lands of Cut Bank, Montana, and tales from the lands of Gresham. Our hearts were made happy, and there was much rejoicing.

And we made haste and ventured forth into Yamhill, to Lago De Chapala did we venture to...

There was much feasting, and people did partake of the roast beast, and of the chips and salsa did they partake thereof...

And there was libation and more bounty of the earth, to celebrate the visitors...

And when the feasting was done, we hath shewn them all of Yamhill, from the T&E to Trask Mountain Outpost.

And we ventured forth into Trask Mountain outpost, there was much dessert, beer and coffee..

There was much wonder at the spoils of the hunt which covereth the walls of the outpost, for we did gaze upon the hides of beasts, and the heads thereof. Sitting at the hearth did we look upon them.

And we boarded the white chariot and hath shewn them the rest of Yamhill; from the grain elevator to the hay fields..


We did bid our farewells that night to our vistors, hoping they would return with news of shelter for 3 thousand.

Summer. Part the Third, Version RCV6.4a

And Lo, the yamhillites and mcminvillites toiled and labored in the field, their brows covered with sweat and the dust of the fields thereof. AND the Yamhillites cried out" The heat, it oppresses us. It maketh our days long and our toil filled with misery!" The Mcminvilleites responded in kind, "behold the light of the season brings us a bounty of dried leaves and twigs, will our vineyards survive ? O Yamhillites, canst thou provide us shelter? Wilt thou bring a change in season?"


You know what? Now its cold again. "And the hoodie was pulled from its long sleep in storage, and it was good"

It was Labor day yesterday, wasn't it? Behold, a Summer Song.

Rasputina: Labor Day Weekend Cello

Since the most incredible month of September is almost upon us (with pointy teeth) i bring you....
Rasputina:






Perfect music for grilling, castle storming, or computer hacking. I give it a 5 for danceable qualities and a solid 10 for its depiction of the inner existentialist struggles of the modern musician; torn between art and the need to shelter and feed oneself. Balancing the nonsensical phrase of "Pop Sensibility" with the super human effort required to create serial/12 tone compositions.

Won't you, barracuda?

Horses In The Mist

Ok. i know there's only one horse visible in the picture, but you get the idea...

Prius Pious? Not I'us

Steve Jobs has reinforced my faith in that little interest of mine, the automobile. Instead of driving the state bird of Oregon, the Prius, HE hath chosen one of the more desirable German Chariots, the Mercedes Benz AMG SL55. *via Wired.

some technical specs for you:









Fast
German
Expensive





You like the detail? i thought you would.

One of my friends has put forth that it runs on the blood of former Apple employees, and is heavily armored.

My contention is that it runs on the souls of former Apple employees, and is not armored at all; for if you strike him down he will become more powerful than you can ever imagine...

Born To Run: 08 08 08

It has been pointed out to me that i've somehow neglected a very important event that happened on 08 08 08.

A song and some moving pictures might help- please welcome Jersey Girl.

Cool Maggie

In Hawaii, dogs are aware of the need for proper UV protection. This in car photograph shows the subject "Maggie" at the wheel of her Lamborghini Miura.



*Edit:
By request i have added a picture of Maggie's 1966 Lamborghini Miura P400SV



What else would a dog drive?

Hana Hou!

Congratulations to Waipio. Hana Hou!

Suddenly

Suddenly, Uli and i realized where we were....

Jus Pres

For those of you not fluent in Pidgin (as found in the state of Hawaii), the post title can be read as, "Just Press".

Happy Birthday, Ledward!

Frighteningly Fast Friday In F#

Behold , "Scarified"

Summer Part The Second, Version 3.2 alpha RC6

You might have noticed the complaints of two to three days of consecutive 104°F degree weather. Thank you for noticing. It has been raining for the last three days...remember cold, wet and dark Oregon?

It's back, and it's pissed off.

The rain is good for the farms and does wonders for my aversion to heat.

Can i get a 50k a year salary watching the rain or bitching about the weather? No?

In other news: ZFS is your friend. Don't commit any changes to routers toward the end of the day. Backup! Backup the Backup! How many router hops does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? Does it support IETF? If a beer opens itself in your fridge, does a tree in the forest hear it? Saimin is cheap, but awfully salty. Salt is quite salty. Guitars are made of wood and wire and are not particulary salty, but sort of expensive. When all else fails, Lydian. When that fails, feedback and the "pick scratch glissando" are your trustworthy friends. The capitol of Oregon is not Yngwie Malmsteen, but it should be. Playing sextuplet sequences at 1/4 note value 120 BPM is hard. I should be able to magically pay bills by playing all the diatonic modes in all twelve keys. Pizza should somehow replenish itself in my freezer. All money should come to you in white sacks with the "$" emblazoned upon them. When trying to make a point, one should use the phrase "Behold" once or twice; thrice thou shalt not utter the phrase..


Behold...

At Two in the Morning...

Doing some maintenance...

Apart from the maniacal cat that is causing mayhem in the dark, it's very quiet. Snoring dogs, the fridge compressor, and the single, psycho cat that needs to check every corner of the house at top speed. Every 5 seconds.

The glow of the laptop screen makes me want to put on mirrored sunglasses. In the dark. Like some William Gibson character in a Cyberpunk epic. Or not.

----

6) Channel Type { vc-nni(3), vc-uni(4) } : VC-UNI
7) Transport Priority {CBR(1), CBR_PRS(2), VBR_RT(3), : UBR
VBR_NRT(4), ABR(5), UBR(6) }
8) Multicast Enable { disable(0), enable(1) } : Disabled
10) AAL5 Discard Continue { disable(0), enable(1) } : Disabled

11) Traffic Parameters
13) Advanced Parameters

-------

Ahhh. That's the poetry of a switch, at 0200 HRS. its a wonderful thing

Summer Bounty

"Me mind on fire -- Me soul on fire -- Feeling hot hot hot Party people -- All around me feeling hot hot hot What to do - On a night like this Music sweet - I can't resist We need a party song - A fundamental jam..." - Buster Poindexter : "Hot Hot Hot"



The high temperature forecast for today and tomorrow is 104°F. One hundred and FOUR degrees. Not Ewa Beach hot, not Sahara hot, not even Africa hot... we have passed through the looking glass, ladies and gentlemen.. given the choice of the blue and red pill, i've been given the "planet Venus hot" pill. Is it possible to download a large fruit punch from the Internets ? Some tradewinds?

On a positive note, our neighbor has blessed us with this alkaloid bounty from her garden.
Hot Hot Hot. *anyone know what kinds of peppers are pictured here?

Philo

"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" -Philo of Alexandria

Oriental Flavor?

Oriental
-Adjective

1. Denoting or characteristic of the biogeographic region including southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as the Philippines and Borneo and Java; "Oriental politeness"; "for people of South and East Asian ancestry the term `Asian' is preferred to `Oriental'"; "Asian ancestry".
Noun

1. A member of an Oriental race.




On a whim, i decided to purchase some Saimin ( ramen ) from Fred Meyer. Flavors included chicken, pork, beef and Oriental flavor.

Oriental is a secret mainland word that means excessive salt, being salty, saltification, Sodium Chloride death ray device, Indiana Jones and the lost NaCl temple of the ark of SALT, death by
salt, Norewegian Salty death metal, lolsalt, and, plainly, fucking salty saimin.

Can one truly fix this pillar of salt in a bowl of soup? Yes internet people, the answer is a resounding yes.

Sambal.

Now :
The saimin very mindbendingly hot and salty. Spicy saltification, an orgy of heat and SALT, a sodom and gommorah display of sodium chloride crystals and alkaloids that bond to your heat receptors on your tongue...after being flooded with a wave of salt that is. DID I MENTION THE SALT?


I want a twinkie.


That is all. You may now roam about the Internet at will.

T.V. and Food Pr0n: No Reservations

There is not much that i will sit still for on the television, lately. Unless it is some documentary, (or perhaps, just perhaps a motorsports or car TOP GEAR TOP GEAR show) i'll be content  to read or hang outs on the Internet. However, in the rarified world of TV that i will watch, there is one who is a spouter of snark, a wiseass NYC native, and a true lover of food and the culture of  cuisine. Bourdain, dear internet people, Bourdain. Watch the 2008 Tokyo episode of "No Reservations" Zen, as food, as TV. 

"Anthony. Host.

Zazen as Food in Japan..

No Reservations"

Yamhill Morning Skies

Out of sheer laziness and the inability to post anything clever... i present my mornings. Sick or not, farm chores get done, yo.

The Morning Feeding

Morning in Yamhill...

Preston Reed on Guitar

Anthony Bourdain: Guns and Butter

Here is the latest blog entry from Chef and Writer Anthony Bourdain:


Guns and Butter


Read the whole darn thing. The music of Ted Nugent changed my life forever, many moons ago.
Rock music that makes you get goose bumps, that makes you want to jump up and down in a loincloth, that makes your parents afraid, this is hard rock at its feedback soaked, testosterone drenched finest! Imagine being a child and hearing "Double Live Gonzo" for the first time! ( in particular.. "The Great White Buffalo" and "Wang Dang...Sweet..figure it out .." )

Thanks for the Byrdland feedback , Mr Nugent!

Blogging From His Gut

From anzman.blogspot.com, "A blogger case study - Louis Gray"

what i found particularly interesting was this statement:

"...The secret sauce goes further.

Louis is as transparent as they come. From pictures of his new born twins to a few controversial pieces that he felt strongly about, it became obvious that he was blogging from his gut with no BS..."

Blogging from his gut! Gut blogging!

Is this like blogging from the Duodenum ? Journal writing from the pancreas ? Diary scribbling from the appendix? Web content creation from the bile duct? Archivists using their thyroids?

Ok. Expedition Oregon: opaque, tangential blogging from the superior vena cava. Since Yesterday.

toodles!

Observed. At Night

BKOD in front of BOD. BKOD observed taking forward position on target SPNS. SPNS classified as Deep Black, Eyes only.... or something like that, or something...

Monster Sex

Trask Mountain Outpost. Yamhill, Oregon. Drink Special for the night of 2 August, 2008.

XKCD

All too true:

XKCD

Excitement In Yamhill

And what of my day previous, you may ask? i might tell you. Yesterday, Wren decided to make a break for it. What is it? It would be about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away past the hilly portion of the hay field. It would be another horse farm, in even deeper, darker, Yamhill. It would be unexpected.

Who is Wren you say? Why Wren is a horse that lives here.

After setting up the irrigation, i had to take a call from my employer back in the 808 state. The next thing i know... M calls and states that the neighbor down the road has observed our horse running up the hill, on a public road. Hooray! Hooray! Isn't it interesting that i don't notice a ton of animal leaving our driveway? Isn't it?

First mistake, muck boots instead of sneakers. Second mistake, running in them.

i could not see any evidence of him east or west of the property,so taking the wife's advice, i went to the neighbors. She was apparently aware of his movements through Yamhill. Lead rope in hand, i knocked on the door. "He went up the hill on Yamhill road... he's either on the horse farm on the left.. or the horse farm on the right.." Right. North. Got it.

Cross highway 240, pass the god knows what kind of trees grove, crest the hill- did i mention that his is at a running pace, with muck boots? Can you feel the blisters?

There he was, on the left, standing in a giant field, next to a fence. Hanging out with other horses. While i'm catching my breath, a couple of concerns come to mind:

Concern #1: Am i going to get shot at while crossing someones property holding a lead rope? That is, don't i look like i'm going to steal *your* horse?

Concern #2: The sheriff. You would think that someone else noticed a horse running up and down public roads sans rider, right?

Concern #3: Will the punk ass bastard horse let me catch him and lead him back to our little farm without incident?

My concerns were unfounded. Horse caught without incident. No visit from Law Enforcement, no mayhem.

I envision the barbershop/general store conversation to go something like this:

"I hear a horse got away from the XXXXXXX farm"
"You don't say.."
"Yep, those folks from Hawaii"
"You don't say.."
"They say, the horse made it up past the hill on Yamhill Road"
"You don't say.."
"Cloudy today.."

Welcome to farm life folks. We're past the looking glass, people...

L0lcat friday

since i have nothing for you today.. well i do, but how to write of the experience? Only time will tell.


more cat pictures

The Breakfast of Champions

Let us not speak of its ridiculous sodium content, nor of its possible MSG content. Sometimes you just need a bowl of Saimin. The fork? i was too lazy to get the hashi.

missing: kamaboko, green onion, and some kimchee. This is to be rectified in Saimin V0.2 rev-a

Signs

Perhaps some of you remember the picture captioned "*mailboxes observing vast roaming herds of hay bales- Yamhill, Oregon"

Recently i have decided to set out and observe the movement of these splendid squares of plant matter. Once i achieved a favorable observation spot, i began to take pictures. Internet readers, we've now gone through the looking glass...


The once free roaming bales of hay have somehow assembled themselves into giant communal structures. Are they observing us, cold and calculating? Or is this a sign, proof of some agricultural benevolence? Perhaps these ominous monoliths are some last vestige of the Aztec culture, awaiting blood tribute so that the sun may rise once more.


Regardless of the conclusions you draw, these phenomena are real and documented...an open secret of mysterious Yamhill, Oregon.

SysAdminDay

*Main lineup and Network core. My old stomping grounds; you know where and you know what..



After you watch the Last Lecture, take the time to thank your SysAdmin for keeping your ass on the Internets. That is all.

The Last Lecture.

If you have about an hour or so, please honor the memory of CMU Professor Randy Pausch by going here

Yamhill Skies

Summer

          *mailboxes observing vast  roaming herds of hay bales- Yamhill, Oregon

i have been noticing the differences in rural living vs. what i was accustomed to. Note this sentence:

"I found my self behind a hay baler on the highway while making a trip to the General Store"

While our home in Hawaii was at least two miles from any store (Golden Mart being the closest at about 3 mi) you could be at a movie, chain restaurant or giant big box store in about 15 minutes. Assuming you don't get a ticket from the 5-Oh.

You will never see a Hay baler, combine, or similar implement of husbandry on the way to Goldenmart or Foodland...not even Chili's.

You will not pass acres of hay fields, horse pastures, cattle ranches, and vineyards on the way to Mililani town center.

You cannot , and i cannot repeat this often enough, get a styrofoam box filled with Korean food and 4 sides of your choice. Kim chee, taegu, mac salad and watercress please...at the general store in Yamhill.

You will not at any time worry about pasture irrigation issues or compost pile management at your condo in Mililani or Mililani Mauka. If you do, please stop smoking the meth.

On your return trip from Mililani town center, you will not pass bales of hay ,the size of little british sports cars, lying in the fields.

Please note that the closest town is about 11 miles away. In the other direction, 17 miles away.

Like i've mentioned before, the process of adapting to change is a slow one.  However, when you do stop by the T&E General store in Yamhill, Oregon- try the jalapeno poppers, they have two types. The cream cheese filled pepper comes highly recommended. Fried capsaicin delivery vectors ease homesickness, if only for a little bit.

 

Extreme Unction

The Guitarist: Muhammed Suicmez

The Band: Necrophagist

Distance

Luckily, thanks to mother Internet, i'm am reminded of the vast amount of water that separates me from my previous home.

16, 270,8480 inches of pacific ocean water and some of the mainland (for good measure) are between me and the archipelago of Hawaii.  Two thousand, Five hundred and sixty eight miles as reckoned by cellphone GPS/tower triangulation. If you mentioned to me a year ago that i would be wondering about the most efficient way to irrigate a farm... well, how much acid have you dropped?

Would i have even considered  the idea of 100°F weather? Farm Work? Uncertain futures? Implements of Husbandry? The lack of rice everywhere? 

You know, i used to think Waianae was very far away.

In the midst of all this, we adapt. My little farm out in the middle of nowhere is pretty neat. 

 Let's check back in a year. I have turned off the cabin indicators, you are now free to roam about the Internet. Wear sunscreen and a hat. 

Small Fish, Big Fish

*picture by you know who, of you know what, from you know where..

i've always found the idiom "Big fish in a small pond" to be problematic, as if you would not want that. Big fish implies that you have control (or can control) your sphere of influence, i.e. your small pond. Consider the alternatives:

• Small fish- small pond: Watch out for the big fish, or anything with baleen. Ok NOT OCEAN!
  
• Medium fish- small pond: Ok, now you've stepped up ichthyological chain of command. Congratulations! Welcome to ineffectual middle management, bitches.
  
• Algae-small pond: Well you just suck, pond scum...
  
• Yellow Fin Tuna- small pond: That's not going to  work, i said POND, not OCEAN. Get thee home, Thunnus albacares!
  

The point of all of this ? Is there a point? a lesson? an allegorical treasure you can take home and place next to your bowling trophy...looking at it from time to time and enjoying its shiny patina? 

You tell me. i'm just sending bits out to the ether, maaaaaan.

Fast Finger Friday

In keeping with the hidden theme for today, behold! The Metalocalypse has begun!

The iPhone

Against:


5 Reasons to Avoid iPhone 3G (via the FSF)


For:

How Did I Miss This Tripe (via The Angry Drunk)

Disclosure: i have a cell phone of some sort..thpppppppppppppht!

Guitar.

... and so Vincent proceeded to destroy the entire audience with his guitar playing...

So I don't forget

This is purely for my own entertainment.

Brutally Brutal Brutality manifest as Radio

Living out here, i forget that we get XM as part of the SAT tv package. Imagine my delight when i found this:


THIS


How many fingers am i holding up now? More importantly, which ones?

Speaking of brutal

The Shape of Things to Come

An interesting article on an interesting marque; Triumph.

What the Wife Said...

"Nobody likes Meshuggah except for you and your weird friends"

-M

Consider the Alternative

Spotted at the General Store in Yamhill, Oregon. Flowers?

Respect The Classics, Man