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Saturday, February 03, 2007

Guns

Guns
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I went shooting with a friend last week. He is a gun enthusiasts. We got talking about a story I was writing and that got us talking about guns. He enjoys going to the range and he invited me to go with him.

I have gone to a shooting range before, but it was years ago. I had never shot anything larger than a .22. We would shoot .22 rifles in Boy Scouts. Those were always in outdoor ranges. Where we went to shoot the .22 pistol was an indoor range, but it was cavernous compared to the place we went this time.

This time I shot a Colt Model 1911, .38 Special, Walter PPK 9mm, Glock 9mm, and a Berreta 9mm. I shot the Colt Model 1911 first. This is a mythic gun to me. It was the side arm of the US Military for most of the 20th Century. I have read a lot of stories that are focused around the M1911. When I shot it, it was louder then I expected. It also had more or a kick than I expected. The sound was a little overwhelming. I would be focused on the target aiming, I would squeeze trigger, and the flash would surprise me.

The .38 Special made a lot of smoke and spewed a lot of GSR. I wanted to shoot this gun because I was thinking of it for a story. My friend liked to call it his Joe Friday special. This gun felt small in my hand. It was like the stock gave me nothing to hang onto. I did not enjoy shooting it.

If I wanted a gun that I could hit what I was aiming for, I could chose the Glock or the Berreta. Both of these guns felt good in my hand. I was a little more comfortable with the Berreta. I was a little more accurate with the Glock. Both of them seemed to fit my hand right. I know if I was to buy a gun it would be one of these two guns. I would like to shoot with them some more.

Labels: Berreta, Colt, Colt M1911, glock, gun, shooting, Walter PPK

- Rich, 8:56 PM

Tag Overload

There is a limit to the number of characters that can be used with the Blogger 'Label' system. I forget the limit, but I have run into in on some of my lists. When I run into that limit I use the tag 'Tag Overload'. I wonder how many other people use meta-tags. I wonder how many other systems have tag limits.

One of the interesting things it me is how tags do not have standards. I had to come up with tag overload on my own. I had no guidelines or standards to rely on. Everyone is making things up for themselves. I know this is one of the points of tags. We want to decentralize information. In the long run the most powerful meme will become the standard.

I wonder how we will look back at tags in five years. Will they change the world or will we look back at them and wonder what we were thinking? I know that for some people tags have change the way they think about information. One of the key ideas about tags is that they do not fit into one category, but many categories.

Labels: information, meme, metatag, tags

- Rich, 1:33 PM

Super Teams

It seems like this is the year to rank Super Bowl teams. The NFL and NFL films has been doing in NFL Network with the America's Game Series. I would like to that website, but it is one of the worst websites I have ever seen. The page never stopped loading and it froze up my browser. I am surprised that the NFL does not know how to write a web page. I cannot find the results anywhere else on the web.

ESPN.com has also ranked all the teams to be in the Super Bowl from 80 to 1. I do not agree with their list all that much. ESPN looks at the whole season the team had. I think they are putting too much weight on the whole career the players had. I would not put the 1989 49ers as the greatest Super Bowl team of all time.

1. 1985 Bears
2. 1984 49ers
3. 1966 Packers
4. 1978 Steelers
5. 1968 Jets

I put the 85 Bears at the top of the list because no and I mean no one was going to beat them. You could have lined up anyone against them in the Super Bowl and they were going to win.

I like the 84 49ers because it is harder define greatness. I think this is the point where the 94ers went from a team to the team of the 80s.

The 66 Packers make my list because they were first. This might not have been the best Packers team of that 60's, but they had no road map. If they did not win this game they would not have been the team of the 60s. That is a big weight.

I put the 78 Steelers on this list because it is the first Super Bowl I remember watching. This team is mythic in my mind. There is no other way to put it

The 68 Jets is on this list because they were the underdog and still won. If they would have lost that game it would have been not shame. There is something to be said for winning when everyone else is betting against you.

Labels: 49ers, Bears, Best of All Time, football, Jets, list, NFL, Packers, Steelers, Super Bowl

- Rich, 12:58 PM

Friday, February 02, 2007

Network Effect of Dating

The long standing question for me is, "How do I meet women?" When I ask this question I mean, "How do I meet women who are available and interesting in dating?" I have never been good at answering this question. I was not good at finding interesting women even when they were all around me. I know a few people who think that it is almost impossible to meet that person once you are out of school. That is a depressing idea.

Both Andrew and Peter have been telling me that I need to work on the Network Effect. They both have the same play for meeting women. Here is the plan:

1. Become friends with women
2. Go to parties with the women you are now friends with
3. Meet their friends at the party.
4. Have your female friends endorse you to the women you met at the party
5. Go on dates with the women you have met at the parties.

I have never been able to put this kind of plan into action for myself. I have a handful of female friends. When I tell them about this idea they live me the "I hope he does not ask me for help on this one" look. Most of them tell me that the theory is not going to work. The answers from my female friends range from, "I do not have any female friends" to "I would not wish my female friends on anyone" to "I don't get involved with other people's love lives."

Maybe part of the first part of the plan needs to become, "become friends with women who hang out with single women." This idea will clearly not work with my current group of female friends.

I wonder if this is reflection of what my female friends think of me. If you would not date someone, would you tell your friends about the?

If anyone has a good idea of how I can meet single women, let me know. I need to go on some dates. I think it would be good for me.

Labels: Andrew J Thomas, dating, network effect, petersconrad, women

- Rich, 8:06 PM

Our Lady Of Peace: Toes

Our Lady Of Peace: Toes
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

When I took this picture all I could think about was the four toe statue on the TV show Lost. I know that there is a pinky toe under the edge of this dress. It still makes me think of Lost. I know this is a sign that I watch too much TV and that I am excited about Lost starting again next week.

I know lots of people say that Lost is not as good as the first season. I have to disagree with those people. It is not the same show as the first season. I think that is brilliant. The writers are turning into a different type of show every season. I am looking forward to the second half of this season starting.

Labels: flickrpost, Lost, statue, virgin mary

- Rich, 7:32 PM

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Best of 2006 Mixes

It is time again for my best of the year mixes. I did three mixes this year. I did Best of 2006, New to Me 2006, and the Best of the SXSW 2006 Bittorrent.



Best of 2006
I listened to about 65 albums released in 2006. I know that I listen to a lot of music. That should not surprise anyone. There was a lot of good music that came out this year. This mix only has a fraction of the music I would say it good.

Best of 2006

1. Fraud in The 80’s – Mates Of State
2. A Certain Romance – Arctic Monkeys
3. Gravity’s Gone – Drive by Truckers
4. E.N.Y House – Masta Killer
5. Lost In Boston – The Walkmen
6. Girl In A War – Josh Ritter
7. List of Baby Names – Bound Stems
8. Notion – Karl Blau
9. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood – Neko Case
10. Montgomery – Magnolia Electric Co
11. Chips Ahoy – The Hold Steady
12. Woke Up New – Mountain Goats
13. The Charging Sky – Jenny Lewis
14. Smiley Faces – Gnarls Barkley
15. The Competition – Kimya Dawson
16. Attraction is Ephemeral – Mecca Normal
17. Rubies - Destoryer
18. Rough Jems – Islands
19. The Greatest – Cat Power

New To Me 2006

No matter how much music I hear, something is always missed. That is why I make this mix. I think it is just as important as the best of the year mix.

New To Me 2006
1. If I’m Waiting – Jason Anderson
2. Huddle Formation – The Go! Team
3. Over and Over - Heavenly
4. So Long – Jason Anderson
5. Like A Monkey In A Zoo – K. McCarty
6. 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10 – Mountain Goats
7. I Wish I Was The Moon – Neko Case
8. Section 12 (Hold Me Now) – The Polyphonic Spree
9. Small Stakes - Spoon
10. The End Has No End – The Strokes
11. Hearts of Oak – Ted Leo / Pharmacists
12. Car Trouble – All Girl Summer Fun Band
13. You Held the World In Your Arms - Idlewild
14. Madam Truffle – Major Organ
15. At The Bottom of Everything – Bright Eyes
16. Love Steals Us From Loneliness - Idlewild
17. Off The Record – My Morning Jacket
18. The Purple Bottle – Animal Collective
19. Parisian Dream – Laura Veirs
20. Grounds For Divorce – Wolf Parade
21. Sorry Entertainer – Daniel Johnson


SXSW 2006

There are so many good bands that I have never heard of before. This is a good way to find some of them. I could spend my whole year just listening to the music from SXSW. I think that is a good thing.

SXSW 2006

1. Walkin’ On Nails – Mac Lethal
2. Binary Girl – Mathematicians
3. Memorize The City – The Organ
4. Agony – Awol One
5. Harvard Hand – The Foxymorons
6. I’ve Been Lost - +/-
7. Another Seven Year- Aberdeen City
8. na – Band of Horses
9. Postcards from Italy – Beirut
10. Birmingham – The Deaths
11. Girls & Sunshine – Dirty On Purpose
12. Hide and Seek – The Eighteenth Day
13. Buckeyed Rabbit – Grassy Knoll Boys
14. Try Telling That To My Baby – The Heavy Blinkers
15. Old Britannia – Hey Negrita
16. No Way Out – Love of Diagrams
17. Broken Plates – Magenta Lane
18. A Captive Audience – The Velvet Teen
19. No Good Here – Tim Fite
20. Red Drop - The Standard

If people want me to write about every song on this list let me know. I will get started on that entry.

Labels: 2006, best of 2006, best of CD Challange, mix, mixcd, music

- Rich, 6:34 PM

1-31-07 Over Reaction

From what I read on Live Journal I can tell that I am not the only person who thinks the whole Boston/Aqua Teen Hunger Force event is really silly. I am not the only person who think the authorizes in Boston are now trying to cover themselves fort he over reaction. The devices do not look like bombs. They look like light-brights.

The worst part is that them over reacting does not make me feel safe. In fact it makes me feel less safe. It makes me feel that they city of Boston has no idea of how to assess a threat. If they cannot assess a threat a terrorist could drain resources very easily. Worst off they can cause a fake situation and attack after that. Looking at what happened, it might be true that the terrorist have won.

Right now the powers that be in Boston want to put these guys in jail as revenge. I think this is a waste of tax dollars. The people who are best out of shape about this should get their heads out of the holes they are in and use the chance to learn something. I just worry it will not happen.

Labels: adult swim, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, bomb scare, boston, cartoon network, mooninites, terrorism

- Rich, 5:52 PM

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

January 2007 Don't Let the Door Hit You

January 2007 has been one hell of a month. I wonder if the whole year is going to be this way. I am not sure if that would be good or bad.

Labels: 2007, moblogging

- Rich, 10:55 AM

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Jury duty

I am doing my best to not fall asleep while the Jury selection. I think the judge would not be happy with that.

Labels: jury duty, moblogging

- Rich, 11:13 AM

Our Lady Of Yahoo

Our Lady Of Yahoo
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I really like this photo. I wonder how many employees go over and pray when the stock goes down.

Labels: flickrpost, virgin mary, yahoo

- Rich, 12:48 AM

Monday, January 29, 2007

Tags, They Are It!

Flickr, del.icio.us, YouTube, Vox.

Which web site/tool has the best tag system?

What do you like about tag systems?
What do you dislike?
What would you have as part of a tag system?

I have been thinking about tags lately. I have the feeling that people do not see all the ways other people use tags. I am trying to understand.

Labels: tags, web, Web 2.0

- Rich, 8:47 PM

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Art School Bus

Art School Bus
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I have nothing to say about this photo. I just want more people to look at this photo.

Labels: flickrpost

- Rich, 3:49 PM

Little Mosque on the Prairie

I just found out about the show Little Mosque on the Prairie on CBC. The idea behind the show is that it is made by Muslims to appeal to Muslims. It is supposed to be funny to the rest of Canada also.

I wonder if the show is any good or not. I wonder if a show like this could ever make it in the US. You can find the show on YouTube and Google Video, but I am not sure I can watch a whole episode on my computer. I would expect that some of the jokes on this show would not be funny in the US. Canada and the US are just different enough that somethings on Canadian television do not make me laugh.

Labels: Canada, CBC, Muslim, television

- Rich, 8:10 AM

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