The Perils of Early Adoption

Update: Seems the problem was actually with Verizon, the gentle monopoly that provides me with internet service. They make their own modems which don't work with any new computer. They tried to charge me $99 for a new modem - the pricks, but if you threaten to drop your service they can "see what they can do" and give it to you for nothing. For that heavy handed tactic I downgraded my account and I'll be pricing for different service or I might just KISMAC through the condominium walls.

Moral: For minimal hassle, check compatibility before upgrading to OSX Leopard.

In case anyone was thinking of getting the new OSX leopard for an older mac - WAIT.
Make no mistake, it is beautiful and installed fantastically, but it also broke nearly every third party application I use, not to mention it has a terrible prejudice against my cut rate, verizon supplied Westell router. I can connect to my neighbors signal just fine and my Wii connects without a problem, but for some reason Leopard will not leap into my router.

So here I am at 2:00 am, with a fist full of hair, eyes bleeding with pure hatred - out $120 something dollars with a crippled, hobbled, frustrating computer that was working just fine a few hours ago, living another lesson against brand loyalty. Get ready to regret those Apple logo tattoos and if I may suggest... Ubuntu.

Warmer

The cold weather is upon us. Time to pull the sweaters and heavy down blankets from the shelf and shiver for the next few months. I am unfortunate to work outside, so the winter for me is a bit more serious. Being a yankee, born and bred, I have a few tips for staving off the cold.

Silk long underwear. I admit it, I wear it, I love it. Its a few extra dollars, but its easily washed in the sink, it doesn't hold stink and the wool stuff is just too itchy. You have to be careful with the bottoms, the crotch gives out, I don't recommend biking with them on. If you have no choice but to foray out into the harsh elements there is solace to be had in silk long underwear.

Merino wool. Again, a few dollars more, but worth every penny. Hats, scarves and gloves. Accept no blends or substitutes. It dries quickly, but keeps you warm even when its wet. Merino wool can smell gamey at first, but it isn't unpleasant as some of the other wools and its not nearly as itchy. Why not have the best?

Hand warmers. In my opinion these are a waste of money. I've had a few spanning the technologies of our time. Some powered by coal or lighter fluid, some oxygenating iron and most recently, supersaturating crystalizing salts. They are clever novelties, but you can get the same effect from micro-waving an old sock filled with rice.

At night don't forget the old, grimy, rubber hot water bottle. No new england home is without one. There are some pretty swanky antique bottles as well, if you are feeling victorian-y.

Don't despair, the winter is a wonderful season. Have some tea, read a book, get caught up on correspondence, before you know it you'll be sweating your balls off in the 100+ midsummer heat and wishing for an icy breeze from the north.

Oprah is a minimalist?

An article from consumerist linked to a page on Oprah's site about couples on the verge of financial ruin. I have to give credit to Miss Oprah Winfrey, she has done more for this nation than I previously thought. She promotes literacy (even if its fluff), battles obesity, has excellent taste, and now she's using her power to tackle irresponsible overspending. I love you Oprah....

Repurposed Objects

Apartment Therapy has a good collection of repurposed objects.

Another Book

The Enchiridion by Epictetus. In text, or if you are busy then audio. If you can't deal, nothing beats the stoics.

New York Hates the Handicapped

So the City of New York doesn't give any consideration to handicapped people on parking meters. Even weirder was of the three people I asked, a cop, a sanitation inspector and a transportation officer - only one knew the answer. If you guessed the sanitation guy, you win the prize. The meter maid had to call a supervisor to find out for sure. That means if you are disabled you better drag your crippled ass back and pay that meter.

If you live in New York, you have my sympathies, you will be eliminated from the population after your thirtieth birthday.

20 tips

There are some good space saving tips on this blog. Japan has an edge on the west in regards to minimalism because they jam into those little tiny apartments. Still a good read.

Columbus Day

I had the day off for Columbus Day and I stayed at home. The weather was poor so I slept, did some laundry, made tomato sauce...

In Denver they went fucking nuts. They poured fake blood in the streets, they called foul and genocide at the memory of Christopher Columbus and generally disrupted the parade. People were arrested and spent their day off in prison on civil disobedience charges, alleging that this holiday celebrates the first trans-atlantic slave trader and murderer of indigenous people. Not my idea of a relaxing long weekend.

Now I won't pretend that I know anything about Christopher Columbus, I only just learned that he was Italian a few years ago (He was financed by the spanish court, I just assumed he was from Spain or Portugal) and honestly - I can't be bothered. Protesting bullshit holiday's? Seriously people... Seriously.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good protest, but it should be creative and have a goal. Protesting the past is a waste of time since you can't change the past, and worse, many of these frivolous protests strip credibility away from whatever cause you might be fighting for. The protesters didn't seem to have any demands, they just wanted to make assholes out of themselves and spoil a parade. Which they did. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that every one of them took the holiday pay without any crisis of conscience.

I am active in my government. I vote, I know my representatives but more importantly, they know me. I go to town hall meetings and ask relevant questions or make reasonable suggestions. Going to such events spoiling for a fight, so that you can hear yourself say something clever won't solve anything. Many a neighbor steps up to speak with clenched fists and comes away sounding like an idiot because they didn't know an issue or didn't desire a resolution. Protests are similar, know what you want and why you want it. Be able to make a case and be open to the perspective of others, but above all be reasonable and intelligent. Pouring blood on the street or laying down to block people from entering a building, what is that? I think of a child in the bank rolling around on the rug and screaming for attention.

The minimalist moral for today:
There is a right way to do things and a wrong way, and if you wind up in prison on your day off? You have chosen badly.

Volcanoes in Boston

Doody in Africa

In america our lives are overly complex . Nearly every aspect of our society is mechanized or automated and we consider life without technology a hardship. There is no getting to work without a car, there is no communication without a phone or computer and entertainment is impossible without billboard sized televisions and the latest accessories. The average American is more concerned about celebrities than then their own families. That is why I like to read about Africa.

I have never been to Africa, and honestly the first time I ever took interest in the continent was to read about bumbling criminals who were fleecing people by email, which was a novelty at the time. Now Africa is no model society - far from it, but I took a keen interest in their science. Science as a discipline has the uncanny power to cut through religious and tribal misinformation and reveal useful data. If the west brought anything of value to the African continent it was scientific method. There being immediate need for basic sustenance, medicine and water much of the simple but genius inventions made me wonder why we had not thought of these things before.

I posted recently about my low flow toilet, but it was too long and no one read it. In rural Africa dealing with doody is much more difficult so some smart guy came up with this system. I was especially impressed with the "raceway" term to describe high velocity sections of the design. I liked the idea of my doody in a race when I flush.

This same site was the first place I saw the Zeer pot, which was so simple and brilliant I feel stupid for not having thought of it myself. Two pots are nested and sand goes in the space between. Wet the sand and the evaporation lowers the temperature in the pot. Cover it with a wet cloth and food that would spoil in days is good for weeks. The whole thing costs 30 fucking cents. Folks that used to hustle back and forth to market have more leisure time for schooling or 419 scamming.

The biosand filter was another stroke of genius. Anyone who has kept tropical fish is familiar with the biological cleaning concept. Pour nasty water in the top, algae and other microbes dine on the nasty stuff that lives in the water and the sand separates out all the debris. Gravity provides the motive force and clean water comes out the other side. The system isn't flawless of course, well water contains some heavy metals that can make it through, but it removes parasites and other gross stuff.

So the next time you put your brainmeat to work on that first person shooter or if you realize that you just spent an hour on the phone talking about poor Britney and her progeny, well maybe you should take a moment to - you know... think.

Scary

Pickles are pretty scary anyhow, floating in their bitter, briny tubs.
Ansis made them even scarier.
I like how the frankenstein has his head sliced open.
Would've looked awesome in color.