Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • Six Different Ways To Ask A Question

    Thanks to Charles from Six Different Ways for this round of Blogger Insider questions. Excellent job, and I hope he enjoys the questions I sent as much I enjoyed these.

    OK, since you’ve opened the Pandora’s box of political opinions already on your site: What do you think about what’s happening in Palestine and what should the US reaction be? (This may be moot by next week, but . . .)
    This one is difficult for me to answer. I don’t know all the history, but I doubt anything we do will fix the problems. We can’t isolate the Palistinians any more than they are. We can’t tell the Israelis not to try to do what they think they need to do to stop the suicide bombers and try to stop the violence without looking like hypocrites. We can’t say to Israel, “We need your help to stop terrorism against our country and you need to support whatever we want to do, but you can’t do what you think is right to protect your citizens.” Do I think Israel’s going about it the wrong way? Yes. Do I have an alternative that would work any better? No, I don’t. I don’t think we’re going to come up with one either. I think the situation is untenable and unresolvable by a third party. From where I sit, across the ocean and with no real perspective other than worried American citizen, I have no idea what our response should be, and that scares me.
    You praised the show Once and Again, and now I heard it’s being cancelled. That happens to things I like ALL the time. If I like a TV programme, it’s the kiss of death for it. Does that happen to you a lot?
    Thanks for breaking the news to me. I hadn’t heard that. It happens to me all the time. It’s made me very careful about which shows I invest my time in. I thought Once and Again would be one they’d stick with. It’s won Emmy’s and is just a quality show. Like Sports Night before it, the networks can’t seem to handle intelligent shows that don’t stoop to the lowest common denominator. I’ve been forced to run to HBO for intelligent shows like Six Feet Under. The networks keep crying and renting their clothes over the fact that they’re losing audience to cable and have been for years. The answer’s pretty simple. For the most part, network fare is formulaic crap. They’ve focus-grouped all creativity and originality out of shows, and it’s depressing. I don’t think it’s that interesting shows aren’t conceived or that the people creating shows for the networks aren’t talented. I think it’s mostly that the networks won’t take a risk on a show like The Sopranos (which was originally made as a pilot for Fox). Ok, I need to backtrack a little. There are some original shows on the networks, they’re just a rare exception to the rule. I think Greg the Bunny on Fox has potential. I still love The Simpsons and King of the Hill, but they cancelled Family Guy. They cancelled Sports Night and kept Two Guys and a Girl on for two more seasons. Ok, enough on this one. Next question!
    So your a dad – favourite thing about that?
    Watching him grow and develop. I remember when he was born, he looked like a tiny boxer who’d gone twelve rounds with a cement mixer. His poor little head was all smooshed and his eyes were swollen. Then, when he was a couple months old and we could leave him on a blanket on the floor and he’d be right there half and hour later, gurgling away. At eight or nine months when he started pulling himself up on stuff, we were amazed. After that, “mommy” and “daddy” and now he’s a little person who talks and has opinions about things. It’s amazing.
    I get NextDraft also. Do you get any other email newsletters you’d recommend?
    I subscribe to a couple listservs, but I haven’t had good luck with newsletters other than NextDraft. I’m open to suggestions though.
    Do you think there’s a real future for Mozilla?
    I do. It may not take off as a stand-alone browser in Windows, but I think it’s perfect for linux users, and even Mac users who get tired of Internet Explorer’s quirks on that platform (although, 5.1 for OS X is nice). I think its real future is in what AOL’s doing with it – embedding it in another application. It’s perfect for that, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gecko powering all kinds of things in the near future, from settop boxes to cell phones. It’s portable, open-source, relatively small (the rendering engine, not Mozilla the client) and not reliant on a specific operating system. Oh, and did I mention it’s standards-compliant? As AOL moves forward with embedding it in its client, I think you’ll see that alone impact the browser marketshare of IE greatly.
    If you have an extra $20 – and it had to be spent solely on something for YOU – what would you buy?
    One of the David Byrne albums I don’t have. I came around to him fairly recently, and I can’t get enough.
    Be honest: Oreos. Ultra-odd sugary substance first, or accept the sandwiched cookie as offered by the manufacturer?
    If ice-cold milk is available, then it’s dip and chew. If not, then it’s disassemble, eat sugary filling and then eat the cookie pieces. It’s like three desserts in one!
    What is one of your favourite books and movies and why?
    The last great book I read was The Code Book by Simon Singh. It provided not only a technical history of cryptography, but took me into the battle between code makers and code breakers. It’s a fascinating read, even if you’re not into cryptography, the history and Mr. Singh’s writing style make it one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read.
    Was your site design influenced by Zeldman, or is the orange and graphic style just a coincidence?
    Actually, it was the spaceman image that made me pick orange. I realized that the orange was really close to Zeldman’s so I changed it. Then, I realized I changed it TO Zeldman’s shade and promptly changed it back. It’s either one or two websafe colors off of Jeff’s. And now that you mention it, I’ve started playing with other background colors in Photoshop and have found some interesting possibilities. Check back later for a new look.
    People may knock AOL, but I’ve heard they’re great to work for. Would you agree?
    It’s challenging. There are some things I don’t like about it, but overall it is a great place to work. The scope of the projects I work on is insane, and that provides not only a lot of fun in building them, but a lot of pride when they go out the door and I can say it gets X million hits a day and made X millions of dollars last year. Now, if only I could get a profit-sharing deal on those projects, then it would be a great place to work.
    How did you all decide on the name Max?
    I’ve always loved Where the Wild Things Are, and the name Max. So, when we found out we were having a boy, we tried to come up with a bunch of different names, but kept coming back to Max. It definitely fits him.
    Where would you like to travel that you’ve never been?
    Any little seaside town on the Mediterranean with a beach, pleasant locals and good food. I was going to say the Cote d’Azur, but then I started thinking about Greece and well, why narrow it down when I don’t have to? I don’t even know why I want to go there. Everything I’ve seen or read about either place makes it sound very peaceful and relaxing, and I could do with some of both.
    Describe the moment you realized you were in love with your wife.
    About two weeks after we started dating, I went on a trip with some friends to Carlsbad Caverns that I had planned before I even asked Jen out for the first time. I had a great time, but everytime we did something cool, I remember wishing that Jen was there and thinking about her constantly.
    You’ve invited me over for dinner. Thanks! What are we having?
    Because you made me think about when Jen and I were dating before we got married, I’d have say I’d serve what I made her for our first date: creamy cajun chicken. It was my favorite dish at this place in Tucson called The Good Earth It was a nice creamy alfredo sauce with just enough cajun spice to make your mouth tingle without making your eyes water. It had bite-sized chunks of tender chicken and homemade whole wheat fettucini. Of course, I didn’t make the fettucini for our date, but it was still great. To go along with it, I’d have to try to recreate the chocolate cake my mom made for my birthday this year (without the coffee.. I think she used hot chocolate to replace it).
    They’re going to make a movie of your life. Who would play you?
    An excellent question, and I would say John Candy circa Stripes would be a good fit for the physical side of things. He’s about the right size and complextion (round and pale). If he could play slightly geeky with a touch of art snob he’d have me down pat.
    I’m thinking you probably don’t smoke or drink anything with caffeine. So, Do you have any mild addictions that you indulge?
    Well, as a slightly lapsed Mormon and a geek, I have a wicked caffeine addiction. I also have a mild addiction to swearing and watching R-rated movies. I don’t drink alchohol or smoke and have never taken illegal drugs, although there was that wicked contact high… I think, like most Christians who deny themselves some of the “normal” addictions, I’ve fallen into one of the worst – gluttony. I’m a big boy, and love my food. I’ve been trying to lose weight, but dammit if food isn’t the biggest monkey on my back.

  • And I thought showing only

    And I thought showing only two days of content on the frontpage would be a problem. I’m a content machine.

  • Attention Campers!

    After yesterday’s feel-good rant about acceptance, I think today I’ll talk about tech zealots and the camps they inhabit. I’ve been reading some of ZDNet‘s TalkBack postings (scroll down) and am filled with fear.

    There are Microsoft Serfs, Linux Freaks, Anti-Microsoft Pirates, MacHeads, FreeSoftware Infidels, etc. They all have their misconceptions about their “enemies” and seem to want to inject them into every conversation. I’ve been reading the responses to articles for a couple weeks now. They all devolve into the same old tired arguments, that when they were conceived, my have had a backing in fact. Now, after years of spouting the same facts and figures about software that’s now three versions behind, these groupies have lost sight of the truth and fail to keep up with current software and refuse to take them on their own merits.

    I sit here in the middle of the issues, having friends on all sides of these arguments. I don’t understand why it has to be an all or nothing proposition. I like the ease of use of Windows 2000 when it comes to games and peripherals (for the most part). I love Linux and the freedom it gives me to configure it however I want, and the superior collection of software included in the distributions I use. I have a thing for Macs, their design and the fact that OS X is growing on me.

    Each platform does what it does. Each company (or group where Linux is concerned) has its strengths and weaknesses (or felonies). I just wish people would lay off the rhetoric and come up with new arguments. Be logical. If you don’t like Macs because you have a thing against Steve Jobs’ mock turtlenecks, don’t say it’s because Macs suck. Come out and say you don’t like Steve Jobs and that’s why you don’t like them. If you hate Windows because of the security vulnerabilities, that’s cool… just state it that way. Ok, that’s enough of that. Don’t be a parrot for propoganda. Think for yourself and get your information from more than one source. When our arguments all start to sound the same, no matter what the question, the dialogue is no longer intelligent or productive. It’s just shouting at the wall.

  • These pictures remind me of

    These pictures remind me of all the posters I had on my wall as a kid. Yeah, I was an Air Force brat… what of it?

  • A Perfect Segue

    There’s an article in last Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine that is a perfect example of my new and developing worldview. If you don’t want to go read it, here’s a summary. Two deaf women, both of whom graduated from Gallaudet and are severely hearing impaired were had a child through in-vitro fertilization. The child turned out to be deaf, and that was fine with the parents. The article chronicles the birth of their second child, and their attempts to ensure the child would also be deaf. Now, I’m not quite sure how I feel about that, but I’m glad they have the right to do it, and why not, let’s just add in the fact that they’re a lesbian couple and are able to have kids.

    This is a pretty extreme example of what I’ve been thinking about almost daily since September. There is a place for everyone. If you’re a gay deaf woman, there’s a community that will accept and appreciate you. That community is probably not in the Bible belt, but it exists. On the opposite spectrum, if you’re a homophobic Christian fundamentalist, there are places in this world where you’ll feel right at home. Those places probably don’t include San Francisco, or America’s liberal arts colleges. But they do exist. I’ve visited.

    I’m pretty much OK with whatever people want to believe, as long as they don’t try to inflict it on others either physically or morally. I’m on a crusade of acceptance. You want to be a tatooed sailor, fine. You want to live in a cave with the bats and throw crap at the walls? Fine with me, as long as you keep it in the cave, and don’t start throwing it at me. I start to have problems when, and this is a word with a lot of baggage, zealots show up. I notice the “true believers” a lot more now. Whether they’re the Pro-Unix/Anti-Microsoft folks, the religious freaks who think that anyone who doesn’t subscribe to their way of thinking should be wiped off the face of the earth, or even those in government who think that they’re God’s instrument to impose religious tenets as law – they’re all zealots, and I have a hard time listening to anyone who falls in that camp for very long.

    If you can’t understand others’ opinions. If you aren’t open to the idea that maybe what you believe might not be as set in stone as you think it is. If you have the urge to hurt others just because they look, act, think, live differently than yourself. You just might be a zealot, and you may just need therapy.

    Again, this is a work in progress, meant for revision. So, if you don’t agree with me, bring it on.

  • And while I’m up, let

    And while I’m up, let me take this opportunity to do my duty and plug NextDraft. Is it a hair cream? A wart remover? Oh no! Would I plug something like that? No no no. NextDraft is a clever daily newsletter that not only gives you some headlines you may have missed from the day, but also insightful and often witty commentary by one Mr. Dave Pell. I highly recommend it and think you should tell all your friends too.

  • As I sit here, awake

    As I sit here, awake because my stomach is conducting a chemistry experiment, I realize that while the Singapore Rice Noodles with chicken, pork and a plateful of curry was oh so good when I ate it, it might not do so well once it settled in. I feel like the symptom list from a Pepto-Bismal commercial.

  • I may be going to

    I may be going to see the Kids in the Hall!!

  • Classified: Not Funny

    My dad was in the Air Force for 23 years. For about 22 of those years, I lived at home and followed him around the world spreading democracy like seeds in the wind. When we lived in Mississippi, on the Vicksburg Army Corps of Engineers station, dad had an office with a nice big desk and cool chair. One day, my brother and I were waiting for him to get out of a meeting and were sitting in his office looking for rubber bands to shoot at things. We were in high school, and therefore into making trouble.

    We found dad’s CLASSIFIED stamp and the red ink and decided that more things in dad’s office needed to be top-secret. We stamped his yellow Post-It notes, his stationary, his paper airplane, a brochure for some timeshare condo and a napkin. Dad came in, surveying the CLASSIFIED damage, put his hands on his hips and in his best dad voice said, “Not funny”.

    For Father’s Day that year, we got my dad a NOT FUNNY stamp and some blue ink.

  • Define Fun

    In an effort to not talk about politics, terrorism or the middle east, here’s a collection of random stuff on my mind:

    This morning, I got an urgent request to crunch some server logs. Now, that’s not so fun. But, taking the crunched data and inserted approximately seven hundred and seventy thousand records into a database – that’s fun. It’s on #505397 and has been running for a little more than an hour. It should be finished by 1:15, or thereabouts. Why is this fun? I’ve never done anything where I tried to insert over 700,000 items into a database at once. Yes, “firsts” are fun.

    How does John Stockton do it? The man just turned forty and he’s still a great basketball player. I think I’ve figured it out. He’s boring. Yep, that’s it. He’s committed to his family, his church and the game, and that’s apparently about it. He likes golf and crossword puzzles. In a couple paragraphs in his latest column, Marty Burns tells us all we need to know about Mr. Stockton’s lifestyle. He’s not like a lot of today’s players that live high-risk lives and burn out. He’s even-keeled and boring, and well, just keeps on going. Great role-model, and I hope he coaches on day. Do I have an explanation for Karl Malone? Ummm… nope. He kind of shoots my theory out of the water. I think Karl’s a mutant.

    They cancelled bowling tonight because Maryland is in the NCAA Finals. Yeah, well, fine. I guess I can watch the game and wait until next week for another dreadful showing in GutterLand.

    I didn’t sleep well last night. Not sure why. I think maybe I’m coming down with dad’s flu… I really shouldn’t kiss him when he’s sick (April Fool’s!! I don’t kiss my dad, you sickos).

    Speaking of, I hate April Fool’s day. I only ever pulled off one good April Fool’s gag, and it was all Jen’s idea. Last year, we were going over to the fam’s for dinner. Max was about 18 months old. So, we decide to drop hints like Jen’s expecting kid numero dos. She made frequent trips to the bathroom and complained about not feeling well. I kept telling her to take it easy, got her pillows, drinks, etc. (writing this, I’m not sure how different this is from every day… again, just kidding). So, after dinner, and successfully pulling off this charade, my sister blurted out, “Are you guys PREGNANT?!” We turned a little red, and tell everyone, yes, we’re pregnant. We let that sink for a minute and then fell apart laughing and yelled, “APRIL FOOLS!!” My mom wasn’t impressed. And even now, when we bring it up, she says, “That wasn’t funny…”