Turning down Maven

I've gotten a couple invites to Maven. I ignored the first, then replied to the second with this:

I appreciate the offer, but reading through just this email, it strikes me as an Amway equivalent where the product is professional services, not hard goods. Roughly intriguing, as that's something I can do, but I've known a bit too much about such pyramid product-selling systems. Eventually, there's nobody left that the tail-end guy would want to bring into the system, meaning all he gets is selling his own time (minus a cut to the Maven system). With the focus on knowledge-based sales, that pool gets even narrower.

I won't be joining; You don't need to send me any more invitations. Thank you for the offer.

It's all fun and games...

A friend of mine (related to another friend of mine) who has a glass eye has this to say:

"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye--and then it's hilarious!"

He's nice to have on the gun range, too.

Pics on the wing

No, pics on the wing, not pigs.

Anyway, I took this while flying from ATL to MDW. Came out really neat; I don't know why or how. I like it, though.



Complete set from that flight is here.

Looking for a keyboard/mouse combo device

I'm looking for a decent, wired keyboard/mouse combo device. I'd love one of these, but they're prohibited at the office. (The noise is apparently too distracting.) I have one of these, and I like it, but I don't care to be replacing or charging batteries on a keyboard I'm continually using.

Ideas or recommendations?

I didn't realize how much of a loser I was until Google spelled it out for me.

moar funny pictures

"Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex 2nd Gig" and "Toccata & Fugue in D Minor"

I think one could create an interesting AMV that took GitS:SAC 2nd Gig, the corresponding Tachikomatic Days episodes, and mapped them to Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor.

If I were to do it, I think the way I would map it would be based on how you can see the piece played by an organist:



Parts of the song that had more significant use of the right hand would map more greatly to Section 9, their actions and their influences, parts that had more significant use of the left hand would map more greatly to Hideo Kuze and his actions and influences, while parts that had more significant use of the foot pedals would map more greatly to the actions of Kazunda Gouda and his actions and influences.

There are a couple parts that only have high note components, and those, of course, would need to map to the comic relief of Tachikomatic Days.

New Year's Resolution(s)

Get that check to Woodstock, and in the hands of its intended recipient.

Accomplish at least some of the goals I noted for Rosetta Code for 2010.

Build a NAS box for off-box backups of dodo.

Find my Slayers DVDs.

Get a NexusBot dev team running. Avoid contention over choice of programming language.

Solidify some more of my thoughts and ideas for image and video editing and compositing.

Make an AMV or two.

Give up trying to get JT and RL to come back to coffee. (Dunno what we did to scare them off...)

Get some more anime-tolerant friends to attend the weekly get-togethers.