November 20, 2005

The Camera Is Back

A word of warning to the world. My digital camera is back in my hands. I fear for us all. I'll probably end up taking many photo's that have no purpose at all. Ahhh, this is going to be fun. At least for me.

Haha. I might just be insane.
 Posted by Picasa

A lot of beer

I discovered this photo on my digital camera, that I had never copied off. It's from the summer. We loaded enough beer in the back of Tom's truck to buy 2 new cases. It was awesome.

 Posted by Picasa

November 19, 2005

Anniversary

Well today is the one year anniversary of my blog. It was an interesting year, and I'd say I had a lot of fun with this site.

I learned a lot of interesting things, and I'm just heating up. I plan on blogging a lot more. Even though I'm sure just about no one reads this. Or even cares what I have to say.

November 17, 2005

It was tough, but it works

Well it took quite a while, and I had to learn some fun things about both Javascript and how the Blogger system works. I finally managed to get two things done which I really wanted to happen.

First off, I managed to configure the page, so if you click on a date, it hides all the posts for that day. This makes it easy to move to old posts quickly. The knowledge I gained from making that work, enabled me to get the second key feature I wanted, which was to have the date and time listed beneath the title of each post. I think it looks really nice now.

And finally, I found a nifty little Javascript program that encrypts my e-mail address. Basically if you click on either of my two e-mail links, "give me a shout" or "David Novosel" (at the bottom of the page), some Javascript runs, which decrypts the e-mail address, and opens up the default mail sender. This is useful, as now Spambots can't get the address off my page. Ok, so it's a tad geekish, but it's something that's really useful at the same time. Spam can get pretty annoying at times.

As always, feel free to leave any comments about my site design, and anything else for that matter.

A pod for every season

It has recently been decided by some of my roommates and friends that I'm apparently not human. I blame Seinfeld for this problem, Jerry in particular. In the episode The Apartment, Jerry decides that Kramer isn't really a member of the human race, but a pod. That's right, a pod. For your viewing pleasure, I found a copy of the script, so everyone can understand where this is coming from. Hope you like it.

JERRY: Let me explain something to you.. You see, you're not normal. You're a great guy, I love you, but you're a pod. I, on the other hand, am a human being. I sometimes feel awkward, uncomfortable, even inhibited in certain situations with the other human beings. You wouldn't understand.

You can find a copy of the script here, which is located on the Seinfeld Scripts webpage.

Now some people might be insulted by this accusation, but personally I can't see anyway to win. They are being more than accurate and truthful. I'm odd. And I love it.

Signing off,

Pod Mk.2

The image for us all

I was just thinking that I should probably design a logo of some kind for the site. I think it would be pretty cool. If anyone has an idea for one, please let me know.

I really going this time. I swear.

The new design

Well I've ironed out the new design, and I'm pretty happy with it right now. I still have some minor changes to make, but all in all the new design is pretty sharp. If you visit, please comment on if you think the site looks good, bad, or even mediocre. Good feedback will help me to design a better site next time I upgrade.

The new site is designed to work with computers running a resolution of at least 1024x768. I apologize if you run something smaller, but less than 5% of the page loads are done in 800x600, and I decided I would rather have a better looking site for the other 95%. I've also managed to clean this version up a little bit, so it looks better with IE. My old template had some display issues with IE, but this one should be pretty clean. As always though, I advocate switching to Mozilla Firefox. There's no reason not to, and plenty of good reasons to make the switch.

For the record, all the work was done in the Lanark Computer Lab at Carleton University. The computers here happen to be better then what I have available, so I took advantage of the situation.

I happened to listened to a lot of Matthew Good during the night while I upgraded the site. I have all his music now on one CD, which is much easier to carry around. If you are fan of his, I suggest checking out Coming Out In Purple which is pretty interesting song. And well it's also downright odd. In fact, I just decided that everyone should check it out. I encourage one and all to listen if they get the chance.

Well, I'm off for now, I'll see what the day brings. It's generally pretty exciting, so I'm sure it'll be interesting.

Bored with the design again

I'm bored with the look and feel of my site again, so I'm going to update it. How does this affect you, you ask. Well excellent question I must admit. Basically the site will probably look like shit, and have all kinds of things not working over the next few hours or days as I make changes. I don't plan on breaking anything that deals with content, so the site should be viewable, but most likely it will look really weird. I just thought you should know. If you have any tips, ideas, or comments on my changes, please just leave a comment.

Thanks, and happy blogging to us all.

November 16, 2005

The Proper Judge

It is exactly because a man cannot do a thing that he is a proper judge of it.
-- Oscar Wilde

A Corporate Philosophy

The following little philosophy I discovered on kottke.org which links to an about page on ludicorp.com. That page in turn explains that the following concept comes from Disclosing New Worlds: Entrepreneurship, Democratic Action and the Cultivation of Solidarity by Charles Spinosa, Fernando Flores & Hubert Dreyfus (MIT Press 1997).

On a side note, I whole-heartenly suggest you check out kottke.org, as he runs a pretty nice site.

I now will leave you with the philosophy:

Business owners do not normally work for money either. They work for the enjoyment of their competitive skill, in the context of a life where competing skillfully makes sense. The money they earn supports this way of life. The same is true of their businesses. One might think that they view their businesses as nothing more than machines to produce profits, since they do closely monitor their accounts to keep tabs on those profits.


But this way of thinking replaces the point of the machine's activity with a diagnostic test of how well it is performing. Normally, one senses whether one is performing skillfully. A basketball player does not need to count baskets to know whether the team as a whole is in flow. Saying that the point of business is to produce profit is like saying that the whole point of playing basketball is to make as many baskets as possible. One could make many more baskets by having no opponent.


The game and styles of playing the game are what matter because they produce identities people care about. Likewise, a business develops an identity by providing a product or a service to people. To do that it needs capital, and it needs to make a profit, but no more than it needs to have competent employees or customers or any other thing that enables production to take place. None of this is the goal of the activity.


Have fun.

November 15, 2005

Power Loss

Some people are going to be having a bad day right now. The power just went off in the library at Carleton, knocking out all the computers. It was actually somewhat amusing, mostly as I didn't lose any work. The girl across from me hadn't saved in like an hour, so I feel bad for her, although I imagine it should have auto-saved.

I went to Aaron's History of Classical Music class yesterday, and I really liked it. I think I like it more than he does. Although in all honesty this doesn't really surprise me, as it is classical music, and most people only have a passing interest in it, whereas I have always enjoyed it. I think I'll go next week and see what new things I learn.

November 13, 2005

Jesus of Suburbia

Today I decided I am going to try and learn Jesus of Suburbia, as well it's a great tune. And it happens to be really long. I've got the first part figured out now, but I still have four more sections to learn.

For those of you who don't know, Jesus of Suburbia is by Green Day, off their newest album, American Idiot. Overall it's a pretty solidly constructed album, using the easily identifiably Green Day sound.

I've started thinking lately that I need some new music gear. In particular I want to get a new guitar and amp. The guitar I want to buy, is the Ibanez 720FM. It's a great looking guitar, and it sounds really nice as well. As for the amp, I'm basically looking to get something that's powered by tubes, and preferably it would be a Marshall.

I'm also looking to get a keyboard at some point, but that will probably be a while, as I would like to get a good one, and not bother with a cheap piece of junk. I have my eye on this Roland keyboard, with 20 voices, sustain and damp pedals, and the ability to record / playback songs. The only glitch is of course the price, settling in at a costly $1410. One can dream though, can't they?

November 12, 2005

Walking Sideways [draft]

Another ditty. It's really not quite done.

We are looking out for no one
As you come walking in
To match the sense of insecurity
That only some can feel
That only you can feel

It's like those friends down the street
The ones you never see
You often wonder where they are
And why they never call
And why you never call

Without a doubt
We're walking sideways
Without a thought
We're going nowhere
It's getting dark now
So very dark now

The lights have lost their touch
Like a sun who's in eclipse
Threatening your sense
The concept of a day
The concept of your day

Without a doubt
We're walking sideways
Without a thought
We're going nowhere
It's getting dark now
So very dark now

You're drinking just to feel alive
The bottle seems to hide
The sinking sense of being right
As if you think we care
As if someone can care

Without a doubt
We're walking sideways
Without a thought
We're going nowhere
It's getting dark now
So very dark now

November 09, 2005

The Leader Of Fools

It is but a stage of fools
And I,
I am the leader
The leader of fools.

Such blindness is suffered
In opulent grace
To have so much
And fall from such grace
Gives one thought
To such a waste.

And I,
I am the leader
The leader of selfish fools
Who reflects upon the stage
And chooses to deny
What wide doors were closed
In a lack of appreciation.

As I,
I am the leader
The leader of fools.

Re-created Reality

You slow down
Yet keep going
Into a wall
Of your own creation

The red lights
They fall behind
Into a blur
Of your own violation

Lost within
An unknown place
That re-creates
Reality

You stand up
Yet sit down
In a chair
Of your own making

You wonder why
It's all a lie
The empty cell
Of your own prison

Lost within
An unknown place
That re-creates
Reality

The silent scream
Is overbearing
The cowboy hat
Is masquerading
The highschool prom
Is implicating
So you slip away
To somewhere safe

Lost within
An unknown place
That re-creates
Reality

That re-creates
Reality

November 08, 2005

That crafty octopus

Its just like the story of the grasshopper and the octopus. All year long the grasshopper kept burying acorns for winter while the octopus mooched off his girlfriend and watched TV. Then the winter came, and the grasshopper died, and the octopus ate all his acorns and also he got a racecar. Is any of this getting through to you?

-
Fry from Futurama

...And Also He Got A Racecar

Well the first steps are occurring as we speak. I talk of course about forming a band with some friends. It's been talked about before, but it looks like me might actually try this time. We still have many hurdles, but we do have a band name. ...And Also He Got A Racecar. Now we only need a drummer. Oh, and our bass player hasn't even started playing bass yet. And neither me, nor Mike have ever played together. Plus a singer. One or two minor issues really. We have the name. And that's a start. Every dream has a beginning.

Infinity

'Cross the starry sky
It sped
Looming for a moment
Of eternity
Time stood but still for
A lost soul
Who glimpsed but a second
Infinity

November 07, 2005

So Relentless

It's a punk song. It's short, and I've got the guitar part already figured out.

Rents overdue
Phones ringing again
Parents on the line
Always nagging

Bills overdue
Letters in the mail
Waters out again
Third times the charm

Endless questions
Never answers
Every single day
So relentless

Come home at dawn
Sleep all day long
Missing the sun
Rocking all night long

Endless questions
Never answers
Every single day
So relentless

Drunk all the time
Writing stupid songs
Fuck it makes no sense
My guitar is green

Endless questions
Never answers
Every single day
So relentless

So relentless
So relentless

November 06, 2005

Blue Skies Overhead [draft]

Another draft copy of a possible song.

We walked down the hall
We lost our goal
Like a deer trapped
In the headlights

Drinking to stay sober today
And we've climbed
The tallest tower that you've ever known
And sunk to depths that were unknown

Goodnight we say
And hello good sir
To skies turning blue
Skies turning blue

We walked across the town
We lost ourselves
In the endless glow
Of headlights

The remote is lost again
Never to be found, yet always there
Like the cashier at the faceless store
Always so cheap, without a soul

Goodnight we say
And hello good sir
To skies turning blue
Skies turning blue

The long walk to nowhere
Endless lights overhead
It's the longest damn walk
We've ever been on
The longest damn walk
We've ever been on

The sky is turning blue
It's turning blue

Blue skies overhead...
Blue skies overhead...

November 05, 2005

Falling Away [draft]

At this point it's only a draft for a song.

So scared
The futures bright
The light eclipses
All you've ever known
And quite likely things
That don't belong

You despise
The endless talking
Just walk away
From all you've ever known
And all the reasons
Why you belong

Running away
Say goodbye
Just to escape
To find someone
Staring in your eyes
A reflection
That's been supersized
And often hard to deny
A guilt free trip
On sugar-free candy
Threatening your sense
Of gravity

Falling away...

Songs may live forever

A lark caught in a hunters nest
Sang sweet than then ever
As if the falling melody
Might wing and net disever

At dusk the hunter took his prey
The lark his freedom never
All birds and men are sure to die
But songs may live forever