name that roomba!

so i'm looking for creative roomba names, any suggestions? (add them in the comments, if you like. i'll think of some goofy prize if you like). so far i have Asimov (as in the author of the irobot short stories. seems forced and too obvious) and Hazel Motes (from Flannery O'Connor, for the reference to dust and so much more...)

(this is all making me think that there's flannery o'connor in my near future.)
Labels: random, roomba

:: ewee 6:03:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ::

change is the new inertia
suddenly, it feels like the dotcom bust all over again. our fearless leader got the axe. and as shocking as that was, nothing really has changed. yet. if i think about it, people have been getting laid off since the beginning of my tenure here. and tho we're now closing the print end of one of our pubs, in some ways, that's nothing new in the industry.

but there is a certain tension in the air. and it's funny (funny-odd, not funny-haha) to have had experiences in both the online and print worlds. (tho honestly, i don't see the dichotomy as strongly as some. data is data. some of how it's delivered it will evolve, some will not.)

so, i've kept myself busy stalking our new leadership, and reading the so-called blogosphere on the subject. so far, i like doc searle's take on "how to save newspapers." and i especially liked borsato's concise blurb on "why newspapers matter:"
Newspaper editors make judgements on the basis of what they believe their readers want to know. Bloggers make judgements on the basis of what they themselves want to know, which necessarily limits their audience.

Newspapers provide a wider perspective that is still in high demand.
meanwhile, i'm finally getting around to [read: making time for] reading what color is your parachute?
Labels: change, pizzawhirled, web 2.0

:: ewee 4:01:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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toilet math
well, i just got older, and this lovely math book was a gift from the ever toiletry-minded loo. this morning i was excited to learn about fibonacci numbers. you wanna know what i learned? great! (thought you'd never ask...)

take any two numbers, let's say 3 and 17. add them together. this gives you the third number in the series, 20. now add 17 and 20 together. this gives you the fourth number, 37. continue adding numbers in this way until you have a series of 10 numbers.

(ok, here's the exciting part.)

the sum of all 10 numbers is a gnarly bit of addition, eh? nope! all you have to do is multiply the 7th number by 11.

so using our series above: 3, 17, 20, 37, 57, 94, 151, 245, 396, 641.

3+17+20+37+57+94+151+245+396+641 = 151x11 = 1661

cool, eh? well, kinda. turns out, like much else that's been incorrectly attributed, this knowledge predates Fibonacci in India. [From Wikipedia: "Pingala's work also contains the basic ideas of Fibonacci number (called maatraameru)."]

and yes. i also learned the proof for this cool trick, but i'll spare you from that bit o' geekiness (unless you really must know). but learning on the toilet! that's multitasking...
Labels: 37, birthday, fibonacci, geeky, math, numbers, pingala, random, toilet humor

:: ewee 9:57:00 AM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Friday, March 23, 2007 ::

transitional birdys
[kinda weird image, i know. but bear with me a sec...]

so, i saw this bird on the sidewalk on the way to work this (friday) morning. it was a strange and sad little moment--not sure what happened to the pigeon, but it was deader than doornail when i walked by. something about it made me stop, walk back, and take a camera photo.

at least part of it was a reminder from my graduation from college (15 years ago! and yes, i graduated, who knows how...). i'd just finished my last final ever. can't remember what it was, but i do remember leaving the building (it was big and red and relatively modern). everything was a bit surreal, as i'd just gotten through a sleepless week of finals, a huge chapter in my life was coming to a close, and the future was completely unclear. i didn't even have a place to live yet, never mind a job or anything. needless to say, i wasn't one of those graduates going on to successful $60K careers (not even close...my poor parents!).

it was in this frame of mind that i walked out and saw a dead bird. a pigeon had flown into the window and died. not sure why, but i wrapped the bird in paper, picked it up, and took it to the studio, and started an etching from it. i never finished that etching, but i still have the copper plate somewhere.

later that night, i went to the cafeteria (relax, this isn't that kinda story), and found a friend (more like a carload of friends) to drive me to pick out a puppy at someone's home. our town was small enough that there wasn't a proper pound. instead, the pound (where the lost critters went) gave me a phone number, and that number hooked up people who wanted animals with people who had too many animals. turns out that a family an hour away had a litter of puppies that needed homes. when we got there, there were 4 puppies left, and each of us gravitated toward a different pup. i don't remember much, except getting lost near a place called the lunchbox (i think), and satchmo's big belly and smushy square face of cuteness. the kids had named her satchmo, and despite having a list of names (and not knowing the first thing about jazz), the name stuck. the other puppies, stayed behind (not a bad setup: country to run in, kids, a lineoleum floor to pee on. i'm sure they all did well), and satchmo rode back with us to campus.

it was the beginning of my adult life (such as it is). and it all started with that dead bird. weird, but that's how i remember it.
Labels: change, dogdogdog, moley, noho, roadtrip2k, spring

:: ewee 4:39:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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filmmaker, moi?
well, videographer at any rate...thanks to ramin (or his place of werk, anyhow) -- i present to you, my maestrapeace: death to juice box box! (or kehoe's many loves). plus, i gotta keep up with the web 2.0 hoopla and get video on my blog...right?
Labels: bask baskie dogs, jumpcut, kehoe, new black, video, web 2.0

:: ewee 1:05:00 PM [+] :: 2 comments ::
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:: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ::

spring, sproing, sprung
spring is (officially) here at last. march is being march, and vacillating between gorgeous summer weather, and winter rainy nonsense (and that's just in one day). but somehow that's appropriate for me. change is afoot, and i'm trying to ride it and stay positive (instead of my usual head-in-the-sand reaction).
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sweet lovechop
a coupla weeks ago, i said goodbye to baskie boy. sweet beasty lovechop. turns out that he's gotta fairly advanced (and aggressive) form of cancer, kidneys and lungs so far. it was heartbreaking and hard, at least in part because it's very much the end of an era, and part of a bigger letting go.

baskie being his stoic self, it was hard to see that anything was wrong. he's still the big lug who'll leap with amazing grace at any treat (and gulp it down with frightening alacrity). his eyes are as bright and as mischevious as always. it's his body that betrays his ailments. normally a dog fountain, now it's a struggle for him to produce even just a drop or two. when we first got there, he couldn't get up off the slippery lineoleum floor. but he was all too happy to hold court in the kitchen, wolfing down treats, and the occassional finger.

in some ways, i'd already made my peace (as much as i know how) with baskie's passing. but i was thankful for the chance to see him (with kehoe and loo) one more time.
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waltzing outrigga
made the happy connection (finally) last night about waltzing and paddling. people have been telling me for ages that the rhythm is like a waltz (ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three), and something clicked last night.

it wasn't perfect, but there were moments when everything was in alignment -- the boat paddled as one, the sunset was golden and pink and gorgeous behind the golden gate, and i was working hard enough to keep my nose running, and most of my body warm.
Labels: bask baskie dogs, change, outrigger, paddling, spring

:: ewee 12:23:00 PM [+] :: 1 comments ::
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:: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ::

sweet baskie
(i can't even explain this. suffice to say, he's a lovely, beastly, lovechop...)
Labels: bask baskie dogs, dogdogdog, heartbreak

:: ewee 5:31:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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more malaysia photos

these ones from miz sy. and many that are of people, not just food! i've expired the previous link i sent, so lemme know if you want a looksee...
Labels: malaysia

:: ewee 5:12:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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biday (sp?)
this was the source of much hilarity...but then, so was everything that weekend.
Labels: malaysia, toilet humor

:: ewee 5:00:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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pi day: 3/14 1:59:26 ;-P
Labels: geeky, math, pi day, random

:: ewee 1:59:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Monday, March 05, 2007 ::

you go, i go stay come
if you happened to notice, dogmo (com, net and org) ~~are~~ were down temporarily. tis but a minor glitch (corrected with plastic). we~~'ll be~~ are back up to speed ~~soon~~ now... (thanks for noticing!)
Labels: glitch, go stay come

:: ewee 4:12:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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no away
reading lucky duck today for a moment of ease after talking on the phone (people are much too exhausting in the afternoon. i should just call it a day...), and thanks to her, i came across indy filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal's take on throwing "away" (and how there is no "away" any longer).

also, from the "wait, is it funny? funny files" (from my other fave reading source these days, the New York Times): Swiss Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein.

and from the same honorable publication, a challenge--photo scavenger hunt. different than what i did this weekend but in very much the same vein of coolness.
Labels: cnyth, links, random, throw away, waste

:: ewee 2:01:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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