There she goes, my beautiful world
Yesterday this world lost Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
His passing is a terrible loss for us, but I don’t find myself sad. He survived the gulag and lived to see his own pen defeat the regime that betrayed him and his country. It’s been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. We who lived in the twentieth century saw the pen mightier than an arsenal of nuclear weapons, mightier than the most extensive secret police force in all history. He … Read the rest
This weekend I did something I’ve been thinking about for some time. I threw away everything I’ve ever been told about «workstation ergonomics» and adjusted the height and angle of my drawing table up. I moved the drawing I’m working on up higher on the board and pushed my chair aside. I did the next couple of hours of drawing standing up, sitting only when I did something with the computer.
I liked working standing. I’ve noticed before that I … Read the rest
Faster «3G» networking is a nice bonus, but that’s not what’s getting my attention. What’s tipping me toward the iPhone is that, even though Apple is holding the reins tightly, third-party applications are possible and a few of my must-haves are already here. Also, word is the new iPhone has much better sound quality than the original. Reports that the original iPhone was not really a great phone did give me pause.
In order to put third-party apps on … Read the rest
My high school saved me. I was on a brutal downward spiral in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, and in high school I went to an unconventional school that provided tremendous freedom and responsibility on its students. In many ways it appeared to be an «easier, softer way» but it provided its own form of challenge to the students. We were given enough rope to hang ourselves. The students were treated as peers to the faculty. We were on a … Read the rest
Today’s run: 5.33 miles in a sluggish 1:09:53. I’m disappointed not so much in the final time, but in how hard I hit the wall while I was out there. The sun was beating down and sure felt hotter than the 70 degrees my weather widget says it is.
I went out and around Mays Field, which was fun because there was a game at the time. I heard Rich Aurelia (I think) hit … Read the rest
1.9 miles in 25 minutes, 32 seconds. I suppose that’s not too bad for a guy who hasn’t run in the 9 months since breaking his foot.
I actually did try running a little over two months ago but started wheezing and could not catch my breath. I ran about a block and a half and walked almost the remainder of the 2.25 miles. I decided to start walking instead of running for the time being, but … Read the rest
I’m a bit chagrinned to admit that having been mired in details I failed to see the obvious.
In standard paper sizes (ISO 216) and pen-point sizes (ISO 128 &c), the square root of two is used as the interval between sizes, and between the short and long sides in the case of paper. This makes good sense for the purposes of mechanical enlargement or reduction. If you draw or write something with a #2 pen (0… Read the rest
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/19/politics/p060323D99.DTL
Why is it even mildly scandalous that Barack Obama said that he’d take public money and then decided not to? Are there restrictions attached to the Presidential Campaign Fund that he doesn’t have to abide? Or is it just that it theoretically looks bad for the other candidate to have his hand in the public cookie jar while he doesn’t?… Read the rest
It’s morning in El Cerrito — or is it Albany? I’ve never been certain about the borders here in the East Bay. I stopped at a Shell station to get fuel for the Guzzi and a little caffeine for myself.
Across San Pablo from me is a policeman who has pulled over a bicyclist. The bicyclist has a trailer attached to her bike, and the trailer has a trash barrel on it and some rakes and tools.
It looks like the … Read the rest
Pilot is quickly becoming my favorite pen manufacturer and my least favorite pen company at the same time. Their design and attention to detail is remarkable, their quality control appears to be currently unparalleled in the industry, and their prices run on the low side compared to pens of similar quality of design. In these regards, Pilot is making most of the rest of the industry look bad. What’s the catch? Pilot USA won’t sell these pens.
The newest addition to … Read the rest