July 21, 2013
July 14, 2013
Protected: never kept me up before, now i’ve been awake for days
December 2, 2012
June 18, 2012
Mothers News 2012 Fundraiser Still In Full Effect
I keep neglecting to write about my own fundraising efforts (maybe later tonight) but instead, would like to remind you about the Mothers News 2012 Fundraiser. Mothers News is a Real Newspaper with Real News, comics, ideas, and is generally the only good reason to check the mail, if your friends are like most of mine and don’t return postcards.
Mothers News is edited by Jacob Berendes, whose endeavors and projects have continued to impress and inspire me, and I look forward to the 3rd year of the Paper of Record. The fundraiser has reached its goal, so any money donated beyond this point will only further enable the project’s stated mission of “design[ing] and manufactur[ing] a craft that would take a human occupant into outer space.” I’m happy to support this project!
There are 12 days left, as of this writing, so donate now, which is really a Subscription at most levels, and let me tell you, it is well worth it.
June 4, 2012
April 1, 2012
Truck drivin adventures
Shortly after this photo was taken I ran the truck into my own car. Never having driven a 20′ box truck before I may have been out of my league being behind the wheel. Fortunately, at the moment when I was about to drive away in this thing, Ryan came by and offered to pilot it.
We were on our way to Locust, NJ, where Meg and I will move this summer to try our hand at farming. The girls at Domestic Construction had $10,000 in plexiglass in 4×10 frames painted in CMYK colors for some famous printer company’s promotion. It was destined for the scrap heap unless we could rescue it, so with plans of a colorful greenhouse in mind, we headed south.
I’d completely miscalculated the scale of this job- the truck was jammed full of wood, plexiglass, and other junk on top of it. We pulled everything out, stacked it in the garage and put the extra under a tarp outside the garage. Tom and Ryan were both great sports about it. I’d toldTom earlier on the phone that this would only be a 30-minute job. Clearly I had no idea. All told, it probably took us 2 hours to unload the truck, plus travel time. Along the way, the guys pointed out all the great thins about the area I’ll soon be moving to- mostly strip clubs, liquor stores, and bait-and-tackle shops, with lots of ice cream stands along the road. I’m sure we can find some hidden gems here, at least with the ice cream.
I really hope I didn’t use up too many favors with this job- because it’s only the beginning of our farm adventure, and I know that Meg and I will need all the help we can get from our friends to make it work.
March 25, 2012
Building a nuc at Hayseed’s
Whenever I have to break out even the simplest of tools, I feel like I’m in over my head. Whether it’s racking servers, fixing a loose bicycle wheel, or build a compost bin, I start to wonder if there are skills that I just never picked up from my father (if he even had them). It’s a frustrating situation- I need to drill 5 holes, evenly spaced, on each side of 4 boards, and I can’t even remember how to calculate the distance between each hole. I take shortcuts and as a result, things end up kind of sloppy. In the end, all the pieces fit together and I’m sure this will be a perfectly adequate demo unit for the shop.
This nucleus hive (used for transporting or capturing swarms, splitting a hive off to a friend, etc) took about 90 minutes to assemble. Someone better endowed than I could have done it in 60, I suspect. I learned a few important things here: even being able to follow along with the build diagram felt like a success. Oof. I have got a lot of work to do!
March 24, 2012
8 of your friends posted about “Rush Limbaugh”
Draft of reply to someone on facebook re: douchebag radio jock’s misogynist comments- though the 2 issues which seem relevant here are the anti-contraception attitude pushed by Catholic institutions and red states in general, and the anti-woman rhetoric which would shame and punish a woman for having the gall to express herself sexually- the more relevant political issue (if we have to pick) is the former, so that is what I’m commenting on.
Though of course all women benefit from sex-positive legislation, and the entire country benefits from healthier, safer women, the real victims of Blunt’s amendment and Rubio’s bills are those with no other choices.
Ms. Fluke’s organization does important work for reproductive rights and justice, which includes standing up for all women’s reproductive rights and health. The issue she brought before the House (see transcript [PDF]) directly affects more than college women- but just as her school’s health care plan or religiously-affiliated employer’s health care plan can deny her birth control, so can those of much poorer women with less money for BC and less education on other options. Birth control is as important an issue now as ever, and any organization standing in the way of a woman’s right and privilige to stay safe and healthy should seriously reconsider what it stands for, and who it really represents.
Don’t be fooled by some antagonistic and inflamitory radio pundit’s slut-shaming rhetoric. The real beneficiaries of the Affordable Care Act bill’s contraception provisions are not college “sluts” who just can’t get enough sex. It’s poor women who lack affordable family planning knowledge and tools. Our last president completely decimated comprehensive sex ed in schools in favor of the abstinence-only garbage (proven to not work)- on religious grounds- and now you want to take away the other options- on religious grounds?
The Catholic church’s constant intrusion (and recent call to arms by NY’s cardinal Dolan) tell us that this vocal minority is not going anywhere, and may get stronger. Please write to your Senators and thank them for striking down the Blunt bill on Thursdsay. It was a close vote, and it won’t be the last.
December 29, 2011
in which we quit godaddy
Popular domain registrar Godaddy has been the bane of my existence for a long time- their Gross CEO, their sexist ads, deceptive and confusing shopping carts and their generally confusing and difficult website (not linking to it).
But as an IT consultant, they’ve been cheap, which is what many of my clients want. Sometimes you register a domain and don’t know if you’re going to use it- you just snap up that funny idea you had, just in case. And they’re a pain in the ass to use, but so what? It’s only once a year, after all.
This time, however, Godaddy has gone too far, by supporting detrimental and offensive legislation, SOPA, that would effectively alter the way the Internet works, and in turn, our freedom on the network. You can read more about the bill here and see why a number of companies oppose this harmful bill. Under the guise of preventing illegal movie and music downloads, SOPA gives the government the ability to shut down sites with views they simply don’t agree with, opening the door to brutal assaults on our free speech.
Sure, Godaddy has taken back their support for the bill, but their attitude in unacceptable and I refuse to give them another dollar. Brooklynhomesteader and Brooklynhoney, as well as my personal domains, are on their way over to Dyndns.org as we speak. I urge you to do the same! It took 10 minutes for a handful of domains, didn’t cost much, and feels really great. Check this site for a writeup on how to unlock your domains and complete the transfer!
Write your Congresspersons to voice your opposition to SOPA now! OpenCongress has a simple site that makes doing so easier than ever. Check it out.
July 26, 2011
closing
I can’t believe it’s been over two years since I wrote here. I guess, after where I left it, nothing else seemed to matter. i miss maura all the time, so incredibly hard. Megan is the only person in my everyday life who understands. Of course our old friends know exactly how I feel, but it’s weird to think that none of my NYC friends know who she is, Megan only knows because I talked about her all the time, and was there when I got the call. The demarcations between old and new, I feel, are drawn by this.
I didn’t start typing in here to be that kind of entry, so I’ll cut it short.
I’m doing really well in Brooklyn. Megan and I have been together for 3 years, I’ve been gainfully employed in IT for over 2 of those years, and I’m quite happy. It took a while to settle down, but I’m getting there. I’m not as lost, lonely, or confused as the days when I had to write here every day- as a way to sort out how I felt, and as a way of getting input on how maybe I should feel. I’m more secure, stable, content.
I’m still around- email is best, phone calls are OK too, and if you’re ever in NYC and want to get a cup of coffee, I’d love to see you again.
Hope you’re well. Goodbye!
