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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Josef Blind's LiveJournal:
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| Friday, October 2nd, 2009 | | 10:10 pm |
A possibly cool use for Google Voice
My invitation to Google Voice finally came. One way I've been thinking of using it is to call myself when I have an idea and let the transcription service save it for me. It also makes it easy to give the voice number out for things that seem possibly spamming (or contest entries)... The really cool possibility though would be to use it as a "hotline" for people to call in and leave a message for the ether. Imagine a phone line postsecret (except something like that has been done before). The best thing is, once you have the theme, you could even just post the transcribed text from the messages to a website (assuming that's cool within the terms of service). | | Friday, September 25th, 2009 | | 3:34 pm |
| | Monday, September 14th, 2009 | | 12:27 pm |
Theoretical Musical Instrument a coincidence and Career Plans
The Music Instrument... Imagine something like a harp. Connected to each string on the harp is a piezo element connected to a wave generator that, when a key is pressed, puts out a wave of the same frequency as the note the string is tuned for. The signal should be strong enough that it causes the string to vibrate. In my mind, the instrument seems like it would sound like a bowed instrument, but I could be wrong on this one. Coincidence C and I watched an episode of "Hoarders" with a lady from Milwaukee. I bet C that I could find out the lady's address in less than five minutes. With just her name and the first 4 numbers of her address, I was able to find it. The strange thing is, her house used to be "The Bremen House" where there used to be shows put on around the turn of the Willenium. IIRC, Tristeza and Atom and His Package played there once. Even more "it's a small world"-wise, the lady had lived within a block of C and I when we lived on the East Side. The show also convinced me that I need to stop saving/buying stuff "just in case." Life Plans... Someday I'm not going to be a stay-at-home parent and would like to re-enter the workforce in some "career"-type position. There have been a bunch of different directions I've considered but the one that seems the most appealing with the least amount of additional student loans would be either electronics technician or possibly an engineer. As such, I've signed up for a electronics tech certification program that takes roughly a half year to complete and can be done on my own schedule. Looking at job listings, I'll probably need more than just a certificate (most positions require an Associates Degree). So we made sure that MATC would accept the distance learning program's credits towards their degree, saving me some time, money, and letting me dip my toes in the water a little bit before really going back to school. The nice thing about the MATC Electronics Tech program is that (if I understand it correctly) it can count as two years of schooling towards an engineering degree at MSOE, if I decide I want to go beyond being a technician. Oh, and in less than a year, I should be able to repair your electronics stuff. Depending on what's wrong with it, I can probably do it now, but soon I'll have some paper to back it up. | | Thursday, August 27th, 2009 | | 8:33 pm |
The Theoretical Infinite Culvers Loop
A nearby Culvers has a sign in the Drive-Thru that says "Please continue pulling forward." Now, I'm not the type of person to pull off a prank, but if I was, I would get as many of those signs as possible, and ring the entire Culvers with them. To ensure the loop isn't broken we'd have to route around the order speaker and pick up window, but if pulled off properly, an overly obedient person could be caught in the Theoretical Infinite Culvers Loop. Really, the only reason I posted this is because I love the phrase The Theoretical Infinite Culvers Loop. | | Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | | 9:03 am |
Philo update
Probably one of the most interesting things in watching Philo is seeing how he learns something, and then delights in learning it. Philo had been taking a few steps backward for weeks now. The other day, it finally dawned on him that he knew how to walk backwards. So, Philo started walking backwards for the thrill of it. | | Thursday, June 11th, 2009 | | 7:54 am |
How to take "Reality" of Love shows to the level of Greek Myth
Hear me out on this... If you're a producer, here's how you make one of those "... of Love" shows mythic. A contestant X goes on something like Rock of Love, and nearly gets Bret Michaels heart, but he's not sure if he's truly there "for him," so she gets booted from the final two. After the season ends, Bret thinks it's all a mistake and that he should of maybe chosen X, that she was his true love or something. X gets her own spin off show. (This isn't "I love liquor... it's X of love). Bret appears on X of Love in a ridiculous costume with the audience knowing it's him, but X none the wiser. Bret makes it to the final two, reveals himself, and then fights a bear. | | Thursday, April 30th, 2009 | | 3:08 pm |
Home buying for dummies.
C and I have discussed buying a house for a very long time (in fact, we almost did two years ago), but now things are actually starting to come together. After looking at a series of houses, we toured one we really like last Thursday. It's on the edge of Bay View, just across the street from the Holt Avenue Pick N Save. It's a small three bedroom ranch house with a decent-sized basement and garage. The previous owners took exacting care of it, but were asking a very reasonable price for it. On Saturday, we went to look at it again, bringing our parents along to make sure there weren't some negatives that we just weren't noticing. On Monday, we made an offer on the house, and it was accepted later that day. If everything goes as planned we'll be closing on the house on May 28th. If it works out, I think the house and the neighborhood will be a great fit for us. Since we only own one car, it's very important that the neighborhood be walkable/bikeable. With a grocery store and hardware store across the street; and hardware store, pharmacy and library (and possibly Target) all with in walking distance, Philo and I should never end up trapped in the house like we sometimes get stuck here. The house is close enough to "city" to get the things I like about the city, while seemingly in a lower crime rate area. There are several parks nearby, including one with a pool, and the area seems like it should be pretty bike friendly. As for the house itself, it meets are needs up being prepared if we have a second child. It also gives me plenty of space to build things and make music (and in a perfect world, build things that make music). Now I'm just going to be perpetually crossing my fingers for the next month, hoping everything works out. | | Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 | | 10:34 pm |
Free Tickets: The Border Battle
I have four or so extra tickets to the Border Battle baseball game between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers Low A) and the Peoria Chiefs (Cubs Low A) on April 24th at Miller Park. The game starts at 7 pm and the tickets are free to whoever wants them. You'll probably have to pay for parking ($8-$10). First comment gets 'em. | | Sunday, April 5th, 2009 | | 10:25 pm |
A new version of basketball that would increase the awesome.
The "A" key on this computer sticks so bear with me... Since the odds of this happening as a real sport are low, it really needs to be made as an actual sport... Take a regular basketball court. Replace the sidelines with plexiglass and wood resembling the sidelines in hockey or indoor soccer. Extend the free throw line all the way to the boards. Now, there is no longer an out of bounds in the game and players are permitted to bounce the ball of the boards for passes. Causing the ball to go outside the boards would result in one or two free throws. Instead of traditional basketball substitutions, line changes are allowed in the same way they are done in hockey. Basically, a player can head for the bench without doing anything to the ball or play while another comes in for them. After a shot is made, the other team is given the ball behind the free throw line of the opponent's side of the court. Until the first pass is made, the other team isn't allowed to cross over the free throw line. Theoretical ideas: 1) If it was just a video game, or if players wore special padding, it might be OK to check a player who has the ball into the boards. Not sure if this would be a good idea or not. 2) A sixth player would be allowed on the court (a center) but would only be allowed to stay on the opponents half of the court. Or... The team could decide each period (quarter?) which side of the court the second Center would play on. This would ensure Shaq a job until he's 50. If I was more ambitious I'd try hacking a "Double Dribble" ROM to make this real (or maybe "Blades of Steel" would be easier). | | Saturday, January 31st, 2009 | | 8:15 am |
Sieve!
 Went to the Admirals game with my dad... If you look in the last row of the picture you can see my arms (I'm to the right of the guy wearing the old Admirals jersey), and the top of my dad's head. | | Friday, December 26th, 2008 | | 8:15 am |
Christmas Highlight.
Little P got a caterpillar that sounds out words phonetically. Little P's Uncle, and C proceeded to see if they could get it to say "naughty" words. Most swears just caused the caterpillar to giggle, but it was possible to slip a few past. We'll have to make sure to stop doing this as soon as P starts repeating stuff. | | Saturday, December 13th, 2008 | | 11:33 pm |
| | Friday, November 14th, 2008 | | 6:41 am |
Adventures in Babysitting
 Taking care of Philo everyday has definitely been an interesting experience. For the most part, he's a happy kid, who can spend long periods of time entertaining himself by waggling a pair of toy keys while he lays on his back. He's developed an attraction to one of our cats, smiling whenever he sees her. Unfortunately, he shows this interest by rapidly scooting towards her and then trying to grab her fur or tail or trying to stick something in his mouth. She seems to deal with it by laying down as close as possible to him, and then acting offended when he makes a move. It's neat how quickly he's went from a scrawny little dude who couldn't move and was unable to interact with anything, to a little ball of potential trouble-making. In his heart, I think he's a drummer, as musically he ignores most melody or harmony, but seems to really pay attention to beats. For me, the experience has been amazing, but there are some irritations. The biggest has been that while everyone of C's friends has had/is having a baby, almost no one I know has went through it (especially guys), so it's hard to find a sympathetic ear or share advice. There's few outlets for frustrations or joys. It's hard to know whether or not I'm doing a good job raising Philo. He seems happy with the world. He loves meeting people and rarely gets upset without reason. I worry though that I'm not interacting with him enough/or that I'm doing it too much. That I haven't taught him no early enough. That I jump him to help him to quickly when he's frustrated or not quickly enough. Part of it might be that, as a youngest child, with an extended family that's mostly older than me, I just don't have much baby experience, so it's all learning on the job. Luckily for Philo, he's got a terrific mom. | | Thursday, November 13th, 2008 | | 9:58 am |
F---- Fedex
I'll post a longer update when I can be sure Philo won't wake up at a moments notice, until then though, I want to warn people off shipping Fedex. Somewhere, in their documentation, Fedex has something that allows them to leave packages without signatures at no risk to them. Now, whenever the USPS left packages at any place I've ever lived it's been fine, but it seems like mail carriers use seem degree of good judgment when deciding whether it's safe. Plus they have the added advantage of mail theft being a federal crime. Meanwhile, two times now I've lost something worth $100 or more because Fed Ex left it on my porch, when doing so wasn't a good idea. The first was a Tascam digital audio workstation that I had managed to get at a huge discount a few years ago. The box had to have been huge, but Fedex thought it would be fine to leave it sitting on my porch, inches from a high traffic sidewalk. Since the sender had signed the paperwork with Fedex, there was nothing to hold them responsible. After doing a special survey for ebay, they sent me a check via Fedex. Unfortunately, they sent it to my old address where Fedex decided to leave it on the porch. The check then promptly disappeared. At least this time, the good people of ebay made it up to me with some gift certificates. Sure, I'm biased against FedEx (UPS kept me in good teeth for 23 years) but I'm never shipping anything via them ever and would urge you to do the same. | | Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | | 11:32 pm |
My Obama Story
In 2006, the company I worked for had a book signing for Obama's Audacity of Hope. He shook hands with more than a thousand people and signed more than two thousand books. Then he had to go to a rally for Democratic Congresscritters, but he couldn't stay there too long. The reason? He had to get back to Chicago to take his kids trick or treating.* Now, you may not have voted Obama, but from what I've seen of him, you can be assured that his decisions will be carefully considered and rational. His campaign took on two tough challengers with an (initially) longshot campaign and beat them both. If he runs the country half as well as he ran his campaign, things should be pretty decent.
*I really regret not having taken the offer to get a copy of the book or shake his hand. | | 11:23 am |
| | Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | | 12:29 am |
| | Friday, October 24th, 2008 | | 10:42 pm |
| | Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 | | 5:07 pm |
| | 12:56 am |
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