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October 11th, 2009
07:47 am - Solar Decathlon
Went down to the mall yesterday to see the Solar Decathlon. It was pretty mobbed, so we only got to see five of the 20 houses. I think the most surprising one was Illinois'. Seeing it from the outside, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) railwaymadness immediately dubbed it the Turkey Shed; but we think it may actually be the most liveable of all the ones we saw. Cornell is the most interesting from the outside, but probably the most claustrophobic. Louisiana's was interesting for its emphasis on hurricane resistance: The privacy fence around the deck is designed to be disassembled and used to cover the windows. Minnesota was nice, but kinda generic. Alberta had one of the more interesting designs, and seems pretty liveable. They also get points with us for having a roof deck.
There seems to be more focus this year on local and reusable materials. They're usually more about cutting-edge insulation and such, so it's an interesting shift. Cornell put a lot of emphasis on locally-sourced wood, and their exterior walls are essentially recycled grain silos. Both Illinois and Alberta used wood from old barns that belonged to students' families, which gives them a real personal touch.
We're going to sneak back this morning while everyone's at church, and try to see the German entry. They won last time around, so they were completely mobbed. I'm also scheming to drag my co-workers out for a long lunch there sometime this week.
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September 16th, 2009
10:19 pm - A Day and a Night and a Day
I'm having trouble here. I ran across this book last week in the new arrivals section of the library. Read the first few pages, got hooked. Read the jacket blurb and decided that it wasn't really my type of book. Was in there again yesterday; the book was still there. Re-read the opening pages, ignored the jacket blurb, and picked it up. Got it home and pretty much read the whole thing in one sitting. Really enjoyed it. The trouble is that I can't think of a way to describe it that would make me want to read it. All I can say is that, unlikely as it may seem, I think you'd enjoy this.
It's one of those novels that's just sort of about life. There are personal stories and philosophical kibitzing. There's love and loss. There's drama, irony, and humor. It's well-written, compelling, complex, and thought-provoking. So yeah, sounds like an Oprah book so far. It even has a recurring thread about ethnic identity. The twist, which pushes it clean through "intriguing" and out the other side to "disturbing" is that the core of the story is about our protagonist being tortured. Um, okay...
Like I said, I can't figure out how to make this sound appealing, but somehow it really works. It's less political than you'd expect. It's not even particularly violent (though not for the squeamish). I'm pretty sure I'll want to re-read this, and I definitely want to chase down other books by this Glen Duncan guy. So I'll tell you what: Go to Amazon and read the excerpt. Don't read the front flap. If you like that much, you'll probably like the book. If you're still not sure, get it from the library.
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September 12th, 2009
09:39 am - Job news!
I have a job!
I signed all the paperwork yesterday, and I start a week from Tuesday at the Matrix Group. They're a web development shop right down the road in Crystal City. Their customers are mostly associations and non-profits. They're about 40-50 people, which is a good size for me. They're old-school geeks - they took their name from Neuromancer, not the movie. Good people. I'm very excited about this.
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June 5th, 2009
May 7th, 2009
April 24th, 2009
April 23rd, 2009
12:29 am - Book Sale
Once again, it's time for the Arlington Library book sale! I'm playing hookey on Friday to be on their doorstep when they open at 10am. Meet me there. Bring a sturdy sack and a roll of cash.
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April 16th, 2009
April 10th, 2009
March 26th, 2009
March 20th, 2009
March 12th, 2009
March 7th, 2009
March 6th, 2009
09:36 pm - Urban Camouflage
OK, this is hilarious.
And this is not the Friday post. Soon, my dears, soon.
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February 26th, 2009
February 19th, 2009
February 12th, 2009
February 3rd, 2009
November 12th, 2008
October 24th, 2008
October 2nd, 2008
September 16th, 2008
September 13th, 2008
September 12th, 2008
September 11th, 2008
August 3rd, 2008
July 8th, 2008
July 4th, 2008
June 21st, 2008
12:32 am - The Plan
In Bruges: 7:30pm Sunday, at the Drafthouse.
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June 17th, 2008
June 7th, 2008
10:14 am - Trained Monkeys
Trained Monkeys are the dream of every business. ( More professional rantiness )
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May 27th, 2008
May 20th, 2008
12:07 am - Growing Up
Thanks to the rabid sprawl of social networking tools, I've gotten back in touch with a number of old friends lately - folks who haven't seen me in five, ten, twenty years. I suspect I'm in for a lot of that this coming weekend, as I've got my 20-year college reunion going on.
( How I've changed... )
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May 17th, 2008
11:44 am - Wes/Boston/DC help!
I'm heading up to New England next weekend for my 20th(!!) college reunion. I'm flying into Boston Thursday afternoon, staying with friends that night, and bumming a ride down to Wesleyan on Friday morning. Now somehow, I need to get from Wes to Logan airport by 11am Monday morning (the 26th). That's the bit I need help with.
Can anyone help me out with a ride back to Boston on Sunday and/or crash space, or a ride straight to Logan Monday morning? A more extreme option would be a ride straight to DC. Sorry for being a mooch - I did have this covered, but my plans fell through (no fault of anyone's).
Thanks!
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May 11th, 2008
May 7th, 2008
May 3rd, 2008
April 22nd, 2008
April 20th, 2008
April 13th, 2008
01:55 pm - Twitter
I'm in. Who else is?
Also, how do you do the daily (not twit-by-twit) summary on LJ? And more importantly, should I? Do my LJ friends want to see the daily Twitter summary? (I kinda like seeing it, but somebody probably gets really honked off at that.)
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April 11th, 2008
April 3rd, 2008
01:13 pm - Juno
At the Drafthouse: 7:15 Friday-Wednesday, 7:00 next Thursday. Who's interested? When's good?
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April 2nd, 2008
07:13 pm - JBE!!
Jim's Big Ego is making a all-too-rare DC appearance at Jammin' Java in Vienna on Friday, April 18th. Don't miss it!
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March 22nd, 2008
March 16th, 2008
March 14th, 2008
March 12th, 2008
07:27 pm - porch
I am sitting on my newly re-decked and structurally sound porch, drinking a Hobgoblin and watching the tail end of the sunset. Such a relief.
For those of you who have missed the saga... Well, it's boring home-owner stuff. Suffice to say, it's a bit of low-grade stress that's been nagging at me for the last year or so, and it's finally gone away.
Thanks to rhoof and his posse.
Happy sigh. :)
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March 5th, 2008
09:59 pm - Locas
Once again, Arlington County Library for the win: They have Jaime Hernandez's 780-page, hardback, complete Locas collection available for all impressionable children and other citizens to borrow for free. We do, as a community, welcome our adorable, punk rock, lesbian, Latina overlords.
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February 25th, 2008
01:05 am - local talent
Went to The Red & The Black tonight to see Lights Resolve, and ended up falling for the opening band. railwaymadness saw LR open for Peelander Z a while back, and wanted to catch them again. Their music isn't super distinctive, but they do a good live show with a lot of energy. They're clearly enjoying the hell out of themselves, which is infectious.
The opening band was Fall Back Plan. They're from Baltimore, which counts as local in my book. Really good. In the same ballpark as Tapping the Vein, in having strong, caterwauling female vocalist backed by wall of guitar. Maybe I'm just a sucker for that...
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