The Playfully Mad Bubble-Blower

Silicon Soapware #166

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:44:17 GMT

Silicon Soapware #166 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0166.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Things I've Done

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:05:31 GMT

From jrittenhouse via cakmpls

The Challenge:

* Post 3 things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.
* See if anybody else responds with "I've done that." If they have, you need to add another!(2.b., 2.c., etc...)
* Have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done in their life.

I have:

Ridden Angels Flight in its original location
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_Flight

Pierced my nasal septum (did it myself as opposed to having it done).

Rewired a junk TV to make a psychedelic light-show display.

Bubble Haiku

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:53:10 GMT

This feels like it's worth sharing.

Warm night breeze inspires
Impromptu celebration:
Bubbles by moonlight.

Breezes turn playful,
Popping bubbles on my skin:
Kisses from the gods.

Silicon Soapware #165

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:05:38 GMT

Silicon Soapware #165 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0165.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

The Analemma

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:56:47 GMT

Here is a little project I've been working on.

http://www.plergb.com/Analemma/Analemma.shtml

The analemma is that figure-eight thing you sometimes see on globes and such, showing how the position of the sun in the sky changes over the course of the year. This page shows where the sun is today (give or take a day or so due to rounding, time zones, etc.).

If you're into that kind of thing you may want to glance at it now and again over the course of the year.

It also links to a Java applet that lets you change the effective date of the view so you can see where the sun will be next month or where it was two months ago or whenever (up to about six months either way from now). You need Java for this interactive version, but not for the static "today" image.

The page also contains a link to a Wikipedia article that explains what an analemma is in more detail.

According to Zeno's project-management scheduling algorithm, the project is getting closer and closer to being ready for public release. Even if it never really gets there, it's probably close enough for most practical purposes. So feel free to pass the URL on to your friends.

I'll probably make the source code available, once I decide which Creative Commons license to put it under.

Silicon Soapware #164

Wed, 07 May 2008 08:07:32 GMT

Silicon Soapware #164 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0164.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Silicon Soapware #163

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:46:11 GMT

Silicon Soapware #163 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0163.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Not Found Day = 4/04

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:58:12 GMT

Today, April 4, is Not Found Day: 4/04 in both American (month first) and Eurpoean (day first) formats. Those of you who've done lots of Web stuff know that 404 is the error code for when a page can't be found.

I'm reminded of this:

Clock glows 4:04
As I wake in the darkness
Thinking "Dream Not Found"

What kinds of things have you not found lately?

Silicon Soapware #162

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:57:25 GMT

Silicon Soapware #162 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0162.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Consonance

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:20:32 GMT

I'm about to head off to what amounts to a science fiction and fantasy music festival. I should be back Sunday night or Monday.

It's not about big-name celebrities and TV or movie themes. It's more like a community with lots of grass-roots participation.

http://www.consonance.org/

On top of that, I have other things I need to do, such as putting the new issue of Silicon Soapware together. Hopefully I'll manage to squeeze it all in.

Hopefully.

If I were a frog, instead of "hopefully" would I be saying "hopfully"?

Age/memories meme

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:48:18 GMT

[x] I've been to a drive-in movie theater.
[x] I saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.
[x] I remember liquor and cigarette ads on TV.
[x] I voted for or against Ronald Reagan.
[?] I was in a Christmas pageant in public school. (Don't recall either way, but we did have Christian prayer in public schools)
[x] I remember what I was doing when John Kennedy died.
[x] I used to watch Star Trek during its original run.
[x] I know what 45 and 33-1/3 describes.
[x] I've ridden in cars that didn't have seat belts.
[x] I've owned cars that didn't have seat belts.
[ ] I used to watch Romper Room and/or Captain Kangaroo.
[x] I used to watch Howdy Doody and/or Winky Dink.
[ ] I belonged to Future Homemakers of America.
[x] I belonged to the 4-H Club.
[ ] I've gone to an Elvis Presley concert.
[x] I've gone to a Peter, Paul, and Mary concert.
[ ] I own/used to own an 8-track player.
[x] I own/used to own a reel-to-reel tape recorder.
[ ] I used to wear a hat, doilie, or handkerchief on my head in synagogue, or I wore a hat and gloves to church. (Suit & tie to church, but no hat or gloves.)
[x] I've had my feet X-rayed in a shoe store.
[ ] I've bought a McDonald's cheeseburger for 18 cents.
[x] I've eaten at drive-in restaurants that hooked a tray to your car window.
[ ] I would go to sleep while or just after watching Johnny Carson. Dick Cavett all the way.
[x] I have watched a black and white television.
[x] I remember when my family didn't have television at all.
[ ] I have/used to have a leisure suit.
[ ] I've been to a tent revival.
[ ] I attended Woodstock.
[x] I attended at least one love-in.
[ ] I've been to a state fair and looked at the animal barns.
[ ] I can spin a hula-hoop around my middle. (Tried but couldn't)
[ ] I've been spanked at school by a teacher/principal (no, but I saw others get spamked).
[ ] I've been to a Cher concert.
[ ] I watched The Sonny and Cher Show during its original run.
[x] I watched "I Love Lucy" during its original run.
[ ] I looked forward to hearing Guy Lombardo play "Auld Lang Syne."
[ ] I called adults "Sir" or "Ma'am." (Should have but often didn't)
[x] I've had a smallpox vaccination.
[x] I used to watch Dick Clark on American Bandstand.
[x] I've been to a rodeo.
[ ] I've competed in a rodeo.
[ ] I scheduled my evenings around Dynasty.
[ ] I've sold Girl Scout cookies.
[ ] I am/was in a fraternity/sorority.
[ ] I've eaten breakfast at a Sambo's Restaurant (other meals, but not breakfast).
[ ] I had a poster of Farrah Fawcett on my wall/door. (Does "rolled up under the bed" count? On further recollection, that was Raquel Welch.)
[ ] I had a crush on Ricky Nelson.
[x] I watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon.
[ ] I had an aluminum Christmas tree and a color-wheel lamp.
[ ] I had a fondue pot and used it.
[x] I've used a rotary phone.
[x] I remember when African-Americans were called "colored people" in polite company.
[x] I remember when African-Americans were called "Negroes" in polite company.
[x] I attended a racially segregated public school.
[x] I remember when the words "hell" and "damn" were not used in polite company (unless discussing theological matters).
[ ] I've been to West Berlin before German reunification.
[?] I had a paper credit card.
[ ] I played with a Water Wiggle.
[ ] I danced all night to Donna Summer and Whitney Houston.
[ ] I've driven/ridden in a Pacer.
[ ] I've stayed up all night playing Risk.
[x] I saw the original Star Wars movie in a theater. (My parents even saw it in preview, and didn't get around to telling me about it for twenty years.)
[ ] I've taken group showers with members of my junior/senior high school class.
[ ] I remember when HIV was called HTLV-IV.
[x] I remember when AIDS was called GRID.
[ ] I watched The Simpsons when it was a short on The Tracey Ullman Show.
[x] I had to install MS-DOS on my computer before I installed Windows.
[x] I had a computer that ran CP/M.
[ ] I have/had a Sony Walkman.
[ ] I modeled my hair and clothes on people in Beverly Hills 90210.
[ ] I've played PacMan.
[ ] I put on a suit and tie/dress to go shop at the downtown department store.
[ ] I saw Top Gun in the theater more than six times.
[ ] I've read Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.
[ ] I've used a Jane Fonda workout video. (Notice it doesn't say what it was "used" for!)
[x] I remember when Michael Jackson was black.
[x] I remember when Stevie Wonder was "Little Stevie Wonder".
[ ] I know who shot J.R. (But I don't care.)
[x] I remember the Davy Crockett craze.
[x] I owned a pet rock.
[x] I have/had a Betamax VCR.
[x] I remember when nobody had any sort of VCR.
[?] I had "all the way" sex before I was married and had to keep it secret (I've never been married).
[ ] I burned a bra and/or draft card. (Still have my draft card)
[ ] I've ridden in a double-decker bus.
[ ] I've ridden in the back window of my parents' car.
[ ] I've edged the grass in a yard with hand clippers.
[x] I had a television aerial outside my house.
[x] I've used a tube tester when a TV or radio wasn't working right.

What I did this past week or so

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:56:13 GMT

A week ago, Presidents Day weekend, was the Pantheacon convention. If you're not familiar with it, see http://www.pantheacon.com/

Met a bunch of old friends, may (or may not) have made a new friend or two, and had some tremendously emotional highs. Maybe also learned some stuff.

Got home Monday evening (February 18), started unpacking and unwinding. Also started slogging through a big pile of accumulated email.

Went to my usual Tuesday lunch get-together. That went more or less as usual.

But then later that evening things turned sour. Is there some kind of stomach flu or something making the rounds? It started with sort of a stomach ache, then turned into diarrhea and vomiting. I mostly slept between trips to the bathroom. The worst was more or less over with by the small hours of the morning.

Wednesday morning I was feeling good enough to do laundry and similar errands, although I kind of took it easy. I'd been planning on an evening thing at a Chinese restaurant but decided not to risk it. Again, just sort of took it easy and rested. And kept slogging through that email.

One was the emails was from my tax person about getting data together. That's more stuff on the "to do" pile.

By Thursday I was feeling well enough to keep a dental appointment I'd made earlier. Got two small cavities filled. Went home and rested up from that.

Somewhere along there I finally got that email backlog cleared. Started going through a pile of dead-tree junk mail that had been piling up for weeks and weeks. Did some other dull stuff.

The last couple of days have been "nothing special". Or have they? I have some ideas for things I'll want to work on that don't feel ready for public unveiling yet, so maybe stuff is happening even if I haven't consciously done anything to speak of on it yet.

Silicon Soapware #161

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:45:29 GMT

I should have posted this a couple of days ago:

Silicon Soapware #161 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0161.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Silicon Soapware #160

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:16:34 GMT

Silicon Soapware #160 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0160.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Silicon Soapware #159

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:18:43 GMT

Silicon Soapware #159 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0159.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Study Hall

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:31:29 GMT

Here's something I thought of several years ago, but never did much with.

Silicon Soapware #158

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:51:55 GMT

Silicon Soapware #158 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0158.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

A quiet, intimate evening

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:23:33 GMT

Slightly different mood this week at the Monday night Open Mike I've been going to (http://www.beanscenecafe.com/).

There was a small crowd, so they turned the house lights down and most everybody was sitting near the performance area. It felt more intimate than usual. I had the feeling that this was one of those nights when some quiet, emotionally intimate stuff might go over well. So I read this poem (http://www.well.com/~bubbles/Poetry/Together.txt), then the Teddy Bear Porcupine story (http://www.well.com/~bubbles/TeddyBear.html), then this other poem (http://www.well.com/~bubbles/Poetry/SeaAnemone.txt). And yes, people complimented me on them afterward.

It left me with a good feeling.

Books need new homes

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:47:29 GMT

Someone I know just emailed me this, including a request to forward.

The event will be in Sunnyvale. For more details, follow the URL.

*********************

We've got books that need to go to people's homes. Please feel free to
forward this URL to groups, lists, co-workers, and individuals as
appropriate. A lot of the books are obsolete computer, science, and
math books, with a few science fiction and general fiction books, with
some gems still available.

For more information, please go to:

<http://home.inreach.com/mrbilll/mscip/jacksbooks/jackbooks.html>

When? Sunday, October 21, 2007. See URL for more information, please.

Silicon Soapware #157

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 02:19:07 GMT

Silicon Soapware #157 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0157.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Silicon Soapware #156

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:24:45 GMT

Silicon Soapware #156 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0156.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

Edward Gorey with Tribbles

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:42:27 GMT

Fans of Edward Gorey and/or Star Trek might like this: http://shaenon.livejournal.com/48834.html

What I've been doing lately

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:09:36 GMT

It's been a rather busy week or so, what with a convention down in the Los Angeles area, plus a couple of days en route each way, and a couple of days spent catching up on email and such afterward.

The convention was a filk convention. For those unfamiliar with that, think of it as a folk music festival with a science fiction and/or fantasy theme. The genre started in science fiction fandom, but in recent years has been splitting off into its own thing.

Specifics of this event, plus links to others elsewhere, can be found at

http://www.conchord.org/

In addition to the music, both in concerts and less formal circles, there was the opportunity to renew old friendships and make new friends. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend.

I'd noticed on previous trips that the drive starts out fairly pleasantly, but then turns into an ordeal toward the end. So this time I decided to split it over two days, rather than trying to do the whole thing at once. That adds the cost of a motel room, but I think it's worth it.

It also gave me the opportunity to meet another new friend, someone I knew through LJ but had never met face to face. She lives about halfway between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, so it was just about right for a dinner get-together, followed by a walk around some of the more interesting parts of town.

The trip was also sort of a vacation from the Internet. So when I finally got back home and logged in I found something like five hundred emails awaiting me. Most were things I could easily cast aside after a quick glance, but many demanded, or at least merited, more attention. That in turn led me down many interesting byways of the Web, including hours of browsing Wikipedia down endless trees of this or that item linking to something else that looked too interesting to resist.

But I think I'm sort of caught up on most of it now. There are still dozens or maybe hundreds of WELL postings, but I'll probably end up skipping many of them. Think of it as like missing some of the conversation at a party because you needed to step outside for a few minutes.

In other news, I just got a call from someone I knew back in school. My old high school class will be having its fifty-year reunion in May of 2008. Do I want to go? Part of me does, and part of me doesn't. I need to think on this some more before deciding.

And now it's getting to be time to go to a poetry reading. So let's post this and go tend to that.

Silicon Soapware #155

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:57:08 GMT

Silicon Soapware #155 is out. Look in

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/SS0155.txt

or check out my main page at

http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

FREE COMPUTER BOOKS (mostly Microsoft)

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 14:35:35 GMT

FREE COMPUTER BOOKS! (Mostly Microsoft-related)

The person they used to belong to has shuffled off this mortal coil, so
they're up for grabs.

If you're interested, please contact Carole directly.

From: Carole Parker <mscip@inreach.com>

Does anyone know of any individual, group, organization, or company
that wants Microsoft books? I don't know why Jack had so many of them,
but he did.

*Lots of Windows 95
* Windows 97
* Windows 98

* Lots of NT-related books, 3.X and 4.0
* Word books

* DOS documentation - some it *still* in the shrink wrap with a
certificate! Plus an old DOS notebook of the variety that you were
supposed to do change pages and switch out the pages that they sent you.

* COM+

* Development books, even a book on Active X, plus other books on how
to code within the Microsoft environments.

* Plenty of MCSE books, too.

You name it, I've probably got it when it comes to Microsoft.

I would really, really like to get these books out of the house before
we leave for Japan. If no one wants or claims them by August 15th,
they're going to get recycled, I think. I'd much rather get them to
someone who has a use for them, though. I don't think any Library
Friends groups will want them. In fact, some of them might have come
from one of the Library Friends groups.

I couldn't believe how many of some of the older books were still in
the shrink wrap.

Feel free to forward this to appropriate individuals, groups, or lists.
I just want to get rid of these puppies.

Until later--

Carole