Jack’s Old & Busted Blog

I found the “slow glass” story (”Light of Other Days”). It’s funny how some stories stick with you. I have no recollection of where or when I first read this. It’s a wonderful idea, though.

This thread/article on “Rabid TiVo Fanaticism” (slashdot) may explain why my friend Steve (blog) is so slap-happy about his own growing collection of these appliances.

I like the idea of TiVo, but I want something more. Why not design some sort of real-time TiVo-like personal interface (LiVo?), with goggles and audio and all? That way, you could simply fast forward through conversations and encounters that are unenjoyable, boring, or repulsive. Isn’t life too short to have to confront the mundane all of the time? Live personal LiVo secretaries could sift through the data and only bring us up to real-time when something/someone important happens. The rest of the time, we would be watching TeeVee, of course. With TiVo. Eat your heart out, iLife!

(This reminds me of a SF short story from a while back that was about “slow glass,” which visually recorded everything that happened in front of it until it was switched off, at which point it played it all back in real time. People used them as art, and paid premiums for older glass with a longer “playback.”)

So, we have our enduring image of the war. American troops assisted a crowd of Iraquis in tearing down a statue of Saddam Hussein in the middle of Baghdad. Everyone in our office was fixated on CNN’s coverage, curiously watching and cheering them on. One big guy with a sledgehammer kept at it for a while, actually making a pretty good dent in the base of the statue. It reminded me of college. All they needed was a keg of beer and some Greek letter sweatshirts, and you’d think it was a typical weekend on campus.

No doubt it will be on the covers of Time and Newsweek. It is interesting to me the way images become sysmbols of events. There’s no way to force the issue; it just happens.

So spring has sprung, but you wouldn’t know it from last night. The temp dipped into the high 20s on the hill. I hope the flowers we recently planted survive.
If only the cold would take out all the awful ants!

Es un dia con mucho viento.

Middle age is the realization that noone is going to pay you to sit at the local java-joint and make up dirty haiku. This morning at Arsaga’s, I was almost there.
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Jack’s Rule of Career Advancement: Never manage anything or anyone without a piece of the action, no matter how small. Anything less makes you a prison guard.

Update/review on the Technivorm KBT 741 (technivorm.com): I am very satisfied with my purchase.
PROS:
1) Makes the best drip coffee I’ve tasted, which is why I’d pay $200 for a coffee maker, right? Right?
2) “Technically” correct, with 200F brewing temperature.
3) Fast. Brews 10 cups in about five minutes. Maybe less, I haven’t timed it.
2) Made to last. Construction quality is tank-like, mostly. All parts replaceable and easily obtained.
3) Styling rocks. I’m not sure what “Original ‘Smitdesign’” means, but I wish they made furniture.

CONS:
1) This is not an automatic machine. No timer. Rocker switch could have come from the robot in “Lost in Space.”
2) Fussy. Best results obtained when you stir the grounds a couple of times during brew cycle. This is easy to do, because the lid just sits on top of the basket. (This is not a “con” for coffee-geeks like myself — it ensures proper saturation of the grounds, which you care about if you spend $200 on a drip coffee maker).
3) Some parts are plasticky. Like me, you’ll probably be surprised about how light weight the basket is. This is just a “form factor” issue, not a durability one. I have come to appreciate the ease of removing the basket.
4) Opening on carafe is too small to stick my fat hand in to scrub. Frequent “bottle-brushing” recommended.
5) Carafe stopper is funky and can get jammed when carafe becomes pressurized (just push down hard and turn to release).

Now, quit lollygagging and go buy one! Anything else is “Not a Harley-Davidson