Scurvy Jake's Pirate Blog » Random Thoughts http://bogomip.net/blog Rated arrrr for Piracy Tue, 22 May 2012 21:31:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 What’s Up Lately http://bogomip.net/blog/2012/03/21/whats-up-lately/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whats-up-lately http://bogomip.net/blog/2012/03/21/whats-up-lately/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:01:13 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4704 It seems to me that I must report with a sigh that social media has somewhat replaced my blogging habit. I used to blog pretty regularly but for the last several months have really fallen away from it. So here's a review of what's been going on at Casa de Cord:

I was elected to be the Executive Director of the Kootenai Amateur Radio Society for 2012. Mainly because I was willing to serve. This is the 40th anniversary of KARS' founding. We have some fun stuff going on this year, and the big Ham "holiday," Field Day, is coming up in June.

Tonight I was part of the KARS Wednesday night round table on 144.2 Mhz (upper sideband). The round table has been a fun radio activity and doesn't take much of my evening.

I've been busy at work and at home, and when I have time I like to play a few games. Mostly Dwarf Fortress and Towns.

I'm very comfortably settling in to being a Dvorak typist, but frequently have to switch back and forth at work. All my home systems stay in Dvorak mode unless my wife is using it.

I just finished reading ]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2012/03/21/whats-up-lately/feed/ 0 Staying In Touch http://bogomip.net/blog/2011/07/20/staying-in-touch/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=staying-in-touch http://bogomip.net/blog/2011/07/20/staying-in-touch/#comments Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:42:45 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4627 We live in a wonderful age. It amazes me how accessible things are today. If I want to read a book, I can buy it and read it on my Kindle in under a minute or two. If I have a question, the Internet has an answer. Well, it has several answers, and most of them are junk, but you get my meaning.

This year is my 20th high school reunion. I moved to Idaho for the last year and a half of high school, but was invited to attend a reunion in Hood River OR, where I originally went to school. Nobody in Idaho ever contacted me about a 20th here, and I wouldn't go if they did, but that's beside the point. So I set about trying to find some of the few friends I had back then with whom I haven't been in contact in the last two decades.

I was successful, and better than I had hoped, but it lead me to think about how connected we are today, and how much easier it is to stay in touch with people than it ever has been before. With social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and the new Google Plus you can't hardly stay away from people unless you never join in the first place.

Twenty years ago, I might send a letter if I had your address, or call on your birthday if I had your number and remembered your birthday. Today with email and text, tweets, wall-posting, or stream-sharing such a contact takes moments, and can be done whilst waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store.

These truly are amazing times in which we live.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2011/07/20/staying-in-touch/feed/ 1 Mess With the Blank http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/10/14/mess-with-the-blank/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mess-with-the-blank http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/10/14/mess-with-the-blank/#comments Fri, 15 Oct 2010 05:48:54 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/10/14/mess-with-the-blank/ Let's have a thinking exercise. Take the phrase mess with the bull, you get the horns and make a new one in the same spirit.

For example, I'll start a couple:

Mess with the cat, you get the fuzzy ears. (not so good)

Mess with the moose, you get the antlers. (better)

Mess with the angler fish, you get the lantern thingy. (awesome)

Now you try!

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/10/14/mess-with-the-blank/feed/ 0 If I Owned a Gas Station http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/08/16/if-i-owned-a-gas-station/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=if-i-owned-a-gas-station http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/08/16/if-i-owned-a-gas-station/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:05:07 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/08/16/if-i-owned-a-gas-station/ I would put short hoses at the pumps to punish the people that pull up on the wrong side just to get a quicker spot.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/08/16/if-i-owned-a-gas-station/feed/ 0 Oversubscribed http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/24/oversubscribed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oversubscribed http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/24/oversubscribed/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:47:26 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4311 I'm feeling a little oversubscribed. Between Twitter, RSS feeds of my favorite sites, and (sigh) Facebook, I typically get at least two copies of every bit of information, and frequently all three.

What I need now is a good duplicate-detecting social site aggregator.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/24/oversubscribed/feed/ 0 A Nice Day Outside http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/05/a-nice-day-outside/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-nice-day-outside http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/05/a-nice-day-outside/#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:05:17 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4266 Means I'll have a nicer day inside while it's still Spring…

Stupid allergies.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/05/a-nice-day-outside/feed/ 2 New T-Shirt Idea http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/03/new-t-shirt-idea/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-t-shirt-idea http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/03/new-t-shirt-idea/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:03:04 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4264 I would pay money for a Porkins is my wingman t-shirt. Someone should make one so I can buy it.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/06/03/new-t-shirt-idea/feed/ 0 It’s Been Quiet http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/17/its-been-quiet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=its-been-quiet http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/17/its-been-quiet/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:37:30 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4112 I haven't had much to say here, and like my mom always told me, "If you don't have anything snarky to say, don't say anything at all." At least that's what I think she said.

Well, maybe that's what I heard.

Anyway, work is as busy as usual, not enough hours in the day, blah blah.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/17/its-been-quiet/feed/ 2 What I Really Want http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/12/what-i-really-want/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-i-really-want http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/12/what-i-really-want/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:24:49 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4109 My wife asked what I wanted for Valentine's Day. I said I didn't want anything, no big deal. What I didn't say was what I really wanted: robot pants and a velociraptor with head-mounted lasers to do my bidding.

To be fair, they'd be pretty expensive.

]]> http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/12/what-i-really-want/feed/ 0 Baby Pigeons? http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/03/baby-pigeons/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=baby-pigeons http://bogomip.net/blog/2010/02/03/baby-pigeons/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:46:10 +0000 Scurvy Jake http://bogomip.net/blog/?p=4096 Everyone that's seen a pigeon raise your hand.

Now, everyone that's never seen a baby pigeon lower your hand.

Notice how few hands are left up? Why is this, you ask? Lacking better scientific evidence, let me explain it by asking two more questions:

Have you ever seen a fat pigeon? Yes? Okay, ever see one so fat it couldn't fly? No?? Of course not!

Pigeons are like amoebas in that they reproduce asexually. You see, when a pigeon reaches a certain size after gorging itself on fattening tourist fare, it splits into two smaller, hungrier pigeons. This is why you see so many at heavily-trafficked tourist destinations like Piazza San Marco in Venice. It also explains that, while you may see a few corpulent pigeons, you'll never see one so morbidly obese that it cannot fly.

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