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6-12-2009: Thunder on the Lakeshore
I belatedly present my pictures of the 2009 Manitowoc County Airshow.
It's too bad I know too little about planes to give them more than vague identifiers...
6-1-2009: Third Eye Blind Live in Milwaukee, May 30, 2009
![[Milwaukee Riverside Theater]](milw-riverside.jpg)
A little over 24 hours ago, I was in Milwaukee. This time I wasn't passing through the city on the way to Indiana, Michigan, or West Virginia, however: I was there for a reason. A reason to let a dream that had been corked up for the last ten years finally come true.
That dream, quite simply, was to see Third Eye Blind in concert. Back when I lived in the strip-mined armpit of rural West Virginia and lacked the means of transportation or proximity to any viable entertainment venue, that seemingly-prosaic prospect almost seemed like an unattainable folly. Circumstances have a way of changing, however, and the scenario in 2009 was an entirely different matter: Nowadays I own a car, I live in Wisconsin, and (unfortunately) I have more free time available than I know what to do with. Upon discovering that 3EB were putting on a show at the Riverside Theater in downtown Milwaukee, I took swift action. I ordered my tickets a month in advance; although ironically they were still being sold through the box office when I walked in half an hour before the show.
Sensibly, I had the foresight to bring ear plugs along (I prefer hearing music; not distortion or ringing, after all). Due to paranoia over the stated "photography prohibited" policy, I left my digital camera in the car; though after I went in it became abundantly clear that enforcement was lax and other people were taking pictures throughout the entire performance.
The opening artist was an act by the name of Low vs. Diamond (not "Lowus Diamond," which I interpreted their band logo to read at first). Their music was similar to that of Third Eye Blind's, and I might have even mistaken them for them if they hadn't been a fivesome and I had been totally clueless and inept about the whole affair. I couldn't help but notice the keyboard player periodically taking sips from a bottle of New Glarus beer sitting on stage. The lead singer maintained a true sense of connection to the audience and the overall performance was very energetic throughout; although it seemed to last a song or two longer than I felt as though it should have.
The Riverside Theater is an aesthetically-significant and historic theater (much like the Capitol in Manitowoc), and it was pleasant just seeing the facility itself. General admission was provided, so there were no assigned seats. A group of enthusiastic participants congregated in an ersatz mosh pit between the front row and stage; and of course, being young and foolish, I joined them. At one point (after already being pinned in front of a couple rowdy guys holding open cups of the flavorless beverage called Bud Light), a girl in front of me turned around, looked up at me, patted my chest, and said without hesitation, "You are blessed to be so tall. Would it piss you off if I smoked?" I got scarcely more than an "uh" out before she carried out the desire. When she "warned" that she'd be singing along to every song, I started slowly inching away (though I eventually found myself doing much the same). Early on I was about six feet from the stage; though the distance seemed to expand to around twelve feet by the time Third Eye Blind actually went on.
After Low vs. Diamond departed, an intermission followed. Stage hands moved equipment, rearranged the set, and lit incense; filling the room with more smoke than a stray cigarette ever could. Patrons went to the bar for mixed drinks, or asked others to bring them back for them. After an extended wait, the lights were dimmed: It was time for 3EB. The set was decked out in a backdrop of stars (tying into the theme of the upcoming Ursa Major album), and even Brad's drum set was adorned with what looked like Christmas lights.
After a few more solitary appearances by stage crew, the band finally moved onto the stage under a mysterious cloud of darkness; only a stray spotlight or two illuminating the scene. Brad Hargreaves began with an impressive drum solo; soon leading into "Faster," the lead song off the 2003 record Out of the Vein (that is still technically the band's current album). From that point on, the entire stage and audience alike were alive. I confess that I've attended some mediocre rock band performances over the years; and that even for Third Eye Blind concerts, I've read my fair share of lackluster assessments by non-fans ("Oh, there was this band that played called Third Eye Blind, and they were awful! The lead singer had a lisp!"). But any preconceptions I had were thoroughly blown away from the outset: The band was in unabashedly fine form throughout.
The set list was a satisfying mix of old and new: Hit songs and fan favorites were both included; as well as new and occasionally topical material from the upcoming Ursa Major release, much of which was quite good. Stephan preceded one of the songs (titled "Don't Believe a Word") with a disclaimer to the audience that it was "dirty and filthy." Stephan's latter-mentioned comments on Milwaukee segued into "Motorcycle Drive By;" a fan favorite that's one of his most personal compositions. Among the other songs I remember being played through the show were "Semi-Charmed Life," "Jumper," "Graduate," "Wounded," "Never Let You Go," "Blinded," "Crystal Baller," and "Can't Get Away;" the latter three off of what Stephan inferred to be their most underrated album. At one point, Mr. Jenkins posed a question to the audience: "How's It Going to Be, or I Want You?" The crowd was unanimous in its shout of "I Want You" (the lesser-known, rarely-heard tune), and so that song was played. I wouldn't have minded hearing both, myself.
Throughout the show, lead singer Stephan Jenkins led himself in bursts of thoughtful commentary between songs. At one point he discussed his own childhood upbringing in Milwaukee, and how visiting the area that night had profound emotional significance to him. Through most of the concert, he wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Younger Than Jesus." (Can't argue the point, but he is the same age as one of my aunts!) For those familiar with Third Eye Blind, I assure that Stephan did wear his famous top hat through some of the songs as well. Brad was wearing a fedora of his own, and almost looked a bit like Indiana Jones from some angles. (Drummer of the lost ark?)
As affairs were starting to wind down, Stephan thanked the audience for their devotion and reassured that a) Ursa Major had in fact been completed; b) it was going to be released this summer; and c) it felt really good to have it done. (He made a crowd dive somewhere along the line as well, though it lasted for about four seconds until he thought better of it and got back on stage.) Brad threw a drumstick into the standing crowd, and a short-lived tug-of-war erupted directly in front of me over the item's fate. The show ended with three encores: The vocal version of Slow Motion, God of Wine, and yet another new song. Oddly enough, some audience members were familiar enough with the new material to be singing along to it; even though it hasn't been released on disc yet.
When the lights came on and the band had finally left the stage, I was overcome by emotion and a bit of sorrow: I didn't really want to leave. I grimly inspected the floor to see if there were any guitar picks or other memorabilia among the plastic cups, beer bottles, and paper wads strewn about; but all I found were three cents. The trip home went by satisfactorily; though the immediate journey out of the ($8!) parking garage entailed me being trailed by a car full of bumper-riding, horn-honking idiots.
While some would no doubt dismiss it as "just another '90s post-grunge/alternative rock band," to me Third Eye Blind have always been more than that. Their music entered my consciousness at an impressionable time, and it helped pull me through some very difficult periods of my life. There have been times when I've been frustrated with their relative lack of output. There have been times when I've gone into withdraw from burnout, or been downright cynical about the band. Yet, unfailingly, I keep coming back.
The entire band was in top form: Stephan, Brad, Tony, and the "substitute" bass player (Abe Millett?) alike. Although I still miss the pre-2000 Kevin Cadogan incarnation of 3EB, guitarist Tony Fredianelli was so comfortable and assured on stage that I had a hard time visualizing anyone else in his place. The real heart and soul of the band, however, laid at its co-founder: Stephan Jenkins himself. In addition to pulling off an energetic stage persona and flawless (and for that matter, lisp-free) vocals, his comments in between were intelligent and downright touching at times. Since I have family ties to Milwaukee myself, this night's concert served as a "homecoming" of sorts for me as well. It was an honor to attend the show: The only regret I have is not doing so sooner.
![[Third Eye Blind ticket]](3ebticket.jpg)
5-16-2009: On Inactivity & Indecision
Lately, I've been feeling extraordinarily hesitant to write for the site. My Web Journal updates have become sporadic at best, and it's been the better portion of a year since I last added any new section or real page of interest.
Part of the reason is simple writer's block: I've been preoccupied by unstable domestic circumstances and assorted conflicts in my life. At best, I'm feeling an uncertain air that overshadows the joy in writing; at worst, it borders on depression.
Moreover, I've been torn over the direction of the site itself: Whether to use it chiefly as a venue for general-interest topics, or as an outlet to share opinions and turn emotions loose. I make no apologies for the beliefs and attitudes I hold; and if I can't afford myself a chance to let off steam once in a while, I feel as though my head will explode. But at the same time, it feels incredibly awkward and distracting to talk about secular issues, civil liberties, and illusions of justice one moment; only to jump to shopping malls, or cameras, or geodetic survey markers the next. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Web Journal, whose focus (and relation to the rest of the site) have become hopelessly muddled at best. The thought of splitting things up and shunting some of it elsewhere has crossed my mind, although it's difficult keeping up on four or five fronts of web content as is.
As a further wrinkle, much of my online attention as of late has been side-tracked over to sharing photos on my Flickr account. More time spent there means less time spent here, with a number of ramifications: Because some of the potential content additions I've been brainstorming (such as my ersatz "Manitowoc railroads" and "Manitowoc relics" projects) are primarily photographic in nature, cross-posting the content to the website almost seems like a redundant waste of time.
Any further thoughts? Or advice, for that matter?
5-1-2009: Incorrect Predictions
I've decided to all but stop attempting to make predictions about the future course of computer technology. Why?
At one time, I confidently predicted that...
- 2.88MB extended-density floppies would become popular. The capacity of floppy disks would continue to routinely double in the 1990s as it did in the 1980s.
- IBM OS/2 would remain a viable alternative to DOS and Windows indefinitely.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer would never displace Netscape Navigator in install base or popularity.
- Java technology would eventually enable all computer users; even those with Windows 3.1, to take advantage of the latest full-featured "web applications."
- Microsoft would surely be broken up. (I still maintain that the failure of this to happen represents one of the biggest failures of the justice system of the US.)
- Windows 98 would be dismissed as a fad, as OEMs and users would choose to stay with Windows 95 until a new OS was released compliant with anti-trust guidelines.
- The Apple iMac would be a failure in the marketplace. (After all, why would people bother with such a compromised machine when they could buy a Power Macintosh G3 with a floppy drive, detachable monitor, and full roster of peripheral ports for just slightly more?)
- Domain names would become largely irrelevant by the 2000s, as all the "good" combinations are snatched up and web surfers become more dependant on search tools for navigation.
Obviously, my anticipations came to naught. Predictions one through three and five through seven never came true in any capacity whatsoever; no matter how much I wish they would have. Prediction four seems to be slowly inching towards fruition in a form about ten years later than I thought it would, but Windows 3.1 and Java were left at the door ages ago. That leaves only prediction eight; which might eventually come true, but it hasn't as of yet. (And frankly, I could care less if it ever did.)
I think it's only proper for me to step down at this point. Better leave false predictions to the pros being paid to make them...
4-27-2009: More Random Statistics
Just what do I write about here? To get a better understanding, I decided to browse through the journal archives; sorting the matter into the most obvious mental categories as I went along. The results looked something like this:
| 2004-05 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | 13% | 6% | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| Computers and technology | 28% | 27% | 33% | 19% | 31% |
| Music and entertainment | 15% | 21% | 19% | 14% | 4% |
| Socio-political concerns | 2% | 2% | 6% | 21% | 12% |
| College life | 35% | 32% | 22% | 3% | 0% |
| Other local topics | 1% | 8% | 5% | 17% | 27% |
| Everything else | 6% | 3% | 5% | 13% | 15% |
Bear in mind that this is hardly a scientific analysis: Categories like these tend to be ambiguous by their very nature; not all the periods are the same length; some posts I counted under more than one category, and in all certainty I may have missed count altogether a few times. But I think it's interesting to get a sense of where my mind is and has drifted over the last four years.
4-17-2009: Deconversion
I am an atheist. A person who doesn't accept the notion of any deity, spirit, or other supernatural being.
That wasn't always the case. My parents came from mixed Catholic and Episcopalian backgrounds, reared their household in the Episcopal church, then jumped ship to the Methodist church after discovering the local Episcopal vestry was an Oliver North fan club. Religion was a matter I was born into, and initially took at face value. When I was young, I assumed the notion of attending church services and Sunday school and believing whatever people said in the bargain was simply what people did as a matter of course. Why? Presumably, because that was the way things were and no other option existed.
I was, however, born with a critical mind...a mind that eventually began to quietly critique the memes of the church. Never once did I not doubt the efficacy of prayer. It became apparent to me from an early age that our church denomination was simply one of many religions extant in the world...that in spite of their apparent similiarities, remained mutually-incompatible to the point where people were reduced to elimination and bloodshed in the bargain. The last point shocked me when I first started reading up on history and world affairs, as I had assumed to that point that religion was a benign characteristic as unimportant as a shoe brand. People really didn't take it that seriously, did they?
It wasn't until I consciously tried to be religious, however; attempting to make sense of the madness, that I really began to see cracks in the façade. I started thinking over the various aspects of Christianity and attempted to reconcile their implications: "Is the Bible true? If so, how much of it is literal and how much is figurative?" "If it is figurative, why do so many people think otherwise?" "Why does the Bible consist of what it does? Why does our church leave out the Apocrypha?" "Is it commendable to adopt idealistic viewpoints in the pursuit of religion? Is it even sensible?" "What if hell exists? If it does, how does one go about averting such a fate?" "Am I already too far gone, just because I haven't been praying and looking forward to church every day of my life?"
The more I thought about religion, the less I liked it. The presentation of the Bible as an infallable reference proved to be one stumbling block: Even if I gave it the overwhelming benefit of the doubt, the book came across as being unverifiable, factually-inaccurate, glaringly inconsistent, and at times morally-reprehensible at best. Moreover, I was disturbed by what I saw being justified in the name of God, Christianity, and religion as a whole every day: Scientific research and theory being stifled in laboratories and shunned from classrooms; the deprivation of gay and lesbian people of civil rights; women being forced to give birth against their will. In all cases, religiously-inspired ideals tended to be at polar odds with empirical evidence and logical analysis. I lived in rural West Virginia at the time, and got to see many of these abuses firsthand. Before I knew it, the religious fire that I had been seeking to fan had been extinguished like a wet match, and God had slowly but concretely followed Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy as the next illusion to fall. I don't consciously remember the day I had this realization, but it had to have been when I was about eleven years old.
Some separate the process of deconversion into four stages: Exaltation, doubt, darkness, and illumination. When the dust cleared, it felt like nothing short of a revelation: A mask was thrown off, and a hundred-pound weight was lifted from my body. All sorts of issues that had dwelled on my mind, held up by the difficult task of being reconciled with ancient dogma and doctrine, began to promptly snap into place. I began sensing an urge to enjoy life to the fullest and appreciate the natural world for what it was, without being constantly worried about invisible entities and trivial issues in the bargain.
While my intensity of opinion has waxed and waned several times over in the years since, my beliefs have remained constant. I do feel angry from time to time: About children being indoctrinated into religious customs before gaining the ability to think critically about them. About statistics that state that less than half of Americans would vote for an atheist presidential candidate. About the myriad ways religion is used successfully as the sole justification for furthering myriad forms of irrationality and injustice throughout the world. About Christianity being foisted on soldiers in the military. About taxpayer dollars being channeled into "faith-based" initiatives. About how the wall of separation between church and state is constantly under attack. About a whole lot of things, to put it mildly.
My parents are acceptably tolerant of my beliefs, although at times I sense that they don't understand them. ("I know you don't believe in God and am opposed to everything organized religion stands for, but I still don't understand...why don't you like going to church?" "Sure wish you knew how to pray.") I've felt pressured and prodded, wrestled with the semantics of labels, and at times felt as though retrenching into the religious world would be a socially-advantageous thing to do. But I wouldn't dream of it: There are too many things I do believe in that I wouldn't give up for anything in the world. I believe in social progress and equality for all. I believe in making decisions based on logic and reason, not faith and superstition. I believe in asking questions rather than maintaining fearful obedience to any matter taught. I believe in accountability for one's actions. Furthermore, I believe I have a practical incentive to enjoy my life and make a difference in this world; not to merely be as ineffectual and inoffensive as possible while on a fleeting stop en route to the afterlife.
4-12-2009: Score Two for Marriage & Equality
Last week, I may have taken a break from routine tasks for a trip on the road, but the wheels of justice in the rest of the country didn't stop turning.
![[Edge of an Iowa license plate]](../new/iowalicenseplatepart.jpg)
In none other than the unassuming midwestern abode of Iowa, a legally-questionable ban on civil marriage among gay and lesbian people was revoked on April 3rd by a unanimous decision of the state supreme court. Three days later, a similar victory was achieved in Vermont, where a marriage equality bill was passed by both houses of the state legislature; overriding the governor's veto by ratios of 67 and 82 percent.
The reason why gay and lesbian marriage is an issue I follow is quite simple: It's one of the highest profiles of how equal rights can be suppressed from a sizable portion of the population by no justification other than the imposition of attributes of unsupported religious dogma upon the law of the land.
Earlier, I pondered whether the injustice wreaked by the narrow passage of Proposition 8 in California last year...which cultured an impressive amount of protest fervor nationwide...might prove to be a turning point in the quest for societal progress and equality. Not only do these recent developments bode well for just that, but they fully double the number of states in existence having virtue of full marriage equality...the same right already enjoyed by citizens of Canada, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden without regard to subregional divisions.
4-10-2009: 1702 Miles Later...
I recently returned from my last (and possibly final) weeklong trip to West Virginia, where I revisited my hometown and tied up some loose ends. This time around I took a number of digital photos along the way; though I forewarn that they're mostly of buildings.
4-1-2009: It's Only a Drizzle?
Lately, I seem to be on an unfortunate trend of making small, seemingly insignificant mistakes.
One case in point? Several days ago, I had the misfortune of getting a punctured bike tire. By yesterday, the flat was fixed; all seemed better again, and I decided to squeeze in a bike ride. Since I was out, I figured I could use the little excursion as an opportunity to take a few pictures; stop at the bank, supermarket, and a couple other places; return a book to the library, and do a bit of exploring around town for good measure. At the time I departed, it was a bit overcast; but not overbearingly dreary, and there wasn't a drop of rain in the sky. The trip seemed to be off to a satisfactory start. Unfortunately, I had made another small, seemingly insignificant mistake: Not checking the weather forecast beforehand.
Several minutes in while in the process of scouting out a dirt road in a nearby park, I felt a few isolated drops of moisture in the air. "Fine," I think to myself, "it's only a drizzle. I'm sure it will go away soon." But it persisted. Meanwhile, the road I had been following came to an abrupt end at a meandering creek. The thought of fording the river came to mind, but I didn't want to get wet (a point that would seem trivial half an hour later); so I ended up having to take a detour across several swampy hillsides and an abandoned railroad trestle instead. After coming across a paved road, I felt that I was on my way again. On a whim, I took a new turn; assuming it was a shortcut...only to come across a body shop, a few industrial lots, and the regional county airport as the only things ahead. I ended up pedaling the long way around the entire airport; a massive detour if there ever was one.
Meanwhile, the light sprinklings of rain that I assumed would quickly disperse did not. On the contrary; they had strengthened into a proper storm; with rain pooling into massive puddles and accompanied by a generous helping of wind for good measure. Unfortunately, by this point I was already miles from home, so there wasn't much of an option in turning back.
After a defiant excursion down Menasha Avenue in search of photo opportunities, I had a sudden reconsidering of facts. It was already 4:30...most of my afternoon time budget for the tasks I had hoped to complete had been whittled down to nothing at all. The weather had gotten so bad that I gave up on any additional photos...simply keeping my camera dry was a superior priority. The rain took such a toll that my jeans were beginning to stick to my legs, the back of my coat began to be covered in mud, and the force of the wind against me was so strong that I had little choice but to creep around in bottom gear. After resting by a disused silo for a few minutes to regain some strength, I hopped on once more and rode in the general direction of the downtown library; with newfound urgency in mind.
When I finally arrived at my destination (struggling to untangle my bike lock with my hands; which now felt nearly numb), I unzipped my dirt-stained backpack and quickly pulled out what was inside. My heart sank a bit: The bottom edge and corner of the library book had gotten slightly damp. Although the damage wasn't severe (at worst it would have resulted in some wrinkling in the inch or so towards the bottom edge of the pages, and the book itself was a twenty-three year old repair manual that was in rather worn condition to begin with), it had obviously been exposed to water. The thought of simply dropping the volume in the return slot and worrying about the consequences later came to mind, but I elected to be honest and instead explained the situation to a librarian...who acted as though a crime had taken place; soliciting information and placing my responsibility in an uncertain no-man's land until "they got some people to look at it." Oh well...
By this point it was too late to visit the bank, and with me being as wet and exhausted as I was, visiting the supermarket was the last thing on my mind. After a quick browse downtown, I headed home for a rest and change of clothes; fending off a stiff wind from the lakeshore and bringing a miserable, self-induced 16-mile journey to a close.
Tomorrow, I'm due to go out of town. Hopefully, this experience won't prove to be yet another mistake!
3-27-2009: Four-Color Fun
It seems that Apogee and 3D Realms have done it again. Five more of their long-discontinued computer game titles have been re-released as freeware:
- Arctic Adventure
- Dark Ages
- Kroz
- Monuments of Mars
- Pharoah's Tomb
I never could "get into" Kroz, and I've only gotten the Dark Ages executable to run without crashing once in my life, but the other three games are old favorites of mine from the CGA era. I used to spend many an afternoon chunking these out on my old 286:
![[The Monuments of Mars!]](../new/mars2.png)
![[The Monuments of Mars!]](../new/mars.png)
The Monuments of Mars! (emphasis Todd Replogle's, not mine) is probably the best one of the lot, with the most nimble gameplay, intuitive keystrokes, and engaging storyline. This game is also notable for this interesting dialogue that appears on startup. Very complex, indeed...
![[Pharoah's Tomb]](../new/tomb2.png)
![[Pharoah's Tomb]](../new/tomb.png)
Pharaoh's Tomb is a contemporary and visually-similar game written by George Broussard, a developer with the dubious distinction of misspelling his own name in his own game. The game itself is a typical 1990 platform affair; with elements such as keys, pointy things, moving blocks, and coins as bonus items.
![[Arctic Adventure]](../new/arctic2.png)
![[Arctic Adventure]](../new/arctic.png)
Wrapping things up, Arctic Adventure is essentially Pharaoh's Tomb part two, starring the same character in a continuation of the prior storyline. This game features the novelty of non-linear levels, infinite player lives, and enemies that bear a suspicious likeness to Opus of Bloom County fame. The overall experience is a notch below Pharaoh's Tomb, though: The blocky player movement isn't any less awkward; the coins don't give any real bonuses, and the use of an eye-splitting white/cyan/magenta palette makes gameplay tiring at best.
These re-releases essentially fill in the last outstanding holes of what in my opinion sets Apogee and 3D Realms apart from other game publishers in the industry: Availability. Practically every classic platform game they released from 1990 to 1995 remains very much attainable today; either as a freeware re-release (in the case of formerly-discontinued products) or for sale as always from the 3D Realms store.
3-21-2009: Love and Schlitz
Familiar with the notion of "found photographs;" random pictures of interest from years ago that you come across in junk shops, flea markets, and other unlikely places? I can't help but browse through these orphaned images when I see them for sale, and do confess having collected a few:
![[Found photograph]](../new/found1sm.jpg)
This particular scene absolutely begs for a caption. The setting is a sunny day in a park; straddling a picnic table placed serenely in the shade. A whole store of party essentials are visible in the foreground: Salt, pepper, a package of Planters Cocktail Peanuts, two cans of Old Milwaukee, one can of Schlitz, and an oversize jug of screw-cap wine with two glasses thereof poured out for the taking. A motorcycle with an unusually high seatback is parked on the grass, yards away.
Unfortunately, the very nature of found photos means that the images are divorced from their context. Who the couple were, why they fell in love, and where their picnic took place are complete question marks in my mind and probably always will be.
3-16-2009: A Historic Affair at Schuette's
Best known perhaps for its unique pneumatic cash-tube system, the family-owned Schuette Bros. department store was one of the most prominent full-line retail edifices in downtown Manitowoc, Wisconsin for many years. Sadly, economic circumstances and changing times forced the closing of the store in July 1994, after 145 years in business.
Today, however, I had the fortuitous opportunity to tour the former store with members of the Schuette family; discussing its history and context as we went along. Part of the property has been sub-divided and part of the property is presumably destined to be converted into yuppie millionaire lofts in due course, but substantial portions of the building remain just the same as they did when Schuette's closed their doors forever 14 years ago. As redevelopment looms, the over-century-old building (constructed over several phases between the late nineteenth century and 1902) features numerous artifacts from its past: Original woodwork and pressed tin ceilings; signage from the department store days; old elevator controls and fuse panels, and more. The pneumatic cash-tube system is still there as well; standing in the second-floor office area more or less as it was the last time the tubes were operated in 1994.
I enjoyed my two-hour visit to the store, and enjoyed further the chance of recording a few images of it for posterity. Schuette's may be gone, but its relics and legacy live on...
3-13-2009: "S" versus "b"
![[Screen Gems logo]](../new/screengems.jpg)
![[Badger Paper Mills logo]](../new/badgerpaper.jpg)
On left, the symbol of Screen Gems Productions; as seen on television circa 1969. On right, the symbol of Badger Paper Mills of Peshtigo, Wisconsin; as seen in the supply closet circa 2009.
Willful design plagiarism? Or did a designer somehow manage to create a logo absolutely identical in proportions and form to a pre-existing mark (aside from the lopped-off filmstrip) entirely out of thin air?
3-11-2009: Too Little, Too Late
Catching up on the latest news...
For computer users still recovering from the "Windows Vista" fiasco, you might be wondering just how its successor, Windows 7, might compare. For the most part, there isn't a whole lot to say about it...basically, under the hype it's just Windows Vista with a few new features and a few fewer bugs...but one development bears special note. Recently, a beta release of the software leaked out on the 'net, containing an interesting addition to the Add/Remove Programs window: Internet Explorer 8.
Remember, this is a feature that common sense dictates, that myself and other uncountable users, businesses and OEMs demanded, that twenty states and the U.S. Department of Justice built up an entire court issue around in 1998, and that Gates, Ballmer & Co. have steadfastly refused to deliver in the entire decade until now.
Unfortunately, it doesn't make a bit of difference.
Had this happened ten years ago when Windows 95 and NT4 were current and such a feature would have been trivial to implement; before Netscape and other independent, commercial browser competition ceased to exist; before Microsoft dragged its open and shut anti-trust case through countless appeals until the Bush administration came aboard and threw the yokes of justice into the boiler, I would have thought otherwise.
But this is 2009. The uninstaller simply removes the slim iexplore.exe stub and a few icons; the rest of the application is so hyper-integrated into the core of the system by this point that they probably couldn't strip out the rest even if they tried. Product Activation still tethers your system by line and sinker to Redmond's mercy. Windows itself is a bloated, incongruous, and inefficient mess; requiring vast amounts of overhead for barely more functionality than it offered when version 2000 was new. They still haven't put any real effort into usability research for years. Lastly, Microsoft still lost me as a customer, and it will take a lot more than just Windows 7 to gain me back to their new products again.
3-9-2009: What's New
Quick, do you notice anything different about the site?
No? Well, you shouldn't. The differences really lie behind the scenes: Rather than merely being a static page as before, the Web Journal now uses server-side technologies to piece together individual files into a cohesive whole. The header, the footer, and each journal entry now form separate HTML-formatted text files. The "glue" that holds everything together is a severely hacked and cut-down version of PolkaDot, something that, in the words of its creator, represents "the cheapest, easiest, low-rent blogging system imaginable." So, there's minimal overhead involved.
What this means to you is that you can now link to individual posts without having twenty or thirty others cling along for the ride. The number of entries on the front page is kept to a reasonable length. And, since the journal is now located in a directory of its own (be sure to update your links and bookmarks from "journal.html" to "journal/," on that note), the links on Technorati should finally work.
3-3-2009: Automatic Updates
So...today, I'm walking around the corridors of the UW-Manitowoc center, and see this.
Evidently, their closed circuit television system runs Microsoft Windows XP. The dialogue beamed out across campus begs for some soul to reset the system, following an automatic system-file siege from Redmond.
My confidence is shaken...
2-27-2009: Ten Days Late
Yes, I'm starting to drift into lethargic updates yet again.
Lately, my most pressing preoccupation has been my newly-acquired digital camera: A slightly-used Canon PowerShot A70. It produces decent-quality output with reasonable image sizes, uses standard Compact Flash memory, allows manual control overrides to be selected when necessary, had controls simple enough to figure out with a little practice, and is small enough to slip into a pocket wherever I go...which, admittedly, is what I've been doing over the last few days. Unfortunately Canon didn't bother writing Windows 95 OSR2-compatible USB interface drivers for the camera (thus forcing me to use my Linux laptop as a go-between in lieu of a peripheral Compact Flash reader when transferring pictures to disk), but otherwise I've found its performance to be satisfactory.
Although I do love winter, I can't help but look forward to when the snow and ice melt and it's warm enough to take leisurely bike rides around town again: There are plenty of interesting sights and scenes throughout Manitowoc and Two Rivers that I've been longing to document in picture form. (My Flickr account would no doubt get a workout in the bargain.)
Another issue that's dwelled on my mind lately is the simmering issue of what to replace the static Web Journal with: I'd love to be able to automate the maintenance of a commentary page and have the capability of linking to isolated posts, but have had a hard time finding a solution that doesn't involve far more overhead than I want or would even hope of comprehending at the source of the code.
One possibility I've seriously pondered is wrapping the core of Tom Carlson's utilitarian PolkaDot software within constant header and footer elements via the PHP include() function and using that, but the issues of entry sorting criteria and wanting to retain "archive" pages with fixed arrays of entries still forestall a switch for now. (I'd also like to eventually replace Haloscan's commenting system with one that actually reports correct tally totals in hyperlinks, but I might as well stick to solving one problem at a time...)
2-17-2009: Opera Revisited
For the last week or so, I've been trying out Opera 9.63 as my regular browser. Why?
Part of it arose out of frustrations with what I already had: Thanks to OS compatibility-breaking decisions on the part of the Mozilla developers over the last three years, my main system's browser statuses have been marooned indefinitely at Firefox 1.5 and SeaMonkey 1.1. And no matter what the version and the cache settings, I can only use Firefox for so many hours before the hard drive starts churning to a depressing degree. Meanwhile, many of the issues I had with Opera just one year ago (from rendering quirks to scrollbar placement) have already been remedied in subsequent versions, and I found that I could customize the browser to more or less how I wanted it; OS-native MDI and all.
Now, however, I've been thinking of switching back to Firefox. While Opera is a hair faster and less resource-hungry, ultimately it comes to little effect: After using the browser for some time and noticing sketchy performance, I check my resources and find that they're at only 47%...a figure that goes up to 71% soon after closing the window. The "older version" of Gmail (which I generally find far more responsive than the newer version) refuses to load. I somehow managed to bungle the settings so that features such as embedded sound and mouse gestures remain enabled no matter how many times I de-select them in the preferences dialogue. And I've ran into odd bugs such as image properties dialogues that look like this.
Regardless of which one I use more often, however, one thing is beyond doubt: I'll keep both browsers available on my system from now on.
2-11-2009: Link of the Day
Nothing much new to speak of, but I did have the chance of stumbling across an interesting library-hosted link today: Ann Arbor Historical Signs.
It's a gallery of over 500 images depicting stores and businesses in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan; as taken by the city's sign inspector for documentation purposes in the 1970s. It's also a superb time capsule into the past.
2-7-2009: RIP: Paul Stitt, 1940-2009
While I don't believe in karma, the last week certainly offered its fair share of unpleasant events.
Probably the lowest point of the graph was the revelation that Paul Stitt, the local entrepreneur who had founded Manitowoc, Wisconsin's Natural Ovens Bakery thirty-three years ago, had died. This news surprised as much as it saddened me: I had no idea he was ill, and given Stitt's advocacy for nutrition and healthy lifestyles, that mere possibility almost seemed far-fetched. Unfortunately, cancer can be a scourge as unexpected as it is unpredictable.
Although his name wasn't exactly a celebrity-level household word, Paul Stitt was well-known in the area (and among connoisseurs of bakery products nationwide), and was a man I greatly admired. His life story, immortalized in his memoir of sorts, had many twists and turns: After starting out as a biochemist at various corporations only to find his projects cancelled and his research career stinted in the process, he changed course and created a firm of his own from nothing more but a little money, a little stubbornness, and a sheer determination to do good in the world. He made a few enemies...once in the early days after acquiring the facility of a local wholesale baker and discontinuing its sweet rolls, he was afraid to walk down the street!...but furthered a strong relationship of satisfied customers and many friends as well.
Stitt maintained an active stance in public life and community involvement throughout his time in Manitowoc, which lasted until retirement in 2007 out-of-state. Having moved from West Virginia to Manitowoc, Wisconsin the year after that, I regret never having had the chance to meet the man.