Jones Soda labels

Years ago I was honored to have 3 of my photos selected to be on Jones Soda labels. I'm back to my old tricks, submitting pictures on their site again.

Check it out.

Whatchu lookin' at?

Read and Believe

7-Eleven Kwik E Mart in Seattle

The Simpsons Movie is coming out and the 7-Eleven by Seattle Center is now a Kwik E Mart! And yes, I do have pictures of it.

Yeah. I'm back in Boston. And it's Friday the 13th!

And this in from China

I'm not going for any bad puns or cheap plays on words for this one. Damn story stands on its own.

07/07/07

Yes, today's date is 07/07/07.

Scooter Libbey

So lemme get this straight: Scooter Libby does less time than Paris Hilton. Impeach the man. Now!

Do you like clocks? I like clocks.

You might like clocks too. I love 'em but don't wear a watch. Go figure.

Meanwhile Poodwaddle's World Clock a.) blew me away first thing in the morning on a Monday and b.) gave me a newfound respect for Flash. Check it out for yourself

Aging in Place

As we age, gracefully or otherwise, our lives change. Sometimes our homes and offices don't accomodate us well. My old pal Louis Tenenbaum has the vision and foresight to work on universal design and aging in place issues. Check out his web site for details.

Having lived with Lisa during her double knee replacement I became sensitized adaptive design issues. Walkers and small bathrooms with doors on the shower. Need I say more? Getting the accessible room in a hotel on a couple of occasions was an eye opener too.

Go, read Louis' site.

Godzilla vs. King Kong

So which one is Godzilla and which one is King Kong? do we know yet?

Yes, I'm a nerd. Are you?

Yep. I'm a nerd. I' can even tell you how and why.

I've confessed to the white sock thing before. The above page discusses it in a bit more detail.

Demo in the hood & canned charity

Two things: the quickening pace of demo in my neighborhood and a constructive charity event like no other I've ever seen.

The Starter Wife & Wikipedia

I caught the first 10 minutes of The Starter Wife just now. Yawn...

Imagine my surprise when I Googled it to learn the origin of the term and stumbled across this Wikipedia article. Obviously a plant by the marketing flaks.

Sooooo, I took it upon myself to "edit" it a bit. Let's see how long my "improvements" stay up.

Talk about sleazy "social network marketing".

Speaking of clocks...

... and who isn't these days? Tick tock, tick tock,...

Origami

I'm not one for passing on YouTube clips but this one is a little, errr, unique. Yes folks, you too can make a origami vagina. Yes, you read right. Worth watching all the way through. It only gets better.

Black face comedy

How far we've come. How far we have to go.

Creationism

The last two paragraphs go far in explaining why this country is in the sad shape it is today. My kids just realized how few Americans believe in basic science, as if "belief" is necessary.

As Benjo sez, if ya don't believe in evolution, the scientific method, and modern technology you don't get to go to emergency rooms, get operations, or enjoy the other benefits of contemporary society.

Days in each month

Do you have trouble remembering how many days are in each month? When I say "September" or "July" do you know what the last day is?

And don't give me that "Thirty days hath September..." sh*t. If I could remember the damn poem I could remember the number of days in a given month!

The answer lies in you hand, or should I say on top of your hand. In my family we learned a trick that's shown here.

One down, how many more to go?

Evangelist Jerry Falwell is dead. Who's next?

Seattle: where to go, drink, eat, & play

JetCityOrange now sports several pages about Seattle: getting around, where to eat & drink, what to do, and even Seattle trivia.

Anyone have any suggestions or feedback?

When I'm 64...

JB sent this video to me. I never was much of a Who fan but this rendition makes my heart skip a beat. Perhaps it's cuz I have the distinct honor and pleasure of growing old myself. Well, at least physically old.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in San Francisco

I put together a (very) short video of HHDL in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Lisa & I went down for a two day teaching. I'm in love with the man.

Attention number freaks: 128-bit integers!!!

Dewd. Got yer 128-bit integer yet? Don't be left behind!

I gots mine. B3 38 95 72 08 AA 2A 8B 28 06 D3 12 EB FB 09 7C

Can you spell "DMCA"?

Look for more frequent posts

They're gonna happen. Prepare yourself.

Do ya love fortune cookies? Well, do ya??

If ya do, then this may be the online fortune cookie for you. One at a time, as an RSS feed, or embed it into your web pages. It's a free fortune cookie server.

Enjoy!

Attention all number freaks!

Homegirl Nancy passed this one on:

At three minutes and four seconds after 2 AM on the 6th of May this
year, the time and date will be 02:03:04 05/06/07.

Mark your calendar. Set your watches.

HHDL in SF

Lisa & I came to SF to hear HHDL teach. Deep stuff. And as an added bonus I finally got to hear the Gyuto Monks perform.

Whoa...

Renting a car

I go online and reserve a rental car. I give them my name, dates and time of pickup and dropoff, credit card info, address and phone, whatever they ask for. And I've rented from them for years.

So what's the first thing they do? Ask me all of this again and type. And type. And type some more. I swear it would be faster if I walked up to the counter cold and did it from scratch. Tell me how technology is helping either side here.

Barcodes yet again

When will the madness stop? Is there no end in site? Enuf with the bar codes all ready.

And now this: barcodes & Gitmo

When spam = 666

You just know it's gonna be a good day when you open your Gmail and notice how much spam you've gotten.

Yep, the Devil's been writin' to me agin...

Spam. It just keeps getting funnier & funnier.

Ahhhh, spam. The digital kind, not the tinned meat product. I gave up mammels 30-odd years ago. I wish the email variety would shun me.

If nothing else the subject lines give me cause for pause:
  Have jellyfish the calamity
  To be poultry
  And of salvation
  So what
  Even FBI agents must get a degree first, read how
  Re: you hangable
  FW: jujube provider
  Or shave an salamander
  The power of a dumb idea
  He flouts it joyfully.
  on confucian the jellyfish
  Is your dick like a scared turtle
  ensconce drapery
  Fine, i won't tell them
  be altitude
  Of course, this practice may get you shot, bitten by a dog or arrested.
  so true
  Bring back that fresh PC feeling
  Go be zoroastrian

Hey, I just throw it out. I don't write it!

Don't look Billy. Cover your eyes

And you want me to put this in my mouth? Besides, I wanted Mary Anne. Ginger would have been waaaay too high maintenance on that island.

Appropriate in that Coleman and I are going to NYC next week. I've always thought the sidewalks in The Big Apple were vacuums that sucked the change outta yer pockets.

Going to Boston too. Lobster at Summer Shack, hangin' with old homies, and buying art in New York. Long live JetBlue!

Who are you people?

From a recent Newsweek poll: Nearly half (48 percent) of the public rejects the scientific theory of evolution; one-third (34 percent) of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact. Seventy-three percent of Evangelical Protestants say they believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years; 39 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants and 41 percent of Catholics agree with that view.

Who the fuck are you people? 10,000 years! Morons...

Clever signs

We all know I love signs. LOVE 'EM. So it's no wonder that I love this web site.

A headline I never wanted to read

"Scientists Create Sheep That Are 15 Percent Human"

Well. I guess it could be worse. It could read "Scientists Create Humans That Are 15 Percent Sheep".

Oh wait. We already have those: born-again Republicans.

I gotta long way to go...

I was listening to Gary Dyson's version of The Heart Sutra and thought, just thought for a moment there, that I was getting it. Understanding it.

Sh*t. Sez to me I gotta long way to go.

The Episcopal Church supports gay rights!

Hats off to the Episcopal Church for standing up for gay rights! I've never been prouder of the church I grew up in. And I ain't even Christian any more.

We got audited.

Yes, the beaurocrats in Olympia decided in their infinite wisdom (sic) that Azalea Software deserved an audit. It seems they doubted we were paying enough sales and use tax into the state coffers. Right...

No, the bozo they sent out didn't send a letter in advance as he promised outlining what he was looking for and what he wanted us to prepare in advance. So we wasted a whole day doing the step'n'fetch it for this dude. What a waste. As if we're not going to strongly contest the $10K bill he left in his wake.

The best part was proving to him that no, we don't sell a lot of software in the state of Washington. Why? Because we sell a ton worldwide. No, we don't "manufacture" shrinkwrap products. Why? Cuz everyone buys off the net. As in ESD. Duh.

Chucklehead...

Bryan's new web site

Nothing makes a nerd happier than having one (or more) of his kids grow up to be nerds. Bryan's well on his way as evidence by his new web site, full of gadget reviews, game reviews, and movie reviews.

The best part? It ain't MySpace but a real web site.

Got Milk?

Amazon by ISBN-13

I love books. You probably do too.

While I love Amazon.com I must confess I use it as a research tool on my way to the Seattle Public Library or Elliott Bay Books. Gotta support those local bookstores. In some ways, to me Amazon is to books what IMDb is to Netflix: a reference tool.

Now you can search amazon.com by ISBN number. Kewl, hunh?

Southbound on I-5 This Morning

Halliburton

If Halliburton in Dubai = True Then
  Greed = Greed^2
Else
  news = False
End If

zonkdogfology, the word of the day

I love a good search engine like Google as much as the next guy. My pal here put a pig in the pipes. A GooglePig if you will.

Ha, ha. Funny, funny.

Random spam

These are subject lines from spam I've received recently. Honestly, I couldn't make this shit up even if I wanted to:

It is occult
acetylene magic
This Is Better Than 3 Wishes
distillate circuitry
Bin Laden Denounces Inclusion on Worst Dressed List
The very thick on the whole Planet.
go fatal
interconnected stocking
creators hold power
atoms and particles make u wonder
Porn stars recommend our drugs :)
candy bar torrential
require arrogance
If you die. Love continues.
Freddy Kruger wears Rolex Wana
fruitcake enchilada

Home Sweet Home

Sometimes it's the small things that turn a house into a home. Things like Tibetan prayer flags.

Truth stranger than...

Al Sharpton & Strom Thurmond related through slavery?!? Simultaneous with Louis Farrakhan's swan song!?!

I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to.

Is she single?

Like I said, is she single? Heck, must make another one!

Moving

I'm moving. Again.

I seem to be in a 18 month cycle here. This is my 4th place in 6 years, all here in West Seattle. The Apartment, Area 51, Hilltop, and now The Merge House.

If you ask me I'll tell you they're all "hotels", that I'm not attached to where I live, that at this point in my life a house isn't the best investment I can make. All true but the move thing is getting old.

At least this one holds out the promise of going down in history as the one that Lisa & I first shared. It was also funny in that again I used craigslist to find a mover and damn if I didn't unknowingly pick the same guy. He asked if I had the same girlfriend (yes), also a craiglist find.

Yes, me.

But no, not my ride.

Anna Nicole Smith

Some of you might expect me to say cruel things. Au contraire, I felt bad for her. Boobs you want to sink your head into notwithstanding, her life was one full of pain and suffering. We should all show her sincere love and compassion.

I'm serious.

Cruel and yet so funny too

Well. Valentine's Day is almost upon us. If you think it's hard when you're part of a couple, a quick glance at the craigslist personals tells me it's even harder when you're single. And horny.

I've written about craigslist before. OK, at length. I still cruise it for grins. The contrast between W4M and M4W is unbelievable. And at this time of the year, everybody is gettin' desperate.

Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.

Why I love Lisa...

... and no one else. Read this disturbing news. No matter how unscientific the sampling is, the numbers and conclusions are un-ac-cept-a-ble.

And I quote: "A survey of about 1,000 women in 10 U.S. cities found women on average would be willing to give up sex for 15 months for a closet full of new apparel with two percent ready to abstain from sex for three years in exchange for new duds."

No thanks ladies. No thanks, I'll pass.

Superbowl XLI

I didn't even know who was playing. Didn't care. Then I heard who the halftime performer was! We turned it on just in time. After Prince we all went to Extreme Pizza for Michael's 18th birthday. We dubbed it a concert with a football game at either end. I gave Michael a copy of Dharma Punx. He read a couple of pages in the car and declared it a pretty good book. Let's hope he reads it.

Proof I was in New York

What better souvenir?

Semi-retirement

I turned 53 in December. My present to myself was to "semi-retire". From here on out, I get to do what I want.

"What's that?" Travel and buy art. So you can imagine that I'm in 7th heaven right now. I'm sitting in Louis' kitchen, helping him build a web site, having traveled to New York. Why? To see the Cartier-Bresson exhibit at ICP and to buy one of Stephen Shames' photos of the Black Panthers. Huey Newton with a copy of Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited to be exact. My only regret is that I have to go back to Seatown before Steve's 60th birthday party this weekend.

False prophets

I went to Vancouver this weekend for a Tibetan Buddhist training given by NKT. "Rogue" doesn't begin to describe them.

I'm no stranger to Tibetan Buddhism and am continually inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. These folks ain't the real deal. Not to knock anyone's spiritual path but after the first day "I reflected, I rejected."

On to bigger and better things...

LED bras

Now I'm a nerd. More important to this link, I'm a guy; a straight guy. So I'm pretty simple-minded.

Put those two together and what do you think the perfect bait for me is? Yep. An LED bra. Don't believe me? Gimme a beer or two and then parade around in front of me with one of these one.

Tweak those JPGs. Tweak!

Ready to edit the non-image data in your JPGs bucky? You know, the EXIF data etc.? Good!

Microsquish of all people has just release a tool to do just that. Best of all? This little puppy is free! Go git you one!

(Pssst... Bill. The .NET link is broken. Someone should get fired!)

Look, it's Mii, errr, I mean me!

So I disovered this site and made me. Or is that "Mii"?

And this just in from the CIA

Yes, that CIA. As in spooks and spies.

No, not that kind of spook. The scary kind.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

A Kodak moment

This is the funniest video I've seen cross my Thinkpad screen in quite awhile.

The funny thing is that a Kodak DC210 was my first digital camera oh those many years ago. I still miss the IR connection to my PC. Easiest uploading ever.

Looking back on the holidays

Well Mom got on the plane back home this morning. Quite the holiday season here chez Whiting.

6 days without power after a big wind storm
Mom comes 3 days earlier than I anticipated
Lisa was kind enough to host to weather refugees at her house
Azalea had an open house on the 22nd
The Evil Ex- abducted the kids over Xmas in defiance of parenting plan
I hosted dinner for 10 Christmas night
I got sick through it all
I'm now suffering from persistant hiccups. Don't laugh, it's almost 24 hrs now

Hanging out with Mom was great. She got quality time with the two youngest. My eldest even made an appearance Christmas Day. Significant given that I saw him on my birthday 12/12 for the first time since early Aug.

Lessons learned from Holiday Season '06? Family is everything. Lisa's the best. Next year's gonna be even better.

Office camping

Yep. That's what my neighbors accused me of when they saw me schlepping into work at 8 with a sleeping bag, pad, and luggage. Again. Why? Cuz I ain't got no 'lectricity at home. Still. The storm was Thu night. It's Wed. The utility workers I spoke to down the street from my house confirmed my worse suspicions. I live on a ridge with a great view. Why? Cuz I live above a two block long, two street wide green belt. A green belt on a steep hill covered with blackberries. They can't get a truck anywhere near the pole and lines. Probably won't for 2-3 days. Unless tonight's storm causes more damage.

Oh. Did I mention that my 82 yr old mother came into town Mon morning? Three days earlier than I thought. God bless my sweetheart for hosting us for a couple nights. And arranged for us to spend the holiday week at her daughter's house.

Christmas '06? Yeah, that was the year I office camped.

The Square Egg

Make has a piece on square hard boiled eggs.

It looks like they've been reading old versions of JetCityOrange.

Oh Santa...

This is both funny and clever. And so timely now that the holidays are upon us.

My question: will they keep it around til next year?

Birthday surprise

Good thing I checked my spam folder. What do I find but email from my oldest son inviting me to his therapy session today. Significant because a.) I haven't seen him for 4+ months and b.) today is my birthday.

Speaking of which today, 12/12, is my birthday. I, who was born in '53, turn 53 today.

Shaving

While updating my List of Links I came across this video. Funny yes but slightly disturbing as well. I quickly add I'm old enough not to apprciate the current style of shaved nether regions. This goes for the Hitler soul patch too. Bush. Gimme bush. Well, at least not in the White House.

48° 6' 57.96" -123° 12' 0.36"

Yes, I've stood at the corner of Woodcock & Kitchen-Dick. Felt good too.

Where was I you ask? Sequim WA 98382. Where else?

The 666 Key

I was just thinking to myself that this blog has been mighty text-heavy of late and could use a bit of photography. And what does life hand me but the perfect picture. Makes me think of 666, the mark of the beast.

Speaking of sex...

I don't care if it's in German or not, ya gotta read this product announcement. A spray-on condom. Whodda thunk?

Speaking of sex and protest, have you heard about global orgasm? No perv, it isn't about Russian brides, hittin' on foreign stewardesses, or white slavery. PC nookie!

How to live one's life.

We're born alone. We die alone.

How you live during the interval is all that matters.

Is it almost time for metric?

Cory & I were talking on the ride to Vancouver and a thought occurred to me: will the neverending stream of immigrants into the US push us into accepting the metric system (finally)? Millions of these New Americans were raised on the more logical metric system and have to master inches, pounds, and gallons along with American slang, HOV lanes, shopping malls, and the in's & out's of the electoral college.

Try teaching a child to add fractions of inches. That's the homework I really hated.

The holidays are here. Again.

The holiday season is upon us once again with something for everyone: Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Christmas, my birthday.

Please take a moment during the hustle and bustle and think of others. No, not just your family and friends. Strangers.

Become the light that shines into the dark corners of someone else's life. Give of yourself. Donate to a cause you believe in. Consider making the simple act of giving part of your life 365 days a year.

Regardless of your faith and beliefs, making the world a better place for all is core to our human existence.

Happy holidays. Om mani padme hum.

I have mixed feelings on this one

Usually I detest rock'n'roll, good rock'n'roll, being used to market shit in TV ads.

Then Victoria's Secret started using Hendrix's Red House. Not only do they use our barcodes, it's Jimi.

Do I hate the corporate propaganda more than I love classic Jimi? Not to mention the babes...

Seeing a man 'bout a horse

I find myself in Boston. Usually that's a good thing: one of my favorite cities, lived here for 7 hrs & visit often, old friends, know my way around without a map, etc.

This day-after-Election-Day sees me here after a JetBlue redeye outta Seattle, meeting a potential business partner at the Concord Starbucks at 11, and home again tonight. Cross country in less than 24 hours; no hotel involved.

Not to mention that I was just in The Bay for a long weekend leading up to this. Road warrior, that's me.

If nothing else it looks like the GOP got spanked last night. Now if only the Dems grow a spine...

Speak up if you drink Starbucks coffee

Starbucks loves to brag about how socially responsible they are. I'll admit that they're less slimey than the average corporation. Reading this makes me think that there's more they could be doing. What do you think???

Ahhhh.... barcodes. Warms me heart they do.

There's something deeply satisfying about bringing a new barcode web site to life. Doubly so when one is about Code 128 barcodes. Know what I mean?

Home Ec

I never learned how to sew, but this article makes me wish I did.

Never too late, ehhh?

Good Advice From OakTown

Black Panther Party reunion in Oakland

We had a great weekend in Oakland. Spent time with my brother David. Iguana Joe was in from Boston. Saw both Craig and his brother Mick. Dropped by to see Pirkle in Mill Valley.

The trip centered around a number of events surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Black Panther Party. We went to a book signing and banquet dinner Saturday night. There was a photo op on the Alameda County Court House steps Sunday morning. I took lots of pictures Sunday. Pretty darn good pictures if I may say so myself.

Coleman and Bryan were truly inspired, as were we all.

Barcodes: once jargon, now slang

I collect photos of barcode tattoos, barcode graffiti, , graffiti t-shirts, etc. No surprise given that I own a barcode software company.

I've written a white paper, "Barcodes: once jargon, now slang" (PDF). Summary: barcodes have been part of our collective visual vocabulary.

Now go read it.

It's that "life" thing again.

Or maybe I should say that "living on this planet, in this corner of the universe" thing. I do hope someone explains when it's all over. Or during the commercial break between incarnations.

Shouldn't I never see this?

Someone tell me why oh why I should ever see this dialog box. The check box is checked.

Jackass Number Two Trailer

Go Number Two on September 22nd

...one more thing Santa

As long as we're talking about wood (no, not that kind perv), Santa can ya git me this too.

You the man, Nick.

Dear Santa

Santa, I've been a good boy this year. Soooo, would you entertain something like this as a holiday reward? You don't even have to read Japanese to appreciate how hip this is.

Pleeeeease...

Jones Soda

It seems like forever since I've had a photo of mine grace a bottle of Jones Soda.

So I'm back at it again.

HHDL Vancouver webcast et al.

Seminal event. That's the best way I can describe seeing HH The Dalai Lama in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. You can read the books but there's nothing like being in his presence.

Just to make sure I wasn't fooling myself I listened to his talk again via this webcast (Cultivating Happiness, skip to :50). Yep. He's the real deal.

Bryan and I watched Kundun last night. Whoa. Great compliment to Little Monk, an HBO documentary we saw about a young monk.

I've been sitting since March. I've gone as far as I can. I need a teacher. (That's me asking the Buddha.)

BTW, HHDL is coming to The Bay in April07.

engadet does gizmodo

Is it me or does the newly redesigned engadget bear a suspiciously striking resemblence to Gizmodo?

You be the judge.

Teen-aged boys

It's been over 6 weeks since my 17 yr old hit me. Needless to say, I've never gone this long without seeing any of my kids. Number one son is hiding at his mother's house or should I say "behind his mother's apron".

Some women recognize what's going on, almost all men grok it in fullness.

1a: karma is real
1b: payback's a bitch
1c: now I know how my father felt (tho I never smacked him nor spent time in juvy

2: as a Buddhist who believes in reincarnation, I realize it may take while before Michael grows up and learns the lesson(s) at hand

3: while my other two are watching their older brother, I pray they at least make their own (different) mistakes

This may take awhile.

Speaking of family, I had a great trip home last week. Spent lots of time with Mom, who's doing incredibly well after 2 breast cancer operations in 6 weeks. The unexpected joy was spending mucho quality time with my brother. As in 3 meals in three days. Not to mention is seemingly normal new girlfriend. Big shout out to Bruce'n'Barb as well. Ahhhh, Cleveland. Land of my birth.

HHDL in Vancouver

Lisa and I saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama today in Vancouver. He's here for the opening of a new center.

Tears streamed down my face though his speech was what I called "Dalai Lama Lite". Lovely enough but not a spiritual talk per se. I've been reading a handful of his books lately and I guess I had my hopes set a bit too high.

Being in his presence and hearing his voice was a joy. A true joy.

Perhaps the most touching moment was when he entered the room and his two RCMP escorts clasped their hands together and bowed to him. F*cking secret service agents wouldn't have done that. Oh yeah, it was qualatatively different being in Canada seeing him.

I promise to work harder for the enlightenment of all sentient beings. Each and every day.


Om mani padme hum.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Lisa and I are on our way to Vancouver BC today to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak tomorrow.

First time. I could use the inspiration about now.