Dempster [...] said, "We have hardly a right to abuse this tragedy ["Elvira"]; for bad as it is, how vain should either of us be to write one not near so good."  JOHNSON.  "Why no, Sir; this is not just reasoning.  You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one.  You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table.  It is not your trade to make tables."

(The Life of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell.  Page 257, Everyman's Library Edition.)

ScotchFinder is working again, and no longer greeting visitors with a "down for upgrades" message.

I have just found what may be my favorite snack chip: Sweet Brown Rice & Black Bean 100% Organic Kettle Tortilla Chips from Kettle Foods. They have an extremely satisfying snap, a good high-resistance crunch, a delicious interplay of sweet whole grain flavors, and are not oily or stale. The flavor and texture profile is different from any other tortilla chip I have tried; the back of the bag explains this:

Kettle^TM Tortilla Chips emerge from organically grown corn, slowly hand cooked, and then stone ground with sprouted corn for a natural sweetness.

Aha. Interesting.

Even more interesting is the fact that there is a footnote for this sentence, which describes that this process is patented. I visited the IBM Patent Server and, sure enough, US Patent #5,298,274, issued 03/29/1994 to Nirbhao S. Khalsa of Portland OR, is entitled "Methods for making tortilla chips and tortilla chips produced thereby". The patent comprises 26 claims, the first five of which I reproduce here:

    1. A method for making tortilla chips, comprising:

• mixing a raw, germinated grain fraction with a non-germinated grain fraction to produce a grain mixture;
• grinding the grain mixture to produce a dense dough;
• sheeting the dough to form a dough sheet;
• cutting the dough sheet to provide desired dough shapes; and
• heating the dough shapes to produce tortilla chips.

    2. A method for making tortilla chips according to claim 1, wherein the raw, germinated grain fraction comprises raw, germinated whole kernel corn, and the non-germinated grain fraction comprises non-germinated corn.
    3. A method for making tortilla chips according to claim 1, wherein the raw, germinated grain fraction comprises about 2% to about 25% of the grain mixture.
    4. A method for making tortilla chips according to claim 1, wherein the dense dough produced by grinding the grain mixture has a moisture content of about 48% to 50%.
    5. A method for making tortilla chips according to claim 1, additionally comprising germinating a raw grain by soaking dried, whole grain in a liquid for a soaking period, draining the soaked grain, and periodically rinsing the soaked grain and maintaining it in a constant temperature environment for a germination period.

This is deeply amusing to me. First is the use of language, not as a rapier or a scalpel but as a barbell. Consider the semantic content of "sheeting the dough to form a dough sheet." I see. It is terribly counterintuitive that by sheeting dough one would end up with a sheet of dough. Or "mixing a raw, germinated grain fraction with a non-germinated grain fraction to produce a grain mixture." The enlightenment continues: not only does sheeting dough yield a dough sheet, but mixing grain yields a grain mixture.

Now I know that the corn chips' lawyers did not invent modern legal parlance, so it would be unfair to shift the entire burden onto them. But it is startling how little information can be conveyed by such detailed description. Imagine I were to tell you that "blorking the dough forms a dough blork", or that "zripping two kinds of grain yields a grain zrip." Either you know what a blork and a zrip are, in which case my sentence is pointless, or you do not, in which case my sentence is meaningless. The mathematician in me rebels against circularly-defined terms. What is a bisected angle? Well, silly, it's an angle that has been bisected!

But this is also funny on a tonal level. It would be interesting to me to explore whether modern legal sentence forms derived from Church documents, as this is terribly reminiscent of the Athanasian Creed:

Now this is the catholic faith:
 
     That we worship one God in trinity
     and the trinity in unity,
     neither blending their persons
     nor dividing their essence.
          For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
          the person of the Son is another,
          and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
          But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
          their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.
 
     What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
          The Father is uncreated,
          the Son is uncreated,
          the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
 
          The Father is immeasurable,
          the Son is immeasurable,
          the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.
 
          The Father is eternal,
          the Son is eternal,
          the Holy Spirit is eternal.
 
               And yet there are not three eternal beings;
               there is but one eternal being.
               So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
               there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.
 
          Similarly, the Father is almighty,
          the Son is almighty,
          the Holy Spirit is almighty.
               Yet there are not three almighty beings;
               there is but one almighty being.
 
          Thus the Father is God,
          the Son is God,
          the Holy Spirit is God.
               Yet there are not three gods;
               there is but one God.
 
          Thus the Father is Lord,
          the Son is Lord,
          the Holy Spirit is Lord.
               Yet there are not three lords;
               there is but one Lord.

          [etc....]

Or, on a less reverent note, Monty Python:

"And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the
      Holy Pin.  Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less.  Three
      shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting
      shalt be three.  Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two,
      excepting that thou then proceed to three.  Five is right out.  Once
      the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou
      thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty
      in my sight, shall snuff it.'"

An excellent venue to explore the necessity of such legalistic speech would certainly be the game Nomic, invented nineteen years ago by philosophy professor Peter Suber and popularized by Douglas Hofstadter in his late great Metamagical Themas column in Scientific American. In the game of Nomic, changing the game rules is a move. I first read about this several years ago, but have yet to actually play it; it has been essentially a thought experiment. One of these days I would like to play an actual game (perhaps, or even preferably, online.)

Just now, in hunting for hyperlinks, I thought I would try to purchase a copy of Suber's book The Paradox of Self-Amendment in which Nomic appears as an appendix. I checked BookFinder but all the offers I found were for new copies of the book for $68 apiece, and I expect that the author would see very little (or any) of this. Yes, I want to read the book; but perhaps it makes more sense to read the free online version.

There are new additions to Postal Cancel Art.

And it's working again.

The fsck program is extremely helpful and very informative. Kudos to the developers (alas, they are coated in milk chocolate so I cannot partake [the Kudos, that is, not the developers {probably}]).

Hmmm. This is frustrating. My Linux box crashed while I was at work today, which shut down my web server, telnet and ftp access, and mail delivery. And it might be bad, judging from the non-encouraging error messages I'm getting.

Of course, if you ever see this note, that means I have gotten it working again....

A single malt pointer for the enthusiasts among you: Lismore single malt, perhaps exclusive to the U.S. market. No age statement, billed as "pure single highland malt scotch whisky", unidentified distillery. This is quite pleasant: a soft toffee nose, with a soft, Lowlandish, floral palate with hints of apple. Bottled at 40% abv but with an edge that would make me guess 43%. The main advantage? The price: $13.

Nothing to write home about, but a fine and inexpensive everyday dram. I wonder what distillery it hails from.

Ummm ... Slipknot's self-titled debut? Not pleasant. It is times like this that I am thankful to be a software engineer rather than a professional music critic: I have no obligation to listen through the whole thing and find something intelligent to say.

Here is a list of music that has interested me lately.  I have not purchased any of these CDs yet; I buy music with far less frequency than I used to.  But I think all of these are worth a flip-through.  In alphabetical order:

• Disturbed, The Sickness    
  Try "Voices" and "Numb".
• David Gray, White Ladder    
  Try "We're Not Right", "Sail Away", and "Babylon II".
• Morcheeba, Who Can You Trust?    
  Try "Howling" and "Col".
• Dolly Parton, Little Sparrow    
  Try "Little Sparrow" and "Shine".

Disturbed covers a Tears For Fears song on their album, and Parton (no kidding) covers a Collective Soul song, but remarkably neither seems out of place.  The production on The Sickness is gorgeous, and musical homages are manifold.  The lead singer uses vocal intonations on the former that he must have learned from Maynard on a Tool album.  Even if you have never liked anything you have ever heard Dolly Parton sing (I would fall into this category) give Little Sparrow a try.  The Morcheeba and David Gray albums each evoke confidence that they will be very rewarding listens.

I visited the gym tonight, and with my muscles still sore from yesterday I could not get close to 160 lb. on a bench press. The 210 lb. low row was still not a problem, and I was able to quantify another: one rep at 160 lb. on the leg press, then five reps at 150 lb.

A demonstration of the effect of psychology on this activity: I set the lat pulldown at 70 lb. for my usual ten repetitions, sat down, and accomplished them without any more difficulty than normal. Then I checked the weights and realized I had put 110 lb. on it, not 70. Perhaps if I had someone else set the weights and then lie to me about them....

In the gym there is a television that tonight was set to the network news. Now, I never watch network news; I have not for perhaps a decade. So I have no idea if tonight was the norm or if we are getting broadcasts tailored for February sweeps. As I was preparing to leave, the broadcast started covering a special report on the Laker Girls and yes, I stayed to watch. After it finished I started to leave again, but no: the next section was a report on the porn industry in Southern California, complete with PG-rated visuals, with innuendo that President Bush may attempt to wage a "cultural war" on the purveyors (that is, to deny them of their First Amendment rights. I mean, if a constitutional amendment does not allow you to possess and use deadly weapons, then there is no conceivable reason for protecting it, right? But I digress.)

I stayed and watched it. Again, I started to leave. But a quick cutaway to ... the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, prepared for the legions of forty year old men with beer bellies in the market for bikinis and saris, which will be released tomorrow. But, we are told, that story was "coming up later in our broadcast."

"Oh," I thought. "They are going to intersperse the T&A with some actual news." Well, not quite. The Swimsuit Edition story was postponed to cover ... get ready ... Hugh Hefner, who is about to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday and is still leading a "swinging lifestyle". I left at this point, so I have no further reports. But really: is there any difference between network newscasts and E! (approximately 4.261) these days? This is not spoken from a high-and-mighty moralist position, just from resigned bemusement.

(OK, it is really e! that is approximately 4.261, not E!. And this is only true if you generalize e! to be Γ(e). But I still find this to be mildly amusing.)

It has been a long time since I have written in this log, as mentioned in the last post. On February 4 of this year I began a month-long experiment with veganism, to see if this was a way of life I could sustain. As discussed on my hypocrisy page this is the only ethically defensible route for me. The month period is more than half over and still going well. Yes, I am getting cravings: the strongest have been turkey pepperoni, ice cream, cheesy pizza, and hamburgers (the latter is odd, since I have spent most of my life not eating red meat.) These are the identifiable cravings; the more general craving is for food with substance.

The convenience factor is an issue as well. I can no longer eat and my workplace's cafeteria, and dining out is difficult. A dry baked potato and a side salad at Friday's is not a satisfying meal. Fast food is also difficult. I am considering putting together an online list of vegan options at major fast food chains (for instance, a bean burrito without cheese is vegan at Taco Bell.)

I have also started using the gym at our apartment complex again. For the record, I will log my current ability here; I look forward to seeing if these change. I have only quantified a couple so far:

bench press:  four reps at 160 lb.
low row:  five reps at 210 lb.^*

^*(This the max weight for the machine, so I am not sure what my max low row actually is.)

I never lifted weights in high school or college, so it is perhaps odd to become interested relatively late. I will post updates if they occur.

Sorry again for the long silence.  :^)

To my legions of devoted weblog readers, the silence is over.  :-)

I apologize for the lack of posts in recent days. Blogger, which powers this weblog, has been down recently, but full performance seems to be restored.

The new server is certainly keeping me busy. It is a lot of fun getting it set up, though.

Could this ad be more slutty? You would think they were advertising a pornography site. Compare this to the far more wholesome picture displayed on their start page. Perhaps they think users of Yahoo! Mail (where I ran across this ad) are less likely to go for a laughing-eyed brunette than a porn star.

If you can see this message, you are on the new new mcgees.org server that I personally own and administer.

The new server is set up. It will take about 72 hours for the DNS changes to propogate. If I were really confident I would have made the DNS changes earlier, trusting on finishing the server setup before the changes took effect. But I didn't.  :-)

It is really warm here. It has felt like summer here all day. I know I cannot really complain about this to those in less hospitable climates, but it certainly has been disorienting.

It feels like Sunday; it has all day. It keeps surprising me that I have another day off tomorrow.

Enough computer stuff for tonight: I'm off to read some more of Why Not Me?

Last night (Friday) I got home from work worn out and starving. I had had a busy week and had eaten nothing all day except a bagel with cream cheese at 9:30. There was a Lakers game on that I wanted to watch. I asked Jenn if she would like to go out somewhere, and suggested the pub [Crown & Anchor in Thousand Oaks], Fridays, or "that new pizza and microbrew place by Best Buy". She said "Fridays", but I reconsidred and suggested that they might likely have over an hour wait for a table. So we headed off for the pub.

The place was nice as usual, save two things: I had forgotten that they have the jukebox running on Friday nights rather than the television audio, and there was no place to sit in the bar. We decided to go try the pizza place, which is right here in Thousand Oaks.

The restaurant is called "Stuft Pizza & Brewing Company", and I had no idea until just now, looking for links, that this is a franchise. The interior looks like a still-frame halfway in the middle of a CGI morph between a Macaroni Grill and a sports bar. The interior has an open design, with a high ceiling and exposed ducting and I-beams. There are booths and tables laid out in an array on the floor. And there are televisions, showing sporting events, pretty much everywhere you look. Their menu is much like that of Macaroni Grill as well: pizza, pasta, salads, appetizers. The company brews its own beer (not on site) and offers a variety of good drafts by the pitcher.

We were served by an attentive and extremely cute waitress named Joslyn, and the store owner personally came by several times to check on us. The atmosphere was loud (when they turned the television volume up for me I still couldn't hear it) but not at all unpleasant. The hot wings were tasty, and cheaper than I expected as they have happy hour pricing, even on Fridays. Jenn had lasagne (which I didn't try) and I had a personal-sized pizza called "March Madness" (menu entrées have sports themes.) The pizza had garlic and five cheeses at toppings; I requested it with extra garlic and added tomatoes as another topping. The pizza had no tomato sauce on it: true, it was not listed in the toppings list, but I suppose I took it for granted. It was still quite enjoyable, although I will probably order the pizza with sauce next time we go. The pizza was a bit smaller than their competitors' who normally offer 8" pizzas, but they made up for this by pricing them reasonably (~$6). We ordered two pitchers of beer while we were there: the first was Rogue's "Dead Man Ale", or something to that effect. This was OK: a sturdy bitter base with a good interplay of flavors in the high registers, but it was a bit weak in the middle. The second pitcher (which we did not finish, not because of its qualities but because that was too much beer) was one of Stuft's own, their Amber Ale. This was very nice; I far preferred it to the Rogue.

All in all, I highly recommend this establishment, and we will certainly be returning.

Just goes to show that if you wait five years you forget the specs of your PCs. The new server is a P120, not a P133.

I spent two hours trying to configure the network card for the new server, then started searching the web for info. I found a very helpful post:

> [...] I could never get my LinkSys to respond to a ping. Finally, I 
> returned the LinkSys card and replaced it with a 3COM 905C-TX-M. 3COM now 
> has Linux driver source on their website for most 905B and 905C NICs. This 
> compiled up in both SMP and non SMP mode fine and worked liked a charm. It 
> costs more, but then again it works. I don't know why the LinkSys 
> card never 
> worked, I just know that I put a lot of effort into getting it to work, so 
> to save you time you might want to punt early and switch out NICs. 

Very useful. I will go buy a better card tomorrow.

I am engaged in two simultaneous setup tasks right now. The Linux installer is running on the P133, and the TiVo is in its three hour setup phase. If you are keeping count, this is TiVo number 3. Let's hope this one works.

I am terrifically excited, like a kid in a candy shop, about getting this Linux server running. If all goes well, by the end of the weekend (or Tuesday at the latest) you will be able to visit mcgees.org on the new machine.

I am pleased. I have been installing a Linux system on one of my computers at work. I had a copy of RedHat 5.2 from a couple of years ago, and was successful yesterday in getting much of the stuff set up, although quite a bit was nontrivial (I had to upgrade my kernel, for instance.) I decided today to quit this process and try with the newer RedHat 7. Setup is amazingly easy! I am very pleased; this should be a breeze when I set up my home system.