Bit Rot

my del.icio.us wordle

2008-06-23T19:25:00.003-05:00

Via Griffey. Wordle is a fun cloud generator. I have to delete that damn "family_day" tag.

Manteo!!! Go Scott!!!

2008-06-13T14:42:00.003-05:00

Scott Adams should reach Manteo tonight about 11 pm!

For updates, check his Ning site, RunNC2008.

Running the entire state of NC is really a mind blowing feat. And in the Carolina heat? I'll be pushy enough to say more of us should acknowledge that and make a donation:

Scott Adams Donation Page on the American Cancer Society site.

Scott Adams: Murphy to Manteo, for Cancer Research

2008-05-29T10:40:00.004-05:00

Big props to my old colleague Scott Adams from SILS (not Dilbert), who is currently running the entire width of North Carolina to fight cancer!

That's 740 miles in 18 days. Go Scott!

Find more photos like this on RunNC2008

GRL from YouTube

2008-05-20T07:35:00.002-05:00

Graffiti Research Lab does some really cool "digital graffiti." Joey and I have been getting a kick out of these videos. Different units operate in many major cities. YouTube is full of their exploits:

High Tide, No Really

2008-04-07T21:48:00.006-05:00

I went for walk tonight. I should say I went for two: one with Joey earlier and one tonight scoping out a place to do tai chi.

I got a little derailed, though, when I walked by Waterfront Park and saw that Charleston Harbor coming all the way up to the paving stones that line the walkways. It was about to start lapping into the parking lot of the Pilot's House. This is a good 5-10 feet above the usual level, which means the water is 30-50 feet farther up the slope of the banks than normal.

When I got home I checked my weather widget for advisories, and sure enough, found this:

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON SC
342 PM EDT MON APR 7 2008
GAZ117-119-139-141-SCZ048>051-080400-
/O.NEW.KCHS.CF.Y.0001.080407T2300Z-080408T0400Z/
COASTAL BRYAN-COASTAL CHATHAM-COASTAL LIBERTY-COASTAL MCINTOSH-
BEAUFORT-COASTAL COLLETON-CHARLESTON-COASTAL JASPER-
342 PM EDT MON APR 7 2008
...COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHARLESTON HAS ISSUED A COASTAL
FLOOD ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT.

TIDE LEVELS CONTINUE TO RUN HIGH DUE TO A RECENT NEW MOON...
APPROACHING LUNAR PERIGEE AND STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS THAT ARE
PUSHING WATER ONSHORE. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO TIDE LEVELS ON THE
EVENING HIGH TIDE NEAR 7.1 FEET IN CHARLESTON HARBOR AND 9.2 FEET
NEAR SAVANNAH. HIGH TIDE IS EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 10 PM.

TIDES AT THIS LEVEL WILL RESULT IN STANDING SALTWATER IN LOW-LYING
AREAS OF DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON SUCH AS MORRISON DRIVE AND IN MOUNT
PLEASANT ALONG LONG POINT ROAD.

A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY INDICATES THAT ONSHORE WINDS AND TIDES
WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE SOME FLOODING OF LOW AREAS ALONG THE
SHORE. SHALLOW COASTAL FLOODING BEGINS ALONG THE LOWER SOUTH
CAROLINA COAST WHEN TIDES IN THE CHARLESTON HARBOR REACH 7.0 FEET
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER AND ALONG THE NORTH GEORGIA COAST WHEN TIDES
REACH 9.2 FEET AT FORT PULASKI.

Compare tonight to high tide 4 days ago, on April 3, 2008:

I took the picture on the right largely because I thought the water was crazy high and I wouldn't get a shot like that again for a while. Looks like tonight is about 2 feet higher (check the bolts on the posts in each photo).

Compare these to March 27. You can barely see the water at all in this photo of the same spot on the pier, admittedly at low tide:

Anyway, the ocean is scary. Grendel and I walk on this bed of dried reeds all the time, and tonight the whole stretch is just rolling in the waves!

Wakka Wakka Wakka

2008-04-02T23:03:00.002-05:00

Clearly rickrolling was rampant on April Fool's Day, particularly on YouTube.

So why is it now April 3 and I just can't stop watching this nugget that pwnd a lot of Farkers (me included):

Because Muppets rarely fail to make me happy, that's why. And this is pretty well edited. Kudos, person from the Internet.

Prowling

2008-03-27T21:49:00.001-05:00

Please Don't Jump in the Water, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Stinky looks like he's about to pounce like Shere Khan onto some unsuspecting dancing orangutan, but in reality he was probably about to fall into some very thick mud on the banks of the harbor.

There are no orangutans in India. This is among the numerous problems with Disney's adaptation of Kipling's Jungle Book.

Amigo de Pedro

2008-03-26T23:53:00.001-05:00

Amigo de Pedro, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

On the way back to Charleston after a few days in Fayetteville.

Since my obsession with having and documenting fun with Grendel recently, I decided I couldn't pass up a few pics at South of the Border.

For those uninitiated, South of the Border is a mass of tourist crap near the NC/SC border on I-95. It grew from a gas station and a fireworks stand in the 1950s into uncountable shops and restaurants selling... well, Mexican stereotypes, I guess. Anyone traveling the East Coast on 95 has surely seen the numerous signs, some just hokey and others vaguely offensive, encouraging travelers to come and spend some pesos on plastic sombreros in South Carolina. After dark, you can also spend some pesos on cheap liquor, hookers or getting stabbed.

We didn't stay long, and not just because I was eager to get back home.

Grendel Ftagn

2008-03-26T10:41:00.000-05:00

Grendel Ftagn, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Grenny had to drink a lot of water, and subsequently pee often, Sunday night at the folks' place, with a bit of a respite from this increasingly common pattern on Monday. To add to his distress, he can't quite jump onto the bed in the spare room. Tuesday night, I decided to sleep on the couch so he could be comfy and I could be ready for bathroom escort.

Grendel Meets Albigensis

2008-03-25T20:20:00.003-05:00

Grendel Meets Albigensis, the Close Up, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Albigensis is not Grendel's twin from the Negative Universe, but you could be forgiven for thinking so. He reminds me of a young Grenny, only bigger and more Boxer, no Bulldog. They had a good time on a bad day.

Off camera somewhere is Alby's companion Prunella, the French Bulldog. She's probably about to leap off that porch in the upper left and onto Grendel's face. Quite the taskmistress.

Good Times and Bad Times

2008-03-24T20:05:00.001-05:00

IMG_0067, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

On Saturday I got some bad news that would send me shortly up to Fayetteville. I had to get some things squared away for work first though, namely getting a rip of Gegen die Wand ready to stream on WebCT for colleague Morgan Koerner's German Pop Culture class. It looked like a great film, and I can't wait to watch it at my leisure, instead of trying to get it to play, rip and get a decent hinted stream out of it on a short and collapsing timetable.

Sunday morning, while I left my 5 or 6th attempt with the troublesome DVD compressing, Grendel and I had an outing in Waterfront Park. I am really trying to treasure my time with him and make sure he has some good quality time everyday, since he may only have a few weeks or months left. We played catch with some palmetto bark we found and strolled along the boardwalk where the tourists congregate. I think he really enjoyed it.

Later that day, Gegen die Wand being taken care of and the boss being emailed, we headed out for the drive up to Federalburg.

Saturday, We Dug for Treasure

2008-03-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

Digging for Treasure, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Treasure = Cat Poop

I can has flickr?

2008-03-22T12:14:00.003-05:00

Grendel, the 1st Person Shooter

2008-03-22T01:11:00.001-05:00

Grendel, the 1st Person Shooter, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

He's running away from me with the camera.

Peanut Butter Treat!

2008-03-21T00:44:00.001-05:00

Peanut Butter Treat, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

It was a day to be thankful for, I think.

Puppy Face

2008-03-20T16:02:00.001-05:00

Puppy Face, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Today Joey walked with us and we met a pair of beautiful Olde English Bulldogges. They were really strong, chunky dogs, and very bouncy. Joey remarked that in such exciting social situations, Grendel is quick to put on his "puppy face." It just says, "I am friendly and harmless and everyone should love me."

I didn't have the camera out, and couldn't have gotten a good picture in all the happy chaos anyway. Luckily Grendel recreated the look for me later.

Homeward from the Park, Reluctantly

2008-03-18T22:26:00.002-05:00

To home from park, reluctantly, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Momento

2008-03-17T22:21:00.003-05:00

Grendel go bragh, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

It turns out that Grendel's liver is not performing as well as it should. He is on medicine, but the prognosis is unknown until we can get an ultrasound. He is in good spirits and pretty active. So I've decided that my little buddy gets pictures everyday. And lots of food.

Aardvarky Stegosaurus

2007-12-18T12:14:00.001-05:00

stegosaur_moleskine, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

So I'm doing some research on dinosaurs for an upcoming project of mine, The stegosaurus has been a prominent fixation.

I was working on the head shape after looking through some books. It should be very flat with a bit of a up and down turn and a kind of beak for a mouth. I may have gone a bit too "aardvarky" here.

Summer 2007 Faculty Technology Institute

2007-07-17T07:39:00.001-05:00

Summer 2007 Faculty Technology Institute, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Here we are at the FTI!

Goodbye, Brother

2007-04-19T10:18:00.001-05:00

DSC03935, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

I got the news this morning that Nietzsche has passed.

He was Grendel's brother in every sense but blood. He will be missed very much.

Spring 2007 FTI

2007-03-08T09:55:00.001-05:00

IMG_0021, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

What a class!

239 Questionable-Judgment Theodore Stomachbrace

2006-09-26T22:21:00.000-05:00

239 Questionable-Judgment Theodore Stomachbrace, originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

I'll admit, I'm fibbing the date on the post and adding this one late. Here's my version of John Hodgman's Questionable-Judgment Theodore Stomachbrace.

I was happy with this one, which mixes raster and vector (Teddy's silhouette was done in Inkscape and copied into the Photoshop doc). The silhouetted hobo is an homage to Apelad, while the whole thing is an homage to Dutchboy, whose earlier version of the same hobo cracked me up.

700 Down

2006-09-08T14:14:00.000-05:00

483 Eldon Waxhat, the Waterproof Man

You've probably already read about it on the big blogs, but we, the hobo-obsessed Flickr group from e-hobo.com, have finished the original list of 700 itinerants from John Hodgman's Areas of My Expertise.

I guess I can say "we," even though I only contributed three, as opposed to some of the more prolific (and talented) folks like car-hopper extraordinaires xadrian , halcyonsnow, Len from Jawbone Radio, marcusparcus, DarkMark and of course Ape Lad, who has personally drawn nearly 200 of the entries. It took me a month to get around to finishing Eldon Waxhat, above, but I'm happy with both my hobo and accompanying homages to Ranma ½ creator Rumiko Takahashi and beeswax-powered wondergood supplier Burt's Bees.

97 Lonnie Choke

2006-07-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

97 Lonnie Choke
Originally uploaded by peatbogyeri.

Hobo #97, Lonnie Choke, of Hodgman's 700 hoboes fame. This was fun.