Gradin.com » ache

Lost and Found: 1 Grecian ‘Stache

Olaf — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:07:19 +0000

All of you will surely recognize the man on the left. His biblical image comes at you in all of its hair and puffy-shirtness like a thunder clap. Yanni stands as the hairiest, women-loving man I know [of]…though Hugh Jackman must be at the top of this game too! And on his right is the much subdued version of the eighties visage, also Yanni. When did this happen? No ‘stache to whisper its childhood stories to concert viewers. No curly locks of Grecian do to reveal the arcane secrets of musical composition. It’s a transitive state of Yanni’s image much in the same way we all saw Metallica shed their fettered styles of 80′s heavy metal.

So Yanni will be coming to Duluth in April at the Gwinnett thingy (Arena, perhaps?). I know most of my known world will simply abuse me verbally for going to a Yanni concert (which will actually be my third or fourth), but I couldn’t give a crap. If you’ve never seen one of these concerts, you really don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a phenomenal appreciation of the musical arts, internationally complete. I suppose many of you only like your music for its pop artist front [wo]man, but I really enjoy the instrumental musicality of it all. I would compare what Yanni conducts on his stages to that of the Cirque du Soleil band (on a small scale) and Dream Theater / Liquid Tension Experiment. You could draw comparisons with Phish and Wide Spread Panic. All of these bands have two things in common: they’re killer jam bands and composed of some very talented musicians.

Musings for the week of 2008-12-15

Olaf — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:59:59 +0000

Tomorrow I attend a “Build-a-Drum” workshop. Very exciting! #
My son’s kindergarten teacher called me in to pickup a “sharp object.” It was a 3/4″ Forstner drill bit that he had forgotten in his pocket. #
First day of drum building was eventful! Tomorrow, I finish up and get to hear how it sounds. #
A mere 20 hours later and I have a drum from the drum-building workshop! #

Scientist Poop and the Epic Fail

Olaf — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:42:51 +0000

Our son recently contracted Streptococcus within his person. We’re all familiar with such things, but the signs of this particular infection alluded us. We knew he had a stomach ache, but little else. The stomach ache became chronic and Balthazar the harbinger used is poo oracle to let us know something was truly wrong. We found out later in the week that Balthazar had experienced several “Scientist Poops,” which turns out to be what the slow-minded adults refer to as “diarrhea.” I asked Balthazar why he called it this, and he simply said it was because it “looked like Scientist.” I still don’t really know what this means, though I imagine any hopes that he may one day become a brilliant scientist are now futile.

In a completely unrelated story…

Humans give off subtle signs of emotional and physical wellness through involuntary interactions of the psyche. Some of these things manifest themselves as physical aberrations, though primarily they go unnoticed by all but the most well-attuned.

My lovely wife, mother of our two children, gave me these subtle signs recently in a way that could not go unnoticed. At some ungodly hour of the wee, my wife woke me with slurring speech to notify me of my duty for the baby girl in the house. She had been working late that night, and had probably only just gotten to sleep an hour earlier when Sorscha woke her. I took on the charge with no questions. When I reached for Sorscha, I found that she was rather soaked, as well as the pad she lay upon. During these cold nights, her pajamas take the form of what’s known as a Sleep Sack. It’s a wonderful invention in which you simply bag your child in a zipped enclosure and allow them to steam gently in their own moisture. Some (ours) include the ever-helpful swaddling wrap that Velcros tightly around the child so as to prevent escape and recognition as anything but a human-faced grub. When I opened her sack, I found that she was completely naked and a loose diaper was balled-up in the corner of her little sauna. It was as if the changing included such activities as:

Open zipped-enclosure
Toss in diaper and seal tightly
Gently shake to activate absorption.

Needless to say, I performed the cleanup, fed her, and reintroduced her to a drier version of her bed.

And the message was well-received that my wife was rather beyond simply being “tired.” Sleep deprivation can do some interesting things to a person, but thankfully humans have an innate method by which these things can be communicated.

“Seaside” On Sale Now

Olaf — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:35:34 +0000

Well, Seaside didn’t win the Threadless contest, but it won the hearts of some. I really thought I was in it with the good comments, but alas, it scored slightly lower than my previous entry. That’s okay; Threadless losers beccome Zazzle winners! Hop on over to my Zazzle store to buy this new design…(click on the picture)

Seaside
by

gradinDotCom

Road Rash is Like Diaper Rash, but Not as Cute

Olaf — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:21:56 +0000

Carlos brought to my attention his recent exploration of road rash. Oh, Carlos, where can I learn more? Personal experience is often a better teacher than anything else.

Today I took my first big spill on my bicycle. I was very close to work, as it often happens, so I finished up the ride with blood running down my leg. When I got to work and hit the shower, I learned the extent of the damage. In describing this for my right leg, it’s probably easier to talk about the parts that remained undamaged. They’re without noticeable tan, hairy, but otherwise beautiful. Maybe a few lumps and scars from previous accidents. Oh, and rare hamburger meat comes to mind when looking elsewhere.

It’s entirely my fault. I was shooting across a green light with traffic to avoid stopping and losing my pace. The roads are wet from all the rain, so when traffic stopped just after the light, I was unable to follow suit. I touched the front brake to slow me down, but the front tire instantly locked up. Too much pressure, apparently. With that, it was a matter of 1 second before all hope of regaining composure was lost. I flattened out on the road with my bike and slid for an eternity before finally stopping myself with my face…on the curb. The curb is okay and only suffered minor indignities. I actually had time to think about how bad the road rash was going to be while I slid. I was toying with the idea that it may not be so bad because of the wet roads – a true fact, actually. Funny thing about these things is that you don’t really feel the pain until after you stop. I felt heat on my leg from the friction, but that was it. And like a 10-year-old, I jumped up out of the street and yanked my bike up onto the sidewalk as if to pretend nothing happened. I was asked if I was okay and needed a ride, but the adrenaline and shock had me thinking I’d be fine, if only a little scuffed up. I am okay, truly. The rash on my leg hurts pretty bad, but it’s tolerable.

I was able to get it cleaned up pretty well in the shower at work, though I will need to do some scouring at home. The worst part at the moment is that I’m wearing jeans that are slowly getting damp with, presumably, lymph fluid. My buddy, Brandon, is picking up the medical supplies to keep me from sticking to the jeans. I have some additional precautions to take while riding in the rain, but I didn’t really learn how to avoid the lock-up problem. Brandon says disc brakes are better for “modulating” to avoid the lock-up. Calipers tend to give you all or nothing, which is certainly what it felt like today. On a positive note, I’ve now ridden nearly 350 miles commuting.

Twitter Updates for 2008-07-31

Olaf — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:59:59 +0000

I watched “The Fun with Dick and Jane” yesterday. Enjoyable movie – reminds me of “Trading Places.” #
Adobe Illustrator gives me a headache. #
@DinoRubble Photoshop and Premiere I’m good with. The rest largely elludes me, though I think I’ve been irritated with PageMaker too. #
We’re instituting new “Green” janitorial services at work. Associates requested to carry trash to common dumping area. #
@DinoRubble I like ‘peduncle’ and hope to use to describe some part of the human anatomy. Applying botanical terms to the body is dirty! #
Livin’ like a felon…I’m using Panera for their wireless access AND I DIDN’T ORDER ANYTHING TO EAT/DRINK! #
I’d make a bad felon – I bought a cheese danish. Arrrrgh! #

Pandora’s Jukebox

Olaf — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:58:02 +0000

The name Pandora means “all gifted” in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. She was also, as we all know, insatiably curious.

Unlike those Gods of old, however, we celebrate that virtue and have made it our mission to reward the musically curious among us with a never-ending experience of music discovery.

It’s also important to note that at the bottom of Pandora’s box was Hope…

Pandora is possibly better known as “she who released the ills of man into the world,” but I like pandora.com and would not argue their creative muse.

Pandora.com is back-ended by the Music Genome Project©, the most comprehensive analysis of music known (by me). My wife pointed out to me that Pandora.com is great for those (numb skulls) that only listen to music for…well…music. She, being of a distinctly different genre of listener, listens to music for the lyrics. That is, she follows great songwriters. Their music is second in interest, though of a particular caliber and aspect of good. To know what I’m talking about, you’d listen to examples from Sting, the Moody Blues, Rod Stewart, et al. Since music is a monolinguistic experience for her, she doesn’t often get trapped into liking catchy pop tunes like those of us who just listen to the music.

I was reading the descriptions on some Caribou coffees the other day and came across the following ambrosial qualities:

A fragrant brew that starts with a silky, syrupy taste and ends with smoky berry notes.

A rich, rugged blend with pecan, brazil nut, and exotic fruit tones peeking out of a lush dark canopy. Organic.

A lively blend of intense, juicy coffee with high lemongrass notes and a deep undercurrent of peaches and plums.

These subtle flavors can be detected within the dark stuff, but sometimes they’re only recognized after having read them. Now that I have read them, I want to search for coffees that combine the specifics that I find especially delicious. That’s a different problem.

That got me thinking about Pandora.com, and I realized that they’re missing a similar method to discovering music. Let me know if I’m missing something entirely, but I would love it if the Music Genome Project worked in such a way that I could pick out the qualities in music that I really like, then have the MGP find matching titles. And maybe they can work on a side project for me to find coffees in the same way.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Olaf — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:34:35 +0000

TED.com speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, delights the audience with his clever wit and poignant message on the worldwide problem of education systems. My aunt in Pasadena, California is a teacher to early elementary school children and can probably speak on this fact. I have had at least one conversation with her on what I call the “evolution of thought.” I’m not going into it here, but suffice it to say that evolution denotes a progressive development – not necessarily better, but different. An educational institution must adapt to this development or be ineffective. The mindset that educational systems seem to rely on is our nations’ collected references on historical data. While easier to implement and measure, it is not entirely effective, and stagnates the “system” in a quagmire of perpetuated problems. While the world continues to change around us, our methods of teaching do not keep the pace. Ultimately, I think many teachers would profess that the job doesn’t pay for creativity, and they’re right. Teachers are underpaid for the service they provide to the world. Perhaps when people realize the value and credit due of their office, some creative individuals can reform the system and guarantee the success of our futures.

The bright side is that there are schools out there that cater to exactly this kind of thinking. In fact, even in my [nearly] local district changes have been implemented to allow for various focuses to receive extra attention and guidance. There are a host of specialized school systems such as the Progressive systems; Magnet, Montessori, or the diverse array of private schools. While not available to everyone, they at least stand as practical examples of the application of non-standard or non-traditional educational means.

TED.com: “Do schools kill creativity?”

Pope Hopes for the Best, Pagan Babies Okay

Olaf — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:03:39 +0000

It’s a bit late getting to my attention, but I was made aware recently of the Pope’s exoneration of pagan babies in limbo. The documentation on this subject is actually quite lengthy; I had to follow a couple of citations to other fascinating topics regarding in vitro fertilization and other immoral acts of life indignities, but I digress.

Every sperm is sacred,
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate
– The Meaning of Life, Monty Python

It was an Alaskan cousin that first introduced me to this newsworthy little tidbit while vacationing on the sandy, white beaches of Pensacola Beach, Florida. The topic piqued my interests, so I went right to the source on the communiqué. What the Vatican had to say about it was spread over many a scrollbar’s length upon my millions of light-emitting liquid crystals.

For the past couple of decades or so, the Vatican has been mulling over the question of unbaptized babies’ fates. Back in the day, and I mean waay back in the day, Augustine conveyed in a not-so vague way that unbaptized infants go to Hell.

We do not pray for those who are damned.

However, in the 12th century the Pope accepted limbo as being a good place to put unbaptized babies. There, they would be without pain.

They did not deserve Paradise therefore they did not have happiness either

As recently as 1992, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is referenced as a position for the possibility of hope for the world’s pagan babies.

with regard to children who die without having received Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God

Additional references from the Bible show further suspicions of an omnipotence that supersedes our own pettiness.

Let the children come to me, do not hinder them [Mk 10:14]

With historical debates waging almost two millennium, it was high time that this tirade come to an end.

Our conclusion is that the many factors that we have considered above give serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptised infants who die will be saved and enjoy the Beatific Vision. We emphasise that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge.

Okay…so it’s not exactly as clearcut as my fantastic vision of a golden school bus loaded with gilded car seats and babies all headed to the Pearly Gates. They must have installed a massive day care facility. It may very well be a particular kind of Hell for some. But it stands to reason that even more important than the meager position of hope for babies is the Catholic Church’s updates to the Catechism for the times. A natural, albeit doubtful prospect for the future evolution of this doctrine is the inclusion of other modern day paradoxes to Catholicism such as gay marriage and heathen salvation. Stranger things have certainly happened, but is this the latest sign that the Catholic Church is changing to a newer, hipper reflection of itself?

WP Plugin: Notify on Draft Post

Olaf — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:02:33 +0000

I contribute to a few other blogs out there as I’m able, all of which are WordPress-based like this one. A seemingly simple function has been lacking in my mind, and the community seems to agree with me. But for some unknown reason, the answer has not been produced until now.

My first WordPress plugin, Notify on Draft Post is now in its first public release. Here’s the rundown:

This plugin has now been accepted and is available for download via WordPress.org’s plugin site.

*** This tool has reached its usefulness. Version 2.2 of WordPress now includes the functionality natively. ***

**Release v.1.0.1
Cleaned up some of the comments within the code itself. It should be well documented by this point!

Features v.1.0
Check that user *can’t* Publish a post on their own (Contributor, for instance)
Selectable “ready to publish” flag for submission
WP Moderator notification email (admin email)

Installation:
The file notify-draft.php must be put within the wp-content/plugins/ directory of your WordPress installation. Activate the plugin from the administration interface…done!

Roadmap:
I would like to add some options for Notify on Draft Post to allow the selection of an alternate email or multiples. By default, the product utilizes the site’s defined “admin” email address.