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Why my hip-hop posse would include Johnny 5

Olaf — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:14:06 +0000

Johnny 5
The founder of the Flobots, Johnny 5 builds a repertoire of songs that have a voice communicated through masked patriotism for a nation we do not know. I don’t do lyrics, so I’d need someone to help put together some potent rap-styled slander.

Zack de la Rocha
A current collaborating member, Zack de la Rocha, of One Day as a Lion. Zack has a well-known history of anger-infused music enraged by kick-your-pathetic-ass rock. Zack can excite things while still maintaining the credibility of legitimate hatred.

Justin Timberlake
To balance out the party, Justin Timberlake can hang with us. This dude lives a life of fame and doesn’t take himself too seriously. Timberlake is good for comix relief while still cranking out albums that, while not necessarily my demographic, continue to amass the fans.

A Comment on the Weather

Olaf — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:00:02 +0000

I got a Christmas card from the nice folks at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – the Climate Witness division. You may recall the article I wrote for them concerning the pitiful state of Lake Lanier (speaking of which, the scientific review of my story is now available). The card reminded me of the potential relevance of our recent confusing weather. Only one week before winter and the northeastern region of Georgia was coming in at highs of 70°F. Today marks the first official day of winter, but it actually arrived in a forced gust of cold wind yesterday. We went from muggy days in the high 60′s to the sudden shock of sub-freezing temperatures Sundays afternoon. By Monday morning, we were in the low 20′s and all remaining signs of water in the streets had frozen solid. There was as much as a 50° shift from last week to this in one day. Is this an aspect of climate change, or just a strange time in the history of our weather? We’re not supposed to realize climate change marked in the passage of a few days or even years, but I can’t help but notice things with a new perspective.

Anyway, I’m still not sitting around the house watching the weather channel, though it may sound like it at the moment. Regardless of the ridiculous weather, we have taken opportunities to enjoy the arrival of winter, officially. We spent most of the day at Stone Mountain yesterday in the Christmas Village. Despite the cold wind, a bundled family – and several hundred others – managed to persevere and blow a wad of money enjoying the spirit of the holiday. We took in the lights, sounds, and smells of sweets, a parade, and cheesy stage shows.

I’m a Climate Witness

Olaf — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:05:00 +0000

I was contacted a while back by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), originally through Flickr from a picture I posted on the severe drought conditions around Lake Lanier. I was invited to write a “Climate Witness” story to tell the world about how the climate has changed in northeast Georgia from my perspective. It has taken me a while working with a representative from the WWF to get the story completed, but we finally did it! As of the 28th of August, my Climate Witness story has been published on the panda.org website.

Go check it out and read some of the other Climate Witness stories there while you’re at it. They come from all over the world and offer some interesting perspectives.

Top 5: Things You Wanted to Know About Me

Olaf — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:41:50 +0000

The meme is apparently now a lost word; used only by uncool dads and hipless (as in the lack of being hip) half-wits. I’m getting on in years, relatively speaking, and am inclined to use such lingo as to embarrass those who would be so easily offended.

For lack of better alternatives, I bring to you the current meme on my plate. Young whipper-snappers may be unfamiliar with this word, but it is essentially an Internet chain-letter. Spazzmanda passed this on to me from her blog, where she refers to such activities as “tagging.” I always thought that was a cultural art of defacement by way of graffiti, but what does an old fart like me know.

The Rules: Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their names. Then the player goes to each of the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. Your answer, of course, is the answer to the following questions. Here we go!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? One decade ago I was two months from my 2nd wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, Amy. We had no children, though we had pets. We were in our first year at our first house together (and current house). Amy was still in school at North Georgia College and State University (though it may not have been a State University at the time), and I was working for…Whittman-Hart, perhaps. I was a consultant beginning to cut my teeth on information systems security. It would be my primary job and objective for the next several years. I registered gradin.com for the first time – it was a standard 2-year registration and cost me $70.00 (I think my last registration was $8.95 for a year). I was finally able to access my awesome Mindspring account web space using my rocking X2 US Robotics Sportster (externel) modem via www.gradin.com. I was working in Allaire’s Cold Fusion, though I couldn’t afford a license for the server to host my own site using their technology. I used Allaire’s Homesite as my primary editor with Photoshop and Fractal Painter as my graphics packages. I think I was trying to get onto Bellsouth’s xDSL beta program, but with no luck due to my distance from the carrier. I was, however, involved with Wachovia’s beta online account access. It was a glorified BBS – awesome!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today? I’ve got ESX hosts to convert to 3.5i, installable. SAN storage to attach, and VMs to migrate both through traditional migrations, as well as the new and improved Storage VMotion. I also have some process proposal documentation to get done for the collected efforts of the Norcross lab engineering team, as well as that of our Hillsboro office. I hope to get some ping-pong in at lunch, ride my bike 10 miles back to my car, and then facilitate a drum circle for 100 people in northeast Georgia with some friends.

3. Snacks I enjoy: Have you tried my nuts? They’re salty and dimensionally variant. I enjoy the texture especially, though others are just happy I am able to share – there’s more than enough for everyone to enjoy! I also like beef jerky and granola bars.

4. Places I’ve lived: I’ve had a good spread in my life, though as of late my homestead has been very static. I began in Ocean Springs, MI; moved to Plano, TX, and then jumped to San Diego, CA shortly thereafter. We moved a couple of times there, but finally moved out the state to Tuscon, AZ. From there, we departed for Waycross, GA, and then onto Gainesville, GA where I live now. I’ve moved several times throughout both of these places in Georgia, and I’ve been here the longest amount of time so far.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: This is actually the title of a post I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s a recurring theme throughout our decade+ of marriage, and one that will most likely continue to develop and mature in time. The most boring thing I think of from our list is to pay-off debt and acquire some commercial real estate to lease. There’s money accumulation prospects in that, so we would do well to set ourselves for the inevitable loss of said billions through the frivolous purchases from our list. There are two more intriguing opportunities: 1) Develop a waterfront district on Lake Lanier – a boardwalk with shops and dining – that aids in the lake’s restoration efforts, as well as providing some awareness about the lake’s ecosystem. 2) Convert an old mill on the outskirts of town into a turn-of-the-century arts and crafts guild. History tells us that these guilds are mere congregations of passionate people in the arts and crafts and generally have no ability to sustain themselves financially.

5 “Tagged”

The Hot is Here to Stay

Olaf — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:21:16 +0000

Well…that’s it, folks; it’s official. Summer is here and it’s not going to be getting any cooler for a while. Enjoy the longer days, bar-b-q’s, swimming, and sun. The lake still isn’t up to a satisfactory level for those using it recreationally, but at least it’s still here!

Balthazar and I swam in it just this weekend. It felt quite nice, though I did receive my admonishment from Amy about diseases and bacteria living on our skin after the swim. I didn’t shower either of us afterwards, which apparently is the logical choice after soaking in the lake’s bacterial soup.

No Polluter Commuter!

Olaf — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:33:56 +0000

I’m not much of an activist, but I have taken action in support of our environment. As of this past Monday, I began what I hope to be a consistent plan to reduce my gas consumption, reduce mileage on my car, and increase my fitness level. I am currently riding a bicycle for the most idle-intensive leg of my 40-mile commute to work. Depending on the season, the idle-intensive phase consists of approximately 30-45 minutes of time over about 10 miles. I’m working my way up to this distance, possibly further, with each day that I commute on the bike. I started Monday with a 3-mile ride; Wednesday was 4 miles, and now Friday is at 6 miles. Friday is unique in that I went off my normal route to meet-up with a friend for the ride in. That may have added an extra mile. I’m trying to keep my average speed at or above 10 miles/hour so as to one day ride the whole distance in an hour or less. So far, this has not been a real problem. I have been able to keep my average up over 15mph during this innagural week. It has been 10 years or more since I last rode any, so I can only assume I’ll get better. The hardest part has been finding a place to park my car so it won’t get towed while I’m at work! That, and getting over saddle-soreness. I was told before that that was the part of my body that needed to get broken in slowly. A person of moderate fitness can probably hop on a bike and ride 12 miles, but the saddle pains will make them regret it. So it’s best to work your way up, if for nothing else, to break-in the tush.

At any rate, the ride has been exhilerating and not nearly as difficult as I thought, even in the summer heat. I haven’t ridden in the rain yet, but expect to. I’m still trying to outfit myself appropriately; bike gear and accessories can be very expensive. Right now, I’m trying to get some good panniers to carry my stuff. I’m using a great backpack to carry my laptop and a change of clothes, but this is less than ideal for several reasons.

As a side benefit of breaking out the old bike (13-14 years old, actually), Balthazar took an immediate interest in riding with me. He has done really well in picking up on the mechanics of riding. He’s still in training wheels for his first week, but I don’t think it will take him long to graduate.

It’s so funny because I’ve had this bike forever and never put any thought towards trying to make time for it. When I was younger and didn’t have a car, the bike was my only mode of transportation. I don’t know why it never occured to me that I could again replace my transportation with a bicycle, even if only for a small portion of my total commute.

So here I am, doing my part for the environment and being green. Fitting. I am sporting a tattoo of the Green Man on my shoulder blade.

Gainesville Revokes Local Business License

Olaf — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:48:14 +0000

I had written about Silver Stars shortly after they had opened, and today I report on another momentous event for Gainesville and its small business community. Silver Stars has been shut down indefinitely for failure to obtain a proper business permit. Funny thing is, they were given a permit to do business originally. After these several months, the City Council’s office has finally over-ruled the original permit granted.

I had originally applauded the city’s apparent progressive attitude towards new business ventures in the likes of adult novelties, though now I see this was a mistake. Silver Stars seemed to be doing well in their inauguration into the Gainesville business community. I know they had many customers, friends, and partners throughout the city. Their website reports that they are still able (and encouraging people) to process online orders. There is some glimmer of hope, I suppose, that they may be able to work out a business license through some loophole. Should that happen, they’ll be back in business until the Council finds some other way to shut them down.

Incidentally, I’m looking through the City Ordinances trying to find the specific violation, but have been unable to do so. If anyone can point me to the specific code, I’d appreciate it.

Silver Stars: A Sensual Boutique

Olaf — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:49:04 +0000

It was about a year ago that I wrote about Gainesville’s decision to close its doors to the occult. If you’re on the business end of the occult, maybe now is a good opportunity to try out your entrepreneurial venture again! Gainesville is now the happy home of one Silver Stars: A Sensual Boutique. This year’s Chamber of Commerce approval board must be a younger, more accepting group, though I haven’t heard of any reversals yet on fortune tellers.

Silver Stars is described as a classier place, targeting primarily women and couples:

Forget venturing into the sleazy adult video store in the seedy part of town. We strive to provide women and couples with a safe, clean, upscale and positive environment that presents all of our products in a fun and intuitive way.

Not for nothing, the store is located just over the city line to avoid some harsher political scrutiny, as well as maintaining a minimum amount of pornographic material. I believe it’s the magazines that can get you shut down in Gainesville, but their videos are described as “educational” just in case. However, if I read quickly through the list of items bulleted on their site, I get the false impression that I might be able to do a lot of my Christmas shopping there too:

Bath Products
Handmade Soaps and Lotions
Educational Books & DVD’s
Party Supplies
T-Shirts
And Lots More…

*There’s a lot to be said for “and lots more…”

A Night of Amazing Celtic Music!

Olaf — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:59:13 +0000

My wife and an old high school friend of ours, Colin Blackledge, have put together a most remarkable double-event concert this Friday off the downtown square in Gainesville. Seven Nations and Emerald Rose will be performing in the small pizza bar venue that is the Monkey Barrel. For $15.00, you can get in to see these great acts as they jam Celtic-rock style! If you want to give up some information in advance, you can avoid the line and get priority entry to the event. Just call (770) 287-0970 and let them know you are interested in the Friday concert with Seven Nations and Emerald Rose.

Friday, October 26th
The Monkey Barrel
115 Washington St.
Gainesville, GA 30501

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Seven Nations is a five-man Celtic rock band that features bagpipes and fiddle. Their style is a fusion of traditional and original music. 7N has toured the world playing the Winter Olympics, Irish/Scottish Highland Games and Festivals, as well as traditional concert venues.

Emerald Rose is a four-man Celtic folk-rock band with a rich, traditional world fusion sound with influences randing from the Chieftains to Jethro Tull. Blending amazing vocals and driving guitars and bass, their music ranges from traditional jigs and reels to original folk rock and pop.

Missed Scandinavian Fest [again]

Olaf — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:24:37 +0000

For the 13 years now, I’ve missed Atlanta’s very own Scandinavian Festival. The problem is that it’s hosted on one day of the year and I always seem to discover that day after the fact. This year, I was prepared all week. Well, mostly prepared. I had planned on going, though I didn’t bother to see the times or days of the event. I had assumed that the festival would be taking place all weekend, but I was mistaken. It’s a 1-day event at Oglethorpe University. This year, it was on the 13th of October. This time next, this post will remind me of this fact and this entry might actually be about the Scandinavian Festival instead of about how I missed it. If any of readers plan on going, let’s help each other remember to check the dates in advance.

Atlanta Scandinavian Festival