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Cloudberries

Olaf — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:58:29 +0000

From the folks that brought you surströmming, a kind of fermented herring, comes something a bit different to entice your palate! When I first heard “cloudberry,” I thought it a playful term for flatulence. Turns out, it’s an indescribable fruit found in northern latitudes. It’s rare, and rather difficult to cultivate as I understand. The smell reminds me of some sort of baked fruit pie. It’s thick like a meal and very sweet – kind of like figs, though nothing like a fig. It was recommended that I try it on ice cream, which I can say that I have now done. It’s very good as long as you’re okay with the seeds; almost pomegranate in size and texture. I first had it on a biscuit and enjoyed it there. It’s sweet enough that ice cream tastes a little diminished in its presence.

“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
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“No Bones About It” For Sale

Olaf — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:03:37 +0000

I used my wife’s advice and chose to create a Zazzle.com account. It didn’t take long at all and I was able to setup a front and back, long-sleeved, black t-shirt for the Threadless “No Bones About It” submission. I didn’t win on Threadless, but I can still have my designs printed should somebody want one. Unfortunately, they’re going to be more expensive this way. If you dig it, awesome! I think you can actually modify the parameters and get a cheaper, short-sleeved version printed too. Either way, it’s cool to have this outlet when the design fails at Threadless. If things go well, you should see a new design each month on my Zazzle account – or at until I win a competition and Threadless and am restricted to resell it elsewhere.

I retitled it for Zazzle (Tribal to the Core), so go take a look (click the image to be taken to my zazzle.com store):

Tribal to the Core (Long Sleeve)
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Hide and Seek

Olaf — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:38:18 +0000

Sometimes a new song is played and you instantly fall in love with it. It could be that it’s a great emotional swelling in your body, or just something so groovy that you can’t keep still while you listen. Other times, it might be a contextual reference that gives the song a special relativity.

Imogen Heap created the song “Hide and Seek” in 2005, though I heard it for the first time some months ago. When I did, it grabbed my attention and pulled me in. I only got to hear a piece of it and never got the name. Last night, on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Katee danced her solo to the end of that song and credit was given. I’m so happy to have found “Hide and Seek” again. The song rings in my ears even as I wake up to another song from the alarm clock. I’ve played it countless times already and can’t seem to wrap up in it to satiation. I don’t know how popular the song is, but my wife isn’t a fan. Balthazar, who’s critical ear for music is far beyond his 5 years, is merely respectful of the song.

It would be difficult to pick a favorite song, and that’s why MP3 players have playlists. I can’t name any song my favorite, though Imogen Heap’s composition certainly has my attention at the moment. If I look back at some songs that pulled me in a similar fashion, the list looks like this:

Madonna – The Power of Goodbye
Nina Gordon – Tonight and the Rest of My Life
Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek

I could have also mentioned “Arco Arena” by Cake, but it’s so categorically different from these other three that I threw it out. There are probably dozens more that I could mention, but those three I just listed rang true for me at this moment. I’m actually guessing that’s the case because I’ve been listening to “Hide and Seek” and the three are very similar in mood. It’s also true however, that I dig songs that are sad or melancholy.

What are you digging lately and could you name two other songs that pulled you in a similar way?

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”

Afghanistan Remembers Music

Olaf — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:40:46 +0000

I listened to a piece from WNYC’s Radio Lab recently only to form a more concrete relationship with the loss that victims suffer under Taliban rule.

From the outside, looking in, the culture seems muddied with the intermingling of past and present times. Between incomplete reports from the news agencies, history, and modern documentaries, it is difficult at best to discern the true sociology for a given place and time. My interpretation of the events that have transpired in the Middle East, especially those concerning the Taliban, were that I was getting a one-sided story and that the culture in general seemed very foreign – even hostile – to my Western upbringing. I didn’t have a real appreciation for the victims, primarily because I felt as though the victims were only really victims because the U.S. government told them they were. Because I didn’t have the contacts to speak to in the Middle East and I’ve never been to evaluate the situation for myself, I could only trust what I’m told for so far.

The Radio Lab podcast, Pop Music, went into a segment regarding one man’s experience in Afghanistan with his accordion. The piece is really quite good and I encourage you to listen to it for my post to have it’s full impact. At any rate, this novice accordion player discovers that some forms of music cross the boundaries – or preconceived boundaries – of our world’s cultures. There are ideas that translate to sounds in music that are echoed through every civilization and tell the same story. Afghanistan had just crawled out of very long period of silence during its war with Russia, then Taliban rule. Music is one of those mediums that can insight such raw emotions in people and the Afghans were no exception. After the cultural bans experienced through the previous years, this accordion player steps timidly onto a bar stage where prompted by his new audience and supported by his translator, performs Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire to “the best audience [ever].” It wasn’t particularly well done, but the crowd goes wild. At a certain point during the program, I was awashed with a feeling of joy, triumph, grief, and camaraderie. There’s probably a more succinct way of stating that, but it isn’t anything that’s happened to me often enough to find the proper word for.

It was this last bit that really stuck with me. I finally understood what it must have been like to live in such a stifled society as to be allowed no cultural displays; no music, no dancing, no art. It’s an incredible feeling of sadness and hopelessness that I feel when I try to imagine it.

The Taliban were not the first to run a people in this way, and it’s doubtful they’ll be the last. I just hope that I’m always in a place where I am free to explore my culture, or anybody else’s for that matter. I really hope that people being oppressed in the world today find liberation and the strength to reunite with their forgotten past.

Further Reading: Afghanistan, Ahmad Zahir, Taliban

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.

57% Chance of Surviving a Zombie Attack

Olaf — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 21:24:42 +0000

57%

It’s not particularly good, though not all together bad either. I think the quiz is rigged. It never asked me how good I was with knives.

Thanks for the meme, Spazz.

Microsoft Acquires SeaDragon: Photosynth Preview

Olaf — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:29:21 +0000

Wow! I mean, really?!? Words cannot express this amazing (new-ish) technology. A picture is worth 1,000 words, and this technology brings together thousands of pictures in new and innovative ways. Perhaps we’re getting close to a proper expression now. I’m not going to attempt to rationalize or dissect this concept because I really don’t know a lot about what goes into it. You’ve just got to go see it for yourself.

Microsoft Labs: Photosynth Preview

Just in case you were too amazed to properly put together what you just saw, here’s my summary. SeaDragon developed an imaging solution (algorithm, I suppose) that regards bit depth and pixel count as only contextually relative. To an extent, your computer does this today. It’s just not as efficient as what SeaDragon was able to do. If your computer is asked to display 100 images in a grid and your computer’s monitor is capable of displaying 786,432 pixels (1024×768), then the SeaDragon algorithms resize the images to 7,800 pixels each (100×78) – don’t argue, just follow the logic of my simple example. Graphics programs such as Photoshop do this with a choice as to how you would like to interpolate the images (Lanczos, B-spline, Triangle/tent, nearest neighbor). I haven’t heard what math is used to do it in SeaDragon’s technology, but it must be something fast (not necessarily accurate). The implementation allows you to seamlessly zoom in and out of an entire image collection without delay. Microsoft demonstrated the technology as a new way to media market. The example involved showing a newspaper with vector text on it and images flowed – just as you would expect. However, the interesting bit was where they zoomed into an area of the paper to bring a micro-fiche like add to the foreground with distinct detail in the images and text (of course). It really merges the world of raster and vector imaging solutions. So here’s where Microsoft steps in and, correct me if my timing is off, bridges the technology with some Microsoft magic to create an imaging technique with spatial recognition. The example you see at the Photosynth link is a collection of Flickr photos of a specific cathedral. They’ve spatially mapped all the pictures into a model of the cathedral. This combined 2D/3D world now allows you to move around within the 3D structure while using a variety of images to give you the detail. As you move the mouse around, it highlights spatially plotted images that were recognized to fit. Now that you know what’s going on, go back and try it again!

The Philosophy of Creative Energy

Olaf — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:24:11 +0000

I heard an interesting perspective from a devout Christian man the other day and have come around to finally closing my thoughts on the matter. The discussion began as a consequence of a friend’s comment, “my brother is a Christian and a musician, but not a Christian musician.”

Just so you understand the context of this, the intent of the statement was to demonstrate that while his brother’s religious choice is Christianity, he does not “spread the word” through his art. It was at this point that another guy in the vicinity picked up on the conversation and interjected his comments…and inspired this entry.

The Christian man’s side of the argument was that one cannot truly be a Christian and a musician, but not a Christian musician. If one is true to God, then there is no choice but to spread that Truth through everything they do. He related a story from his past where, in the military, he was asked to go and tour with a very popular military band as one of their musicians. He was flattered, but turned down the offer because he would not be able to profess his religious views through the music they created. I offered some contest to his points, but ultimately it was a question of his faith versus my logical reasoning. No contest.

The realization (days later) went a little like this:

Did you ever tell your brother that he’s a heathen for not demonstrating his religious preference in musical composition?

Because I was thinking about that just now and had a thought to the contrary…(rebuking the edification, not our own common sense)

If one is of the belief of a Christian (or nearly all spiritual paths), then one would believe that the power of the spirit is embodied within us all and anything we do is a direct demonstration of that fact. This, I believe, is especially true of creative efforts like musicianship. Therefore, if one were to abandon the creative impulse to develop a song that didn’t preach “the word,” then they would be dishonoring their own spirit, ergo god.

Perhaps it’s overly simplistic, or just missing a Biblical clause that someone else can fill in to give credence to the Christian side of the argument. And actually, I don’t think that this one person’s perspective is echoed by all Christians – perhaps not even by all of those within his particular sect. Even though religion was developed, more or less, to specify the way in which people engage in spirituality, individuals manage to shape their views of even the dogma by their own, very personal, feelings.