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Orb Designs Grafitti December 24 thru December 30, 2001 Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun Last Week  <--  *  -->   Next Week --> Link to the Current Week <-- Email Orb Grafitti is sometimes a conversation, sometimes a soapbox. I use Linux most often, and I write about that and related software frequently. I also have a day job working as a dogsbody for a small manufacturing firm here in the SF Bay Area. Tom Syroid and I have co-authored a Linux Book. We're posting it online, here and here. Have a looksee! I'm glad you've come to visit, and always happy to hear from you. EMAIL - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so, I'll pay attention to your wishes.

Good morning. Merry Christmas Eve. Here's some mail from yesterday, to begin with:

From: 	Steve Swickard <stevephl (at) pcisys.net>
Subject: 	Year in Review via pictures
Date: 	23 Dec 2001 18:59:37 -0700	

Hi Brian,

    Just a short note to say what a great idea putting your year in
perspective with pictures like that. You have been very busy as has your
wonderful wife Marcia this past year keeping very busy. I"m sure that Sally
must feel like a regular member of the family by now. Keep up the great
work. I wish you, Marcia and sally a very Merry Christmas and a happy New
Year and may the new year bring you much prosperity and good fortune.

Sincerely

Steve Swickard
(Living at large in Colorado)

Thanks, Steve. We live so much in the moment that it was a nice trip to take through what was, after all, a really very busy year. Thanks and same back atcha. .brian

And that's really the truth. Sometimes it's Thanksgiving that does it for me, this year it's Christmas. We're talking about my new posting of the Orb Designs 2001 - The Year In Pictures pages. I spend an inordinate amount of energy staying centered and in the moment. There's a reason - I spent enough years not paying attention to the right things. I've recovered from that, but still it's nice to step back and get a bit of perspective once in a while.

Marcia and I have had an eventful year, with a number of fun trips, a short move, the 9/11 attacks, losing my grandmother, and a new dog. And of course, we've had the distinct pleasure of your virtual company throughout the whole run. We've both been doing this schtick for better than two years now, and it's habit forming, at least for us.

There are some times that I fear I've devolved into drivel, pure and simple. This is offset by two things. First, what I do here is for me, first and foremost. Like dreaming, these scribblings help me order my thinking and my life, by being an outlet for the bits that don't fit as well as documentation for future reference. Yes, I use that search box that appears on the top of this page more often than any of you.

Secondly, y'all keep coming back, in slowly increasing numbers according to my web statistics. Maybe it's the weird (I hesitate to use "eclectic") range of topics and blither that I present. Although I haven't heard anyone say so, I don't even mind serving the purpose of "My mind ain't that far gone..." Heh. And as I noted for the first time in a long time last week, I do have a mailing list that you're welcome to join. It's infrequently utilized, partly because I don't know what purpose it will serve in the long run. We've worked on questions of Linux and hardware there in the past. The advantage of that forum is you get the benefit of more than just my meagre allocation of little grey cells.

I've been torturing Marcia with the prospect of another present for her under the tree this year. It's agonizing because we promised that Sally was our present to each other, I've been known to agree not to get her a gift then go back on my word, and because I am such a pain to pick a gift for. I mean, really. When I want something, I go and get it. That doesn't leave much room for Marcia to just pay attention to my musings, then go and get me something that I wouldn't get myself. But really, I haven't gotten her anything else for the holiday this year - I'll save that for her birthday in February. Probably...

Today's .plan: I'm going to bathe the dog again. Sally got into the mud a bit, and a nice clean dog to play with Alex and Robbie tomorrow is a good thing. Yeah, Sally's coming up to Christmas at my folks house tomorrow. Then, I have dessert to craft for Christmas supper. I'll be making the Decadent Chocolate Cake from the Silver Palate Cookbook. Yum. No, there won't be any leftovers for you, sorry. But now you know where I get the recipe, you can make your own, OK?

Ooooh, hey, look at this. Looking to find you a link to the cookbook, I find this one first, in the Kitchen section of Amazon, at $18.16. Then, just trying to find a shorter URL, I go to the copy in Books.... and turn up this link, which has the same book for just $12.76. Why in the world do you suppose that there's a $5.40 difference in price, depending on what part of the store you're buying from. Bleah and Bah Humbug to you, too, Amazon.

Tonight, Marcia and I will have part of our Christmas, the quiet-at-home bit. There are a few things under the tree for us from friends near and far. We've also gotten cards from many of you, kind readers, and they adorn our living room as brightly as the lights on the tree. It's been a pleasure sharing time and life with you - I look forward to more of the same. Now I'd best get on with the day. Take care!

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Happy Christmas, everyone. If you're looking for something to read here, start with the Site Map, and you may find some wheat amongst all the chaff. If not, then see you tomorrow.

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Good morning. I've got a few (and only a few) pictures out of the fifty or so that we shot yesterday to share with you. We'll start at left with the afternoon of Christmas eve day, where Marcia and Sally thought it would be a really marvelous idea to take a nap, resting up for the big day. Of course, this was well complimented by yet another nap on Christmas morning, just to be sure their energy was up for playing with the kidlets in the afternoon.

We actually slept in until 0730 or so yesterday morning. We puttered about for a bit, organizing the house and all the gear we were lugging up to Orinda (mostly stuff for the kids). About 1300 or so we were ready to rock and roll. A quick stop for me at work, to do the post-weekend tape exchange, then we rolled on up the East Bay.

We got there about 45 minutes in advance of my sister Barbara and her crew, including husband Mike, his mom Gail, and the kidlets: Alexandra and Robert. We used the time to let the dog get acquainted with the house, and settle down from the ride before inflicting the kids on her (or vice versa, heheheh). Once arrived, Alex wasted no time in drafting her uncle as a combo hobby-horse/jungle gym (at left). Shortly thereafter she acquainted herself with Sally.

Robbie and dad Mike were soon following Alex's lead, although there's a fine distinction between petting and pounding that Robbie's apparently missing as yet, although we made a lot of progress on the difference yesterday. After we all had a chat via phone with my brother Pete down in San Diego, it was Christmas Present time. The big box was a rocking horse from Marcia and I for Robbie. He hopped right on, and started on about ponies, horses and cowboys. I think he likes it!

Quickly then, to forestall any fretting about the relative SIZES of their gifts, we got Alex absorbed in a few of her own, including a Barbie animated video of the Nutcracker. You may note that Alex was spending the day in Barbie-wear, as well, so clearly we had made a good choice and her smile appears to reflect that. Winding up the consumerism portion of the evening, we had Alex and Robbie unwrap and present a gift for Sally. A rope pull toy, it is, and of a size that Sally isn't sure what to do with it - she likes tug of war with the smaller version quite a lot. I imagine it'll just take time - we're having to teach her about toys. I don't think she had very many in her prior, sedate lifestyle.

The adults in attendance traded chocolate, cookies and wine back and forth. Then it was supper time. We had ham, potatoes, green beans, salad, dinner rolls (in a real bread basket) and for dessert, the Decadent Chocolate Cake that I baked. Sorry, no pictures of that, and now it's half gone, so I won't waste your time.... Oh, hey. That sounds like breakfast to me, does it to you as well? Heh. Ahem, sorry. All in all, it was a lovely evening. We were back home by around 2130, and shortly thereafter to bed, as Marcia is working today (and was up at 0545). I got up a few minutes later, but I've been processing pictures and so on.

There's chores to be done, projects galore, a license for the mutt to acquire, and lots more besides. I may be back later today, depends on my progress. Hope your holidays are going fine.

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Good morning, at least for a little while longer. I'm having what some might term to be... fun. I have 17 things I should be or want to be working on. Instead I'm playing Half-Life. One nice bit is that I'm running it under Linux, using WINE. That's right, no Windows required.

But first, earlier in the day, I'd done several errands. I hit the bank and the post office, then I got a license for Sally, so now she's a legit dog. Melissa, the nice woman working for Animal Control here in Sunnyvale, brought me down an application and a coupon for a free year's license. Then, while I filled out the form, she went off and made copies for me of all the paperwork I had for Sally (shots and such). Then I handed her back the completed form, and the coupon. Heh. Ten minutes later, I had her tag and the associated paperwork. Lovely experience.

From there I went over to Orchard Supply, and picked up the necessaries for several different projects. Then I came home, did a fair bit of yard work, and set to knocking back the multitudes of miniature weeds with Roundup. Following that, I put up a bit of shelving over the washer and dryer - handy for storing the detergent and other bits that have been cluttering the top of the washer for all these months. I still have to make some handles for the fence gates, and check out why the garage door opener stopped working. Mmmmm. Odd. But then, Marcia came home early-ish yesterday afternoon...

We were out picking up some desk organizer stuff from Office Depot for Marcia's desk, and I saw the Sierra game Half-Life on the shelf, fairly heavily discounted. Hmmm, thought I, why not? And when we got home, before booting into my gaming partition, I figured I'd have a look at how much progress WINE has made in the last little while. Mmmmm. Lots. The game runs like an absolute champ. It's a bit absorbing, too. While I stopped and watched DIY night on PBS last night with Marcia and Sally, I got up this morning and started playing with my first cup of coffee, and hadn't yet stopped until I decided it'd be best to check my mail and put up a post. So here we are. Mail time, and then some late breakfast, and into my chores... probably. See you later.

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I lost an old friend recently - got the news last night. I worked with Ken Wright at Nellcor from 1983 until 1990. I saw him at the gathering that we had on July 30 of this year, and he was in excellent health, looking good. Apparently one of those wildfire spreading versions of Leukemia got him in its grip, and death took him on Christmas Day.

Ken was a marvelous master of wit and sarcasm, as well as being a machinist of the first water. He collected and restored fine motorcycles. Although, like a lot of the Nellcor crowd, we've grown apart a bit over the years, I think of Kenny often. This world without him is a poorer place to be. Goodbye, my friend.

Are you subscribed to the Orb Designs Talkabout mailing list under the (munged) address agentq (at) roxboro (dot) net? Mailman has unsubscribed your address for "Excessive or fatal bounces.". Drop me a line and I'll help put things in order. For those of you that aren't subscribed to the list, you're welcome, of course. It's very low traffic, pretty high S/N ratio.

TTFN.

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Mmmmm. Good morning. A small ray of sunshine's broken through the cloud deck which has drenched us for the last pair of days. Earlier in the week, the weather-liar suggested that there was a faint chance of sprinkles in the North Bay towards the end of the week. He said nothing about the great likelyhood of a pair of days down to torrential downpour. Heh.

Yesterday I did more work in the garage, cleaning the mess I made of the wall checking the electrics (which had gone funny at the same time I sunk 3.5" lag screws into the studs). To be on the safe side, I replaced a section of Romex through a new hole in the stud, then fitted a chunk of drywall into the gap, screwed down. Spackled the edges twice, sanding in between, then a dab of paint, and put the shelf back up.

I also ran five loads of laundry, and played Half-Life. While I could certainly be more productive, I'm deep bone tired. And as much as I'd like to tackle some of the projects that I have in the hopper here or at work, I'll continue to do whatever the wind blows my way for another couple of days yet. It's terribly relaxing, although I find myself fighting guilt sporadically, over those things that are sitting un-done. That is OK, though. I'll get over it.

Today, the mail and primary websurfing out of the way, we've got to organize ourselves for a family event. One of my cousins (once removed) is holding an open house this afternoon, and we've committed to going. Should be fun. What else? Don't know yet. You'll know sometime after I do.

Not to worry, by the way. Linux and computing are not ever far from the surface around here, and you NEVER know when something new will pop up, like my annoyance that I can't install Galeon on my Debian installation right now. It both requires and conflicts with Mozilla-browser. Well, duh. We *know* it requires - Galeon uses the Gecko engine for rendering. But conflicts? Sigh. Patience. I could get all the requirements and build it myself, but then I really don't need to. The package is known to be broken, and a fix should come through sometime in the next few days.

Now it's time to start getting ready for our excursion. BTW, you're welcome to check out the latest addition to Marcia's Christmas page - including all the photos that I didn't... Have a lovely day.

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Sorry for the delay... No technical difficulties at this end, we've just completed the assorted shopping runs for the day, and I am now going to help Marcia disassemble the Christmas Regalia. Other than that, I have lots of words fermenting, just waiting to spew forth my annoyance at someone all over this page. However, I'll stomp down my bile in this case - it does not one whit of good, and won't even let me feel better about the incident. Grrr. Sigh. Back later when I'm in a better mood.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

All Content Copyright © 1999-2001 Brian P. Bilbrey.