Toshi's thread
- Thread starter Toshi
- Start date
that's so wrong.
oster_oops:
i just bought one of these...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mooninite-Suspected-Terrorist-Shirt-adult-swim_W0QQitemZ200074980758QQihZ010QQcategoryZ15687QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
also see this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston.bombscare/index.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mooninite-Suspected-Terrorist-Shirt-adult-swim_W0QQitemZ200074980758QQihZ010QQcategoryZ15687QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
also see this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston.bombscare/index.html
CNN said:
woohoo
i took my rx-8 in for service today. it had warped brake rotors and worn brake pads, fixed through remachining and free/warrantied pads, respectively.
another, more subtle, issue than vibration on braking that's been bugging my neurotic self is a hissing sound that comes from the center speaker at all times when the key isn't in the "off" position (as in, it happens even when the car is off with the key in Acc and the engine off). it's sort of like the noise that TVs make when turned on with no signal, only not as high frequency. in any case, i'd reported the problem before but they'd been unable to hear it. today, i got the service manager to stick his head right up against the offending speaker with the key in Acc, which is no mean feat since it's a center channel way up at the base of the windshield, and he heard it.
(all external validations that i'm not crazy after all please me, even small ones such as this event today.
)
((oh, and i'm done with all except for the exam on my surgery rotation. i don't think i've ever worked this hard in terms of hours and energy expended over a period of 6 weeks in my life.))
i took my rx-8 in for service today. it had warped brake rotors and worn brake pads, fixed through remachining and free/warrantied pads, respectively.
another, more subtle, issue than vibration on braking that's been bugging my neurotic self is a hissing sound that comes from the center speaker at all times when the key isn't in the "off" position (as in, it happens even when the car is off with the key in Acc and the engine off). it's sort of like the noise that TVs make when turned on with no signal, only not as high frequency. in any case, i'd reported the problem before but they'd been unable to hear it. today, i got the service manager to stick his head right up against the offending speaker with the key in Acc, which is no mean feat since it's a center channel way up at the base of the windshield, and he heard it.
(all external validations that i'm not crazy after all please me, even small ones such as this event today.
)((oh, and i'm done with all except for the exam on my surgery rotation. i don't think i've ever worked this hard in terms of hours and energy expended over a period of 6 weeks in my life.))
They should have replaced the brake rotors, remachining seems like BS, I would complain.....woohoo
i took my rx-8 in for service today. it had warped brake rotors and worn brake pads, fixed through remachining and free/warrantied pads, respectively.
another, more subtle, issue than vibration on braking that's been bugging my neurotic self is a hissing sound that comes from the center speaker at all times when the key isn't in the "off" position (as in, it happens even when the car is off with the key in Acc and the engine off). it's sort of like the noise that TVs make when turned on with no signal, only not as high frequency. in any case, i'd reported the problem before but they'd been unable to hear it. today, i got the service manager to stick his head right up against the offending speaker with the key in Acc, which is no mean feat since it's a center channel way up at the base of the windshield, and he heard it.
(all external validations that i'm not crazy after all please me, even small ones such as this event today.
((oh, and i'm done with all except for the exam on my surgery rotation. i don't think i've ever worked this hard in terms of hours and energy expended over a period of 6 weeks in my life.))
there was sufficient material left to remachine them, and the problem is fixed. i don't see the issue. (it was also cheaper.)
You ever use any monopods, Toshi?
i use my tripod with the legs collapsed sometimes
. but no, i don't use a monopod: i don't shoot sports/have no need to set up quickly for shots so it's either tripod or no tripod for me.
Figuring a tripod isn't going to be a viable option when I go on vacation in May, but I'm looking for something that'll give me more stability for my shots.
One of the recommendations at dpreview was to put a rubber band around the legs of my tripod and use that. Seriously. 
One of the recommendations at dpreview was to put a rubber band around the legs of my tripod and use that. Seriously.
Just tap a hole in the top of your pimp stick for a camera mount. I figure a guy who gets his girlfriend to buy a house and pay for vacations must have a pimp cane.
Pimp sticks are for pvssies. I just keep my pimp hand strong.
Saw those, Toshi, but it's not strong enough for my needs, and would require a conveniently sized tree in a convenient location for every shot I wanted to take.
Good idea. How many stops do you think I could get w/ the beta blockers?
Is that what you're going to start doing when you get your M.D.? Self-medicate to reduce camera shake?
Is that what you're going to start doing when you get your M.D.? Self-medicate to reduce camera shake?
i bet fraser could pick up 5 stops with the proper medication. old man.Good idea. How many stops do you think I could get w/ the beta blockers?
Is that what you're going to start doing when you get your M.D.? Self-medicate to reduce camera shake?
hahaactually, a few surgeons and many professional musicians use beta-blockers to combat tremor when in the OR or on stage. i have never seen the need myself since i'm a robot.
So do you run pulse supression or just a low velocity loop gain?i bet fraser could pick up 5 stops with the proper medication. old man.
actually, a few surgeons and many professional musicians use beta-blockers to combat tremor when in the OR or on stage. i have never seen the need myself since i'm a robot.
hmm, say what? you've gone over my head
I figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, to go over your head.
Method for preventing stationary vibrations in robotic servo control.
heh, cool. i'm more like asimo than some industrial jobber (go to :45 into the video)
http://www.hiroiro.com/entry/1344.html
http://www.hiroiro.com/entry/1344.html
D'oh. That is pretty funny, I bet someone got their ass chewed for that one.
I'm sure Asimo uses similar control algorithms.
Saw that one a while ago but the demo at CES was pretty cool. Even had some running.
I figured it might have been done under warranty, but apparently not.
for what its worth, and to add to toshi´s review of the toyota yaris.
after many months of regular commuting boring driving on my econobox, as its mean to be driven, trying to squeeze the most mpg amid stop and go traffic.
a few nights ago at 2am, i was going back home... no traffic at all, empty urban 3 lane streets on the 4 miles from home. the oportunity arose. how would my everyday commute car be?? i got a chuckle by thinking about it.
i decided to see how does the yaris behaves outside its purpose. it was surpringly good.
dry, clean tarmac. started shifting at 5k+.
body roll was noticeable, but pretty good given the purpose of the car. the suspension was AWESOME. dive response was above average when braking, stable solid feel.
the tires (stockers) behaved quite well. decent amount of grip and feedback, NO squealing at all (big surprise there). i tried to break some grip at some point by unsettleting the car mid-turn, the ensuing oversteering was very predictable, short and fun.
but most surpringly (huge surprise imo) its astonishingly neutral (for its purpose) on entry, with a bit uncomfortable tendency to oversteer on exit. although at times it has a weird feel of high moment of inertia around Z. as if you were driving a 5 series or an e class. must be the relatively long wheelbase.
mostly a 2nd-3rd gear trip, a few 50mph bends, some speed bumps, a few potholes and a few easy esses. but mostly 90º turns with short straights. i never hit more than 55-60mph
i´m impressed.
after many months of regular commuting boring driving on my econobox, as its mean to be driven, trying to squeeze the most mpg amid stop and go traffic.
a few nights ago at 2am, i was going back home... no traffic at all, empty urban 3 lane streets on the 4 miles from home. the oportunity arose. how would my everyday commute car be?? i got a chuckle by thinking about it.
i decided to see how does the yaris behaves outside its purpose. it was surpringly good.
dry, clean tarmac. started shifting at 5k+.
body roll was noticeable, but pretty good given the purpose of the car. the suspension was AWESOME. dive response was above average when braking, stable solid feel.
the tires (stockers) behaved quite well. decent amount of grip and feedback, NO squealing at all (big surprise there). i tried to break some grip at some point by unsettleting the car mid-turn, the ensuing oversteering was very predictable, short and fun.
but most surpringly (huge surprise imo) its astonishingly neutral (for its purpose) on entry, with a bit uncomfortable tendency to oversteer on exit. although at times it has a weird feel of high moment of inertia around Z. as if you were driving a 5 series or an e class. must be the relatively long wheelbase.
mostly a 2nd-3rd gear trip, a few 50mph bends, some speed bumps, a few potholes and a few easy esses. but mostly 90º turns with short straights. i never hit more than 55-60mph
i´m impressed.
i feel like i'm back in the working world. i have a desk here, an office, a little ghetto laser printer. and i also have very little to do. it's a shock coming from surgery, being in the hospital running about from 4:30 until 6 or 7, to psychiatry, where i did an hour's worth of work and now am simply killing time.
oh yeah, and it's at the VA so the govt is probably watching everything i do... yikes. hello thought police :waves:
irate2:
oh yeah, and it's at the VA so the govt is probably watching everything i do... yikes. hello thought police :waves:
irate2:
this is strangely amusing:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/research/
(found through PaWN. i was tempted to use my wjh address to sign up just to be snarky)
findings so far:
no preference for laps over nifs
strong automatic preference for thin people over fat people
strong automatic preference for evolution as compared to creation
little or no association between Male and Female with Science and Liberal Arts
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/research/
(found through PaWN. i was tempted to use my wjh address to sign up just to be snarky)
findings so far:
no preference for laps over nifs
strong automatic preference for thin people over fat people
strong automatic preference for evolution as compared to creation
little or no association between Male and Female with Science and Liberal Arts
I have a strong automatic preference for thin people over fat people. Strong automatic preference for young people over old people.
Little or no automatic preference between straight and gay people. Little or no automatic preference between dark skin and light skin.
Little or no automatic preference between straight and gay people. Little or no automatic preference between dark skin and light skin.
mwahaha, my latest subject:
vs.
"Your data suggest a strong automatic identification with Apple compared to Microsoft."
also:
Your data suggest little to no automatic identification with Tall People compared to Short People.
Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between Vegetables and Meat.
Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for Straight People compared to Gay People. <-- interesting, maybe it was one of my flamboyantly gay college roommates
vs.
"Your data suggest a strong automatic identification with Apple compared to Microsoft."
also:
Your data suggest little to no automatic identification with Tall People compared to Short People.
Your data suggest little to no automatic preference between Vegetables and Meat.
Your data suggest a strong automatic preference for Straight People compared to Gay People. <-- interesting, maybe it was one of my flamboyantly gay college roommates
Hah!
I stopped taking them, after the first few I started finding it really easy to switch the good/bad association back and forth without it being reflected in my time/errors. Everything was coming out completely neutral.
I stopped taking them, after the first few I started finding it really easy to switch the good/bad association back and forth without it being reflected in my time/errors. Everything was coming out completely neutral.
first new pics in almost 2 months:
oblig. myspace style self portrait
a few more here http://tinyurl.com/393woy
oblig. myspace style self portrait
a few more here http://tinyurl.com/393woy
for some reason i find this clip horribly funny
http://www.gorillamask.net/famguypuke.shtml
/me is 5 years old at heart
http://www.gorillamask.net/famguypuke.shtml
/me is 5 years old at heart
mmm, 11" fresh in the past three days (it's been snowing in town, too). i'll be getting my idaho ski on tomorrow after sleeping in.
i signed up for and worked out at the local ymca today, also, after filling out a form stating that i made 0 dollars (not quite true, but i still would have been FAR below poverty line on just my meager earnings). it's quite posh, go figure.
http://www.bogusbasin.org/snow-report.aspx
i signed up for and worked out at the local ymca today, also, after filling out a form stating that i made 0 dollars (not quite true, but i still would have been FAR below poverty line on just my meager earnings). it's quite posh, go figure.
http://www.bogusbasin.org/snow-report.aspx
keith, thad, care to chime in on this? http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176316 i'm looking for a FM transmitter...
in other news, the snow was heavy, i was in pain while skiing thanks to my exertions at the ymca the day before with free weights, and then the next day i had some redneck paradoxically driving a toyota pickup follow me into a store and try to provoke me into a fight. what can i say? he pulled out against right of way while looking the other direction AND flipped the bird after i honked, and i just returned him the favor (the finger, not cutting him off -- this was all in a parking lot). the flashy red car and asian appearance surely didn't win me favors in 92.86% white Ada County, idaho. (actually that number is about 6% lower than in pocatello, where i was cooped up for 12 weeks in past months...)
in other news, the snow was heavy, i was in pain while skiing thanks to my exertions at the ymca the day before with free weights, and then the next day i had some redneck paradoxically driving a toyota pickup follow me into a store and try to provoke me into a fight. what can i say? he pulled out against right of way while looking the other direction AND flipped the bird after i honked, and i just returned him the favor (the finger, not cutting him off -- this was all in a parking lot). the flashy red car and asian appearance surely didn't win me favors in 92.86% white Ada County, idaho. (actually that number is about 6% lower than in pocatello, where i was cooped up for 12 weeks in past months...)
i think ski season might be winding down. awfully warm here in boise today, and i need to crack down and get some brains processed (literally, not figuratively). the count so far: 2 at whistler, 2 at alpental (3?), 1 at snowbird, 2 at bogus basin. is that it? probably am missing a day or two here or there -- the moral of the story is that 3rd year of med school sucks the life out of ya.
rei's attic sale was a nice diversion today, however: i was planning on getting there bright and early but didn't quite feel up to it when the alarm went off... so instead strolled in at 11 AM and still found a deal: got these shoes ($95, montrail whidbey, except in a tan/leather color not as pictured) for $40
and before y'all pass out from disgust that i bought used, stinky shoes, these were pristine: only worn inside according to the card (with the sole nice and clean to reflect this), and were returned and marked as damaged despite just being the wrong size since the previous dude had heat-molded the insole.
oh, and they don't smell, either. score.
rei's attic sale was a nice diversion today, however: i was planning on getting there bright and early but didn't quite feel up to it when the alarm went off... so instead strolled in at 11 AM and still found a deal: got these shoes ($95, montrail whidbey, except in a tan/leather color not as pictured) for $40
and before y'all pass out from disgust that i bought used, stinky shoes, these were pristine: only worn inside according to the card (with the sole nice and clean to reflect this), and were returned and marked as damaged despite just being the wrong size since the previous dude had heat-molded the insole.
oh, and they don't smell, either. score.
i just posted another thread-of-limited-interest, on bach's well tempered clavier:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177414
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177414
pics from today's hike, which was 1:47 as per the "last played times" on my ipod (had it playing the whole time).
i'm thinking of selling the sigma 180 (used for the above shot). i think it'll go up on ebay sometime soon.
you can't really see the long hair in this pic, but the chin scruff is visible. i call it the "old chinese man" look -- just wait until it's a foot long.irate2: that's boise in the background, and my hike started at the white building closest to my right eye.
it's great that boise has natural terrain literally right on the outskirts of town. there were many people out hiking, jogging, walking their dogs, slogging uphill in the granny gear, shooting arrows at the archery range, playing with r/c cars on the track next to the public skatepark.
i'm thinking of selling the sigma 180 (used for the above shot). i think it'll go up on ebay sometime soon.
you can't really see the long hair in this pic, but the chin scruff is visible. i call it the "old chinese man" look -- just wait until it's a foot long.
irate2: that's boise in the background, and my hike started at the white building closest to my right eye.
it's great that boise has natural terrain literally right on the outskirts of town. there were many people out hiking, jogging, walking their dogs, slogging uphill in the granny gear, shooting arrows at the archery range, playing with r/c cars on the track next to the public skatepark.
i just finished off this book
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter/dp/0060853964
read the first 50 pages last night (first time reading fiction in a while!) and then the other 350 pages this evening. a thoroughly amusing book it is, and this quest was aided by my strong desire to not go through 128 slices of mri data looking for errors made by a stupid, stupid algorithm that tries to segment the brain into grey and white matter...
anyway, it's what, 77? days into 2007, and only now can i chalk up a name under "books of 2007". (see a pattern here? i think i'll be burning books so as to make the balance negative by next year.)
books of 2007:
"Good Omens", gaiman, pratchett
books of 2006:
"dante club"
John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire
The seekers : the story of man's continuing quest to understand his world / Daniel J. Boorstin
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956 : an experiment in literary investigation / Aleksandr I. Solzhenits
books of 2005:
Keller's Catch-22
Microserfs / by Douglas Coupland
An equal music / Vikram Seth
The lives of a cell : notes of a biology watcher / by Lewis Thomas
The lives of the great composers / Harold C. Schonberg - 627
- Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy - stopped after 50 pages
John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany (very nostalgic for me. i MISS new england.) - stopped after 100 pages
The hero and the crown / Robin McKinley -- stopped after 10 pages
"The Gunslinger", edward dorn - stopped after 50 pages
leo tolstoy, "anna karenina" - stopped after volume 1
"Maid to Order in Hong Kong", nicole constable
"villa incognito" and "another roadside attraction", tom robbins
"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susannah Clarke 800
salman rushdie, "midnight's children" ~75
douglas coupland, Shampoo Planet 312
paul farmer, "pathologies of power" ~100
"Shadow Divers", robert kurson 376
james clavell, "shogun" 802
"The Golden Ratio", mario livio 320
Jihad vs. McWorld / Benjamin R. Barber 432
"This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind" by Ivan Doig 336
Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" (discarded after 50something pages)
william gibson, "pattern recognition" 368
"the demon in the freezer", richard preston (AWFULly written) 100ish read
Fear's empire : war, terrorism, and democracy / Benjamin R. Barber 50ish read. too much like jihad vs. mcworld.
"an anthropologist on mars", oliver sacks, 352
tom robbins, "jitterbug perfume" 352
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter/dp/0060853964
read the first 50 pages last night (first time reading fiction in a while!) and then the other 350 pages this evening. a thoroughly amusing book it is, and this quest was aided by my strong desire to not go through 128 slices of mri data looking for errors made by a stupid, stupid algorithm that tries to segment the brain into grey and white matter...
anyway, it's what, 77? days into 2007, and only now can i chalk up a name under "books of 2007". (see a pattern here? i think i'll be burning books so as to make the balance negative by next year.)
books of 2007:
"Good Omens", gaiman, pratchett
books of 2006:
"dante club"
John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire
The seekers : the story of man's continuing quest to understand his world / Daniel J. Boorstin
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956 : an experiment in literary investigation / Aleksandr I. Solzhenits
books of 2005:
Keller's Catch-22
Microserfs / by Douglas Coupland
An equal music / Vikram Seth
The lives of a cell : notes of a biology watcher / by Lewis Thomas
The lives of the great composers / Harold C. Schonberg - 627
- Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy - stopped after 50 pages
John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany (very nostalgic for me. i MISS new england.) - stopped after 100 pages
The hero and the crown / Robin McKinley -- stopped after 10 pages
"The Gunslinger", edward dorn - stopped after 50 pages
leo tolstoy, "anna karenina" - stopped after volume 1
"Maid to Order in Hong Kong", nicole constable
"villa incognito" and "another roadside attraction", tom robbins
"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susannah Clarke 800
salman rushdie, "midnight's children" ~75
douglas coupland, Shampoo Planet 312
paul farmer, "pathologies of power" ~100
"Shadow Divers", robert kurson 376
james clavell, "shogun" 802
"The Golden Ratio", mario livio 320
Jihad vs. McWorld / Benjamin R. Barber 432
"This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind" by Ivan Doig 336
Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" (discarded after 50something pages)
william gibson, "pattern recognition" 368
"the demon in the freezer", richard preston (AWFULly written) 100ish read
Fear's empire : war, terrorism, and democracy / Benjamin R. Barber 50ish read. too much like jihad vs. mcworld.
"an anthropologist on mars", oliver sacks, 352
tom robbins, "jitterbug perfume" 352