emplive.org - Visit - Education - Pop Conference: "The 2006 Experience Music Project Pop Conference-Seattle - April 27 - 30, 2006" It's the annual Pop Music conference at EMP this weekend. I'm going to try to make it over on Saturday, as a bunch of the panels sound interesting.
I'm trying to find some new songs to download from the iTunes store tonight, but nothing really looks interesting. I wish they had better recommendations, although honestly, my amazon recs are never terribly great for discovering "just been released by a new artist" stuff either. I have lots of thoughts on music recommendations and the new (to me) artist problem that might best be summed up by "I wish there was a way to make a taste template and then match new songs against that." Lots of work has been done in lots of places to define what a "taste template" might be, but I've never seen one that really works. For instance, I love hip hop, but how do I describe the songs that I love and the songs that make me switch the radio station? What attributes do I rank Ride on against Slowdive against Curve, and what of those attributes make me not like a lot of newly released shoegazing?
On a less geeky note, remember the feeling you'd get in grade school the night before the last day of school? Ahhh bliss. Summer vacation never really quite lived to what you might have hoped it would be like, and you knew it, but right before it started was always the greatest time. I liked it even better than Christmas or my birthday. So, I haven't felt this way since I was about 10, and I'm loving it.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
Drambuie Cocktails
Traditional Scottish Recipes - Drambuie Cocktails: Warm Woolly Sheep
1 measure Scotch whisky
1 1/2 measure Drambuie
Fill with warm Milk
Mix Scotch and Drambuie, top with warm milk.
I always drink my Drambuie either straight up, or by putting a few drops of it on top of a small glass of scotch. I'm half tempted to try this one, though; I can't even imagine what warm milk and scotch would taste like.
Today I decided that I'm moving back to the east coast. I'll be just shy of 7 years at amazon- 7 years which felt like 6 months. I feel like I just launched the Kitchen store last month, web services last week, and blinked and then here I am. So here is my favorite amazon memory... in summer 2002, Russell got me to sign up for his broomball team. It was Jeff Bezos's team, made up of a bunch of people from various parts of the company. I'd played on Jeff's team before (I got a compilment from him on my creative goal tending skills one year when I sat down on the ball to stop it from being pushed over the goal line), and always one of the big problems was coordinating everyone out on the field. So we decided to hold a practice game out on the south lawn after work. It was an amazing August evening- sunny, warm, just beautiful. I went out and helped tape up some broomball sticks. Then we assembled on the grass and split the team in two. Jeff was out there with us- I seem to recall he was playing barefoot in his work clothes. I was marginally more sensibly dressed in some running gear. We all faced off, and played an hour of great broomball. At the picnic, we made it to the semi-finals, but didn't win. It was still a ton of fun.
1 measure Scotch whisky
1 1/2 measure Drambuie
Fill with warm Milk
Mix Scotch and Drambuie, top with warm milk.
I always drink my Drambuie either straight up, or by putting a few drops of it on top of a small glass of scotch. I'm half tempted to try this one, though; I can't even imagine what warm milk and scotch would taste like.
Today I decided that I'm moving back to the east coast. I'll be just shy of 7 years at amazon- 7 years which felt like 6 months. I feel like I just launched the Kitchen store last month, web services last week, and blinked and then here I am. So here is my favorite amazon memory... in summer 2002, Russell got me to sign up for his broomball team. It was Jeff Bezos's team, made up of a bunch of people from various parts of the company. I'd played on Jeff's team before (I got a compilment from him on my creative goal tending skills one year when I sat down on the ball to stop it from being pushed over the goal line), and always one of the big problems was coordinating everyone out on the field. So we decided to hold a practice game out on the south lawn after work. It was an amazing August evening- sunny, warm, just beautiful. I went out and helped tape up some broomball sticks. Then we assembled on the grass and split the team in two. Jeff was out there with us- I seem to recall he was playing barefoot in his work clothes. I was marginally more sensibly dressed in some running gear. We all faced off, and played an hour of great broomball. At the picnic, we made it to the semi-finals, but didn't win. It was still a ton of fun.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Ugly shoes
My cast is off (yay!) but my foot and leg are still recovering, and pretty sore. I used to walk a lot, and it's hard to keep myself from overdoing it. So I went to a store in Seattle today and asked for a pair of sneakers with tons of padding in the heel. I ended up with a pair of Teva vegan (!!!) sneakers. Here's a link to a pair on zappos:
Teva Romero MT - Technical Terrain Women's Terrain (Heron). Note that this description is dead wrong: "for those that want to look fast even when standing still." However, they do have this: "Encapsulated Shoc Pad™ unit in the heel cup that evenly transfers energy of impact throughout the footbed and away from the heel." They at least work better than my pumas, which have almost no padding at all. I still can't believe I'm wearing shoes this ugly, though.
Teva Romero MT - Technical Terrain Women's Terrain (Heron). Note that this description is dead wrong: "for those that want to look fast even when standing still." However, they do have this: "Encapsulated Shoc Pad™ unit in the heel cup that evenly transfers energy of impact throughout the footbed and away from the heel." They at least work better than my pumas, which have almost no padding at all. I still can't believe I'm wearing shoes this ugly, though.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
The NY Times had a reminder today that CS isn't the only field with few women at the top. Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?
We tend to focus a lot on the lack of women in CS, Physics, and other sciences, where women are usually scarce from intro classes all the way through college, grad school, and jobs. Law apparently has a lot of women who enter the field in law school, but only a teensy percentage make it to partner many years later. It's a really interesting look at a familiar problem in an entirely different field. For instance, they call out this:
One of the main bugaboos in this debate — and one that analysts says is increasingly cropping up as an issue for male lawyers as well — is the billable hours regime. Billing by the hour requires lawyers to work on a stopwatch so their productivity can be tracked minute by minute — and so clients can be charged accordingly. Over the last two decades, as law firms have devoted themselves more keenly to the bottom line, depression and dissatisfaction rates among both female and male lawyers has grown, analysts say; many lawyers of both genders have found their schedules and the nature of their work to be dispiriting.
What a different way of working from the dotcom world. We care more about what you produce at the end of day than how much time it took. And keeping track of 7 minute increments would destroy my concentration. Most days I don't even notice the time when I'm writing something until my dog starts poking my knee with his nose to let me know that he really needs a walk.
I have no great ideas on how to increase the number of women in either CS or law, but I did enjoy reading about how another industry grapples with the same problem.
We tend to focus a lot on the lack of women in CS, Physics, and other sciences, where women are usually scarce from intro classes all the way through college, grad school, and jobs. Law apparently has a lot of women who enter the field in law school, but only a teensy percentage make it to partner many years later. It's a really interesting look at a familiar problem in an entirely different field. For instance, they call out this:
One of the main bugaboos in this debate — and one that analysts says is increasingly cropping up as an issue for male lawyers as well — is the billable hours regime. Billing by the hour requires lawyers to work on a stopwatch so their productivity can be tracked minute by minute — and so clients can be charged accordingly. Over the last two decades, as law firms have devoted themselves more keenly to the bottom line, depression and dissatisfaction rates among both female and male lawyers has grown, analysts say; many lawyers of both genders have found their schedules and the nature of their work to be dispiriting.
What a different way of working from the dotcom world. We care more about what you produce at the end of day than how much time it took. And keeping track of 7 minute increments would destroy my concentration. Most days I don't even notice the time when I'm writing something until my dog starts poking my knee with his nose to let me know that he really needs a walk.
I have no great ideas on how to increase the number of women in either CS or law, but I did enjoy reading about how another industry grapples with the same problem.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
nerf chaos!
My office window this morning. (I didn't shoot all those darts at the window, but I did wield the digital camera.)
Monday, March 13, 2006
Hamentashen
It's Purim today (or tomorrow? I'm not sure), so I should be making some hamentashen this evening. Esther & I made them for 4 Purims at Wellesley because it was, after all, her holiday. I also remember making them in Redmond with her once, but I somehow think that was in September, not March.
So in a related note, I saw a poster of Matisyahu on the wall in a coworker's office, but I wasn't able to ask him if the album was any good because he's OOTO. (For non dotcommers, that's out of the office, aka being on vacation or just telecommuting from a coffeeshop or something.) I mostly noticed it because I'd listened to a sample of King without a Crown on iTunes this morning. I still have the music store "page" up for the album in iTunes, actually. And I tried highlighting his name to paste into an amazon search box, but iTunes doesn't make the name in the top part of the store window highlightable. I can click it, but not copy/paste. I'm more suprised it took me until now to notice that.
So in a related note, I saw a poster of Matisyahu on the wall in a coworker's office, but I wasn't able to ask him if the album was any good because he's OOTO. (For non dotcommers, that's out of the office, aka being on vacation or just telecommuting from a coffeeshop or something.) I mostly noticed it because I'd listened to a sample of King without a Crown on iTunes this morning. I still have the music store "page" up for the album in iTunes, actually. And I tried highlighting his name to paste into an amazon search box, but iTunes doesn't make the name in the top part of the store window highlightable. I can click it, but not copy/paste. I'm more suprised it took me until now to notice that.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Toppled Crane in Myrtle Edwards park
Wow, not every day something like this happens around the corner from my home.
--seattle pi article
I left work late, but apparently Belltown was super jammed up because of the closed roads, which rarely ever happens. Traffic in this area is usually 3 cars waiting at a light.
A 100-ton crane toppled onto railroad tracks near Myrtle Edwards Park this afternoon, delaying freight and passenger routes through the Seattle waterfront area.
--seattle pi article
I left work late, but apparently Belltown was super jammed up because of the closed roads, which rarely ever happens. Traffic in this area is usually 3 cars waiting at a light.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
toddler voicemail
A transcript of a voicemail I got today:
I listened to it three times, and I kept laughing at it. I love the image of Kate trying to sort out what this "answering machine" thing that ate her aunt is!
Kate: "Hi Aunt Wendy! Hi Aunt Wendy!"
Heather: "say who it is"
Kate: "Hi Wendy!"
Heather: "tell her who's calling"
Kate: "Hi Wendy!"
Heather: "say it's Kate"
Kate: "where she'd go?"
Heather: "That's her answering machine"
Kate: "What?"
Heather: "We're leaving a message!"
Kate, sounds like she's running away from the phone: "Hi Wendy!"
I listened to it three times, and I kept laughing at it. I love the image of Kate trying to sort out what this "answering machine" thing that ate her aunt is!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
yummy
We went to lunch yesterday at Seven Stars Pepper (43 Places). There were eight of us, and I think I might be able to remember the eight dishes we ended up ordering:
I'm at home tonight, listening to music & icing my leg. The airplanes landing at SEA are landing from the north this evening. My apartment has a whole wall of windows facing west, and where I'm sitting, I can see the planes go by, flying the whole length of my windows. One every three or four minutes. They're actually really pretty to watch, flying right over the tops of all the condo towers. (I hesistate to call them "skyscrapers" because those, to me, have to be more than 20 stories tall.)
- chong gin chicken
- house special chicken
- hot pepper fish
- sizzling rice shrimp special
- hand shaven noodles beef chow mein
- hand shaven noodles shrimp chow mein
- baby bok
choy and mushrooms - mongolian beef
I'm at home tonight, listening to music & icing my leg. The airplanes landing at SEA are landing from the north this evening. My apartment has a whole wall of windows facing west, and where I'm sitting, I can see the planes go by, flying the whole length of my windows. One every three or four minutes. They're actually really pretty to watch, flying right over the tops of all the condo towers. (I hesistate to call them "skyscrapers" because those, to me, have to be more than 20 stories tall.)
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Yesterday's suggested tune from the 365 tunes calendar (authored by matos) was Brighton Rock by Elastica. Just downloaded it from itunes, and it's pretty good. I've also been playing I'm a Cuckoo (Belle & Sebastian) a lot this past week- it's such a sweet little song. So over the last week, I've been collecting things that are unexpectedly tricky to do in a cast, and so here are the first two: change the sheets on my bed (it's against a wall, and it's a big pain to either pull it away from the wall or climb over it to deal with the sheets on that side), and walk down ramps or slanted sidewalks.
Spring has already started to arrive in Seattle. When I took a walk down 1st Ave yesterday, the cherry trees were beginning to bloom. There were buds on the tulips, and a few crocuses out! This weekend has been sunny and mostly warm, one of the weekends when I fall in love with our weather. The Olympics are crisp & sharp & gorgeous, and Mt Rainier even made an appearance.
Spring has already started to arrive in Seattle. When I took a walk down 1st Ave yesterday, the cherry trees were beginning to bloom. There were buds on the tulips, and a few crocuses out! This weekend has been sunny and mostly warm, one of the weekends when I fall in love with our weather. The Olympics are crisp & sharp & gorgeous, and Mt Rainier even made an appearance.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Saturday, February 04, 2006
more old, old photos
The last few days, I've been thinking a little about the quote below about the editing that photographers do when they frame an image. As it turns out, I've had a lot of time to look at pictures today with that in mind. I'm in a walking cast, and I've figured out that "walking cast" really means "hop around slowly cast." So in search of interesting things to do from my sofa while I'm icing my leg, I pulled out my negative scanner and went to work on my stacks of negatives from college.
I love this set. All the pictures above were taken on my little sister's first day of college outside my senior year dorm, with her boyfriend- now husband. They look so young! She asked me to take a few pictures of them that day so that she could have some photos to hang up in her dorm room. Looking at this set now though 8 years of experiences, I still see the same faces, but they're couched in different terms now. I keep seeing Kate's face in her dad's smile. Or looking at those trees, I keep remembering the pain I had a few days later in the darkroom, trying to burn in the sky behind the leaves while not overexposing the faces. And while I can't remember now why I clicked the shutter when I did, I do like the end result as a mini portrait of them as a couple. Her face in the last one always makes me smile- I saw that look everytime I annoyed her growing up.
the whole photoset
Sunday, January 29, 2006
old zip disk fun
I found my old zip disk drive yesterday when I was cleaning up for my party (tons of fun- it was a great time), so this morning, after cleaning up all the glasses in my living room, I plugged it in & pulled out some zip disks that I still have. I found a few scans of images that I took in college, including this one, of me doing some 3-D design homework. Notice that I'm using a stapler and string to do my homework. Very artsy fartsy of me.
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