The Non-Offensive Blog Title

Purty pitchur onna plane

2008-07-30T16:25:00.003-04:00

I thought some folks might like this pic I took. (via flickr)

New Beta of Skype for Linux Solves Video Issues

2008-02-06T21:20:00.001-05:00

"Many historians foretold of the moment when X would mark the spot on a map. Today, I can happily tell you that we have found the X on our development roadmap, and underneath lies a treasure previously unattainable to some - Video." Now this I'm really excited about. I'm downloading now!

read more | digg story

Cinelerra community forks the video editor

2008-02-06T20:56:00.001-05:00

"The community surrounding Cinelerra, one of the premier non-linear video editors for Linux, has decided to strike off in its own direction and rewrite Cinelerra under a new codebase." This sounds interesting because maybe it will provide Linux with a good video editor!

read more | digg story

Hilarious French Machinima Series "Bill et John" (w/ subtitles)

2007-11-18T01:29:00.001-05:00

This is the hilarious first episode of "Bill et John", a machinima series based on Lock On Modern Air Combat. There are subtitles. Enjoy! See the first comment for the second episode too!

read more | digg story

Current plans for Ubuntu 8.04

2007-10-28T19:21:00.001-04:00

From Digg:

This is subject to change during the ongoing UDS Boston Meeting, but we are likely to see a complete new Ubuntu theme, a new icon theme, a revamp of the logout dialog, changes to the desktop effects, changes to the login screen and implementation of automated tests in Ubuntu 8.10.

Now that Ubuntu has released Gutsy Gibbon, they're already planning the next release, Hardy Heron (8.04). There are some very exciting developments coming up. Check it out!

read more | digg story

How to install the linux port of Xbox Media Center

2007-08-26T21:31:00.000-04:00

The xbox media center is an awesome media center app. And now it runs on Linux. Though their website doesn't make it sound promising, it actually works almost perfectly. Follow the instructions below to get it working under Feisty Fawn:

Check out the source using these instructions, but don't run build.sh yet.
Go to the /media/fonts folder inside your XBMC folder you just checked out.
Change the "arial.ttf" file to "FrankophilSans.ttf"
Continue with instructions, using the build.sh script method.
After launching, to go to full screen, use the "\" (not "/") key.

Have fun!

Now here's a video of what you get:

Another month in Austria

2007-08-09T13:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back in Austria for a month. I'm visiting my girlfriend here. We've watched a lot of movies, and installed Ubuntu on her computer, and gone hiking, and eaten lots of her mother's amazing food, all the while speaking a mix of German and English.

I have some photos taken on our hike today for your enjoyment! You might be able to use some of them as wallpapers if you want.

Yet Another Desktop Configuration

2007-07-24T16:15:00.000-04:00

I chose to remove the top panel with this wallpaper, since that way it would appear more "open". The same wallpaper works well as a skydome, as well!

New Compiz Fusion Videocast: FusionCast

2007-07-15T23:11:00.000-04:00

Please check out my new Videocast: the FusionCast!

http://fusioncast.blogspot.com

And digg it if you like it, digg button on that page :) Thanks!

Avant Window Navigator SVN

2007-07-15T23:09:00.000-04:00

Take a look at bleeding-edge AWN:
Remember, this is free, and out BEFORE leopard ;)

I love it.

Two New Compiz Fusion Plugins: Screensaver and Aquarium

2007-07-12T09:45:00.003-04:00

There are two new plugins available in Compiz Fusion git, so I made a screencast of them.

Getting Started With Compiz Fusion

2007-07-12T09:45:00.001-04:00

A new tutorial video I made. Enjoy

Now, googling compiz fusion links to my video

2007-07-06T00:58:00.000-04:00

That's just really cool... :) Thanks to all who made it popular.

gegls from outer space

2007-06-27T10:21:00.000-04:00

:)

hint: under ubuntu, hit alt-f2

Skype under WINE

2007-06-27T10:05:00.000-04:00

Sure, there's a skype for linux, but it doesn't support Video or Skypecasts or Games, etc. So I decided to try skype under wine. There isn't much documentation for it on the wine AppDB (it's old data), but it actually works amazingly well, considering it's a complicated program which uses one of the worst-implemented parts of WINE, the sound system.

You have to choose the Windows 98 option for it to log you in. It logs in, and looks nice and pretty, and you can even call people and the call works--the only problem is: people can't hear you, because WINE's audio input is horrible ;)

I tried calling my house with skypeout, and it worked. I even could hear myself talking on the phone. But nothing worked to get the audio input working... This looks promising though :) Wine is updated frequently, and maybe one of the next updates will get there...!

Also, no video, or skypecasts. So it's not any more useful than Skype for Linux. But it looks cool ;)

Another blogger is trying Compiz Fusion out

2007-06-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Another blogger is blogging about compiz fusion, inspired by yours truly. I will be following his experience, and editing my howto accordingly.

Take a look at his blog: http://pixel-death.blogspot.com

Hopefully, he will have a good experience with CF :)

How exactly to get Compiz Fusion running with no knowledge of linux and no linux install

2007-06-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

Important update: I added the installation of Restricted Drivers. This is necessary for compiz to work! :)

UPDATE 2: I changed the links for the wallpaper and panel BG because uploadingit.com is offline right now.

Thanks to user "alex", I have decided to make a complete tutorial to get from Windows to my basic setup. This actually shouldn't take more than a day or two, which is not bad, considering you're installing an entire new operating system.

I. Obtaining Ubuntu

Go to the Ubuntu Download Page and get Ubuntu 7.04, typing all the requested information in.
When your ~700MB download is finished, burn the ISO image to a disc with your favorite CD burning software.
This part might be difficult for those with not so good computer knowledge, but you have to get your computer to launch off the cd. It depends on how your computer is made, but you might need to change the boot order in the BIOS. Or, you might have to do a key command to boot off the cd.
When you've booted off the ubuntu cd, you'll have an option to "Install or boot Ubuntu". Go ahead and choose that, you won't lose any data yet.
The CD will boot, and give you a working desktop environment. This is all running off the cd, and as a result nothing is saveable, and no settings are retained after reboot.
Double-click the install icon on the desktop.
Follow the instructions. When it comes to partitioning, if you want to keep windows, then DON'T choose the option to completely format the drive, otherwise do.
Install Ubuntu on your system. This might take only 20 minutes, depending on the state of your hardware.
Restart your computer, and if you have windows and ubuntu installed, choose the first option for ubuntu. Log in.
You've installed ubuntu!

Now on to the next step!

++
II. Installing the proprietary graphics driver (skip if you have intel or another that's already supported)

Open up System>Administration>Restricted Drivers Manager.
If you have an nVIDIA card, it will show up on the list. Install it by following the easy instructions. Make sure it's enabled.
As prompted, restart your computer.

++

III. Getting the wallpaper and the panel candy and setting up your black theme

First, download my green wallpaper here.
Right-click the desktop and choose "Change desktop background."
Browse to the folder in which you've saved my wallpaper, and choose it.
Now get this png image.
Right-click the panel on the top, and choose "Properties". In the Background tab, choose the png as the background image. You might have to make the panel thinner for it to look good. That's in the general tab.
Go to the System>Preferences>Theme menu item. Choose the option "Customize".
Under the Controls tab, choose Glossy
Under the Colors tab, make the:

Windows/Background #3E3E3E
Input boxes/Background #4A4A4A
Selected Items/background #616161
And all the text items white.

Under the Window Border tab, choose Glossy
Under Icons, choose Tangerine.
Close the Theme Details window, and choose "Save theme..." and save your theme.
Now, to fix a little bug with the tooltips, get Gnome Color Chooser (to install, download and double-click)
Open up Gnome Color chooser (system>preferences) and under the Specific tab>Tooltips make Background #565656.
To fix some bugs with Firefox, do this (terminal):

cd /usr/share/firefox/res
sudo cp forms.css forms.css.bak
sudo gedit forms.css
(text editor): replace all instances of " background-color: -moz-Field " with background-color: #ffffff; //-moz-Field
replace all instances of " color: -moz-FieldText; " with " color: #000000; //-moz-FieldText; "
Save and quit.

Now you have a black theme and a nice wallpaper/panel! On to Compiz Fusion!

IV. Installing Compiz fusion through Trevinho's Eyecandy Repository, and installing Avant-Window-Navigator (dock)

We are going to use terminal commands, because it is faster that way. Don't be afraid, these aren't hard to use.

Open up a Terminal window (applications>accessories>terminal)
type into the terminal: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
Type in your password (it will appear that nothing is happening, but the password is being received)
A nice text editor with a bunch of text in it already should open up. Go to the very bottom of this and add the following five lines:
# Treviño’s Ubuntu feisty EyeCandy Repository (GPG key: 81836EBF - DD800CD9)
# Many eyecandy 3D apps like Beryl, compiz and kiba-dock snapshots
# built using latest available (working) sources from git/svn/cvs…
deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy
deb-src http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy
Save the file and close the text editor. Type into the terminal: gpg --keyserver subkeys.pgp.net --recv 81836EBF
Type into the terminal: sudo apt-get update
Type into the terminal: sudo apt-get upgrade
You might get a bunch of updates now, so just wait until they're done.
Now type into the Terminal: sudo apt-get install compiz-fusion-plugins-extra compiz fusion-plugins-main compiz-fusion-plugins-unsupported compizconfig-settings-manager avant-window-navigator emerald emerald-themes
That should install the dock, and compiz-fusion.

V. Launching Compiz Fusion and the dock

Type into the terminal: compiz --replace ccp && emerald &
You should now have wobbly windows! try it out. If it doesn't work, you might have to adjust some settings, but it should work fine.
Under System>Preferences>CompizConfig Settings Manager you can change your settings. You will have to enable the plugins before they work (of course).
Under Applications>Accessories>Avant Window Navigator you can launch the dock.
You can adjust your panel settings so that the bottom panel is deleted, and the trash can is moved up to the top panel, etc, but I'm not going to get into that.
Now, to get it so that you can close the terminal without stopping your compiz fusion, type alt-F2 and run the same command as if you were in a terminal.

VI. Installing my Emerald theme (for window decorations)

Download my theme here.
Go to System>Preferences>Emerald Theme Manager.
Choose "Import..."
Choose my .emerald file you downloaded.
Choose it in the list now.
You should have a sleek black window decoration now!

VII. Making it so Compiz Fusion starts on boot

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure about this yet. Eventually, there will be a tray icon that works pefectly, but not yet. Just wait... This is alpha software. You can search the forums for a solution. I'm sure there's one somewhere :)

OK! You're done!

Keep in mind that your Ubuntu install won't play DVD's or mp3's, etc, yet. You have to research that elsewhere :) For help you can go to the Ubuntu Forums.

If you want to install a new program, you can go to Applications>Add/Remove applications and choose applications to install. They'll download and install automatically.

And finally, to get out of compiz, do alt-f2 and type metacity --replace. That should dump you back into the default ubuntu window manager. I would suggest quitting Avant-window-navigator first though, since it doesn't run properly without compiz.

Tell me how it works !

EDIT: Due to questions about gmail notifier, I felt obliged to hack it. Here's a fix for it to work with dark themes.

Also, follow these instructions, and your firefox controls will look better!

Flash Calculator

2007-06-24T20:43:00.000-04:00

I made a flash calculator at school a few months ago, so I'd like to show it to you. Here it is: http://uploadingit.com/files/21766/advcalculator.swf

:) Enjoy.

PS: though it doesn't really look like it, the box that doesn't seem to align with the numbers on top is supposed to be a glass effect, but it didn't work. Don't have flash here at home to fix it.

Playing Halo Trial without Windows (or Mac.. hehe)

2007-06-20T14:49:00.001-04:00

This is a video I made of me playing halo trial with WINE on ubuntu. Although there are a few annoyances, it works quite nicely and is fun to play. Halo trial is downloadable off the Microsoft website. I did not need to change wine in any way to play it, though I did turn off CompComm so that I have more memory space to play.

read more | digg story

CompComm now known as Compiz Fusion

2007-06-20T14:41:00.001-04:00

The official name of the Beryl/Compiz merge is now Compiz Fusion. I'll live with it. :) We'll see how a logo can be created... I may make my idea of the logo... sounds fun!

This final naming means that packages may be available soon for download (for those who don't like compiling) ... Looking good!

CompComm: A Quick Demonstration

2007-06-19T18:21:00.001-04:00

Here's a little video I made of my desktop with CompComm. More info on the youtube page. Low Quality version also available there.

Cool screenshot of my black desktop theme

2007-06-04T22:14:00.001-04:00

You've gotta love this.

EDIT: Find all the info (except the wallpaper is different) here: http://forums.opencompositing.org/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=844

I didn't like the wallpaper anyway.

I've joined 3bix

2007-05-11T23:13:00.000-04:00

3bix, the up-and-coming blog of some of my classmates and friends, has invited me to contribute to them. Check it out!

PS: They added their hit counter yesterday, and it already has 180+ hits!

Wallpaper for Ubuntu

2007-05-05T10:34:00.000-04:00

ONLY UBUNTU USERS can use this wallpaper :P

I was fooling around with the gimp to make a simple wallpaper, and here it is. So don't go thinking that the gimp can't produce quite nice things, ok? I do agree that photoshop is better, but photoshop costs a few hundred bucks more (gimp is free! :) ).

I just created my first C program!!

2007-04-21T12:07:00.000-04:00

I'm very excited. I followed a tutorial here:
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial/lesson1.html

and coded a cute little calculator app you can run in the terminal (under any linux box, but if you have windows you'll need to have a C compiler and you'll need to compile it)

Here's the compiled version

To run, open a terminal and drag the file into it and then press enter. The program should start. I'm not sure, however, because I have an AMD64 processor, so it might not work with 32-bit. If that's the case, follow directions below.

And the original code to compile yourself/edit/look at

To compile under linux (works without any problems under ubuntu default):

Open up a terminal and type in:
cd /home/your_username/Desktop/ (or wherever else you downloaded the file)

Then type in:

g++ calc.c -o calc

(you'll get this error: calc.c:52:157: warning: trigraph ??! ignored, use -trigraphs to enable, but that's normal)

Then type into the terminal:

./calc

to run the program.

EDIT: I changed the program around a bit so that it now looks better and quizzes you! Get the code/compiled here:

Code:
http://uploadingit.com/files/21766/quiz.c

to compile do the same as above, except the command should be
g++ calcquiz.c -o calcquiz

Compiled (on AMD64):
http://uploadingit.com/files/21766/calcquiz

Feisty is OUT!

2007-04-19T22:20:00.000-04:00

The new version of ubuntu has been officially released! What they say about it:

The Ubuntu community have been working to bring you the latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. This is Ubuntu 7.04 and it comes packed with a host of new features including data migration from Windows, new and easier ways to install multimedia codecs, binary drivers, as well as networking improvements and of course, GNOME 2.18, the 2.6.20 kernel and more.

You can find out more about ubuntu by going here: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/704tour

Feisty Successfully Installed on Father's Laptop

2007-04-14T23:19:00.000-04:00

Now, he still has Windows on it (he wants to be able to access audiobooks from the library, and they use some WinDRM stuff (grrrrrr....), but that's ok.

Anyway, the reason that I put it out there is I am very excited to say that though his computer has quite low specs it still managed to do the "desktop effects" (that's Compiz, from which Beryl comes) quite well. I was very surprised when I saw wobbly windows on the laptop!

Also, since my dad has a newer hard drive than I do on this awesome computer upstairs in my room, everything runs really fast (unless there's some heavy cpu processing involved). I am actually quite envious of my dad's laptop now, and am hoping that sometime soon I can get a SATA hard drive or two. I have about 5 SATA ports built-in to the motherboard, and that's great but I need the hard drives.

Then my computer would be absolutely perfect (well, not really because I'd need to get 4 gigabytes of RAM first, but that's ok) and I would have no complaints about the hardware.

I am extremely satisfied with the computer when I consider the price I paid for it, though: ~$350! (that includes a 256MB graphics card and an AMD64 cpu)

OK, back to the laptop.

My dad uses a Belkin wireless card for his Winternet, and when we plugged it in under Ubuntu, the lights didn't go on. But by some amazing coincidence the complete, perfect directions for using ndiswrapper had just been on digg a few days ago, and I had bookmarked the page. Following the directions, the wireless WORKED and now there's nothing keeping from my dad staying on Ubuntu, except the New York Public Library and that annoying OverDrive Media Console that they use.

Here's the guide that is awesome for ndiswrapper: NdisWrapper: The Ultimate Guide - LinuxQuestions.org

I am very happy with the Ubuntu Feisty Beta that I and my dad are using now. One annoying thing is that you have to download about 45MB of updates per day... But that's not a bug or anything--the release is next week!

Still having problems with the kernel, and am going to try a fix suggested for me right now.

A Pretty Nice Blog

2007-04-14T15:21:00.000-04:00

This is a schoolmate's blog. It's contains pretty funny videos and music. I like it, so I've subscribed to the feed on Google Reader.

Perhaps you would like to too.

http://3bix.blogspot.com

Windows XP to be phased out by year's end despite customer demand [DIGG.COM]

2007-04-12T22:26:00.001-04:00

Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite strong ongoing demand for the OS. Analysts and computer makers are wondering if the move is premature given Vista's ongoing issues -- Dell has even reintroduced XP on a range of machines due to customer resistance to Vista. >> GO UBUNTU, GO!!!!!

read more | digg story

Ubuntu Feisty Fawn Default Wallpaper

2007-04-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

I couldn't find it anywhere else on the web, so I decided to upload it here directly from my computer. It's quite nice in my opinion, and I wanted to put it on my Mac (I use the mac for Skype video).

You can find it on your Feisty computer under /usr/share/backgrounds/warty-final-ubuntu.png . I have no idea why it's named that (that was the name of the ugly brown warty theme), but it's obviously some beta thing that will be changed... OR WILL IT?!?!?

Enjoy!

Every video card ranked. How does yours stack up?

2007-03-04T21:46:00.001-05:00

This was compiled by a guy named J3r3my on the overclock.net forums. It even includes the new R600 cards all the way to a voodoo 1.Awesome! Mine was 25th! I have an nVIDIA GEforce 7600GT. I found the article on Digg.com.

read more | digg story

A Tour Around Beryl

2007-03-04T18:58:00.000-05:00

This demonstrates just a few of the many features of Beryl and its plugins. You can go to the Beryl Wiki (>) Plugins Page for more features.

If you are running Linux now, you can get beryl at http://beryl-project.org .

REMEMBER when you are reading this that BERYL IS A COMPLETELY FREE PROGRAM, and so, even if some features are already around in more famous commercial OSes, Beryl is ahead in that it combines these features and adds more, and it is better in that it doesn't cost anything.

The Desktop Cube. With the default Beryl configuration, the desktop consists of sides of a virtual 'cube'. Normally, it is displayed as a flat, normal desktop, but it can be rotated and switched using the keyboard and mouse.

Windows that are dragged to the edge of the flat desktop switch to the face in that direction, and the cube rotates as well while you drag the window.

The Desktop Plane: Another option is the Desktop Plane, which does exactly what Spaces on Mac OS X 10.5 (developer beta) does. The screenshot above shows the Expo view, which zooms out of the current desktop and lets you see all your desktops. As in Mac OS X Leopard, windows are draggable when in this view, and they can be changed to another desktop by moving them there.

You can drag windows up, down, or to the sides in this mode, and beryl will switch the window to the corresponding desktop.

Zoom Windows: This option shrinks all the windows on the desktop and lets you see all of them, just like Mac OS X's expose feature. However, due to Beryl's excellent engine, it is possible to configure the windows to 'bounce' a little bit and feel 'springy'. The shrunk windows are also completely live, i.e. if you were using YouTube and playing a movie, you would be able to still watch the movie when in this mode (and any other Beryl mode, for that matter). The framerate is also much higher than in standard OS X effects.

Opacity: This effect makes windows fade out slightly so that you can see windows under them. It is activated when you mouse over the window you want to see better. In this shot my mouse is hovering over the brown terminal window.

Negative: This is useful if you want to be able to read things in a darker room without hurting your eyes. It either makes one window negative, or the entire screen negative, depending on the key command. An interesting thing to note is it will still play movies (in negative!) if you go to youtube or play a dvd or anything.

Window Previews: This allows you to see what your window looks like, even if you are looking at a different desktop than the one the window is on. It plays movies through the preview, as well.

Water Effect: This makes your windows appear to be floating on a layer of water. Whenever they are moved, a wave appears around them. Another useful feature: pressing control and the windows key together will make a wave around your cursor, making it easier to find (windows has an ugly version of this feature).

Wobbly Windows: This is probably the most famous feature of Beryl (and/or compiz). When you move a window around the screen, it seems to be made out of jelly or rubber. It makes using the computer a more fun experience, and helps with the illusion that you are working with real objects on the screen rather than just pixels. I'm sure this feature is absolutely fabulous with a touchscreen computer.

Beryl is fast... YES!

2007-02-19T22:38:00.000-05:00

I was used to beryl being... ok. Reason: firefox and google earth were really jerky. I thought it was just beryl, ho hum, oh well.

I realized that the new version of beryl fixed many problems, and so i tried resetting some things I had changed, in order for Beryl to work. Well, beryl worked, and I got my smooooooth firefox and google earth back!

So if anyone reading this uses Beryl (i seriously doubt it... unless you are coming from a forum, *hi guys*), make sure you try setting everything under Advanced Beryl Options to "Automatic"! Makes everything smoother!

*happy gavin*

Nexuiz screenshots

2007-02-19T20:37:00.000-05:00

I took some screenshots of the game I was talking about before. The graphics aren't bad (and notice the frames per second on the bottom right corner).

A Bright Idea!

2007-02-07T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, why don't you try out a flourescent bulb? These bulbs are just like regular bulbs, but use a 7th of the energy, and last 7 times longer! They are a bit more expensive, but they last longer, so it balances out. Our entire house is running with them, except for two bulbs (we will change them ASAP).

Also, the picture may be misleading, because the light from the bulbs we have is very yellow and almost indistinguishable from normal incandescents.

One difference which doesn't matter much is it takes them about 30 seconds to get to full brightness. So when you turn them on they seem just a bit dim. They brighten up to the brightness of a normal bulb though. And they don't get so hot!

One tip when buying: Don't get the "Sunlight" or "Daylight" kinds--they seem to be the blueish ones (annoying marketing there...). They are BEYOND depressing in a house. We had a couple of those once.

(got the image from wikipedia and uploaded it to blogger to save their bandwidth, just so you know... search for "compact flourescent bulb" in wikipedia and you'll find the original file)

6 Great Firefox Add-ons

2007-01-31T23:05:00.000-05:00

So, I have a few great Firefox add-ons (all free of course) for you guys to check out. And if you don't have firefox, I would suggest clicking on the Get Firefox button on the top of the blog and getting it. It's free, and very secure/fast.

Adblock Plus -- REMOVES ALMOST ALL ADS automatically
Perma-tabs -- allows you to have tabs that stay open always, even if you close and reopen firefox
Fasterfox -- speeds up firefox
DownThemAll -- fast download manager
Google Notebook -- make little notes in the corner of the window, and copy and paste little bits of a window
Grab and Drag -- makes it so you can drag windows up instead of just using the scrollbar or a scroll wheel

Added Open Source Buttons to Blog

2007-01-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that I added the Firefox and Ubuntu buttons to my blog. The main reason I want to tell you this is, I am not getting any money for this. I am just doing this because I recommend both pieces of software.

Firefox is REALLY good. If you are still using Internet Explorer (if you have Windows), then SWITCH IMMEDIATELY. Firefox is much safer than IE. As for Mac OS X users, Safari is good, but sometimes it doesn't show all the features on a page (for instance with WYSIWYG editors). And, if you last used Firefox 1.5 or so, the new Firefox 2's much faster. I know that the older version was really slow on Macs, but it has improved greatly.

As an added bonus, you can get Adblock Plus, and remove almost all ads on the Web automatically!

SPECIAL REPORT: The March on Washington

2007-01-27T23:21:00.000-05:00

What I, as a 16-year-old, thought about it.

Hello folks, I'm just coming back from the peace march in Washington, DC. I'm writing this into my Palm Pilot, riding on a bus bound for New York.

Last week, we went to a small protest one night near my school, and during the protest they told us about the march. Since it was only $30 dollars per person for the round trip bus, including snacks, and we didn't have anything to do on Saturday, we decided to go.

We got in touch with organizers in our area. Since New York is so far away from Washington, DC, the bus trip would take 5-6 hours and we would have to leave at 6:30 AM.

So we got up really early (my alarm was set for 4:45 AM), ate some breakfast, and took off in the car for the bus pickup point. When we arrived, the bus wasn't there yet. That was because the original bus had broken down and they had had to get another, smaller bus. This had also happened to the other bus for our area, and we wondered about sabotage.

We finally got going. I started my trip by listening to some podcasts (Unger Report, Maccast, Seventh Son Podiobook, New Scientist Podcast), and then a bit of music. After that, a man who was sitting across from me, who was a war veteran, took out a portable speaker and plugged in his iPod Nano (theere were at least four iPods on the bus). He played "Give Peace a Chance," and everyone else on the bus began to sing along to the classic protest song.

He played various other songs, and I contributed to the entertainment by plugging in my iPod and playbing "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles and "We Shall Overcome" sung by Bruce Springsteen (Album: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions).

After about seven songs we sort of ran out of things to play, and the vet put away his speakers, but by that time we had almost reached Washington, and not much happened until we arrived in the large parking lot in front of the Metro train station in DC.

As we rode into the parking lot I saw many buses lined up in the parking spaces. There were about a hundred buses, and this parking lot was not the only one being used by all the buses coming in from everywhere around the US.

After we had gotten off the bus, we followed an organizer in a group to the train station. We waited outside until the leader, whose name was Bernie, had purchased the tickets, then streamed in to the station. We took the green line to L'enfant Plaza.

On the trains, on the street, there were protesters everywhere. We gathered at the same spot where everyone had gathered when Martin Luther King, Jr. had spoken. Various speakers gave speeches, and each of their sentences were punctuated by the loud cheers of the crowd. A few speakers were hoarse from yelling, but bravely shouted on.

Many chants were heard today:

"What do we want?"
"PEACE!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!"

"Move, Bush, get out the way. Get out the way Bush get out the way!" (shouted by some people from the Bronx)

I also encountered many different signs, quite a few of them very inventive. Examples:

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

ARMS ARE FOR HUGGING, NOT FOR FIGHTING!

It was very exciting to be there, right in the middle of the protest, and to feel the energy of all these people who wanted to make a difference.

After the speeches, we began to march around the Capital building. This was when I realized how many people had arrived. There were endless crowds of people! Right now I'm on the bus, but when I get home I want to see a bird's-eye view of it.

We took footage with our camcorder, and many photos with our camera. I'm planning on quickly editing the video and posting it to YouTube, and after that the blog, for your viewing pleasure.

The turnout was astounding. I hope people look and realize that the idea of peace is still very present in the minds of the American public. And if there are any European or non-American readers of this blog (there's Renuka, but anyone else?), I hope they realize that the Americans aren't ALL for Bush and the war.

I believe that this march was very important for America, even if the mass media does not cover it much, because the people who went to it and marched and sang and shouted and protested will know that there really are many people out there who agree with them, and these people will not give up.

But the event was so big that I do believe it will be big news, and I hope that it will help change the minds of the people with the power, and be just the beginning. I hope that this march will lead to the eventual impeachment of Bush and Cheney and others who are involved in the criminal practices of this current administration.

With luck, we'll see some great changes in this country. I hope that this march will help stop the war in Iraq and, because of this, make it possible to fund more important things, such as alternative energy research.

It's hard to describe the atmosphere of the protest in a blog post. Everyone was charged up, ready to shout, sing, and, with humor and good-natured laughs, tell the world and the White House their opinions. The feeling one gets when one is right in the middle of one of these events is one of joy, perseverance, and highly controlled anger. You can feel the strength of all the people, and you feel connected with them in a very uncomon way.

To see all of the people who agree wholeheartedly with almost all your opinions, and to chant, cheer, and yell with them feels so liberating. It feels as if a new being is created by the crowd, and it's speaking, and saying to everyone watching the protest, "You had better listen to me, or face the consequences."

At about four PM we headed back to the trains, since we needed many hours to travel back to NY. At the platform, there were crowds, hundreds of people all waiting to board the same train. When the train pulled up, however, it was almost completely packed already, and we couldn't fit in. So we had to wait another ten minutes for the next one.

We managed to squeeze in that train, along with a foam chicken with the face of Dubya. Everyone was laughing and joking about the "Chicken-in-chief" needing to get on the train.

It was very tight on the train. I videotaped it, because I was already holding the camera, and because I wanted to share the experience with you guys (hold on a few days for the video). The funny thing about it was the fact that the majority of the passengers were against war, and they all agreed with each other, so the trip didn't contain any yelling or bad temper because everyone got along.

Back here on the bus, everyone is tired, but happy, and not cranky.

Today was a great day for America, as well as the rest of the world. We've made history today, and we're really proud about it.

There's going to be another march in March, on the 17th. Come if you can! I'm sure you'll find out more if you Google it. Make a difference in the world! Stop foolish wars! The world will thank you.

Peace, Gavin

As a side note, Ubuntu imported these photos with absolutely no hiccups, a dialog asking "Camera Detected: do you want to import photos?" and it worked really quickly. So, copying the above text from my Palm Pilot to the blog, and importing the photos--all done on a free operating system with a computer with ~$400 total spent. Sorry for promoting Ubuntu, but I'm really happy with it now.

The Coriolis Force

2007-01-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's a weird thing I just learned in school...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_force

The Coriolis Force. Sadly, though, the teacher was wrong about it affecting drains... I have to tell him.

Here's a helpful graphic explaining it:

Ok, on to another look...

2007-01-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

All right, enough Vista, time for "Linux Geek" look. Here are some screenshots...

Video: Beryl on Ubuista

2007-01-15T12:58:00.000-05:00

I decided to take a screencast of my desktop. Here it is. Remember that the screen frame rate is slowed down considerably when I use the screencast application. The real frame rate is at about 100 frames per second (i.e. not jerky at all), so don't think about that.

My Monitor (arriving in a few days)

2007-01-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

Title says it all.... Here it is, from a review of it. Oh boy, I can't wait!!

Vista-like Ubuntu

2007-01-14T23:50:00.000-05:00

I showed you my desktop before. Well, today I tried to make it look like Windows Vista. It doesn't look exactly like it, but I didn't try very hard. One cool thing though: The windows are still wobbly, making this BETTER than vista... "hasta la Vista" i suppose....

iPhone's coming!

2007-01-13T22:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, the Macworld Keynote was very interesting!

Two things about it: iPhone is coming in June, AppleTV in February.

Find out more at www.apple.com!

Macworld Keynote Coming Soon

2007-01-07T13:46:00.000-05:00

Hey, the Macworld Keynote is coming up on Tuesday! We are going to see a bunch of new stuff coming out from apple, and according to the Apple website, this stuff is going to be VERY interesting...

I wonder what they're planning... A cell phone? New notebook computers? New desktops? They are at least going to introduce their new OS, Mac OS Leopard! Good stuff. Sadly, I'll be at school when it happens, so I'll see what's happening a little later than usual... Oh well.

A Midnight Walk with the Dog

2007-01-04T00:25:00.000-05:00

I just came back from a walk with my dog Lucy. Tonight it felt very special to be outside, because the moon was so bright, and because its light shone from directly above me, creating a very alien sort of light.

As soon as I stepped out of the door I noticed it. It looked as if it had snowed, because of the white light of the moon shining on the table outside in our front yard. I had to check to make sure it hadn't snowed because it looked so different.

It is very interesting to go for a walk during the full moon at around midnight, because almost nobody's around and it is very quiet. The moonlight is calming, and the fresh cold air is wakening, so that your spirit of inspiration comes awake again. That's the main reason I am writing this post right now, in fact. I was inspired by the moon and the cold air. Now it is 12:30 AM and I feel almost as if I have been recreated.

I believe it's a good idea for inspiring writers to go out on such a walk as I did, for about 20 minutes. It really changes your thoughts a lot, and calls up old memories, old inspirations left to stagnate in the rush of the "real" world.

Another thought: isn't it sad that cameras can't catch the exact beauty of a quiet dark night? It almost never works, even with a tripod and a camera set for long exposure. Looking at the water tonight, it was so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you, but found it impossible.

Now that I have my Ubuntu box, I've been wondering what I should do with it. Why have a computer without a reason? But now, going for this walk, I've decided what I should do. I should use it as a tool for writing. I plan to leave it on the whole night (because I have Folding@Home on it, and it's for science), and it's in my room, so it's actually quite ideal for a sort of "inspiration notebook" for if I wake up at night and feel moved.

Also, if you are fans of my blog, then this is also good news: I will have VERY easy access to the blog now and will post quite frequently if I have time.

Anyway, when you think about things while walking under the light of the moon, you will get inspired to do things, finish things. I would strongly suggest you do this too, as soon as possible. It helps to have a dog.

Ubuntu Edgy Eft (6.10) and Beryl

2007-01-01T23:54:00.000-05:00

After getting new parts for my computer upstairs, I finally was able to install and configure Ubuntu Linux, Edgy Eft. Above is a screenshot.

I also was able to get Beryl working. That means that whenever I move the windows around they're "wobbly" (go here and you'll see what I mean). Also, I have a 3d desktop switcher, which means that when I need more space to work on the desktop, I can press CONTROL-ALT-and the arrow keys to switch between desktop spaces. It makes a cube effect when I do this.

Also, I have succesfully installed Google Earth Linux, as well as two open-source 3d FPS games that are quite neat, the first is Sauerbraten, and the second is Nexuiz. Nexuiz is available for free for any operating system (Windows, Mac OS X), and it is quite cool. It is also really neat to be able to use my graphics card, which has 256MB of VRAM. My fast processor makes everything snappy too.

My only gripes as of now are:

I've only got 512MB of RAM
I still have a CRT screen
Ubuntu AMD64 is a real pain to configure, because AMD64 is not popular.

Google Earth Linux works REALLY fast on my machine, with no jerks or anything, compared to every other computer I've seen running it (of course there's still the waiting for the internet to load, but that's Verizon's fault now, our internet can't get faster because of our location)

Also, I seem to be in luck. One of my cousins is working on a project and she asked me a few days ago if I could design a website for her. She said she'd give me a brand new LCD if I did it! And if that doesn't work, then at least I can get her old LCD, which is the first generation of LCD monitors, which means it's NOT a flatscreen (it's about 1 1/2 feet deep). And a flatscreen is better than a CRT, even if it's just as bulky. My eyes hurt so much with this CRT screen.

And the memory problem is easily solved with a bit of extra cash. I'll wait a bit and get about $50 and get me another 512MB chip and I'll be all set!

Finally, the AMD64 problem is not a big one... It's just going to get better and better as the type of chip gets more and more popular. With the chip I have, according to Wikipedia, I can have only up to....17,179,869,184 gigabytes of RAM (versus 4GB with standard 32-bit):

The emergence of the 64-bit architecture effectively increases the memory ceiling to 2⁶⁴ addresses, equivalent to 17,179,869,184 gigabytes or 16 exabytes of RAM.
--Wikipedia, 64-bit

So, eventually, I hope to reach the limit ;) When I have my seventeen billion gigabytes of RAM installed, maybe then programs won't crash (just kidding)

So, I'm sure all you nongeek readers found this techspeak to be gibberish, but I had to release it from it's cage inside my mind. Everyone else: go ubuntu! You'll need a bit of Terminal training, but it's worth it... it's FREE.

Adblock Plus and Blogger 2 Conflict

2006-12-28T17:51:00.000-05:00

Error when using adblock plus with EASYLIST USA: The "SAVE CHANGES" button doesn't work when EDITING a widget. Adding a widget works fine, but editing one messes up.

SOLUTION (at least it worked for me): Add " @@|http://www2.blogger.com " to your list. That will whitelist blogger 2. I am in contact with the guy who manages Easylist, and he will probably fix this error very soon. (see topic on the Adblock Plus forums: http://adblockplus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8539#8539 )

Performancing... ok, not so useful

2006-12-27T19:58:00.000-05:00

So, Performancing looked neat, but then I found out that it doesn't support blogger image uploading, and now I just found out it doesn't support blogger tags... so I think I am going to uninstall it from Firefox.

I want to have labels, so it's not very useful. Oh well, we can wait and see, maybe it will get better. And anyway, the new Blogger is much faster anyway, and not a problem anymore.

Stunning photos by Ezra

2006-12-27T18:42:00.001-05:00

A couple of you probably know Ezra, my friend. We'll, maybe you don't know this...

He has a blog, and has beautiful pictures of the place where he is living currently in Germany. I put a feed on the side of this blog of his posts, but here's the direct link:

http://kwiwi.blogspot.com/

Here's an example of one of the photos Ezra took:

Folding@Home

2006-12-22T21:44:00.001-05:00

Folding@Home is a program that you can download (free) like SETI@Home, but it's actually doing beneficial things for science. Try it out.

http://folding.stanford.edu/

It simulates protein folding... look on their website.

Performancing Screenshot

2006-12-15T22:07:00.002-05:00

Performancing for Firefox

2006-12-15T22:07:00.001-05:00

I'm just trying out this Extension for firefox called Performancing. It lets you add blog posts directly from the browser... Very cool.

This is a test of it... see how it comes out!

The next post will have a screenshot... sadly, you can't add images directly from Performancing because it doesn't support Blogger's Images feature.

Video: Running Through Waldorfschule Klagenfurt

2006-11-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

A Final Post

2006-11-29T07:28:00.000-05:00

All right guys, I'm coming back to the states. I've had enough of all this Austrian business...Naw, just kidding. I need to go back because of my visa.

It was great in Austria... I will definitely miss it a lot. Right now, I have been a bit bored in Klagenfurt because we don't do much in school, and it's too cold to stay outside, and too warm for snow. But in summer Klagenfurt is awesome, and I bet it's really cool in winter too because of the snow, skiing, and the lake is frozen (think ice skating).

Just right now we're at the transition stage. Also, the fact that I have a girlfriend is also making Klagenfurt especially boring. You see, Renuka (see the post before this) is in Freistadt, 5 hours by train from Klagenfurt. So the only possibilty is Skype, or with cell phones. And Helga doesn't like me to be on the computer too much (that's good), and she's busy, and often using the only computer that has internet in the house.

Luckily, this gives me much time for writing on my palm pilot, and so this post can be very long.

Thanks everyone for your nice comments, for those of you who haven't commented yet, it's very easy, and you don't need to put in your email or anything... Click where it says Comments under the post you want to comment on. Also note that though I may not respond, I recieve each and every one through email as soon as it's posted.

So yes, I'm leaving Austria this week, Friday morning reeally early. Then, if everything works out, I'll stay with my cousin in London for one night, then go on Air India to New York the next day.

Then on Sunday I'll get reaccustomed to English and I guess go directly back to school on Monday... Can't wait to see everyone again!

Renuka is looking forward to Easter, and so am I. Why? She's coming to New York then! Hooray! (Renuka, noch ein mal: ich freue mich schon auf Östern!!)

Speaking of languages (no pun intended.... Eww that's a bad one), I am so much better at German now. I can't believe it...just three months ago I remember listening to Isaak and Micki talking in Corinthian dialect and thinking, "Wow I can understand a few words there! Not bad..." Now, of course, I can understand them almost effortlessly, really! I understand radio, TV, everything. And I also can speak "schon sehr gut Deutsch [very good German already]" according to Renuka's mother. Sometimes I say a sentence and then realize that something was wrong and correct myself, but these are only tiny silly grammar errors like "Ich habe gefahren" instead of "Ich bin gefahren". Now and then, I stumble upon a really difficult sentence that I really mess up, but that's becoming less frequent.

Another thing: I may now and then write ys instead of zs because I've gotten used to the german keyboard which is switched. The keyboard I have now is american, and upstairs it's german, so it's a bit hard.

By the way, I will bring a few speaking habits with me back to the US. One thing I'm sure I'll do for a while as soon as I come back to America is say, "Hallo" instead of "Hello" on the phone, and probably say ciao when saying bye to someone. Other things, also, such as "Weh" (pronounced "Vey") for when I'm disgusted at something instead of "Eww". That's how they say it in Austria. Another one, "Ja" or "Jo" (pronounced ya, yo) for yes. I will definitely do that.

Frau Kerl, wenn Sie dieses Text lesen, sollen Sie etwas wissen: Wann ich wieder in New York bin, werden Sie sehr froh sein , weil ich bin viel besser in Deutsch. Vielleicht wird es schwer für Sie, weil die andere Schüler wissen nicht so viel wie ich. Aber wahrscheinlich werden Sie dieses Blog nicht lesen.... Und damit sollte ich diesem Text nicht schrieben....*beck*. Auf jedem Fall, Renuka wird dises Text lesen, und sie wird sicher lachen...lol. Und Ezra auch... Aber nur ihr drei, und Isaak, wenn du auch das Blog liest, und Micki, und...eigentlich viele Leute!! Ich habe so viele Freunde in Österreich, und das ist echt gut! (entschuldigung, wenn ich Fehler gemacht habe.....oh, und wenn ich Fehler gemacht habe, bitte ein Comment.)

....sorry for everyone who couldn't read that. Bye all!

I Love Renuka

2006-11-27T12:55:00.000-05:00

This is my girlfriend Renuka. I met her when she came to Micky's house because her sister had a percussion concert in Klagenfurt.

Us walking in Freistadt, holding hands of course. Who cares if she's short, that doesn't matter.

Sorry that I haven't written anything for a long time, and expect a new, long literary post tomorrow or the day after.

A new update is available to all readers of this blog! Install now!

2006-10-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

Hi again! I've decided to update everyone on what's going on, and I have time now, so might as well.

Today it was rainy, but quite warm, for mid-autumn. We were able to bike outside at 7:30 in the morning with only long-sleeve shirts (and raincoats, but only becuase it was spitting rain). This is much different from a week ago, when I was cold even with my sweatshirt, and, riding the bike, my hands felt almost frozen, and I had to put my left hand in my pocket, then alternate with the right.

Today in History we watched The Life of Brian (in German, of course, but with English subtitles so Josh and I could get the jokes). Why did we watch it? I guess just because the teacher likes Monty Python. After seeing it today, I'd like to see it in English sometime, also The Meaning of Life.

I am writing all this in French class, because I have nothing better to do. Later on, I will go into the city by bus, so that I can go to Gym, which is not at the school. Returning back home, I won't have much to do.

Lately I have been saying everything I can in German, and because of this I have learned much more and realized how well I can speak German. It has also reassured me of different peculiarities in German which I had only guessed were true.

I think the Austrians don't realize how much I have learned. For instance, Helga recently asked me if it had really been worth it for me to come to Austria. Of couse it has been worth it! I can easily say that I have learned more than ten times as many German words and phrases that I knew before my stay in Austria. I could fill a book with all the words and phrases I know now, compared to before, when it would have been maybe 10 or 11 pages (still a lot, but not as much as now).

Anyway, I'm doing fine, and hope that all you readers are too!

Video: Riding Bikes in Klagenfurt

2006-10-15T13:33:00.000-04:00

Don't worry. The camera was safe.

Touring around Klagenfurt on Bikes

2006-10-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

We went on the bikes today, way up high. It was very fun but hard.

A panorama of Klagenfurt and the surrounding towns (click to enlarge!):

Rowing Pictures

2006-10-03T12:10:00.000-04:00

I went rowing a few days ago on the Wörthersee. It was kind of hard at first, but it got easier after a while.

I brought my camera on board and took a couple of pictures that turned out quite nice. Here they are:

My first week in Austria (photos)

2006-10-01T14:40:00.000-04:00

Here are some oldish pictures I never got a chance to put on the blog:

Me arriving in Klagenfurt (I'm to the right for those of you who don't know me).
On Mike's boat on the Wörthersee.Swimming in the Wörthersee.

Hiking in Europe

2006-09-27T12:49:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago we went hiking not far from where I am living in Austria. About twelve people came with us. They were friends of Helga, and Michael's father.

It was a very hard hike, but I enjoyed it because of the view we were treated to when we reached the top of the mountain.

About two thirds of the way up, we came and had sandwiches and fruit, and rested.

After that the hike wasn't as hard, but we had quite a way to go, and we could see the whole trail in front of us because we were above tree level. Believe me though, it looked much harder than it really was. The fact that the friends of Helga talked with me all the while about the school system and other things in the US helped the time pass by, too.

We reached the end of the trail and looked out onto a fabulous panorama (which I photographed, look at the photo below--it would be a good idea to click on the picture to enlarge it. And sorry if it isn't up to your panoramic standards. I made it quickly on Photoshop from five photos).We headed back, but stopped halfway at a small restaurant to have something. I was full, though, and only had a Coke, and then after some Kaiserschmarrm from Mike's dad's plate because he couldn't finish it. Kaiserschmarrm is basically scrambled pancakes with powdered sugar on top and jam on the side. It's very good. It was the perfect amount of food becuase after having the soda I had felt a bit empty.

We started out again, our knees hurting from the strain of walking down the mountain. It was a relief to sit in Helga's car and listen to probably the best a capella rendering of "Summertime" by an Austrian group. They even have someone singing in falsetto to simulate a trumpet, and then they change their voice so it sounds like the trumpet has a mute on. The Austrian accent isn't too bad either.

Though we were exhausted, I'm sure we would have all gone again; the view was well worth it. I think it was even better than it looks in the pictures. A non-SLR camera can't catch such beauty perfectly, though it still looks beautiful.

- - -

Last Saturday we went on another hike, only this time in Italy. We packed backpacks and set off on the half-hour journey. We parked our car and then went on a gondala to a higher point through the thick fog. We searched for a trail. Luckily, Helga could speak good Italian, and we met some hikers who were going exactly where we were going and were able to lead the way.
This hike was truly beautiful, though at first we couldn't see too much because of the fog. At one point we were scrambling up on hands and knees becausse it was so steep and there were so many loose stones. When we had reached the top of the mountain, we stopped to have sandwiches and candy bars and to talk with others who had also reached the top and had stopped to rest. One person explained what it would look like had there been no fog obsuring the view. The fog was thick, and only near the end were we able to see the view on the side from which we had come. The top of the gondala was so far away! I was amazed that a human could walk so far and back and still be home for dinner. It seems that one walks so slowly, but actually a person can cover quite a large distance in not so much time.

We headed back faster than we had come, and when we reached the end of the trail we visited the church that was near the gondala for a few minutes.

After that, we ate some Italian food in a restaurant that looked out to where we had been. It was no longer foggy at the summit, and we were able to pinpoint the exact place we had been. We could see some tiny figures walking along the ridge on the top.

I enjoy hiking in Austria, and am glad I have to opportunity to do so.

Long Post about Austria and stuff

2006-09-26T13:57:00.000-04:00

So readers, now is the time that I sit down to a nice long typing session. I just got my Palm keyboard for my organizer from my parents, and now can type without having to hunt and peck with Helga's German-formatted keyboard (i.e. The y is where the z is, and the ' is hard to do, etc.).

So, I can easily type now, without having to type on a computer that hurts my eyes after a while (also so I don't have any other distractions, like having to help Ezra my friend with his blog [ http://kwiwi.blogspot.com ] or having to discuss the new iPods with Ezra or noticing there's a new David Pogue technology video on the NYTimes website, or having to look through digg.com, or getting fan mail from Katie, or from my cousins, half sister, parents and other friends (or Ezra), or fixing Helga's computer which, had I been typing this on it, would have developed another problem, even though it's a really good and capable computer (the problem is there's a gigantic virus that takes up gigabytes of precious space. It's been around for about eleven years now, but only real computer geeks know how to delete it and still keep the computer functioning. Its name is Windows. Macs, of course, only have this problem if they use Boot Camp, which is a kind of tool that Apple designed for those who experience withdrawal after quitting using windows. I have a Mac at home. Those geeks who haven't realized the beauty and efficiency of all that is Macintosh are thinking this very moment, "fanboi". For those who haven't been computerally enlightened, please disregard this obnoxious straying away from The Point Of This Post).

Anyway, I am at home here on the couch in front of my Palm Pilot typing. So be prepared for the Putta Butta post of your life!

~ ~ ~

Life in Austria isn't much different than in the US. The only difference is everything is better, it's more beautiful, more fun, and everyone's nicer (and they speak German). There are no kangaroos in Austria. I know this sounds strange, and you may have always thought so, but no, actually not. Go ahead and take a look at the word Austria. How many syllables does it have? Four? No. It has three: Aus-tri-a. Say it: Austria. Perhaps you were thinking of Australia? Yes, it looks the same, but it is not. So the only one who says "Mate" in Austria, when not referring to repreduction, is the New Zealander who is also visiting our school (see photo below).

Just remember that, guys, will ya? Thanks.

Austria has Die Simpsons. Austria has Die Millionenshow. Austria has Malcom mittendrin. Austria has Sabrina--total verhexed! And Austria has Spongebob Schwammkopf. Austria also has satellite TV, and I can watch Al Jazeera directly from the living room (not that I do, Homeland Security agents, this is just a proof of point).

Austria also wonders about Brangelina going to India to make a film in October. Austria has sudoko in it's daily newspapers. Austria has Garfield and a Green Party, though this Green Party doesn't damage the left's votes.
Austria has CSI: Miami (with German actors doing the voices).

Finally, Austria has McDonalds. Ads on TV claim that "It's all fresh directly from Austria" but I don't really think that matters much. McDonalds will always be McDonalds: disgusting food, that's cheap and fast.

~ ~ ~

School is nice and short here. In NY, I would get home at 5:30 or later, leaving only time for dinner, maybe a little computer, and then violin practice and bed (I'm having trouble writing bed because I always think of Bett first, which is German). Here, I'm back home by three at the latest, 12 at the earliest. Today, for example, we were able to have a delicious lunch at three after having been at home for about half an hour first. And today is a long day!

Since I don't have as much homework as the natives, and the natives don't get much homework anyway (compared to GMWS) I get it easy. Maybe three math problems a week, an essay I have to write in German, and having to write, for English class, a short saying ("Never wish you were another, for if you were who you want to be, you'd wish you were the way you are" --Gavin Langdon, 2006), and that's it! The rest of the time I can devote to watching TV after dinner, and before dinner writing a complete autobiography in the form of a blog post!

We've gone in the city about five times, once at night, and I am starting to know it well.

~ ~ ~

I am good friends with Isaak and Michael and Josh (the New Zealander), and so the depression that I had started getting a week ago has worn off and now I am having a great time. It's like the german teacher said at Green Meadow, there's a "U-curve of cultural adaptation". Although I might add that it's more like a "check mark of cultural adaptation" in that it's fun, then dips down, then skyrockets up! Josh, who has been in Europe for three months now, agrees wholeheartedly that after that little dip it just gets better and better.

After experiencing this dip, I can explain why it happens. First of all, everything is different and beautiful, so it's exciting and fun to be living in Austria. Then, you start to miss the old stuff, like your friends and your xbox and your eMac...oh yeah, and your family, a little bit (just kidding TAL, GSL, and EYL).

Then, one night, you think "Wait. I'm in Austria! I'm in the coolest place I've ever been! I am FREE!!!" (Future exchanges, keep in mind that an iPod stuffed with all the songs the Beatles ever sang helps this revelation take place).

After that, you forget about the things you used to do in New York (I can do them later, when I'm back anyway) and you only notice the new, fun things you are doing, like going to Italy to hike in the mountains (more later).

Now I've written enough for one post. I will continue later.

Minimundus

2006-09-24T14:18:00.000-04:00

Minimundus is a place in Klagenfurt where they have models of buildings and other objects scaled down to a much smaller size. We went there today, and here are some pictures I took.

There were some gigantic fish in this pond, but small ships. This picture is kind of funny because the ship is so small but the fish is so big. That fish was about two feet long and 8 inches thick.
This is the CN tower in Montréal, with the Eiffel Tower on the side.
Eiffel Tower, and other buildings.
A replica of Mesa Verde in Colorado (they haven't finished it yet, but it's looking good. I went to the real one on a vacation a few years ago. It looks almost exactly like that.
A replica of an Austrian train line making its way around Minimundus. There's another train there that emits "smoke" (think fog machine) and looks really cool.

Find out more at http://www.minimundus.at .

Video: Driving through the fog in the Alps

2006-09-14T07:51:00.000-04:00

"Finally, another post!"

2006-09-14T07:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I haven't written anything lately. I am adapting to Austria and don't have much time. I haven't been writing a journal right now, but right now I can tell you a little about what I've been doing.

I am only now just starting to speak German, however I can understand more and more of what people are saying when they talk to one another. My first German semi-private lesson (it was with the other visiting student, he's from New Zealand) was today, it was good. It's amazing how quickly one can learn a language. After about two weeks I can already understand most simple German conversations. Although I can not yet carry on a conversation, I think my progress so far is great.

I started school on Monday, and find it a bit challenging. It's great, though, that school ends at 12 quite often (3:00 is the latest). The earliest is eleven, on Friday.

Everyone is nice, and everything is going well, although I am starting to feel a little less happy as before. I know this is usual, though, so I am not going to let the feeling hurt me too much. The New Zealander has been with his host family since July, and he says that it is usual for one to feel a little down after a few weeks. After that though, it just gets better and better, so I am waiting for that!

We are very active here, riding bikes to and from school, and going on hikes up in the mountains often, as well as swimming about every other day.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen (with friendly greetings),
Gavin

Video: Driving Through the Alps

2006-09-02T07:34:00.000-04:00

Austria Journal: Ceský Krumlov

2006-08-26T06:21:00.000-04:00

[Sorry that I don't have any posts that are current. I have been busy and tired, and haven't been entering journals. I leave to stay in Klagenfurt tomorrow (Sunday the 3rd of September) and from then on I am probably going to be posting every day. Just wait, guys. There'll be more coming. I'll fill you in on stuff that happened on the days I didn't do a journal then.]

Days spent on trip: 10

Days until I stay in Austria: 8

This morning we left Italy, drove through Austria, and entered into the Czech Republic. We drove to Ceský Krumlov, and old city that had a big castle that was painted to look like it was made out of stone. It even had paintings of sculptures on it. We weren't sure if the paintings were modern or not, and what their significance was, but we did think we saw repainting where there may have been graffiti.

The Czechs seem to love music. Everywhere we walked, you could always hear someone singing or playing an instrument.

There was a concert in the town square, with good music, but it was getting late and we hadn't eaten, so we headed to a restaurant that someone had recommended to us for its good food and cheap prices.

The Czech Repuplic uses cronas as currency, and not the Euro, and there are about twenty-one cronas in a dollar, so it was a little disconcerting to pay 500 cronas for a meal and then leave 50 for a tip. As we left the fifty-crona bill on the table, we worried that there was some mistake. But the entire meal for four people was about 23.50, including the beers that my mom and dad had. The food was very good.

Ceský Krumlov is a beautiful town. We slept at a hostel just outside of the main town area.

We go to Prague tomorrow.

Austria Journal: Venice

2006-08-25T08:40:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 9

Days until I stay in Austria: 9

There were many people at this square--and many pigeons!

Venice is beautiful like everyone says, just a bit crowded--but that's just me. I don't tend to like big cities becuase I live so close to Manhattan.

The buildings are so colorful and old, and there are gondoliers everywhere. You never get around on cars, but rather with water taxis and ferries. Some houses have doors that open up to the edge of the water.

We met my uncle Dylan and aunt Wendy, as well as my cousin Tarot and his fiancee Paulina (who are going to get married in Gdansk). Also there were Kes and Nirvana, my other cousins, and Nirvana's husband Adam.

Touring around the most crowded part of Venice with eleven people is not easy. It's hard to keep track of so many people in the crowd.

We waited in line to see the Cathedral of San Marcos, which had beautiful mosaics depicting various scenes from the Bible. There were also bronze horses.

Then we went to have pizza and thought it would be a good idea to go on a gondola. Eventually, we found the perfect one: it was on one of the narrow canals, and so was much nicer than the others we had seen on the Grande Canal. And it was only €75 per gondola, versus the much more expensive ones elsewhere.

The narrow canal was quite crowded, but it was very quiet. Tarot and Paulina got the luxurious loveseat on our gondola (of course). Dylan, Wendy, Nirvana, and Adam were on the other gondola that we used.

We went on the ferry to go to another interesting place, but there wasn't time, so we just ended up trying to figure out how to get to the right ferry to leave Venice. We said farewell to the seven we had accompanied in Venice, and went back to our bungalow.

We'll see them again in Poland at the wedding.

Austria Journal: On to Italy!

2006-08-24T08:38:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 8

Days until I stay in Austria: 10

This morning we walked into town again from our hostel, after eating breakfast and checking out. We visited the Innsbruck Folk Art Museum and the church that was located in the same building. The statues and models of farmhouses we saw were quite beautiful.

Then we came across a man tuning a harpsichord in the arcade bordering the garden in the middle of the museum. We learned that there was to be a concert at one o'clock--perfect for us. We had lunch in a park and returned to see the concert. The music was truly beautiful, with old violins and a cello without an endpin (the part that touches the ground).

Then we headed to Italy. We passed the border without realizing it, and came across vineyards and white hills.

It was a long trip. We arrived at our destination around eleven o'clock.

Has anyone reading this ever driven during the night in a car in Italy, in the pouring rain, the sky lit up with lightning, while fireworks flash behind you? I have, and believe me, it's not boring. We did this when we almost had reached the campsite where a bungalow was waiting for us. I didn't even know that fireworks could be lit in a downpour. They were big too.

Now I'm sitting on my bed in our bungalow typing this into my Palm Pilot. The bungalow is quite tiny. There's just enough room for everything, and it's still raining, so the wood floor is covered in mud.

We will enter Venice and see relatives tomorrow!

Austria Journal: In Innsbruck

2006-08-23T08:29:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 7

Days until I stay in Austria: 11

Mike's friend about to eat wienerschnitzel. No, it's not sausage (see below).

Well, it was quite clear, once the morning fog disappeared. This was lucky, since the sights we saw were beautiful. The mountains in this part of Austria are so close and tall it is sometimes hard to see the sky without looking almost straight up.

We made our way to Innsbruck, and stopped at an internet cafe along the way. The computers were slow, but I managed to post one of my entries to the blog (remember that, readers?).

Then, we took the scenic route the rest of the way. Once again driving along the hairpin turns, we came across waterfalls and valleys and hangliders. We saw vistas of great beauty. And then we reached Innsbruck.

It was another beautiful town (how many beautiful towns are there in Austria, anyway?). We parked our car and set off on foot along the streets to the part of town where there were only walkers and beautiful builldings. In the center of this place we came across a depiction of the Crucifixion--in front of a McDonalds. Oh, well.

We continued down the street and came across a silver statue of a young woman with a puffy dress, holding a silver rose. Then she moved and we realized that she was a person dressed up as a statue. We gave her a euro and went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I ordered a wienerschnitzel.

Now I know many of you are going to think, Oh yes, wienerschnitzel, that's a sausage, right? Well you guys are wrong. A wienerschnitzel is a piece of (usually) turkey that has been flattened and fried with breadcrumbs. Take a look at the picture. The "wiener" part of the name means "from Vienna" in German.

Then we walked back to the car so we could drive around to look for a place to stay and found a parking ticket on our windshield. I guess we weren't allowed to park where we did!

We found a youth hostel right away and went to bed quite quickly, being tired.

Hopefully, we'll remember to pay the ticket!

Austria Journal: Hairpin turns in the fog

2006-08-22T08:24:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 6

Days until I stay in Austria: 12

The foggy road on the way toward Insbruck

We left Klagenfurt in the morning and headed toward Innsbruck. The trip was very beautiful because of all the mountains. On our way, we sidetracked to see a glacier. We were able to walk on top of it and look at the ice up-close. We were very high up, above the treeline.

Then we continued on our trip and went to a restaurant for dinner, my mom, sister, and I eating lasagna and my dad eating deer stew.

After that, we went through the thick, thick fog along hairpin turns in the high mountains. It was drizzling, and so it was very hard going.

We crashed in a town two hours away from Innsbruck, in a hotel. We had to sleep in two separate rooms because they were very small.

Tomorrow we will reach Innsbruck via the scenic route, providing the weather improves and there isn't much fog.

Austria Journal: Touring around Klagenfurt

2006-08-21T08:21:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 5

Days until I stay in Austria: 13

When we woke up, breakfast was already waiting for us on the table. After we had finished it, Michael's friend Issiac came and we went for a little tour of the area around Klagenfurt.

First, we visited an old church. Its interior was very beautiful. After that, we quickly looked at a museum of old farm houses, but it was closed so we couldn't go in.

Then we headed for some small mountains nearby and saw old excavated Roman villas. We climbed to the top of the mountain (it was very beautiful, see the pictures), and ate a late lunch (it took very long for them to make the meal). We had "noodles"--ravioli-like pockets of noodle material stuffed with different things. I had the Käsenudeln (cheese noodles).

A slightly annoying dog accompanied our stay at the restaurant.

We ran down the fields back to our cars and headed back to Klagenfurt.

While my dad, mom, and sister were sleeping, Mike showed me his flight simulator (Microsoft FS 2002). Then we went to visit the principal of Waldorfschule Klagenfurt, Rosmarie Bluder.

Rosmarie is a very nice person. She showed us around the school, starting with the lower grades and working up to the tenth grade, my class. I thought the school was a very pleasant place.

After our visit to the Waldorf school, it was time to make dinner. While Helga was busy dong that, my dad watching along so that he could know the recipe, Mike and I went on bikes to the Wörthersee (the lake). He showed me the place where he and Isaac went swimming. It was in the middle of a small woods with trails going through it, right along the lake.

The view from the banks of the lake was quite awe-inspiring. It's very hard to describe the beauty of Austria.

We biked back to the house and had another amazing meal of sweet Indonesian food.

We leave to tour Austria tomorrow.

Austria Journal: Our first Klagenfurt visit

2006-08-20T08:14:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 4

Days until I stay in Austria: 14

The garden outside the house in Klagenfurt

This morning we took a taxi to the airport to get a rental car. Once we had gotten it, we set off towards Klagenfurt to visit Helga and Michael and stay with them for a few days.

The highways of Austrua are quite scary at first. The average driver goes 120 kilometers per hour, which is exactly 75 mph. Now of course in Germany it's worse, but still.

Salzburg was aon our way, so we drove through and ate pizza there. It's a very beautiful city, but there are way too many tourists.

We drove through the rain and the mountains for hours, going in 5KM-long tunnels and listening to European music and world music on the radio (interrupted by the tunnels).

Klagenfurt is a very beautiful town. The lake is blue and quite clear, and there are mountains all around. We met Helga and Michael in the parking lot of a place called Minimundus, where they had scale models of the famous buildings of the world (we didn't see anything but the Eiffel Tower and the Space needle, which were higher than the thick hedges that surrounded Minimundus.

We followed Helga to their house, stopping at the waldorf school. We couldn't go in, so all we saw was a smallish building (we are going to visit the headmaster and go inside tomorrow). Helga did tell us that there are about 17 peoople in the class I'm going to be in, but only four or five boys (including me and another visiter from Sweden). All the rest are girls.

When we reached the Lorenz house, we brought our bags in and had some Elderberry-flower juice that Helga had hand-made while talking about various things.

Then we had quiche for dinner, followed by iced coffe with whipped cream on top flecked with cocoa. All the food and drinks were delicious. We learned during the meal that Michael loves sports but doesn't like reading. My mom told them that I liked cooking and said that at one point I should show them my carbonara, baked ziti, and pasta with pesto that I can make.

Once again exausted, we all flopped into the comfy beds provided to us, though it was still just ten o'clock.

Austria Journal: My mini-trip to Vienna

2006-08-19T08:10:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 3

Days until I stay in Austria: 15

So today was quite a day. After having breakfast at the youth hostel where we are boarding, we went to the banks of the Danube on the tram (yes, they have trams in Austria. It's quite a good form of transportation). After seeing the Danube, we had 'mineralwasser', and then went to a place where they sold slabs of a baloney-like meat.

After that, we split up. My dad and my sister decided to go back to the hostel and catch up on sleep. My mom and I went to Vienna on the train (a 2-hour trip).

During the trip, we passed a quite a few windmills (the power-generation kind). When we got to the train station my mom needed to get money, so we went to the Bankomat. But when we inserted the card, it said it was out of order and didn't return the card (I guess that's why in New York most ATMs have you insert and quickly remove the card--that way there's no way for the ATM to eat your card.

My mom waited in line at the money-exchanging place to which the Bankomat was attached, and eventually got her card back. Then we headed toward the center of Vienna. We followed one street almost the whole way, and passed many stores selling modern clothing. After a while, we came to the Stadtpark and rested a bit. After walking through it, we came across a tourbus and decided to pay the €13 to go on the tour.

It was a multilingual tourbus, so we all had headphones and picked the right language-channel. Ours was channel 2.

The tour showed us the major landmarks of Vienna, including the Danube, and told us about the lives of Schubert and other composers that lived here, as well as Siegmund Freud.

After the tour was over, we ate pizza and quickly ran back to the Bahnhof (train station), but nevertheless missed our train. So, we called the hostel and told them to leave a message for Dad, then waited fourty-five minutes until the next train. The signs didn't say anything about Linz, where we were stopping, but the many people we asked all said it stopped there.

Then, after a long time trying to figure out where we were supposed to sit (in the front were sleeping-cars and separate compartments that were all taken or reserved. Eventually, we made it to the regular area and sat down.

As a side note: people here smoke a lot. Unlike New York, you are allowed to smoke in all retaurants. As a result, it is almost impossible to bear sitting inside a resaurant--luckily, most have outdoor areas. They even allowed smoking on the train, which created a very uncomfortable invironment for the rest of us nonsmokers. So don't think New Yorkers smoke the most--Austrians do it much more often.

When we got back to the hostel, my dad and sister were playing UNO with regular playing cards whilst listening to classical music. They told us that thay hadn't in fact slept much but actually had gone to a circus, which, they say, was 'pretty good'. One part involved bulldogs playing soccer.

We related our excursion to them, showing them the videos I had taken. After that, I decided to write my journal--and here we are in the present.

Vienna was sure nice, but I'm ready for bed.

Austria Journal: Ryanair

2006-08-18T03:37:00.000-04:00

Days spent on trip: 2
Days until my stay in Austria: 16

I am sitting in the Ryanair plane. German conversations carry on around me. The plasic lemon-navy seats are very uncomfortable. There is no button to recline the seats. There are no TVs. There are no radios. There is no complimentary food or drink. In short, it is the opposite of Air India.

Ryanair's boarding gate was crowded. Air India's gate wasn't that bad, considering the size difference in the planes. Air India had TVs on the the entire time, radios, magazines, and even newspapers in the back.

My seat vibrates as someone behind me kicks it. I'm glad this trip is only one hour and thirty-nine minutes.

Ryanair is so focused on selling cheap tickets that there isn't even a first-class or business-class section. It's all economy.

At least electronics are allowed on the plane. I was able to listen to a podcast earlier.

I hope this flight will be over soon. It's the worst plane trip I have ever taken (but probably cost the least).

Austria Journal: Air India

2006-08-17T07:12:00.000-04:00

[Hey all! I'm in Austria now, copying this entry in an internet cafe. It's the 23rd of August. There are quite a few reasons I am not putting the rest of my entries in now. First, this Austrian keyboard I am using switches the y with the z among other things. Also, the computer I am using is quite memory-deprived, and is very annoying. Expect the rest of the entries as soon as we get to a place with wi-fi, perhaps a couple of days.

Days spent on trip: 1
Days until my stay in Austria: 17

As I sit here in the Air India jet that is to bring us to England (so we can transfer), it is hard to believe that I am actually going to Europe and not India.

English is the second language here, underneath the Indian lettering, and after the Indian announcements.

The woman flight attendants wear saris, and the safety videos are very cutely made. On the fire exits is a cartoon of an Indian bowing, his hand on his chest and a grin on his face.

The food that we had earlier was diverse, too: the choices were vegetarian, chicken, or--believe it or not--mutton. Yes, mutton...all complimentary. And this is "Economy Class"! They were also serving scotch whiskey as a complimentary drink option.

Right now, the projector that shows the videos (Ballywood, of course) is displaying all the info about our flight. Every now and then, it shows a message about the map of the flight in large, red, italic letters:

Physical features map only.

No political borders depicted.

Why they have to warn us about this is anyone's guess.

This isn't our only flight. Next up is Ryanair. We'll see what they'll be like.

Austria Journal: Packing and worrying about what's allowed on the plane

2006-08-16T23:15:00.000-04:00

[Please note: After this journal entry, I am leaving for Europe. It may be a while before I get an internet connection. Although I will still be keeping a journal, I may not be able to post it on this blog for a few days/weeks. Don't worry. I'll post it eventually.]

Days until departure: 1

This is just a picture of an Austrian road I found on the i-net...when I get to Europe I will supply some actual photos I have taken--I'm bringing my camera.

So there's less than a day until I leave for Europe! We're going to leave at 4:00. A night flight.

I'm half finished packing my bags (will all my stuff fit?) and getting ready to vacate my house for the three or four months that I'll be gone.

We've been worrying about the restrictions on carryon bags and the delays that they are causing. We hope that we won't miss a flight.

You can't even bring electronics as carryons. This means that I'll have to put my iPod, Palm Pilot, and other things in the checked bags.

No liquids are allowed in the carryon bags, and since we're going to Britain as part of our transfer, we'll have to figure out what to do with lots of our stuff.

But we'll figure it out. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Austria Journal: To-do lists and wonderings of outcomes of trips

2006-08-15T22:12:00.000-04:00

Days until departure: 2Another shot of Klagenfurt from the internet

So the days are marching by. I just made a list of things to pack, and though it lists more than 60 things, I'm sure it is yet to be completed.

We got a new camcorder yesterday (our old one makes grinding noises unless it is held upside down), and are putting the finishing touches on our clothes shopping.

Right now my brain is buzzing with activity, thinking, "Wait...what else do I need? I have this, this, that, and that, okay. But what about that? Can't forget that!" It would be very unfortunate were I to forget anything.

* * *

But, thinking of the trip, I wonder what it'll be like. It will be the first time I've been away from my parents for more than a week. Will I get homesick?

It is certainly going to be a new experience for me. I haven't even been to Europe as a tourist before.

Also, I wonder how quickly I'll learn German. I know a fair amount, but can't really have a conversation with a German-speaking person yet. How long will it take before I can?

Luckily for you readers, I am going to document this transformation.

Austria Journal: All about the pre-dumpage vacation

2006-08-14T23:42:00.000-04:00

Days until departure: 3
Another shot of the Wörthersee

So it isn't as simple as I put it yesterday. I'm not just going to Austria. I'm actually going all around Europe first, during the summer. Then, I'll go to Austria for the beginning of this school year.

On the first day, we're going to fly in and sleep (the jet lag is going to be a killer). Then we're off to visit my Austrian host family for a few days, so that my parents can get to know them a bit before they dump me with them.

After that, it's off to the rest of Europe including the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, and other places.

Finally, we'll end the vacation with a Polish wedding: my Cousin Tarot and his fiancee are to be wed in Gdansk.

All in all, this vacation will be a real great one, probably the bast I've ever had!

So after that, I'll get dumped back in Austria. Don't get me wrong though! I am looking forward to it!

Austria Journal: Why I am not overly excited about the trip

2006-08-13T23:20:00.001-04:00

Days until departure: 4
This is where I'm going to stay in Austria. It's a little town called Klagenfurt. That lake is the Wörthersee. My host family sent this photo to me.

So I am going to Austria. I am not sure what I feel when I think about it. Am I scared? Not really. Am I excited? I guess.

But I know that if I get it fixed in my mind that Austria's going to be awesome, it'll just make the four-day wait unbearable.

So, I'll just think of the trip as only slightly exciting.

To Austria I Go (in a few days)

2006-08-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

All right folks! I'm going on a vacation! And after that? Austria, until November or December!

I'll learn more German while I'm there, and (I'm sure) will learn many new things.

Another thing: I'm going to document my excusion in a journal and publish it on this blog, starting today! Above please find the first entry.

Our Messiah Sing-in

2005-12-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

We just finished our annual Messiah Sing-in, held at our house. It was quite fun and everyone had a good time. We even had some really good cake, after eating the venison stew!

I put all of the Messiah on my iPod for easy reference so that we could sing along to it.

Our Sing-in is extremely informal, the point is the food, getting back together, and mainly having fun. We never sing professionally or anything, it's mainly just hollering through the Hallelujah Chorus that we end up doing. The kids, the adults, and the pets all have fun on this day.

If you are one of my friends and are interested in doing this next year, don't forget to call me about it just after Christmas! Come to our house and scream your lungs out, eat wonderful food, talk, and have a great time!

My Flickr Photostream

2005-12-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

Check out my new photostream on flickr!

The Putta Butta

JingleRadio Advertisement

2005-12-10T16:04:00.000-05:00

This is a short advertisement for JingleRadio, the quirky little tracks that my sister and I have made that resemble radio broadcasts.

Enjoy!

High speed internet recommended, but anyone can listen if they are patient.

MISC > PLAY

2005-12-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

This is a video that I made which is very strange. I put it on Google Video for all to watch. It has clips of my house in it and music I made with Garageband on my computer.

PLAY

High speed internet is basically required.

MISC > Wallace and Gromit Video

2005-12-09T13:22:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting video on Google Video that I liked:

Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions

High speed internet is basically required.

Musings > Rain

2005-10-08T15:22:00.000-04:00

Why don't we like rain? we say,

Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day.

But why? Rain is good for us. Without it we could not live. I always love rainstorms (perhaps it's just because I was born in a thunderstorm), but why do people complain? Getting wet seems fun to me, and it's just water. It feels good too, in my opinion.

And anyway, what about those nights where you can't sleep and then suddenly you realize that it's raining lightly, and it lulls you to sleep?

And what about those times when it's raining, and you have the lights on, playing a game of Boggle together? Rain strengthens family relationships, and gives you a feeling of cozyness, inside.

Lastly, we all need something that we don't like. Why? It would be boring without rain.

Suggestions > Become a Member of the Sierra Club

2005-08-28T13:14:00.000-04:00

Joining the Sierra Club is a very great thing to do. They fight against pollution, save wildlife spaces, and more. Go to this website for ways to join or donate money to them:

www.sierraclub.org/membership

Here's an excerpt from the page:

When you join or give to the Sierra Club you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to preserve irreplaceable wildlands, save endangered and threatened wildlife, and protect this fragile environment we call home.

So go ahead. It's only a small amount of money. Plus, with the membership you get:

A free Sierra Club Expedition Pack (limited time only)
One-year subscription to Sierra magazine
Members-only ecotravel opportunities
Automatic membership in your local Chapter
Discounts on Sierra Club calendars, books, and other merchandise

Sierra magazine is a wonderful thing to receive every other month. Below are an excerpt and a quote, as well as a photo, from it.

SIERRA CLUB BULLETIN

Five Ways to Take the Initiative
BY JENNIFER HATTAM

Imagine a country free from pollution, where communities are healthy, wildlands are protected, and every citizen has the power to help keep things that way. If that sounds implausible in today's political climate, don't worry. Visionary ideas often do. But this greener future is achievable if everyone works together.

Since the 2004 election, Sierra Club leaders have been doing some soul-searching. While close to 70 percent of Americans agree with most of the Club's values, only 20 percent identify as strong environmentalists. That's a disappointing fact, but it also presents an opportunity. If we are able to explain what the Club stands for without resorting to technical terms or eco-speak, we can build an unstoppable force for conservation. That doesn't mean abandoning the causes we've worked hard on for so many years, but restating them in terms of goals a majority of Americans can share:

GET THE POISONS OUT of our water and air by enforcing existing pollution laws and making polluters clean up after themselves and reduce dangerous emissions; CHOOSE CLEAN ENERGY for our homes and cars by encouraging use of renewable electricity and the raising of fuel-economy standards; BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES that are safer for cyclists and pedestrians by keeping public-transit systems strong and sprawl at bay; PROTECT NATURE for the next generation by designating public lands as parks and wilderness areas, restoring native species, and creating open spaces for people to enjoy; and EXERCISE DEMOCRACY by speaking out in our communities to improve the environment in all these ways and more.

These ideas tap into basic American values of fairness, opportunity, and progress. No matter where we live, we all want safe and healthy neighborhoods. We all want nature close by and a say in how our communities grow. And we all want neighbors who will work with us to protect what we love. So let's get started.

>ON THE WEB Find out how you can get involved at sierraclub.org/vision.

~~~~~

LASTWORDS

Furry forerunner: The loss of their sea-ice habitat to global warming could drive polar bears to extinction by the end of the century.

It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing.

--Elizabeth Kolbert, "The Climate of Man," New Yorker, May 9

~~~~~

You can visit the Sierra Club's website HERE.

Musings > Another Putta Butta Update!

2005-08-25T14:40:00.000-04:00

I found this on Wikipedia:

[in Italian,] the word putta is short for puttana, slut.

Elsewhere in Wikipedia, I found this:

[in Japanese,] "Buta" [with one t] means pig.

So now we know! "Putta Butta" can be roughly translated from Italian and Japanese as, "Slut Pig!" Hooray!

Reviews > Web Sites > The Zoomquilt

2005-08-24T14:55:00.000-04:00

Check out this collaborative art project!

This is how it works:

You wait for it to load (be patient--it's worth it).
You click with the mouse and drag up or down.
The picture zooms in or zooms out--and it keeps going!!

Just try it out. It's fun!

Click HERE to start.

Here's my rating:

Reviews > Web Sites > hestekor.swf

2005-08-24T14:50:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to tell you what this is, you have to find out for yourself (if I said what it was, it would spoil it). Just click HERE. Don't worry, there's no bad words or bad content or anything.

Here's my rating:

MISC > Accepted Into Blogwise

2005-08-20T18:18:00.000-04:00

Just so you know, The Putta Butta has been accepted into Blogwise, the blog directory. You can view it HERE.

Suggestions > Try NRDC

2005-08-18T16:03:00.000-04:00

If you're like me, you want to protect the environment. So you should. Just go to
www.savebiogems.org
and write e-mails to the government and to companies to stop things like:

Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Logging in various rainforests
Mining around the Everglades
And more!

E-mail-writing is free, and they even give you a pre-written note to send that you can change or keep the same. They also accept donations.

After clicking HERE or above, just pick a 'biogem' to save and sign up! They even give you 'action credits' for taking action and you can get cool stuff like wallpaper, a screen saver, and a start page.

MISC > My First Movie

2005-08-18T15:47:00.000-04:00

I have finally created my first motion picture (okay, okay, my brother helped me and it's just a short film).

It's called Lucy in the Sky with Aliens (silly title, right?) and it's about an astral body that borrows the body of a dog (played by my dog, Lucy) to check out Earth. If you are someone to whom I have given my e-mail address, e-mail me and I will find a way to give you a copy!

I'm working on another movie with my sister's friend (she wrote it and I'm filming/editing it for her), and we'll see how that goes.

MISC > My New Computer

2005-08-18T15:35:00.000-04:00

I just got a new computer and I love it! It's an eMac, which is related to my old 1st-gen iMac. It's a G4 with 1.25 GHz and has a 32MB graphics card.

It has a bigger screen (1280 x 960) than my old Mac (1024 x 768), and is much faster.

Plus, it has a DVD burner (I haven't yet got it to work), and a CD burner.

My parents gave the computer to our family for my birthday, a kind of strange thing to do, but it works.

My computer comes with iLife '05, too!

Now my dad and I can play X-plane (flight-simulation software which our old computer never came close to running) and Sim City 4, which is arriving in the mail within 2 business days at our house. Also, all of the 3D games that I have are no longer jerky, something that I took for granted on my old G3 iMac.

Reviews > Books > The Scarlet Pimpernel

2005-07-25T15:33:00.000-04:00

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a great read. It has a bit of romance, and a lot of mystery.

It's about a man who saves aristocrats from the French Revolution, and from being killed by the guillotine. He is placed in grave danger, but as yet he has slipped through the web that the people of the Revolution have made for him, using many different disguises! Can he outwit the French this time?

You probably wonder: Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel anyway? You'll have to read the book to find that out!

Go to amazon.com and take a look at what people say about this book by clicking HERE! You'll find other reviews and descriptions.

My Rating:
(out of 6)

Reviews > Web Sites > eigelb.at

2005-07-23T20:00:00.000-04:00

Do you want to draw a picture like the one above? Then go to eigelb.at!

This picture is something I made in a few seconds with a Java applet that's on eigelb.at. You just hold your cursor on the screen and the lines are attracted to it They orbit it in circles.

Eigelb.at is an Austrian website, but there are some english descriptions on it.

If you want to have a little fun, go to this site.

Click HERE for the specific applet pictured above.

Click HERE to go to eigelb.at.

My Rating
(out of 6)

MISC > About

2005-07-08T21:00:00.000-04:00

This is a section for things that don't fit into any other sections!

Reviews > How the Starred Ratings Work

2005-07-08T20:30:00.000-04:00

I am now including starred ratings with my reviews! Each starred rating is out of six stars.

Look for the stars at the bottom of every review. They will look like this:

My rating:
(out of 6)

The bright stars are the ratings, and the dimmed stars are the stars not included (the example above is a 5-star rating).