The Frijole!

got hit today on the way back from lunch

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:52:52 GMT

I was driving back from lunch today when someone tried to make a left turn from the center lane, while I was passing them in the left lane.

No, I wasn't twitterring at the time.

Called 911, and Officer L E Hankins came from the RPD and was extremely friendly, patient, and helpful. The other driver didn't have a great command of the English language, but she got enough info from him to determine what happened before she came over and talked to me.

The police report should be ready within a couple days. I called Geico, they referred me to the other dude's insurance since he was at fault. Called them, and should hear from an adjuster in a day or two.

The best part? The other driver's passenger had some outstanding warrants, so he got a ride away from the scene in the back of Officer Hankins' cruiser.

app store, take 2

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:23:06 GMT

its a guinea pig soundboard:

my first submission, horns free (a one-button soundboard app) was rejected for lacking enough functionality.

[howto] use automator to script uploading a twitter picture

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:00:43 GMT

I set up an Automator script today to help me get my oversized, animated Twavatar working (see it in action here)

Most of it was recorded, the "Watch me do" workflow action is really slick.

I could clean this up with some more work to make it more general, but instead I'll walk you through making your own.

Open up Automator, and click "Choose" to make a new workflow from the "Custom" template.

Now, head over to Firefox, and open up the Picture settings page.

Open up a Finder window with your file in it off to the side of the screen.

Now, click the "Record" button in Automator and try and upload your new picture. A couple notes: First, make sure you click on the Firefox window to bring it to the front. Also, if you have to scroll in the file chooser, it won't work. You'll need to drag the file in from a Finder window.

Once you've tried to upload the picture, click the Stop button on the floating Automator window.

Now, we want to add in a "Pause" action to give the page long enough to load. Then, we'll record another action to click the back button. Finally, top it off with a "Loop" action to send it back to the start, and you're all done. Just remember to watch it and stop it if its done.

canes 11/1/08

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:10:38 GMT

canes 11/1/08, originally uploaded by el frijole.

got tagged by punk_apple...

“It works like this: if you use Flickr, go to the sixth page of your photostream and pick the sixth picture there, then post it to your blog, and pass it on to six other people.”

Edited to add: forgot to name 6 people. erm, pick yourselves if you feel like it.

powermac g5 quad & 30" cinema display for sale

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:44:18 GMT

i'm selling this for a friend of mine, check it out.

this machine is a loaded, top-of-the-line PowerMac G5 Quad 2.5GHz, with 4.5 GB of memory and 2 500GB hard drives. It also comes with an Apple 30" Cinema Display, which looks absolutely amazing.

Check it out on eBay

The Next President in Raleigh

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:12:32 GMT

The Next President in Raleigh, originally uploaded by el frijole.

'nuff said.

Stop the Hockey Mom

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:47:01 GMT

A run will be done next week, a mix of Large and XLs, dark blue with all the text on the front.

The shirts I ordered from Spreadshirt came yesterday, and I picked them up today. Made of win. boxpenguin doesn't want me to wear it to the state fair, but I totally am.

find out more at stopthehockeymom.com

join the facebook group

who needs a macbook?

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:33:51 GMT

the macbook I got to take to WWDC07 and then used until I got the MacBook Air is up on the block. if you're interested (or even just might be), go check out the craigslist listing for it.

Its that time of year again...

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:05:16 GMT

when I post on my LJ.

Just kidding ;)

In case you missed it on Twitter, I just donated $250 to this year's Lupus Walk, through a friend of mine. I challenge each and every one of you to make a contribution too. It doesn't have to be much, just something.

You can donate here.

A few years ago, I wrote a post and spammed it over a bunch of relevant communities, and its just as true now, Get your pink ribbon out of my goddamn face.

The most relevant part: ...more people have Lupus than </b>AIDS, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis... COMBINED</b>. Between 1.5-2 million people in the US alone. That's roughly 10 TIMES as many as there are Breast Cancer patients.

Its even more true now, as more companies release pink versions of their products, and girls are wearing "Great tits are worth keeping" shirts around campus.

this is leadership

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:51:08 GMT

Leadership is not paying lip service to your party's base[1][2], talking out both sides of your mouth[3], and running ads attacking your opponent for something that didn't end up happening[4].

Leadership is bringing people together, motivating them to accomplish a common, clearly defined goal, and not making excuses.

This, my friends, is leadership.

Thank you very much, Madam President. And thank you to the distinguished Senator from Connecticut, not only for yielding time, but also for the extraordinarily hard work that he's put in over the last several days, and in fact, over a week. And I want to thank his counterparts on the other side, including Senator Gregg, for their hard work.

Now, the fact that we're even here voting on a plan to rescue our economy from the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street, and some in Washington, is an outrage. It's an outrage to every American who works hard, pays their taxes, and is doing their best every day to make a better life for themselves and their families. And understandably, people are frustrated. They're angry that Wall Street's mistakes have put their tax dollars at risk. And they should be. I'm frustrated and angry, too. But while there's plenty of blame to go around, and many in Washington and Wall Street who deserve it, all of us -- all of us -- have a responsibility to solve this crisis because it affects the financial well-being of every single American. There will be time to punish those who set this fire, but now's not the time to argue about how it got set or did the neighbor sleep in his bed or leave the stove on. Right now we want to put out that fire. And now's the time for us to come together and do that

When the House of Representatives failed to act on Monday, we saw the single largest decline in the stock market in two decades. Over $1 trillion of wealth was lost by the time the markets closed. And it wasn't just the wealth a few CEOs or Wall Street executives. The 401(k)s and retirement accounts of millions became smaller. The state pension funds of teachers and government employees lost billions upon billions of dollars. Hard-working Americans who invested their nest egg to watch it grow saw it diminish and in some cases disappear. And while that decline was devastating, the consequences of the credit crisis that caused it will be even worse if we do not act now. We're in a very dangerous situation where financial institutions across this country are afraid to lend money. And if all that meant was the failure of a few banks in New York, that would be one thing. But that's not what it means. What it means is, if we don't act, it will be harder for Americans to get a mortgage for their home or loans they need to buy a car or send their children to college. What it means is that businesses won't be able to get the loans they need to open a new factory or make payroll for their workers. And if they can't make payroll on Friday, then workers are laid off on Monday. And if workers are laid off on Monday, then they can't pay their bills or pay back their loans to somebody else. And it will go on and on and on, rippling through the entire economy. Potentially we could see thousands of businesses close, millions of jobs could be lost, and a long and painful recession could follow. In other words, this is not just a Wall Street crisis, it's an American crisis. And it's the American economy that needs this rescue plan. understand completely why people would be skeptical when this president asks for a blank check to solve this problem. I was too, as was Senator Dodd, and a whole bunch of us here. That's why over a week ago, I demanded that this plan include some specific proposals to protect taxpayers. Protections that the administration eventually agreed to, and thanks to the hard work of Senator Dodd and Republican counterparts like Senator Gregg, we here in the Senate have agreed to and now hopefully the House will agree to as well.

Let me just go over those principles. Number one, I said we needed an independent board to provide oversight and accountability for how and where this money is spent at every step of the way.

Number two, I said that we cannot help banks on Wall Street without helping the millions of innocent homeowners who are struggling to stay in their homes. They deserve a plan too.

Number three, I said that I would not allow this plan to become a welfare program for Wall Street executives whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess.

And finally, I said that if American taxpayers are financing this solution, then they have to be treated like investors. They should get every penny of their tax dollars back once the economy recovers.

Now, this last part is important because it's been the most misunderstood and poorly communicated part of this plan. This is not a plan to just hand over $700 billion of taxpayer money to a few banks. If this is managed correctly -- and that's an important "if" -- we will hopefully get most or all of our money back and possibly even turn a profit on the government's intervention. Every penny of which will go directly back to the American people. And if we fall short, we will levee a fee on financial institutions so that they can repay for the losses that they caused.

Now, let's acknowledge, even with all these taxpayer protections, this plan is not perfect. Democrats and Republicans in Congress have legitimate concerns about it. Some of my closest colleagues, people I have the greatest respect for, still have problems with it and may choose to vote against this bill, and I think that we can respectfully disagree. I understand their frustrations. I also know that many Americans share their concerns. But it's clear that from my perspective, this is what we need to do right now. To prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe. It is conceivable, it's possible that if we did nothing, everything would turn out okay. It's -- there's a possibility that that's true. And there's no doubt that there may be other plans out there that, had we had two or three or six months to develop, might be even more refined and might serve our purposes better. But we don't have that kind of time. And we can't afford to take a risk that the economy of the United states of America and as a consequence the worldwide economy, could be plunged into a very, very deep hole. So to Democrats and Republicans who've opposed this plan, I say, step up to the plate, let's do what's right for the country at this time, because the time to act is now.

I know many Americans are wondering what happens next in passing this -- what happens next. And passing this bill can't be the end of our work to strengthen the economy, it must be the beginning. Because one thing I think all of us who may end up supporting this bill understand is that even if we get this in place, we could still have enormous problems and probably will have big problems in the economy over the next several months and potentially longer. Because the fact is, is that we have seen some mismanagement of the fundamentals of the economy for a very long time, and we are not going to dig ourselves out of that hole immediately. This this is not the end. This is the beginning. As soon as we pass this rescue plan, we need to move aggressively with the same sense of urgency to help families on Main Street who are struggling to pay their bills and keep their jobs. They've been in crisis a lot longer than Wall Street has. I said it before and I say it again, we need to pass an economic stimulus package that will help ordinary Americans cope with rising food and gas prices, that can save 1 million jobs rebuilding our schools and roads and help infrastructure, and help cities and states avoid budget cuts and tax increases. A plan that would extend expiring unemployment benefits for those Americans who've lost their jobs and cannot find new ones. That's the right thing to do at a time when consumer confidence is down and we are in great danger of slipping into a big recession.

We also must do more in this rescue package in order to help homeowners stay in their homes. I will continue to advocate bankruptcy reforms. I know my colleague from Illinois, Dick Durbin, has been a strong champion of this, as have many.

It is the right thing to do to change our bankruptcy laws so that people have a better chance of staying in their homes and we're not seeing communities devastated all across the country. We should encourage Treasury to study the option of buying individual mortgages like we did successfully in the 1930's. And finally, while we all hope that this rescue package succeeds, we should be prepared to take more vigorous actions in the months ahead to rebuild capital, if it's necessary. Just as families are planning for their future and tough times, Washington's going to have to do the same. Runaway spending and record deficits are not how families run their budgets. It can't be how Washington handles people's tax dollars. So we're going to have to return to the fiscal responsibility we have we had in the 1990s. And the next White House and the next Congress is going to have to work together to make sure that we go through our budget, we get rid of programs that don't work, that we make the ones that do work better and cost less. With less money flowing into the Treasury, some useful programs or policies might need to be delayed. Some might need to be stretched out over a longer period of time, but there are certain investments in our future that we cannot know precisely because our economy is in turmoil.

Mr. President, I've exceeded the time a little bit. I would like unanimous consent for a couple more minutes. thank you. There are certain investments in our future that we can't delay precisely because the economy's in turmoil. We can't wait to help Americans keep up with rising costs and shrinking paychecks and we're going to do that by making sure that we are giving our workers a middle-class tax cut. We can't wait to relieve the burden of crushing health care costs. We can't wait to create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our roads and our bridges and investing in broadband lines in rural communities and fixing our electricity grid so we can get renewable energy to population centers that need them. We need to develop an energy policy that prevents us from sending $700 billion a year to tyrants and dictators for their oil. We can't wait to education the next generation of Americans with the skills and knowledge they need to compete with any workers anywhere in the world. These are the priorities we can't -- cannot delay.

Now, let me just close by saying this. I do not think this is going to be easy. It's not going to come without costs. We are all going to need to sacrifice. We're all going to need to pull our weight. Because now, more than ever, we are all in this together. That's part of what this crisis has taught us, that at the end of the day, there's no real separation between Wall Street and Main Street. There's only the road we're traveling on as Americans. And we will rise or fall on that journey as one nation and as one people. I know that many Americans are feeling anxiety right now about their jobs, about their homes, about their life savings. But I also know this. That we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. We always have. During the great financial crisis of the last century, in his first fireside chat, F.D.R. told his fellow Americans that, "There is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. Let us unite in banishing fear. Today we cannot fail. We cannot fail -- not now, not tomorrow, not next year.

This is a nation that's faced down war and depression, great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we have risen up to meet these challenges. Not as Democrats, not as Republicans but as Americans with resolve and with confidence. With that fundamental belief that here in America, our destiny is not written for us, it's written by us. That's who we are and that's the country I know we can be right now.

I want to thank again the extraordinary leadership of Chairman Dodd and the Banking Committee as well as Chairman Baucus and Majority Leader Reid. They have worked tirelessly. I want to thank the leadership in the House of Representatives. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation, understanding that this will not solve all our problems. It is a necessary but not sufficient step to make sure that this economy once again works on behalf of all Americans in their pursuit of the American dream. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

I, for one, welcome our new well-spoken, articulate, intelligent, upstanding American President.

And for you-know-who, if you or anyone else thinks "oh well if this doesn't go through, I don't live on credit so I'll be fine", just... no.

[1] McCain courting Christian conservatives
[2] McCain's gambling could cost him Christian support
[3] When McCain said he was heading back to DC after the debate, he was telling the truth. He left out the part where he was calling members of Congress from his campaign office there. He then attacked Obama for "phoning-in" to work on the measure. Double standard?
[4] There were reports of the McCain campaign attacking Obama over the bill's passing, before it had even come to a vote. Of course, now I can't find any mention of it.

the cake is a lie

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:14:23 GMT

long story short, tried to find ascii "the cake is a lie" found a good one on deviant art, but it was rendered, not text. copied line by line. here you go.

            .:/+-
            /M/              .,-=;//;-
       .:/= ;MH/,    ,=/+%$XH@MM#@:
      -$##@+$###@H@MMM#######H:.    -/H#
 .,H@H@ X######@ -H####@+-      -+H###@X
  .,@##H:      +XM##M/,     =%@###@X;-
X%-  :M##########$.    .:%M###@%:
M##H,   +J@@@$/-   ,;$M###@%,          -
M####M-,,---,.-%%H####M$:          ,+@##
@##################@/.          :%H##@$-
M###############H,          ;HM##M$=
#################.     .=$M##M$-
################H..;XM##M$-          .:+
M###################@%-           =+@MH%
@################M/.          =+H#X%=
=+M##############M,       -/X#X+;.
  .,XM##########H-    ,/X#H+:,
     .=+HM######M+/+HM@+=.
         ,:/%XM####H/.
              ,.:=-.


__ __| |             ___|       |       
   |   __ \   _ \   |      _` | |  / _ \
   |   | | |  __/   |     (   |   <  __/
  _|  _| |_|\___|  \____|\__,_|_|\_\___|


   _ _|           \      |    _)     
     |   __|     _ \     |     |  _ \
     | \__ \    ___ \    |     |  __/ _
   ___|____/  _/    _\  _____|_|\___||_|

Mmm, tasty spam.

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:09:27 GMT

Subject: Katavasov had long been meaning to carry out his promise to stay with Levin, and so he was going with him.

Althea was right.  She must love him, and it seemed as if this conviction
awoke a new star of happiness in his troubled soul.

If Philotas imagined that he could pluck the daughter of Archias like a
ripe fruit from a tree, he would find himself mistaken.

Hermon did not yet exactly understand himself, only he felt certain that
it would be impossible to surrender Daphne to another, and that for her
sake he would give up twenty Ledschas, though he cherished infinitely
great expectations from the Biamite for his art, which hitherto had been
more to him than all else.

Everything that he still had to do in Tennis he could intrust to his
conscientious Bias, to Myrtilus, and his slaves.

If he returned to the city of weavers, he would earnestly endeavour to
palliate the offence which he had inflicted on Ledscha, and, if possible,
obtain her forgiveness.

lol.

Asshole of the day

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:07:28 GMT

Asshole of the day, originally uploaded by el frijole.

xv this ones for you.

On 15/501N at Franklin, she flies up my tailpipe in the left lane (which ends) then merges right and blocks me out.

the view in line

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:33:02 GMT

the view in line, originally uploaded by el frijole.

its been a long night.

between gun nuts, argumentative drunks in a window across the street, a 4am run to waffle house or the run to cvs for tums, its been a long night.

the end is in sight, though.

Stump!

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:06:45 GMT

Brave Guy, originally uploaded by Puss.In.The.Hood.

Found this picture while I was looking for mentions about the Pork Brains Incident for a write-up on it.

I think it sums up the situation pretty well.

A blinking email is not a reason the Mac makes sense

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:12:24 GMT

Thanks, Apple Education marketing, for sending me an email with a hotlinked animated gif in it. Totally awesome blinking animated crap in my inbox is totally what I need.

Ok, well its not blinking...but still.

Bowling Night!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:49:04 GMT

Bowling Night!, originally uploaded by el frijole.

Western Lanes, as much as I love it, is like using a VT100 terminal to
telnet to the intartubes. Bowling night is like using Safari 4, with
Air, Gears, AND Silverlight.

Western Lanes

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:52:44 GMT

Western Lanes, originally uploaded by el frijole.

No question, the best lanes in Raleigh. Its been too long since I've
been here...

iPhone Developer Program

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:12:00 GMT

Hot on the heels of Erica making much ado about nothing again, I just got this email:

Dear Ian Meyer, Thank you for applying to the iPhone Developer Program. We have reviewed the information you submitted when you initiated your program enrollment request and we are ready to instruct you on the steps required to complete the enrollment process. Please click here to review and agree to the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. You must execute this agreement prior to completing the purchase and activation process for the iPhone Developer Program. Once you complete and activate your purchase, your enrollment will be complete. Thank you, iPhone Developer Program

Now, step 1 is pay $99, so I'm not going to do it right away, but... I think I need to study some more :p

Let's go Oakland!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:46:50 GMT

Let's go Oakland!, originally uploaded by el frijole.

Section 105, row 12. Aw yeah!

Stump!

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:07:40 GMT

Stump!, originally uploaded by el frijole.

Right before I went up on stage, Mark and I opened the 10+ year old
can of Pork Brains in Milk Sauce. He wimped out and didn't make me eat
it. Other lulz were had, and I ended up with a shirt and a partially
boxed copy of System 7 with the discs and documentation.

Seated!

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:35:00 GMT

Seated!, originally uploaded by el frijole.

Wooo, finally in, and decent seats!

i can has cocoa app?

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:23:08 GMT

i can has!

from the fringes of the internet...

Sat, 31 May 2008 00:10:41 GMT

Real Romulan Ale
Ingredients:

* 375 ml Bacardi 151 proof rum
* 375 ml Everclear
* 375 ml Blue Curacao

Mixing instructions:

Select a bottle (preferably decorative, but not too ornate) that will hold just over 1 liter of liquid. Combine 375ml of each ingredient in the bottle. Marvel at the entrancing color and exquisite character that is The Ale. -- Put the bottle in your freezer and wait 2 hours. -- Pour a shot and hold on to your hat!
Creator/contributor's comments:

CAUTION: This drink is extremely alcoholic and quite flammable! Do NOT expose to open flame and drink responsibly! NOTE: If you're not one of the few that enjoys the sensation of white-hot liquid crawling down the back of your throat then you might want to consider "Romulan Ale Light". Simply follow the directions listed above and, when you're ready to imbibe, pour the shot in to a 12-ounce glass and fill with Sprite. Variations include strawberry soda, pineapple soda, orange sode, Cherry 7-Up, and grape soda. Remember, you haven't had REAL Romulan Ale until you've sucked down a shot!

Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Aaah, the smell of racism in the morning

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:09:26 GMT

Awww yeah. With such gems is "I think the country should be run by someone from America... He's Muslim" to "Do you think a black man should be president? No."