jeremyrandall / blog /

Meez Roomz and Games are now up and running on Facebook. You can create a Meez avatar, create a room, invite friends to chat in the room and even watch videos (YouTube, etc.) together in the room. I’m currently involved with Meez, so I know how much cool technology has gone into this.

Meez Roomz and Games on Facebook

Me, in my Meez Room on Facebook:

Plus some New Year’s resolutions…

Technology

When I bought my primary Mac a while back, I decided that I was going to treat it as a sort of “home production server,” meaning I wouldn’t use it to try beta software, I wouldn’t repartition the disk, I wouldn’t do things to mess it up and, thus, I wouldn’t need to reinstall the OS after some unnecessary technological debacle (I have other computers that I use for testing, experimenting and messing things up). But over time this computer started to degrade as some applications came and went and various parts saw incremental upgrades, and one not-so-incremental upgrade; for the sake of convenience I did an in-place upgrade to 10.5 instead of doing a clean install. Sure, all my stuff was intact, but performance and overall reliability went down, of course.

Last night I decided to bite the bullet and do a clean install. I run backups every night, so I made sure the backup data was valid, then started formatting. Everything went great and the machine was running perfectly after installing the OS and various universal binaries of the applications I use. Then I realized that I didn’t have any of the iLife apps that came preinstalled originally (iPhoto being the only one that is particularly important to me). I did some searching around and found that I could install the older iLife apps from the OS disc that originally came with the machine. I fired up that installation and everything was fine until it crashed unexpectedly. And brought the whole system down with it. The internal hard drive was totally corrupted! I booted from the CD and ran Disk Utility. It took three tries and then it claimed the massive amounts of corruption had been fixed. I went to start up the machine and, well, it’s not coming up at all. Here we go again.

The positive things: my backups are solid (as expected, using a shell script created before Time Machine was an option), it was pretty painless to import my database backups back into MySQL and it was a snap to configure apache2 for the webapps I use locally. I get to run through this whole routine again, which is good practice. And once I get this rig done up again, I expect performance and reliability to be back on track.

Update: I did another full rebuild, reinstalled all my apps and copied all of my data back, only to have the machine freeze up and refuse to boot again. Time to try TechTool and then go to a diagnostics appointment; the machine is still under AppleCare.

On another note, my boss bought me one of the new thin aluminum Apple Keyboards to use at work (I thought he was just being nice; turns out I was typing really loud on the old clackety keyboard); I liked it so much I bought one for myself to use at home. Excellent keyboard.

Travel

I did a small amount of travel over the holidays, both by train and by plane. I like train trips since I don’t have to deal with the airport, I can move around freely while en route and, most importantly, I can bring a laptop and write. Life has been so busy lately that having a day riding the rails meant I had a day to write and reflect. I wrote over 5,000 words on the train, examining my year and my accomplishments, looking at patterns I have been repeating and working out the things I’d like to keep doing and the things I need to change or stop doing. There are some hard decisions there, but that’s what taking an objective look at myself is all about. I was also able to see some amazing scenery and see how the train winds its way down a particularly tall mountain pass.

The plane ride was pleasant; I chatted the entire time with an interesting couple sitting next to me. We had a remarkably broad conversation for three people who had just met.

The silly moment was before the flight, at the security check, when they pulled my bags for a secondary search. I hadn’t even thought that my tube of toothpaste would be a problem, but it was more than the three ounce limit. I think that limit is ridiculous (as is removing our shoes), but I also know that it’s just not worth arguing about. I just quietly said, “okay, you can keep the toothpaste.” The security woman looked at me with compassion and asked if I’d like her to squeeze some of the toothpaste into a plastic ziplock bag so I could have a little with me to brush my teeth later. I thought that was nice of her, though it occurred to me later that since she believed it was actually toothpaste, and was willing to give some back, then why not let me keep all of it? I figure we were both doing our parts to act sane, within the confines of the insanity imposed around us.

Transit

I got a chance last week to ride the double decker bus that Muni is testing out. It’s nice and clean, and the view from upstairs is interesting. The ceiling on the top level is pretty low, so heads will be bumped. The bus itself felt responsive and didn’t seem to strain under the load. I did notice that it has double axles at the back; I’m assuming that is to carry what must be much more weight than a regular bus carries. I’m curious how these buses compare, weight-wise and fuel efficiency-wise, to the long articulated buses that are used on many of the routes.

I think that an electric trolley-bus version of the double decker would be needed here in SF; we should be lessening the amount of diesel burned here, not increasing it.

Weather

Someone recently said, snarkily, that I “just write about the weather” here. I disagree. The weather is a handy way to mark changes, and the changes in the weather often remind me of the passage of time and prompt me to write a little something here. But the weather is in the background, helping me set a tone for the limited writing I do in this space. I’d like to think that someone who thinks I just write about the weather is someone who is not really paying much attention to what I’m saying. That being said, it’s 45 degrees Fahrenheit right now. To me that is really cold! I am so grateful for the double-paned windows, the radiator and the new boiler down in the basement, firing with half the gas consumption of the old one.

Work

I have some interesting projects underway at work. The big ongoing project has been rebuilding the core network, moving everything to new equipment, renumbering the network with new subnets and moving machines around. All without the folks using those systems noticing. It’s sort of like the way Caltrans is rebuilding the bay bridge and approaches; they build around the old and then move the traffic back and forth, all without shutting down the roads. Caltrans has closed the bridge a couple times, but I’ve avoided any prolonged outages. We’ve migrated from one firewall to another and moved the core switching to a new “layer 3 switch” (layer 3 switching is still so cool). There was about 30 seconds of downtime when we switched traffic over to the new firewall. I’ve been joking that we scheduled it for when the CEO was in his car for the ten-minute drive between the office and his house. It did take some time to migrate some IPSec tunnels to the new firewall, but those tunnels are for specific traffic, not general access.

Design

I’m rooting through my list of art and design projects, looking to pick out a couple small projects I can fit in here and there, scoping some medium projects to make them more manageable and doing some preliminary planning for a larger remodel-type project that may get underway later in the year.

Social

I already have plans into the first couple weeks of the new year. Community, seeing friends, helping folks when I can, enjoying people and being enjoyed; that’s what it’s all about.

I’ve been posting short status updates fairly regularly on Facebook; if you know me in person, please add me to your friends list there.

I’ll be attending the usual events and look forward to seeing folks and catching up.

New Year’s resolutions

I actually have New Year’s resolutions to exercise more, eat more vegetables, lower my fat intake, rest more and pay more attention to healthy choices, physically and emotionally. Delightfully outrageous, indeed.

Here are a couple cool items from DWR, both of which are thin, vertical and unique:

Image: Design Within Reach

The bookshelf holds books horizontally on thin shelves; once it’s full the shelves basically disappear and it looks like a huge freestanding stack. I like the coat rack’s design which seems both clean and complicated to me. I’m thinking the bookshelf may fit by the closet and the coat rack could, of course, go by the front door.

My place is feeling very cozy with the new love seat; I chose a bold color and it works quite well. Some of my walls are a fairly bold color as well, which seems to change throughout the day as the outside light changes. I keep looking for new pieces that might work, but then I have to remember that this space is basically filled now. A new and more attractive ceiling fan would be great to replace the existing one. And the old-school track lights in the kitchen are ready to be updated.

I’m on the lookout for some wall shelves that will fill this weird “nook” in the corner of my kitchen. It’s 24 inches wide by 16 inches deep in a back corner, and is basically wasted space right now. Since it’s not visible from the rest of the room, I am going to shelve it all the way to the ceiling to create a pantry and storage area. I’d like to cook more and I need a more accessible pantry-type space. I think I’ll have the specifics figured out soon.

I’ve had a nice weekend. I had time to rest and do chores during the day on Saturday. I went to an adult-themed party with some friends Saturday night, where I met a lot of wonderful new folks and had a great time. This morning one of my sisters was in town with a friend, so we all met up for brunch and catching up. Then more chores, some exercise, more rest and getting ready for the week ahead. Once this last load of laundry is done, I’ll be all set and can go to sleep. I have a busy week ahead, working by day and being social by evening. It’s a nice balance, as long as I get enough sleep!

Update: I ordered the book Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure for more design ideas. I suspect my philosophies on space, flow and lack of clutter will mesh with the book’s philosophy, “how to create a home that works for you — physically, emotionally and spiritually.” The Apartment Therapy site/blog has been a great source of ideas and examples of others’ designs.

Image: Amazon / Apartment Therapy

Something very exciting happened yesterday: the new IKEA catalog landed in my mailbox. Say what you will about IKEA furniture — it’s cheap, it’s “dorm like,” whatever — I love the stuff. Some of Most of Nearly all of my furniture is from IKEA and I like that it’s light and contemporary. They have so much stuff it’s easy to find things that work even if you’re an “armchair designer” like me. And IKEA, as a company, professes to be environmentally responsible.

Now my apartment is rather small, so I don’t really buy new furniture much, but changing things up, adding little lamps and things really helps keep me from getting bored in my little space. I go through the IKEA catalog, the DWR catalog, the Pottery Barn catalog, Apartment Therapy’s site and similar catalogs and publications, looking for ideas, subtle things I can change, artsy projects that I can embark upon. My goal is always to avoid adding clutter and keep things tasteful and interesting, with a little whimsy thrown in. Yes, I said whimsy; whimsy is important.

This morning I heard some banging downstairs; I had heard that the unit downstairs was going to be renovated, and sure enough, painting and tiling was in full swing. I had never seen the unit below and it was interesting to compare. We have the same exterior wall layout, but that’s about it. The unit downstairs has walls separating the kitchen, living area and the closet and bathroom areas, whereas mine had those walls removed at some point and it’s a fairly open space. The built-in cabinetry and moldings downstairs are lovely and seeing them made me feel sad that my place no longer has those charms. But I much prefer a light open space to smaller individual rooms. When I lived in one of those “railroad” apartments, where all the rooms were off a long main hallway, things felt constricted. I would like to reinstall molding and re-tile my bathroom someday; the molding in particular would add back some of the missing architectural detail.

The building I live in is interesting, in and of itself. It was built in 1913 and has the standard San Francisco facade with bay windows and fire escapes. The elevator is an open-cage Otis and, from what I’ve found on the web, it’s of an even earlier vintage. I suppose they found it used and resuscitated it when the building was under construction. I think this whole block was built then, part of the rebirth after the 1906 earthquake. We have steam heat and old-fashioned radiators, which are now powered by a brand new gas-fired steam boiler in the basement; it replaced the cast iron monstrosity that finally wore out this year.

Update: Okay, well, I went to IKEA and bought an Ektorp loveseat; it’s the one that is comfortable to sit on and the covers can be switched off for different colors and patterns. So, one of the old chairs has been mothballed to the basement.

From nyccondom.org: “The NYC Condom is Here! New York City is the first city to brand its very own condom - and it’s NYC to the core. You can pick up your own NYC condom - free of charge - at participating locations throughout New York City.”

What a great way for local government to promote public health. And it features excellent subway-sign-style packaging design:

Image source: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

My Moo mini cards have arrived! Here are a few of them:

I’ve created a Flickr account and started uploading some of my pictures. I love how life stories can be extrapolated simply by looking at photo collections. Looking through the shots I’ve uploaded so far I definitely see visual evidence of my love affair with San Francisco and my interests in infrastructure, sailing and art. Perhaps I’ll start adding some of my older collections over time. Kudos to Flickr for making it so easy to get photo collections posted in the first place.

If you see something you like, or don’t like, please comment on those pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremyrandall/

I’ve also ordered some “Moo cards” (good grief, I am not actually endorsing products here) with my photos printed on them. They seem like a much more fun kind of contact card to give out to friends and in social situations than regular business cards. Of course with my regular business cards everyone can be terribly impressed with my techie job title; oh well!

Interesting colors at a coffeehouse on Haight St:

Kids’ wall mural on Haight St:

This is a painting of Dolores Park, currently hanging on the wall at the Dolores Park Cafe.

Mural art in the Mission District…

I snapped this shot while walking on an informal art tour this afternoon…