The Third Antarctic Journeys

Wed Beneath Order

2010-03-07T05:24:03Z

This is the 999th. I gotta think really hard for tomorrow…

Graffito Toasts

2010-03-06T06:45:34Z

Now it’s not the standing that hurts; it’s the sitting.

Sharktopus

2010-03-04T06:33:51Z

Sure my knees hurt, but now my back hurts too. But overall, less pain than yesterday. I could get used to this.

Standing Desk

2010-03-03T07:16:45Z

After reading a few distressing articles about sitting and mortality, I’ve decided to implement a 50/50 standing/sitting desk. So now, half my desk is elevated 2 feet, meaning I stand and use my keyboard and do work. Meanwhile, the other half of my desk still has a laptop and chair so I can sit while tired.

Thus far, mixed results. It’s tiring, but just as much as standing and cooking all day. It’s probably not as bad as being a waiter or something, but it’s about the same as other menial standing jobs I’ve had. It’s good because I otherwise spend every waking hour but one (biking to lab and back) sitting.

The worst part so far is random knee/foot pain. Eventually we’ll see how much I adapt, but until then I’ve been encouraged to try new shoes, incorporate a stepper, and do other crazy advances. Which I may…

So, for the 1000th post, I’ve had a few suggestions. Some suggest I do picture flashbacks, or post flashbacks. Other possibilities are social engineering (commenters get to control my behavior, eating, exercise, etc.) or total tracking (tracking my sleep, activity, location, etc.). I think these are all interesting ideas. Feel free to post more. You have 3 more posts to give your ideas!

(picture credit Louise Chim)

The Brown M&M

2010-03-01T07:57:37Z

Yes, Justin, a Farscape gmail would be awesome. For the rest of you, here’s an interesting article:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/143/made-to-stick-the-telltale-brown-mampm.html

We’ll be back to the more substantive blogs next week, for the 1000th post spectacular. I’m still trying to think of what to do, but I’ll try to make it awesome.

Sievemail

2010-02-28T08:40:11Z

I’ve switched over to gmail for my primary email needs because Stanford gives us such a paltry amount of storage that I have to archive emails more than a few months old. This means being unable to go back through old emails readily. So, from the beginning of this year, I’m aggregating my email at gmail for storage and sorting. The upside is obvious (plenty of storage, flexibility). The downsides are minor (inability to sort by certain criteria, ugliness).

The biggest thing so far is that all the filters I have set up are doing their job almost too well. I now get just a handful of immediately relevant emails every few hours, rather than a blast of emails I must sort. In the end, I feel efficiently lonely.

…Stick A Lobster On My Head

2010-02-26T01:47:05Z

Operation ‘Make Everyone Watch Farscape’ is going exactly as I had planned…

What, you haven’t heard of Farscape? The first 3 seasons are on Netflix. Just watch the first season and you’ll be hooked. It’s kind of like The Wire in outer space, with puppets.

Cross My Heart, Slap Me Dead…

2010-02-25T07:24:36Z

Rehan Green

2010-02-24T05:01:30Z

991 posts? What shall we do for the 1000th post? Spin me around in a wheelbarrow until a drone explodes?

Moth’s The Word

2010-02-23T07:09:48Z

Fold, Stitch, And Emit

2010-02-22T02:03:40Z

Mighty

2010-02-21T07:19:20Z

Sometimes life seems like a placid jellyfish floating by, while you stare from the other side of the aquarium glass. Then, on those rare occasions, a giddy creature breaks through the darkness and gives you joy. Still others, the killer whale that you’re riding on is eaten by an Albanian, and you spend the next three thousand years being slowly digested.

Inspiration On The Casing

2010-02-20T06:46:06Z

Cthulu In Love

2010-02-18T09:40:37Z

JOLT

2010-02-17T09:20:00Z

This weekend I was studying a lot of neuroanatomy. I went to Walgreens and bought supplies: pencils, erasers, deodorant, shampoo, and 3 cans of something called “Jolt Power Cola.” Now, I dimly recall Jolt being something we consumed with Dr. Pepper and pepperoni pizza in middle school all-night video-game-thons. But this was a gargantuan, 23.5 fluid ounce can shaped like a battery, complete with a stuck out cathode. It tasted like mild Coca-Cola–not that great–but it was on sale for 50 cents a can, which was a great bargain for quick energy. I’ve even reused the cans to store water next to my bed (I have to have water next to my bed, as I think we’ve discussed).

But just now, as I opened up this reused can, the water inside smelled faintly of batteries.

D’argo Did A Bad Thing

2010-02-16T08:38:04Z

Wrex In An Elevator

2010-02-15T08:33:15Z

Happy New Year!

The Politics Of Snow

2010-02-14T05:37:17Z

Bringing Home The Beacon

2010-02-11T07:25:54Z

They lied; misery is solitary.

Cooking Dangerously IV

2010-02-10T03:58:57Z

Amuse Bouche: Antigriddled sour cream with frozen salmon flakes, chives, and peppercorns.

(Picture by Brian Leen; I was busy flipping frozen sour cream puffs).
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First Course: White bean and basil vegetable terrine with no-knead bread and garlic aioli.
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Second Course: Egg cocotte with mushroom cream and parsley puree

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Third Course: Giblet ragu with polenta and broccoli rabe

For a picture, see John & Jiffy’s blog: http://jiffyandjohn.com/2010/02/09/cooking-very-dangerously/

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Main Course: Roast goose with chestnut stuffing, butter braised vegetables, and lingonberry sauce

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Intermezzo: Pomegranate sorbet on honey florentines topped with candied kumquats and kumquat syrup.

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Dessert: Tres leches cake with caramel sauce and a curled butter wafer served with spicy hot chocolate

Candied Kumquats

2010-02-07T21:45:59Z

I left the Java inset for this picture at original size so you could zoom in. I am not responsible for any computer screen damage that results from you trying to eat your screen.

Moiré

2010-02-06T08:47:00Z

They Leave Medea

2010-02-03T09:09:40Z

I used to struggle with coming up with unique titles for my posts; after 977 posts it becomes somewhat difficult. Here, Akismet and the spam bots have come in handy. The bots spew out random words (and prescription drugs available in Canada), and I go through Akismet and pluck them out. Afterwards, they leave. Medea.

Deansmark

2010-02-01T06:51:09Z

A Rabbi Walks Into A Synagogue…

2010-01-31T05:44:33Z

Not only did the chicken come out underdone, but when I tried to rotate the dutch oven on the table, I discovered that the handle is ridiculously hot.