Original Empire Strikes Back trailer. I’m just loving Harrison Ford’s radio announcer voice over. “Their story didn’t end there!”
I really want this on a t-shirt.
Anatomy of a tribble from the Starfleet Reference Manual book
I wish I could put my ~bio major skills to good use and dissect one.
So you need a typeface
19-Apr-10Link: So you need a typeface
One of those things you didn’t know you needed until you see it: A flowchart to guide you to the typeface you need.
It’s been around the net for a while now, but I need to share this myself: Michael Specter giving a TED talk on the dangers of science denial
The dog police, part 3
17-Apr-10It was during the recent hearing that I realised how important it is to me that the system works. I had to trust that the process would result in a positive outcome for my family and show the complainant up for what he is: A bombastic thug. It wasn’t easy to do this, to put so much trust in a system that is often reported as broken. There are so many stories of innocent animals and owners being wrongly accused and of the system failing them, breaking up families. There was no certainty that this would not be the case for me.
I was reassured in the weeks leading up to the hearing that everything would work out just fine by everyone that knows Oliver, even by officers involved with the case, but the spectre of doubt was hanging around. Paranoia set in with me starting to think that the officers reassuring me had ulterior motives; perhaps they wanted me underprepared to make their jobs easier.
The hearing itself would have been a farce if it wasn’t so potentially serious. The complainant tried to persuade the hearing officer that we were abusing Oliver; that it was cruel to keep a hunting dog cooped up in an apartment all day; that we’d done something to cause this dog to have a psychological break. Thanks to being a pair of obsessives, we had a stack of paperwork and references showing how well cared for Oliver is, and how much exercise he gets every day. Not to mention statements from experts regarding his personality.
The complainant (and I’m trying very hard to not refer to him with more unrefined language) really showed his hand when asked what he wanted the court to do. To give a little context, the previous two cases had centred on dogs attacking people and other dogs; biting and causing harm that required medical attention. In those cases, the complainants had asked for formal warnings, enforced training, and were clearly there to give the dog owners a wake-up call. In our case, we have someone claiming that our dog lunged at him (though he did say that Oliver was going to escalate to killing or maiming someone. Really). He didn’t claim injury, or that he was attacked, just lunged at.
When asked what he wanted, he said that Oliver should be registered as vicious and dangerous and taken away from us as we’d clearly caused this. Even now, four weeks later, even writing this down still makes me angry. At the time, I was fuming and upset and it took every ounce of control not to lose it completely.
Well this story is long enough already so I’ll wrap it up quickly: It was clear the hearing officer was not impressed with the complainant and since the hearing we voluntarily went to an animal behaviouralist just to be covered if this miserable git (oops) tries anything in the future.
I still don’t have the final result of the hearing, but I’m 100% sure it will be a positive result for Oliver.
Not that it matters: The blustering old bastard moved out. I guess the system does work.
Update: I just received the decision and it’s official: Oliver is not vicious or dangerous, and now he has the paperwork to prove it.
I really need to practice playing my guitar more. Joscho Stephan, John Jorgeson, Richard Smith and Helmut Eisel showing everyone how it’s done. (via boingboing)
Apollo 11 launch at 500 fps (via @jeffreitman)
Surreal Dialogue Replacement
06-Apr-10Link: Surreal Dialogue Replacement
This is just sublime: The Day Job Orchestra do a perfect job of overdubbing Star Trek: The Next Generation with surreal dialogue. (via mental_floss)
How have I never seen this before today? Cardiacs video for Tarred and Feathered. (via coilhouse)
Magical mystery tour
30-Mar-10This past week, @mirtos told me to book Friday off as we were going away. She refused, however, to tell me where. I was to be packed by Thursday evening and to pack for rain. Excitement!
As the week went on, she started getting frustrated that I didn’t know where we were going and, further, that I couldn’t help organise anything without knowing. Obviously I refused to be told our mystery destination. Mostly this was so that I would just be swept off to parts unknown like some terrible plot mechanic in a Jennifer Aniston movie, but it was also partly to avoid any responsibility. Cunning!
Thursday rolled around, a car came to pick us up, and on the drive my much better half mentioned to the driver that we would be flying Air Canada. Given our history in Vancouver, it was reasonably clear that that was probably where we were off to, and the mystery was forever lost. We landed in Vancouver a scant three hours later, rather uneventfully apart from the ridiculousness of United Airlines’ check-in procedure.
That isn’t a typo, by the way: The mystery vanished for naught. Le sigh. Disappointing!
Driving through Vancouver after three years away was a strange experience; memories of the roads we drove on were present, but an emotional connection to them was strangely absent. If this was the time that had lapsed since the city was home, the number of other countries that have been home since, or just that an emotional connection was never formed is impossible to determine. The feeling was that of driving through a set from a TV show or movie that I have watched repeatedly. I could anticipate the stores we would drive past, but felt nothing for them. This feeling did not last.
Once the night had past and it was time to start the rigourous schedule of lunches, brunches, dinners and hanging out time that Mirto had planned, the sense of the familiar became stronger and began to feel like nostalgia. This was finally cemented on the last night of our trip when I had the chance to spend a good many hours hanging out with my good friend Jeremy, who is responsible for the ink under the skin of my left arm, and his wonderful, amazing, warm and above-all happy family. Meeting again his son who was barely out of toddling when I last saw him, and having him change into multiple superhero costumes through the evening, was a true pleasure. Meeting for the first time his daughter who is just a few months old but clearly a blissful and settled baby was a delight. Just being allowed to share that loving home for a few hours was worth the trip alone.
That we also saw so many other old friends, and that the weekend showed me they truly are friends ready to change their schedules to make room for us though we abandoned them years ago for other pastures, was a rare treat. That two of those friends gave up a room for us and allowed us to share their lives at a potentially stressful time, and gave us much-needed time with a surrogate puppy, was a bonus.
So this is my attempt at thanking those that made this weekend special, and above all thanking my wonderful, darling wife for making it happen and keeping it a mystery.
Leaving was difficult, and not just because we had to get up at 3am for a tiresomely early flight on a Sunday morning, but because I had been reminded what I left behind. The city may still hold merely a vague feeling of nostalgia for me, but the people are special and it is they that I am missing all over again.