Awesome! We don’t even bother to link to Hathi Trust records right now, they are so useless

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/06/23/university-of-michig.html?dlvrit=36761

From Bercy Chen blog – super cool

http://blog.bcarc.com/2009/09/

Steel Velcro

September 30th, 2009 — 10:18am

dn17739-1_300Well this is cool – steel velcro

A square metre of the new fastener, called Metaklett, is capable of supporting 35 tonnes at temperatures up to 800 ºC, claim Josef Mair and colleagues at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. And just like everyday Velcro it can be opened up without specialised tools and used again.

It’s like superglue for buildings!

Comment » | Information

Cathedral Thinking

September 23rd, 2009 — 5:16pm

There’s an interesting post on archizoo about the concept of ‘Cathedral Thinking’:

For Rogers, the concept was about the care and commitment of people who contributed to building the cathedral, a decades-long task, yet would never see its completion. Its implications on vision and strategy development seemed to be about their outcome, a recognition that the successful implementation of the strategy may not be measured until long after it authors have moved on.

I think  starts to hint at the basic reason I’m so ambivalent about the project I posted earlier where a cathedral was converted into a bookstore. There’s something serene and foreign in the concept of thousands of people devoting their lives to a project they know they will never see finished; the sacrilege of that conversion in my mind has less to do with replacing religion with commerce and more to do with respecting the aspirations of all those craftsmen.  Especially in the US, there are very few objects which have remained important for more than a couple generations. We’re not going to be able to embrace long-term sustainability as a culture without retaining some reverence for the past; they’re two perspectives on the same process.

Comment » | Discussion

Cool Solar Roof Tiles

September 23rd, 2009 — 4:57pm

Not a big fan of clay roof tiles- it reminds me of UT Campus….. and its Board of Regents……. and how they passed up an opportunity to have Herzog and de Meuron design the Blanton……….but this is still a cool product.

solepowertile


This seems like an interesting and cheap hobby

Thinking about learning how to tat.  Funny thing is, I checked out a book on tatting from the library and it had one of the employee award bookplates in the front – for Jennifer Lee, head of preservation!  It must be common for those obsessed with the preservation of the written word.   (Certain employee awards include the perk of being able to choose a book for the library, and have a book plate with their name placed in it.  I picked a George RR Martin book for mine.  My subsequent awards have been vacation time, which I’m totally happy with ^_^)

I finished my last square for the charity afghan this weekend, with a remainder of a ball about the size of a quarter.  Obligation discharged! ^_^

New study strategy!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/books/humor/e903/?cpg=159NS&link

Better and worse

So, just as a personal update:

I’ve been trying to work really hard with my therapist.  I’ve been exercising, working on my sleep and working on coping skills for my bipolar disorder and my obsessive compulsive disorder. I’m actually hopeful for working on my eating disorder.  With my many  medications and this therapy, I feel like I’ve really started enjoying life for the first time, and that I actually have started appreciating and wanting life, where I used to feel like I was just biding time till I died.  Best thing is I feel like I have a lot more perspective on my past, thinking outside of myself and my own pain, and have started to let go of a lot of the guilt of my past.

Do I still have a lot of problems, do I still have regrets?  Of course, but I feel so much more hopeful that this is helping.  She is the first therapist I’ve been really able to respect.  I really respect her focus on scientific research, rather than a lot of the really fluffy, unsupported beliefs.  She is pretty amazing.  She goes beyond the call of duty so often.  The way she validates my feelings really helps with all the guilt somehow.

The one thing I’ve been working on, but I’m not sure I’m making much improvement: my back pain.  I’ve been doing the exercising and stretches, but sometimes it feels like I’m not making any improvements, or even making it worse.  Right now I’m sitting here, with my legs and hips aching.  My broken ankle hasn’t really hurt in  the last few months (although it took nearly a year for it to stop hurting and swelling).  But, my neck pain has been a lot worse.  One day my back was hurting so much that I leaned forward at my desk at work, just to try and make the joints pop, or at least stretch out the pain, and instead when I came up, my neck started spasming so badly that I couldn’t lift my head without involuntarily jerking my neck back down .  It took hours for the muscles to sort themselves out so that I could lift my head.  My back pain is still a problem, with the pain radiating down my legs.  Since 2000 this has been going on.  -_-

Still, I did my work.  Both my bosses have nothing but the highest praise for my work, and it makes me very proud.  I do my best to life up to it.

Costume this year

Link!

I’m making this for this year’s costume party at Irma’s (Fairy Tales theme) and for Halloween.

The Halloween party this year will be video games, with the main theme as Pac Man.

I’m trying to get Carlos to dress as Navi.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaSUSOH6mAY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ixHvXuCWE

 

I don’t know if this is going to be good or not….

From the Humanist Hour mailing list:

Segment 1: The Ledge

Is this the Brokeback Mountain moment for atheists? The Ledge is the first drama in Hollywood history to feature an openly atheist hero in a story about religious conflict. Nominated for Best US Drama at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the new thriller is available now On Demand and comes to theatres July 8, 2011.

How You Can Help!

Stand up and be counted! See The Ledge anytime through Video on Demand (your cable service), through the iTunes Store (go to the link and click View in iTunes), on the Internet at Sundance Now or through a “test run” that opens July 8 in two theaters:

  • IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
  • Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA

Hollywood listens to numbers! The more people see the test run, cable, and online service, the more push it will get nationwide. Visit ledgemovie.com/how2help to learn about what else you can do.

Chadwicks’ Customer Service SUCKS!

What you are saying is wrong.  What you say about the tracking and delivery date is incorrect, because yesterday Customer Support answered my first email (a week later, very poor response time) with the tracking information:

Tracking Number:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxOrder Number:XXXXXXXXXX Current Status:InUSPSNetwork Destination:XXXXXDate Time Description Location
6/10/2011 03:53 PM Accepted by USPS
Est. Delivery: 1-2 Postal Delivery Days XXXXX, TX XXXXX
6/9/2011 06:03 PM In transit Coppell, TX 75019
6/9/2011 04:49 PM In transit Coppell, TX 75019
6/9/2011 04:38 PM Electronic Shipping Sent to USPS
6/9/2011 04:38 PM In transit Coppell, TX 75019
6/7/2011 05:52 PM In transit Fishers, IN 46037
6/6/2011 03:18 PM In transit Elizabeth, NJ 07206
6/6/2011 09:38 AM Arrived at Shipping Facility Elizabeth, NJ 07206
6/3/2011 07:08 PM Electronic Shipping Info Received Taunton, MA 02783 

As for delivery, this is from my order confirmation, the time frame given is 4-7 days:

Order number: XXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Shipping Address:
Billing Address:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Method of Payment: Visa Deferred Billing: NO
Shipping Method: Standard
Will arrive within 4-7 business days, to the contiguous US. In remote areas of AK, HI, APO, FPO and US Territories, your available items will be delivered via USPS. Please allow 20 business days for delivery.

My order was placed on May 31, and the item didn’t arrive until June 10, which is 8 business days not including May 31.  Your customer service continues to be the worst I have experienced in a long time.  Thank you for canceling my order, but in all other ways you are inconsistent with your own emails, and your manner is holier than thou.  I will never order from you again due to your unprofessional conduct, and I will urge my friends to do the same.  Clearly you have no apologies for your poor service.

XXXXX

– Hide quoted text –

On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 1:36 PM, Chadwicks Customer Support <IS7575_42939@is.instantservice.com> wrote:

Dear XXXX,

My name is Kristin, I will be assisting you.

Your backorder has been canceled. You were not billed for the canceled item so no refund will be issued for the cancellation. The item that shipped out on 6/3/11 was sent by USPS Bulk so there is no tracking information. Please allow at least 10 business days for delivery.

Thank you for contacting Chadwicks Internet Support!

Chadwicks.com | Metrostyle.com | CasualLivingUSA.com
—–Original Message—–
FromXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Jun 11, 2011 8:33:04 PM
Subject: Contact Us Form

EmailFrom:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ZipCode: XXXXXXXXXX
EmailTo: IS7575_42939@is.instantservice.com
FirstName: XXXXX
LastName: XXXXXXXXXX
OrderNumber: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Message: I WANT TO CANCEL THE REST OF MY ORDER. I HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU 2 TIMES BEFORE AND YOU COMPLETELY IGNORED ME. THE LINK IN THE TRACKING EMAIL DID NOT TRACK BECAUSE YOU SENT ME THE ORDER NUMBER AS THE TRACKING NUMBER. THE LINK TO CONTACT YOU IN THE TRACKING EMAIL TIMES OUT OF CONNECTION. THE ITEM WAS THREE DAYS LATER THAN YOU SAID IT WOULD BE. YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS TREMENDOUSLY. I HATE CHADWICKS AND WILL NEVER ORDER FROM YOU AGAIN. I WANT TO CANCEL THE PART OF MY ORDER THAT IS BACK ORDERED FOR JULY. I WANT A REFUND. IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO ME I WILL FILE A CLAIM WITH MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY.

The Dean has finally left the building

http://www.utexas.edu/news/2011/05/10/box_hal/

Please support the Humane Society

http://www.austinhumanesociety.org/blog/2011/05/09/ahs-joins-animal-planets-confessions-animal-hoarding-team-texas-rescue-mission

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