Geek Swagger.
Life
Giving Up Social
Apr 8th
On Fat Tuesday this year I was puzzling over what I should give up for Lent. I couldn’t decide and I couldn’t decide, until I heard Leo Laporte of TWiT joke that he should give up Twitter. So I thought why not? Heck I’ll take it a step further and cut out all social networking from my digital life for over a month. Well, at the time of this writing I’m within a week of Easter and I just wanted to share how it went.
When I started this whole experiment I assumed that giving up Facebook would be the hardest part. Cutting ties with all of the people I know in real life? That has to be worse than giving up people I’ve probably never met. That said, I have to say, keeping away from Twitter was as struggle! Everyone has a twitter page these days and that tends to be what they want to plug 9 out of 10 times. Do you want to hear what “so-and-so†is up to these days? You better be on Twitter!
Personally I’m shocked by this development. I never would have thought I’d be more secure with folks on Twitter than I would be with others, whom I know, on Facebook.
Hunger
Apr 8th
Hunger is a English-made move about the Irish Republican-led “no-wash†and hunger strikes in Belfast’s Maze Prison. The main character is Bobby Sands, one of the most notable hunger-strikers, but the movie isn’t entirely about his crusade. To be honest, I bought this movie because I’m generally interested in such things and a friend recommended it to me, but boy was it depressing. I always knew that Bobby Sands died during the hunger strike and that the prisoners were treated poorly, but this brings all that to life. In fact, aside from one 20 minute interlude close to the middle of the movie, there are very few moments that won’t turn your stomach or put you on edge.
It’s hard to recommend Hunger unless you’re interested in the conflict in Northern Ireland in the early 80’s, and to be honest it’s probably one of those movies that I’ve seen once but won’t watch again. It’s not a pleasant movie to watch (for a reason), but it does make you appreciate what those men went through a whole lot more. I also appreciate that the movie is presented matter-of-factly, and tries its best to stay out of the way with rhetoric. When you watch Hunger you see a series of events and an occasional conversation, capped by white-on-black text explaining the situation both before and after the movie.
If you’re interested in Hunger please make sure you have a strong stomach going into it. The last half hour or so you’re basically watching someone starve to death, which isn’t at all pleasant. That being said if you want to know more about The Maze and prison treatment during “The Troubles†feel free to give it a look.
My Lenten Journal
Apr 8th
The following posts aren't current, but in fact were recorded during my break from social media during the season of Lent. Â These were recorded in a program called Mac Journal with the intent to provide a log of what went down while I was "offline." Â Please note that because I'm basically copying and pasting from MacJournal some of the editing might be a little off. Â Enjoy...
Half-Human, Half-Vladimir Putin
Feb 5th
It's been a while since I've touched on music, so it's time to break that trend. Today I received my Melatonin Magik hoodie in the mail so I figured I'd post a pic of that and link a new track from the album. If you haven't been keeping up, Melatonin Magik is the latest album from (my personal favorite) rapper Canibus. I bought the hoodie a while back but was surprised to find a bonus sampler CD in the box signed by Canibus himself. One of my favorite tracks on the album comes straight from Melatonin Magik, and is called "Post Traumatic Warlab Stress." A picture of the hoodie/signed CD and song are below.
Hoodie with signed Magik Sampler (click to enlarge):
Post-Traumatic Warlab Stress:
From Somers Town to Surrey Docks With a KMRIA
Dec 29th
I've said it before and I'll say it again - my taste in music is very odd. Â One moment I'll be listening to Canibus, best rapper alive, and the next I'll be listening to the irish folk stylings of The Pogues. Â I think the common theme in the music I enjoy is that it tells a story, which is obvious when it comes to folk music but less-so in hip-hop. Â Anyways, one of my favorite songs by The Pogues is actually a demo called "Transmetropolitan." Â The link is below.
O Helga Natt
Dec 24th
I always listen to this youtube video around Christmas time as it's one of the most moving versions of "Oh Holy Night" I think I've ever heard. Â Performed by Jussi Bjorling, labeled by some as "The Perfect Tenor," this song has got to be emotionally moving to anyone with a pulse. Â My favorite part is round-about 1:11 minutes in, where it really kicks off. Â Unfortunately the uploader has disabled embeds for the video. Â Anyways, hit the link below and enjoy, but most of all have a great holiday!
The Bear
Dec 16th
If it wasn't for music I don't know what I'd do sometimes.  I recently caught an episode of , and there was this track featured by Alex Mauer simply called "The Bear."  The song was so provocative that it inspired me to purchase Alex's full album on-the-spot.  Truthfully, I didn't know I was purchasing a physical album (I presumed it would be an MP3 download) but I've since received (and ripped) Alex's  "9999," and it was well-worth the purchase.
Unfortunately there is no online version of the song that I can find, so you'll have to watch the episode of Penny Arcade linked above to see what I'm talking about. Â I'd recommend taking a look either way, since their show personifies my dream job. Â The song shows up at approximately 7:00 minutes.
My Second Geocache
Aug 16th
The iPhone is a wonderful device. Â I can honestly say that without it I probably wouldn't have gotten into geocaching. Â Actually, without the Totally Rad Show's segment on geocaching (embedded below) I probably wouldn't have picked up on it in the first place, but that's a whole different story. Â Using the iPhone I'm able to locate geocaches via GPS and track them down using Google Maps, even using a compass as I get closer and closer to the cache to narrow the search. Â From there I can log my visit, and see any other caches that are around me via a list sorted by distance (another handy reason to have GPS on your phone).
Anyways, I might start logging caches as I find them. Â To be honest I've only found two to date, but whenever I find one from now on I'll post pictures here (again, using the iPhone). Â The first is below. Â Before that though, I want to sing the praises of an application called, surprisingly enough, Geocaching. Â It's the most expensive application I've purchased weighing in at $9.99, but it's been worth it so far. Â The simple fact that it's a cheap entry point to a fun hobby that will pay off in entertainment value alone is enough to garner my recommendation.
However, it's the first app that has truly impressed me with the wide-range of functionality included with it. Â As I mentioned you can search for nearby geocaches and navigate to them via Google Maps using the iPhone's included GPS. Â You can use a compass to point you in the right direction if the map isn't sufficient. Â On top of that it interfaces with Geocaching.com, a website which features a database of geocaches for finders and hiders alike. Â The site has a ton of information (descriptions of caches, hints if you're stuck, and user comments - and that's just the beginning). Â All of this is accessible with the Geocaching application. Â I'll include an iTunes link to it at the bottom.
So, here's my latest (second) find. Â Yes, it was attached to a ceramic dalmatian. Â Yes, it's a dalmatian because it's part of a 101 Dalmatians-themed series of caches. Â Come on people, I'm new to this! =) Â I signed the log included in a tube container on the dog's collar and was on my way (Signed "Dave Kemick 8/16/2009 - TRS" in case you're in the area).
AudioBoo: Spill Disasters
Jul 9th
This is just another quick AudioBoo recording in which I describe my beverage spilling woes. Â Very exciting.
