Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in hackerguitar's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
10:43 am	back - hands! After a protracted bout of soreness related to cleaning and stacking about a billion bricks, the soreness in my hands has abated. Yay!  Last night, I was able to play for about half an hour.  This is good. Small pleasures... (Comment on this)
Monday, April 6th, 2009
3:53 pm	Writer's Block: Grab and Go Scenario: For exactly 1 minute, you get access to all the databases of all the intelligence agencies in the world (CIA, FBI, KGB, MI-5, etc). What do you want to find out before time is up and you're caught and jailed forever? View other answers What crypto can't you crack? How do I circumvent the one-minute limitation? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 16th, 2009
11:40 am	Mid-America Headed to Columbus (OH) on business later in the month. Is there anything I should check out while I'm there? (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
10:22 pm	Things complete ( Of note this weekend: completed both nice square shaker tables (two), and a shaker candle stand made of some slightly spalted european cherry. ) (17 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
11:42 am	Icarus Icarus is Ralph Towner's signature piece, a wonderful standard which bears repeated listening very well. Towner plays it solo or with Oregon, but the LA Guitar Quartet does it ample justice in the clip below.  (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 5th, 2008
10:32 am	Meme day From e_juliana  Your result for Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test... Naturalistic 22% Logical, 39% Spatial, 41% Linguistic, 14% Intrapersonal, 18% Interpersonal, 25% Musical, 14% Bodily-Kinesthetic and 55% Naturalistic! "This area has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to one's natural surroundings. Those with it are said to have greater sensitivity to nature and their place within it, the ability to nurture and grow things, and greater ease in caring for, taming and interacting with animals. They may also be able to discern changes in weather or similar fluctuations in their natural surroundings. They are also good at recognizing and classifying different species. 'Naturalists' learn best when the subject involves collecting and analyzing, or is closely related to something prominent in nature; they also don't enjoy learning unfamiliar or seemingly useless subjects with little or no connections to nature. It is advised that naturalistic learners would learn more through being outside or in a kinesthetic way. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include scientists, naturalists, conservationists, gardeners and farmers." (Wikipedia) Take Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test at HelloQuizzy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
5:13 pm	Thanksgiving: The Sequel. Got up late Made it to in-laws' on the Penninsula by 10:30 began cooking Stuffing done and in bird and bird in oven by 1:30pm Have eaten B's mushroom pate and more cheese than is really necessary. Turned on PC and began to see what was up on teh internets.... I have faith that the bird will be done in some reasonable timeframe. **************************** Every year, my BiL & I make the turkey and some of the side dishes; B always makes her mushroom pate, without which she is persona non grata at certain Thanksgivings; and SiL and B make (respectively) green vegetable and sweet potato soup; Sil sometimes but not always does mashed potatoes.   What I want to add, and probably will next year, is some sort of rustic bread.....not that we require more starches but I like good bread, and I'd like to go through the very physical process of making it. **************************** Update:  The turkey is nearly done.  We need to start on the remaining bits.... Off to cook. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
5:34 pm	Writer's Block: Eat, Drink, Be Merry Thanksgiving is almost here in the U.S., heralding the start of the holiday season and the first of many meals where you might be confronted with a traditional dish that you happen to find disgusting. What holiday food do you hate to see on the table? View other answers I suppose I don't hate any of the traditional meal. We're lucky to have it. That said, cranberry sauce leaves me cold. If it's from a can, it's metallic-tasting, and if it's from scratch, it lacks the velvety texture I like in a sauce, usually. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 17th, 2008
10:55 pm	For Percy ( Percy's gone. ) (20 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
9:29 pm	Meme from FL The question they didn't ask:  Have you reorganized the house (or made other changes) which affronts the cat's sense of stability? Because, you know, we have.  And the cat is not happy about it... (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
11:45 am	Another meme... My Liberal Identity: You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme. Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com (Comment on this)
11:14 am	Meme from pix_kristin (nonpartisan...) Voted today.  Was somewhere between #12 and #16 when I got there at 6:30 or thereabouts.  By the time time the polls opened (7am), there were easily 100 people in line, in my tiny district of Fremont.    Nancy, who is Niles' perennial, tireless, and wonderful poll worker, always bakes cookies (and yes, people vote because of them...they are that good.   One person, one cookie :: one person, one vote), and I got my cookie.   All in all it was a good way to start the morning. The voting machines are Sequoias, and I'm hopeful that the vote-flipping issues that they've had will not recur.  Crosses fingers. A huge number of Niles friends were waiting in line at the polls before they opened, standing out in the cold, shivering, waiting to vote.  There was a good deal of socializing going on.   People always vote here, but this was intense - there was energy in the air, deep optimism, and hope.   Loved it.   There will be an election gathering at the local good restaurant, owned by locals, tonight, and I'm looking forward to it.   Music, good conversation, good wine, and of course a TV so we can watch the poll results.  And proof of having voted - I can haz sticker!  e (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
2:48 pm	From all over my flist: Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage/relationship (or if you think you might be someday), and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow. The people who argue that CA Prop 8 undermines traditional marriage have failed Pluralism 101.  No on CA Prop 8.  No to hate and intolerance. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 26th, 2008
9:58 pm	Advil is a good thing ( Spent Saturday and Sunday working on the deck of the back stairs with Nic. ) (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
2:48 pm	Food meme from dre_l ( food meme ) (Comment on this)
Monday, October 13th, 2008
6:31 pm	Happy Birthday, cashmerepett Happy Birthday, Cash! Many, many more to you, and all the best. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
2:57 pm	Writer's Block: Customizable Party Invent a political party for the nation in which you reside. What does your ideal platform consist of? View other answers Well, first and foremost, I suppose that any political platform that I'd write begins with the assumption that unfettered capitalism is not a good idea, that the free market will not, in fact, create a Panglossian best of all possible worlds, that the rising tide does not, in fact, lift all boats. With that as an assumption, I would draw on Locke, Hobbes, Jefferson, and other people whose writings and philosophy led to the founding of the American republic for the following ideas: - Inheritable wealth needs to be deeply limited.  The estate tax which the Republican party derides as an unfair death tax was, in fact, enacted to prevent the formation of a hereditary aristocracy.  We've already gone too far down the road of rolling that back; I would like to see severe death duties enacted, with absolute limits on heritable wealth.   Unfettered wealth leads to abuse of power, as sufficient money can corrupt the most ethical person. I believe that corporate personhood is a convenient fiction invented to allow accrual of great wealth to be abused at will by its directors, and that it should be abolished.  Let the officers of a corporate be the representatives, not the corporation itself. In concert with that, I believe that what helps the good of the individual working person is better for the country than what helps corporations.   Regulated capitalism won't destroy the world, and it will help raise the living standards of many people, as is clear from the rise in the middle class from approximately 1935 through about 1981, until Ronald Reagan's anti-government rhetoric, carefully parsed in perjorative tirades against 'the unworthy poor" killed such progress.   Labor unions are a social good, as they help the individual worker when they show some spine, which few have done lately.  If a strong union works for its members, their quality of life increases - cf rise in living standards 1935-1981 above. - The national good is a real and tangible goal.   What constitutes that derives from an understanding of the tremendous degree to which humans are interrelated.  For example - it's possible to oppose universal healthcare as 'welfare' and 'disincentive to work.'   To me, it's self-interest, though....if the cleaner who vacuums my office building has a cold (or worse) and can't take time off to recover, can't visit a physician because of cost, it's far more likely that myself or others in my office, who may <i>have</i> health coverage, <i>will</i> get sick.  For colds and flu, this isn't so much....but what happens if a pandemic flu breaks out and burns like a fire?   I'd rather have herd immunity, care for all, from childrens' immunizations to adult care, as it increases the general health of the overall population.  The current commercialized model allows the very sick to be uncared for, it fails to address that end of the bell curve of health distribution.   I would further argue that the government has a very legitimate role in regulation and certain services.  To a conservative, a problem encountered means an opportunity for profit by providing minimal services for maximum cost.  To a liberal, a problem encountered needs to be addressed on its merits and solved, profitability be damned.  I'm firmly in the latter camp - healthcare, education, public infrastructure (roads, water, electrical power, et cetera) are too important to be entrusted to companies seeking to turn a profit rather than being focused on the primary mission. I'd argue that religion is a personal matter and, while it might inform a person's political choices, should not become a threat to the liberties of non-believers.   I'd also argue that the tax break on churches is wrong - if every church was taxed, there would be more tax revenue and no discrimination.   Also, given that churches, especially fundamental christian churches, have openly attempted to defy the establishment clause and deliberately breach the wall between church and state, taxation would provide a legitimate argument for their entry into politics - they pay taxes, they get to play, however loathsome their policies. The goal is the greatest good for the greatest number.  That's tempered by the understanding that while markets may eventually rationalize themselves, they tend, in a global marketplace, to slosh capital around and cause panics, especially when unregulated.   So regulation, while onerous to those who would take big risks, becomes beneficial to the working people trying to pay a mortgage or keep a job. I think work rules need to be heavily regulated.  "Right to work" is a nonsense term long advocated by corporate entities; it's code for "we'll fire whoever we want to whenever we damn well please without any consequences."   That should be rolled back.  In UK, it can be very difficult to fire or do large layoffs, even in post-Thatcherized Britain; I think that should also be the case in the US. I think bodily self-determination - the right to die, the right to an abortion - should be pretty much absolute.    The right to run a successful business is not incompatible with this, either.  Libertarians, as China Mieville famously points out, are people who want deregulation because they can't cut it in a regulated economy where they have to take precautions up front rather than pay for any damage they cause later, if they can afford it, if they haven't gone bankrupt or done something else to avoid the consequences of their actions.   Business is fine - just within the law, keeping an eye on the long term, and not taking shortcuts to increase profit at the expense of the general welfare.   (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 21st, 2008
4:22 pm	More ( More reclaimed bits ) (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
9:51 am	Happy Birthday, Juliana! (Comment on this)
Monday, June 30th, 2008
8:30 pm	Not bad for memeage Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test... English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 100% Expert! You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/. Take The Commonly Confused Words Test at HelloQuizzy (2 Comments |Comment on this)