An email this morning from Lauren not only alerted me to an ice cream-related call for reviews/contest but also to the fact that I haven’t used my ice cream maker in a couple weeks. What a shame! The strawberry and sage ice cream sounds pretty great – I might give it a try even though it’s not really strawberry season.
What's been on my mind lately? Read on...
The other night, my friend Mike lamented that his digital camera (a Canon SD450) stopped working after a couple years and a couple too many trips to the beach. He knows I like taking stuff apart, and asked if I’d be interested in trying to fix it. Of course! This afternoon, we took the thing apart down to the gears, and removed about a quarter teaspoon of sand out of the innards. After a thorough cleaning, we managed to get it back together (with only one superfluous part left over) and working!
I’m happy to report that, with some professional EE help, I found the source of the problems I was seeing with the robot arm. At this point, I’m ready to finish laying out the circuit board and start writing a bunch of software.
After a couple of months and (presumably) a bunch of emails, Google Maps fixed the bug that was giving me grief and preventing me from posting about my Portland Bike Trip. Without further ado, you can now read my thoughts & summary of the trip.
I went Monday night to Benaroya Hall to see Joanna Newsom. After going last December to her concert at the Showbox, I was curious how it would be to see her with a full symphony and in a much larger venue. The orchestra behind her was talented, but actually made the experience a lot less intimate – I felt her most successful songs were either solo or with the small band, when they dimmed the lights on the symphony and highlighted her (or the band) with spotlights. Overall, it was still a great evening, and if she’s performing near you, check her out.
After reading about a 7th Circuit Court decision that effectively allows prayer in the Indiana State Legislature, it occurs to me that Bush’s worst legacy might not be the policies he leaves behind, the damage he’s caused to US credibility overseas, or even the war in Iraq, but the prevailing attitude by politicians and judges that if they don’t like what the law says, they can just ignore it. Then again, the other stuff is pretty bad, and it’s hard to say which is worst.