avocado8

Randomania for October 21, 2008

My friend nj introduced me to the phrase gambatte kudasai yesterday. It's a Japanese saying that means "just keep going, and do your best." Thanks, nj, for saving my day with that phrase.

I love the shirt that the woman on the right is wearing in this photo in Barack Obama's Flickr stream (yep, he has a Flickr stream, though since it's obvious that Obama himself didn't take most, or even any, of the photos, I wish they were credited to the actual photographers). The shirt reads: ChristianLiberal - religion without hate.

I've become a total podcast junkie lately, frantically choosing Update Podcast on the 9 or 10 'casts to which I subscribe in iTunes. My favorites:

• The Planet Money podcast, from the NPR guys who brought you the special This American Life episode The Giant Pool of Money and its follow-up, Another Frightening Show About the Economy. It's a daily peek into the global economy, the current economic crisis, and the financial indicators you should be watching to figure out which way the wind is blowing (hint: the Dow is a lot less important than the TED Spread).
• It probably goes without saying that This American Life is another of my favorite podcasts; it pays to subscribe and download regularly, as shows are only free for one week after they air. After that, they're $.95 apiece. Pay the $.95 if you haven't yet heard the two shows mentioned in the previous item (or listen online for free). I also highly recommend the first part (Harlem Renaissance) of Going Big.
• I sometimes listen to Countdown with Keith Olbermann while I work by turning up the TV in the guest room so I can hear it from my desk. Listening to the audio podcast is just like that, only better, because instead of straining to hear over the other sounds in the house and outside my window (not to mention my fingers pounding away on the keyboard), I can channel Keith's rants directly into my ears via iPhone earbuds.
• I enjoy Rachel Maddow's show even more than Countdown, though part of my enjoyment comes from watching Rachel's "can you believe this?" expressions as she recounts the latest wacko story that passes for news. Still I'm looking forward to listening to my very first audio podcast of her show momentarily.
• I like Slate's Political Gabfest more than Slate's other podcast offerings because it sounds like a dinner party with a bunch of smart, well-informed people talking about current events (whereas the other podcasts remind me of local news editorials from the 80s). It's also more normal (i.e., less vaudeville wacky) than NPR's It's All Politics roundtables.

Yesterday I tried an experiment where I took a photo when I woke up, set a timer for 30 minutes, took a photo, set the timer, and so on until I went to bed. (I also set my webcam to take a photo every minute from about 10 or 11am until 10pm and save all the shots to a local folder.) I hope to post the results tonight or tomorrow. The day was mostly typical until my hour of work after hockey practice turned into an extended period of deploying and testing that lasted until 3am. I hope to try the experiment again on a day that doesn't include hockey practice, and that does include the normal nighttime routine with the Beaner.

I decided not to write my usual rant about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the proliferation of pink this year, though every time I pass that damned pink fountain in Love Park (aka JFK Plaza) or see the Philadelphia skyline lit with pink at night, I'm sorely tempted. Instead I offer this article from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Which pink products really help fight breast cancer? I miss you, Pat.

And finally, I just have to say this: There are creases in this piece of paper. That is all.