I’m not even sure if I ever really felt Max kick or not when holding my hand up to Nam’s belly. I thought I did, but I can’t be sure. No such thing with the next baby, though – she’s in there jumping up and down every day and night. It seems as though specific poses or actions set her off; when Nam lays on one side, the baby gets really active for some reason. Even Max has felt her kick now, which brings me to my second point: It seems that Max now thinks that all even slightly plump women are PREGNANT. This has turned into something of an inside joke, usually ending when the girl asks, “why are you kissing my belly, Max?”
Well, he thinks there’s a baby in there!
Sunny Day
The view from our front porch.
Ping Test
Give it a try here: http://www.pingtest.net
This is especially useful for people in Thailand trying to stream data or play multi-player games on servers overseas. Try testing your latency to Bangkok, then to a foreign destination. The traffic bottlenecks at the undersea data cables after being squeezed through government filters and ISP proxies, which explains the pitiful latency. It’s not quite as bad as DSL being beat by carrier pigeon, but it does explain why Skype and internet radio reception can be so crappy a lot of the time.
Dark Stalking
This is really interesting: Dark Stalking on Facebook
“But by far the most interesting part of all of this have been dark users. Like dark matter, these users are not directly observable, usually because they’ve completely disabled API access. In fact, some of these users are completely dark unless you’re a friend. They don’t show up in search results. They don’t show up on friends’ lists. You can’t send them messages. If you try to navigate to their user page (assuming you know it exists), you get redirected back to your homepage. These users have their privacy settings turned up real high, and are supposed to be hard to find.
However like dark matter, dark users are observable due to their effects on the rest of the universe. If a dark user comments on a stream entry, I can see that comment. More importantly, I can see their user-ID, and I can generate a URL to a page that will contain their name. I can then watch for their activities elsewhere. Granted, I can’t directly search for their activity, but I can observe their effects on my friends.”
So, even if you think you’re cloaked safely in the thermocline like a lurking nuclear sub (by using “safe” Facebook practices), the very act of trying to be invisible can give you away. You cannot be detected directly, but you invariably leave clues just by being there. I keep wondering what form the Great Facebook Meltdown will take, but it’s definitely building up to that definitive moment.
Banana Flower Photo
When a cluster of bananas appears on a tree, you wait a while and lop off the flower (which grows upside-down from the bottom of the cluster’s stalk). This is from the biggest tree in our backyard, of which there are always 5 to 10 in various stages of growth (I cut them down after we harvest the bananas, and new ones sprout up next to the stumps).
A banana flower is a beautiful thing. It looks like something out of a Giger sketch.
Kokia Live
This is an awesome song in a Gandalf/Runemaster/Operatic Celt kinda way. This is Kokia.
Spontaneous glass breakage
Well, I’d heard of it before (wpedia link), but never seen it. Didn’t see it happen this time, either, but Nam said this glass pot lid (which was thankfully placed inverted on the pot for storage under the sink – this kept glass from flying around) suddenly exploded when I was in the shower half an hour ago.
The most common theories are installation damage (N/A here), thermal expansion or manufacturing impurities. However, another theory states that it might be caused by an “ultrasonic sound wave at a harmonic of the glass’ resonant frequency.”
Oh.
Beware of “pleas for help” scam on Facebook
Robbed by Facebook’s enemy in the camp
The more info you give to Facebook, the easier it is for malicious people and apps to exploit you. For your own sake, stop providing info that can be used against you! Facebook has no stake in protecting you because they are not liable, and using that very info makes them money.
Toyota Floormat Recall
This is a pretty serious problem: Toyota plans huge U.S. recall for dangerous floormats
It sounds more like a headline from the Onion, but it seems like it’s responsible for deaths. I can attest to the dangers of certain types of floor mats because they caused problems in my car last year a few times.
I was using an aftermarket rubber floor mat on the driver’s side of our Cefiro and the mass of the raised lip made the front edge heavy. The mat was naturally pushed forward when I moved my feet around while driving, and once in a while it would get pushed up onto the accelerator. When this happened, I immediately noticed that the pedal wasn’t responding so I shifted to neutral and instinctively kicked the pedal a few times to work the problem loose. This caveman solution worked well enough, but it was pretty surprising to say the least. I dreaded the day when this would happen with my wife driving.
The thing is, I had no idea what was causing the problem at the time. I suspected a mechanical problem with the throttle, so I took it in to the dealer and “rush” ordered a new throttle cable and assembly. Meanwhile, I had the current assembly taken apart, examined, and lubricated. I also had the return spring on the accelerator pedal stalk changed for good measure. It took forever for the new part to come in and a couple weeks into waiting, the accelerator got stuck once again. This time, it took several rounds of furious kicking to get the pedal free. I’d had enough. I ordered the part through a specialty store in town and they got it for me in one day (fucking dealers!). The dealer changed it out. I was happy… Of course, a week later, the accelerator got stuck again.
This time when it happened, I was on a wide open road with nobody around, so after I shifted into neutral, I put my seat all the way back and took a careful look down at the pedals. Lo and behold, the floor mat had shifted forward and was holding down the accelerator part way. I went by my homeboy Ot’s accessory shop and bought a nice set of lower profile mats that fit my car’s floor design much better and don’t shift forward. I haven’t had problems since.
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The thing is, if you have one of the cars described in the recall, what you could do to prevent problems is IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THE DRIVER’S SIDE FLOOR MAT(S).