a crank’s progress

After my experiments of last night with linking my “Now playing” tags to tracks at iTMS, I realize it will work too rarely to be useful to anyone. See the graphic: from that album, only one track is available and it’s not the one that’s playing. (and on the track playing now — listed below [...]

Home improvement time here at Thistle Dew. I had a spot for a light fixture (a gaping hole with wires in it, to put it plainly) and when this one showed up on freecycle, I grabbed it. It came sealed in its original plastic with new bulbs . . .

Installing it was pretty easy: [...]

I have seen a few drinking games suggested to accompany the debate tonight: let’s just say that taking a drink everytime the president said “steadfast”, “resolute”, or referred to Saddam Hussein as a danger would have had all but the most experienced drunks out of the game before halftime . . . .
The next [...]

What is the injury-producing impact of a 500 lb smart bomb, in square feet? Imagine a circle with a four hundred foot radius. Use πr2 and get 502,654.825. Google Calculator: pi * 400^2
If the room in which you sit is 20 * 20 (400 sq ft), the affected area would encompass 1,256 similarly-sized rooms. The [...]

Poynter Online - Forums
I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: “Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and [...]

Too many freaks,
not enough circuses
(seen on the back of an aging VW microbus, natch).

Now playing:I. Andante - Sym No.50 ‘Mount St. Helens’ Op.360 by Seattle Symphony from the album “Sym 50 ‘Mount St. Helens’/Symphony 22 ‘City Of Light’” | Buy it
I just made two CDs from this for some teachers . . . . Hovhaness was a local artist and used local themes and elements in his [...]

Salon.com News | The rising
I think that this particular election is, at the core, a debate about the soul of the nation. I think we can move toward greater economic justice for all of our citizens, or we cannot. I think we can move toward a sane, responsible foreign policy, or we cannot. For me, [...]

If this works (and I think it will, thanks to Michael Hanscom’s diligence), my “now playing” links will now link through to the iTunes Music Store, meaning almost instant gratification for you and a penny or two for me.
Well, it looks like this hinges on whether or not the iTunes Music Store’s catalog is [...]

What exactly is a Legacy Edition?
So London Calling is finally available in its entirety (I have already converted my ca. 1979 copy to digital files), but with a lot of other odds and ends to make it more, um, appealing.
Would Joe Strummer be OK with this?