Satchel Marr

AT-AT Model (My Current Time-Sink)

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:21:50 GMT

AT-AT barge pics are finally here! Of course, I've worked on it since these were taken. Thanks to SL for prodding me until I got these posted :)

Unfortunately no Trainspotting yet. My brother didn't want me to open the DVD, as he'll probably be buying the Blu-Ray and then he'd sell the DVD. Looks like I'll have to rent... I think I got a Blockbuster gift card someplace...

Current Music Library: 30,286 files
Current movie count: 825
Next to watch: Unsure...

Other things I've forgotten to mention / Sickly Satchel (Again)

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:13:36 GMT

Oh yes, I'm a forgetful one.

Besides my trips to Hawaii (where I placed 1st at Hawaii Star Ball) and Taiwan, I forgot to mention that I bought a laptop. Since I've been digitizing my music collection, I'm now tallying (for fun) the number of tracks in my collection.

I've caught something nasty, which thankfully arrived just after my partner and I took 1st place at City Lights Ball 2009 (Prechamp) last night. Also, thankfully we decided not to compete in Novice level today. Hopefully I'll be rid of this sore throat, cough and runny nose by the studio's Grand Opening this Friday and the Southwestern Regionals competition this Saturday. I may be forced to call in sick tomorrow.

I've been picking up my paper modeling again, which is awesome and relaxing. Must take pictures... Currently working on the AT-AT barge model, which has been on hold for... what, a year? And another year before that? I've lost track. Perhaps I should log hours on my models.

Oh, yes! I nearly forgot (again!). Y'all are well and truly invited to the Grand Opening of Dance Boulevard this Friday night!

Where: 1824 Hillsdale Ave. San Jose, CA 95124
(Where Camden & Hillsdale Avenues meet.)
Look for the giant GRAND OPENING! Banner.

When:
7:15PM: Doors Open
7:45PM: West Coast Swing Workshop featuring Richard Kear, the South Bay's most popular WC Swing specialist! -- $10
8:45PM: Party Begins -- Admission is free! (Donations accepted)
10:00PM: Professional Show by U.S. Finalists Steve Vasco and Joanna Siekerska
-Party continues until midnight!

Unless you already know some West Coast Swing, I'd recommend just coming at 8:45 for the free party. It should be a blast! Feel free to invite along anyone you know! We're hoping to max capacity up and downstairs!

Current Music Library: 30,286 files
Current movie count: 822
Next to watch: Trainspotting (STILL! haven't watched it yet. Maybe soon...)

It's Alive...

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:23:35 GMT

Geez. I knew I Hadn't posted since before my Hawaii/Taiwan trip in September, but...

I haven't posted since last APRIL? Oh man. Sad thing is, I don't think there's been that much of a jump in my movie count since then.

Well, as I said a moment ago, I took an awesome trip at the end of September. One week in Hawaii, where I stayed with Cheryl and Cullen, friends who used to dance at the studio, and took 1st in Prechamp Latin at Hawaii Star Ball. Another week in Taiwan, where I visited SL's extended family. Sadly, I didn't arrive in time to meet her grandma, who had been sick for some time and passed away just before the trip. Still, it was awesome to fly overseas, great to meet SL's aunts, uncles and cousins, and we got to visit the National Museum there.

After that came a two-month remodel of the dance studio, converting the billiards store downstairs into another dance floor. We re-opened the first week of February, and now we're remodeling the upstairs, to be completed in time for the Grand Opening on February 6th.

More to come, hopefully...

Current Music Library: 30,279 files
Current movie count: 822
Next to watch: Trainspotting (STILL! haven't watched it yet. Maybe soon...)

Sickly Satchel

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:07:50 GMT

I've been sick for a little more than a month. And it was going away...until two days ago, when I developed a hacking, wheezing cough that left me feeling like someone had kicked me in the chest a number of times. I also got a fever.

I went to work yesterday, but I got a little worse so I went home early.

This morning I had a doctor's appointment, and got antibiotics, because it's apparently unusual to get a fever after having a cold for a month. Everyone always speaks of codeine in hushed tones, like it's the ulti-tranquilizer, but I didn't feel anything mind-altering about it. I just took some more about half an hour ago. I'm not even a bit sleepy. But I'm technically not allowed to drive, so I'm stuck here.

At least I can move around without coughing up a lung right now. I suppose that could be the codeine--that's what it's supposed to do. But the first dose this morning didn't seem to help the coughing. I'm gonna say my improvement is due to me forcing myself to sleep all day. So there.

"I'm not feeling all right today, I'm not feeling that great. I'm not catching on fire today."
-Cake, "Sheep Go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell"

Current movie count: 809
Next to watch: Trainspotting

Devious Journal Entry

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:54:21 GMT

I finally posted some images on le DeviantART. That's one long-standing item that can come off my to-do list...

Cruiser - view 1 by ~SatchelMarr on deviant ART

Also: sleepy, but hungry. Terrible mix.

Music, Music, Music

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:11:44 GMT

Oh my, what have I been doing with my time?

Trading music... then cataloging and sorting it anal-retentively.

I now have approximately 9970 songs. Over 4300 are Tangos.

Hmmm.. I should gain access to the dance studio's music collection.

Current movie count: 805
Next to watch: The Jerk

Save Me From eBay!

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:43:59 GMT

I suggest everyone check out BizarreBids.com.

Someone's selling (for $10,000) the secret of "how to build UFOs for pennies that will fool millions".

Oddly shaped food items, a slice of Kraft cheese with Jesus drawn-on...

And there's a whole section devoted to "eBegging". Pretty amusing.

And then there's my experience on eBay...

But I did make $20 selling my own stuff (so far).

Current movie count: 804
Next to watch: Knocked Up

Nothing Much to Post

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:57:06 GMT

Planning to register for a DeviantArt account.

Hmmm.

Work later.

That is all.

I just feel kinda guilty about posting so infrequently.

Current movie count: 802
Next to watch: Grindhouse

All the Ducks are Swimming in the Water

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:34:45 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAedji_Xcg0

Heard this on the radio a few times and I got it stuck in my head enough that I had to find it. The music video makes it even better!

Current movie count: 802
Next to watch: Grindhouse

Rock Band Meme? (I'm Baaack)

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:58:49 GMT

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result!

Oh yes. There will be dinosaurs.

Current movie count: 800!!!
Next to watch: Juno

IN UR REALITY

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:42:54 GMT

I'm still here. Thankemverramuch, wireless connection. You worked before, and you probably won't work again in another day or so.

Lol, cats. Lol.

Saw a production of "Zoot Suit" in San Juan Bautista! What grade was I in when I last went there?

Now, I must watch the movie version, with Edward James Olmos.

Current movie count: 781
Next to watch: Catch a Fire

Humans vs. Zombies

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 07:19:40 GMT

It's a massive weeks-long game of capture-the-flag...with zombies!!!

Coming to a school near you. Perhaps?

         A   A   A
         |   |   |
Zombie Puppeteer for Vee

Current movie count: 781
Next to watch: Catch a Fire

CPIP (Carrier Pigeon Internet Protocol)

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:59:42 GMT

Also from Eric Raymond's website:

1990's addition to the hallowed tradition of April Fool RFCs was RFC 1149, A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers. This sketched a method for transmitting IP packets via carrier pigeons.

Eleven years later, on 28 April 2001, the Bergen Linux User's Group successfully demonstrated CPIP (Carrier Pigeon IP) between two Linux machines running on opposite sides of a small mountain in Bergen, Norway. Their network stack used printers to hex-dump packets onto paper, pigeons to transport the paper, and OCR software to read the dumps at the other end and feed them to the receiving machine's network layer.

Here is the actual log of the ping command they successfully executed. Note the exceptional packet times.
___________________________________________________________________
Script started on Sat Apr 28 11:24:09 2001
vegard@gyversalen:~$ /sbin/ifconfig tun0
tun0      Link encap:Point-to-Point Protocol  
          inet addr:10.0.3.2  P-t-P:10.0.3.1  Mask:255.255.255.255
          UP POINTOPOINT RUNNING NOARP MULTICAST  MTU:150  Metric:1
          RX packets:1 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 
          RX bytes:88 (88.0 b)  TX bytes:168 (168.0 b)
vegard@gyversalen:~$ ping -i 450 10.0.3.1
PING 10.0.3.1 (10.0.3.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 10.0.3.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=6165731.1 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.3.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=3211900.8 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.3.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=5124922.8 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.3.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=6388671.9 ms

— 10.0.3.1 ping statistics —
9 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 55% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 3211900.8/5222806.6/6388671.9 ms
vegard@gyversalen:~$ exit

Script done on Sat Apr 28 14:14:28 2001
___________________________________________________________________

A web page documenting the event, with pictures, is at http://www.blug.linux.no/rfc1149/. In the finest Internet tradition, all software involved was open-source; the custom parts are available for download from the site.

While all acknowledged the magnitude of this achievement, some debate ensued over whether BLUG's implementation was properly conformant to the RFC. It seems they had not used the duct tape specified in 1149 to attach messages to pigeon legs, but instead employed other methods less objectionable to the pigeons. The debate was properly resolved when it was pointed out that the duct-tape specification was not prefixed by a MUST, and was thus a recommendation rather than a requirement.

The perpetrators finished their preliminary writeup in this wise: “Now, we're waiting for someone to write other implementations, so that we can do interoperability tests, and maybe we finally can get the RFC into the standards track... ”.

The logical next step should be an implementation of RFC2549.

Current movie count: 781
Next to watch: Catch a Fire

"Magic" or "More Magic?"

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:27:58 GMT

Got coat number three on the hood (a thin one). I think coat number two was too thick. I had to sand it with the power sander to make any headway, and then I burned through the paint in about eight or ten places (still better than the first coat). I put this coat on much thinner. I'll try wet-sanding it by hand tomorrow morning, then add another superthin coat. Hopefully I'll have better luck this way.

__ __ __

Guy Lewis Steele Jr., also known as "The Great Quux", is an American computer scientist and author. He was editor of The Hacker's Dictionary, which has since been revised as The New Hacker's Dictionary, edited by Eric Raymond (MIT Press). In 1994 he joined Sun Microsystems and was invited by Bill Joy to become a member of the Java team after the language had been designed, since he had a track record of writing good specifications for existing languages. (From Wikipedia)

Here's a great story from Steele, posted on Eric Raymond's website.

"Some years ago, I (GLS) was snooping around in the cabinets that housed the MIT AI Lab's PDP-10, and noticed a little switch glued to the frame of one cabinet. It was obviously a homebrew job, added by one of the lab's hardware hackers (no one knows who).

You don't touch an unknown switch on a computer without knowing what it does, because you might crash the computer. The switch was labeled in a most unhelpful way. It had two positions, and scrawled in pencil on the metal switch body were the words ‘magic' and ‘more magic'. The switch was in the ‘more magic' position.

I called another hacker over to look at it. He had never seen the switch before either. Closer examination revealed that the switch had only one wire running to it! The other end of the wire did disappear into the maze of wires inside the computer, but it's a basic fact of electricity that a switch can't do anything unless there are two wires connected to it. This switch had a wire connected on one side and no wire on its other side.

It was clear that this switch was someone's idea of a silly joke. Convinced by our reasoning that the switch was inoperative, we flipped it. The computer instantly crashed.

Imagine our utter astonishment. We wrote it off as coincidence, but nevertheless restored the switch to the ‘more magic’ position before reviving the computer.

A year later, I told this story to yet another hacker, David Moon as I recall. He clearly doubted my sanity, or suspected me of a supernatural belief in the power of this switch, or perhaps thought I was fooling him with a bogus saga. To prove it to him, I showed him the very switch, still glued to the cabinet frame with only one wire connected to it, still in the ‘more magic’ position. We scrutinized the switch and its lone connection, and found that the other end of the wire, though connected to the computer wiring, was connected to a ground pin. That clearly made the switch doubly useless: not only was it electrically nonoperative, but it was connected to a place that couldn't affect anything anyway. So we flipped the switch.

The computer promptly crashed.

This time we ran for Richard Greenblatt, a long-time MIT hacker, who was close at hand. He had never noticed the switch before, either. He inspected it, concluded it was useless, got some diagonal cutters and diked it out. We then revived the computer and it has run fine ever since.

We still don't know how the switch crashed the machine. There is a theory that some circuit near the ground pin was marginal, and flipping the switch changed the electrical capacitance enough to upset the circuit as millionth-of-a-second pulses went through it. But we'll never know for sure; all we can really say is that the switch was magic.

I still have that switch in my basement. Maybe I'm silly, but I usually keep it set on ‘more magic’.

1994: Another explanation of this story has since been offered. Note that the switch body was metal. Suppose that the non-connected side of the switch was connected to the switch body (usually the body is connected to a separate earth lug, but there are exceptions). The body is connected to the computer case, which is, presumably, grounded. Now the circuit ground within the machine isn't necessarily at the same potential as the case ground, so flipping the switch connected the circuit ground to the case ground, causing a voltage drop/jump which reset the machine. This was probably discovered by someone who found out the hard way that there was a potential difference between the two, and who then wired in the switch as a joke."

Heh. Hope you enjoyed it!

Current movie count: 779
Next to watch: Walkabout

Car Painting, Day Four

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:00:09 GMT

Today was day four of my car painting venture. I woke up around 10 or so, which only gave me enough time to mostly sand yesterday's paint coat #2. Hopefully tomorrow morning I'll do any finishing touches on sanding and apply coat number three. In the meantime, here are pictures!


The roof, with ugly rust.	The other side of the roof, now sanded.

The trunk, giving a good indication of how the rest of the car looked before I started.	Here's the hood with two coats of paint. This was before I sanded coat #2.

*sigh* Time to get to work...

Current movie count: 778
Next to watch: The Grifters

So I'm painting my car...

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:18:36 GMT

Most of you have seen my sorry '92 Dodge Spirit. The paint job (which could perhaps imaginatively be called blue) is cracking and peeling, and the body is beginning to rust. To prevent further rusting, I decided to paint the car. Myself. I read about a $50 method for painting your car with Rustoleum and decided to try it.

My supplies have so far totaled just over $100, and I've only got the primer and the first coat on the hood. If I can refrain from breaking any more supplies (so far: a sanding wheel) and I make the paint last, I might be able to keep the project total under $200. Especially if I find someone to borrow a buffer/polisher from. Perhaps my boss. But that comes after 6 or 7 more coats of paint.

I'm going to try to do just the hood first and if that works, I'll start on the rest of the car. If it's a disaster, I'll return as many supplies as I can and probably take it to Maaco for a $300 repaint.

If I get a camera again or ever get my cell phone linkup to work again, I'll post pics.

Man, this is hard work.

Current movie count: 776
Next to watch: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,

Helm's Deep

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:02:10 GMT

I just realized--hey, I've got a camera. I don't think I've ever posted pictures of the Helm's Deep Model occupying a good portion of my room. I've certainly placed it on my to-do lists a few times, but unless you've been in my room anytime within the last five years or so, you probably haven't seen it.

Voilà! In all its unfinished glory...

Ooh, ooh, and the Perseids Meteors are visible tonight! Shower cap, anyone?

Current movie count: 774
Next to watch: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Top Censored (or Ignored) Stories of '07

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:48:57 GMT

I've always loved Project Censored.

I specifically posted this because Lit League has been reading Michael Pollan, who discusses genetically modified foods and the Monsanto Corporation.

1. Future of Internet Debate (Net Neutrality) Mostly Ignored by Media
2. Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran
3. Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger
4. Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US
5. High-Tech Genocide in Congo
6. Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy
7. US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq
8. Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act
9. The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall
10. Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians
11. Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed
12. Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines
13. New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup (Manufactured by Monsanto)

Sure, it's all the way down at #11, but you should be sure to read the other stories too. I especially recommend stories 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 13, 20, 23, and 24.

On the lighter side, have you ever felt that "standard" rock paper scissors was just too dull?

Expanded Rock Paper Scissors

Current movie count: 770
Next to watch: The Pelican Brief

Life ≈ Good

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:01:54 GMT

My room is clean! Relatively, anyway; I've got floor space.

So it's time for another one of my fabulous to-do lists, to help me keep track of my sheet.

1. Finish my Star Destroyer. And post pictures so I can return my boss's camera.

2. Finish Helm's Deep.It'd be ever so nice to have that table back for other projects. Or at least have a really badass completed Helm's Deep on it.

3. Finish the USS Defiant. Noticing a theme of unfinished models here?

4. Clean out my car. It's starting to get messy.

5. Clean/sort/eliminate the piles of paper in my room. A real mountain of a task, to be sure.

6. Make an artist's website. ♪ DeviantArt is *calling* me... ♫

7. Make more business cards. I really need to do this, now that I've got a new cell phone number.

8. See if I can't design & create some Star Wars PocketModels of my own, using styrene & photo paper. Between designing the geometry and creating the graphics, this could be time-intensive.

9. Get back to working on my Star Wars rewrites. Bad David, for not working on this in too long!

10. Make some more dance CDs for Cheryl & Cullen. When they moved to Hawaii, they asked if I could burn a bunch of dance music for them. I burned a couple of CDs and then got very busy. But I just found some blank discs they gave me for that purpose, and now I'm getting my music in order. Better late than never, right?

And without further ado, more Star Destroyer pictures!


The interior of the destroyer's lower hull, with visible apertures for the docking bays.	The hangar assembly slotted into place in the lower hull. See next picture!

The destroyer's main docking bay and secondary docking bay, now slotted into place.	Upper section of the Star Destroyer's hull. The beginnings of the superstructure are taking shape.

The Star Destroyer's bridge tower spine, being slotted into place.	Note how perfectly I focused this bridge tower shot on my thumb. The screws will support the globes in the next pic.

▲ One of the brass balls I found, sharpied up. Score one for the packrat! ▼ The paper facets, glued in place with Elmer's (<3).	The threaded sensor globe, screwed into place but not yet glued.

The bridge tower assembly!	The ship so far!

Stay tuned, d00ds.

Current movie count: 769
Next to watch: Phone Booth

Victory Star Destroyer: the Beginning

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 10:40:28 GMT

The Simpsons movie: very enjoyable! Hurrah for a night off of work.

I've also been re-arranging my computer setup. I got a free printer, which I need to test to see if it's gonna work. The driver CD came with it, so I'm hopeful. Online reviews had good things to say about this inexpensive model of printer.

Also, my boss loaned me his verrah nice camera, so here are some project progress pictures...


The ventral side of the destroyer's hull.	The main docking bay with two adjacent landing bays; eventually this will feature scale TIE fighters.

The destroyer's main landing bay, suitable for shuttles and AT-AT barges.	The landing bay is visible through the doors in the aft wall of the docking bay.

The forward landing bay. The rails on the ceiling can convey and launch TIEs.	The secondary docking bay, just forward of the forward landing bay.

The main hangar, together with the primary and secondary docking bays.	This framework will hold the entire docking bay assembly in place.

The entire docking bay assembly, ready to slot into place.	Another view of the docking bay assembly.

Coming soon: the bridge tower and sensor globes!

Current movie count: 769
Next to watch: Phone Booth

I Lack Camera

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:30:49 GMT

I'd love to document the construction of my Star Destroyer, but as the tagline says, I lack camera. Maybe I'll see if anyone at the studio has one that can take close-ups detailed enough. The sensor globes are coming along nicely.

Got to run and get ready for work!

Current movie count: 768
Next to watch: The Simpsons (hopefully)

Dance Competition

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:27:48 GMT

Oh, I forgot all about posting about that.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday I danced at International Grand Ball in Burlingame. Friday night was "Candyman", which is a Jive formation routine by the dance company I'm in called Keep the Rhythm. We took first place, although we sustained a number of unlucky injuries due to botched lifts and aerials. I probably landed my partner too hard coming out of a flip, and she reported some pain in her foot, although luckily it subsided enough to allow us to dance on the following two nights.

Saturday my partner and I competed in the Amateur Open Latin Prechampionship level (Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive) and we placed third of six.

Sunday we danced at the Novice level and took second place, finishing only after a couple that had flown in from the Philippines.

Yay!

Current movie count: 767
Next to watch: Good Night, and Good Luck

Tiny Polyhedrons

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:01:12 GMT

So...

I'm currently trying to figure out how to construct two of these...

That are less than a centimeter in diameter. 7.1 mm, to be precise. My best idea right now is to try to cut out the correctly-sized faces from index card and glue them to two tiny brass spheres that are approximately the right size. That, or clay. I don't know how well I could shape clay at that size, though.

Ideas, anyone? For once I am pretty stumped. If anything's harder than compound curves in small-scale modeling, it's just got to be tiny polyhedrons.

Current movie count: 767
Next to watch: ?

Look! Look! I'm Doing it Again.

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:24:28 GMT

I'm posting!

So life is pretty swell. I'm dancing lots, certainly tired lots, but definitely feel like I'm living life more since I quit at the museum. I suppose I just feel like 50% of my waking hours are at least spent doing something I enjoy.

It's not that I didn't think my museum job wasn't worthwhile, or that I don't feel like the time I worked there wasn't well-spent. But now I certainly feel more connected to the outcome of my efforts than I did there. I feel that I'm improving myself with each passing day. With every lesson I teach, I feel more competent.

When I worked at the museum I wanted to teach dance because I felt that I'd have more free time overall in which to create artwork. I also knew on some level that that was probably unrealistic.

I'm probably spending at least as many hours at my new job as I did at the museum, although I'm spending only about half of those hours actually working. That's to be expected, since I'm still a student as well as a teacher and need to practice with my dance partner a lot.

My current goals include:

-More work on getting my finances organized.

-Getting up earlier to exercise and/or work out a bit.

-Now that I have a working computer, I've been spending lots of time getting my music collection organized. But as I start to settle into this dance career, I really would like to devote some serious morning hours to artwork. My room is much cleaner now, and with a bit more work, I'll have half my desk clear (the other half is occupied by the computer).

Current movie count: 767
Next to watch: ?

Surprise!

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:23:58 GMT

I knew I hadn't posted in a while.

BUT JANUARY?

Geez...

Well, I'm back. Quit my job at the Egyptian Museum. Now I teach ballroom dance for a living. I'm much happier, but slightly poorer for the time being (working on that one).

Got a sweet computer for a year (thanks, Henry!).

Been enjoying life tremendously lately, thanks to a very sweet woman with fabulous fashion sense and an eye for some seriously tasty food.

Ooh. This one's going on my fantasy wish list.