The challenges of trying to convert things…
2 minute read
April 5, 2007, 11:04 AM
My life is never dull. I am slowly but surely working to convert my site from one that operates on a Windows-based server to one that runs on a Unix/Linux/whatever-based server. I’m doing this because I seem to have hit a wall in my design. Everywhere I want to go requires a non-Windows server. So we’re converting. I’m going to eventually learn PHP and MySQL, and do it.
Some of you have already seen the forum, running on phpBB. The next thing I’m working on is the Journal, where it will be powered by WordPress. It’s going to look and feel mostly the same as before, though it will have this nifty RSS feed when it’s all said and done. I can phase in other features later.
Otherwise, I’ve been listening to my fair share of conservative radio talk show hosts. I still like Chris Lysy’s way of putting it: “Daily dose of outrage”. Lately, I’ve been listening to Mark Levin on podcast. I think I’ve been listening to too much Levin when I read the newspaper and they mention Nancy Pelosi and the term “stretch” comes to mind. Likewise all of Mark Levin’s other derogatory names for all the Democrats in Congress. And of course, I enjoyed hearing the talk shows’ reaction to M17 on the following Monday. I was at M17, don’t forget. I think the best comment was the accusation someone made of the anti-war demonstrators on Mark Levin’s show. They said that people were taking the Metro back into DC and marching around again to make the numbers look bigger. I find that kind of odd, especially since the Pentagon Metro station is on the south side of the Pentagon, and we were north of the Pentagon. I consider Pentagon station as kind of being required to pull such a stunt off, since Arlington Cemetery would have skipped half the march route. Also consider the fact that police were physically blocking the way to Pentagon station. Plus in DC, the Lincoln Memorial (the start of the march route) is not exactly near any Metro stations. Bottom line is, it’s impractical, and wouldn’t work even if someone wanted to do it.
Sometimes it’s just amusing what the other side comes up with…
Categories: Greta, Radio, Schumin Web meta
A new tagger has arrived on the Red Line scene…
2 minute read
March 28, 2007, 6:32 PM
As many who ride the Metro can attest, the eastern part of the Red Line has a lot of graffiti visible from the train. Besides the large “Bush Hates Borf” message near the Takoma station, there’s also a whole bunch of graffiti nearer to the ground. A lot of it is on walls in CSX’s right of way, and then there’s some on nearby buildings, and so on.
But I noticed a whole bunch of new tags when I rode up to Fort Totten yesterday on the Red Line. They are anti-war graffiti tags. Here’s an example of one near Brookland-CUA station:
I actually saw a bunch of these along the Red Line with similar messages. I don’t necessarily agree with the method used to get the message out – that being tagging – but the sentiment is definitely a good one.
Continue reading…Categories: Anti-war, Street art, WMATA
If this is the best that the right wing has to offer, I am not impressed.
2 minute read
March 14, 2007, 6:35 PM
I seem to have been made the poster child of the anti-war movement on the blog of conservative columnist Michelle Malkin. And if what I’ve seen is the best that the right wing has to offer, I am not impressed.
And now we understand why the Republicans lost in November if this is how these people handle themselves. Here are a few gems for you…
From “jim”: When Islam over runs this country it will be because of wussy boys like you.
From “Kelly Aasen”: Go to the gym, read some real books (not the liberal trash you appear to be reading) and get the [expletive deleted] out of your parents house and on your own.
From “A Vet”: Kindly don’t come looking to desecrate the VN memorial. We had experience dealing with people in black previously and we won’t take kindly to any attempts to leave any paint/marks on it. Otherwise have a nice day Sunday. PS: kindly don’t date my daughter.
Categories: Anti-war, National politics, Netculture
You mean this?
< 1 minute read
March 13, 2007, 9:52 AM
While I was at Daily Grind yesterday burning my mouth, I was listening to Neal Boortz on WTKS out of Savannah, Georgia via an Internet feed. Neal and a caller were discussing ANSWER Coalition (which as of late has become far less mainstream than it once was). The thing that got me a little riled up, though, was the fact they attributed the graffiti-ing of the Capitol on January 27 to ANSWER.
Why did this get me a little riled up, you might ask?
Well, first of all, what did ANSWER have to do with the January 27 march, and also, what did ANSWER have to do with the black bloc that was originally organized by SDS? The answer is nothing. ANSWER had nothing to do with J27, aside from a few banners out in the crowd. It was the anarchist contingent that put graffiti on the front of the Capitol. I should know. I was with them all day.
I have no problems with these radio talk shows criticizing these organizations, whether their target be ANSWER, UFPJ, DAWN, SDS, or otherwise. That’s their right. I do, however, think that if people are going to criticize groups, that they should at least attribute actions to the correct groups. To do otherwise is just irresponsible.
Categories: Black bloc, Radio
It got a little hairy at one point, but I made it…
2 minute read
February 13, 2007, 4:24 AM
I am pleased to say that I am home safe and sound once again, back from my 87th DC trip since I started doing these things back in 2004. This trip was moved up two days due to an impending snowstorm, and even then, I was fully prepared to abort the trip and return home should the weather have turned sour while I was up there. But thankfully, the weather held, and I accomplished all of my objectives for this trip. The weather in DC was beautiful, too. It was cold, but it wasn’t windy, and the skies were clear well into the afternoon.
The trip home was not so nice, though. I encountered light snow briefly around Front Royal, and then I encountered the heaviest snow from just north of Woodstock to just south of New Market. From New Market to Harrisonburg, it was wet, and then the roads were perfect from Harrisonburg to Stuarts Draft.
I also made excellent time going home despite 25 miles of snow, through which I was going 45 mph on the interstate. I made such excellent time in part because I really blew right through my two stops. Seriously, I was in and out of Sheetz in Haymarket and Wal-Mart in Woodstock in record time. All part of making hay while the roads are clear. Especially when I don’t have the luxury of two off-days back to back this week.
Categories: DC trips, Schumin Web meta, Street art
You say “AM radio” to a teen, and their eyes just glaze over.
2 minute read
February 1, 2007, 2:34 PM
I was listening to Rush Limbaugh today at home (unusual – usually I only listen to talk radio in the car), and I will be the first to tell you that he’s a wacko. That said (and all that will be said at this juncture, since that’s not what this entry is about), I have to say that I do love listening to talk radio. Hard politics, I love it.
It’s funny, though. I’ll talk to some of my younger coworkers about talk radio, and as soon as you mention the AM band, all of a sudden they’re lost. That’s it. I’m exaggerating a little, but you get my drift. “AM?” Seems many of my coworkers don’t realize or pay much attention to the fact that people also talk about intellectual matters on the radio, rather than just sing. I may not agree with much of what they’re saying, but it’s still stimulating to the mind. It makes you think.
By comparison, I consider music radio to be rather mindless. It doesn’t keep me engaged, and doesn’t give my mind anything to chew on. On the way home from my DC trips, I finally lose the DC area stations around Woodstock, and don’t pick up the stations in my local area until Harrisonburg. I get great reception of the local NPR station, which plays classical music during off-peak times. I like classical music a lot, but not when I’m driving, since it puts me to sleep. The oldies stations and the “top hits” stations do nothing for me. Talk keeps me engaged. It really does.
If I’m really lucky, when driving home late at night, I can get WSB on AM 750 out of Atlanta, where they play what they call “re-Boortz” late at night. It’s a replay of the most recent Neal Boortz show.
Still, mention talk radio to a teen, or AM radio in general, and you get this puzzled look. It’s kind of funny…
Categories: Radio
Remember not to misspell, now… that’s B-O-R-F.
2 minute read
January 21, 2007, 10:10 PM
Occasionally I have fun with my coworkers. I recently had the occasion of having some cans of spray paint go through the Service Desk to go back to their proper department. And in the meantime, talk of graffiti came up. I made reference to the DC-area graffiti artist John Tsombikos from Great Falls, best known as the main person behind the “Borf” campaign. Of course, my coworkers had no idea. They don’t make these biweekly runs to DC like I do. I remember seeing graffiti from the train along the eastern half of the Red Line referring to “Borf”, and I was like, what-the-heck. “Borf”? It wasn’t until really recently, talking about the “disarm” message that was stenciled on the sidewalk of the Key Bridge, that I really found out what Borf was all about. Very prolific.
Otherwise, it snowed today, as the weather forecasters predicted. Actually, it snowed first, then turned to freezing rain, and then to sleet. All and all, it was not a pleasant drive to work. Actually, going in was worse than leaving. It was all still snow then. Basically packed snow all the way to Waynesboro. The Sable still drives better in the snow than the Previa did, but the trip was not without its challenges, as stopping was something of a challenge. Most notably, I was unable to stop at the intersection of the westbound off-ramp of I-64 and Rosser Avenue in Waynesboro, and therefore slid right through a just-turned red light. So yes, I ran a red light today. I did, and so did the car beside me. Both of us slid right through the red light, blowing our horns to warn any potential cross-traffic of our situation. We both got through unscathed.
Categories: Anti-war, Driving, Family, Street art, Washington DC, Winter weather
Taquitos? Looks more like cigars to me!
2 minute read
December 25, 2006, 11:19 AM
I was watching “I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger”, which was the third-season Christmas episode on Power Rangers. That was the one where Rito Revolto took over Santa’s workshop, forcing the elves to make Rita and Lord Zedd’s toys. The Power Rangers came to fix things up, but due to various odds and ends, they were unable to morph. Of course, the bad guys’ powers didn’t work, either, so all is fair. They just ran on being bad guys.
The scene I find amusing, though, is the scene where Lord Zedd is having his favorite snack: taquitos and dry ice. They didn’t do that great of a job showing what these things were. It looked like Zedd was having a good smoke over there, to be quite honest. See for yourself on these stills from that episode:
Categories: Christmas, Power Rangers
Eating a spoonful of cinnamon…
< 1 minute read
December 22, 2006, 10:52 PM
I recently watched a video on YouTube of one of the participants on my discussion forums eating a spoonful of straight cinnamon. Literally, straight cinnamon. He poured some cinnamon from a bottle directly onto the spoon, and swallowed it.
And I would say that he paid dearly for it, as evidenced by his facial expressions. And the ginger ale that he was drinking didn’t help any, as the carbonation had to make it worse. If it were me, I’d have used water or milk.
It reminds me of what I used to do my freshman year of college with the ramen noodles. I used to remove the flavoring package, and then mash up the dry noodles in the package, and eat them like potato chips. Then with the flavoring package, I’d eat that straight. That was a strong flavor right there, mostly in the salt content. VERY salty. Makes your eyes water. I also don’t recommend that anyone else do that.
Of course, we didn’t have YouTube during my college years, or else I might very well have made a video of it and posted it online. Of course, in my early videos with Big Mavica, I was big on capturing crazy antics from a behind-the-camera vantage point. Then and now, it’s rare that I’ll make an appearance in front of the camera, but it’s been known to happen.
And as far as cinnamon goes, I know that too much cinnamon with food in much smaller amounts than that makes me uncomfortable. I can’t imagine what it feels like to eat that much cinnamon at once.
“Touch the ball.”
2 minute read
December 2, 2006, 10:27 PM
Have you ever seen the movie Space Jam? At the end, you may recall, at Michael Jordan’s insistence, that the NBA players who had their talent stolen by the aliens touched the basketball to get their basketball talent back.
Reason I mention this is because I saw a photo in today’s Staunton News Leader that brought this scene to mind. Take a look:
The new strap is taking some getting used to, but it works…
2 minute read
October 23, 2006, 8:19 PM
Hello from Pentagon City on my Richmond-to-DC trip, where I started from home, drove to Richmond via I-64, and took the driving tour through downtown Richmond, which is best described as the good, the bad, and the ugly – very ugly. I don’t call Richmond the “armpit of the state” for nothing.
Then I swung up I-95 to Fredericksburg, where I explored around a bit. One of these days, I will figure out something to photograph while I’m there. Then from there, I continued to Woodbridge, where I visited Potomac Mills. Very quiet place this time around, with my visit occurring on a Monday afternoon. Then I drove up US 1 a bit, and caught the Metro at Huntington. I visited my friend Tristan, and then went around a bit on the Metro, ending up here at Pentagon City.
So fun stuff. From here, I’m going to railfan over to Franconia-Springfield, then double back to King Street and ride back to Huntington, where the Sable is parked. Then leaving Huntington, I’m going to take US 1 to the 14th Street Bridge, and then drive into Washington. I don’t know what my route will be there yet. Then from there, I’m going to take I-66 to US 29, take 29 to Charlottesville, then catch I-64 again to go back home.
“Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them…”
2 minute read
September 30, 2006, 10:46 PM
I’m watching the episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on Nick at Nite where they get “Rafael de la Ghetto”, the allegedly famous poet, in to read poetry. Of course, it’s really Geoffrey the butler in an afro wig and a dashiki. It’s one of my favorite Fresh Prince episodes.
And with Jazz mentioning that finding someone literate to play Raphael de la Ghetto would cost Will “an extra two Jacksons” reminds me of something I’ve been thinking about lately. Have you noticed that in the two most recent incarnations of the US $20 bill, that they “softened” Andrew Jackson’s appearance? No? Take a look for yourself:
Categories: Amusing, Television
Oh, how I love some of the quirky messages I receive sometimes…
2 minute read
September 8, 2006, 1:40 AM
On my Wikipedia talk page, I really received a good message this time, from a user named “Joeferret”, entitled “On our relationship”. Here it is:
So Mr. Schumen. You rally for the deletion of my article. You spit on all of modern society’s conventions regarding peace and civility. And on top of all that, you sell thong underwear online. Hence, I have come to an important conclusion: you are my Newman. And thusly, I say this to you sir: Hello… Schumen… Joeferret 05:42, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
Where do I start… first of all, the title, “About our relationship”. He makes it sound like we’re dating or something. I’ve never met this fellow, and I don’t think I particularly want to. Then he misspells “Schumin”. It’s not like he’s never seen my last name before. He mentions this Web site, so it’s not like he didn’t see it splattered all over that. My logo has that little orange dot up there, which indicates for all that it’s an “i” there, and not another vowel.
Then there’s the actual content of his article, which was titled “Anarcho-homosexualism”. Sounds like an interesting topic, but I couldn’t find anyone who could actually verify any of it, and a Google search of the term turned up zero results. Thus someone sent it to Articles for Deletion as original research (Wikipedia has a policy against original research), and I was one of the supporters in deleting it, where, interestingly enough, I was impersonated by someone in the process (see here), as well as having some of my comments modified by other users. Needless to say, this was not a “nice” AfD, since the article’s original creator acted like a lunatic throughout the whole process.
Of course, now the question then becomes why they chose to message me, over all the others participating in that discussion. And a full month after the debate ended, no less. I wasn’t nearly as hard on him as others were in that space. I was nice about things.
So all in all, go figure. Somehow I seem to attract some real fruit bars, both on Wikipedia, and at work as well (though on the latter, not so much lately).
Categories: Wikipedia
I have officially discovered YouTube, and this is kinda fun…
< 1 minute read
September 5, 2006, 11:39 AM
I have discovered YouTube, and it’s kind of fun. I consider it better than television because it’s real people doing real stuff. Compare to television where, while the video and sound are more professional-looking, it’s kind of a lot of the same rehashed over and over and over again.
And after some time trying to figure out how I could use YouTube effectively, I’ve decided that YouTube is that place where I can upload stuff that’s worth a look, but that I wouldn’t carry on the regular Web site.
For instance, I have some really long videos that I did when I was testing out Big Mavica on the first day I got it. I was wandering around Potomac Hall and being all silly and such. My residents were probably like, what’s he got now? as I went wandering around, filming everything. No one was used to Big Mavica, and neither was I, as we all soon found out. Of course, you’ve got to start somewhere. And with these videos sitting in storage for so long, we might as well show them off on YouTube.
So yeah, fun stuff. I take a lot of videos, so this should be interesting.
Categories: YouTube
Photos of mine, printed ABOVE the fold…
2 minute read
August 28, 2006, 7:51 AM
How often can you say that your photos end up on the front page of the local newspaper? And above the fold, no less. If you look at the August 28, 2006 edition of The News Virginian, you will see two photos anchoring an article about the Skyline Parkway Motel, which, you may recall, had been abandoned for some time, and then was torched in 2004. Both of them are tagged with “Photo courtesy of BEN SCHUMIN”. Here are the photos that the newspaper ran:
Categories: Afton Mountain, Skyline Parkway Motel, Virginia local news, Wikipedia