Oliphant Parts

Reframing Reality

Categories: Rants

The Dark Side

by Nathan

Categories: Family, Linux, Rants, Raves, Whatever

Tags: Apple, dark side, it just works, mac, seduction, simplicity

Comments: 1 Comment

Published on: September 2, 2011

My conversion to the Dark Side is complete. I watched my wife go over and scoffed at her, how easily-led she was, how willing to lock herself in to a predetermined path. Then came Vally, showing me the power and ease of using the dark side. I liked my freedom, liked being able to do things my own way and on my own terms, but the structured world they offered was tempting.

Something is seriously wrong with you, boy . . .

After years of struggling on my own, dealing with the aftermath of unmatched freedom and competing ideas, I finally did it: I bought my own MacBook Pro and joined the Dark Side. And I have to say, I love it. A trackpad that actually works? A trackpad that provides useful navigation and input? What novel ideas! A UI that is stable, and programs that don’t mysteriously crash or include text that matches the background (I’m looking at YOU, VLC on LXDE!!!)? What a novel idea! Yes, I still love my various Linux laptops, but I think I’m stuck in the beauty and simplicity of the Mac world for a while now. I’d better be, now that I have the wireless trackpad, keyboard and number pad.

Conversations With Myself

by Nathan

Categories: Beach, Dining, Family, Green Energy, Rants, Whatever

Tags: banana slugs, Coeur d'Alene, complaining, humboldt county, overpriced gas, Spokane

Comments: No Comments

Published on: April 27, 2011

Oh Marmaduke, you’re such a card . . . what are you doing no- f**k me, is this thing on? Oh hey there . . . so, what is today’s topic? Oh yeah, California versus Idaho. I like California, I really do. But I also like paying a dollar less per gallon of gas, half per kilowatt of electricity, and not having to dodge piles of ~~shi…~~ feces while walking in public places.

So, California, or more precisely, Humboldt County, California: Majestic redwoods, foggy mornings and sunny afternoons, beautiful windswept beaches, and the mighty banana slug. I do not think I could give up the ocean again. Humboldt is beautiful, but suffers from a poor economic base and the high cost of California living. Everything from land to gas to milk to taxes is more expensive here, even though so many here are poor. Maybe if we weren’t paying $4.47 per gallon of gas, we would have more money for more important things, like cookies.

Idaho, or Coeur d’Alene anyway, is flat and cold and filled with people who believe the current President is a Kenyan Marxist Socialist Nazi Communist Manchurian Candidate (i.e. “the sheriff is near”). It is also quite affordable. And unlike Humboldt, Kootenai County has no shortage of doctors and great libraries. It may not have as many breweries as Humboldt, but it does have Trader Joe’s, Lowes, Home Depot and Spokane, WA nearby. I would sell my wife for a Trader Joe’s in my area (hey, TJ’s people, are you listening?) . . .

If I switch to driving a UEV and move the family into one of these, California might just match Idaho on the affordability front. Idaho will never match California on the oceanfront and banana slug front, however.

Better(ish)

by Nathan

Categories: Health, Rants

Tags: clogged toilet, influenza, lost weekend, overpriced healthcare

Comments: 1 Comment

Published on: April 3, 2011

The vomiting is over, the bathroom dashes are at an end and the burning in the pit of my stomach has subsided to a dull ache. Yay. I am a wimp, I suppose, but I do not like the flu, and I very much do not like losing my weekend. I was ready for the sunshine, ready for something other than a weekend lying in bed and smelling much less than fresh. And considering that we may have a full septic tank, which makes every flush an adventure, I had better things to do.

And since I am complaining already, $1097.00 to interpret a single X-Ray? Really? Oh well . . . it’s not like I had anything better to do with that money. Hopefully, at some point part of the $1097.00 will include actually discussing it with me.

You are my love, you are my dreams, you are my everything

by Nathan

Categories: Beach, Family, Livestock, Politics, Rants, Soay, Walking, Whatever, Work

Tags: lambing, political nonsense, telecommuting, walking to the beach

Comments: No Comments

Published on: April 1, 2011

There are many advantages to a home office: Short commute, no gas costs, no traffic jams, a comfortable work environment, no pants . . . Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages. The refrigerator is only a short walk away. It is easy to forget to shower, or even get dressed for the day. Six dogs in a small house inevitably leads to the overwhelming aroma of dog flatulence . . . (more…)

Ohgodwereallgonnadie!!1!

by Nathan

Categories: Green Energy, Health, News, Rants

Tags: bringing bad things to all, ge, general electric, kittens, nuclear energy, nuclear meltdown, panic, radiation

Comments: No Comments

Published on: March 16, 2011

Starfish at low tide says "Relax, dummy!"

When I was growing up, General Electric claimed “We Bring Good Things To Life.” Sometime in the last decade or so, they must have accepted that this is not always so, as now they offer “imagination at work.” So, does providing a risky containment field count as “imagination at work” or as “bring(ing) good things to life”? Either way, I would have thought that forty years would be enough time for GE to focus a little less on imagination and a little more on reality. And to maybe consider that risking bringing an end to lives, good or otherwise, might not be such a good thing. (pssst! There’s a NAUGHTY WORD later in this post (although in all fairness, it is balanced out by being attached to a picture of kittens), so don’t click on the continue link if you are offended by NAUGHTY WORDS!!!!!!!1!!!ONE!!!ELEVENTY!!! (more…)

Lights Out

by Nathan

Categories: Dining, Family, Pets, Rants

Tags: arcata, bad choices in phone service, board games, cooperative vs. corporation, dog farts, food, Kootenai Electric, no school, Northern Idaho, PG&E, power outage, public utilities, Renata's, seafood

Comments: No Comments

Published on: March 2, 2011

Sitting in darkness on a morning like this, it is the little things that I miss most. Lights. Heat. Refrigeration. Yes, I am truly back in Humboldt. I know because we are ten hours into a power outage and I am being reminded of the one thing North Idaho did better: Keep the lights on. (more…)

Through the Eyes of Jennifer

by Nathan

Categories: Dining, Family, Rants, Travel

Tags: gambling, good god don't eat the food!, Las Vegas, nipplecatchers, places I do not want to be, smoking, Sunset Magazine, wandering drunks

Comments: 2 Comments

Published on: March 1, 2011

I have been to Lake Tahoe. I have been to Reno. I have never been to Las Vegas. Other than after reading an article in Sunset Magazine, I have not had the urge to visit Vegas. Perhaps it is because I lack the gambler’s spirit, unaffected by the call of the slot machines and craps tables. Or perhaps it is because I find the thought of DisneyLand for Degenerates slightly offputting. (more…)

Flight To Nowhere

by Nathan

Categories: Family, Rants, Travel

Tags: Arcata Eureka Aiport, flatulent flyers, flight delays, growing up, small airports

Comments: 2 Comments

Published on: February 19, 2011

Several hours late, but Jennie is finally off for a week-long veterinary management conference. I had forgotten how small and poorly-served our local airport is, so I guess this is a good reminder. There is, or might be, a restaurant at the airport, but it is not open on Saturdays. With no schedule listed, it might not be open any days. None of the car rental facilities (facility?) are open Saturday morning. Instead of handing your checked baggage to an attendant so it can be sent back to be checked, the attendant sends you around the corner, through the door marked “Authorized Personnel Only”, to drop your baggage off next to the baggage X-Ray machine. So not only do you get to fly out from here, you get a very short stint as an airport intern. Yay! (more…)

Green Doom

by Nathan

Categories: Green Energy, Rants, Whatever

Tags: compact fluorescent, electric car, environmentalism, going green, green cost versus benefits, green energy, hidden costs of going green, light bulbs, pitfalls

Comments: 3 Comments

Published on: February 14, 2011

Incandescent Heaven

And with a crackle-pop, another compact fluorescent bulb explodes in a cloud of mercury and burning plastic. I get to air the house, clean up the mess and reflect on the differences between packaging (“bulbs last 10 years or more”) and reality (bulbs die a flaming, smelly death in a year or less). This probably explains the two year warranty on the ten year bulbs. Is it wrong of me to think the warranty should last as long as the bulb is expected to last? These bulbs are supposed to be built to strict energy efficiency guidelines. Hopefully some day they will be built to strict quality guidelines as well. I also hope that I have saved some money on electricity, because the yearly replacement of CF bulbs is definitely lightening my wallet. (more…)

Come again?

by Nathan

Categories: Blogging, News, Rants, Whatever

Tags: bigotry, depression, disgusting people, racism, rape, semen, sexual assault, yoghurt

Comments: 1 Comment

Published on: February 10, 2011

(warning, some may find my included links NSFW)

Some days you learn way more than you ever wanted to know, whether it be about home remedies for depression, or the latest in yoghurt toppings.

I am still trying to decide if the PT article is an attempt to convince women to have more unprotected sex with psychologists (“Hey baby, what’s your sign? Want a little injection of antidepressant?”) or completely serious. Somehow I missed the sourced article in Scientific American, although I am guessing it was only in the online version, not the print version. (more…)

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