Buddy Brewer

I'm not here anymore, I've moved to http://buddybrewer.com.

And the award for longest domain name I've ever seen in a TV commercial goes to:

www.southernstatesbuickdodgemazda.com

In a last ditch effort to salvage some of Resolution 2005.1, I've picked tennis back up. Having stopped and started for more times than I can count, I'm morbidly familiar with the cycle of forgetting how to play and struggling for a month until the cobwebs get cleared out. What's weird now is this: it's been so long since I've played regularly that not only have I forgotten all my good habits, I've forgotten all my bad ones. So while it is annoying that my half-volleys and overheads are useless, it is kinda nice to not repeat the same mistakes I have for the last 12 years.

I've also been trying to take the dog on walks more regularly. It's good conversation time with Jenny, a nice opportunity to explore downtown Raleigh, and if a few calories get burned then that doesn't hurt either.

If I had it to do over again, I'd rewrite that resolution to "walk Sammy every weekend" or "work out three times a week" or "cut out late-night snacks". At the end of the day, "stay in 32in. waist pants" is kind of like "make a million bucks". A noble enough goal, but not very actionable in itself.

GMail allows changing your From: address now, so IMAP and POP are gone on buddybrewer.com, and a virtual mapping sends all of my email to my gmail account. The only thing left now is for them to allow me to use mail.gmail.com (or whatever) as my MX in DNS so I can shutdown postfix completely.  Whether the lack of IMAP will drive me nuts now is an open question.

Got my cook on last night for Valentines Day with Jenny:

• Mesclun caesar w/chevre croutons
• Salmon steak w/lemon-basil vinaigrette and a roasted red pepper sauce
• Twice-baked potato w/chives, roasted garlic, and applewood smoked bacon
• Banana splits brulee with fresh caramel sauce (shown)

Thanks for the killer dessert recipe, Alton :)
Jenny made killer personalized sugar cookies (photo link forthcoming).

Since I already have a list of stretch goals (the cool kids are calling them MBOs now) at work, I made a list of personal resolutions for 2005. Things are going well, but I'm posting the list here so I'll feel like a liar if I don't keep following through.

• Stay in 32" waist pants
• Read one non-technical book a month
• Learn C#/.NET
• Take vacation with Jenny
• Implement GTD

Another year closer to death, but at least I'm going out in style. This is what I came home to the night before my birthday. Jenny decked out the house with streamers and stuff, and gave me new 600tc sheets as a preliminary present. The next morning I woke up to breakfast in bed(*), and a mixing bowl full of cooking supplies and gift certificates for cooking classes at a local gourmet food store. Padding out the festivities were calls and cards from the family. On the bright side, in hexadecimal I'm only 0x1C years old.

(*) Raspberry stuffed french toast, scrambled eggs with fontina cheese, thick-sliced bacon, and sausage.

(nee How I Gratuitously Abused Flickr in a Blog Post, by Buddy Brewer)

Bought a house downtown. Furnished a house downtown. Met someone. Learned about stormwater management. Threw a Christmas party. Attended a Christmas party. Without a doubt, 2004 was an unexpectedly eventful and incredibly successful year. Guess waiting half a month before posting my first 2005 entry means "post more often" should've made the Resolutions cut :)

Due in part to the annual Gómez Holiday E-Tail Performance Index, Gómez has been racking up the press credits this holiday online shopping season. We've been in the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Washington Post (bugmenot), and the New York Times. Quite a change from the Porivo days when just getting mentioned in the Triangle Business Journal was cause for excitement. Bring forth the google juice.

I'm still eating dinner off of cardboard boxes, but dammit, Jenny and I got a Christmas tree (with some help on the delivery and manual labor ends from various friends). Furniture is on the way, though.

ODB died

Tonight was round 1 of the Jeopardy College Tournament. One of the contestants, Kermin, a comp-sci/engineering student from Carnegie Mellon University, had a commanding lead (well over $10K) going into Final Jeopardy.

His final wager had Alex Trebek scratching his head, but Kermin was clearly sending a message to fellow computer nerds. His wager:

$1337

From: "Christian Mortgage" <info@myoncentral.net>
Subject: Jesus Loves You. Refinance with Christian MortgagesUSA.com
To: [me]
Reply-To: info@myoncentral.net
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 10:38:56 -0800

[embedded HTML crap removed]

myoncentral.net - 287 S. Robertson Blvd., Ste. 401 - Beverly Hills, CA 90211

This two part essay might be the best online political commentary I've read this election. Would-be Kerry voters who think issue #1 is deterring terrorists need to read these before heading to the polls. Clever excerpt below, but the actual analysis behind the links is far more detailed and compelling.

"It all comes down to carrots (liberals) or sticks (conservatives). By the way: if you’re in a rush and need to run, here’s the spoiler: You can offer a carrot. Not everybody likes carrots. Some people may hate your carrot. Your carrot may offend people who worship the rutabaga. But no one likes being poked in the eye with a stick. That’s universal."

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.
( Read more... )

Okay, this is kinda bad. Turns out an erosion problem was created when a bunch of grass next to my house was torn out and no silt fences were installed to trap the mud. When that happens, storm drains get clogged, and I end up having to hire moses to help me cross the street. The city engineering department is working with my builder (who's been very understanding about the whole thing so far) to get the mess cleaned up and the drains returned to proper operation.

Should I be talking to someone about this? I mean, we got a lot of rain this morning and all, but damn...


buddy@localhost ~ $ whois microsoft.com

Whois Server Version 1.3

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

MICROSOFT.COM.ZZZ.IS.0WNED.AND.HAX0RED.BY.SUB7.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.WILL.LIVE.FOREVER.BECOUSE.UNIXSUCKS.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.WILL.BE.SLAPPED.IN.THE.FACE.BY.MY.BLUE.VEINED.SPANNER.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.WILL.BE.BEATEN.WITH.MY.SPANNER.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.WAREZ.AT.TOPLIST.GULLI.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.WANADOODOO.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.SUX.BUT.PYROFREAK.ORG.RULEZ.AND.DIOXYTECH.NET.DELETED.GANDI.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.SMELLS.SIMPLECODES.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.SHOULD.GIVE.UP.BECAUSE.LINUXISGOD.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.RAWKZ.MUH.WERLD.MENTALFLOSS.CA
MICROSOFT.COM.OHMYGODITBURNS.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.LOVES.JU1C3.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.LIVES.AT.SHAUNEWING.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.IS.NOT.AS.COOL.AS.SIMPLECODES.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.IS.IN.BED.WITH.CURTYV.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.IS.GOD.BECOUSE.UNIXSUCKS.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.IS.A.STEAMING.HEAP.OF.FUCKING-BULLSHIT.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.HAS.TEH.GAY.OMFGLOL.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.HAS.ITS.OWN.CRACKLAB.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.HAS.A.PRESENT.COMING.FROM.HUGHESMISSILES.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.FLINGS.POO.AT.MONKEYCORE.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.FILLS.ME.WITH.BELLIGERENCE.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.CAN.GO.FUCK.ITSELF.AT.SECZY.COM
MICROSOFT.COM.ARE.GODDAMN.PIGFUCKERS.NET
MICROSOFT.COM.AND.MINDSUCK.BOTH.SUCK.HUGE.ONES.AT.EXEGETE.NET
MICROSOFT.COM


Well, my cabinets are in. So barring any inspection problems or other unforeseen catastrophes, I'll be closing on the new place on Friday, September 24. Most of all I can't wait to get back to roasting coffee.

"I have five words for America: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!"

- John Kerry, Springfield Ohio, in his response to the RNC

( Google: wakeup )