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December 31, 2005

Requiem for An Old Friend

I lost you today. We've been through a lot together. You first came into my life when I moved to Pittsburgh. You've seen me through 2 Master's degrees and moved with me to California when I worked in consulting. You stuck with me when I moved back to Cambridge, and stayed loyal even as desks came and went. I kept you even when it became trendy to buy Aeron or Steelcase chairs. I'm sorry you couldn't be there to see me finally finish my Ph.D. I was almost done!

Posted by Dean at 3:15 PM | Comments (0)

Dean Comes out of His Hole

As my committee currently has my thesis in their hands, I decided to take a study break before I go into thesis revision mode and conference paper preparation mode and went to The Middle East to see Caspian, Seneca, the Constants, Junius, and Shore Leave, who were playing Friday night. An "Experimental Rock" rock band sounds a lot like something that could be called a "Prog Rock Jam Band." However, Junius was really good:

Upcoming interesting shows I endorse: Scamper is playing at T. T. the Bear's on the evening of January 5th, The Mooney Suzuki, also at T. T. the Bear's on January 21st.

More pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Dean Comes out of His Hole"

Posted by Dean at 1:39 PM | Comments (1)

December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Dean, you look like a corporate elf.

Hey, even Santa's workshop needs a CTO.

Posted by Dean at 12:28 AM | Comments (1)

December 20, 2005

Fortune of the Day

Every day when I turn on my Palm Pilot, it displays a different "fortune." Actually, it's not really a fortune, as it doesn't predict anything, but it displays a different maxim. Today's was:


Do not practice moderation in excess.

Well said.

Posted by Dean at 9:58 PM | Comments (1)

December 12, 2005

Do I need a jacket?

Via Verdanthe, we have a quick weather guide that cuts to the chase and answers for readers the question "Do I Need a Jacket?" before heading outside.

Of course, regardless of the results of that page this evening, the decision of the guy I saw this evening jogging between the Western Avenue bridge and Harvard footbridge wearing only a pair of shorts was "No."

Posted by Dean at 9:19 PM | Comments (0)

December 5, 2005

On Finding Stuff in the Record Store

A while back, I bought a record form Looney Tunes Records on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. A place so old-school it apparently doesn't have a website. Unfortunately, much as I liked the album (whose title I forget-- I believe it was a compilation of European psychedelia), the vinyl was far too scratched up for me to enjoy it, and I returned the album in exchange for a voucher to buy another item from the store in the future. Well, one year later, I finally get around to redeeming the voucher, and while browsing through the records in search of another goodie, I came across a pristine copy of this album from 1982:


How could I resist? This was perfect! Plus, I had always wanted to buy this back in my arcade-game-playing days, but when this album came out, I was only 7 years old. Finally, here was my chance. Along with Pac Man Fever, the album included songs such as "Do The Donkey Kong" and "Goin' Berzerk." It makes an excellent compilation of nerd-rock set to a bombastic 80s soundtrack.

See also: The official Pac-Man Fever Page

Posted by Dean at 8:02 PM | Comments (0)