Correction:  Here’s the video!

I like the song.  It’s rather haunting and very poetic.  But I’m really fascinated by how they made it:  using short and long range lasers.  No other form of light or traditional video cameras were used!  A computer reads in the data from the lasers (in this case, distance data) and translates it into a 3D form:  aka data visualization.  What’s even cooler,  Google and Radiohead have a basic application that lets you play with the 3D visualization while the song is playing!  http://code.google.com/creative/radiohead/viewer.html I really recommend it to everyone (well, those who have high speed internet)!!

A little over a month later,  Uncle Ron (my grandmother’s nephew) died at 51, and then a week later, I learned that Uncle Laird had a heart attack and a triple bypass, but it seemed he might pull out.  My cousin Brian, Ron’s son and the same age as I am, not only lost his father, but lost Uncle Laird three weeks later:  he even noted that Uncle Laird was coughing a lot and didn’t seem alright.  Brian’s a great guy, and I’ve been thinking about him a lot because these events really wore down his spirit.  It’s sad that it took my Uncle’s passing to reconnect with that part of the family, and it’s a sad coincidence because I had planned on seeing them this summer anyway.  I think I will anyway!  So, to finish this rambling blog post, I just want to say farewell to Uncle Laird, and I’ll always remember you.

Senator Clinton,
You asked us tonight to write to you. You wanted our opinion on what you should do next. Well, as a Democrat, you should concede as soon as possible and as graciously as possible. No waiting around trying to strike a deal with Senator Obama and no back door politics. You’ve represented the old way of politics this last election and you’ve never grasped what Senator Obama has done organizationally and politically. It’s time to stop, and get on board.

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Anyway, I’ve updated my Wordpress to 2.51, and I hope this means this website will run smoother and securely.  Oh, I’m also going to add a new commenting system using intensedebate.com’s commenting ecosystem (a funny word to use in the digital world, but if I do succeed in creating a community here, then ecosystem isn’t too far off the mark!).  So if you see something here that needs to be commented on, go right ahead and do it!

But as someone who will venture into biodiesel this summer (ok, getting back to this post’s theme), I need to be careful with it.  I don’t want to waste my time on it and not get anything in return.  If I get that Mercedes diesel, I need to know if I’m going to save on fuel costs.  On Twitter, if I’m not getting anything useful from it, I need to reign it in and stop spending productive time on it.  Like anything, it’ll be all good in moderation.  If you’re not on twitter, get on it and follow my twitter account mixmistakooz  (if you live in the STL, then also follow STL_Twits).

How much is it per mile to take the Metrolink and how does that factor into my overall cost per mile?  Well, to take the Metrolink from my home to work, it’s four dollars round trip.  Now, here’s my dilemma:  do I figure out the cost per mile as if I was driving from work or do I compute it as actual distance on the Metrolink?  The Metro is a bit more direct than driving, but I don’t think it’s not too far off.  Since I drive to the Metro station, I’ll compute it from the driving distance from the Metro station.  That sounds like a reasonable compromise.  21.7 miles each way from the station versus 24.5 miles from my house.  At 43.4 miles, the cost per mile is 9 cents (4/43.4).  It would take $4.77 in gas to travel 43.4 miles (43.4*.11).  It would cost 5.39 to drive from my house (49 miles * .11).  Factor in that I travel 4.4 miles round trip to and from the station, an extra 48 cents, it costs 4.48 (metro fare + (4.4*.11)) round trip:  a savings of 91 cents!  Basically, I save a buck, every time I take the Metrolink.  That’s easy math.  Take the Metro 10 times a month, I save 120 bucks a year.    If I continue to ninja drive and take the Metro, then I’m easily saving over $256 a year doing this (If gas stays at 3.70 per gallon).  That’s basically a car payment for me.

But I think it’s more than that.  Not only am I helping the environment by not driving my car, I’m also getting more exercise (I walk a fair distance from the metro to work), and plus, I’m extending the life of my car and keeping it’s value up.  It’s a win/win situation!

This also leads me (well, actually it doesn’t) to a short review of the lastest version of Ubuntu Linux Hardy Heron (apparently Ubuntu likes to give thier operating system versions animal names).  Ubuntu is one of many flavors of Linux, an open source, free operating system.  The problem with Linux in general is that it’s hard to use:  only hardcore geeks need apply.  The latest version of Ubuntu has lowered the bar significantly in terms of ease of use.  To use isntall it and use the preloaded programs (like Firefox, OpenOffice, etc), you just need to be comfortable using a computer, but if you want to install new programs, there might still be some snags.  One might need to delve into the command line, fix some permissions, or search for hard to find drivers.   But, overall, it’s a solid, stable platform that made a nice leap forward in ease of use!

I also want to thank Paul for being a good travel buddy, Ian from Phoenix for being a good head ref mentor and new friend, same with Aidan Browne, and Hogan Eng for being an all around nice guy (and picking up the tab at Morton’s!).  Oh, and shout outs to Terell and Roxie for being being funny and cool to work with.  That also includes the others on my ref crew:  Chris, Alan, Michael, Michael, Brandon, Steve, and Liz.