JB's Miscellaneous Ramblings

I think I know that too much water consumption can be bad for you, throwing off electrolyte balances (at least) and perhaps diluting water-soluble vitamins too much.

The thing is, how much is too much?

I don't seriously think it's an issue, but I might as well ask.

Thanks!

I'm remembering a passover chicken soup you made lo those many years ago, and wondering what a girl has to do to get some more of that? It was SO yummy!

Step one: be in the Boston area around the time of 1st or 2nd seder.
Step 2: make sure I know about Step 1.

I can post recipes, such as they are. (The matzah balls are vital for getting the soup to taste right.) (If memories are working again, look for 'passover'. I may even have tagged some of my past soup posts. :)

that was fun, let's do it again!
(This is (I presume) the same anonymous questioner as last time)

• - how sexual a being are you? (1-10, where 1 is "what is this sex you speak of?" and 10 is "bring it on bay-bee!" if your scale goes to 11, feel free to say so.)
  
  Mentally, it varies between... 3-9? Depression took a toll for a while, I've been able to tune it out at times when it's not been available, but then there was the 'breasts!' posts of a couple of years ago. In general, I think of myself around a 7.
  Physically, I've been running below my youthful peak for a couple of years now. This kinda distresses me.
  (AKA: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weaker than I think it should be.)
  
  
• - if you were on a cross-country flight (call it 4+ hours), what music would you bring or prefer to be listening to?
  
  Hm. It probably varies depending on what mood I'm in when I'm packing. These days, I've been prone to making a random mix cd (burning 700MB of iTunes Party Shuffle picks, or similar) for trips.
  
  That said, I'm listening to a lot of Quarkspace recently, and I always LOVE (The) Oyster( )band.
  
  
• - tell me about something you consistently forget or don't understand at the crucial moment of needing it.
  
  I'll forget nearly anything unless I've worked myself in to a routine of NOT forgetting this particular thing. I've packed multi-part lunches and left them behind; I've put out books for trips and then had then right where I put them when I get back, and so on.
  
  Things I don't understand? That's much harder. There are many, but which ones I ... forget to understand? ... I'm not so sure.
  
  
• - would you ever consider taking up a physically-demanding hobby? (think, rock-climbing, silks, taiko drumming)
  
  I've certainly considered it. I tried silks and liked it, but I needed a great deal more base strength before it would be practical or as fun as it should be.
  I keep thinking of doing taiko... Need to figure out times/availability.
  ... I need more physical demands in my life, really. Luckily, bike season's almost here, to get a bit more of it in. (Yeah, yeah, dilletante, I know.)
  
  
• - are you seduceable? what qualities in other people make you want to seduce them?
  
  Me? Hell yeah. Quite possibly too easily - at least historically.
  Others? It's an attitude thing, mostly. Unfortunately, I think it would take much much more introspection to really figure out WHAT the attitude is, though. There IS a physical component, too, but the attitude (or maybe it's a range of them... Hm.) is vital.
  
  

So, ask me stuff. Whatever topic. I'll try to answer you.

Depending on what the content of the answer is, it might be in a separate (locked) post.

Near as I recall, I always have anonymous comments enabled, and I never bother tracking IP addresses.

I'll screen the questions, in case you don't want to be attached to your answer, but will happily un-screen them if you want/don't mind.

... trying to distract myself...

Do you recognize these things?


They seem to be one form of a tree pit cage.

Cambridge has particularly nice (narrower - about 3' diameter) ones around Porter Sq.

What else might they be called?

Where might I get one?

ETA: http://www.urbanaccessories.com/ has some NICE stuff.

Might as well ask here, too.

Taken from a conversation on IRC (not #e) today. Most of this is me, with 2 other voices jumping in.

Does anyone see a downside to this idea?

JB
= = =
So, I've got this question about data center rack layout... We've got racks with 2 circuits in them (10 outlets on one, 9 on the other (after you take out outlet for the rack fan). We've got stacks of machines with dual (redundant) power supplies. Most of the machines are powered with a Y-cable going to both power supplies.

Can you see where this is going? ...

Is there any reason any of you can think of to NOT connect each Y power cable to 2 different machines, and then to make sure that each machine is powered off of 2 different circuits? That way - by my figuring - you'd have to both lose a power supply AND lose the opposite circuit for a machine to go down.

(I also have this thought that there might be some advantage to hooking the 1st power to machines A and B, the 2nd to B and C, the 3rd to C and D and so on, to the limit of the Y to reach back to A... But I'm not near so certain about that.)

someone else> usually have machines with pairs of PSUs connected to disparate power sources

Right. The Y cables (long Dell's standard choice which you had to deselect while ordering) give you HW redundancy but leave you at the mercy of your power source.

As well, as we have 2 racks, 38 outlets and 22 dual-power-supplied machines, we kinda HAVE to go with Y power.
(and something like 1/3 to 1/2 of the racks are still empty...)

So if I go with my concept, we can hook up 22 machines to 22 outlets and STILL have each of them powered off of multiple PDUs.

I don't see the lose, but I've never thought of this before.

2nd Someone> if you have remote power controllers, there is a new issue ;)

Remote power is one of the reasons to do the ab/bc/cd/da thing. I could turn off any 2 to get a machine cycled.

So, what do YOU think a good (relationship) partner does to show you they're still interested? (... outside the bedroom, that is. (... outside the sexual realm, entirely. Gods, you people...))

So... does anyone happen to have a fraction of a bedspace (preferably 1/2, really, or maybe 1/3 of a king) (and preferably 1/4 or less of the total bedspace in the room) available for the con this weekend?

No, I've not made any plans yet and I'm expecting to have to commute, but if I don't, hey, bonus.

[Poll #644837]

Where do you go if you want to buy it /NEW/?

So, where do (female) people go around here to buy their goth/retro/clubbing/vintage-styled clothing?

Asking for someone else on my friends list who's despairing of Boston's ability to provide.

1 recommendation sought, 1 'keep an eye out for me'.

A) Who can name be a brand/model of keyboard/mouse arm they like? I need more than just a drawer - I'm set up with the monitor at the end of one leg of the L of my cube desk, not in the bend - and I need it to hold the mouse as well as the KB. I'm seeing prices in the Staples catalog from $120-$350 and I really can't tell what's any good.

and now for something completely different.
B) growing up, when corn-on-the-cob season rolled around, we always had a butter-applying device the likes of which I just can't find anymore: It looks kinda like a chimney and worked kinda like a deoderant applicator - it was about the 'diameter' of a stick of butter, and about half the length. You put the butter in it, put in the bottom 'press' in and then push the butter up to the top, where you'd rub it against the corn. (The top end had a cob-shaped notch in it for easy application.) When you were done, there was a little lid to keep the butter covered.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Have you seen them in the gadget store near you? Do you want to buy me one or 2 or 3 and I'll pay you back? Let me know!

Thanks!

Is there any such thing as anti-perspirant for the scalp?

Yes, it's not something one'd want to use everyday, but there are some days that I really really want it... and I expect tomorrow'll be another one of them. 

So, some many years ago, a small Quebec game company - probably one guy and his friends - made a game called Obol. It's a sphere, half covered in velcro squares, with red and blue double-sided velcro 'checkers' ('male' on one side, 'female' on the other).

The basic game play was
Scatter the pieces randomly over the surface of the sphere.
Randomly remove one.
(Who goes 1st? The one you just removed, or the other player?)
Moves are as in checkers, but when you jump over an opponent piece, you capture it by sticking it to the underside of your piece.

Stacks keep growing, but when you jump over an opponent's stack, you only capture the top piece.

What's the winning condition?

Are captures mandatory?

What's a non-capture move?

Did I miss anything?

(I can post a picture, if you'd like.) (Or look at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/5962 - but there aren't rules there...)

reminder for myself, and he anyone wants to answer before I get home... Looking for rss screen scraper code...