Sunday, September 30, 2007

Making a Berkeley of Cambridge

OK, small triumph. In Berkeley California it happens often enough that you've seen someone (of either sex) naked before you meet them. It would happen through parties, ceremonies, hot tubs or any other kind of outlet. I like that. Its personal.

I haven't really found the Boston area as likely for that, and you can't blame the weather. That said, it's probably my provincial Cambridge circle, which is expanding. I've heard tell of a few hottub mailing lists, and some friends saw a guy at a laundromat that they 'met' at a sex party.

NOW, I'm happy to say I'm finally pulling my own weight as far as bridging the ethics. In the past week I've made THREE friends who saw me (mostly) naked before meeting me, and who aren't afraid of me for it.

I say that's a pretty good start, even if I was the only one without clothes on at both parties (besides Romie, but he hasn't made any friends from it yet).

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Inside Joke Fest 2007

I made it to a top secret gathering in a beautiful little park up around Somerville. Its been in the works for a year apparently, a gathering arranged by the author of web comic XKCD. The park was full all day with the geekiest of geeks, from junior high age through college. Tough to be precise on the distribution, as enough MIT kids look 16 and pump pimply angst. That said people were good: excited, positive, active and curious.

What struck me was that, at its height (2:38), one in three people had a camera. The mindset of someone holding a camera is 'observer' and I suspect that was the mindset of most folks who didn't have one either; and this has consequences. People are in a mindframe of waiting for something to happen, but the event was about you being the thing that happens. It sunk in soon enough, all that happened at 2:38 was cheering and happy milling about. Very well documented milling.

Folks, don't forget that an event like this is as amazing as you decide it will be. It was pretty amazing today; the park signs were genius, the red spiders, the mass of the tower and the fan finished comic. But mostly milling, all the boys waiting for a dream girl to hop on their lap. You can do better. And I'll do my part, promise.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Auto debate: 1957 Chevy vs. 2007 Chevy Impala

This was originally posted here.

Was the '57 Chevy the last car that could honorably wear the royal oil-stained cloth? Is a 2007 Impala an upstart unlike any that has been seen in vehicular manufacturing? Let the evidence be the judge, because that's how real grease monkeys enact the law.

The '57 Chevy is still around--in Cuba. There it is used to ford the intimidating straits between the Bay of Pigs and the Florida Keys. Any Cuban shoe shine can find a way to turn scaffolding for a Castro bust into an alternator, and the sheer girth of the '57 is not taken lightly by any citizen so foolish as to ride a bike near its haunches.

2007 Impala is fast and can distance itself from cheetahs, using a tracking system OnStar will never be able to simulate. It is herbivorous and thus has low fuel costs, though the byproduct of its consumption can be problematic for roadway cleanliness.

The '57 Chevy can be carved out and made into a xeriscape garden or a trans-Atlantic flotation device. It can be painted in red, green, blue or panchromatic.

The 2007 Impala is often hunted by bipeds or quadrupeds, and when eaten its flesh tastes divine (some compare it to "chicken"). Its coast is soft and luxurious, and when poached at a young enough age it retains its sheen.

So in the end I take the '57 for functionality and the 2007 for aesthetics. Any thoughts?