Archive - 2006

November 19th

Weekend stuff

Today, we went to see the Thanksgiving parade in Stamford. I have a lot of photos up on Flickr of the parade.

We also went and picked up our turkey. Later, I hope to write more about both events and how they fit into blogging and politics.

I've also discovered that my update to my website presents problems for Flickr posting photos here. Another thing to work on.

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November 17th

Back...

Well, the server I've been using went down again, so I thought it was probably time to migrate to a new server. If you are seeing this post, and there is a slightly new format, you are on the new server.

Hopefully, things should be working the same as before, maybe even a little better. If there are things that seem like they should be working and aren't, let me know.

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November 16th

McMeme Part 2

If I leave here tomorrow,
Would you still remember me?

Over in Colin’s class, Scott writes about bloggers, saying

their existence was purely as information, as an electronic media. They were not people, but they were their blogs. Look at Alden, for example: With a Longfellow Beard like he had just come out of a solitary time in the woods (or the wilderness of the electronic world), and wearing a shirt on which was stitched the word "Blogger" where a nametag would normally go.

From an empiricist, bordering on solipsist perspective, perhaps that is really how the people we encounter exist, as information. Having the computer mediate that information, as opposed to the visual, auditory, and even olfactory information that we receive when we are physically near each other perhaps makes this more apparent. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird Lyrics is also, perhaps, a reminder about how we exist as information in the form of memories. Do we cease to exist when the brain stops functioning? When the body stops functioning? Or, perhaps, when we are forgotten?

So, if a blogger falls in the solitary woods, and no one reads his blog, does he exist?

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For Sale: Orient Lodge


Orient Lodge Living Room
Originally uploaded by Aldon.

Here ends the road that leads to all good comforts

Some of you have asked where I got the name for this blog. Well, in 1992, I bought a house in Stamford, CT known as Orient Lodge. It is a unique house, built in 1904. It is log construction, including logs for the inner walls in the great room. It has an Arts and Crafts/Mission/Prairie style with oriental motifs throughout.

At the time, I was working full time on Wall Street. I knew the house would take a lot of work, and I put on a new roof, replaced the septic system and planned for greater restorations. However, my first marriage ended and then in 2000 I left my last full time job on Wall Street. Restoration plans were put on hold.

As political consulting starts taking up more and more of my time, I find it is time to move on from Orient Lodge. Kim thinks we should move closer to Hartford or New Haven where more of her work is likely, and closer to her father. With my work, it is hard to tell where the best place might be. I could end up working just about anywhere in the country, or perhaps even out of the country.

So, we are starting to look around for someone who wants a unique house that needs and deserves some TLC.

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November 15th

Random Stuff

A great article about children of people in jail
The kids do time to.

SecondLife stuff:
Edelman to Fund a Second Life Business (Can Walmart be far behind?)

How Long Til Second Life Sells to the Highest Bidder? My Bet is Three Weeks. What's Yours? (Maybe that is how Walmart will get involved)

The political scene:
Shifting from Campaigning to Governing

Rudy retrospective: The ferret ban (In honor of Gabriel, Hershey, Skittles and Dashit, I oppose Rudy)

Bernie Sanders Video Game