And if you haven’t seen it, Funky16Corners is one of the best music blogs out there. More scratchy funk, soul and R&B than you can fit on your hard drive. Don’t know how he finds the time to do it, but more power to him, he’s serving the greater good 
Sheena and Kurt, originally uploaded by Oldtasty.
41 years ago, the United States Supreme Court declared any law restricting marriage between races unconstitutional. This includes a law that was on the books in Missouri prohibiting marriage between whites and anyone of Asian descent.
How things have changed.
New bike, originally uploaded by Oldtasty.
Did a test ride to the office yesterday, and rode in again this morning via the Stevens Creek Trail. Gas is up to $4.08/gallon out here, and I need the exercise anyway. But really, it’s just nice to be back on two wheels again.
So after reading Mark’s writeup of Patrick Wilson’s “Two Kinds of Power: an Essay on Bibliographical Control” I was intrigued enough to hustle off to Google Book Search to see if they’d scanned a copy already. They had. [Disclaimer: I work on the Google Book Search team.] Of course, because it’s still in copyright, it’s only in snippet view (rather than restricted or full view). So I link off to AbeBooks.com to see if there are any used copies, and indeed there is one. Once ordered I forget about it until this morning when I receive a confirmation email, containing this description of my copy:
First edition. University of California Publications, Librarianship: 5. A guide for the librarian and archivist on the importance of bibliographic control. With the pencil signature of Gavin Bridson. Binding is 8vo., stiff paper wrappers. 155 pages.
A little Googling later, I discover my copy was previously owned by a remarkable man who just passed away in February. Apparently, many of his books have wound up for sale through Oak Knoll Books.
So it goes.
Car’s in the shop so I decided to walk the 4 miles in to work. I’m walking like an old man around the office as a result, but I’m thinking I may do this more often. It’s a nice walk, it’s eco-friendly, and I really need the exercise. I think I’ve figured out the shortest route too:
I have to admit every time someone biked by, I was a bit jealous of them and their fancy mechanical transport…
Surfer silhouette, originally uploaded by Oldtasty.
This is what the first week of March looks like in Northern California, a far cry from what my friends and family in Missouri and Illinois are dealing with right now.
Darren posts:
This morning I was doing a little research at the library in Dupo, IL. The only other person there besides the librarians was a normal-lookin’ dude with a shaved head, sitting at one of the computer terminals. After I’d been reading a local-history book for a few minutes, I glanced over and noticed that this fellow had draped himself over a chair and was just hanging there upside down, feet in the air, giggling intermittently. This went on for a good fifteen minutes.
To see how the story ends, and a related picture, head on over to his site.
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About
OldTasty is an anagram of STLtoday, where I worked as an online producer and editor. I've long since moved on from that job, but kept the name and when it came time to build out a personal site, it seemed like a fine choice. And no, it doesn't mean anything else, so get your minds out of the gutter!
I'm currently enrolled in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana after a stint working for VisionNex Technologies in Beijing.
Latest
Swimlog
July 29, 2006
Back in the pool yet again. My lane partner had an unfortunately broad wingspan, so I got punched a couple of times, but nothing too serious. I also got my own lane for 40 lengths, which is always nice. I’m planning on taking a couple of aspirin before bed in the hopes that I won’t hurt too much in the morning.
July 2, 2006
I wasn’t going to do two days in a row, but I weakened and went. Another 72 lengths (1 mile), and guaranteed miscellaneous aches and pains tomorrow morning. But you should see my biceps, they KILL.
July 1, 2006
Here’s a shocker: After a promising start in my return to swimming after a very long layoff, I promptly took three weeks off. And I was doing so well too… probably too well actually. I think I was lulled into a false sense of fitness, if that makes any sense. However, I’ve been feeling crappy and bloated the last week so it was back in the pool tonight for 72 lengths (1 mile/1,565 meters). So very sore afterwards, but I only have myself to blame don’t I? ;-)
June 10, 2006
Another 80 lengths, and this time I had the lane to myself. Apparently, people have better things to do with their Saturday nights. Who knew? That makes 4.5 miles (7.3 kilometers) since last Saturday, not bad for the first week back.
June 7, 2006
Aside from an accidental punch in the neck from the guy in the next lane, this evening’s session was happily uneventful. I still had to share the lane with a couple of other swimmers, but unlike last time, we were pretty well matched in terms of speed. Did 80 lengths again (1.136 miles / 1,828.8 meters) and almost tacked on another 10, but thought better of it. I’ll get there soon enough.