Output...

My Intended Burning Man Address

stilgar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:34:29 GMT

Rather than posting on all my friends "where are you camping" blogs....I figured it was just as easy to post my address on my blog. I will be camping with some new friends from nearby Lake Tahoe, around 9:30 and a few streets in....which probably means C, D or E. My area will probably be easy to spot, look for the tents on a 30'x30' white tarp laid down as flooring. Stop by on your way to/from the DeepEnd. I will have some stuff to make fresh margaritas. werd.

Thank You!

stilgar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:11:39 GMT

Wow, that was a TOTAL freakshow of a party. The costumes this year were the best I've seen at any other X-Sanguin. The energy of the crowd was infectious. We had about 900 guests this year....all totally decked out. Thank you to Brandi for her twisted latex-lube ballon show, Unifier for just coming down and being their unusual freaky selves (its not a party till the stilting freaks show up)....the DJ's: Saynt and Matt Cole, 20-Meat and 6-Fry, Cush, Robin Roth and DiskDroid....you guys spun some seriously good shit. This year, the dance floor was packed....until the very last song, first time that ever happened. Then of course...big thanks to the entire Fluid Sound crew...whose sound and lighting put the "ooh" in the "oontz "oontz"...and Dru for deco. And everyone else who came out this year....and shared a night with us...thank you all. PS: If you took a picture in the photo booth, it will take about a month for Dan to get the pics back. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for any X-Sanguin 7 pictures you might see on the interewebz....like this one (which is the first one i've seen so far): http://www.flickr.com/photos/demitrius_talos/sets/72157606409394122/

Anyone bringing a glow hoop tonight?

stilgar — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:24:53 GMT

I hope so.

Don't have an X-Sanguin ticket yet???

stilgar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:31:35 GMT

Because some of you have been asking me, I figured I'd make a blog post about X-Sanguin tickets. Yes, we are sold out of online tickets....meaning you can't buy tickets online anymore. However, we still have tickets available at the X-Sanguin booth at ComicCon....if you go, we will be at booth #433, ticket price is now $30. Of course...that means you have to had bought admission to ComicCon to get to our booth to buy a ticket. So if you are not planning on going to ComicCon but still want a ticket to X-Sanguin...what do you do? If you ask around the community, I *know* there are some people (but I wont say who publicly) that are going to ComicCon on Friday or Saturday. Why not ask them to buy you a ticket when they go? Good luck, and I'll see you at X-Sanguin. -=S=-

Running in my underwear....for cancer cure and awareness...

stilgar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:55:41 GMT

Hello friends and family. I recently signed up to run in the Los Angeles "Underwear Affair" - a 10K "underwear run" (yes, that means me and thousands of others will be running the streets of LA in our skivies) that will raise funds for the "City of Hope", a leading cancer research center. In particular, funds raised for this event will go to aide research for cancers...below the waist, such as prostate, colorectal, ovarian, testicular, bladder, cervical, and uterine. So, I am asking you to sponsor me in this run and make a donation to this worthwhile cause. I know many of you might be asking..."Why are you participating in this event Mario? Was someone close to you affected by one of these types of cancers?" Well no...thankfully not yet. The reason is 3-fold: REASON 1: The money goes to fund cancer research at the City of Hope, named by US News & World Reports as one of America's Best Hospitals in Cancer and Urology for 2007. It's a great cause, 'nuff said. REASON 2: These areas of the body tend to be uncomfortable for many people to talk to their physician about and can result in a lack of screenings for these types of cancers. So bringing awareness and talking about these parts of the body openly is important. So just by you reading this...we are raising awareness, together. REASON 3: Because I will take *ANY* excuse to run around in public...in my underwear. So, please give what you can....even the small donations count! Remember, all donations are 100% tax deductible...donations greater than $10 will receive a tax receipt in the mail. I will be running with Team RLD, if you are free that day, come out and cheer us on. MORE INFO on THE EVENT: ----------------------- http://la08.uncoverthecure.com MORE INFO on CITY OF HOPE: -------------------------- http://www.cityofhope.org LINK to SPONSOR ME: -------------------- http://la08.uncoverthecure.com/site/TR/Events/LosAngeles2008?px=1323730&pg=personal&fr_id=1150 cheers, /mario

Nuisance of the day...

stilgar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:19:22 GMT

Today I read that the US govt is spending $30 Million to fund development of plug-in hybrid vehicles...and I'm annoyed/angry about it. Why? Because...really? $30 Million? How sad. $30 Million is .005% of what we have ALREADY spent for the Iraq War. It is....LITERALLY....a rounding error. The irony is, consider that if we really invested in green initiatives....at some level commensurate with what we are spending on war...maybe we wouldnt have to go to war, right? If we weren't so dependent on foreign sources for energy (like the middle east), would we be all up in their bizz-nizz, starting wars, etc? Probably not. Not only that...but of course, its just the right thing to do, to respect and preserve our planets resources. To put an even finer point on how small $30 Million is, note that a recent BBC investigation estimates there have been $23 Billion (Billion with a B) *LOST* in the Iraq War. As in....they-misplaced-23-billion-dollars. Say wha? Well ok, not exactly misplaced, but we (the US Govt) paid some people to do some work....these people pocketed the money and left the country. And we, the US taxpayers, have nothing to show for it. The $30 Million....represents .1% (that is POINT 1 PERCENT) of the estimated money that the US *LOST* in the Iraq. So, $30 Million is nothing...it is just a used kleenex as far as I am concerned. It will get spent on paperclips and post-it notes and for accountants to keep track of the ratio of money spend on paperclips versus post-it notes. References: =========== Money Spent on Iraq War to date: http://zfacts.com/p/447.html $23 Billion Lost in Iraq: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7444083.stm US Spends $30 Million on plug-in hybrids: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9967605-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Things I did while in Germany...

stilgar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:48:19 GMT

Put my low-carb diet on hiatus. Save my company's project. Almost lost my company's project. Drank lots of really good coffee. Heard my first live "euro-siren". Saw a medieval prison for women. Got drunk on horrible margaritas. Ate what is considered to be "Mexican food". Went bar-hopping with Spiderman and friends. Danced horribly to euro-pop music. Passed the Heidelberg tabasco shot initiation ritual. Had Asian food cooked by Germans. Fell asleep in the middle of dinner. Drove too fast on the autobahn for 4 hours. Shared a car with a new German friend and a rude German ride-share. Got free German lessons all week. Spoke more Spanish than I have the past six months in California. Act like an ignorant American. Made guacamole and mimosas for an international household. Saw a comedy show. Pole-danced in my skivies at a pole-dance school for middle-aged women. Hoop-danced at a German flea-market. Got my first hobbling hoop-dance injury. Went to a club in a "squat" building. Learned the art of picking up tourists by a 21 Y.O. American girl with a shaved-head. Went to a Berlin goth club with a gothic recording artist. Ate 1 million sausages, including some made with paté, blood and curry. Drank 1 million bottles of beer (none as good as my favorite local beer). Rode public transportation 1 million times. Slept in 1 hotel and 4 different households. Made lots of really good friends and acquaintances. IM'ed Amy Cup from the toilet on the top floor of a building in a Turkish ghetto. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating with "1 million"....anyway, WTF happened to gas prices while I was gone!?!?!? I was paying $4.25/gallon when I left, today I filled up at $4.60/gallon.....35 cents increase in a week and a half!?!?!?!?

La Playita

stilgar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:00:44 GMT

For a long time (like forever n' stuff)...there was no place near me where I could go eat my favorite kind of food, mariscos. Mariscos are "Mexican Seafood"....well, if your from another latin country...then its probably "<INSERT LATIN COUNTRY HERE> Seafood"...anyway...so I'd have to go south of the 8 to get anything remotely decent with respect to mariscos. Then about 5 years ago....a mariscos shop opened up in Clairemont, La Playita. They were not the **best** I've had, but I gave them a solid B+...which is better than many...certainly good enough to satisfy a mid-week craving for mariscos....and mariscos are EASY to screw up...so an B+ shop is definatly worth visiting regularly...not to mention, the guy who runs the place is super nice. So I started going there regularly, about once or twice a week. Then after a couple years...he closed down, DOH! I was back to having to drive far to get mariscos....so instead I just ended up eating less of it. So many times I would think to myself "damn, if only La Playita was still open..." Then yesterday....I was **HURTING** for mariscos....so out of desperation I went to Yahoo Yellow Pages...and low and behold...hidden...under a listing of "seafood"....I saw "La Playita"....back in Clairemont. I beat feet it over to La Playita with Paul...and it was my old friend...in a much smaller shop....with the same decor...with the same obnoxious Mexican music (oompa-oompa-oom-pa-pa) playing. He recognized me....and said hello and asked me how my friend Kevin was. I ordered my usual...and ***POW*** it was as good as it ever was. I was very thankful he opened up shop again. Anyway, so if your looking for something to eat that is *fresh* and *mexican* North of the 8, I suggest this place. Sadly they dont serve beer anymore...which goes perfect with this kind of food. If you've never had mariscos before...why not check it out...and I dont mean...a fish taco from Rubios...or a shrimp burrtio from a taco shop....I mean....seafood from a place that sells "mariscos"....a marisco shop...that deals *mostly* in that kind of food. Its analagous to ordering sushi from Vons...to ordering good sushi from a sushi shop. Anyway...this is a good place to start. What do I recommend there? If you are brave...try the Campechana...or the "back-to-life cocktail"...it is what I eat 80% of the time I go. If you are less brave, try its less fancy cousin...try the "shrimp cocktail". NOTE: This is IN NO PART RELATED to the "American shrimp cocktail"...which is nothing more than 4 or 5 shrimp around the rim of a dixie cup and some horseradish. The "Mexican shrimp cocktail" is like a +5 vs. fire, goblet of awesomeness forged in the deepest darkest undersea depths where it is rumoured Posiden himself lives!!! KA-POW BISHES!!!! If you order either of these...sprinkle a healthy amount of Tapatio hot sauce and a little salt in the mix (and a little lime if you can get it)....and dont forget to ask for some tostadas to eat along side. I also recommend the shrimp (or fish) ceviche tostada there. Same deal, put some Tapatio on top. Next, if you are hungover....I recommend the "siete mares" soup (seven seas soup). Really good on lazy, warm Sunday. Fish tacos are *fairly* good. But I am spoiled with fish tacos...I get to eat some of the best fish tacos around. So these are just "fairly" good to me. As a point of reference, Rubio's fish tacos are below average to me. Other things Ive eaten here and enjoy...Camarones al Mojo De Ajo (garlic shrimp), Camarones ala Diabla ("devil shirmp")...and the Mojarra Frita (whole fried fish [with the head and tail etc])., and the occaisonal order of oysters on the 1/2 shell. (the image is from last night - a Large Campechana with tostadas and 2 fish tacos) The place is in a strip mall...in a very modest space...it can probably only seat about 8 or so people. La Playita Seafood Restaurant 5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego California 92117 Phone: (858) 874-6484

Phone back on...

stilgar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:44:11 GMT

I have a working phone again...you may now return to sending me dirty text messages...

I have no cell phone (again)

stilgar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:57:37 GMT

If you have tried to call/text me since Sat morning....I did not get it...because I have no cell phone until further notice. I wont say what happened to my beloved cell phone that lasted me all of 2 months....but suffice to say...my absent-mindedness got the best of me. If you need to contact me, use IM or email.

Why Obama?

stilgar — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:19:11 GMT

Last week on one of my blogs, a friend (Republican) asked me "Why Obama?" The real question for me here was not so much "Why Obama?" but moreso "Why Obama versus Hillary?" Being as obviously liberal as I am, there is no chance McCain's politics would *ever* really align with mine. So as far as electable liberal-ish front-runners (Democrats) go, "Why Obama versus Hillary?" I gave him a shortish reply calling Hillary "a Hooker" and a "the bitch of Special Interests". While all true (she'll do what ever she needs to to get a vote [like pimp her daughter out to a 21 year old Superdelegate] and the lobbyists have her in their pocket), I of course resorted to 3rd grade name-calling tactics to support my stance. This morning, Sommer sent me a link to blog entry by techno/copyright/e-law blogger by Lawrence Lessig (also a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation) that nearly perfectly captures what I feel about the Hillary versus Obama thing. Hope you enjoy it: http://lessig.org/blog/2008/02/20_minutes_or_so_on_why_i_am_4.html and in case you've been under a rock and havent seen it yet...here is that Obama music video...that has no merrit with respect to why one over the other...it is nothing but Obama propaganda...yet it gives me the chills when I listen to it: http://www.dipdive.com

(1) Fuente Ticket for Sale

stilgar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:21:04 GMT

I am selling (1) spare Fuente Eterno ticket for whatever it is I paid for the ticket.

In LA this weekend...

stilgar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:12:09 GMT

I'll be in LA this weekend for Lucent L'Amour: http://lucentlamour.thedolab.com Hope to see some of you peeps out and about. I'll be up through till Monday (since its a holiday). werd.

Proud American

stilgar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:35:52 GMT

I am feeling like a proud American today, because of the 4 front runners in the presidential primaries, we have: 1. a black man 2. a woman 3. a cult member W.R.T. #3, while I dont endorse his politics or religious views, its interesting to see him get as much support as he has considering EVERY SINGLE American president (with the exception of JFK) has been your run of the mill Protestant. seriously, an interesting race.... PS: in case you couldn't tell, I'm for Obama

The Fabric of the Uni/Multi-verse....

stilgar — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:24:37 GMT

I just got my very own sewing machine....basically I control the entire fabric of the uni/multi-verse now. Overlock and three-step zig zag in your FACE YO!!!! werd to yo mom, bomb dot com!!! Did you really think this was going to be an intellectual/spriitual blog??? Finally, no more having to borrow sewing machines for last minute costume jobs...

Why...

stilgar — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:28:15 GMT

Do random people keep coming up to me telling my I look like that guy form the Mummy.... I don't look like that dude....*HE* looks like *ME*.....as a matter of fact....if any of you LA peeps work with this guy on set or something in the near future...please tell him "you remind me of my friend SnowPuff...." WERD!

One phone to rule them all....

stilgar — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:10:50 GMT

I'm not a fan boy when it come to technology...I generally dont evangelize Linux or Mac (especially not Windows)...or some software thinga-ma-hoo...or some brand of cell-phone, or some gaming platform over another. Probably because I know enough about technology...and how well it *can* work....versus how well it usually *does* work....so that 90% of technology ends up leaving me underwhelmed. No biggie, its what i tend to expect from an industry that is in such a hurry to get out the next new product...that they *usually* miss some obvious things that would have made their product "SPECTACULAR"...versus "we were first to market". Apple generally does a good job of impressing me (more so than most other platforms/hardware vendors) mainly because they *usually* adopt newer, better standards before most others do....AND more importantly they *think* about user interface and integration more than anyone else in the industry, IMNSHO. Then the iPhone came along. So great in so many ways....but so flawed in many others too. It is missing some things that would have made it the UBER cellphone: 1. iPhone cant receive MMS (picture messages) messages...WTF?!?! 2. No GPS (global positioning system), lame, but excusable 3. No 3G (internet access at fast speeds, non-3g is like 56k modem speed), lame but again excusable 4. No Bluetooth A2DP (that means you cant listen to wireless stereo headphones on iPhone)...VERY lame considering its a friggin' music-centered device 5. Cant sync to Exchange Server (I'm talking about the whole kit and kaboodle not just email through IMAP) 6. A *decent* camera w/flash and autofocus 7. TV output...would have been nice...but not important. So there I was, the week before last with my old phone....that died (1 month after warranty [bastards!]). I considered getting an iPhone...since despite its shortcomings...it does have the nicest UI, a big screen and you can sync your music to iTunes, and it just plain looks good. After fighting with myself a bit (over iPhones shortcomings)...instead, I got the geekiest phone ever made, the Nokia N95. What makes it so geeky? Because feature-wise, it trumps the iPhone in very direction. Its not as stylish, and the screen is not quite as large. But it has: 1. MMS messagine...duh. 2. GPS, with free naviation application, finally I dont have to get lost in LA anymore 3. 3G...DSL speed internet, bomb dot com! 4. Bluetooth A2DP, stereo headset here i come! 5. Syncs to Exchange Server, calendar, email, contacts, tasks, even does LDAP lookups. 6. Best rated camera on any phone, not just in terms of specs but in terms of quality also...5MP, autofocus, flash, carl zeiss lens 7. TV-output w/sound...so I can output my phones images, videos (divx, xvid, h.264) or whatever to any TV 8. PDF and MS Office document reader 9. WLAN...than means my phone can connect to any 802.11 wireless network just as your computer/laptop would 10. DVD quality video capture (640x480 @ 30 frames per sec) 11. Can SSH into other computers. If you dont know what SSH is, dont worry about it...just know that it is very VERY geeky. (no im not going to use T9 text entry to do this...I have a mini bluetooth keyboard for this) So Ive been using for almost a week now. So far, it works as advertised. Couple nags, battery life could be better, iPhone handily beats it there (not surprising since the N95 has all those extra internal devices it has to power). Also, you cant recharge the N95 through a USB cable...lame...they probably do this so you *have* to buy Nokia battery chargers and car adapters....anyway, not a huge deal, but still a nuisance. Mostly I've just been digging my new phone...until last night, while starring at my N95 with loving eyes....we had our first fight. It went something like this: Me: why cant you be more like iPhone!!! N95: what do you mean? I do everything that bitch does AND more!!! I know just how you like it baby!!! Me: I want to be able to sync my music and photos with iTunes and iPhoto!?!?!?! You dont understand me!!!!! N95: But I do...you can sync your music and photos, through iTunes and iPhoto....just like that iPhag. Me: Say wha!?!?! I can sync my music and photos from my mac? N95: Yes, you can sync your mac addressbook and calendar to me also using iSync. Me: BOMB DOT MUTHA FUCKIN' COM!!!! I love you N95!!!! Wow, I was officially impressed. Nokia put out some mac software that allows me to sync all the important parts of my mac to my N95. How awesome is that. With that in mind, this morning I ordered a 16GB micro SD card for my N95, meaning of course I will have 2X the available memory (for videos, music, images etc) on my N95 versus the iPhone. Finally, I will say...if you are an exclusive mac user....probably best to stick with the iPhone...it will just feel more *at home* to you...and you probably dont need any of the features I talked about....but if you are like me...not particularly tied to one platform over another...AND you are a heavy business class user....OR a technology whore....you should SERIOUSLY consider this phone. Here's to hoping i dont spill coffee on it or drop it in the toilet (well, at least until the next uber phone comes out).

Got new phone

stilgar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:49:18 GMT

Back from connectivity exile....

A slightly amusing anecdote....

stilgar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:09:35 GMT

This will probably only be funny to those of you who are technically inclined AND who are aware of my secret identity....but here goes anyway... This morning I was writing some code.... One of my variables was named 'pfx'....short for 'prefix' After I finished writing my code, I tried to compile it...but there was a compilation error on that line with the 'pfx' variable... So I went back to check it...apparently i had written 'puf' instead.

Anyone have a loaner GSM phone...

stilgar — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:55:32 GMT

My phone died today...so I need a new one, but I want wait till tuesday to see if Apple releases new version of iPhone at the Keynote. So....do any of you peeps have a loaner GSM phone I can borrow till next week? BTW, I will be in LA all weekend....so this goes to you LA peeps too. send me message....dont call, cuz...well, my phone is dead.

I want to scream...

stilgar — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:10:37 GMT

you know I have it really good. Life is good to me. I have the greatest friends, I have a good career, I am healthy all around, I have more fun than should be allowed. yet, I cant stop reading shit like this that makes me want to scream... The 2000 Presidential Election ========================= The short of it, testimony from a programmer who was asked by Republican congressman Tom Feeney (FL) to write a program to "hide" vote count tampering during the 2000 presidential election. For those dont rememeber...the presidency was won by a SLIVER in Florida that year. Why does the media NOT report this more? Does no one care? http://www.fliggo.com/video/sk0SiTCu The 2004 Presidential Election ========================= The short of it, 2 election workers were CONVICTED of rigging the recounting of ballots in the presidential election in 2004 in Ohio. For those of you who dont remember, Ohio was the Florida of 2004....in fact only 6 more votes for Kerry in each of Ohios precincts would have turned the election over to Kerry. The prosecutor does not claim their tampering tipped the votes to Bush. But the judge feels there is more to the story that has not been uncovered yet. I have to agree, what other fraud is there that has not been uncovered....afterall Ohio used DIEBOLD machines. http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/NEWS24/70313029 Anyway, again, why is this kind of stuff not plastered all over the news. I watch/read news several times a day WITHOUT FAIL....and I just found out about both of these last week from a social networking/reporting site. Dont get me wrong...I like my Brittney Spears goes crazy news...but why is that kind of news super-ultra-mega headlines....and this kind of news, burried way down where no one can see/read/hear it? This is scream at the top of your lungs news in my opinion. Maybe thats just it...its *my* opinion....and most of the country would rather not know....maybe we are too concerned with the comfort of our own lives...rather than be bothered by this kind of news. More about Tom Feeney (including some stuff about the voter fruad): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Feeney feh...back to feeling good about life...

NYE Plans

stilgar — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:17:07 GMT

I will be at Nexus, hope to see some of you there....

In LA this weekend...

stilgar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:37:51 GMT

I'll be in LA this weekend peeps...in particular I'll be at "SpacePort", the annual HipGenesis Winter Ball on Sat. Hope to see some of you peeps I dont see enough there... werd.

CheezeWhiz

stilgar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:16:32 GMT

Last month, I witnessed what could only be described as mankind's greatest artistic endeavor: Hawk The Slayer: http://imdb.com/title/tt0080846 I first saw this movie when I was 13 year old or so on a Saturday afternoon on a UHF channel. I remember thinking "THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME!!!!". During the last 20 years of my life I'd always wondered what movie that was since I never got the title. I mean, for the most part I have seen (or am aware of) most movies in the fantasy genre...but try as I could...I never did find out what movie this was... Fast forward to last month...while puttering around the house...I stumbled onto part of my roommate's collection of DVDs. When I saw the cover for this movie, I was confused...not recalling ever having seen this fantasy movie before...just then, it struck me...could this be the elusive fantasy movie from my childhood? Could this be the movie I have been looking for during the last 20 years of my life? It was. I held the DVD up high in the air (like one would a magic sword [+5 vs fire]) and a single ray of sunshine beamed through the window reflected off the DVD and struck my roommate on the head (highlighting the fading dye-job covering his gray hairs). After 20 years...It seems my idea of what is "AWESOME!!!!" has changed somewhat... Here is a very good review on the movie (so I wont bother writing my own): http://www.badmovies.org/movies/hawkslayer I'm telling you, this is a MUST WATCH...if for NOTHING else...the 80's synth soundtrack....is....well....just go watch it....you'll see...you won't be sorry.

I am in ♥ ♥ LOVE ♥ ♥

stilgar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:06:04 GMT

with someone I heard interviewed on NPR today, singer/songwriter Nellie McKay. Listeing to her voice (speaking and singing) is like sitting on a porch swing in a house on the edge of lake as the sun goes down during the summertime. Not only one of the most entrancing voices around....but during the 37minute interview, I could not help but to fall for her genuine sweetness, humor and thoughtfulness. **swoon** Got 37 minutes to kill? Litsen for yourself (click the link in the upper left hand that says "Listen Now"): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16503513 Listen to her talk about getting mugged at about 23:00 into the interview, and I challenge you not to fall for her too....