kevinr's profile
blue-haired freak
Choices
Still up in the air
Do the MIT Mystery Hunt leads over
Go to Arisia (218 days ago)
Switch to using Google Calendar from my phone, which I carry with me at all times and is almost always charged. leads over
Buy another pocket-sized paper planner, carry it with me at all times. (253 days ago)
Upgrade the RAM leads over
Buy a new desktop (1 year ago)
Set in stone
I picked
Just migrate my personal wiki to MediaWiki already
over
Keep fighting with Jifty (1 year ago)
It really wasn't worth the trouble to fsck with perl.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Western-style futon
or
Japanese-style futon (bought from where?) (2 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Western-style futon or
Japanese-style futon (bought from where?) (2 years ago)
Oops, forgot to increment.
I picked
Western-style bed
over
Japanese-style futon (bought from where?) (2 years ago)
I picked
Western-style bed
over
Western-style futon (2 years ago)
I picked
Force myself to go to bed bored.
over
Stay up significantly later and read something/watch something/chat with people/play some game so I feel satisfied. (2 years ago)
Having a cup of herbal tea and trying to "wind down" seems to help.
I picked
Use something else (suggestions in comments?)
over
Use MediaWiki (yes, I know it's PHP.)
(2 years ago)
probably gonna go with Wifty, when I get the time to set it up.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Take the Viking history class, which is interesting subject matter but so far seems poorly taught, and will require a 12-15 page paper, due at the same time as my 6.115 final project, if I complete the course. However, I probably won't be torn about dropping it. or
Take Phillip Tan's game design class, which is interesting subject matter /and/ well taught, but will be a lot of work, due at the same time as my 6.115 final project, and I will probably be torn about dropping it.
(2 years ago)
Apparently I didn't get into the class I thought I had sewn up (limit of 12; 27 people showed up the first day; pre-reg wasn't enough to guarantee a spot). So, err, apparently I'm taking both. Fuck.
I picked
Give/sell the loft to someone in the dorm and build/buy another form of bed and mattress. (double bed? futon? ...?)
over
Keep the loft and buy a new Twin XL mattress for it (since I don't get to keep the dorm one). Yay extra floor and storage space. (2 years ago)
Turns out it won't really fit in any of the rooms in the apartment. Oops. Also, I think I'd like a bigger bed /anyway/.
I picked
Yes
over
No (2 years ago)
Today, we've learned an important lesson...
I picked
John Edwards over
Barack Obama
(2 years ago)
I picked
John Edwards
over
Hillary Clinton (2 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Hillary Clinton or
Barack Obama
(2 years ago)
I started with Hillary, but I was her only supporter in my precinct, so I ended up caucusing for Edwards, and I think I'm actually happier with him.
I picked
Buy the frozen shucked clams from Whole Foods.
over
Learn to shuck the fresh clams from Star. (2 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Buy the frozen shucked clams from Whole Foods. or
Learn to shuck the fresh clams from Star. (2 years ago)
Oops, duplicate.
Lost my (too-small) French press (device for making coffee) over the summer. Replace it with a......
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Larger French press
or
Real drip coffee maker (1 year ago)
Work has a K-cup machine. Problem solved!
I picked
Enh, you've got more than enough T-shirts already. over
Buy a couple t-shirts -- the regexes one and the "my code's compiling" one.
(2 years ago)
I'm blase enough about the shirts that it wasn't worth it.
I picked
Get a credit card with a reasonably low credit limit -- $2000 or so -- use it exclusively for plane tickets, and pay the bill as soon as it comes. Besides, it's a good way to build a good credit rating.
over
Put up with the annoyance. I don't really want a credit card. (2 years ago)
I picked
Take 6.115 (microcontroller lab) next term, and find something else to take this term. over
Take 6.111 (the digital design lab) this term so I can take 6.102 (the awesome-seeming old-sk00l analog circuits lab -- refurb a tube radio!), which is only offered next term.
(2 years ago)
I need a math class, so I've subbed in 18.06 (Linear Algebra) instead.
I picked
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
over
The Cyberiad, by Stanislaw Lem
(3 years ago)
...and then term happened and I got distracted. Maybe I'll read it /next/ summer.
I picked
"The Omnivore's Dilemma," by Michael Pollan over
"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel," by Susannah Clarke
(3 years ago)
Okay, this book is /fascinating/...
I picked
Stick with Firefox 2 for now. The bleeding edge isn't worth the pain.
over
Try Firefox 3 alpha -- it's supposed to be faster on Mac, and you're a software developer -- you're okay with living on the bleeding edge, right? (3 years ago)
I picked
Light blue
over
Light green (3 years ago)
I'm going to go with a very light blue-cyan for the walls, and a slightly darker shade of the same blue-cyan for the trim. I'll see what I think of it.
I picked
No. over
Yes. (3 years ago)
I picked
Stick with Verizon at $38/mo. It's just a phone, though I might upgrade to a little bit better one, but it works for that. I get better reception than my friends on other networks seem to get, and the ability to do analog in a pinch is nice, though it's not critical.
over
Get an iPhone, with an AT&T plan at $60/mo. The device is expensive, the plan is expensive, and I've already got a perfectly adequate iPod, but damn the iPhone is a sexy beast, and I lust after it mightily. As a mobile data platform, it's impossible to beat. (There are a few rough edges that'll annoy me, but my sources tell me they'll get rounded off with software updates in a couple months' time.) (3 years ago)
I guess I'll stay with Verizon for now and wait until I graduate to figure out what I need in a phone.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Switch to the Sprint SERO plan at $30/mo for essentially the same voice plan plus unlimited Web/data on the phone (though no ability to use the phone as a modem). Get some "smartphone" that's not an iPhone. Having data on my phone would be nice, and the price can't be beat. It won't be an iPhone, though. Also, Sprint's reception and customer service are all unknown quantities.
or
Get an iPhone, with an AT&T plan at $60/mo. The device is expensive, the plan is expensive, and I've already got a perfectly adequate iPod, but damn the iPhone is a sexy beast, and I lust after it mightily. As a mobile data platform, it's impossible to beat. (There are a few rough edges that'll annoy me, but my sources tell me they'll get rounded off with software updates in a couple months' time.) (3 years ago)
I guess I'll stay with Verizon for now and wait until I graduate to figure out what I need in a phone.
I picked
Stick with Verizon at $38/mo. It's just a phone, though I might upgrade to a little bit better one, but it works for that. I get better reception than my friends on other networks seem to get, and the ability to do analog in a pinch is nice, though it's not critical.
over
Switch to the Sprint SERO plan at $30/mo for essentially the same voice plan plus unlimited Web/data on the phone (though no ability to use the phone as a modem). Get some "smartphone" that's not an iPhone. Having data on my phone would be nice. It won't be an iPhone, though. Sprint's reception and customer service are all unknown quantities. (3 years ago)
I guess I'll stay with Verizon for now and wait until I graduate to figure out what I need in a phone.
I picked
Don't. It's $150 you only sort-of have, you don't *really* need a paid account, and, dude, it's LiveJournal.
over
Buy a permanent account. You've been wanting some paid account features (syndication, scrapbook), and you never have to worry about it again. (3 years ago)
Well, the sale is over, and I didn't buy it, so I guess not.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
SF Chronicle's Bay Area News section
or
San Mateo Daily News (3 years ago)
Both, for now.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Shell out the ~$200 for the third and fourth seasons of Farscape on DVD and the Peacekeeper Wars miniseries. You can afford it, and you want to know how the story ends, right? (Besides, the first season had the seeds of something interesting, even if the execution fell through as often as not. Also, Claudia Black is hot.) or
Enh, that's a lot of money for something you're not head-over-heels in love with / physical media? *sooo* 20th century / there are better things to watch. (Suggestions, please!)
(3 years ago)
Got distracted when I got to California and haven't kept up with it. "Oops." Maybe I'll pick it up again later and decide then.
I picked
Fix the ending on my old short story. over
Start the new short story that's been percolating.
(3 years ago)
I picked
Let it go. Despite the sentimental attachment, it's not worth the cost or the hassle.
over
Try to persuade my parents to sell it back to me, drive it out to Boston (1000+ miles), and use it there eg. if I get a job I can't bike to. Deal with registration, the high cost of gas, the annoyance of parking, etc., but don't have to shell out big bucks for a newer car either. (3 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
More features never hurt. or
You're never going to /use/ it, so it doesn't matter.
(3 years ago)
Didn't buy the drive.
I picked
Enh. You're leaving end of next week, and you won't have local access to that computer for 3 months.
over
Sure. They're ~$35 on NewEgg with 3-day shipping, and they're useful. (3 years ago)
I picked
Poke them again. Those darn Californians might have been, I dunno, surfing instead of checking their e-mail obsessively like New Englanders are wont to do
over
Wait. Chill, dude. No news is good news. If you've got a chance, they'll get back to you. And start sending out more enquiries again. (3 years ago)
I picked
Keep looking
over
Deal with the commute (3.5mi bike ride -> BART -> Caltrain -> bike/shuttle bus) (3 years ago)
I picked
hold out for a place to live that covers the full 3 months
over
try to patch together a couple shorter-term places (3 years ago)
...'cuz I found one.
I picked
Charlie Stross
over
CJ Cherryh (3 years ago)
I picked
Timelike Diplomacy (Stross)
over
Merchant Princes (Stross)
(3 years ago)
Since you lot weren't very helpful, and Merchant Princes wasn't in at the Library, I picked up Timelike Diplomacy. ;-)
I picked
Stick with the iBook. All you'll be doing is Web browsing and e-mail anyway, and it's okay for that.
over
Upgrade my three-year old iBook G4 1.2GHz to a Macbook. Your current computer is a little underpowered when you've got a dozen apps open. (3 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Buy a MagLite
or
Buy a better LED flashlight (suggestions?) (3 years ago)
"Yes." Turns out Maglite sells LED flashlights now in the same form-factors, so I bought one. It was $25 -- cheaper than a regular Maglite+conversion kit. So far it seems pretty spiffy.
I picked
Live close to work (Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City-ish).
over
Live further south (Palo Alto, Mountain View...) (3 years ago)
After spending a lot of time staring at Google Maps, I decided that Mountain View was Right Out, and Palo Alto was doable but not desireable. I could stand some commute if it meant I was able to live in the city, but not if I was just going to live in another suburban area.
I picked
Find a place near work. Cheaper rent, bike to work, and you can go into SF on weekends.
over
Find a place to live in SF, commute. More expensive, more social opportunities. (3 years ago)
The rents were actually significantly more expensive (consistently about double what I was finding in SF), so with the cost of commuting it's money-wise pretty much a wash either way, but I was having some trouble finding places at all and some of the longer commutes I was looking at would have been just hellish. I'll spend a lot of weekends in the city, I hope. :-)
I picked
Stay in Boston, catch up on tooling I'm behind in, work on fun projects I haven't had time for...
over
Go to New York City, maybe visit people, maybe do... something? (suggestions in comments?) (3 years ago)
I picked
Silicon Valley over
Boston
(3 years ago)
I picked
Read something better (suggestions in comments? :)
over
Continue reading Slashdot, even though it (is/has become) a terrible, horrible rag. (3 years ago)
Dumped a bunch of your suggestions onto a tab on my Google homepage. We'll see which ones annoy me little enough that they stick around. Thanks!
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Guinness. Stout, tasty, traditional.
or
something else (suggestions in comments?) (3 years ago)
Guinness *and* Murphy's. (Shoulda' gotten an ale, then I could have made Black and Tans. :)
I picked
Put it in The Queue somewhere.
over
Read it now. (3 years ago)
I picked
Just take the gorram sight-singing lab (~1h/wk-ish) already. over
Take concert choir (~6h/wk) to get out of the sight-singing lab for my music course. (More work, likely more fun.)
(3 years ago)
I picked
do something else. I don't know /what/, but...
over
be a good Keyholder and munch an extra 4 MITSFS hours (3 years ago)
Freefall!
I picked
dim sum!
over
sleep in! (3 years ago)
I picked
I don't know, and I don't care.
over
Support RSS 1.0! Older versions need love too! (3 years ago)
Turns out XML::Feed can't easily generate anything but Atom and RSS 2.0. That makes this question real easy. :-)
I picked
GMail (mail lives on a server I don't control, no IMAP access, no tweaking necessary) over
mutt (mail lives on my own server, IMAP access, PGP, needs extensive configuration)
(3 years ago)
I picked
buy a nice, midrange point-and-shoot camera (current front-runner is the Fuji FinePix F10, which has /really/ nice picture quality for a point-and-shoot)
over
buy a cell phone with a camera for my point-and-shoot needs, and then get a nice digital SLR later when I graduate and have a Real Job making Real Money (3 years ago)
I picked
Sew it myself (I'm handy with needle and thread)
over
Use an iron-on denim patch (3 years ago)
I picked
Patch the knee of an otherwise-good pair
over
Enjoy the ventilation and the "distressed" look (3 years ago)
The hole is in the knee, not the back pocket (though I may get one there yet). And I'm slowly phasing in new jeans (that fit! shocking!), but I can't afford to replace them all at one go.
I picked
Throw it away. Wired sucks anyway.
over
Subscribe! Shiny gadgets zomg!!!!!11!!!one (3 years ago)
I picked
Dress up ("business casual" -- khakis and a nice shirt)
over
Wear my standard jeans and t-shirt (3 years ago)
Accidental Hedonist asked. This seemed as good a place as any to find an answer. Should I make......
I picked
pie
over
cake (3 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Buy a new MacBook this summer, even though I don't have a pressing need for it. or
Just bump the RAM to 1280M.
(3 years ago)
Just live with it, for right now. It doesn't hurt /that/ much, really...
I picked
$40 Sennheiser PC150 Noise Cancelling PC Headset, uses a pair of 3.5mm jacks to connect to the soundcard, works under Linux, good QA
over
$30 Logitech Premium 350 USB headset, Just Works with Linux, spotty QA (~30% of the Amazon reviews say they flaked out) (3 years ago)
I picked
yes, it'll be great!
over
no, you've got enough stuff on your plate already. (3 years ago)
I picked
edit my short stories and send at least one off to a publisher
over
work on /my/ personal Web service pony (3 years ago)
I picked
edit my short stories and send at least one off to a publisher
over
read more Anansi Boys (3 years ago)
I picked
read more Anansi Boys over
work on /my/ personal Web service pony
(3 years ago)
I picked
penguins
over
guinea pigs (3 years ago)
I picked
oyster stew over
clam chowder
(3 years ago)
I picked
try to take 6.UAT next term over
wait until my senior year
(3 years ago)
I picked
wait for later
over
take 6.111 next term
(3 years ago)
I picked
don't take it
over
take 6.111 next term (3 years ago)
I picked
wait until next spring (my senior year) over
take 6.115 next term (Leeb)
(3 years ago)
I picked
take 6.013 next term (Kong and/or Zahn)
over
take 6.011 next term (Verghese) (3 years ago)
I picked
take 6.013 next term (Kong and/or Zahn)
over
take 6.012 next term (Fonstad) (3 years ago)
I picked
take 6.046 at some point
over
don't bother (3 years ago)
I picked
just take 6.033
over
take 6.035 with 6.033 next term (3 years ago)
I picked
test out of 6.042 and take 18.06 next term
over
just take 6.042 (3 years ago)
I picked
take 6.011 next term (Oppenheim and Verghese)
over
take 6.012 next term (Fonstad) (3 years ago)
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