New s/toy/tool/

Specifically a Korg nanoKEY MIDI controller. It's tiny -- 12.60"W x 0.55"H x 3.27"D -- and USB-powered. Even Linux recognizes it as a vanilla USB MIDI device.

It was only $50 at Guitar Center; I got their last one :). They had one last week at Guitar Showcase, but it had sold by the time I came back after deciding to get one. Popular item, I think. They also have a drum pad and control surface in the same series. Very tempting.

Giving lessons

Like a lot of people on my friends list, I've been looking for inexpensive gifts to give people, and especially my kids (who are not on this filter, BTW). One of the obvious zero-cost options is lessons: guitar for the Y.D.; maybe simple Perl or Javascript programming for the Wolfling.

I've offered, of course, but I think they're a little shy of asking, and when I think of it, it's usually not convenient for them. So this year I'm going to print a couple of stacks of coupons on business card stock. That way they'll have a tangible reminder that they can ask, they can hand on to me some time when I don't look busy, and then I'll have a tangible reminder that I made the offer and should make the time for it.

Feel free to make up your own variations on this one. Of course, what you put on the coupons doesn't have to be lessons; I remember a long time ago one Valentine's Day when Colleen gave me a little coupon book for things like hugs and kisses and backrubs that I might have ben too shy to ask for. Massage, home-cooked meals, private performances...

What did I do to deserve this?

My trackball is going Republican -- it keeps dashing off to the far right. Where did I go wrong?

My friend is dying

My friend meglimir is dying.

There's not much else to say, really. I've known her since we met on alt.callahans all those many years ago.

Thankful Thursday

I don't always do one of these, but...

• Colleen. Home, healthy, and with her PICC line out as of this afternoon.
• My family, both blood and chosen.
• My friends. Special thanks to andyheninger's gift of an old but servicable Thinkpad just as my old one was dying.
• An understanding employer. Heck; an employer is something to be truly thankful for these days.
• Beautiful places to walk.
• Rain, and the cool, clean air it brings with it.

"New" toy

As I mentioned upstream, andyheninger gave me an old but serviicable Thinkpad A30 last night -- his father had been about to have it recycled. It currently has Ubuntu 8.10 on it; I figure I'll do a little messing around and exploring before probably reconfiguring it with Lenny. Or possibly dual-booting.

I've also come into a little nano-ITX board, from a co-worker who'd gotten it at a conference. Looks like a good choice for an X-terminal, or maybe a portable server. Only one SATA port, 100BaseT networking, and no PCI slots, so it's a bit too wimpy for a fileserver.

Neither has a name, as yet.