Wanderers 2011.8.18

We talked about Linus Pauling a lot, most appropriately.

Nate had seen the OPB documentary, so was up to speed on this being the boarding house towards the start of his biography.

After his dad died, his mom had to make ends meet, while the gifted son explored chemistry in the basement.

Nirel slipped in and out of the Portland Matrix in a flash, another world traveler.

Chairman Steve took the head of the table.

I've been chirping on a citizens' band (public listserv), letting my peers know about the disposition of the FnB trailers. Even if you're far away on a trip, it's fun to get these blips sometimes.

Barry and Glenn quizzed me on re-roofing plans. I'm nowhere close to having blueprints, that's for sure. But then I'm not the architect.

The looming trip has my attention.

We also chatted about Bram Pitoyo and Amber Case, as Nate had just come from listening to Sheldon talk about "netness" some more.

Good having Michael Hagmeier join us again.

Today's STEM Lesson

Related filing: Topic: Computers in Schools... (Math Forum @ Drexel)

PUG 97214 (Launch Event)

I showed up at Lyrik babbling about Brazil (Keiko is from there) and toting totems, the PSF snake and a borrowed Moose slipper, for working on another pro-Perl photo op. YAWTDI or something like that.

Pythonia (Python Nation) and the Programmers' Republic of Perl are friendly neighbors. When looking at the camel from the right angle, you can see Guido's house in the background.

from GIS in Action 2009

Keiko told me about a more touching Brazilian movie than the one below, involving singing duos that roam the countryside, often brothers or sisters... reminding me that Lindsey was off busking somewhere, solo yet safe. One of our troupe. David had SkyBlue.

The occasion was a first meetup of the Hawthorne District Python Users Group. HD PUG might work, or perhaps we'll embrace the whole zip code: 97214 PUG. Steve had been talking about starting one, now that he has enough chairs. We haven't come up with a schedule yet.

Last week we attended the big Portland Python User Group at Urban Airship.

Our beginning was auspicious in that we had a successful install-mitzvah with Steve serving as rabbi. I munched on a sandwich and Skyped with our CSN CTO, also a good Wanderer buddy. Another attender joined us from London, also by Skype.

Flextegrity LLC was a sponsor for this event.

Elite Squad (movie review)

I lost my way in this melodrama more than a few times.

The overall plot was clear: Brazil was trying to live up to some ideal of itself, vis-a-vis the Pope in particular.

Perhaps it's only in English that BOPE and Pope sound so similar.

I'd say there's an element of parody here, in having all the rich and privileged sitting around talking about Foucault.

I'm more in the Nobby lineage in supposing ethnicities have a right to their medications, but when the heritage is so thin, much of their power is lost anyway. Some drugs just exaggerate predispositions. In war, you might want uppers and speed.

We live in a world without doctors, statistically speaking (translate "doctors" however you will).

The film is pointing out that the ethics and motivations are just too twisted to make much sense.

As an audience, we're invited to study the pain and suffering, dramatized for our benefit and education.

I got this from Movie Madness because our Brazilian friends at OSCON were saying this film seemed to capture a lot of the culture as they experienced it. I'd seen a couple others with Brazil their setting.