Rob Reed

Are we looking for the curvature of the earth? I can kind of see that. I also notice it is a gravel road. - Robert Felty

Try driving down it a bit... - Kevin Fox

lazy driver! - Tai

I like the new Google Maps UI. http://bit.ly/H53w - Rolf Schewe

Not quite the same thing, but here's another "Easter Egg:" http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/... - John Craft

heh - mikepk

Cool link, John. - Voyagerfan5761

71st rd, between 82nd and 86th is officially: "The Middle of the United States of America" which ironically appears to be in the middle of nowhere. - Bill Strathearn

Yeah, I was looking up my favorite new bakery, Little T's American Bakery in Portland, OR, and, despite the address and phone info being listed correctly, the street view showed a construction site. - Mark Novak

our cc&rs require that we keep trash cans out of view... unfortunately, if i ever argue we don't leave our trash cans out, google street view will prove me wrong... boo! - Rob Reed

The cemetery was interesting... and then a little later it seemed I entered the twilight zone... no matter how many times I clicked I couldn't get closer to the trees. A loop? - Dylan Parker

If only it covered Canada too. - Tanath

I don't know how the Ethiopian restaurants are over there, but here in Rome they are very good even though you are forced to eat with your fingers. - flapic

Pictures or it didn't happen [please also explain what the heck Ethopian food is!] - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

lurve Ethiopian food (and it's great in Seattle) - Deepak

good Ethiopian restaurants in Toronto, too...generally spicy stews, served on top of a huge flatbread, and you use the flatbread to scoop up the stews (correct me if i'm wrong...at least that's how i remember it!) - Trent Olson

It's sooooo good. That is one thing I miss about NYC- great Ethiopian food available. And lovely honey wine to go with it....sigh. - Abby Martin

Trent- WHERE? Want! - Abby Martin

Blue Nile? - Paul Buchheit

never had it before...what does it taste like? spicy, sweet? ingredients?? Rochester restaurant?? - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

I never had Ethiopian before. - Morton Fox

i wanna go there. - Mahdi Ebrahimi

We go here: http://rocwiki.org/Abyssinia - Benjamin Golub

Oh cool, must check that out, thanks Ben!! :) What do you like to order there? - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Yum! Spicy and delicious! - Sally Church

I think something is wrong with me. My initial reaction to reading that was to think "he's eating an Ethiopian for dinner? thats not very sporting" - David Adam

I would say there's no such thing as bad Ethiopian food, but here in LA we have Little Ethiopia and one of the restaurants suck. The other 6 are awesome. - Anika Malone

I had a Kenyan for dessert once. - Rob Reed

Ethiopian food is interesting. Not something i'll do often though - Shey

lolol this thread wins. - Monique

SOMEONE (who shall remain nameless) on FriendFeed had me craving a gyro. However, I stayed on FF too long, and the Mediterranean restaurants had closed. I ended up going to an Indian restaurant (so I could at least get the lentil soup I wanted). Got keema naan and karahi gosht, as well. - MiɳiMagɘ (AlwaysMiniMage)

Ethiopian food looks really, really gross and especially like baby food, *BUT* I keep hearing it's good stuff. Eventually with enough peer pressure, I'll try some. It's the Bay Area, I'll get urbanspoon working for me one day at lunch and give it a whirl. - Pete Delucchi

Pete, glad you're willing to try it one day, but calling someone's food "really, really gross" is quite insulting...just sayin'... - Far

Deepak, where is there good Ethiopian in Seattle? - Rochelle

He didn't say it WAS gross; he said it LOOKS gross... - MiɳiMagɘ (AlwaysMiniMage)

There's a place on Cherry that I really like. Lalibela I think. Not the best location, but love the food - Deepak

Deepak, think it's vegetarian friendly? - Rochelle

yes. My wife (who's a veggie) loves it - Deepak

Get the veggie platter/combo. Worth it (with some extra injera) - Deepak

I hear ya, Far, and I have to think Ethiopians know their food has little visual flair, seriously. I don't mean to insult because I honestly do want to try it, and let me downgrade my original comment to "visually unappealing" instead. That's a little more sensitive, I think. - Pete Delucchi

Thanks, Deepak! We'll go try it soon. - Rochelle

And now, I want some tibbs and that yummy cabbage. Sign. - Anika Malone

Thanks Pete :) - Far

As much as I would like this to be indicative of people's feelings on the subject, I think a lot of the narrowing had to do with the fact that this one was a constitutional amendment. People are less likely to want to amend the constitution. - Cyrus Lendvay

I don't know, Cyrus, but it's hard to evaluate without a survey. But my sense is that people's feelings on the topic are very raw and emotional, and the distinction of whether or not the proposition modifies California's constitution seems more academic and unemotional. I'm looking for exit polls that show Proposition 8 votes broken down by age. I think that would show the real reason behind the above graph: As new voters start voting, they vote differently on this topic. - Stephen Mack

Actually, I think that was much less a factor than that Prop 22 was voted on in the Primary election of the Spring of 2000, rather than in the 2000 General Election. In that primary election, George W. Bush and McCain were in a hotly contested fight for the Republican nomination, while Al Gore was already the presumptive nominee. As a result Republican turnout was far higher than Democratic turnout (compared to the General Election), and that had a drastic impact on the voter tallies across the ballot. - Kevin Fox

That said, it does negate a lot of the value in the chart, since most of the skew is related to turnout. - Kevin Fox

hot. - Derrick

awesome. - Monique

haha i was right (kind of :-) - Jess Lee

let's put a smile on that face! - MG Siegler

Imagining somebody asking a patient "Why so serious?" in this outfit... - Kamath ॐ

creepy! - Jon-Paul Bussoli

[unlike] - Orphan Spinster Librarian

thanks for the nightmares... - Far

No. - WorldofHiglet

Nice tights, MG. - Louis Gray

Mmm, pretty. You busy tonight, sugar? lol - Slippy Lane

Wow. Does she totally not understand the 1st Amendment? Perhaps she doesn't believe in Freedom of the Press. - Gabe

Probably both. - Paul Buchheit

Got some. Got a good punch recipe with Everclear if you're interested. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

That's scary stuff. - Trish R

YES!!!!!! A great idea. - Thomas Hawk

Yes, laboratory quality alcohol in the comfort of your own home...use carefully, hehe. - Alex Scoble CISSP

keep away from open flames. - Glen Campbell

If you down that with Ouzo, you are God. GOD I tell you! - Mona N.

Oh no. - Mike Doeff

Feel like blowing yourself up, anyone? Or maybe a PARTY! ;) - Michael Forian

God's nectar. - Thomas Hawk

mmmmmmm, Ouzo - m.i.a

party punch for the win. just dump a bunch of fruit in it and let it soak overnight. :D - Monique

Brings back memories. Bad memories. Purple passion memories mostly. - Tom Wentworth

Creek Juice: 1 big can of pineapple juice, 2 two liters of lemon lime soda, 1 packet lemon like kool-aide, way too much Everclear. Make it in a bucket, toss a couple of peppermint candies in at the beginning of the night. Starts out green and starts to turn brown as the peppermints melt. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

I bet it'll clean the toilet real good :) - Ian May

I bought some of that once to use with my chemistry set - Eric Truman

it's basically like moonshine, right? all i know is, mix it with fruit and punch and you have a party full of stumbling drunks. - Monique

Used to be able to get the 190 stuff in Nevada, but when I was in Vegas a few years ago all they sold was the 151. Can't get anything stronger than 151 in CA. I still have a half a bottle of 190 in the liquor cabinet. Hmmm, almost forgot it was there, now what was that punch rescipee?... - Jeff P. Henderson

Actually, it's basically reagent-grade ethanol, in case you wanted to do some organic chemistry in your kitchen. - Victor Ganata

Everclear always reminds me of the girl I had to carry out to her mom's car when I was in college. While carrying her drunk butt out of the dorm, she began to suck my finger passionately... in front of her mother. I have loved Everclear ever since. - Rob Reed

I need some of that! It's illegal to sell in California, but legal to have. - Alan

lol @robreed - Vamsee

I'll take two, please. - Steven Perez

That's what we strip paint with. - Zehn

reminds me of a party in high school that i don't remember... - Philip Ryan Johnson

Think they make this down the street form here :) - Charlie Anzman

Critical ingredient to any self-respecting Jungle Juice punch... - Jennie Lin

Everclear is only useful as a punishment in drinking games. - Jess Lee

Imported from Indiana :) - Paul Buchheit

In China we add that to the food to cut the melamine flavor. - Paul Denlinger

If you thin it down with water to only 180 proof, you can run your car on it. Otherwise, it's too rich and will make it stall (if it doesn't blow up...) - Robert Worstell

Wow, that's some potent stuff there Paul (BTW, like your kitchen + viking stove!) - Susan Beebe (Santa Claus)

Any idea how many times you have to distill to get to 190 proof? - Gabe

I like the beef from the local Japanese supermarket in San Mateo better. - Jauder Ho

Suruki? ...and my So. Cal friends give me crap all the time. It's supposedly "99 Ranch" not "Ranch 99". Whatever, it's Ranch 99! And Engrish ftw! - Mona N.

Yes, down here we call it 99 Ranch. LOL! - Anika Malone

Mona, yes Suruki. I live fairly close to it. Besides, it's hard to beat half price sushi. - Jauder Ho

Suruki-san is a family friend LOL. My family used to shop there when it was still a teeeeeny corner store on Burlingame Ave... I grew up with Charlene and Jimmy (the kids). I think Charlene works the registers during the holidays. Wow. How local. And 1/2 price bentos ftw! - Mona N.

[like] - Morton Fox

Mona, too funny. I've been going there for the last 10+ years. I love San Mateo coz of all the varied Japanese food. - Jauder Ho

Bon appetit !! - Didier Lahely

Paul, I'm thinking about going super lightweight route, like Aspire One or Asus EEPC. Man must surf at kitchen table. The smallness of these devices intrigues me. You have the ASUS right? - Rob Hoeting

Yes, I have the eee 901 I think. It seems pretty decent. It's a little challenging to type on, but otherwise usable and very portable. - Paul Buchheit

How about one of these new HP Mini ultra portables: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1793... - Brian Daniel Eisenberg

Also look at the new HP Mini's and Dell. - Mike Reynolds

apple.com - Rob Reed

Let me throw in my vote for a ThinkPad. I can't use a laptop without a TrackPoint. - Gabe

Mac. It's like night and day. - Eugene

I love my Asus EEE PC. If I were to get one, I'd get the 10" model. Macs are too big and heavy (not to mention expensive) - Piaw Na

I'll vote for Dell - the Vostro series is pretty awesome. - Space Cowboy

isthedowplungingtomorrow.com - Kevin Fox

a site that compares my home energy use with others on my street - peter

everything that is already built working 10x faster - peter

I agree, Kevin, I'd much prefer your app. - Aviv

okay, it's up. - ⓞnor

nor... funny - Rob Reed

Hehe - Aviv

Awesome. It would be really interesting to implement voting and check out the wisdom of this crowd. - Kevin Fox

Something like stackoverflow.com - Varun Mahajan

Something that can filter chaff from the news, that you can log into every week or maybe even every month or so. Only stuff of lasting significance. Similarly a video site of meatier, interesting content rather than the light bites you get on YouTube. (Both these ideas sound a lot like old media, I know). - Neil Kandalgaonkar

I would like to be able to SMS my DVR to record a show I forgot to record. - Bryan Power

I want a website where I can input the food I ate very quickly (no more than 5 seconds to input a snack, 10 seconds for a meal) and track my nutritional and caloric intake. I want a good approximation and simple interface over exactness, so I would like it to know the ingredients of common meals and let me choose portion sizes in a way that is really quick. - Bret Taylor

I was thinking about this over the weekend, actually, and it was similar to what Bret mentioned. A site where you can enter your meals, but also have the option to text or email your meal in. Also the ability to create meals in advance so you could just text in meal:restaurant for instance and it would be preset with the ingredients and portion sizes. From that it would give you all kinds of pretty charts and graphs about calories, nutrients, and make suggestions of foods for you to eat to get the vitamins in which you're deficient (ideally it would recommend food you're likely to enjoy based on foods you already eat). Add your height, weight, measurements, and body fat % plus the ablity to send in your physical activity just like meals = SWEET. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

I left a comment over on this very thoughtful post. - Robert Scoble

It's 5am here and that's why I'm not doing a post on it. :-) Good night/morning - Jesse Stay

Jesse, that just means you woke up right :) That's what I was doing at 5AM. And yes, I am doing a post on this, sort of. - Rob Diana

Although I respect the privacy of your personal decision on Prop 8, This piece left me wondering what your take-away message was intended to be. - Stephen Foskett

Stephen, this doesn't have the typical, intro/message/conclusion format. What I wanted to do was undo some misconceptions, and illustrate the internal battle that's faced when there are multiple belief systems tugging on a single individual. I think what this post does is offer a safe place to talk and discuss a sensitive issue. - Louis Gray

There is now a really good discussion going on in the blog comments. Everyone is staying very level-headed so far. - Rob Diana

A solid follow-on from Rob Diana here on Filters and Belief Systems. http://www.louisgray.com/live/... - Louis Gray

Kudos for everyone to (so far) having a very reasonable discussion on this very volatile issue - reading reasonable, smart people discussing important issues is a big part of why I follow you guys/gals. - Bill Sanders

Thanks Louis. I do not like talking politics or religion, but I figured that the discussion of filtering was appropriate. - Rob Diana

LG, thank you for this post. Because of you and Jesse, I have a better understanding of the LDS and your beliefs. You are one of the rare people who can set and keep an amicable tone with such a hot topic... and that's why you are a true leader. The more I get to know you, the more and more I respect you. :) - Mona N.

Prop. 8 is a pretty hot topic in the bars around SLC right now. There's a lot of resentment against the LDS church right now. Even the people who agree with the goal of Prop. 8 are pretty ticked off. Win or lose I think the LDS church has seriously harmed their relationship with the non-LDS population in and around SLC. - Kevin D. White

Thanks for sharing your struggle, Louis. - cjmart

I could have used this type of discussion a few years back while in grad school. This is a perfect illustration of cognitive dissonance, a theory that had been difficult for me to grasp. I hope the conversation continues. - Sally Robinson

Isn't cognitive dissonance where one rationalizes something within their beliefs because another thing conflicts with it? I'm not sure Louis is rationalizing his beliefs here. In fact, he's not stating what his final decision is. The LDS church has said members can choose as they please without repurcussion, as have they taught us to be loving and tolerant of people who are gay. Not sure if this is necessarily cognitive dissonance. I don't think Louis is rationalizing any beliefs here. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

A good writer is one who can make both sides of the issue feel like he's siding with them. :-) This was an excellent article. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

Great post Louis. It's rare to find such an honest and thoughtful explanation of one's thinking. I'm curious if you've ever pondered what your response would be if the Church were to take a more personally difficult stance? (such as declaring some race to be sub-human, or something like that) - Paul Buchheit

Great post, Louis. You described the struggle well. It's been a hard place to be, between my faith and my loved ones. I think that government is not the place to deal with this issue. I voted no. I hope others come to this same conclusion. - Lisa L. Seifert

I don't know much about the LDS church, but reading Louis's blog post helped to give me some insight at least on his own personal level. As a gay man would eventually like to discover and enjoy the benefits of marriage, I appreciate your candor. - Derrick

Derrick, Lisa, Jesse, Paul and others, thanks for this. I had hoped to set up a platform for discussion and explain the inner turmoil that is there, and it looks like that has worked. Paul, it's not uncommon for my politics to conflict with some widely-held church beliefs. I believe in the Right to Choose, and the church is typically pro-life for example. That said, the church is very loving, and it would be mind-boggling for them to take a stance that would be so abhorrent. - Louis Gray

(continuing above) I recognize it's a slippery slope following your specific comment as parallels could be drawn on this issue vs. equal rights, as others have done. I'm not a typical evangelist/missionary who hands out Books of Mormon and begs friends to come to church in an effort to be converted, but for those friends who have come, they largely remark how friendly, good-natured and "normal" we seem. You and your family have a permanent invitation. :-) - Louis Gray

I'm a bible carrying Christian and one thing is perfectly clear to me. The bible tells us to not love the things of this world (1st John is one of my favorite books of the bible on the issue). Politics are things of the world. Should gays get married in churches? It doesn't make theological sense. Should gays be allowed to marry when society has secularized marriage, requiring marriage licenses, etc.? The U.S. Constitution demands it. - Rob Reed

And let's keep in mind that the LDS church isn't necessarily a cult here that forces members to do what they do not want to do. They have non-profit status and have to maintain that. As such, legally, they have to allow members to vote as they so choose. From what I've seen, this is actually also the church's official stance and belief. Members of the church have gone to extremes with it unfortunately, but as a member of the LDS faith, I know it will always support a love for all men, an ability to chose right from wrong, and a strong focus on families and loving all mankind. Paul, I could never see the church doing such a thing. That's the reason I'm a member of this church - I believe God will never lead it astray. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

The dictionary says a bigot is "One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ." It's hard for me to see how somebody who supports Prop 8 doesn't match that definition. - Gabe

Gabe, at the same time, how is anyone who is against it also not a "bigot" by that definition? If we go by that definition, aren't we all bigots? (My point here is to ensure we're approaching this civily - let's not point fingers) - Jesse Stay via twhirl

Yeah, that's not the right definition of bigot. That definition explicitly includes political partisans, for example, and partisans bare no relation to bigots in the sense that the term is now used. - j1m

Jesse, it is my understanding that Prop 8 is a consitutional amendment that would take away the rights of gays to legally marry. Those who are for it are presumably intolerant of gays to the point of wanting to make it illegal even in communities that want to allow it. If you're against Prop 8, then at the very least you don't care about gay marriage and are thus not intolerant, right? - Gabe

Gabe, I see your point, but to say the "for" crowd are bigots I think is labeling too large a group to call each one a bigot. There are many people with many different reasons supporting Prop. 8. It's not all about "for or against Gay people". Calling people bigots is just name calling IMO. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

and at the same time, it's not fair for anyone in the "for" crowd to be calling the "against" crowd bigots either. I've heard it come from both sides unfortunately. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

You may be right, Jesse, but under what circumstances can a person who is against gay marriage (to the point of making it illegal) *not* intolerant? - Gabe

The obvious take it that people who seek to eliminate a right for a specific group are, in fact, bigots. I agree that word has an unfriendly tone, but of course seeking to eliminate someone's right to marry is a lot worse than just unfriendly. Jesse, if you want to make the argument that it's something else, feel free, but I think you'd have to win that argument. - j1m

j1m I'm simply saying I see the viewpoint of both sides. Neither are bigots as a whole. (however I know individuals on both sides within those groups that could be considered bigots) - Jesse Stay via twhirl

Oh I'm sure there are Prop 1A supporters who are bigots. The point I'm arguing is that Prop 8, the proposition itself, is a bigoted action. I assume in some cases the decision to support Prop 8 arises from strongly-held religious conviction in the absense of a desire to oppress gays. But at the end of the day, actions matter. We've decided as a nation that we don't take away the rights of particular groups. If you stray outside of that and try to take away others' rights, you're doing a bad thing. - j1m

j1m it's not that simple though - I think many of the religions out there are trying to defend their religion itself. While they aren't necessarily against gays, allowing gay marriage could force them to participate in ceremonies they fundamentally and morally don't agree with. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

What?? Allowing state recognition of gay marriage would not require any religion to participate in any ceremony they don't like! Nothing forces ministers to marry people against their will. - ⓞnor

Right. In other words, it is that simple. Jesse, it seems like you're seeking what newspaper critics call 'false balance,' i.e. 'Gosh, these Prop 8 supporters are doing something wrong, I'd better try and gin up some argument that the opponents are too, because I'm real real sure there are 2 sides to every story.' - j1m

Perhaps Jesse is saying that a bigot is somebody who is intolerant of anybody who differs from their views in any way, while most Prop 8 supporters are tolerant of people who differ from their views except when it comes to gay marriage. If that's the case, I would say that Prop 8 supporters are, by definition, bigots strictly with respect to gay marriage. - Gabe

I suspect he's mostly trying to engender civility. It's valuable to criticize people's political choices in a way that polite but firm. Saying that someone's a bigot leaves a lot to be desired here -- as do, in general, negative comments that characterize a person, rather than characterizing their actions. - j1m

One of our users added a Prop 8 news network on socialmedian today to track all the news and discussions on this hot topic from 100+ sources. http://www.socialmedian.com/ne... -- We're featuring it on our homepage too. - Jason Goldberg

Can I have his 300K in Microsoft money? I've lived the idealism. Now I'm just into the sure thing. - Cyndy

same here - turned down 2 job offers (vc++ and nt kernel) to work around the country, which landed me in my dream job (gaia.com). fuck the sure thing which has no heart. - Christopher Galtenberg

Good sign. - Jeff P. Henderson

It's in front of one of my neighbor's houses :) - Paul Buchheit

So by transitive property, they love you, Paul. ;-) - Louis Gray

We should have read that book! Now we're hoping for four hours of sleep by four years. - Carl Haynes

...not to be bitter, but there are no magic beans, and this is definitely not for attachment parenting followers. - Alessandra Novak

Sounds like a pretty good book and method. Thanks for sharing! - @Alessandra what is attachment parenting? - Robert Felty

Ali: Yeah, I'll freely admit that I know next to nothing about parenting. I'd love to hear more from you and others with first-hand experience. - Kevin Fox

What is attachment parenting (AP)? It's not so much a set of rules, but a philosophy, largely attributed to Dr Sears, but really, it's a return to historically practiced instinctive parenting strategies...keeping baby close by bonding, babywearing, responding to crying as communication of needs, nursing on demand, co-sleeping or sleeping close, and finding balance between baby's needs and your own. When your baby trusts in you, they become more independant and self-confident. - Alessandra Novak

Oops. I should mention that the addition to the title 'the best parenting book I've read' was the title of the post in Google Reader. It was not a personal endorsement. :-) - Kevin Fox