Birthday and visual humor and a PSA

Happy birthday, Neal!

(Also, happy birthday yesterday, Dylan, even though you don't read my journal and almost all of your publicly available emails are invalid!)

In honor of this, or maybe just because Tucker provided the link as a followup to the Compound Foods from earlier:
Animelds
(Vanatee, Alemone, Bra constrictor, Bricken, Squarel, Three-toed cloth, and Vampie bat, to name several.. :D)

Also, PSA from sebatical: 1) RIAA's lawsuits are ridiculous, 2) Lawyers on NPR advise against participating in RIAA's "clean slate" amnesty program.

Philosophy in the lab

Is a switch without an actuator still a switch, or merely part of one?

switch: a mechanical, electrical, or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit

This came up in the lab with a two-part magnetic switch--one (A) housing electrical contacts, the other (B) housing the magnet--as one might use to sense a door opening. He maintained that it was the contacts and internal connections of piece A that were responsible for the routing, and thus piece A was a switch by itself; the rest of us maintained that piece A lost the ability to control a circuit without the external magnet/actuator in piece B.

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Yesterday, we practice-troubleshot the alarm system in pairs; yesterday and today we practiced individually; this afternoon, we test in pairs. The trainer breaks the system, and we're given two hours to get it up and running properly. Induced faults could be mechanical, electrical, or programmed.

More RIAA saga, work, & lawncare

From djkangal:

Spread it.
Corporate Bullies let small girl somewhat off the hook to prevent Public Relations Disaster.

Spread this article, and the word, near and far. Post it to your LJs, link it everywhere. Don't let the RIAA live this down. They shook down a small girl, and now they're settling for pocket change before too many people find out about it.

Tell everyone. Tell two friends. Put the spotlight on the RIAA and keep it there.

Update: Another good rant on the subject, a more proactive response.

Update 2: Useful followup: Select RIAA member record labels, Congressional info, and a Boycott-RIAA link.

Update 3: RIAA Radar tells whether the CD you're considering buying is from a RIAA-backed record label or an indie.

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At work, troubleshot the alarm system again, against some pretty sneaky breakages. Another group was actually tested fixing the breaks; the rest of us will go tomorrow.

Got home, mowed the front yard, asked the neighbor where to find the outside-faucet cutoff (hidden under the sink), hosed down the front walk, and dethatched and mowed the somewhat barren back yard--it didn't take too kindly to being mowed down from what one might call "lush vegetation" a few weeks ago.

Good financial news, poll, Lasagana of Mass Destruction, and TuckerLinks

With the assistance of a friendly, helpful Geico representative--as they all have been, to date--I was able to successfully change my direct billing information from my NY bank to my local bank. (For some reason, though, the banking rep he contacted could only unenroll me from DirectPay, not change banking info or enroll me, so I had to enroll through the web page--where I could also have unenrolled myself. Pretty easy, though.) Their "current billing statement" page was slightly confusing, though, with regards to what's already been paid and what hasn't. Shouldn't be a problem, though, given the amount of time until my next billing date.

In the mail, I received a Fed loan statement (boo!) and a "change of variable interest rate from 4.50% to 4.25%" on my Citibank loan (yay!)

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Go answer Melody's poll about visualization!

Soon (soon, my pretty) a 6-pound Stouffer's lasagna will be ready for Nathan and I to dig into--for the next few days, as it amounts to about eight servings they way we eat. (Soon = around 10, which isn't so soon after all.) Mmm, lasagna.

And now, a bunch of links and text ganked from jazzfish:

10 Reasons Why Warren Zevon Was Cool: "How many singers got to use R.E.M. as their backing band?"

WZ obit by Dave Barry: "We also did 'Werewolves of London,' but Zevon insisted that it had to be sung by Stephen King."

What would Jesus drive?: "One theory is that Jesus would tool around in an old Plymouth because the Bible says, 'God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden in a Fury.'"

Optical illusions. WARNING: may cause your eyes to burst from your head.