<p>last time i was down in the cruz i had to pee real bad on my way out of town. so i stopped at McDonald's. used theirs. it was real generic white box made of cinder blocks. real sterile. then i noticed this little [about 1 foot square] metal door. and i think its a circuit breaker box. immediately i think of the hilarity that would ensue if the power was cut. open it and ... bubkiss. it was just one water knob thingy. but inside this little box was the bright and fun and exciting graffiti. it was really struck me so much i went back out to my van and got the ol' cam-damera and took these four pictures. it was like this little secret box of colour in a very, very sterile white box. shhh... it's a secret.</p>
<p>
  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153385686/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/64/153385686_42f4e0a791_m.jpg" alt="McDsGraf1.jpg"></a><br>

  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153385697/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/77/153385697_ac60896caa_m.jpg" alt="McDsGraf2.jpg"></a><br>

  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153385725/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/78/153385725_4db2c2015f_m.jpg" alt="McDsGraf3.jpg"></a><br>

  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153385765/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/62/153385765_0244d01e0f_m.jpg" alt="McDsGraf4.jpg"></a><br>
</p>

<p>Song playing in iTunes while i made this post: <em>The Future, Wouldn't That Be Nice?</em> by The Books.</p>

<p>kids call it the ten con. or at least, THIS kid does.</p>

<p><img src="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/images/macosx2003/macosxcon_logo.gif" alt="tencon logo"></p>

<p>i went on tuesday. sat in on a few talks.</p>

<p><a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/macosx2004/view/e_sess/5685">how to run your own software business</a>, [which was covered in a <a href="http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2004/10/how_to_run_your.html">good write up here</a> and even an <a href="http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/audio/osxbusinesspanel.mp3">audio version here</a> (44.1mb mp3)]

</p>

xgrid, [presentation files downloadable from oreilly's site] [it's fun to think about building superclusters so easily...].

<p>lunch was good [and good for vegans like me] : burrito fixins. they separated the meat-stuffs from the veg-stuffs. thanks, oreilly. you're the best!</p>

<p>did lots of hanging out with / meeting other geeks. met <a href="http://www.markokarppinen.com/">marko</a> from finland, he's a good guy. <a href="http://inessential.com/">brent</a> <a href="http://ranchero.com/">simmons</a> whose two products (<a href="http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/beta.php">NetNewsWire</a> and <a href="http://ranchero.com/marsedit/">MarsEdit</a>) i use everyday and i love them both. <a href="http://bignerdranch.com/classes/instructors.shtml#ahillegass">aaron</a> whose <a href="http://bignerdranch.com/products/cocoa1.shtml">book i'm reading</a> and really digging. and, yes, he was wearing the cowboy hat. i would love to be able to take <a href="http://bignerdranch.com/classes/cocoa1.shtml">his class</a> at <a href="http://bignerdranch.com/">the ranch</a>, but, alas, it's $3500 that i don't have. so i'll stick with the book. he was so nice and empathetic. i think he would make for a good teacher. i'm disappointed that i wasn't able to make it today to see his talk on <a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/macosx2004/view/e_sess/5828">Best Practices for Cocoa Programmers</a>. also, i missed out on brent's talk about <a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/macosx2004/view/e_sess/5721">using webkit : user interface challenges</a>. i'd also liked to see <a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/macosx2004/view/e_sess/5719">Test Driven Objective-C Development</a>, too.</p>

<p>but the real star of the show, i think, was <a href="http://delicious-monster.com/">Delicious Library</a> made by Delicious Monster, a small company recently formed by <a href="http://delicious-monster.com/company.php">Will Shipley (founder of the OmniGroup) and Mike Mata</a> (18 year old designer who worked for OMNI since he was 15 - not bad). there's enough buzz about this app already. i don't need to recap it all. but it's hott. with two T's. this thing is gonna blow the F up. just you wait and see. <a href="http://weblog.karelia.com/MacOSX/DeliciousLibrary.html">i'm not the only who thinks so either.</a></p>

<p><img src="http://delicious-monster.com/downloads/LibraryHighRes.png" alt="delicious library icon" width="400"></p>

<p>on the <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0162346/">ghost world</a> dvd in the special features there is clip from an old Bollywood movie from the 1965 called <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0247394/">Gumnaam</a>. it's 5 minute version of a song called "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" as performed by Ted Lyons &amp; His Cubs. i'm officially on the prowl for music / videos by them or by bands that sound this this. a. maze. zine.</p>

<p>i recently <a href="http://veganstraightedge.com/articles/2004/10/19/1/spirited-away/">blogged here</a> about a clever little app for mac os x called <a href="http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/spiritedaway.html">SpiritedAway</a>. well, it's been updated to version 0.3.  it added a few features that are pretty handy. the ability to exclude certain apps being hidden. it also changes the icon in the menu bar if its active or inactive. he changed the icon from the cute full colour green ghostie to a black monochromatic ghost with big eyes open when active, little beady eyes when inactive.</p>

<p>i can't sing enough  praises for this app. a really great example of keeping it simple. designing for one thing and doing that thing really well. i'm glad the trend has moved back away from the <a href="http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/default.jsp">monolithic-do-everything-really</a>-<a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx">poorly-including-crap-i-will-never-EVER-use-suite</a> back toward <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/">the-small-stay</a>-<a href="http://www.apple.com/ichat/">focused-on-one-task</a>-<a href="http://ranchero.com/marsedit/">but-still-play-</a><a href="http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/">nice-with-others</a> series of apps.</p>

<p><a href="http://drikin.com/">the developer's blog</a> is in a language i don't know. so i can't really tell what is being said about it there, but you can download it from the <a href="http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/spiritedaway.html">apple mac os x downloads site.</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153387492/" title="icon.jpg by veganstraightedge, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/78/153387492_037cbb727c_o.jpg" alt="icon.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153387463/" title="Spirited_Away_16.png by veganstraightedge, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/75/153387463_d20293a0f7_o.png" alt="Spirited_Away_16.png"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153387501/" title="prefs.jpg by veganstraightedge, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/65/153387501_c70076d146_o.jpg" alt="prefs.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/veganstraightedge/153387507/" title="Spirited Away 0.3 Menu by veganstraightedge, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/153387507_56248f3026_o.jpg" alt="Spirited Away 0.3 Menu"></a></p>

<p>election time is coming up just right around the corner and everyone seems to care a lot. ok, whatever. i think people should vote or not vote. but regardless everyone, all of us, should do more than just casting a ballot every 2 or 4 years. <a href="http://earthliberationfront.com/">direct action gets the goods</a>. </p>

<p>there's a lot of energy being spent by what seems like everyone [the corporate media, the independent media, water coolers, pop culture icons, activists of all flavours, families, friends, et al] talking about and preparing for the election. all discussion of the merits of either candidate or how well n/either one represents you or me. it just seems like there's a lot of inertia caught up in this big spectacle. again, i don't care how you, or anyone votes, i care more that you, and everyone else, does something more than that. voting alone never changed anything. neither did not voting.</p>

<p>so here's the pitch: go to <a href="http://www.dontjustvote.com/">dontjustvote.com</a> read the intro page and more if you like what you hear. there's a <a href="http://www.foodnotbombs.net/2_feet_to_the%20_fire_rally.pdf">small half-sized little paper/pamphlet</a> you can download and read/distribute, too. (which was produced in conjunction with the folks over at <a href="http://crimethinc.com/">crimethinc fareast</a>.)</p>

<p>and then on election day, we show the fuckers that mean business. no, not THAT kind of business. both the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=Republocrats">Republicrats</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=Demopublicans">Demopublicans</a></p>

<p>i don't think we a special occasion to come out and party in the streets, (just like i don't think we need a special day to give presents to people we care about) but it certainly presents an interesting opportunity for us to show our force in large numbers.</p>

<p>cast your vote or not, then hit the streets. neither one of those bastards represent our needs and desires. nor could anyone in that position. the very system itself will always misrepresent people in its protection of the system itself. george w. bush is not our target. if/when he falls, the institution that gives power over our lives to other people will still exist. until we dismantle it.</p>

<p>no matter what happens that day in those polls, take to the streets.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.crimethinc.com/library/english/join.html">keep loving</a>. <a href="http://crimethinc.com/a/fighting/">keep fighting</a>.</p>