Author Archives: Danny Silverman

Random updates from my life

BlackBerry

A few months ago dad got me a BlackBerry. It’s a darn cool device, although some aspects of the OS are a little primitive. It is very good at email, thanks to a wonderful little built-in keyboard that I can actually type on, using my thumbs, and a nice little address book that combines all of the various contact methods in one place. However, the built-in Nextel web browser is pretty crummy, and are the todo list, calendar, and memo pad applications. Plus, it doesn’t sync with CorporateTime, or, well, a Mac.

So I shelled out $30 for PocketMac, which lets me sync with my Mac, somewhat badly, and $30 for WebViewer, which is a really great little web browser. I refuse to pay $48/year for WebMessenger so I can do IM, same with the $195 fo the only available SSH program. Yes, two hundred bucks for something that has been implemented a hundred times for free and open source on computers. BlackBerries are very corporate-focused, and there exists very little useful software that doesn’t come with an exhorbanent price tag.

Internship

Next semester I will be spending two days each week working at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. It looks like a pretty neat place, and I’ll be doing something or other related to web filtering. My ideal schedule is Tuesday/Thursday at Berkman and all my other classes on Wednesday, but I’m not sure if that will actually work or not. But four day weekends would sure be fun.

Girlfriend

I’ve never mentioned in a tangible medium that Kelli and I have been “officially” dating for about two months now. So there’s that. Sorry, Kelli, had to post it eventually. 😉

Exercise

Near the beginning of summer Aaron suggested going to the gym, and just like that I made it a habit, kept at it for a long time, and somehow managed to lose about 20 pounds. I’d like to lose 20 more, but that might have to wait until next summer. Or…well, whenever I have a few months of free time. 🙂

This miraculous feat was accomplished by spending almost every day at the gym for about an hour and a half. I mostly did the eliptical machine and a bit of rowing and reclining bike, but Kelli has encouraged me to branch out and now I switch off between eliptical and running, with 10 minutes or so of rowing at the end. Because I could set my own hours and didn’t really have much to do, I was able to do lots of gym, walking around the neighborhood, and cliff walks in Newport over the summer. Once the school year re-appeared I had to cut back a bit, but I still try to keep going at least 3 times a week, for at least an hour each time, and I seem to be staying at around the same weight.

In terms of eating, my eating habits have changed very minimally. I think I ate less over the summer, but with school back in swing I find myself eating pretty much the same as I used to, and I think going to the gym serves to keep me balanced off. If I worked harder on eating healthier and less, I could probably lose more weight, but I enjoy food and its not a sacrifice I am willing to make at this point.

Winter break

My last final is on Tuesday and I am going home Wednesday morning. On Thursday Aunt Linda is taking us to see Les Miserables at the Pantageus and on Friday we are off to Hawaii through new years. At first I was sort of blah about it, but I’ve gotten a bit more excited over time. I’m not big on sitting on the beach all day, but I will be able to get some reading done and hopefully explore some aspects of Hawaii that I didn’t get to or don’t remember from when I was younger.

Well, that’s about it in terms of short updates. I’m sure I’ll have more substantial things to write about once all of this finals business is done. For instance, I’m really excited about copiers, for some reason…

Brief backgrounder on Brian Sykes’s theory that the male species is doomed thanks to problems with the Y chromosome – His proposed solution: some fun genetic engineering to circumvent the Y. Or a move to a society made up only of women. Both would require a fair bit of science, and his willingness to suggest “fairly simple” and “straightforward” changes to the human genetic code seems a bit unsettling. Hasn’t this guy every seen the Twilight Zone — or any other scifi TV show that has addressed this issue at some point or another?

Finals

I don’t want to be tedious and post all about my wonderful finals, cause it happens every semester to everyone, but in explanation for my semi-absence from reality, I’m working on a few papers and studying for a few finals. Nothing exceptional, but I’m not very good with this whole “schoolwork” thing, so its…difficult.

Lots of distractions, ya know. Ooh, a shiny nickel! Wait, what was I saying?

Has Iraq stretched the U.S. military to its breaking point? – Because they’ve used up “pre-positioned” assets around the globe, the US must now transport equipment to Iraq along with troops. This raises the cost to deploy an entire unit, such as the 3rd Infantry Division, to as much as $1 billion. Additionally, the Iraq action has put the military in a place where a war or significant action in the next several years could cause the system to collapse. They’re running out of supplies, hardware, and, of course, trained, willing troops. Meanwhile, the latest Pentagon budget still includes massive spending on new, advanced weapons and an untested missile defense system that won’t be ready for field use for years — if ever.

Barlow gets busted by the TSA – Supposedly mandated to “fight” terrorism, their incredibly thorough search of his luggage reveals a small amount of controlled substances and lands John Perry Barlow in jail. Fourth Amendment does not apply, apparently, to national security. And by “national security” I mean the failed War on Drugs. First they came for the rock stars, and I did not speak up, for I am not a rock star…