Eliminating Wasted Space

January 10, 2005 by Eric Richardson

I now have a data center in my ceiling. You see, I've had this server (the one running this site) sitting on my entertainment center for the last few months. The problem is: it's a bit loud. I didn't have a great other place to put it though... or so I thought. Then I realized I have this drop ceiling, the area above which is conveniently accessible from the window ledge. Sitting on the couch I can now hear a hum, but it's a whole lot fainter than it was a couple minutes ago. Running up to the ceiling are a power cable, a phone line, and an ethernet cable. All in all I'm happy with the results. I'll try to post a picture when it's light outside; I don't have any good means of lighting the area up there right now.

The Buildings Have No Tops

January 10, 2005 by Eric Richardson

The weather forecast tells me that we're going to get sun this week, but the view out my window gives no hints in that direction. I opened up the windows this morning to listen to the sound of waterfalls cascading off of nearby buildings and down into the alley. In a little bit I need to make my way out to go make an ATM deposit, but it looks pretty quiet out right now, so that shouldn't be so bad. A couple days ago I mentioned that I couldn't find my extra checks. Funny thing, that... Turns out they're supporting the webcam that took the above shot, sitting on top of our drop ceiling.

My '94 Camry Feels Old

January 09, 2005 by Eric Richardson

Kathy and I went over to the Auto Show this afternoon, after wading our way down the 405 to get back from church. We were only there for a couple hours, so we didn't get to be very thorough checking everything out, but it was a good time. First impression: packed. I don't care if you've read the stories talking about how many people this thing draws or not, you don't understand the numbers until you're in there trying to move around. — Continue Reading...

DLANC: Is All Press Good Press?

January 08, 2005 by Eric Richardson

The new issue of the Downtown News is out, and the lead story (at least online... I haven't picked up a paper copy yet) is titled "Success and Growing Pains: The Downtown Neighborhood Council Learns That It's Hard to Escape the Politics." At first I wanted to blast the piece as negative to DLANC, but I'm not going to do that. It's not really a bad piece; author Chris Coates is routinely at the DLANC board meetings and I think he has a good feel for what he's writing about. That said, the article feels to me a bit sensational, making good reading but not really telling the whole story. Click read more to get a more in-depth breakdown... — Continue Reading...

My Personal Cell Phone Lot

January 07, 2005 by Eric Richardson

LAX recently opened a cell phone lot, where you can wait for free until the passenger you're picking up gives you a call and tells you they're ready. It's a great idea, but I prefer something a little friendly. So that's why I'm sitting at Panera Bread right now, waiting for Kathy's flight to come into LAX. Her plane has started its initial descent; the tracker says it's at 28,000ft and 20 minutes out.

Driving past the airport on the way here it appeared that planes were taking off and landing in opposite the normal direction. Since the prevailing wind in LA comes off the ocean, typically planes both take off and land facing the sea. Our abnormal weather right now must have brought atypical air flows.