Jim’s Brain Online

Posted by Jim at August 19th, 2007

I’ve had a few things on my mind lately, none of which have made it into blog entries. To list a few: the use of race in science fiction/fantasy, observations about life as a web developer, meditations on the fact that my kids started school last week, and maybe a couple other things that escape me right now.

Of the many things I could write about, I thought I might mention going to Triponds a couple weeks ago.

Triponds is a “family” campground. By family, I mean “oriented towards children.” The basic attraction of the place is that kids can have fun there.

They can go swimming, fishing, catch frogs, do crafts, listen to stories and go on hayrides. It is not so much a place for camping in an exotic location–unless you find southwestern Michigan exotic. It is near the Allegan State Game Area so there is plenty of hiking, canoing and presumably hunting (though it’s not like I checked for that) available.

For adults who don’t want to leave the campground? Um… Well, there’s free wi-fi for 30 minutes a day. After that you have to pay. To be honest though, I brought my laptop and was on around an hour a day and never got cut off.

I went to Triponds with my parents every Fourth of July for much of middle school and high school.

We went with five or six other families, renting out several campsites that were next to each other. From what I remember, I would spend the next few days playing, swimming, and reading. In the meantime, the parents would either watch kids and talk, play golf (they had a two hole “course”), or take care of the many details of camping (like washing dishes and so on).

I also remember singing together at the campfire, group meals, and of course roasting marshmallows.

It’s a little different as an adult. Kristen and I took care of all the details of camping (meals, carting kids to and from the bathroom, watching them to make sure they didn’t drown in the swimming pond). We also didn’t stay in the campground the entire time. We took a trip to Saugatuck because we didn’t really feel like watching kids swim for the second day in a row.

We’ll probably go back next year. Our kids had a good time.

That being said, we’re tempted to try to get a group of people interested. It would be more fun for us for a number of reasons. For one thing, it turns out that camping as a group seems to be how things get done at Triponds. My family wasn’t alone in that. We met a number of people doing the same thing.

Most of our friends aren’t particularly interested in camping, but Triponds does rent a few cabins. It’s something to think about, anyway.

Posted by Jim at August 8th, 2007

Once or twice a year I get the urge to link to a post from the blog “Worse Than Failure,” formerly known as “The Daily WTF.”

This is one of those times.

It’s a blog about bizarre occurrences in the jobs of computer professionals. Sometimes the humor is related to bad programming practices and isn’t very accessible.

This isn’t one of those times.

There’s nothing that I can add in my attempt to entice you to read it that wouldn’t blow the funniest bit in it. Just go there. The piece is entitled:

The Pie T Department

Posted by Jim at August 6th, 2007

One night during college I was sitting in a friend’s car and talking. As I was talking I would occasionally make a gesture with my hands. At one point, I raised my index finger as I explained something.

As I did this a campus police car came around the corner, drove past the car (which was parallel parked) and stopped.

The policeman (who I can only assume had stopped one too many parties that weekend) got out of the car, knocked on the window and then proceeded to lecture me on how I had no right to flip him off.

I wasn’t able to persuade him that I’d raised a different finger. Fortunately, he didn’t bother (or didn’t have the ability) to charge me with anything.

Oddly enough, to judge from the following article, it appears that I might have been paid thousands of dollars if he had.

Motorist who made obscene gesture to cop awarded $3,000

It makes me start to reconsider my tendency toward being respectful of authority.

Posted by Jim at August 1st, 2007

When I was a kid, I remember reading about “the boy in the bubble.”

You may remember that? A boy with some sort of immune deficiency disorder was put in a plastic bubble practically from the moment he was born.

I never remember hearing whether he’d died or eventually left the bubble. It turns out that he did die and that his story was sadder than I remember the press reporting it.

The Boy in the Bubble article…