Blog di Rovinare di Sid

Objectivity Implemented in Thought, Action, Computers, and Photography

Archive mode
(Week of 05.10.2003)

Sunday, 5 October 2003

Alone in the dark —

I did many things yesterday, but not too many fun things. One thing I did a lot of was making photographs of an out-of-focus wall at different exposures, developing the negative, cutting off a strip, and putting it in my film scanner to measure the raw density, filmbase-plus-fog, and subtracting to get net density. Film testing is about the most boringest thing one can do with a bunch of photographic equipment, but it was something off which I have put for far too long and something necessary if I want my processes to correspond to reality, the nature of my materials, and my desires. After several hours of testing and measuring, I got four numbers: a film speed, and development times for three different contrast ranges. As you would expect, I made a web page to enshrine those film test data, and I'll be adding many more data over the next couple of months.

posted by Sid at 09.43 / 655 [ Comments: 0 ]

Wednesday, 8 October 2003

Earthquake centre rocked in new disturbance —

The gubernatorial row in the People's Republic of California draws to a close with comrades there voting to sack the current government. The latest count indicates a vote of Yes 54-46 No to (ahem) totally recall him, with Arnold carrying some 46 per cent on the question of the new governor over the runner-up's 32 per cent.

In the earthquake centre of the US, there is only one proper way to describe this victory: a landslide. What amazes me, however, is how exactly the PRC have managed to elect a Republican governor. The mind boggles.

Austrian collectivism.

posted by Sid at 07.46 / 574 [ Comments: 0 ]

Thursday, 9 October 2003

Union harassment —

About one-half hour ago, my officemate and I were visited by two representatives of the Association of Academic Professionals (Messrs Jeff Beaulieu and Jamie Hutchinson). Teaching assistants unionising wasn't good enough; the next logical step is for normal, full-time, white-collar employees to begin unionising.

My officemate, while not a communist, is much nicer than I am [he chuckles quite heartily at this description], so he politely listened to their pitch for a minute or so, but at length, I got into the conversation. I related that I would never consent to having part of my pay stolen from me, that I would never join or contribute to their union, and that I would quit my job before being forced to do so. I asked them for their names, which I wrote down; one was from the ECE department (he quickly informed me that he had arranged to take two hours vacation this afternoon), and the other was somebody from SIU.

After a short discussion, during the course of which I caused the SIU gentleman's hands to begin to tremble, we decided we had heard enough, so I told them to leave, and my officemate concurred. Before they left, however, the ECE gentleman fired a parting shot by asking me what exactly I had managed to negotiate on my own behalf in regard to my contract with the University, to which I told him, `That's none of your damn business. Now get out of here.'

I then placed a telephone call to the ECE department and asked to speak to the gentleman's supervisor, but he declined to intervene in any way since his underling was here on his own time. At any rate, both gentlemen have been added to my enemies list.

From 16 October, I shall be an AP, and I expect to thence receive a personal visit from the AAP in short order. At that time, I shall inform them that they are to leave immediately, and if they ever come back, I shall summon campus security and have them removed. It is a moral imperative.

Of course, this may be an empty threat given that the University lacks the sand to deal with lawbreakers obstructing its business.

And next time, I'll get angry.

posted by Sid at 16.39 / 943 [ Comments: 0 ]