RyanHarne.com

The iTunes Music Store is now selling video! There are several videos that have been pinpointed so far. One is Thievery Corporation’s latest single, Warning Shots. With the purchase of that “album”, the video is included. I downloaded it, and it is wonderful. This must be a first, true implementation of H.264.

Selling video could begin an entire new wave of online purchases, namely video, but I mean it more so in the realm of legal movie downloads and legal television downloads. And can someone say “iPod video”? The future is closing in on us. And by the way, the videos are only available from download if you are using iTunes 4.8, which is not currently in Software Update (look here) and, additionally, iTunes 4.8 only runs on OS 10.4, Tiger.

On another topic, another topic that I will patiently type out amidst my excitement, another topic that will cause me to lose more sleep tonight…

The room assignments for the fall semester were released. I got a single ::pause for composure purposes:: ::now dance::!! This will be a wonderful autumn. Plus, I know a specific person who will be leaving very close by. Yesssssss.

I can only assume that my sudden giddiness and late-night adrenaline, in regards to the mentioned events, is a result of the intense sleep depravity I am suffering from. It seems delirium can do wonders on our mental stability.

Hmm, now that I think about it, it may also be because of the Diet Coke I had today. Diet Coke con Splenda. I’ll be weary about those blue-capped Diet Cokes in the future. Make a note of it.

The weather seems to turned its back on the bad, late winter habits of morning chills and have since found a pleasant mildness to settle on. My run tonight was in a blanket of soft wind that no more cooled me off than the other side of the pillow. Fantasic weather and a fantastic sunset.

I got back to the residence and walked over to the fence that overlooks some field or large area of grass. After a while of staring into the plush greens, I noticed a quartet of deer wandering along the opposite, parallel fence line. They never noticed me, so I thought it would be prime time to not make a fuss. I became stone, of a sweaty, t-shirt-wearing kind.

The deer came to the far fence and, one-by-one, jumped over it. But their manner was intriguing; there were no running lunges or steps backward to get full vertical motion. They, utterly simply, stood in front of the fence and jumped. And that’s all. I was amazed, but still remained unmoving.

The group started across the field in my direction, veering east for a while and then west but maintaining a steady northern path that would point them straight to me. Their composition became clearer during their approach, one male and three females, no little ones for this Sunday evening walk. I expected them to begin fleeing me soon enough; I mean, a white t-shirt sort of sticks out with a background of dark green foliage. It didn’t seem to bother them, though.

They got closer and closer and came to the fence I was standing up against. Then they began walking straight to me, but slowly, knowing something about this object’s presence wasn’t usual, wasn’t typical. They would stop and stare for a few minutes, my foot slowly going numb since all of my weight was on the one foot. They would stare and then continue walking to me. Finally, the male broke from the tight group and started straight towards me and then stopped, oh, about 25 feet away. He began to pound his left front foot against the ground. Somehow, I didn’t feel this was an initiation gesture and suddenly came to the realization that I may be challenged by a young buck.

In a very slow manner, I turned my head away from them and looked upward at a plane that was arcing far away with a dull, well-beaten sound. After another couple of minutes, I returned my gaze back to the group of deer who never drifted their looks at me. Again, one-by-one they turned their backs and began trotting down the line of the fence away from me. They reached the edge of the woods and looked back at me in unison. I turned my full body, shuffled the tall grass around me, and returned their farewell. While they crept into the woods, I casually reentered this polluted, manacled shell of a world.

Humans have a knack for destroying everything pure in this world. Then it’s a miracle, and something worth two dollars or more, when we bottle “natural spring water” and send it out for consumption. The gullible fall into that trap; because, see, natural spring water has been around for millions and millions of years. Arg. I just hate screwing with nature.

On a totally unrelated note, I am loving the new iPod ad.

Something tells me, after rereading my entry, I need to work on my transitions.

A few weeks ago, Adam caved in the midst of people writing entries with lists in them. So he wrote an entry himself that included a list. Well, all of my friends (and I mean all, because I don’t have a significant bounty of them) have written entries regarding Tiger, Apple’s latest operating system [OS] release. If I was to refuse the peer pressure, it would be a mutiny to those I love, so here goes…

Well, honestly, I haven’t tried much of it out. “Ryan, you’re so not the geek you make yourself out to be…” Hey, now, don’t go assuming I’m not a true geek; I’m simply not a “power user” like others. I get by with the basics and a dab of Photoshop excitement here and there. So, with that in mind, I’ve only brushed the surface of what Tiger brings along. The immediate exterior features of Tiger, like Spotlight and Dashboard, are fascinating and unspeakably useful. A new world of integrated knowledge is open to me with Dashboard.

And by saying “integrated knowledge” I hope you have reaffirmed my geek status. But, honestly, by that I mean that so many areas of information (in this case, weather forecasts, software updates, yellow pages, dictionary, etc.) are available for my use the instant I need them. I use the dictionary and thesaurus without ceasing; if that weren’t the case, I hope you realize that these entries would be filled with banal language that bores you to no end. Also, for the record, I already use the word “banal” in my lexicon, so don’t think I looked that up. Same thing with “lexicon”.

But, anyways. Tiger is great. The iBook that I am running it on is a few years old, so Core Image isn’t fully compatible, or at least that amazing Ripple Effect that is just ever-tempting. However, I’ve noticed a speed increase in comparison with Panther, the previous OS release.

Some people have been griping about the look of the new Mail. I love it! All of the buttons, folders, and whatnot that I use most often are now directly at my fingertips. And smart mailboxes! alone is enough to sway my conviction even if I loathed the revised look. So, yeah, Mail is nice.

There’s not much else I can say though. I don’t ever touch procedures large enough to justify using Automator (although, seeing it displayed at the Tiger release event has given me some tips should I choose to incorporate it) and all of the other features and advancements I just haven’t had a chance to dive into.

If I was truly a geek, then I would end this entry with an onomatopoeic growl.

Hmm… ::thinking:: Yeah, might as well.

Rawr!

The worst way to put yourself into intense sentiment is to have a one-way video chat with friends.

You hear them muttering, laughing, but you miss everything else. You miss their perfectly individual expressions - the raised eyebrows, the grins, the sarcastic looks of shock and appall. It does one an irreconciliable hurt to feel so connected, yet so very, very separated from those you miss.

Oh, but I have a remedy to this. To my friends: you must all buy iSights. Now.

This entry will be broken into two distinct parts - an introduction and the emphasized content. I am telling you this in case, like me, you prefer straightforward directions rather than a bumbled attempt at progression. Actually, I tend to write in a bumbled manner; but that’s far from the point I’m aiming for.

Here is the introduction. I have a very selective consciousness. To some, this makes me seem ignorant or rude in some arrogant and lofty manner. To others, I can only assume I look like a fool, sound like a fool too. But, honestly, there’s nothing I can do about it: I have a distinctly selective consciousness.

The best example I can give happened only a few weeks ago - the proximity of the event makes it the “best” example because I remember it very well. I walked in Barnes & Noble to wait out a few minutes before a movie I would soon attend began. My mind was very intent on where I wanted to go in the store, and I was enacting, in my head, what exactly it would be like once I arrived at this particular section of books. I was visualizing what new additions might be added to the rows and which novels would have their covers facing the shoppers.

There was a tiny chatter beside me as I walked past the cafe, which turned into a quick shout of “Ryan!” as I entirely passed the tables. I turned abruptly to see Beth and Molly sitting their reading or whatnot. My plans of book browsing were forgotten in an instant and I sat down with them to talk. Beth was organizing a few items in iCal and Molly was feigning an attempt at reading some book for her English course. Beth was also conversating with another person there, and the conversation seemed to be about her enormous schedule that I glimpsed as shown in iCal. I didn’t want to interupt their conversation, so Molly and I talked for a fair amount of time.

Beth had a water by her and Molly had a water as well. Molly also had a finished Java Chip Frappucino by her book that she laid down once I sat to talk. We chatted and then I got up to go check out those books. There are always a few items I find interesting at B&N but the majority of them are just titles without stories to me, and I glance over them without care. After some minutes, I came back and sat down with Molly who had fully surrendered to being distracted from her reading.

We talked for about two minutes and I looked down at our table and almost leapt backwards in shock. This wasn’t necessarily a shock of fear, but rather the type of shock you experience when someone quietly walks in behind you and begins to talk - you are somewhat frightened and bewildered, but your composure returns quickly.

Why was I shocked? I looked at the table and saw an empty Caramel Frappucino container sitting there directly in front of me, as if I had consumed it. On the surface this sounds insignificant, but I had no recollection of that item being there when I sat down that second time. Naturally, I thought it had swiftly materialized from nowhere, so I was startled.

Of all of the details that I noticed just in those few minutes of chatting, the presence of a specific coffee-dessert cup went completely unnoticed. Why? Because I didn’t remember that object being on the table at my initial visit and I wasn’t expecting it when I returned.

I have a selective consciousness. That was my introduction.

Here is the content. Now that you slightly understand a realm of my thought processes, I want to list a few items I noticed today that were in my room. These are items that I never notice regularly, or for that matter at all; I would have continued overlooking them were it not for a few minutes of looking about to view my room. Each of these items are fully in view and require nothing to be moved to see them; however, I just am forever ignoring them without reason.

A picture of an indifferent rubber duck.
A remote control to a t.v. that I don’t use, that doesn’t work, and that I have no idea where the television is actually located.
Two homemade speakers, these are used, stacked, as a stand for my main JBL speakers.
A Ford Mustang hubcap, from the 70s I believe.
A 1995 UVA soccer poster autographed by every member of that year’s team; most of them went on to play in the MLS and several of them were rookies of the year respectively.
A DVD of First Knight; why do I have this?
A playing card taped to my desk, it is a king of hearts and has a picture of a toy troll dressed as an Elvis.

I hope you are not as unaware as I usually am. Don’t worry, my driving habits are considerably more cautious and mindful.

I have a method to share. The proper way to deal with tailgaters:

Those tailgaters that ride your bumper on a one-lane road are the worst, especially at night, and especially when they drive “jacked-up” trucks that allow their headlights to be used not only as a road guidance but also an eye sore for the poor driver in front of them. Once they start to encroach on my roadway space bubble here is the most effective way of handling them.

Let them get a firm hold and position immediately behind you; be patient, this may take a few seconds or possible minutes if they start to renege on their misbehavoir (in that case, just kindly ignore their previous fault). However, if the vehicle is consistently close enough to use your exhaust as an air freshener, then start the ever-loving downward spiral. Meaning: gradually decrease your speed to the law-abiding speed limit. If you go under that point, then the tailgater would have legitimate and lawful reason for passing you (whether or not this person would choose a legitimate or lawful method of passing you is another matter).

If you get the chance to pull into a turning lane, as a farewell, merge into the turn lane as. slowly. as. possible. This not only lets the tailgater fumigate passionately once more, but allows you a chance to safely glance over your shoulder and then wave. Fantastic smiles are a plus.

And above all, have fun with the ordeal. Don’t forget that it takes two to make magic.