Permutations of My Name 2003

(#4 in a series):
Some sandwich place that provided our lunch at work, November 5, 2003 - Diral

Permutations of My Name 2003

(#3 in a series):
Jamba Juice, June 4, 2003 - Vineah

Dinah at Yosemite 2002

 

Shirt reads "My library has something to offend everybody".

Random Facts 2002

• I enjoy living simply.
  

• I was involved in old media
  
  
• I love to get drunk on web juice
  
  
• I'm a founding editor of Strafe's Guide to Streetspeak
  
  
• I used to hang around Webmonkey a lot, stuffing technohow into my cranium.
  

• I got my Master's degree in Web Design in San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science.
  
  
• I used to juggle, but I dropped it.
  
  and
  
  
• I can be captured on film.
  

Sugar Rush Interview 2002

A while back, can't remember when exactly, but I think around the beginning of 2001, Mike Gavin interviewed me for his website Sugar Rush. I noticed the other day that the link to that interview was dead, so I dug up the content on web.archive.org and "reprint" it here.

mike: so, metagrrrl, *rowr* :) let's get started

let's hear all about this crazy site of yours, just what is it?

metagrrrl: Oh, usual weblog pontification, silliness and linkage.

mike: all the ingredients of a great site :)

metagrrrl: I am slowly extending the site adding new things as I develop them. For example, the Eclectic Encyclopedia is where I put any random factoids I think people might be amused to look up later.

mike: i've already spotted a few i've been amused by :)

so what does it mean to you? do you see it as a place to let out some of your rants, or is it just a way to pass the time?

metagrrrl: I see it as a representation of myself online. It's a very personal site, revealing most facets of my personality. If you spend enough time exploring it, it's really as though you've met me. Maybe only the casual chat that you might have at a party, but still a real and valid connection.

mike: that's good, it's nice to have something which is a part of you online :)

so how much of your time is spent on metagrrrl.com then?

metagrrrl: Oh, probably half an hour to an hour a day. Sometimes less, sometimes more. I definitely spend an hour or two a day working on my weblog and/or reading other weblogs.

metagrrrl: I do a lot of that in between other things. From work, from home, wherever.

Hrm. Well, it's not on my site per se, but I just did some more proofing for Strafe's Guide to Streetspeak. We just put up the 3rd Edition a week or so ago and I'm polishing the internal links to be sure we've covered the cross-references.

metagrrrl: Hrm. Appears that the last thing I did on *my* site was to point to Jason's blog.

The last non-Blogger-powered thing I did on metagrrrl.com was (hmm, checks Dreamweaver) add A Day Without Weblogs to the Eclectic Encyclopedia.

mike: aaah, a good cause :)

so let's just put your site to one side for now, and let's hear a little about you, who is the dinah behind the metagrrrl?

metagrrrl: Well, there isn't a great deal of difference between Dinah & MetaGrrrl. It's not so much a secret identity as it is an amplification of my extroverted side. When not MetaGrrrling, I'm just a bit quieter, probably to be found reading, puttering around in libraries or bookstores, or playing games.

metagrrrl: I socialize via my website, though it isn't my only outlet. With a busy schedule (I'm a mission commander in an up-and-coming software company), it is easier to connect in bits & bytes as I have time for weblogging & email & ICQ.

mike: ahh ok :) well, let's hear a little more about you then, how do you like to relax?

metagrrrl: I tend to read a lot (and fast too!) but I also enjoy feeding grapes to attractive, semi-clothed men. I am definitely more drawn to "indoorsy" activities.

metagrrrl: I do not golf or play tennis or snowboard or drive a racecar. I also don't play polo, water or otherwise.

metagrrrl: And at 5'2", basketball is right out.

mike: sorry, can you go back to the feeding me grapes part? erm.. no wait, forget that last bit :)

do you not do danger sports also?

metagrrrl: That's right, Mike, I do not do danger sports. Except for possibly feeding two boys grapes at the same time. That takes iron nerves.

mike: crikey.. well, i can test those nerves of yours if you want, although, i'd have to find somebody else for you to feed grapes to
and raise enough money to get to where you are
and find where you are
and buy some grapes

oh well :)

so you're a big reader then? who's your favourite author?

metagrrrl: Ah, many many favorites. Favorite book of all time is Little, Big by John Crowley from which comes the quote "The things that make us happy, make us wise."

mike: oooh - so are you in the middle of anything at the moment?

metagrrrl: Heh. About 10 or 20 things.
Geisha by Liza Dalby
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The March of Folly by Barbara W. Tuchman
Livy's Early History of Rome
Creating the Not-So-Big House by Sarah Susanka
Those are the most active ones at the moment.

metagrrrl: Recently finished Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden which I recommend.

mike: oooh ok :)

so i'm gonna flex my mad interviewing muscles and ask a few quick-fire questions to dig a little deeper, ready?

metagrrrl: yep

mike: here goes...

if you could change one thing in the world today, what would it be?

metagrrrl: poverty...no wait, Daniel took that one. Gender bias.

mike: do you notice a lot of that nowadays?

metagrrrl: Not personally, but then I live in one of the least biased areas in the world as far as gender & sexual orientation are concerned. No, I say that more because it is such a factor in poorer countries. Disenfranchised women really contributes to overall poverty. If you educate women & allow them equal rights it improves the overall economy and decreases population growth.

mike: *nods*

what's your most vivid memory?

metagrrrl: Opening my bookstore.

mike: a good memory i take it?

metagrrrl: Oh most definitely. :)

mike: good :)

if you could invent something, no matter how impossible it seems, what would it be?

metagrrrl: Monitorless, keyboardless computer-interface wallpaper. I want to walk up to the wall, tap it with my finger and say "Desktop" and voila, there's my computer. I want to be able to type in the air where it feels comfy and have the computer sense it.

mike: that would be soooo cool :)

mike: and would it talk to you too?

metagrrrl: Sure. But only when I wanted it to. :) And it would have a great voice. Depending on the role it was playing. (Work messages come in Patrick Stewart's voice, personal stuff in Tammy Grimes' voice...)

mike: hehe :)

you wake up. your house is on fire, you only have time to get one thing out of the house, what do you pick?

metagrrrl: Three small pieces of art in the wall of my library, charcoals sketches done by a friend of my great-grandmother. They show a girl reading, brushing her hair & asleep on her bed. If I could only grab one, it'd be the brushing one. So beautiful.

metagrrrl: But realistically, I wouldn't grab anything. There is NO TIME when your house is on fire and you should just get the hell out.

mike: definitely :)

if you had to lose one of your senses, which would it be, and why?

metagrrrl: As much as I love scents (flowers, spring earth, my lover's skin, hot cocoa), I've spent enough time with allergies & colds to know I can live without my sense of smell.

mike: do you want some coffee?

metagrrrl: Yes, but also no.

Caffeine really fucks me up, so I've had to give up coffee even though I love the bitter bastard.

mike: oh? how come?

metagrrrl: It brings on my fight or flight response and makes me alternately weepy and homicidal.

mike: eeek... well it's a good thing i actually don't like coffee, and have no idea how to make it then :)

if you could have one super-power, what would it be?

metagrrrl: the ability to make people (including myself) see things with new, unbiased eyes.

mike: that's a strange, but very thought provoking super-power :)

metagrrrl: Well, that's me "strange, but thought-provoking". :)

mike: hehe :)

if you died, and were re-incarnated as an animal, which animal would you be?

metagrrrl: rat.

They are smart. They like to eat, cuddle and sleep.

mike: i didn't know rats cuddled, that's kinda sweet :)

metagrrrl: Oh they are just lovey-dovey little animals. You should get a pair. Alas, I became allergic to them about, oh, 17 years ago, but I still miss them.

mike: well i really shouldn't get a pair, as my cat would eat them :)

metagrrrl: Hmm, yes, that could be problematic.

mike: hehe :)

so before we wrap up the interview, let's return to the net. you know the score - mad proppage time :) which are your two favourite sites?

metagrrrl: hoo. Tough one, but topical since I'm simultaneously voting on the Bloggies. I'd say http://www.lileks.com/ is first.

mike: oh? for what reason?

metagrrrl: He's frickin' brilliant, a great writer, it's gorgeous, it's always growing and he makes me laugh until tears roll down my face.

metagrrrl: And he has a fine dog.

mike: hehe :)

mike: so what's the second?

metagrrrl: Second choice: evheadmegnutonfocusbradlandsharrumph

metagrrrl: Can't decide. :)

mike: hehe - that's going to be hell to link :)

metagrrrl: yeah, well, I like them all. I just have to check them every day.

mike: ok :)

so if you had to describe your site in just five words, which would you pick?

metagrrrl: dinah speaks her shameless mind

mike: *laughs*

ok, so before we go, is there anything you'd like to say to the people out there?

metagrrrl: Jump on, join in! The web has room for everyone and everyone has a story to tell. Don't be afraid to start small, we all did and some of us don't do anything fancy, we're just ourselves, online.

mike: nice message :)

thanks a lot for doing this, it's been great, now i have to go buy a plane ticket and as many grapes as i can carry :)

Cheers! 2002

I like this personality test result:
'You're a mojito. You are cold, refreshing and minty!'

Now I'll have to try one sometime.

[I did, at Club Deluxe on the Haight, bless their competent bartenders, and it was lovely!]

[Here's how to make a Mojito]

Blogger Code 2002

B9 d+ t+ k+ s u++ f i o x++ e++ l+ c-- (huh?)

[As of September 28, 2003, that's B9 d+ (but really d++ in spirit, it's just that I don't happen to have links to every single one of the people listed) t- (but I think being a beta user of TypePad and riding the bleeding edge on Advanced Template modifications counts for something) k+ s u++ f i o x++ e++ l+ c--]

[Funny how this comes out a little different each time depending on my mood and how strictly I read the questions. Here's January 4, 2004: B9 d++ t- k+ s u f i o x++ e+ l+ c--]

Hi. I'm Dinah 2001

Actually I'm a lot of Dinahs. I could try to split myself up over a couple sites so that someone looking for at my proposal on web design or my resume* wouldn't get exposed to my random synaptic firings, weird friends, daily blatherings and past Halloween costumes. Frankly, though, if you can't handle the existence of all of it, I don't really want to work with or for you.

*Note to recruiters: Dinah is not looking for a job. Dinah already works for a fabulous company, likes the people she works with, isn't motivated by money, won't refer her friends to you and will keep you in the loop should this change.

Permutations Of My Name 2001

(#2 in a series):
Jamba Juice, July 10th, 2001 - Dayna

Permutations Of My Name 2001

(#1 in a series):
Jamba Juice, May 31st, 2001 - Diaanah

D...I...N...A...H, no, N...A...H..., no, there's an H on the end, uh, nevermind. 2001

Gee, no wonder I always have to repeat my name; no one's ever met any other Dinahs. http://www.google.com/search?q=dinah&num=1

Old Media! 2000

Inkspot Books & Games was a store I opened in downtown San Jose, California's SoFA district in February of 1994. It was small, 400 square feet, and I ran it all by myself. I specialized in pleasure reading: mystery, science-fiction, fantasy, horror, humor, art, magazines and miscellaneous cool stuff. It took $22,000 to open it, $15K of which I borrowed from an investor with a serious book habit who was attracted by the prospect of getting books at cost and earning 8% interest on the loan as I paid it back over 5 years. (I did pay it back on time. I am proud to have kept my good credit and honored my debts).

In the summer of 1995 it became apparent that the store was still not going to be able to pay me a living wage (due largely to unreliable supplies of the game Magic: the Gathering which had become a whopping 70% of my business) and I found a buyer willing to take on the remainder of my lease, the store fixtures and some of my stock. The store closed in October of 1995 to my relief and sorrow.

With the growth of the World Wide Web and the advent of Amazon.com's Associates program, I realized that I would be able to do some of my favorite parts of having a store without the financial burden of renting retail space and having to commit all my time to working the counter. I have decided to reopen Inkspot as a virtual store. The change of venue and the orientation of Amazon necessitate a slight change of inventory from books, games and magazines to books and music. I consider this a plus because while I do enjoy games, recommending music is even more fun.

Over the past year, however, I have not worked on this online version of Inkspot very much. My attention has been largely focused on work and the limited time I spend working on my website since completing my thesis project is centered on my weblog. Therefore I'm facing reality and throwing in the towel on this. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well, and I am clearly not going to take the time for that. No reason to throw the baby out with the bath water, however, so here are some recommendations gleaned from the remains of Inkspot:

Books

(Through the magic of alphabetization, the book I recommend with the most caveats appears first...)

Web Sites That Work by Roger Black & Sean Elder - Web Design

Some basic design rules you should know before you decide to break them.

A great overview of design principles as they relate to the web. Engagingly written and beautifully produced, but get it from the library unless you're new to design. Note: many web designers I respect think this book is not worth your time or money (one's exact words were "evil evil evil", I believe), so spend a little extra time with it before you shell out any cash and definitely take his "rules" with several grains of salt.

Midnight Blue : The Sonja Blue Collection by Nancy Collins - Horror

Kick-ass cybersuck.

Little, Big by John Crowley - Fantasy

"The things that make us happy make us wise." My favorite book in the whole wide world.

Let Them Eat Cheesecake : The Art of Olivia by Olivia De Berardinis - Art

The true successor to Antonio Vargas. Beautiful women, beautifully painted.

Mirror Worlds : Or the Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox : How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean by David Gelernter - Computers

Fascinating speculations on the future of computing and our relationship to the miniature worlds we create. A great "knock on the side of the head" to get you thinking about how we might live in the near future. Most amazing is that he wrote this before the World Wide Web existed.

Yes, Gelernter is the guy who was almost killed by the Unabomber. That Gelernter takes such an optimistic view about the uses of pervasive data-gathering is the primary weakness of his vision.

Burning Chrome by William Gibson - Science Fiction

Where to start with Gibson. His best stuff is here.

Andy Goldsworthy : A Collaboration With Nature by Andy Goldsworthy - Art

Something very different; simple and full of meaning.

The
Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff - Spirituality

Actually a wonderful introduction to Taoism and how
can you go wrong with Pooh?

HTML
ARTISTRY: more than code by Ardith Ibanez & Natalie Zee
- Web Design

Bringing it all together. Another great book from the
New Riders press. One big flaw: they suggest detecting the browser and
customizing the page, rather than detecting functionality. Listen to
Taylor
on this subject.

Ten
Ever-Lovin' Blue Eyed Years With Pogo by Walt Kelly - Humor

Just plain good stuff. Profound and hilarious by turns.
Clearly an influence on Bill Watterson, few other strips have been so
consistently simple and universal.

God,
As Nature Sees God : A Christian Reading of the Tao Te Ching by
Rev. Dr. John R. Mabry - Spirituality

A beautiful book; poetic, peaceful and profound. And
John is a dear friend. (Now if we could only get Amazon to carry his
dadaist poetry...)

The
Official Couch Potato Handbook by Jack Mingo - Humor

Sic semper potatum reclinus.

Web
Designer's Guide to Style Sheets by Steven Mulder - Web Design

Mulder did Webmonkey's
cascading style sheets tutorial. I liked that and his book is also
useful though it could use an update now to integrate it with dHTML.
(Go, Steve, go!)

JavaScript
for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide (2nd Edition) by
Tom Negrino & Dori Smith - Web Design

A good way to learn Javascript. The Visual Quickstart
Guides are all really helpful in the way they arrange the description
of what you're doing, the code you're writing and what you'll actually
see beside each other on the same page. The 2nd edition has a good diagram
of the Javascript objects (a.k.a. The Object Hierarchy) and you'll find
you want to place a tab on that page, you'll use it so much.

I recommend Javascript as a starting place for anyone wishing to beef
up their technical side. Scripting is the gateway to programming and
tags & objects are the wave of the future.

Another winner from Peachpit Press' Visual Quickstart Guide series.
If you see the running rabbit, you're probably buying a great book for
getting started. Only downside is poor proof-reading & code triple-checks,
so visit the website for each book for typo information.

The
Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman - Design

I have had this book recommended to me by lots of people.
Lots. And they were right. (By the way, this is the same book as The
Psychology of Everyday Things, they just changed the name when they
went to the paperback edition).

The
Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte - Mystery

Whose
Body? by Dorothy Sayers - Mystery

The first of the excellent series of books featuring
Lord Peter Wimsey.

Snow
Crash by Neal Stephenson - Science Fiction

A helluva good ride and a brilliant cyberpunk vision.

The
Diamond Age

Better written but less of a kick in the pants than
Snow Crash.

A
Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman - History



Web
Concept & Design : A Comprehensive Guide for Creating Effective Web
Sites by Crystal Waters - Web Design

A great introduction to the entire act of creating a
web site. Deals as much with the process of design as with specific
code techniques. Waters does a great job introducing traditional design
theory and adapting it to the web. Her treatment of the ideation phase
is the best I have seen. This book is a "must read" for any new web
designer and a good brainstorming tool for more experienced designers.
It was required reading in my web design class in Summer of 1999. An
update & expansion would be good, but I fear Crystal is probably
way too busy these days.

Calvin
and Hobbes by Bill Watterson - Humor

Calvin and Hobbes is one of the finest works about childhood
of all time. Absolute genius. This is the first in the series.

The
Book : On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan W. Watts
- Spirituality

A good kick in the head. Try your local library for
audio and video tapes of Watts - he's delightful.

Designing
Web Graphics 2 by Lynda Weinman - Web Design

If you're producing graphics for the web, the current
edition of this book should be first on your shopping list.

Photoshop
4 for Windows (Visual Quickstart Guide Series) by Elaine Weinmann
& Peter Lourekas

A really huge help in coming up to speed on Photoshop
for newbies or those out of practice. Once learned, it remains a handy
reference. There is also href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0201688417/metagrrrlcom">a version
for Macintosh. Another winner from Peachpit Press' Visual Quickstart
Guide series.

Betty
Page Confidential by Bunny Yeager (Photographer), Stan Corwin
Productions - Art

Some of my favorite pictures of Betty/Bettie/Bette with
interesting text including a great introduction by Buck Henry.

"These photographs are not about sex but about exuberance, the sheer,
physical delight of corporeal existence. Betty is Eve before the apple.
She has no shame. She is in her favorite place, doing what she loves
best, her magnetic vitality transporting us all. The secret of Betty’s
appeal isn’t mysterious. She found perfect pleasure in simply being
alive. And she gave it to us." - Gary Meyer