Author Archives: Alan V

Life

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I mostly just wanted to post that life has gotten an update, since I said I’d post when it does. It’s a small-ish one (a month and a half) but meh. Yay life.

I received my awesome new 50mm f/1.8 lens on Monday, and shot some portraits of Will on Tuesday with it (which can be viewed at portraits). I’m really happy with it… I get awesome shutter speeds indoors and awesome depth of field to boot. Yay lens.

This weekend should be fun. There will be games and awesomeness and I’ll hopefully get to take more photos. Yay fun.

Work has been fun this week. I’ve been doing a bit more dev work this week (the past few weeks have mostly been writing automated tests or working on issues related to the recent release), and it feels good to be writing new code (rather than testing code) again. Yay coding.

I’ve also been attempting to get more exercise, and I think I’m doing pretty well. I’m up to 15 minutes straight running at 6.2mph now, improved from approximately 6 minutes when I started a few weeks ago. I should start doing more of the weight machines and stuff too. Yay exercise.

I’ve been working on a new card game. Right now it’s just the templates for the game, but I’m pretty happy with the way they came out (thanks to Ian, Tim, and Ben for giving feedback). Yay cards.

This turned out to be a longer entry than I was expecting. Yay rambling.

Edit: I was bored and felt like some photoshopping.
Original here.


I’m a fan of the blue background.
The metal in his zipper is bothering me. I should do something about that.
I also think that it’s funny how his face looks so much lighter against the yellow than the blue background, even though I made no changes to anything other than the background.

Meme photos and food

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Here’s the photos from the last meme.

Chris:

I wasn’t happy with the way this came out, so I did this instead.

Alisa:

I dunno, I’m still not entirely happy with them. Meh.

I got my 50mm f/1.8 lens today. It takes awesome photos. I’ll shoot some portraits tomorrow with it.

Also, I have been buying and making cheap, tasty food lately. Yesterday I threw carrots, celery, and onions into a pot with some soy sauce, sugar, and chicken drumsticks, and simmered the entire thing for 30 minutes. It was very tasty.
Last week I breaded chicken breasts and baked them with ragu and cheese. Nom nom.
I might try marinating drumsticks in orange juice tomorrow. That sounds like it could be tasty or end in utter disaster.

My last three Safeway trips have had savings of 51%, 53%, and 50%, with items such as: 6 bagels for $1.50, whole wheat bread for $1.50, tomatoes for $0.98/lb, avocados at $0.67/each, large bin of baby spinach for $1.99, 2 liter soda free after coupon, chicken drumsticks at $0.99/lb, potatoes at $1.97 for 10 pounds, white onions at $1.00 for 3 pounds, baby carrots for $1.00, Raisin Bran for $0.99, Ragu sauce at $0.99, and Minute Maid orange juice for $1.99. Yay cheap and tasty groceries.

Photo Firsts (Apphia), Stats, and More

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Life has gotten another month of updates. It might have more by tonight, so check again early tomorrow.
Edit: Life did indeed get another update. Another two months plus, in fact.

Portraits has also gotten a small update. Yay photos.

Here’s my first photo of Apphia:

September 2, 2004, waiting outside physics class.

Also, I went back and did stats by semester for everyone because I was rather curious as well:

    Apphia:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 869
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 216
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 125
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 257
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 0
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 72
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 57
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 0
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 126
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 89
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 0
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Dan:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 180
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 101
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 203
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 69
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 0
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 57
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 56
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 0
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 399
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 295
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 0
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Greg:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 0
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 0
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 61
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 181
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 122
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 123
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 481
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 332
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 564
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 154
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 268
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Ian:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 168
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 23
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 156
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 116
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 0
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 51
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 44
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 35
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 88
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 194
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 17
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Keith:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 188
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 220
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 567
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 251
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 63
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 108
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 55
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 10
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 284
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 320
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 159
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 90
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Mars:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 0
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 76
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 63
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 25
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 0
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 39
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 23
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 0
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 186
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 188
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 0
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Mark:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 346
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 192
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 95
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 104
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 11
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 46
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 210
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 0
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 186
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 218
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 0
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 723
    Tim A:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 617
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 100
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 167
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 171
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 0
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 88
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 120
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 0
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 0
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 977
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 45
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0
    Tim M:

  • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 722
  • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 224
  • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 0
  • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 352
  • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 555
  • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 45
  • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 55
  • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 132
  • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 135
  • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 318
  • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 331
  • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 0
  • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 0
  • January 1, 2009 to present: 0

Yesterday there was random piccaring with Gopi.








Afterward, we pulled Ally in and came back and made tasty soup with lots of different veggies and spicy sausages. After Gopi, Tao, and Raphael left, Ally and I wandered for a bit until she got a text from a friend inviting her to a party. We walked there (about 1.9 miles, so not bad at all) and it ended up being a big formal party thing at what looked like a club, so I bowed out and walked home instead, arriving at around midnight. At least I got some good exercise.

Whee awesomeness.

Photo Firsts (Mark, Dan again) and Stats

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Life has gotten another month of updates. It would have been more, and you were going to get some photoshops as well, but then I decided to be social and Ally came over and we went to the bookstore and Safeway and I just got home, so you only get a month and no photoshops.

Here’s my first photo of Mark:

October 10, 2004, before the Simmons Farm trip. This is not, however, my first photo of Rob Bayer… I have one photo of him standing there before I included Mark in the shot.

Also, it turns out I was incorrect in this earlier post about my first Dan photo. THIS is my first Dan photo:

September 29, 2004, in 15200 lecture. This may also be my first Matt photo… I have not confirmed yet.

I am now, unfortunately, done tagging all my CMU photos. This means that every photo I have taken between May 27, 2004 and present day (as well as many, many before that date) is tagged and searchable. I’m at over 120,000 photos tagged. Awesomeness.

This means I can present some stats on my photos, for those interested (currently only limited to things that start with CMU since high school photos aren’t all tagged yet):

    Number of photos by person, for people I group as “Fairfax people” (basically, all the people who have had “Photo Firsts” posts so far):

  • Apphia: 1812 photos, 9-2-04 to 5-18-08
  • Dan: 1360 photos, 9-29-04 to 5-18-08
  • Greg: 2286 photos, 9-9-05 to 12-25-08
  • Ian: 892 photos, 9-2-04 to 12-23-08
  • Keith: 2315 photos, 11-13-04 to 8-16-08
  • Mars: 600 photos, 2-26-05 to 5-18-08
  • Mark: 2131 photos, 10-10-04 to 2-7-09
  • Tim A.: 2285 photos, 9-2-04 to 12-23-08
  • Tim M: 2856 photos, 9-10-04 to 5-18-08
    Additionally, by date starting with Freshman year:

  • August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005: 19172
    • August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004: 13740
    • January 1, 2005 to May 31, 2005: 5220
    • June 1, 2005 to July 31, 2005: 212
  • August 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006: 20495
    • August 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005: 6920
    • January 1, 2006 to May 31, 2006: 10741
    • June 1, 2006 to July 31, 2006: 2834
  • August 1, 2006 to July 31, 2007: 23146
    • August 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006: 6392
    • January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2007: 14128
    • June 1, 2007 to July 31, 2007: 2626
  • August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008: 35743
    • August 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007: 23916
    • January 1, 2008 to May 31, 2008: 8672
    • June 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008: 3155
  • August 1, 2008 to present: 10213
    • August 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008: 6223
    • January 1, 2009 to present: 3990

Quiznos’ Deceptive Marketing

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So a couple weeks ago I received a ton of Quiznos coupons in the mail (not as part of some larger coupon packet, so they must have sent it themselves), about half of which were coupons for free subs (either when you buy one sub, or when you buy one sub and a drink). Thinking this was a good deal, I pulled some coworkers into going with me. When I got there, it turned out that they weren’t actually honoring the coupons, and their “since” date on the notices posted were before I had even received the coupons so it would seem that they had never intended on honoring the coupons. Instead, they gave some small discount with the coupon ($3 off two subs, I believe it was). I figured since we were there anyway, we might as well do it. (Felt a bit cheated the whole time though, like they had pulled a bait-and-switch on me.)

Today, I came across the million subs website, which gives you a coupon good for a free sub if you sign up with some personal info (name, age, favorite sub, state and zip). Again, I sent the link around and headed there at lunch with a couple coworkers intending to get a sub. Once again, there was a notice that they were not honoring the coupon and were instead giving a small discount. I checked another nearby Quiznos and this seems to be standard for the area.

I consider this extremely deceptive on their part. I understand that the area is a little more expensive (it *is* the financial district/SOMA in SF), but they did send out the promotional material the first time, and the website did not state any limitations on the use of the coupon, even though it had my zip code and could have easily notified me. To do this to pull in customers, and then refuse to honor the deals, is unacceptable.

So yeah, I’m a little pissed off about this. I used to love Quiznos, and would go to the one in Pittsburgh sometimes and get their tasty soup-in-a-breadbowls and ones here for Sammies (nom nom). But after this experience, I think I’m going to be dropping Quiznos from my list of lunch destinations in SF. Shame on you for your horrible marketing practices.

In other, unrelated, news, Alisa and Chris, you still haven’t reposted the meme. I have your photos mostly finished, but you won’t get them until you repost :P

In other other news, I ordered the lens I talked about in my last post. It should arrive at some point next week. Exciting! :D