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Table Of Contents

  1. What are your religious beliefs?
  2. Which of the first three is the best?
  3. What does 'zeitgeist' mean?
  4. How many domains do you have?
  5. Where do you get the money to buy all these domains?
  6. Where can I send you email?
  7. Why daveola.com?
  8. How do you pronounce daveola?
  9. Why did you create this whole web extravaganza?
  10. How much google juice do you have?
  11. What's your net ranking?
  12. What are your current vehicles?
  13. What vehicles have you owned?
  14. Isn't that alot of cars to own over the course of a decade?
  15. If you had lots of money and a big garage,...?
  16. How much stuff do you have?
  17. What is your favorite color?
  18. What are your favorite movies?
  19. What are your favorite TV shows?
  20. What music do you like?
  21. Okay, so what are some great movies that aren't your favorites?
  22. And what movies have you seen lately that aren't the greatest, but were still pretty good?
  23. Worst movies?
  24. Are you the only one who's noticed the "Dear Liza" melody in Billy Joel's "Two Thousand Years"?
  25. Are you the only one who's noticed the "ice cream" reference in Billy Joel's "I Go To Extremes"?
  26. Are you the only one who's noticed the "Ready Freddie" reference in Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"?
  27. What's your shoe size?
  28. What jobs have you had?
  29. What is your favorite color?
  30. How fast can you solve the Rubik's Cube?



1:   What are your religious beliefs?
I used to use Mac for home use, and UNIX at work, but now I'm an all
Linux household.
I can't see what the point is for MS/Windows.
Windows sucks.  Linux rocks.  Mac rocks.

2:   Which of the first three is the best?
Empire Strikes Back was good, but A New Hope will always be the best.

3:   What does 'zeitgeist' mean?
Zeitgeist \Zeit"geist`\, n. [G.; zeit time + geist spirit. See 
{Tide}, n.; {Ghost}, n.] The spirit of the time; the general 
intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period 
of time.
[According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)]

4:   How many domains do you have?
Bunches.  I have a page that lists my domains

Here's the history about the first few domains I bought:

I bought Daveola.com in October of 1998, because I regulary used Daveola as
a login/nickname, and I didn't have any better ideas. 

I became more clever (and tired of spelling Daveola for people) and
I got GetDave.com.  Unfortunately I couldn't pick between GetDave.com
and DaveSource.com, so I got that too and I use that as my programming site.

I also wanted a more permanent domain - so I wouldn't have to worry
about twenty years from now, when all domains are gone, and I have
to deal with "GetDave.com?  What was I thinking??"  (you can probably
guess I have a problem with commitment).  So to be safe I got
DavidLjung.com, something that I knew would apply to me for the rest
of my life, regardless of what I think of GetDave or DaveSource.

Ironically I decided to change my name a few months later, and, of
course, DavidMadison.com was already taken.  I'm sure there's a lesson
to be learned there.  I ignored the lesson and got GetMadison.com

I bought EveryScene.com as a programming project.  I wrote some shareware
that I never released.  Someday maybe I will.

I got my mom and my little nephew domains as presents, imwriter.com and
ParkerLjung.com.

Then I went a bit overboard and got DavePics.com and DaveFAQ.com, just
to put up my photo album and this FAQ.

And finally, I wanted a dance site, so I got SaintVitus.com, which
has it's own explanation for the name choice.

I bought MarginalHacks.com because I like the name.
It's since become my main software site.

And then a slew more came along.  Go to them and hopefully they can
justify themselves.

5:   Where do you get the money to buy all these domains?
Hey man, 15 bucks

6:   Where can I send you email?
A billion and one ways:  (replace -atsign- with '@')
  dave -atsign-getdave.com
  dave -atsign-daveola.com
  dave -atsign-davesource.com
  dave -atsign-davidljung.com
  dave -atsign-MarginalHacks.com
  etc...

But the best way is through my contact page

7:   Why daveola.com?
Because most all dave<word>.com and <word>dave.com were taken.
I'm open to suggestions for a better domain name, and I'll reward you with
$20 or something.

  Damn!  Why couldn't my name be Xavier?

8:   How do you pronounce daveola?
It's 'dave-ola' - not 'davola' which would be spelled, of course, 'davola.'
Some less clever people think it should be pronounced 'daveyola' which
would, of course, be spelled 'daveyola.'  I guess not everyone passed
grade school with high marks.

9:   Why did you create this whole web extravaganza?
The web basically has four functions:

1)  To give contact information.
2)  For narcissistic spewing, just for kicks.
3)  To show pictures of cats.
4)  To try out design ideas.

It's also where I kind of collected stuff - sort of organized things.
For example, I used to keep a list of the addresses I'd lived.  Originally
that was on a piece of paper in my file cabinet, then it was in some
text file somewhere on my computer - now I know where to find it and
I can even access it from my cellphone if I need to.  You need that
for things like credit checks or FOIA lookups.  (I ran into that once
before and had a hell of a time remembering all my old addresses).
It's like a little autobiography - though that's narcissism too, right?

So it's mostly a joke, with slight value hidden under the surface.  But
the most important bit is #4 above.  I was learning about designing
web pages and about writing web software (such as the Fringe).  My
home page has gone through a variety of stages, and each stage taught
me something new.  Why is this important?  Heck, I guess it's not.

But best of all it allows me to put stuff down and not have to retype
or refind things.  I remember my mom or someone in my family wanted to
put some book together or something just for us - like a scrapbook.
And each member of the extended family was to have a page or two about
who they were.  So they asked me to write something up and I did.  And
I realized that I didn't want to keep writing it up every time.  I'd
rather just record who I was completely.

Why do we have photo albums?  There are two reasons - one is for
us to look at the pictures, and the other is for other people to
look at the pictures.  That second reason is somewhat narcissistic,
somewhat self-important, yes?  But it serves a purpose.
Hence DavePics.com.
Why restrict people my photo album to people who live in the same city?
I have friends all over the world - maybe Mitch wants to see some new
picture I took of Erik, Howii and I.  Maybe one of my swing friends in
Norway wants to see the swing pictures that I was in for a magazine.
Etc... etc...

So, if you aren't Mitch or Erik or Justin or one of my friends
looking at my website, than perhaps the better question is, why the
heck are you looking at it, anyways?

So - realize that I take it with a grain of salt.  I don't push it
on anyone (like baby photos in someone's wallet) and I don't expect
anyone to actually read all of it.  Every once in a while someone is
curious and does.  Or someone meets me and wants to know more about
me.  I guess I'm killing small talk, but I was never big on that anyway.

But best of all, my website has created love


As of 2005, my website size is about 4G which can be broken down by:

1.7G	DavePics (my photos)
0.5G	Dance troupe videos
.25G	Archives
1.3G	Everything else

In 2007: Website now weighs in at about 13G, and over 70,000 files.

But now that we've hit 2020, the website is a smidge bigger.

256G  DavePics photo album
 30G  My web pages
 49G  Archives
----  --------
335G  Total

Wowsers.

"It is a bit like a (personal life) wikipedia for twisted people like me"
          - Simon Lacoste-Julien

10:  How much google juice do you have?
Thanks to the software on MarginalHacks, I'm drowning in it.  Woohoo!
Three of my pages have a PageRank(tm) of 8.  To compare:
  (these numbers are now out of date)
  http://americanexpress.com/  5
  http://ebay.com/             6
  http://att.com/              6
  http://hotbot.com/           6
  http://imdb.com/             7
  http://kmart.com/            7
  http://britney.com/          7
  http://ask.com/              8
  http://geocities.com/        8
  http://hotbot.com/           8
  

Here are searches that I get first link ("I'm feeling lucky") on (11/18/2002):
  (Many of these are out of date as well)
  daveola
  Dave Madison
  David Madison (sometimes the sports photographer beats me on this one)
  Dave Ljung
  David Ljung
  album			dictionary word!
  Kodi Bear		my dog
  mr peterson		my cat
  marginalhacks
  marginal hacks
  verification consulting	Jenkins!  I beat out companies like Veri-sure and Qualis!
  verification consulting	Beat out by one other consultant
  verification resume	Useful, though I get pestered by many recruiters
  television sucks
  sony 1040q		my projector
  San Francisco vegetarian restaurants
  Martha Lassy	I'm awfully proud of this one..
  "Give Me Money" Consulting	and that's a good one too..
  "code weasel"		From my consulting site, again
  "fur enigma"		I'm the only result, unsurprisingly
  mime sucks		For a while I was the only link for this..
  contact script	More MarginalHacks software
  RockEm SockEm Robots	My Burning Man project
  triumph tr3a		my car

In fact, I can claim with some confidence that if you pick any short phrase
from one of my web pages that isn't your average run-of-the-mill phrase, like
"Church of Technology" - then I will likely be the first or second link.
Bitchin'



My google juice has come in handy - I often have people contact me
about places or people they find by searches that lead to my pages,
and have even once brought together two old friends who are now lovers.  :)

So, in the end, my website has created love, and that makes it all worth it.

11:  What's your net ranking?
According to Alexa which ranks traffic through it's toolbar, on 9/2003:
                       Traffic Rank      User reach rank
MarginalHacks.com           255,334              187,599

Of course, this begs the question, how many sites are there?

Google is indexing 3.3 billion pages, which puts me in at least the
top .0001% of web pages visited online.

12:  What are your current vehicles?
1957 Triumph TR3A #TS22126L
1979 Polar Caravan (in Sweden)
1997 Suzuki Baleno (in Sweden)
2013 Fiat 500 Abarth ("Fati Three")
1986 MCI 102A3
1929 Ford Model A

I keep a running list in my garage

13:  What vehicles have you owned?
Working backwards towards 1989:
2013 Fiat 500 Abarth ("Fati Three")
2013 Fiat 500 Abarth Cabriolet ("Fati Two") [totalled in a failed hit-and-run]
2012 Fiat 500 Easy ("Fati 500") [totalled in a hit-and-run]
1991 Ford Tioga [stolen]
1979 Polar Caravan (in Sweden)
1997 Suzuki Baleno (in Sweden)
A handful of BladeZ and GoPed scooters (many stolen, many died)
2001 Toyota Camry ("Spanky Von Penderton") (died of no oil :( )
1957 Triumph TR3A #TS22126L       [stolen in 2016, found 3 years later!]
1929 Ford Model A                  My grandfather's car
1972 VW Karmann Ghia               Haley's car, now mine to fix up and use while I repair the Triumph
200? BladeZ Moby                   My little tiny standup scooter.
1986 MCI 102-A3                    I have a BUS.
1957 Triumph TR3A                  Finally I have a TR3 again!
1982 Honda Passport 70cc           Got tired of dealing with broken vehicles
                                   Let it go with the other Passport on 11/20/2002
1980 Honda Passport 70cc           Completely and suddenly fell to pieces.
                                   Junked on 11/20/2002
1979 Chevy G20 Custom Luxury Van   Completely and suddenly fell to pieces.  Plate: Daveola
                                   Donated to SPCA on 11/18/2002
1974 VW Camper Van                 The rolling canvas.  Engine died - I rebuilt it and sold it.
1973 VW Karmann Ghia (40k miles!)  Sold because of impracticality.  I felt guilty putting miles on it.
1994 Honda Magna V4 750cc          Destroyed at 42,837 miles.  Plate:  SWNGOUT
1981 Honda Accord                  Served me well.  Sold when the suspension started to rust away.
1982 Toyota Corolla                Wrapped around a tree on Christmas day
1980? Kawasaki 440 LTD             Given to friend when I bought my Magna
198? Honda Spree 30cc scooter      Stolen.  Someday I will find the one-armed man.
197? Sears scooter                 Returned due to lemon status
1981 Ford Fairmont Station Wagon   Died.  I hated it anyways.  At least it was a stick shift.
1960 Triumph TR3A                  Sold for financial reasons :(



14:  Isn't that alot of cars to own over the course of a decade?
Yes.  That was not intentional.

15:  If you had lots of money and a big garage,...?
60's Jaguar E Cabriolet
Fiat Abarth Zagato
Fiat 500
Austin Mini Cooper
BMW Isetta
Messerschmidt

Since most people haven't heard of these, I have a few photos.
(Obviously I prefer small cars)

16:  How much stuff do you have?
I have a love-hate relationship with stuff, so I wrote a little list about stuff

17:  What is your favorite color?
Blue

18:  What are your favorite movies?
I highly recommend:
  Clerks                       Brilliant Kevin Smith work
  Cannibal! The Musical        Trey Parker movie - before South Park
  Fight Club                   Wow.
  Highlander                   The first one.  There can be only one
  Holy Grail                   The laughter..  *gasp*
  Heathers                     My high school
  Star Wars                    What a wookie!
  The Kid                      Charlie Chaplin.  Amazing.
  Swing Kids                   Changed my life.
  Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind  Another Wow.  Not only a great film, but hit me at
                               a particularly poignant time in my life.
  The Tao of Steve             Also changed my life.  All true, all true.

19:  What are your favorite TV shows?
TV is not your friend.  If forced, I will admit to enjoying:
Mr. Show With Bob And David, *M*A*S*H*, Red Dwarf, South Park,
Pinky And The Brain, Firefly.  That's about it.

20:  What music do you like?
Swing:
  Classic Swing       Count Basie, 
  Jump Swing          Louis Jordan, Louis Prima, Slim Gaillard
  NeoSwing            Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Mighty Blue Kings, Royal Crown Revue..
Angelic Voices:
  Ani DiFranco - she wails
  Tori Amos
  Sarah McLachlan
  Dido
Contemporary:
  Billy Joel - my first favorite in music
  The Presidents Of The United States Of America
  Primitive Radio Gods
  U2
Classical:
  Pachelbel's Canon In D - my favorite musical piece

21:  Okay, so what are some great movies that aren't your favorites?
Brilliant:
  Shawshank Redemption (go Steven King!), Stand By Me (go Steven King!),
  BladeRunner, Forrest Gump, Dead Poets Society, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Classics:
  It's a Wonderful Life
New Worlds / Paradigm Shift:
  Gattaca, Truman Show, V (TV), The Day After (TV)
Zealotry Is Always Good Comedy:
  Saved!
Eclectic Love Stories With Johnny Depp:
  Benny And Joon, Edward Scissorhands
John Cusack Way-Funny Movies:
  Better Off Dead, Grosse Pointe Blank, Being John Malkovich
So Damn Close!  (Needed a proper ending):
  Dark City
Funny:
  South Park (Bigger, Longer, Uncut), Army Of Darkness
Makes Me Cry:
  Running On Empty
So Bad It Was Funny:
  Shocker, DarkMan
Scary Movies:
  Nightmare On Elm Street, Night Of The Living Dead,
  Silence Of The Lambs, Children of the Corn

22:  And what movies have you seen lately that aren't the greatest, but were still pretty good?
  Idle Hands	Very campy, very funny
  Orgazmo	Way funny Trey Parker movie - did not deserve NC-17

23:  Worst movies?
  Cape Fear (remake with DeNiro)
  My Own Private Idaho
    In fact, pretty much any movie with Keanu Reeves in it
  Citizen Kane
  Fantasia (snore)

24:  Are you the only one who's noticed the "Dear Liza" melody in Billy Joel's "Two Thousand Years"?
Evidently yes.

There's a Billy Joel song on River Of Dreams [1993] called Two Thousand Years.
(It's an odd foray in what seems to be semi-christian music for someone who
is otherwise a many-decade rock and roller).  Regardless...

There's a melody on the chorus which is the same melody as that Sesame Street
song about Dear Liza:  [full lyrics]  [midi]

  Henry: There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
  There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

  Liza: So fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
  So fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

Searching the web I can't find any other mention of it, and he doesn't give
credit in the CD notes, something I found that he does do when I realized
I'd heard the chorus to "This Night" in "Sonata Pathetique" - and sure enough,
he credits the chorus music to none other than "L.v. Beethoven"

In his Complete Hits interview CD he talks about using Kurt Weill as an
inspiration for Vienna and thinking about using Grieve to help end Lullaby,
so I wonder if he knows about the Dear Liza connection?

Maybe I'll mail Sony and see if it gets his way..

25:  Are you the only one who's noticed the "ice cream" reference in Billy Joel's "I Go To Extremes"?
Evidently yes, again.

In a bunch of live performance I've heard, Billy Joel changes the
lyrics in the second to last chorus from:
  "Darling, I don't know why I go to extremes"
to:
  "Darling, I don't know why I go for ice cream"

Recorded: 1990  Live At Yankee Stadium - 3m14s
          1992  Welcome To The Show - 4m17s

Actually - he didn't do it on the Millenium Concert or "Up The Sinners"
the 1994 recording of the Frankfurt Festhalle.

26:  Are you the only one who's noticed the "Ready Freddie" reference in Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"?
No.  It was beginning to feel like I was the only one who's paying attention here..
Instead of "Get Ready" - the group makes a changeup at the end of the song (1m50s):

  And take a long ride on my motor bike
  Until I'm ready (ready Freddie)

27:  What's your shoe size?
10 1/2 to 11, wide.

You know what they say about a man with big shoes...
Big feet.

28:  What jobs have you had?

These dates are likely off:

  age 13?	Domino's door hanging advertisement kid
  ?	Babysitter
  ?	The Bike Rack, St Charles
  ?	Radio Shack, St Charles

  Junior sem 1?:	CAE Engineering Lab Consultant (offsite "GE-2")
  Junior sem 2?:	CAE Engineering Lab Consultant <- Fired around Apr 1992?
  Jun/Sen Summer:	Radio Shack Easttowne, Radio Shack (West?) Campus, Domino's Pizza
  Senior II:	Steenbock Lab Consultant
  Senior I?/II summer:	Dorn Hardware

  1994/08-1998/06:	Hewlett Packard
  1998/07-2000/01:	SandCraft, Inc
  2000/01-2002/07:	Transmeta Corp
  2002/07-present:	DaveSource Consulting

29:  What is your favorite color?
I already told you that!  Stop asking me the same damn questions over and over!

30:  How fast can you solve the Rubik's Cube?
Generally in about 2 min uninspected, which is pretty pathetic considering
the world record is 11.75 seconds.  My best times are 1m21s, 1m28s, 1m31s and 1m42s.

I was also feeling pretty excited about being able to solve Rubik's Magic in
about 7 seconds, until I saw a video of someone doing it in 1.56 seconds,
and the record is 1.14 seconds.  After using their method I'm down to
about 2 seconds now.
Crikey.

  • Created by make_faq from Marginal Hacks


    GetDave.com - all the current Dave Pointers. DavidLjung.com - my semi-professional home page. Daveola.com - my narcissistic home page. DaveSource.com - Dave's geek site MarginalHacks - I have an elegant script for that, but it's too small to fit in the margin. DaveFAQ - answer all your questions here. DavePics - my photo album.

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