What Did I Do?

Whew

2010-08-11T00:08:00.003-05:00

I'm beat. In the last several days, I got the bed I built put in with a new mattress, new shelf and towel rack installed in the bathroom, the bookshelves built on the basement walls, the guest bed repaired (the box spring needed a new bottom cover - Blackbutt likes to get inside, and the slats were falling out), we cleaned out the totally trashed basement (from back in December when we had the water damage repaired and moved everything from the wet room into the family room). I've been drilling, hand sawing, sanding, installing, constructing, shredding, moving, gluing, stapling, washing all the bedding, and who knows what else, and some of it in the hot, hot hot, garage. Even when not in the garage, it's still hot in here when working. And I'm still not done. The store didn't have enough brackets so I still have to paint and install three more shelves, finish loading all the books, install the faux headboard for the bed I built, do the regular laundry and...I'm sure there's more but I can't remember. Yep, I'm beat.

Now to get my dose of allergy meds, shower off the dust, and get some sleep. Geocaching in the morning with Monica! New machete - here I come to whack stuff!

2666 Spoilers

2010-08-03T16:21:00.014-05:00

I'm having great difficulty getting interested in my latest book, 2666. It seems to be a South American author "style thing" because I've encountered it before, where the author writes extremely long run-on sentences. By the time I get to the end of the sentence five pages later, I've forgotten who started the thought, who else was present, what events were occurring, and any of the content of the sentence. From the tone and syntax of the dialogue, you would think the story was set decades ago, but it is around present day. Also, by page 100 of the 900 or so in the book, I still have no idea what the story is about. So far, it's about four academics and their very twisted romantic "relationship", yes singular, they all seem to be involved together. I think it is supposed to eventually be about a mass murder investigation but I'm getting thoroughly impatient waiting for something to happen.

New Grammatical Pet Peeves

2010-08-03T11:19:00.001-05:00

"and whatnot"
"and things of that nature"

5-speed

2010-08-03T01:01:00.001-05:00

I can't remember how we started talking about this, but I asked Monica the other day, "Why is it guys are so impressed when a girl drives a stick-shift?" Any thoughts?

Space

2010-07-30T22:09:00.005-05:00

Why, oh why, when people are hurtling through space at 60 mph in 2-4 tons of steel, aluminum, and plastic, do they feel the need to read, text, shave, talk on the phone, change CDs, pick up crap from the floor, eat, or anything else?

Geocaching

2010-07-30T16:38:00.001-05:00

Monica and I had quite the adventure while geocaching today. We went to search for an item in a location we had tried before and were standing on a step stool, on a picnic table. In rolls a Hazelwood police office. He’d never heard of the activity, so we explained, then he decided to help. We did eventually leave to look in other places. One such place took us on a roundabout path behind a guard rail, through a field, a cornfield, then some woods, where we found a Glock 27, fully loaded (we did not make that determination). We called the police then Monica went to wait for them to lead them back and I waited in the woods so we would be sure to find it again, all in the pouring rain. A nice young lady officer arrived but wanted to wait for another, who was on the way. Yes, it was our friend from earlier in the day. He very cordially gave us a hard time and suggested we should maybe do our caching in St. Charles. It was the most exciting cache we’ve failed at finding!

On Birthin' Babies

2010-07-29T18:37:00.007-05:00

I just had to post this but I wanted to do so here so a particular young woman won't see this and think I am criticizing her just because her statement got me thinking. She deserves her happy event without such a cloud, and what she said seems to be the norm for people nowadays anyway.

Question. Is there a single baby in this country born without drug inducement for someone's convenience? It seems every young, pregnant woman I know, always has a date for which she will go to be induced. She goes in to be induced whether her labor has begun or not. Now, there is medical reason to induce, which I completely understand. But young, healthy, non-smoking, non-drinking women with healthy, normal weight babies really don't need this, so why?

I'm old-school. I fought against medical tradition when my kids were born and searched for doctors who were sympathetic to my wishes for non-invasive care. Why is this practice of baby-by-schedule so common? They will arrive without the intervention. It has been happening that way for centuries.

Inception

2010-07-19T20:07:00.003-05:00

I won't say much except that I really did enjoy the movie and I think my favorite scene was the final kick. The synchronicity was poetic. It did leave me with lots of questions and it would be fun to discuss.

Ocarinas

2010-07-11T14:41:00.006-05:00

I LOVE this. Listen to that gal play, especially stuff non-game related. And the company is right here in town. I never realized there was such a variety! Replaying Ocarina of Time (Master Quest) has all these little tunes running through my head.

Movies

2010-07-11T12:54:00.008-05:00

Recommend: Departures
Beautiful movie about finding your place and the importance of ceremony and custom. If you've seen it, please comment.

Recommend: A-Team
Ok, big difference there. This one is just for putting a smile on your face with explosions and stuff. Suspend all reality, just leave it at the door and enjoy. **Spoiler** How could you not laugh at "flying the tank"? **End Spoiler.** I never would have pictured Liam Neeson for this part but it worked and I loved it. I didn't know the other cast members but they were quite acceptable as replacements for the old TV cast.

Meh, I guess Recommend: Alice in Wonderland
It was pretty and colorful and had some nice moments. I LOVE the Cheshire Cat. But story wise, it was rather unremarkable. Rental material I suppose.

Review Never let Me Go

2010-07-11T11:31:00.018-05:00

So I read Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. He's a famous, award winning author. I'd heard good things about the book and I love a good dystopian story. I thought I would find something creepy like The Handmaid's Tale or something disturbing like Children of Men.
**Spoilers from here to end. Highlight text to read.**
I didn't dislike this book, it kept me turning the pages. I was fine with the writers style and storytelling, the slow reveal of the truth that the characters were born and raised as clones outside society for the sole purpose of organ donation until they give up all vital organs and die, worked for me even though it's easy to guess well beforehand what the twist will be, and the concept itself is chilling. I just never came to care for the people involved in this story. Another reviewer said that the characters never evolved and I do agree with that but even more for me, they weren't likable. To me they were deceptive, petty, superficial, unmotivated, uninterested in others or outside events. Why would anyone bother remaining friends with that nasty Ruth? Kathy's narrative seemed to show she attempted some understanding but she never seemed to quite manage it or learn from it. How could she live for more than ten years outside the school and not ask questions, learn about the situation and who they were and their place in that society? And society did seem to despise them and were subsequently afraid of them. How could Miss Emily's revelation be a surprise? And even then, Kathy didn't react at all. Had the school really drilled emotionless acceptance into all the students? Or were they really soulless? Does soullessness imply emotionless? These are the kinds of questions I was expecting Ishiguro to address one way or another. But he didn't. I couldn't decide if this lack of emotion was intentional on the author's part, showing them as perhaps, truly soulless because of the cloning, or if the characters were that weakly written, but I want to believe it was intentional and that I "got" it. But since there was no real place for discussion of the topics of cloning and souls to provide a clue, or for the societal attitudes within the narrator's frame of reference, I'm sorry that I have to conclude that they were just poorly written.
**End of spoilers.**

Still

2010-07-11T04:55:00.010-05:00

K, now we're up to date. I think.

I still love :

NYC

2010-07-11T04:29:00.005-05:00

We, Jon, Dave, Monica and I, all trundled ourselves to New York City for the Event of Shannon and Sam's Wedding. It was a wonderful time and I wouldn't have missed it. Even the rainy weather didn't spoil it. And even the horrendous LaGuardia problems the next day didn't spoil it. It was entertaining and sweet. I was also very pleased to meet Anne Kosseff, whose blog I enjoy, while I was there. Jon and I did wonder why no one said, "Mazel Tov" at the end of the ceremony though. We were both ready to shout but we didn't and would have been the only ones had we done so. (yeah, shoulda done it)

Dust Be Gone

2010-07-11T04:18:00.006-05:00

And joy of joys, I have discovered I have allergies. The real kind. I always figured I was allergic to mold or something. But since I had an allergic reaction in the hospital, things have gotten worse. The trip to the allergist was actually interesting. I had the pokey caterpillar test (the thingy with all the little arms that prick your skin with a whole bunch of things at once) and the intradermal injection tests. Lo, I have tree allergies and -egad- a pretty strong dust mite allergy. This was news to me although I guess it does explain the never ending eczema, the seasonal problems outside and the 24/7 problems inside, waking up sick every morning with breathing and throat problems. Benadryl and Astepro have become my new best friends. (Percocet doesn't work on this. Well, maybe insofar as I wouldn't care...but alas, it does not relieve symptoms.)

Sleepless in STL

2010-07-11T04:11:00.002-05:00

That's tonight and why I decided to catch up on posting. I'm still completely un-tired at 4 am but I guess I should give it another go.

Armed

2010-07-11T04:02:00.002-05:00

My growing interest in weapons (moving outside swords, daggers, knives and such) prompted Jon to get me a Glock for Mother's Day. I have the oddest Mother's Days. I get to wake to Tie Your Mother Down and get swords (Glamdring if you know your LoTR stuff) and now a Glock 22. I've hit the ranges now a couple times and I enjoy it immensely. I will be getting my license to CCW as soon as I call the number and sign up for class. Now, I did like the feel of that Beretta Storm, too. Hmmmmmm....

Geocaching

2010-07-11T03:57:00.002-05:00

So that's one of the things I've done in my wonderful, unoccupied time. Monica and I have gone out to search for treasures. We do like the puzzle variety caches and will maybe try to create one of our own with Dave.

For descriptions see the link. It's essentially a scavenger hunt using GPS to find things.

Tostitos

2010-07-11T03:55:00.002-05:00

I miss lime and chili Tostitos. That hint of lime crap just isn't sufficient. Lime for my chili, lime for my salsa, lime for my beer. I think I like lime.

Quitting Time

2010-07-11T03:44:00.005-05:00

I had planned my last day and was working toward it. Then...wait for it...more problems and another SURGERY. Three inside five months. I can now tell the anesthetists how to put me under and how to medicate me. And what anti-nausea drugs I need. And what pain meds work best for me. Fortunately, it was an easy one, the biopsy was fine and the recovery was nearly non-existent. Same surgeon. I think maybe she is just really good. Anyway, it turned out that I had to get this surgery in before my last day or it wouldn't be covered once I switched to Jon's plan. My doctor appointment was on Tuesday. My last day was Wednesday. Suddenly, surgery was on Wednesday and my last "work day" became Tuesday. Talk about a rush. Jon was out of town and couldn't make it back. He felt bad, like he should be here, but honestly, it was quick and easy and there was nothing he needed to do so there was no need to feel guilty. The phone call was interesting though. "Hey Jon, guess what? I'm having surgery again tomorrow. Where are you?" But all was well, my boys got me where I needed to be. Shoot, the next day, on my first official unemployed day, I ran multiple errands and finished painting the basement room. And then because I was worried that I might have overdone it, I took Percocet.

Christmas and Beyond

2010-07-11T03:35:00.005-05:00

My surgical recovery took me through Christmas but I don't really remember anything extraordinary happening. It was a normal, nice Christmas. I went back, unwillingly, to work. I think by then I had made up my mind to "retire". I'm not old enough to retire, nor am I eligible for benefits, but I was done. Toast. Burned out. Unmotivated. Depressed. I'd been doing the same work for 25 years. No real changes in the tasks or anything. After all the drama I experienced in the last few years, I hoped a change in location and products would help revitalize my interest. It was helpful for a short time but not nearly long enough. After much nagging at home, I finally got the a-ok and quit. It was the happiest day I'd had in years. I felt no sadness, longing or regret at doing so. I wondered if I would second guess myself but all I felt was relief. Tears of relief actually, when making my way to my car the day I officially did it. While I do miss certain people, I haven't thought about the place or the job at all. And guess what? (See next post above.)

Surgery Queen

2010-07-11T03:25:00.005-05:00

It's hell getting old. Late last year, I had surgery. Nothing really important, girly in nature, and more of the weird variety than anything else. Of course it would be of the weird variety. It's me we're talking about here. I spent a nice two weeks or so recovering, ....then.....wait for it.....I developed something entirely new and HAD SURGERY AGAIN. Inside six weeks. This was more the routine variety problem. Gall bladder. Nasty pain. That pain however, did NOT stop me from going to Memphis and eating bar-b-q at Corky's. This is how I did it: main course - bar-b-q ribs, dry rub. Dessert - Percocet. I will not miss my ribs at Corky's in Memphis for any reason. Come to think of it, I had followed the exact same meal plan at Thanksgiving a few days before. Turkey dinner, Percocet. Well, surgery followed the next week and recovery took a little longer but was not as bad as I'd been led to believe it might be. Or my surgeon was just exceptional. I had AMAZING bruises though.

Wow! It's been a while

2010-07-11T03:24:00.001-05:00

Facebook has been the death of my blog posting. Quite a bit has happened though. Let me go through some updates.

Why witches float

2009-08-19T16:52:00.005-05:00

So this is how they decided an innocent woman would sink and a witch would float. Hmm. They must be bad eggs!

How to Tell if You've Got a Bad Egg

How can I tell if an egg is bad without breaking it?

Most everything has changed in the world of cooking in the past 250 years, but not the method for determining if you've got a bad egg. There is a small air pocket in the large end of the egg. When the egg is fresh, the pocket is only about 1/8th of an inch deep and as large around as a dime. As the egg ages, however, it loses both moisture and carbon dioxide — shrinking — so that the size of the air space increases. And the size of the air space determines the buoyancy of the egg.

So if you submerge a very fresh egg in water, it will lie on the bottom. An egg that is a week or so old will lie on the bottom but bob slightly. An egg that is three weeks or so old will balance on its small end, with the large end reaching for the sky. And a bad egg will float.

According to Harold McGee, author of On Food & Cooking (Canada, UK), Hannah Glass gave this practical advice to cooks around 1750, and it's as valid today — a "way to know a good egg, is to put the egg into a pan of cold water; the fresher the egg, the sooner is will fall to the bottom; if rotten, it will swim at the top."

(from http://www.ochef.com/789.htm)

I must quit my addiction with news websites and the commentors

2009-08-19T13:52:00.001-05:00

This poster on a news site had me falling off my chair. I'm not going to get into the goofy discussion on the birthers, I think they are whacked. I just think the post was funny.

What do Obama and God have in common? Neither has a birth certificate.

How do they differ? God does not think he's Obama.
Other differences between God and Obama, is that liberals love Obama.
God asks for only 10% of your money.
God gives you freedom to live your life as you choose.
God's plan to save us is actually written down for people to read.

2009-08-13T18:25:00.003-05:00

Virtues. The classical ones. Temperance, fortitude, justice and prudence. Must discuss. I haven't hit my philosophy books in a while.

Same thing Continued

2009-08-12T19:43:00.000-05:00

I think we are getting to the same ending but maybe from different tangents.

"I’m not sure I can make a separation between actions and nature though, because Jesus says that even to look at someone with hatred is equal to murder, which tells me that you can “sin” in your heart without even acting."

But would you not say that what is in your heart is a reflection of your conscience and not an overt action? The hatred is still an act of disobedience to the command to love one another. There may never be an outward action that might be considered a crime. I can still see them as separate.

And yes it is one of my pet peeves. If God moves someone to stop a particular thing like smoking, you should encourage them to be successful and not tempt them by doing that thing in front of them, or talking about doing it.

I do enjoy a good philosophical discussion.

Sin and Christianity

2009-08-12T00:59:00.005-05:00

It has been a while, hasn't it? So anyway, Monica's FB comment started me off thinking about why I sometimes have such a difficult time with mainline churches. My ideas just don't seem to line up well with most and I spend too much time frustrated.

Here is what she posted:

Monica
is horrified by this quote: "It's all about managing your sinful desires. That's the whole point of the Christian life, is managing what you want to do based on what is appropriate." I much prefer this one, "The Christian life is far more than sin management. Behavior modification that's not empowered by God's heart-changing grace is self-righteous, as repugnant to God as the worst sins people gossip about."

We both agreed the first quote is a horrid representation of Christianity. The second part, to me, has a half truth buried in it. My main problem is I think my view of what "sin" is, is vastly different from what typically is thought. Truly, Christian life is more than sin management. But what is sin? First off, I don NOT believe in degrees of sin. Someone will disagree and say, "But surely a little white lie and murder are completely different things and one is much more serious that the other." True. But let me explain why I think this way. Sin by nature, separates us from God. I believe sin is a condition and not an action. Murder is an action based in our disobedience of God's command to not kill one another. Our disobedience is the actual sin. The action, murder, is a crime. Crimes can vary by seriousness based on effects to ourselves, society, and property. Murderers can be forgiven for their sins but will still have to pay for, and may never be forgiven by some, for their crimes. So sin, disobedience, is what you allow to stand between you and God's grace.

This is also why something can be a sin for one person and not another. For example, (and I am not picking on smokers, I just think smoking is a good example here. It is something not explicitly forbidden but is bad for us in general, especially in view of caring for the body as a temple. Consider how many Christians feel the need to guiltily hide their smoking habits because we have turned it into a "sin"), God may move one smoker to give up the habit and not another. This would make smoking a sin for one but not the other, not because of the smoking per se but because of the obedience. This is also where care has to be taken to not cause a brother to stumble, either. This is where the behavior modification comes in from the original quotes. I think the quote was correct in that behavior modification has to be led by God. But I don't think that all the behaviors they think are sin, are really sin. And the behavior changes that are directed by God will speak as a witness to others to draw them to God.

Did all of that make any sense?

ATTENTION! GO HERE!

2009-06-22T12:03:00.001-05:00

Shameless plug:

See Matt's photography site

Long overdue

2009-06-17T13:04:00.003-05:00

As I never posted as I said I would, here are a couple pictures to make up for it

Chillin wi' da G-rents

The floor

The custom rail

My words to live by

2009-05-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

He that knows not,
and knows not that he knows not
is a fool.
Shun him

He that knows not,
and knows that he knows not
is a pupil.
Teach him.

He that knows,
and knows not that he knows
is asleep
Wake him.

He that knows,
and knows that he knows
is a teacher.
Follow him.

(Arabic proverb)

Nerd again

2009-05-06T10:43:00.002-05:00

Oh, and I LOVE Fallout 3. There's nothing better for stress than blowing away super mutants or ghouls. Or even obnoxious humans.

Almost there!

2009-05-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

The paperwork is all at the underwriter. Now, if any, is the time to pray. The business is almost ready to go. YAY!

Oh well

2009-04-22T10:03:00.001-05:00

Garmin gone.

Linear thinking

2009-03-11T18:11:00.011-05:00

On my recent, very short, trip to Atlanta, I decided to 'borrow' Jon's new GPS device. I've never really used one, except to play with his right before I gave it to him for Christmas. Shhhhhh.

Anyway, I wasn't going to be in Atlanta very long and I thought it might be nice to get where I needed to be with minimal side trips and delays.

Now, mind you, I'm pretty good with 3-D space, directions, etc. I can drive across the country without a map and feel pretty confident in my coordinates, especially if you let me see a map first. Therefore, I figured a GPS device ought to be a delightful addition to the driving experience. GAH!

I turned on the voice prompts so I would not have to look at the device while driving and therefore take my eyes off the road. Such things are, after all, a pet peeve of mine. After in-putting the address of my destination, a pleasant, Star Trekkian, feminine voice proceeded to guide me on my journey. "Drive 3.9 miles then stay right. Drive 0.8 miles then stay right. In 1.2 miles turn left. Turn left."

I have never taken more wrong turns on a trip.

Now, different people process tasks in different ways. Some are very linear and take things step by step, one instruction at a time. Others do not. I do not. I like to know multiple pieces of information at a time so I can choose how to proceed. And my brain just moves faster than that, too. It is frustrating to waste time waiting for the next instruction.

I have worked before for such linear style thinkers. Shoot, I'm married to one. Nothing is more frustrating than having someone explain how, in a single step by single step process how to do something, only to get to the end and find out that wasn't what you/they were trying to do/find/get/achieve. And because they are linear, they don't understand the need to know the goal first and all the steps, so that you can choose the best path to arrive there. (As a tech serve person in a laboratory, I get this from customers a LOT. They THINK they know what they want and don't tell you what you really need to know until it's too late.) Such is the GPS device.

After several wrong turns, I finally realized, "stay right" actually means "don't turn left". It does NOT mean to move to the right. Been to Atlanta? They have many divided highways. That little bit of knowledge made a big difference.

The device itself, when on voice, did not provide enough information on the full path of the trip for me to tell if I was cruising along correctly until it said the dreaded and oft heard, "recalculating". The little screen map was far too zoomed in for a big picture analysis and the text didn't say helpful things like, "Stay on I-75 until Rt. 400." Now that would have been more helpful than, "stay right". I should have just looked at a map before the trip and I would have been fine.

Linear thinkers thumbs up. Everyone else, caveat emptor.

Neato stuff.

2009-02-12T10:06:00.005-06:00

This morning, Shannon introduced me to a new website that I am finding enormously entertaining and rich: Pravda.

Also the geek in me really loves this site though I don't expect anyone else to get quite the same thrill: Interactive

And Matt has been playing with his new studio style equipment and is doing pretty good. Take a peek.

Really, isn't this a bit out of proportion?

2009-02-11T12:15:00.007-06:00

Michael Phelps is guilty. Of being young and wanting to have fun with his friends. And of choosing the wrong friends. Friends that take your compromising picture and sell it. Shame. And shame on the Brit tabloid that printed it and started it all with that ridiculous headline.

I admit it. I was a 'head in my teens, preferred it alcohol. I would love to see legalization. I haven't done any in more than 20 years and I can't because of the industry I work in. But it doesn't mean I wouldn't like to again. Shoot, I could maybe get in trouble and lose my job just because of this post. I wonder if I have friends like Michael's?

I have not seen real evidence that this stuff is addicting or leads to harder stuff. I have seen people addicted to prescription drugs, pain meds and even OTC meds. And to alcohol and nicotine and caffeine. So recent news suggests increases in cancer in pot smoking men. Can we say cirrhosis? And lung cancer and emphysema? And mouth and tongue cancers? People will forever do things that feel good to them even if there are later consequences. That cannot be the real reason we haven't moved on this yet because we don't care about the other products that have these effects. What is the stigma? What is keeping us from legalization? Fear that we can't regulate and tax it properly?

Aren't there more important things to wail about than Michael Phelps? Move on to Chris Brown for heaven's sake. Violence is much worse and how often associated with alcohol? How many times do you see a mean drunk versus a mean pothead? Maybe if he'd been smoking weed, he would have just laughed off the argument and said, "Pass the Doritos."

I'm BA-Ack!

2009-02-10T12:48:00.008-06:00

It has certainly been a while since I have been here. Yep the floors got all done and I forgot to post. I'm used to them now so it doesn't feel special anymore. That's kind of sad.

So, I gave in and more or less left myspace for facebook. I find it a bit confusing to keep up with all the comments and activity since it has that usergroup feel. It works though and I get to keep in touch with people.

Business plans are moving slowly forward. I think once I get the initial financing wall broken through, things will really start to fly.

Funny how in this day when lots o people are losing jobs, I can't wait to get out of mine.

Why is 's so difficult a concept for people? It isn't just a younger generation phenomenon, people my age and older do it, too. I know I learned about it in grammer, so they most likely did as well. People! Plurals, when you have more than one of something, just get a plain ole s. Possessives, the thing that shows ownership, THAT's where you stick the apostrophe. I guess maybe it's the contractions throw everyone off those rules. You know, where you shorten "that is" into "that's". Damn pet peeves. I should stick this one in with irregardless. Oh wait, I already did.

Now that Dave is reading the Times Top 100 and blogging his reading, maybe I can get him to let me borrow the books. There are some there that I would also like to read.

YAY!

2009-01-07T19:24:00.001-06:00

Maybe tomorrow I can post pictures of my completed new floor and railing. It should be done. YAY!

Today, I built a tower (Legos) and played choo choo train and watched the Pixar Shorts DVD. It was quite a productive day. I need more days like this one.

Yes

2008-12-19T23:46:00.004-06:00

It was an old box. I have to wonder about the gal (or, to be fair, I guess it could have been the guy) that hid the box in the ceiling. Must not have been TOO picky, it WAS a regular after all. Here is said box. Note the price is still on it, $8.50 +tax. Reminds me of the old joke about the blonde (BLONDE JOKE COMING UP! RUN AND HIDE IF EASILY OFFENDED) that bought condoms at the pharmacy and the pharmacist said that would be $5.49 with tax and she said, "So that's how they get them to stay on!"

Remember when?

2008-12-19T16:44:00.014-06:00

Shannon's AquaNet discussion made me reminisce. Remember AquaNet? And Dippity-Do? You can still get them although they are a little different now. The aerosol is more environment friendly and the Dippity-Do is repackaged and in shiny new colors. My Aunt Jean used to use Dippity-Do to make pin curls every night before bed. I always wondered how a person could sleep like that, with all those things poking the head. She would sit drinking her scotch, with a cigarette dangling and put her hair up. Unfortunately, the scotch got the better of her. It sent her on a trip down the basement steps to a broken back. She never had it treated and after it healed overlapped and crooked, she ended up on pain meds for the rest of her life. That didn't stop her from drinking the scotch, and well, pain meds and scotch don't mix well. Yeah, depressing, but that's where the AquaNet led me. I have a lot of memories from my days in the city with those crazy Irish bastards.

The nine tons of tile is whittling down. Now there is ten tons of laminate sitting around. The floor is coming along but won't be finished until January. I do have a couple before and afters though. Still needing some base trim and finishing but there's still lots of floor to be done. On the lighter side, the carpenters removed some plywood floor sections and inside, they found an old box, only the box, for a Regular Flesh Box Dong. Hmmm. I wonder if the contents fell out and are still inside the floor? What DID they used to do in this house?
Kitchen:

Entryway:

Tile

2008-11-23T18:52:00.001-06:00

There is, like, nine tons of tile in the garage. Not yet including the laminate. Sigh. Yes, laminate. New floor time.

Idiots

2008-11-19T10:54:00.009-06:00

You've probably seen the YouTube video on the news with the toddler cock fight. (YouTube has pulled the video but news sites are still playing it.) I see many people are fussing that YouTube allows such things to be posted. I say, let them. If idiots post this stuff and get caught, it's a good thing, like in this case. If this vid had not been posted, this guy might still be getting away with this behavior. Hopefully, it will get some help for those families. It does remind me of the questions on job applications that ask if you take drugs. You wonder what kind of idiot would actually respond 'yes' but they do...and well, there you go.

A Wall of Sound

2008-11-14T10:29:00.014-06:00

That's what it felt like.

Ok, the best way I can describe what I saw last night is by analogy with visual art. You know the old saying, “I may not know anything about art but I know what I like”? And when you go to the museum and people look at the Renaissance paintings and say, “Nice” and look at the Baroque paintings and say, “Pretty” and look at the Modern art, with its color splashes and broken glass and say, “That’s not art, my seven year old could do that”? Art moved from the realistic representation of life and became more deconstructed, experimental in its media, more a statement of the artist about himself or about society. Maybe this was more music for musicians. Not being one, I dunno. I have zero musical training and no ear. Overall, it was loud, dissonant, deconstructed and very different. I enjoyed it. But I can’t say I liked it.

Let me begin at the beginning. After the initial Branca piece, the symphony orchestra played a Frank Zappa selection, which I liked, followed by a Varèse piece which made me feel like I was listening to a Sci-Fi Gilligan’s Island soundtrack. I can see why Varèse’s music was included in the program last night. SLSO music director David Robertson commented that Zappa really liked Varèse but it seems now that Branca takes Varèse ten steps beyond.

I took my earplugs. One hundred guitars, electric guitars. At the Pageant. Not the Symphony Hall. No way it could NOT be loud. The show opened with the St. Louis Symphony. Nice. After the first part of the program, the conductor picked up his guitar and had a seat to join the musicians while the guest conductor came on. The first movement started out slow and progressively built throughout the piece to a crashing end. The first, second and fourth parts each had some interesting parts to it, undertones and interesting chords. The third was just loud. I couldn’t hear what was underneath, if there was anything. Most classical style music we listen to is thematic. The theme is usually a pretty simple melody and pulls the composition together, especially for non-musical people like me. Branca’s had no theme. It was an experiment in chords and sounds. Much like I have a difficult time listening to Asian music, atonal and dissonant styles are unusual and hard for me to process. It isn’t traditional Western music.

I don’t know if there are many composers out there trying to write music for contemporary instruments, but I suppose it’s only natural that someone try to create something beyond 17^th to 19^th century traditional Western classical music. I liked it more than I expected to and YouTube doesn't do it justice. I was surprised by some of the undertones to the music. There were parts that sounded like bees, and parts that sounded like violins. My favorite part was the drum. One drummer for almost 100 guitars and basses. The drum provided the structure and framework for the whole thing. Without it, I would have been lost.

But hey, I got to watch the Maestro play air drums while conducting. Don’t see that very often.

(And Dave made it into this clip.)

Geetar Festival

2008-11-12T13:01:00.014-06:00

This should be fun, or at least interesting, tomorrow night. Dave's in it. I have earplugs. I'll post my "critique" afterward.

From the St. Louis Symphony's page:

Guitar Festival: The Pageant

The music of Frank Zappa and Glenn Branca's "Hallucination City," a symphony for up to 100 electric guitars

David Robertson, conductor
John Myers, conductor**

GLENN BRANCA Symphony No. 14, “The Harmonic Series” (World Premiere)
2,000,000,000 Light Years From Home, Part I
ZAPPA G-Spot Tornado
VARÈSE Arcana
GLENN BRANCA Symphony No. 13, “Hallucination City”**

Hear music of Frank Zappa and Edgard Varèse, along with Glenn Branca’s symphony written for 100 electric guitars, with composer/guitarist Steve Mackey and guitar wizard John Patitucci joining 98 St. Louis guitarists and David Robertson on the stage of the Pageant.

And from Glenn Branca's page:

Link to four articles by Glenn Branca on New York Times blog 2007:
http://thescore.blogs.nytimes.com/author/gbranca/?scp=1-b&sq=glenn+branca&st=nyt

The next performance of Branca's 100 guitar piece "SYMPHONY NO. 13 (Hallucination City)" will be at The Pageant in St. Louis on Nov. 13, 2008 on a program with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, who will be performing works by Varese, Zappa, and the world premiere of Branca's 1st movement from "Symphony No. 14 (The Harmonic Series)" conducted by David Robertson.

TGIAO

2008-11-03T11:43:00.008-06:00

That's akin to TGIF. Thank goodness it's almost over.

If you need a nice little sum up, this is from the AP.

Does it really look like they are all that different? The places they are different just aren't things that matter much to me. I see two fairly similar opinions but one person who just likes to talk a lot more than the other. I especially liked this quote from the above article:

Obama acknowledges what is true for both: “The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals.” Yet neither candidate has spelled out what promises might have to be postponed or changed.

Which ever one wins, they will get in office and the machine will keep steamrolling along. People will find that there isn't really all that much that they will really do. So, if one looks carefully, things won't be all that different the day after tomorrow, people, in spite of all the yelling for change. Let's not let the fear factor run away. The world will not collapse. This happens every election. I've been through a few.

Work is FUN!

2008-10-20T10:58:00.013-05:00

So this week I get to waste two days at an internal conference where I take multiple one hour long break out classes in topics I could probably teach by now and then afterward, wander around looking at my colleague's poster presentations. I'll have one, too, but I'm not going to stand in front of it. Preparing the poster has been a big time-suck for me and for everyone else participating. I let Jon read the title. He actually muddled through it pretty well for all the scientific terms. There was no way he'd actually read the poster. LOL.

I need a career change. Its just that after not liking my boss for so long, I have one now that I DO like and I hate to just up and leave. What is that! Guilt? Loyalty? What's wrong with me! Actually, I AM investigatin' sumthin'. Oh GAK! I'm typing like a tweener.

Thank the heavens we are in the final, last gasp to this election crap. I can't wait 'til it's over. I'm so thankful I don't have a land line with a recorder on it. I always did hate coming home to find between four and ten recorded political messages trying to get my vote, each one usually several minutes long.

Start looking at your choices - outside the traditional two parties and inside as well - for the next round. It's a long shot in this day but start thinking outside the box. Grassroots revolution! Send me more if you have any! Let's put some pressure on. I fundamentally believe we can't be more than two parties with our system, but we have to start a shift somewhere.
Libertarian Party
Constitution Party
Green Party

Shannon, send me a bagel!

Please -- NO!

2008-10-02T11:16:00.007-05:00

Please people, tell me you do NOT want the government to own the financial sector. Our government, that partisan, bloated body, that can't agree on anything or set a real budget of its own...

People ask me if I'm watching the debates tonight because they know I'm interested in politics. Hell no. Again, I'm interested in politics but not elections. When presidential candidates want to lay out their foreign policy plans, who their cabinet secretaries will be and how they intend to influence those bodies, then I might listen. Debates tend to be more appeals to the emotions of people and slam-fests, just like the campaign junk. I've looked at the candidates' senate records. I'm not impressed by either though I still have a leaning based on the topics of their bills and what they vote for. But that isn't what PRESIDENTS do. Again. But it can give you an idea where their interests lie. I also lean one way in part because of what I suspect the make-up of the new Congress will be. I do not like having the two branches led by the same party. PEOPLE! Pay more attention to who you elect as your congressional representatives! Remember, senators stay in Washington six years! They can have a big impact on what happens here at home. Representatives barely have time to unpack before they are up for election again. Look and see how they use their time or if they just live off the post and try to get lost in the crowd and stay under the radar. People get so passionate about these damn elections and you know what? The world won't explode if your favorite doesn't win. I've seen a few elections. Fear is a big part of the whole process and both sides use it. And people fall for it.

Ooo, a new read

2008-09-22T09:42:00.010-05:00

Dave, here's a link for you. I hope you can see it, if not, sign up. I'll have to go get this new book. Looks like it comes out on my birthday.

When did the Balloon Glow become such a HUGE event here in town? I haven't been in a couple years and I remember it being a fun night out and not the mass of humanity I saw when I returned on Friday night. It's still cool, but wow, the crowd! It would be really awesome to see the Glow from above. I need to start selling those glow stick swords and gizmos. They look neat and boy, do the vendors get to charge for them! I would have liked to have seen the launch on Saturday. Here's a shot of the "hare" balloon from last year.

Refining update for grins

2008-09-15T14:53:00.010-05:00

A little more data was available so I stuck it in my refining chart and changed the scale for a more resolution. Mostly because I'm interested, no other reason. I'm curious to see if demand, or lack of it, is reflected and now the additional hurricanes' effects.
(As before, weekly U.S. crude oil inputs into refineries in thousands of barrels per day.)

Updated: Graph

Oh well, may as well have fun with it, right?

2008-09-15T13:28:00.008-05:00

I love the unicorn part.

And one of the first things I said to Jon was how much she looked like Tina Fey. So it wasn't just me!

More hurricane remnants this weekend. Floody basement again. Ack! The mold! The backyard was a lake because the storm sewer couldn't keep up.

Pods and pigs

2008-09-10T10:59:00.024-05:00

I finally have my iPod back. The battery died a while back (year +) and I did not want to send it in for replacement since you don't get the same one back. And I store my music on the iPod rather than taking up the space on both my pc and the pod. And you can't transfer back and forth from pc to pod (without third party software ). So I did what you are not supposed to be able to do, (like using third party software), I changed it myself. Awesome place that fixed me right up. It works as good as new again with a bigger, badder battery.

Hockey moms of the world unite! Don't be a smudgy pig! Buy new lipstick! lollollol OMG! Can we get any more off topic than this namecalling? Why does media jump on this crap? Let's splice together some more sound bites and make them all say what we want to hear. This isn't news, its generating sensationalism for it's own sake and for ratings. Hockey moms should be offended more than anyone else. Since when did it become the Obama vs Palin campaign? Isn't someone named McCain actually running?

Too much is going on

2008-09-04T10:08:00.013-05:00

I'm overwhelmed. Between Olympics, Presidential stuff, hurricanes, hurricane remnants over St. Louis, getting Dave set up with his new car, Jon and his stolen computer, work deadlines looming, I want a BREAK.

Was there an Olympics?

My private jury is still out on the election though I'm really leaning to McCain. He's a rock. I may break my own historical pattern and watch the debates. The big thing is what the new Congress makeup will be. A Dem congress with McCain means business as usual. Same with Reps and Obama. Are we expecting a Dem landslide in the new Congress?

Ok, so now that the hurricane turned out to be not as bad as predicted and everyone evacuated New Orleans, is that going to keep people from leaving next time? Was this a big "Cry Wolf" situation? And whew, this rain is torrential. It was blowing sideways when I came to work this morning. Even with an umbrella, I was all wet by the time I got inside. I really wished I'd had a coat on.

Dave got his new car. I like it. He took me for a drive last night and I got a Wii. And Zelda. And adult Link is still HOT!

How? How do you get your computer stolen out of your car? Maybe by being on the damn phone constantly so that you are distracted by everything else around you so that you walk away and forget to lock it?

If you check out the Engineers Guide to Cats (funny) be sure to also check this one (funnier - at least the ceiling fan part).

What is with the media?

2008-08-18T12:00:00.003-05:00

There is finally an issue in front of the candidates that truly pertains to presidential credentials on foreign policy and the media is blowing it off as not important to either campaign. Is it because media darling Obama was on vacation and they don't want him adversly affected by his non-presence? I want to see a really good discussion from both, with real policy comments, not just "we should all just get along" Sesame Street comments, on the Georgia situation. Instead, we're being hit with speculation and daydreams about who the candidates will pick for the non-role of running mate. Though the process is interesting, it is all just a popularity and political move to clinch an election since the veep essentially does zippo. Where are our priorities?

Back again

2008-08-14T23:00:00.003-05:00

So, I haven't taken a class for a year. I'm feeling the urge. It might be time to start on an MBA. If I don't take some kind of class on occasion, I feel stagnant. Must..learn..new..things...ARGHHH. Maybe I should teach instead. I've always wanted to, I just never make the call to get it rolling.

Nut job

2008-08-11T22:46:00.006-05:00

Seriously. Some nut job did this hit and run to Dave's car right in front of the house at 1:30 a.m. Friday night. Geez, I wish the cops could find them.

Mmmm, strawberries

2008-08-06T09:06:00.002-05:00

One big bowl of rinsed, sliced strawberries
Sprinkle with sugar as desired
A GENEROUS splash of Grand Marnier
Enjoy!

On long working careers...

2008-08-05T10:57:00.011-05:00

Today is my 17 year service anniversary at work. During these years, I have worked for at least seven different companies and moved desks three times. It's depressing to work your whole life for someone else and be at their mercy for money and retirement, etc., then end up with nothing at the end of it all. It's like renting a house versus owning one. My life is for rent.

Anyway, for fun, I'm heading out to lunch at Crown Candy Kitchen. St. Louis Tradition! Try the turkey bacon melt and a chocolate malt. MALTS! OMG! Yum.

I'm so HAPPY!

2008-07-28T22:06:00.001-05:00

I made Dave giggle on his birthday! He giggled like a little girl. It made me happy!

I must be cranky today

2008-07-23T13:10:00.047-05:00

I blame the excessive St. Louis heat. Some headlines from various places really had me all atizzy and aflutter today.

Viagra offers help to some women
I'd like to know how much money we spend aiding men in getting off versus how much we spend on helping women and their sex and reproductive issues. Anyone with data? How many years did it take before even the pill moved on to a next generation? And don't we know that excesses of estrogen cause cancer? Yet here we are, still using estrogen or synthetic estrogen based drugs. And the companion article, More Sex for Today’s Seniors. TMI first off, but I love the numbers: more married men are having sex than married women. But wait, isn’t marriage a one to one ratio? The men must have been dipping in the Viagra but who are those 70 year old tarts?

Grocers stop selling jalapeno peppers after salmonella discovery
Time to move out, buy you own land and farm your own food. If you can't buy a jalapeno pepper, what's the world coming too?

Fight Breaks Out During Shock-Sparks Game
Well, call me SHOCKed! I guess it's news because it involved women, but really, nothing is a surprise any more these days.

Health Plan From Obama Spurs Debate
OMG! Is this really how they calculate stuff?!

Why InBev needs A-B
Sadly, another St. Louis bastion has taken the corporate tumble. After InBev gets through with A-B, I'm sure they will have many fewer people and a lot less of the perks that make this company one of the last great places to work in our city. I don't expect them to close any breweries because I really believe InBev is looking for the increased capacity to position their move into expanding overseas markets. But no more monthly free beer, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, onsite barber and shoe shines, fitness, etc. GAK! InBev Stadium? Even the generic flavor of all those international company names is irritating. I suppose they will at least still sell beer at the ball games.

Oh and hey Shannon? You aren't the only one. See this link and chuckle. At least you caught it.

Copy Machines and .pdfs

2008-07-14T14:52:00.010-05:00

I have wasted so much time today trying to get a copy machine to send my documents to me as reduced pdfs. It seems like it should be simple enough. My original is a nonstandard size and reducing by 90% gets it to fit on a standard 8 1/2 by 11. Yet somehow, this doesn't work with pdfs. The file does not reduce. It does, however, save as a screen percentage of 90% so that all my edges are chopped off, and lo, I can expand to a chopped off version at 100%! YAY! To make it (me) sound even whinier, the A/C is out in the building all this week and I have to traipse back and forth, upstairs and down, through the whole building to keep trying different things. I'm a computer literate person. I can operate any number of expensive, technical pieces of analytical equipment. Copy machines and office telephones are my bane. This should not be so difficult.

Ya, so you know those people that have to sing along but never know the lyrics? Like, when CCR supposedly sings, "there's a bathroom on the right"? Now you can help those misguided inDUHviduals with the following pages that list the lyrics to all their favorite songs and TV shows.

Commercials

2008-07-08T11:21:00.005-05:00

I suck at associating brands and commercials. I'm an advertiser's nightmare. I do enjoy watching commercials but only for their entertainment value. I rarely remember what the commercial was for. For example, I know I enjoyed the phone commercials that turned the traditional parent/teen argument around but I sure couldn't tell you which company it was for. That and I don't watch a lot of TV anyway. (However, this last week or two, I've been sucked into watching an anime series that I've really enjoyed, so much so that I bought it. Ask me about it if you are interested.) Anyway, because of my hopelessness at brands, I found this link interesting. Especially clicking their link that shows how each logo has been tagged by others.

Pringles

2008-07-04T11:42:00.008-05:00

Sadly, the inventor of the Pringles can died recently. I will share with you my fond memories of Pringles cans. Many moons ago, way back in like the 70s, the cans had a corrugated paper liner, I assume to cushion the tender chips and prevent breakage and hence a canful of crumbs. My friends and I used to make candles (fad) by pouring melty wax in the cans and tearing them apart when cool. After of course, eating all the chips. And everyone who knows me knows how I love chips.

Universal Health Care

2008-07-01T22:05:00.009-05:00

Scary version...which congress do you want to make decisions about your health, the democratic one or the republican one? And have it flip every few years to boot. I guess it depends on where your political tumbleweed rolls. Personally, I don't want the bloated, red-tape filled feds choosing my treatments. I'd die before they could decide what treatment is the most inexpensive, ineffectual one to give me anyway. If HMOs are any indication of what federal health care would be like, no thanks. HMOs have already devalued the practice of medicine so much that the really talented don’t want to study medicine anymore. Physician salaries have steadily declined since HMOs started really rolling in the 80s. Less skilled doctors and lower salaries did not mean lower cost health care like we were promised, in fact, it skyrocketed and all that money filled the HMO's coffers. They are middlemen, health care distributors. A distributor’s only purpose is to make money and make money they do. And they do it partly by controlling what care you can have and what medications you can have. It is almost to the point of "these are the allowed treatments and no special ones for anyone". Hmm. Scary. Does anyone truly believe the greedy, self-centered, partisan, corporate driven, special interest group run, federal government can do this better? I'm sure it would be a huge success, like federal education or federal social security.

These should make kitty and owner happy.

Wanderings

2008-06-23T13:30:00.021-05:00

Shannon has added me to her list of PALS! Yay! But now I feel pressure to actually update my blog occasionally and post items of worth, insight, and profundity. And let's face it, I'm just not very profound. However, after reading Chuck Klosterman's Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story this weekend, I'm not sure even those who THINK they are profound, truly are. Perhaps it's just that the older you get, you know you know less than you thought you knew and it doesn't matter any more, either. Maybe I should have read his Cocoa Puffs book first.

I ran across this post on A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette and I must admit, I love the lolcats. I am ashamed.

Post:

Cheezburger, U cannot haz

You are a librarian. An information professional. You are too old to be into lolcats. Seriously. Stop it.

End post.

Enjoy!

What Was I Thinking?

2008-06-18T09:09:00.014-05:00

I'm an idiot. Don't ask.

That being said, check out these cartograms of world from worldmapper. There is some pretty interesting info on the world displayed in these maps.

For example, literacy of women around the world:

I'm disappointed (though I guess not surprised) that the US is as large as it is, especially given the criterion set to determine literacy. Its even scarier when I think that this is not in absolute numbers but as a comparison to male literacy.

Refining

2008-06-13T09:33:00.008-05:00

For grins I wanted to see the scoop on the refining story since Katrina. Here is my own little excel-made graph showing refinery input in thousands of barrels per day over time. We broke the uptrend after Katrina, the low point around Sept 05. This is just input though and doesn't show the coorelation with available oil and output. (Can you tell I'm a stock charter?)

Get up-to-date on your Aussie talk.

Misplaced Rants

2008-06-12T09:07:00.013-05:00

I've been posting rants elsewhere when I should probably be posting them here. So, I'm going to repost them here just so I can start getting in the habit. Besides, I wouldn't want to deny anyone the benefit of my rants.

On Dumbass American Energy Consumption
I find the whole gas thing pretty funny, even as serious as it is for the economy. We, as a nation, suffer from such a lack of restraint and foresight. We don’t demand, with our dollars or of our politicians, to do what really needs to be done. All along we could have been looking at alternative engine designs and fuels, having more flexible auto assembly, driving smaller, more economical vehicles instead of SUVs and enormous trucks, designing cities with commuting in mind, using creative work environments, etc. We’ve had time given that we went through a similar thing in the 70s. We prefer our convenience and our status symbols. We fuss over our politicians once every couple years, then forget about what they are doing until the next cycle. Shame on us.

We can make economics as complicated as we want but it still comes down to demand. As long as demand is high, the prices will go up. Unfortunately, or not, depending on your view of the world, we are no longer the (essentially) only ones demanding oil. We find ourselves in the position Europe used to be in, looking at the gas hog USA (still are, yes) and having no control over what those arrogant people were doing to drive up prices and create pollution. Now as our country gets older and is no longer the "only" thoughtless consumer, we can watch and fret as other nations like China industrialize and do as we do, compounding the problems of price and pollution.
We’re screwed America, learn to deal with it. The classes are about to separate even further. It’s our own fault and we have quite a climb to get out of this. I doubt our ability to sacrifice as required to do so.

On Dumbass Politicians
Let the battle of dumb begin. I get really frustrated that campaign topics are so much fluff over things that presidents don't really do. Taxes, health care, etc. These are emotional issues that campaigns are won and lost on but have no roots in the Office of the President. The tax war already has me up in arms.
Mr. Obama, the lowest income people already pay NO taxes. The rich have loopholes and taxing them more essentially does nothing. Guess where the burden falls yet again?
Mr. McCain, asking people to voluntarily put money away for retirement is asking for the government to continue to support those people because they, for the most part, aren't going to do it.
These aren't Presidential issues anyway. These are Congressional issues. I want to hear about foreign policy strategies and the things presidents really have control over.
GAH! Rant again. I love politics but really hate politicians and election times.

And so on a similar note, here is a website to keep an eye on.

I am such a Nerd!

2008-05-28T09:22:00.003-05:00

My heart is racing and I feel like jumping up and down. Why? NEW COMPUTER PARTS! YAY! I get to rebuild the pc and I can't wait.

I have yet to get one that looks like more than just squiggles, but I'm going to keep trying!

Sweeney Todd

2008-04-24T17:34:00.004-05:00

Just saw it. Gloriously, joyfully, gory. It revels in it, and has fun doing so. You know, Johnny Depp is one of those actors that you almost can't admit you like, the guilty pleasure variety. I tell myself all the time that whatever movie he has coming out can't possibly be any good, but damn, he always makes it enjoyable. Its the difference between him and a Brad Pitt. I always like the "movie" when its Johnny Depp. Brad Pitt is just kinda nice to look at but his movies just never seem to gel. Maybe the difference between a craft actor and a pretty boy?

Track your dollars with this. Its takes a while but it is interesting to see where they end up.

My Bad

2008-04-22T13:31:00.012-05:00

Since I forgot what I was going to say yesterday, I thought I would go ahead and post my interesting website. I sure don't want to penalize anyone because my brain goes bye-bye.

Clickie here and here. In case you ever wondered.
This has interested me since Matt was born on Good Friday. His birthday has been on Good Friday again two times (1987 and 1992) but it won't happen again until 2071. Hopefully he will see it happen. He doesn't do much better when his birthday actually falls on Easter (it hasn't yet) in 2022, 2033, 2044, 2101, and RUSH! 2112. Aiden will get 2010, 2021, 2083, and maybe 2094, and Christian, 2075, and 2080. Of course we have many birthdays in the affected date range but I was mostly interested in the younger ones.

Oops

2008-04-22T08:51:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I forgot what I was going to say while I suddenly got busy with other stuff. Oh the drama of the workplace in estrogen overload.

Computer Paint-By-Numbers

2008-04-21T19:11:00.003-05:00

EARTHQUAKE!

2008-04-18T10:08:00.004-05:00

So I had a hard enough time sleeping last night. Just as I'm drifting off, AT FREAKING 4:30!, we have an earthquake. Now, they do happen here once every ten years or so but strangely, I've never actually felt one. I'm either sleeping or in a car, and they are so small, I never notice. This one was actually big enough to shake the whole house. I thought it was a wind storm rattling the windows. That's a much more expected occurrence.

For Lotr geeks.

Poor Barack

2008-04-15T13:16:00.008-05:00

He's so naive. The whole Bittergate thing is silly. I really think his intent was to make the elitist, liberal, and yes, I've seen this personally, hateful, San Franciscans, understand that not everyone thinks their way. He's trying, foolishly, and unsuccessfully, to be a mediator, as I tried to do in my younger days. As he tried to do with the loud-mouthed, racist, pastor of his. It just goes to show his inexperience in the arena of politics.

Sigh for us. People lose sight of what the president's job really entails.

Be glad these aren't YOUR job.

Watch out for this stuff

2008-04-04T09:32:00.002-05:00

it's nasty.

What's with

2008-04-04T08:56:00.005-05:00

the water Nazis? Quit telling me I have to drink all that damn water every day. IT'S A MYTH--URBAN LEGEND!

Science education/knowledge in our nation is a crime. Can people even think or reason at all?

Auspicious Beginning

2008-04-01T09:00:00.008-05:00

But it doesn't count thanks to our lately diluvial conditions. I understand the Birds are picked to finish last. There's nowhere to go but up, right? On the other hand, they could just stay right there in the basement.
I hope the rains have left. My basement can't stand much more water. This is one of the wettest springs on record for our area.

Orange gold.

I'm tired...

2008-03-31T12:23:00.005-05:00

of being sick and tired. I'm sitting here trying to focus on calculating dwell volume, don't ask, and I can't stick with it. This weekend sucked for various reasons. The magnitude of the disgust I feel is enormous. The internal pressure is building up and it all comes out by making me sick...and the mold I breathe constantly is NOT helping.

Protect yourself and your loved ones from random brain waves, and all manner of psychic and psionic attacks.

Similarities

2008-03-27T12:55:00.007-05:00

Last night I saw Little Miss Sunshine. Talk about a dysfunctional family. Except for the part about the beauty pageant, the gay uncle (though, who knows?), and the road trip, it struck a bit too close to home.

This is weird. Enjoy!

Thoughts

2008-03-26T10:03:00.000-05:00

I really dislike high pressure sales tactics.
I really want my leaky basement to be fixed.
I want to take a shower without using hand tools or carrying my crap with me.
Politics is interesting but politicians suck.

I guess this is a feature. I'll call it "My Favorite Websites" or some such nonsense. Here it is.

Pet Peeves

2008-03-25T19:45:00.003-05:00

Irregardless. Irrespective of what you want and regardless of how you feel, you can't have it both ways.
Google it. When did Google become a verb?
Grow the business. Yuck, corporate-speak.
Exclusive use of apostrophe "s" by people who don't know the difference between plurals and possessives
People driving while on cell phones

Another website I like.

Well for one...

2008-03-25T12:42:00.002-05:00

I swore I'd never have a blog. Time moves on, things change.

Anyone who knows me knows how much a geek I am. For starters, a favorite website of mine.