Intellectual Poison

Sleeping with the Enemy News

Dell Starts Selling Apple iPods, which I'll take to mean that Apple scored a major design hit with the iPod.

Cross over sales are the first step to letting people know how much better and easier Macs are compared to Windows boxes. Good deal!

Got a Question?

Ask the Crazy Eyeball at TLC. Really just another take on the old Magic Eight Ball concept but done with some nice graphics and why not let a computer program answer your important questions for you? It'll be right at least some of the time.

Side Note for PS2 Gamers
Just picked up my copy of the best game series for pure, unadulterated non-PC urban violence and mayhem. Yup, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the new toy and I'm chomping at the bit to get home and play some.

For those unfamiliar (and likely, unhorrified yet) with the Grand Theft Auto game series, check it out. Its what a game should be, explosively entertaining, wildly irreverent, politically incorrect, and not-for-use-by-teenaged-minds fun. This latest iteration goes back to the days of Miami Vice so I'm expecting lots of fun goodies like chickies in bikinis, great sunset action, all kinds of crazed freaking criminals. And its kind of cool that its somewhat based on Miami itself because I was just there for the first time.

And here ya'll go, some cheat codes for the game. None are verified yet but there's a bunch so have at it.

Pop-Up Ridiculosity

You know when you think you have the proper URL for a website so you just enter it into the address line in your browser. But if you mess it up you end up on some incredibly low budget site trying to sell the wrong URL you just entered with a whole bunch of garbage links.

Well that has now been one-upped by an amazingly stupid pop-up that asked me if I wanted to set my home page to this garbage site I didn't ever want to go to in the first place. I would have much preferred a pop-up asking me if I wanted the idiot who came up with the idea to get kicked in the nuts again. Why in the hell would I have any interest in setting my home page to some moron's site he made to catch people who MISPELL a URL? Oh yeah, lots of traffic from the dyslexic crowd and they got credit cards and check by phone payment capability.

What idiots. Like the dumbasses who spam me with my screen name in the subject line, is that supposed to make me think you know me? I can't wait until spam legislation's gone through and spammers will actually be hunted down and skewered like the bottom feeding scum they are.

I'll Buy That For Five Dollars

As is my usual custom of mixing in some good with the bad I was not the least bit surprised to find out that I'd won this last weekend's football for the neighborhood.
In the midst of all the emotional rocketeering from last Sunday I'd taken a few moments to check in on the football games and realized that I was doing pretty well. After the early games had ended and I'd not lost a single pick yet I realized that I had a good chance of winning the whole thing.

And it came down to me and a guy who'd already won two out of the four weeks he'd played. But we'd both taken Philly, I'd just happened to have more points on the game so when Philly thwumped the Giants (boo hoo upstate, uptight M.B.! hehehe) I got to defray some expenses. And nearly the entire season of the football was paid for in one go. Now if I just win a few more times then I'll be all set.

Ice Sport News
That said, what is up with the San Jose Sharks? They just can't seem to get their game on yet even though their stars are off to a reasonable start. They played well last night against the Red Wings but just couldn't quite get all the pieces to fit properly and they couldn't pull out the win. Oh well, with Nabokov back in goal they should get their game in place soon, I hope.

Lame penalty calls didn't cost them the game but they did cost them any chance of tying it up in the last few minutes of the third period. Damn.

Serendipity

Well how about that, by using a word I just thought up another word to grow out of it.
Repartease - someone who flirts with plenty of sexual innuendo, humor and wit but inevitably doesn't take you home.

Another New Toy for iPod Pleasure

Okay, the Soundbug is pretty much of a bust in its current incarnation except for a very limited scope of usage.

But my other latest gadget for the iPod is very cool, works like a charm (so far). Its called an iRock 300w and what it allows me to do is transmit my iPod songs wirelessly to any radio within a 30 foot radius that's tuned to the right radio station. Which means I can use the iPod in the car really easily. But my other neat trick is to plug it into an AM radio on the side of the office here where we can get reception and beam KNBR to my FM radio at my desk. My office is in a bank and the walls are like three feet thick so AM reception is quite tough to get. But FM works no problem.

As my country-folk kin might be want to say, Ginchy!

Product Endorsement Update

Well, maybe I spoke a little too soon about the Soundbug. Its a neat idea and the gadget itself is well thought out but the bottom line is that, if you plan on using it for much of anything beside study hall music listening or other quiet place listening then its just never going to be loud enough.
You can daisy chain them together for, assumedly, louder output but at a suggested retail of $50 a pop that's a bit expensive for low-fi reproduction.
Not sure if I'll keep it but I may just so I can mess around with it some more. Maybe it will work better on a better surface, who knows?

It's still cool but its first gen cool, not quite ready for prime time consumption, ya know?

PS
Jeez, whodda thought a week out of the office would pile up so much email to deal with? I'll be lucky to dig myself out by tomorrow afternoon.

Notes from the Frontline

Well, I'm home. Safe and physically sound. With all the flying yesterday I had plenty of time to think, plan, write, prepare and contemplate on much of my universe. My notes will be forthcoming as I figure out how to sync my Palm to my Powerbook again (the Palm nearly perished this morning out of sheer frustration).

One thing I do want to do is thank those of you that took the time to write me directly and express condolences. It meant and means quite a lot to me that my sorrow touched folks out there. And thank you for the wonderful news of intentions to reconnect family ties that had been left to drift in the wind. One thing I am keenly aware of is the finite time we do have in this life and it is up to each of us to spend that time as wisely as possible. And that means loving those who are important to you.

I know it would make my father smile to know that his passing may have helped to rebond other children with their families again. Anyone out there who hasn't told their mom and dad how much they mean to them should call them or email them or stop by as soon as they can. Same goes for parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles and everyone else. Let your loved ones know how much they mean to you. The meaning isn't solely in the knowing, its in the telling too.

Last Update from Florida

Its late on Sunday night after a long and hard day surrounding my father's passing. We had a party for my dad earlier today that was far and away the most difficult time for me yet.
It was held in a park just up the street and attended by a couple of hundred people who all knew my father and had loved him. He truly was a magnificent man. I will be constructing a series of pages dedicated to him with lots of pics, commentary and his unabbreviated obituary among other things. I might even be able to get a copy of the video from the party.

It was, as I said earlier, the most difficult time for me. I know why too. It became impossible to tell myself, as I addressed the crowd of gathered people to say a few words about my dad, it became impossible to delude myself further and I was forced to accept the fact that my father died last week. Intellectually I knew it but the emotional commitment to the concept was not quite so forthcoming. It came today.

As my best friend wrote in an email over the weekend, I needed to cry. I needed to vent the anguish and angst and emotional charge that's been building ever since I first found out. I tried my best to be as strong as possible but was damned near overcome towards the tail end of my short talk about him. It was the most difficult moment I've experienced in a very long time. I will transcribe the words I said on my dad's behalf when I'm back home in the next few days and post them to his tribute page that's already in the germination stages.

But really, overall, the day was festive, fun and a good time to spend with all his friends who knew me and I knew most of them from my time living with my Dad and Judi outside of Chicago when he was first diagnosed ten years ago. The outpouring of sympathy, love and touching rememberances was almost too much to bear. But in the end, it was good and I know my father, where ever he may be, enjoyed the gathering of his friends. And I am sure he was laughing along with everyone else during the kazoo tribute (and no, I won't explain that further).

He was an extraordinary man, my dad. And he will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him. He was special for many, many reasons but one of the most important was that he was friendly and honest and caring to every single person he met. He took the time to get to know people, he knew more people than anyone I've ever met, touched more lives in a good way than anyone I've ever known. He was one hell of a great guy.

And I will do my best to emulate his stellar example and be a better person because of him.
But for now, I must get to bed for tomorrow is a long and harried day of travel back out west to home, work and my future. But I've also gotten a chance to reconnect with a wonderful group of friends here.

That and time with my two nephews (and the rest of the family, don't get me wrong) was the best medicine I could ever imagine. These two little boys are wonderful in more ways than could ever be measured. I will enjoy watching them grow up. And will, hopefully, one day have children of my own for them to look up to, look after and shepherd.

Side Effects of Strange Beds

I don't know how people do it. How do people go to sleep wearing clothing? I sleep so much worse when I'm forced by decorum to not sleep all naked.

And there's nothing like the sublime joy of the late night run to loo and danging your shins (you know, when you run into something and yell "Dang"? or am I the only who says Dang anymore?) against the low table by the door. Going from semi consciousness to full blooded ow-mother-fucker in under a second. Oh boy, sleep oughta be easy after this.

Much Later
All better, its almost 11 now in Florida and I slept decently well to wake up to another day of dealing. But at least I get to see my mom today and that's always good.

On Track to Get Back

I guess I'm in a slightly funky sort of mood right now. Its been a long and not unpleasant day. Went for a long walk on the beach with my step mom this morning. Gotta love that gulf coast water! Warm and wee little waves, just shuffle when you walk in the water or you may just step on a stingray.

The afternoon was broken up by the arrival of my sister and nephew number one, Andrew. Always a pleasure to spend time with my sister although, obviously, the present circumstances leave something to be desired. But still, its always good to see her and since she'd been unable to join us in Delaware last month, this is all the better.

Back to the house in Bonita Beach, went swimming with Andrew in the pool, enjoyed watching the simple pleasures that a 3 year old can take in merely flailing his legs into the water. Children are amazing for more reasons than I can count but one of the most important ones right now is their blissful ignorance of larger issues that face grownups. I'm envious of their innocence.

Their because my brother, his wife, her parents and my other nephew, Zola, all showed up in a rush of bodies, people, heat (have I mentioned that its hotter than hell here? nah, its not that bad and certainly kicks the poop out of Chicago in late October). But yeah, it is hot but not unbearable by any means. I prefer sweating to shivering any day. It was alot of fun to watch the two little oblivious children play in the pool.

A nice evening of time together, looking through ancient photo albums, back to the early days in Germany, the steamer they immegrated over on and pics of my dad as a young child, a boy, a young man and then later on as an adult, father, husband and sailor and all around wonderful guy. It was nice and illuminating to look at my family's history in black and whites. It made me think to my own future and what the scene would be like in the context of the digital age, can't really go handing around old memory sticks or flash cards, can we?

Cool little side note:
I just went and used the bathroom and found a tiny little frog in the sink as I was rinsing up. It was no bigger than a dime as it hunched up against the pastel porcelain. I captured him gently and released him into the back yard. So my good deed for the day's been done at least once and probably twice.

Blatant Commercial Endorsement
Anyway, one quick product endorsement for the day because I dig it. I picked up an Olympia Soundbug at Fry's on my way to the airport yesterday because I have yet to have gotten my iRock 300w FM transmitter to allow me to beam my iPod music to any radio tuned to the right station. Actually I tried to buy one but they didn't have them and I saw the Soundbug.

I don't know if anyone's familiar with this little unit but what it does seems like magic but isn't. You attach the little unit to a flat surface, suction it down, plug it in and turn it on. It turns any flat surface into a soundboard or speaker. No, it won't blow your doors off with gut twisting bass but it does play well and I'm quite curious to see how the sound quality changes on different surfaces. But so far, I'm digging it quite a bit.

And it doesn't hurt that I picked mine up for $30 when every other one on the shelf had a $50 tag on it. Same exact thing, just mismarked and I walked out with a 40% off savings. Not sure if its fifty dollars cool but its definitely thirty dollar cool.

Part of What's Wrong with America

As I drove across Highway 75, one of numerous "alligator alleys" in south Florida, from Miami to Fort Myers tonight I saw a road sign that summed up quite a lot of what is wrong with our country.
How would you like to go camping at a place called Kountry Kampin'? Granted that this might be a Triple K affiliate (note, not to be confused with Circle K in the Southwest of the US, think cross burning not Keystone Light and tanker sized coffee mugs for the long haul truckers).
Or how about some Swamp Buggy Eco-Tours? "Okay, ya'll be real quiet as we come up on these nesting birds, Now Punch it EARL! Waaaaaaaaomph!" Yeah, nothing like 500 horses to convince animals to go elsewhere for their mating needs (i.e. not having huge machines running flat out in three feet of water). Don't tell me that you weren't aware that Fort Myers, Florida is the global epicenter of swamp buggy racing(love the "alligator/dinosaur/iguana thing")? Where in the hell have you been? Don't you watch ESPN2 at 3 in the morning?

I had more than my fair share of revelations as I drove west while listening to the Giants open up a can of whoop ass in game five. Revelations about my dad, things that made me laugh, things I'll miss about him. Revelations about myself, things I need to get working on, finishing on, moving on. All that good stuff. Even started mapping the whole thing out too. Everybody has got to have goals, either make some up or go dig out your list you wrote five years ago. Don't let another five years go by before you do some of your goals.

And if you're starting a list, maybe you should include a few frivolous things like going skinny dipping in both oceans in the same week or eating nothing but bad food for three days or whatever it is that floats your boat or finds your lost remote (does anyone know what song that line is from?)

Me? I'm working on my list. After a nap.

Speed Post from the Road

Well time's a ticking down on my $3 investment into this airport Internet terminal as I'm making my way east to Florida and the uncertainty and sadness that awaits there.Three bucks for 12 minutes of internet time? Okay, I can live with that but they really should filter out the ads, dontcha think?

Anyway, more to come later as I write from the air. Lots on my mind, go figure.

Thanks to everyone who's sent well wishes and happy thoughts. I'm getting by and that's really all that we can ask isn't it?

Into the Tunnel

Well, not sure how much I'll be writing in here for the next week or so.
Bad news, my father passed away last Friday afternoon.

So far this has been an entirely new and unexpected experience.

And one observation I've had numerous times in the last couple of days. The world keeps right on going no matter how large or small the individual bumps are. The inertia of the universe is such that no thing, no event can stop it or even slow it down for an instant. My father was a great man, a man who lived life honestly and with excitement at being alive, one who always looked forward to each day.

He will be missed.

Words Cannot Express The Hatred

There are few things in the computing world that I dislike more than Microsoft. But one of them is definitely SPSS which is among the worst implementations of a good idea I've ever come across.
After it does ALL the work, we now have 25 steps minimum left before we can actually utiilize the data into our surveys. Its unbelievable the contortions we're forced to get into because SPSS is incapable of completing the job on its own.

And it gets even better when I've gotten damned near the end of the first one before finding out that, oh yeah, unlike everything else in SPSS, we have to put the multiple response question in the column or its all screwed up. So, next time I'm just going to climb under my desk and set fire to my nuts instead, it'll be less of a pain.

As Layne has been want to say quite often recently, fucking FUCK!

Instant Rant

Just Add Spam....
Is there ANYONE out there that wants hardcore fisting porn? What the hell is wrong with scumbags that spam millions of people with grotesque spam? These people need to get punched squarely in the face.
Absolutely unnecessary.
Now all I need is a way to convert the Telemarketing solution below to Spam and my life will be bliss.

Or maybe it should be He or She Who Stops the SPAM Will Control the World?

CNN.com - California autism rise confounds researchers - Oct. 18, 2002

Oh Boy, A Scratched Cornea? My Favorite

No, not really. I'm not one of those pain is pleasure kinds of people. And for those of you who have not scratched one of your eyes before, it sucks. With every blink of your eye, you are reminded of just how many nerve endings there are in your eye area, sore eyelids, sore eye muscles, sore red achy looking eyes. (NO, I'm not stoned, my eye's messed up, again).

And I'm starting to compile a list of things that I must have for this office space, one is some alternate lighting as the eight flourescent bulbs in the ceiling just ain't gonna cut it. And I get to hang my white boards today (oh yeah, I'm sooooo important I've got two white boards, one for main projects and one to keep me in line).

Off to see the wizard.
The 1st Ever Intellectual Poison Movie Review
Went and saw The Transporter last night, well yesterday afternoon with a buddy of mine who also hadn't seen it (unusual for him because he goes to the movies a fair amount).
Action scenes were excellent, as expected from John Woo (woops, got this one wrong, its not a Woo film, in fact its a Cory Yuen directed movie but definitely has the feel of a Woo film), who really, really, really likes bullet track scenery. Some became just a little outside my ability to believe but so what, movies are supposed to be bigger than life.
The heroine, Suc Qi (or something along those lines) is a new face to me but I'd predict she'll be back for more. She's gorgeous, has the requisite superb figure and actually has a pretty good sense of comic timing. The Transporter guy, Jason Statham (I think) is well sutied to the role, he tries to bring a McQueen cool to his character. Nothing really sets him until it REALLY sets him off.

Two thumbs up, well worth the price of entry even if the ending sort of comes up abruptly. The movie seems shorter than it is and I almost always take that for a good sign.

And I Put Smokey to Shame
I almost forgot about this in the glut of excitement from yesterday but while I was walking back from picking up a couple of burritos for lunch (the place I got them from makes them small but oooh so good) I saw some smoke or dust or something coming from a planter box in the little park on the corner. I almost walked by but it was increasing in volume and not decreasing so I walked over to take a look.

Just as I walked up, the smoke made the jump from smolder to flame on. And there were six inch flames already starting to spread some. One size 11 shoe later, all that was left were a couple of slightly smoldering cinders and some soot on my shoe. So I saved Santa Cruz yesterday.

And found (well refound) yet another reason to thoroughly hate smoking. Since yes, there was a cigarette butt in the middle of the mini-burn. But all's well that ends well (of course, that's bullshit but we'll get into that one later).

Killing Off Telemarketers

End Telemarketing Forever
Well, not really forever, until they come up with a means around this great little trick.
Its basically the same thing as the telezapper but you do it yourself and don't have to spend $50.
Only thing is that you need a way to get the sound from your computer into your answering machine.

Wish List for Givernment Check

I've been keeping notes on things that I could spend chunks of this essentially found money. Housemates had a few ideas, and the ex had a few ideas but I'm curious as to what readers might think.
To give you all an idea. Here are some of the ideas so far.
1. Sign the check over the givernment with a request that it be spent entirely on bullets to fight Iraq.
2. Buy the ex some wine glasses to go with her Noritake china.
3. Invest a chunk in the stock market which is incredibly undervalued right now.
4. Buy plane tickets home for Thanksgiving.
5. Skydiving over the Monterey Bay.
6. Upgrade mountain bike components/buy parts to build up my cruiser.
7. Take out a small loan to supplement this money and buy myself an old Porsche 914.
8. Other improvements to my home universe like shelving, furniture upgrades, etc. And I've been searching for a specific bed frame, its a Shaker style four poster queen sized bed with tapering square columns for posts (anyone know where I can find one?)

I'm sure there are way better, more altruistic things I could do with the money but guess what? I just don't really feel like it, I might donate some of it to a couple of worthy causes but toss up some input and let me know what you think should be done with it. And no, giving it to you just ain't gonna happen.

In News of the Bizarre

48-year-old woman gives birth to twins _ her own granddaughters this comes from SFGate and is among the most bizarre stories I've heard.

How messed up are these kids going to be later on when they figure out what all happened? Um, who's my mommy? Well, I am, dear. But you didn't give birth to me? No, dear, your grandmother gave birth to you. Then how are you my mother? Because, well, the eggs that were in me were fertilized and then put into my mother, your grandmother, because my insides don't work quite properly.
So, who's my mommy and who's my grandmother?
And to quote the above article or it might be Mark Morford's commentary in his Morning Fix on the article "On Thursday, Dunn gave birth to her twin granddaughters, Kaitlyn and Shelby, an event which is not exactly inbreeding and not really incest but would seem to have crepy icky overtones of both." Either way its an interesting way to start the day.

Other NewsWorthy News
Saddam Hussein won a tight election between himself and each and every voter who voted against him getting shot in the head. Seriously though, what IS the frigging point of an election where there's only one candidate? Why not have himself crowned prettiest dictator in the Middle East while he's at it? Does Saddam think he's actually fooling anyone? Or as Morford says in his take on the whole thing, they filled out their pre-punched ballots nicely, just like Florida (what? you mean there was an election fraud or two in THIS country? you mean Janet Reno should have won? and Al Gore should have won too? Wow, well done Jeb, two elections you "fixed" and you're still in power).

A Late Night Musing Back from the Ether

I love the idea that, given enough information and by that I mean all of it, there is no such thing as random as pertains to natural, i.e. non-sentient, events. It should be theoritically possible, given all the information, to determine wave patterns down to the way that the sunlight is reflected off the white, foamy caps. Now, does knowledge mean power in this instance, or more pointedly, does that mean that knowing these things makes a person on the same level as a god or the God? I must conclude that it does not and cannot and furthermore, it can't be used in any argumentation for the existence of God. Knowledge is not creation, it is merely having read the story about it in the news.

Absolute knowledge isn't attainable by humans, although we may possess the capacity to create a computer system that had the capacity to know everything. But there is an inherent paradox, how can one know everything all the time? Each instant creates an infinite or near infinite new set of events and actions and news that must also be known and learned and absorbed and reflected upon. But how can one reflect or have the time to reflect when each moment cascades fresh knowledge in an unceasing waterfall of life, of chemical, biological, natural and all other sorts of interactions?

I realize that this is merely an abstract construct because there is a direct impact on the universe by sentient (i.e. chaotic) elements, witness the whole in the ozone layer, global warming (though it appears to be accelerated by mankind, it is a natural process too), pollution and heck, just the body heat generated by 6 billion people. So, while its theoretically possible, the reality is that this can never come to pass because people do possess free will (or at least I think they do, some might argue otherwise and they're welcome to their opinions, click here for here for why).

Gratutious Link
Lotus mag is an interesting music mag to check out.

Salvation in M minor

Ahhh, sweet lord I have been delivered from another of Microsoft's evil devices. Its like a weight on my soul's been freed.
How you ask, how could it happen?
Netscape.
Netscape 7 (you can hear the drums, can't you?)
Why do I hate most of Microsoft's products?
Not because Bill Gates' empire was created out of an act of thievery.
But because they're just plain not as good.
They're slapped together and shipped out with a fixit later attitude that's almost rude.
So Goodbye lame Internet Explorer and hello Netscape, I'm glad they finally caught up and from what I've seen in using it for a little while, its almost perfect.
One less MS app. Can you see my smile?

Ah, what a day, what a day.

And tomorrow I get to see if I can get Netscape loaded up on my machine at work. Though I'll likely never cut the Microsoft tether completely there, its a PC whereas my home machine's a Mac (yes, for tons of reasons besides its not running Windows). Keep your fingers crossed.

One thing that I absolutely love about the new Netscape is the use of tabs inside windows. So that I can have my Ebay window open and then open auctions I want to look at inside the same window but in a different tab along the top. Maybe IE does this too, I've never bothered to try and find out. But the Netscape version is simple, quick and very, very useful.

And two bad things I've learned thus far. One, Netscape either cannot or will not display Amy's intellectual properties at all well, the main screen is blank and everything is in the skinny column on the left, makes for an interesting read. The other thing is that, like all other browsers, it can't quite sync perfectly with Blogger. Like every other browser I've used thus far, some changes automatically take place when I access the template. And since its based on Mozilla, it likes to strip html. In this, it likes to strip all the links to Regular Clicks, Blogs and Other Spots. And that is not an insignificant issue. One I'll have to keep in mind.

But I can live with the minor foibles if it lets me reduce my dependence on crappy MS-ware!

Who Says the Givernment's ALL Bad?

What better way to wrap up a lovely day in paradise but to come home to a big ole' fat juicy check from the Employment Development Department. And yes, I do mean Givernment in this instance.
Because I was out of work, oh, eight months ago, they're hitting me up with and adjustment now? Um, okay, that'll work.

And its been a good day in lots of other ways too so all the way around I'm in about as good a mood as I could be without getting naked and sweaty. But I might get myself a workout in later on too, What? What were you filthy minded people thinking?

Yeah, yeah, so was I.

The Ex's Wedding and Why
Got a good long chat with my ex, which was cool. She sent me some wedding pics and yep, she looked awesome. Some of you might be wondering why I wasn't there in person. Well, let's see, I was invited and did RSVP but when it came time to go I realized that one of my primary motivations for going wasn't to witness her vows and all that good stuff like see her, her family (which would have been mixed bag of fun and suck) and some other people I know up there. My main motivation for going had kind of morphed on me into running into one guy and pretty much kick the fucking shit out of him (note: not her fiance, who's an excellent guy from all accounts, just freakishly tall).

Now, I am not a violent person and I like to think that most of my decisions are based on reason and logic and all those other mature words. But there are some people that deserve to get their asses kicked for what they've done. Heck, some people deserve to be put to death for what they've done. But no, this guy just needs an ass kicking, however, her wedding was most definitely not the time or place for it. And I knew that I would have been unable to control myself if I came anywhere near him again.

Besides, he isn't worth going to jail for and I would have gotten arrested for beating him like the filthy hunk of shit he is. I don't want to get into the reasons why he deserves it but believe me, he truly deserves it. In fact, he should be castrated and left to bleed out on the pavement. And I do not make a pronouncement like that very often, and even more rarely do I mean it.

Hmm, might have some unresolved issues there, eh?

Oh well, one of the other reasons that it was kind of cool to have a call waiting from her tonight was the serendipity of a call from an old landlord and my present landlard. The old landlord had some mail for my ex that was marked as urgent which was strange since she never lived there and I haven't lived there in almost four years. And the last time my old landlord called me was well over a year ago. Just kind of an interesting confluence of coinincidents, eh? Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, I did have a good day even if the call made me dredge up shitty memories. It looks to be wrapping up nicely.

Redial, Refresh, Redial, Refresh

Aaaah, the joys of trying to get some tickets to the World Series next week when the Giants return north from playing down south.

For those who don't know (not those who don't care), the Giants' World Series tickets went on sale at 10 this morning and its been completely and utterly impossible to get through either by phone or on the web. So it looks like though this'll be the closest World Series in a while, I won't be attending.

Anybody out there got a spare ticket and want to make my month? Drop me a note.

Update on Giants Tickets
Well lots of mad redialing and refreshing amounted to, well, nothing. No connect and no tickets and all 5000 tickets for each game (or 7500 as I've also heard) are almost certainly gone. Might still try more later no in the day but it looks like I'll be watching the series on TV.

Extremely Disturbing Search

I just checked my SiteMeter numbers before I pack it in for the night and three things struck me. One, today's has seen more visitors to Intellectual Poison than any other day before and that's pretty awesome.
Two, one of them should never be allowed to use a computer again. The SiteMeter referal search that they found my web log with was for California Childporn. Anybody looking for childporn should be swiftly castrated, dirty filthy buggers. And third, I don't like the fact that someone came to my web log because they thought that they would find child porn here. That's sickening.

Quick note to any freaks looking for dirty pics here, they don't exist. I don't post those here or anywhere. The web is filled with porn, go find it elsewhere. And no way, no how would there EVER be child porn on this or any other site that I've got any modicum of control over. Not on my home computer, not on my work computer, not anywhere. Purveyors of child pornography are mentally ill and should be removed from society.

And now I'll probably have awful dreams because of it. Thanks, faceless surfer from ENMU.edu (which I have just realized is Eastern New Mexico University most likely), I hope you burn in whatever hell does exist or that you live in North Dakota or some bumfuck backwater, you lowlife.

Some Entertaining Dirt on Maaaawtha

The Dish on Martha is a long article dealing with Martha Stewart and how her neighbors view her (hint, its not nice).

Excellent smut on the Fashion Nazi! Well worth a read!

Other Marketing Garbage
I just saw among the most awful stereotyped commercial that was just plain terrible. Fade in to a suburban housewife type, slightly uptight and looking a little guilty. And she says, "I've been racing vacuums underground for about a year now" and then the commercial goes to some seedy looking underground area with dirty carpets and some chickie with a regular vacuum cleaner (our girl's got a bagless speed demon or some such). Whatever, it was lame and stupid and puts the people squarely into their tiny little pigeon holes.

Addendum:
Item T-17624 on QVC is the Barbie Sparkle n Style Electronic Vacuum. And is a nasty, pre-training tool created by a patriarchy to condition little girls into a specified and understoof stereotype. The flipping thing was even pink. Can you say lame? Yeah, I thought you could. What child, male or female, would want a vacuum for a toy? Its just not fun to play like "mommy", its sad. And no, I don't watch QVC but I do channel surf quite a bit and its one I was passing through when I saw this crap.

Porn Publisher Pushes Blue Cell Phones in UK

Isn't it amazing that technology's real use is to enable people to get their rocks off? That's the import of advances, another way to market sex to people?

The thing about this article that strikes me as strange is why do they call it a "blue cell phone"? Isn't the color of sex supposed to be red? I mean that's what nature has decreed so why the blue? If I were feeling sarcastic (and when am I not?) then I might make rude comparisons to our own red light districts for our prostitution whereas in the UK all they have are blue ball districts. Or something along those lines.

But really, do people want to get horny SMS (Short Message Service) messages while they're on the subway coming home from work? Who wants to sprout some wood on the bus? Its just plain peculiar and another idea most likely cooked up under the influence of some altercant (a word I just invented, by the way). Not to mention the fact that men, by and large, (who are almost certainly the target market but set me straight if I'm crazy here) are visually stimulated and not so stimulated by written text.

Monday Afternoon Odor Attack

Yes, this is a post pretty well for one person who I won't embarass by calling out here. But this is about yesterday when we had a fun IM chat that included some harmless and fun flirting, . Anyway, during a long traffic heavy drive she'd daydreamed about me a little and was wondering what my scent was like.

And lo and behold, I found out yesterday afternoon. Somehow, in my haste to make the run to work I forgot to put on deodorant (yea, I went European for the day) and damned if I'm not a smelly bastard by the end of the day, go figure. Maybe it was whatever food I ate yesterday but I was ripe. Not that I really care all that much but I thought it was funny nonetheless.

Maybe I should qualify that last remark about not caring. I do care when something I do or fail to remember to do impacts another person. But, as long as its just me, I don't mind being a little stinky or sweaty or unkempt (which is a damned fabulous word) or not shaving. Why should I? Its just me, myself and I and I'm already well familiar with all the noxiousness this physical frame can generate (well more or less, I've never been really, really sick and dealt with all those nasty goos and fluids that serious illness can generate). An ex used to call it The Scrounge when she'd go to work in, essentially, pajamas and her hair pulled back into a pony tail instead of showering and getting done up. And why not?

Sometimes you've gotta show the world what happens when you don't really care to look your best so that when you do look good, you look really good. Or something like that. I don't know, I just thought it was kind of ironic (or what my understanding of irony is, its been pointed out to me that I'm using it incorrectly, oh well).

Microsoft Shows Its Retardo Spurs................Again!

Or Yet Another REALLY Bad Marketing Idea from Redmond
With an apology to the handicapped because its an insult to compare them to Microsoft.
But here's a great story that must be passed along.
MS Pays Mac User to Switch. Which, on the face of it, is a stupid idea that they went ahead with anyway and then pulled the ad very quickly because someone forgot to take their stupid pills and realized that NOBODY is dumb enough to think that this journalist switched of her own accord. MS admitted paying her to do it, didn't even use her real picture and the recognized what an utterly stupid marketing tactic they were trying to employ.

Here's the excerpt:

Microsoft: Yup, we paid writer to dump her Mac days after posting an ad from a self-described Mac-to-PC convert on its web site, Microsoft has issued a mea culpa. The computing giant apparently paid a freelance writer to pen the ad, which was similar in style to Apple�s PC-to-Mac ads that flooded the market in June. While Microsoft maintains that the account is true, it admits soliciting the testimonial and using a stock photograph instead of a picture of the woman. �Windows XP gives me more choices and flexibility and better compatibility with the rest of the computing world,� the woman is quoted. Microsoft yanked the ad Monday, calling it a judgment error. Apple had no comment. The ad first aroused questions because of the formal tone of the �convert.� The Apple ads have struck a folksy note with their delivery, but the Microsoft ad used geek-speak like �I wouldn�t know how to function without the track changes and comments features of Word.�
also at News.com

Well done, Mr Gates! When you can't provide better equipment, better software or better marketing just buy 'em all off. That's an excellent business model!

Big thanks to Esther for sending the story over to me. I'd link to her blog but she (shudder) doesn't have one that I know about yet.
Oh yeah, I've also got some fresh pics to load up and will get them going before the day's out, I think.

Other News: Politics
Dismantle the constitution is a news story link I came across on ozten (which has among the best political posters I've yet come across, I've got a copy up in my office) talking about the recent vote in the House to allow George-the-W-stands-for-Warmonger-Bush to wage what amounts to an oil interest war against Iraq propped up by vague assertions of a weapons build up in Iraq. I'm all for punishing Saddam if he's truly guilty of harboring terrorists and generating weapons of mass destruction. BUT, going against UN resolutions and interests basically says to the entire world, "Fuck you, we're the world's superpower and that means that we can pretty well do as we please and that means making sure that precious black gold (some might call it Texas Tea) keeps flowing." Which is essentially the dumbest thing we could do. But then, what do I know, I'm not a millionaire fat headed Texan (sorry Kims) in charge of making my drinking buddies rich while sacrificing any good standing that America has with the rest of the world.

The Giants Win, The Giants Win and the Next Stop is the World
Series!

Yup, that about says it all but who could stop there?
I know I cannot and will not (and regular visitors to the blog should know that I cannot).
Last night was almost a San Francisco sports nirvana moment with the Giants securing their first playoff birth since the ill-fated Bay Series back in 1989. Do people remember that World Series? Even the non sports types because it was the first championship series disrupted by a large earthquake? Or because the A's swept the Giants in four games?

Either way, let's all hope there's no repeat of either event.

In Other News
There will be a final chapter added to the Saga of the Cat That Pooped Too Much that I'm working on. And much more in the works, its just a question of time to tap them out.

Awww Yeah, Gimme Them SuperPowers!

Hero Machine is a sweet and fun place to spend some time creating your own version of a superhero, fantasy character or sports hero. Its a great fun spot to mess around with.

Much thanks to Carlene at the incredibly coolly named Stiletto Philosophy for the link and the props to Intellectual Poison on her blog. She's got all kinds of goodies on her home page right now, like create your own Lego character or SouthPark character. Good fun stuff and all she asks is that if you create a little you then leave a comment on her page so she can check it out. I've got one superhero completed but they don't allow you to save just the pic of the character so it has to be a screenshot. And I'll get it fixed up and posted as soon as I can.

Rock on Carlene! And I could use those superpowers tonight as its going to be icy cold by the bay. Need me a flame on power or something!

To see my newly created superhero click here.

Quick Update on my Dad

I've not been writing very much about my father lately because he'd been in a bit of a holding pattern since the last major scare a few weeks ago.
But I did get some bad news about him last week and it should be shared as I know there are a few people out there who read this and have been wondering how he's been doing.

Unfortunately, his cancer has spread to two new systems in his body and he's begun a fairly aggressive round of chemo and beamo to try