A Random Encounter with a Retaining Wall
I should preface this short story with a disclaimer. This isn't about me. This is actually my take on what happened to a previous friend of mine. Much of the major events are true and that's mildly depressing.
So here it is:
"I'm dying, I must be dying," he thought to himself as he lay there, half crumpled, half stretched out from the impact. He could feel a cool breeze on his face and a cooler sensation on the upper back of his head, he knew he was bleeding because he could feel the blood oozing out, coasting down the back of his head and splashing into the puddle of blood beneath him.
He couldn't move, partly because of the somewhat real fear that he may have sustained damage to his spine and could sever his spinal cord, but also because he was in extraordinary pain. The pain that he imagined one must feel when they die.
"Why is this happening to me?" he wondered aloud and then wondered to himself if his brain was exposed to the air and if so, could someone read his mind. He almost giggled to himself but instead tried to breathe as shallowly as possible. And he tried to run through a laundry list of injuries he might imagine he had so that he could help the paramedics when they finally did show up.
There was no panic in his thoughts, possibly because of the shock of the accident and impact and loss of blood. He calmly considered his pains, his unknown areas and the parts of him that were functioning more or less normally. His arm was broken, that one was easy, he could see the abnormal joint in his forearm and could feel the sharp stabbing pains of the bones shifting against each other. He tried to keep his arm as still as possible and thought that he might pass out from the pain before too long. And he wanted to be conscious for when the paramedics showed up.
"Where in the hell are they anyway? I've been lying here forever already," he wondered out loud. Above him, the sky was lightening with each passing moment as another day broke over Tempe and the world began to hum back into motion. Someone would find him soon enough, they had to or he was sure that he would die.
The day was going to be another hot one, no surprise there, August in Arizona tends to be warm. And today would be no exception, it was already nice and warm out and that was before the sun had even risen above the eastern horizon. If he'd been able to roll over, he might have seen the purple streaks in the sky being chased away by the growing light on the horizon. But he couldn't turn over. Or wouldn�t.
He kept going through his list of injuries. Arm was broken in at least one place. Head was bad, he knew that leaking from the head was a bad sign, especially since he didn't feel any pain there at all, just a very dull throbbing that he realized was his own heart beating, and slowly pushing more and more of his blood out the tattered and torn edges of the wound on the back of his head. He concentrated for a moment on calming his body, seeing if he could slow the beating by willpower, momentarily lost in a silly game of mind over matter.
Arm broken, head broken open (he laughed as he thought, "Like a pinata only the candy's nasty in there this time."
And then he would admonish himself for making light of such a dangerous and life threatening situation. Then another voice inside (or almost all the way inside as his brain was exposed to the world outside now so there was no true in and out anymore) chimed in with a "Relax, getting worked up about this will only make it worse, better to stay loose and wait for help to arrive." And another voice joined in, this time it was a voice of dissent, the mother inside the mind perhaps, "Why weren�t you wearing a helmet? You don't know how to ride those things so what the hell were you thinking?"
"I was having fun," he croaked out in reply, not realizing how dry his mouth had become. The sound of his voice seemed to loom above him, the words dripping down in a garish cartoon image, the letters draining into sheets of blood, of his blood until he was lying in a real pool of his own blood.
He was thirsty and tired and in pain and starting to get pissed off because no help had come yet. He had been there for a while and no one had even seen him or the upturned wheels of the little motorcycle he'd been bombing around on most of the night. Not the shards of plastic and glass that had bounced everywhere when he�d hit the cement retaining wall.
He thought about what had happened, tried to piece together the moments leading up to the accident. What he had been doing and what he should have been doing. But as hard as he tried, nothing would come to him. He couldn't recall the last few moments before impact, could only remember that instant of blinding white and red pain, of his body leaving the seat of the bike and colliding with the unyielding surface of the wall. And then nothing until he woke up in the position he was laying in now. No idea of whether it had been his fault or the little classic motorcycle's fault, it was made in 1968 so it might not be working properly although Charlie had said it was in perfect condition.
And he felt a strong pang of anger and regret. "Charlie's going to be so pissed off at me," he thought and then remembered that it wasn't Charlie's bike anymore. He'd gotten a cash advance off his credit card and bought the bike from him last night in a moment of impulsive "I WANT". "Shit, that's MY bike I just wrecked and I still owe Charlie for it," he swore to himself.
Arm? Broken. Head? Broken open. What else? He wiggled his toes, tried to move his arm that he was lying on, no shocks of white pain there so he guessed it was alright. He thought about turning his head but decided against it as he was unsure about the state of his spine. Internal injuries? Not sure but he didn't feel any intense pain from his innards. He knew there would be scrapes from hitting the wall, cuts from the flying glass, bruises everywhere and probably a long, long time before he was okay again. If he lived at all.
And he reflected on the peculiarity of considering whether he would be alive at this time tomorrow or next week. It made him want to run up some more credit debt and that made him laugh in spite of his situation.
He realized that there was a siren somewhere around him, racing towards him with its siren wailing. And he breathed a sigh of relief thinking that he would be alright. But the ambulance raced by him, at high speed and with no intention of picking him up at all. He slumped, resigned to his fate.
He must have passed out because when he awoke there were two men sweatily working on him. They saw he was conscious and slowed down their efforts. He was on a gurney being rolled into the cavernous back end of the ambulance. They were speaking to him but the words made no sense. He was able to glance at his resting place from the accident, see the scary large pool of blood that had been seeping from him. The impact mark on the wall where his head had hit it. Later he would be told that people could see his hair stuck in the wall.
Later.
Later he would find himself physically well but unable to piece together the events. Like they had faded into some dream sequence.
But he knew he wasn't quite the same person as before. How could he be when he had laid there for those hours with his head opened to the air, his brain uncovered and his body wracked with the savage pain of hitting a wall at 25 miles an hour without any protective gear at all. Unless you can call sandals, shorts and a t-shirt protective gear.
He had changed. He'd become a different sort of person. He'd go out for drinks and wake up the next morning with a pile of stolen things next to him, from cars he'd broken into along the way home from the bar. He would black out for hours at a time and steal things. He would forget to eat for days at a time. He would open a beer moments after having opened another beer. He would alienate and push away his friends to make newer ones that didn't know about the accident and didn't care that he seemed to have lost his moral center.
He began to steal more openly, descending into the chaos of a shattered mind inside a fractured skull.
He didn't fade away, he just drifted off, further and further orbiting out into the new low life world he'd found and discovered fit in with his new persona better than the college students he'd hung out with previously. It was easier to sink than to climb and sink he did. Out of sight and into the murky depths of those folks who never have a job for more than a month at a time, live from hand to mouth and are always on the lookout for an easy score.
In his next life, he should wear the helmet.
I should preface this short story with a disclaimer. This isn't about me. This is actually my take on what happened to a previous friend of mine. Much of the major events are true and that's mildly depressing.
So here it is:
"I'm dying, I must be dying," he thought to himself as he lay there, half crumpled, half stretched out from the impact. He could feel a cool breeze on his face and a cooler sensation on the upper back of his head, he knew he was bleeding because he could feel the blood oozing out, coasting down the back of his head and splashing into the puddle of blood beneath him.
He couldn't move, partly because of the somewhat real fear that he may have sustained damage to his spine and could sever his spinal cord, but also because he was in extraordinary pain. The pain that he imagined one must feel when they die.
"Why is this happening to me?" he wondered aloud and then wondered to himself if his brain was exposed to the air and if so, could someone read his mind. He almost giggled to himself but instead tried to breathe as shallowly as possible. And he tried to run through a laundry list of injuries he might imagine he had so that he could help the paramedics when they finally did show up.
There was no panic in his thoughts, possibly because of the shock of the accident and impact and loss of blood. He calmly considered his pains, his unknown areas and the parts of him that were functioning more or less normally. His arm was broken, that one was easy, he could see the abnormal joint in his forearm and could feel the sharp stabbing pains of the bones shifting against each other. He tried to keep his arm as still as possible and thought that he might pass out from the pain before too long. And he wanted to be conscious for when the paramedics showed up.
"Where in the hell are they anyway? I've been lying here forever already," he wondered out loud. Above him, the sky was lightening with each passing moment as another day broke over Tempe and the world began to hum back into motion. Someone would find him soon enough, they had to or he was sure that he would die.
The day was going to be another hot one, no surprise there, August in Arizona tends to be warm. And today would be no exception, it was already nice and warm out and that was before the sun had even risen above the eastern horizon. If he'd been able to roll over, he might have seen the purple streaks in the sky being chased away by the growing light on the horizon. But he couldn't turn over. Or wouldn�t.
He kept going through his list of injuries. Arm was broken in at least one place. Head was bad, he knew that leaking from the head was a bad sign, especially since he didn't feel any pain there at all, just a very dull throbbing that he realized was his own heart beating, and slowly pushing more and more of his blood out the tattered and torn edges of the wound on the back of his head. He concentrated for a moment on calming his body, seeing if he could slow the beating by willpower, momentarily lost in a silly game of mind over matter.
Arm broken, head broken open (he laughed as he thought, "Like a pinata only the candy's nasty in there this time."
And then he would admonish himself for making light of such a dangerous and life threatening situation. Then another voice inside (or almost all the way inside as his brain was exposed to the world outside now so there was no true in and out anymore) chimed in with a "Relax, getting worked up about this will only make it worse, better to stay loose and wait for help to arrive." And another voice joined in, this time it was a voice of dissent, the mother inside the mind perhaps, "Why weren�t you wearing a helmet? You don't know how to ride those things so what the hell were you thinking?"
"I was having fun," he croaked out in reply, not realizing how dry his mouth had become. The sound of his voice seemed to loom above him, the words dripping down in a garish cartoon image, the letters draining into sheets of blood, of his blood until he was lying in a real pool of his own blood.
He was thirsty and tired and in pain and starting to get pissed off because no help had come yet. He had been there for a while and no one had even seen him or the upturned wheels of the little motorcycle he'd been bombing around on most of the night. Not the shards of plastic and glass that had bounced everywhere when he�d hit the cement retaining wall.
He thought about what had happened, tried to piece together the moments leading up to the accident. What he had been doing and what he should have been doing. But as hard as he tried, nothing would come to him. He couldn't recall the last few moments before impact, could only remember that instant of blinding white and red pain, of his body leaving the seat of the bike and colliding with the unyielding surface of the wall. And then nothing until he woke up in the position he was laying in now. No idea of whether it had been his fault or the little classic motorcycle's fault, it was made in 1968 so it might not be working properly although Charlie had said it was in perfect condition.
And he felt a strong pang of anger and regret. "Charlie's going to be so pissed off at me," he thought and then remembered that it wasn't Charlie's bike anymore. He'd gotten a cash advance off his credit card and bought the bike from him last night in a moment of impulsive "I WANT". "Shit, that's MY bike I just wrecked and I still owe Charlie for it," he swore to himself.
Arm? Broken. Head? Broken open. What else? He wiggled his toes, tried to move his arm that he was lying on, no shocks of white pain there so he guessed it was alright. He thought about turning his head but decided against it as he was unsure about the state of his spine. Internal injuries? Not sure but he didn't feel any intense pain from his innards. He knew there would be scrapes from hitting the wall, cuts from the flying glass, bruises everywhere and probably a long, long time before he was okay again. If he lived at all.
And he reflected on the peculiarity of considering whether he would be alive at this time tomorrow or next week. It made him want to run up some more credit debt and that made him laugh in spite of his situation.
He realized that there was a siren somewhere around him, racing towards him with its siren wailing. And he breathed a sigh of relief thinking that he would be alright. But the ambulance raced by him, at high speed and with no intention of picking him up at all. He slumped, resigned to his fate.
He must have passed out because when he awoke there were two men sweatily working on him. They saw he was conscious and slowed down their efforts. He was on a gurney being rolled into the cavernous back end of the ambulance. They were speaking to him but the words made no sense. He was able to glance at his resting place from the accident, see the scary large pool of blood that had been seeping from him. The impact mark on the wall where his head had hit it. Later he would be told that people could see his hair stuck in the wall.
Later.
Later he would find himself physically well but unable to piece together the events. Like they had faded into some dream sequence.
But he knew he wasn't quite the same person as before. How could he be when he had laid there for those hours with his head opened to the air, his brain uncovered and his body wracked with the savage pain of hitting a wall at 25 miles an hour without any protective gear at all. Unless you can call sandals, shorts and a t-shirt protective gear.
He had changed. He'd become a different sort of person. He'd go out for drinks and wake up the next morning with a pile of stolen things next to him, from cars he'd broken into along the way home from the bar. He would black out for hours at a time and steal things. He would forget to eat for days at a time. He would open a beer moments after having opened another beer. He would alienate and push away his friends to make newer ones that didn't know about the accident and didn't care that he seemed to have lost his moral center.
He began to steal more openly, descending into the chaos of a shattered mind inside a fractured skull.
He didn't fade away, he just drifted off, further and further orbiting out into the new low life world he'd found and discovered fit in with his new persona better than the college students he'd hung out with previously. It was easier to sink than to climb and sink he did. Out of sight and into the murky depths of those folks who never have a job for more than a month at a time, live from hand to mouth and are always on the lookout for an easy score.
In his next life, he should wear the helmet.
:: posted by Erik at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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An Indie Alternate to Apple's Music Store
Now, I'm as impressed as the next person is by Apple's success with its Music Store legal digital music system. But it has its share of flaws, the most glaring one being that indie music has no voice there. Or maybe its that the money generated does exactly what money generated by a CD purchase does. Except there's another hand in the pie, Apple's, and the share that the artist who actually came up with the music gets a smaller share than before.
And while this system may make the fat white bastards who run these companies happy. I mean now they can afford to get two prostitutes to spank him with baby oil infused whips now instead of one. But the problem is that the fundamental flaws of the music industry's greed has not been checked at all. They still take far, far more than they should be allowed to and the creator of the art still gets shafted.
And also, the Music Store has plenty of bad mainstream crap but I defy you to find some underground music there. And live music is one of the coolest things about setups like Kazaa and Limewire. The chance to get your hands on some live sets of your favorite artist collaborating with other artists. Like my copy of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles singing Drift Away. Or any of another dozen or two live covers I've found online.
With that in mind, Mr Mark Morford has provided an alternative in CDBaby. From their site (which isn't a download site but ships out actual CD's): in a regular record deal or distribution deal, musicians only make $1-$2 per CD, if they ever get paid by their label. When selling through CD Baby, musicians make $6-$12 per CD, and get paid weekly.
And their system is working, check out their current sales numbers and distribution numbers.
* 36,951 artists sell their CD at CD Baby.
* 450,232 CDs sold online to customers.
* $3,492,522.53 paid to artists.
Although the numbers get a little less impressive when broken down. Each artist has sold an average of 12.18 CD's and each artist has generated an average of under $95 at an average payout of $7.76 per cd. Still, not a bad way to do business and it seems to be working. Given their numbers before, the average income for an artist would be about $25 for the same material. So its working. And no one's getting rich off of someone else's labor.
And people are getting their hands on some truly innovative music, not the computer generated pop filth that the RIAA built their skyscrapers upon.
Now, I'm as impressed as the next person is by Apple's success with its Music Store legal digital music system. But it has its share of flaws, the most glaring one being that indie music has no voice there. Or maybe its that the money generated does exactly what money generated by a CD purchase does. Except there's another hand in the pie, Apple's, and the share that the artist who actually came up with the music gets a smaller share than before.
And while this system may make the fat white bastards who run these companies happy. I mean now they can afford to get two prostitutes to spank him with baby oil infused whips now instead of one. But the problem is that the fundamental flaws of the music industry's greed has not been checked at all. They still take far, far more than they should be allowed to and the creator of the art still gets shafted.
And also, the Music Store has plenty of bad mainstream crap but I defy you to find some underground music there. And live music is one of the coolest things about setups like Kazaa and Limewire. The chance to get your hands on some live sets of your favorite artist collaborating with other artists. Like my copy of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles singing Drift Away. Or any of another dozen or two live covers I've found online.
With that in mind, Mr Mark Morford has provided an alternative in CDBaby. From their site (which isn't a download site but ships out actual CD's): in a regular record deal or distribution deal, musicians only make $1-$2 per CD, if they ever get paid by their label. When selling through CD Baby, musicians make $6-$12 per CD, and get paid weekly.
And their system is working, check out their current sales numbers and distribution numbers.
* 36,951 artists sell their CD at CD Baby.
* 450,232 CDs sold online to customers.
* $3,492,522.53 paid to artists.
Although the numbers get a little less impressive when broken down. Each artist has sold an average of 12.18 CD's and each artist has generated an average of under $95 at an average payout of $7.76 per cd. Still, not a bad way to do business and it seems to be working. Given their numbers before, the average income for an artist would be about $25 for the same material. So its working. And no one's getting rich off of someone else's labor.
And people are getting their hands on some truly innovative music, not the computer generated pop filth that the RIAA built their skyscrapers upon.
:: posted by Erik at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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An Intellectual Poison First, the Cheddar Five or Six
I spent almost five minutes coming up with these questions after Ryan's excellent idea in the comments on the last post.
Here are my Cheddar Five, [yeah, yeah, I can't count when I'm involved in a conspiracy, damn]. More Cheddar news as things progress, we're looking for our seed funding now, I think three million should cover initial start up costs and a big old bonus for me, Ryan and Carlene for initiating the new world order.
When you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night do you leave the seat up or down when you''re done?
Up because I like to hear P fall in when she goes later.
When was the last time you forgot to put the cap on the toothpaste and how did it make you feel when you remembered it was left off?
What's a toothpaste cap and how do you leave it off, my toothpaste has a flip top.
How many kinds of rice do you have in your cupboards?
Four, at least. Jasmine, Calrose, Uncle Ben's Perverted Rice and Arboreal. Probably some brown in there as well and maybe even some long grain.
Is white rice inherently superior to brown rice?
Uh no, I think brown rice is alot more nutritious for you actually.
If you were a Japanese citrus fruit, which one would you be?
Um, how about a kumquat, is that Japanese?
and finally,
When was the last time you sneezed without covering your mouth?
Yesterday, came on me out of nowhere and I sneezed before I could get my hand up, to my immortal shame.
Yeah, that was fun! Now, should I go to the Friday Five and post a comment saying mine are up?
I spent almost five minutes coming up with these questions after Ryan's excellent idea in the comments on the last post.
Here are my Cheddar Five, [yeah, yeah, I can't count when I'm involved in a conspiracy, damn]. More Cheddar news as things progress, we're looking for our seed funding now, I think three million should cover initial start up costs and a big old bonus for me, Ryan and Carlene for initiating the new world order.
When you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night do you leave the seat up or down when you''re done?
Up because I like to hear P fall in when she goes later.
When was the last time you forgot to put the cap on the toothpaste and how did it make you feel when you remembered it was left off?
What's a toothpaste cap and how do you leave it off, my toothpaste has a flip top.
How many kinds of rice do you have in your cupboards?
Four, at least. Jasmine, Calrose, Uncle Ben's Perverted Rice and Arboreal. Probably some brown in there as well and maybe even some long grain.
Is white rice inherently superior to brown rice?
Uh no, I think brown rice is alot more nutritious for you actually.
If you were a Japanese citrus fruit, which one would you be?
Um, how about a kumquat, is that Japanese?
and finally,
When was the last time you sneezed without covering your mouth?
Yesterday, came on me out of nowhere and I sneezed before I could get my hand up, to my immortal shame.
Yeah, that was fun! Now, should I go to the Friday Five and post a comment saying mine are up?
:: posted by Erik at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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Booted from the Friday Five
Yep, apparently they don't really care for any sort of negative feedback whatsoever. I've let them know that the questions are soft and pretty uninteresting lately. So the Friday Five is definitely a dictatorship as no dissension will be tolerated or allowed, I'm just glad they don't know where I live or they may have sent out the leg breakers to coerce me into playing like a good monkey blogger.
So now they've purged me from their systems and no longer send me emails letting me know the new yawner questions are up. Whatever, its not any big loss, who gives a damn what kind of bottled water I drink? Or the kind of toothpaste I use?
So no more lame Friday Fives on Intellectual Poison. I think, instead, I'll find something with some meat to write about. Though I am tempted to post a comment on their site saying mine aren't up and won't be anymore. But thanks for propogating the fluff.
Anyway, looks like its going to be a Friday today. Let's hope it all works out for the better.
Tonight we're having people over to make sushi and get drunk though not necessarily in that order. And I'm sure I'll come up with lots of stuff to discuss as the day proceeds.
Have a good Friday and I'll keep my pithy barbs for Friday Five to myself as best I can.
Yep, apparently they don't really care for any sort of negative feedback whatsoever. I've let them know that the questions are soft and pretty uninteresting lately. So the Friday Five is definitely a dictatorship as no dissension will be tolerated or allowed, I'm just glad they don't know where I live or they may have sent out the leg breakers to coerce me into playing like a good monkey blogger.
So now they've purged me from their systems and no longer send me emails letting me know the new yawner questions are up. Whatever, its not any big loss, who gives a damn what kind of bottled water I drink? Or the kind of toothpaste I use?
So no more lame Friday Fives on Intellectual Poison. I think, instead, I'll find something with some meat to write about. Though I am tempted to post a comment on their site saying mine aren't up and won't be anymore. But thanks for propogating the fluff.
Anyway, looks like its going to be a Friday today. Let's hope it all works out for the better.
Tonight we're having people over to make sushi and get drunk though not necessarily in that order. And I'm sure I'll come up with lots of stuff to discuss as the day proceeds.
Have a good Friday and I'll keep my pithy barbs for Friday Five to myself as best I can.
:: posted by Erik at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 29, 2003Like this post?
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No Extra Verbiage Needed
Okay, I lied, this is a super cool Firewire hub from Charismac that I saw in MacAddict this month. I thought it was a USB hub originally but this is even cooler. And he lights up when you plug in a Firewire cable. I want one!
Okay, I lied, this is a super cool Firewire hub from Charismac that I saw in MacAddict this month. I thought it was a USB hub originally but this is even cooler. And he lights up when you plug in a Firewire cable. I want one!
:: posted by Erik at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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What's My Personality Disorder?
paranoid
Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla
Thanks to intellectual properties for the link.
paranoid
Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla
Thanks to intellectual properties for the link.
:: posted by Erik at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Remiss in Covering my SO's Issues
This will be a first for Intellectual Poison but the problems of those I love are my problems as well so I guess its not a huge leap to talk about a problem P was having at work, still is having.
And it allows me to raise an interesting discussion topic.
How do you deal with someone who's abusive in the work place? Not physically because that's far too easy to see and deal with. But abusive in the way that they interact with other employees. Not the boss because they can and generally do as they please. This is a lateral level co-worker who's got no supervisory capacity over P.
Yet this rolling ball of unhappiness and completely misplaced superiority complexes has taken it upon herself to use my future wife as her whipping post when things don't go her way. And yesterday she disrespected P openly and in a very, very rude way. P's been with this company for a month or so now, not a long time and she has been doing her tasks the way that she was instructed to when she first started there. But this rude bitch looks for and finds fault with something that P has done, regardless of the fact that P doesn't report to her and that P is actually doing the task as instructed.
So, yesterday, the ball of unjoy (big girl, big mouth, big ego, big ass, big head, big irritation for anyone who comes near her) got on P's case about something. Actually a favor P had done as the person calling in was a known whiner and no one in the office ever liked to deal with her "problems". P works in a property management office and answers the phones which means she deals with bored old people calling about stupid shit all day long, as in "Yeah, this is Mrs. XX and I think my neighbor's hedges are sticking out a couple of inches further than they are allowed in the homeowner's bylaws." That kind of stupid crap from people with nothing better to do than call up people that HAVE to deal with them.
The angry big girl, shall we call her Bitchzilla? okay, that'll work. Bitchzilla gets on P's case about some aspect of not forwarding the call immediately even though she would have been pissed if she had forwarded the call. Its a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. And Bitchzilla (yeah, its growing on me rapidly) tells P how to do her job in a rude way and would not allow P to explain her side of the argument. She had the gall, the utter audacity, to put her hand up in P's face and DISMISS her saying she didn't have the time to listen to her!
I told P she should have put an arm bar on the bitch and shown her how hard the floor can be. But that wouldn't have been cool at all and I know it.
Instead, P let it go and tried to broach the topic again later only to be shut out again. Keep in mind, this is a co-worker and not her boss, not an especially important person in the company, just another worker bee with her ego attached to an air hose.
And P kind of lost it, which can happen in a stressful situation without the ability to deal with it as rational humans would do. But Bitchzilla isn't rational, she's a self absorbed wastamaton (yeah, that's a new one and I like it! wastamaton - a worker bee who's so thoroughly absorbed in their own tasks that they wouldn't notice if the building was burning down, maybe I'll have to work on the definition a bit but I like the word nonetheless) who shouldn't interact with people because her people skills are very poor, she flirts with people and gets angry when they don't thing she's funny with her in-bred sense of humor.
So I'm anxious to find out what happened today because we talked about this for a long, long time last night. My advice was to get some time with her and let the Bitchzilla know that, if she's got an issue with how P is completing her tasks, she's got to take it up with P's supervisor and not with her. P is only following the direction they gave her when she started. And if Bitchzilla starts pulling any crap, to put up her hand in the exact same way she did and tell her to take it up with her boss, not her. Follow the chain of command or fuck off but leave her alone.
Gotta go check my email again and see if there's a new update from the battle front. That and gotta read Layne's new comments since this post began, her latest post is about guilt and.....just go read it.
Other News: Better Looking Men Have Healthier Sperm
Oh yeah, how wacky is this news? Handsome men have the best sperm. Thanks Hardy for bringing yet another good story to my attention!
The hotter the guy the healthier the sperm. How's that for irony? Now it would appear that better looking people are naturally selected for by virtue of having better sperm. A curious conclusion but supported by the evidence in the survey and report. And a further burden of action for smoking hot specimens like myself and Ryan.
This will be a first for Intellectual Poison but the problems of those I love are my problems as well so I guess its not a huge leap to talk about a problem P was having at work, still is having.
And it allows me to raise an interesting discussion topic.
How do you deal with someone who's abusive in the work place? Not physically because that's far too easy to see and deal with. But abusive in the way that they interact with other employees. Not the boss because they can and generally do as they please. This is a lateral level co-worker who's got no supervisory capacity over P.
Yet this rolling ball of unhappiness and completely misplaced superiority complexes has taken it upon herself to use my future wife as her whipping post when things don't go her way. And yesterday she disrespected P openly and in a very, very rude way. P's been with this company for a month or so now, not a long time and she has been doing her tasks the way that she was instructed to when she first started there. But this rude bitch looks for and finds fault with something that P has done, regardless of the fact that P doesn't report to her and that P is actually doing the task as instructed.
So, yesterday, the ball of unjoy (big girl, big mouth, big ego, big ass, big head, big irritation for anyone who comes near her) got on P's case about something. Actually a favor P had done as the person calling in was a known whiner and no one in the office ever liked to deal with her "problems". P works in a property management office and answers the phones which means she deals with bored old people calling about stupid shit all day long, as in "Yeah, this is Mrs. XX and I think my neighbor's hedges are sticking out a couple of inches further than they are allowed in the homeowner's bylaws." That kind of stupid crap from people with nothing better to do than call up people that HAVE to deal with them.
The angry big girl, shall we call her Bitchzilla? okay, that'll work. Bitchzilla gets on P's case about some aspect of not forwarding the call immediately even though she would have been pissed if she had forwarded the call. Its a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. And Bitchzilla (yeah, its growing on me rapidly) tells P how to do her job in a rude way and would not allow P to explain her side of the argument. She had the gall, the utter audacity, to put her hand up in P's face and DISMISS her saying she didn't have the time to listen to her!
I told P she should have put an arm bar on the bitch and shown her how hard the floor can be. But that wouldn't have been cool at all and I know it.
Instead, P let it go and tried to broach the topic again later only to be shut out again. Keep in mind, this is a co-worker and not her boss, not an especially important person in the company, just another worker bee with her ego attached to an air hose.
And P kind of lost it, which can happen in a stressful situation without the ability to deal with it as rational humans would do. But Bitchzilla isn't rational, she's a self absorbed wastamaton (yeah, that's a new one and I like it! wastamaton - a worker bee who's so thoroughly absorbed in their own tasks that they wouldn't notice if the building was burning down, maybe I'll have to work on the definition a bit but I like the word nonetheless) who shouldn't interact with people because her people skills are very poor, she flirts with people and gets angry when they don't thing she's funny with her in-bred sense of humor.
So I'm anxious to find out what happened today because we talked about this for a long, long time last night. My advice was to get some time with her and let the Bitchzilla know that, if she's got an issue with how P is completing her tasks, she's got to take it up with P's supervisor and not with her. P is only following the direction they gave her when she started. And if Bitchzilla starts pulling any crap, to put up her hand in the exact same way she did and tell her to take it up with her boss, not her. Follow the chain of command or fuck off but leave her alone.
Gotta go check my email again and see if there's a new update from the battle front. That and gotta read Layne's new comments since this post began, her latest post is about guilt and.....just go read it.
Other News: Better Looking Men Have Healthier Sperm
Oh yeah, how wacky is this news? Handsome men have the best sperm. Thanks Hardy for bringing yet another good story to my attention!
The hotter the guy the healthier the sperm. How's that for irony? Now it would appear that better looking people are naturally selected for by virtue of having better sperm. A curious conclusion but supported by the evidence in the survey and report. And a further burden of action for smoking hot specimens like myself and Ryan.
:: posted by Erik at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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Things To Do When Blogs Get Too Serious
This is yet another good forward (though slightly nauseating) from Esther, its Hot Dog Art, a Gallery and How To. And yeah, its for real and the instructions make reasonable sense.
And actually, the hot dog shark is pretty cool in a sideways and I'm squinting sort of way.
Other Good News
Tomorrow night is going to be our first big sushi night since P moved to Santa Cruz! We're hitting up CostCo for supplies and goodies later on tonight but it should be a good time regardless. That is, assuming that we can get the house cleaned all up (not just the downstairs, which looks excellent without the big old couch in there anymore). And I need to remind myself to get an anime movie to have running as background to the event. Maybe some plinky-plinky music to add to the aura. If the weather's nice enough then we might even be able to have the meal outside on the patio.
Can you say tempura shrimp, macadamia nut, green onion and daikon radish (or jicama for a sweeter crunch)? Oh yeah, I knew you could. Yes, pics to follow, for sure!
This is yet another good forward (though slightly nauseating) from Esther, its Hot Dog Art, a Gallery and How To. And yeah, its for real and the instructions make reasonable sense.
And actually, the hot dog shark is pretty cool in a sideways and I'm squinting sort of way.
Other Good News
Tomorrow night is going to be our first big sushi night since P moved to Santa Cruz! We're hitting up CostCo for supplies and goodies later on tonight but it should be a good time regardless. That is, assuming that we can get the house cleaned all up (not just the downstairs, which looks excellent without the big old couch in there anymore). And I need to remind myself to get an anime movie to have running as background to the event. Maybe some plinky-plinky music to add to the aura. If the weather's nice enough then we might even be able to have the meal outside on the patio.
Can you say tempura shrimp, macadamia nut, green onion and daikon radish (or jicama for a sweeter crunch)? Oh yeah, I knew you could. Yes, pics to follow, for sure!
:: posted by Erik at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 28, 2003Like this post?
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I'm Actually A Bald, Wheelchair Bound Ex-Captain of a fake Starship with Scary Powers to Read your Mind
You are Professor X!
You are a very effective teacher, and you are very committed to those who learn from you. You put your all into everything you do, to some extent because you fear failure more than anything else. You are always seeking self-improvement, even in areas where there is nothing you can do to improve.
Which X-Men character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla
Shame it doesn't work on Layne and her total teaser post this morning [Note: Layne's actually pretty well beat up by the whole experience so I think maybe the light tone isn't all that warranted, it will bear watching]. Well not total teaser because she does write about Casey's ball game that didn't go well but it turned into an impromptu party that ended with her sacking out early only to be awoken by someone wanting some sexual healing. Only, Layne wouldn't say who it was. And since Layne's been talking about doing more guys it makes it harder to figure out if she hooked up with Lauren or Dmitri or Ike or Nat. I'm guessing that Brent was wholly off limits as he's married to Layne's sister. At least he'd better be! So, Layne, when you read this. Don't make me have to track you down and question you on the phone or by email. You must divulge. Hope you didn't wreck your trip to Chicago but maybe you just made it a real getaway.
Sorry that you're being tormented by last night, Layne. But remember that you're not the only one involved and you were most certainly not the instigator. You were asleep, don't beat yourself up because you didn't say no or stop him/her. Beat up whoever it was for not recognizing your theoretical boundaries and respecting you. Unless you just looked so incredibly hot that they couldn't help themselves. Damn that new hairstyle!
You are Professor X!
You are a very effective teacher, and you are very committed to those who learn from you. You put your all into everything you do, to some extent because you fear failure more than anything else. You are always seeking self-improvement, even in areas where there is nothing you can do to improve.
Which X-Men character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla
Shame it doesn't work on Layne and her total teaser post this morning [Note: Layne's actually pretty well beat up by the whole experience so I think maybe the light tone isn't all that warranted, it will bear watching]. Well not total teaser because she does write about Casey's ball game that didn't go well but it turned into an impromptu party that ended with her sacking out early only to be awoken by someone wanting some sexual healing. Only, Layne wouldn't say who it was. And since Layne's been talking about doing more guys it makes it harder to figure out if she hooked up with Lauren or Dmitri or Ike or Nat. I'm guessing that Brent was wholly off limits as he's married to Layne's sister. At least he'd better be! So, Layne, when you read this. Don't make me have to track you down and question you on the phone or by email. You must divulge. Hope you didn't wreck your trip to Chicago but maybe you just made it a real getaway.
Sorry that you're being tormented by last night, Layne. But remember that you're not the only one involved and you were most certainly not the instigator. You were asleep, don't beat yourself up because you didn't say no or stop him/her. Beat up whoever it was for not recognizing your theoretical boundaries and respecting you. Unless you just looked so incredibly hot that they couldn't help themselves. Damn that new hairstyle!
:: posted by Erik at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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A Short Detour into Corporate Poop
Another forward from Hardy, from CorporateMofo: The Company Bathroom.
A site that will bear further examination when time permits.
Another forward from Hardy, from CorporateMofo: The Company Bathroom.
A site that will bear further examination when time permits.
:: posted by Erik at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Some Sobering Stats
Yes, SARS is an internation epidemic that is both frightening and deadly. But its definitely not the only game of death in town.
As I read Popular Science earlier today I found out that 5,000 children die every day because of malaria. That's one child every 15 seconds of every minute of every hour of every day of the year.
Consider that for a moment. By the time you finish reading this post, another two or three kids will have died because of malaria. And its not front page news because its been happening for years.
Lots more information about malaria and the fight against it is available at Fighting Malaria Org.
The PopSci article talks about a geneticist who's demonstrating how a "selfish" gene could be produced that would wipe out the entire malaria carrying mosquito population inside of a year. Which begs the question, what would be the other downstream effects of wiping out an entire niche in the ecosystem? I dare say that it won't kill 5,000 kids a day, whatever else happens. But witness the Cane Toad infestation of Australia as a grim reminder of what happens when we start monkeying with nature. Though it appears that they are finally getting some aspects of the infestation under control, there is still a long ways to go until the damage has been undone.
Extreme Measures to Cause Change
A Iranian refugee has sewed his eyes, ears and mouth closed as a protest against the British government's treatment of refugees.
Which is both a sign of extreme dedication to your cause with more than little bit of fanaticism tossed in for effect. I feel for the guy but I'm not sure that his message isn't lost in the delivery. He's sick, weak and getting worse. His self inflicted wounds are becoming infected and he is in danger of serious and permanent harm to his person. Although I can't imagine that this treatment is that much different from his treatment during his six years in Iranian prisons, one of which was spent in solitary confinement.
Makes my problems seem just wee bit less significant all of a sudden.
More News: Condoms in School Don't Encourage Sexual Activity
Another news item worth posting, School Condom Programs Don't Encourage Sex: Study.
Yes, SARS is an internation epidemic that is both frightening and deadly. But its definitely not the only game of death in town.
As I read Popular Science earlier today I found out that 5,000 children die every day because of malaria. That's one child every 15 seconds of every minute of every hour of every day of the year.
Consider that for a moment. By the time you finish reading this post, another two or three kids will have died because of malaria. And its not front page news because its been happening for years.
Lots more information about malaria and the fight against it is available at Fighting Malaria Org.
The PopSci article talks about a geneticist who's demonstrating how a "selfish" gene could be produced that would wipe out the entire malaria carrying mosquito population inside of a year. Which begs the question, what would be the other downstream effects of wiping out an entire niche in the ecosystem? I dare say that it won't kill 5,000 kids a day, whatever else happens. But witness the Cane Toad infestation of Australia as a grim reminder of what happens when we start monkeying with nature. Though it appears that they are finally getting some aspects of the infestation under control, there is still a long ways to go until the damage has been undone.
Extreme Measures to Cause Change
A Iranian refugee has sewed his eyes, ears and mouth closed as a protest against the British government's treatment of refugees.
Which is both a sign of extreme dedication to your cause with more than little bit of fanaticism tossed in for effect. I feel for the guy but I'm not sure that his message isn't lost in the delivery. He's sick, weak and getting worse. His self inflicted wounds are becoming infected and he is in danger of serious and permanent harm to his person. Although I can't imagine that this treatment is that much different from his treatment during his six years in Iranian prisons, one of which was spent in solitary confinement.
Makes my problems seem just wee bit less significant all of a sudden.
More News: Condoms in School Don't Encourage Sexual Activity
Another news item worth posting, School Condom Programs Don't Encourage Sex: Study.
:: posted by Erik at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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A light Forward from Jay
Its called SARS Summer for obvious reasons.
Click on the pic for the full sized version of this good forward from Jay
And Karmic Payback's the Sweetest News There Is
Okay, now I'm a happy guy. I just read my Morning Fix and came across this story Father Plunges.....to his death for being a child molester
The blurb in the Fix:
A former priest who fled to Mexico to escape U.S. sex abuse charges in California and Wisconsin died after jumping from the third-story balcony of a hotel as police closed in. Siegfried F. Widera, 62, faced dozens of child molestation charges in the two states. Police surrounded the beachside hotel and planned to arrest Widera in this resort city on Mexico's Pacific coast, the Mexican judicial authorities said. Minutes after authorities arrived, Widera ran to the balcony of his room and jumped.
Hardy had the best comment on this so far, maybe he jumped expecting that God would forgive him his sins and allow him to fly up to heaven. Instead it appears that Satan yanked him down, hard. Hope he likes the smell of his own burning soul. That and Hardy also helped me get the Email and AIM pics set up properly, thanks, man!
And another Morford masterpiece, The Great Teen Sex Conundrum
Last one, Breathe Safe Clothing for those, you know, chemical and airborne agent terrorist attacks. Why breathe through your shirt that's not designed to save your life when you can wear this styling tie or that hot scarf that are actually made of medical grade filtration fabric that'll save your bacon when the nerve gas starts flying. Or, at least, if you do die then you'll look good with these two utterly stupid concepts hanging off your corpse.
Its called SARS Summer for obvious reasons.
Click on the pic for the full sized version of this good forward from Jay
And Karmic Payback's the Sweetest News There Is
Okay, now I'm a happy guy. I just read my Morning Fix and came across this story Father Plunges.....to his death for being a child molester
The blurb in the Fix:
A former priest who fled to Mexico to escape U.S. sex abuse charges in California and Wisconsin died after jumping from the third-story balcony of a hotel as police closed in. Siegfried F. Widera, 62, faced dozens of child molestation charges in the two states. Police surrounded the beachside hotel and planned to arrest Widera in this resort city on Mexico's Pacific coast, the Mexican judicial authorities said. Minutes after authorities arrived, Widera ran to the balcony of his room and jumped.
Hardy had the best comment on this so far, maybe he jumped expecting that God would forgive him his sins and allow him to fly up to heaven. Instead it appears that Satan yanked him down, hard. Hope he likes the smell of his own burning soul. That and Hardy also helped me get the Email and AIM pics set up properly, thanks, man!
And another Morford masterpiece, The Great Teen Sex Conundrum
Last one, Breathe Safe Clothing for those, you know, chemical and airborne agent terrorist attacks. Why breathe through your shirt that's not designed to save your life when you can wear this styling tie or that hot scarf that are actually made of medical grade filtration fabric that'll save your bacon when the nerve gas starts flying. Or, at least, if you do die then you'll look good with these two utterly stupid concepts hanging off your corpse.
:: posted by Erik at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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There MUST be a Law
I don't know who the friggin' genius is that authorized trash trucks and street sweepers to start working before 7 in the morning but I can almost guarantee that they don't live all that close to a road or school.
First up on the external alarm schedule was the trash trucks unloading all the dumpsters behind the school. Only it sounded like they were just sitting in our bedroom and revving their engines, tossing in a minute or so of that piercing get away from the back end of the truck sound when they use reverse. It took them about fifteen minutes to empty all the dumpsters, all the while making me wonder just how loud they are up close and not across the street and down a ways. Seriously, pictures were rattling on the walls because of these things and the time was a quarter to seven in the morning.
Next up on the you've-probably-already-gotten-enough-sleep alarm schedule was the street sweeper. Another huge truck with lots of engines, motors, noise and that extra loud get the hell out of the way back up sound. I think the driver must have made ten passes up and down our road to make sure he got all the debris. Or maybe he was just doing that thing people do with a vacuum that won't pick up one thing, just keep going over it again and again and again. Perhaps he even got out of the truck to examine it, put it back down and then drove over it another few times before his truck sucked it up, up and away. Again, time was well before 7 in the morning.
Granted, I'm usually up by 7 most mornings even if I choose not to get out of bed and start moving. But this is ridiculous and I'm tempted to rattle a few cages to see if we can make sure there are no repeats of it. But who do you call? And don't any of you dare say, Ghostbusters. I need to figure out who's in charge of this crap and let them know that it is entirely unnecessary to be doing this well before most people are awake. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a noise ordinance specifically prohibiting it.
And if any of my local Santa Cruz government employee readers have any insight into who to call? Drop an email or leave me a comment if you can. Why? Because I know those trucks were closer and louder to you and I'm sure you don't want any repeats either.
I don't know who the friggin' genius is that authorized trash trucks and street sweepers to start working before 7 in the morning but I can almost guarantee that they don't live all that close to a road or school.
First up on the external alarm schedule was the trash trucks unloading all the dumpsters behind the school. Only it sounded like they were just sitting in our bedroom and revving their engines, tossing in a minute or so of that piercing get away from the back end of the truck sound when they use reverse. It took them about fifteen minutes to empty all the dumpsters, all the while making me wonder just how loud they are up close and not across the street and down a ways. Seriously, pictures were rattling on the walls because of these things and the time was a quarter to seven in the morning.
Next up on the you've-probably-already-gotten-enough-sleep alarm schedule was the street sweeper. Another huge truck with lots of engines, motors, noise and that extra loud get the hell out of the way back up sound. I think the driver must have made ten passes up and down our road to make sure he got all the debris. Or maybe he was just doing that thing people do with a vacuum that won't pick up one thing, just keep going over it again and again and again. Perhaps he even got out of the truck to examine it, put it back down and then drove over it another few times before his truck sucked it up, up and away. Again, time was well before 7 in the morning.
Granted, I'm usually up by 7 most mornings even if I choose not to get out of bed and start moving. But this is ridiculous and I'm tempted to rattle a few cages to see if we can make sure there are no repeats of it. But who do you call? And don't any of you dare say, Ghostbusters. I need to figure out who's in charge of this crap and let them know that it is entirely unnecessary to be doing this well before most people are awake. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a noise ordinance specifically prohibiting it.
And if any of my local Santa Cruz government employee readers have any insight into who to call? Drop an email or leave me a comment if you can. Why? Because I know those trucks were closer and louder to you and I'm sure you don't want any repeats either.
:: posted by Erik at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 27, 2003Like this post?
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Seems Paradoxical
Came across a pretty interesting site today called ShippingOnly which, as the name implies, charges only the shipping for products. A reasonable $5.99 per item which means that they are obviously making their profit in the shipping charges as much of what they sell can be shipped anywhere for quite alot less than $5.99 or lets just call it six bucks.
This kind of site grew out of the whole practice on Ebay of having super cheap auction prices and then inflated shipping charges to cover the profit margin. Which wasn't really a bad thing for bidders and sellers but basically cheated Ebay out of their end of the transaction because their charges were hitched to the final sale price of the item, not the shipping.
Anyway, its kind of a neat shop to check out. Like an internet five and dime except everything costs the same.
It'd be better if they inverted their business model and went from the positive side. Everything at a set cost and shipping is free but I suppose that's already been done and they had to find some angle to exploit to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Which makes me question what their long term model looks like, eventually bringing in items with higher "shipping" charges most likely. But hey, I checked them out for kicks and nearly bought some stuff. If they got hooked up with PayPal then they'd be able to capitalize more easily on the impulse buy.
If there's one thing that Apple's model with the Music Store has taught the world. Make it easy to pay, effortless even.
Strange Segues and Bill Pays
Its official, I'm now starting to fully take control of my finances online, setting up automatic payments and generally doing as much as I can to maximize my income. The next six months or so will be a busy bunch of months and money will be a needed commodity. So now, as long as I have an income that's enough to cover it, my college loans are on auto feed. The same goes for the very nice credit agencies that were kind enough to extend credit during my underworking period last year.
Its an empowering feeling, knowing that I no longer have to forget payments and screw up my credit. For a small amount, i can have it all run for me. I just tell them what to do and bam, paid. Now, every six months I can call up the companies and request interest rate decreases for prompt payment.
Can anyone explain to me why I was this dense that it took me this long to set this up and use it? I hate to regret but I do, I wish I could go back and have done this from the get go. But then, that might have had to be through Wells Fargo and that's one company I'm thoroughly happy to get my life disentangled from.
So, hey, if you're an online geek and you haven't done it yet. Give it a run but choose your bank wisely as I'm sure there are fly-by-night wanks out there just waiting to prey upon thee. Another gift from my father is the ability to use USAA, if you can get with them then do, my motorcycle insurance dropped in half when I joined up with them. But they do have some membership requirements. Nothing draconian by any means, just be an ex-officer in the US military or the spouse or offspring of one. My dad was a Captain in the Army so I get to join up and use them.
Now all I have to do is keep my job for another 5 years and get it all paid off.
Came across a pretty interesting site today called ShippingOnly which, as the name implies, charges only the shipping for products. A reasonable $5.99 per item which means that they are obviously making their profit in the shipping charges as much of what they sell can be shipped anywhere for quite alot less than $5.99 or lets just call it six bucks.
This kind of site grew out of the whole practice on Ebay of having super cheap auction prices and then inflated shipping charges to cover the profit margin. Which wasn't really a bad thing for bidders and sellers but basically cheated Ebay out of their end of the transaction because their charges were hitched to the final sale price of the item, not the shipping.
Anyway, its kind of a neat shop to check out. Like an internet five and dime except everything costs the same.
It'd be better if they inverted their business model and went from the positive side. Everything at a set cost and shipping is free but I suppose that's already been done and they had to find some angle to exploit to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Which makes me question what their long term model looks like, eventually bringing in items with higher "shipping" charges most likely. But hey, I checked them out for kicks and nearly bought some stuff. If they got hooked up with PayPal then they'd be able to capitalize more easily on the impulse buy.
If there's one thing that Apple's model with the Music Store has taught the world. Make it easy to pay, effortless even.
Strange Segues and Bill Pays
Its official, I'm now starting to fully take control of my finances online, setting up automatic payments and generally doing as much as I can to maximize my income. The next six months or so will be a busy bunch of months and money will be a needed commodity. So now, as long as I have an income that's enough to cover it, my college loans are on auto feed. The same goes for the very nice credit agencies that were kind enough to extend credit during my underworking period last year.
Its an empowering feeling, knowing that I no longer have to forget payments and screw up my credit. For a small amount, i can have it all run for me. I just tell them what to do and bam, paid. Now, every six months I can call up the companies and request interest rate decreases for prompt payment.
Can anyone explain to me why I was this dense that it took me this long to set this up and use it? I hate to regret but I do, I wish I could go back and have done this from the get go. But then, that might have had to be through Wells Fargo and that's one company I'm thoroughly happy to get my life disentangled from.
So, hey, if you're an online geek and you haven't done it yet. Give it a run but choose your bank wisely as I'm sure there are fly-by-night wanks out there just waiting to prey upon thee. Another gift from my father is the ability to use USAA, if you can get with them then do, my motorcycle insurance dropped in half when I joined up with them. But they do have some membership requirements. Nothing draconian by any means, just be an ex-officer in the US military or the spouse or offspring of one. My dad was a Captain in the Army so I get to join up and use them.
Now all I have to do is keep my job for another 5 years and get it all paid off.
:: posted by Erik at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Quality Forward from Esther
Ahh, it must be back to normal again because I'm at my desk again, gathering up all the various threads of coverage (and yeah, there's a lot!), pulling data for some editors under deadline and generally just getting back into the swing.
With that in mind, Esther, my joyous Forwarding Goddess, has graced me with yet another good one.
Speed Movie Review: Dinotopia
Or maybe Disney should have just renamed this movie, Prequel to the Ride at Disneyland. Because that's pretty much exactly what it was. Sure, there were lots of CG dinosaurs to check out and the effects were very well done. But the story line was so disjointed that I totally lost interest in it. Its a movie that tries to be everything, a romance (fail), an action movie (pass, barely) and a marketing vehicle for rides, toys and other revenue generating streams for Disney (aced that one).
That and it was waaaaay long. As in FOUR hours long. At three hours, P gave up and I nearly did but I had to make sure the ending happened exactly how I'd predicted it. And it did, pretty much. Dad? He wasn't dead, he found a magical cave to live in for several months. The source of the "sun stones" power, magic, geez. And why have the mayor of Waterfall City look like a complete and utter idiot (oh yeah, so his action figure sells better).
In short, it would have been a great movie if it had been raining and nasty out and I was under 8 years old. As it was, it was a the barest shell of a plot that was tossed together to showcase all the cool Dinotopia stuff they're selling now.
And we all know how I feel about crass over marketing garbage like that.
Ahh, it must be back to normal again because I'm at my desk again, gathering up all the various threads of coverage (and yeah, there's a lot!), pulling data for some editors under deadline and generally just getting back into the swing.
With that in mind, Esther, my joyous Forwarding Goddess, has graced me with yet another good one.
Speed Movie Review: Dinotopia
Or maybe Disney should have just renamed this movie, Prequel to the Ride at Disneyland. Because that's pretty much exactly what it was. Sure, there were lots of CG dinosaurs to check out and the effects were very well done. But the story line was so disjointed that I totally lost interest in it. Its a movie that tries to be everything, a romance (fail), an action movie (pass, barely) and a marketing vehicle for rides, toys and other revenue generating streams for Disney (aced that one).
That and it was waaaaay long. As in FOUR hours long. At three hours, P gave up and I nearly did but I had to make sure the ending happened exactly how I'd predicted it. And it did, pretty much. Dad? He wasn't dead, he found a magical cave to live in for several months. The source of the "sun stones" power, magic, geez. And why have the mayor of Waterfall City look like a complete and utter idiot (oh yeah, so his action figure sells better).
In short, it would have been a great movie if it had been raining and nasty out and I was under 8 years old. As it was, it was a the barest shell of a plot that was tossed together to showcase all the cool Dinotopia stuff they're selling now.
And we all know how I feel about crass over marketing garbage like that.
:: posted by Erik at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 26, 2003Like this post?
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Its Monday but its Not Really Monday, Is It?
Yeah, Mondays are supposed to entail the slow disentanglement from bed sheets as the struggle to come alive after a weekend of debauchery with wine, cocktails, bbq's, beaches, bikes, babes and six foot tall inflatable totem pole phallic symbols.
But this is a different Monday, isn't it? Memorial Day. Ahh, a sanctified day off, a national rest day. A day to clog the highways and roads of beach towns all across America.
There is nothing like holiday traffic in Santa Cruz. Not that I mind it much on my bikes or on the Suzuki.
And there were lots and lots of fun things going on this weekend.
Another day of yard sales, this time less lucrative but still lots of fun and we now are down to a single couch in the living room which has given us more space and an airy feeling. The scroll work couch didn't sell during the yard sale but a woman came by who was visiting from Oregon and wanted it but couldn't take it at the time. So she asked if we'd leave it on the front yard so she could get it the next day and she'd even give us a little cash for it too.
Sure enough, Paul had some cash for us at the house warming for his brother and sister in their new spot. Which is, truly cool, its a Santa Cruz style farmhouse on a hill without the farm. The kitchen is great but the place is made by the patio, a large expanse of weathered Santa Cruz redwood. The house warming was a small gathering of folks, some new, mostly not though. And some of us had already been playing beach volleyball earlier in the day together. I played, reasonably well given the length of time since my last games but still notched two L's and no W's. Oh well, it was fun and I did have some good hits, good digs and a few great serves. And there is also this, my first video submission to Intellectual Poison. Someone remind me to write about my latest favorite metaphor (though I like to entertain the delusion that its more parable than metaphor).
This is ignoring, for the moment, the wedding on Friday afternoon as well. It has been a busy few days.
Yeah, Mondays are supposed to entail the slow disentanglement from bed sheets as the struggle to come alive after a weekend of debauchery with wine, cocktails, bbq's, beaches, bikes, babes and six foot tall inflatable totem pole phallic symbols.
But this is a different Monday, isn't it? Memorial Day. Ahh, a sanctified day off, a national rest day. A day to clog the highways and roads of beach towns all across America.
There is nothing like holiday traffic in Santa Cruz. Not that I mind it much on my bikes or on the Suzuki.
And there were lots and lots of fun things going on this weekend.
Another day of yard sales, this time less lucrative but still lots of fun and we now are down to a single couch in the living room which has given us more space and an airy feeling. The scroll work couch didn't sell during the yard sale but a woman came by who was visiting from Oregon and wanted it but couldn't take it at the time. So she asked if we'd leave it on the front yard so she could get it the next day and she'd even give us a little cash for it too.
Sure enough, Paul had some cash for us at the house warming for his brother and sister in their new spot. Which is, truly cool, its a Santa Cruz style farmhouse on a hill without the farm. The kitchen is great but the place is made by the patio, a large expanse of weathered Santa Cruz redwood. The house warming was a small gathering of folks, some new, mostly not though. And some of us had already been playing beach volleyball earlier in the day together. I played, reasonably well given the length of time since my last games but still notched two L's and no W's. Oh well, it was fun and I did have some good hits, good digs and a few great serves. And there is also this, my first video submission to Intellectual Poison. Someone remind me to write about my latest favorite metaphor (though I like to entertain the delusion that its more parable than metaphor).
This is ignoring, for the moment, the wedding on Friday afternoon as well. It has been a busy few days.
:: posted by Erik at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 23, 2003Like this post?
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Two Kinds of Friday Fives
Here are this week's questions from the FridayFive and answers and then my alternative questions and responses below.
1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
Crest Rejuvenating.
2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
The kind that doesn't leave poop on my hands.
3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
Skechers, Alpinestars and Merrills
4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Coke
5. What brand of gum do you chew?
I don't chew gum much but Juicy Fruit, Big Red or Teaberry when I do.
My Alterna Friday Five
Okay, well now, that was loads of fun. Here's where it gets interesting.
So I thought I might give it a shot. We'll see where it goes.
1. If you could have someone erased from existence, would you and who would it be?
2. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be and why? Or would you?
3. Name three things that could incite you to a rage.
4. What was the last genuinely good thing you did without any expectations in return?
5. If you could go back to one single moment in your life and change your decision, which, if any, moment would you choose?
My answers.
1. One person? Forever wiped from all memories and deeds? I suppose it would be sensible to say someone like Adolf Hitler. But that would be too easy. One person, gone forever? I think I'd have to go with Hugh Grant or maybe Billy Sardell. Maybe not though. Its a heavy concept to erase someone from ever existing. If I HAD to do it then I'd choose the dickweed who raped my girlfriend a few years ago.
2. Again, there are easy ones that leap to mind like JFK or John Lennon or Albert Einstein. And then the personal ones, my dad, my grandparents or friends who've died. But I think the most interesting person to bring back would be Jesus. I wonder just how the church would reconcile that one. Though then I get into the paradox of belief in God but if Jesus really was just a man than he'd wreak even more theological turmoil. Hmm, maybe that didn't come out right.
3. Ignorant racism, endless bureaucratic bullshit from government all the way down to banks, dense people who think they're smart.
4. This was way harder than I thought it would be when I came up with it. Almost every interaction I have is purposeful, I do for you, you do for me. Even something as simple as opening a door for someone, are you doing it to be thought of as a nice person or to get a smile of thanks or just because its ingrained in you? Oh wait, I have it now. Today while I was in the post office, the girl ahead of me stepped out of line and left the building. A minute later she came back in and got in at the end of the line. When I got to the front of the line I asked her if she'd been in front me a few minutes ago. She said yes and that she'd had to go but forgot to pay for her envelope. She had a handful of coins and I told her to give me her money and I'd take it to the clerk for her. She was happy as heck, thanked me nicely and bolted as she was late for something.
5. Ahh, another hard question to think about at 2 in the morning when I should be sleeping. Which defining moment to mess with? Visions of Star Treks past dance in my head but I can shake them and try to think of something without thinking about the space/time continuum. Lots of thoughts come to mind, moments that direct one's life. The first time I can really remember being wholly sexually aroused with a girl? The first time I shoplifted as a kid? The first time I drove home drunk? None seem quite poignant enough. Ahh, I've got it now. I'd go back to August 17, 1990. The night I shattered my right ankle, eventually resulting in three operations. Instead of staying out late partying with my pals at Arizona State as it was my second year and I wholly believed I was THE shit. Instead of stumbling home, I stayed out late, started wrestling with a buddy and snapped the ankle like a twig. Passed out on a gurney from pain as much as from alcohol, got robbed by the orderly, woke up on a hospital bed with my right leg up on a pillow that was soaked in my leaking blood. Not a good morning to touch bases with the family back east. So yeah, that night I'd go home or get taken home instead of breaking my leg and having to cope with a cast to my knee in August in Phoenix, Arizona.
Here are this week's questions from the FridayFive and answers and then my alternative questions and responses below.
1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
Crest Rejuvenating.
2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
The kind that doesn't leave poop on my hands.
3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
Skechers, Alpinestars and Merrills
4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Coke
5. What brand of gum do you chew?
I don't chew gum much but Juicy Fruit, Big Red or Teaberry when I do.
My Alterna Friday Five
Okay, well now, that was loads of fun. Here's where it gets interesting.
So I thought I might give it a shot. We'll see where it goes.
1. If you could have someone erased from existence, would you and who would it be?
2. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be and why? Or would you?
3. Name three things that could incite you to a rage.
4. What was the last genuinely good thing you did without any expectations in return?
5. If you could go back to one single moment in your life and change your decision, which, if any, moment would you choose?
My answers.
1. One person? Forever wiped from all memories and deeds? I suppose it would be sensible to say someone like Adolf Hitler. But that would be too easy. One person, gone forever? I think I'd have to go with Hugh Grant or maybe Billy Sardell. Maybe not though. Its a heavy concept to erase someone from ever existing. If I HAD to do it then I'd choose the dickweed who raped my girlfriend a few years ago.
2. Again, there are easy ones that leap to mind like JFK or John Lennon or Albert Einstein. And then the personal ones, my dad, my grandparents or friends who've died. But I think the most interesting person to bring back would be Jesus. I wonder just how the church would reconcile that one. Though then I get into the paradox of belief in God but if Jesus really was just a man than he'd wreak even more theological turmoil. Hmm, maybe that didn't come out right.
3. Ignorant racism, endless bureaucratic bullshit from government all the way down to banks, dense people who think they're smart.
4. This was way harder than I thought it would be when I came up with it. Almost every interaction I have is purposeful, I do for you, you do for me. Even something as simple as opening a door for someone, are you doing it to be thought of as a nice person or to get a smile of thanks or just because its ingrained in you? Oh wait, I have it now. Today while I was in the post office, the girl ahead of me stepped out of line and left the building. A minute later she came back in and got in at the end of the line. When I got to the front of the line I asked her if she'd been in front me a few minutes ago. She said yes and that she'd had to go but forgot to pay for her envelope. She had a handful of coins and I told her to give me her money and I'd take it to the clerk for her. She was happy as heck, thanked me nicely and bolted as she was late for something.
5. Ahh, another hard question to think about at 2 in the morning when I should be sleeping. Which defining moment to mess with? Visions of Star Treks past dance in my head but I can shake them and try to think of something without thinking about the space/time continuum. Lots of thoughts come to mind, moments that direct one's life. The first time I can really remember being wholly sexually aroused with a girl? The first time I shoplifted as a kid? The first time I drove home drunk? None seem quite poignant enough. Ahh, I've got it now. I'd go back to August 17, 1990. The night I shattered my right ankle, eventually resulting in three operations. Instead of staying out late partying with my pals at Arizona State as it was my second year and I wholly believed I was THE shit. Instead of stumbling home, I stayed out late, started wrestling with a buddy and snapped the ankle like a twig. Passed out on a gurney from pain as much as from alcohol, got robbed by the orderly, woke up on a hospital bed with my right leg up on a pillow that was soaked in my leaking blood. Not a good morning to touch bases with the family back east. So yeah, that night I'd go home or get taken home instead of breaking my leg and having to cope with a cast to my knee in August in Phoenix, Arizona.
:: posted by Erik at 2:14 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 22, 2003Like this post?
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Might as well be Helen Keller
I know I've got a serious 'Net addiction going. When I got into work this morning we had no access, no email, no internet but at least the phones were working.
And I did end up getting an awful lot taken care of without the distraction of the World Wide Web (by the way, what happens when they get access on a space station? does it become the Universe Wide Web?).
But I feel like I'm missing my arm or something. Just not quite whole without the ability to check email, check in on baseball games (yes, I AM that big a geek), read blogs, get news, get coverage (which has been absolutely HUGE today so far, several top tier hits for the company and that is money in the bank!) and interact with my adopted and second universe.
Its all good though and today's rolling on by without much hassle yet. And tomorrow's the start of my four day weekend with lots and lots of activity going on. Wedding tomorrow (not mine), yard sale again on Saturday (too much stuff left over, more stuff to add and more friends to add stuff to the pile), house warming on Sunday after playing beach volleyball in the morning and then something good and fun for Monday. And that doesn't include a ride or two as I get my Szaz back into fighting form. Doesn't include some kayaking if I can squeeze it in. Doesn't include some surfing if I can squeeze that in as well. Doesn't include tennis either. Or workouts or cleaning the house or working in the garden out back.
As I say, its going to be a busy weekend. But it'll be fun and that's the good part. Oh yeah, I've also got to take back my phone system to CostCo as the frequency basically turns off the Airport every time I use the phone (and no, that wasn't the problem the other day). We either go up to the new 5.8 gig phones or go back to the 900 mhz phones.
So much to talk about and so little time as I'm hungry and in need of some foods (though the boysenberry/cream cheese scone I had this morning from Rebecca's Mighty Muffins was awesome! not too sweet, not to tart, just right!).
Quick Movie Review: Red Dragon
Yeah, yeah, this prequel to Silence of the Lambs has been out on DVD and VHS for a long time now and I'm just getting around to watching it. No reason really, just busy. But P was very interested in seeing it (and fell asleep on the couch promptly after starting it last night!) so we rented it the other day.
My first impression is that it was just a bit too predictable for me. And Anthony Hopkins over acted a bit (as he sometimes does) but also comes across as a truly frightening guy. Edward Norton is good, if a little tired looking but maybe that was the point, and he always looked like he was one sharp criticism away from bawling.
But not a whole lot in the movie caught me by surprise and that kind of sucks. But the acting is good, the action is pretty grotesque and real looking, the death scenes are horrifying (particularly the mirror in the empty eye sockets scenes, those were very, very creepy) and it was, overall, an entertaining movie. And I could go on and on about it but its lunch time and I've gotta go stand in line at the post office to get a package to a gentleman in Sweden today.
I know I've got a serious 'Net addiction going. When I got into work this morning we had no access, no email, no internet but at least the phones were working.
And I did end up getting an awful lot taken care of without the distraction of the World Wide Web (by the way, what happens when they get access on a space station? does it become the Universe Wide Web?).
But I feel like I'm missing my arm or something. Just not quite whole without the ability to check email, check in on baseball games (yes, I AM that big a geek), read blogs, get news, get coverage (which has been absolutely HUGE today so far, several top tier hits for the company and that is money in the bank!) and interact with my adopted and second universe.
Its all good though and today's rolling on by without much hassle yet. And tomorrow's the start of my four day weekend with lots and lots of activity going on. Wedding tomorrow (not mine), yard sale again on Saturday (too much stuff left over, more stuff to add and more friends to add stuff to the pile), house warming on Sunday after playing beach volleyball in the morning and then something good and fun for Monday. And that doesn't include a ride or two as I get my Szaz back into fighting form. Doesn't include some kayaking if I can squeeze it in. Doesn't include some surfing if I can squeeze that in as well. Doesn't include tennis either. Or workouts or cleaning the house or working in the garden out back.
As I say, its going to be a busy weekend. But it'll be fun and that's the good part. Oh yeah, I've also got to take back my phone system to CostCo as the frequency basically turns off the Airport every time I use the phone (and no, that wasn't the problem the other day). We either go up to the new 5.8 gig phones or go back to the 900 mhz phones.
So much to talk about and so little time as I'm hungry and in need of some foods (though the boysenberry/cream cheese scone I had this morning from Rebecca's Mighty Muffins was awesome! not too sweet, not to tart, just right!).
Quick Movie Review: Red Dragon
Yeah, yeah, this prequel to Silence of the Lambs has been out on DVD and VHS for a long time now and I'm just getting around to watching it. No reason really, just busy. But P was very interested in seeing it (and fell asleep on the couch promptly after starting it last night!) so we rented it the other day.
My first impression is that it was just a bit too predictable for me. And Anthony Hopkins over acted a bit (as he sometimes does) but also comes across as a truly frightening guy. Edward Norton is good, if a little tired looking but maybe that was the point, and he always looked like he was one sharp criticism away from bawling.
But not a whole lot in the movie caught me by surprise and that kind of sucks. But the acting is good, the action is pretty grotesque and real looking, the death scenes are horrifying (particularly the mirror in the empty eye sockets scenes, those were very, very creepy) and it was, overall, an entertaining movie. And I could go on and on about it but its lunch time and I've gotta go stand in line at the post office to get a package to a gentleman in Sweden today.
:: posted by Erik at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 21, 2003Like this post?
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Ooops, They Aren't Dead Yet, Ted
I was doing some "research" on Snopes and came across this pretty excellent bit about
CNN accidentally allowing some pre-written obituaries of famous people to be viewed over the web.
That and I also found out that the Bear story sent over to me by Kim this morning is true, if perhaps slightly embellished. But the pic of the size of the bear's paw is worth a look all on its own. What a freaking monster this thing was!
I was doing some "research" on Snopes and came across this pretty excellent bit about
CNN accidentally allowing some pre-written obituaries of famous people to be viewed over the web.
That and I also found out that the Bear story sent over to me by Kim this morning is true, if perhaps slightly embellished. But the pic of the size of the bear's paw is worth a look all on its own. What a freaking monster this thing was!
:: posted by Erik at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Sobering Statistics
No, this isn't about drinking and driving, this is about a post I read today over on Intellectual Properties about the rate of death from AIDS in Africa right now. Not sure if her numbers are for the whole continent or just South Africa but either way they are both staggering and scary.
Condoms should be free and freely available and everyone needs to get educated about why they are so necessary now more than ever.
No, this isn't about drinking and driving, this is about a post I read today over on Intellectual Properties about the rate of death from AIDS in Africa right now. Not sure if her numbers are for the whole continent or just South Africa but either way they are both staggering and scary.
Condoms should be free and freely available and everyone needs to get educated about why they are so necessary now more than ever.
:: posted by Erik at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Good news for the Mac Crowd
You know something's up when there's an article like this in BusinessWeek: The Summer of Mac?
And the article actually makes some excellent points as to Apple's possible good summer of sales. They have a bunch of pieces in the right place at the right time and could capitalize on several fronts to expand their market share nicely.
And that's all good for perma-Mac users like myself even if I am still kicking myself for not getting at least a few shares of Apple before the uptick caused by the new Music Store purchase system integrated into iTunes 4. Which, by the way, works almost too well, its simple to buy songs and download them (at high speed, clean copies without all the garbage hits on Gnutella networks, thanks to the RIAA and Madonna for seeding fake mp3's).
You know something's up when there's an article like this in BusinessWeek: The Summer of Mac?
And the article actually makes some excellent points as to Apple's possible good summer of sales. They have a bunch of pieces in the right place at the right time and could capitalize on several fronts to expand their market share nicely.
And that's all good for perma-Mac users like myself even if I am still kicking myself for not getting at least a few shares of Apple before the uptick caused by the new Music Store purchase system integrated into iTunes 4. Which, by the way, works almost too well, its simple to buy songs and download them (at high speed, clean copies without all the garbage hits on Gnutella networks, thanks to the RIAA and Madonna for seeding fake mp3's).
:: posted by Erik at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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A few Things to Discuss Before the Day Gets Rolling
Yesterday afternoon saw a bunch of stuff happen that were a combo plate of cool and not so cool.
The sad news is that Blinky, our one eyed fish who'd gotten one of his eyeballs sucked out and eaten early last week, he gave up the ghost yesterday. Most likely a combination of the shock of losing an eye, not being able to see food, stress, the continued attacks (before he got moved into the other tank) by the mean old Groms and perhaps even age. His fins were healing up but I don't think a one eyed fish has much chance of any long term survival when half thier viewing capabilities are gone in an instant. Anyway, sad but it happens. Part and parcel of owning fish is the realization that they will die or get killed from time to time.
The bad news is very minor but a hassle nonetheless. Not sure if anyone cares to remember but I spilled water on P's keyboard a few weeks ago and fried the left side of the board. So I jumped on Ebay and order up a replacement. That package was stolen from my front porch and the stupid Post Office won't cover the theft even though it is a federal crime to tamper with the mail. I ended up buying another one on Ebay and had it sent to our PO box instead of to the house. Which meant that I picked it up intact from the post office around the corner from my office. All good, the keyboard is translucent with nice key action (even if a few of the keys are a little smaller than standard) and I liked it. I even nearly left feedback for the auction before testing the unit out. And I'm glad I didn't because the whole top row of letters, from Q to P are dead and there are a few more random letters that just don't work either. So now I'm going to have to deal with the sellers and see if we can work out a deal to get a working unit delivered.
But the good news outweighs the sad and bad. P and I have been going to school next door after work to throw the baseball around, get some hitting in from time to time and just get outside some. My glove has been crap for a long time and I've been meaning to replace it, even more so since P got her new glove. As we're getting ready to leave to go to the sports store, I mentioned to my neighbor (who's son has the most outrageous mop of hair I've seen in years, I will get pics) that we were off to get a new glove. He told me to hold on a moment, ran inside and emerged a minute or two later with a gorgeous glove in just about perfect condition. He'd had it for 9 years and not really used it and gave it to me. Just like that! I was stoked! And its waaaay better than any glove I was going to be buying. And we now have a small but growing collection of outdoor toys to play with. It made my afternoon and P was able to get me to go skirt shopping with her at Macy's for a wedding we've got this weekend.
Which also gave me a chance to finally use up the rest of my Christmas gift card I had. And we invested it into just one nice knife, a Henckels 6" chef's knife that's both esthetically beautiful but also practical beyond my original thoughts. Its balanced and slices through most anything we've got without any hassle whatsoever. We had fun seeing how thinly we could slice up a red pear (that was bad so we couldn't eat it, thanks P for telling me after I'd put a slice in my mouth! hahaha) and then carved up a big Fuji apple which was good fun. And yeah, we could make some of the style cuts to create the fan slices and other cool knife tricks.
And lastly but certainly not leastly, the Airport issues from the other day? Yeah, they're gone again and the Airport system is running and good speed again. And we figured out a few things, like we cannot have the phone upstairs plugged in anymore as it interferes with the DSL signal somehow. But only with P's phone (which has caller ID built into the handset) but my phone doesn't cause trouble, But I've gotta change out the phone system again anyway (thanks to CostCo for their superb return policy) because the phone and the Airport compete in the same frequency range at 2.4 Gigahertz. Now all I really want to do is change out the big old monitor I've got now for a svelte little LCD screen, maybe not so little as an 18" would be ideal for me right now.
I guess that's about it from last night. This morning was fun though, met up for an early breakfast with Esther (yes, my internet goddess of the quality forwards was in town this week) and Brian from work. And there's just about no morning that's too bad when I get to ride my cycle into work.
I'm sure today will bring its fair share of interest news. By the way, I'm selling my 81 VW Scirocco, if anyone's looking for a project car, give me a call. And I've got elbow armor on the way to protect me from my own poor riding abilities (or just stupid interest in doing tricks on a bike totally unsuited for it). Thanks Jay! And my Szaz is getting attention tonight, before cocktails I think, so I can maybe get out and go riding after work tomorrow.
Rock on everyone and hope you all are off to a good start to Hump Day! Bring it on!
Yesterday afternoon saw a bunch of stuff happen that were a combo plate of cool and not so cool.
The sad news is that Blinky, our one eyed fish who'd gotten one of his eyeballs sucked out and eaten early last week, he gave up the ghost yesterday. Most likely a combination of the shock of losing an eye, not being able to see food, stress, the continued attacks (before he got moved into the other tank) by the mean old Groms and perhaps even age. His fins were healing up but I don't think a one eyed fish has much chance of any long term survival when half thier viewing capabilities are gone in an instant. Anyway, sad but it happens. Part and parcel of owning fish is the realization that they will die or get killed from time to time.
The bad news is very minor but a hassle nonetheless. Not sure if anyone cares to remember but I spilled water on P's keyboard a few weeks ago and fried the left side of the board. So I jumped on Ebay and order up a replacement. That package was stolen from my front porch and the stupid Post Office won't cover the theft even though it is a federal crime to tamper with the mail. I ended up buying another one on Ebay and had it sent to our PO box instead of to the house. Which meant that I picked it up intact from the post office around the corner from my office. All good, the keyboard is translucent with nice key action (even if a few of the keys are a little smaller than standard) and I liked it. I even nearly left feedback for the auction before testing the unit out. And I'm glad I didn't because the whole top row of letters, from Q to P are dead and there are a few more random letters that just don't work either. So now I'm going to have to deal with the sellers and see if we can work out a deal to get a working unit delivered.
But the good news outweighs the sad and bad. P and I have been going to school next door after work to throw the baseball around, get some hitting in from time to time and just get outside some. My glove has been crap for a long time and I've been meaning to replace it, even more so since P got her new glove. As we're getting ready to leave to go to the sports store, I mentioned to my neighbor (who's son has the most outrageous mop of hair I've seen in years, I will get pics) that we were off to get a new glove. He told me to hold on a moment, ran inside and emerged a minute or two later with a gorgeous glove in just about perfect condition. He'd had it for 9 years and not really used it and gave it to me. Just like that! I was stoked! And its waaaay better than any glove I was going to be buying. And we now have a small but growing collection of outdoor toys to play with. It made my afternoon and P was able to get me to go skirt shopping with her at Macy's for a wedding we've got this weekend.
Which also gave me a chance to finally use up the rest of my Christmas gift card I had. And we invested it into just one nice knife, a Henckels 6" chef's knife that's both esthetically beautiful but also practical beyond my original thoughts. Its balanced and slices through most anything we've got without any hassle whatsoever. We had fun seeing how thinly we could slice up a red pear (that was bad so we couldn't eat it, thanks P for telling me after I'd put a slice in my mouth! hahaha) and then carved up a big Fuji apple which was good fun. And yeah, we could make some of the style cuts to create the fan slices and other cool knife tricks.
And lastly but certainly not leastly, the Airport issues from the other day? Yeah, they're gone again and the Airport system is running and good speed again. And we figured out a few things, like we cannot have the phone upstairs plugged in anymore as it interferes with the DSL signal somehow. But only with P's phone (which has caller ID built into the handset) but my phone doesn't cause trouble, But I've gotta change out the phone system again anyway (thanks to CostCo for their superb return policy) because the phone and the Airport compete in the same frequency range at 2.4 Gigahertz. Now all I really want to do is change out the big old monitor I've got now for a svelte little LCD screen, maybe not so little as an 18" would be ideal for me right now.
I guess that's about it from last night. This morning was fun though, met up for an early breakfast with Esther (yes, my internet goddess of the quality forwards was in town this week) and Brian from work. And there's just about no morning that's too bad when I get to ride my cycle into work.
I'm sure today will bring its fair share of interest news. By the way, I'm selling my 81 VW Scirocco, if anyone's looking for a project car, give me a call. And I've got elbow armor on the way to protect me from my own poor riding abilities (or just stupid interest in doing tricks on a bike totally unsuited for it). Thanks Jay! And my Szaz is getting attention tonight, before cocktails I think, so I can maybe get out and go riding after work tomorrow.
Rock on everyone and hope you all are off to a good start to Hump Day! Bring it on!
:: posted by Erik at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comment |
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May 20, 2003Like this post?
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In Haven't-They-Heard-of-Cameras News
A town in England has banned the use of picture taking cell phones in an effort to cut down on pedophilia.
Its still okay to use the phones to take pictures of sporting events but you need written permission and (assumedly) will promise to not take pictures of children in the loo with them.
Umm, yeah. Is it me or is this what we used to call bass-ackwards?
Not that I have a problem with addressing pedophilia but banning a momentary technology when dozens of alternatives are already on the market is like tossing a sponge into a flood and expecting everything to turn out alright.
And Cool Kitchen Stuff
This is just too cool to pass up on passing along, the Oxo Pop Up Dish Rack. And yeah, I'm a geek because I think a dishrack can be cool.
A town in England has banned the use of picture taking cell phones in an effort to cut down on pedophilia.
Its still okay to use the phones to take pictures of sporting events but you need written permission and (assumedly) will promise to not take pictures of children in the loo with them.
Umm, yeah. Is it me or is this what we used to call bass-ackwards?
Not that I have a problem with addressing pedophilia but banning a momentary technology when dozens of alternatives are already on the market is like tossing a sponge into a flood and expecting everything to turn out alright.
And Cool Kitchen Stuff
This is just too cool to pass up on passing along, the Oxo Pop Up Dish Rack. And yeah, I'm a geek because I think a dishrack can be cool.
:: posted by Erik at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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A Good Quote
Or maybe not, how about the quote I just made up a little while ago and then a definitely good quote to make sure that there's some return on the time invested in reading.
My quote goes something like this, "There's a fine line between a cutie with a booty and a slut with a butt."
And from Mae West comes this excellent quote, "I used to be snow white but I drifted."
That is all for now.
Or maybe not, how about the quote I just made up a little while ago and then a definitely good quote to make sure that there's some return on the time invested in reading.
My quote goes something like this, "There's a fine line between a cutie with a booty and a slut with a butt."
And from Mae West comes this excellent quote, "I used to be snow white but I drifted."
That is all for now.
:: posted by Erik at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Lunch Hour Politics
We've got our senior analyst out visiting our offices for the first few days this week. And that's cool, its been really nice to get to know her in person as opposed to AIM or email or phone calls.
She and I went to lunch together yesterday and had a good time just chatting about stuff, not work related at all.
And today, it seemed like everyone got a wild hair to have a big old lunch out with our analyst.
My simple rule for whether I go out on these expeditions? Is Evil Person X going to be part of the group? Then I will respectfully decline, thanks.
And then I get the funny looks (even though I actually say this person's name to the inviter). But that's as far as I'm explaining anything anymore to anyone here. Maybe one other person will get a real sense of why I thoroughly dislike this person. But it doesn't matter, I'm going to insulate myself and sequester from any non-work related functions with this person. That IS my right, my free time is MINE and I really couldn't care less if I rub anyone wrong about it.
But what does bother me is that this walking uselessness of a person is, indirectly, affecting how I pass through the day by making my decision for me based on their decision. And that does bother me because this waste of space shouldn't have any sort of power over me whatsoever. So now I'm thinking about ways to get around it. But I don't want to politic up the office at all, I just want to come and get my shit done and go home. I don't want to keep a flipping scorecard to know whether I can go out to lunch or not.
I'm open to suggestions. But only to ones that don't advise me to bury the hatchet with the idiot in the office. I tried that and basically got spit in the face for it. I'm no longer willing to let bygones be bygones. Any attempt at resolving this must come from their camp as my camp's locked down and armed for battle.
And for now I'll just continue to wish awful things to happen to them. Childish? Yes but its entertaining nonetheless. I mean, have you ever really thought about all the ways someone could receive their karmic justice? I do it all the time. Like the wanker with the stun gun from yesterday, he deserves to die painfully, slowly and without any trace of pity, he's a true scumbag who abuses children, he should die. But how? And that's when it gets interesting.
So now I've got to get out and rustle up some lunch. Alone. And that's preferable to caving in and spending any moment of free time in this moron's company.
Anyone got any ideas of how to get beyond the problem of my lunch being dictated by someone I harbor nothing but intense dislike for? And yes, I am looking for another job as well. I'm always looking for another job.
We've got our senior analyst out visiting our offices for the first few days this week. And that's cool, its been really nice to get to know her in person as opposed to AIM or email or phone calls.
She and I went to lunch together yesterday and had a good time just chatting about stuff, not work related at all.
And today, it seemed like everyone got a wild hair to have a big old lunch out with our analyst.
My simple rule for whether I go out on these expeditions? Is Evil Person X going to be part of the group? Then I will respectfully decline, thanks.
And then I get the funny looks (even though I actually say this person's name to the inviter). But that's as far as I'm explaining anything anymore to anyone here. Maybe one other person will get a real sense of why I thoroughly dislike this person. But it doesn't matter, I'm going to insulate myself and sequester from any non-work related functions with this person. That IS my right, my free time is MINE and I really couldn't care less if I rub anyone wrong about it.
But what does bother me is that this walking uselessness of a person is, indirectly, affecting how I pass through the day by making my decision for me based on their decision. And that does bother me because this waste of space shouldn't have any sort of power over me whatsoever. So now I'm thinking about ways to get around it. But I don't want to politic up the office at all, I just want to come and get my shit done and go home. I don't want to keep a flipping scorecard to know whether I can go out to lunch or not.
I'm open to suggestions. But only to ones that don't advise me to bury the hatchet with the idiot in the office. I tried that and basically got spit in the face for it. I'm no longer willing to let bygones be bygones. Any attempt at resolving this must come from their camp as my camp's locked down and armed for battle.
And for now I'll just continue to wish awful things to happen to them. Childish? Yes but its entertaining nonetheless. I mean, have you ever really thought about all the ways someone could receive their karmic justice? I do it all the time. Like the wanker with the stun gun from yesterday, he deserves to die painfully, slowly and without any trace of pity, he's a true scumbag who abuses children, he should die. But how? And that's when it gets interesting.
So now I've got to get out and rustle up some lunch. Alone. And that's preferable to caving in and spending any moment of free time in this moron's company.
Anyone got any ideas of how to get beyond the problem of my lunch being dictated by someone I harbor nothing but intense dislike for? And yes, I am looking for another job as well. I'm always looking for another job.
:: posted by Erik at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comment |
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Computer Issues Overshadow All Existence
I don't know why I'm such a fixatable freak but when something that was working yesterday decides, for no apparent reason, that it will no longer function today, I get a little tunnel vision as
I don't know why I'm such a fixatable freak but when something that was working yesterday decides, for no apparent reason, that it will no longer function today, I get a little tunnel vision as