Writer's Block - Ode To Valentine's Day

Of course, I haven't written in a bit.  I must apologize.

 

I've been spending so much time doing other things that I HATE doing, that I haven't taken the time to do one of the things that I truly love: writing.  This is why I write today; I feel the need to remind all of you non-romantic uber-geeks that TOMORROW IS THE MOST IMPORTANT HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR.

 

If you were lucky enough to get off your lazy World-of-Warcraft playing, Domino's pizza-eating, comic-book reading booty and actually leave your dank, foul-smelling (but technologically advanced) apartment long enough to stop thinking about being a first adopter, and went out and actually met real people and *not* someone that you became acquainted with from crawling MySpace, you might now actually have a little someone to celebrate Valentine's Day with. 

 

So, to remind us all, I give you.... Lifehacker.

 

Okay, then. Probably those of you who have been in a relationship for any length of time realize that there are certain rules and regulations that go along with making your relationship successful, especially around High Love Holidays such as Valentine's Day, or as it henceforth shall be known, The Day When Expectations Get Sadly Out of Hand.

 

I remind you, there is nothing those guys over there can't do.

 

Now turn the computer off (yes, there is an off switch, I promise,) and go outside.

 

 

 

Money

Money.  Ah, yes.  We like it, we hate it.  It makes being a grown-up both a joy and a pain in the booty. 

Well, here's a decent website that might, say, MIGHT be able to help you out.

 

Bankrate, Inc. is the Web's leading aggregator of financial rate information. Bankrate's rate data research offering is unique in its depth and breadth. Bankrate continually surveys approximately 4,800 financial institutions in all 50 states in order to provide clear, objective, and unbiased rates to consumers. Our flagship Web site, Bankrate.com, provides free rate information to consumers on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees.

In my continuing efforts to convert all my business research and such to the internets, I came across it.  Seems useful.  Use.

 

 

 

Good For You, Boys

There are several reasons to like Google. 

Oftentimes, I give examples, like here, here, and here.

 

Here's yet another reason.

 

Google is rebuffing the government's demand for a peek at what millions of people have been looking up on the Internet's leading search engine - a request that raises concerns Big Brother may be watching a little too closely.

 

Thank the New York Daily News for that.  Thank Fark for paying attention.

 

Now.  As everyone who reads this blog knows, I'm a Google fan.  So, I'd like to take this opportunity for Google taking a stand, even if it eventually proves to be fruitless, verus The Man.  The Man is big and scary, and we all owe The Man money.  It's cool that a bunch of computer nerds can stand up to The Man.

 

However, just to make sure that everyone is completely aware of the fact that I don't yet suckle at the Googlalian teet, I should give you an example of something that Google can most certainly improve.  God, how I wish they'd improve it.  Here goes....

 

Why, oh WHY, does Blogger not support categories without forcing a man to do a hack ?  I mean, Blogger is great, but just not good enough sometimes. 

 

Ah well.  Play on, playa.

 

 

 

 

 

Surprising Musical Revelation

You know, oddly enough, the album Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths holds up particularly well, especially the song, "Girl Afraid".

I don't care if Morrissey wore a band-aid on his nipple.

 

Yes, you are allowed to Google that.

 

 

Happy MLK Day!

1963.

 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

 

  - Martin Luther King, Jr. (via Wikipedia)

 

2006.

 

The complaint lodged by Millie Bonilla and Sheila Foster, the wives of former New York Mets baseball players Bobby Bonilla and George Foster, said they were denied access to the beach at Greenwich Point Park on June 7 because of their skin color. Mrs. Bonilla is Puerto Rican and Mrs. Foster is African American.

 

<article partially snipped>

 

Kelly Houston, the town's affirmative action officer, dismissed the complaint on grounds that the women were not carrying the $25 resident beach cards that are required to enter the park.
Ms. Houston might have been able to sustain her ruling had she not sent an e-mail three weeks earlier to the exercise group leader the women had hired for their class. Her e-mail advised him to be discreet about bringing "black people" to the beach and to cut the number of black participants in the class.

 

Props to The Hartford Courant.  Equal props to my people over at Fark.

 

Additional commentary deleted.  Judge away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's A Trap!

True Life Email that I received today:

 

ATTN:
 
FUND TRANSER CONFIRMATION O.K FURTHER CREDIT ACCEPTED.

 

Uh oh.  My spider sense is tingling.  Internet fraud spam?  I smell Nigeria.  Perhaps Croatia.  Don't people know that African crooks are Old and Busted, while Eastern Bloc Country crooks are the New Hotness?
 

 

Reference to our telephone discussion which I told you that We have received your contract payment approval from our ordering Customer Service in the Central Bank of Nigeria for the further credit to your bank account. With all due respect, our bank has obliged to credit your account with instruction. Quoting reference to bnp transfer regulation and in line with British Financial and Allied Conduct, your account will be effected as soon as you reconcile our 1% Cost of Transfer or you may advise us to deduct the total value and transfer the balance to your account. 

 

Let me guess.  If I send you my bank information, then I'll be able to get a bunch of cash/credit/blood diamonds/hookers/blow?  Yeah, right.

 

Let's read on, shall we?

 

Should you be willing to accept deduction, our bank is therefore urging you to contact the authorized CBN Paying Officer PROF.TOM.O.ADABA board member/director international remittance department, central bank of Nigeria Lagos annex office on, E-mail: tomadaba_2@yahoo.com Please ask him to issue you the Original Hard Copy of the Authority to Deduct 1% Bill of Exchange form to enable us deducts the 1% cost of transfer. Be advised also that we only acknowledge the receipt of the ORIGINAL HARD COPY OF THE BILL OF EXCHANGE FORM, which must be duly filed and signed by the beneficiary before we can effect deduction.

 

Google:  TOM.O.ADABA.  Let's see what we get.

 

Hm.  Link to a page on Crimes of Persuasion.com, referencing Nigerian Scammer Names.  Interesting.

You know, I've been getting a lot more of these lately.  I'm not sure who to blame. I faithfully mark spam emails as spam, and send it to the appropriate place, yet still I get it.  I wonder how much time and money is wasted on this stuff.  I suppose that I could go to Wikipedia and find out, but, at the moment, it's early, I'm tired, and just would rather be held.

 

Please be warned, as our bank does not trust any Nigerian Official except PROF.TOM.O.ADABA board member/director international remittance department, central bank of Nigeria Lagos annex whom we can give attention to in any of this instruction. Prior to our banking regulation, final credit shall be made to your account upon your instruction. NOTE: you're advised to put a stop with any other impostors that you may be corresponding with for now regarding your payment and comply with this fax so that you will not continually fail prey to clique of impostors.

 

Gee, thanks for the tip.

 

Congratulations!

 

Yeah.  Well.  Just for that I'm going to forward your email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov .  Spammers.  They kill me.

 

 

It's Not Paranoia If Someone Is Really Out To Get You

Every now and then, while slipping and sliding through this thing called the Internet, one sees something that they really have a hard time believing to be true, yet is.  Typically one can prove or disprove this random picture, event, or activity simply by going to Snopes, which coincidentally is located in the far right column of this post.

 

However, on occasion, Snopes doesn't have all the information one seeks.  I know, I know, it's rare, but it does happen.

 

Well.

 

How do you feel about this little nugget?

 

Anyone can buy a list of your incoming and outgoing phone calls, cell or land-line, for $110 online

 

...was the headline.  Via Americablog.

 

The story was dated January 7th, 2006.  Hm.  No, I need to be convinced.

 

Yikes, they have a website.  Or maybe two.

 

You've got to be kidding, right?  Isn't this a violation of privacy, or something?

 

Nope.  Ask the Chicago Sun-Times.

 

And, just for good measure, why don't you ask former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Wesley Clark.

 

Well, this morning AMERICAblog bought former presidential candidate, and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO (SACEUR), General Wesley Clark's cell phone records for one hundred calls made over three days in November 2005, no questions asked.

 

That... doesn't... seem... right.

 

Erp.  Patrick Henry would NOT approve, methinks.

 

Thank God I have a Verizon wireless phone.

...did I say that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why AVG Rocks

Here's yet another reason to go with Grisoft's free AVG instead of one of those commerically bought anti-spyware/virus utilities.

 

Oh, dear.  We're just getting over the Sony DRM rootkit ruckus and now we have a security company hiding software components from Windows APIs with rootkit technology.  News.com reports that Symantec Corp.'s spokesperson admitted to using this rootkit type feature in Norton SystemWorks to hide a directory so customers wouldn't accidentally delete files.  The problem was it could also provide a convenient hiding place for attackers to place malicious files. Due to the vulnerability, Symantec has issued an update for SystemWorks and is "strongly recommending" users update the software immediately. 

 

Via the Zdnet Blog.

 

"Gee, I never would have expected that."

 

Yeah, right.

 

I think AVG, for being consistently wonderful, deserves a shout out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Cy, the Adorable Cyclops Kitten.

Via Boing Boing.

 

This little kitty, named Cy, was born on December 28. It came into this world with one eye and no nose.

 

To get the full, unfettered, and thoroughly disturbing impact of this bizarre mutation, check at this Yahoo photo.

 

Methinks that the Boing didn't mean "adorable".  I think they meant, "Frightening and sad".  Yikes.  Did anyone check the family to see if they exhibit telekinesis, the ability to change the weather with their mind, or shoot laser beams from their eyes?

 

Addictive Time Wasters, Part III

Today, I did a very strange thing and perused my junk mail.  Usually, I do this about twice a year and see what I missed.  Most of the time, it's completely useless.

However, today I came across something different:  The Top Ten Time Wasting Sites On The Net.  On this page, popups and popdowns galore, so unless you're running Firefox or something, don't bother.  I took a quick look at the webpage; most of what I saw on there I had run across before.

Not this, though.  Not pRon. 

From the rules:

There are actually no rules, just proceed to the next screen, until you are on the end screen!

The only rule is not to look for walkthroughs on the net. It will ruin the fun for you, and this is what all is about.
Don't try to impress others with solutions. It's no challenge to find those on google, everybody can.

This is a puzzle game that is designed to drive a sane person mad.

And rest assured, it IS a time waster.

Good luck, people.  Truly, I mean that.

Do You Want More Traffic?

I do.  They were a hell of a band.

However, if you're looking for blog traffic, then you might want to check into one of my favorite websites, Lifehacker.

ProBlogger has some tips that can help you increase your traffic quite a bit. It's not a big surprise but tagging is high on the list.

The only conclusion that a rational blogger/writer can come to after reading a bit of the Problogger site (where these particular traffic enhancement tricks are found,) is that Hey, this blog is might be actually useful.  Check it out.

True Life Quote That I Heard Today

"If I thought it had any chance of working, I would crack open my own skull, and use a rusty garden rake to scrape the phrase "lady-lumps" out of my brain."
 - ringloss, on the Black Eyed Peas opus, "My Humps".

On that note, I have only this to say:

My humps
My humps
My humps my humps my humps,
You love my lady lumps.
My humps my humps my humps.


Yeah, I know.  The lyrics are merely illustrative.

Here Is A Test

This is a test.  Take notes.  This will count as 3/4 of your final grade.  Hints: remember, in chess, kings cancel each other out and cannot occupy adjacent squares, are therefore all-powerful and totally powerless, cannot affect one another, produce stalemate.

 - Harlan Ellison, "The Deathbird"

Interestingly, this post only tangentally has to do with that particular quote.  However, three test questions of varying difficulty follow the quotes, below.  See if you can answer them correctly.  I would add that if you do not own the story mentioned above, find it and buy it quick.  I have it on good information that it is, at present, out of print.

Via itch.in...

Virgin Records deserves a spanking. I'll do what I want with the content I pay for, thank you very much. When will they realize that if it's in bits and bytes, nothing's ever secure?

More here.

Coldplay's new CD comes with an insert that discloses all the rules enforced by the DRM they included on the disc. Of course, these rules are only visible after you've paid for the CD and brought it home, and as the disc's rules say, "Except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return or refund," so if you don't like the rules, that's tough.

The Boing is at it again.

Now for the test.

1.  Can this particular Coldplay CD actually be played, period?
2.  Has this particular security strategy paid off for Virgin Records and Coldplay with increased record sales and grateful Coldplay fans?
3.  Will Clark buy another CD at any point in the near-future?

Answers will be revealed at the end of this post.

True, sad story:  My mother wanted CDs for Christmas.  EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM had DRM and all of them were likely to load an outside application to her computer system that could make her hardware more susceptible to viruses.  I actually had to tell my mother to never, never ever play any of those CDs on her computer system.  How pitiful is that, really?

DRM blows. 



Answer Key:

1,  No.  Well, maybe.  But do you want to take that chance?
2.  No, unless you count fan alienation as an overall positive for your musical fan base, from the obsessed fan to the casual consumer.
3.  No.  No.  A thousand times no.  Oh my God, DRM killed Kenny.  You bastards!

The Denver Nuggets

A few weeks ago, I met a friend of mine (let's call him lazyj - you might know him from jaxed) at a relatively popular joint downtown for a little dinner.  While talking, the NBA came up, as it always does, and within the NBA, the Denver Nuggets. 

 

My friend's opinion:

 

"The Nuggets have no chance to win the Northwest if Camby gets hurt.  If it gets hurt it's over."

 

Well, Nuggets fans, where is your God now?!

 

DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets suffered another major setback Wednesday when they learned center Marcus Camby , the NBA's leading rebounder, will be out indefinitely with a broken right pinkie.

Camby will need surgery on the finger, after which a timeline for his return will be set.

Yahoo props.

 

Damn. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bring Back Television

Sigh.

 

The pathetic state of network programming in 2005 has really chaffed my hide.  If you look, you can find out how I feel about it here, or here. 

 

But you really want to know what to watch?  Here's the list.

 

Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Lesbians, vampires, and kung-fu.  Perfect.

Star Trek - The Next Generation - Seasons 1-5.  After that things got a little out of hand.

The Twilight Zone/Night Gallery (original versions).  Classics, all.  Why can't anyone make scary shows anymore?  Also, it must be said:  Rod Sterling was a stud.

Soap/WKRP In Cincinnati/Barney Miller - Quite simply, three of the funniest shows to every grace the small screen.  "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."  Stunningly funny.

 

I'm pretty sure that all of these are available via The Man on DVD.

There are more that I know I'm forgetting, but I don't want anyone to feel left out.  Feel free to leave your selections in the comments.

 

You'll notice that I didn't include the rough 'em up, shoot 'em up stuff on my list.  That's ok.  Instead, I'll post this:

 

Mr. T. vs Everything

 

...for all you A-Team fans.

 

"I pity the fool."  Heh.

Feelin' Secure?

So, yeah, I've been on a brief hiatus.  A combination of slow news weeks, Christmas, birthdays, and family visits have done me in.

But I'm back.

 

And I decided, for your tinfoil hat pleasure, I'd gift you this holiday season with this non-revelation.

 

NEW YORK - The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most of them.

Really?

These files, known as "cookies," disappeared after a privacy activist complained and The Associated Press made inquiries this week, and agency officials acknowledged Wednesday they had made a mistake. Nonetheless, the issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States.

You don't say. 

The Bush administration has come under fire recently over reports it authorized NSA to secretly spy on e-mail and phone calls without court orders.  Since The New York Times disclosed the domestic spying program earlier this month, President Bush has stressed that his executive order allowing the eavesdropping was limited to people with known links to al-Qaida.  But on its Web site Friday, the Times reported that the NSA, with help from American telecommunications companies, obtained broader access to streams of domestic and international communications.

 

Story via Yahoo.

 

Wow.  I can't believe that such a thing would happen.

 

Listen up, people.  Anyone who thinks that they are private when they surf is a fool.  Perhaps even a damn fool.  I kind of expect (not necessarily ACCEPT, ha) that pretty much everyone in the government who gives a hoot about what people say on their blogs has read this at some point.  I've seen the server and hit reports.

 

So.  With this in mind, I'd like to say this:

 

I know you're out there. 

You have my file already.

Read all you like.  I have very little to hide.

 

Now.  Where did I bury that cash?  Kidding.  KIDDING.

 

 

 

I Heart Lifehacker

Ah, Lifehacker.

 

Obviously, the Hack has what could only be described as unconditional love for us all.  And I love it back.  Why?  Well, quite simply, because they post hints like this. 

The biggest shortcoming in Gmail's user interface is that damnable dropdown menu item to delete messages. I don't know about you, but I delete messages a LOT and I need a convenient button to do so.

Happily programmer Anthony Lieuallen provides a choice of Firefox extension OR Greasemonkey user script which adds a delete button to your Gmail.

Link to the info is here.

I delete a LOT of mail.  Unfortunately, my gmail addy is all clogged up with junk at the moment.  I am in the process, though, of cleaning a lot of that up using labels and filters.  If you need a gmail invite, let me know.  Gmail has also added a bunch of happy new features.  Check it out.

 

Lifehacker.  Sigh.  I really, really like that website.

 

Short, Shameful Confession No. 1029

Man, I can really dig on some old Janet Jackson tunes.

 

I'm not kidding.  I've been listening to her old stuff (pre-1996) for the last hour.

Fighing The Man

It's just looks catchy, doesn't it?

Welcome, internet, to The Consumerist, the latest title from Gawker Media. The Consumerist loves to shop, and is reconciled to utilities, but hates paying for shoddy products, inhumane customer support, and half-assed service.

Each week The Consumerist will guide you through the delinquencies of retail and service organizations. The Consumerist will highlight the persistent, shameless boners of modern consumerism — and the latest hot deals, discounts, and freebies around.

Join us. You'll tell us when you've been royally screwed by yet another company, and we'll channel your rage. Together we will storm the revolving doors of faceless corporations to call them naughty words for genitals, and they will begin to fear us.

The Consumerist. Capitalism is broken. We'll help you fix it.

Heh.  I smell a permalink, and soon.  We'll see.

The Consumerist.

Go man go.

Oh, No. NOOOOOOO!

Dear God, please make it stop.

 

Wilmer Valderrama will star as motorcycle cop Ponch in Warner Bros . Pictures' big-screen version of cult late 70's classic series "CHiPs" says The Hollywood Reporter .

You mean... CHiPS, the Movie?

.

.

.

.

.

 

That's it.  I'm boycotting Hollywood, except for Peter Jackson.  Of course.

 

 

Beat Down

Ever took a really, really good beatin'?

 

From the police?

 

I have.  Here's the story.

 

Several years ago, I was working as a clerk in a law firm in Washington, D.C.  The Washington Redskins were going to the Super Bowl that year.

The city was excited.  Everyone was partying like it was... well, 1999 or something.  I know that you can forgive the Prince reference.

 

So, my roommates and I went to a friend's to attend a Super Bowl party in Georgetown.  All of my roomies and my roomies friends quickly went from completely sober, to mind-bendingly, stunningly, shockingly sloshed.  We were young, and the Redskins were winning.  But, as I recall, I was just as shockingly sober, as I didn't feel particularly well.

 

The game ended.  The 'Skins won.

 

On the streets of Washington, chaos ensued.

 

The world is full of tremendous parties.  I understand very few gatherings are like (former) New Orleans, or Rio, during Marti Gras.  I remember being in Mexico during Spring Break in 1989, and in some ways, I think that I *still* haven't recover from the massive throng of humanity.  And I know that everyone can think of other examples.

 

However, all that being said, those were NOTHING like the streets of Georgetown the day the the Washington Redskins won the Super Bowl.

 

The street were all roped off.  TV stations were on rooftops with cameras, which will be important later in the story.  There was almost a full-blown riot going on underneath this woman's ritzy Georgetown apartment.  So, naturally, she wanted to go down and join the revelry.

 

Of course, I volunteered to go down with her.  What can I say?  She was embarrassingly drunk, and completely attractive.  It was my duty.

 

Down we went.  It was an amazing sight, indeed, made even more amazing by the fact that we were in the thick of it.  The Washington D.C. police were out in force.  There weren't going to be cars on fire THIS year.  I had no problem with this.  Unfortunately, my female buddy wasn't so pleased with the showing of Washington's Finest, and said something to one of the officers.  This would be defined as Major Mistake No. 1, as she was almost immediately singled out and dragged over the rope partition in the middle of the street.

 

Major Mistake No. 2:  In response to the affront, I asked the officer for his badge number.  Three times.  Angrily.

 

You can guess the response.  Pulled over the rope partition, into the middle of the street, and the full-blown beating by at least two policemen commenced.

 

Time now for an important Public Service Announcement:  if you are being beaten in the middle of the streets by cops, BE SURE TO COVER YOUR HEAD.  I cannot stress how important this is.  I fought back, but I did cover my head as I laid there on the ground in the middle of M Street, being beaten to a pulp by two of the District's Finest (or Worst, as the case may be), and I strongly suspect this action saved me serious, serious injury.  As it was, though, was not good.  I was definitively and thoroughly beat up as I was dragged into a police car and accused of assaulting a police officer.  I told them, "Not only did you beat me in the street, and not only were there thousands of witnesses and TV cameras all over the place, but I work for a law firm.  I'm going to sue the hell out of you."

 

Several hours later, I was released. 

 

I went home, sat in the bathtub for an hour and plotted my revenge.

 

And the final response?

 

I went to my firm and made some inquiries.  They told me this, which I will never forget:

 

"You have no way of winning a case in this city, at this time, and if you try to file administrative actions with anyone against those cops, then the D.C. police department will harass you until the day you die.  Move out of the District and to Virginia or Maryland as soon as you possibly can."

 

So I moved.

 

But that has haunted me ever since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bizzare

Heh.

Ok, so has anyone had a problem that they absolutely, positively, couldn't explain?
I do.  It's called severe, nasty sleeplessness.

It started out several years ago.  College, I think.  Personally, I think that it began with a problem with an old girlfriend.  It was funny, I was all pretty much ok, and then, out of nowhere, I just... stopped sleeping.  At first, it was just a little passing joke - something that I thought that I could get over.  Then, it became much more serious.  There were weeks at a time where sleeping was just not an option.  And it always happened at the same two times of year:

1.  Christmas holidays.
2.  Early spring.

However, I am not one of those people that tries to ignore those types of problems.  I read books, I worked hard, I tried to do new things.

And with that, after a while, the problem somewhat went away.

But I had to deal with it again, twice.  And, as some of you might guess, I'm presently dealing with it again now, as it's 5:12am in Denver, and I've been wide awake since 12am.  That would make it more than a week since I've gotten more that three hours of sleep.

Events and such can sometime cause this kind of situation.  Also, desperation.  Like several friends have often said, "It's not that I'm crazy for not sleeping at night.  It's just that the voices in my head are always louder when the lights are out."  Ha ha.  But there is a nugget of truth in that statement.

Depression, loneliness, and such are nasty things.  They will keep you awake.  They will convince you to do things that aren't the best for you.  They will break you and help you to destroy your own life if you aren't careful.

So, with this in mind, I will tell you all a secret; something that I've thought carefully, and quite a bit, about, in the last several days.  One of those things in the Post Secret type of mindset, so why I'm posting it as a basically non-anonymous person, I have no idea.  But I think that I need to get it off my chest.

When I was a sophomore in college, I met what I thought was the love of my life.  We got pregnant, and had an abortion.  And, in all honesty, I have not been the same ever since. 

That is not a license for all of the anti-abortion types to start hatin' on me or this blog, nor is it an invitation that all pro-choice types (of which, I am one) to start coming out and high-fiving me.  My blog is pretty politics neutral.  It's just the way that it is.  But to be honest, I have not been the same person since that girl, that I loved dearly, had that abortion.  That's all.

So.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to get some serious, serious help and figure out why, after all these years, I still occasionally can't sleep at night, and why, after all of these years, I still dream about that situation, and when I don't dream about it, I just... lie awake.

Ok.  That's all I've got, laid out for the world to see.  Jennifer, if you are out there, I'm sorry, sincerely, and I still miss you.

This post, though, is for Tim R.  Rest in peace, brother.  Your friends and family lost you too soon.

Tomorrow Is A Big Day... For Post Secret

Wanna freak the hell out of someone you love?

 

Buy them this.

 

I went and took a look at the Post Secret site again today.  Still freaks me out.

 

I won't post another secret today.  Yet.

 

 

Milestones

So, today, I passed over 2000 page views and 1000 distinct hits.

 

I would like to say thank you, thank you very much.  Things that I can promise to you in the future:

 

More stories.  Damn, I have a lot of them.

 

More culture posts.

 

More geek posts.

 

Probably not a lot of political posts, because poltics just makes me all verklempt.

 

More current event posts.

 

And more links than ever.  Expect a lot of permalink love.

 

Thanks guys!

 

 

 

 

 

Black Friday Is Coming

Be ready.

 

Controversial web site BF2005.com lists shopping deals rumored to be available on "black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving:

 

 

Via Lifehacker. 

 

This is one of those rare times that I actually knew about something before it showed up in another blog or news site.  Go visit and check it out.

 

Out of Town

Well, I've been working out of town for the last few days, hence, no new posts.

 

I haven't even had a lot of time to listen to my iPod.

 

However, I did have time to find this little nugget, thanks to my homegirl back back at home:

 

Leather Pants

 

Enjoy, people.  And make sure that you look at the Q and A.  It's worth the time.

 

I'll be back soon, with tales of frivolity and such from our West Coast.  I think.

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day.  The day that we use to celebrate and remember the sacrifices of our soldiers of World War I.  Hm.  Schools are open, traffic is still heavy, and I'm at work. 

Yeah, we're remembering.  Let me refresh some memories here.

Austria–Hungary was created in the "Ausgleich of 1867" after Austria was defeated by Prussia. As agreed in 1867, the Habsburgs would be Emperors of Austria Empire. With the formation of the Dual Monarchy, Franz Josef became leader of a nation with sixteen ethnic groups and five major religions speaking no fewer than nine languages.

In large measure because of the vast disparities that existed within the Empire, Austrians and Hungarians always viewed growing Slavic nationalism with deep suspicion and concern. Thus the Austro-Hungarian government grew worried with the near-doubling in size of neighbouring Serbia's territory as a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. Serbia, for its part, made no qualms about the fact that it viewed all of Southern Austria–Hungary as part of a future Great South Slavic Union. This view had also garnered considerable support in Russia. Many in the Austrian leadership, not least Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph, and Conrad von Hötzendorf, worried that Serbian nationalist agitation in the southern provinces of the Empire would lead to further unrest among the Austro-Hungarian Empire's other disparate ethnic groups. The Austro-Hungarian government worried that a nationalist Russia would back Serbia to annex Slavic areas of Austria–Hungary. The feeling was that it was better to destroy Serbia before they were given the opportunity to launch a campaign.

After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, and nearly a month of debate, the government of Austria–Hungary sent a 10-point ultimatum to Serbia (July 23, 1914) — the so called July Ultimatum — to be unconditionally accepted within 48 hours. The ultimatum was the first of a series of diplomatic events known as the July Crisis which set off a chain reaction and a general war in Europe.

From Wikipedia, so use the appropriate caution.  I think this is generally correct, however.

 

I hate World War I.  It didn't solve any real problems, and was the impetus for the rise of fascism in Europe which led to some of the greatest atrocities seen in modern history before and during the second World War.  One might rationally argue that World War I was the most important event of the last two hundred years.  Tanks, trench warfare, mustard gas... yikes.  You want to know why terrorism now is all the rage?  In the 20th century, this is where it all began.  In spades.

 

And then there is this crap.  The freakin' Battle of the Somme.

 

The Battle of the Somme was planned as a joint French and British operation. The idea originally came from the French Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Joffre and was accepted by General Sir Douglas Haig, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) commander, despite his preference for a large attack in Flanders. Although Joffre was concerned with territorial gain, it was also an attempt to destroy German manpower.

At first Joffre intended for to use mainly French soldiers but the German attack on Verdun in February 1916 turned the Somme offensive into a large-scale British diversionary attack. General Sir Douglas Haig now took over responsibility for the operation and with the help of General Sir Henry Rawlinson, came up with his own plan of attack. Haig's strategy was for a eight-day preliminary bombardment that he believed would completely destroy the German forward defences.

 

From Spartacus.

 

Let me tell you something.  In the first DAY of the Battle of the Somme, the British suffered 57,470 casualties.  That is not a joke or a misprint.

 

According to the British official history of the battle, total Allied casualties amounted to almost 630,000 and German around 660,000. British casualties reported by the Adjutant General were 419,654, of whom some 5% were missing at roll call but may have subsequently reported. Staggering figures, especially when taken alongside those at Verdun where fighting between French and German continued throughout 1916.

 

From 1914-1918.net.

 

The German Army never recovered from their staggering losses; nearly all of their best talent, meaning officers and highly trained solders, died there.

 

They say that the ground at the Somme bled for some time after both sides finally left the battlefield. 

This was for an advance of 12km.

 

Do not forget what people did for you. 

Do not let your children forget.

 

Thank you, Grandpa.

Independent Movies? Hell Yeah!

As per the usual, Boing Boing finds another gem.

 

Empire movie mag has compiled a list of what it considers to be the "50 Greatest Independent Films." The top ten includes Mean Streets, Sideways, The Usual Suspects, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Night of the Living Dead, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Clerks, The Terminator, Donnie Darko, and Reservoir Dogs.

 

Follow the link.  Some interesting movies on that list.  I might have to watch Sex, Lies, and Videotape again this weekend.

Oh, I have the baby.  Ah, Andie McDowell can wait. 

 

Barely.

 

Hum.  This is as good a time as any to mention that if you are in Denver, or plan to be, or want to be somewhere else besides where you are, there is a truly hip film festival that just started here yesterday:  The Starz Denver International Film Festival.  I actually know people who traveled here to see this.  Come by, see a few flicks.  I plan to over the weekend. 

 

 

 

Email Thyself

Even though I've known about this for a while, I figured I'd blog this love from the Boing.

 

Forbes has a free service that lets you send an email to yourself and have it arrive in 1, 3, 5, 10, or 20 years. I'm going to have my daughter write one to herself. I'll write one to myself, too.

 

 

Lots of other blogs jumped on this topic, too.  I'll probably write one for my 'lil baby to look at sometime in the future myself.

 

Course, I can think of lots of other weird applications for this.

 

1.  Impromptu Wills.

2.  Suicide Notes.

3.  Predictions Of Future Apocalyptic Events.

 

Am I cynical?  Nah!

 

Whoa...!

This cannot be.

Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the Genesis description of how God created the universe and Darwin's theory of evolution were "perfectly compatible" if the Bible were read correctly.

His statement was a clear attack on creationist campaigners in the US, who see evolution and the Genesis account as mutually exclusive.

Via The Australian. Mad props to Technorati.

Wait a minute.  Did I read about this last week?  Oh, no, not exactly.

 

Cardinal Paul Poupard, who heads the Pontifical Council for Culture ( search), made the comments at a news conference on a Vatican project to help end the "mutual prejudice" between religion and science that has long bedeviled the Roman Catholic Church and is part of the evolution debate in the United States.

 

Via Fark.

Ok.  Wait a second.  Who is this Cardinal Paul Poupard guy?  Hmm.  This bears watching; something is afoot.  Is one of the Big Culture Wars about to REALLY get started?

 

Best to buy duct tape, water, and plastic.

 

And Ramen.
 

Beat This!

I'm not sure that I've ever been more pleased with last ten songs played on my iPod.

 

Here's THE LIST.

 

Tribute - Tenacious D

The Love Cats - The Cure

Zombie - The Cranberries

Take It Slow - Long Beach Short Bus

You Got Me - The Roots

Keep It Rollin' - A Tribe Called Qwest

Hard To Handle - The Black Crowes

Pantala Naga Pampa - The Dave Matthews Band

Promises, Promises - Naked Eyes

Shape of My Heart - Sting

 

Observations:

1.  Did you notice how this set contains some of the best songs from these respective bands:  The Cure, Tenacious D, The Roots, and The Black Crowes?

2.  Sting was still relevant (and Queen Amidala was still a teenager - VERY troubling film, incidentally) in this list?

3.  The Love Cats.  Man, I love that song.

 

Put yours in the comments.

Ugly Bags Of Mostly Water

Fascinating.

 

Randell Mills, a Harvard University medic who also studied electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims to have built a prototype power source that generates up to 1,000 times more heat than conventional fuel. Independent scientists claim to have verified the experiments and Dr Mills says that his company, Blacklight Power, has tens of millions of dollars in investment lined up to bring the idea to market. And he claims to be just months away from unveiling his creation.

 

Found via Fark.  Again.

 

Oh, please, please please... PLEASE let this be true.  I had heard of something like this before (dammit, I can't find a link, but I'm pretty sure that I read about back in the 70's), but it's never been so important as it is now.  Hopefully they have this scientist under 24 hour survellience, before BIG OIL gets him.

 

Shout Out To A Friend

Hey, L,

 

I noticed that you have starteed a Cleanse.

 

I wish you luck.  I know what you mean, feeling nasty emotionally and physically.  Really, the last few days, I can't even describe how badly I've been feeling.  Probably stress has a lot to do with it.  But we're with you, babe.  You have friends.  And you know how to get a hold of us if you need to. 

 

So hey, hon.  Just showin' a little love.  Ok?  Hang in there.  If you do, I will.  Promise.

Man, Are We Dumb

You know those ridiculous gasoline prices that we are presently paying?  You know... because of rising costs, hurricanes, and such?

 

Well, I'm here to tell you - consumers are DUMB.

 

IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp. had a quarter for the record books. The world's largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday high oil and natural-gas prices helped its third-quarter profit surge almost 75 percent to $9.92 billion, the largest quarterly profit for a U.S. company ever, and it was the first to ring up more than $100 billion in quarterly sales.

 

Net income ballooned to $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, from $5.68 billion, or 88 cents per share, a year ago.

 

Via Yahoo.

 

Net income for a three month period:  9.92 BILLION DOLLARS.

 

Billion.  With a "B".

 

Hyperinflated profits make Baby Jesus cry.

 

 

Blogroll Addition

Maybe you noticed this, and maybe you didn't, but the newest permalink is the website Snopes, which are the Urban Legend Reference Pages. 

Why do this, you ask?  For all you people out there who get those goofy emails claiming this ridiculous statistic or that ridiculous picture or story.  You want to know if it's true?

Check Snopes.  It's a very non-partisan site that will be ready to either confirm or debunk whatever you got from that friend of a friend.

 

Consider it my public service of the week.

 

 

Can I Get That In Cash?

Here's a kind of cool thang that I dug up.

 

Inspired by Tristan Louis's research into the value of each link to Weblogs Inc, I've created this little applet using Technorati's API which computes and displays your blog's worth using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal.

 

Actually, I was a little surprised to find out that this here blog don't do too badly.  Maybe it's all the geek posts.

 

Time to write another story, though.  Soon.  I promise.

 

 

 

Well, I Used To Read Novels...

...unfortunately, I don't take the time to read them like I used to.

 

I do like to read, though - which is why I read, with considerable amusement, TIME's Best 100 Novels.

 

Stunningly, it's not a terrible list.

 

But I've only read twenty-four of them.  That ain't good.  Obviously, I need to join a book club.

More Geek Love For Ya'll

Is your hard drive full of virtual crap?  God knows mine is.

 

How about a Hard Drive Janitor?

If I let it, my hard drive would fill to capacity with crap I don't need. Throughout the course of one day I get my paws on all sorts of throwaway files: video, images and songs meant for a single viewing or listen, PDF's I have to print, software installers and big ol' zip files I extract and do whatever I need to with the contents. The end result is a bunch of stuff hogging space on my hard drive for no good reason.

I'm lazy and I don't want to have to clean up after myself every time I work with a set of files. Instead, I've scheduled a cleanup script that sweeps through my hard drive every evening while I sleep. My virtual janitor deletes any temporary file that's been sitting around for more than x days, like old garbage starting to stink. This way space on my hard drive is constantly recovered, and I don't have to worry about getting the dreaded "Low disk space" message at the critical moment I'm about to conceive my opus. Because you know if you were going to run out of disk space, that's when it would happen.

Via Lifehacker, of course.  Man, I love those guys.

 

Halloween And Movies

"Hey, do you want to see something REALLY scary?"
                                                       - Dan Aykroyd,  from Twilight Zone, The Movie

So, because it's Halloween, here are:

The Scariest Movies Of All Time

5.  Jaws.
Amazing that I didn't think of this movie before.  Zoinks.  Scared an entire generation of going into the ocean.  Mad props to that.
4.  The Exorcist.
Heh.  Raised the bar for horror then and for all time.  Subliminal messages.  Pea soup.  Catholics.  What could be better?
3.  The Thing.
Probably the best of the John Carpenter horror movies.  If you don't know about the walking head scene, then you don't know horror.  Amazing, without the CGI.
2.  Alien.
Yeah.  Haunted house combined with Sci-Fi.  Remember this tagline:  "In space, no one can hear you scream."  Brilliant.
1.  The Shining.
Wow.  Almost a perfectly scary movie.  The Big Wheel scene, "Here's Johnny!"  Blood in the hallway.  Amazing.  Scared me for years and I'm still not quite over it.

Leave yours in the comments, if you like.  Just for fun, you might want to check this out: The 100 Scariest Movie Scenes Of All Time.  Via  Retrocrush.

Memes - The Friday Music Edition

Here we go again!

 

Last 10 on the iPod Shuffle List

 

"Colors" - Ice-T

"Crazy For This Girl" - Evan and Jaron

"Beginnings" - Chicago

"Always and Forever" - Heatwave

"Strange Fruit" - Billie Holiday

"It's The End Of The World As We Know It" - REM

"F-Stop Blues" - Jack Johnson

"South Side" - Moby and Gwen Stefani

"Babylon" - David Gray

"Midnight Rider" - The Allman Brothers Band

 

Analyzing....analyzing....

 

I think that maybe I should maybe leave the house tonight.  Sounds like a fun evening.

 

Pile on, y'all!

Text Messaging

Classic Consumer Scams:

 

1.  Disposable Razor Blades.  They cost more than the razors, and parody has now become fact. 

2.  Pantyhose.  Women hate them.  Why do they exist?

3.  Text Messaging.  Why?  People who make them, pay for them, people that RECEIVE them pay for them.  More revenue for phone companies.

 

So what have I been getting all week?

Text messages. 

In fact, I got a text PARAGRAPH today.  Gak.

 

When the revolution comes, I expect Gillette, Hanes, and Verizon will be the first up against the wall.

Geek Storage

No, I don't mean a place to store your geek.  Everyone knows that's in their parents' basement with plenty of beer and pizza.

 

I mean this.

 

All that porn clogging up your hard drive and your 500Gb external already full? Well no worries, thanks to this brand new Maxtor OneTouch III that'll have up to 1 whopping terabyte of storage space.

 

Via Gizmodo.

 

Of course, you know you want one.  Personally, I want three.  Being out of a computer for a while made me frightened and verklempt;  I couldn't feel my legs, and I panicked.

 

If you know that reference, you get a no-prize.  But if you don't, go here.  Think "Refrigerator Johnny".  What a classic.

 

Dude, That's Hardcore

Ex SNL comedian Charles Rocket is dead.  This in itself is not surprising (see:  Belushi, Jon, Farley, Chris, et cetera)

This, however, is absolutely, positively the most hardcore thing that I've ever heard in my life.

 

Rocket, 56, whose real name was Charles Claverie, was found dead in a field near his home in Canterbury on October 7. His throat had been cut, the medical examiner said."An investigation determined there was no criminal aspect to this case," State Police Sgt. J. Paul Vance said Monday.

Via CNN.

 

Yeah, you read that right.  HOMEBOY SLIT HIS OWN THROAT.

Maybe he heard about this.

 

Yeah.  Rocky.  I kid not.

 

I expect the seventh seal to be broken shortly.

 

 

 

Hah!

Well, following my friend's lead (for some reason, I can't find the post where she said she quit!  C'mon, L, help me out), I quit smoking this weekend.

Haven't had a cigarette in more than 48 hours. 

Yikes.  I would hate to be working for me on Monday.  However, my intentions are good.  If you're out there smoking and want to quit, I suggest that you try this.  Stunningly, it seems to work.

More Geek For Your Dollar

No, this post is NOT going to be about the video iPod, strangely enough, even though I think those are awesome and I want one.

 

This about home FTP.  Via The Hack

If you've been following the the Lifehacker Home Server Series of articles, you know how to do things like reach your home computer from anywhere in the world thanks to dynamic DNS services. Gina wrote about how to set up a personal home web server, but in my experience the killer home server feature that hasn't been covered to date is how to set up a personal FTP server at home.

 

Damn, that's cool.  Once I get my home computer working again, I'm doing it. 

 

I've got a Linux drive.  It might be time to start using it again and bagging XP for the time being.  My blogging is beginning to suffer.

 

Finally!

Not all hope has been abandoned.

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- "The Simple Life" is over - at least on Fox. The network said Wednesday it has canceled the Paris Hilton-Nicole Richie reality series after the show's two stars no longer proved compatible.

 

 

Via Fark.

 

I'll tell you what:  I think that it's too late for me.  I'm seriously considering selling my television.  Were it not for these things:

 

1.  Sports

2.  The Cartoon Network

3.  Law and Order, and

4.  The Discovery Channel

 

I would have gotten the darn television out of my house YEARS ago.

 

 

 

Who Will Protect The Children?

Sigh.

 

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Students who attend homecoming dances on Saturday will be doing some heavy breathing — into Breathalyzers.

At Santa Barbara High School, officials will screen every third or fourth student who arrives and anyone who appears drunk, said Principal Paul Turnbull. Dos Pueblos High School administrators will use the Breathalyzer only if they suspect a problem, said Principal Quentin Panek.

"There's a lot of heavy drinking going on," said Penny Jenkins, executive director of the local nonprofit Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. "Something's got to be done."

 

Thanks, Yahoo.

Teens partying with alcohol = old and busted.

Teens partying with this = the new hotness.

 

C'mon, it's HOMECOMING.

 

Personally, I say legalize all drugs and such.  I think that it's the libertarian in me.

 

Amazing Site For You

Huh.  This is one of the most remarkable things I have seen in the internet in a while. 

 

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail-in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

 

Even though this is not really a stupid site, that's where I found this.

 

A lot of people that read this site know who I am for real, but in the spirit of that website, I'll tell you all a secret:

 

Even though I honestly don't like 99% of all people, I hate living alone.  The absurdity of that fact sometimes makes me sad.

 

Carry on.

What?! A Cure For Cancer?

Darn it.  What is Fark going to do about that "still no cure for cancer" cliche?

 

A vaccine shown to be 100% effective against two virus strains that cause most cervical cancer could be available within a year, say manufacturers.

 

Via, of course, Fark and the BBC.

I have this to say about this development, as I'll have you know, cervical cancer kills something like 275,000 women a year:

 

YIPPIE!  THERE IS MUCH REJOICING!

 

Now, science, get to friggin' work on breast cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer.  Oh, and pancreatic, prostate, and the others, too.

Nicolas Cage = Geek

He named his kid after Superman.

 

Nicholas Cage's new son is named "Kal-El Cage."

 

Boing Boing, again.

 

Oddly, I kinda like that. 

But, of course, my geek level is off the charts.  Word.

 

Sir Memes A Lot

I haven't done this in a while, but it's Ipod Shuffle Friday!

 

The Last Ten Songs To Play On My iPod

 

Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving

The Smiths - How Soon Is Now

Sublime - Right Back

Brand New Heavies - Midnight At The Oasis

Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears

Hi-Five - She's Playing Hard To Get

Stevie Wonder - I Wish

Shaggy - It Wasn't Me

Eminem (featuring Dido) - Stan

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine

 

Conclusions?  Either my musical tastes are diverse, or I can't make up my mind.

The smart bet is on the latter. 

 

Anyone who cares to leave their list toss 'em in the comments. Me, I've got another story to write.  I'll try something light-hearted for a change, instead of going through the past, darkly.

 

Crazy

Hum.  Here's an incomplete list of locations that have actually taken the time to look at my freakin' blog. 

 

Libson, Lisboa, Portugal

Muscavide, Lisboa, Portugal

Forbes Park, Passay, Phillipines

Cheltenham, Victoria, Austraila

Lindfield, New South Wales, Austraila

Savelborn, Diekirch, Luxemborg

 

Sorry, Ottawa and Toronto, you're actually on the same continent that I'm on and you don't count.  Love my northern neighbors, though.

But it does look like I'm going to have to start doing some posts in Portuguese.  Volte frequentemente, e traga o vinho.

Organize Thyself - Part Deux

Remember this post about Backpack?

 

Well, naturally, someone has decided to improve the application.  Figures.

 

As many of you know Backpack is a great productivity tool. What you might not know is that it can be hacked to do all sorts of neat things.My pal, and all around creative thinking dude, Taylor McKnight, has written up a list of tips and tricks for backpack.

More love via Lifehacker.
 

Geeks of the world, get there and thrive.

True Life Discussion Heard Today

Person #1:  I'm just a poor black man from Kansas City with a daughter that I love more than my own life.

Person #2:  Well, that's inspiring.  You could be a poor black man from Kansas City who sold his daughter to a ridiculously wealthy rare-books dealer who dabbles in the occult.

 

Heh.

 

Speaking of the occult, here's good news:  A revival of the Night Stalker plays tonight on ABC.

 

Man, I loved that show when I was a kid.  Gave me nightmares.  We all know how cool that is.  Now, if they'd bring this show back, then the culmination of my childhood fears would be complete.

Yes, Gillian's Island - The Movie

Oh, no.  NO.

 

Rob Schneider's in Australia this week and during an interview about the "Deuce Bigalow" sequel by the popular Sunday program, he dropped some interesting talk about a film adaptation of classic sitcom "Gilligan's Island".

 

Via Dark Horizons, your one stop location for all things movie.

I hear Adam Sandler is going to be in it.  Brilliant.  This dark, dark news (and yet another sign of the coming fall of Western Civilization) prompts me to write this:

 

Dear Hollywood:

 

Do you have any original ideas left?  You're bumming us out.

 

Love,

The Planet Earth

 

P.S.  I hear Clark has some good ideas.  You should give him a call.  Buh bye now.

Music, Again

I'm lifting you up, I'm letting you down,

I'm dancing 'till dawn, I'm fooling around.

I'm not giving up, I'm making your love,

this city's made us crazy and we must get out.

 

You know what?

 

I'm not even ashamed to say that I like Maroon 5.  Yeah, I'm prepared to take hell for that.  However, that's what we bloggers have to be willing to do.

 

My Not Quite Fiction

I seem to have a lot a new readers lately.  Let me point you to a few of my more popular autobiographical stories.

 

The Commuter Affair

 

Free Couch

 

The Day That Changed Everything

 

One day, I will figure out how to put categories on my blog and you'll be able to gather specific types of posts from a click, and there will be much rejoicing.  Right now, Blogger doesn't support it.  Darn.

The Day That Changed Everything

No, I'm not talking about 9/11.

 

Think about this: if you distilled your life down to it's most basic parts, down to quite simple moments in time, could you come up with a single moment that your whole life changed?

 

I can.  It happened this way.

 

1991.  I was living in Phoenix.  It was very, very hot that year.  Not as hot as the previous year, but still HOT.  I recall that one day that I actually fried an egg on the sidewalk.

 

I was working as a sales associate for a major appliance rental center who I choose not to name.  Basically, what sales associate meant was "Repo Man".  It was NOT a fun job, by any stretch of the imagination.  However, it was close to my apartment, and it was my very first job out of college, so I figured that I would stick with it for a while.

 

So, on an extremely plain and regular Tuesday afternoon, I was driving the work truck to a location to go pick up a renter's VCR.  From what I recalled, this particular person hadn't made a payment on the VCR for three weeks.  Three weeks was like a magic number for my boss back then; three weeks late, either they pay or we would pick up our rental merchandise.  So off I went.

 

When I got to person's house, I knocked on the door.  Mr So and So, I said, I'm here to pick up the VCR.

 

The guy came to the door looking surly.  I knew that look and really wanted no part of it.  In my friendliest, but most professional voice, I asked him if he was aware that his payments on the VCR were three weeks late.

 

Yes, he replied, looking me directly in the eye.

 

I then explained that I'd have to pick up the VCR unless he intended to pay on it.  I was starting to feel a bit nervous, even though I had done this exact thing before.  I asked him where the VCR was at this time, because I need to pick it up.  "Ok," he responded, "I'll get it."

 

He left the room, and returned with VCR in hand. 

I thanked him, and told him to stop by the store if he wanted it back, then turned my back.  Then I heard an audible *click*.  Uh oh.

When I turned back around, there was a gun to my head.

 

Let me attempt to describe the feeling conveyed by being in a strange person's house looking at a gun.  First of all, you are quite aware that the encounter can go, uh, poorly.  My life most certainly did NOT flash before my eyes, which is a feeling that I now find a touch strange.  The experience actually was quite similar to the feeling one gets when they have veered off a two lane highway, heading straight for a semi-dense forest, then finding yourself doing a 720 across the highway doing 65 mph in the middle of the night during a full moon in the middle of Central Texas, nowhere close to a populated town that possibly could send someone to save your butt before the car explodes. 

We're talking pee-scared here.

 

But, since I'm talking to you now, I can tell you this: I talked this gentleman out of shooting me.  And he gave me $50 to pay for his back rent.

 

This encounter, however, gave me the courage to:

1.  Get back into my truck and drive to my place of employment.

2.  Drop off the $50, my store keys, and resign.

3.  Go home, call my landlord and break my lease.

4.  Call a friend in Washington D.C., tell her that I would be there in two weeks, and that I hoped that she had room.

 

That was the day that changed everything.  I left Phoenix and was in Washington by September.

Montage A Google

This is pretty cool.  I can use a few cool things in my life right now.

 

Speaking of life, let me take this opportunity to speak to all of my East Texas friends (I went to school for a while in San Antonio, home El Mirador, and the best damn Tortilla Soup on the face of the planet):

 

Uh, leave now.  Thanks.

 

 

 

 

Lovely Rita, Meter Maid

Well, this should be good.  Not really.

 

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Authorities in Texas and along the storm-shattered coast of Louisiana braced Wednesday for Hurricane Rita, as the powerful Category 4 storm picked up strength in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Via CNN.

 

Oh, well, might as well get ready for the Supervolcano at Yellowstone to explode.  In case you were wondering, we have been forsaken.  You want the weekend (Friday/Saturday) plot?

1.  Gasoline price gouging.

2.  More looting in Texas, Louisana, anywere on the Gulf Coast.

3.  Inflation, again, in energy prices.

4.  Who knows what the hell else?!

 

Arrgh.  Perhaps it is time to crack each other's skulls open, and feast on the goo inside.

 

 

Regrets

Sigh.  Well, last night was certainly not one of greatest sleeping nights ever.  Why?  Regrets.  So, time to make a list.  These are the biggies:

 

My greatest regrets?

1.  Ever starting smoking.  Good Lord, what a mistake.  I hope that I can quit before I have a heart attack.

2.  Not attending Cornell University when I had the chance.

3.  Law school.  30k completely and totally wasted.

 

Interestingly, I don't regret the way that the whole ex thing turned out.  She taught me a lot, actually.  I would have preferred that it worked, but some things are not to be, I suppose.  Being the parent of a half-time child is quite easily one of the most difficult things that I've ever done.  I caught myself calling the ex this morning to tell her that the baby got me up at like 5 in the morning this morning, and almost immediately I wished that I hadn't called.  But I was tired and grumpy and wanted to complain to someone.  She seemed available.

 

I suppose the thing to say here is this:  try your best to live your life with as few regrets as possible, because one day, week, month, or year, you won't be able to sleep, and regrets will be the reason.

 

 

Short Fiction Time.

"Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality.

But... there is, unseen by most, an underworld,

a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit... a Darkside."

                                                                           - Tales From the Darkside

 

One of my boyz (let's call him ringloss) has been keeping me on my posting toes by sending me this short story that isn't in any way disturbing at all.

You'll love the ending.  I did.  But I've got a window seat already.  Ask me where to.  Heh.

 

Speaking of which, I'll be sending another piece of my wonderfully colorful autobiographical stories soon for your perusal.  You know that you love them.

Another Week, Another Google Story

More Googleness.

 

Tonight Google will announce (well, the embargo is tonight at 9 pm PST) that it is launching blog search, in two flavors, one for blogger.com, and another as a beta at google.com/blogsearch (not yet up, but will be soon...).

I spoke with Google about this, more soon, wanted to get this up in a timely manner...(too timely...as the service has yet to be pushed live....)

Via the Boing.

 

Apparently, it's live now.  As you might imagine, I'm extremely, EXTREMELY interested in how well that thing works.  I tried googling for my blog, and didn't find it right away.  Again, that address is:

http://blogsearch.google.com/