So, the heatwave subsides, and temps drop back down to between the 40's and 50's at night, which blows ass. I installed my AC, and now it's too cold at night. If the AC wasn't a pain in the ass to install/remove, I'd yank it back out.
I took all of next week off, and was supposed to go to a party at some friend's place today, but I come down with some nasty cold/cough shit yesterday.
My head is all plugged up, and everything blows ass.
Stupid.
It's really fucking hot.
Two to three weeks ago, it started to warm up a bit, to the point that we didn't really need a heater.
Then, temperatures plunged to freezing, we even got snow.
Over the last 3-4 days, we've been in the 90's - yesterday, the temp rose to 100.
It's about 95 out right now, which is messed up.
I went from having a heater on in my bedroom at night, to mounting my air conditioner yesterday because it was too hot to even breathe.
I think Al Gore must have gotten the Global Warming Machine repaired, which would seem to indicate his battle with ManBearPig is complete.
Well, maybe not the death, but definitely more infrequent posting.
A while back, I moved from a "daily" posting schedule to an "every other day", and that's just getting annoying to keep up.
My heart really isn't into posting that frequently, and I find I have work that interests me, so I don't really feel like dicking around that much.
Further, I've configured the blog to show the last 5 posts, rather than the last 7 days of posts, which, if I haven't posted, shows dick.
This way, it looks like there's content.
I'll still post when I have something I feel is necessary, but as of right now, there's not a ton.
Learn to love it. I'll still be here.
Alicia Keys thinks that Gangsta Rap was created to make blacks murder each other, and that the feds made Biggie and Tupac kill each other:
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist." Keys, 27, said she's read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendent around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead," according to an interview in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands Tuesday. Another of her theories: The bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing."
This bitch is psychotic.
Of course, she's tried to recant her statement, saying she was misinterpreted.
What a fucking clown.
The Point of TippingMy friend Amy Korb tends bar at the Bowery Ballroom. On Saturday, she was working at the smallest of the venue’s three bars—the one against the back wall on the main floor, facing the stage. She wore a black half-length sweater, for comfort and warmth; there was a draft from a nearby exit. Over the noise, she mimed her reaction to the evening’s bands (a shrug, no smile).
A muscular woman and her older date bought several mixed drinks. A twenty-something bought several Heinekens. Each left exactly one dollar bill as a tip. Several others came and went, taking their drinks and leaving nothing. Korb sat on top of a freezer with her legs folded, ate part of a Clif Bar, and frowned.
“If you can’t afford to tip, don’t buy a drink,” she said to me, and to no one. She elaborated: “In a music venue, like-minded people get together. They like the same music, they like the same liquor. They also seem to have been socialized together, and they usually tip the same.”
The Heineken youngster came back for more drinks. And left without tipping.
“Whenever the night starts out with people asking for Long Island Iced Teas, you are in trouble. Vodka, gin, tequila, rum, Triple Sec, sour mix and Coca-Cola blended together in one drink? Fortunately, we don’t serve those at the Bowery. It’s house policy, and it helps weed the population.”
Another customer—this one a tipper—called her away. When she returned, I asked her if certain bands drew tipping (or non-tipping) crowds.
“When Chromeo played, their crowd drank house vodka and Budweiser. Didn’t tip. Some of them did what I’ll call the slide-backs. They put a dollar down on the bar, wait until you turn your back, then palm their buck and walk away. Classy. When your night starts out with “What’s your cheapest drink?” that’s also not good.”
I felt like my line of questioning was making things worse, so I asked who was most likely to tip.
“Hard rockers, the bourbon drinkers. Priestess and Bogmen fans are in a league of their own. The Priestess crowd are here to see the show, not to hook up. They go hard on bourbon and Irish whiskey, usually Jameson, Jack, and Maker’s Mark with beer. I won’t get stiffed and will often get two dollars a drink.
“There’s nothing like the Bogmen crowd. It’s nearly impossible to keep the Bud Light stocked in the cooler or the Ketel on the shelf. They draw investment bankers, guys who shout and get inappropriate, but, damn, they need that Bud Light, and they are not tight-fisted.
“The only times I really don’t make money with a full house are the kiddie shows—sixteen and over—a Latino music show, or anything kind of legendary that draws old Communists. They are, by far, the worst tippers.”
(Read about some of the other indignities that Korb has faced behind the bar.)
You know, few things piss me off more than wage-slaves who bitch about tips. I've worked as a tipped employee in the past, and there never failed to be dipshits who felt that they were entitled to tips, regardless of their service.
Working a tipped position in Oregon is better than many places, since employers must pay minimum wage, regardless of any tipped income - which just makes the bitching here worse.
Certainly, if you're working a less-than-minimum-wage job where you're not guaranteed a base wage, tips (or lack there of) become quite important, but, then again, you've chosen to work there. Don't like the lack of tips? Get a real job, fuckhole.
The linked article gets even better:
BAR BABES Mixing drinks, mixing it up with the guys BOTTLE BLONDS, BRUNETTES & REDHEADS CALL THE SHOTSBY REBECCA LOUIE WITH BREANNE HELDMAN
Thursday, July 24th 2003, 1:03AM
Shot glasses and bottles of liquor aren't all you juggle when you're a woman behind a bar in New York.
On any night, countless men tell a female bartender how good she looks, why they like her and exactly what they would like to do with her before they've even ordered a drink.
"You're be-yoo-ti-ful," Steve Matri, 28, tells a barmaid at Mod, a trendy lounge on the upper West Side. "You're a sweetheart an' I loooove your hair."
"Why thank you," coos Jill Reisner, 29, tucking a strand of her blue wig behind her ear and leaning her plunging neckline toward the bar. "And how many have you had tonight?"
Matri, a hedge-fund broker, laughs. "Why don'tcha pour me somethin' special?" he asks.
"How about a water?" she says, and turns away before he can compose an answer.
Friendly, good-looking women and free-flowing alcohol may fuel male fantasies, but female bartenders have learned that part of their job is turning those dreams into cash.
"We like to provide eye candy," says Charles Milite, the co-owner of Union Square's Coffee Shop. He estimates that 75% of his bartending staff is female.
The 2000 movie "Coyote Ugly," based on the bawdy East Village spot, introduced the world to a culture of spirit slingers who dance on their bar.
Other bars, including Hogs and Heifers and Red Rock West, cultivate the rollicking strip-joint atmosphere, catering to eager lads willing to pay for the spectacle.
"I love it, and it's not a sex thing," says Tracy Helsing, 29, who quit her job at Merrill Lynch for a full-time gig at Red Rock West. "I command attention, so [dancing] is empowering."
"I don't show boobs," says Jennifer Magmottu, 26, while drinking shots with customers at the Village Idiot on 14th St., where she is a manager and dances for patrons.
But many women work at places where their job is to just serve drinks and make chatter - and no more.
They're concerned that the R-rated antics at some of the wilder places lead men to expect salacious theatrics from any woman mixing cocktails.
"I once worked in a bar where I heard 'Show me your t--!' five times a night," says Reisner, a Brooklynite who has been pouring for three years to pay for a degree in business management.
"Customers think they can abuse you and say anything they want," she says. "They think, 'Ooh, she's nice to me, she must like me and want to have my babies.' They expect you to take their number. Sometimes I just tell them I'm a lesbian to make them back off."
She pauses. "But then, of course, that turns them on, too."
Lori DeJesu is a 32-year-old aspiring songwriter who tends bar at Nectar in Murray Hill and at Local in midtown. That's how she paid for her graduate degree in forensic psychology.
But she worries about the fine line between being friendly with customers and letting things get out of hand.
"I would rather be hit on than not hit on, but there is a time and a place for everything," DeJesu says.
"It's not like I would go on to the floor when some guy is trading bonds and make him uncomfortable there by hitting on him. Men think that if a woman is behind the bar, she wants to meet guys and get drunk."
Amy Korb, who works at the downscale rocker spot 119 on 15th St., has been tending bar for 15 years.
During that time, she says, she's been sexually harassed by a dwarf, fired for
refusing to wear a skimpy top and wooed by a man determined to win her over with the Cliffs Notes to Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov," which she had been reading."As a bartender, you are supplying a fantasy," says Korb. "Men are attracted to something they can't have. They know they are going to get rejected. It's an excuse for them to not be intimate with someone but still play.
"However, when you indulge in their fantasy by getting drunk with them and swinging your bra around, you've crossed the line."
Instead, she says, she uses her influence in the bar to "educate" her customers.
"Honestly, I find men respond really well if you treat them like children," says Korb, who is studying political theory at Columbia University. "'How about saying please? How about you never touch me or another bartender ever again, because it is inappropriate to touch a stranger?'
"Anything you can possibly think of has been said to me," she says. "I do my best to forget it all. There are so many things that enrage me that I would go crazy thinking about it. It all just goes in my bin of stupid human tricks."
SIDEBAR: BARROOM ETIQUETTE
Want that bartender to give you a shot at more than a friendly tequila?
Here, straight from the pros, are the bar codes on wooing your server.
1> Never put anything in writing.
"If you want to pick up a bartender, do not leave a note," says 119's Amy Korb. "You've automatically ruled out any chance with her because she's lost respect for you. It's flattering but weird that you can't verbalize yourself."
2> Leave the terms of endearment at the door.
"I don't like when people say, 'Hey sweetheart, baby,'" says Lori DeJesu of Local and Nectar's. "You don't know me, you shouldn't be calling me that. If someone gets disrespectful, I have them thrown out."
3> Wait your turn.
"These guys get so belligerent, telling me they've been waiting 20 minutes for a drink," says Jill Reisner at Mod. "No, you haven't! I've been watching everyone at the bar. I have seven drinks in my head and I will get you."
4> Don't forget to tip.
"We work on tips in New York," says Korb. "If you can't afford to tip for a beer, then don't go out. Buy a sixpack and stay at home."
5> Remember "Yo" does not equal "Please."
"People forget they are interacting with a bartender and yell, 'Yo, two Buds!'" says Korb. "'Yo, two Buds!' is not the proper way to ask for anything. How about 'Please?'"
6> How about if you don't like the behavior of alcohol-consuming patrons, you get the fuck out of that particular "career" field?
It's funny - As of 2003, Amy Korb has been tending bar for 15 years. As of 2008, she's still doing it, despite "studying political theory at Columbia University".
We're supposed to take advice on "wooing" women from that winner? A 40-something loser with zero future?
That lunatic reminds me of the stripper we met at Stars a couple years back - bitching about how men treat her like a sex object. HELLO?
None of this means I condone people acting like assholes, or people being tightwads. If you get excellent service, tip well. Conversely, if you get shitty service, leave nothing.
I'm sick and tired of dining out somewhere, spending nearly $100 for drinks, appetizers and entrees, and the only time I see my waitress is once when she takes my order, once when she drops off the drinks, once when she drops the appetizers (sometimes waiting 15 minutes to bring us our drinks so she can make one trip with the appetizers), once to drop the entrees (which is a rarity these days - usually someone other than our server brings the entrees at most places), and finally to bring the check - unless they're too busy, and someone else drops it off.
Fuck you, and fuck your tip. If you're not going to provide prompt and attentive service, you can go piss up a rope. At a MINIMUM, I should have my drinks within 5 minutes of being seated and ordering them, and I should have at LEAST 2-3 visits to refresh drinks/order more.
Further, I expect some kind of interaction past asking me what I want to order - I want a pleasant attitude, and I want you to be attentive to our table, stopping by to make sure everything is acceptable, and seeing if you can further assist.
We're just talking basic customer service here, which most places seem to be lacking.
The mailserver crashed.
If your mailbox got toasted, sucks to be you. I might have a partial restoration of yours as an Outlook PST, so hit me up and let me know.
ETA: I'm not going to create replacement mailboxes, as I'm going to be killing most of the KN services, quite possibly including the main website. Just a heads-up.
Get yourself some Gmail, baby! If you need an invite, let me know. Does Gmail still require invites?
So, poking around on MSN often yields tidbits of idiocy, and today is no different.
The tripe on that website is emasculatory propaganda, pushed by a cadre of feminazi bestialists. There's no other explanation.
Under the heading of "Things a Man Shound Never Do in the Company of a Woman", we have:
Reveal the cost of your car
Apparently, this would insinuate that you're bragging about how much you make...
It goes on to list:
Tip less than 20 percent.
and:
Forget to carry cash.
Because, you know, you're expected to pay for everything...
Except for the article titled "When It's Okay Not to Pay", which details less than 10 circumstances that women have deemed as acceptable for the man not to pay - but, "Still, it doesn't hurt to offer!"
And god forbid you ever say "You're not one of those feminists, are you?" - because, guys, let's face it - women are only feminists when it will benefit them. They're content to play the whore if that's what it takes to get them what they want.
Sources:
http://men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=6273622>1=32001
http://men.msn.com/articlees.aspx?cp-documentid=6273618
http://men.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6014915
Fuck 'em.
Woo, an extra day!
So, it's confirmed. I get to go play with the new Open MRI machine next Tuesday.
It's really lame - they're doing a thoracic AND a lumbar study, so I get to go lay there for like, two and a half hours.
I need to find and download some audio books that I can listen to on my MP3 player - and pray that my MP3 player won't be toasted by the gigantic electromagnet.
So, I've been getting some progresively worse back pain since the accident, and I've been to the doctor several times.
After getting back from Depoe Bay this evening (and being in complete agony from the drive, and all the awesome stretching and contorting that was layered on top of the already existing pain from the accident), I stopped by Urgent Care AGAIN.
Tonight, they finally decided to send me in for an MRI. I'm supposed to get a call tomorrow telling me when and where.
Not looking forward to being stuck in the tube again. Hopefully, I'll be able to finagle a session in the company's new Open MRI, designed for livestock and fat people.
Sweet!
So, for the first time in about 3-4 years, I'm doing the weekly on-call deal for the server support part of my department...
It's not too bad of a gig, I get paid an extra few hundred for answering the phone in the middle of the night, and I only have to do it for one week every 2-3 months...
My fist call tonight was rather ego-assuring, as well. I haven't played with servers for a few years now, and I don't do server stuff anymore. Couple that with the fact that I have virtually no knowledge of our architecture or the organization of the server farm, and that adds up to some potentially fun times.
Anyhow, I got a call, some app wasn't functioning, I remoted into a machine, found what appears to be the logical issue (a service failure), and fixed it. Presto, the application works!
Damn, I'm good. Zero documentation referenced, just flying by the seat of my pants.
Woot!
The current phase in our enterprise-wide WLAN deployment has me traveling out to Lincoln City quite a bit these days - a trip that turns out not to be such a bitch when I've got a co-pilot to BS with.
A few months back, I ended up living out of a hotel in Lincoln City for about eight weeks, covering the site until we hired a permanent staffer there. Getting tired of fast food, I discovered Andaman Thai Cuisine.
Now, I'm a HUGE fan of Thai food, and one of my big laments is lack of a quality place locally. Sure, there's Thai Lotus in Keizer, but that's about 30-45 minutes away.
Corvallis has Cha-Da, which isn't bad, but isn't really all that great. Albany used to have Little Bangkok, which was kinda sucky, and ended up being sold.
I had high hopes for the new owner, Aown Letourneax. Aown is a hell of a cook, and a complete sweetheart. She used to work at Thai Lotus in Keizer, until she and her husband Bob bought Little Bangkok in Albany, remodeling and renaming it Thai Tip Restaurant.
Sadly, a fire destroyed that place only two months into it's new life. Insurance was supposed to have covered everything, but at last glance, the space is now for lease, so it doesn't look like it's going to return.
Anyhow...
I make a point to try out every Thai place I can find, and one of the things I judge the restaurant by is it's Tom Kha Gai.
If you haven't had this soup, you're missing out. Coconut milk, chicken, mushroom, onion, all kinds of good stuff. It is, quite probably, one of the BEST dishes in any cuisine.
Back in October, I got a chance to get over to Andaman, and ordered some soup. The waiter suggested a side of their rice with it, something I've never ordered before, but I was kinda hungry, and it sounded good, so I got some.
Expecting a side of white rice, what I instead got was this nifty side of rice, shaped in a steamer producing a star-shape, with the top half white rice, and the bottom half black rice/forbidden rice. VERY cool!
Thanks to Andaman, I can't order Tom Kha Gai without a side of rice now. It so perfectly complements the soup, mixing it in, absorbing the coconut milk.
It's a damned good thing I'm going back to Lincoln City this week. I need to steal their recipe - by far, they're the best Thai I've had.
You know, I'm sitting here, and I've realized something - even though my living room is nearly 400 sq feet, we need more.
As it stands right now, we've got the entertainment center, which takes up a bunch of space, and isn't going to shrink anytime soon. We're likely going to LOSE some space when I eventually upgrade to HD.
We've got a couple of PCs out here, which aren't really used a bunch, but as soon as I move them and break down the desks, we're going to want them up for a LAN party.
There's the R2-D2 printer - an HP LaserJet 9000dtn...he doesn't get used often, but he's so ultimately cool...I've got an offer from someone to buy him, so...we'll see. Maybe I can trade him for a duplexing Color LaserJet, like a 3800dn or a refurbed 4650dn - it'd be REAL nice to have a color laser again...
Anyhow - we've got a nice big livingroom, but we use the space.
I'd like to have something that I can bring the NeoGeo and my Mortal Kombat 2/Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 cabinets inside, as well as having some space for the showcase cabinet that I want, and the two converta-cabs that I've got.
Maybe I'll have to re-think my living arrangements. Maybe I can turn my bedroom into my office, my storage room into my bedroom, and my office into a den that the arcade stuff can go into...
That might actually work...
...is NOT fuckin' awesome at a particular point in it's journey through the magical ecosystem that is me.
KFC doesn't hold a candle to Popeye's, but the Colonel's secret blend of 7 herbs and spices doesn't cause an exothermic reaction to explode from my sphincter.
Holy hell.
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You know, I wouldn't have to do this if this stupid software would just leave the last 5-7 posts on the front page, instead of updating the front page anytime someone edits/adds/comments.
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So, I haven't posted for about for a few days, and don't feel like making up the content.
So, you get filler.
---BEGIN FILLER---
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It's winter, and that means the wee beasties from outside move inside - into the walls, and, occasionally, scurrying across my living room.
Mice suck.
My cat does, too. He treats them like toys, not food. He plays with them, and lets them go.
So, here I am, looking for creative ways to get rid of them. I don't want to deal with the standard trap, because I know my cat would fuck with it. D-Con and other poisons are out, because of the risk to the cat, either from the baitbox, or eating a poisoned mouse.
I'm debating the D-Con enclosed traps, the things that look like hockey pucks, but I don't think that they're re-usable, which kinda sucks.
Anyone got any other suggestions?
I've said it a few times, both here and to my friends - even with all the political bullshit that was going on with Mitsubishi/SUMCO, even with how they treated their employees, even with the pay (or lack thereof) issues, I still miss working there.
Or, perhaps, maybe it's just that I miss working in Salem.
Don't get me wrong - the commute to Salem sucked - even when I was living closer. I don't miss the drive, which was 25-30 miles one way. My drive now is only 15-20, and it still sucks.
I think it was the fact that there's actually something to do in Salem.
I bugged out of work for my lunch break today, and ended up driving from the north end of town to the south end, and let me tell you - there ain't shit to do in Corvallis.
Salem has a WIDE variety of places that interest me. There's gun stores, there's game/comic shops, there's tons of neat little businesses, there's the pawn shops. The downtown area even has a fair amount of parking.
Corvallis? Not so much.
They've got one comic/game store that, while it has a huge selection of stuff, it's a pretty static selection. Sure, some new stuff comes in from time to time, but for the most part, it's the same shit in there. The owner is nice guy, and I'm glad he's running the store, but it's a poor business. It's cluttered as hell, it's dark and dim (I don't know if he's too cheap to buy more UV tubes, or if he's trying to save money on the power bill), his small children are there about 75% of the time, because he doesn't pay a babysitter (which adds a LOT to the mess - food, garbage, toys, etc.). It's just kinda depressing.
There's no gun store (shocker!).
There's a couple of half-assed pawn shops, but those are located in South Town, which means the selection sucks, because South Town sucks, and nobody goes there.
Neat stores? Well, not really. See, Corvallis is a hippy/libby college town - yay pot, nay intelligence. Most of the stores are potsmoke-filled head shops or music stores, the obligatory 20 antique stores, and a plethora of other useless shit. Seriously, how many goddamned coffee shops does one town need?
There's the Memorial Union at OSU, which I haven't been to for quite a while now, so maybe I'll go gander at that one of these days. The OSU bookstore is there, along with a bowling alley, an arcade, and a bunch of other stuff. I'll go gander at that, and see if there's anything there worth spending time or money on, but even if there is, that doesn't go far enough to redeem the town.
It sucks.
I need to start bringing books to work, or something.
Another year gone.
Another Presidential campaign ready to get into full swing, which means a deluge of annoyances in the form of stupid campaign ads from both sides, and a flood of liberals carrying on over which of their candidates is more pro-gaynalsex, which one is more of a champion of lenience on criminals, which one is a bigger fucking tool.
Of course, as history has taught us, one party holds the office for a term or two, and then the next party gets it. The cycle continues to repeat.
This means (and the general attitude bears things out) that a Democrat is going to illegally steal the election this year, and we're likely not going to see a Republican back in office for another 4 to 8.
It's funny. Given the above, and given the holiday, I should be drinking like a fish, but I haven't had a drop, and am likely to hit the sack in another hour or so.
This year sucks.
Happy 2008, fookers.
You know, one's internal clock can get annoying.
I'm used to waking up around 6am for work.
Unfortunately, even if I turn my alarm off, even if I stay up until 2am in the morning, I still wake up around 6am, and have a hard time getting back to sleep.
What's worse, though, is that even though I can't get back to sleep, I'm still tired as hell, and end up crashing around 9am-10am - HARD.
If I go take a nap, I'm usually out for at least 3-4 hours, which pretty much kills the day.
Lame, huh?
Oh, and I need a new bed, too. I bought new pillows, but those didn't help my sore neck every morning, so now it's time for a new mattress set.
Weak.
Yeah.
Merry Christmas.
I'll update with my Loot List later.
I was going to post a cool ASCII Christmas Tree, but stupid stylesheets fucked up that plan, and I'm too lazy to figure out how to code it to the System font.
So, here it is, about 28 hours until Christmas, and I'm just not feeling it.
In years past, I've been pretty excited about the season, and totally in the Christmas mood.
This year, I'm just kinda bored with it.
It just seems that the spirit isn't here - or anywhere else, for that matter.
I'm seeing decorations, and people are being pleasant, wishing me a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, and all of that, but nobody around me really seems to be in the mood.
What's up with that?
Am I the only one who thinks so?
It seems that every single funny or original video that I view has a metric fuck-ton of "related videos" attached to it, listed as a "parody" or a "remake" of the real thing.
First of all, fuckers, learn what a goddamned parody is. Simply placing your greasy, retarded ass in a video, and reciting lines from the original, verbatim, is NOT a parody.
Secondly, the original videos are funny BECAUSE THEY'RE ORIGINAL. You're not original, and even if you were, you're not funny.
If you haven't been under a rock, you've likely heard of the Summoner Geeks video.
It's a computer-animated deal put out by Volition (the folks who created Descent), using characters from their games Red Faction 2 and Summoner. The characters act out a comedy skit by the now-defunct comedy troupe The Dead Alewives.
The original audio skit is hilarious, and was made even more so by the Summoner video, with goofball characters like Luminar rooting around in the kitchen for snacks and drinks.
Of course, like everything witty, funny and original, talentless morons have created their own bastardized versions.
It wouldn't be so bad, if they had attempted to add something to their remake, but these things are just horrible. If it's not poor acting, it's just idiocy.
YouTube has become a repository of shit, shit and more shit. Maybe 5% of the content on there is worthwhile, while the rest of it is just drivel and spew.
God help YouTube, because the users surely can't.
Take a look at the Summoner Geeks link above, and the related videos, and tell me I'm wrong.
Christmas is almost here, and once again, I've managed to do virtually all of my Christmas shopping online - thus, avoiding the crowds of idiots, screaming children and horrible parking.
With the exception of something from Target and a couple of gift cards, I've also - again - been able to use Amazon for the vast majority of my purchases.
I think I need to hurry up with my idea for a new website, and get setup as an Amazon affiliate - I should be able to steer people to some awesome deals, and make some money on the thing...
Have you seen that commercial where the hot chick's dog talks to her, and tells her he doesn't like her when she smokes weed?
You're kidding me, right?
This has to be the worst commercial backfire EVAR.
This commercial makes me WANT to smoke pot!
Seriously - if my cat talked to me because I smoked weed, I'd be high all the time. If you entered my house, you'd die of smoke inhalation.
That would rock so damned much. I wish I had magic animal-speaking weed. :(
...at least, it seems that way.
My long weekend is over, and I must return to work tomorrow.
Ugh.
Don't get me wrong, I love the new position and everything, but, damn, it was nice to not really have to do anything for the past week. I was just beginning to relax, and now I've got to put it all away.
Oh well.
At least I got some stuff accomplished this week:
Rearranged the living room, shifting the entertainment center about 90 degrees, and altering the entire layout.
Organized my far-too-huge DVD collection in the process.
Organized the bookshelves a bit, and moved all of my gaming stuff to a better location.
Moved the "main" printer from the office to the living room, where it's better situated for everyone (including me).
Things seem a lot nicer, now, and the place feels a lot bigger (less constrained). I dig it.
WOOHOO!
Accrued vacation time rules.
We're already out for Thanksgiving, but I'm taking Friday, and the following Monday and Tuesday off, as well.
Thirty years (nearly) seems to have gone by pretty damned quickly, and I'm not too thrilled about it. I'm hoping the next thirty take a little longer, and have some bigger events...
Anyone know a way I can make $50,000 really fast? I'd even sell a kidney (or a testicle)...
YAY!
Black Friday Ads (bfads.net) has updated some of their stuff, and has information on the Black Friday sales of the following stores:
Ace Hardware
fye
Harbor Freight
Old Navy
Sears
I'm sure more will come, soon, but the one I was most interested in, Sears, is posted.
There's a lot less of the $10 stuff in the advert this year, but I'm sure there will be spiffy stuff in the store.
So, I think we get compensated $0.485/mile for travel.
Given that I get about 20 miles/gallon on average, and assuming gas costs $3.00/gallon, that's a consumption of about $0.15/mile.
Yeah, yeah, I know, wear on the engine, oil, tires, other consumables, whatever.
I just got done driving the new dude all over the coast, showing him the different sites. I easily put a couple hundred miles on the Vic today.
I can't wait until the expense check comes in.
Two more days at the coast, and I'm in my new job.
Of course, this is when the anxiety sets in.
I'm don't have any misconceptions about my skill. I know where I'm at, and I'm confident I'll do well.
It's just that I can't help but worry about it.
What if I'm overestimating myself? What if I seriously suck at this stuff?
And why do I have these irrational fears?
Idiocy, I think. When in doubt, bet on idiocy.
I need to hurry up and get into my new job, dang it.
I think that I've finally discovered why many people hate traveling - the packing.
Packing sucks - especially when you have to pack for a week-long trip.
I've got to take clothes for five days, plus "spares" in case of any kind of mishap, plus street clothes/bumming around clothes for my off-time/downtime.
I've got to pack up my laptop and associated gear.
I've got to make sure I've got a gun, with all of the appropriate accessories and gear.
And, apparently, I've always got to do it at the last minute, right before I need to go to bed.
Beyond the fact that I need more clothes simply to reduce the wear on what I've currently got, it sure would be nice to not have to run a couple loads of laundry just so I can pack enough stuff for the week.
Of course, that's my fault, since I always find more important things to buy than new clothes.
Winning the lottery would solve a lot of my problems...
And another 400 miles on my car.
Ugh.
Fortunately, next week, I'll be in the hotel for the entire week.
I'm not particularly looking forward to being away from home/bed/everything else, but, at the same time, I'm glad I'm not going to have to make multiple trips everywhere.
I'll be leaving to Lincoln City on Monday morning, and not having to drive back until Friday night.
It's too bad I didn't have a few more bucks - I'd go hit the casino up and waste some money.
I'm going to have to plan a trip with my friends, and have a casino-night get-together.
Who's game?
So, I spent today in Waldport, hooking up a bunch of computers in an area far too small and completely unprepared for my visit.
Loads of fun.
That town sucks.
Don't get me wrong - it's an absolutely gorgeous town, with an awesome bridge over the Alsea Bay.
It's just that there's nothing to do there. I set out to find lunch, but save for the obligatory seafood places, there didn't seem to be anything readily available and obvious.
At least Coos Bay/North Bend have enough of a population to justify a few things, like a mall, movie theatres, pool, the dunes - all kinds of things, really.
Newport and Lincoln City are really bumming me out...I'm visiting there for extended periods of time, and I want something to do, rather than just sitting in the hotel room on a slow-ass internet connection with a crappy TV.
Quite honestly, there's really no way I could move out there.
You know, I love my car, and I really like driving, but my desire to not get another speeding ticket now impacts my fun driving the windy mountain roads to the coast.
It also adds to my travel time significantly...
Some enterprising pilot needs to charter his Cessna out to a few people, and organize an air-shuttle to the coast.
Hell, I could drive out there on Thursday (like last week), fly home on Friday, and fly back on Monday, driving home later in the week.
That would rock so much...
Of course, there's probably some stupid federal regulations that would prohibit this, just like there is for anything that's handy.
Man, it's so nice here today.
I really wish I could find a nice, big, inexpensive place - and convince my friends to move out here, too.
The beach and sun is just gorgeous outside my back door right now, and I love the ocean smell.
It's too bad I can't convice the powers that be to spring for the hotel for the weekend, as well.
Woot!
So, I just found out that my coverage of the various coast facilities has been extended.
As of Thursday, I won't be back to a valley site for nearly a month.
Man, it's almost like a double-vacation.
I truly do enjoy the people I work with, but I can't lie - I'm not going to miss my main facility's hectic schedule and impatient users.
The new facility is all setup!
I'm going to have to be there Monday morning, first thing, bright and early so that I can assist with any issues that they might be having, but at least the main setup is done.
Such a relief.
Now, I'm going to bed.
So, a new facility is being setup, and I've been tasked to ensure that all the workstations and printers are setup and configured.
I did a walk-through of the site today with the manager, and was oh-so-pleased to discover that we need an additional 4 printers and 7 workstations that were never mentioned by anyone responsible for this crap.
Did I mention the facility opens up in 7 days?
Or did I mention that a bunch of other critical components (cabling, etc.) wasn't even purchased until late last week, and only because *I* discovered it hadn't been?
Why am I being paid peon wages, yet doing the job of more senior personnel?
It's funny. I interviewed for a different/better/higher position inside the organization last week, and my department head "caught" me waiting for my interview.
A brief interaction with this person left me flabbergasted. They actually had the nerve to get an attitude with the idea of me leaving the department.
Hello?! Below-average wages + no management support + duties outside the scope of our position + no established advancement track + frequent berating for issues caused by others = Unhappy/jaded staff.
Of course, it's really not as bad as it sounds, but it's not good, either. The fact of the matter is, only one of those things listed above would have to change to make me want to stay in the position - the pay.
Money is a great incentive to retain people. It's bewildering that the organization has two great examples of staff that have been adequately compensated so that they'll stay in the position they hold, yet they seem unable to grasp that doing the same for other staff members might actually allow them to keep talented, skilled and knowledgeable people where they're needed.
It's not rocket science...
I need to figure out a way to gain the restfulness of sleeping all day, while not actually doing it.
I got up this morning around 9:00am, wandered around for about thirty minutes, and then went back to bed.
I got back up around 2:30pm or so, BS'd with the roomate, and then went back to bed until 8:00pm-ish.
Watched TV for a bit, and now I'm about ready to go to bed for the night.
What a productive day. I love the sleep, I hate the wasted time.
Ugh.
So, a few weeks ago, I was asked to give a presentation about printer and projector troubleshooting.
The presentation was today, and I've been dreading it for the last several weeks, but, all in all, it turned out pretty darned well.
I think what I was simply nervous about the whole public speaking bit, which is goofy. I've always had this anxiety about getting in front of people, but when I'm up there, everything is smooth, and I do well.
Anyhow - I really think that I want to get back into some kind of management or designated trainer position. I find that I really enjoy it, and it's a more direct kind of working with people - but in a good way.
Sadly, I don't see any management roles opening anywhere, anytime soon - save for fast food, and I've already been down that road. It leads nowhere good, let me tell you.
Newport is an awesome town, and I love the coast, but commuting there, even if it isn't a "regular" thing sucks balls.
Especially with our goddamned stupid 55mph speed limits here in the state.
I love the nanny-state revenue-enhancers in this nation.
There were no speed limits, back before any safety features were mandated, let alone existed.
Cars were gigantic hunks of steel that moved fast, ate up the road, and offered absolutely no protection in the event of an accident.
Over the last 50-75 years, vehicles have gotten infinitely safer, what with seat belts, airbags, crumple zones, fuel cutoffs, etc - and what do we do? We make the speed limit slower. And slower. And slower.
What should take me an hour to drive takes me nearly two, if I don't want to worry about getting a nearly $200 speeding ticket.
This "Safety Corridor" shit pisses me off, too.
The legislature mandates a maximum fine. If a county can't find construction to do in a particular area (violations = double fine in a construction zone, at least here in Oregon), they dub the area a "Safety Corridor", which carries the same double-fine penalty.
This shit is ridiculous.
It's not like we really want to go 120mph. Most people are fine with 70-ish, maybe 80-ish on the freeways. That's not an unsafe speed, dammit.
I shouldn't bitch, though - in another 20 years, when the top speed of an economy car is 200mph, the national average speed limit will be 35mph on the freeways - that is, if we're even allowed to drive cars then.
So, the rumors that the Albany Skatepark would be torn down are unfounded, sad to say.
The associated flotsam of the genetic cesspool that congregate at the skatepark to plan their next crime had their panties in a twist for the last few days/weeks, trying to figure out where they could cockfondle next.
It's a shame that it will stay, but maybe there's a silver lining in this gloomy cloud.
Maybe the fucktards down there will emulate their friend, Jeremy "Scrote" O'Sullivan, and get themselves blown away.
One can always dream...
Woohoo!
For the first time in a loooooooooong time, I've got a Sunday with no demands on my time...
I was sick on Thursday and Friday, and Friday evening, when I started getting a bit better, I was able to get up, start doing the week's laundry, and a few other chores, which I finished up on Saturday.
There's still stuff to be done, but it's not stuff I can do right now - I'm waiting on a belt for the lawn mower, and the other yard chores require two people, so I'm sitting here, dinking around, and I'm not feeling guilty about procrastinating on the weekly chores I need to do.
It's great!
So, I've had an opportunity for the past few months to move to Lincoln City, and work there for a fairly decent wage.
There's certainly an attraction to the job - self-supervised, minimal interference from co-workers in the same department, a small campus with a closely-knit group of people who are all pretty friendly.
There's a lot of plusses to it.
But it's in Lincoln City.
I can't really place my finger on what I dislike about the town so much, but it's there - the place just seems like a giant shithole, which isn't entirely fair to the town. The town has been doing a really good job of cleaning up some stuff - it's a damned sight better than it was 15-20 years ago...
I just can't get over this feeling, though.
Maybe it's the fact that most decent places to rent/buy are inordinately expensive, due to the fucking Californians moving in...
Anything that's close to what I'm paying now is a worse shitheap than what I currently live in, and there's no way in hell I'd be able to afford something of comparable space, with the shop and the land that I've got.
Not that I'm anxious to get out of Lebanon or anything. I like it here, and I've really got no active desire to leave, but after working over in Lincoln City today, it's just so much more layed back and stress-free.
The grass is always greener, I suppose...
I got mah kitty back.
Clicky for bigger
He's back to normal, as you can tell.
He obviously missed me and the house. He kept head-butting me once I let him out into the house, and has been purring non-stop anytime anyone is near him.
He rocks.
Sputnik is doing better!
They've had to give him a couple enemas, but he hasn't had to be sedated yet, and he's started moving things through on his own.
They're likely going to keep him until Saturday, but he seems a lot better.
I went to visit him today, and he was happy to see me, so that's cool.
I want my kitty back, dammit.
My kitty isn't feeling well.
His colon issue has finally shown it's face, and he's all bound up (majorly constipated).
He was taken to the vet today, and they've decided to keep him overnight. Apparently, even though he'd continue to pork down food (causing his problem to get bigger), he wasn't drinking any water, so he's dehydrated as well.
They're hydrating him, and giving him some more powerful laxatives in an effort to get things worked out on their own, but it's likely that if he's not better tomorrow, they're going to have to sedate him and give him an enema.
Not a fun time for him. :(
Darn it.
He's been so good, too - he's been super-regular for the last year that I've owned him, but apparently, he's gotten into something that has his bound up real good.
With any luck, he'll be home tomorrow or Thursday.
I miss my kitty.
I just got home.
Lame.
I love people who schedule something to happen in the morning, then aren't ready until about 20 minutes before you're slated to go home, so you have to stay late and accomodate.
I should have been home 3 hours ago, but nooooooo, these inept idiots have to be babysat.
I remember why I chose to move beyond a technician position now.
So, I'm driving home from Corvallis this afternoon, and I'm stopped in traffic, waiting to cross the Van Buren bridge.
They've been repainting it for the last few weeks/months/eons, and while I've driven by the ODOT project sign a bajillion times, I've never really taken the time to really READ it.
Well, I did today.
According to the sign, the bridge repainting project is costing the taxpayers of Oregon 2.35 MILLION dollars.
TO PAINT A FUCKING BRIDGE.
Compare that to the sign on Highway 20, where they're re-routing about 10 miles of existing road, straightening everything out, and building some bridges in the process, which is going to cost $7.5 million.
What the fuck is wrong with our government that we mandate such stupid regulations and restrictions (which are undoubtedly the cause of insane price the company is charging for the job) and the fact that we're actually willing to pay that much?
Insane, I tell you.
Another Sunday evening, and my weekend is over.
It's funny - when I have shitloads of time, I never have any motivation to get stuff done.
When I have limited amounts of time, I always have more to accomplish than I've got the time for.
What's the deal with that?
Muh baby brother turned 22 yesterday.
Give it up for the pigboy!
Way too short.
I never feel like I get anything accomplished.
I always have these big plans to do things - clean up the entire house, complete all the yard work, etc.
It never happens.
Something always gets in the way of completing a project - either I slack off on Saturday, and have to try to bust ass all day Sunday, only to find there's not enough time, or some other issue pops up, stealing the time I have.
Case in point - I've been meaning to clean my desk/office, AND my bedroom for the last month or several.
I just got done cleaning my office, and my desk is still a mess (though better than it was). I'm not happy with the office, but that's another story - too much stuff, not enough places to put it.
Did I get ANYTHING accomplished on the bedroom?
Yeah. Right.
Ugh.
Time for bed. Gotta be up at 5:30am.
Belatedly, that is.
Thank you, Dad, for everything.
Much along the same lines as the Tactical Hand Signals list we brought to your attention some time ago, today, we present the Terrorist Precautions list.
Enjoy!
Clickness for the bigness
58. Wow.
I remember his 40th birthday, and it really doesn't seem like it was 18 years ago.
I'm going to be 30 this year.
This is all fucked up.
I'm finding it ever more difficult to maintain my youthful irresponsibility...
I was at the mall a few months ago, poking around Radio Shack, and saw one of these deals. I played with it for a bit, but didn't make the purchase.
A few weeks ago, when I was at the coast for a week, I decided to pick one up from the local Radio Shack affiliate.
This is what I got:
http://www.interactivetoy.com/micro_mosquito.htm
For $60, this thing is frickin' sweet!
It's small. It's relatively easy to fly. The remote has a trim adjustment for the counter-rotation, so you don't have it spinning all over out of control.
It's got a rechargable lithium-ion battery, which is sweet.
My kitty is intrigued by it.
I can chase him around with it, but when I land, he gets curious and comes to investigate. If I dink around (without making a quick take-off), he'll attack it.
The best part, though, is that replacement parts cost $10 -that gets you new main rotors, new tail rotor, new pegs, spacers, retainers, etc.
Seriously, for a tiny, rechargable fun-as-hell toy like this, $60 ain't too shabby!
My only annoyance is the charging deck. It has the capability of utilizing C-cell batteries or an AC adapter.
Now, this is relatively convenient, but we're dealing with Radio Shack here - you have to pay for the AC adapter, and of course, they don't have them readily in stock.
Yay!
Seriously, in this day and age, a damned AC adapter should come with EVERYTHING.
Radio Shack and their stupid battery sales quotas are still well in effect - even at the indie stores.
So, I've been eyeballing a scanner for quite a while, and, surprisingly (given their general lack of quality on most other stuff), Radio Shack still makes some of the best/better stuff out there.
I've been trying to decide between the Pro-2055 (analog trunking capable) or Pro-2096 (digital trunking capable).
The 2055 is $200, and the 2096 is $500.
My decision finally became easier when I found out that nobody in Oregon is doing anything with digital trunking - hello Pro-2055!
I've been in Lincoln City for the past week, and decided to go check out the local Radio Shack.
Turns out that the Rat Shack in Lincoln City is an "affiliate store", rather than a corporate outlet.
The corporate stores have to charge retail for everything - the affiliates simply have to list the retail price on stuff, but can sell for whatever they want.
My $200 scanner became a $170 scanner.
Had I been able to justify the added expense, the $500 Pro-2096 would have been about $375 or so.
How fucking cool is that?
Not only do they have better deals on Rat Shack gear, but this particular store is also a licensed firearms dealer, and the owner has an affinity for black rifles.
AR's, AK's, and electronics nerd stuff, all under one roof!
TOO FRIGGIN HOT!
So, we rented a tractor today, and proceeded to kick the yard's ass.
It's down, but not out - yet.
We still need to do a metric fuck-ton of edging, and we need to get out there with the riding lawnmower once it dries up some more to mow down that which we couldn't get done today (yay for rain!), but it's definitely a lot better than it was.
The tractor came with a scoop front bucket thinger on it, which proved to be quite useful in getting rid of a dirt mound and a bunch of blackberry bushes.
Finally, my knees are sunburned.
No other part of my legs, just my knees.
This makes for quite painful exercises.
Stupid sun.
I need to pave my yard.
Sadly, concrete is way more expensive than asphalt, and asphalt is far too hot during the summer.
I want to avoid mowing, not get baked on the blacktop.
Seriously, though, grass is one of the few things about Oregon that sucks.
Our rainy season extends well into what should be summer weather, so that we get a weekend of heavy rain, and then a week of brilliant sun, lather, rinse, repeat.
We rented a high-grass mower about 2-3 weeks ago to tackle the yard, so that we could mow it when the mower got fixed. It's rained pretty much ever since then.
You can't even tell we mowed.
Now, on the day that I finally source the right belt for my mower, the grass is about 3 feet high in places.
I spent about 45 minutes mowing about 15% of the yard - a job that normally takes 2-3 hours for the entire thing.
Of course, the dull blades don't help matters, but the height and thickness of this crap is just clogging the shit out of my mower, making it nearly impossible to mow.
I'm going to need to rent a tractor with a rear-mount PTO mower, I think...
ARGH.
Which would you want?
I love the early shift stuffs - like, 7:00am - 3:30pm, because it gives me the afternoon, and when I'm off, it seems like I've got lot more of the day than if I got off at 4:30pm or 5:00pm. Only problem is, I never really seem to get enough sleep, so when 5:00am - 5:30am rolls around, I really, really don't want to get up.
The late shift if neat - say, 9:30am - 6:00pm. I can stay up later, I can sleep in later, and it normally means a more laid-back work day, since most people leave earlier than 6:00pm, but it doesn't seem to leave much time in the evening.
Of course, the "normal" shift, such as 8:00am to 4:30pm, it just sucks all the way around. You still have to get up "early", and you don't really have any afternoon left...
I think that's why I really want a graveyard/swing shift. I can sleep late, and I've still got morning/afternoon with which to do stuff, if I feel the desire.
How say you?
You know, I like the IS/IT world, but I'm tired of playing computer repair man, and installing software.
I want to do something else.
Too bad Bang Brothers didn't have franchise opportunities...
Want proof I'm part of the conspiracy?
Today's post is at 9pm on the 11th!!!
OMGZ!
I love Oregon weather.
I like the rain.
Really, I do.
But, goddammit, stop fucking teasing me with a day or two of sun, and letting everything look like it's going to be clear, so that I can go and organize an expedition into the jungle that is my yard, and get it mowed - and then raining so I can't.
Besides - it's time to start warming up. Sunny, in the seventies, that kinda thing.
Lay off the rain for a bit.
This little game of rain, then sun, then more rain, then more sun - it's obnoxious, and it makes the grass grow like a fucking mutant.
Yep.
I'm dead.
OH, APRIL FOOLS, I GOT YOU GOOD, YOU FUCKERS!
Jesus, this "holiday" sucks balls. Everyone thinks it's a license to be a fucking moron with their so-called "pranks".
Dipshits.
So, I took my LCD back yesterday.
Why is it that the businesses and banks are right there to take my money from me immediately, yet when I get a refund on something - something that I used my DEBIT card, not credit card for - it takes multiple days to put my money back into my bank?
That's chickenshit.
I'm curious, had I used cash, if they'd try to pull some bullshit of giving me an in-store giftcard, or some such other nonsense.
Fucking fuckers.
I'm not normally an anti-corporate douchebag like a lot of the libbies out there, but practices like this piss me right the fuck off.
Oh goodness.
I've started playing an MMORPG. God help me.
The house has decided to play Vanguard (the new fantasy MMORPG from the same dorks that did Everquest), and I've been suckered into that.
See, I wouldn't play EQ, and I made the statement once that if a new MMORPG came out that didn't look like it would tank from the get-go, and I could get in on it "early" enough, I'd play with them.
Then this came out.
Well, shat.
It's not bad, seems kinda nifty.
I just wish they'd come out with a cool-enough Sci-Fi MMORPG.
You know what would rock?
A Shadowrun MMORPG.
That would fucking rule.
Oh yes, you know it.
It would rock your face.
So, let me first preface this by saying that I had a blast.
Let me put an addendum on that by stating that Knight and Titan are big fucking bitches for not wearing their goddamned PLA shirts, and for bitching out early.
Anyhow.
A good time was had, I don't suck at bowling as much as everyone else (nyah!), and beer is good.
However, after consumption of a decent amount, I find that I didn't even really get that much of a buzz.
Next time we go drunken bowling, I'm going to have to start hitting the rum or the vodka.
Then I'll be drunken!
Word to RBCP and Jammie! Of course, since I drove, they were hostages at my mercy, but at least they didn't try to bail out early like the other two pogues.
Woot!
Jammie is in town!
Going drunken bowling tonight with Jams, RBCP, Knight and Titan (because Radigast is too much of a puss to come)!
I will consume beerage and throw heavy balls at weird pin things.
It will be a blast.
It's Wednesday.
My brain is fried.
I don't know what to do.
Just sitting around.
Doing nothing.
I think I need new shoes.
But shoes require money.
Something I ain't got.
I sure hope I find some.
I hope that it's a lot.
Now my poem is almost over.
And my inanity is at an end.
I have far too much time on my hands.
God, I need a girlfriend.
I got nothing.
And I'm tired.
So you get nothing.
Happy Valentine's Day, or something. Go, spend money in the name of Hallmark!
So, a couple days ago, we got a light dusting, enough that I got to see white on the yard before it melted.
I was dissapointed, because it didn't stick around - I love snow.
Last night, it started snowing, such that when I got up around 9am to feed my cat, there was an inch or two on the ground.
"Sweet!" said I. Not only was this a fair amount of snow, but it might possibly be enough that they cancel class tonight, and I don't have to go!
Oh, it was not to be.
"SUN!" sayeth the 10-day forecast. "SUN FOR 10 DAYS!"
And quickly did the snow melt. Parts of the yard still haveth snow, but alas, the snow is not to stay.
Attendeth class I must. Dealeth with idiots and libtards in class I must. Sitteth aroundeth and twiddleth my thumbs I must, for they are slow in the mind, and do not work fast.
Joy, oh joy.
Goddamned sun. Not that I'm complaining about a forecast of 10 days of a lack of drizzle in the middle of winter - that's all well and good. I just want my snow.
2007 already.
It's now officially 1.5 years since we closed SUMCO up in Salem, and since I've had a "real" job.
We're also now at the 6-month mark, where I have to get my training completed, or I won't have Trade Act-funded income.
With any luck, I won't have to wait 6 months. With any luck, I'll have a job before the end, and get training completed as time goes by.
Since it's tradition to make New Year's resolutions, I hereby resolve that I need to shed weight.
Weight-loss is a pretty traditional resolution, so I score no style points for originality.
Be that as it may, I've concluded that I'm past being "overweight" now, and I've moved into "fat".
As such, I need to remedy it.
Problem is, I'm lazy. I'm a computer nerd, so I'm not particularly active.
I'm going to need to change that.
I think the hardest thing to fix, though, is going to be a reduction in food consumption. I heart food, and food hearts me.
I'm going to need to seriously work on portion control and consumption frequency - and I'm going to need to lay off sweets.
Dammit.
Here's hoping 2007 is good for all of ya'll out there.
Another one down.
After a year of schooling, I've come to a few conclusions.
School sucks. When I graduated from high school nearly twelve years ago, I was pretty much convinced that I did, in fact, truly hate "school". It's why I dropped out of college, and it's why I never went back.
Apparently, ten or so years is enough to almost forget.
Being unemployed sucks. Don't get me wrong - it could be MUCH worse. I could be unemployed with no money, or less money. I'm able to pay the bills adequately, and what not, but I want more money. This requires a job.
The other aspect is the activity, or lack thereof.. I really only have myself to blame for this, because it'd be quite easy for me to get up and go for walks or something, but I don't. I honestly don't enjoy being a lazy bum, and I'd really like to be more active, but as easy as it is to be active, it's hard to find an activity that's both physically _AND_ mentally engaging.
Gas prices suck. I want cheaper gas so I can go drive my gas-guzzling SUV around the woods and ruin pristine wilderness areas and kill innocent forest creatures.
Invade wherever, kill whoever. Just get me cheaper gas, so I can do my part, and consume it.
The Corvallis/Albany/Lebanon area is starting to suck. No decent computer stores. No decent electronics stores. No dedicated music store. No decent steakhouse. Only one decent seafood place, in Corvallis, and expensive, which makes it not really decent at all. Only one decent Italian place, again, in Corvallis, and tiny-as-fuck, which makes it not really decent at all. No toy store. A couple of shitty bookstores, and even shittier used bookstores.
Come on, people. I used to defend this area to people that said it sucked, and now they're being proved right.
I'd move to Salem, but there's more illegals in that town than in Nogales, AZ.
Yay for social services!
Let's hope 2007 is better, and the liberals all die from AIDS. In a fire.
So, it's a tough call on what's worse, when you're sick - heaving your spleen through your esophagus, or the complete and utter exhaustion due to your body pulling all of it's troops together to fight the goddamned viral infection (oh wait, I'm sorry, libtard reades - I meant "freedom fighters" or "insurgents").
A couple days later, and I'm thinking that I'm mostly recovered, save for still needing a bit of a recharge.
Sadly, I can't really sleep, but I can't seem to muster the energy to do anything else.
We so totally need some VR stuffs. Then I could just lay here, and do all kinds of cool things.
Aw, shucks.
I honestly don't know what sucks more - being sick, or the letdown when you think you're going to escape getting sick, and you don't.
One of the roommates caught some kind of bug, and was sicker than shit for a few days.
As he started recovering, I still hadn't gotten sick, so I had high hopes that my awesome immune system would kick ass once again.
Alas, it was not to be.
Went over to Safeway about two hours ago with another roommate, and ended up defiling their flowerbed as soon as we got out of the store.
It's almost midnight, and I've already hurled 3 times.
I'm going to bed.
So, I just got home a bit ago from the family gift-opening, and a good time was had by all, for the most part.
Everyone dug the stuff I got them, so that makes me happy, and I scored pretty well, too.
My sister got me some candy stuffs, and some shirts, which rocks, because I was seriously needing some new ones.
My brother and his girlfriend got me a seriously cool encyclopedia of firearms, and Scrubs season 3 and 4 on DVD, which I've been wanting for a loooooooong time.
My parents got me the Ryobi One+ Angle Grinder and Shop-Vacuum, and a OTC Stinger 2-1/2 ton floor jack, all of which kicks some serious ass.
I've been wanting the grinder for a while, and the Shop-Vacuum will make cleaning out my Explorer a HELL of a lot easier. The floor jack will seriously kick some ass, too, now that I'm going to play amateur mechanic and start doing all my own repair stuffs.
Now I just need to get my funding a little more stabilized, rent that small dumpster to get the last of the trash out of the shop, and then I can go about final organization so I have plenty of room to work on my truck.
Things are looking quite awesome.
Here at The House, we're all pretty avid gamers.
Be it arcade, console, PC, board, pen and paper, whatever it is, someone (or multiple someones) is into it.
One of the games that we're all pretty much into is Dungeons & Dragons.
Growing up, the game always intrigued me, but, living in Halsey, finding someone to play the game with was nigh impossible.
When I moved out, and was able to better locate fellow gamers, I discovered what, to me, was one of the flaws of AD&D 2nd Edition (at least to me): It was horribly convoluted and complex - too complicated for me to want to dink around with, so I largely ignored it.
Around 2000, D&D 3rd Edition came out. Several gamer friends picked it up, and talked me into playing, and I happily discovered that my perceived flaws with 2nd Edition had largely been removed. The game was still complex, but simplified to make it easy to learn those complexities.
Of course, long time gamers found fault with changes to how they liked to do things, and new gamers found fault with errors in the mechanics and physics of the game - overall, minor issues that could have been corrected with an errata or simply changing the book the next time there's a reprint.
But no. Wizards of the Coast, the new owners of D&D decided to wait for about three years, and then release version 3.5 of the game. Significant changes, but not significant enough to warrant a new version (in their mind).
Not significant to warrant a new version, but significant enough that you had to go buy the core rulebooks over again, and stumble around funky conversions for 3.0 data, so it works in 3.5.
Now, to sidetrack for a bit.
When 3.0 was released, the book came with a CD in the back for a D&D Character Generator.
The software was lacking in a lot of ways, but we held out hope, because the game publisher seemed to be endorsing software for a traditionally hard-media game.
The Character Generator was supposed to be one small part of an overall software package for the game, but development stopped on it, to be picked up a while later by a 3rd-party developer named "Code Monkey Publishing".
CMP fixed the software, now called "eTools", and under license with WotC, produced a LOT of datasets for the software based on the book expansions sold by WotC.
The software wasn't perfect, but it was pretty damned good. Our small gaming group purchased the software and a lot of datasets, with plans to buy more in the future.
The future arrived about a week or two ago.
I got onto the CMP website, only to find that CMP had lost the license agreement, and as such, the ability to sell any WotC copyrighted data - including anything produced during the license.
CMP said that Wizards cited "future product concerns" as the reason for failing to renew the license.
That's been interpreted a couple different ways, but one of the popular ideas is that Wizards is getting ready to release D&D version 4.0, and doesn't want the eTools 3.0/3.5 data competing with the new 4.0 material (i.e. people not purchasing 4.0 because they've got a substantial investment in 3.0/3.5, and more 3.0/3.5 material to come out).
Back to the main point.
If the 4.0 rumors are true, it's complete horseshit.
AD&D 2nd Edition lasted for 10 years or so. D&D 3.0 lasted for 3. If 4.0 is released in 2007, that's 3-4 years for 3.5.
I'm sick and tired of the emphasis on getting customers to repeat their purchases through a new version.
Prior to 3.5 being announced, we all bought up the last of the core books we needed for 3.0, including some replacement copies for well-used books.
Shortly thereafter, 3.5 was announced and released, rendering our less-than-3-month-old purchases virtually useless, if we used the 3.5 rules (which would be required for any new expansion coming out in the future).
Our gaming group has already decided, we're not purchasing any 4.0. We've got too much time and money invested in 3.0 and 3.5 books, and we're sick and tired of the companies fucking us in the ass to get us to buy more product.
There's already plenty of books out there that we want to buy, and we'll buy them, unless you keep up your bullshit of forcing us to re-purchase stuff we've already bought.
I understand the concept that you need repeat business. You need your customers to continue to buy merchandise.
This is why you publish expansions. This is why you diversify your product offering.
You don't make minor changes to a book every 3 years, and then release it as a "new version", and then build all your new release books around the new version.
That's not a recipe for prolonged success, that's a recipe for encouraging your customer base to play a different game.
Rot in hell, idiots.
Well, at least in so many words.
Here's the link: Bitchy Psychotics
The bitch won't shut up, so I'm not going to paste the article here - it's too fucking long.
The gist of it? A bunch of women are pissy because they're the primary moneymakers in the household, and they don't like that they're not being waited on hand and foot.
Sorry, honey - this is the new millenium, remember? Don't like that things aren't "traditional" ?? You can thank cunts like Gloria Steinem and Andrea Dworkin (and the rest of the misandrist sisterhood) for that.
Of course, that's not the real issue here. The real issue is, women need something to bitch about. If they weren't in the situation of being the primary breadwinner, they'd be the traditional housewife, and they'd be bitching about that - "Oh, my husband is an asshole, he expects me to clean the house and make dinner, whaaaa!".
And ladies, if you're reading this, and getting pissed off, do me a favor - don't bother commenting. You know it's fucking true - you're just mad because we know.
Besides, I've heard it all before. I'm a chauvinist. I'm a misogynist asshole. I'm a prick. Or, from those with too many chromosomes, I'm fat, I'm ugly, I can't get a date, I probably never had a date, I'm probably a virgin, nobody wants to marry me, blah blah blah.
So, you're forewarned - if you make a comment such as that, you're a waterhead.
Says "Anna": Since their daughter was born two years ago, her husband has become the main caregiver. "I feel lucky that we can afford to do that," she says.At the same time, she admits, she covers all the household expenses and cuts him a check for his needs, "and that part is uncomfortable," she says.
Yet if roles were reversed into a more traditional sense, if he balked at giving you money he earned, you'd become a shrieking harpy.
So, read the article.
Don't get me wrong. I have no problem at all with these women expecting that their non-working husbands take over the majority of housework and the primary caregiver role for any children that might exist.
Just don't get pissy at the breadwinner male for expecting the same from his non-working wife.
Woot.
I'm on break from classes from now until January 9th.
Much sweetness, though it's not like my class schedule was overly hectic or anything.
Hopefully, I can get some stuff resolved with school, and go back with more classes, and get some damned tests done.
I'd really really like to go back to work again, I'm getting bored outta my mind some days, and could use some external stimulus.
Too bad they didn't have a competent Shadowrun MMORPG out there. That's just a game universe begging to be MMO'd. How badass would it be to become a semi-real decker? They could develop a couple different programming languages strictly for the game, you could buy and sell code for stuff, modify it, etc.
That'd be so damned sweet - not to mention the Street Samurai, Magic Users, etc.
I'd love to play a Rigger in an MMO Shadowrun, too. So fucking cool.
Or how about a Battletech MMORPG? There's a humongous universe there that doesn't just center around the 'mechs. There's a ton of different stuff that could be accomplished - and they've already got a lot of the 'mech simulation stuff down, so you could just use the Mechwarrior stuffs.
Sadly, I doubt we'll ever see it. :(
So, I have a question for those few of you who actually read this.
What's your opinion on line cutting, or people "saving places" and such?
Megatokyo, a web-comic I regularly read, has/had a commentary up from one of the folks involved, and he details his camping for the Wii by Nintendo.
Amidst his story, he mentions that his friend arrived the night before at 6pm, while he stayed at home to watch a game, and didn't arrive until about 10pm.
Now, in my opinion, that's fucked - if you were too busy to go stand in line with everyone else, you shouldn't be given an advantageous place in line when you decide that you're ready to show up.
Am I overreacting to a situation that's really not that big of a deal, or am I justified - and if I'm justified, how does one handle a situation like that? In this day and age of bullshit touchie-feelie political correctness, even using harsh words and telling the offending cocksucker to get their ass to the end of the fucking line can get you jailed, it seems.
Of course, as I mentioned earlier, the correct solution would be for these stores to spend a couple hundred dollars on a part-time security goon, or some kind of supervisory guidance for the lines, but that might cut into their precious profit margins...
How say you, people?
So, it wasn't as bad as expected, which I'm happy for.
I had been debating going out and trying to score one of the many $400 laptops that people were selling, and then decided against it, because the specs of them all kinda sucked, compared to what I wanted.
On Monday or Tuesday, I saw that Best Buy had posted some "secret" only-advertised-on-the-Internet specials, one of which was a $250 Toshiba laptop, with specs comparable to everyone else's $400 laptop.
At $250, I decided that I really couldn't pass it up, so I arranged with C to accompany me, and we left Lebanon this morning at about 2am, to go await the 5AM opening of Best Buy in Salem.
When we arrived, on the opposite side of the mall, things looked good - barely any cars in the parking lot.
When we rounded the corner of Macy's, we discovered Best Buy was packed.
There were at least 150-200 people in line already.
We got in line, thinking we might be lucky, but in the short 20 minutes that we stood there, about 30 people joined the line behind us, and about 60 people joined the front of the line.
Shit like that pisses me off.
These assholes need to die. Retailers need to hire some cheap minimum-wage security folks to stand out there for a few hours, and enforce the fucking line.
I seriously feel sorry for the people near the middle of the line, who were probably #50 or #60 to get in the store when they joined the line, and ended up being #150 or #160 when the store finally opened.
"Fuck this", I said to C, and we bailed. We drove down to Albany to check and see if there was any kind of line at Sears, as they were having some MASSIVE freakin' deals on Craftsman tools, AND giving away a $10 gift card to the first 200 people.
At about 3:30am, one guy was standing at the door, and two girls were waiting in their car. We decided to get in line.
Now, I can almost accept some of the line-campers.
Take the Playstation 3, for example. Given how much the damned thing was selling for on eBay, if you had the opportunity to be one of the "lucky" few to purchase one on launch day, and you intended to sell it on eBay to exploit the idiots who just had to have one, sweet. You may have had to camp there for 48 hours, but if you end up making $1500 on the thing, you're being paid $30-something an hour to what? Brave the wind and rain for a bit?
Not a horrible deal.
But if you're at Sears, camping since 11pm the night before, without a shopping agenda, simply there to get one of the $10 gift cards they're giving out to the first 200 people through the doors? You're fucked in the head, pal.
Yes, that was Mr. First In Line. He waited at Sears for six hours, so he could get a $10 gift card. He got the card, and he left. Didn't purchase a single fucking thing.
Why is minimum wage $7.50/hr when there's people willing to do stupid shit for $1.67/hr?
I don't get it.
All in all, Black Friday wasn't horrible - but, we only patronized one establishment.
To the people out there that just absolutely had to be to as many places between 5am and 11pm, you're fucking mental.
I ended up dropping about $300-$350 on tools and such. There were a couple things I didn't particularly need, but when you're talking Craftsman tools with a lifetime warranty? Wrenches for $1.25/each and sockets for $0.91/each is a hell of a deal for something that's warrantied for life.
We entered at 5am, left at 6am, got breakfast at Denny's, and I was in bed at 7am.
As I'm writing this, I'm still freaking exhausted, but the sleep sacrifice was worth it. I've now got a pretty respectable collection of hand tools, and I'm quite happy about that.
I'm a moron, for Friday morning, I will be out amongst all the other morons, hoping to score a Black Friday deal.
I'm quite sure I will rue the day, but if I end up scoring said deals, it'll be worth it.
Turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and pie tomorrow!
So, we've been having a few bugs find their way inside of late. The weather has been shifting from warm, dry and calm to, well, anything but warm, dry and calm. It's been cold as hell, rainy as hell and windy as hell, and those insects, they're not going to fucking take it, dammit!
We've had anything as simple as flies (thank you, mink farms less than a mile away!) and spiders (if it has more than two eyes and four legs, it's not to be trusted...) to wasps/hornets and termites.
The wasps/hornets and termites are the more worrisome. We know that there's a wasp/hornet nest somewhere behind the siding, and that they've found a small path to the inside of the house. Fortunately, they never came inside in any significant numbers. Per my reading, it appears that what started coming inside with a bit more frequency were the fertile males and females looking to breed/hibernate, and that they don't breed with nestmates.
Well, these ones died unsatisfied. Fortunately, since they don't re-use nests, whatever is behind the siding is dead or dying.
The termites on the other hand, they're a different story. Termites don't get sprayed. They have to be poisoned, and that poison has to be taken back to the nest.
Wherever that nest is, it's under the house somewhere. With any luck, the recent rains and rise in water level (including that under the house) took care of them, as we haven't seen them for a few days.
Regardless, we decided to bomb the house today, just to make sure that anything INSIDE was going to die, and with any luck, leave enough residue to discourage anything else from coming in for a while.
So, we set off a whole bunch of RAID-nades, and vacated the premises for a while.
We ended up at Ginsa in Albany, for lunch.
This place is some GOOD food. They're somehow related to Fuji in Salem - same owners, or same family.
Japanese cuisine, and they make fresh sushi, which is nifty.
Now, I'm pretty cowardly when it comes to sushi stuffs. I'll usually stick with an Ebi Roll, as the shrimp is cooked, and I like shrimp.
Here's the problem, though. One roll is something like $7 or $8, for 6 or 7 bite-size pieces.
A buck a bite ain't cheap, goddammit. We need a place down here charging like, half that for a roll. This stuff is so damned good, yet it's so regularly-dining prohibitive.
I blame the Democrats.
Wow.
So, in all reality, what happens to Britney Spears and Kevin Federline matters about as much to me as what happens to the contents of my toilet after flushies.
Don't get me wrong, I would wreck the shit out of Britney, but other than that, I really don't give a shit about her.
However, the latest in the trailer-park saga has amused the hell out of me.
Turns out, Britney has filed for divorce from her Tom Arnold wanna-be, and is seeking sole custody of the children (allowing for visitation).
That was yesterday.
Today, K-Fag has counterfiled for sole custody, and the he-bitch is seeking spousal support.
Wow.
Just wow.
I mean, the spousal support issue is hilarious in and of itself, but to honestly have a hope that a judge would grant someone like him custody of children?!
HAH!
Not that Britney is mother of the year or anything, but seriously - LOOK AT THAT GUY.
Justin Timberlake must be fucking ROLLING right now.
So, with one roommate moving out, I'm taking over part of his former territory.
This means I'll have the old living room of the original part of the house as my office area, moving me out of the new living room.
The room will be part office and part den, which will be kinda cool. I've got a futon bed/couch thing in there already, so I'll have a place to go relax and read that isn't in the main living room, which is nice - less traffic is always a good thing.
The room has a door to the exterior, which is kinda nifty. One of these days, it's been our intent to get rid of the crappy ivy-overgrown hawthorne tree, and put some gravel in front there, so we have another parking spot, which will be quite nice for when I get the Thunderbird I want.
Woot!
So, we've been cleaning out my shop this week, and we're slowly recovering usable space from hordes of trash, useless crap, cobwebs, and dead bugs.
As lame as cleaning sounds, it's actually not that bad - I've got some great cleaning cohorts, and now that we can actually pull a vehicle in and work on it (and have room to move around it all), it's hella cool.
The only crappy part is, we're accumulating trash faster than we can get rid of it. We can only throw so much out in the weekly garbage pickup, and we generate more in a week than we get rid of, so it's quickly piling up.
If I had a pickup, or a trailer, I might go about hauling stuff to the dump (or a big dumpster somewhere...), but I don't - and the "dump" is only open on the weekends, which isn't a disqualifier, but still kinda lame.
Oh well. There's only so much garbage in there - eventually, it'll be gone, and the shop will be a happy-fun place where I can actually accomplish some work on my vehicle.
My first oil change in there will be reasonably rewarding, I'm sure.
