The drive took about nine hours. I didn't really stop much, but I didn't really exceed the speed limit, either. (Actually, I didn't go to the bathroom at all, the whole drive. That's kind of shocking.)
Anyway, I'm back home in Augusta now.
As I was driving I had all kinds of thoughts that I wanted to share, and I kept thinking it would be cool if I signed up for an audioblogging service that I could call with my cell phone, so I could make posts when I wasn't near a computer. I am such a nerd.
One of the thoughts was just that it was so beautiful out. It was rainy (intermittent rain for most of the drive), and water was cascading down those beautiful shale/limestone shelf cliffs that you see all along I-75 in Kentucky. Mist had alighted on the tree-covered hills, and everything was just so green. I didn't take any pictures (I was driving, you know), but I sort of wish I had.
I had a thought that I want desperately to remember because it was just so weird--I remember that I was hoping something for someone who either I don't know personally, or who is a fictional character, and I went off on a long tangent about it, and then thought, "I like to make up stories about everything." At the career advising interview I went to, the counselor focused on my personality and what kind of jobs I would like, and to do that I had to take the Keirsey sorter yet again. I remembered one of the questions being something about speculating in great detail internally versus noticing everything around me (introvert vs. extravert), and I thought about how true the former is for me. I tend to be oblivious to details that don't have any direct relation to what I'm doing; the rest of my mind is fully occupied with its own amusement.
I also thought about my parents, how they were both standing in the doorway smiling at me when I went out to my car, filled with so much love. And then how Dad went to move his truck out of my way so I wouldn't have to back around it, and Mom smiled and waved adoringly from the doorway. It made me tear up. I love them both so much. They are such wonderful people.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Friday, April 29, 2005
Two completely unrelated news items
First: Mari's hafla is in the newspaper!! It's a very nice article, with some choice quotes from Mari. Here's one:
"This was always one of those things I was going to do when I lost weight, when I became that perfect person I was always going to be," she said. "Then I decided I would give myself a break and try it. That's when I discovered that this is a style of dance really open to everyone - all body types, all ages, all sizes and all levels of experience."Secondly, Ed quotes an article in full (and doesn't link it, but I found it by googling, and it's here) about pitting respected auction houses against each other in a high-risk game of janken for millions of dollars in profit. Just goes to show that there is strategy to rock, paper, scissors.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Growing up
In a post entitled "A kind of obsolescence", Eric Burns writes the following:
When you grow up, Christmas becomes more exciting for what you're getting for others than for what you're getting. Your birthday becomes vaguely embarrassing. You walk through toy stores and see more and more things you want to buy because they're ironic, and fewer and fewer things you want to buy because they're cool.I actually think that's neat. While I'm not one of the "must have the latest and coolest" types, I do have my own childish wants and desires. It's heartening to me to think that someday I will look forward to Christmas because of what I'll be giving to others. I like that thought. I think I'm already on the road to that--Christmas presents aren't much of a big deal to me anymore. The only problem is that I haven't been buying presents for other people. ;>
And eventually, your computers become boxes that run your software. When they can't run your software any more, you get a new one. Until then, who needs it?
That's so sad, in a way.
Too bad I don't program
The smugmug site has a cool "hacking" section where innovators can mess around with the application and do all sorts of neat things with it. For example, somebody has created a script by which you can display your last five uploaded photos on a website elsewhere (apparently similar to a Flickr function). I would like to see a "last five comments" script. I think that would be cool. I'm going to install the "last X comments" plugin for WordPress when I finally get around to switching over, because I like being able to track when and how dialogue is being had, and I think it would be nice to have that functionality for my picture site too.
My hands and wrists hurt
Just got back from AJ's, where he and Faye and I played quite a few rousing games of Mario Kart 64. First we played through all the levels, including the Extra (backwards) levels, in 3-way Versus mode. Then we took turns playing the 150cc cups: me and AJ on Mushroom, then me and Faye on Mushroom, then AJ and Faye on Mushroom; me and AJ on Flower, then me and Faye on Flower, and finally AJ and Faye on Flower. It took forever, especially since we kept getting below 4th place in Flower Cup and having to redo the levels. By the time we were done it was almost 3 am.
We ate popcorn, and we cussed at and trash-talked each other like crazy. (I think my potential for vulgarity still surprises them. Also, Faye was very amused by the term "asshat".)
What a great time :D
We ate popcorn, and we cussed at and trash-talked each other like crazy. (I think my potential for vulgarity still surprises them. Also, Faye was very amused by the term "asshat".)
What a great time :D
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Bye-bye, TV
There's a good article over at MSNBC about the end of analog TV. There's a deadline of New Year's Eve, 2006 for air TV to be cut off and replaced with digital, but no one knows when it will really happen. There are definite benefits to doing it soon, but there are also problems with cutting off air TV.
Here's one part I found particularly amusing:
Be sure to check out page 3, "Why not put it off indefinitely?" There are some great things that could be done with the air channels once they're freed up, including wireless Internet for everyone, more channels for public safety services, plus an auction of the remaining channels that could help pad the governent budget. (Hey, maybe they could use the auction money to ensure that poor people will still have television.)
Here's one part I found particularly amusing:
The real problem is the 15 million or so U.S. households whose only television service comes over the air. For these people, predominately lower-income and disproportionately black and Hispanic, the cut-off will be bad news indeed.Priorities! These people may not have decent education opportunities, or even healthy food options, but damned if we're going to deprive them of television! So I suppose TV needs to be added to the list of basic human rights.
Most discussions in Washington contemplate some sort of free or subsidized converters for low-income households, paid for by the government, perhaps with the help of broadcasters or consumer electronics manufacturers. Estimates for the costs of that subsidy range from under one to several billion dollars — the cost declining as the cut-off date is moved further into the future. Proponents argue that the cost of the subsidy is small compared to the economic benefits, although last year the Bush administration indicated it was not in favor of subsidized converters.
Be sure to check out page 3, "Why not put it off indefinitely?" There are some great things that could be done with the air channels once they're freed up, including wireless Internet for everyone, more channels for public safety services, plus an auction of the remaining channels that could help pad the governent budget. (Hey, maybe they could use the auction money to ensure that poor people will still have television.)
Allergy stuff
WebMD has put out a list of the top cities for the worst spring allergies this year. (Here's the actual list.) I'm sort of surprised by the results. I mean, first of all:
People always used to tell me that Augusta was the worst city in the United States for allergies, and that people who never had allergies before developed them when they moved to Augusta. That did seem to be the case with me. Lately I've felt like I've been adjusting...I haven't had horrible migraines in awhile, and really the only allergy effect I've noticed is sneezing, which passes in a day or so. But could the adjusting simply be due to a shift in which cities have seen the worst allergy attacks?
And if that's the case, am I going to start feeling terrible here in a day or two, since I'm in the top allergy city right now? ;P Maybe it's a good thing I'm going home on Friday :>
1. Lexington, Ky. (last year: 16)And then we've got
27. Augusta, Ga. (last year: 2)Does that even make sense? Did we have some crazy weather patterns this year, or what?
People always used to tell me that Augusta was the worst city in the United States for allergies, and that people who never had allergies before developed them when they moved to Augusta. That did seem to be the case with me. Lately I've felt like I've been adjusting...I haven't had horrible migraines in awhile, and really the only allergy effect I've noticed is sneezing, which passes in a day or so. But could the adjusting simply be due to a shift in which cities have seen the worst allergy attacks?
And if that's the case, am I going to start feeling terrible here in a day or two, since I'm in the top allergy city right now? ;P Maybe it's a good thing I'm going home on Friday :>
Veterans Park
Today (well, yesterday...whatever) I went biking at Veterans Park. No one else in my family does the biking thing, so I was by myself, but that's pretty normal :> I like exploring by myself, anyway. (I do wonder what other people think when they hear me talking out loud to myself, though.)
I took Boone's advice and went to Veterans Park, which is on South Point Drive in Lexington (just south of Man O War off Nicholasville Road, or you can get to it from Man O War via Clearwater Drive, or even Saron Drive). As you might expect, there are pictures.
At first, I found myself on a paved jogging path, and although I did find the neat bridge pictured above, I ultimately wasn't satisfied. The path was very short, and took virtually no time at all on my bike. I wasn't in the mood to ride in circles for hours; I wanted to explore.
The dirt trails leading off from the paved path were worrisome because they seemed to be going downhill, and my brakes aren't doing so well these days. (Gotta have those checked.) Plus, the trails seemed to be part of the disc golf course, so I was afraid I would be getting in people's way. However, finally I did venture down a path (eventually walking the bike after having to fling myself off of it to keep from crashing--growling expletives all the way, I assure you), and I'm glad I did. The dirt trail levels off alongside a creek, and runs for quite a distance through the woods. It's absolutely beautiful.
There are lots more pictures. Go check them out.
You'll notice that you can buy prints from this gallery. I've decided to enable that on other galleries, too. If you like any of my pictures, please feel free to buy yourself some copies. I'd feel like a real professional! ;>
I took Boone's advice and went to Veterans Park, which is on South Point Drive in Lexington (just south of Man O War off Nicholasville Road, or you can get to it from Man O War via Clearwater Drive, or even Saron Drive). As you might expect, there are pictures.
At first, I found myself on a paved jogging path, and although I did find the neat bridge pictured above, I ultimately wasn't satisfied. The path was very short, and took virtually no time at all on my bike. I wasn't in the mood to ride in circles for hours; I wanted to explore.
The dirt trails leading off from the paved path were worrisome because they seemed to be going downhill, and my brakes aren't doing so well these days. (Gotta have those checked.) Plus, the trails seemed to be part of the disc golf course, so I was afraid I would be getting in people's way. However, finally I did venture down a path (eventually walking the bike after having to fling myself off of it to keep from crashing--growling expletives all the way, I assure you), and I'm glad I did. The dirt trail levels off alongside a creek, and runs for quite a distance through the woods. It's absolutely beautiful.
There are lots more pictures. Go check them out.
You'll notice that you can buy prints from this gallery. I've decided to enable that on other galleries, too. If you like any of my pictures, please feel free to buy yourself some copies. I'd feel like a real professional! ;>
So here's what happened with that whole ESL thing
Occasionally Wanda, my fellow 2go-Box escapee, will send me links to jobs on CareerBuilder.com. From there I will typically start browsing all the listings just to see what's there.
Today I happened upon a link that said "teacher", and that made me think of how Dad said he thought I wanted to be a teacher. (I'm not sure where he got that idea.) Then I thought about teaching ESL. But that brought back a bevy of unhappy feelings from my last experience concerning TESL.
An acquaintance had suggested I volunteer with a local church that offered ESL classes. I thought about it for awhile, and finally contacted the person in charge of the program. She was very friendly and helpful, or so I thought, but I was still feeling timid, as I had no real classroom experience. So rather than committing to anything, I suggested that I stop by sometime and see how the classes were run. She seemed to agree with this, stating that classes had already begun for that semester anyway. I didn't go to that week's class, and by the next week I had decided that since classes had already started, I probably shouldn't try to stick my nose in, and instead try for the following semester. I emailed her to tell her so, and she wrote back, "I had to turn students away last week. There was no teacher for them because you weren't there."
To my knowledge, I had never given her the impression that I was going to be there. I had worked to give her the impression that I didn't know what I was doing, that I was willing to help but that I didn't have any experience, that I wanted to at least observe classes before running one of my own. But apparently what I was saying did not get through to her. Apparently my interest was taken as an offering of services, and when I didn't "follow through", I was then ripe for the guilt trip of a lifetime.
Ever since then, I haven't been able to think cheerfully about teaching English as a second language. The whole experience soured me on it. It really shouldn't. I need to get past it.
But I really can't believe I was treated like that.
Today I happened upon a link that said "teacher", and that made me think of how Dad said he thought I wanted to be a teacher. (I'm not sure where he got that idea.) Then I thought about teaching ESL. But that brought back a bevy of unhappy feelings from my last experience concerning TESL.
An acquaintance had suggested I volunteer with a local church that offered ESL classes. I thought about it for awhile, and finally contacted the person in charge of the program. She was very friendly and helpful, or so I thought, but I was still feeling timid, as I had no real classroom experience. So rather than committing to anything, I suggested that I stop by sometime and see how the classes were run. She seemed to agree with this, stating that classes had already begun for that semester anyway. I didn't go to that week's class, and by the next week I had decided that since classes had already started, I probably shouldn't try to stick my nose in, and instead try for the following semester. I emailed her to tell her so, and she wrote back, "I had to turn students away last week. There was no teacher for them because you weren't there."
To my knowledge, I had never given her the impression that I was going to be there. I had worked to give her the impression that I didn't know what I was doing, that I was willing to help but that I didn't have any experience, that I wanted to at least observe classes before running one of my own. But apparently what I was saying did not get through to her. Apparently my interest was taken as an offering of services, and when I didn't "follow through", I was then ripe for the guilt trip of a lifetime.
Ever since then, I haven't been able to think cheerfully about teaching English as a second language. The whole experience soured me on it. It really shouldn't. I need to get past it.
But I really can't believe I was treated like that.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Generally what I've been up to
Thursday the 21st: Connor spent the night. We played with Little People. (The tall, voluptuous one with blond hair and the blue dress is me! Connor has five Aunt Heather Little People.)
Friday the 22nd: Got up early for a change, and played with Connor. My period started (two days late) and destroyed my mood. Went home with Connor, played outside with Connor and Logan, ate dinner with them, read two books to Connor, stayed up with AJ and Faye downstairs and watched goofy movies on stupidvideos.com.
Saturday the 23rd: Got up at 1:30 pm. Yeah, so much for a normal schedule. Watched 7th Heaven, Charmed, and Smallville with Mom. Ate steak. Went to Audra and Matt's house and hung out with them and Jeremiah, Leslie, and Luke. Ate s'mores, chips, and pizza, and played Scene It and Taboo. Made a big deal about how I haven't seen any movies, then answered lots of movie trivia questions correctly. (Go me.)
Audra, I promised to give you the link to our family picture site, but I don't have your email address here, so I'm just putting a link in this post and hoping you'll see it. If you don't see it, then either you'll email me asking for it, or I'll just send it to you next week when I'm at home.
Here's the link.
See, I told you that URL was ridiculous.
Friday the 22nd: Got up early for a change, and played with Connor. My period started (two days late) and destroyed my mood. Went home with Connor, played outside with Connor and Logan, ate dinner with them, read two books to Connor, stayed up with AJ and Faye downstairs and watched goofy movies on stupidvideos.com.
Saturday the 23rd: Got up at 1:30 pm. Yeah, so much for a normal schedule. Watched 7th Heaven, Charmed, and Smallville with Mom. Ate steak. Went to Audra and Matt's house and hung out with them and Jeremiah, Leslie, and Luke. Ate s'mores, chips, and pizza, and played Scene It and Taboo. Made a big deal about how I haven't seen any movies, then answered lots of movie trivia questions correctly. (Go me.)
Audra, I promised to give you the link to our family picture site, but I don't have your email address here, so I'm just putting a link in this post and hoping you'll see it. If you don't see it, then either you'll email me asking for it, or I'll just send it to you next week when I'm at home.
Here's the link.
See, I told you that URL was ridiculous.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Oops...scheduling flub
I have career advising next Friday from 2 to 4 pm. I was thinking that I could stay for the weekend, too, and go camping with my brothers and their "crew".
However, I completely forgot that Southern Oasis is next Saturday!
:P
Option 1: Sleep in big time before career advising on Friday, go to the advising, and drive home immediately afterwards.
Option 2: Get up as early as possible on Saturday and drive home, going to the hafla immediately upon arrival in town.
Neither of these is very appealing, but since I am determined not to miss either event, I'll have to pick one of them. Right now I'm leaning towards Option 1, since I've been sleeping in a lot this whole trip.
However, I completely forgot that Southern Oasis is next Saturday!
:P
Option 1: Sleep in big time before career advising on Friday, go to the advising, and drive home immediately afterwards.
Option 2: Get up as early as possible on Saturday and drive home, going to the hafla immediately upon arrival in town.
Neither of these is very appealing, but since I am determined not to miss either event, I'll have to pick one of them. Right now I'm leaning towards Option 1, since I've been sleeping in a lot this whole trip.
Ooh look, another one.
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 65% General American English |
| 20% Yankee |
| 15% Dixie |
| 0% Midwestern |
| 0% Upper Midwestern |
This is interesting to me as a person who has studied linguistics (I wish I could just say "linguist"...:P). A lot of these questions (maybe all of them) are familiar to me as fun quizzes we used to take in class. Do those of you who have spoken to me in person or on the phone agree with this assessment?
Career advising update
The career advisor is out of town this week, and only does interviews on Fridays, so I am staying through next Friday. I will be taking a Kiersey sorter and doing some "homework" before then, and then we will have a two hour session in which we will discuss my likes and personality and jobs that might be good for me, and how to get them, and stuff.
My homework is to list all the jobs I think I might like, and then go back and write pros and cons for all of them and find the job descriptions at the US Labor Department. I'm also supposed to ask 3-5 people who are close to me what kind of job they could see me doing.
I figured I could go ahead and ask everybody who reads my blog, too: what sort of job can you see me doing? What sort of job would you think I would enjoy/be good at?
(It's like I'm copying off of Jazz! ;>)
My homework is to list all the jobs I think I might like, and then go back and write pros and cons for all of them and find the job descriptions at the US Labor Department. I'm also supposed to ask 3-5 people who are close to me what kind of job they could see me doing.
I figured I could go ahead and ask everybody who reads my blog, too: what sort of job can you see me doing? What sort of job would you think I would enjoy/be good at?
(It's like I'm copying off of Jazz! ;>)
Can't get enough Internet quizzes
| You Are 60% Normal (Really Normal) |
 Otherwise known as the normal amount of normal You're like most people most of the time But you've got those quirks that make you endearing You're unique, yes... but not frighteningly so! |
| Your Seduction Style: The Natural |
 You don't really try to seduce people... it just seems to happen. Fun loving and free spirited, you bring out the inner child in people. You are spontaneous, sincere, and unpretentious - a hard combo to find! People drop their guard around you, and find themselves falling fast. |
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Yay :)
I wrote awhile back about how I thought Websnark might be on the way out. Eric Burns actually wrote me an email assuring me that Websnark wasn't ending, that Websnark was who he "came to the dance with", that he loved Websnark and that he was committed to continuing with it.
I wrote back that I was glad to hear that, but that my concern had not been that he didn't have the commitment, but that he was losing the passion. I told him that I know (oh, how I know) what it's like when something that once was a fun hobby turns into a job.
He never wrote back--I'm not sure if he got the email. But apparently he was at least thinking along similar lines:
And that's great. More power to him. I hope it works!
Because--I definitely want to put this out here, because I'm not sure I've ever made it clear before--I am a fan of Eric Burns. I am not just a fan of his webcomics commentary. I love that, of course. But I love the rest of it, too. I mean...I devoured his rants about word processors. That was some cool shit! And even the stuff he writes about RPGs--I could care less about RPG systems, they're what made the AMRN unfun for me--is interesting because he writes it. (And I'm still reading Gossamer Commons, even though I still don't like the art and I can't say that I am "grabbed" per se, because Eric Burns writes it.)
I want to see what Eric Burns feels like writing about every day. It doesn't matter if it's something I'm interested in. It doesn't matter if I agree with him. Because I am in this for the writing.
I love reading things that are cleverly written. I love reading authors with voice. I am connected to language in a way that is far beyond the mere transmission of information. I want what I read to reach out and grab me by the heart, or tickle its way through my brain. Or both.
Eric Burns does that for me with pretty much every post. This is why I was concerned by the flurry of "I don't have anything for you" posts. I want to read what he has to say. I could care less if he spends all week writing about RPGs, or movies I haven't seen. It's more than better than nothing. It's writing that I can just eat up. It's fun to read. It's Eric Burns, and that's all I ask.
[I would say all this in the comments on his post...but though I have signed up for TypePad, I can't seem to actually log in. And while I'm on that tangent, here's something else I wanted to put in a comment: this post by Wednesday White, who I am typically not a big fan of, is fantabulous, and I love it.]
I wrote back that I was glad to hear that, but that my concern had not been that he didn't have the commitment, but that he was losing the passion. I told him that I know (oh, how I know) what it's like when something that once was a fun hobby turns into a job.
He never wrote back--I'm not sure if he got the email. But apparently he was at least thinking along similar lines:
Problem statement: Websnark is not my job, but I feel like I'm being locked into a position of accountability and responsibility for generating the content people want at the rate people want, instead of doing what comes to mind when it comes to mind and -- most of all -- actually enjoying it.He wants it to be fun again, and he's going to work towards that.
[...]
Websnark has never been defined as "a Webcomics blog." Not by me. I talk a lot about webcomics because I like webcomics, and I'm interested in them, and because I think they matter. However, in trying to drive myself to exclusively write about webcomics -- or at least kick the balance so high in the majority that I feel guilty when I write about anything else -- I've been learning to dislike webcomics intensely. And that serves no one.
Does that mean "no more Webcomics coverage?" Of course not. I put a huge amount of each day into reading about them, doing stuff with them, and thinking about them.
But I'm done with trying to come up with artificial reasons to snark them, coupled with finding the energy to write those snarks.
And that's great. More power to him. I hope it works!
Because--I definitely want to put this out here, because I'm not sure I've ever made it clear before--I am a fan of Eric Burns. I am not just a fan of his webcomics commentary. I love that, of course. But I love the rest of it, too. I mean...I devoured his rants about word processors. That was some cool shit! And even the stuff he writes about RPGs--I could care less about RPG systems, they're what made the AMRN unfun for me--is interesting because he writes it. (And I'm still reading Gossamer Commons, even though I still don't like the art and I can't say that I am "grabbed" per se, because Eric Burns writes it.)
I want to see what Eric Burns feels like writing about every day. It doesn't matter if it's something I'm interested in. It doesn't matter if I agree with him. Because I am in this for the writing.
I love reading things that are cleverly written. I love reading authors with voice. I am connected to language in a way that is far beyond the mere transmission of information. I want what I read to reach out and grab me by the heart, or tickle its way through my brain. Or both.
Eric Burns does that for me with pretty much every post. This is why I was concerned by the flurry of "I don't have anything for you" posts. I want to read what he has to say. I could care less if he spends all week writing about RPGs, or movies I haven't seen. It's more than better than nothing. It's writing that I can just eat up. It's fun to read. It's Eric Burns, and that's all I ask.
[I would say all this in the comments on his post...but though I have signed up for TypePad, I can't seem to actually log in. And while I'm on that tangent, here's something else I wanted to put in a comment: this post by Wednesday White, who I am typically not a big fan of, is fantabulous, and I love it.]
Stolen once again from Chris
| You Belong in New Zealand |
 Good on ya, mate You're the best looking one of the bunch Though you're often forgotten... You're quite proud of who you are |
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Eerie Catholic prophesy
Check out this prophesy concerning Pope Benedict XVI. The page has been removed from Catholic Planet (maybe it's considered to be in bad taste, given current events), but here's the Google cache. Here are a few choice bits:
The next Pope after John Paul II will take the name Pope Benedict XVI, in imitation of Saint Benedict and also of Pope Benedict XV. Just as Pope Benedict XV was an emissary of peace, so will Pope Benedict XVI be an emissary of peace. Just as Pope Benedict XV sought peace and spoke of peace and wrote papal documents seeking peace, so will Pope Benedict XVI do also. Just as Pope Benedict XV failed to achieve peace in the world, so will Pope Benedict XVI fail to achieve peace in the world. Just as the Pontificate of Benedict XV began prior to World War I, so will the Pontificate of Benedict XVI occur prior to World War III. After the Pontificate of Benedict XVI, World War III will begin. The Arab nations will threaten and attack the United States; they will threaten, attack, invade and conquer Europe; they will threaten, attack, invade and conquer the northern part of Africa. It is God's will.It's good to know this stuff in advance, eh?
[...]
The Arabs forces will win World War III and will occupy a vast territory for many years. They will oppress and persecute Christians. In the 2030's, this persecution will become very severe. The Arab forces will massacre many Christians. They will hunt down priests and religious and devout Catholics to imprison, torture, and kill them. Millions of Catholic Christians will be killed. This massacre will take place over several years.
In the mid to late 2030's, in World War IV, the Allied nations will attack the lands occupied by the Arab forces. This war will be even more severe than World War III. Many nuclear weapons will be used. The Allies will win the war, at such great cost, and defeat the Arabs even in their own lands. One of the principle Allied leaders is called the great monarch. After the war is won, and after a series of extreme punishments from God upon the whole world, the great monarch will rule over a vast territory (over the lands previously occupied by the Arab forces). Beginning in A.D. 2040, the great monarch will rebuild this territory, and help rebuild the rest of the world, together with the Pope of that time, called the Angelic Shepherd.
[...]
There will be many Popes between the Pontificate of the Angelic Shepherd and the last Pope before the Return of Christ. Some of these will be holy, and some will be mediocre, and some will be sinners. The last Pope before the Return of Christ will be killed by the followers of the Antichrist about the year A.D. 2430. He will be killed, most likely in Rome, before the Antichrist gains power over the whole world. He will be killed about the time of a war between the kingdom of the North (Europe) and the kingdom of the South (Israel, the Middle East, northern Africa). The king of the South at that time will be a Catholic Christian.
There will be no more Popes on earth during the nearly seven years of the Antichrist's reign over the world. No more Popes will be elected. The governments of the world, controlled by the Antichrist will not allow such an election. The Bishops of the world, those few who are not dead or imprisoned, will not be able to meet or communicate with one another to elect a new Pope. Actually, it is God's will that no Pope be elected during this time, for Christ will Return at the end of the Antichrist's reign to set everything in order and to begin a long period of peace and holiness on earth. The Church will be without a Pope for seven years prior to the Return of Christ. Christ is the true head of the one holy Catholic Church. The Pope is merely His servant and ours.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Tour de Georgia
So, Augusta had about a week to recover from the Masters, and now it's the starting point for a hugeass bike tourney!
It would be cool to see the cyclists off...too bad I won't be in town. If anyone happens to go watch, please take some pictures! Lance Armstrong, who just announced his retirement, will be there, so this is one of the last chances to see him before his final race in this year's Tour de France.
(By the way..."Tour de Georgia" is an inconceivably gay name.)
The 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia begins on Tuesday, April 19, in historic downtown Augusta, challenging cyclists as they traverse 120 miles of rolling hills to Macon.Can you imagine biking 120 miles in a day?
It would be cool to see the cyclists off...too bad I won't be in town. If anyone happens to go watch, please take some pictures! Lance Armstrong, who just announced his retirement, will be there, so this is one of the last chances to see him before his final race in this year's Tour de France.
(By the way..."Tour de Georgia" is an inconceivably gay name.)
Another family-time update
The treasure hunt was unsuccessful. We went to Jacobsen Park to look for a letterbox, but it was nowhere to be found. Faye said the area looked washed out from flooding, so maybe the box was swept away. Maybe it was taken by someone. Who knows what might have happened to it since it was first placed in 2003...
While Connor wasn't all that upset that we didn't find the letterbox, I was pretty disappointed. When I get home, I want to try and find the letterbox at Butt Bridge (god I love that name). Hopefully that one will actually be there.
However, the day wasn't a total wash (ha, ha). Connor and Logan loved the playground area, and we did some good walking, and the forest trail where the letterbox was supposed to be was really pretty. (I'd like to ride my bike in there.)
Speaking of trails, Boone (backup guitar for the super-awesome metal band Battlecry) said there are great trails at Veteran's Park, off South Point Road, off Nicholasville Road. I have no idea where that is, but I'd like to try and check it out before I go home.
We also had a nice picnic (of Wendy's food; I had a salad) along the pond, and got to watch a guy catch a fish. After the park, we went back to AJ and Faye's and played in the sprinklers and had a cookout. Mmm, hamburgers. And then we had popcorn and watched Mary Poppins, interrupted by my running back to the parents' house to hear Battlecry play "Hands of Fate" and "Machine". After that I watched two more episodes of Lost with AJ, including "Walkabout", which is his favorite episode. It was amazing. I actually knew what was going to happen, due to unfortunately reading an article with a spoiler in it, but the way they did it was simply brilliant. I can see why that show has addicted my friends and family ;>
Today has been more sedate. I got up a little later than usual and didn't even take a shower. I stayed in my bedclothes until after AJ arrived for work and Faye, Connor, and Logan came by to drop Logan off while Connor went to his screening for kindergarten. At that point I decided to change into some workout clothes, because I was thinking of trying to find Veteran's Park and go biking. However, I never got around to that, instead catching up on some news and playing with Logan. While Logan napped, I websurfed and talked some with AJ. I also called the alumni association to see about setting up a time for career counseling, but I got an answering machine ;P I then sent an email, to which I have not received a reply.
When Logan woke up, I carried him down to where AJ and Dad were, and found that Ben was there too, and they were all three getting ready to paint posts for Grandma's new fence. We all went outside, and not long after that Faye and Connor appeared through the fence. I headed back to their house with Faye, Connor, and Logan.
We ran through three sprinklers, getting thoroughly soaked, and then blew bubbles for awhile. Then we swang on the swingset while Connor sang a song that went something like, "X, I love you. X, you belong to me", where X was "Heather", "Mommy", or "Logan". The tune was a theme from a TV show, but he'd made the words up himself. Logan, on the other hand, kept saying "Truck!", except he pronounces it more like "Twoo-AUCK". That seems to be his favorite word. (Another extraordinarily cute thing about Logan is that when he answers in the affirmative, he doesn't nod or say yes. He says "Sthure".)
After that it was time for the boys' dinner. I came back here instead of eating with them so I could spend some time with Mom :) On my way in I passed the boys (wait...which boys? My brothers, I mean), who had managed to paint 9 posts and were starting on the 10th. The fumes from the tar-like paint were pretty bad, and they were preparing to take a break. I made tentative plans with Ben to go driving around the countryside tomorrow.
And that's it for now.
While Connor wasn't all that upset that we didn't find the letterbox, I was pretty disappointed. When I get home, I want to try and find the letterbox at Butt Bridge (god I love that name). Hopefully that one will actually be there.
However, the day wasn't a total wash (ha, ha). Connor and Logan loved the playground area, and we did some good walking, and the forest trail where the letterbox was supposed to be was really pretty. (I'd like to ride my bike in there.)
Speaking of trails, Boone (backup guitar for the super-awesome metal band Battlecry) said there are great trails at Veteran's Park, off South Point Road, off Nicholasville Road. I have no idea where that is, but I'd like to try and check it out before I go home.
We also had a nice picnic (of Wendy's food; I had a salad) along the pond, and got to watch a guy catch a fish. After the park, we went back to AJ and Faye's and played in the sprinklers and had a cookout. Mmm, hamburgers. And then we had popcorn and watched Mary Poppins, interrupted by my running back to the parents' house to hear Battlecry play "Hands of Fate" and "Machine". After that I watched two more episodes of Lost with AJ, including "Walkabout", which is his favorite episode. It was amazing. I actually knew what was going to happen, due to unfortunately reading an article with a spoiler in it, but the way they did it was simply brilliant. I can see why that show has addicted my friends and family ;>
Today has been more sedate. I got up a little later than usual and didn't even take a shower. I stayed in my bedclothes until after AJ arrived for work and Faye, Connor, and Logan came by to drop Logan off while Connor went to his screening for kindergarten. At that point I decided to change into some workout clothes, because I was thinking of trying to find Veteran's Park and go biking. However, I never got around to that, instead catching up on some news and playing with Logan. While Logan napped, I websurfed and talked some with AJ. I also called the alumni association to see about setting up a time for career counseling, but I got an answering machine ;P I then sent an email, to which I have not received a reply.
When Logan woke up, I carried him down to where AJ and Dad were, and found that Ben was there too, and they were all three getting ready to paint posts for Grandma's new fence. We all went outside, and not long after that Faye and Connor appeared through the fence. I headed back to their house with Faye, Connor, and Logan.
We ran through three sprinklers, getting thoroughly soaked, and then blew bubbles for awhile. Then we swang on the swingset while Connor sang a song that went something like, "X, I love you. X, you belong to me", where X was "Heather", "Mommy", or "Logan". The tune was a theme from a TV show, but he'd made the words up himself. Logan, on the other hand, kept saying "Truck!", except he pronounces it more like "Twoo-AUCK". That seems to be his favorite word. (Another extraordinarily cute thing about Logan is that when he answers in the affirmative, he doesn't nod or say yes. He says "Sthure".)
After that it was time for the boys' dinner. I came back here instead of eating with them so I could spend some time with Mom :) On my way in I passed the boys (wait...which boys? My brothers, I mean), who had managed to paint 9 posts and were starting on the 10th. The fumes from the tar-like paint were pretty bad, and they were preparing to take a break. I made tentative plans with Ben to go driving around the countryside tomorrow.
And that's it for now.
Am I oversensitive? ;P
Maybe I am too attuned to racism and possible racism, but this quote from Cory Doctorow really surprised me:
This is like calling the color of a pink crayon "flesh", or pale tan nylons "nude".
When these $40 Pac Man hats ship in July, you'll finally be able to live out your Pac Man cosplay fantasies as your head becomes a living white dot for the Pac Man to devour.Sure...if you're a pale-ass whitey!
This is like calling the color of a pink crayon "flesh", or pale tan nylons "nude".
Translation is cultural
I was reading an article about disintegrating relations between Japan and China, and this quote struck me as interesting. The parentheticals were put in by Reuters.
There are all sorts of intriguing things to notice in how we discuss other countries. The fact that "Japan" isn't even the name of Japan, for example. "Japan" was how a Portuguese (I believe) person pronounced the name given to Japan by China, back when trade relations were first pursued. The Japanese call their nation "Nihon" or "Nippon".*
Before Japan was Nihon/Nippon, the majority called themselves the "Wa". Now, of course, Japan has embraced "Japan", though typically only for advertisements and other pop culture artefacts.
(The h -> p/pp transformation is common, also occurring in the counter for minutes, e.g. "ippun", "nihun", "sanpun", "yonhun", "gohun" for 1-5 minutes, respectively. The more clever may notice that the p is single after a consonant and doubled after a vowel. Also, note that I am using a different romanization style than About.com. In Japanese, h/f is written with the same character, and understood culturally to be the same sound. Some romanizations will take the instances that sound more like an f and write them as f to aid in our pronunciation. Example: "Fuji")
"If we can successfully coordinate the dates, (Chinese) President Hu (Jintao) and (Japanese) Prime Minister (Junichiro) Koizumi may be able to hold a meeting later this week" in Indonesia, when they visit the country for the Asia-Africa summit, the minister said.Now, in Japan, they say "Koizumi Junichiro", but in this article, they put his given name first. Typically when we (in the West) talk about Japanese people, we put their given names first. But China apparently managed to keep its name order intact, even in our rendering of their names.
There are all sorts of intriguing things to notice in how we discuss other countries. The fact that "Japan" isn't even the name of Japan, for example. "Japan" was how a Portuguese (I believe) person pronounced the name given to Japan by China, back when trade relations were first pursued. The Japanese call their nation "Nihon" or "Nippon".*
Before Japan was Nihon/Nippon, the majority called themselves the "Wa". Now, of course, Japan has embraced "Japan", though typically only for advertisements and other pop culture artefacts.
(The h -> p/pp transformation is common, also occurring in the counter for minutes, e.g. "ippun", "nihun", "sanpun", "yonhun", "gohun" for 1-5 minutes, respectively. The more clever may notice that the p is single after a consonant and doubled after a vowel. Also, note that I am using a different romanization style than About.com. In Japanese, h/f is written with the same character, and understood culturally to be the same sound. Some romanizations will take the instances that sound more like an f and write them as f to aid in our pronunciation. Example: "Fuji")
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Today and yesterday, not in chronological order
When I first woke up this morning, it might have been a decent hour. However, I rolled over and slept until around 11.
I futzed on my laptop a little and ate some oatmeal. Then I had a small cinnamon roll. Then Mom and I went out to the bank, Sunshine Grow Shop, and Wendy's, for money, herbs, and Dad's lunch respectively. When we got back I messed on the computer some more (I was trying to fill out that survey) and then Connor came over. I played with him (on the computer, then hide and seek in the basement, then listening together to band practice) until he had to go home for dinner at 7. I hung out with the band for another hour or so, and then they broke for the day and I headed back with AJ to his house to see Connor before bedtime. I ended up doing a lot of spinning around in a circle with him and Logan. I mean a lot. Logan kept smiling up at me, "Hand?" and grabbing my hand, even when he was so tired/dizzy that he kept falling over when he tried to run in a circle. It was so cute. I don't know if he remembers who I am, or if he is just a really really friendly child.
He is a sweetiepie, whichever it is.
I read two books to Connor (The Ant and the Elephant and And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street), and then the boys went to bed. I settled in and watched the Lost pilot with AJ. I actually can't remember if we watched the next episode or not. It's a neat show, but also very weird. Definitely interesting. Lots of loose ends that I'm looking forward to seeing explored, if not tied up completely.
It was sad to see Weiss bite it, though.
I also would like to admit to getting really uncomfortable during the more tense scenes. You know me and tension...:P
After that it was 11 pm, so I came home and played pool with Dad for awhile. After he'd won his third game (I'd only managed to win one), I gave up. We listened to some music, and I played basketball on Connor's new (well, Christmas new) ESPN Game Station. Then I finally came upstairs and read today's webcomics, and now here I am.
And I'm really thirsty. Think I'll go get a glass of water.
Ahhhh. Much better.
My drive was okay. It could have been better. There's this one spot (in either Knoxville or Chattanooga, for some reason I can't remember) where there has been construction going on literally for years. I can sense it on approach now. Everyone starts slowing down, and then suddenly traffic is at a standstill. It goes at a crawl for miles and miles. I actually took a picture of the reason for the problem. After a long time, you get to a point where all traffic (five lanes or so) is forced to merge into two lanes. I believe at one point it all went into one lane, so I guess that's progress. There's a big crane there, and I guess they are still working on that side of the road. I'd show you the picture, but it's still on my camera, and my camera is in the other room, and when I leave this room and go in there it will be to go to sleep, not to make more work for myself. So there you go. ;P
The second big thing that annoyed me about my drive was going on a wild goose chase near the Knox County border (also in Tennessee). I saw a sign that said there was a Chick-Fil-A at the next exit, so I went on the exit. I followed the sign that told me to turn left. And then I just kept driving and driving and driving. Finally the road came out at a big shopping center. I looked around and still didn't see the Chick-Fil-A. I thought that maybe it was down the road some, so I turned right. I drove and drove and drove and didn't come across it, so I decided to give up and get back on I-75. There was a sign that said "To I-75". It also had a little white sign on it that said "ALT". I followed the sign.
I drove for a long, long time, following the ALT signs. I wondered where, exactly, the road would reveal an exit to I-75. I passed rug shops, places selling statues, old country stores, and other ancient structures that would have thrilled me had I not been hungry and worried about finding my way back to the interstate. I also went over a neat bridge and through a small town center. After a very long time of this I finally decided to just turn around and go back the way I came, because I knew that would lead to 75.
When I finally made it back to that shopping center, I got in the turn lane to go back towards the highway. Sighing with relief and resignation, I gazed across the intersection and waited for the light to change.
There, right in front of me, was the freaking Chick-Fil-A.
So I managed to get over there and got myself a nice sandwich, fruit cup, and Diet Coke. Then I called Mom and complained to her about my ordeal. After that, I went inside, changed my shirt (it was too hot for long sleeves at this point) and bought myself an ice cream cone.
The rest of the trip was fine. I had to stop in Jellico for gas, which is right before the Kentucky state line. Crossing that, I noticed the new signs indicating Ernie Fletcher as governor. There was also a big sign that said "Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit". So I guess that's the new state slogan, eh? I kind of wish I'd gotten a picture, because the signs looked fairly neat.
After a zillion more miles of driving, I got into town and headed to Grandma's house. She and Uncle Steve were there. I sat and visited with them for awhile. Both of them were looking really good, a lot better than they'd been awhile ago. We talked a little and then went into the yard and walked around some. I took pictures of the flowering plants, of course.
Finally it was time to head home. I headed down New Circle to Harrodsburg, since Nicholasville had been backed up due to a car wreck. Harrodsburg is now four lanes for quite a stretch, well past Southland Christian Church. This is nice and weird at the same time.
Turning onto 169, I admired the rolling green hills dotted with farmhouses and horses and trees, and said aloud, "I love this. I hope it always stays like this." I don't know if it can. New developments are cropping up all over the place closer to the bypass and across the street from my parents' house. But for now, the road is really beautiful.
I kind of wish I'd gotten a picture of the "Welcome to Nicholasville" sign, too, because it looked pretty with the flowering white tree next to it, surrounded by green fields and blue sky.
And then I was finally home.
I spent some time with Mom first, and we talked awhile out in the swing in the backyard, watching the dogs loaf around the yard (and the lawn mower guy accidentally plow straight down the neighbor's hill and through the fence). I went and read a book to Connor and said good night to him, and then came back and ate some spaghetti that Mom had very kindly made for me. We watched TV together, and had some dessert too (a neat fruit and sour cream mixture, and then--horror--yellow cake with chocolate icing). And finally I called Sean, told him good night, and went to bed.
Tomorrow, Connor and Faye and I (and maybe Logan?) are going on a treasure hunt. I'll supply more details after the fact :)
For now, it is time for sleeeeeeeeeeep.
I futzed on my laptop a little and ate some oatmeal. Then I had a small cinnamon roll. Then Mom and I went out to the bank, Sunshine Grow Shop, and Wendy's, for money, herbs, and Dad's lunch respectively. When we got back I messed on the computer some more (I was trying to fill out that survey) and then Connor came over. I played with him (on the computer, then hide and seek in the basement, then listening together to band practice) until he had to go home for dinner at 7. I hung out with the band for another hour or so, and then they broke for the day and I headed back with AJ to his house to see Connor before bedtime. I ended up doing a lot of spinning around in a circle with him and Logan. I mean a lot. Logan kept smiling up at me, "Hand?" and grabbing my hand, even when he was so tired/dizzy that he kept falling over when he tried to run in a circle. It was so cute. I don't know if he remembers who I am, or if he is just a really really friendly child.
He is a sweetiepie, whichever it is.
I read two books to Connor (The Ant and the Elephant and And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street), and then the boys went to bed. I settled in and watched the Lost pilot with AJ. I actually can't remember if we watched the next episode or not. It's a neat show, but also very weird. Definitely interesting. Lots of loose ends that I'm looking forward to seeing explored, if not tied up completely.
It was sad to see Weiss bite it, though.
I also would like to admit to getting really uncomfortable during the more tense scenes. You know me and tension...:P
After that it was 11 pm, so I came home and played pool with Dad for awhile. After he'd won his third game (I'd only managed to win one), I gave up. We listened to some music, and I played basketball on Connor's new (well, Christmas new) ESPN Game Station. Then I finally came upstairs and read today's webcomics, and now here I am.
And I'm really thirsty. Think I'll go get a glass of water.
Ahhhh. Much better.
My drive was okay. It could have been better. There's this one spot (in either Knoxville or Chattanooga, for some reason I can't remember) where there has been construction going on literally for years. I can sense it on approach now. Everyone starts slowing down, and then suddenly traffic is at a standstill. It goes at a crawl for miles and miles. I actually took a picture of the reason for the problem. After a long time, you get to a point where all traffic (five lanes or so) is forced to merge into two lanes. I believe at one point it all went into one lane, so I guess that's progress. There's a big crane there, and I guess they are still working on that side of the road. I'd show you the picture, but it's still on my camera, and my camera is in the other room, and when I leave this room and go in there it will be to go to sleep, not to make more work for myself. So there you go. ;P
The second big thing that annoyed me about my drive was going on a wild goose chase near the Knox County border (also in Tennessee). I saw a sign that said there was a Chick-Fil-A at the next exit, so I went on the exit. I followed the sign that told me to turn left. And then I just kept driving and driving and driving. Finally the road came out at a big shopping center. I looked around and still didn't see the Chick-Fil-A. I thought that maybe it was down the road some, so I turned right. I drove and drove and drove and didn't come across it, so I decided to give up and get back on I-75. There was a sign that said "To I-75". It also had a little white sign on it that said "ALT". I followed the sign.
I drove for a long, long time, following the ALT signs. I wondered where, exactly, the road would reveal an exit to I-75. I passed rug shops, places selling statues, old country stores, and other ancient structures that would have thrilled me had I not been hungry and worried about finding my way back to the interstate. I also went over a neat bridge and through a small town center. After a very long time of this I finally decided to just turn around and go back the way I came, because I knew that would lead to 75.
When I finally made it back to that shopping center, I got in the turn lane to go back towards the highway. Sighing with relief and resignation, I gazed across the intersection and waited for the light to change.
There, right in front of me, was the freaking Chick-Fil-A.
So I managed to get over there and got myself a nice sandwich, fruit cup, and Diet Coke. Then I called Mom and complained to her about my ordeal. After that, I went inside, changed my shirt (it was too hot for long sleeves at this point) and bought myself an ice cream cone.
The rest of the trip was fine. I had to stop in Jellico for gas, which is right before the Kentucky state line. Crossing that, I noticed the new signs indicating Ernie Fletcher as governor. There was also a big sign that said "Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit". So I guess that's the new state slogan, eh? I kind of wish I'd gotten a picture, because the signs looked fairly neat.
After a zillion more miles of driving, I got into town and headed to Grandma's house. She and Uncle Steve were there. I sat and visited with them for awhile. Both of them were looking really good, a lot better than they'd been awhile ago. We talked a little and then went into the yard and walked around some. I took pictures of the flowering plants, of course.
Finally it was time to head home. I headed down New Circle to Harrodsburg, since Nicholasville had been backed up due to a car wreck. Harrodsburg is now four lanes for quite a stretch, well past Southland Christian Church. This is nice and weird at the same time.
Turning onto 169, I admired the rolling green hills dotted with farmhouses and horses and trees, and said aloud, "I love this. I hope it always stays like this." I don't know if it can. New developments are cropping up all over the place closer to the bypass and across the street from my parents' house. But for now, the road is really beautiful.
I kind of wish I'd gotten a picture of the "Welcome to Nicholasville" sign, too, because it looked pretty with the flowering white tree next to it, surrounded by green fields and blue sky.
And then I was finally home.
I spent some time with Mom first, and we talked awhile out in the swing in the backyard, watching the dogs loaf around the yard (and the lawn mower guy accidentally plow straight down the neighbor's hill and through the fence). I went and read a book to Connor and said good night to him, and then came back and ate some spaghetti that Mom had very kindly made for me. We watched TV together, and had some dessert too (a neat fruit and sour cream mixture, and then--horror--yellow cake with chocolate icing). And finally I called Sean, told him good night, and went to bed.
Tomorrow, Connor and Faye and I (and maybe Logan?) are going on a treasure hunt. I'll supply more details after the fact :)
For now, it is time for sleeeeeeeeeeep.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Yet another questionnaire
Yes, I do have better things to be doing on a nice lazy Saturday afternoon at home with my family, but this questionnaire looked fun :>
1. First Name: Heather. (Imagine that.)
2. Were you named after anyone? No; the story I was told was that I was "as pretty as a flower when I was a baby". Actually, I told that story to all the parents at some sort of talk about your name presentation in first grade. (My favorites from my school friends were Gwendolyn, who was so named because G is the seventh letter of the alphabet and she was the seventh child; and Nute, who was named after Knute Rockne, but they spelled it Nute so kids wouldn't call him kuh-nute.)
3. Do you wish on stars? I get performance anxiety when I see a falling star, and can't think of a wish until it's gone ;>
4. When did you last cry? I remember bawling a little over something relatively recently, but I don't remember what or when.
5. Do you like your handwriting? Not really, but my mom says it's neat-looking.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Hrm...I dunno, I kind of like it all. I get those little single-serving packs from Land O'Frost and Carl Buddig.
7. What is your birth date? May 30, 1978. Gemini, Year of the Horse. Make of that what you will.
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? I don't know, I'm not really embarrassed by my musical tastes. I grew up with brothers who made fun of pretty much anything I listened to, so I basically decided that I like what I like, period, the end.
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? I'm not sure. I like to think that I would be able to deal with myself, but I can be something of a smart-aleck, and I have trouble not taking things seriously, so there could be some strife there. It'd be a learning experience, though!
Umm...where's #10?
11. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? I don't remember ever swearing not to tell anything. I have been told not to tell people stuff, and I make an effort to follow those wishes, but ultimately I find secrets annoying. If it's something that I really shouldn't say to someone, I'd rather you just not tell me, either. I personally will sometimes say "Don't tell so-and-so," but in those cases it's more of a "so-and-so might get mad at me if you say something to them about this, but I can live with it if you tell them anyway". I don't think I've ever explained it that way to anyone, though, so hopefully that's not a horrible surprise to my friends ;>
So, in other words, I can't promise that I won't tell a secret. This is not because I lack respect for people, but because I lack respect for my own memory. Having to keep secrets takes a lot of time and effort. "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." I prefer to just tell the truth all the time and not worry about deceptions. In a pinch, if I'm not sure if I am allowed to say something about a certain issue, I will just not say anything.
12. Do looks matter? Yes, but so do other things.
13. How do you release anger? Blogging, or chatting, or talking with people. Doing something physical also helps, like walking around or biking.
14. Where is your second home? Japan!
15. Do you trust others easily? I pretty much will trust people until they give me a reason not to, but this isn't total trust. For example, I would not trust someone I just met to house-sit for me.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a little stuffed bear named Brownie who I took everywhere when I was little. One day I took him to dance class and lost him :(
17. What class in high school do you think was the most useless? At the time, I thought P.E. was useless. We only had it freshman year, though, and now I wish we'd had it longer, because I could have used a better foundation in physical fitness. Honestly, what I really think was useless about my high school experience was the "blocks" system. We broke our year up into two semesters, four blocks each. This was technically supposed to add a class to our roster, but since AP classes had to last the full year (as required by some law or education rule or something), and since I took a lot of AP classes, I actually had a lot fewer classes than I could have otherwise--each AP class ate up two blocks. Also lasting all year were electives like band and chorus. So, you see, the block system was absolutely worthless.
I'm pretty content with all the classes I took in high school, otherwise. I just wish I could have taken more.
18. Do you have a journal? I used to keep private diaries, but I got out of the habit of it somewhere during my teens. Since starting this online journal, I've written quite a bit about myself and my life, and I'm really happy to have it. I think the interactive nature of the journal, plus the fact that anyone anywhere can read it, makes it more appealing to write in.
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Sometimes.
20. Your nicknames? He-chan (people in Japan would get a kick out of this), Hea Hea
21. Would you bungee jump? Nah. It's that whole "connected to the ground" thing.
22. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Not usually, no.
23. Do you think that you are strong? Yeah. I'm built Ford tough.
24. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate chip cookie dough.
25. Shoe Size? Why does every questionnaire include this question? It's pretty boring. I'll just say 8 this time.
26. What is your favorite lipstick red/pink? I don't wear lipstick, but I'm pretty sure that red wouldn't flatter my complexion, since I'm so pale. You never know though. (I certainly don't.)
27. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My tendency to be an asshat. (In other words, I think I'm being clever, and I let myself be a bit too much of a smart-aleck, and it hurts people, or could potentially hurt them.)
28. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Grey pants (the ones that didn't fit not so long ago, and are now baggy), and black clogs.
29. What are you listening to right now? My mom, typing. She's always got business work to do.
30. Last thing you ate? A cinnamon roll my mom made. She used Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough instead of making them from scratch this time, but they were good. They were also pretty small, so it didn't ruin my diet.
31. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I'd like to say Burnt Sienna, because that is the coolest color ever, but I don't know that I'm really a Burnt Sienna type. Scanning a nice handy list of Crayola's colors, I pick: Midnight Blue. (Hmm...am I really cool enough to be Midnight Blue? Maybe I'm more of a Periwinkle...)
32. What is the weather like right now? Clear sky, warm, with a light breeze.
33. Last person you talked to on the phone? Audra, to set up when we're getting together next week. (Probably Wednesday.)
34. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? It depends on what side of them I see first! If I'm seeing them from a distance, then I notice their build first. If I'm seeing them up close from the front, then I notice how their face looks. From the back up close, it's build again. I don't really focus on butts and legs or anything like that; mainly I'm looking for the entire package, plus whether or not I like their facial features.
If it's online, the first thing I notice is their writing style. Online, I consider capitalization and punctuation to be part of someone's style. So, for example, someone like AJ, who insists on using capital letters and periods even in regular chat, gets a mild "anal/archaic" connotation from me. ;> I honestly have no problem with all lowercase (like Hai) or leaving periods off (like me), and stringing a huge bunch of phrases together (separated only by carriage returns) doesn't bother me either. I think chatting is a different form of communication than writing--it's really closer to speaking, so it isn't bound by rules of prescriptive grammar.
However, I am pretty judgmental when it comes to things like blog posts, because those are more akin to essays or short stories than they are to speech, and therefore must follow standard rules of style. So if I come across a poorly-edited blog post, my opinion of the person is altered. I think they are either lazy or unintelligent ;>
I actually have become strongly attracted to people based solely on their writing.
35. Do you like the person who sent this to you? No, I hate her! ;>
36. Favorite Drink? Water. But not Dasani. That shit is nasty! (I am not, however, too good for tap water. I drink tap water all the time. This Dasani thing, it shocked me. I don't know what they add to it, but it leaves my mouth totally dry. That's totally not the point of water!)
37. Favorite Sport? Biking.
38. Hair Color? Blond.
39. Eye Color? Blue.
40. Do you wear contacts? Not anymore. My contacts are really old, and they dry out quickly, and they're a bother anyway, so I don't mess with them now. However, my glasses got a chip in them recently, so I will have to go to the eye doctor somewhat soonish. If they have that deal where you can buy one pair get one pair free, I'll have to decide if I want another pair of glasses, or if I want to get more contacts...
41. Favorite Food? Another repeat question...just go look at the other quiz ;P
42. Last Movie You Watched? Star Wars. I watched it the other day. :D
43. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? I don't like scary movies. But I don't necessarily need a happy ending. :P
44. Summer or winter? They both have their good points. I'll keep them both, if you don't mind.
45. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs. I have always loved being held.
46. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Anything chocolate, really. (But no freaking coffee flavor; I hate coffee.)
47. Living Arrangement? A rather nice apartment, where I live with my husband. No pets or anything. We have a primo location in town, right near a very active shopping center and lots of restaurants, but I'd like to be closer to downtown, due to all the cool architecture and the beautiful riverfront area, and North Augusta, since it seems like all my friends either live or want to live there.
48. What Books Are You Reading? The One Tree (Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, book 2). I have a bookmark in Master and Commander, but I haven't picked it up in months. It's the kind of book whose writing style you have to get used to before you can read it rapidly, which is the way I like to read. (I never could get used to Moby Dick. I managed to read it in a day, but it gave me the biggest migraine in the world.)
49. What's On Your Mouse Pad? Yoda. But I don't use the mouse pad anymore because I have my mouse down on my keyboard tray.
50. What did you watch on TV last night? Mom and I watched one of her tapes! I love watching TV with Mom. We watched 7th Heaven, Smallville, and Alias :D
51. Favorite Smells? Sean's cologne/aftershave (I'm totally smitten by it), freshly cut grass (I know, how cliche...but it's such a great smell), babies
52. Stones or Beatles? The Stones, definitely...for some reason, I just don't like the Beatles. I do like Paul McCartney, though.
53. Do you believe in Evolution or Creation? I believe that we are learning as much as we can about where we came from, and that the theory of evolution is the best thing we have to explain it so far. I do not, however, think we are anywhere near having all the answers.
54. What's the furthest you've been from home? Japan.
And now, to go eat something, and listen to my brothers' band practice :D
1. First Name: Heather. (Imagine that.)
2. Were you named after anyone? No; the story I was told was that I was "as pretty as a flower when I was a baby". Actually, I told that story to all the parents at some sort of talk about your name presentation in first grade. (My favorites from my school friends were Gwendolyn, who was so named because G is the seventh letter of the alphabet and she was the seventh child; and Nute, who was named after Knute Rockne, but they spelled it Nute so kids wouldn't call him kuh-nute.)
3. Do you wish on stars? I get performance anxiety when I see a falling star, and can't think of a wish until it's gone ;>
4. When did you last cry? I remember bawling a little over something relatively recently, but I don't remember what or when.
5. Do you like your handwriting? Not really, but my mom says it's neat-looking.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Hrm...I dunno, I kind of like it all. I get those little single-serving packs from Land O'Frost and Carl Buddig.
7. What is your birth date? May 30, 1978. Gemini, Year of the Horse. Make of that what you will.
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? I don't know, I'm not really embarrassed by my musical tastes. I grew up with brothers who made fun of pretty much anything I listened to, so I basically decided that I like what I like, period, the end.
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? I'm not sure. I like to think that I would be able to deal with myself, but I can be something of a smart-aleck, and I have trouble not taking things seriously, so there could be some strife there. It'd be a learning experience, though!
Umm...where's #10?
11. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? I don't remember ever swearing not to tell anything. I have been told not to tell people stuff, and I make an effort to follow those wishes, but ultimately I find secrets annoying. If it's something that I really shouldn't say to someone, I'd rather you just not tell me, either. I personally will sometimes say "Don't tell so-and-so," but in those cases it's more of a "so-and-so might get mad at me if you say something to them about this, but I can live with it if you tell them anyway". I don't think I've ever explained it that way to anyone, though, so hopefully that's not a horrible surprise to my friends ;>
So, in other words, I can't promise that I won't tell a secret. This is not because I lack respect for people, but because I lack respect for my own memory. Having to keep secrets takes a lot of time and effort. "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." I prefer to just tell the truth all the time and not worry about deceptions. In a pinch, if I'm not sure if I am allowed to say something about a certain issue, I will just not say anything.
12. Do looks matter? Yes, but so do other things.
13. How do you release anger? Blogging, or chatting, or talking with people. Doing something physical also helps, like walking around or biking.
14. Where is your second home? Japan!
15. Do you trust others easily? I pretty much will trust people until they give me a reason not to, but this isn't total trust. For example, I would not trust someone I just met to house-sit for me.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a little stuffed bear named Brownie who I took everywhere when I was little. One day I took him to dance class and lost him :(
17. What class in high school do you think was the most useless? At the time, I thought P.E. was useless. We only had it freshman year, though, and now I wish we'd had it longer, because I could have used a better foundation in physical fitness. Honestly, what I really think was useless about my high school experience was the "blocks" system. We broke our year up into two semesters, four blocks each. This was technically supposed to add a class to our roster, but since AP classes had to last the full year (as required by some law or education rule or something), and since I took a lot of AP classes, I actually had a lot fewer classes than I could have otherwise--each AP class ate up two blocks. Also lasting all year were electives like band and chorus. So, you see, the block system was absolutely worthless.
I'm pretty content with all the classes I took in high school, otherwise. I just wish I could have taken more.
18. Do you have a journal? I used to keep private diaries, but I got out of the habit of it somewhere during my teens. Since starting this online journal, I've written quite a bit about myself and my life, and I'm really happy to have it. I think the interactive nature of the journal, plus the fact that anyone anywhere can read it, makes it more appealing to write in.
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Sometimes.
20. Your nicknames? He-chan (people in Japan would get a kick out of this), Hea Hea
21. Would you bungee jump? Nah. It's that whole "connected to the ground" thing.
22. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Not usually, no.
23. Do you think that you are strong? Yeah. I'm built Ford tough.
24. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate chip cookie dough.
25. Shoe Size? Why does every questionnaire include this question? It's pretty boring. I'll just say 8 this time.
26. What is your favorite lipstick red/pink? I don't wear lipstick, but I'm pretty sure that red wouldn't flatter my complexion, since I'm so pale. You never know though. (I certainly don't.)
27. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My tendency to be an asshat. (In other words, I think I'm being clever, and I let myself be a bit too much of a smart-aleck, and it hurts people, or could potentially hurt them.)
28. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Grey pants (the ones that didn't fit not so long ago, and are now baggy), and black clogs.
29. What are you listening to right now? My mom, typing. She's always got business work to do.
30. Last thing you ate? A cinnamon roll my mom made. She used Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough instead of making them from scratch this time, but they were good. They were also pretty small, so it didn't ruin my diet.
31. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I'd like to say Burnt Sienna, because that is the coolest color ever, but I don't know that I'm really a Burnt Sienna type. Scanning a nice handy list of Crayola's colors, I pick: Midnight Blue. (Hmm...am I really cool enough to be Midnight Blue? Maybe I'm more of a Periwinkle...)
32. What is the weather like right now? Clear sky, warm, with a light breeze.
33. Last person you talked to on the phone? Audra, to set up when we're getting together next week. (Probably Wednesday.)
34. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? It depends on what side of them I see first! If I'm seeing them from a distance, then I notice their build first. If I'm seeing them up close from the front, then I notice how their face looks. From the back up close, it's build again. I don't really focus on butts and legs or anything like that; mainly I'm looking for the entire package, plus whether or not I like their facial features.
If it's online, the first thing I notice is their writing style. Online, I consider capitalization and punctuation to be part of someone's style. So, for example, someone like AJ, who insists on using capital letters and periods even in regular chat, gets a mild "anal/archaic" connotation from me. ;> I honestly have no problem with all lowercase (like Hai) or leaving periods off (like me), and stringing a huge bunch of phrases together (separated only by carriage returns) doesn't bother me either. I think chatting is a different form of communication than writing--it's really closer to speaking, so it isn't bound by rules of prescriptive grammar.
However, I am pretty judgmental when it comes to things like blog posts, because those are more akin to essays or short stories than they are to speech, and therefore must follow standard rules of style. So if I come across a poorly-edited blog post, my opinion of the person is altered. I think they are either lazy or unintelligent ;>
I actually have become strongly attracted to people based solely on their writing.
35. Do you like the person who sent this to you? No, I hate her! ;>
36. Favorite Drink? Water. But not Dasani. That shit is nasty! (I am not, however, too good for tap water. I drink tap water all the time. This Dasani thing, it shocked me. I don't know what they add to it, but it leaves my mouth totally dry. That's totally not the point of water!)
37. Favorite Sport? Biking.
38. Hair Color? Blond.
39. Eye Color? Blue.
40. Do you wear contacts? Not anymore. My contacts are really old, and they dry out quickly, and they're a bother anyway, so I don't mess with them now. However, my glasses got a chip in them recently, so I will have to go to the eye doctor somewhat soonish. If they have that deal where you can buy one pair get one pair free, I'll have to decide if I want another pair of glasses, or if I want to get more contacts...
41. Favorite Food? Another repeat question...just go look at the other quiz ;P
42. Last Movie You Watched? Star Wars. I watched it the other day. :D
43. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? I don't like scary movies. But I don't necessarily need a happy ending. :P
44. Summer or winter? They both have their good points. I'll keep them both, if you don't mind.
45. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs. I have always loved being held.
46. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Anything chocolate, really. (But no freaking coffee flavor; I hate coffee.)
47. Living Arrangement? A rather nice apartment, where I live with my husband. No pets or anything. We have a primo location in town, right near a very active shopping center and lots of restaurants, but I'd like to be closer to downtown, due to all the cool architecture and the beautiful riverfront area, and North Augusta, since it seems like all my friends either live or want to live there.
48. What Books Are You Reading? The One Tree (Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, book 2). I have a bookmark in Master and Commander, but I haven't picked it up in months. It's the kind of book whose writing style you have to get used to before you can read it rapidly, which is the way I like to read. (I never could get used to Moby Dick. I managed to read it in a day, but it gave me the biggest migraine in the world.)
49. What's On Your Mouse Pad? Yoda. But I don't use the mouse pad anymore because I have my mouse down on my keyboard tray.
50. What did you watch on TV last night? Mom and I watched one of her tapes! I love watching TV with Mom. We watched 7th Heaven, Smallville, and Alias :D
51. Favorite Smells? Sean's cologne/aftershave (I'm totally smitten by it), freshly cut grass (I know, how cliche...but it's such a great smell), babies
52. Stones or Beatles? The Stones, definitely...for some reason, I just don't like the Beatles. I do like Paul McCartney, though.
53. Do you believe in Evolution or Creation? I believe that we are learning as much as we can about where we came from, and that the theory of evolution is the best thing we have to explain it so far. I do not, however, think we are anywhere near having all the answers.
54. What's the furthest you've been from home? Japan.
And now, to go eat something, and listen to my brothers' band practice :D
Friday, April 15, 2005
Heading out
I'm leaving this morning for Kentucky. Hopefully I'll arrive around 2 pm, but that all depends on traffic. :)
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Just...wow
Mohammad Ali-Hassan, governor of the southern Iraqi province of Muthana, is very rude. Even if you accept that his comment is coming from a position of "You helped destroy our country; now rebuild it properly," this still seems extremely uncharitable:
Will Japan just roll over after such a Gaijin Smash?
"I am disappointed with the outcome of Japan's reconstruction assistance. The projects that have been implemented so far are below our expectations," Ali-Hassan said in an interview on a local television network.I mean, what is that? A guilt trip? "How dare you not build everything we want yesterday!"
Will Japan just roll over after such a Gaijin Smash?
My Famous Blogger Twin
Snagged from Chris, who got the same result...
| Your Famous Blogger Twin is Wil Wheaton |
 With more than a touch of geekiness |
The realities of teaching English in Japan
Hai linked me to an awesome set of editorials about teaching English in Japan, from a guy in the JET program. An excerpt:
Mousey tried to kancho me today. This was kind of surprising, as I hadn't had any attempts in a while.This is from an essay entitled "Ass Wars Episode VI - Return of the Kancho", but believe me, there are many, many more. I wholeheartedly recommend them :D
Y'see, kancho is mostly an elementary school thing. I'm grateful to say, kids grow out of the "Hey! Wouldn't it be fun to stick my fingers up someone's butt?" phase somewhere around 12-13 years old. So it's rare to get any kancho attempts from the ninensei or sannensei. The ichinensei on the other hand...while they're not particularly prone to it, they might bust it out for special occasions (like "welcoming" the new foreign teacher). April is particularly dangerous, because that's when the ichinensei enter jr. high school straight from elementary school. New school, new asses, it's like unlocking hidden levels in Ass Raider or something.
Dude pisses me off
From AikenOnline:
Allen Brodie, a former chairman of the county's Human Relations Board, said the city is promoting gay and lesbian lifestyles by erecting litter cleanup signs along Park Avenue that are sponsored by the "gay and lesbian community."What a dill-hole.
"I do not believe (the sign) should be allowed in such a place of prominence," he said. "It's in the downtown district where children ask questions. We need to try and encourage the best quality of life we can."
The signs should be placed in a more discreet location or removed altogether, he said.
[...]
Mr. Brodie, a past member of the Aiken County Council, insisted that moving the sign would not be discrimination. It's unfair, he said, to force taxpayers to pay for the signs, which are purchased by the city.
Mr. Brodie said he didn't mind parkway signs sponsored by groups such as the Garden, Rotary or Sertoma clubs. But the gay and lesbian sponsorship of a parkway crosses the line and becomes a moral issue, he said.
"This sign, to me, it falls in a different category," he added.
Okay...what?
I'd like to compare two Slashdot stories. I've reproduced the text exactly to make my point, but to get the links you'll have to visit the articles. Fair enough?
I'm really having trouble seeing the difference here. Is this just me? Let me break it down:
A blogger publishes your home address. On the Internet. Where anyone can find it. It's very likely that the context is bad, too--"Send hate mail to the senator about his new bill! Here's his home address!" or "Here's the home address of a doctor at an abortion clinic!" or "Here's the home address of a guy we hate for no good reason! Hey, you live nearby? How about we form a mercenary group and go beat him up?"
Maybe I'm just sensitive here because that last one actually happened to Sean. (He fortunately didn't get beat up, but it is really scary to see people talking about it.)
Okay, then, let's compare that to a company capturing your personal information when you do your taxes. While they're not publishing it on the Internet for all to see, this is still dangerous because of the possibility of identity theft.
I really don't want to play down the threat here. But how can you say that this is horribly, horribly bad, and then say that bloggers should have the right to publish similarly potentially harmful information?
This is an overwhelming example of how some people are extraordinarily permissive when it comes to individuals (yay for the common man!), and extraordinarily hard-nosed when it comes to corporations (down with faceless industry!).
I realize that it seems dangerous to say "Bloggers should not be allowed to publish home addresses," because you are telling people what they can and can't do, which scares the daylights out of people here in America. It opens up the possibility for "censoring" other things, like things you don't agree with.
Except that that's ridiculous and would never happen. This is America. Look. Protecting someone's safety is different from taping someone's mouth shut about a political ideal. Sure, there might be someone who says "Bloggers shouldn't say bad things about President Bush," and someone might even try to pass legislation forbidding it...but will that legislation ever actually pass? No, people. Again, this is America.
But our personal freedoms can only extend as far as they don't encroach upon the freedoms and personal security of others. We cannot have total freedom. (A million liberals just gasped and keeled over.)
People are different. We have different goals and motivations. Our goals invariably come into conflict with other people's goals. We can't have it both ways, and we certainly can't have it all ways.
Something's gotta give. We have to compromise.
So no. If it happens that a lot of bloggers out there are publishing people's personal information on the Internet, then I would have no problem with someone introducing legislation to restrict it. (Let me just say here that I highly doubt anything like that would pass, either.)
But in the long run, I imagine such a thing will never become necessary. When those survey respondents stated that bloggers should not be "allowed" to publish personal information, I'm sure that their thoughts were not "We'd better write some laws as a preemptive strike!" That's not how things work. A problem arises, and then we decide whether or not we need to solve it with new laws. Those survey respondents likely had no idea whether or not personal information was actually being shared--remember, the majority of them had never even seen a blog. I imagine their thought process to be something like, "Wow, there are people out there putting other people's home addresses on their websites? That's not nice. They shouldn't do that."
And they shouldn't, and I hope--and believe--that most don't, and that there will be no need for legislation. I have faith in the ethics of writers, and I have faith in the ability of the Internet community to self-correct.
Survey Reveals Americans Support Blog Censorshipand
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday April 13, @08:14PM
from the I-have-too-many-freedoms-please-take-some-away dept.
renai42 writes "A new survey has revealed that Americans overwhelmingly support strong censorship for blogs, even though a substantial amount have never actually been to one. Eighty percent of the 2,500 respondents did not believe that bloggers should be allowed to publish home addresses and other personal information about private citizens. However, more than one-third of respondents had never heard of blogs before participating in the survey, and only around 30 percent of participants had actually visited a blog themselves."
Tracking Your TaxesLet me get this straight, samzenpus. It's okay for a single person to share someone else's private information...that's freedom of speech. But a corporation? Nooooooooo! Evil Big Brother!
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday April 13, @10:22PM
from the tax-spam dept.
CTealL writes "Apparently Intuit thinks it's okay to share information about taxes with third paries. According to this article, Intuit is using a third party tracking technology on all tax forms submitted to the IRS. "We could capture your name, your Social Security number or any other information that you willingly pass to a Web site," acknowledged Matt Belkin, who serves as vice president of best practices for Utah marketing giant Omniture, which tracks the online activities of people using Intuit's TurboTax. The IRS disavows any knowledge of this, saying "The IRS does not take a position on Web tracking tools." Makes you wonder where your tax information is going..."
I'm really having trouble seeing the difference here. Is this just me? Let me break it down:
A blogger publishes your home address. On the Internet. Where anyone can find it. It's very likely that the context is bad, too--"Send hate mail to the senator about his new bill! Here's his home address!" or "Here's the home address of a doctor at an abortion clinic!" or "Here's the home address of a guy we hate for no good reason! Hey, you live nearby? How about we form a mercenary group and go beat him up?"
Maybe I'm just sensitive here because that last one actually happened to Sean. (He fortunately didn't get beat up, but it is really scary to see people talking about it.)
Okay, then, let's compare that to a company capturing your personal information when you do your taxes. While they're not publishing it on the Internet for all to see, this is still dangerous because of the possibility of identity theft.
I really don't want to play down the threat here. But how can you say that this is horribly, horribly bad, and then say that bloggers should have the right to publish similarly potentially harmful information?
This is an overwhelming example of how some people are extraordinarily permissive when it comes to individuals (yay for the common man!), and extraordinarily hard-nosed when it comes to corporations (down with faceless industry!).
I realize that it seems dangerous to say "Bloggers should not be allowed to publish home addresses," because you are telling people what they can and can't do, which scares the daylights out of people here in America. It opens up the possibility for "censoring" other things, like things you don't agree with.
Except that that's ridiculous and would never happen. This is America. Look. Protecting someone's safety is different from taping someone's mouth shut about a political ideal. Sure, there might be someone who says "Bloggers shouldn't say bad things about President Bush," and someone might even try to pass legislation forbidding it...but will that legislation ever actually pass? No, people. Again, this is America.
But our personal freedoms can only extend as far as they don't encroach upon the freedoms and personal security of others. We cannot have total freedom. (A million liberals just gasped and keeled over.)
People are different. We have different goals and motivations. Our goals invariably come into conflict with other people's goals. We can't have it both ways, and we certainly can't have it all ways.
Something's gotta give. We have to compromise.
So no. If it happens that a lot of bloggers out there are publishing people's personal information on the Internet, then I would have no problem with someone introducing legislation to restrict it. (Let me just say here that I highly doubt anything like that would pass, either.)
But in the long run, I imagine such a thing will never become necessary. When those survey respondents stated that bloggers should not be "allowed" to publish personal information, I'm sure that their thoughts were not "We'd better write some laws as a preemptive strike!" That's not how things work. A problem arises, and then we decide whether or not we need to solve it with new laws. Those survey respondents likely had no idea whether or not personal information was actually being shared--remember, the majority of them had never even seen a blog. I imagine their thought process to be something like, "Wow, there are people out there putting other people's home addresses on their websites? That's not nice. They shouldn't do that."
And they shouldn't, and I hope--and believe--that most don't, and that there will be no need for legislation. I have faith in the ethics of writers, and I have faith in the ability of the Internet community to self-correct.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
A few things
This new attendance-taking scheme is rather brilliant. (Of course, it would be more brilliant if the professor actually knew the students' names, and took an active interest in each and every one of them. --Puh-hahahahaha! Sorry, I forgot that we use the stupid Roman classroom system for a minute there.)
Judas, don't be a dick.
The Narutrix! O_O (I suggest using the animemusicvideos.org link, because this video got BoingBoinged.)
A conference for women bloggers! I wanna go!
Here is a cute way to learn about Hindu gods, if you're interested.
Judas, don't be a dick.
The Narutrix! O_O (I suggest using the animemusicvideos.org link, because this video got BoingBoinged.)
A conference for women bloggers! I wanna go!
Here is a cute way to learn about Hindu gods, if you're interested.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Plugin request
I need a WordPress plugin. Basically, it would manage things I am doing (reading, listening to, etc). The main area would display "currently", with links to "things I have X and recommend" and "things I have X and do not recommend", with the option of an actual review to go along with the rating. There would be an option to add in items by date, so that if I read Ender's Game in 1999, I could mark that down.
A reader could then see all books I have ever read, and how I felt about them.
Oh, and this plugin would of course provide thumbnails and links for the items, chosen by me.
See, I'm good at coming up with ideas! If only I could code...
So, does such a thing exist? Will it exist anytime soon? I'm counting on my Internet and/or WordPress savvy readers to help!
A reader could then see all books I have ever read, and how I felt about them.
Oh, and this plugin would of course provide thumbnails and links for the items, chosen by me.
See, I'm good at coming up with ideas! If only I could code...
So, does such a thing exist? Will it exist anytime soon? I'm counting on my Internet and/or WordPress savvy readers to help!
Photos!
I managed to make it out this morning for some pictures along some of Augusta's prettiest roads.
I saw some beautiful things out there, so I'm glad I can share them.
Lately I have really begun to see my limitations as a photographer. Part of it is the lack of certain options on my camera, but a major issue is that I really have no idea what I'm doing. If I want to get any better, I'm going to have to take classes or something.
That said, I did manage some reasonably nice shots in this batch. I hope you like them.
I saw some beautiful things out there, so I'm glad I can share them.
Lately I have really begun to see my limitations as a photographer. Part of it is the lack of certain options on my camera, but a major issue is that I really have no idea what I'm doing. If I want to get any better, I'm going to have to take classes or something.
That said, I did manage some reasonably nice shots in this batch. I hope you like them.
Monday, April 11, 2005
The danger of overestimation
As I was making my agenda for the day, I thought, "Don't plan too much. If you don't get some of it done, you don't want to get disillusioned, and then never work on any of it."
Well, I didn't do any writing, photography, or studying of Japanese today.
I did get the laundry done, and the dishes done.
I spent most of the rest of my time websurfing, most notably reading the Boy Meets Boy archives. (Snerk.) I also made dinner, which is good.
But I'm thinking, it would have been nice to have at least done one of the important projects. So, for tomorrow, I will resolve to work on one of them, and not worry about the others. That at least will limit the excuses I might have for not starting any of it, like "Oh, it's 9 pm, I don't have time to do all that stuff I was going to do today, so I'll just write a whiny post about it and go back to reading about gay boys."
To be fair to me, Sean is working his 6 to 3 shift this week, and that means he gets home at an ungodly early hour. Right now he's asleep in the bedroom, which is where I'd planned to do my writing. He's been there pretty much since we got back from doing our taxes. I know that I could write in here, but I'd rather do it in a place without all the usual distractions.
Also, my Japanese materials are in the bedroom.
And it's too dark for photography. At least, photography with my current camera.
So I'm going to give up on it for today, and resolve to start one of my projects EARLY tomorrow when I get up.
Well, I didn't do any writing, photography, or studying of Japanese today.
I did get the laundry done, and the dishes done.
I spent most of the rest of my time websurfing, most notably reading the Boy Meets Boy archives. (Snerk.) I also made dinner, which is good.
But I'm thinking, it would have been nice to have at least done one of the important projects. So, for tomorrow, I will resolve to work on one of them, and not worry about the others. That at least will limit the excuses I might have for not starting any of it, like "Oh, it's 9 pm, I don't have time to do all that stuff I was going to do today, so I'll just write a whiny post about it and go back to reading about gay boys."
To be fair to me, Sean is working his 6 to 3 shift this week, and that means he gets home at an ungodly early hour. Right now he's asleep in the bedroom, which is where I'd planned to do my writing. He's been there pretty much since we got back from doing our taxes. I know that I could write in here, but I'd rather do it in a place without all the usual distractions.
Also, my Japanese materials are in the bedroom.
And it's too dark for photography. At least, photography with my current camera.
So I'm going to give up on it for today, and resolve to start one of my projects EARLY tomorrow when I get up.
This is sad
Check out this story on BoingBoing.
Seriously, that thing breaks pretty much every unwritten rule of web design! It has a wave file on autoloop, the background image interferes with the text, and it's in frames for god's sake! Also, the site is extraordinarily ugly--all one color, so there's no focal point; menu graphics with backgrounds that don't match the page background; graphics disingenuously incorporated with text in a boring font; a strip of green (grass?) along the bottom for no apparent reason...the list goes on and on. (And to make matters worse, there are typos in the copy!)
All in all, a sad situation for Windows on the Bay.
A Boing Boing reader [...] designed a website for a restaurant called Windows On the Bay. The client had not yet given him the copy for the site, so he filled the page with what he describes as "incredibly overblown, remarkably pretentious text."I feel sorry for Windows on the Bay. Not only are they dumb enough to use ridiculous copy, but they are stuck with the most hideous website known to creation.
He says the client ended up using the copy!
Seriously, that thing breaks pretty much every unwritten rule of web design! It has a wave file on autoloop, the background image interferes with the text, and it's in frames for god's sake! Also, the site is extraordinarily ugly--all one color, so there's no focal point; menu graphics with backgrounds that don't match the page background; graphics disingenuously incorporated with text in a boring font; a strip of green (grass?) along the bottom for no apparent reason...the list goes on and on. (And to make matters worse, there are typos in the copy!)
All in all, a sad situation for Windows on the Bay.
I just got email from Dr Pepper/Seven Up
Yes, "Seven Up". That's how they spelled it.
The email is a newsletter called "THE HIZZY".
I am not making this up.
The email is a newsletter called "THE HIZZY".
I am not making this up.
Status update
Laundry: One load in the dryer, one in the washer. Not long now.
Dishes: Put away.
The Three Most Important Things: Not done. Not even begun.
Things That Got in the Way: Sex, and taxes. And websurfing. Writing this post, for that matter. All done.
Yes, you can see how close I am to treating the three things I want to work on professionally ;P Shape up or ship out, me!
Dishes: Put away.
The Three Most Important Things: Not done. Not even begun.
Things That Got in the Way: Sex, and taxes. And websurfing. Writing this post, for that matter. All done.
Yes, you can see how close I am to treating the three things I want to work on professionally ;P Shape up or ship out, me!
Today's agenda
- Laundry
Status: 1 load done, 1 load in dryer, 1 load in washer, 1 load waiting. - Dishes
Status: Washed and waiting to be put away. - Writing
Status: Planning to spend a professional amount of time (e.g., as long as I can go strong before I start to lose my steam) writing. In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield states that his time is about four hours. Mine will probably be less, since I'm not in the habit of doing it every day yet. - Japanese
Status: For today, I'm going to spend equal time organizing materials and studying. I'll start with the organizing, because I love organizing, and I'll time myself. However long I spend organizing my study materials will then have to be spent doing actual studying. - Photography
Status: I want to get more pictures of the spring blossoms before they're all gone. I plan to bike down Walton Way and the residential side of Wheeler.
What am I, Jason Kottke?
I dunno, I've only been to his site like twice, and I didn't spend much time there, but from what it appears, he does a lot of linking.
Just as I am about to do now!
Slashdot stories
Sony Patents Matrix-Like Game Technology
Daylight Savings Change Proposed
Home Theatre PC Guide
Google Delivering Factual Answers
EFF Guide To Blogging Anonymously
I was thinking that this would have been useful this past week.
Detecting Speech Without Microphones
As a person with a degree in linguistics (I hesitate to ever call myself a "linguist", firstly because I'm not actually working in the field, and secondly because the working world seems to think "linguist" means "translator"), I find the idea of capturing the shapes of the mouth and throat in order to determine the intended speech at once fascinating and logical.
Hole Drilled to Bottom of Earth's Crust
Revenge of the Sith Officially Rated PG-13
You're sending us mixed signals here, George.
Actually, I can see what he was trying to do. He was trying to establish Anakin's innocence and appeal with the first movie, which its overly simplistic rendition of events that were actually so subtle and complex that it was a struggle at the time to understand why they were relevant. (Now, of course, that's obvious too: Palpatine had to come from somewhere.) The second movie, which I have at times claimed is better than Jedi, was the transition between this cartoony (actually, I hate that adjective, but you know what I mean) nothing of a film and the bleakness to follow. So, by contrast, Revenge has to be extraordinarily evil.
Maybe the series will hold up in a marathon viewing.
Router Built for Gamers
Okay, this is bad news for me. I mean, the description text says "Ping times suck? Too much lag? If your loved ones are hogging all your bandwidth with P2P and torrents, you'll want to checkout the D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router." Yes, if Sean sees this, I'm a goner...
...which of course makes linking to it on my website pretty stupid, eh?
BoingBoing stories
Plane Crazy: Musical about golden age aviation and the Pill
I would actually like to see this.
High-rise structures for ashes of Hong Kong's dead
I wonder if something similar is in Japan's future. Right now there isn't much land in Japan that isn't in use for something, and their graveyards are pretty tightly packed. I have some pictures of a graveyard in Kyoto that is so vast and dense that it is like a sea of thin gravestones. Maybe I'll get those pictures uploaded someday. In the meantime, here's a really interesting description of Japanese funeral traditions.
(There's a lot of other information on that page; click here for the index. Of interest right now is hanami, the viewing of cherry blossoms. A highlight from that article: "The restroom facilities at Japanese parks were never designed to handle the huge numbers of people that descend upon them for cherry blossom viewing. Due to this, it is inadvisable to go traipsing through any low shrubbery or foliage borders that may be lining the area." :D)
Yahoo! News: Oddly Enough stories
Confused Cops Swarm Woman After Birth (AP)
This woman is awesome. Just read the story.
Jailed 'Killer' Freed After Wife Turns Up Alive (Reuters)
Oops.
Physicists Write Microscopic Paragraph (AP)
Woman Photographs Swan, Finds Hand Stuck in Ice (Reuters)
It's so difficult sometimes to get the meat of the story into a tiny little headline...
Wash. Lawyer Suspended for Sex With Client (AP)
I just like the first paragraph:
Man Drives Into DMV's Wall, Renews License (AP)
Students Use 125 Steps to Change Batteries (AP)
Two words: Rube Goldberg. :D
Local news: Louisville, KY
Official: 'Mistakes were made' in felon's escape
The incompetence here is pretty impressive.
Local news: Aiken, SC
Schiavo decision worries supporter
This perspective on the Schiavo case by a woman who was held at a Yugoslavian starvation camp is worth going back on my word that I'd "washed my hands" of it. But this will likely be the sole exception.
Japan news
Guidelines planned for correct use of honorific Japanese
I really wonder if television isn't at least partly to blame for the widespread "misuse". I've noticed all kinds of sarcastic uses of honorific Japanese in anime.
The article itself states:
The secondary story in that article, that the joyo kanji will be reevaluated, is good news. I'm not sure that the language will have changed drastically in 24 years, but there are surely new prominent words that need to be considered.
747,000 households refuse to pay NHK subscription fees
Gov't keeps tight grip on textbook descriptions of Iraq war
Gov't OKs nationalist text; sex slavery glossed over
'Comfort women' not suitable for junior high textbooks: Shimomura
Japan seeks dialogue with S Korea over textbook issue
China says textbook issue not Japan's internal affair
Massive anti-Japan protests spread to Guangzhou, Shenzhen
Lots of furor over those textbooks.
Koizumi speaks out against Expo bento ban
Koizumi wins Expo bento battle
Go Koizumi! (And boo to Mainichi for its horrible archiving system...where the hell's the permalink? I'm afraid these links will turn sour as soon as another article with the word "bento" in it is published...)
Okay, whew, I have now emptied out my saved Bloglines stories, except of course for the 100+ Language Log entries I have yet to read. I feel (mostly) better now. And hey, that apparently only took an hour!
Just as I am about to do now!
Slashdot stories
Sony Patents Matrix-Like Game Technology
Daylight Savings Change Proposed
Home Theatre PC Guide
Google Delivering Factual Answers
EFF Guide To Blogging Anonymously
I was thinking that this would have been useful this past week.
Detecting Speech Without Microphones
As a person with a degree in linguistics (I hesitate to ever call myself a "linguist", firstly because I'm not actually working in the field, and secondly because the working world seems to think "linguist" means "translator"), I find the idea of capturing the shapes of the mouth and throat in order to determine the intended speech at once fascinating and logical.
Hole Drilled to Bottom of Earth's Crust
Revenge of the Sith Officially Rated PG-13
You're sending us mixed signals here, George.
Actually, I can see what he was trying to do. He was trying to establish Anakin's innocence and appeal with the first movie, which its overly simplistic rendition of events that were actually so subtle and complex that it was a struggle at the time to understand why they were relevant. (Now, of course, that's obvious too: Palpatine had to come from somewhere.) The second movie, which I have at times claimed is better than Jedi, was the transition between this cartoony (actually, I hate that adjective, but you know what I mean) nothing of a film and the bleakness to follow. So, by contrast, Revenge has to be extraordinarily evil.
Maybe the series will hold up in a marathon viewing.
Router Built for Gamers
Okay, this is bad news for me. I mean, the description text says "Ping times suck? Too much lag? If your loved ones are hogging all your bandwidth with P2P and torrents, you'll want to checkout the D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router." Yes, if Sean sees this, I'm a goner...
...which of course makes linking to it on my website pretty stupid, eh?
BoingBoing stories
Plane Crazy: Musical about golden age aviation and the Pill
I would actually like to see this.
High-rise structures for ashes of Hong Kong's dead
I wonder if something similar is in Japan's future. Right now there isn't much land in Japan that isn't in use for something, and their graveyards are pretty tightly packed. I have some pictures of a graveyard in Kyoto that is so vast and dense that it is like a sea of thin gravestones. Maybe I'll get those pictures uploaded someday. In the meantime, here's a really interesting description of Japanese funeral traditions.
(There's a lot of other information on that page; click here for the index. Of interest right now is hanami, the viewing of cherry blossoms. A highlight from that article: "The restroom facilities at Japanese parks were never designed to handle the huge numbers of people that descend upon them for cherry blossom viewing. Due to this, it is inadvisable to go traipsing through any low shrubbery or foliage borders that may be lining the area." :D)
Yahoo! News: Oddly Enough stories
Confused Cops Swarm Woman After Birth (AP)
This woman is awesome. Just read the story.
Jailed 'Killer' Freed After Wife Turns Up Alive (Reuters)
Oops.
Physicists Write Microscopic Paragraph (AP)
Woman Photographs Swan, Finds Hand Stuck in Ice (Reuters)
It's so difficult sometimes to get the meat of the story into a tiny little headline...
Wash. Lawyer Suspended for Sex With Client (AP)
I just like the first paragraph:
The state Supreme Court on Thursday announced a two-year suspension for a lawyer caught having jailhouse sex with a triple-murder defendant she was representing.So I guess you don't have to be particularly smart to be a lawyer...
Man Drives Into DMV's Wall, Renews License (AP)
Students Use 125 Steps to Change Batteries (AP)
Two words: Rube Goldberg. :D
Local news: Louisville, KY
Official: 'Mistakes were made' in felon's escape
The incompetence here is pretty impressive.
Local news: Aiken, SC
Schiavo decision worries supporter
This perspective on the Schiavo case by a woman who was held at a Yugoslavian starvation camp is worth going back on my word that I'd "washed my hands" of it. But this will likely be the sole exception.
Japan news
Guidelines planned for correct use of honorific Japanese
I really wonder if television isn't at least partly to blame for the widespread "misuse". I've noticed all kinds of sarcastic uses of honorific Japanese in anime.
The article itself states:
The subcommittee will check on the use of honorifics and polite phrases deemed to deviate from perceived standard usage, including phrases commonly used by sales clerks.What, no more irasshaimase? :(
The secondary story in that article, that the joyo kanji will be reevaluated, is good news. I'm not sure that the language will have changed drastically in 24 years, but there are surely new prominent words that need to be considered.
747,000 households refuse to pay NHK subscription fees
Gov't keeps tight grip on textbook descriptions of Iraq war
Gov't OKs nationalist text; sex slavery glossed over
'Comfort women' not suitable for junior high textbooks: Shimomura
Japan seeks dialogue with S Korea over textbook issue
China says textbook issue not Japan's internal affair
Massive anti-Japan protests spread to Guangzhou, Shenzhen
Lots of furor over those textbooks.
Koizumi speaks out against Expo bento ban
Koizumi wins Expo bento battle
Go Koizumi! (And boo to Mainichi for its horrible archiving system...where the hell's the permalink? I'm afraid these links will turn sour as soon as another article with the word "bento" in it is published...)
Okay, whew, I have now emptied out my saved Bloglines stories, except of course for the 100+ Language Log entries I have yet to read. I feel (mostly) better now. And hey, that apparently only took an hour!
Friday, April 8, 2005
Leaving on a high note
Two posts from yesterday have been posted to Blogger. Now, will they actually appear on my site? Let's find out!
:P
My last day of work was actually good, with both productivity and some nice surprises.
Robert didn't come in until, like, 10:30! I got so much accomplished ;> He gave me a few other jobs, and I did them. Then we had the following conversation:
"Do you have anything else?"
"No....But I'm going to have food here at 4:00 for you."
"You are?" This completely shocked me. "Wow."
"Yeah. I mean if you want to do that."
"Sure. That's so nice!"
"I didn't know if you would want to, since yesterday you were a little irritated..."
"I was. I was a lot irritated."
"But yeah, I want to do that."
"Okay, cool."
Robert got his dopey smile and said, "I'll keep you busy!"
This was another surprise, as I had interpreted his earlier "No" to mean that he didn't have anything for me to do, so I would be leaving and then coming back at 4. "Doing what?" I said.
He seemed to pause before going into one of his elaborate explanations of why he's doing something. It didn't really bother me this time, I guess because of the idea that he wanted to throw me a goodbye party. Finally he got around to the point: he wanted me to purchase and install some software and figure out how it worked, then train him on it.
"Okay."
I don't know if he was expecting more resistance from me or what, but he seemed relieved.
I got to work, buying and downloading and installing, and then I played around with the software some (it's really easy), and then it occurred to me that he must have come up with the idea to have a goodbye party just to convince me to stick around until 4, so he could get me to do this work.
The incredulous laugh came back. I mean, I would have done the work anyway (he obviously didn't understand what had made me angry yesterday). But it also would mean he wanted someone* to train him that much. That he didn't trust his own ability to learn.
*(Not just "someone", but me. Ah, ego.)
But I laughed mostly to myself--he was in the other room--and kept at it. Because, hey, I was wooed by food. And also, it was my last day, and I was happy.
Well, it turned out that he had actually proposed having some sort of party last week. I do think he mentioned the party before he mentioned the work in the hopes that I wouldn't reject the work...but I can't think of him as completely evil, knowing that he'd planned in advance ;> (And also that he didn't change his mind after yesterday's hissy fit.)
He bought sushi(!), and Audrey brought a cake(!), and we--me, Audrey, Kim, Teri, and Robert--sat around eating and talking. It was actually a really nice time :) Bob stopped in to eat some cake, and he gave me a hug and kissed the top of my head and said, "We'll miss you around here!" (I promptly felt like an asshat.)
They gave me a card, too...and Robert wrote some really nice stuff in it, including that I should ask him if I ever need anything. Audrey wrote that while they will miss my knowledge and expertise, they will really miss me.
I don't know if I ever felt that appreciated at 2go-Box before. It was a nice way to leave.
:P
My last day of work was actually good, with both productivity and some nice surprises.
Robert didn't come in until, like, 10:30! I got so much accomplished ;> He gave me a few other jobs, and I did them. Then we had the following conversation:
"Do you have anything else?"
"No....But I'm going to have food here at 4:00 for you."
"You are?" This completely shocked me. "Wow."
"Yeah. I mean if you want to do that."
"Sure. That's so nice!"
"I didn't know if you would want to, since yesterday you were a little irritated..."
"I was. I was a lot irritated."
"But yeah, I want to do that."
"Okay, cool."
Robert got his dopey smile and said, "I'll keep you busy!"
This was another surprise, as I had interpreted his earlier "No" to mean that he didn't have anything for me to do, so I would be leaving and then coming back at 4. "Doing what?" I said.
He seemed to pause before going into one of his elaborate explanations of why he's doing something. It didn't really bother me this time, I guess because of the idea that he wanted to throw me a goodbye party. Finally he got around to the point: he wanted me to purchase and install some software and figure out how it worked, then train him on it.
"Okay."
I don't know if he was expecting more resistance from me or what, but he seemed relieved.
I got to work, buying and downloading and installing, and then I played around with the software some (it's really easy), and then it occurred to me that he must have come up with the idea to have a goodbye party just to convince me to stick around until 4, so he could get me to do this work.
The incredulous laugh came back. I mean, I would have done the work anyway (he obviously didn't understand what had made me angry yesterday). But it also would mean he wanted someone* to train him that much. That he didn't trust his own ability to learn.
*(Not just "someone", but me. Ah, ego.)
But I laughed mostly to myself--he was in the other room--and kept at it. Because, hey, I was wooed by food. And also, it was my last day, and I was happy.
Well, it turned out that he had actually proposed having some sort of party last week. I do think he mentioned the party before he mentioned the work in the hopes that I wouldn't reject the work...but I can't think of him as completely evil, knowing that he'd planned in advance ;> (And also that he didn't change his mind after yesterday's hissy fit.)
He bought sushi(!), and Audrey brought a cake(!), and we--me, Audrey, Kim, Teri, and Robert--sat around eating and talking. It was actually a really nice time :) Bob stopped in to eat some cake, and he gave me a hug and kissed the top of my head and said, "We'll miss you around here!" (I promptly felt like an asshat.)
They gave me a card, too...and Robert wrote some really nice stuff in it, including that I should ask him if I ever need anything. Audrey wrote that while they will miss my knowledge and expertise, they will really miss me.
I don't know if I ever felt that appreciated at 2go-Box before. It was a nice way to leave.
Protect your privacy when leaving a job; plus, Duncan Fraser
I'm not an expert on personal security, but I do know that computers can tell other people a lot about you, if you let them. The best option, of course, is to not do personal stuff on work computers, or to do personal stuff via the web so that nothing is stored locally (except perhaps in the cache). However, that's a perfect world scenario; in reality, there are plenty of reasons why you might visit some websites you like while you're at work, and log in to them, or go check your webmail, or run a chat program.
So, here are the steps I'm taking to erase my existence from the office computers.
First, and most obviously, I'm removing my logins. This will delete any files I've saved (I tend to email myself files rather than save them locally, but this will catch anything I've missed), plus it will destroy my bookmarks, visited links, and Internet cache.
Since my work email contains a few exchanges that may be helpful to my boss, I am leaving those in and deleting all the other messages--both in the Sent mail and in my archive folders. I am moving the email pst files out of my login so they will be saved when I delete the login.
I have uninstalled all programs that I installed for my own use. This includes AIM, a couple of FTP programs, and the GIMP. The purpose of this is to remove any identifying information that may have been stored in those programs (not the GIMP so much, but one of the FTP programs was storing a login of mine even after I told it not to). This also cleans up the computer for the next user, who might have no idea what all those programs are for. It's a nice thing to do.
I am also deleting the Cookies, Temporary Internet Files and History on other users' accounts if I have ever used them to access my own stuff. (I really haven't done this much, because I was thinking ahead, but sometimes for the sake of time I would just leave the computer logged in as someone else while I was using it, so they could easily start work when they came in.)
Finally, I'm removing my mp3s. No one listened to them but me, anyway.
Update 2005/04/11 12:25pm! The comments on this post are nothing but a Duncan discussion. For ease of later searching, I wanted to mention that fact here in the post text.
(Nobody came in to say, "Wow, Heather, thanks for the tips!" Maybe because the tips really aren't all that amazing...)
So, here are the steps I'm taking to erase my existence from the office computers.
First, and most obviously, I'm removing my logins. This will delete any files I've saved (I tend to email myself files rather than save them locally, but this will catch anything I've missed), plus it will destroy my bookmarks, visited links, and Internet cache.
Since my work email contains a few exchanges that may be helpful to my boss, I am leaving those in and deleting all the other messages--both in the Sent mail and in my archive folders. I am moving the email pst files out of my login so they will be saved when I delete the login.
I have uninstalled all programs that I installed for my own use. This includes AIM, a couple of FTP programs, and the GIMP. The purpose of this is to remove any identifying information that may have been stored in those programs (not the GIMP so much, but one of the FTP programs was storing a login of mine even after I told it not to). This also cleans up the computer for the next user, who might have no idea what all those programs are for. It's a nice thing to do.
I am also deleting the Cookies, Temporary Internet Files and History on other users' accounts if I have ever used them to access my own stuff. (I really haven't done this much, because I was thinking ahead, but sometimes for the sake of time I would just leave the computer logged in as someone else while I was using it, so they could easily start work when they came in.)
Finally, I'm removing my mp3s. No one listened to them but me, anyway.
Update 2005/04/11 12:25pm! The comments on this post are nothing but a Duncan discussion. For ease of later searching, I wanted to mention that fact here in the post text.
(Nobody came in to say, "Wow, Heather, thanks for the tips!" Maybe because the tips really aren't all that amazing...)
Last day
So Blogger has a recover lost posts feature now. Given the fact that their site is down all the freaking time, this is handy. I guess I may find out if it actually works or not soon enough. (Unless I finally manage to shift to WordPress this weekend. If not this weekend, I definitely plan to get it done while I'm in Kentucky.)
Blogger was down all last night, and it seemed to be down this morning. I have a vitriolic post I want to put up, and I will as soon as I'm able. I don't have it with me so I can't post it now. When I do post it, I'll back-date it to when I wrote it, which was yesterday at 4:30 pm. Watch for it ;P
As I got out of the car this morning and put my key card in my mouth so my hands would be free to grab my stuff and open the car door, I thought, "This is the last time I'll put this key card in my mouth." Aww.
:P
Actually, I think it is really cute that I put the key card in my mouth. It brought me a certain measure of delight every time I did it. It reminded me of little anime girls with huge eyes and small mouths delicately nibbling on stuff.
Speaking of cute things, there was this little girl last night at the restaurant (Brooke and I went to Boll Weevil) who said "Ma-Maaaa?!" with this rising intonation that turned into a squeal. I cannot express to you how utterly repulsive that was. It was like they had trained her to act cutesy or something. Every time I heard it it was like ice picks being jammed into my ears.
Maybe she is just naturally cutesy. Maybe it's part of her personality. Regardless, it was freaking annoying.
This is the last day. God. I can't believe it.
It couldn't have come sooner, that's for sure.
Blogger was down all last night, and it seemed to be down this morning. I have a vitriolic post I want to put up, and I will as soon as I'm able. I don't have it with me so I can't post it now. When I do post it, I'll back-date it to when I wrote it, which was yesterday at 4:30 pm. Watch for it ;P
As I got out of the car this morning and put my key card in my mouth so my hands would be free to grab my stuff and open the car door, I thought, "This is the last time I'll put this key card in my mouth." Aww.
:P
Actually, I think it is really cute that I put the key card in my mouth. It brought me a certain measure of delight every time I did it. It reminded me of little anime girls with huge eyes and small mouths delicately nibbling on stuff.
Speaking of cute things, there was this little girl last night at the restaurant (Brooke and I went to Boll Weevil) who said "Ma-Maaaa?!" with this rising intonation that turned into a squeal. I cannot express to you how utterly repulsive that was. It was like they had trained her to act cutesy or something. Every time I heard it it was like ice picks being jammed into my ears.
Maybe she is just naturally cutesy. Maybe it's part of her personality. Regardless, it was freaking annoying.
This is the last day. God. I can't believe it.
It couldn't have come sooner, that's for sure.
Thursday, April 7, 2005
So much for keeping my temper under control
I was tasked yesterday with creating a phone survey using some web-based software. I did so this morning. A great deal of time was then spent tediously going through everything with Robert so that he could add in changes by proxy. In other words, he watched over my shoulder and told me what to do. This is very similar to yesterday, when we cleaned and sorted my computer's file structure.
Then, he wanted to record all the prompts. But instead of just, you know, doing it, he had me click "Record" and "Stop" and save the file in Sound Recorder. We made three files for a test, and determined that the microphone sucked.
It was about time for my lunch, so I asked him if he was seriously going to have me sit there and hit record for him, when it was easily a one person job. He said, and I quote, "The point is to get it done today, and I don't have any experience with that application."
Experience with that application.
It's fucking Sound Recorder!!!!
I didn't know you needed a fucking doctoral degree to hit "Record" and "Stop" and "File" > "Save As", but Jesus, I guess I better go back to school!
I literally stood there, leaning against the doorjamb and laughing at him. It was a quiet kind of laugh, an incredulous laugh that shook my entire frame. All he did was studiously ignore me.
I left everything open on my computer so he could mess with it, but of course he didn't. After lunch I got back and nothing had been accomplished. I started working on a different project because he didn't have a new microphone yet. He left to run errands and to get a microphone.
When he came back he plunked the microphone down cheerfully. I said, "So you seriously want me to do this recording for you." I was near to losing it. He said yes. "You know, tomorrow's my last day," I said.
"I know," he said.
"I could just leave right now."
He paused and responded, "That would be bad," and didn't elaborate.
I went into the phone system to get the scripts. He told me to pull all the text out and put it in a Word doc. I did this, and printed it. I guess the busywork didn't calm me down any, because as I handed the pages over and he said, "All this? This is a lot!" I started to close all my applications, save my files, delete personal stuff, etc.
"So you're really going to have me sit here and hit 'record' and 'stop' for you?"
"Yes. And save the files--"
"Jesus God!" I grabbed my head in both hands. "I can't believe you want me to just sit here and hit 'record' for you! You know what, I'm going to just leave, instead. This is ridiculous."
As I spoke, I was rising and grabbing all my stuff. I stalked to the bathroom and cast what was left of my water into the sink. Realizing that it was my cup anyway, I held onto it and didn't bother going back into the office. "I'll come in tomorrow and finish uploading those files," I shouted, and slammed the door behind me.
I didn't even put my seatbelt on until I had charged out of the parking lot. If I were the type to squeal my tires, I would have.
I don't know if he will want me to come back tomorrow or not. He might, if he's really so incompetent that he can't figure out how to upload things without me being there to point and click. Jesus fucking shit. I don't know if I would want to go back at all anyway. Actually, I do know. I don't want to go back at all.
I feel bad because I didn't say goodbye to Audrey. But saying goodbye to someone while you're throwing a temper tantrum would lessen the effect. :P
Obviously I'm at fault here. A better person would be able to suck it up and just do the ridiculously demeaning work of pointing and clicking, computing by proxy. I'm sorry. I can't. I can't have someone leaning over my shoulder telling me exactly how to do what I'm doing. I want to be given a task and allowed the freedom to complete it without the fucking micromanaging.
Jesus fuck shit fuck.
I'm going out.
Then, he wanted to record all the prompts. But instead of just, you know, doing it, he had me click "Record" and "Stop" and save the file in Sound Recorder. We made three files for a test, and determined that the microphone sucked.
It was about time for my lunch, so I asked him if he was seriously going to have me sit there and hit record for him, when it was easily a one person job. He said, and I quote, "The point is to get it done today, and I don't have any experience with that application."
Experience with that application.
It's fucking Sound Recorder!!!!
I didn't know you needed a fucking doctoral degree to hit "Record" and "Stop" and "File" > "Save As", but Jesus, I guess I better go back to school!
I literally stood there, leaning against the doorjamb and laughing at him. It was a quiet kind of laugh, an incredulous laugh that shook my entire frame. All he did was studiously ignore me.
I left everything open on my computer so he could mess with it, but of course he didn't. After lunch I got back and nothing had been accomplished. I started working on a different project because he didn't have a new microphone yet. He left to run errands and to get a microphone.
When he came back he plunked the microphone down cheerfully. I said, "So you seriously want me to do this recording for you." I was near to losing it. He said yes. "You know, tomorrow's my last day," I said.
"I know," he said.
"I could just leave right now."
He paused and responded, "That would be bad," and didn't elaborate.
I went into the phone system to get the scripts. He told me to pull all the text out and put it in a Word doc. I did this, and printed it. I guess the busywork didn't calm me down any, because as I handed the pages over and he said, "All this? This is a lot!" I started to close all my applications, save my files, delete personal stuff, etc.
"So you're really going to have me sit here and hit 'record' and 'stop' for you?"
"Yes. And save the files--"
"Jesus God!" I grabbed my head in both hands. "I can't believe you want me to just sit here and hit 'record' for you! You know what, I'm going to just leave, instead. This is ridiculous."
As I spoke, I was rising and grabbing all my stuff. I stalked to the bathroom and cast what was left of my water into the sink. Realizing that it was my cup anyway, I held onto it and didn't bother going back into the office. "I'll come in tomorrow and finish uploading those files," I shouted, and slammed the door behind me.
I didn't even put my seatbelt on until I had charged out of the parking lot. If I were the type to squeal my tires, I would have.
I don't know if he will want me to come back tomorrow or not. He might, if he's really so incompetent that he can't figure out how to upload things without me being there to point and click. Jesus fucking shit. I don't know if I would want to go back at all anyway. Actually, I do know. I don't want to go back at all.
I feel bad because I didn't say goodbye to Audrey. But saying goodbye to someone while you're throwing a temper tantrum would lessen the effect. :P
Obviously I'm at fault here. A better person would be able to suck it up and just do the ridiculously demeaning work of pointing and clicking, computing by proxy. I'm sorry. I can't. I can't have someone leaning over my shoulder telling me exactly how to do what I'm doing. I want to be given a task and allowed the freedom to complete it without the fucking micromanaging.
Jesus fuck shit fuck.
I'm going out.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Malls as community caricature
BoingBoing linked to an article about the latest incarnation of the mall. I found the conclusion interesting:
The lifestyle center is a bizarre outgrowth of the suburban mentality: People want public space, even if making that space private is the only way to get it.I've had that kind of feeling before. Where I wanted to just buy a bunch of land, and put everything I needed on it, and be self-sufficient, because I didn't trust other people to treat me right, or to make the products I wanted, or not to kill me when I went out for a walk. It's an outgrowth of our do-it-yourself mentality, I think, the one that has turned us all into islands.
Mini Meatloaves
| 1 egg | 1 tsp. salt |
| 3/4 c. milk | 1 lb. ground beef |
| 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese | 2/3 c. ketchup |
| 1/2 c. cooking oats | 1/2 c. packed brown sugar |
| 1/2 c. chopped onion | 1/2 tsp. mustard |
Mix egg and milk. Add cheese, oats, onion, and salt. Mix in beef with your hands. Form beef into 8 loaves and place into a greased 13X9X2 pan.
Mix ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Spoon on top of loaves.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, or until the loaves reach an internal temperature of 160°.
These are really, really, really good. I'm making them for dinner tonight.
House
The other day I biked to work, and when I left to go home I had a bunch of mail to take, so I rigged it all up in a trash bag in my bike basket and headed out. I decided to go down Old Petersburg instead of taking Martinez Boulevard to get to the post office. This was actually a mistake, because it's much longer that way, and Old Petersburg has some nasty hills. But I didn't know that at the time. Oh well.
Anyway, while I was on Old Petersburg I saw some really pretty flowers. I also saw a home for sale. It is probably way too big and expensive for me and Sean, but it looked really great. Unfortunately I can't find a listing for it anywhere, so I have no idea what it's going for, or even if it is still on the market. It had a two car garage and a nice yard, and I think that would be a nice and convenient place to live. It probably costs a zillion dollars.
Anyway, while I was on Old Petersburg I saw some really pretty flowers. I also saw a home for sale. It is probably way too big and expensive for me and Sean, but it looked really great. Unfortunately I can't find a listing for it anywhere, so I have no idea what it's going for, or even if it is still on the market. It had a two car garage and a nice yard, and I think that would be a nice and convenient place to live. It probably costs a zillion dollars.
Wow, I am in a horrible mood
The interminal week continues.
Apparently, if you clear a flat surface, my boss will have it covered with his crap by the next morning.
Meanwhile, some people, rather than, oh, I don't know, emptying the trash can when they put their stinky leftovers in it, instead continue piling garbage into the can until it's overflowing onto the drinks sold to customers. Because god forbid they should have to clean up after themselves.
In other news, drivers who tailgate you down two streets when there was plenty of room to pass and when you're going the speed limit are shitheads.
Also, even my bastion of light and hope, R. Gabriel's, dropped the ball this morning by 1) making me the wrong smoothie; 2) not putting the lid on correctly, so that it spilled all over my shirt and pants. The only upside is that it is a delicious smoothie, but that's to be expected.
Things that have been said to me:
Three more days of this shit. Jesus.
Apparently, if you clear a flat surface, my boss will have it covered with his crap by the next morning.
Meanwhile, some people, rather than, oh, I don't know, emptying the trash can when they put their stinky leftovers in it, instead continue piling garbage into the can until it's overflowing onto the drinks sold to customers. Because god forbid they should have to clean up after themselves.
In other news, drivers who tailgate you down two streets when there was plenty of room to pass and when you're going the speed limit are shitheads.
Also, even my bastion of light and hope, R. Gabriel's, dropped the ball this morning by 1) making me the wrong smoothie; 2) not putting the lid on correctly, so that it spilled all over my shirt and pants. The only upside is that it is a delicious smoothie, but that's to be expected.
Things that have been said to me:
- I resent you, because you get paid and I don't, yet you get on your blog at work sometimes, which means that obviously you don't respect the fact that you get paid. But, as a businessman, who are you going to employ? The team that can do the job in a week, or the one drug addict who can get it done in an hour?
- I can't afford to pay you a decent salary, or give you decent hours doing the things that need to be done. Oh, look, I bought myself an Aeron chair!
- Ooo, want to hold hands?
Three more days of this shit. Jesus.
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