I was rather pleased Friday morning at work. I had about two hours of idle time in the morning and turned out about four pages of dialogue for 'Resurgence'. [That'll probably turn into one page of dialogue after I transcribe it.] Finally I have the time, and am in a frame of mind to do the transcribing, but just thinking about what I have written, I want to change it during the transcription. Some parts I want to change radically. So now I guess I need to hang on to my rough notes longer than I had intended to, just as a means of preserving the product of Friday's thought processes. Well, I guess this is another instance where the filing cabinet come in handy.
Finally, my weekend is here. As I've mentioned, I work seven straight days, then have off only about 40 hours to change to a different shift for another seven days. And so on. Then after seven days on 'first' shift I get a 4-day weekend. Thats where I am right now.
Ah.
I spent a good deal of time yesterday and this morning playing Counter-Strike: Condition Zero with my clan mates, as this is also pretty much the only time that I have free time that coincides with people actually playing on our clan's server. Also last night I realised that following my not-so-recent HDD issues, I had never updated the chipset drivers. Since this is a PIII 800MHz system (obsolete), using updated drivers does actually make a significant difference in my in-game performance.
Also: ah, much better.
Off and on I worked on filling the filing cabinet, and other related 'spring cleaning' functions. I think I have a majority of the catalogues filed; a small victory won over the encroaching chaos. I have a sudden urge to give each file a discrete name in order to starkly contrast each one to the other, permanently establishing this compartmentalized order.
My friend Jim asked me if $660 sounded reasonable for a Kimber. I knew that name, but I guess I had not grasped the sheer sleekness of their products. As it turns out, I should think that $660 was a steal, depending of course which model is being considered. The polymer frame models sell for a bit less than the other models. Of course, the real problem was in my seeing these wondrous things, because now I want one. (The Royal Custom II appeals to me, but if there are any examples still available of the 25th Anniversary Custom Limited Edition (2004), that should be a nice peice at a very reasonable price.) Its foolishnes, of course, but that fact doesn't blunt the perceived longing for a new 'toy'. So I'm going to the Kane County Gun Show tomorrow. Hopefully several hours spent looking at the pretty guns will cure me of the new desire. Of course, there are practical purposes for going. My rifle needs proper scope mounts 'smithed on, and I need to locate stripper clips that will fit it in order to chamber the sweet 8x57J goodness. Its typically a good long ride out to the better events, not to mention I work on 3 out of 4 weekends, so I only go to these shows once in a great while.
Which of course reminds me that I need to awaken in 6 hours to get on the road.
Goodnight!
09 April 2005
05 April 2005
Spring Cleaning
But first, a bit of fun!
Mr. Anon! A. Mouse writes: "Everything that you write is automatically copyrighted by yourself, so there's no need to do anything special if you wish to reserve all rights to your writings."
The legalese goes this way: That is very true for this blog, for multiple reasons. In general, once I "fix" anything onto paper or recordable media (includes HDD's such as wherever this server's storage media is), I secure copyright to it. (Note: What if I lose the media and it doesn't have my name on it? I'll come back to that.) This blog automatically encodes the date and time, and has (sometimes) my likeness over in that area, so there is little question of whom created it when. Thus the copyright is automatically, and obviously, attributed to me.
If my normal website (well.... for certain values of 'normal' anyway) happens to be disorganised, or incomplete, then (this is my interpretation) copyright of material on those pages is automatic, yes, but ownership is a bit vague. You can tell ownership of the web page from the META tags (whoops, those aren't filled in), or the associated "about me" page (oops, it doesn't exist, or the link is broken), but there could be a problem if its not obvious. That's why folks like to use the explicit notices on their most prized work. That leaves no doubt as to ownership.
Fortunately, copyright law allows you to register for a formal copyright with the patent office (providing you act quickly) if any suits or similar issues regarding your work arise. That should protect your work adequately (given the copyright is granted, of course). So if I lose the paper with my award-winning poem on it, I can simply contact the copyright office, only to discover that I cannot remember how my poem goes....
I learned what I needed to know in any event. And perhaps I should clarify - no, I didnt lose a poem.
Another good day for me. The brutal content of my work for the next 3 days took a significant downturn at the end of today's shift. So it turns out I will not be having my rectum used to score a ringer after being propelled skyward to carrom off of the 'stone guy'. This newly revised job workload does actually rank in the 'acceptable' category, a very unexpected but delightful twist. After work I did actuall spring cleaning stuffs. I actually swept up some (not all, I didnt want to overdo it!) dead leaves and twigs in the area where my Ninety Eight resides amongst a throng of random engine parts. Sweeping dirt outdoors: I must be getting old. Then some apartmental cleaning. Again, quite a lot to do in here, but it's happening.
It turns out that the HHW event is a good ways downstate. What this means for me is that instead of breaking even for the refresher training fee, I may actually gain some money due to a fuel allowance. The agency hasn't confirmed that my prescence is needed, but a day off is good too.
Mr. Anon! A. Mouse writes: "Everything that you write is automatically copyrighted by yourself, so there's no need to do anything special if you wish to reserve all rights to your writings."
The legalese goes this way: That is very true for this blog, for multiple reasons. In general, once I "fix" anything onto paper or recordable media (includes HDD's such as wherever this server's storage media is), I secure copyright to it. (Note: What if I lose the media and it doesn't have my name on it? I'll come back to that.) This blog automatically encodes the date and time, and has (sometimes) my likeness over in that area, so there is little question of whom created it when. Thus the copyright is automatically, and obviously, attributed to me.
If my normal website (well.... for certain values of 'normal' anyway) happens to be disorganised, or incomplete, then (this is my interpretation) copyright of material on those pages is automatic, yes, but ownership is a bit vague. You can tell ownership of the web page from the META tags (whoops, those aren't filled in), or the associated "about me" page (oops, it doesn't exist, or the link is broken), but there could be a problem if its not obvious. That's why folks like to use the explicit notices on their most prized work. That leaves no doubt as to ownership.
Fortunately, copyright law allows you to register for a formal copyright with the patent office (providing you act quickly) if any suits or similar issues regarding your work arise. That should protect your work adequately (given the copyright is granted, of course). So if I lose the paper with my award-winning poem on it, I can simply contact the copyright office, only to discover that I cannot remember how my poem goes....
I learned what I needed to know in any event. And perhaps I should clarify - no, I didnt lose a poem.
Another good day for me. The brutal content of my work for the next 3 days took a significant downturn at the end of today's shift. So it turns out I will not be having my rectum used to score a ringer after being propelled skyward to carrom off of the 'stone guy'. This newly revised job workload does actually rank in the 'acceptable' category, a very unexpected but delightful twist. After work I did actuall spring cleaning stuffs. I actually swept up some (not all, I didnt want to overdo it!) dead leaves and twigs in the area where my Ninety Eight resides amongst a throng of random engine parts. Sweeping dirt outdoors: I must be getting old. Then some apartmental cleaning. Again, quite a lot to do in here, but it's happening.
It turns out that the HHW event is a good ways downstate. What this means for me is that instead of breaking even for the refresher training fee, I may actually gain some money due to a fuel allowance. The agency hasn't confirmed that my prescence is needed, but a day off is good too.
04 April 2005
The Eyewashes Have It
OK. Got my HAZWOPER refresher training done and certificate in hand (well, figuratively anyhow).
I used that company last time I needed a refresher, and although their website really falls short of convincing me of their legitimacy, nobody has questioned my certificate (but then, how often do you ask to see a mechanic's credentials?).
That's taken care of anyway.
Mr Anonymous comments: "Everything that you write is automatically copyrighted by yourself, so there's no need to do anything special....."
That sounds good. "Automatic protection" however, doesn't quite sound like the America I know. Yeah, I'm probably just being paranoid, but I'd still like to see the legal-ese on that. Also, I can't beleive that "Mr. Anonymous" is spending his time at work reading my blog. On the other hand, since you're getting paid while you're heading, I'm happy to distract while you earn monies towards your next domicile.
(It is possible that I have mis-identified Mr. A, but my intuition verges on the uncanny, so I really doubt that it is a Mr. E)
I'll call that 1.5 of two pressing issues down and an unexpectedly easy day at work. I only got a speck of foreign matter in my eye once. [Saturday was horrible on my eyes: grit, quicklime and coal dust multiple times. You really don't want to know how painful coal dust is.] Very nice weather too; if I could bottle it I would forge a diction. That would probably be redundant, so I just tried to soak it in while I could. Moving down the laundry list, two items are of moderate importance: more HTML on the website, and I need to finish a draft of "Resurgence".
I cannot imagine why I decided to call the homepage "ground zero". Maybe it sounded progressive. Maybe it sounded cool. Maybe I need a good slap. There's certainly almost nothing happening there, so the Zero works. That phrase is also a designation for the rubble from the World Trade Center. I'm not particularly pious when it comes to cultural icons but thats the sort of sacred cow that I'll prefer to respect: neither milking nor slaughtering it. Perhaps something quite the opposite would be better. "Dead Zone" sounds bizzarre and perhaps pretentious. Doldrum is probably more to the point but... it's one of those words that becomes awkward in parlance. "Welcome to the Doldrum".... So is it a singular doldrum where everything is just dead? Why bother to issue a greeting? Just take a pillow and pass them around. At any rate, change is needed.
Resurgence. I really like that for the title. Not a case of multiple meanings, but multiple ways to apply the same or similar meaning. It makes a nice short story, and I certainly need to get something finished. Because after that I have an alternator to rebuild (still), more filing, multiple expressions of spring cleaning, car stuff....
(hmm.... writes down "order carburetor rebuild kit")
With the sudden spate of fair weather, I'm instantly behind in everything.
.....and thats pretty much it for now. Its way too late again, and I haven't even come up with a title. I thought of one this morning, but I've forgotten it. That title may have been more appropriate for an essay about Vladimir Putin, which I thought I was going to write about - and still will, I think. Another time. So, I'll go with a combination of HazMat and all the crap getting in my eyes on Saturday. Goodnight.
I used that company last time I needed a refresher, and although their website really falls short of convincing me of their legitimacy, nobody has questioned my certificate (but then, how often do you ask to see a mechanic's credentials?).
That's taken care of anyway.
Mr Anonymous comments: "Everything that you write is automatically copyrighted by yourself, so there's no need to do anything special....."
That sounds good. "Automatic protection" however, doesn't quite sound like the America I know. Yeah, I'm probably just being paranoid, but I'd still like to see the legal-ese on that. Also, I can't beleive that "Mr. Anonymous" is spending his time at work reading my blog. On the other hand, since you're getting paid while you're heading, I'm happy to distract while you earn monies towards your next domicile.
(It is possible that I have mis-identified Mr. A, but my intuition verges on the uncanny, so I really doubt that it is a Mr. E)
I'll call that 1.5 of two pressing issues down and an unexpectedly easy day at work. I only got a speck of foreign matter in my eye once. [Saturday was horrible on my eyes: grit, quicklime and coal dust multiple times. You really don't want to know how painful coal dust is.] Very nice weather too; if I could bottle it I would forge a diction. That would probably be redundant, so I just tried to soak it in while I could. Moving down the laundry list, two items are of moderate importance: more HTML on the website, and I need to finish a draft of "Resurgence".
I cannot imagine why I decided to call the homepage "ground zero". Maybe it sounded progressive. Maybe it sounded cool. Maybe I need a good slap. There's certainly almost nothing happening there, so the Zero works. That phrase is also a designation for the rubble from the World Trade Center. I'm not particularly pious when it comes to cultural icons but thats the sort of sacred cow that I'll prefer to respect: neither milking nor slaughtering it. Perhaps something quite the opposite would be better. "Dead Zone" sounds bizzarre and perhaps pretentious. Doldrum is probably more to the point but... it's one of those words that becomes awkward in parlance. "Welcome to the Doldrum".... So is it a singular doldrum where everything is just dead? Why bother to issue a greeting? Just take a pillow and pass them around. At any rate, change is needed.
Resurgence. I really like that for the title. Not a case of multiple meanings, but multiple ways to apply the same or similar meaning. It makes a nice short story, and I certainly need to get something finished. Because after that I have an alternator to rebuild (still), more filing, multiple expressions of spring cleaning, car stuff....
(hmm.... writes down "order carburetor rebuild kit")
With the sudden spate of fair weather, I'm instantly behind in everything.
.....and thats pretty much it for now. Its way too late again, and I haven't even come up with a title. I thought of one this morning, but I've forgotten it. That title may have been more appropriate for an essay about Vladimir Putin, which I thought I was going to write about - and still will, I think. Another time. So, I'll go with a combination of HazMat and all the crap getting in my eyes on Saturday. Goodnight.
03 April 2005
Is It Safe?
I just got a 4-drawer file cabinet for $40.
OfficeMax lists these for $160 new!
(insert happy dance here)
I was visiting my brother, who lives very near where we grew up. While I was there, I excused myself and walked down the street to the GNC at the mall, to score some melatonin and Chondroitin (I tend to use the latter religiously, the former, less nowadays than I used to... so I guess its appropriate that it was also my birthday). Anyhow, the Circuit City branch that had been there had closed and was gone. Just two guys selling off the furniture & fixtures. A lotta beat up junk, including the file cabinets. And the Brother happens to have a van... YES!
Yeah, it probably shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is to me.
I have been needing this very badly. I make tornado alley destruction look like an anal-retentive's closet. Car parts, parts catalogs, car magazines, old Oldsmobile parts books, old car literature, a pamphlet about how to find parts catalogs (if you can beleive that!). That's only the automotive section. "Pack rat" probably applies to me. I am way more excited about this than I really should be. I even installed a lock on the cabinet. My brother pointed out (correctly) that it really didnt need one. Well jeez, its my parade, damn it! I'll go overboard if I want too. Hell, call it the "bling" for my new toy!
Plus I was impressed at how easy the install was... low-cost ego boost!
So that's been filling my non-work time recently. What to file, and how to file it.
Dammit, I just realised its been keeping me from working on HazMat refresher. Crap. That's time sensitive. I'd like to have it done by Friday. Sooner if possible.
I had to do a quick wash at the laundromat. Left 'Blood & Oil' at the Brother's house, so I was without my usual laundry passtime. Instead I decided to do a little writing. Ended up using the last few pages of my mileage logbook (no great loss, its unlikely I'll ever fill it up) to progress with the Sorrow story. Wrote 2-3 pages, added a new twist that I rather like. [I'm glad that I managed to distance myself mentally from the last "idea" I had for this one. That was so awful.] The experience of writing at the laundromat got me to thinking. That was probably the most casual setting that I'd written in. Sooooo.... when I was returning some filing paraphernalia today I bought a .... uh... what're these things called? Its a leather "pad holder". I had been using a VERY low-rent folder thing to carry my resumes and related certificates around in. This should be able to do double duty as a resume aid. I guess its always easy to justify luxuries if you're just willing to think too much about why you MUST have one. Anyhow, it does fulfill a perceived need. I had been keeping a tiny notepad in the car for capturing creative moments, since I'm likely to forget what the hell it was that I was thinking of. This is much easier and sturdier to write on and fits between the seat and the center console.
And speaking of poor memory, I want to snoop about the net for information about copyrighting what I've written. Is there something that I can do that will cover what I write as I am writing it? Or do I have to finish something (yeah, as if!) before any such protection can apply?
Mitaswell mention the actual birthday. The Brother hosted a family thing oestensibly for me, when in actuality I was like 3rd or 4th on the actual list of attractions. I'm the oldest child, but my younger brother is married with a boy-toddler and a girl-infant. Both of whom rated far higher than I on the scale of my parents attentions. But I showed them! I got food poisoning or something similar and eked out my personal 5 minutes of spotlight for that evening at the mere cost of my own severe discomfort. And mild embarrassment. I haven't been ill like that since before I quit drinking. Fun birthday huh?
I do have a rather pithy political dialogue coming, but I thought I'd put that off just a bit. I can use that angry energy to file more things away!
Must sleep. I'm the day-slave this week.
OfficeMax lists these for $160 new!
(insert happy dance here)
I was visiting my brother, who lives very near where we grew up. While I was there, I excused myself and walked down the street to the GNC at the mall, to score some melatonin and Chondroitin (I tend to use the latter religiously, the former, less nowadays than I used to... so I guess its appropriate that it was also my birthday). Anyhow, the Circuit City branch that had been there had closed and was gone. Just two guys selling off the furniture & fixtures. A lotta beat up junk, including the file cabinets. And the Brother happens to have a van... YES!
Yeah, it probably shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is to me.
I have been needing this very badly. I make tornado alley destruction look like an anal-retentive's closet. Car parts, parts catalogs, car magazines, old Oldsmobile parts books, old car literature, a pamphlet about how to find parts catalogs (if you can beleive that!). That's only the automotive section. "Pack rat" probably applies to me. I am way more excited about this than I really should be. I even installed a lock on the cabinet. My brother pointed out (correctly) that it really didnt need one. Well jeez, its my parade, damn it! I'll go overboard if I want too. Hell, call it the "bling" for my new toy!
Plus I was impressed at how easy the install was... low-cost ego boost!
So that's been filling my non-work time recently. What to file, and how to file it.
Dammit, I just realised its been keeping me from working on HazMat refresher. Crap. That's time sensitive. I'd like to have it done by Friday. Sooner if possible.
I had to do a quick wash at the laundromat. Left 'Blood & Oil' at the Brother's house, so I was without my usual laundry passtime. Instead I decided to do a little writing. Ended up using the last few pages of my mileage logbook (no great loss, its unlikely I'll ever fill it up) to progress with the Sorrow story. Wrote 2-3 pages, added a new twist that I rather like. [I'm glad that I managed to distance myself mentally from the last "idea" I had for this one. That was so awful.] The experience of writing at the laundromat got me to thinking. That was probably the most casual setting that I'd written in. Sooooo.... when I was returning some filing paraphernalia today I bought a .... uh... what're these things called? Its a leather "pad holder". I had been using a VERY low-rent folder thing to carry my resumes and related certificates around in. This should be able to do double duty as a resume aid. I guess its always easy to justify luxuries if you're just willing to think too much about why you MUST have one. Anyhow, it does fulfill a perceived need. I had been keeping a tiny notepad in the car for capturing creative moments, since I'm likely to forget what the hell it was that I was thinking of. This is much easier and sturdier to write on and fits between the seat and the center console.
And speaking of poor memory, I want to snoop about the net for information about copyrighting what I've written. Is there something that I can do that will cover what I write as I am writing it? Or do I have to finish something (yeah, as if!) before any such protection can apply?
Mitaswell mention the actual birthday. The Brother hosted a family thing oestensibly for me, when in actuality I was like 3rd or 4th on the actual list of attractions. I'm the oldest child, but my younger brother is married with a boy-toddler and a girl-infant. Both of whom rated far higher than I on the scale of my parents attentions. But I showed them! I got food poisoning or something similar and eked out my personal 5 minutes of spotlight for that evening at the mere cost of my own severe discomfort. And mild embarrassment. I haven't been ill like that since before I quit drinking. Fun birthday huh?
I do have a rather pithy political dialogue coming, but I thought I'd put that off just a bit. I can use that angry energy to file more things away!
Must sleep. I'm the day-slave this week.
30 March 2005
To Be, Or To HazMat, Is That The Question?
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to survive, or to collect a paycheck and pray it expires before you do.
While spring may or may not have arrived. The weather gives no definitive answers, but agitating the ethereal 8-ball yeilds the determination "my sources say yes".
The weather is once again warm enough for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) pickups. The gist of it is that a township (in conjunction with the state's version of the EPA) will arrange for a HazMat company to set up a temporary staging area where the locals can come by and drop off their nasty things. Typically arranged on an odd Saturday on a large parking lot.
Working in Hazardous Materials (as I used to do full-time) requires quite a lot of training, especially in safety. Its standard for new hires to have 40 hours of training before they are allowed to be in the HazMat facility. Thats just the start. Its been years since I was fired from that job. I deserved it, but I was also very glad to go. It didn't have to be a difficult job, but that was one of the few parameters that evaded my control. The training (naturally) I get to keep. While I was unemployed, one of the odd jobs that helped was going on these little HHW pickups. The snag is that the essential HAZWOPER training requires a yearly "refresher" training. Employees sit in on a session paid for & scheduled by the company. For me, having no company, the best I can do is a $100 course on the internet. Call it an investment. I guess.
So, now I've been contracting again, at the same client for a year, and starting to get financially stable again. BUT now I work most weekends. Well there's another HHW coming up on April 9th. Miraculously I don't work that day, but my certification has expired. So, do I drop a yard and call it an investment for the next 365? This may be the only day that I can work, and if so, I'll break even at best. It'll look good on a resume, though. I'm really tempted to just take the darn day off, too.
While spring may or may not have arrived. The weather gives no definitive answers, but agitating the ethereal 8-ball yeilds the determination "my sources say yes".
The weather is once again warm enough for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) pickups. The gist of it is that a township (in conjunction with the state's version of the EPA) will arrange for a HazMat company to set up a temporary staging area where the locals can come by and drop off their nasty things. Typically arranged on an odd Saturday on a large parking lot.
Working in Hazardous Materials (as I used to do full-time) requires quite a lot of training, especially in safety. Its standard for new hires to have 40 hours of training before they are allowed to be in the HazMat facility. Thats just the start. Its been years since I was fired from that job. I deserved it, but I was also very glad to go. It didn't have to be a difficult job, but that was one of the few parameters that evaded my control. The training (naturally) I get to keep. While I was unemployed, one of the odd jobs that helped was going on these little HHW pickups. The snag is that the essential HAZWOPER training requires a yearly "refresher" training. Employees sit in on a session paid for & scheduled by the company. For me, having no company, the best I can do is a $100 course on the internet. Call it an investment. I guess.
So, now I've been contracting again, at the same client for a year, and starting to get financially stable again. BUT now I work most weekends. Well there's another HHW coming up on April 9th. Miraculously I don't work that day, but my certification has expired. So, do I drop a yard and call it an investment for the next 365? This may be the only day that I can work, and if so, I'll break even at best. It'll look good on a resume, though. I'm really tempted to just take the darn day off, too.
25 March 2005
Sorry, Mohammed lives three mountains down the road.
Yesterday's concept was 'stepping stones.' Even a failed venture can have positive fruits. How, I wonder does that explain me?
Today we'll learn how to saw a lady into three bits and then dispose of the evidence.
Oh, Damn. She ran away. Even faster than the man with nine legs.
I had a great idea for a story a few hours ago. A good, funny ending too. You won't see it today. (See Jim? Ya shoulda stuck around! Thanks for the Marlinespike.) You won't see it tomorrow either. It's good enough that I think I'll mail a copy of it to myself. That's actually part of a problem I am having. The disbeleif angle. You see, I have to wonder if some of these things aren't me remembering other work. From my perspective, what I've just started writing feels a LOT like Harlan Ellison's prose. HE is one of my top 5 favorite authors, so that's more a compliment to myself if it is genuinely original work. I don't beleive that I fear success on my own merits or anything like that. I'd really hate for anything of mine to be received as really great and then be revealed as someone else's work.
You've heard the BS saw about monkeys and typewriters? BS I say. How in the world are you going to have a monkey want to type instead of running around eating, fucking, or shitting on everything? A population beginning as small as multiple millions tends to be used in the example right? There are now 6 billion people in the world today. Alive right now. I cannot fit that number into my brain. 6 billion. Now lets count backwards to the era of the printing press. Just for grins. A generation is what, 18-30 years, depending on degree of prudishness? Call it 4 generations per hundred years? (a longer rather than shorter generation is more conservative and helps correct for "losses", you know, like genocide) All the way back to 1436. Does 27 generations sound right? With a population decrease in each generation going backwards. I won't do the math but lets consider ALL of those people at once. Everyone who lived during and since the printing press was invented. More than 10 billion sound good? 12-15 billion? Sounds good to me.
So, call it 15 billion humans, from printing press to now. Not monkeys, but bona fide homo sapiens. Once of all those people, of all that time, only one William Shakespeare. What I'm thinking about right now are his sonnets. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day.." was written, I beleive, about his young son, who died at an early age.
Monkeys tend to pick insects off of their children, not sonnets.
So you bring your one gazillion monkeys. I got a nice IBM Selectric. First one to type a sonnet wins the argument for good and all. Creativity trumps fecal ability.
So how does that explain congress?
Today we'll learn how to saw a lady into three bits and then dispose of the evidence.
Oh, Damn. She ran away. Even faster than the man with nine legs.
I had a great idea for a story a few hours ago. A good, funny ending too. You won't see it today. (See Jim? Ya shoulda stuck around! Thanks for the Marlinespike.) You won't see it tomorrow either. It's good enough that I think I'll mail a copy of it to myself. That's actually part of a problem I am having. The disbeleif angle. You see, I have to wonder if some of these things aren't me remembering other work. From my perspective, what I've just started writing feels a LOT like Harlan Ellison's prose. HE is one of my top 5 favorite authors, so that's more a compliment to myself if it is genuinely original work. I don't beleive that I fear success on my own merits or anything like that. I'd really hate for anything of mine to be received as really great and then be revealed as someone else's work.
You've heard the BS saw about monkeys and typewriters? BS I say. How in the world are you going to have a monkey want to type instead of running around eating, fucking, or shitting on everything? A population beginning as small as multiple millions tends to be used in the example right? There are now 6 billion people in the world today. Alive right now. I cannot fit that number into my brain. 6 billion. Now lets count backwards to the era of the printing press. Just for grins. A generation is what, 18-30 years, depending on degree of prudishness? Call it 4 generations per hundred years? (a longer rather than shorter generation is more conservative and helps correct for "losses", you know, like genocide) All the way back to 1436. Does 27 generations sound right? With a population decrease in each generation going backwards. I won't do the math but lets consider ALL of those people at once. Everyone who lived during and since the printing press was invented. More than 10 billion sound good? 12-15 billion? Sounds good to me.
So, call it 15 billion humans, from printing press to now. Not monkeys, but bona fide homo sapiens. Once of all those people, of all that time, only one William Shakespeare. What I'm thinking about right now are his sonnets. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day.." was written, I beleive, about his young son, who died at an early age.
Monkeys tend to pick insects off of their children, not sonnets.
So you bring your one gazillion monkeys. I got a nice IBM Selectric. First one to type a sonnet wins the argument for good and all. Creativity trumps fecal ability.
So how does that explain congress?
24 March 2005
Listen to mah story 'bout a Gov'nor named Jeb....
A poor Texas Oil Baron that barely kept his family fed.
Yup. Politik.
I don't expect anybody to beleive this. I first realized about two years ago that Jeb Bush is being groomed for the Presidency. Oh its not such a huge revelation, and the little ways that it is happening are becoming more and more obvious. Did anybody notice when Jeb went on a tour of the areas devastated by the tsunami? Thats right, Governor Jeb acting as foriegn dignitary and faux good-will messenger.
Funny how things work. I thought that he had a state to run, you know, duties or something. What precisely was Jeb going to do about what he saw, implore congress to send more aid? The entire concept seems masturbatory until you consider his future political prospects. The same could be said right now about the Terry Schivaro case. There's Jeb again. Now he wants to assume custody of Ms. Shivaro. I guess he has a nice spot planned for her in the garden of the Governor's mansion. Since the constitution still works properly, hes not going to accomplish anything. Our courts and the application of the law must be absolutely devoid of feeling and compassion. Unfortunately, whats really happening is that Jeb is campaigning (yes, I'm sure you noticed that too). He threw himself on this political football early on, and now, despite his failure to accomplish anything, he's the #1 champion of Ms. Shivaro's right to life. [I'd rather it be him than Tom De Lay, but thats personal bias] Look for a post-failure invitation to the White House for the Shindler's (Shivaro's parents), also attended by Jeb. That last part is actually a bit of a suprise for me, I hadn't expected the entire GOP to jump on the bandwagon at the last moment. Two weeks ago I would have guessed the invite would be to the Florida Governor's mansion.
Now I'm going to make a subject transition, and its something happening a lot like Jeb's Presidential prospects. Jeb's attempts may have been fruitless, but he is gaining in recognition, in potential political power to be called upon for a future goal.
That is precisely what is happening in America's oil industry. Domestic oil production has been falling off since the 1970's, resulting in increased dependence on foreign oil. You knew that. [Pepsi break.... mmmmm] The 2001 National Energy Policy made a number of politically dangerous reccomendations; facilitating better ties with foreign oil producers (particularly in the Western Hemisphere when possible, and that means Hugo Chavez!), and increasing domestic production. ANWR raises its ugly head.
Let's not have any illusions here, if current efforts fail, the GOP and Big Oil will try again, and succeed at some point. Big Oil, however, has been becoming a bit disillusioned with the current push. They were hoping it would happen sooner. Whats the point in spending billions to lobby congress when thats what the billions that went so support GOP campaigns was for? Whats really happening is that Big Oil knows something that you dont. Very few people do, actually. The President himself might not know, and if he does, he is NOT telling.
There was a geological survey performed on the area some years ago. The results, however, are secret. I can guess what it is though; There is an oil deposit there, but strategically negligible in size. If there was an oil feild there to put the Saudi's to shame, then we would already have been pumping it. As it stands, if there is (miraculously) some 10 billion barrels of oil there, that source will reduce dependency on foreign oil by 3% for about 20 years. Much Ado About Nothing.
So its a political football, and any success is going to be moderate at best. So why all the fuss? It is because Big Oil has a bigger goal in mind. ANWR is just a stepping stone. If they can bludgeon their way through to drilling in a protected wildlife refuge, then they are one step closer to the real goal of drilling off the coast of the continental US. Especially off California. Yeah. Wouldn't the environmental groups just throw a fit.
The sad fact is: thats what it has come to. A majority of oil from overseas, and a minority of energy conservation at home. Switching gears to focus on renewable energy would throw a constellation-sized spanner in the works of the American economy. The real point should be that the same will happen when we suck the Saudi's so dry that their testicles shrivel up and die. When that happens however, we will be nearly 100% dependent on them. So a small crash now, or a much bigger one after the incumbent political figures are out of office. Pretty easy choice for them to make.
What a marvelous country we live in.
At least the legal system still works.
Yup. Politik.
I don't expect anybody to beleive this. I first realized about two years ago that Jeb Bush is being groomed for the Presidency. Oh its not such a huge revelation, and the little ways that it is happening are becoming more and more obvious. Did anybody notice when Jeb went on a tour of the areas devastated by the tsunami? Thats right, Governor Jeb acting as foriegn dignitary and faux good-will messenger.
Funny how things work. I thought that he had a state to run, you know, duties or something. What precisely was Jeb going to do about what he saw, implore congress to send more aid? The entire concept seems masturbatory until you consider his future political prospects. The same could be said right now about the Terry Schivaro case. There's Jeb again. Now he wants to assume custody of Ms. Shivaro. I guess he has a nice spot planned for her in the garden of the Governor's mansion. Since the constitution still works properly, hes not going to accomplish anything. Our courts and the application of the law must be absolutely devoid of feeling and compassion. Unfortunately, whats really happening is that Jeb is campaigning (yes, I'm sure you noticed that too). He threw himself on this political football early on, and now, despite his failure to accomplish anything, he's the #1 champion of Ms. Shivaro's right to life. [I'd rather it be him than Tom De Lay, but thats personal bias] Look for a post-failure invitation to the White House for the Shindler's (Shivaro's parents), also attended by Jeb. That last part is actually a bit of a suprise for me, I hadn't expected the entire GOP to jump on the bandwagon at the last moment. Two weeks ago I would have guessed the invite would be to the Florida Governor's mansion.
Now I'm going to make a subject transition, and its something happening a lot like Jeb's Presidential prospects. Jeb's attempts may have been fruitless, but he is gaining in recognition, in potential political power to be called upon for a future goal.
That is precisely what is happening in America's oil industry. Domestic oil production has been falling off since the 1970's, resulting in increased dependence on foreign oil. You knew that. [Pepsi break.... mmmmm] The 2001 National Energy Policy made a number of politically dangerous reccomendations; facilitating better ties with foreign oil producers (particularly in the Western Hemisphere when possible, and that means Hugo Chavez!), and increasing domestic production. ANWR raises its ugly head.
Let's not have any illusions here, if current efforts fail, the GOP and Big Oil will try again, and succeed at some point. Big Oil, however, has been becoming a bit disillusioned with the current push. They were hoping it would happen sooner. Whats the point in spending billions to lobby congress when thats what the billions that went so support GOP campaigns was for? Whats really happening is that Big Oil knows something that you dont. Very few people do, actually. The President himself might not know, and if he does, he is NOT telling.
There was a geological survey performed on the area some years ago. The results, however, are secret. I can guess what it is though; There is an oil deposit there, but strategically negligible in size. If there was an oil feild there to put the Saudi's to shame, then we would already have been pumping it. As it stands, if there is (miraculously) some 10 billion barrels of oil there, that source will reduce dependency on foreign oil by 3% for about 20 years. Much Ado About Nothing.
So its a political football, and any success is going to be moderate at best. So why all the fuss? It is because Big Oil has a bigger goal in mind. ANWR is just a stepping stone. If they can bludgeon their way through to drilling in a protected wildlife refuge, then they are one step closer to the real goal of drilling off the coast of the continental US. Especially off California. Yeah. Wouldn't the environmental groups just throw a fit.
The sad fact is: thats what it has come to. A majority of oil from overseas, and a minority of energy conservation at home. Switching gears to focus on renewable energy would throw a constellation-sized spanner in the works of the American economy. The real point should be that the same will happen when we suck the Saudi's so dry that their testicles shrivel up and die. When that happens however, we will be nearly 100% dependent on them. So a small crash now, or a much bigger one after the incumbent political figures are out of office. Pretty easy choice for them to make.
What a marvelous country we live in.
At least the legal system still works.
23 March 2005
I am no Icarus; I crave not your Sun.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Awake for 26 hours or more, I managed to sleep for all of five. If even that.
Yet when I awoke, I set down and wrote this in a single sitting:
I remember the stories that my mother told
Of dangerous desert creatures; their dread sight
Remembered ‘round the campfires late at night
Of the great Fyros warriors, mighty and bold
Of Pyr! O Mighty City! Tireless walls and ramparts
Home to the noble Fyros that wield fire and steel
The Emperor's wondrous palace; fine sparkling jewel!
Fortress of the desert, shielding courageous hearts
So powerful the tales, so memorable the words
That my dreams were short-sighted; far too meager
To be great as the Fyros of legends, Yes! I am eager
To be remembered in songs that shame the birds!
Much have I leaned, and so much sweat
Great friendships were made; so many were kind
Fine advice they gave; my wounds they did bind
These trials are long, but I cannot forget
That my heart is yearning, awaiting the day
When the energy I feel and the Kami consult
Fiery desert I shall scour, and the Dragon hunt
I will yet be with you, Mighty Pyr, so far away
For long shall I toil, and ever strive;
Ever stronger become, and thirst for the day
This journey is complete, and I proudly say:
O Majestic Pyr; I have arrived!
Wow.
Then, I was responding to something else on the message boards, and I threw this down;
(I was working nights; the days just melt together. The sun comes and goes as always, never pausing to ponder the name affixed to its journey.)
Where does all this come from? Is it lingering in my subconscious from some half-remembered poem?
And yet, when I get up to attend the head, I unwittingly punt the 2-liter bottle of Pepsi that nurtures me. Great, Karl, just great. Since when was I deficient in the Froth group?
This is not news, but neither have I mentioned it (that I can remember).
I shall not be taking the 425 to the machine shop this year. Nothing has changed except possibly the gravity that I assign to issues of personal finance, which shall not be addessed in this medium. I shall continue dissasembly and cleaning. Rebuilding the 2v carb will barely be a rainy afternoon's worth of distraction. Possibly I may rebuild the starter, since I've had nothing but trouble when it came to replacements for my beloved Soylent. Body issues on the Mission will be paramount importance. Particularly since I went to the trouble of replacing the trunk weatherstrip only to find that the real problem was a leaking back window. That's almost definitely going to be cancerous.
More fuss and fume to that. I cannot weld. I have never brazed. I am unwilling to perpetrate a partial rectum fix which will only need to be corrected later. Nor am I inclined to make use of any patch material that is not structurally useful. I only used a resin patch on the rear quarter last year because I beleived it was helpful to contain the cancer for the interim. I may, however, have sealed IN water leaking through the rear window.
And now on to the bashing....
EDIT
After further review, regarding how to write from a woman's perspective. A much more terrible pun would be:
"What literary tool shall I snatch from my box."
Ah. The power of lewd thinking.
/EDIT
Awake for 26 hours or more, I managed to sleep for all of five. If even that.
Yet when I awoke, I set down and wrote this in a single sitting:
Endeavour
I remember the stories that my mother told
Of dangerous desert creatures; their dread sight
Remembered ‘round the campfires late at night
Of the great Fyros warriors, mighty and bold
Of Pyr! O Mighty City! Tireless walls and ramparts
Home to the noble Fyros that wield fire and steel
The Emperor's wondrous palace; fine sparkling jewel!
Fortress of the desert, shielding courageous hearts
So powerful the tales, so memorable the words
That my dreams were short-sighted; far too meager
To be great as the Fyros of legends, Yes! I am eager
To be remembered in songs that shame the birds!
Much have I leaned, and so much sweat
Great friendships were made; so many were kind
Fine advice they gave; my wounds they did bind
These trials are long, but I cannot forget
That my heart is yearning, awaiting the day
When the energy I feel and the Kami consult
Fiery desert I shall scour, and the Dragon hunt
I will yet be with you, Mighty Pyr, so far away
For long shall I toil, and ever strive;
Ever stronger become, and thirst for the day
This journey is complete, and I proudly say:
O Majestic Pyr; I have arrived!
Wow.
Then, I was responding to something else on the message boards, and I threw this down;
(I was working nights; the days just melt together. The sun comes and goes as always, never pausing to ponder the name affixed to its journey.)
Where does all this come from? Is it lingering in my subconscious from some half-remembered poem?
And yet, when I get up to attend the head, I unwittingly punt the 2-liter bottle of Pepsi that nurtures me. Great, Karl, just great. Since when was I deficient in the Froth group?
This is not news, but neither have I mentioned it (that I can remember).
I shall not be taking the 425 to the machine shop this year. Nothing has changed except possibly the gravity that I assign to issues of personal finance, which shall not be addessed in this medium. I shall continue dissasembly and cleaning. Rebuilding the 2v carb will barely be a rainy afternoon's worth of distraction. Possibly I may rebuild the starter, since I've had nothing but trouble when it came to replacements for my beloved Soylent. Body issues on the Mission will be paramount importance. Particularly since I went to the trouble of replacing the trunk weatherstrip only to find that the real problem was a leaking back window. That's almost definitely going to be cancerous.
More fuss and fume to that. I cannot weld. I have never brazed. I am unwilling to perpetrate a partial rectum fix which will only need to be corrected later. Nor am I inclined to make use of any patch material that is not structurally useful. I only used a resin patch on the rear quarter last year because I beleived it was helpful to contain the cancer for the interim. I may, however, have sealed IN water leaking through the rear window.
And now on to the bashing....
EDIT
After further review, regarding how to write from a woman's perspective. A much more terrible pun would be:
"What literary tool shall I snatch from my box."
Ah. The power of lewd thinking.
/EDIT
22 March 2005
Happiness is a nice warm 40
Ahh.... 40 hours away from work.
Yeah, its just a grunt job but the OT is a nice plus. Short layover while I acclimate for moving to a different shift.
Accomplished a good deal this morning. Created a links page for my website. For now its just some of the webcomix I frequent; much more content to be added in future. I need to select an appropriate wallpaper. Or an inappropriate wallpaper, whatever. I re-learned some HTML tags and learned some new ones to alter the side bar awaaaaaaaay over there on the right. Thats MUCH better. Hmm.... ooops. I need to alter the bottom of that. Needs a bold Karl and a hard break after that for improved spacing.
I think I made a major breakthrough for "Disconnect". Thats what I decided to call the first peice, and no, I'm not linking to it yet. It is an internal soliloquy refencing another (minor) character. Switching the genders of the two make it much more plausible. The main question remaining is what do I need to know to successfully present a woman's thoughts?What literary tool should I pull from my box?* The safe route involves basic truths about men from the standpoint of women. That's not at all hard to do. Yet something that more explicitly has the hallmark of femininity is desired. That nuance that would make the character really live. I may already have that element, but more on that later.
I had originally written myself into the major role, as it was based on a dream I had whose storyline spun WAY out of control. Since the peice is still mutating, it is obvious that control has yet to be established.
Political content will likely return as the mood takes me.
*This blog ensures reader safety through PUNBOT - Making your lives safer and happier through drab reading.
Yeah, its just a grunt job but the OT is a nice plus. Short layover while I acclimate for moving to a different shift.
Accomplished a good deal this morning. Created a links page for my website. For now its just some of the webcomix I frequent; much more content to be added in future. I need to select an appropriate wallpaper. Or an inappropriate wallpaper, whatever. I re-learned some HTML tags and learned some new ones to alter the side bar awaaaaaaaay over there on the right. Thats MUCH better. Hmm.... ooops. I need to alter the bottom of that. Needs a bold Karl and a hard break after that for improved spacing.
I think I made a major breakthrough for "Disconnect". Thats what I decided to call the first peice, and no, I'm not linking to it yet. It is an internal soliloquy refencing another (minor) character. Switching the genders of the two make it much more plausible. The main question remaining is what do I need to know to successfully present a woman's thoughts?
I had originally written myself into the major role, as it was based on a dream I had whose storyline spun WAY out of control. Since the peice is still mutating, it is obvious that control has yet to be established.
Political content will likely return as the mood takes me.
*This blog ensures reader safety through PUNBOT - Making your lives safer and happier through drab reading.
21 March 2005
Dumb Ass ex machina
I had thought for some time that I should leave politics out of this journal. To be completely honest, I cannot come up with a single good reason why. Since I'm VERY disappointed with some 52% of Americans, and I have to suffer through another 4 years of "... the White House denies...", then by God, I am going to use my Constitutional right to complain about it!
Financial 'Reform'
I mean tax cuts, tax code reform, social security 'reform', everything. Its all about America's rich people (excuse me, America's rich who donate to Republican causes) gaining more money and being taxed less. [Its also about market share for Wall Street, who has been after this since at least the 1970's, but thats incidental to the GOP.] Those fancy ass tax cuts do a lot more for the rich than for you or I. Social Security is an even better example. FDR did something brilliant when he created Soc Sec. A poor laborer who gives a lifetime of work and pays his taxes will get more in retirement benefits than he ever would with any personal retirement account. Thats because Soc Sec uses that payroll tax to redistribute the 'wealth' downward. Thats also why the GOP wants to kill it. Why should rich executives (and politicians) submit to a payroll tax when they ALREADY live like they are retired?
Government Infomercials
As if I have to say how asinine this really is. Not only are they selling their BS under a thin guise of journalism, but I'm paying for it???? Hey! I want my money back!
Here is the real kicker:
Lets imagine for just a moment that the W regime is a big corporation. (Not that its hard to think that way, but bear with me.) This corporation's legal counsel (the Justice Department) has told the head office to ignore the independent auditor (the Government Accountability Office) when they say that the Infomercials are illegal. Hmmm... I smell Enron.
Jesse 'the Body' Ventura
Speaking of Social Security and Government Infomercials, remember Jesse, the former Governor of Minnesota? I beleive we need more public figures like him. Opponents loved to seize on his association with 'scripted entertainment' in attempts to discredit him. At this moment, Emperor W is on an infomercial tour. He's making grand speeches about how we need Personal Retirement Accounts to pre-screened audiences that offer only well-rehearsed questions. Everything by the numbers. One, two, three, turn; turn, turn, kick, turn.
Hey W! Jesse may have been wrestling, but the audiences were REAL.
Thats something that the White House will never, ever allow.
Hey! I want to see W fly over the top rope. D'ya suppose I could convince them to spend my tax money that way? Hell, I could sell tickets.
During his Navy SEAL years, Jesse and his team were lucky to survive a training accident. I can think of a number of politicians that more richly deserve to be caught by the current at the bottom of a freezing river. And that list crosses party lines.
EDIT
Thou Shalt Have No Message Before Ours!
From today's New York Times:
"The agenda submitted with the application indicated some of the conference activities would support lobbying, and the budget that was submitted was not able to show that federal funds would not be used for lobbying activities."
Crudely interpreted: the enemy of my enemy just might be lobbying for my enemy, so kill both.
/EDIT
The Saudi Royal Family
My current reading has proven most illuminating. Anyone in this Administration, or ANY administration, who says that its not all about oil is full of shit. Full. Of. Shit. The only way to be more completely shitty is to be employing a team of monkeys to actively fling more feces at you.
The relationship between the United States and the Saudi Royal family is ~exactly~ like this:
The U.S. is a wealthy and powerful woman executive and the House of Saud is her 'kept man'. She's going to buy him a house, a car, playthings, and generally throw money at him because he gives her what she wants. When all is said and done, she is going to take it VERY far up the ass, and then - bleeding and screaming in pain - ask for more. Because thats what it takes to get what she wants.
Financial 'Reform'
I mean tax cuts, tax code reform, social security 'reform', everything. Its all about America's rich people (excuse me, America's rich who donate to Republican causes) gaining more money and being taxed less. [Its also about market share for Wall Street, who has been after this since at least the 1970's, but thats incidental to the GOP.] Those fancy ass tax cuts do a lot more for the rich than for you or I. Social Security is an even better example. FDR did something brilliant when he created Soc Sec. A poor laborer who gives a lifetime of work and pays his taxes will get more in retirement benefits than he ever would with any personal retirement account. Thats because Soc Sec uses that payroll tax to redistribute the 'wealth' downward. Thats also why the GOP wants to kill it. Why should rich executives (and politicians) submit to a payroll tax when they ALREADY live like they are retired?
Government Infomercials
As if I have to say how asinine this really is. Not only are they selling their BS under a thin guise of journalism, but I'm paying for it???? Hey! I want my money back!
Here is the real kicker:
Lets imagine for just a moment that the W regime is a big corporation. (Not that its hard to think that way, but bear with me.) This corporation's legal counsel (the Justice Department) has told the head office to ignore the independent auditor (the Government Accountability Office) when they say that the Infomercials are illegal. Hmmm... I smell Enron.
Jesse 'the Body' Ventura
Speaking of Social Security and Government Infomercials, remember Jesse, the former Governor of Minnesota? I beleive we need more public figures like him. Opponents loved to seize on his association with 'scripted entertainment' in attempts to discredit him. At this moment, Emperor W is on an infomercial tour. He's making grand speeches about how we need Personal Retirement Accounts to pre-screened audiences that offer only well-rehearsed questions. Everything by the numbers. One, two, three, turn; turn, turn, kick, turn.
Hey W! Jesse may have been wrestling, but the audiences were REAL.
Thats something that the White House will never, ever allow.
Hey! I want to see W fly over the top rope. D'ya suppose I could convince them to spend my tax money that way? Hell, I could sell tickets.
During his Navy SEAL years, Jesse and his team were lucky to survive a training accident. I can think of a number of politicians that more richly deserve to be caught by the current at the bottom of a freezing river. And that list crosses party lines.
EDIT
Thou Shalt Have No Message Before Ours!
From today's New York Times:
"The agenda submitted with the application indicated some of the conference activities would support lobbying, and the budget that was submitted was not able to show that federal funds would not be used for lobbying activities."
Crudely interpreted: the enemy of my enemy just might be lobbying for my enemy, so kill both.
/EDIT
The Saudi Royal Family
My current reading has proven most illuminating. Anyone in this Administration, or ANY administration, who says that its not all about oil is full of shit. Full. Of. Shit. The only way to be more completely shitty is to be employing a team of monkeys to actively fling more feces at you.
The relationship between the United States and the Saudi Royal family is ~exactly~ like this:
The U.S. is a wealthy and powerful woman executive and the House of Saud is her 'kept man'. She's going to buy him a house, a car, playthings, and generally throw money at him because he gives her what she wants. When all is said and done, she is going to take it VERY far up the ass, and then - bleeding and screaming in pain - ask for more. Because thats what it takes to get what she wants.
17 March 2005
Overdrived and sleep-deprived
I was informed by the outgoing co-worker that it was going to be slow last night. Wrong. I wasted time filing on my boots when I shoulda been cracking. For some reason I awoke after only 4 hours sleep, and it was one of those times where just going back to bed would not be fruitful.
Running around on 4 hours sleep: not a good thing. Multiple moments of brain fade, though I did have some ideas for Sorrow. From those ideas, what I've adopted so far looks like it may be headed in the wrong direction. It gives the story a dark turn right from the start, and seems no longer to be going where I wanted. OTOH if I can make it work, then it will have a built-in message.. dark, but a good fit for where I thought I was headed. Then again, tired minds are way too susceptible, I should consider tossing the new ideas.
Landlady wants to know if my keys work. Well she's a cheapskate and the lock needs to be replaced. The original keys are so old that copied keys dont work well. Fortunately, I have one of the originals, but I come and go more often than anyone. But I'll be happy to leave a not suggesting she get a new lock. She could take the current one to a 'smith and have it refit, leaving the joint unlocked while I'm asleep. I'm going to forget to mention that option.
3/18/05 Edit: That was SUCH a bad idea for the story. Needs to be placed in the "Why I Need a Lobotomy" file. I hope nobody EVER finds out what it was I was contemplating, and in fact started to write. It's just as well it was going nowhere. Now I have to go do something else to get my perspective back. Thats good as I need to finalize another story.
Running around on 4 hours sleep: not a good thing. Multiple moments of brain fade, though I did have some ideas for Sorrow. From those ideas, what I've adopted so far looks like it may be headed in the wrong direction. It gives the story a dark turn right from the start, and seems no longer to be going where I wanted. OTOH if I can make it work, then it will have a built-in message.. dark, but a good fit for where I thought I was headed. Then again, tired minds are way too susceptible, I should consider tossing the new ideas.
Landlady wants to know if my keys work. Well she's a cheapskate and the lock needs to be replaced. The original keys are so old that copied keys dont work well. Fortunately, I have one of the originals, but I come and go more often than anyone. But I'll be happy to leave a not suggesting she get a new lock. She could take the current one to a 'smith and have it refit, leaving the joint unlocked while I'm asleep. I'm going to forget to mention that option.
3/18/05 Edit: That was SUCH a bad idea for the story. Needs to be placed in the "Why I Need a Lobotomy" file. I hope nobody EVER finds out what it was I was contemplating, and in fact started to write. It's just as well it was going nowhere. Now I have to go do something else to get my perspective back. Thats good as I need to finalize another story.
15 March 2005
What font size is the letter of the law?
Does this text appear overtly gigantic to anyone?
I tried veiwing this with IE yesterday and the font appeared to be of size = fucking huge!
Most likely a difference between how a style sheet is rendered in IE and Mozilla.
So I wondered what anyone else thought of the font size.
Maybe I just have the default size set to tiny in my browser. Also I've ditched my Ye Olde 13" Monitor for a 17" flat screen. A concurrent switch from 800x600 to 1024x768 desktop resolution kept most everything looking the same as before.
Resolved at least one issue with Morgaine's character for 'Sorrow'. More remain, but will be easier to resolve now. Its a matter of completing a jigsaw puzzle when you do not know the ultimate size/shape of the completed image or the individual peices. Each peice succesfully added redefines the remaining task.
Work tonight, doing some research before bed.
I tried veiwing this with IE yesterday and the font appeared to be of size = fucking huge!
Most likely a difference between how a style sheet is rendered in IE and Mozilla.
So I wondered what anyone else thought of the font size.
Maybe I just have the default size set to tiny in my browser. Also I've ditched my Ye Olde 13" Monitor for a 17" flat screen. A concurrent switch from 800x600 to 1024x768 desktop resolution kept most everything looking the same as before.
Resolved at least one issue with Morgaine's character for 'Sorrow'. More remain, but will be easier to resolve now. Its a matter of completing a jigsaw puzzle when you do not know the ultimate size/shape of the completed image or the individual peices. Each peice succesfully added redefines the remaining task.
Work tonight, doing some research before bed.
14 March 2005
Multiple topics today. Begining with me not being satisfied with this blog template, the column is much too narrow. I suppose I could compensate for that, but honestly, why should I bother?
Oldsmobile
A mister John Scott Pajak (hereafter referred to as "JSP", which is actually his pagan name) chose to infuriate me once again the other day. He seems to be convinced that I am the obvious candidate for a future owner for his 1965 Delta 88, despite the Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles of sound and sober argument that I consistently provide to the contrary, and formal requests that he not repeat those overtures. Given the curent political and economic trends, it is likely for the best that I have lost my beloved Soylent to the forces that tax. In the interests of fiscal responsibility, I have previously made clear that if I cannot make progress with The Mission, I will quit the Oldsmobile as a hobby for good and all. JSP my freind, screw you.
Writing
I've decided on a format for that last display of creative fervor. I'm going to write it as a triptych, with one section written from each point of veiw. That accomplishes a number of things at the same time. It makes the narractive a lot more interesting. It will help me greatly in fleshing out the other characters when writing a third person's perspective. Most importantly it keeps me from losing interest in the project since there are now 3 (three) distinct backstories to develop. [Well, since I've already got a good idea for two of them that argument loses some weight, but I really do need to keep my attention focused] The working title for the story is "Sorrow", and I'm thinking of posting it on my website as I progress. (if you noticed the "dead link" link, thats what I have planned for it)
Counter-Strike
Yes, an old hobby, but a topic new to this blog. I've been in Graveyard Shift Killers for a few years now. Like most families, we've had problems and our founding member retired, but we're still together. Our server is still going ...er, well, this may actually be the third server in our history, but its running. We maintained it as a fun place to play and our rules emphasize respect for the other players. We were trying to brainstorm for new ideas recently. I suggested time-unspecific competitions, and someone else suggested T-shirts.
T-shirts? DAMN. Why didn't ~I~ think of that?
Yes, an old hobby, but a topic new to this blog. I've been in Graveyard Shift Killers for a few years now. Like most families, we've had problems and our founding member retired, but we're still together. Our server is still going ...er, well, this may actually be the third server in our history, but its running. We maintained it as a fun place to play and our rules emphasize respect for the other players. We were trying to brainstorm for new ideas recently. I suggested time-unspecific competitions, and someone else suggested T-shirts.
T-shirts? DAMN. Why didn't ~I~ think of that?
Miscellaneous
I got some errands done today ... and there was much rejoicing ~yay~! Aluminium recycling and laundry were the big ones. While waiting for the laundry I got gas (eeep!!) and bought a needle file set. It should be handy for my automotive hobby, but theres something else much more pressing: my workboots. I finance my poverty by trudging around a lime kiln. Quicklime is very hard on boots. It just saps the moisture from leather. A side-issue that I've been having is that my laces keep breaking. Apparently multiple eyelets on the boot are cutting into the laces? I dont remember similar happening so quickly elsewhere on other boots, maybe its the lime making the laces weaker? At any rate, I'll try to file down any sharp bits on the problem eyelets and see what happens. For the most part I'm already doomed to replacement laces, which are never of the same quality as OEM bootlaces. I don't really understand why that is either, Red Wing et alii could make a killing.
I got some errands done today ... and there was much rejoicing ~yay~! Aluminium recycling and laundry were the big ones. While waiting for the laundry I got gas (eeep!!) and bought a needle file set. It should be handy for my automotive hobby, but theres something else much more pressing: my workboots. I finance my poverty by trudging around a lime kiln. Quicklime is very hard on boots. It just saps the moisture from leather. A side-issue that I've been having is that my laces keep breaking. Apparently multiple eyelets on the boot are cutting into the laces? I dont remember similar happening so quickly elsewhere on other boots, maybe its the lime making the laces weaker? At any rate, I'll try to file down any sharp bits on the problem eyelets and see what happens. For the most part I'm already doomed to replacement laces, which are never of the same quality as OEM bootlaces. I don't really understand why that is either, Red Wing et alii could make a killing.
12 March 2005
Incendiary Imagination Implies Inspiration? or Indigestion?
As I mentioned the other day: Positively. On. Fire.
I formulated a character some two or three days ago whilst doing the usual 3/4 mile hike at work. I was thinking about something T Campbell had written - about how he created the character of Catherine from Fans! - and something about that process influenced the development of this persona. I'm loath to be fully candid about what makes her (for now I'm satisfied that it is a she, and tentatively her name is Morgaine - after the player who is leader of the Order of the Dragon guild in Ryzom) noteworthy, but I am starting to realise a grand vista of possible scenarios that she might play a part in. Just this morning something like the following fleshed itself out in my mind:
[I'm not certain of the setting, nor how many are present. Certainly Morgaine and Fred, I'll add other characters and develop setting to better suit the conversation, I suppose.]
(Morgaine flushed even more than normal, and not snuffling as she normally does, sees her moment and launches herself, placing her shoulder very nicely into the hollow of Fred's back [I'll conjure a name later, although there's nothing wrong with Fred], effectively knocking him off his feet. Morgaine has her dagger out now and stands over him.)
(Morgaine's voice is rising throughout the first few lines, but rising unsteadily. She's never taken this tone with anyone before, and she's trying to put ferocity into her voice that she knows she might not really have)
Fred: (startled [duh])Uhhh! Morg! What're you...
Morgaine: (trying to be loud and authoritative) Stay there!
Fred: (annoyed) Morg, what's the...
Morgaine: (afraid of losing control of the situation, panics: she screams!) Shut up!
(VERY sudden quiet)
Morgaine: (recovering, but still loud) What happened to Fred?
{OK, Fred not working because.....eh, I'll continue so you can see why}
Fred: (attempting calm, but (visibly?) surprised)Morg. I'm right here, what are you....
Morgaine: (recovering calm but still loud) Fred died yesterday but his body is walking and talking. No-one else seems to have noticed but me, and I'm DAMN well going to find out why. (a palpable hush follows)
Morgaine: (hurriedly: she senses the lull and tries to break it to stay in command of the situation) Who are you and what happened to Fred!!
Fred: (sorrow: starts to weep) I'm sorry Morgaine. I couldn't sustain him any longer.
(Fred puts his head between his knees and sobs)
{Oooh! I just pulled that last line out of my ass, but I like it.
Strike the entire sentence following "Fred died.."... much better.. thats just nonsensical bravado for plot development, its not at all a sensible thing to say.}
And that's just what my brain came up with during a trip to the supermarket! Who Fred is/was and what happened will stay in my notes (after I write it down) for now, but this is just another scenario that my mind has been toying with lately. You may or may not have realised why 'Fred' cannot work as a name: I refuse to even try to dance around phrases like "Fred's dead". That just oozes bad karma. Not even to mention the fact that its been done. In spades.
I've even been considering the media types for these various concepts. For example, the political thriller I mentioned last time would have to be a book; there is simply far too much internal dialogue for it to work as a more visual form such as a movie, graphic novel or comic strip. Since it is the internal dialogue and character development that is the real hook, the visual aspect would fall flat. On the other hand, the scene I wrote above could work as a comic, although a movie might be better for capturing the emotions. I did end up just know writing that rather like a screenplay.
Where the hell did all this creative energy come from? Maybe I can turn it into something lucrative. That'd be a nice change of pace. The downside right now is that I just do not have the discipline to sit down and turn out a story based on the above. Hell, I cannot even seem to clean my apartment.
Bah.
I formulated a character some two or three days ago whilst doing the usual 3/4 mile hike at work. I was thinking about something T Campbell had written - about how he created the character of Catherine from Fans! - and something about that process influenced the development of this persona. I'm loath to be fully candid about what makes her (for now I'm satisfied that it is a she, and tentatively her name is Morgaine - after the player who is leader of the Order of the Dragon guild in Ryzom) noteworthy, but I am starting to realise a grand vista of possible scenarios that she might play a part in. Just this morning something like the following fleshed itself out in my mind:
[I'm not certain of the setting, nor how many are present. Certainly Morgaine and Fred, I'll add other characters and develop setting to better suit the conversation, I suppose.]
(Morgaine flushed even more than normal, and not snuffling as she normally does, sees her moment and launches herself, placing her shoulder very nicely into the hollow of Fred's back [I'll conjure a name later, although there's nothing wrong with Fred], effectively knocking him off his feet. Morgaine has her dagger out now and stands over him.)
(Morgaine's voice is rising throughout the first few lines, but rising unsteadily. She's never taken this tone with anyone before, and she's trying to put ferocity into her voice that she knows she might not really have)
Fred: (startled [duh])Uhhh! Morg! What're you...
Morgaine: (trying to be loud and authoritative) Stay there!
Fred: (annoyed) Morg, what's the...
Morgaine: (afraid of losing control of the situation, panics: she screams!) Shut up!
(VERY sudden quiet)
Morgaine: (recovering, but still loud) What happened to Fred?
{OK, Fred not working because.....eh, I'll continue so you can see why}
Fred: (attempting calm, but (visibly?) surprised)Morg. I'm right here, what are you....
Morgaine: (recovering calm but still loud) Fred died yesterday but his body is walking and talking. No-one else seems to have noticed but me, and I'm DAMN well going to find out why. (a palpable hush follows)
Morgaine: (hurriedly: she senses the lull and tries to break it to stay in command of the situation) Who are you and what happened to Fred!!
Fred: (sorrow: starts to weep) I'm sorry Morgaine. I couldn't sustain him any longer.
(Fred puts his head between his knees and sobs)
{Oooh! I just pulled that last line out of my ass, but I like it.
Strike the entire sentence following "Fred died.."... much better.. thats just nonsensical bravado for plot development, its not at all a sensible thing to say.}
And that's just what my brain came up with during a trip to the supermarket! Who Fred is/was and what happened will stay in my notes (after I write it down) for now, but this is just another scenario that my mind has been toying with lately. You may or may not have realised why 'Fred' cannot work as a name: I refuse to even try to dance around phrases like "Fred's dead". That just oozes bad karma. Not even to mention the fact that its been done. In spades.
I've even been considering the media types for these various concepts. For example, the political thriller I mentioned last time would have to be a book; there is simply far too much internal dialogue for it to work as a more visual form such as a movie, graphic novel or comic strip. Since it is the internal dialogue and character development that is the real hook, the visual aspect would fall flat. On the other hand, the scene I wrote above could work as a comic, although a movie might be better for capturing the emotions. I did end up just know writing that rather like a screenplay.
Where the hell did all this creative energy come from? Maybe I can turn it into something lucrative. That'd be a nice change of pace. The downside right now is that I just do not have the discipline to sit down and turn out a story based on the above. Hell, I cannot even seem to clean my apartment.
Bah.
10 March 2005
The Saga of Chtomelji
My creative bowl seems to be runneth-ing over these days.
Some months ago (inspired by November elections) I had a wild dream. Of that dream I can remember little of value. Shortly afterwards I fleshed it out a bit in my mind, then committed it to paper during rare idle moments at work. It actually came out a lot better than I could have imagined. It is most of an opening scene - potentially a particularly riveting one if it ever hits the Big Screen - in what could be a fairly promising novel. A political thriller at that. I had been at a bit of an impasse for a while - I knew where I wanted the story to go, but knew knothing of the trade that I wanted the character to become involved in. To wit: lobbying.
Lobbying, prima facie, rather offends my sensibilities. What and where, precisely is the fine line between lobbying and bribery?
'Blood and Oil' (current reading) may be the key to progressing. I'm starting to understand how the bastards think. Its personally disappointing for me to learn that the foreign policy of our puppet master administration is merely the fruition of doctrine planted by Roosevelt and developed by Carter and Reagan. I prefer to continue to blame the current administration anyway. Its just as well; their flawed policies and pathetic denials are my muse.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, mind racing and like that.
Well, that germ of a novel seems to have been only the beginning.
As you've probably noticed, my participation in .... oh very well, I'll just say it...
This GAME I've been playing lately (Ryzom) has also proven a willing conduit to my imagination. Lets see... best to start at the beginning for the story to make sense.
I groused earlier about Ryzom having a problem with documentation (in many cases, its absent). I was very impressed with how my first character was going. I had created an entity, and its success was the fruition of my will. Lack of documentation caused more than one misstep though, each one very costly. Finally, I was simply too far behind; skill points that I needed to spend wisely had been wasted, putting me at a severe disadvantage to the 'leveling' curve. Each successive level requires gaining approximately double the experience of the previous level to advance. Had I chosen better, I would have been gaining exp much faster, but instead I was stuck. So I had little option but to discontinue the character and start over. I wasn't happy with that decision, but it made the most sense. I did, however, wish to somehow retain membership in the guild that I had joined. To that end, I created a 'backstory' to explain the relationship between my old character and my new character. What made this a real act of creativity was that the new character was of an entirely different race. That wasn't too hard to explain:
The Saga of Chtomelji
My mother and father met in a wild place between great civilizations. She was a great forager for the Fyros people and he a Matis of Noble house journeying to discuss an alliance with one of the friendlier renegade tribes. That very tribe raised me, and still holds great feasts and tell tales of that day.
A lesser bandit tribe had ambushed them (whether he came to her aid or she to his depends on whom is telling the tale!) and together they fought. The rage of the bandits increased as each of their tribe fell. As they perished, their numbers seemed to be replenished, as others came to avenge the fresh losses. [Many bandit lives ended forever, since neither the Kami nor the Karavan, will succor those that prey on their servants.] The furious commotion that was that shambles quickly attracted much attention. Wild beasts, predators, scavengers and grazing animals, came to witness the fury that raged on, and also to prey on survivor and victim alike. The sun began to set, making the two bloody swords of my mother gleam red with her vengeance as they sang through the air. My father smashed men together or rent them apart with such fury that it was difficult to properly count those he slew. The suns last rays were all that illuminated the scene when the woman I call "grandmother" arrived with guards of her tribe.
The few remaining bandits were driven off. My mother and father were bourne back to safety, as they had been seriously wounded and needed healing. Their wounds required many days of resting, yet they fell in love long before that time was complete. They stayed with the tribe, who welcome them as family, mostly to raise me where I might be shielded from the bigotries of either race. Father knew the Matis people, and his family in particular, would never approve, for they are ever suspicious of the Fyros; even now the peace between them is tenuous at best. My mother is loath to keep him far from his people and position, since he has been a great force in easing tensions between the great peoples. He is away often, in the great city of Yrkanis, but returns as often as he is able. He laughingly complains that every time he returns to his beautiful women he must endure a three-day hangover following the tribe's celebrations.
This troubled time has brought a shadow, even over this happy tribe. A time has come to forget our differences, homins, because unity is all that will shield us from Oblivion. I must now leave these happy people so that I may prepare and grow in strength, for every one of us will be needed in the coming battles. There is much preparation to do, the battles will be hard, and many will fall.
It is my dearest wish that when we finally win (for we must) we will recognize the new bonds between us. Bonds of blood and bone, forged like steel in a great fire. From that moment on we must be true to our new bond, or our precious victory may degenerate to hollow irony.
The old times will be done, friend homins, and a new era began. The old rivalries and hatreds must also die with the past, giving way to our new bonds. We will have a new Golden Age to build bridges and mend fences, and Atys will prosper in ways not seen since before the Great Fire.
When I was born, my parents agreed to name me in a language of the Old Tongues, spoken on Atys long ago - all but forgotten even before the Great Fire of Coriolis.
I am Fyros, and I am Matis.
I am Chtomelji.
It means bridge.
Some months ago (inspired by November elections) I had a wild dream. Of that dream I can remember little of value. Shortly afterwards I fleshed it out a bit in my mind, then committed it to paper during rare idle moments at work. It actually came out a lot better than I could have imagined. It is most of an opening scene - potentially a particularly riveting one if it ever hits the Big Screen - in what could be a fairly promising novel. A political thriller at that. I had been at a bit of an impasse for a while - I knew where I wanted the story to go, but knew knothing of the trade that I wanted the character to become involved in. To wit: lobbying.
Lobbying, prima facie, rather offends my sensibilities. What and where, precisely is the fine line between lobbying and bribery?
'Blood and Oil' (current reading) may be the key to progressing. I'm starting to understand how the bastards think. Its personally disappointing for me to learn that the foreign policy of our puppet master administration is merely the fruition of doctrine planted by Roosevelt and developed by Carter and Reagan. I prefer to continue to blame the current administration anyway. Its just as well; their flawed policies and pathetic denials are my muse.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, mind racing and like that.
Well, that germ of a novel seems to have been only the beginning.
As you've probably noticed, my participation in .... oh very well, I'll just say it...
This GAME I've been playing lately (Ryzom) has also proven a willing conduit to my imagination. Lets see... best to start at the beginning for the story to make sense.
I groused earlier about Ryzom having a problem with documentation (in many cases, its absent). I was very impressed with how my first character was going. I had created an entity, and its success was the fruition of my will. Lack of documentation caused more than one misstep though, each one very costly. Finally, I was simply too far behind; skill points that I needed to spend wisely had been wasted, putting me at a severe disadvantage to the 'leveling' curve. Each successive level requires gaining approximately double the experience of the previous level to advance. Had I chosen better, I would have been gaining exp much faster, but instead I was stuck. So I had little option but to discontinue the character and start over. I wasn't happy with that decision, but it made the most sense. I did, however, wish to somehow retain membership in the guild that I had joined. To that end, I created a 'backstory' to explain the relationship between my old character and my new character. What made this a real act of creativity was that the new character was of an entirely different race. That wasn't too hard to explain:
The Saga of Chtomelji
My mother and father met in a wild place between great civilizations. She was a great forager for the Fyros people and he a Matis of Noble house journeying to discuss an alliance with one of the friendlier renegade tribes. That very tribe raised me, and still holds great feasts and tell tales of that day.
A lesser bandit tribe had ambushed them (whether he came to her aid or she to his depends on whom is telling the tale!) and together they fought. The rage of the bandits increased as each of their tribe fell. As they perished, their numbers seemed to be replenished, as others came to avenge the fresh losses. [Many bandit lives ended forever, since neither the Kami nor the Karavan, will succor those that prey on their servants.] The furious commotion that was that shambles quickly attracted much attention. Wild beasts, predators, scavengers and grazing animals, came to witness the fury that raged on, and also to prey on survivor and victim alike. The sun began to set, making the two bloody swords of my mother gleam red with her vengeance as they sang through the air. My father smashed men together or rent them apart with such fury that it was difficult to properly count those he slew. The suns last rays were all that illuminated the scene when the woman I call "grandmother" arrived with guards of her tribe.
The few remaining bandits were driven off. My mother and father were bourne back to safety, as they had been seriously wounded and needed healing. Their wounds required many days of resting, yet they fell in love long before that time was complete. They stayed with the tribe, who welcome them as family, mostly to raise me where I might be shielded from the bigotries of either race. Father knew the Matis people, and his family in particular, would never approve, for they are ever suspicious of the Fyros; even now the peace between them is tenuous at best. My mother is loath to keep him far from his people and position, since he has been a great force in easing tensions between the great peoples. He is away often, in the great city of Yrkanis, but returns as often as he is able. He laughingly complains that every time he returns to his beautiful women he must endure a three-day hangover following the tribe's celebrations.
This troubled time has brought a shadow, even over this happy tribe. A time has come to forget our differences, homins, because unity is all that will shield us from Oblivion. I must now leave these happy people so that I may prepare and grow in strength, for every one of us will be needed in the coming battles. There is much preparation to do, the battles will be hard, and many will fall.
It is my dearest wish that when we finally win (for we must) we will recognize the new bonds between us. Bonds of blood and bone, forged like steel in a great fire. From that moment on we must be true to our new bond, or our precious victory may degenerate to hollow irony.
The old times will be done, friend homins, and a new era began. The old rivalries and hatreds must also die with the past, giving way to our new bonds. We will have a new Golden Age to build bridges and mend fences, and Atys will prosper in ways not seen since before the Great Fire.
When I was born, my parents agreed to name me in a language of the Old Tongues, spoken on Atys long ago - all but forgotten even before the Great Fire of Coriolis.
I am Fyros, and I am Matis.
I am Chtomelji.
It means bridge.
07 March 2005
Ad Astra per Aspartame
Figured out my e-mail problem. Not really "solved" because I dont know if I can recover any of the e-mails that I had before two days ago. Bear in mind that that includes e-receipts, verification of site-specific passwords, ersatz love e-mail from web girlfreinds (if they are female), and even my addressbook. Now the scope of the problem is evident. For the future I'll have to figure some way to text dump everything into a storage file of some sort... but first things second.
Recieved from Amazon and started reading Michael T. Klare's "Blood and Oil", and as I imagined, I've only gone a few pages and am already enraged. Its pretty much just confirmation of what I've already suspected, but having the facts is a good thing.
Had Jiffy Lube perform an overdue oil change last week. They suggested a coolant change (antifreeze) for a mere $79.99. That is ~fucking~ insane. The coolant capacity of the Nissan is 8.75 quarts, which is two gallons and change. I've got that much AF lying around from Oldsmobile projects and thus could change my own for NO material outlay whatsoever!
(well mebbe it was $49.99 - its still crazy)
((fucking would still be appreciated though =P))
Parents are off to Turkey this week for some tourism (and some work-related for dad I think). Yeah, I worry a bit... or more than a bit. However, if you aren't living then you are not really alive, are you? Hell, I wish I could go.
A sudden burst of warm weather yesterday lasted overnight until early this morning. It peaked at 10am and then got overcast and grew colder. Good. I need to do Olds things and I'm not really prepared for it. I still dont know what I'm going to do about that leaky window. I didnt realise it was that bad until after I had the trunk area sealed, then it was ALL wet after a rain. Its really gonna turn out to be a situation where metal has to be added, and theres only one or two good ways of doing that. I can do none of them. I was going to caulk it... last fall. Still haven't done it. I'm getting that old helpless feeling again. There are things that I can do and things that I can't. Its just sad that the crucial things that I need to do have prerequisites of more money than I have.
Something will come to me, but it will probably be another cold.
I haven't got to Pyr yet. Haven't tried walking it since Sat. I want to post the Chtomelji saga, but Word Perfect is freaked out by my current HDD config, which I only need to have for another day or so. Then back to normal. Its mostly written, but I need to add a few details that I had thought of and one I left out because it felt awkward when I wrote it. Fear not. I'll link to it when I post.
Game on. -K
Recieved from Amazon and started reading Michael T. Klare's "Blood and Oil", and as I imagined, I've only gone a few pages and am already enraged. Its pretty much just confirmation of what I've already suspected, but having the facts is a good thing.
Had Jiffy Lube perform an overdue oil change last week. They suggested a coolant change (antifreeze) for a mere $79.99. That is ~fucking~ insane. The coolant capacity of the Nissan is 8.75 quarts, which is two gallons and change. I've got that much AF lying around from Oldsmobile projects and thus could change my own for NO material outlay whatsoever!
(well mebbe it was $49.99 - its still crazy)
((fucking would still be appreciated though =P))
Parents are off to Turkey this week for some tourism (and some work-related for dad I think). Yeah, I worry a bit... or more than a bit. However, if you aren't living then you are not really alive, are you? Hell, I wish I could go.
A sudden burst of warm weather yesterday lasted overnight until early this morning. It peaked at 10am and then got overcast and grew colder. Good. I need to do Olds things and I'm not really prepared for it. I still dont know what I'm going to do about that leaky window. I didnt realise it was that bad until after I had the trunk area sealed, then it was ALL wet after a rain. Its really gonna turn out to be a situation where metal has to be added, and theres only one or two good ways of doing that. I can do none of them. I was going to caulk it... last fall. Still haven't done it. I'm getting that old helpless feeling again. There are things that I can do and things that I can't. Its just sad that the crucial things that I need to do have prerequisites of more money than I have.
Something will come to me, but it will probably be another cold.
I haven't got to Pyr yet. Haven't tried walking it since Sat. I want to post the Chtomelji saga, but Word Perfect is freaked out by my current HDD config, which I only need to have for another day or so. Then back to normal. Its mostly written, but I need to add a few details that I had thought of and one I left out because it felt awkward when I wrote it. Fear not. I'll link to it when I post.
Game on. -K
06 March 2005
Fuss! Fume! Fuss! Fume! BASH!! BASH!!
Bah!
Mozilla seems to have "lost" my e-mail settings. ARGH!
Is it just me? I have no end of frustration getting my e-mail to work properly when this happens. The Ameritech e-mail client is EXTREMELY cumbersome compared to the Netscape/Mozilla style.
During the periods when I give up in frustration, I have manages to get fairly far in my resource mapping. I will soon expand to the north of Yrkanis for various reasons: a lack of resources in the souther areas being a cheif one. Most importantly, it is almost spring, and some transient spring-only resources are soon to appear in one location I know of. Its mostly Choice fiber, but I'm sure theres an Excellent resource there that I havent tapped yet: I didn't yet have the ability/skill to harvest it when I first found it.
Also I am trying to get to Pyr. Not the smartest course of action, due to the big nasties that are on the way. I got relatively close to the border before I "discovered" that those flying javelin thingies will attack without provocation. Damn. I need a respawn point much closer to the border. Anyhow.... game on!
Mozilla seems to have "lost" my e-mail settings. ARGH!
Is it just me? I have no end of frustration getting my e-mail to work properly when this happens. The Ameritech e-mail client is EXTREMELY cumbersome compared to the Netscape/Mozilla style.
During the periods when I give up in frustration, I have manages to get fairly far in my resource mapping. I will soon expand to the north of Yrkanis for various reasons: a lack of resources in the souther areas being a cheif one. Most importantly, it is almost spring, and some transient spring-only resources are soon to appear in one location I know of. Its mostly Choice fiber, but I'm sure theres an Excellent resource there that I havent tapped yet: I didn't yet have the ability/skill to harvest it when I first found it.
Also I am trying to get to Pyr. Not the smartest course of action, due to the big nasties that are on the way. I got relatively close to the border before I "discovered" that those flying javelin thingies will attack without provocation. Damn. I need a respawn point much closer to the border. Anyhow.... game on!
04 March 2005
On the Origin of Spatulas
In determining the prescence or abscence of intelligence of our anscestral humanoids, determining usage of tools plays a major factor. Not so much whether tools were used, but how. Did they differentiate between different tools for similar tasks, i.e. using better adapted or specialised tools?
The right tool for the right job.
As I seem to have a penchant for, I've been using a 20 ton sledgehammer to drive carpet tacks again. Figuratively. As you can see, a simpler method was always available, but my desire for detail drew me to attempt an insane chore of creating a map of impossibly large scale such that 1" = 1". Just imagine attempting to fold that sucker. Not to mention the gathering of images detracts from actual game enjoyment. I hate to give up on the attempt anyway. Maybe I can contract Nevrax to send a probe for some aerial photos.
I finally disbursed the majority of Kalehar's posessions (all moneys to the Order of the Dragon guild) and quit the guild. I did send Lady Morgaine an in-game mail providing some of my heart-wrenching backstory while (hopefully) opening a 'legacy' way for my Matis character to join the guild and making a fond good-bye from Kalehar. Chtomelji has surpassed her abilities in half the time, although the Matis setting did help much with the crafting. Now all that remains is the trek to Pyr, which is probably going to be much less than fun, but we shall see. I would like to return to the Matis lands though, as foraging wasn't this easy in Fyros. On the other hand, I have a distinct impression that the Fyros is the more popular homin among players. Pyr was always jumping, and Yrkanis seems totally dead by comparison. Most remarkable is the level of chatter. HOURS will pass in Matis lands with not a single p33p peeping.
Well, game on, lets see if I can reach Pyr today... -K
The right tool for the right job.
As I seem to have a penchant for, I've been using a 20 ton sledgehammer to drive carpet tacks again. Figuratively. As you can see, a simpler method was always available, but my desire for detail drew me to attempt an insane chore of creating a map of impossibly large scale such that 1" = 1". Just imagine attempting to fold that sucker. Not to mention the gathering of images detracts from actual game enjoyment. I hate to give up on the attempt anyway. Maybe I can contract Nevrax to send a probe for some aerial photos.
I finally disbursed the majority of Kalehar's posessions (all moneys to the Order of the Dragon guild) and quit the guild. I did send Lady Morgaine an in-game mail providing some of my heart-wrenching backstory while (hopefully) opening a 'legacy' way for my Matis character to join the guild and making a fond good-bye from Kalehar. Chtomelji has surpassed her abilities in half the time, although the Matis setting did help much with the crafting. Now all that remains is the trek to Pyr, which is probably going to be much less than fun, but we shall see. I would like to return to the Matis lands though, as foraging wasn't this easy in Fyros. On the other hand, I have a distinct impression that the Fyros is the more popular homin among players. Pyr was always jumping, and Yrkanis seems totally dead by comparison. Most remarkable is the level of chatter. HOURS will pass in Matis lands with not a single p33p peeping.
Well, game on, lets see if I can reach Pyr today... -K
03 March 2005
If Knowledge = Power, does thought = impulse?
Don't get me started on the physics involved there, cause I can do it!
Photoshop SC dont like my OS (ME) and I have been considering a move to XP, but that would necessitate a CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade due to 1) Win OS' = resource hogs and 2) the general principle of MITASWELL to address item 1. So I'll go back to earlier efforts of trying to appropriate an earlier version (except that the conduit for that wil be in Turkey until about the end of March...).
OK, preliminary image melding using software at hand went better than expected.
Nice as that looks, technical problems remain. Using that software requires that I specify an image size and then insert image copies into that void. I'd really like to just merge images without previously specifying a size. I'd also like to keep the images full-size for as long as possible into the process, but I'm sure that'll lead to hella big file sizes real fast. That wouldn't actually be a problem, but would almost certainly cause irritating swap-file activity during editing. Bummer.
And I managed to overwrite my homepage index while trying to post that image.
BAH! Yet another thing to fix/clean/do/email... argh!
But I'm wasting time. Morgaine got on a bit ago, I need to go and tell her that I am formally retiring Kalehar.
And kill things.
Thats always a plus. -K
Photoshop SC dont like my OS (ME) and I have been considering a move to XP, but that would necessitate a CPU/mobo/RAM upgrade due to 1) Win OS' = resource hogs and 2) the general principle of MITASWELL to address item 1. So I'll go back to earlier efforts of trying to appropriate an earlier version (except that the conduit for that wil be in Turkey until about the end of March...).
OK, preliminary image melding using software at hand went better than expected.
Nice as that looks, technical problems remain. Using that software requires that I specify an image size and then insert image copies into that void. I'd really like to just merge images without previously specifying a size. I'd also like to keep the images full-size for as long as possible into the process, but I'm sure that'll lead to hella big file sizes real fast. That wouldn't actually be a problem, but would almost certainly cause irritating swap-file activity during editing. Bummer.
And I managed to overwrite my homepage index while trying to post that image.
BAH! Yet another thing to fix/clean/do/email... argh!
But I'm wasting time. Morgaine got on a bit ago, I need to go and tell her that I am formally retiring Kalehar.
And kill things.
Thats always a plus. -K
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