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Just some off-the-cuff observations, and whatnot. Welcome, and enjoy your stay.
Thursday, April 18, 2002
from the pig book, a guide to governement waste online. (or why I think more people should vote, and pay attention to what their representatives support)
$273,000 added in conference in the state of Senate appropriator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.) for the Blue Springs Youth Outreach Unit for educational training in combating Goth culture.
$50,000 added by the House in the district of Lois Capps (D-Calif.) for a tattoo removal program in San Luis Obispo.
$260,000 for asparagus technology and production in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member George Nethercutt (R-Wash.). According to USDA officials, "This research will enable Washington asparagus producers to remain domestically and internationally competitive." Since 2001, $484,000 has been appropriated for this research.
$12,800,000 for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP); Initially designed to capture energy from the aurora borealis (northern lights), HAARP is now being configured to heat up the ionosphere to improve military communications. Since 1995, CAGW has identified $82.8 million appropriated for HAARP. (I've loooooong hated the HAARP project.... bad tech, weak plans..., it's the Sgt York of Star Wars Tech.)
in the defense budget - $1,500,000 for a large millimeter wave telescope. In fiscal 2001, appropriators added $4 million for this same project. This telescope, a joint project between the United States and Mexico, will help researchers study the formation of stars and galaxies billions of years ago and how stars are forming in our galaxy right now. (That's cool, and all... but defense?)
$500,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate Appropriations committee member Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) for bus and bus facilities in the ski resort, Village of Taos. (instead of more moneyto bussing the elderly, or infirm)
I don't think all of the things listed are bad ideas, but many are far overpriced for what they are.
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
typing as fast as my bear-mitts will allow...
Got the foreign video distribution program worked out, after about maybe two or three years of dancing around the bugs, fixing manually what the original programmer never managed to automate. Finally, with Dale being out a few days, it became a priority... mainly because neither MsK or I want to do any more menial work than is absolutely necessary. Before this weekend there really was no priority put on making it work... Dale is a unobtrusive guy, and would rather do an extra hour or so of work a week than complain. Not me...I'm all about automating anything that doesn't require creative thought. (There are a lot of programs built now that have the "push a button, wait 20 minutes while it chews on the problem, and then validate a report" rather than the old way of "spend an hour or five going over the data with a fine-tooth comb, and hope that human error doesn't rear it's ugly head today").
Recent completed internal projects - Laser room status tracking, Setup Department Tracking, Finish Automating the Video process, reconfigure backups to get everyone's new machines covered nightly (gah... if a person renames their system, the backup will no longer know how to find it. New players on the network are Voyager Trek-based, via MsK. Sort of a wacky combo, now... machines named for the user in question; Dale, Kevin, Paul, 2001 ASO; Hal & Sal, Newton (self-explanatory), utility ;spool, setup, solimar, American Lit ; Emerson, Twain, Poe, Stevenson... now we have 7of9, Torres, and a plethora of others. I prefer a single theme, but there is something to be said for variety. )
On the burner, currently - Updated Setup reports, Updated Laser Room Reports, Clean up security on the master database, automate processes for West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, and Canadian offices.
I'm pretty pleased with the golem story, thus far...maybe a little more revision, and it might be worth shopping around. I really have to get on my mail-junk... it's been an age, and I have a few manuscripts that have been waiting patiently to mail since the top of march or so.
Heading into the Doc's tomorrow morn... hopefully this will be the last checkup for a while. I scheduled early enough that I should get to work on time... we'll see.
I used contraption and boondoggle in a sentence today (referring to one as the other), regarding why I don't drive a car. Nice walk this morning, and my seeds look mostly unmolested. no sprouts yet, but it's really only day 3. I woke up this morning to Newt sleeping by my side, curled with his back to me from armpit to my elbow.
This was my day at work yesterday. warning, sound. It was a thick day, as the ol' Dale was out with pinkeye and we were suffereing from electrical trouble again.
I don't know how he gets in my dreams, though. Lunch today might be oatmeal and a banana, if I can wrangle a nanner from the roach coach.
I need to synch some palm sketches at photos in, but I've got to fly for now... maybe tonight, dear journal.
before I go, a cool snail for my beloved.
The Cube.. my results came out pretty accurately. I won't share them here, as I don't want to pollute anyone else's taking it with my viewpoint. I'd really like to see a collection of responses to it...some fun creative visual images, at least.
Beware those comments about the boss
Just like e-mail or Web traffic, instant messages can be monitored by corporate network administrators -- whether those messages are sent to colleagues using a company's own software or flashed to friends across oceans using freely available programs from America Online, Yahoo! or Microsoft.
Dangerous Labs -
darktrain, there's a whole section on distilling moonshine!
rgladiator, there's a jet powered go-cart!
sweetalyssm, there's the mysteries of radiation, including the tale of the radioactive boy scout!
laurak, this is an article on squirrel fishing. that's not on the science-site, but it's fun!
Just spent a half hour chasing Newt around the house bellowing "Newwwwwton is a Goooooolem" in a haunted, insane, basso-profundo.
He started it. I was writing a nice story, and he climbed up, and sat on my keyboard, and nose-butted my right tear duct, until I was obliged to wrestle him to the floor and spin him like a tiny orange top, and roar a gutteral growl. He leapt to his feet, tail in the air, and we ran around the apartment after that... he's good at the peek and dash at doorjams, and is willing to chase me, if I stop chasing him.
He is now worn out, and lapping up a big gulp 'o water.
new fabric softener... I usually use snuggle... but I got "fresh rain scent" instead of the regular scent... I really like it. I first noticed it on my sheets, but didn't think it'd be this distinct on my clothes! It seems to mesh well with the other hippie element... a patchouli daub.
The weather outside is lovely, if a trifle more humid than it was, earlier.
It looks like someone has been at my seeds... it looks like the wrap over the basil has been accosted in some way. I wonder if it's an animal, or the little girls next door. I had to put them outside, against the house to protect them from Newton... I hope that I made the right decision.
got a line on an information brokering gig, possibly. I think that'd be the bee's knees... I actively enjoy at finding information on the net and at libraries, and could use the money, too.
Dreamt of falling from a low height... about fifteen or twenty feet, after being struck on the right side by something moving very fast while I was cleaning the gutters of a small house. I remember the jarring of hitting the ground, and my shoulder taking the brunt of it. I wasn't able to get back up there to finish the job, because the ladder vanished (maybe it disintegrated on impact?) Since I couldn't finish the job, I hopped in a little tractor and mowed the lawn instead.
Walkies was nice, if uneventful... lots of traffic at the airport... many small jets taking off, going to who knows where. I was reflecting on where they were heading... work? a funeral in another state? a wedding? a new life? I daydreamed about a big number painted on the side of the airplane...telling how many people were happy to be going to where they were headed, how many indifferent, and how many unhappy.
Thermasilk has the niftiest commercials. twig hair running in mazes, the man who throws flaming knives at the woman, Medusa dancing with the flaming gladiator, one is of an ice-princess and balls of light that seem to be faeries, and the redhaired woman with the fire breathing dragon. I'm *really* impressed with the whole series. No dice on a search for the videos online... just the regular stuff... sadly, adcritic.com has been snapped up by another company.
Spam radio. Strangely soothing.
What's better than reversing the effects of aging with human growth hormones, investing in stocks that will skyrocket, and getting millions of dollars from the Bank of Nigeria? Why, putting it all to music. Spamradio takes all the Internet's greatest hits and makes beautiful music. Unlike recording outfits, they even parse the sexy ones into their own section, which is good. You know these kids today; the sensational stuff always hits the top of the charts.
ok, back from the garden store....(at my local Kmart... having a wicked sale.)
here's a list of what I picked up.
For Newton - catnip and catgrass.
For me - sweet alyssum, dwarf dill, dwarf parsley, sweet basil, cilantro, and oregano...
also picked up some other planting needs... a few small pots and soil.
Now, to mix the seeds, and figure how I'll keep Nosy Newtie out of the stuff. I'll probably have to barricade it somehow.
Neat..l just realised that I planted as the moon's waxing.
If I lived in Middle-Earth, it would be in:
Lothlorien or Rivendell
You prefer the tranquilty and peacefulness of nature and enjoy the milder seasons of the year. While you know it is necessary to keep in contact with other living beings, most of the time you enjoy the seclusion of an aesthetically pleasing, woodland environment.
Cats in Libraries A searchable map of libraries from around the world that have a cat in residence.
Hee, they mention Bookings.... he lived there when Doug was working there. A staffer eventually took her home to live, though.
Remember the art-o-mat? Now, a poetry publisher that not only puts out an online journal, but also distributes poems via gumball machines. As of now there's only 7 Gumball Poetry machines worldwide, mostly in the Western US, but they're ready to make more. Next time you've got a quarter jinglin' in your jeans skip the gum and get some free verse instead. (personally, I prefer more visual arts in a vending machine, but it could be fun... I would prefer happy, or glowy poetry.)
The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, & Body Language Cues. Items in this Dictionary have been researched by anthropologists, archaeologists, biologists, linguists, psychiatrists, psychologists, semioticians, and others who have studied human communication from a scientific point of view. What exactly does it mean when someone touches their face, licks their lips, or dodges their eyes? You'll find the answers in this huge compendium.. The most complete collection of body language you'll ever come across. I could flip through this thing for hours. maybe I'll synch it to the palm.
Thought that the video process was all worked out, but it's kicking good records into a reject state. Getting a good error report from the users is like pulling teeth... "It's broken.. fix it" No information as to how or where it's broken though.
Imagine going into a doctor and saying "I'm hurt or sick... heal me" and not giving any symptoms. They don't need to know any of the technical terms, but mentioning a limp, or pain someplace specifically can help someone trace theproblem.
Speaking of Which, I went to the doctor's today... Blood work came back wonderful, though my cholesterol is up from my wonderfully low of 114 to 136. (still good) I've been redirected to a nerve specialist and some physical therapy. I'm feeling pretty positive about this because it means I'll be getting into some serious shape. When I first hurt my back, recovery-wise, I was in the best fitness-level of my life... I plan on trying to stay to whatever workout plan is given me this go 'round. The trick is to just make it a habit, like taking care of Newt or making a point of reading a little bit every day. My only worry is making sure that there's enough time in the day for everything I want to budget in.
Only got a passing brush with my sweetie-monkey yesterday... she and I were working like devils today, too. Hopefully tomorrow will allow for more contact. (or at least a rest!)
Tomorrow is Dexter-puppy Thursday...that'll make things a little nicer.
I was late to the doc's, by about 20 minutes, and was chastised for it. my reply was. "You're right... people should be on time for scheduled meetings, and I apologise for my misdeed. Tell me agfain why you've had me wait multiple hours the last few times?"
The Wendy's garden salad is *good*, especially with a baked potato. Yum! what a tasty supper! My beloved would be proud of me, I even ate the cherry tomatoes.
Brother Went to a pre-court hearing, and it looks good... that silly cop is bonus-screwed... bro is mending slowly, but is repairing. He lost his job, as season has pretty much ended. He's got a gig working for a bakery though, to see him through, plus another potential other on the horizon.
Scanning the LJ... looks like a lot of people are having bad days. Sorry, gang... I hope that the good stuff hits the fan, and sprays you all as liberally as the poo.
I've found a lot of great government-hosted sites, and my favorite of those from the past few weeks has been the Freedom of Information Act stuff from the files of the F.B.I. - lots of huge (and I do mean huge - hope you've got a fast connection) PDF files filled with scans of old newspaper clippings, office memos and other good stuff on subjects ranging from the death of John Dillinger to cattle mutilations. The truth is out there, and it's in slow-downloading bitmap form.
