All posts by scottobear

thank you, silly cow spy network! today’s a bonanza of wacky links.

1) I’m sure you’ve heard, but in case you haven’t: The universe is institutional green. And appropriately so, I might add.

2) Tiny Windows Games – a dynofoo production.

3) “‘The design was logical,’ he said. ‘They made a cube and a tower. I was sure they would make something spherical. I know them too well.’

4) More bowties than you can shake a stick at.

5) I’m gonna go out on a limb here and predict these won’t sell terribly well.

6) “‘I would chose a Dell over a Gateway because Steven is cuter than Gateway’s cow.’” [link via ROS&RR]

7) The Wild Cat Ranch Retirement Home.

8) And finally, Music From TV Commercials.

It’s officially warm out again. That was a short winter…back to balmy breezes. It’s odd having the skies bee so quiet again after yesterday.

While walking this morning, I found to my dismay that conspiracy stuff has gone the way of swords and sorcery in my mind… I think that the majority of the best stuff has pretty much been written and the market is glutting up with pale copies. Before, a hint of conspiracy would be dismissed as something only those wild-eyed conspiracy buffs would believe. But, even if it wasn’t believed, it was interesting. Now something that looks like a conspiracy is dismissed without looking *at all* because it’s just “something out of the X-Files.” (For what it’s worth, in the real world, being both disbelieved and uninteresting is the best cover you can have.) If I wrote the happenings between the contested Florida election and the tunnel-running in Afghanistan as fiction, without it all happening in real life, it would be unbelievable. Really. Just put the flag down for a moment and really look at how much weird stuff happened in a very short time. One thing this means for the conspiracy genre is that no one is going to bother silencing the crusading reporter with the inside scoop. Going public with the family jewels will mean nothing. Having the incriminating evidence in a secure location set to go public in the event of your death will be no protection whatsoever.

I’m glad most of my stories are just little weird reality bites. My next project writing-wise is to edit a few of them, and transcribe the three good tarot stories (and maybe clean up the not-so-good ones) into my journal from the notebook. I like writing on paper…you can really crank out ideas and doodles quickly, but transmission and storage is tough.

Well, WAMI is now 24/7 telefutura… no more local programming, or programming in english. A shame, because the kids show they had was fun to get ready along with in the morning. On the upside, it’s got wacky Univision programming now. Back ot the Future in Spanish, Batman, badly acted soaps; they make for some nifty background sounds.

It looks like we have internet grocery shopping now, from http://publixdirect.com … I registered, but I don’t know if I’ll make use of it.

Neglected to mention!

I got together with Cathi, Dave and baby Mayah… I got to feed the baby! 🙂 Wrapped in tie-dyed (babysafe) swaddling to keep her warm, she got passed to me after she’d polished off two boobies worth of milk, and was ready for some supplemental formula. Super-tiny, and Uber-adorable she is… a hungry little critter. We exchanged holiday gifties… I got a Newton Journal, some swell jolly ranchers, a “barrel of monkeys” toy, and a really nice batman comic. I got Dave a big softcover of the LOTR trilogy, and some blockbuster GCs… Cathi got chimes, and some software for her new palm… Mayah got a duckie and a onesie.

Now, I’m going to beddie bye. before I go… the coolest clock!

nighters.

The World Integration, Accomplishment, Involvement, Fulfillment.

That was my draw for the course of today. Upon reflection on it, I tihnk enjoying peace of mind and using a gift and talent apply most. I got a lot accomplished and spoke briefly with Jen today regarding a future WID gig, too. Perhaps an opportunity to network out form there to other charity gigs, too. Maybe some work for St. Vincent’s Shelter… it’s remarkable to me how many places need tech-henchmen. Put in much relaxation time in too. Naps are *nice*.

Saw an airshow outside this afternoon…it’s been going on all weekend, apparently. The new laundry was positioned just right to watch it, and I did get my gear all done for free… not only that, it wasn’t crowded, either. Brand new machines and very clean. I wonder how long it’ll last?

found this unusual site… the cards another site that might be fun to meditate on

2001: a space travesty. was on earlier (and probably still on, though I’ve since moved on) Ugh… it’s *awful* not funny. I’m sorry for giving it 15 minutes of my time. I blame the French, whose earmarks are all over it.

airshow overhead
unforseen entertainment
yellow biplanes fly

walked to the laundry
used new fabric softener
Newt likes clean towels

chores done, finally
The goal is relaxation
looks like it’s naptime

fresh sheets and covers
showered body snug beneath
this, Sunday’s purpose

Mixed dreams last night. I’m going around putting self-adhesive postage stamps on all my books, either on the spine or the inside front cover, if the spine’s too small. I’m hanging out with Danny. I look over and notice he’s removing some of the stamps, and it’s not really bothering me… I ask him where he got his watch, and he tells me that he stole it from K-mart. (Dan would never do that.) I decide to take him to K-mart and make him bring it back, and my sweetie is there, not working, just a-shoppin’. My thieving buddy managed to escape while I was mooning over her, so I took her to the movies… we checked out LOTR… and we were mocking a big chunk of it. Whispering to one another, making the hobbits lisp at each other..”Ithn’t that Legolath a thweetie?” “Oh, yeth!” Fortunately, we were the only ones in the theater, so we could get into fits of giggles and gab pretty loudly with each other. After, we went to a park, and dined on lemon chicken… Overall, it was a nice time.

Going to try the new laundry today… I still have that freebie coupon. I wonder if it’ll be a mob scene there? If it’s too bad, I’ll keep going, and use old faithful.

Handy-dandy link o’ the day – file types by extension.

before bedski… space commies and monkeys

Eta Noozhna!
Cosmos Patrol! It’s Star Trek for Communists! The crew of the Red Adventurer and a reanimated Peter the Great challenging holographic supervillains Adolf Hitler and John D. Rockefeller in a chess tournament—to the death!

Japanese firms that destroy relationships for those unable to do it themselves–busting up marriages, driving off mistresses, even ruining corporate managers with their board of directors for the sake of a rival. Amazing, upsetting stuff.

They pioneer the outer reaches of space. They patrol the highways and keep the roads safe for Diet Dr. Pepper (with help from They Might Be Giants). They protect the world from megalomaniacal super-criminals. They’re the backbone of our great nation’s trucking industry. They’re sports idols who inspire our youth. They’re the future of education.

What won’t those fabulous chimpanzees do in the service of mankind?

Now, off to sleeps! Nighters! (By the way… my sweetie likes me better than Aragorn. Neener, Strider. prefers me she does. Yesss. )

I’ve been having a Bad day. I’m glad to be home, in a secure, soothing environment at last, just Newt by my side, and my sweetie in my heart. I had to wait an hour and a half for some of the folks to arrive, and they didn’t have a clear idea of what they wanted, and the late, clueless parties were unapologetic to the folks that were made to wait. This is my Saturday, and my time off….don’t waste my time, and don’t blow it off as worthless. At least I got to catch up with Jen about her kitties and had other conversation I could make. I did get a parting shot in, though… “Next time I’m made to wait like that for a meeting, I’ll be billing for my time.” (Which I’m sure confirmed Lisa’s opinion of me as a man.) I really, really, really pity that woman. I understand why she is the way she is… but taking out your anger with one or even a few bad men in your life on *all* men, including me… one who is just trying to be a nice guy is a bad idea. She has a lot of anger inside, and is willing to spray it on anyone that crosses her path. Throughout the meeting she was uncooperative, snippy, and a negative amount of help, and in my mind, had no utility at the meeting but to slow it down, and make it less pleasant for everyone. Same woman I was concerned about dealing with earlier today.

That aside… I implemented some changes for them tonight, after the meeting which took up about another two hours of my time. Optimized databases, set up a few custom reports, no real heavy duty programming… but I did have to replace one of the network cards, too. I did it gratis and after completing it, I made the statement about billing with an aside to Jen about not appreciating Lisa’s remarks, attitude or timing.

Ugh… done griping. Dinner will be nice. I have a nice pasta salad and tasty pseudo-chicken patty waiting. suppertime!

passing info along.

From Rebecca

Public Service Alert! This morning I received a piece of spam claiming to be from EBay, informing me that my ‘order had been completed’ and my credit card would be charged if I did not cancel the order by going to a website and filling in some information. This is a fraudulent attempt to gather personal information (and maybe even your credit card number).

If you receive this Ebay Spam, do not follow these directions and do not respond to it. Note that the URL the spam directs you to is not an EBay address. Note that EBay auctions do not work this way. Remember that you may dispute any charge on your credit card. Report it to SpamCop or report it to Ebay Fraud, if you are a member. (Unfortunately, there is no way to file a complaint if you are not.) Or just delete it. And inform your friends about it.

I slept very well last night… Hit the sack fairly early after reading. Thick, deep, Russian sleep. The sort of snooze I think I’d get if I was put into one of those cocoons for sublight space travel.

A question posed to me today… “Notice that the Crate & Barrel store sells neither?”

http://technoerotica.net/mylog/optouts.html (If you don’t use nopop software… and why aren’t you? – this kills a large number of the pop-ads, under and over)

Also – Marvel Comic legend John Buscema dies .. I haven’t been this sad about an artist going since Curt Swan passed away… his work on Conan and Hulk comics were a frequent part of my growing up, as much as Swan’s Superman.

well, enough procrastinating… time for a shower, shave and spruce up for the meeting.

Women in distress meeting today at 2. I’m going to sit down with them, work out what they want and figure out pricing. (I hate that part. Pricing charities is hard for me.)

This might be a continuing gig for me… Lots of little one shots because they don’t want a full-time guy. Either way, it gives a little pocket change and is for a good cause… I’m always nervous meeting some of the ladies there, though. A few are just so damaged…I have to walk on eggshells. I can’t sound too sympathetic “what would you know?” or be too cool “Like you care!”. The best bet in that situation is to keep quiet, and wait for one of her friends to shift the social gears back into a safe-zone. It’s a variant on office politics that has never been a good time. I can understand helping these folks out, but placing them in the “client communications” side makes more sense than tossing them in the business end.

I’m thinking it’ll just be more form design and minor db programming.