I see so many folks here, and it seems like many just aren’t having fun. Doing it like junkies, they write and write, and get no relief, or worse, feel even more poorly then when they began.

Too many politics, too much whining. Mind you, you’re free to do what you like in your journal, but it seems that some of the shiny happy people have fallen away, leaving a lot of bitter, immature folks behind, with only a few shining gems amongst them. Many folks could learn from them… at least how to be a little happier.

To you Gems, I say *THANK YOU* for being here. I can think of one pearl in particular who has always got something interesting and/or entertaining to say…in fact there’s a few.

Speaking of gems, Mootpoint is back, as is Nashata.Grand. 🙂 I’m seeing an improvement already. If we could drag cider nback in, we’d have all 3 I was missing. 🙂

By the way, why does maryland seem to have so many cool LJ people?

blackhellkat,foom23, ktm, laurak, sweetalyssm… all marylanders, and all Gems.

Maybe that’s how I’ll spotlight folks… by region…

Phew.. Canada is chock-full of dear folk, too. I’ve only found a couple of nifty Floridians (but there are some)… yipe! time for me to lock up and head home. maybe I’ll continue this thought later, and upload some more piccies. 🙂

oh… forgot the crazy one eyed seven armed troll… thanks Daizee!! 🙂

I’ve found my life changing, this last decade.

Where once, I identified with Daffy Duck and Wile E. Coyote… I think that I can more closely identify with Sam the Sheepdog. I’m more competent at what I do. I’m not as excitable as I once was and seem to be cast more in the protector/helper role than the goofy dolt. I like it. I don’t get in trouble as often and can use my skills for more useful tasks then just running into walls.

I don’t know if I can pinpoint where I changed over. I do know that at university, I was sullen, and more than a little angry… easy to get my goat. I think that living on my own, with my own job and even having something of a dependant (If you can count Newton as one) has really changed my outlook on things. I’m not free to do some things, but those things are really damaging so it’s fine not to. I don’t want to get hurt, because folks depend on me. When I flew solo, it was easy to take the attitude of “Who cares, I’m the only one at risk”. Now, I have to feed the cat. 🙂 I’m not going to let my misdeeds hurt those folks that I love. What’s more is that as I’ve become more secure in my place, it’s easier to help other people, too. Philosophy is simpler when you’re not just trying to survive…. I’m not hungry, so I can afford to think. That’s a huge boon.

More to follow… have to get back to work.

An open letter to browser sniffers. This is directed to all y’all who are using browser-sniffing code to detect if someone’s using an older browser, like Netscape 4.*, and either popping up windows urging you to upgrade (one of which I recently encountered actually said “You suck”) or even redirecting you to an upgrade page without allowing you to see the site’s content at all.

The intentions behind what you’re doing are noble. In fact, I too enjoy using cutting edge stuff, too. Your hearts are in the right place, and we do need to get as many people to upgrade to newer, w3.org-standards-compliant browsers. However, please think about people who use the web at work, and whose companies (for whatever dopey, inexplicable reason) forbid them to install newer browsers due to Draconian restrictions against installing anything non-authorized on their machines. Some of us are stuck with older editions of Netscape and IE at work, and telling us that we suck because we’re unable to upgrade yet isn’t going to do anybody any good. Actually, it could piss some people off.

In fact, one of the sites whose annoying pop-up said that my browser would be unable to handle the code used to generate the site looked fine to me under copy of IE 4.5 I’m stuck with. I’m sure your painstaking designs are lovely, but I’m primarily interested in your words, and I can read your words with Lynx (and often do).

Speaking of which … your sites are at least reasonably Lynx-friendly, aren’t they? Blind and visually-impaired people who use text readers and speech synthesizers can access your site, can’t they?

Okay, said my piece. Have a frosty beverage, or something.

Alert.

Ben and Jerry’s.

Free Cone Day will be on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2001, view our slideshow from last year and read a little about the history of Free Cone Day. http://www.benjerry.com/scoop/index.html… go in on that day, and get a free ice cream cone.

“Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts. No artistic merit, causes sexual thoughts. Hmmm . . . sounds like every commercial on TV doesn’t it?”

Twist ending of The Day After Tomorrow (Warner Books)
by Allan Folsom

The last sentece is – “The frozen, severed head of Adolf Hitler”. There, I saved you 700 pages of dreck. (thanks for the notice, Larry!)

agog uh-GAHG, adjective:
in eager desire; eager; highly excited; astir

“By the second day he had found his sea-legs, and with hair flying and double-waistcoats flapping, he patrolled the deck agog with excitement, questioning and noting.” –Richard Holmes, Coleridge: Darker Reflections, 1804-1834

“Kobe Bryant left the Minnesota Timberwolves agog after a series of eye-popping moves in a game last week.” –New York Times, February 5, 1998

“He was now so interested, quite so privately agog, about it, that he had already an eye to the fun it would be to open up to her afterwards.” –Henry James, The Ambassadors

“When we had got the spectators agog we would dive in.” –R. Campbell, Light on Dark Horse

——————————————————————————–

From earlier on gog, deriving from Middle French en gogues, “in mirth; lively.”

I love my sweetheart… feeling very good about that.

*dances to singing eugene

Server of Amontillado – :” a missing — but still running — server at UNC is discovered sealed up behind drywall, years later.I know that one wasn’t NT. 🙂

remember figlet?

Got back from the grove. They’re *very* cool there.

I had some fresh juice, and they seemed amenable to my rates… They didn’t offer to pay me in fruit, but real folding money, and they *gave* me a nice jar of orange blossom honey. I’m going to be all over that on Saturday. 🙂 You know how bears like honey, right?

I’ve had about a quart of OJ today already, and I’m a little worried that only juice mice be a bit acidic, so I’m going to do water until I get home. Tomorrow, it’s going to be baby carrots and other raws… but no dressing.. that will be welcome. 🙂

http://www.nephco.com/powerpuffgirls/ppps.html

Make your own powder puff person.

Here’s my closest approximation. (the apartment is about right, too. 🙂 )

Thanks to neko for pointing me there!

World’s Most Stupid Construction Prank
==============

Nickolas Savko & Sons says Michael Ackron was injured in September in Hilliard when the 44-ton earth-scraper he was driving fell into a trench that had been dug as a joke.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/news01/apr01/653189.html

Yummy Brain Worm!
==============

Three years ago, Dawn Becerra ate a pork taco while vacationing in Mexico. It was a pork taco she would not soon forget. Becerra said the treat not only made her ill for three weeks, it left something behind… A Worm Inside Her Brain!

http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/brainworm010410.html

Creating A Basket Case
==============

Eleven-month-old twins Jamuna and Ganga Shrestha were in different rooms for the first time in their lives Tuesday after doctors successfully separated the girls, who were born joined at the head.

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2001/04/10/siamese/index.html

Kids Treated To Tiger Fight
==============

Two rare tigers were accidentally allowed into the same cage at the local zoo, and one animal killed the other as a group of visiting children looked on.

http://www.salon.com/people/wire/2001/04/10/tiger/index.html

Pretending Pain
==============

…officials might have been duped by Treva Joyce Throneberry, now 31.
…she has traveled the country posing as a minor and making false claims of sexual abuse, child pornography, abduction and even murder.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/news/oregonian/lc_31false10.frame

Anti-Gay But Pro-ChildMolesting
==============

The leader of a group trying to repeal Broward County’s gay-rights law resigned Monday, citing a Herald report that he was charged in 1999 with sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl in Maryland.

http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/broward/digdocs/064870.htm

stare into the sun

it’s not even up yet, but I’m awake, in synch with my sweetie. 🙂 (Sunrise is due in another hour or so) Wrestling with baby Newt… he’s grappled my foot, and is having at it with his tiny needlejaws. I seriously think he’s having more fun with the box for the laptop than I’m having with the laptop itself… (and I’ve had a great time… ) I wonder what folks think, when they see my hands close up… tiny little scratches on my hands from mock combat… play raked… (and I know it’s play… you should see what the boy does to stuffed animals or cardboard. eep.

in other news, I should have my DSL modem by this time next week, and be networked on it the following day… so I should be able to freely use all my nifty look on the big brain on lappie. (and vice versa). I’ve been working too hard recently, but half of it (the non salary half) has been looking profitable. I have a meeting in about 3 hours with the head of the grove, about doing some programming for them… I hope it continues to work out.