Cool Monty Python toys.

The Vorpal Bunny is very cool.

< -fun user icon that cracked me up Added MatchWho to my collection of palm programs. very fun. I’d have used it when I was gaming (since I’m poor at drawing human faces). you can play FBI suspect artist, too. 🙂

Talkin’ to mah sweetie tonight… yum.

Quick update while she’s taking care of some bid-ness. is over 900 members!

Better Salary than I’d anticipated, the commute wasn’t so bad. If it was raining, I might feel otherwise. (I have to walk 5 blocks to the building from the bus stop) Good medical benefits. Looks like Tuan, Hoi’s younger brother at my old job, will replace me. Good call… Familiar with the work and team, gets along well with the gang. Sappho will like him.

Without further ado, Today’s pictures.

Walking to the bus stop…

More piccies from the day.

Got a nice email from my sweetie in the middle of the day today. She makes everything brighter by the brush of her hand.

Tomorrow’s is the moment of truth. I’m heading to Coral Springs tomorrow before work for the walkthrough of the new company.

If I don’ t get any bad vibes, I’m in. So far, so good… they want me pretty badly. It’s nice to have it be my call.

Mike, Gloria and Tuan all work there and seem to get on pretty well, same goes for John Irving.

Pictures from today:

Whoops! Forgot to hit post. I’m all showered now.

Bro signed a piece of paper with the landlord for amount owed larger than it should be. I’m glad my brother saves his receipts. (I’d be gladder if he paid his rent on time). The landlord is good about changing his tune when confronted with signed pieces of paper that states he already was paid. The ll caught my brother off-guard and half-asleep.

Wow! All this time I thought The Space Giants was just a fever dream.

See, there was this gold guy and he was named Goldar and he was married to Silvar and he fought really dumb looking monsters.

No, really! And the lightning bolts! And this weird old guy! And there was this weird evil guy, and the robots could turn into rockets! (More pictures here)

Wait, where are you going? Come back! Ah well, I should curl up and read some non-glowing text. G’night, dear journal.

Newt’s ability for problem solving impresses me quite a bit. If he wants something badly enough, there’s a way for him to get it. He has a strong awareness of 3d space and what can and can’t be moved. Rearranging furniture and the general “terrain” in the apartment causes him to remap everything by running over and testing comfort zones. It entertains me quite a bit, watching him hop on a chair or scout around same just to get a knack for what’s there. He seems to like to hang around the “new” object even if all that’s happened is a change in facing.

I’d be fascinated to know just what his thought processes are.

Well, off to work. Until later, dear journal.

Can’t stay cranky for long with cutie Newtie running around, wanting to play fetch.

Minor annoyances… brother bugged me twice last night to use my phone… once when I was on the phone with Dan, and the second time when I was just falling asleep. Just plain rude. I was jarred awake a few times this morning by who knows what. I’m officially up now. Bah… I was hoping for a good night’s rest. I guess there’s tonight.

Web pages that change the size of my browser without asking first lick goat-dung.

I just played damage control for Dan’s Wife… she spread the jdbgmgr.exe file hoax… Luckily, I think I’m the only programmer-type in their address book. It is so important to fact-check on the net. She knows better now.

I need to call an Wish Aunt Val a happy birthday!

For reference down the line-

U.S. Gas Prices
Lowest Price: $1.13 Carrolton, GA
Highest Price: $2.29 Mill Valley, CA
Nat’l Average $1.63

via mskaren911 – Vote for the Florida Quarter

There are a couple of good designs. I’m torn between “The Everglades” and “Gateway to Discovery”.

2/12/03 9:12 am

Sending off the last element of Vallies day today… I hope she likes what I’m sending. I think it will please her.

Some kind of stink in the air this morning woke me up. At first I thought that Newt had gotten sick, but after a thorough search and catching a whiff of the outside, I’ve come to the conclusion that someone either spread some fertilizer on the grass or it is some kind of pesticide. Either way, it reeks a bit like poo.

Trash truck with a giant mechanical arm whooshed by, picking up cans and emptying them without coming to more than a rolling stop. Amazing how quickly and efficiently they work. They get extra points for returning the can in an upright position afterwards.

Arriving at work early to make phone calls and prep for a meeting up the street.

10:45
Nordis seems to be a sure thing.. Long haul out to Coral Springs, but there is a very nice increase in pay and benefits. Mostly programming, database stuff, more employee management and coordination. The CIO over there wanted me to start today if I could. I’m going to give the place an eyeball on Friday, and if all goes well, I’ll be there in a week. A pretty professional company, so it looks like sandals are out, but I can get away with a polo shirt and no tie.

I’m going to keep my options open, though. There’s a data librarian / admin position that’s opening up in a month. The person at Direct mentioned that he’d keep me appraised.

8am, and I’m rocking and rollin’ and ready for the day. No time, no time for an extended entry… will write more on the road, dear journal.

Subaru says that its new Baja is the World’s First Multiple Choice Vehicle, but it sure looks an awful lot like an old Dodge Rampage to me.

I should know: I walked by one every day on my way to school.

In the Eighties.

I mean, doesn’t the Dodge Rampage* fit the “Part Car. Part Truck. All Choice.” moniker?

If I ever find out who is responsible for civilization returning to the late seventies / early eighties, I’ll remind them what happened next.

Fluorescent yellow and green outfits.

* see also the Chevrolet El Camino and Ford Ranchero (the oldest of the bunch, apparently).

No Island Boy at work today, Sappho took off early for the chiro. Wearisome day, hopefully a productive day. Tomorrow is going to be 2nd verse, same as the first.

Things I’m glad to have; not an all-inclusive list, but a good one.

• Love
• Hope
• Smarts
• Chutzpah
• Health

G’night, dear journal.

Interview gear:

Black Birkenstock shoes
Black socks
Black slacks
Khaki polo shirt
Maroon hair tie

I think that I look pretty nice. Everything fits well and looks sharp. Goatee is neatly trimmed. I’m a little worried that the bus is late. If I don’t see one soon, I’ll get a cab to the station.

10:31 am supplemental
I ended up taking a cab the whole route, and made it with 15 minutes to spare. It went reasonably well… The company is much smaller than I’d expected. Lots of fresh faces and stress seems minimal. John said that my odds look good. It’s still early yet, and better prospects lie ahead. Following up on four other gigs tomorrow. One phone review, one morning meeting, two callbacks.

The interview lasted about an hour and fifteen, so from there I hoofed it to the Barnie’s to get an iced chai, and listen to Dean Martin sing Italian love songs for a while before going in to work.

Slow morning for them. Only three other customers since I’ve been here. I have not been here since maybe ’00. I’ve taken a couple of dates here… Rachel, April, Pam Potter. Nice, because the proximity to the movie theater. Best post movies- Dark City, Final Destination, The Mask.

Three more folks have come in… All in professional gear. Even for work, some women wear such high heels!

Time for me to head out…back later.

Bus contemplation –

plan- get to work early, call Nordis 10.30, then go to discover, return to work, change, call doc, call v-pak, call business as usual.
Feelings today:

• trepidation
• calm
• love struck
• soothed
• need to use the facilities
• peeved
• curious
• weary
• refreshed
• hair tie too tight
• crowded
• smart
• diplomatic
• full
• in need of a toothbrush
• anxious
• sober
• amused
• in need of a magical mute button
• disconnected
• sane
• surrounded
• large
• creator of purrs

Hot shower! Super power! Sissies cower most dour and glower sour. At this late hour I’ve got an urge to lounge in a bower’s tower with my Moonflower.

Scalded away the day’s trials and tribulations… making way for the nights dreams, alarums and excursions. (Not that I’ve contributed anything to that apazine in over a decade…hmm, closer to 15 years now.) I should rejoin it, just to see what’s going.

Looking forward to early sleeps and sweet dreams of my beloved tonight. Nighters, dear journal.

2/10/03 8:08 pm

Poor Sappho was out with back trouble today… hopefully she’ll be better tomorrow. I can sympathize with her distress. Island Boy spent most of his day in engineering trying to get XP stuck into Kev’s machine, (He and Sappho both have been making said attempt all week) but the foul device will have none of it. Kev’s settling for the superior, but less appearing win2k. Strange that the installation was so abortive, since it was on for nearly a year before his HD took a dump. Side note, the machine was put together by Astley, the Cayman CPU Killer, the same clown responsible for my old PC troubles.

I spoke with John about the position this afternoon and he seems interested. 9am meeting with him tomorrow morning. About a half mile south from where I currently work. Not sure how I’ll deal with a 9-5 schedule after so long a span on the night shift. My last schedule was 4-midnight. I think the last regular for me was ’98.

Interview shoes tomorrow. First shoe-covered toes in many months, possibly longer. Ponytail, no necktie. Unsure about clothing yet. Lucky Newt-whisker and love-note (envelope) corner as material representations of support. (I carry ’em always, anyway.)

Hoping for better pay and benefits. Quite likely. Still would dig something for the government… Lots of resumes launched. Bound to be victorious soon.

Somehow, I knew it. sealab2021 test results