Tag Archives: florida

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Stream of thought

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Of the songs I’ve heard the grim reaper sing, I like this one the best –

I’m a kitty cat
I wear a bowl of peanuts
for a hat!
If I eat them all,
I will get fat
blah blah blah, I’m a kitty cat!

my alyssum has already started peeking little baby leaves on the east side of the house! got to love this Florida weather!

Newt and I just played a quick round of bearskin rug vs. tigerskin rug. Newt won, the slacker.

I would like a slice of ice cream cake, or perhaps an ice cream sandwich. something cool, creamy and with chocolate bits… or some pocky.

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that actively dislikes the Beatles. The only people I can imagine doing so are surly teens trying to sound anti-establishment or something.

My current discovery on internet radio – Pirates Choice – Orchestra Baobab Pretty spiffy stuff…if you like African/Cuban hybrid music sung in French. The stuff you’d have playing in the background of a spy novel set in South Miami. I dig it ok. Most of the tracks are available on Kazaa, or have a listen on the Amazon link there if you have real player.

I forgot to mention, I got a drink of Gatorade at the shell station across from the ‘mat, and they were selling little Lego race cars there for $1. Pretty nifty little toy, and a nice trinket of happiness to share with my striped roommate.

Do I have to return to work tomorrow? Did I really have 4 days off? Apparently the answer to both is “Yes, Scotto.”

I think “Scooter-pie” would be a cute nickname for me. I’ve been called “Scooter” before. speaking of which… truth in advertising!.

Note to self, call Newt’s doc tomorrow, and give change of address & phone, as well as my own.

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the new 'mat

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7/7/02 1:04 pm – palmtop

interesting place… fort lauderdale has more ‘beautiful people’ than pompano…more folks my age, too.

friendlies at the mat, and one or two oddballs, but no mean or scary-folk.

had a short chat with a local, and it was pleasant… nice to make a stranger smile, and I got a book reccomondation out of it. (a bio of the romanovs) I showed her piccies of my sweetie and other fun things to do on the palm, like ebooks… I should be a spokeman.

guys with shoulder-hair shouldn’t wear tank tops. nor should gals guys with shoulder-hair, for that matter.

I need to pick up ‘bed in a bag’ from wal-mart… I saw three designs that really suit me, and the price is right.

body count from my far left to far right-

1 biker couple, woman in lycra pants and top, guy with many tattoos, including web on elbow
1 pair dykes, a stereotypical bull and lipstick combo.
2 40-ish men (not together) staring at
1 cell phone chick, looked like she had major “upgrades” done to face and chest
1 sporty-guy (with shoulder-hair) chatting with
1 sporty-gal (no shoulder-hair)
1 smiling geek girl with possibly 8 loads to do (book reccomender)
3 late 20-ish guys (brothers?)
1 nuclear family (mother,father,son,daughter)
1 late 50s woman in capri pants
1 pod with a palmtop in a tie dye shirt and bermuda shorts

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Spoke briefly but pleasantly with my brother after playing a considerable amount of phone tag this afternoon… it seems that Francesco (his landlord) took my suggestions of cleaning the place up to heart after a potential tenant decided not to lease after seeing it sans a coat of paint and a good cleaning. Latest word is that the Terrazzo will be overlaid with tile or carpet. I hope tile, much simpler with a pair of hirsute boys living there…though Newt sheds more than I do. The bro apparently sold him on my moving in with true tales of my reliability with payment schedules and quiet living. (No bills overdue or crack use here!) Also, Francesco likes my brother… he’s been a good tenant with him since he arrived back from Hawaii. I’m quite enthusiastic about living next door… He and I both have enough respect for one another to call before coming over, even if we only live two doors apart.

I’m also hoping that it comes through, because it’s one of the better deals financially for the district… taking into account that cable will be free, I’ll be paying about $15 less a month than I am now. I’ll finally get the History channel unscrambled, and the Sci-fi channel again. (Is there anything worth watching on Sci-fi anymore? I used to only watch it for the Bionic Woman and the odd 60’s shows…Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants… I hear that the original programming is a little feeble.)

Doable would be running a wireless network (or heck, even a cable, maybe if need be) between here and the outside courtyard… maybe into my brother’s place, too, for multiplayer gaming, or just to let him surf from his place at DSL speed. I imagine that I’d be burning more CD’s for him now, as he discovers the wonders of file-sharing.

I like being closer to the bro, being able to help him out and be more social.

Variables off the top of my head to take care of when I move into a new place:

  • Theft / Disaster insurance
  • Parking for the future bike – I may end up just keeping it in the apartment, by the door.
  • DSL or Cable High-speed access (looks like both are available)
  • Shopping Areas, particularly for groceries, books, and hippy-goods.
  • A separate green-grocer?
  • Places to walk, parks, beaches, etc.
  • Library
  • Laundry
  • Takeout & Sit Down – Thai, Chinese, American, Spanish and Italian
  • Nearness to Police / Ambulance / Fire Stations (Close enough to be quickly served, far enough away to be quietly served.)
  • Bus Routes / Taxi / Metro Rail
  • Possible New places of contract employment?
  • Local Human & Animal Hospitals
  • A local map is going to be a must… do like I did when I first moved to Pompano from Davie… put it on the fridge, or a corkboard.
  • Clothes Store
  • Shoe Store
  • Blood Donation Center
  • How’s the night sky’s light index?

From metafilter –

And The Winner Is….
Hurray! I can finally sleep at night, the new M&M color is Purple. The intro is a bit annoying, but the flash page they have to show voting stats by country is kinda nifty. mmmmmm…purpliscious

The new money will be called NexGen
The Treasury and Federal Reserve make it official: Starting in 2003, U.S. currency will have pretty colors. But they don’t say which colors!
Is anyone else creeped out that they call the money “NexGen”? It sounds so … Orwellian.

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Rainy Morning… cool, and moist.

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Well, the first alternate near me looks ok… but I’m sort of getting my heart set on being a little closer to where my brother lives.

I talked to a few other possibilities down in Lauderdale… there’s one that’s a little expensive, but is quite nice… I’m still hoping that the one I really want gets his act together, and cleans it up properly. The cottage is ok… about $90 more a month than I wanted to pay, but the utilities are included. (so it’s really only about $25-50 more, depending on the A/C costs)… and it’s not available until the bottom of July. (which means I might take a month to month lease hear, just for July… we’ll see how the deadline goes.

Looks like this Saturday will be spent in Lauderdale, eyeballing some of the properties there.

I’m confident that a good place will be found.

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I’m looking to pick up a mountain bike or hybrid for tooling around sometime soon… maybe even as part of my commute to work, depending on weather. a “sitting-up” bike for city and beach traffic.

Stuff I have to make a point of getting –

  • Rack over the rear wheel for spare clothes / books / etc
  • basic tool kit and tire pump
  • *fenders*… I don’t want a skunk strip up my back if it starts to rain…
  • White headlight, red rear reflector, and a red tail light.

Where I live, a bike is legally defined as a vehicle. Same rights to the roadway and must obey the same traffic laws as operators of other vehicles, including stopping for stop signs and traffic lights, riding with the flow of traffic, using lights at night, and yielding right-of-way when entering a roadway.

I may not get the apartment next door to my bro…. it needs a *lot* of work, and I don’t know if the landlord is interested in getting all that needs doing taken care of by the time I’m ready to move in.

I have a few new alternate places lined up… going to give one a look-see tomorrow morning at 9… all new kitchen/bath/tile/doors/appliances, and about $50 more a month than the one near the bro. At this rate, I’m beginning to suspect that one of the alternates is where I’ll end up. Brother rode around his neighborhood, and collected a few excellent phone numbers of places near him… I’ll call them again tomorrow during normal business hours. One sounds especially good.

Argh! why is my lj in read only mode, *now*? (9pm)

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Today, I make a point of packing at least one box a day. two, or more if possible. I’d like to have everything ready to roll comfortably by a week from Saturday.

First thing to attack – my books.

Also, it’s time to decide if some of those things I haven’t used in the year since I moved here get purged, or retained. I’m a terrible pack-rat. I think that the Atari ST will be trashed… I have an emulator for the PC now… and I really haven’t booted the machine since it arrived.

The reel to reel recorder can go to goodwill, along with many of the clothes I’ve not made use of.

I’m keeping the Godzilla slippers.

I’m keeping my ties, in case of a court date, funeral or a wedding. (Unless the wedding is very lax, I won’t wear my Godzilla slippies there)

Old stereo… I’ll probably toss, but will keep a few of the albums. (real albums… even if I don’t have a turntable… the nostalgia is great.)

Free-flow thought…re:walkies to the mall of the dead

Who has left this golden day,
I don’t know, but I have found it…

Beautiful morning, remember me?
Who sat here once in days of spring…not all too long ago
Flowers were everywhere here… even in the doorway…
These ruins… the Parthenons of Pompano
weeds and cans and broken bricks… and I am a child again,
across the blowing fields
On this spot three years ago in pouring rain I leapt a puddle to help a crying baby… shortly his mother retrieved him and thanked me.
strange soft day… I think now of the time when I’ll be somewhere else, and the land will still be here.

I look up and see trails in the sky , a silver plane so silent… the airships will remain here, too. I’ll miss the blimps.

Leaves blow.

Old telephone pole covered in staples…there must be thousands.
Only on a day like today do I remember to notice such obscure treats.

Walking, wandering like a breath of air… floating like a cloud.
So many old places here.

Heavens have rolled by
many seasons
oceans of pavement
long gray lines of time…
since I last really looked at this spot.

they were supposed to tear down the mall years ago
no one knows why they never did.
look at the windows
like eyes frozen half closed, in the moment before sleep.

look at the drain pipe hanging half off

look at me standing here looking at it and talking to myself.
remember blowing soap bubbles in ’96… waiting for a ride.
cross-legged and smiling

in the parking lot
unspoken words
like cheap toys
fall from my lips

footprints echo from the past,
skies stare out from my shielded eyes
daytime wear on the heels of my shoes

I am here now,
wandering in and out of myself

my mind makes invisible phone calls to parties who don’t need to answer.
it’s enough that I reach to them.

life seems to be in slow motion
and the laughter sounds like angels

shadows move before I can look at them
and reaching out of the dark
behind my back
barely touching…
ghosts of moments gone and done.

memories
barely just alive
like tingled vertebrae
scamper through the rattled junk

I may not return to this place again
even if I do… it won’t seem the same.

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words of the day, guest starring Tor Johnson!

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Tor Johnson dulcet (DUHL-sit), adjective:
1. Pleasing to the ear; melodious; harmonious.
2. Generally pleasing, soothing, or agreeable.
3. (Archaic) Sweet to the taste.

Dulcet comes from Old French doucet, diminutive of dous, “sweet,” from Latin dulcis, “sweet.”

brown study (broun STUD-ee) noun

A state of deep absorption in thought.

[Apparently from brown in the sense of gloomy.]

Tor, is indeed a brown study in the bestial, mindless beastly side of man. Raaaahhhr!

Meanwhile my most beloved is purely dulcet in all her ways. 🙂

in the news of the stupid –
Morons Sue bin Laden
=================================
Two South Florida men filed a $1.1 trillion federal lawsuit against Osama bin Laden on Monday, alleging that as U.S. citizens the terrorist leader has threatened them with personal injury. According to the suit, the plaintiffs had to build and refortify their bomb shelters because of bin Laden’s threats. They say the threats also inflicted personal injuries on them, including high blood pressure and stomach disorders.

“Basically, he’s threatened myself and every American in this country,” Pitchford said. ”It’s against the law to threaten anybody in Florida. Based on that, he’s intentionally inflicted emotional distress.”

*rahhhhhr* Tor smash stupid sue-happy morons for slowing down the court system…. *rahhhhr*

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found on ‘s journal.

Due to the extreme drought in Florida, the following caution was issued:

The Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters, fishers, and golfers to take extra precautions and keep alert for alligators while in Bay, Seminole, Osceola, Polk, Brevard and Orange Counties.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert but not startle the alligators unexpectedly.

They also advise the carrying of pepper spray in case of an encounter with an alligator.

It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity.
People should recognize the difference between small young alligator and large adult alligator droppings.

Young alligator droppings are smaller and contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers.
Adult alligators droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

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severe weather alert from the national weather service

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flood watch for south florida continues through tonight…
widespread rain…some locally heavy…there is a potential for more rainfall over the area today. tropical depression number 8 continues to drift very slowly west over the gulf of mexico just west of south florida. this system is expected to continue this slow movement today…therefore remaining very close to the area. combined with ample deep atmospheric moisture, low level convergence due to the circulation around this system, and daytime heating…will lead to widespread but locally heavy rainfall over south florida again today. all areas of south florida will get rain with an average of 1 to 2 inches of rain possible in some areas. locally higher rainfall amounts are possible…as any thunderstorms may drop heavy amounts of rain in a short period of time. the greatest rainfall amounts are expected over the east coast and eastern interior sections with heavy downpours, street flooding will be possible as well as in poor drainage areas and low lying areas. if the water threatens properties in some of these areas…flood warnings might then become necessary. therefore…a flood watch continues in effect for all of south florida through tonight. a flood watch means that the conditions are favorable for very heavy rain that can lead to the flooding of low lying and flood prone areas. this could lead to property damage and residents should take precautions to protect their property. motorists should avoid driving across flooded roadways to avoid damage to their vehicles. never drive across flowing water of an unknown depth. persons in south florida should be alert to rapidly rising water or flooding and be ready for quick action. move to a higher location should conditions become threatening.

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At the Thai restaurant I order my dish at “level 3” spiciness (out of 4 possible levels). I’ve grown so accustomed to the watered-down tingling that passes for spicy in most of the Thai places around here that generally I just go for the spiciest food they have, and I’m only hedging my bets at this place on the off chance that they serve “real” Thai, in which case the maximum spiciness might be a bit much.

I obviously don’t have the first clue what “real” Thai food is. Level 3 is like eating a live Portuguese man-o-war. Normally, I can be munching on level 4 like it was frikkin’ toast.

Thank goodness for side dishes! spring rolls… yumma-lumma

red curry tofu….

HOTHOTHOTHOT

level 2 next time. *fans mouth*

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holy moley!

disabled aircraft landed down the street, using the road as a makeshift runway!

keen!

more to follow –

here’s what’s up so far –

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-planecrash807.story?coll=sfla%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

for pictures – http://www.wsvn.com/news/local/box4/

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wplg/20010807/lo/878294_1.html

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thunder and lightningThis thunderstorm is about 10-20 miles away. Lightning can be seen up to 75 miles away at night when the intervening sky is clear and dark. Thunder, however, may be heard only a few miles away in a noisy location, 10 miles away in the open, and up to 15 miles away in quiet locations.

Cloudcover has mostly passed, but we were treated to a lovely set of lightning flashes, heavy rains and parking lots reduced to wading pools due to poor drainage. Still a flood watch until 6pm, and a severe weather warnig until 8.

Some of the things I’m digging about the rain is the cooler temperatures… I may be able to open my windows when I get home tonight…. but the humidity makes it feel much warmer than it might otherwise.

On another tack, either this code red thing is worse than I’d thought or all the mailing lists I’m on are taking a little nap today. Where I usually get about 30-50 pieces of mail a day, I think that perhaps only 10 got through… and the majority of those are LJ replies and personal mail… that’s why there’s no evil news today, none of the spiders have crawled back home to roost. Perhaps that explains all the ip pinging I’ve been getting lately too. Kids, get a firewall, especially if you’re on dsl or cable. I can’t say it enough.

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http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USFL0412?par=internal&site=magnet&promo=english&code=433775

Florida, land of sunshine?

Not during the rainy season. Not that I mind. Not a bit… I only would prefer to skip work again today, and curl up with the kitty, my sweetie, a good book, and some bedclothes.

looks like rain!

Heavy Rain http://image.weather.com/web/common/wxicons/52/12.gif
73 °F Feels Like: N/A

UV Index: 1 Minimal
Wind: From the Northwest at 12 mph
Dew Point: 73 °F
Humidity: 100 %
Visibility: 1.25 miles
Barometer: 30.08 inches and steady

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Here’s a little about the town I live in, rather than just Fort Lauderdale – http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0839631.html

Pompano Beach , city (1990 pop. 72,411), Broward co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast and the Intracoastal Waterway; inc. 1908. It is a resort city with ocean beaches, excellent fishing, and a harness-racing track. More than 60% of the city’s economy is based on tourism. Manufactures include precision and electronic equipment and various technological supplies. The raising of citrus fruit and winter vegetables has long been important. Pompano Beach has many miles of small canals that are lined with homes. A U.S. coast guard station is there. Of interest are a lighthouse, built in 1906, and a Native American mound park.