drive, turkey, buffet, list

I left work at 4:00 last Tuesday and while it usually takes me 2 hours and 40 minutes to get to my parents house, it took me 4 hours because of a lane being closed for no reason. Not a good way to start a trip. The next day - Wednesday - my dad drove us to Illinois. That trip took 8 hours. My parents also took their dog - who ended up being very stinky much of the trip. Too much pork, I suspect.

We visited with my grandmother much of the extended weekend and had Thanksgiving at the my aunt and uncle's house. I ended up staying there a few nights since there wasn't room at grandma's house. Hung out with my sister and brother in law and several of my cousins. One of my cousins recently had a baby and determined that my sister and I now had the title of FCOR ("F-CORe" first cousin, once removed).

Turkey dinner was pretty good and for a change of pace, one evening we went out to Ming's Chinese Buffet. I ate way too much and I think a few of my relatives were impressed.

My parents headed back on Saturday - I waited and went back on Sunday with my sister and brother-in-law. 6.5 hours there, then chili at my parents house before I got in my car to head back to akron. 3 hours there since I took a longer route to avoid traffic.

Total time in a car = 21.5 hours. I really dreaded getting into my car this morning to drive to work.

So, I'm back to work. Looking forward to my swim today and thinking about my Christmas list while I try to get caught up.

That's about it for now. I'll write later about some more details.

thanksgiving, chipotle, cable

My room-mate is hosting thanksgiving for his family at the apartment this week and is stressing about in a major way. I've offered some suggestions - but I'm going to be out of town and he's pretty much on his own. Not that no one has offered to help - that's actually part of the problem since the kitchen is not that big. I wish him good luck - and I hope the place is still standing when I get back.

Due to the holiday schedule, my co-worker and I deviated from our regular Thursday schedule and went for Chipotle Burritos today. They were excellent, but not as massive as we've come to expect. I also skipped the swim today and I'll do that tomorrow instead.

On Saturday, I unhooked the cable box and headed down the road to the local cable tv office - with the intention of swapping out the box for an HD one. Except that they were closed. No weekend hours at all. In fact, they are only open from 9 Am to 4:30 Pm Monday through Friday. And closed everyday from 1-2 PM. Must be nice. Given the rest of... well, the rest of the country's work scheudule, this seems pretty well designed to avoid anything that would work for anyone else. Except me. I'm getting out of here a few minutes early and I'll be over there by 4:15 at the latest. Wish me luck.

That's it for now...

painting, bond

I did a little painting recently, using the style of Mark Rothko for a color block piece.   I titled mine though.   You can see it here.

Went and saw quantum of solace this weekend.   Good film, much like Casino Royale.   Not much like the classic Bond films.   No gadgets, little humor.  The fights were amazing, the car chases fierce, the acting was awesome  and it was strangely... sad.   Too many explosions for a love story or anything sappy like that, but a real picture of a man who was driven by so many differnt forces.  

later...

swim, head update x2

I swam a mile today - though I was strangely disconnected from it. I always have a few things going on in my head when I swim because it doesn't take much brain power to count laps - but I was just a little... off today.

It carried over into my afternoon - and I suspect that listening to Sia Fuller's "Soon we'll be found" hasn't helped much. Maybe I need some more Bob the Builder to get me out of my funk - though yesterday I had that song lodged in my head for much of the evening.

Also, forgot to mention something about the haircut yesterday. The near "head-shaving" experience had the stylist rubbing her hands over my head to make sure she didn't miss any of the stray hairs. Which is good - that attention to detail is important. And then... then... well, my hair - despite the swimming and chlorine, is very soft. And she was almost... caressing my head. It was very subtle, but just slightly past the professional contact. Granted, the soft hair does make my head feel "plush" so I can understand the tactile attraction. But it was a little uncomfortable for me in a way.

Maybe I was reading too much into it, but it was still a little odd.

later...

snow, head, movie

I called the snow line this morning and was, as I expected, disappointed. "The university is open, all classes activities and special events are being conducted as scheduled." Yeah, I've called it enough over the years to have the standard message memorized.

The roads were pretty clear, which was fortunate as some idiot pulled out in front of me as I was trying to get on the highway. His lane wasn't going fast enough for him - which would have been an indication that a) the roads were bad or b) there was an accident up ahead. And those are both good reasons not to drive like an idiot. I slammed on my brakes and laid on my horn - and was ignored.

I can't really blame the guy for ignoring my horn. I would like a horn that says - or at least implies - "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY". Instead, it's more of a little toot that says "Hi, ummm... sorry to bother you, but would you mind moving a bit? Thanks! You're the best!"

I made it to work without further incident.

Yesterday, I stopped off at the post office to drop a package in the mail and get some stamps. I had a difficult time just getting into the parking lot since someone in an SUV was waiting on someone in line in the building and was parked blocking the only lane though the lot. I hit my "I'm terribly sorry to bother you" horn and finally got them to move. Once inside, there was the usual and standard people trying to make things more complicated - including a women who insisted on paying with her credit card, but refused to sign the back - despite the posted signs to that effect. I got through that and went on to get my hair cut.

There was no waiting at the Great Clips and I was seated right away. The stylist noted from my records that I usually get a buzz down to level 1 of the clippers. I said this time I wanted a zero - i.e. stubble.

A slight argument ensued. I say slight because we were both polite about things, but it was still an argument because I made a reasonable request and she was disinclined to follow through. I explained that I'd shaved my head in the past but it was too much trouble to maintain - but with stocking cap weather, a very short cut was easier to handle. This was my follow up to "don't you like hair?" from her.

We finally negotiated down to a 1/2 setting. But I was still a little cranky about it. I mean, seriously, I'm 35 years old. Almost 36. If I go in to get my hair cut, and I'm not drunk or high, I should be able to request any hair cut I want without a note from my mom. Although, that would be funny. Ha! I'll have to have that ready to go for next time.

Went home, hit the elliptical for a bit, played some games on the computer, and then watched Hellboy II: The Golden Army while I did a little painting. Good flick, I enjoyed it. Great special effects and well written story. A little cheesy at times, but still good.

That's it for now...

vending, bob

There were architects at the vending machine area a few minutes ago. And there are rumors abounding about a possible removal of a vending machine to make way for something else. Let this be fair warning...

Geeks Need SNACKS.


In other news... I helped fix a calendar event for when Bob the Builder Live comes to campus. Did a little research on the guy as well - I like his ideas. "Can we fix it?" "Yes we can!"

Catchy theme music.

Feeling a lot more productive with this playing in my headphones - back to work... later...

swim, dream

I was busy through yesterday with meetings, so I had to get my swim in after work. The pool was crowded, some kind of high school swim practice, and there were only three lanes open for lap swimming - one of which was going to be closed not long after I got there for water aerobics. Another lane was being used by a guy and his kids. Fortunately, a lane opened up just as I got there and I hit the water and tried not to keep up with the high school swimmers. Man, those kids are fast. And when they really got going, I got tossed around a bit by their wake.

I had a dream last night/this morning that I had bought a house and moved into it. Along with the stresses of moving and setting up a house, I also had to get a plan to rebuild the garage since it was about to fall down. Finally, a neighbor came over and was suddenly possessed by a unstoppable demonic force. On more familiar ground, I was able to slow the attacks with a massive set of steak knives, but knew that it was only a matter of time before it got me and tore me to pieces.

I woke up then, very disconcerted. I even took a wrong turn going to work. I've mentioned before that I wonder about dreaming of some place far away - and then having trouble making it all the way back to the waking world. Kinda feels like that this morning.

Anyway... back to work...

72

I'm working later this evening to conduct a training session - so, I decided to take a long lunch to balance it out. With the extra time - I decided to spend it in the pool.

1 set of 13 laps, 2 sets of 14 laps, 1 set of 13 laps, 2 sets of 9 laps = 72 laps = 2 miles.

Felt a little tired, but still pretty good. I was really hungry after the swim too - guess the oatmeal wasn't quite enough.

This afternoon I'm feeling a little sleepy, but I'll get through it.

later...

minor injury #3

While I was toweling myself off after my shower (after my swim) I noticed blood on my towel. Since it was fresh and I was alone in the locker room, I quickly concluded that it had to have come from me. I checked my minor injuries from yesterday and they were fine - still covered in band-aids. I check my arms and my torso and felt around on my back - nothing. It was when I was putting my underwear on that I realized that I had a gash on my left knee and blood was running down my leg.

Which is really odd since I don't remember injuring myself. It must have happened when I was getting out of the pool. It didn't hurt - at all - but it was bleeding pretty good.

And I'm wearing new pants today. Crap.

So, I got some paper towels and tried direct pressure. No luck / I didn't wait long enough. I improvised a bandaged with a long piece of paper towel , twisted and tied around my knee.

It worked great while I finished getting dressed - and then I felt it slide down to my ankle when I stepped outside. I reached down, tucked the bandage into my sock since it was too sturdy to tear, and went on my way.

When I got back to the office I cut the loose bandage off from around my ankle, and then doctored myself up with my stash of Hello Kitty bandages. Two for the knee, one for my thumb and the other for the side of my hand.

Why is this significant? Well, I don't injure myself very often. I'm just naturally careful. All three happened because I was in a hurry, so I guess I paid for my impatience.

Oh, and the Hello Kitty band-aids? Well, they make me feel better for some reason. I can't really explain it.

later...

Adventures in HD

My room-mate and I have been talking for a while now about splitting the cost of an HD TV. After extensive - and I mean extensive - research for both of us, we finally decided on a 42 inch, 1080, Panasonic Viera Plasma tv. The price shopping was yet another research challenge, but it finally looked like Sears had the best deal.

So, we headed to Sears in my room-mate's car, found the right department, got ignored by some sales people, found the TV anyway, and got someone's attention to ring up the sale. After a check on my own finances earlier in the day, it was decided that I would pay for it and he would pay me his half later. Debit card in hand, I prepared to make the purchase.

And things got complicated. Low and behold - my room-mate has a Sears card! And with that we can get 10% off or 6 months same as cash!

okaaay.

Except it wasn't that easy. My room-mate hadn't used his sears card in a while and it was no longer valid. But no problem - he can get a new one! So, paperwork ensues and is signed. Meanwhile, I'm starting to wander around a bit, slightly bored now.

I overhear the salesman say something about 10 (mostly unintelligible) or 6 months same as (also mostly unintelligible). My room-mate choose the 6 months option.

Receipt in hand, we head back out to the car and to the loading dock. I take the receipt in, scan it at the kiosk, and by the time my room-mate has the car in position, they are bringing out the tv in a box.

But it won't fit. The tv is not supposed to be laid down, so the trunk is out. And the backseat - while wide enough - isn't tall enough. Thinking quickly, I suggest we get the van from my room-mate's work. Which is right nearby. TV comes out of the car and back into the loading area and we head over to his work. Except, when we get there, the van is gone and in use.

Back to Sears, still in the car - thinking we might have to unbox it in the parking lot to get it back to the apartment. With some careful seat arrangement and the proper angle, we get the tv in the car - still in the box. It's no longer a comfortable ride - but it gets the job done.

Back to the apartment and unload. We have issues with getting it out of the box and getting it onto the (finally) correctly assembled stand. The current living room TV goes to the video game room. This is when I incur minor injury #1 to my hand on the tv/door frame intersection.

(swearing interlude)

Game room TV in place, new HD is put in place. I read the instructions while my room-mate used the remote and you can imagine how well that went. We finally got a picture going and I was pretty much sick of all things HD as this point. Especially since I incurred minor injury #2 on the packaging for the HDMI cable - which we ended up not using yet since neither of us could bear the thought of facing all the cables behind the TV.

I decided instead to install the shower caddy that had also been purchased that evening. The removabl of the old, rusted caddy released a small flood of gray/black water. I'm thinking it was just from the end cap deteriorating, but it might have been mold or something. The new caddy is complicated enough that I considering reading the installation directions, but managed anyway.

There had also been a stop at Old Navy since I wanted to get some pants (soloman grundy want pants too!) and my room-mate had a coupon. My pants and shirt fit fine and I'm wearing them now. My room-mate got the wrong size on the pants he bought and managed to cut the shirt he got when trying to remove the tags.

A mixture of success and failure yesterday. And a very long day. Very long.

lap, text, irony

I hit the pool again today and did 32 laps. One of my co-workers was in the pool as well and though we weren't "racing" - I still managed to lap him at least once and maybe twice. He held his own when doing the freestyle, but when he switched to breast stroke and side stroke, well, he didn't stand a chance. Not that we were racing, as I said, but if we were...

Anyway, I stopped off at the student center for lunch as was relived that there was no line at the sandwich place. I went right to the front of the line - if there had been a line, which there wasn't - and ordered my 1/4 combo with lettuce only. Transaction complete, I went to wait for and pick up my sandwich. From where I was standing I could see the "cook" - though I use the term loosely.

He was texting. Texting! He should have been paying more attention to the hamburger bun toaster, because half the bun was burned. Burned, I tell you! Much like my emotional state when I discovered this atrocity.

I ate the burger anyway when I got back to my desk, but had to discard half the bun resulting in some kind of weird-ass taco shaped burger. It was odd, but functional.

Finally, I noted - as I frequently do - the strange places I see people smoking on campus. Maybe not strange, but somewhat ironic. On the way back from the pool I noted people smoking outside the natatorium and the physical education building. Where, presumably, the people that frequent these places would be trying to get more healthy. I also saw someone smoking outside the college of nursing - where people could see inside someone's lungs to witness the effects. Weird and dumb.

that's it for now... later...

catnip update, bowl

Update - no side effects to report from the Tension Tamer (plus catnip!) tea. A little disappointing - maybe it needed to be radioactive before it would "do" anything to me.

Also, today marks the successful use of the flexible bowls I got from ThinkGeek. I used the big one for my oatmeal this morning and then later (after washing it out) for my tea.

That is all... you may resume your day.

hanged, math, pineapple, catnip

I've got a stuffed Flash figure in the back of my car - belted in and just along for the ride. My car is red, the Flash is red - the Flash is fast, my car is... an appropriate speed based on local traffic laws and weather conditions. Anyway, he's usually in charge of the backseat unless a human being gets in there. A couple of weeks ago, I was driving a couple of co-workers to Chipotle and one of them flipped the Flash over and hung him from the seat pull-down strap by his ankle.

I left the Flash that way because I was sure I'd seen that somewhere before - I recently figured it out. It's the same pose as the Hanged Man (Traitor) in the tarot cards. Freaky.

I swam today - and mixed it up a bit by making the math more complicated than it needed to be.
A set of 10, 2 sets of 2, a set of 10, a set of 6, 2 sets of 3 and a set of 4. So, 40 laps in all. Hey, what else am I going to do? I also did some planning on next year's costume. I can see it in my head, but it's going to require learning some new skills.

Finally, I was enjoying some mixed fruit last night and started to choke on a piece of pineapple. Part of the chunk flew out of my mouth onto the floor and the rest slammed into my soft pallet and tried to go up by nose from the inside. It's a little funny now, but it was pretty intense when it happened.

Finally - part 2. One of my co-workers just gave me some tea to try - called Tension Tamer. Not that I'm really all that tense right now - but one of the ingredients is catnip. So, of course, I have to give it a whirl. I'll report on the effects later.

that's it for now...

psychic, webcam, facebook, directions, toilet

My room-mate called East of Chicago for pizza this evening & got the total and the estimated time it would be ready. I waited until the appropriate time, then got in my car to go pick it up. There were no other cars in the lot and I could see in the window of the store. The clerk saw me as well and was setting two pizza boxes on the counter. I got a couple sodas from the cooler and approached the counter - and then was surprise when he gave the last name and when I nodded - gave the total, including the sodas that I had not yet even set down. I paid the obviously psychic pizza maker and went on my way.

Now, my arrival was exactly on the target time-wise; but they must have been really slow to have been waiting for me like that.

In other news... my webcam is apparently not Vista compatible. I even tried to find the drivers online - Vista mocked my attempts with some harsh error messages. Wankers. So, I guess I need to go out and get a new, Vista compatible, webcam tomorrow.

The reason I need a webcam? I wanted to take my own picture for Facebook. Yes, you read that right, I'm finally going to start maintaining my facebook page. Now I'll have the guilt of not maintaining two web sites. Yea. Still, a lot of my friends are on there and it might be a good way to get back in touch. I'm still not getting a cell phone and there's no way in hell that I'm going to start twittering.

In still more news... I gave directions to someone today. Now, those that know me know that this is not a good thing. I'm terrible with directions - I mean, really really bad. I'm okay if I've got a map, but otherwise, I can't really be trusted to find my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. In this case, I was walking to my car in the target parking lot and got stopped by a guy in a truck. The truck was about 600 years old - and I think the guy was older by a factor of two. Both were on their last legs, but the guy wanted to know where the flea market was.

I didn't have a clue and told him so -but guessed if there was one in the area, it would be at the Tadmor Shrine. So, I gave him simple directions there. No idea if it was really there, but frankly that kind of lack of planning deserves a bit of being lost.

I was at target to buy a new toilet seat - which I then installed this afternoon. Never done that before, but it was really easy. I kept thinking I must have been missing a step - but since it works, I must have been on the right track.

Well, guess it's time to head on over to facebook and see what I can do there.

later...

swim, paper

I got in 30 laps today - I think. I had a lot of difficulty keeping count for some reason.
So, call it 30 +/- 1.5

It's really warm in the building again today - I'm in short-sleeves and getting sleepy from the heat. The temp gauge in my co-workers cubicle reads in at 84.2 degrees. Annoying.

I picked up a copy of the student paper today - it has several stories on the home page about the election as I expected, but at the bottom of the front page it has an advertisement. The ad has an attractive young woman surrounded by rose petals and it's for a local plastic surgery center. It lists their website, their services, and a tag-line of "It's time to love yourself a little more,"

How screwed up is that? As if college girls don't have enough to deal with - now they have an ad on the front page of the school newspaper implying that they could love themselves more (and presumably other people would love them more too) - if only they got a little plastic surgery.

(sigh)

Well, at least the day is almost over. It's been a really long week and I'm tired. It's also entirely possible that the highlight of my weekend might be buying a new shower curtain - and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

later...

complicated

Pretty much my entire day - with the blissful exception of Chipotle - has been a steady-stream of people trying to make things more complicated than they need to be.

Is the world not as terrible as they think it needs to be?

Are their jobs not challenging enough?

I mean, seriously, people - chill out and work towards solutions. I'm still fighting the good fight and trying to be helpful and pleasant, but I'm running out of patience.

It doesn't help that the heat is on full blast over here. I think it's around 84 degrees in the building now. Some weird thing where they set the building temp based on time of year instead of actual outside temp.

A building full of over-heated and cranky geeks. It's a good thing we've sworn to use our powers for good.

Enough complaining for now.

later...

vote

I feel a little bad for people that had to stand in really long lines to vote - my experience was really easy today.

I left work at 3:30 and I was at the polling place in about 15 minutes. There were no problems with parking and there were signs directing people to the entrance.

I was in line for maybe a couple of minutes before I was able to get checked in - and the check-in took maybe two minutes.

I had my checklist so the voting process was easy. I tore off the stubs for the ballot and only waited a minute before I was able to feed them into the machine. I got my sticker and headed out - I was home by 4:00

There was a bit of drama in line behind me - one guy couldn't vote because the records said that an absentee ballot had been sent to his address. He claimed he had never requested one - but they had no way of knowing if he had sent it in or not. So, he had to cast a provisional ballot.

Otherwise, pretty uneventful.

later...

november, donation, sleep

It's November. The leaves are still falling and Halloween is done for another year. I had a really great time with my costume on campus and I think the people I visited had fun too. I got a few screams and lots of laughter - and a surprising dose of awe that I'd made the mask myself. That was pretty cool. I sometimes wonder if I should keep doing this - but I got such great feedback this year that I'm encouraged to keep going.

Election day is tomorrow and I'm planning on leaving work a little early to get to the voting place. I've got my notes and my map and a good book picked out - should be fine. I'm not expecting any problems, but woe be it to anyone who challenges my right to vote.

I heard a news story about a woman who refused to give out candy to children - or presumably their parents - who didn't support McCain. What kind of a wanker would bring their political views into Halloween treats with kids? How fair is that? I would have lied to her about my political affiliation to get extra candy - then egged and TPd her house just for spite.

I went to give blood today and the drive was doing some kind of time survey on a little card that you carried from station to station where they noted the time. So, I thought I'd play along to see how it was going. Here's what I had - and I actually had to correct one guy (more on him later) since he filled in the wrong boxes at his station.

Arrive at blood drive location: 4:03 PM (my appointment was for 4:30 - not that it matters)
Enter the history area: 4:35 PM (already we've got a problem)
Leave the history area: 4:56 PM (I had a trainee)
On the table: 5:04 PM
Start the prep work: 5:16 PM (the other table had a problem and no one came to help the staff person)
Needle in: 5:26 PM
Off the table: 5:36 PM

At first glance, it would seems like today was not a good day for them to be checking the time it takes to process a donation. With a little thought, however, maybe it was a good day. These times are an indication that they were understaffed - though I actually thought they had enough people, they just weren't being utilized well. Maybe next time they'll have more than enough people to make up for the times and things will go quicker.

So, let's talk about the trainee. It's fortunate that I'm an old hat with blood donations - he would have scared me off otherwise. He had to repeat the steps a few times, had trouble with the finger stick, got some of the info wrong, had trouble with the blood pressure/pulse and just generally made me nervous with his manner. I know a lot of that comes from practice, but a little more 'non-donor' practice would have suited me fine. I got through it, but it could have gone smoother. How to I keep ending up with the trainees? Seems like the law of averages would help me out sooner or later. Or maybe it's for the best since I'm not going to get scared off and they can practice on me for the new donors.

In other news... I swam a mile today and that - along with my blood donation - should help me sleep well tonight. My arm was still bleeding with I took off the bandage - which is a little worrisome. So, I put it back on and I'll keep it covered for the rest of the night.

I guess that's it for now... already getting sleepy.

(yawn) later....

halloween costume 2008

On Friday, I did my annual walk-around on campus and had a blast. This year:

Cthulhu

I had a blast with this. Scared some people, got some laughs, visited some friends. And won first prize at a costume contest!

I'm still recovering... and already starting to think about next year.

later...

TV, newspaper

The Obama infomercial was on last night - I didn't watch it though I've heard it was well done. Still, who was it directed at? The undecided voters? I have a difficult time understanding why someone - even after the inundation of the media - would still not have made up their mind. One argument I heard was that they wanted to have all the information before voting. Well, I have news for you. It's all lies. Or policital speak that sounds like truth depending on who you are. And as far as not really liking either of them - another argument I heard - well, it's not about liking them, it's about picking the one least likely to make things worse. I mean, seriously, make up your mind and go vote.

A few months ago - I guess it would have been sometime in the spring - I built a framework of wood and plexiglass and hung it over the urinal in the men's room so we could put the twice a week student paper there to read. You know, while we were "otherwise" occupied and standing there.

I made it my job to keep this up to date until the summer when the paper wasn't published. In the fall, I started up restocking it with new issues - but I noticed that the "old" paper wouldn't be there when I went to add the new one. It would just be an empty frame. It got so bad that the paper would be gone within a few hours. I decided that someone was either stealing it - which made no sense since the paper is free and easy to get - or they really didn't like the paper and was throwing it away.

I finally got tired of the futility of keeping it stocked and took the framework down a couple of days ago. The double-sided foam tape didn't come down well and each time I use that urinal, I take a moment and scrape a little more off.

Kinda disappointing. I dunno who was removing the papers - and I haven't asked since I didn't ask permission to put it up in the first place.

Work has been busy and frustrating today. Looking forward to tomorrow to make my annual rounds.

later...

snow, game, garage

It's snowing today here in Akron. Not a lot, just a little in the air. I was still okay in my lightweight jacket, but I may have to hang that up soon and switch to my winter coat. There have been a few people I've talked to that have been somewhat astonished at the snow - which has me thinking, "remembers last year? when it snowed? It's just like that." And seriously, it's Ohio. If we had a 90 degree temperatures in December in or snow in August, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

With my video game system back up and running, I've been going back through my games and replaying a few. Dawn of Mana didn't last long before I put it in the "to be sold" pile, but Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is pretty good. I got stuck last time with a boss battle and lost my patience, but I'm giving it another go from the beginning and enjoying the acrobatics of the title character.

The costumes are essentially done - for both myself and my room-mate. Which means I can reclaim my half of the garage that had been designated as the spray paint area. Which is good since I despise scraping off my car in the winter. I mean, seriously despise. Can't stand it. Most hated part of winter. You see where I'm going with this. I'd rather drive in a freaking blizzard or shovel snow all day than scrape off my car in the morning.

Well, looks like I've got a couple disasters to deal with here at work - better get back to them.

later...

mood, page, pizza

I'm in a better mood today. No headache - and it's pretty quiet in the office. Looking forward to a long lunch (the boss is out of town).

I updated my fortune cookie webpage today - I was 6 fortunes behind. I think I need to do something different with this page - it has the potential to get very long and unwieldy.

Went for pizza last night at CiCi's. The food was pretty good - but the place was almost dead. We were the last two customers in there and wondered if they would still announce "Cheese Pizza on the Buffet!" if there were no customers at all. (if a tree falls in the woods...?) It also appears that they don't always say good-bye to customers with a hearty "CiCi you later!" though all the employees said normal goodbyes when we left.

Not much going on here... later...

video game, ads, headache, water bottle

Finally got my video game system back up and running. Switched out the TV for my old one - I had been using one that my room-mate got from his dad's place. I was looking for a new stereo that would do the job of my old one - but they were either too expensive or didn't have the right connectors. So, ended up using an old audio receiver that my room-mate had. It all works, but it's not ideal. The DVD player doubles as the CD player. The cable TV sound can't play through the stereo speakers - it has to come out of the TV. But, I'm playing video games again and that's the important bit. Besides, who wants to watch TV anymore?

The political ads are getting worse. I saw one the other day that had a single mom begging us to vote Issue 6 - because she was going to lose her current job and her only hope was getting one of the 10,000 new jobs at the casino? Seriously? That's your only hope? A casino job? Right...

The news clips on the internet are worse. I saw one where a man was losing his job and was going to vote for Obama because he had a better economic policy. His wife was asked who she was voting for and she said "I'm voting for the one with the most faith in the Lord, just as everyone should,"
When asked what if that meant her husband would lose his job, she replied, "the Lord will provide for us," She also expressed astonishment that Obama's mother was an atheist - assuming that he should have been disqualified on that alone. I try to keep an open mind about religions and respect people's beliefs - but isn't there something about God helping those who help themselves? Or a separation of chuch and state in the constitution? There was more to the clip, but I couldn't watch it.

Worse still is the story of the girl with the McCain campaign who made up a story about being attacked by a scary black guy that was supporting Obama and carved a letter B in her cheek when he saw her McCain sticker on her car. Totally made up. She faked the whole thing and cut her own cheek (the B was backward even).

Finally, I saw a clip of a family at a McCain rally where they were all chanting Nobama over and over. Then the little girl pretended to be a monkey.

(crickets chirping)

Yes. It was exactly that bad. This election is really bringing out the worst in people - or maybe that has always been there and the election is just making it visible.

My neighbors put up another sign in their yard - "Another democrat for McCain". I have, thus far, resisted taking it down. Mainly because I would need to take down all the signs in my neighborhood to throw off suspicion. And because people are entitled to their own opinion - even if it's wrong.

In other news... I'm getting a headache this morning. Might be what's making me cranky. Can't tell yet if it's a migraine. If it does go that way, I'm so out of here. It's already been a Monday all morning.

Finally, I got a water bottle this weekend. Partly because the water bottle I get from Giant Eagle have been reported to have higher levels than usual of some toxins. It also makes sense from an environmental standpoint. I got the BPA free bottle at Dick's Sporting goods and while it looks cool, the only way to drink the water out of the spill-proof bottle is to bite down on the silicon end and suck the water via the straw in the bottle. It's kind of odd. But it works and I was able to drink 24 oz this morning - which means I need to hit the bathroom now.

later...

candidates and issues, costume, pumpkin

I just finished going through all the issues on the ballot for this year's election - as well as all the candidates. I wasn't as thoroughly prepared last time around and had to fall back on:
1) unseat the incumbent
2) go with the democrat
3) pick the woman (since I know how guys think and frankly, we really shouldn't be given any more power)

But that method didn't always work - so, I spent about an hour on the internet going through everything and taking notes. I'm ready to go this time around and should be in and out of the voting booth in record time.

I bought some more spray paint tonight for my room-mate's costume. I think I've put more work into this than he has - but I've got more experience and apparently more time. A few people at work are trying to get me to tell what my costume is - but I'm not breaking. They'll just have to wait.

Finally, got some photos of this year's jack-o-lanterns. Mine is the lower one - it's a smiley emoticon. Because I'm a geek.

30/33, pumpkin, object

I didn't have a lot of time yesterday for my swim, so I hauled ass in the pool. 30 laps, in 33 minutes. I don't know if that's a new record for me since I usually don't pay attention to the time, but it felt pretty fast.

Carved some pumpkins last night. Well, I mostly scooped out the guts and my room-mate did more of the carving. He did a pretty cool vampire face on his - on mine I did a smiley emoticon. It was clever, but not my idea. We tried to get some photos, but couldn't turn off the flash on his camera - time to read the manual, I guess.

And when I went outside around 10:00 to put something in my car, I saw... something.

There was a bright light in the sky - several times larger than a star. There was no shape to it, just a very bright light and a faint contrail behind it. It moved across the sky in a straight, horizontal line. Very very fast and totally silent. It flew over my head and I had to turn around to see it. And then it was gone.

I tried to talk to my room-mate about it - he's pretty much Mulder Jr. on the subject of UFO's - but he was strangely dismissive. Here I was, a Scully who's trying to believe and he writes it off as a shooting star. Then we got into a minor argument about sonic booms and I dropped the issue. Whatever it was, it was pretty weird.

later...

side effects, costume, frost

I was watching a bit of TV recently - which I've been trying to avoid until the election is over and the ads are stopped - and while I usually tune out the increasingly strident commercials in general, my attention was drawn to a new migraine medicine. It promised to offer relief - and then went on to list the dozens of potentially serious side effects. The side effects sounded terrible - and what about the poor people who helped test this stuff? I think I'd rather have a migraine.

My room-mate went in for allergy tests - the doctors thought there might be an allergy that is causing his occasional wheezing. According to the allergy clinic, he's allergic to a ton of different things. And the recommended "treatment" is 5 allergy shots every week for a year. And then five more every month for another year. He said the doctor has to be in the room when they give him the shot since it's essentially a dose of allergen and the the reaction could kill him. Potentially. The end results - after a couple years and thousands of dollars - will most likely be a lessening of the allergy. Maybe.

Sounds like the doctors and drug companies need to learn how to "help" and not hinder. Granted, hindering is more fun, but it's also kinda mean if you're serious about it.

I'm wrapping up my costume - just a couple more details to go. Also, I'm helping my room-mate with his costume again this year. It's more work, but I can make better use of the 'dry-times' by going back and forth. I'm really starting to get into the spirit of Halloween again - bought some candy last night and I think some pumpkin carving is in my near future.

Finally, I left my car out last night and this morning I had to scrape off the windshield. Winter is on the way...

That's it for now... later...

swim, work

I swam 45 laps (1.25 miles) today. And I seemed to have gotten some kind of second wind or something because I got faster as I went along. I'm pretty tired, but it was good.

The reason for this longer swim? I had a work issue. I generally try not to talk about work in this blog because that's one of the many delightful ways to get yourself fired. So, I'm going to be very vague about this.

I had a user that I worked with on a huge project. It's been well over a year since we started it and our team has put a lot of time and effort into getting the work down. The user seemed to be right there and right on track with us - but things got delayed in an approvals process. I sent a note today to check on the progress and found that they thought the tools we were using were in adequate for what they needed. And were essentially abandoning all the work we had done.

I was really fired up by this - at the massive waste of time. And I figured I could use this to set some new records in the pool. But as the bubbles rushed past my head and the laps added up - I realized that it was a little pointless to be upset by all this.

I didn't do anything wrong in the whole project, nor did I drop the ball or hinder the user at all. In every case, I worked to make things easier and faster and offered to help at every turn. That the user decided - at something beyond the last moment - to do something entirely different, well, nothing I can do about that. I stand by the work that the team did and I think the user is missing out on a great new site and a new tool to update things. I'm also a little curious as to how they will explain that to their bosses - 'cause this was very much not the plan.

I guess that's it for now - looking forward to getting out of here and relaxing at home - and maybe working on my costume a bit.

later...

shoes, swim

I try, frequently, to not 'want' things. A casual association with material possessions seems to suit me better - and it's got a Buddhist feel to it. That's not to say that I don't purchase things that I enjoy, I just try to not get wrapped up in the ownership of them.

There are two exceptions to this - and one of those was completed this weekend. Converse shoes. I've long wanted a pair of converse shoes - just because they look so damn cool. But, every time I looked at them and looked at the prices, the sheer impracticality of spending that much money on shoes put me off. This weekend, however, I found that Target had them for $30. And in brown - which I think, as a geek, I can wear with my kaki's to work.

The other item is a truck. I think at some point in my life I should own a truck. Not really sure why - and that's a main reason I haven't bought one yet. What, exactly, does one need a truck for? Hauling stuff. And I don't do that very often. Even the times where I've purchased some lumber or something - well, the back seats of my car fold down and I can put a lot in there.

So, the impracticality of it seems to have stopped me. Along with the price, the fact I don't know how to drive a stick shift, and lack of fuel economy, size vs. parking issues, and the lessor passenger space.

In other news... I did a mile in the pool last Friday. Not a big deal, I've done that before. I think I was a little faster than usual and I felt stronger in the water than I usually do. The interesting part was how I felt after the swim. I felt... rested. Like I'd just had a really comfortable nap. A sort of "slightly groggy happy". Not what I would have expected after a long swim, but a good feeling.

That's it for now... later...

happening, costume, true, game

I watched "the happening" last night. Mark Walberg... not a great actor. The movie was okay, but a little heavy handed at times. And the ending was a little predictable and a little flat. The effects were okay, so overall it was an okay movie.

Worked on my costume today - made some good progress. I'm helping my room-mate with his costume as well, we got some of the supplies today.

Reading a bit more of a book called "True Enough - Living in a Post Fact Society" - a study on media and information and how pretty much everything gets distorted. Very appropriate for an election time. I'm getting really tired of the ads on TV and the endless signs posted everywhere.

My video game set-up has taken a turn for the worse. The TV is no longer reliable and the picture keeps cutting out on the "more off" side of randomly on and off. And now it seems that the stereo has bought the farm as well. Not sure what my next step is here - I'm considering splurging and getting a new TV and a PS3 all at once. Not very likely for me though.

That's it for now - time for another coat of paint. later...

time, ticket

I had a dream the night before last that a time machine appeared in front of me. I opened it up and got a good look at the workings of it with my suddenly photographic memory - and then it vanished. With a little help, I managed to build one myself from memory, but I hadn't seen the wiring or how the software worked. Fortunately, a version of me from the future showed up in a working time machine and fixed the wiring for me - and loaded a copy of the software from his machine into mine before he headed back to the future. So, I now had a working time machine - built pretty much on paradox.

My room-mate is head to Columbus today after work so that he can get up early, make it to the court house on time, and fight the speeding ticket he got. He read the prepared statement to me last night and I suggested he cut about 95% of it. I think he was a bit offended by that - but what I lack in legal experience I make up for in bullshit. I am well versed in that medium and have a talent for separating it out from actual valid content. Not that I always choose to do that, but I can at least recognize it. So, I wished him luck and reminded him to go to the ATM before he left. :)

That's it for now... later...

atomic, wedding, life

I had a dream the other night that pretty much lasted all night. Now, I know that dreams only last a few moments and our brains try to fill in the gaps to make a story, but this time I kept waking up to go to the bathroom and falling right back into the same dream.

I was working at and giving a tour of a massive research facility powered by something we called "the atomic pile". Apparently, during one of the tours I was doing, the atomic pile went critical and was about to release a radiation cloud on the ground floor and out in the surrounding area. The group I was with was -at the time - on the basement level. I tried to keep order and suggested that we head down into the sub-sub-sub-basement levels that I knew had once been designated as a fall-out shelter. The group grew as we went along until there were a hundred of us or so. As we reached the entrance to the sub-basements, about half the group split off and decided they would risk staying at the basement level. I cautioned them that we didn't know how bad the radiation would be - but they angrily refused. The rest of us headed deeper into the facility and safety. However, we didn't have enough supplies for the size of the group. So, for the next few weeks, I led what I hoped were peaceful missions to the basement level for more supplies - since that group has more than enough. Each time, though, they got more and aggressive and the radiation started to affect them mentally. Finally, it degenerated into a series of attacks and counter-attacks - with me at the lead since I was the only one that knew the access codes to the lower levels. In our last mission before I woke up, I had lead a team for supplies and we were ambushed. I had what I thought was a flare gun with me and fired it - hoping to startle the crazed basement level group. Instead, it was a gas gun and I ended up incapacitating one of my own crew.

When it was finally time to get up in the morning, I was relieved and exhausted from my night's sleep. I think it was a combination of the "Time Machine" (crazed morlocks?) - and "Lost" (with me as Dr. Jack Shepard.)

I went to a wedding over the weekend and ended up helping with much of the decorations. I was one of the few designated "tall dudes" and helped with hanging lights and tule. I did a lot of the work on this - but balked at the decorations that needed to be hung from the rafters of the lodge where the reception was being held. If there was a child up there, trapped and in danger, then I would easily brave the heights. For lights and tule? No freaking way.

The wedding itself was okay - though it was held outdoors and started almost 45 mintues late. We were sitting in the sun - fending off heatstroke and bees - and when it finally started, the minister did not make any friends in the crowd with his long winded and frankly fairly negative commentary. "through the good and bad" leaning toward the bad. I dunno what was up with that.

I helped again with moving the chairs in and dinner started pretty late since the photographer got lost. I ended up with a headache and didn't do much partying. Plus, the DJ played the same music you hear at every wedding. I mean, really, there's like a billion songs out there - something other than the "Electric slide" would have been awesome.

Finally, I hung out with my room-mate's niece and nephew for a bit this weekend. There was some family strife going on and I did my best to keep them distracted. We did a little origami and play the "Game of Life". The rules were a bit different than I remembered. For one, there were more stops on the board to do things like draw a career card and decide on family paths. One of the kids drew the "Doctor" card and it looked like he would have the clear advantage. I got the Lawyer card and did pretty well though the game. The other player - despite having a lower paying career at the start and switching jobs several times - ended up landing on a lot of the "Life" spaces - gaining a stack of Life cards for things like taking a trip or meeting famous people. When all was said and done, the Doctor came in last - his salary wasn't enough to beat my middle of the road. His sister - with her stack of life cards - won the game by a landslide once the cards were translated into a monitary value.

The doctor and the lawyer lost the game to someone who had a far more interesting life. It was interesting to me and I tried to convey that to the kids - almost a life lesson that the most money didn't always mean the most sucessful life.

I was reminded a bit of one of my co-workers - who, despite being my age almost exactly, has had this far more hugely intersting life - filled with adventure and world travel and a collection of friends that would be too implausible for even a sitcom. I think I envy that a bit. Not that my life sucks or anything, but it is far more low key. Of course, I am then reminded of Mr. Adventure in Star Trek 3 who complains to Uhura that his life as a transporter technician is far too low key - right before she pulls a phaser on him and locks him in the closet. Adventure can be fun - but not always.

Not looking forward to work tomorrow - I think I will have far more than my usual level of disasters to repair tomorrow.

that's it for now...

RF, debate, music

Well, I replaced the RF Modulator on my video game/TV set up - thinking it would fix the problem with the screen going blank while playing a game and then randomly coming back up either on it's own or after I jiggled the wires. It worked, for about a minute, before the problem returned. I tried a couple more things, then plugged the cable right from the wall into the TV. This failed - leading me to believe the TV is going bad. Then it started working - and refused to fail after that.

I have the computer set up opposite the TV and while playing a computer game I was able to watch the screen with a carefully placed reflective CD. I had the sound turned down so I didn't actually have to pay attention.

The reason? The debate was on last night. And if it wasnt' the debate, it was the endless and truly vile political commercials. I'm to the point where, unless they have authenticated footage of a candidate eating a baby, I'm really not going to be moved to change any of my political decisions. I'm amazed when I see the polls that a lot of people are still on the fence about the big election. Weird.

So, once I was done with my testing for the evening, I switched to the room with the better stereo and listened to the cable tv music stations and worked on a project. Far better than the debate.

that's it for now... later...

sign, pants

I decided not to take down the signs for McCain/Palin for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, it would defeat the purpose of a free election - that we are all entitled to our opinions and ideas and allowed to vote for whomever we choose. No matter how wrong that choice might be. Plus, the signs are essentially meaningless - I mean, does the presence of a sign in someone's yard influence another person's vote? It's the yard-based equivalent of a bumper sticker, except that most people take down the signs after the election. I still see bumper stickers for Bush/Cheney on cars all the time.

I've been listening to a song called - "I'd start a revolution if I could get up in the morning" by Aimee Allen. It's a good tune and I can relate to it - especially this morning. I overslept and woke up tired anyway. While getting dressed, I for some reason started with my shirt. After exhaustively doing up all the buttons, I looked at my pants laying on the bed and contemplated the zipper, button, and belt - and half-seriously wondered if I could skip the pants today since it seemed like far too much work. Rational thought won out - as it usually does with me - and I put on my pants.

Dunno what's up with me - but I think I could use some coffee or something...

Later...

mana, ticket

I recently bought some Mana: Magic Potions from Think Geek. Unlike the video game equivalent - these were supposed to be energy drinks. They came in cool bottles and I thought they might help with my swimming at lunch time. The website had a warning though - those with a niacin deficiency might experience a "niacin flush" - red, itchy skin for 20 minutes as a result of capillary action and a histamine response. Undaunted, I drank half the potion in one gulp.

1/2 an hour later, no effect. So, at least I'm not niacin deficient. A bit later and I finish off the potion. It smells funny and tastes like an undefined citrus that is very sour.

Still nothing. I go for my swim and notice a very very slight boost in energy - which I attribute to a placebo effect and a very very slight dizziness - which could have been caused by my lack of oatmeal that I usually have.

Nothing really bad - but not really anything good. Whatever performance boost I got was minor at best. Disappointing, but at least my skin didn't turn red.

In other news... my room-mate has been traveling for business. In one week, he's gotten not one, but two speeding tickets. He hasn't had one in ten years - partly because of his radar detector and partly because he knows the areas locally where the cops hide. He's already plead guilty to one, but plans to fight the second one based on some inconsistencies on the ticket. I've wished him luck, but I think his chances are slim. He's mostly worried about his insurance going up - and the points on his liscence. And the fines... well, I guess he's worried about the whole thing.

Got a meeting in a few. I'm still hoping for some kind of magical powers to surface, but I think it's unlikely at this point.

later...

sign, cold, tv, errands

The neighbors in the other half of the duplex put up a McCain Palin sign. Or it was put in their yard for them - I dunno which is the case. Anyway, it annoys me to the point where I'm going to sneak outside sometime this weekend and steal/destroy it. Sneak because I like this people and really don't want to get into a political debate with them. Destroy because if I have to look at that thing every time I look outside my front window from now until election day, I will lose it. I think I may have to take down the only other one on the street as well, just so it doesn't look too obvious. I've considered taking it to the Republican headquarters to see if I can trade it in for an Obama one, but I suspect the humor would be lost on them.

It was chilly last evening - I closed the windows before I went to bed last night. Looks like summer is fading...

The RF adapter for my video game tv is going bad. Meaning, in the middle of the game, the picture may just vanish. I can usually fiddle with the wires to restore it, but it's only temporary. Annoying? You bet.

I ran a bunch of errands last night - got a lot done, but didn't get home until nearly 7:00. Spent a lot of time waiting in lines...

Not much else to report... later...

fractal

I had a dream last night that I was back in high school, except that technology to exploit fractals and multi-dimensional space was commonplace. So, location was influenced by the motion used to access that space and things could be vastly larger on the inside than on the outside. So, my entire high school was in a small area of a small office building. I got in the elevator with a girl from one of my classes and we both laughed when the elevator had flip over twice to get the correct orientation to access the high school.

We were early and went to the cafeteria - which looked the size of a closet on the outside but was big enough to seat 300 on the inside. I got a small box of cereal that replenished itself from a storage area, some juice, and a cup of hot water. Rotating my wrist a certain way allowed me to pluck a tea bag from a personal storage area and we sat down. We were joined another classmate who pulled on the fractal edge of the table to stretch it out and make room. He was complaining about how he couldn't get things papers out of his notebook. I asked if it was broken or if he had forgotten the hand gestures needed access the various spaces inside.

He angrily replied he had forgotten the gestures for the correct areas and I suggested he just try all the common ones to get all the papers out, and then refile them. His vague refusal to do that then earned a shared glance from the girl and I - it was rumored at the school that he was selling drugs and that the paperwork he couldn't find was related to the sales. We then went to class.

After school, the girl offered me a ride home. On the way, we stopped to rescue a guy who had fallen in a fractal hole "filled" with water. He had managed to find an infinite supply of air so he wouldn't drown, but still needed help getting out. I invited the girl in for a snack and she was amazed at how nice the house was. The guy on the first floor in the living room was my father (though nothing like my real dad) was on some kind of holo-phone talking to someone for business and ignored us.

I mentioned that it was an older house, built not long after the fractal tech had been developed and that the builders had shown off by only making one door on the second floor. Depending on how you turned the knob, you would access different room. I explained to her that later homes had multiple doors to access the rooms since in that house, you couldn't ever leave the door open and it tended to isolate. I then told her that my parents kept forgetting how old I was and kept assuming that I had already moved out and was in college - to the point where they kept moving all my stuff in my bedroom down to the basement storage area. We shared a small laugh - but she could tell it really bothered me.

It was time for her to go so her own parents wouldn't worry and I settled in to do some homework. I woke up when I heard her car start up to leave.

Very weird, very detailed, and very consistent within it's own parameters. I was a little disappointed to wake up.

20, usb, swim

One of the staff members in my optometrist's office recommended following the 20/20/20 rule: After 20 minutes of looking at a computer screen, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Since I seem to be getting more headaches than usual, I have decided to give it a try with a little timer on my desktop that goes off every 20 minutes. A few things I've noticed since I started doing this:

1. Working here in the cube farm it's difficult to find anything interesting to look at 20 feet away. Even standing up, it's still damn boring. I need to put up some Hello Kitty stickers or something near the ceiling in some key areas that I can look at every 20 minutes.

2. Even though it's a short break, it still feels like the day is broken down into 20 minute chunks - which is not a bad thing. Makes the time seem to go faster.

3. The chime on the timer is not the most annoying sound I know - but it's pretty close.

In other news... I tried to help my room-mate get some new vechicle icons downloaded onto his Garmin - except the darn thing has a non-standard USB connector that the cables we have don't fit. What the hell are they doing re-inventing a USB cable? And why? So, I'm on a quest to find a cable that will work - and I'm really hoping that it won't require some kind of custom and therefore really expensive cable. Wankers.

My swim today was a good one - I tried a little freestyle (which is really draining for some reason) and a little Butterfly. I can do the arm motion okay on the butterfly, but the kick is without any power. I'm used to a surge of motion with the breaststroke kick and the kick with the butterfly does nothing for me. I must be doing it wrong.

Almost time to go home for the day. Looking forward to working on the costume and playing some video games - especially Lego Batman.

later...

soccer

I went to a UA men's soccer match yesterday. One of my co-workers had suggested it and decided not to go, but since the only soccer match I've seen before involved 5 year olds, I figured I should see how it's really done.

The match was - kinda dull. Both sides were so evenly matched that it was feint and counter-feint for most of the time. Overall, I think Akron had better technique and the other team may have been slightly faster. Or at least one of their guys was - every time he would come tearing down the field he looked like an out of control locomotive. I wouldn't have gotten in his way.

The AK Rowdies were out in full force - taunting the other teams goalie. They did this thing where they shouted out "left" and "right" whenever he took a step. It was pretty funny - but if he was paying any attention, he didn't let on.

I think I saw our student assistant at the half-time, but I wasn't sure.

While there were a few yellow cards in the first half - the second half was where they really came out. All on the other team - and then a couple of red cards as well. Looked like we were going to have a fight on our hands a couple of times, but the rest of the teams got the potential combatants separated.

It was still scoreless with a minute to go in the second half and I was debating if I would stay for the overtime - but decided that I'd been there that long, I should stick it out. Still no score at 30 seconds.

Finally, with nine seconds to go - Akron scored a goal and won the game. The crowd went wild. Pretty much made the whole evening worthwhile.

The next home game is in October - and I might go. Might be a new soccer fan in the making.

later...

500, flowers, lost

This is post #500. Which is somewhat amazing since I'm usually the quiet one without a lot to say. Apparently, I have a lot to write.

Today, while walking back from my swim, I saw a group of people working on one of the flower beds in the shape of the UA logo. They had tarps set up and were carefully working on the white flowers - spray painting them blue. UA blue - to be exact. This would be a nice contrast to the naturally occurring UA yellow flowers under the tarps. I'm hoping this was some environmentally friendly organic paint - but it didn't smell like it. It was like something out of a chuck Palahniuk novel.

I forgot to mention earlier that my room-mate bought a Garmin last night - with a little technical help from me. Ironically, it sent us the wrong direction of the first place we tried and it listed a Pizza Hut that closed a while ago. The rest of the directional requests went well and he has it talking in a crisp British accent. I think the next step will try to get it to speak Italian.

later...

sneeze, state, batman

I went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner last night and had an excellent meal. The only downside, once again, was the sneeze shield over the salad bar. I'm 6 foot tall and my shoulders are fairly high off the ground as a result. The sneeze is set much lower than that to protect the food, which is fine, except that to reach the items in the back, I need to hunker down to almost comical levels. I got what I wanted, but it was more of an adventure than I needed. I'm not sure what the solution is though, a raised shield would let short people sneeze on the food. And that would not be good.

I've been thinking, for some reason, that the idea of state laws is a little comical. Given the proximity of states to each other and the relative homogeneity of Americans - or for that matter, human beings - having different sets of rules for people that might live only a few feet from each other seems really odd. There's nothing to be done about it - I mean, we've got people that are so state-centric that they would consider leaving the US, so me with my complete lack of state identity is likely to be ignored. But it still seems weird to me.

Finally, I picked up the Batman Lego game last night. It plays pretty much like the Star Wars and Indiana Jones versions, but it's pretty cool.

That's it for now... later...

on campus, swim

I was headed up campus to swim recently and went past what looked like a mini-skate park set up on the tennis courts. Seemed a little odd to me - but what was odder was the sponsor of the event - the national guard. I'm sure there are skate boarders that are also in the national guard, but it doesn't seem like there would be that large of an overlap. More troubling were the two attractive girls I saw walk into the student center with cheaply made back packs with the National Guard logo on them - with the intent to give these out. I think the term for this kind of behavior is a "shill". In any case, it bothers me that the national guard is able to recruit on a college campus. I'm not entirely sure why it bothers me, but it does. Especially with the skate park and the pretty girls as recruiting tools.

Also, the College Republicans had a table set up in the student center that same day. Seemed an odd coincidence.

In other news... I've been keeping up with my swimming, though today was very tiring - more so than usual. Still got in my 30 laps, but I didn't enjoy it.

Only about an hour or so to go for the day - later...

staples, mouse

I headed to Staples last night to pick up a few things and as I walked in the door I knew something was amiss. The inner doors slowed as I walked through them and stopped so that I had to turn sideways to get in. The interior lights also went off for a moment - then came back on as someone shouted "sorry!". Some of the lights went out again, but I was still able to find what I was looking for. I went to the registers at the front and got in line - unusual for staples as they usually get people through the checkout quickly. After a few moments, it became clear there was a problem with their computers - as a guy came to the line and asked who was paying by cash or check. After a wait, I got called over to the other register where the clerk started to write down the SKU numbers so he could go and look up the prices in the store. While he was gone, I asked another clerk if they could run a credit or debit card manually. They said no and walked away. I was about to go find the clerk that was helping me to point out he was wasting his time if I couldn't use some kind of plastic - when he then came back with the prices. I asked about the plastic option again and he went to go find out the process - then discovered that the registers were working again. He rang up the purchases and I paid with my debit card and left.

Things that they did wrong:

A) no sign on the door. If they really couldn't run plastic, they should have posted a sign or made a general announcement.

B) no backup plan? It was pretty chaotic when they tried to find the prices and get people checked out.

C) poor communication between the staff members. The clerk that was helping me was out of the loop and not prepared for having the system go down.

It all worked out, but it was a near thing.

In other news... I heard about someone who uses their mouse upside down - that is, with the cord pointing towards them. And, apparently, they do this on purpose. I can only imagine the problems this would cause. How could they get anything done? How would they train themselves away from the intuitive motion of the mouse? How would they use the buttons? (poorly, as it turns out) and what the hell would they do with the touch pad of a laptop?

I mean, seriously, give it a try. I had a bad enough time when I switched the mouse to the left hand side of my keyboard as a show of support for my left-handed co-workers. It was the longest day of my computing career.

Madness.

Anyway, that's it for now. later...

blimp, parking, walk, paper

Living in Akron, the sight of the blimp is not really that big of a deal. However, just a few days ago, the blimp flew over my backyard. It executed a not very tight turn - flying very low - and then flew off again. I shouted up at them to throw down some candy or snacks - but they didn't here me. Or, since it isn't a parade float, maybe they didn't have any on board.

And working on a college campus means that talking about parking is a little pointless. In this case, after a return from lunch, I ended up parking a significant distance from the building where I work. And then realized, when I went to leave for the day, that I'd parked in a lot that I shouldn't have based on my parking permit. Fortunately, I didn't get a ticket.

Last evening I was in a bad mood - so I went for a walk to figure things out. It was pretty late and very dark - and my route was poorly lit. I was a little sensible about my gear - comfortable shoes, long pants, white shirt for visibility. And a knife - just in case. Not that the area where I walked is dangerous in that way, but you never know. Traffic was a bigger issue since sidewalks or even a level shoulder by the road were not always available. So, I got my head cleared a bit, came home, showered, and went to bed.

In the school news paper this week was a story about a guy who killed 2 of our students back in 1986 and was sentenced to be executed. However, he's too obese for the lethal ejection - they can't find his veins. His attorney is arguing that it's now cruel and unusual and he should be spared. Because he's too fat.

Now, I'm not going to debate the relative merits of a death-penalty for this case - but human beings have been finding interesting and clever ways of killing each other for thousands of years. And the needle stick is too cruel? Please. I've had some rough needle sticks giving blood and I didn't cry about it.

Anyway, that's it for now. Going to a party this evening and I've got some errands to do. The costume is coming along fine - just about ready for the next phase. I mentioned to someone recently that I was working on my costume and they remarked. "So, getting an early start?"

"Early?!" I replied, "No, I'm way behind schedule,"

Hey, I've got a reputation to uphold - and these things don't build themselves.

later...

Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure

I headed up to the student center for lunch in a bad mood - which is never an ideal state of mind to be having when facing crowds of randomly moving college students. The noise, the chaos... it was nearly overwhelming. And in the middle of all of that and with a headache forming, I had a weird sensation come over me. For just an instant, I felt as though my physical being was just barely holding onto reality. As though, if I lost just a tiny bit more focus, I would get swept away in a burst of non-reality and cease to exist.

It was disconcerting to say the least. And a firm indication that I need to get more sleep at night.

Reminds me a bit of a few quotes from Douglas Adams:

From the Long, Dark, Tea-time of the Soul: "nonlinear, catastrophic structural exasperation" and "fundamentally fed up with being where it was."

From the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure

That last one seems to fit best. The feeling that we've got to - at least on some level - put forth some effort to simply exist. And if we stop doing - for even the smallest of instants - we suffer a spontaneous massive existence failure.

And perhaps there's something deeper here. More psychology than physics. Can we get so lost in the chaos around us that we lose that essential element that makes us who we are? Is our grip on our own fundamental essence so tenuous? Can our "spark" flare up and go out?

I got my pizza and bottle of green tea with honey - which has, so far, failed completely in granting me any degree of calmness. I'm still cranky and now wary that my own atoms may get distracted and betray me into non-existence. It's been a strange day and I'd really like to go home...

morning, music

The big windstorm that took out power to a number of areas recently also shut down one of our satellite campuses. And since their web people were without power at home, I got tapped to be "on-call" to make updates to their website this morning. With the call coming in - potentially - between 4 and 6 am.

I woke up at 3:30 to use the bathroom and couldn't really go back to sleep all the way - anticipating a phone call. That didn't come until 6:45 - when I was told that the power was back on and no update was needed.

I'm glad I could be there to help out - but mildly cranky that I wasn't needed and my sleep got hosed for sort of nothing. Eh, at least it doesn't happen much.

I heard a new song last night on the cable music and I've been listening to it today. Amie Miriello: I Came Around Good stuff.

that's it for now. Time to get back to it.

errands, fuel, light

I ran some errands today - and I was ready for the rain. Flip-flops and a jacket with a hood. My feet got wet, but they dried much faster than if I'd been wearing shoes and socks. Not going to work in the winter-time - obviously - but while the temperature holds...

I got a lot done, even had time to drop $20 in my gas tank. And it went a lot further than if I'd waited a couple of hours - the price jumped $.20 in a couple of hours. Greedy gas companies.

This afternoon, I replaced the light fixture in my basement with one that has an outlet. This let me put in another light where I needed it. Didn't take long either - though I had to stop and knock out the extra tabs to make it fit and then had to reverse it to get the outlet on the correct side. Still, I was pleased with the result.

I'm going to spend much of tomorrow working on my costume - I think I got all the supplies I needed today. Wish me luck.

That's it for now... later.

shared lane

So, I'm in the pool today and I'm doing my laps and there's a guy getting ready to get in the lane next to mine. And by getting ready, I mean he was folding up his red-tipped white cane. He's visually impaired. Which is not a big deal in the pool - I've seen him before and while he's not fast, he does okay. Except he didn't get in the lane next to mine - he got in my lane. I realized this on my way back and just floated there, facing him for a moment while I figured out what to do. I thought I might be able to share the lane, but he does tend to wander and I didn't think I could avoid him. So, I ducked under the water and moved outside the lanes. I don't think he realized what was going on at all.

Being outside the lanes meant that, for my last lap, I decided to go diagonally across the rest of the pool. It ended up being about a lap and a half and while I felt like I was breaking some kind of rule or something, I was completely ignored.

that's about it for now... I'm glad the week is just about done. later...

on campus, doctor's office, injury, registration

I noticed on campus today that there were people handing out bibles to passersby. I politely declined to the two people standing about 10 feet away from each other. A little further on my way, I was asked if I was registered to vote. No connection between the two groups, just a little interesting that they were both on campus at the same time. (separation of church and state?)

My doctor's office has been trying to get a hold of me - they've left a couple of messages. I called them today and they said it was about my high blood pressure medicine that my wife Robin called in about. When I expressed some confusion, they figured it must have been put in the wrong chart. It's a little ironic that I've been meaning to schedule an appointment to see my doctor about my migraines, but I didn't have my calendar available and I'll need to look at my schedule before I set something up.

While I was running some errands this afternoon, I noticed a guy next to his bike in a grassy area near the road. His bike was laying on it's side and he had his arm under his head - apparently enjoying the shade on a warm day and resting. I drove on past, thinking he had the right idea. When I came back through, the area was surrounded by ambulances - the sleeping guy had apparently been injured - maybe by a hit and run - and was now being cared for by the paramedics. I felt bad - I should have stopped. But at the same time, he looked like he was sleeping in the shade next to his bike - something I might have done in that same position.

Finally, I got a notice in the that I'd been randomly selected to provide my proof of insurance. Sort of like winning a contest. Except I don't get anything, it costs me a stamp, and if I don't do it, my registration is revoked.

that's it for now - later...

fireworks, hike, donation

I went to visit my folks for the weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday and their anniversary. I got them a red coffee pot - which they've been looking for - and scored major points. We played some dominoes and hung out a bit. On Sunday afternoon we headed out and went to Jungle Jim's - a sort of international food mart. In this one store you can buy wasabi crackers, a pig's head, and every kind of kitchen appliance you could imagine. I found an ice cream scoop that will work great for ice cream cones.

From there, we headed further south to Cincinati for the Riverfest fireworks show. We faced closed roads, distant parking, confused GPS, and 50 degree angle concrete seating. While a bit uncomfortable, the view was pretty good and the fireworks show was excellent. When it was over, we stood up - along with 20,000 other people - and headed for the cars. The group managed to stay together somehow and we made it out of there without too much trouble. It was a long drive home though.

On Monday, my parents and I - along with their dog - headed to Slate Run park for a bit of hiking. We didn't go to far since the dog was getting tired, but still had a good trip.

I headed back Monday afternoon and was back at work today - and I didn't enjoy it. Really crazy day. I left a bit early so I could go give blood - which went very smoothly except that the needle site kept bleeding. The tech finally got it under control and I went to Border's - then Chic-fil-et.

It's been a pretty quiet evening around here and I'm looking forward to an early bedtime. The weekend has caught up with me and the blood donation has made me tired.

That's it for me... later.

in line, game, lunch

I was going a little stir crazy last night after a difficult day at work, so, I headed out to target to pick up a few things - nothing critical, just something to get me out of the apartment for a few. As I was getting ready to check out, I discovered something of a truth:

"There's no such thing as a good line"

As I stood there, patiently waiting my turn, I watched several people attempt to jockey for position. In every case, they ended up in no better position than before.

It's the human element. Unless you are first in line and actually at the register, there's a significant chance that a human will do something to disrupt the flow of the system. Check writing with a non functional pen or missing ID. Spills. Forgotten items or price disputes.

In my opinion, the best way through these is to just pick a line and wait it out.

Now, while I believe there is no such thing as a good line - I've convinced there is such a thing as a bad line.

And yesterday, I was in one.

The woman in front of me had an "aroma". And while I could avoid looking at the mass of flesh on the backs of her upper arms after the initial glance, I could not "un-smell" her. She was trying to make small talk with the cashier while being passive aggressive with the bagger about how he was loading her cart incorrectly - something about the heavy items being actually in the cart as opposed to balanced in the child seat area so that she wouldn't have to lift it out.

I waited quietly. She had to purchase a gift card as well and was chatting with the cashier about how good the orange flavored chocolate was that she was buying.

And then, the problem. She put in the wrong pin number. Completely flustered and helpless she became. It was, clearly, the very end of the world. The cashier had to lean over and walk her through the steps to undo her mistake - all the while she went on and on about how she used the pin from another card.

She looked at me for support, as though expecting I would chime in about a similar incident in my life where I too had entered the wrong pin number.

Instead, I looked through her, then through her very soul and on out the other side. Utterly dismissing her very existence. Because there was no way I was going to get dragged into her life in any way, shape or form.

Pin number correctly entered, she collected her receipt with something akin to reluctance. As she carefully folded it and worked her way through her purse for the correct location to place it, I realized that she was upset that her performance was ending so soon and that the audience - namely me - did not appreciate the show.

When she finally cleared the way and headed for the exit, I moved into position and placed my items on the belt - rotating them so that bar codes were easily accessible. Card swipe, pin entered, receipt gathered, bags collected and out the door. Moments later I was passing her in the parking lot.

Is there a deeper lesson to be learned here? Not really, except that people annoy me. I think even the Buddha would have sworn under his breath.

In other news... I'm still playing through Okami on the second time around. Kicking some butt and finding new areas. I'm going to try and get all of the ultimate weapons this time around.

Finally, I'm a little dressed up today. The team is having a luncheon with the UA president and the boss has asked us to wear the shirts we got for a division-wide award. So, we're all going to be dressed alike and, perhaps, all looking like complete tools. Should be fun - at least lunch is free.

back to work... later...

visit, day one, keyboard

My sister and brother-in-law stopped by for a quick visit and some snacks on their way back from a camping trip. They couldn't stay long, but it was still nice they stopped. I'll see them again this coming weekend.

Today is the first day of classes for the fall. I expect campus will be very busy - I got here early to secure a parking space and I also brought my lunch. It'll settle down soon.

I got a new keyboard over the weekend. It only cost me $10 and it's flexible! I couldn't pass it up.
I'm using it now and it takes a little getting used to. Expect more typos than usual.

I've got a student coming in for an interview in a few minutes - guess I'd better get ready for that.

later...

migraine

It started when I when to the kitchen at work to fix my cup of pre-swim oatmeal.
(note, I've learned from experience that it's not wise to try and chug hot oatmeal)
I had a weird sort of dizziness - like I was going to have an out-of-body experience or something. It wasn't enough to impair my movements - but it was quite weird. I ate my oatmeal and hoped it would pass.

Not long after I got back to my desk - the visual distortion began. Apparently, some people refer to this as an aura - but I've read far too many new-agey books to call it that. To me, an aura should be a series of colors of energy surrounding a person that tell you what they are feeling. I've never been able to see those. What I experience when a migraine is coming on is a visual distortion. Can't really describe it any other way.

I took an ibuprofen - and crossed my fingers. The distortion got worse and then the light sensitivity kicked in, followed shortly by the headache. It started to quickly ramp up and I held out hope that the ibuprofen would kick in and put an end to it. At a suggestion from a friend, I tried a bottle of Pepsi - thinking that the jolt of caffeinee would help since I've pretty much given up on the stuff. It tasted terrible - which was good, in a way. No falling off the wagon for me.

No luck. The next step was nausea and while I'm willing to put up with a lot of at work - nausea is not one of those things.

I wrapped up a couple of tasks - all the while, trying to shield my eyes from the light and with headphones in (no music) to try and dampen the sound. I checked in with the boss and began the drive home. I knew I could endure it, but also that I wouldn't enjoy it.

I finally got home and went to bed - earplugs in, nightmask in place. As close to sensory deprivation I could manage without a tank of salt-water.

But it wasn't enough - the nausea ramped up again and I headed for the bathroom where I tossed my oatmeal and Pepsi.

It was terrible, as it always is to throw up. But it was also a relief. I knew that when this wave passed it would take the nausea with it. And, eventually, I'd be able to sleep and that would take the headache.

But first, I had to stop throwing up. I did that by simply emptying the contents of my stomach. Unfortuantly, the force I employed in doing that caused some damage to my throat and I somehow managed to get some bile up my nose - which, I can tell you, is not pleasant.

So - mouthwash, water, and blowing my nose - then ready to go back to bed and sleep this off.

And it did - mostly. I slept for a few hours and woke up feeling a bit better. Which, is an indication of how much I was hurting - I generally don't nap well. The headache was still lurking - that the best way to describe it. Waiting in my head to strike again. I was careful the rest of the day - keeping my computer time to a minimum and avoiding bright lights and loud noises. I was fearful of coughs and sneezes - any sudden move would cause a flare of pain in my head.

A quiet evening and I went to bed early and slept through the night. This morning - the headache tried to come back. I was up early, but ended up going back to bed for a while. Not sure if I really slept, though I must have based on the time that passed.

I took things easy today and the headache - while still lurking - didn't stop me from running some errands and enjoying a bit of sunshine this afternoon.

So - what have we learned here?

1. The respite I had from these migraines has passed. I've had a few near misses and this has been the first full blown one in a while.

2. I need to head back to the doctor to get my prescription re-filled.

3. I apparently am now having pre-aura auras - the out-of-body feeling seemed like a signal.

4. Throwing up hurts - but it seems like it's also helping again.

5. I hate being sick.

grill, sleep

I don't know how to speak or read Spanish. But, I think I still would have been better off using the Spanish version of the instructions when I put the grill together last night. Or perhaps I should have thrown out the instructions entirely and just winged it. Took me about an hour and a half to do - might have taken half that time if I hadn't had to undo and redo several steps. Finally got it done and we fired it up for the "heat-clean" 15 minutes last evening. It looks good and it's sturdy - I just wish the instructions were clearer.

The cooler evenings have created a slight problem for me - it's too cool to sleep with just a sheet, but not cool enough to sleep with a comforter. After lying in bed for a while, trying to get comfortable, I hit on a solution. So, I headed down to my car and got a fleece blanket out of my trunk. This is part of the emergency kit that my mom put together for me for Christmas one year - but I've gotten other fleece blankets and have keep adding them to my trunk for lack of something better to do with them. So, this extra one was just right weight to keep me just warm enough. I discovered that it wasn't quite long enough - so the next night I added a second fleece to the mix to keep me covered. I slept pretty well last night once I got things configured. Once it gets cold enough, I'll put the fleeces back in the trunk and switch to the comforter.

busy day today - better get back to it.

bucket, grill, game

I had a dream last night that I was in home depot and bought an orange bucket. Unlike the regular orange buckets, this one had wheels and I thought it would they would be useful to repurpose to make a scooter. On closer examination, I realized the bucket was really heavy duty and the wheels were independently swiveling and all terrain. So, instead of making taking the wheels off to use as a scooter, I decided to use it as is - a skateboard bucket. The bucket was wide enough to put both feet in and low enough that I could step in and out.

This all apparently took place in Miami, Florida and I headed out into the streets of the city in my bucket. A few kids in skateboards mocked me, then shut up in astonishment when I skimmed through standing water and then took it off-roading across the grass - not losing any speed with either maneuver. If I pressed my feet against the inside of the bucket I could "hang on" and used this technique to pull off some really impressive stunts.

But I got lost. So, I crusied around town for a bit in my bucket, finally stopping at a senior citizen's complex. A friend of mine was there with her mother - both looking older than they currently are. My friend showed me her report card - she was finally finishing up her degreee and as I went to leave, an old woman slapped me on the ass. My friend said not to be offended since that woman wasn't really 'with it' and tended to smack all men on the ass. In a disturbing twist, I was surpised to see it was my own great-grandmother - looking a little crazed, but remarkably spry for someone that passed away a number of years ago.

I headed out - still in my bucket - and went into the office where I worked. One of my current co-workers - who enjoys roller-blading - was really impressed with my skills and fired up ebay to see if he could find out there. He left the room - and his ebay account open - before I could tell him I bought it home depot. When he got back, I joked that he had just bought a bunch of vintage comics on his account and he laughed so loud that the boss made us get back to work. So, I got out of my bucket, settled into my desk and got to work.

And then I woke up and got ready to really go to work.

The home deport bit was ironic - since in reality I went to Lowe's last night. The grill my room-mate brought from his old place was on it's last legs, so we went to Lowe's figuring that based on the season - we could get a good deal. We did and took it back to the apartment - but it was too late to put together last night. I'll work on it this evening, I think.

I beat the game Okami night before last and started the replay mode last evening. It's essentially starting the game over, except you have all the items you finished the game with. So, I walked into what would have been a serious battle the first time around, pulled out a huge-ass sword, and destroyed all the enemies in about 6 seconds. Kinda took a little of the fun out of things fairly quickly. I plowed through big chunks of the game, but the magic wasn't really there. Maybe a break from this and then a fresh start.

That's it for now - time to get back to work...

body, kitty, band, tv, writing

I helped my room-mate a little on Sunday at his job. Not a big deal, perhaps, but he works at a funeral home. There was a "customer" that needed his attention and he needed a little help with the removal and repositioning of some absorbent padding. I asked if I needed to "glove up" and he said yes - I figured I'd be right in the mix of things. Instead, he did the work and I held the plastic bag for the used padding. A bit of a letdown, actually. Still, I did my part and helped a bit. I didn't save the gloves as a souvenir.

While out driving over the weekend, I saw a woman on a motorcycle with a pink leather jacket and a giant stuffed Hello Kitty strapped to the seat behind her. It was freaky.

I was out on campus today and while walking from one area to another I came across two marching band practices on different fields. I despise walking past a marching because - despite never having been in one - I always feel the almost compulsive urge to match my steps to the beat of the drums. I end up looking like a) a complete mindless tool or b) a complete spazz stumbling at every step to try and not match the rhythm.

The TV was on today at the pool - a giant screen normally used during swimming matches but this time set up to show the Olympics. I was busy with the whole swimming/not drowning thing and didn't see much. It wasn't swimming, which is good since I would have felt really outclassed. And I was already feeling that from the girl in the next lane that swam like a freaking dolphin. And that was before she put on the flippers and started hydro-planing.

I've started transcribing my written beach story into a text file. It'll take me a long time, I think, and longer still to do the editing. In a way, it doesn't really matter. I wrote the story because it was one I wanted to tell. If I get it done and others enjoy it - so much the better. But it's mostly for me.

later...