New Sensation

I like chocolate bars. Especially those made with dark chocolate. Some of my favorites include Snickers, Baby Ruth, Hershey’s bars, Three Musketeers, 100 Grand, Crunch, Smores, and Milky Way. I do not like any nut except peanuts and I dislike coconut.

Recently, I ate a Snickers, a Baby Ruth, and a dark chocolate Milky Way. Not all at once, mind you. An interesting thing happen—I had a sensation like small electrical shocks in my mouth as I ate. This has not happened before, so I was a little surprised. The sensation is nothing that causes me pain or discomfort; it is just a very mild annoyance that is enough to notice even as I enjoy the candy.

I do not know if it is the ingredients, the acidity of my mouth, the mixture of silver and gold fillings, something psychosomatic, or an entirely different reason, but the sensation is there all the same. I only notice it when eating mixed-ingredient candy bars like those I mentioned, however. When I last ate See’s Candy and a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, I did not experience this odd feeling.

Does anyone else experience this? Is this yet another thing about which I am completely unique?

Not the 300 I Imagined

Welcome to my 300th post to this blog. I have been working on a new post for a while; I have a couple of interesting topics and have been working on each trying to decide which would be my 300th post. One is a personal event that happened while I was a child and shaped my world and life view, another was a political rant about things, and a third was simple musings about life.

This is NOT one of those topics.

------

Dorothy (friend and work) and I went to Albertsons for lunch today. I ordered the Italian Delight. And, shock of all shocks, they did it right! I actually got the sandwich I ordered, correctly made with no additional ingredients (like onions or mustard/mayo) added in and without the tomotoes, as requested.

I'm sitting here, stunned, that it only took 5 tries to get it right. I was thinking this may become my White Whale.

Oh well, I'm sure something else will come along.

Because I Like to Share

If you can see it, there is the wound. It is just over an inch long. You can't make out the egg under it very well, as it is hard to take a pic of your own head.

PS - to any women who view this: hopefully the wound will keep you from swooning at the sexiness of my bald head. If you do swoon, well, you can't hold me accountable for the sexy!

;-)

Oops... I Did It Again

Somehow, I'm still not quite sure how, I managed to cause the valence on which sat one of my surround sound speakers to fall off the wall-- and the speaker went with it and knocked me hard on the head.

I received an inch long gash in my forehead, was bleeding profusely, and became instantly dizzy/woozy and headachy. I knew I was bleeding when I saw the spatter on the carpetting and felt the steady trickle going down my face.

I staggered into the bathroom, slattered blood all over the sink, the basin, and the mirror. Grabbed a wad of toilet paper and held it tight to my head, and it became almost instantly soaked. I threw that away and grabbed another wad and pressed just as hard again. Once I felt like the flood had lessened enough that I could make it to the kitchen, I grabbed a third wad of TP, held it to my head while I went to the kitchen and grabbed some ice, put it in a plastic bag, and wrapped that in some napkins and more TP.

At that point, I became very weak and sick-feeling. I kept the ice and pressure on my head, as I was still bleeding pretty strongly. As this happened right before I was planning to make dinner, I was even woozier from the sudden loss of blood and intense pain on an empty stomach. I needed to talk with someone, so I called my mom and spoke with her for about an hour. She was obviously concerned, but soon relaxed enough to just talk with me and keep my coherent and awake.

It is now about an hour and half after the event. I'm feeling a bit stronger, the bleeding has lessened to the point where I found some gauze and medical tape and am using that. I have cleaned up the blood trail and most of the sink. I have a good-sized lump on my upper forehead and the gash is wide enough that I will likely have a nice scar from this one.

I put the chicken in the oven to bake (no frying or grilling for me-- I think it is better if I let the oven do the work). My headache is getting extremely bad, but you shouldn't take any sort of aspirin with a head wound, so I am avoiding that right now.

So, I'm wondering if hitting my head is going to be a constant issue now-- as current readers know, I smacked my head good about two weeks ago. Hopefully not, as I can't handle too much more of this.

Better go check the chicken.

Tired of the Questions

What she said (including disclaimer).

Hallelujah

Over the last two-three weeks, I watched a number of shows that featured a slow, plaintive song with a refrain in which the artists repeated the word "Hallelujah" a few times. The song is, of course, named "Hallelujah" and is a Leonard Cohen song originally.

There are a few websites that refer to music from various shows, and this helped narrow things down a bit. One that was useful was:

Blogcritics

These sites and my musically-inclined friends led me to find a whole list of people who sing this song. Some are quite good versions.

kd lang
Allison Crowe
Rufus Wainwright
Daisy Chapman
Jeff Buckley (probably the most popular version)
Angelou
Steve Acho
Brandi Carlile
Elisa

The small snippets of these songs I heard on iTunes indicated that, while good, none of these were the precise version for which I was searching. I went back to the 'net to see if there were any other versions that might have been found. I found this website:

Stylus

Sure enough, the John Cale version-- which was hard to find a good snippet of to listen to-- appears to be the precise version that I liked so much. (The Stylus website also mentions a great TV moment; read the description of #2 for the episode "My Screwup.")

Some TV shows have tried to facilitate their viewers' desires to buy the music they present. However, even these shows do not do a great job of telling you what every song is-- I can't tell you how often I have watched Smallville, enjoyed a song, and it was not one of the ones mentioned at the end of the program.

But other shows, especially the dramas, make little to no effort to help the viewers find good music. It is unfortunate, as they could really get a synergy going between the production companies and the music industries. I am willing to bet the music industry would see bumps in these songs and albums if both they and the TV productions companies would make the effort. Win-win for both groups.

I am off to see if I can find the John Cale version of "Hallelujah" as a single song, since iTunes appears not to have it. Wish me luck!

Guiding Light

Okay, this is just goofy! I guess, with their viewership down to all-time lows, they are hoping to grab some of the comic-book readers in American and suck them in? I will admit, soaps and comics use many similar tactics in keeping viewers and stringing out storylines.

From IMDB.com, Oct. 20, 2006:

Superhero To Beam Onto 'Guiding Light'
Guiding Light, America's oldest soap opera -- it began on radio in 1937 and moved to television in 1952 -- will be taking aim at younger viewers next month when it introduces a Marvel Comics-created superhero on Nov. 1. Marvel Comics said that it will cross-promote the storyline with an eight-page insert to appear in several of its comic books in which the Guiding Light characters will interact with Marvel superheroes.

Follow up link:
http://www.superherotimes.com/newsarchive/001724.php

Italian Delight

I like a good, Italian style sandwich. Three weeks ago today, while visiting the Albertsons by work for lunch, I discovered their deli has a very good Italian sandwich. It has cappicola, cotto salami, genoa salami, provolone cheese, tomato, Italian dressing, and pepperoncinis. All this is on a baguette-style sandwich roll. I order it sans tomatoes.

Well, three weeks ago, I read that on the wall, ordered from the gentleman behind the counter saying, “I would like the Italian Delight sandwich. I want it exactly as it is listed, except no tomatoes.” I thought that was pretty clear direction.

Well, he asked me twice if I wanted mustard and mayo on it (yuck!) and he added onions and included tomatoes. Well, after taking the onions and tomato off, and ensuring he did not slide any mustard or mayo on there, I enjoyed the sandwich. Quite tasty and a great value for the price. However, with no one bothering him and nothing to do but make my sandwich, it took the poor guy well over 20 minutes to make the sandwich.

About a week later, I returned. I positioned myself in line so I would have the woman working the counter help me. When I asked, I said, “I’d like the Italian Delight, just as it is listed, but no tomatoes.” Off she went. I was a little distracted, left the counter to grab something nearby, and when I returned I was surprised to see she had out regular sliced bread and was starting to add avocado to the sandwich. I said, “Excuse me” enough times to catch her notice and then asked, “What sandwich are you making?”

“The Ultimate Club,” she responded.

“But I ordered the Italian Delight,” I countered. I watched as her light bulb turned on, dimly, and she said, “I’m sorry. You’re right.” And she quickly made me an Italian Delight. So, it took well over 20 minutes again, and she put it on a standard soft sandwich roll instead of the baguette. I still enjoyed it, but it is better on the baguette.

Last week, I tried again. I got the guy again. I used the same line, only I ignored the “no tomatoes” comment. Still took him a while to construct the sandwich, but he did it in just under 20 minutes and I got… onions on it. I got back to the office, picked off the onions and tomatoes and enjoyed it.

Today I needed to pick up my medications at the Sav-on inside that Albertsons, so I got that sandwich again. The same guy was there, and he even remembered me. So I ordered the Italian Delight, as listed on the menu, with no tomatoes. To his credit, he only made the sandwich as listed this time, but he managed to include the tomatoes again.

If I did not enjoy the sandwich so much, I would not go back. I do find it amusing that, with the level of direction I have provided, I cannot get them to give me exactly what I order. Oh well, I am used to taking tomatoes off of sandwiches; it is not a big deal to me or I would ask to speak with the manager and offer “suggestions.”

Memory Foam

I have a crappy bed. No bones about it. On my own and with my mom's help, I have looked for ways to improve the bed using foam, extra pillows, and feather-filled toppers.

Last week I purchased a Personal Expression memory foam topper for my bed. Well, actually two, but that is another story. With 3" of memory foam on the bed, my sleep has been deeper, more restful, and better.

The foam does a nice job of molding around me and easing the pressure on my shoulders and back. I have been moving less during the night.

Matter of fact, my only complaint is that I have not quite figured out the heat issues. The memory foam molds around me more than I am used to. Also, the temperatures are getting cooler at night, which causes me to grab my afghan during the night. Then, since the foam has me wrapped up and I have the extra warmth from the afghan, I am getting too warm. When I get too warm, I have trouble waking up. Yesterday I slept in until after 8:30 am and this morning I stayed asleep until 8 am.

However, I am happy to have this issue. I am known for having poor night's rest and only sleeping around 5-6 hours a night. Since adding the memory foam to my bed I am sleeping 7-8 hours a night, and loving it.

I give a serious thumbs up to the memory foam topper. What a great purchase.

Follow Up - Head

The headaches have eased back and I seem to be generally okay. I still have some small issues that may be related. With as hard as I hit my head, I'm sure that I had some form of concussion, even if I did not lose consciousness.

I also have some issues with my arthritis, which the knock to the head have not helped. My jaw very nearly locked shut yesterday and is still a bit sore today. However, I know that taking some prednisone for a couple of days will ease that away, so I am not overly concerned by that. But it was bad timing with the headaches and a general grogginess brought on by the blow to the head.

Life's Little Challenges

Sometimes, life is a challenge.

My fiancé and I want to be together. However, through the happenstance of how we met, it turned out that we are from different sides of the continent and in different countries. So our ability to be together is stymied by rules and regulations we must overcome first. It is taking longer than we would like, and it is frustrating, but all we can do is continue to press our nose to the grindstone and move forward. We are, at least, reviewing the immigration paperwork and making some tough decisions on when and how we can get me to her. And, of course, this challenge leads to other challenges—moving, marriage, distance from my current friends and family, job. All of which I look forward to meeting and overcoming in the future.

I really enjoy Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying. I have a great group of friends with whom I play. We even have a wealth of people who like to GM, which is often unusual for groups. However, I really want to play in a super-hero related game. While my friends are open to playing in a game, it generally means that I have to GM it, as I am the impetus for this sort of genre. Which, while fun, defeats the purpose—I want to have the fun of creating the character, not knowing the plot, and defeating the bad guys. If I am the GM, no matter how much fun I may have in the game, I really cannot have the specific fun for which I am looking. The only solution to this one that I see is to find a group who enjoys this genre and join them. But that leads to other challenges; fitting in with a new group, time, location.

Bike riding is something I have always enjoyed. However, I enjoy it the most when I can ride with someone, to a location or for a purpose, and share the experience. Right now, I do not have anyone with whom I can share that joy. I have asked around in my apartment complex with those I have seen biking, but they are mostly of the racing variety; I’m just looking for a buddy to take a 3-5 mile ride with around the local environs. I am not sure why this one has been on my mind so much lately, except that I have felt the need to get some exercise in and I like biking for both the distance and speed as well as the low-impact nature of it. I am not seeing a ready solution to this one right now, except maybe to go back to biking alone. Now that I have a cell phone, solitary biking does not have quite the same worries as it once did.

PC gaming is a fun activity that I like to lose myself in on occasion. However, PC gaming is at its most fun when you can team up with people you know and from whom you can expect a certain level of play and comradeship. For a while, I managed to get two of my buddies to join me in some online gaming and I had a real blast. Just prior and shortly after their involvement, I did my best to join and play with a group within the game. But, in each case, the friends and the groups had other things come into play and they disbanded, stopped playing, or drifted to other groups. There is a new online game coming within just a few days/weeks (NWN2) which I know one buddy of mine is buying; so I may have an opportunity to get some more gaming with friends in soon. But he’s a busy guy, with a wife and a child as well as a job with a lot of OT, so I am not optimistic that he can play as often as I can. But any time will be better than none.

There are other challenges; health, family, pet, apartment, and job related. Not sure even why I mention the four I do, except maybe that those are four that are on my head a lot these days. The first and last are two that have a fair chance of being overcome in some fashion or another. The middle two are more of a challenge, and I look for ways around them. As to the many other challenges; I guess I will get to them when I get to them.

A Good Swift Kick to the Head

I hit my head. Hard.

My apartment sports a crappy over/under clothes washer/dryer set. The dryer, on top, has a door that likes to slowly swing shut if you do not put something to block it. As I was doing laundry yesterday, I dropped a piece of clothing and bent to retrieve it without considering the dryer door, which I had left open.

I stood up at full speed and, banged the back of my head into the metal dryer door with a great deal of force.

Luckily, I had folded articles on the washer top. I hit my head so hard I actually ricocheted down and would have hit the washer, but landed on a pile of folded clothes instead of chipping a tooth or breaking/bloodying my nose on the hard metal surface of the washer.

This morning, when I looked at the washer unit, I noticed it was moved back slightly and no longer facing exactly straight—apparently I hit it hard enough to move the unit, too.

What is interesting is that I did not even break the skin or give myself a goose-egg. However, I hit it hard enough to get that coppery flavor in the back of my throat, an instant, splitting, migraine-strength headache, and a bit of a nauseated feeling.

Unfortunately, I did all this around 5pm and I had a dinner get-together with a buddy of mine. I waited about half an hour to see if the symptoms would clear. When they did not, I had to call my friend and postpone our dinner. I felt bad doing it, but I definitely did not feel safe to drive or well enough to be social.

I monitored my symptoms for the requisite four hours; I never lost consciousness and I did not appear to be having any problems remembering anything. Well, no more than is usual for me now. ;-) The nauseated feeling did not turn into vomiting and I had no signs of any bleeding. No seizures or difficulty speaking/making sense.

It is now nearly 24 hours later and my splitting headache is just starting to ease off into moderate pounding. If I turn my head too quickly, I get a weird “slow fade” sensation as though my senses are not quite keeping up with me. And I still have the coppery taste in the back of my throat a bit, although that is finally lessening too.

This makes a few times now I have hit my head hard enough to worry about concussion. As an early teen, riding my bicycle and doing stunts, I went off a jump and landed flat on my back and head, knocking the wind out of me and giving me a slight numbing sensation. I have been hit in the face/head a couple of times playing sports, by balls and bats, that caused the coppery taste and a wooziness. I am fairly sure that the injury when I conked my head on the support bar on Chris’s bunked bed in the dormitories caused some damage. And then there was the time in England when I stood up way too fast and hit my head on the luggage wrack and light switch, knocking me senseless for a few minutes.

Anyone who knows me knows I hate doing laundry. Incidents like this just support that natural hatred—laundry hates me (and, apparently, is out to kill me, too), so I hate it right back!

I continue to monitor the situation and, if everything is not improving by tomorrow, I will get my head checked for permanent damage. Things are starting to improve, so I do not think this will be necessary.

And I need to contact my buddy and reschedule lunch/dinner. I feel bad leaving him in the lurch on such short notice, but I think it was for the best in the end.

Art Imitates Life

Anyone who has ever played any MMORPG, but especially WoW, needs to watch last night's episode of South Park, "Make Love not Warcraft."

I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face!

True Evil

Guns are evil.

They must be—every time something horrible involving guns happens, that is what I hear from the media and from people.

Recently, a man who was having psychological issues both from the loss of a child 3 years ago and from a molestation event that happened 20 years ago, took a shotgun and a 9 mm handgun to an Amish school and killed some children and himself.

He wasn’t at fault; the guns were— because guns are evil.

The guns somehow made him write the multiple suicide notes, call his wife during the incident, and choose a place where he could vent his frustrations without much fear of reprisals—a school. Damn, those guns are evil.

Two other gun-related incidents occurred this week as well. In both cases, children got weapons and took them to school and shot people. It is not the parent’s fault for not properly storing or locking the weapon. It is not the parent’s fault for apparently not teaching the children proper respect for the tool, or forgetting to teach the children that a gun is not the proper response to the travails of life. No, it was that evil gun’s fault for sitting there in a drawer and corrupting those in the household.

Columbine was the gun’s fault. The two children who were psychologically unbalanced, feared by their fellow students for their odd and aggressive behavior, and about whom the police did nothing regarding the many complaints and fears that had been forwarded to them about those two boys’ behavior for the year leading up to the event—they aren’t to blame. If those darned guns hadn’t been around to influence their minds and make them turn bad, Columbine would never have happened.

We can go all the way back to the first incident—that McDonald’s shooting in the early 80s where another unbalanced person took a weapon to a favorite eatery and unloaded, killing multiple people during a rampage. How possibly could he be to blame for that? It had to be the gun.

A growing voice can be heard once again asking why our country does not ban this gun or that gun, or even all guns. That growing voice is asking why we don’t do more to protect the children.

And here is the problem with that voice—we don’t need more laws, we just need the laws we currently have enforced. This country has literally hundreds of laws on the books, both federally and locally, about who can and who cannot have guns, where they can be used, training courses that are supposed to be taken prior to buying or using guns, and waiting periods. Some locations have banned specific types of guns or modifying weapons to make them more deadly. And the guns still find a way into those locations. Those changes still get made to the weapons. And people still manage to buy guns without the waiting periods or without taking gun safety courses first.

We need the police to take complaints against anyone about violent and extremely anti-social behavior more seriously; including funding them well enough they have people to work these complaints. For that matter, we need all of the many, many systems we have in place in schools, churches, and communities to be properly funded and staffed so they have a chance in hell of actually working.

We need people to understand that well over 95% of all legal gun owners, makers, and sellers are law-abiding citizens from whom you never hear a peep and about whom very few of these news stories are written.

We have to smarten up and realize that the guy who shot the children in the Amish school left home that day with the intent to get some sort of revenge and the need to commit suicide. The Columbine children wanted the same things; revenge and death. These people will find other ways if guns are not in the picture. Look at any country that bans guns; those country a) still have problems with guns and b) have a much higher incidence of violent crimes via other means (knives, blunt objects, fist fights, etc.), per capita. It shows that people who want to commit violent acts are going to—if you make guns unavailable, they WILL find something else to use or another way to do the violence. There is no society anywhere on earth where violent crime has been removed.

So why not smarten up and hold accountable those that should be: the perpetrators of these crimes. They wanted to commit violent acts and they did. They are to blame; no one else but those people. Blame them. Hold them accountable.

It is not the gun’s fault. It is just a tool. A tool that is incredibly efficient and remarkably good at the task it was designed for, but a tool nonetheless. Without a person to hold it, load it, aim, and fire it, the tool will do nothing more than sit there.

And maybe we can learn something from the Amish against whom this most recent gun violence was perpetrated. One Amish man was quoted as saying, “There is no sense in getting angry.” Another, who lost a family member to the violence and has another in the hospital, said, “I think it was going to happen. God has his hand in it.” These so-called ‘backward’ people understand that people get violent and violence happens. They will mourn their dead and move on.

Maybe the rest of us can, too?

Intelligent People

Sometimes, being an intelligent person actually is an impediment.

It seems like people who are not as intelligent manage, alone and without help, all the time. They just throw caution to the wind and go. Who cares if they did not do something correctly—they will just fix it and continue on. Who cares if they misunderstood the nature of that over there—they will just explain their mistake and move on.

Vacuous people throw caution to the wind and just do something. More often than not, it seems to work out for them. Not being overly self-aware allows them to damn the consequences and move full-steam ahead. They do not seem to agonize over the imperfections and faulty assumptions, nor do they let the setbacks that their lack of information creates stop them. And the universe, or the higher being, appears to smile on their ignorance and move them past the impediment with just a gentle nudge, and maybe a whimsical smile, and on they go.

Intelligent people just cannot do that. They are stifled with the need to “do it right,” to understand the process, which causes a great deal of stress and slows them down. Smart people agonize over the little and the big. They worry about the rights and the wrongs. They worry about other people involved and they wonder about the morals and the ethics of it all.

Smart people have more options available. So many possibilities open up to them that it can be paralyzing to make a choice. A less intelligent person only has to pick from a few doors and they do not seem to care about the consequences of that action. They assume they can always back out and pick the other door. Or they trust that other doors will open after this one. But a smart person has dozens, hundreds, of doors from which to choose. And they recognize that even the slightest wrong choice carries consequences.

Life is a series of choices and consequences, a smart child is taught. Those who shine less brightly are told that Life is just… life. Get to the living of it and don’t look back!

It is rare that you can see smart people just living their life. The apprehensions and awareness keeps them more fearful and contained. Living life for a smart person seems to come only after a break down or a break through of some sort. Their intelligence finally resolves the issues and can see more clearly and without prejudice. They learn that it is rare when the consequences which stymied them before are as ravaging as they once believed. Not all decisions lead to ruin.

Other times we see an intelligent person who understands the true meaning of life, it often turns out to be an older person, the child stricken with a terminal illness, or an adult with a severe infirmity. Age, illness, and infirmity are other reasons to cause an intelligent person to see beyond the possibilities of their own minds, look past the confusion that those possibilities present, and see that life is about living.

None of this is particularly deep, nor is it the least bit original. But sometimes people forget that the only thing that stops a person, smart or otherwise, from living life is that person; the person’s fears and hopes, dashed dreams and introspections, and the consequences for every little action.

Maybe it is time to take a deep breath and go live a little life?

And Gone

M is mid-flight, somewhere along the way to SJ. United and Air Canada-- please take good care of her. She's a very special cargo to me. Make sure she arrives safely.

Thoughts on this--

• It shreds the emotions to get together, have some incredibly lovely days together, and then be ripped apart because one of us has to go.
• It is very hard to focus at work when you are emotional.
• We must get some resolution soon, as this is tough. Tougher than tough!
• She's a much better packer than I am.
• I have the benefit of a full wardrobe at her place, so can generally take just a carry-on with me.
• St. Cecilia's is the best Catholic church we have found here. More traditional than any of the others.

We did manage to spend 4 incredible days together. I took her to my home town and showed her what a small desert community is. I think she was shocked, surprised, and a little overwhelmed (or maybe underwhelmed). It is a quiet place, hot, with just over 26k people in it. We saw all the sights I could think to show her in under an hour (not including the National Park-- which is just more desert).

We discussed our current situation in detail and have some plans of actions and some resources to search. We also came to a decision on the cat. We have had some movement with the lawyer and with a possible job that I can do from Canada, so our fingers are crossed on both fronts. But we still seem to have many miles to go before we sleep. *sigh

The countdown is now on for (American) Thanksgiving (she comes back and we can hopefully visit some more people this time). And then again for Christmas (I go there).

She's Here

M has arrived, safe and sound.

Random Thoughts (9/21/06)

• I need M here. And these four days will be nowhere near long enough.
• I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.
• I hate working on Data Dictionaries. I know these are important to programmers, and even sometimes to clients, but I hate, hate, hate formatting, rearranging, and putting them together. I have another one lined up, though. *sigh
• We need parents to be parents. When they are not parents (whether trying to be our friend or otherwise), they are not performing the proper role. It is okay to be friendly with your parent, but they should always act like your parent. I’m lucky in that my parents have always fulfilled their role.
• We still have no accountability in this country. We need people to just step up and say, “I was wrong. It is my fault. I am accountable.” How refreshing would that be?
• It is obviously a behavior issue and my behavior modification attempts are not working. What else can I do?
• I miss the days where I could just quietly color in my room. Even when I do that today, there are always other pressures weighing on me or other concerns about which I must take action.
• So Cal, and all of America, really, needs to learn to slow down and breathe.
• I am utterly amazed at my boss. She has lost around 200 lbs through force of will, Weight Watchers, and exercise. You would not recognize her if you haven’t seen her in the last 2 years.
• Banking should be easier than this; especially with all the technology today.
• I am really looking forward to Issue 8 of CoH and to NWN 2. I hope both live up to their FAQs.
• I am getting tired of the new Mac commercial. Other than being out and out lies, they are also very deceptive. Especially the new one, where they claim that OS X is immune to viruses. Apple/Mac only has about 3% of the total PC market—it just isn’t worth it to a hacker to write a virus for that small an impact.
• President Bush seems to have the exact opposite problem of the guy in Memento—our President cannot form long-term memories. How else do you explain the utter surety with which he completely contradicts everything he has said in the past?
• It is utter nonsense to believe that if the Democrats win the House/Senate/Oval office, they will just pull our troops out. So stop saying that, Republicans.
• Hoover Dam is truly a marvel.
• Jericho surprised me. However, I think it has limited directions it can go without turning into melodrama and then getting cancelled.
• It will likely be just as surprising for me to go back to 29 as it will be for M. I haven’t been in town for a few years now. I hope I am well enough to do that trip—she needs to see where I come from. It explains a lot about me.
• With the way that Linden Avery was using both the Staff of Law and White Gold at the end of Runes of Earth, I am anxious to read the next novel.

A Mixed Blessing

Today is the 5th anniversary of that tragic event, and it seems a good time to look at how our country has responded.

9/11 has turned into a double-edged sword for America. It has drawn its people closer together and has allowed people to honor our military for their contributions. But it has also divided the country, mostly when the President chose to abandon his pursuit of the perpetrators of 9/11 and go after Iraq for what has turned out to be no reason at all. Now people still want to honor our men and women in uniform, but they also do not want to fight what has been categorically proven as an unjust war.

In the years since 9/11, our government has done many things to try to protect its people. However, once again, those actions have two sides. On the one side, 9/11 taught America how vulnerable many of its infrastructure is to outside forces. However, so many planes, trains, and ships are loading, unloading, and moving freight around this country that it is impossible to check them all. Its borders are so vast that they are nearly impossible to patrol. However, the proposals and the tightening of restrictions on its nearest neighbors have done nothing except alienate America's allies and point out problems in the immigration process (and with illegal immigration).

The government instituted tough new strategies for airline security to “keep 9/11 from ever happening again.” However, most of those strategies cannot be fairly implemented or are too prohibitively expensive to implement fully. So, instead, there are procedures that do not make Americans any safer (as the constant stream of reports about people flying with unsafe items can attest to) and only serve to anger the population and slow the primary means of transportation.

The Department of Homeland Security was created. Another mixed blessing, as this office created incomprehensible warnings and issued statements that were vague and fear-driven. However, this office pointed out inconsistencies in our information gathering groups (CIA, FBI, et al) and was used to consolidate much of that into one, more streamlined organization. But, on the other hand, most of the best information received has come from other countries’ espionage groups (like Scotland Yard, Interpol, etc.), which begs the question—how good is America's information and is there more that can be done to make this on-par with our allies?

Lastly, all of these trials have created new paradigms for racism and hatred in the country and toward Americans in other countries. Anyone who looks Arabic in any way (including Seiks, people from India and neighboring countries, and others) is still feeling some of the heat from 9/11, right or wrong. But, because of America's foreign policies since that event, many countries are looking at America as, at best, bullies, inconsiderate, belligerent and, at worst, as terrorists and warmongers. At the same time, these racist tendencies are being discussed more openly and honestly than at any other time in our history. Carlos Mencia, and other comics, are constantly pointing out and providing forums for Americans to discuss racism. News resources have started asking tougher questions and delving deeper into these areas. The immigration issues have come to a head and are on the front burner for many states.

So where is America today? Even after five years, it may be too soon to tell. The country is not where it should be—the light and the hope for the world. It is not noticeably safer. Politically, it is more divided than ever. Yet there are bright spots. America seems to be back on a good track. Its people are honoring those in the military and other protection services (Coast Guard, Fire, Police, etc.). Americans are questioning their government and asking questions that require hard answers.

It may not be until the next Presidential election that America sees where it stands. If Americans re-elect the party that has led it to this point, it will say that the majority trusts where the country is and the direction it is going. If Americans elect the other party, it says that people need change and a new outlook and will take time to see where that party leads the country and if that party can mend some of the fences with foreign countries that seem to be strained now. If Americans elect an unusual person or party (whether it is a woman or ethnic President/Vice-President, a third-party candidate, or something entirely new), it will indicate that the people need massive change and are willing to look at fresh ideas for them.

Until then, give 9/11 a moment of silence, think about the world as it is now and how it was before, and think about the future and what each person can do to move America forward.

RIP Crocodile Hunter

Steve Irwin’s enthusiasm and energy were infectious. Audiences could readily see that he cared for the critters with which he worked, and his boundless energy made him entertaining to watch as he ran, dove, leaped, and climbed his way after animals. But, while it made him a great host for wild life specials, those personality traits were also what led him to such dangerous antics when dealing with these creatures.

No amount of expertise is a balm for the recklessness that he displayed on camera. No other wild life expert prior to Irwin acted and reacted around these dangerous creatures like Irwin. It was just a matter of time. Anyone who watched any of Irwin’s specials had to come away with the idea that this man was going to die out in the field at some point. Unfortunately, since he was so successful and brought so many more viewers to wild life channels, many of the modern animal show stars now follow in his footsteps.

For some reason, audiences primarily gave Irwin a free pass on his dangerous behavior. No one deplored him when he appeared to tease the crocodiles in their habitats or when he would jump headlong into dangerous encounters. The only time any negative press came his way was when he was in on of his crocodile enclosures carrying his newborn baby. And even then, more rancor was shown to Michael Jackson’s baby dangling incident (when it was clear that Jackson was trying to set the baby on the window sill and just missed) than to Irwin for feeding crocodiles while carrying a live, defenseless, human baby in one arm.

We should honor Irwin’s contributions to animal research, preservation, and understanding. He was also an incredible ambassador for Australia. With his unique style of hosting and animal interaction, he brought new viewers to wild life programming and instructed while he entertained. And, it seems certain, Irwin would likely have wanted nothing more than to go out like he did—interacting with his critters, enjoying the job, and living life to the fullest.

However, I also think we should reevaluate how he interacted with the creatures and how close he came to these dangerous animals to avoid an accident of this nature happening again. Irwin always seemed the most interested in people learning from him. I think we can—both from the incredible job he did educating people about animals, and from the tragic but avoidable way in which he died.

Agassi's Farewell

Here is a transcription of the speech that Andre Agassi gave on the court after losing his match to Becker.

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what it doesn't say is what it is I have found. And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you."

And thank you, Andre, for always being entertaining, for your growth and maturity as a player and person, and for the many wonderful sports memories you leave behind.

The Big Easy

I do not understand why the President doesn't send the Army Corps of Engineers to New Orleans (I know they are there, but hear me out) to train those left in the city to rebuild. By that I mean, train the majority on building. Train some on wiring and electricity. Train some on plumbing. Their training would be on-the-job and their graduation would be in the streets.

Once this is started, you start putting them to work-- pick a street on which to start. Send the lumber and the other supplies. And put these people to work rebuilding that street, using the plans that must be on file somewhere for each house. Rebuild the street as it was before. When they finish that street, those who cannot do the construction can make the phone calls to tell those who used to own that home that it is back and ready for them to move in. Have others working on the moving aspect; helping to drive trucks, haul furniture, paint walls, and get those families moved.

When that street is done, rebuild the next street. And the next. These people will get more skilled, their sense of community will skyrocket, and the job will get done. Plus, this will create jobs, economy, income in New Orleans.

When the project is done (which will likely take years) you have a city of skilled workers available. They have the pride and knowledge in new skillsets and marketable job experience-- they can go anywhere in the country for new building jobs.

I see no real reason for the dicking about by those in the positions of power for the rebuilding nor any reason for the lamentation of those left behind; rebuild what was lost and put the people that are homeless and destitute to work doing it-- both problems are solved. New Orleans is rebuilt (no more dicking about, stealing the land from those who currently own it, etc.), the homeless and destitute have new, marketable skills (no more groaning about no jobs, no skills), and people come back to the city.

Why is everyone trying to overcomplicate these things? Get in there, rebuild it, and get this thing turned around.

Using Your Voice

People often ask me why I write letters, emails, and phone 800 numbers. I believe that when you have complaints or encouragements, you should voice them.

Recently, I was experiencing a strange problem: one channel, and only one, was exceptionally bright. Didn’t matter if I watched the channel using the TV input, through TiVo, or through the VCR, that channel was much brighter than all others.

Many people wouldn’t make a comment on this to their cable company. Many would reason that it might be on their end, or that it is just one channel, so why bother. “Someone will figure it out,” may be what these people would say.

Well, I went online to Cox Cable and sent in an email to their support department. It was not important enough to call and wait for a live consultation when I knew if the problem was on their end, it would be something a telephone jockey couldn’t help with. But it was important enough to contact someone and have it checked.

I received the following response today from Cox’s support:

Hello John,

Thank you for your email. Please accept our apology
for the time it has taken us to reply back. We thank
you for bringing this problem to our attention. Without
your feed back we would have never looked in to this
matter. Once we received your email, we had our
maintenance department see if this was a problem at
the headend (the main system that provides cable and
audio to your area). We did just received confirmation
that we were able to identify the problem and it has
been corrected. 

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the
information you requested.  If we have not, or if we
can be of any additional service to you, please do not
hesitate to contact us again.

Thank you.

Michelle

Cox Communications Online Technical Support Team

So, as you can see, voicing the complaint was important as it turned out to be a problem on their end. I just checked the channel in question and it is finally clear, under control, and the same brightness level as all the others.

And, since this problem was on their end, I just helped improve the reception for many thousands of other viewers in this area.

Sometimes, it pays to voice your opinions.

Brick

The indy movie Brick is an interesting melange of modern movie and film noir. Rian Johnson, the writer and director, set this story in San Clemente, CA at his old high school.

It is a little jolting at first to watch such young actors speaking such out-dated dialog. But once you get past this, the story is smart and intricate.

Brendan, the main character, is a guy with a past. In the classic sense of a Sam Spade, he is troubled and is not a nice guy, but he wants to do right. He gets involved with the story when his former girlfriend, Emily (or “Em”) calls him and asks for help. In his doggedly dependable way, Brendan shoulders this burden and begins to send out feelers to figure out in what she is involved. Soon, she turns up dead and, rather than letting it go, he gets in as deep as it takes to find her killer. On the way he is beaten up, nearly killed, gets in over his head, meets up with a femme fatale and the crime kingpin, and then figures a clever way to turn the tables on all involved.

Johnson uses all the classic film noir techniques. Only those characters important to the story are fully realized; the rest come across as caricatures. The dialog is fast-paced and very stylized. Some very odd camera angles are used. Despite all this, it seems to work. Yet this is juxtaposed against modern cinematography, sharp editing, current music, and today’s fashions.

Nora Zehetner (you might remember her best as the recurring character Laynie on “Everwood”), plays Laura, the femme fatale of the story. While a pretty girl, always needed for this type of role, she also plays her character with a subversive intelligence and a coy smile. She does a fair job of bringing the wit and wiles of a Lauren Bacall to this movie.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tommy Solomon from “3^rd Rock from the Sun”) is generally very good as Brendan. The director obviously wanted him to play the role tense, tough, and unyielding; however, sometimes it felt like it was too tight; a little more emotional may have provoked a bit more attachment to the character. He does get a couple of scenes where the character is allowed to react to all that is going on, and those are very humanizing. Still, the character comes across as smart, capable, and determined.

In many ways, the only film I can think to compare this movie with is the modern retelling of Romeo+Juliet. In that version, young actors in modern settings were using the original dialog from Shakespeare’s play. Daggers and swords were replaced with handguns and uzis. A similar style of modern and classic is mixed in Brick.

One thing that stood out was the fact this film, for all the violence and drugs involved with the plot, had no cursing in it. Most movies with either this subject matter or these types of characters would be chock-full of cursing.

Brick is not for everyone. The stylization of the classic noir and the staccato dialog may turn some viewers off. You definitely need to pay attention and be an active viewer in order to keep up and follow all the clues, or you may get a little lost. However, the movie's originality and slightly odd mix of genres is interesting. If you like to take a bit of chance, you may find this to be a nice gem.

You may enjoy this film if you liked: Donnie Darko, Secretary, Memento

Idle Thoughts

- I called the vet on Monday and heard back from her on Monday evening. She wrote a new prescription for Calypso of a different antibiotic to try. She agreed with me that the cat was having some sort of allergic reaction to the other medication and that I should stop.

Caly was a little more hesitant about pill time on Tuesday, but she took both pills without any apparent problems. This morning she was a little more accommodating about taking it.

- I managed to drop off the Ionic Breeze at the PostalAnnex+ that happens to be right by the vet’s office. They shipped it out Monday. Hopefully I will be getting my two new Ionic Breezes soon.

- Many of the people in my Fantasy Football league are not proving overly good at the draft. We constantly have to wait, make arrangements, and bend over backward in order to get them to draft. Irritating. It is not rocket science, just make a pick and move on. And you know it is currently running—so check the damn thing on occasion. It may just be your turn!

- C’mon Cindy!

- Went to The Fish Market with Renee for our employee appreciation lunch. Had the swordfish—and liked it. About the same texture as shark (which I already like) but with a milder flavor. It was good. That brings to three the number of fish I can say I like: shark, ohno, and swordfish. I also like lobster. Still not a huge fan of fresh-water fish. And don’t like crab, shrimp, or catfish at all.

- If you haven’t watched Hoodwinked, a computer-animated feature based on the Little Red Riding Hood story, get it. It’s cute, entertaining, and fairly clever.

- Work has been a drudge lately. Tasty employee appreciation meal or not.

- The gang is starting preparations for bowling starting in September. I’m going to miss bowling. I may just stop by to see how they are doing. Maybe I can sub occasionally.

- I took off my sunglasses this morning when I reached work—and the earpiece on one side snapped off. I’ve had these for about 3 weeks now. Even for me, that is a record for breaking sunglasses.

Feeling Ephemeral

My company renewed the lease for the Irvine division’s current building. As part of that renewal, the property owner agreed to make some significant upgrades to the facility. This included modernizing the bathrooms.

The upstairs bathroom remodel is done. All of the stalls, urinals, soap dispensers, and faucets now use electronic eyes to automatically flush, dispense soap, or turn on/off the water. For the first week after they opened this restroom (and shut down the downstairs for its remodeling), everything was great.

For the last week, however, I have been feeling somewhat invisible. Standing at the urinal or sitting in a stall, without moving any significant amount, suddenly the toilet or urinal will flush. I’ve asked and there are no timers on these things—they are only supposed to flush once you leave the eye’s radius. At first I thought I might be doing something to cause this; leaning just far enough out of the way, backing up just enough that the eye registers me as leaving, etc. But over the last few days at work I made a point of remaining very still—and the same thing happens.

I asked a few friends if they experienced anything similar, and all have said no. The facilities only flush when they are well away from it. If anything, they comment the opposite direction—they worry the facilities won’t flush at all and use the manual override just in case.

It is to the point where I cannot help but feel a little ephemeral. Why won’t these devices register me appropriately? Why do they insist I am no longer there?

Things Are Tough

First
Currently, my fiance is going through a really tough time. It frustrates me a that I cannot help her through this time; by making dinner, by driving her, by getting the little things done around the house, by helping at the hospital, by just being there. I would happily help her mom, talk with doctors, make the necessary phone calls to people, discuss with Laura, etc.

Instead I sit here and try to be as supportive as I can from over 3500 miles away. Hopefully some of the plans we are working on will come to fruition soon, so I can be there.

All I can really do right now is tell her that I love her and hope that is enough.

Second
My cat appears to have another UTI. All the classic symptoms are there. So I took her to the veterinarian yesterday, a new one that is right down the street from me. This vet and I hit it off better than the last one. She agreed with my assessment of the cat and gave her a shot to help. She gave me some pills to give to Calypso for the next 10 days, twice a day.

This morning I was able to give her the pill without difficulty. I've gotten pretty good at giving cats pills after Chris's pet, Sam, had health issues and needed a lot of pills, force-feeding, and other ministrations.

This afternoon, however, when I gave Caly her pill she choked a bit. Held it down and seemed fine afterward, but it was obviously more painful or discomforting to her this time. About 10 minutes later she came out of the kitchen after having eaten, and suddenly started meowing and almost growling. Now, my cat doesn't make a lot of noise and usually only meows at all when she's being rubbed, so this caught my attention.

She suddenly vomited everything she just ate (did not see the pill in it, so that was a good sign). After throwing up, she seemed suddenly listless. She was sort of panting, only her mouth was closed, and her heart beat was really fast. She seemed scared and continued the growling-like sound whenever she could.

Soon she walked, staggered really, into my bedroom and then collapsed down again. The strange panting and growling continued for a good 20 minutes or so. She let me touch her feet, her stomach, and even her tail without even lifting her head-- so I know something was wrong. She does not like her feet, stomach, or tail touched, normally.

After about an hour, she seemed to slowly get better. She has moved again, and her eyes look more lively. But now I'm concerned about her pill in the morning. Maybe this was some sort of allergic reaction? Maybe the pill and her food react somehow (since this started after she ate)? My next step is to call the vet back and see if they want me to do anything.

Something to Eat

Dammit, I am hungry for a big batch of Aebleskiver. I love aebleskiver. Yum!

A Breeze?

A few years ago, in June 2004, I purchased a pair of Ionic Breeze Quadras, and I got a bathroom-sized Breeze for free with the purchase. I got one for myself and one for my mom. As a pet owner and one who lives in a very small apartment, I noticed a big difference having the Ionic Breezes working. Mom has often commented on how effective hers is at helping to control her asthma issues.

My apartment recently experienced a few power outages and I noticed after one of them that neither of my Ionic Breezes were working. I tried unplugging, cleaning, and replugging them. I tried plugging them in while holding down the on switch, as many devices use that as a form of reset/reboot. Nothing.

I figured it wouldn't hurt to contact Sharper Image, from whom I had purchased the Quadras, to see if there was anything they could do to help me. I expected them to maybe walk me through a reset process, or just tell me that there was nothing that could be done. I was fairly sure that there would be no warranty, as I had not purchased the "extended" warranty and I assumed that any limited warranty would be long over.

You can imagine my surprise when Rebecca, the customer support rep I got when I called, said that the Quadra had a 5-year warranty and all I had to do was send it back and they would send me a new one, free. As to the blown bathroom Ionic Breeze, they would just ship me a new one-- no reason to send that one back.

I have since received an email with my UPS Return Label that I need to print out. I just need to send back the malfunctioning Quadra and Sharper Image will send me the replacement. Luckily, I kept my original box, so I can repackage it and send it back in that.

At the time I purchased them, Sharper Image had a special deal going but the Ionic Breezes were still pretty darn expensive. However, with customer support like this from the company, I am now feeling like the price paid was well worth it. I will be much more likely to purchase from their company in the future after this (so far) very positive experience.

I'll let you know how the rest of the process goes.

The Joy of Windows

On Tuesday night, after chatting with M and then playing a little City of Heroes, I left my PC and did a few things around the house. Then I came back to the machine and had difficulty getting online again. Since it wasn't important, I didn't worry about it. I went to bed.

Wednesday morning, I came out to check my email before going to work. Still couldn't connect to the internet. I rebooted the machine, released and renewed the IP, unplugged and replugged in the router and modem. Nothing. 'Oh well, I'll deal with it when I get home,' I thought.

Got home, and same thing. Now I'm concerned. It is nearly 24 hours later and still nothing. I called Cox Cable support. After going through the Tier 1 service, I was forwarded to Tier 2. She ran through a lot of interesting suggestions. What was crazy was that she could see my modem and PC on her end, I just couldn't get out to the internet from my end. Finally, she had the idea of trying to connect my modem using the USB port directly to my PC. That worked!

I chatted with M for about an hour, my buddy Chris for a few minutes, and then tried to put in a new network card as the Tier 2 person determined that the problem must be my network port, since everything else seemed to be working.

As I turned off the PC, I disabled the motherboard port in the BIOS. Then I installed the network card, and rebooted. Still, I could not connect. I then did everything Tier 2 did to re-setup my modem to use USB, only now I still can't connect to the internet. I try everything I can think of, again, to resolve the issue. Nothing.

It is at this point that I notice the name of my machine is changed. I notice in the Device Manager that some of my ports and system IDs are different than how I set them.

So, I back up a few files and format my hard drive and re-install Windows XP. Sure enough, within moments I get my modem back up and working. I go through the entire re-install process, and get my router working again.

Now my PC Device Manager settings are back to what they should be. My only conclusion is that, somehow, someone may have gotten through my firewalls and virus/spyware protections and reset some things so they could use/manipulate/control my machine. Or, maybe, that a Windows update updating something that shouldn't be and caused me some grief.

However, it does appear that my motherboard network port is still not functioning. Which is unfortunate, because it is the better/higher-speed network port (I'm using my old 10/100 Linksys network card right now). But at least everything seems to be calming down and getting back to normal.

Good Quote

The following is a quote from Troy Aikman, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-2000, who is about to be enshrined in the Football Hall of Fame.

"After a career of really putting team accomplishment ahead of personal achievement, I'm being bestowed with one of the greatest individual honors you could ever be given," he said. "I'm very proud of that. And I think in there somewhere is a lesson for young kids."

A very good quote and a very important lesson. It would be nice if more children and young adults would learn it.

Thank You

Dear Unsolicited Email Sender,

Thank you for your interest in me. Your desire to tell me, a complete stranger, about my (physical shortcomings, monetary needs, love life, spiritual needs, product needs) and offer me an unsolicited solution is incredible. Many of my closest friends have not mentioned it to me; so hearing it from you is very important. However, at this time, I do not feel I need (a larger penis, a harder penis, pornography, a new mortgage lender, debt consolidation, my home’s equity checked, a date, a “date,” to make 10% of the billions left behind in [Zimbabwe, Congo, Liberia, Senegal, Niger], a car loan, a new religion, a miracle weight loss drug, to earn money through eBay, to make millions through real estate ventures, a new internet service provider, a new cell phone, a new cell phone company, student loan assistance, to investigate someone). While I appreciate you informing me of this (product, service, opportunity), I am content right now in this area in my life.

If my need for (a larger penis, a harder penis, pornography, a new mortgage lender, debt consolidation, my home’s equity checked, a date, a “date,” to make 10% of the billions left behind in [Zimbabwe, Congo, Liberia, Senegal, Niger], a car loan, a new religion, a miracle weight loss drug, to earn money through eBay, to make millions through real estate ventures, a new internet service provider, a new cell phone, a new cell phone company, student loan assistance, to investigate someone) changes in the near future, I will contact you immediately. Rest assured that I understand you are the expert in this area and have nothing but my best interest at heart. Once I do contact you, we can discuss in detail the wonderful (product, service, opportunity) that I have neglected.

Being the conscientious person that you are, and now that I have informed you of my position on (a larger penis, a harder penis, pornography, a new mortgage lender, debt consolidation, my home’s equity checked, a date, a “date,” to make 10% of the billions left behind in [Zimbabwe, Congo, Liberia, Senegal, Niger], a car loan, a new religion, a miracle weight loss drug, to earn money through eBay, to make millions through real estate ventures, a new internet service provider, a new cell phone, a new cell phone company, student loan assistance, to investigate someone), I have no doubt you will stop emailing me immediately.

Thank you for your time and frequent emails on this matter. I want you to know that I have moved each and every one of those thoughtful and well-written emails immediately into the most appropriate folder in my email box.


Respectfully,

Unsolicited Email Recipient

The Moon is Made of ... Creamy Filling!

I finished the last of my stash of "Looney Moons" (1/2 Moons) tonight.

Fiance got me a box of the strawberry moons, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I like fruit flavors, so having the strawberry was even better than the other types I've had so far (original, chocolate, caramel). I finished those a few days ago.

Mare got me a box of the large, original flavored moons. Mmmm... creamy goodness. Those lasted until tonight.

These things kick Twinkies ass! I still like Twinkies, don't get me wrong, but the Looney Moons are softer and have tastier filling.

I'm a sad, sad boy now.

The Curse Lives

For anyone who doesn't believe that my last name carries a curse, I give you the following evidence:

My mother is flying back to Pennsylvania to visit my sister and her family. She is currently stuck, on board the plane but delayed just after the doors closed on the plane, at the Dallas airport. She just called to tell me that the airline announced a "20-30 minute delay, you should get a snack before getting on" but the delay is currently at well-over an hour with no apparent end in sight.

Ah, I love a good curse.

Good luck mom!

Amusing Article from England

Worth a read:

Pirates/Movie article from The Independent

I do not like or agree with the opinions of the "friend" in the article, but I like both how he expresses them and that he says them at all.

Pirates and Superman

The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a nice sequel, but it has some problems:

• The new Pirates movie is clever... but not as clever as the original.
• It has good effects and action... but all are a bit overdone and too lengthy.
• The acting is engaging... but feels a bit forced.
• All your favorite characters are back... plus a whole bunch that shouldn't be.

So, all in all, I don't particularly understand why the movie is steamrolling the competition like it is. It is a good film, and entertaining, but it is too long and too overdone.

One of the keys to the first Pirates film was the engaging way the three main characters interacted. But in PotC:DMC, it takes too long to get the three characters together and then they act and speak like they didn't learn anything about each other from the first film. For example, in the first film, Will and Elizabeth learn that Captain Jack has a pretty good heart and is a fairly honorable man, he just has a rather eccentric and enigmatic way of getting there. However, in this film, all their dialogue is about how he has no honor and is only out for himself. What? After all they went through with him on their previous adventure, they still think that? Doesn't make sense.

Also, the real charm is those three characters and the silly but clever problems they got themselve into and out of. The rest of the cast were there to move the plot along. In PotC:DMC, many of the bit players have much larger, expanded roles. It got so that there were so many people and stories on the screen, that I started to lose interest.

The action felt forced and overly long. The first film hit the right mix of story and action. This PotC:DMC felt like the story was almost an excuse for newer, bigger, more overblown effects. And each of these action shots felt way, way, WAY too long. For example, the scene on the broken water wheel: we had already, in essence, seen this shot with the ball of bones early in the film. On top of this, the three way fight scene just kept going and going. I found I was squirming in my seat and wishing it was over and we could move on.

The motivations of some of the characters seemed pretty thin at best. It got so that I was actually getting confused and forgetting why certain characters were in this film. Jack was the only one with clearly defined motivations. Elizabeth kept flip-flopping what she wanted and why, Will seemed to be a totally different character who had amnesia to everything that happened in the first film, and the former Commodore seemed like he was sort of added in at the tail end when the writers couldn't figure out how certain plot points were going to happen.

Lastly, this film ends abruptly. It is more of a middle film than even Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back is. It is along the lines of Back to the Future 2. They tell half of a ful story and just end in the middle. I prefer each movie to stand, basically, on its own even if they tell a story that is continued in other films.

- - - - - -

Superman Returns was a good, entertaining film. However, I think they actually hurt themselves by making it a sequel to the first two Christopher Reeve movies. This provided the film with some constraints that seemed to hold it back.

For example, Kevin Spacey ate up the scenery as Lex Luthor. He was wonderful to watch. However, the fact that he needed to be the land-mogol and somewhat comic evil genius that we saw in the first two films really hindered what he could do as Lex. I can only imagine how entertaining he could have been as the real evil genius and general business (and political) leader that Lex has been in the comics (or has been in the Justice League cartoons over the last few years).

Brandon Routh was very good as both Superman and Clark Kent. I think he could have been even better if he wasn't acting like Christopher Reeve. He gave me a vibe that he could have been more of a John Byrne "Man of Steel" style Clark Kent, one who isn't a fumbling clutz. His Superman was a good balance of power and grace.

The story itself was decent, but the entire land-scheme of Lex left a lot to be desired. Up until the "big reveal" by Lex of what his plan actually is, the movie strikes a decent balance and is a fun ride. The scene where Superman saves the day with the space shuttle and plane is worth the price of admission alone. It is thrilling and you get a true sense of the power and nobility of Superman. The effects are incredible. However, the last 45 minutes of the story could have been trimmed and cut down to around 20 minutes.

Spoiler ahead, read at your own risk (highlight paragraph to read):
Lastly, one story area that I had a great deal of trouble with was the entire Lois Lane with child and that child being "super" plot-line. It was an unneeded and distracting subplot that added time and complications to the story that just weren't needed. If Bryan Singer had done away with that twist, he would have cut about 30 minutes out of the film, it would have required some more action scenes with Superman saving the day (which would have been good), and would have allowed Superman to remain unique.
End Spoiler

All in all, I was entertained and enjoyed that Superman returned. I was just a little disappointed Bryan Singer didn't stretch and expand the universe like he did with the X-Men franchise. I was expecting more from him as a director and storyteller.

- - - - - -

All in all, I was entertained by both films. I was also a bit disappointed in both. I think both are deservedly $200-$250 million dollar movies. I do not understand why Pirates is likely going to shoot way past that figure, and I don't understand why Superman is struggling to reach that mark.

Both films could have been at least 30 minutes shorter, easily, and could have simplified and tightened the respective stories to make them even more thrilling and entertaining.

And Back....

Well, John had another fine adventure in his Omniverse today.

The plan was to leave Saint John at 11:30am, get to Montreal with 1.5 hrs to navigate customs and get to my next plane. Arrive in Chicago with similar amount of time to find plane to So Cal and head home. Arrive here just before 7:30-- Super Shuttle to drive me home by 8ish. Relaxing evening of unpacking and tidying up, as I am now on Atlantic Time (+4 hrs) and 8 will feel like midnight to me.

Here's the reality. Saint John to Montreal goes without too much incident, however, leaving M yet again was just as painful as always. Gotta get moving already!

I got a little confused in Montreal, but was immediately set on the right path after asking a worker and had no problems reaching the plane.

And then the fun began-- because the captain of the Montreal to Chicago flight didn't want for his crew and himself to go through customs, they had to "begin the taxi" away from the gate. However, some mysterious something (which they never described adequately) meant we had to sit on the runway waiting for an hour. Yay. Go United. And then the captain has the audacity to come on and say that the tower is "fitting us in" and we are leaving "5 minutes ahead of schedule!" As the girl behind me, who apparently had an even rougher time with traveling today, said, "Whooppee-fucking-dooo." Amen, sister!

Long story short, I made it to my connecting flight while the plane was on the ground but after United closed the doors-- and they cannot make any exceptions to let me on the plane, of course. So, after hurrying from one end of the concourse to the other, I then needed to hurry most of the way back to where I started to queue into the line to try for a boarding pass on any other available flights. I got one with a departure of 8:15-- yay, a 3.5 hr layover.

I called M and left a message so she knew and I started the long walk through the 80's style Art Deco tunnel to concourse B and to my gate. M calls me back and we chat for about half an hour-- during which time she logs onto United's website and notes that, after a total of about an hour, the plane I could have been on finally takes off. *sigh

She also passes on some information that my gate-- although there has been no general announcement or an announcement at the gate at which I am sitting-- for my flight has been changed... back to concourse C. I hang up with M, go double-check the information she has relayed to me on a flight display (which involves traveling way down the concourse because, of course, Chicago O'Hare doesn't need to let you know where to go to catch flights), and sure enough, it has changed. I now high-tail it back over to concourse C and arrive nearly back where I started.

I call M back to thank her for the information, and then I break out the PBJ that she also very thoughtfully suggested I take with me.

Now, normally my stories end there. With delays and mad dashes to/through customs, etc. But not this time.

As I was sitting at concourse C, gate 16, eating my sandwich, a gentleman walked by. This guy was pretty old, but, beyond that, something about him made me say to myself, "Boy, he doesn't look so hot." He looked a little confused, and very pale. But not knowing him from Adam, I had to assume he always looked like that.

Well, on the tail end of our flight to Santa Ana, the stewardess came over the intercomm asking if any medical doctors were on board the flight. Not really a good sign. When we landed, we were delayed about 20-25 minutes while paramedics and sheriffs made their way onto the plane, resuscitated the same man I was worried about in Chicago, and took him off the plane on a gurney. I hope he's okay, and I wish I had spoken up when I first noticed him.

So, now it is midnight, I am home, have a very, very happy cat sitting next to me meowing and purring and asking for attention. I feel like it is 4 am, because I finally transitioned to Altantic Time about 3 days before needing to leave. And I have to go to bed because I'm scheduled to be at work tomorrow.

So, for those of you keeping track and who made it through this probably long-winded and digression-filled post (two things that happen a lot when I'm tired), that makes 6 total travels, three there and three back. And 8 problems with those flights (6 delays/rushes, 1 customs incident, and one medical incident).

So, basically, what I'm saying is this-- if you need to travel, find out if I'm on the same flight. And book a different one.

"Whooppeee-fucking-dooo."

The Porch is Done!

The porch is done! Yay!

So if anyone stops by today, DO NOT walk up to the porch!

Let me back up a second. Last night M's grill went kaput and some time was spent figuring out what failed. Turns out the plastic connection that attaches the gas line to the gas tank was failing and that gas was not making it to the machine. Easy, right? Well, not quite. The grill's existing line was tightly clipped onto the grill using solid brass clips. A safety feature, except if something happens and you need to replace the mechanism. I finally managed to cut through the brass fitting and we ran down to Canadian Tire for some replacement parts. A solid hour (or more) later, I managed to get the grill back up and running. And this time, the fitting is a screw-on style, so if something like this happens again, we can just unscrew that from the grill and replace it.

So, instead of grilling last night, we had Taco Night. I think M quite liked it. MMmmmm... tacos.

Okay, now for today:
I got out of bed early (8 am) and got right out there and finished the one section of railing that was needed. That took about 1.5 hours. Then, M awake and "rar'in" to go, we tackled the porch floor and sides.

It took us the majority of the day to do, but it is finished. Looks pretty good, too. M chose Jack Pine as the color for that section, a more greenish shade than the previous painting in that area. It better matches the shutters on the windows and really looks good, if I do say so myself.

I think it is safe to say that neither one of us wants to see paint or a brush for a long time!

After the porch, M weeded and I tried mowing the front lawn. Bad idea on my part. I was already very, very tired and mowing up and down that hill was a killer. However, the majority of her front yard is finished and looks okay. Hopefully I can finish the rest tomorrow and give M a small break from mowing.

We were so exhausted that we barely were able to make dinner. We grilled some steaks and garlic potatoes on the newly fixed grill (works great, but now maybe TOO good-- it was way too hot at first and we had to turn it down a lot). Again, very tasty, but our level of tired made it hard to finish the meal.

Now we are lounging around the house and preparing to watch a little TV, a movie, or do something else that is not a problem if we fall asleep during.

So, on my last full day here for a while I need to:

• Do a little paint touch-up once everything is dry and we can see what (if anything) we missed or goobered up.
• Finish mowing.
• I'm hoping to get down to Dom's and have him shave my head and face for me.
• And lots and lots of cuddling, I hope. ;-)

I hope to have some good news when I get back to CA. Hopefully I can get myself back here and living with this wonderful woman shortly!

Progress

So far I have managed to do many, but not all, of the chores on my Honey Do list. As today is the first day waking up without fog, I can get a good start on the painting and, hopefully, make a lot of progress on that task. It looks like I won't get to the deck this trip.

The porch wouldn't be taking so long except for all the spindles on the railing. They are placed very close together, are hard to paint into, and I have to be sitting down to reach them, which is an awkward position for me. I imagine the floor of the porch will seem like a breeze once I get to it!

I also discovered that I am horrible at hanging doors. I used a level and took my time but the door I hanged did not jibe with the lintle into which I was putting it. And then the next day the door didn't close so well (as though the house shifted slightly-- or like my door settled somehow). *sigh

M's dad is coming by to drop off a weed whacker for those areas we couldn't mow. Hopefully he'll have some time to offer suggestions on the door as well. He's an incredibly capable person-- he should be able to point out what I did wrong and offer suggestions to fix/improve it.

Anyway, enough stalling-- time to get out there and start painting. If you are in Canada, in this area, and have some free time and enjoy painting, feel free to stop by! :-D

How It Really Went

On the previous post, I mentioned what my expected itinerary was. Now, here's how it really went:

Alarm set for 5am. Super Shuttle here at 5:45-6:00 am for ride to airport (I am scheduled as last pickup for that shuttle). Plane departs 8:35 am. Arrive in Chicago at 2:30 pm. Leave Chicago at 3:45 pm. Arrive in Montreal at 6:50 pm. Customs in Montreal. Leave Montreal at 8:25 pm. Arrive in Saint John at 11:00 pm.

Got up at about 4:30 am because I was amped to leave for vacation. Super Shuttle arrives about 6:05am Plane is delayed due to FAA regulations about crew rest times-- I leave SNA at 9:35 am. Arrive in Chicago at 3:22. Takes 15 minutes to deplane, as I am in seat 33F (out of 34 rows) instead 11B like I thought I had asked for online. Make it to Montreal flight at 3:43pm-- luckily the gate for this is very close to gate I exit from first flight. They are about to sell my seat to standby people when I arrive. Rest of trip goes without incident, and I arrive in Saint John at 11:03 as scheduled. Was some concern that fog may route us to Fredericton, but Dash 8s can land in fog. Yay.

With what went on with that delay, the best decision I made was to pack only my carry on. That allowed me to bypass the long United line for check in at SNA, it allowed me to rush out and make the Montreal flight in Chicago (if I had to wait for my checked baggaged, I would never have made it), and allowed me to breeze through customs so that, when I got a little lost in Montreal airport, I had plenty of time to right the ship and make it to the correct gate.

But, I am here!

As to how it is going so far-- well, great. I love my time here and with my fiance. If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked her to marry me! She's incredible.

And, of course, she had a "Honey-do" list waiting for me. So she's keeping me busy.

So far I have:

• Mowed back lawn. Wow-- she's got a big yard! Was exhausted when I got done. Will probably need to mow whole thing (front and back) before I go. Will have to look into getting a self-propelled mower when I move permanently.
  
• Celebrated Canada Day with M and Friends. Go Canada! Wore a white shirt with large red maple leaf on chest... I was Canada Man!™ for a day!
  
• Met M's Mom over lunch. I think it went pretty well. She seemed to relax as the lunch continued and appeared to get comfortable with me. I guess we won't know until the inevitable call to talk about it happens. ;-)
  
• Have accomplished a cursory wash of porch in preparation for painting. May take Mare up on her offer to help! Damn big porch.
  
• Have touched up some painting around the house. Have also worked on M's bedroom door, which was sticking.

Well, M is getting out the American flags for July 4th tomorrow. Gotta run out and help. We're going to have a nice celebration and probably go see Superman Returns tomorrow, after she gets back from a half day at work.

Just took a quick break. M has already decorated. The place looks down-right American! There are flags everywhere. How wonderful is that?

It is 9:17 pm and the sun is finally setting. Time to head out for some quality time with the lady in my life. I'll try to post more later.

Itinerary

This is the first time I am doing the flight during the day. I usually take the red-eye and leave at 10:30 pm and get there around noon. However, as I never seem to sleep on the red-eye, this may wind up being better in the long run for me. I'll arrive tired and it will be time to sleep.

• Alarm set for 5am.
• Super Shuttle here at 5:45-6:00 am for ride to airport (I am scheduled as last pickup for that shuttle).
• Plane departs 8:35 am.
• Arrive in Chicago at 2:30 pm.
• Leave Chicago at 3:45 pm.
• Arrive in Montreal at 6:50 pm.
• Customs in Montreal.
• Leave Montreal at 8:25 pm.
• Arrive in Saint John at 11:00 pm.

That 4-hour time difference heading back east really makes this seem like a long day. Especially for a guy who dislikes flying.

She's so totally worth it!

Motorcycle Mania

This morning I headed out to run some errands. As I was leaving the parking lot, I heard a huge roaring sound coming closer. Assuming it was a plane, I looked skyward. Clear.

My ears clued me in that it was coming from the road next to me. As I got into my vehicle, a stream of motorcyles came roaring up Jamboree, escorted by police.

The stream of motorcycles was long. I was able to drive out of the parking lot, turn onto a crossroad, and still waited about 15 minutes while the funeral procession passed by.

I have never understood why a funeral procession is allowed right of way. I get that it is a sign of respect to the fallen, whomever they were. Of course, funerals are really for the living, so who exactly are we showing respect to with these processions?

Where I live is about as whitebread as you can get in this area. Seeing the looks of consternation on the faces of those around me as this group of bikers roared up the road and stopped traffic was classic.

The sound of the loud chopper mufflers was like a huge raspberry through the morning air.

Do you think that was why the procession went up this particular road?

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

My sister gave me an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday. I used it to buy some items, the last of which was the Justice League Season 2 cartoon collection. I just received it in the mail today. In opening the package, I found a free ticket for going to see Superman Returns—a movie on my “must see” list.

How cool is that? The coupon is good for up to $10.50 and for only 1 person, but is also good at any showing (regardless of the “no passes, no coupons” rule of a theatre). The one caveat I have is that I will be in Saint John for this movie and plan to see it with my fiancée; I have no idea if it will be valid there or if they will accept it. I assume so as Canadians can by this DVD collection too.

As an aside, Daily Variety and Hollywood Reporter gave pretty high marks to an advanced screening of Superman Returns. Both basically said it is an incredible action picture that also has heart. You can read more about it here.

Fun with Mom

Every time I visit my mother, she has a few things she'd like me to do for her. Little "honey-dos" for her son. Which is fine; I usually have no problem with her list of things.

I went out to visit her for her birthday, which was actually nearly 2 weeks ago, but our busy schedules didn't allow for a visit until this weekend.

Today's tasks wound up being installing and setting up her Harmony 880 remote (she saw how much I enjoyed mine, and wanted to eliminate the 5 remotes she had), reading and offering suggestions on a paper she is doing for one of her classes, and painting her front room.

I took care of setting up the Harmony remote while mom went to the store for some fixings for our dinner. Got everything onto the remote with only minimal trouble.

She had nearly a gallon of the tone she used in her bedroom available, and I thought it would go with the front room fairly nicely. It is an off-white with a hint of a sea-foam green in it-- but just a hint. So we prepared the room, pulling all the furniture away from the walls and taking all the pictures and faceplates down.

As a side note-- it was 41­°C at 10:30 am as we were leaving breakfast. And it got hotter. It was still 37°C when I left at 8 pm, with the sun having set nearly an hour earlier.

Now, I don't know about you, but I like to be comfortable when I paint-- especially when it is so darn hot outside and the AC is struggling to cool the place. I think this picture clearly illustrates just how comfortable I need to be.
Go ahead and laugh as much as you need. I'll wait.

Ready? Okay, we're not sure exactly how mom managed to get the angle just right for that picture, but we were in tears when we first looked at it. Apparently I'm very comfortable with my sexuality! ;-)

Here's a slightly better one-- shows I'm actually wearing shorts, not a frilly skirt.
Anyway, we managed to get the entire room painted and trimmed with the gallon we had. It looks pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. And, other than a few drops of paint on my hands, I had no paint spatters anywhere on me or on my clothes.

We then took a break and ate dinner-- BBQ ribs, rice, and mac/cheese. Yummy.

I then read over and offered suggestions on how to better focus her paper and get her back on track. She had the ideas for a good paper there, she just sort of lost her thought and needed some pushing and prodding to get her back to it. Easily accomplished.

Anyway, another good time "bonding" with mom with a day of projects. I can't help but wonder-- what will be in store the next time I visit? And will that sexy skirt be waiting for me??? :-D

The Hand that Feeds You

My company eliminated approximately 200 positions today. I know of nearly 10 people from our division with whom I worked or knew socially who are out on the street right now. There may be more, as a bunch of emails were not answered or people were not available in the corporate IM.

I realize this is part of business. Companies do what they can to be profitable, to remain "lean and hungry," and to hopefully grow in the future.

But that doesn't stop the sting when it happens to you.

Luckily, most of the people with whom I work were spared this fate today. And I can rest better tonight knowing that this round is done and jobs should be safe for "a while."

But I do wonder about those who were let go. Many people don't plan for these events and do not have the wherewithall to combat it when a company lets them go. I hope that those with new mortgages, new children, and other responsibilities will be okay until they find new employment.

From what the VP of our division told us, the company provided fairly considerate severance packages to those who were let go. That should ease a little of their burdens while they start looking for a job.

About a month and a half ago, our company announced plans to "reorganize management" and to "create better synergies" in departments. My first thought was, "Oh, great, more layoffs." Why can't those in upper management remember what it was like to hear words like that? Why couldn't they respect their employees enough to add, "And there is a chance that some layoff could occur" so we would be prepared when this day came?

I am sure it is written in some manual somewhere why management does not, should not, or cannot let its employees know when cut backs are going to occur. I just wish I could find that passage so I could understand. It seems so disrespectful to me to just up and call 200 employees and say, "Your job has been eliminated. Have a nice day."

I will soldier on, doing the best I can. But my faith in the company is shaken right now and I need to gain some perspective.

And let me extend a heartfelt "Good luck!" to those who were fired today.

Book to Film

What book, novel, comic book, or other written media that, to the best of your knowledge, has not yet been turned into any sort of movie, cartoon, or other visual media, would you most like to see? What format would you most like to see it?

(Please limit responses to top 2-3).

I’ll start:

Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Lord Foul’s Bane (Stephen R. Donaldson), Theatrical Live Action Movie
Note: Hugh Laurie as Covenant

Over Sea, Under Stone (Susan Cooper), Theatrical Movie (Cartoon or Live Action)

Casca: The Eternal Mercenary (Barry Sadler), TV miniseries

Update on Move

We had some issues crop up with the plan for me to move back east. When I asked my company, they had some concerns about my moving to Canada, and New Brunswick in particular. Being a business, two major things came up: the need for business licenses and the need for new payroll services and benefits.

While we were able to pass on some information to Human Resources about this (namely that New Brunswick doesn’t require business licenses) it wasn’t enough. The company feels that the expense to check on all of this, including lawyer fees, payroll fees, time spent setting up new procedures within the company, etc., are not worth the business expenses for one person’s request to move.

However, there was a bit of a miscommunication with the HR department. While I had expressed that I wanted to be as close as possible to New Brunswick and my fiancée, my HR rep had only heard “New Brunswick or Maine” (the only state I mentioned as part of the “as close as possible” scenario). She thought her saying no was the end of it, and I thought she was still checking on other locations.

So, I brought it up again when I found we had an office in Boston. She was surprised, for the reasons above. However, once she understood my reasoning for wanting to be as close to my fiancée as possible, she then knew what to check.

It turns out that the company has business licenses and payroll/benefits support in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with an actual office in Boston. Since I have already cleared the hurdle of requesting permission from the groups/managers with whom I work on the work-from-home issue, all I need to do at this point is find a place to live in either NH or MA, move, and inform HR and Payroll on which date I will be effective from the new address. They would prefer that I try to correspond that with the start of a payroll cycle, if at all possible.

While this is obviously not the best solution, it gets me close enough to New Brunswick that I can drive rather than fly to see my honey. And she can visit me, too. It would be down to a few hundred miles instead of well over three thousand. We could visit on the weekends, holidays, and vacations much easier (yes, I grant that weather may conflict at times). It also allows us to further consolidate our resources, see each other much more often, and work on the immigration side of things with the lawyer under better circumstances.

I am still working on another potential solution on my end; a friend’s company has no issues with me working from Canada. They would like to hire me; however, they have some issues they must resolve before this can be accomplished. It may not fit into my time-frame for moving to the east coast. I am meeting with her regularly and hoping to hear some good news soon.

Another potential is on the New Brunswick side. Liz is going to provide my resume to her aunt. The aunt’s company seems to be in need of technical writers often and, if they like me, there may be another way to get all the way to New Brunswick on a sooner time frame. So I need to bring my resume up to speed and get it to Liz. Maybe I can interview while I am there on vacation? Or, I may take one step to NH/MA and work for my present company while looking for a more long-term employment solution in New Brunswick.

The big concern for both of us right now is getting some or all of the distance separating our relationship to disappear. As you can see, we are actively working on three options right now, and one of them, while not ideal, allows for a very immediate time-frame for moving, which would be nice. A few hours drive over an all-day, multiple plane excursion would certainly go a long way toward helping us move forward in the relationship.

Hopefully this answers any questions people have about where we stand on the move and shows that we are working on multiple angles on getting me to Canada and to my honey.