Krud's Journal Thingy™

Writer's Block: Good Catch

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:50:54 GMT

Do you have a "catch phrase" for which you are known?

Do you mean, when people hear that catch phrase, they think, "Oh hey, that's what Krud says"?
Or do you mean, I have a catch phrase, and because of that phrase, I'm known (like the "Where's the Beef?" lady.)

Well, neither of those apply to me, so I will go with a third possibility, being a phrase that I say so often, that it has become a running joke for people who know me. And that would be, "the motor oil is erupting from your cousin's jetski."

Oh wait, sorry. That's not it. It's actually, "Ketchup on Tuesdays, are you mad?"

Shoot, that ain't it either. Hang on a sec...

*calls wife at work*

Me: "Hey, I have an odd question. Is there a catch phrase I'm known for?"
Her: "Er, what?"
Me: "It's a theme question of sorts on Live Journal. They want to know if I have a catch phrase for which I am known."
Her: "Well, there's your made-up swear words."
Me: "Oh, you mean 'fudge-nut-ripple-crisp-butterscotch-delight?'"
Her: "Yeah."
Me: "Hmmm. I tend to only do that around you, so I'm not known for it. I was going to say 'Did I do that?' But that wasn't me, that was Urkel."
Her: "Yeah, I mean, you misuse words a lot, but nothing specific."
Me: "So I don't repeat myself?"
Her: "Um... not really, you tend to vary your wording a lot. Though you stick to certain styles."
Me: "Well, that's a comforting thought, I guess. Though perhaps I should vary my styles more."
Her: "No, you don't want to do that, or people will get even more confused."
Me: "Good point. Okay, well, thanks for your help anyway."
Her: "If I think of something, I'll give you a buzz."
Me: "Eh, it'll be too late by then, but thanks."
Her: "You're welcome."
[The rest of the conversation needn't concern you.]

So anyway... to answer the question, no. No I do not have a "catch phrase" for which I am known. Sorry.

But I'm working on it. By this time next year, whenever someone hears the phrase, "Chickens have a lot of explaining to do," people will immediately think of me. And I will laugh quietly to myself in mild victory. Or something.

(Note to self: Cut down on the caffeine.)

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:32:56 GMT

(Subtitle: Our "House" is a very, very, very fine "House"...)

I recently read a comment online about House Season 3 (now available on DVD), and their complaint about the show was along the following lines: Who knows anyone in real life that is that smart but that socially inept, and has such a high-ranking position, let alone for that long? The commentator went on to say that "a-holes with a heart of gold" are a myth.

What? A myth, on television? Bite your tongue! ':P

Anyway, I guess I fail to see the point of his complaint. I'm not about to argue the plausibility of the premise behind "House". For that matter, I won't try to defend my second-favorite show "Monk", which is about a high-maintenance, dysfunctionally neurotic, but highly sought after crime detective. And the overly convoluted Femme Nikita homage "Alias" is beyond all arguability. (And we won't even touch "LOST".)

Have we become so entrenched in the modern-day habit of sticking ordinary people on TV and making them sing karaoke, backstab each other, or remodel their houses, that we've forgotten TV's fanciful roots? Remember, this is the medium that brought us identical cousins, talking horses, wise-cracking attic-dwelling aliens, and friends that constantly wander unannounced into each other's apartments.

As for "House", that's on the same channel that brought us "The X-Files", the show whose message was "The Truth Is Out There", which they emphasized by making stuff up. I mean, let's face it: there's plenty of "hard hitting realism" on TV as it is, to the point where PBS is confused as to what their angle's supposed to be any more. (Besides, they had "Fawlty Towers"; if ever a concept strained believability, it was that one. Granted, it's one of my favorite shows of all time, but I'm just sayin'...)

I know, most of the examples I've given are comedies, where as "House" is a drama. But is it, exclusively? After all, if House weren't the caustic, wise-cracking person that he is, I wouldn't watch the show. I'd watch CSI instead. (Actually, I wouldn't. But it would be as if I were.) And it's not as though the show ignores House's attitude. If anything, they address it a bit too much, if you ask me. Between the people lobbying to get him fired, thrown in jail, banned from practicing medicine, or put on anti-depressants, I would say the writers are doing a noble job of calling House on his behavior, at least for a television show.

And maybe there isn't anyone like House in the real world. (Or at least, not in his position.) But again, isn't that part of the point of TV? Escapism? If it weren't, we could just have The Discovery Channel and CNN, and be done with it. Variety is a spice of life, and I think "House" provides an off-beat twist on the standard dry medical procedure shows. It's fiction, plain and simple, that just happens to be grounded in medical knowledge.

If you want reality, go read news feeds and medical journals. Me, I'm stickin' with my 45-minute doses of Hugh Laurie and his bum leg.

Happy "Talk Like A Pirate Day"!

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:16:40 GMT

"And I guess that's why they want them doubloons
Time stuck on land
Could be spent with me crew
Hackin' and pillagin'
Swingin' my cutlass
Stowin' my plunder
From the land lubbers
And I guess that's why they want them doubloons."

(Apologies to Sir Elton John.)

Fueling My Frustration

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:20:27 GMT

Last Year: "Be glad your car doesn't run on milk!"

This Year: "Bring on the lactose-powered vehicles, please."

(To read the original article from which I am ranting, Click Here.)

---

The title of the article in question is "Gas Prices High -- But Not High Enough."

I rarely click on the links in my Hotmail, but that one just begged for a chance to explain itself.

The article, written by David Kiley for BusinessWeek.com, has one basic premise: The U.S. should institute a bipartisan dollar-per-gallon tax on fuel to "encourage" people to eschew their SUV's in favor of more fuel-economic (or fuel-alternative) vehicles, which would in turn lessen U.S. dependence on OPEC.

But apparently politicians are reluctant, because according to some polls, "no tax increase would be more unpopular with voters than a gas-tax increase."

Well, gee, let's see if we can't figure out why that is, hmmm?

Everything has become considerably more expensive as fuel has continued to go up in price. So for me, Mr. Lowly Consumer Guy, the cost is not just at the gas station, but everywhere else as well. (Diesel has been going up in price right alongside regular gasoline, and diesel trucks are the lifeblood of the U.S.'s domestic commerce.) This is because companies are not going to just "eat the cost" of higher fuel, so they pass the lack of savings onto the customer.

What's ironic is that everyone's trying to pass the buck on higher fuel costs (I can't tell you how many of the companies we deal with have raised their prices because of it). I'm far from an economic guru, but I think this vicious cycle only leads to a form of inflation, with the end purchaser (e.g., us) picking up the tab. Even with my recent raise, it's not enough to fully offset the increased cost of living as a result.

So imagine how much worse it would be at an additional dollar per gallon.

We're already not going to as many places because of high gas prices. We stay home. A lot. And what disposable income we might have spent at local stores, restaurants, or what have you, now goes directly to our gas tank. So those businesses get the shaft as well. Which can't be good.

And I'm not even driving an SUV. I'm actually driving a high fuel-economy car. Good thing, too, or there's no WAY we could afford to go anywhere. It's already painful to pay $40 to fill our tank. I can't imagine upping that to $52.

Part of what bothers me about it is that it's a flat tax based on usage, meaning the wealthy can still afford to galavant around while the economically challenged are pretty much forced to stay home. What's worse is the "good fuel economy" vehicles and alternate fuel or hybrid vehicles are NOT affordable to the people who would need them most (if the dollar a gallon tax happened.)

And there have been attempts by the Board of Tourism to encourage people to take roadtrips, but that ain't gonna happen at $4+ dollars a gallon. I mean, a simple eight-hour round trip excursion in our vehicle (which again is fuel efficient) would cost over ninety bucks in fuel alone. (I don't make that much in a day.) I also think the dollar tax isn't taking into consideration the widely varying cost of living within the continental U.S. alone. (From what I can tell, standard pay rates can average anywhere from eight bucks to twenty bucks, depending just on where you live.) A dollar fee in California would not hurt as much as a dollar fee in, say, Kentucky. (DISCLAIMER: I was aiming for two vastly different "cost of living" ranges and am not making any kind of statement about the residents of either locale.)

I realize the "goal" of this endeavor would be to get everyone to buy new vehicles, but at what cost? We can't afford to go out and buy a different vehicle, and I'm willing to be that neither could many other people. And what becomes of the millions and millions of SUV's, pickups, sportcars, and other vehicles whose mileages aren't up to snuff? Just create some more landfills and junkyards? That'll look nice. Let's see a show of hands of volunteers to have that in their backyard.

Of course, that's not the real point. My point is that our economy is already out of whack, and trying to force a paradigm shift in vehicular purchases doesn't strike me as the most stable scenario. And whatever good might be done with the dollar tax (which sounds so much more innocuous when called that), it does change the fact that it's basically negative reinforcement, a monetary "slap on the wrist" for buying petroleum-based goods.

Oh! Which reminds me. Why aren't we putting a tax on plastic, hmmm? I've seen no major price hikes for Rubbermaid™ goods, or kid's toys, or all the other plastic knick-knacks that I would sooner trade in before the ability to travel. I get bits of plastic in the form of credit card offers all the time; why not charge them? Punish them for wasting petroleum in such a manner. (Yeah, I know it's a smaller amount, but it's all percentages anyway, right?)

Not that I want to see that happen, I'm just pointing out what I consider to be the inherent hypocrisy of the proposal. I take issue anytime something is taxed for the express purpose of making someone think, "Dang! Can I afford that?" (Especially since it ultimately just limits availability to the wealthy, or else takes an inordinate chunk of income from the non-wealthy.) Exorbitant taxes on alcohol hasn't created a teetotaler society; it's merely sucked some people dry financially, while preventing others from partaking on a more casual basis.

But even if one is a fan of the whole "taxing as a means of behavior modification" system, I would rather it stayed in the current realm of luxuries, like alcohol, cigarettes, pop, candy, etc. To me, when it interferes with one's existence and livelihood, it has crossed the line.

The article mentions that "it worked in the Europe Union." Yeah, and? This is not meant as a knock on the European Union, or on the United States, but I think I speak for many on both sides when I say, "the EU is not the US." That is not some kind of nationalistic claim; it just is what it is.

The geographical, political, social, and economic makeup of the European Union is vastly different from the US in terms of its original underlying structure. Their public transit is unlike that of the U.S., as are locations. You wouldn't know it from certain parts of the U.S., but the U.S. is rather spread out. Just take a look at a satellite photo of the U.S. at night. You'll see huge clusters of light on the East Coast, clusters of light on the West Coast, some clusters here and there along the Gulf, near the Great Lakes, and whatnot, but otherwise it's fairly dark in a lot of areas. And we (and here I'm referring to the Midwest) have to traverse sections of those areas, often with great frequency. And unless you live in a major metropolitan area (i.e., Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, etc...), there is little public transportation to speak of. It's you and your vehicle, whatever it might be. And it's a bit too late to move all the business, homes, and industries closer together.

And I will concede the notion that the U.S., as a nation, has brought it upon themselves. Our current layout is largely based on a scenario in which gas was a dollar per gallon. But in seven years, that has tripled. And if the dollar tax were added, it would be quadrupled. Imagine something else quadrupling in price within 7-8 years. That would be like if the twelve-dollar pizza you bought in 2000, now cost you fifty bucks. Or if the fifty-dollar coat you bought back then now cost two hundred. And the fifty cent payphone? Now it's two dollars. I don't know about you, but my available income hasn't exactly quadrupled since then.

---

Anyway, to get away from that tangent... I'm not saying the tactic wouldn't work, because eventually it would. And if you made everyone wear lead weights on their feet, eventually riverdancing would be eliminated as well. But is the means worth the end? While I'm thinking about it, here are some other measures that could be introduced for the Benefit Of All™:

- Blinding every other person, thereby increasing awareness for those with impaired vision, thereby increasing the availability of assistance, whether it be seeing eye dogs, spoken captions on TV, or more braille.

- Requiring people to vote in elections before they can drink, get married, buy cigarettes, or rent a car; instead of "Can I see some I.D.?" it would be "Can I see your voter registration card?" (Or if they've lost their voter registration card, then their "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For So-And-So" bumper sticker.) Though this would increase voter turnout, the downside to this idea is that politicians would focus primarily* on drinking, marriage, tobacco, and car rental policies.

- Giving significant tax breaks to individuals willing to run in a giant hamster ball to work, which would not only encourage people to get in better shape, but would also create a new fanbase for that timeless TV classic, "American Gladiators".

(* - No pun intended.)

---

I guess the point I was trying to make (before it spiraled into absurdity toward the end there) is that while I agree with the stance that the United States needs to actively work toward better fuel economy and less dependence on petroleum, I really don't think screwing over the lower income populace is the best solution. It would be one thing if we all lived in vast metropolitan centers where buses, trains, trolleys, taxis, or even bike trails were plentiful. But we don't. Nor would it be fair to only tax the areas that do, either, because then it's like they're being penalized for having those systems in place.

Do I have a better solution? Not at the moment, no. But that doesn't mean this is the right one to go with. (After all, I'm not going to try solving the local beetle problem by unleashing a horde of praying mantises just because "I don't have a better solution.")

I understand where the article is coming from. I just happen to totally, utterly, and fervently disagree with the sentiment. But I'm more than willing to listen to any counter-arguments, or if anyone can point out something that pokes holes in my own arguments, feel free. As long as it's civil and free of name-calling, I'm open to debate. (Though I have to say it would probably take quite a convincing argument.)

Okay, I'm done. No more soapbox for me.

Vernal Equinoxious

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:28:12 GMT

Today's the first day of Spring 2007, so to kick things off, I'm going to write a content-free entry! (This differs from previous such entries in that, unlike my other content-free entries, this one was deliberate.)

Speaking of internet offerings devoid of any meaningful value, I highly recommend* that everyone on the planet install The Kevin Federline Search Toolbar. And as if that summary isn't enticing enough to get you to go there, how about this actual, unretouched blurb from the site:

"Play With Fire - Search The Web And Win With Kevin: Every time you search the web, you stand a chance of winning something from Kevin Federline. It's that simple. Really."

You heard correctly. You could actually win something from the guy who used to be with Britney Spears back when she had hair! (No, not those other two guys. The one whose abbreviation sounded like a prescription. K-Fed, I think it was.)

Some of the prizes include an autographed Kevin Federline 8x10 (I'm assuming that's a photo, but maybe it's a large plank of wood), a Kevin Federline T-shirt (hopefully they wash it), or an autographed copy of his new CD (which I'm guessing is "Play With Fire".) You might even win a ringtone! Of one of his songs, I'm guessing. (Though I haven't actually heard any of his songs. Except for that one in the commercial where he's working at a fast food place.)

Is it just me, or are the names Justin Timberlake and Kevin Federline eerily similar? I'm guessing Britney's next beau will be someone named Nathan Lumbermill, or Mason Picklefork.

Please note that you don't have to install the toolbar in order to search with Kevin; the link I provided merely takes you to the search page, where you can read all about the wonders of searching with Kevin. It makes me wonder how so many internet users have gone this long without Kevin's help.

Okay, this topic is depressing me for some reason (perhaps something to do with my hope for humanity, but who knows), so I'm just gonna end it here.

[BTW, neither myself nor this site will be held responsible for any perceived or actual damages that may arise from any actual use of the above linked-to site. Just FYI.]

(* - Warning: sarcasm plug-in required.)

Our Washer's Not Coin Operated, Apparently

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:28:03 GMT

I don't know how my wife (who I anonymously refer to as "Krudita") puts up with me. She selflessly deals with my dirty laundry on a weekly basis, and sometimes gets more than she bargained for. For instances, sometimes I've accidentally left a Kleenex™ in a pocket, and after the washing machine is through with it, nearly every article of clothing is speckled with nasty tissue bits. (Which I then help pick off.)

She frequently reminds me to empty out my pockets, and though I usually do, sometimes I just forget. (It's only a testament to its durable design that my small thumbdrive made it through the wash and can still function properly.)

And then there are the coins. Coins are the bane of the washing machine. The washing machine is like a roach motel for coinage: they check in, but they don't check out. At least not without a great deal of finnagling and struggling and pleading. And that's just the part where Krudita's asking me to do it myself. (I'm kidding.)

(Incidentally, the way we know it's always my fault, and not Krudita's, is that I'm the only one who puts things in pants pockets. There seems to be some rule or law that says women's pants pockets are to be as non-functional as possible. If I'm incapable of putting my fingers in my pockets, that's how I know when I'm accidentally wearing her pants. [Which is perhaps more than you needed to know, or TMI, as they say in pro-acronym circles.])

So the other day Krudita calls me into the laundry area and says, "You need to get the coins out of the washer, 'cause I can't reach them." I of course agree, and before long I have my head in the washing machine. (Which is tricky to do, because it's one of those combo deals where the dryer is right above the washer, only eight inches in fact, so the washer lid barely opens to begin with. It takes some doing to get a human head through there. But I somehow managed.)

I could shake the agitator and here the coin jingling underneath the mechanism somewhere, but my fingers couldn't reach under to grab it. The best I could manage was to push it slightly further away with my fingertips. I wanted to tilt the thing sideways and shake it until the money fell out, but that would probably violate our rental policy somehow. (Or maybe void whatever warranty was on the washer.)

Eventually I hit on the idea of using some sort of "tool" to get under there, so I switched into MacGuyver mode and started looking around for Useful Everyday Items Around The Home. I found a pants hanger, but it was too bulky and thick, so that didn't work. And none of the screwdrivers had a narrow enough handle to allow the flat bit to slip under. (Pardon the highly technical terms.)

Finally I decided to try bending a paperclip and using that. At first it didn't seem to be working, but then I felt the clip bump against the coin, so I tried pulling the coin out. Which, I managed to do slightly, but in the process, I dropped the paperclip.

Which immediately took the coin's place under the agitator's base. (D'oh!)

As I went back to Krudita's desk to get another paper clip (to fish out the first one), Krudita asked from the other room, "Did you get the coin out?"

"Um, yeah," I said, not telling her yet about the paperclip.

"Thank you," she said, and continued knitting. (Or reading. Or whatever she was doing while I was wondering whether I'd sabotaged the washer.)

So I bent the second paperclip, not sure what the proper method would be in order to snag another clip. And once more into the breach I went. It took a bit longer than the coin had, but eventually I felt something catch. Hoping it was the paper clip and not, for instance, the vital inner workings of the washing machine, I tugged as best I could. Tadah! The other paper clip was now just visible enough for me to reach in there and wiggle it out to safety.

After having relieved the washer of all foreign shiny metal, I told Krudita what happened. For my trouble, she let me keep the dime. (At least we know it's not dirty money.)

Thus ends what is perhaps the most boring tale ever told about money laundering...

Huzzah for Ineffectual Upgrades!

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:22:57 GMT

Okay, so for Christmas this year I got several gift cards for CompUSA, so that I could upgrade my computer, which was so out-of-date that it rarely, if ever, could run any software that came out within the past 3-4 years. (And when it could, it was choppy and/or slow.)

So I bought me a new motherboard, a new processor, and a new hard drive. Yay! Right?

Well. As happy as I am for having the upgrade (because ultimately, it IS better than no upgrade at all), I'm kinda kicking myself for not holding out for something better. Instead of getting the best I could afford ASAP.

For instance, the motherboard? Has almost no room for future growth. (Most motherboards have a lifespan, in which you can conceivably upgrade for some time.) it's based on a processor type that I just learned has been discontinued as of December of 2006. (Which would explain why it was so cheap.) So even though I didn't get the most powerful processor available for the motherboard (which would have been something like a dual-core 4000+ AMD 64 FX-2 or something to that effect), there's a good chance that by the time I can afford something better, they won't be available. (Or they'll be at a premium, because nobody's making them, resulting in scarcity.)

As for the processor? Well, it says it's a single-core, 64-bit AMD 3200 FX, which sounds much faster than my old 32-bit 2000 AMD Athalon XP. (2000 vs. 3200, right?) Well, the "actual" processing speed of the old chip was 1.6 Ghz, whereas this one is a whopping 2.0Ghz! So, a 25% increase in Gigahertz. Woah!) Again, a slight improvement, but perhaps not for the money expended. (Plus the fact that, without a 64-bit operating system [which I won't be upgrading to any time soon, on account of the fact that Microsoft demands hundreds of dollars for said OS], it behaves just like an old 32-bit one.)

And then there's the hard drive, which I'm actually happy with, more or less. Instead of my old 160GB 7200rpm EIDE drive, I now have a 160GB 7200rpm SATA drive. Which is better because, um... I'm told SATA is better. Potentially faster, at least. And maybe it is. It's definitely quieter, and easier to plug in. The only glitch now is that the "Remove Hardware Safely" icon on my taskbar seems to think that my main boot drive is now removable, which is hardly a safe assumption for them to be making, what with it containing Windows and everything else I hold dear [in a PC storage context, I mean]. (I haven't had the nerve to see what would happen if I were to click on the icon. Unfortunately I haven't found a way to disable the option entirely.)

I ran out of money before I could upgrade the memory, so I'm still using the old memory from my previous setup. (It's probably the slowest part of my system now.) The video is on-board, which in the past has always been anathema to me. But again, no funds means no new video, so I'm content with it for now.

But enough complaining. I'm off to lunch. Mmmm... lunch.

KEEP CIRCULATING THE, um... DVD'S.

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:11:42 GMT

Well, it may be four years later than I'd intended, but I've finally started the process of converting my old MST3K tapes to DVD. This is a project I'd assigned to myself back in early 2002 when I got my DVD burner (so actually it's been almost five years. Dang.)

But due to the poor quality of the tapes, combined with the really old VCR and what I suspected was a subpar USB converter, half of them came across as "blue screen" (though I would have rather seen the static-filled image that it more likely was.) On top of that was the fact that I hadn't figured out how to record it at a decent resolution and still manage to fit it onto one disc.

Fortunately, I've finally replaced my VCR (which seems like an odd thing to do in the 21st century, especially since I didn't get one of the combos), so the blue screen is no more. (So far. *knock on wood*) And I've also learned the ins and outs of the "DVD Shrink" application, so I can now fit as much as two and a half hours on a mere 4.7GB DVD, while maintaining a reasonable resolution. (For my TV, anyway. I'm sure it looks like crap on anything approaching hi-definition.)

This will free up a lot of space in our apartment (since I intend to convert all the other tapes as well; I'm just tackling the less-replaceable ones first). It's amazing how much space a couple hundred videotapes can take up. (Okay, perhaps "amazing" is the wrong word. More like "annoying".) But more importantly, (to me, at least), this will ease my concerns that I'll lose years of Joel and Mike to the terrors of electromagnetic deterioration. (Now all I have to worry about is inferior digital media.)

The only hurdle remaining is that of time. The funny thing about VCR-to-DVD conversion is that it has to be done in real-time. And since we're talking many, many hours of footage, it will take many, many hours to convert them. So I'm sure it won't be long before I'll be deciding that certain tapes aren't "worth my time" to convert. (Like when I was scanning in old PC Gamer magazines, and eventually started picking and choosing which articles and reviews were worth keeping. Which is another project I've all but given up on.)

Of course, while I'm doing this, part of me says, "Is this really a worthwhile use of your time? I mean, seriously -- if you get hit by a falling zeppelin tomorrow, won't you feel silly having spent all this effort converting tapes and whatnot?"

To which I just respond, "Hey, why didn't you ask me this sort of thing while I was watching the Super Bowl?"

That part of me has no comeback to that.

(Thereby making this end rather abruptly.)

I've Never Been So Proud Of My Dreamstate

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:11:51 GMT

Last night I had a dream in which I had to impersonate a monk in order to flee to Mexico to avoid being killed by some Kevin Spacey look-a-like who was trying to frame me for a crime I didn't commit. But that's not the important part.

The important part is when I was at a fancy dinner with some foreign dignitaries (and Krudita), regaling them with trivia about Eskimos (much of which was gleaned from the song "Bulbous Bouffant", but that also is irrelevant.) And then came the bit that I'd never heard until my dream, and this is the first time that a dream has made me wake up and snicker. (Note: it's not that funny, just to warn you.)

In the dream, I turned to this large, serious-looking person and said, "And even though it sounds like I'm fascinated by Eskimo culture, the truth is I'm not really Inuit."

---

When I woke up this morning and told Krudita, she said, "That's terrible."

"Y'know," I said, "that's exactly what you said in the dream."

[So apparently I have a bad sense of humor even during R.E.M. (Not the band.)]

Ad Nauseum

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:58:57 GMT

I've decided what I really don't like about ads, both banner and pop-up varieties.

It's not that they're annoying, though there is that. But I've learned to ignore them, for the most part.

No, what bothers me the most (at this point) is that they make it nigh impossible to browse the internet at work and still have it look like you're doing work.

I can fiddle around in Word or Notepad, or Excel even, and at a glance it could just as easily be something important that I'm doing.

But if I want to go online and still keep up a facade of productivity, it can prove difficult when a big bright ad for Viagra™ appears on-screen.

I mean, even e-mail is tricky, because my webmail frequently shows ads of inadequately-clad women looking for "friendship" in my region. (Geographic region, I presume.)

It's hard to convince someone you're working on accounting when little animated smileys are waving to you and audibly shouting. (Never thought I'd be typing that sentence.)

So I'm grateful when I come to a site where it's possible for me to avoid the glaringly obvious ads that not only try selling to me, but to anyone else within range.

For that reason alone, I will wait until I can afford to pay to upgrade my LJ account, rather than trade up to the "commercialized" version.

In the meantime, thank you LiveJournal, for not making me hide you from innocent bystanders, who needn't know just how little a workload I have some days. ';)

I Think I Know Now Why It's Called "Lost"

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 17:23:43 GMT

J.J. Abrams is annoying the heck out of me.

First it was with "Alias" and his Rimbaldi storyline, which was ultimately a huge letdown for me. (Alias spoiler: Culminating in a larger-than-life version of the device we were shown in episode one of season one? Talk about your anti-climax.)

Now, it's "Lost", even though he's not really an active writer on the show (that I can tell).

We are partway through Season 3, and there are still a lot of questions that I suspect will never be answered (because I suspect there's no answer yet). For instance:

*WARNING: Huge spoilers for the TV show "Lost" (including Season 3) below. Proceed at your own risk*

- How can a seemingly-sentient black cloud of smoky particles uproot entire trees? And why does it make a clanky noise? Or is that some other island "guardian"? And why won't anybody tell anybody else about it?

- Why do only a handful of Lostaways hallucinate, and why do the hallucinations tend to conveniently advance the story (as well as bring back previous cast members)?

- If the fail-safe imploded the station, why weren't the people inside it crushed from the implosion? Was there some unknown "ejector seat" type failsafe as well? And why did none of the ejectees suffer any broken bones from the subsequent (assumed) fall?

- Why couldn't the de-magnetization of the station be automated? The technology was obviously available. Wouldn't it be cheaper than hiring two people? Or were there union considerations?

- What purpose did it serve to remove part of the film clip from the orientation video? Were they just practicing being an editor?

- Was Walt really chatting online with Michael? And if so, what kind of networking system does the island have? And is that how they managed to access as much documented information about the Lostaways? Is it broadband, and if so, when was it installed?

- Did Walt and Michael make it home? And if so, will they send for help? And why would the the Others give up their only "boat" if they supposedly live on a separate island?

- What purpose did it serve The Others to dress up like castaways? And why did Tom feel the need to wear a fake beard? Was he worried about being I.D.'ed?

- Why is Walt's dog just running loose all over the island now? Shouldn't Sayid have taken over for Shannon? And why hasn't a polar bear eaten him?

- How did Henry recover so quickly from an arrow through the chest? Is the entire island blessed with the healing powers of magnetism, even after the failsafe?

- Who's maintaining the golf course now that Jack's not around?

- Does an airplane occasionally send a new shipment of bank tube canisters to the island for the Pearl Station folk? Why isn't there some kind of canister recycling program?

- Why can't the Others fix their defibrillator, despite having access to all manner of other advanced technology? (Including, apparently, the ability to clearly tune in the World Series despite being presumably hundreds of miles from the nearest TV station.)

- What happened to all the people Michael saw in the Others "village"? Why haven't we seen any of them since the dock?

- If Rousseau is such a good hunter/trapper, why hasn't she found her daughter yet, who obviously seems keen on sneaking around everywhere on her own, just like her mother?

- Why would the Others abandon their medical facility so utterly, even if they do have a "backup"? Were they donating it to the Lostaways?

- Why do the Others take such offense when the Lostaways defend themselves against what is definitely aggressive behavior (regardless of the intent)?

I could go on like this for much longer, sadly enough. But I won't because it's pointless. Much like "Alias", I fear that the writers are just throwing ideas out there, and the ones that stick, stick, and the ones that don't, well... they don't bring it up again, in hopes nobody will notice.

I'll keep watching it, of course, because part of me just wants to be there when it all falls apart. ':P Or maybe they'll surprise me and piece it all together beautifully, like they sorta promised from the get-go. But I'm not holdin' my breath...

Pizza Mindgames

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:03:13 GMT

Last night we were nearly broke, but we managed to scrounge up enough money (mostly spare changes) to be able to afford Hungry Howie™'s $5 Value Menu.

(For five bucks plus tax, you could either get ten buffalo wings, a medium one-topping pizza [which is what we wanted], or a sub sandwich. And some other things that I can't remember right now.)

I wasn't sure if they still had the deal going, though, so I called them, waited through their mandatory advertisement recording (they never answer until the recorded ad has played at least once), and then they asked if I could hold, which meant a couple minutes of listening to nothing.

When I finally was able to talk to a human, she asked, "Will this be for pickup or delivery?"

I said, "Pickup, but I have a question first: I was wondering, do you still have the $5 value menu?"

She responded, "What we have for this month is the Three Cheeser Pepperoni Pleaser for only $6.99."

"Oh," I said, crestfallen. "Okay then. Thanks for your help."

"No problem," she said, and hung up.

So, based on that little conversation, wouldn't you assume that her (admittedly unspoken) answer to my yes/no question, was "no"?

Well. Today we got a flyer in the mail from Hungry Howie's. And guess what was on it? That's right, an ad for their $5 Value Menu, which was still going on. (There was also a coupon/ad for that pepperoni pleaser deal.)

So I was ticked. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind eating mac & tuna instead (which was fairly tasty), but it just made me mad that she side-stepped my question, basically lying by omission. (Because if I were to complain, she could say, "I never said we didn't still have it.")

I understand that she's obligated to plug their new special. But I don't think that supercedes answering a potential customer's question. Because not only did they not make a sale on a medium pizza that night, they've temporarily lost our future business as well.

We normally give them business two or three times a month, but I think in October we'll just go Howie-less (or until I get over it, whichever comes first.)

In the meantime, Pizza Hut™ has declared October "National Pizza Month". (Okay, whatever.)

Have a good weekend, and thanks for listening to me rant. ':)

LiverJournal

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:53:46 GMT

I wish LiveJournal would buy the domain name "liverjournal.com", because 4 out of 5 times, that's what I end up typing into my browser.

And I have no idea why.

No other thoughts to report at this time.

(Not even about my liver.)

---

"Guns don't kill people, physics kills people." - Dick Solomon, 3rd Rock From The Sun

Baby Steps Forward

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:23:48 GMT

I've always been a late bloomer in nearly every sense of the word (except perhaps mentally), and even though in some aspects of my existence, I cling to Dave Barry's assertion that "you can be immature forever", it's still nice to notice a few areas here and there where I'm actually maturing slightly.

To use a rather piddly example: until -- well, a week ago, I suppose -- I couldn't put anything in (or near) my eye(s). I was terrible at using eye drops, and if anything got near my eye, I would flinch. I was the worst at that whole "made you flinch" game that was inexplicably popular in middle school.

But this week I've been putting these prescription eyedrops in my eye with no problems whatsoever. I'm even able to pull my eyelid slightly back, which is something I couldn't have done a year ago. Perhaps it's because I know the consequences of not putting them in. (A few years back I had to have eyelid surgery due to letting this exact same problem go for too long. I'm just hoping I've caught it in time this time.)

So maybe it's not that I've necessarily "matured" in this area, so much as I'm more frightened of the prospect of eye surgery (again) than any liquid.

[Hmmm... maybe this means I could actually wear contacts now? (Assuming they make 'em strong enough. They might have to be coke-bottle-thick contacts, which would be awkward.)]

Also, my lifelong phobia of yellowjackets/wasps/hornets has lessened somewhat. (This originally came about when, over a four-year period of my early childhood, I was stung over a half-dozen times. I've been avoiding them like the plague ever since.)

So... now instead of going into Full Panic Mode (FPM), I just get really, really nervous. Which isn't much of an improvement, but it's something. (Incidentally, I have no idea how allergic I may or may not be to them now, since it's been 20 years since I was last stung.)

Let's see, what else... I've mostly eradicated my anti-bandwagon mentality, which in the past had kept me from enjoying certain things, based almost exclusively on the principle that "everybody and their cousin was into it." I've even allowed myself to check out the likes of YouTube™ and MySpace™, despite my previous aversion to them.

(I don't know, maybe that's why I'm more willing to write on here these days. Though I suspect that was more of an interface/user-friendliness issue for me. And now I'm full-on rambling. Sorry 'bout that.)

If I thought about it long enough, I'd probably be able to come up with better examples than these; they're just the most recent developments/realizations that come to mind.

I've even made peace with the predominantly boring nature of these sorts of entries, without feeling compelled to spice them up just out of principle.

[Though in the future, I may try to include more car chases.]

Geekin' out over what they've done with the place

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:56:18 GMT

Wow, I'm really liking this new look for LiveJournal! I'm impressed and stuff.

I also see that I'm allowed 3 more pics in my free account.

This is looking so much better, though, and user-friendly, that I might consider getting a paid account. Which is something I've never voluntarily considered anywhere online before. I've always balked at the notion, due to years of being coddled by free internet services. But I've been slowly coming around to the logic behind the necessity in certain circumstances. (I still get annoyed by sites that pretend to be free and then cut you off and ask for money to go any further. Especially if it's a testing site or something. That's just a cheap trick.)

Oh, but anyway, I'm not sure what the going rate is here, but if I find myself frequenting here more often, I'll definitely need to look into it. (Though I have to admit, the free version of LJ is looking much better than the free versions of a lot of other similar sites, whose acronyms I won't name at this time...)

The new Weird Al album comes out this Tuesday, the... 26th?! Couldn't they have waited one more day? That would have been perfect. (If you don't know why, then don't worry about it.)

I've seen the new video, and while I don't know the original song in question, the premise is funny on its own merits.

There's also supposed to be a half-dozen cartoon videos on his album, which will be a Dual Disc [one side's CD, one side's DVD].) The library (where Krudita works) hates getting in dual discs, because there's no way to secure them. (Usually with CD's, they put a security strip on the label side. But since it's a two-sided disc, there IS no 'label side'.) I think they should just treat them like they do with DVD's (since one side is a DVD), but Krudita says that too many music albums are coming out as dual-disc, and they don't have the budget to replace the CD cases with DVD lock-cases, and besides that, the DVD cases won't fit on the CD racks. So anyway... *shrug*

I can tell I'm gettin' old (in the pop culture sense, at the very least), because I don't know a single one of the songs being parodying. (I had at least known the Billy Joel song from last album. No such luck this time around.) Maybe once I hear it I'll recognize one (just not the title), but I doubt it.

I wish I had cable, so I could see the "Robot Chicken" premiere of one of his videos. (I can only imagine what that'll be like.) That's supposed to air tonight, so no doubt it will be on YouTube or somewhere shortly thereafter. Until it gets deleted.

Well, I'm being sent on a quest to find a long-lost game patch, so I'd best be off. (I really need to learn that whole lj cut thingy...)

UPDATE: Okay, I just saw the FAQ, and am embarrassed that it was something so painfully simple...

Mmm.... bandwidth.

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:06:13 GMT

I can't believe it.

Half a decade ago, I was surreptitiously logging onto the internet at work via dial-up, only to have it curtailed when my boss removed the phoneline from my PC.

And now? Five years later? He's given me DSL access! I mean, what the heck?

Don't get me wrong, I'm tickled pink by the whole thing, suspiciously out-of-character though it may be for him... but it's just weird, is all.

So anyway, the good news (for me) is that this means it's far easier for me to post entries, even on here (which, for whatever reason, had always been a bit sluggish on dial-up, even when I wasn't browsing image-heavy entries.)

Now, whether I'll actually take full advantage of this new-found freedom remains to be seen. I'm still skittish about the whole identity thing, and I don't fully understand how the wireless router works; for all I know, he could have a log of everything I do on here. *paranoid glance behind shoulder*

I still don't actually use it when he's in the office. (Old habits die hard, apparently.) But I don't try to keep it secretive, since he's the one who "hooked me up", as it were.

I'm still not quite sure just how fast the connection is; the reading on my computer is based solely on the connection to the router, so it's artificially high. But I'm guessing around 372k/sec, or thereabouts. Which is something I'm still getting used to (having previously only been able to do dial-up, even at home. *grumble*)

Anyway, I gotta go and actually do some work, lest my boss start questioning his own judgment and pull the plug on the festivities...

Sun, 05 Mar 2006 06:25:29 GMT

Sometimes I wonder whether I'd be better off "losing" certain things I've written, rather than saving them indefinitely for posterity (or whatever other reason).

The event that prompted this statement is a semi-bizarre one. For reasons too convoluted and irrelevant to go into, I was doing various Googles of the numerous names in my life, both real and pseudo, to see what kind of results I'd get. (It's amazing how many dopplegangers my names have out there.)

Anyway, a few of the results pointed to entries I'd written on various blogs. And since I was curious, I'd click on them to see what they were exactly.

What I discovered is that, in a matter of one or two paragraphs, I found myself being transported, mentally and emotionally, back to the time I'd written the piece. Which, if it was a fun and/or otherwise positive time, is great. Unfortunately, for one particular case, it was one of the more traumatic experiences of the past few years.

I had happily forgotten about the event, and wasn't particularly keen on reliving it. But upon reading my past entry about it, it all came back to me in a rather uncomfortable rush.

Now I'm trying to take my mind off it (yeah, by obsessing about it further, what's your point?), otherwise I might have bad dreams about it when I go to bed, and I'd rather not. But it got me to thinking: perhaps I would be better off deleting certain online texts of mine that I no longer wish to have a record of. Even if it was well-written, or important to me at the time, or whatever, do I really need to risk stumbling upon it again in the future? Especially if I've (consciously) gotten over it?

It's a tough decision for me, because I'm a packrat in every sense of the word, and that includes anything I've written/drawn/created. Perhaps if I printed a hardcopy if I really didn't want to lose it forever, and then deleted it online. At least then if I come across it, it will be... um, on paper. Which I'm not sure how it would be any better, but still... it's the only idea I have at the moment.

I'm interested to hear whether anyone else has run into this situation themselves. Have you ever decided that you'd rather not see something you'd written ever again? And not because you didn't like how you wrote it, but because it addressed something you didn't want to deal with again emotionally? And did you delete it, or just avoid looking at older stuff?

I'm not saying I want to pretend it never happened. I think I might just want to not see it on Google. ':P

Random Interests Survey Thing

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:57:50 GMT

LJ Interests meme results

cajun food:
Huh, I don't even remember putting this on my list, but I must have. Anyway, whether it's gumbo, jambalaya, or... that other dish whose name eludes me at the moment... I can't get enough Cajun dishes. I even like Popeye's chicken, even though it's more of a gimmicky fast food thing (I'm guessing).
demented music:
Over the years I've had difficulty with people or things that take themselves too seriously, and music is no exception. Which is why I think that I've been interested in "novelty" or "humorous" music ever since I was a young squirt and my dad got me interested in perennial Dr. Demento favorites like "Fish Heads", "Dead Puppies Aren't Much Fun", and "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati". And of the songs I've written in the past decade or two, nearly half of them have been at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek (if not flat-out parodies.) Still, I occasionally find time to listen to an Eagles tune or a piece of classical music. But more often than not it'll be more like a TMBG tune, or something off a Simpsons soundtrack. (Yes, I am definitely a full-blooded nerd where music is concerned.)
gallagher:
Hmmm, I'm not sure I want to keep him on my list. There was a time when I really enjoyed the observational wordplay punctuated by whacked-out props and the occasional messy non-sequitur. But the last time we saw him in concert, he was merely a bitter, angry, sad little man. Not the best formula for comedy (unless you're Richard Lewis.)
jim henson:
The guy invented the Muppets, for Pete's sake. What more do you need to know? He is one of just a few people in the world for whom I shed a tear upon news of their death, who was not a relative. The Muppets (and their movies and subsidiary knock-offs) haven't been the same since he left this mortal coily thing.
monty python:
I used to be one of the pretentious Monty Python fans who'd look down on anyone who either A.) Got all of their only Monty Python experience from the "Holy Grail" movie, or B.) Thought Monty Python was an individual (i.e., "Monty Python? He's hilarious!") But nowadays I take a more relaxed stance about it. That is, I'll settle for someone even taking a passing interest in the group, or not rolling their eyes at random quotes. (But I still can't stomach amateur troupes who try to re-create the Python sketches. That's painful no matter who does it, I've found.)
paul reiser:
Y'know, I didn't think I had put this many PEOPLE on my interests list; it must just be the luck of the draw (since it pulled every 14th item). For those of you who are unaware, before he was "Mad About" Helen Hunt, Mr. Reiser was a stand-up comedian, one who did some of my favorite routines (mainly because I could identify with them. Well, and because they made me laugh.) One of my favorite ones is still the bit about speed dial and how it ruins your ability to recall numbers. "It's sad - now my phone has memory, and I don't."
robert asprin:
Robert Asprin is just one of several authors that I WISHED I could write like. He takes painful, groan-inducing scenarios, and makes them WORK in the context of his novels. He pulls of the nearly impossible task of making cliched, parody-like characters, and making you care about them. The only other person I can think of who's managed that is Terry Pratchett, and that doesn't quite count because his characters are often wholly unique unto themselves (but his name didn't come up in this random meme generation, so never mind about him.)
singing:
This is one of those interests that fluctuates wildly from time to time. I've been known to go entire weeks without uttering a tune (not usually good times), and then there are times when an hour doesn't go by when I don't burst into song. (Though perhaps "burst" is a bit melodramatic there. Maybe a better description of it is "mosey into song.")
strategy games:
I won't go into detail on this one, lest I inadvertantly cause the last few remaining readers' eyes to glaze over permanently. I'll just say that I get a kick out of building little towns that generate little people that run around chopping wood, building farms, and more often than not, waging pixelated war against someone over the internet. Though I like the ability to win "peacefully" in the Civ games. Okay, enough of that.
they might be giants:
I've already mentioned them under "demented songs", although there are undoubtedly TMBG fans out there who would consider it blasphemous to use the word "demented" in conjunction with their songs (though their song "Man, It's So Loud In Here", did air a few times on the Dr. Demento Show, as well as some of their others.) You can't help (and by that I mean "I" can't help) but admire someone who can write a stirring ballad about James K. Polk (our 11th president) or James Ensor (Belgium's famous painter). I think I retain more historical knowledge from their songs than I ever did from my high school history classes. Which is probably more of a condemnation of my study habits than anything else, but...

Enter your LJ user name, and 10 interests will be selected from your interest list.

ACK!

Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:58:58 GMT

I had just spent... oh, thirty minutes or so... typing up a serious, heartfelt entry here, in liverjournal. And I go to change the Subject Heading, hit backspace a few times, and the next thing I know I'm several pages back on my web-browser.

When I went back to the Update Journal page, everything I'd written was long gone.

Aaaarrrgghhh!!!

Then again, maybe it was for the best. It wasn't the most upbeat thing I'd written. Oh well. Gotta go eat something. Buh-bye!

As if I weren't already spreading myself thin online...

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 05:08:27 GMT

...I had to go and start this.

(Thanks a lot, Bill.)

Attorney General Jack Thompson Calls For Ban On Games

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 04:19:48 GMT

Washington, DC - After his successful campaign to remove the Mature-rated game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" from stores due to a hidden adult minigame that could be unlocked by anyone with the right code or downloaded mod (depending on platform), Thompson has proceeded to rally against "The Sims 2", which allegedly has the potential for modification by anyone with 3D mesh-creating abilities. His conclusion is that Electronic Arts is "cooperating, gleefully, with the mod community to turn Sims 2 into a porn offering."

If his efforts are successful, he intends to move on to bigger targets. "Super Mario Brothers and their ilk have been flying under the radar for far too long. Italians eating mushrooms that make them 'grow'? And going down 'pipes'? I think the allusions are obvious. And stomping on turtles can set a bad example for children."

Ultimately, he hopes to pull the plug on checkers as well. "A game in which you're encouraged to 'jump' pieces of another 'color', thereby taking them out? If that's not symbolic of gang violence, I don't know what is. Besides, anyone with access to scissors, an adult magazine, and some glue can turn the pieces into icons of smut. You can't tell me that the designers weren't aware of this."

Thompson, whose name can be modified to spell "Shock J. Tampon" by anyone with enough free time and verbal skills, has refrained from commenting on his rumored attempts to remove the inappropriate 'King' face fom most decks of playing cards, all of which are commonly depicted wielding weapons, including the King of Hearts, who appears to be stabbing himself in the head with a dagger.

---

[DISCLAIMER: The above article is intended purely as sophomoric satire and is therefore largely fictitious. Any similarities to actual killjoys, living or dead, is uncoincidental and protected under the applicable free speech laws. Besides, if he can make up stuff about one of my favorite games, why can't I make up stuff about one of his?]

What Are They Trying To Say?

Sun, 03 Jul 2005 18:16:30 GMT

So I was going through "My Recommendations" at Amazon.com, and just because I gave "Toy Story 2" five stars, they recommended this for me.

Thanks a lot, Amazon...

This isn't an update. It just smells like one.

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 03:08:12 GMT

I'm thinking it might not be a good idea to try to write an entry while watching a musical on DVD. It does weird things to one's typing. (Or maybe it's just me.)

I'm not going to talk about how I should update more often, because I mention that far too often, plus it's obvious without my saying anything. (Never mind that I just did it yet again.)

I now have a laser printer! Woohoo!

Actually, I've had it for a couple years now, but I only just recently had the sense and/or available space to see if it worked.

See, my brother-in-law gave it to Krudita and myself when he quit his business... anyway, it was always in his truck, and was old and beat up and filthy, and he didn't have the software for it any more.

So for some reason, I left it in the garage for two whole winters.

Then, the other day, when I was frustrated with my inkjet, I smacked my forehead, and thought, "Hey! We've got a laser printer in the garage! I'm sure it's old enough that XP could recognize it." (I realize this was a leap of faith, but excessive forehead-smacking will do that to you sometimes.)

So I dragged the fifty-pound box all the way up the stairs to our apartment, cleared some space for it, and hooked it up. Well, first I cleared out the dust, cobwebs, dead bugs, and other unidentifiable "things", and then hooked it up.

It sputtered, made a bunch of worrisome noises, and gave some error on the LED display, which I didn't understand because the manual was also missing.

Too make a long story short ("Too late..."), it eventually worked. Though the toner is a bit... tone-deaf. But it prints somewhat legibly in a matter of seconds, immediately out-classing the now unemployed inkjet.

Dang, did I just spend this whole time talking about a used laser printer? I need to get out more. Or in more. Either way, I need to get around more.

In other ultra-boring computer-related news that nobody but me is likely to give a rat's arse about, I've started on my long-delayed project of scanning my old computer game magazines into JPEG form, so that instead of having two hundred pounds worth of old magazines collecting dust, I can now have just two pounds of CD-R's collecting dust (or, if I want to fully put my trust in semi-recent technology, a quarter-pound of DVD-R's.)

While I was inexplicably excited to see the first several articles in full-color on-screen, by the time I reached the last page of the second issue (from 1993, not that you asked), the tedium of the whole thing began to set in. Whereas early on I was adjusting the page just right, even going so far as to do a preview scan to make sure everything was squared, at this point I just slap the page down there, and as long as most of the words make it in, that's good enough. (By the last issue, I'll probably just be scanning the table of contents and relying on my stellar recall ability. *cough*)

Okay, this DVD is too much of a... well, it's too much. I could have gone my entire life without seeing Richard Gere tear off his boxers. (Fortunately, the event was obscured by several judiciously-clad women. But still. The idea is off-putting enough. Though perhaps not as off-putting as Queen Latifah doing burlesque.)

On that note... g'nite.

A quizzy feeling...

Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:34:05 GMT

So I took the "How Much Are You Worth" quiz-type evaulation on humanforsale.com...

It says I'm worth $2,166,744.00. Which I guess is pretty high up there, though the prices all seem rather inflated to me.

According to "Today's Most Expensive Males" list (which I'm not on, for some reason), I would rank just beneath a 16-year-old high school student who's allegedly making over $60,000 a year.

Amazingly, no fewer than eight geniuses took the test today and scored in the top thirty.

I'm thinking some people lied just a tad on their answers. (Heck, I probably could have hit the top 10 had I decided to just lie about everything... guess sales expertise isn't in my blood, or wherever it's stored.)

According to the quiz below, I'm bordering between "Alternative" and "Middle Class". Which sounds fairly accurate, I guess.

You scored as alternative. You're partially respected for being an individual in a conformist world yet others take you as a radical. You have no place in society because you choose not to belong there - you're the luckiest of them all, even if your parents are completely ashamed of you. Just don't take drugs ok?

</td>

alternative

67%

Middle Class

62%

Lower Class

46%

Upper middle Class

42%

Luxurious Upper Class

29%

What Social Status are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

I took this one a couple times, tweaking my answers, but the top result kept coming up the same...

You scored as Monica. The neat freak who would do anything for her friends. You're Monica, not always that popular but everyone loves you now.

</td>

Monica

70%

Ross

65%

Chandler

65%

Phoebe

55%

Joey

40%

Rachel

15%

Which Friend are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

And this one is just plain embarrassing...

You scored as Strawberry Shortcake. Don't stand for that new version crap. If you go shortcake, go shortcake all the way. . .

</td>

Strawberry Shortcake

42%

Smurf

42%

Voltron

25%

Shera

17%

Heman

Transformers

Thundercats

Which 1980's Cartoon Character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Okay, enough public humiliation for one day. Later!

Long-overdue update thingy

Sun, 05 Sep 2004 16:55:31 GMT

I live!

Unfortunately, so do my allergies. Well, perhaps "live" isn't accurate when referring to them, but they definitely make their existence known.

I wish my body fought off allergies as well as it does the medicine designed to treat them.

There is not a single product on the market that both a.) relieves all of my symptoms, and b.) leaves me alert and coherent enough to be somewhat useful for the rest of the day.

I have found some medicinal concoctions that get rid of the symptoms, but they leave me loopy, dizzy, tired, and just generally out-of-it. So it somewhat defeats the purpose, unless I'm going to bed.

---

I have been something of a media hermit as of late. By that I mean that I have totally failed to witness any live footage of either the Democratic National Convention, the Republican National Convention, or the Summer Olympics. (Not listed in order of importance, mind you.)

This also means that I've been a bit short-handed in the chit-chat department.

Person: "So, did you happen to see the--"
Me: "Nope. Sorry."

I'm thinking of going to the movies later, since it's been a while since I've seen one. Even though I know the ending to "The Village", I'm half-tempted to see it anyway, since I've seen all of M. Night Shamalyan's other movies, and I'm curious as to how he lead up to the ending. (Sometimes his movies are better the second time around. Not always, but sometimes.)

---

I had more to say, of course, but I'm really hungry (thanks in part to an old entry of Rowyn's involving sausage gravy). So maybe I'll update again later. Wow, there's a bizarre notion: two LJ entries by me within the same month! The mind scrabbles. Or boggles. One of those word games, anyway.

In closing, I just want to say that I wish I could go see TMBG in Atlanta, when they perform with the infamous Homestar Runner puppet. That would be weird. Seriously.