kisrael.com|sidebar of the people

2005.03.29

Exhaustion from Friday decided it wanted a bigger role, and decided to try out for lead cold in the Spring staging of    George Mucus's classic "Snot!" this weekend.    Rave reviews, "Mucus's return to Snot raises great expectorations!"    and "Mucus makes his way right next to your heart with Snot"

Why don't I ever get sick during the work week?    No it only happens when i think I have time to rest: weekends and vacations.    Last year it was two weeks of misery in Hawai'i as a sinus infection had its way with me.    This year it is a come home and collapse on Friday, malaise Sat, Sun, Monday cold that will linger in my chest for the next week.    Yech.

So last night I start feeling better, and decide to do the first "wash the floor boards and window sills" since December.    This would otherwise be known as spring cleaning, but since I started at 6 pm and gave up after 2 hours, I will call it the "kill the dust bunnies"    emergency cleaning.

Evil:
Cambridge air is evil.    I had done this soap and bucket cleaning in December and I still managed to go through a bucket of water for every two windows.    The towels were coming off the sill black,    I had no idea that much gunk had accumulated in 3 months, even with regular sweeping and vacuming.
The blinds were truly horrific.    If you haven't cleaned your blinds, then don't, just throw them out and get new ones.    It will be less traumatic.

Nyquil is evil.    I took some on Sunday Night because of the    lousy sleep I got on Saturday.    No luck, I was up at midnight and couldn't get back to sleep until 3 am.    So Monday morning comes and I still feel crappy, but I intend to work from home.    I figure what harm can a second dose of this stuff do, since the first failed to knock me out.    Wham, flat on my back on the couch( fouton of doom, not a good sleeping surface) until 3pm.    Finally found the Robitussin, which tastes just as yucky.

Good:
My wife, on the other hand, is an angel of goodness and light.    She brought me nasty, msg-loaded, Nissin Cup Noodles, my favorite "I'm Sick, Coddle Me" food. And she got oranges, orange juice, tea, more honey for said tea, and made sure I had Robitussin instead of nasty Nyquil.    Yay!

--Evil B.

2005.03.31

Happy Birthday to Kirk!
Happy Birthday to Kirk!
Its not a holiday,
you still have to work.

Happy Birthday to Logan!
Happy Birthday to Logan!
If this was an advert,
there'd be a slogan?

Happy Birthday to Israel!
Happy Birthday to Israel!
If you go to Old Navy,
We hope stuff is on sale......

Oh Lordy, this is utter doggerel, but at 6:13 am what do you expect? Still under the weather myself, but the wife and I hope you have a great birthday!

--Evil B.

2005.04.03

With what pause do you suffer,
under blood blue skies with evening star.
For what cause do you suffer,
for untold reward, uncertain by far.

Dwell in the dust of your own making,
Trapped unto mirrors' reflections untrue
Smell cinnamon lust your heart its breaking
Take taken forgiven and given anew

Bound in life, found in love, stolen from harm
Sway to the strings of sweet song so near
Bade by heart, fade in toil, create by charm
Claim proclaim exhort exclaim all that is dear

--Evil B.

2005.04.06

Wow, further proof that either
a. Kirk's readers are the most polite readers
b. The Sidebar is largely ignored.

Come on folks, know a joke when you see one.    It was a montage of the more striking bits of high school    angsty poems that I found when cleaning.    I thought it would provoke some reaction, aside from the polite cough.    I hoped it would at least cajole one of you into putting up an entry to get the dang thing off the page.    Instead it turned into an endurance test, how long could I stand to see it with my moniker attached versus how long until some one else posted.

You won, I want it off the front page!

Someone else has to use this space, post your grocery list, the names of all your pets in chronological order, a type of cuisine you've only had once, anything.

If you don't, I have some more great Vogon poetry waiting.    Don't make me use it.

--Evil B.

2005.04.09

OK ... am pretty excited that we sold our house. Good timing as they want to move just a few weeks after our new house will be done (5/20). This is just awesome. Didn't get quite as much for the sale as we wanted but close enough. Also, we didn't realize how much of a headache selling a house really is and some of the not so evident costs the seller must pay. Oh well, it is a learning/life experience.

--Beau

2005.04.11

Twilgiht, dear god, thank you for twilight.    I finally figured out what is    truly wrong with winter. Its not the just the short days.    Its the utter lack of twilight at the appropriate time.

In the winter, by the time you get home it is already dark.    You don't get to fade away with the evening, you just get stuck with darkness.    A darkness, mind you, that if you commute you must endure alert. Then you are home, undoubtedly in some state of agitation after your drive.    Not ready to shut down? Too bad,    you missed your cue by not going home at 3:45 p.m.

But once Easter has passed, you can get home in time to savor the twilight.    Your house chores can be accomplished by the remaining daylight.    After the sunset, you have a whole hour to fade and let the day fall away from you.

--Evil B.

Culling my bookshelf, I came across the Book of Common Prayer.
Forgot I had it, inside the cover was a small toy doller bill.
Oh, yeah, I used it as a prop one Halloween when I dressed as a TV evangelist. Funny thing is, next to it on the book shelf was the Communist Manifesto, also can't remember where or why I got that (class?).
My bookshelf is an ironic statement of me.
I don't know where the Prayer Books and Manifestos are, but I can find the erotic picture books no problem.

--ErinMaru

2005.04.12

National Do Not Call Registry:
"This registration will be effective until 4/13/2010.

Please print a copy of this page for your records."

I'd have to be some kind of superhuman genius to be that organized, that I could find this page in 5 years.

--LAN3

2005.04.14

--Kirk

2005.04.15

I've been thinking for a while about what to write for my inaugural sidebar entry. it shouldn't be too personal, but it should be something about me, or something that the lovely Kirk's readers could relate to. As I live in a different country, that counts out a few things, but I think now I've cracked it - music!

I love music. I'm basically without any musical talent myself, which - after my efforts at rock karaoke - you should all be very glad about - but isn't music the best thing? What else can affect your mood so much? It has so many memories attached to it, and can affect me so much, and when hearing a new album, or one I haven't heard in a while, or just something that really hits the spot mood wise, I get an almost visceral pleasure from every single note, screamed or otherwise.

Right now I'm listening to Strapping Young Lad - their brand of screaming incoherently over a hard metal background may not be for everyone, but it really suits my mood right now. Which is not to say that's all I listen to; earlier I was listening to Bon Jovi and Tyketto; the other quarter has seen to it that I have an unhealthy liking for all things big haired and Spandex wearing.

I suppose the final thing to tell you is a recent search of all my music for something happy showed two albums out of about 150 -200 possibilities. Bloody goths!

--Catherine

2005.04.19

Lego! It's the best thing in the world!

That's about it, really. Lego is t3h r0x0rz. A quick straw poll of my housemates has shown that they would try and make, say, the walls one colour and the roof another, and get all the colours aligned - but one housemate says that he'd look at what he had and try to make something out of that, so the question never really came up. I wasn't that bothered about the colours, myself...it was the creativity that mattered more.

And modern Lego is awful, all premoulded into set shapes. It's like DRM for kids (Sort of. Maybe.)

--Catherine

2005.04.24

Two places on our street just went up for sale, both condos.    1400 Sq Feet for 495k,    667 Sq Feet for 319k.    Plus condo fees.    Plus insurance. Plus water. Plus electricity.    While I just sit here renting and building no equity.

I don't understand it.    And I mean that in a core, emotional and intellectual way.    That kind of debt goes against everything I know about money.    That kind of debt goes against the only portions of the Christian ethos that I retain.    It smacks of servitude to money lenders, who produce nothing save the manipulation of an illusion.    It is hung upon the kind or irrational optimism that believes that life never takes a wrong turn.    I have yet to meet someone who has put themselves into that kind of debt and said," I read the entirety of my mortgage agreement and I think its reasonable."    It is putting all your money on the table and saying "let it ride" for 30 years.    The house always wins.

I could tell you stories about my friends parents, who bought their first home outright in a time when any kind of debt was shameful.    Mortgages were taken only by those who had fallen on hard times. And you would be bored to tears and tell me to grow up.    I could tell you about current friends who have had their first house purchased outright by either family or church.    You would wonder why I give it a moments thought.

It isn't a case of biting the bullet.    Its an insight that lets me know how small and alone we are, that we will ask a stranger for 30 years of debt.    It troubles me to know that I will have to indulge in it without the blinders others enjoy.

Then again, there are people like Kirk, who barely pay attention to the whole house buying schtick and end up considerably richer.    Maybe I should grip it about as lightly as he does.

Whine Whine Biatch Biatch and so on.    Anyone else feel the same way I do, or should I just climb the mountain now and preach to the chipmunks?

--Evil B.

2005.04.26

I am having some great fun this week, I am teaching my wife how to play chess. She knows the basics, but has never been exposed to strategy. There are these phenomenal moments of "Oh, I get it" and of interpretation and re-invention which are just immensely satisfying.

Perhaps that's why children are such a joy, because of those moments. And maybe that is why there is so much frustration in the teen-age years. The "Oh, I get it moments" shift from being about what you are trying to teach to being about what you were trying to occlude.

--Evil B.

2005.04.29

Ok ... this took me a little while to get around getting it off my camera. But this is the snow in Cleveland from earlier this week (april snow). May take a few minutes as it is residing on my father in laws machine.

cleveland snow

--Beau

2005.05.01

Adult life has boiled down to two things: sleep vs distraction.    If I get enough sleep, I am not as distractable.    Bed by 10 up by 6 and everything falls right into place.    Work goes smoothly,    little tasks get done,    and in general I am more pleasant.    But then I can clearly see the larger issues in my life; I get concerned and I want to be distracted.

Let us speak truthfully, distraction is the true American product and pastime.    Just like high fructose corn syrup, distraction is package in a mind-numbing variety of eye-catching ways, all of which are bad for you.    I go for the engrossing distractions: games that never end, 1000 page books.    Bullshit so deep that it has time for meta-bullshit and self-referential bullshit.        The distraction that lets you say, "Just one more " followed by "page", "chapter","message", "level", "city", "fortress".

When I lose myself there, sleep goes by the boards.    What was once 10pm becomes 1am, or worse.    Everything suffers, until I reset the clock and hope that I have a bit more traction against the issues that drive me to distraction.

There are three key things to come out of this:
#1    The cycle is getting shorter, but deeper.
#2    The people I know who have succeeded have married their money to their distraction.
#3    This is a difficult lesson to actually learn and respect.

--Evil B.

37 comments

2005.05.04

Ever since the discussion in the last sidebar about distraction, sleep and adult life, an existential question has stuck in my mind:

I'm always hearing stuff about how we should be thankful to our parents for bringing us into this world and giving us life.    Sometimes, I wonder: do we have have obligation to be thankful?

Sure, there's probably plenty of philosophical discussion fodder to be had regarding what we were before we lived and whether as some other thing, whether we may have petitioned to come onto this Earth and such.    From a purely existential viewpoint, though, it's not as if we have asked for this life.    If anything, somehow, we've all but just been about dropped into this world.

But, then again, some of this wondering may come from my own sentiments and resentments toward my parents.

Other than that and my questioning, though, I really don't have any other thoughts about it other then, "Hey, that's interesting. . .if only I had time to think about it some more and maybe even research it."    Oh well, such is life, I guess.

--Mr. Lex

2005.05.06

So, you may have noticed we had a general election, and that Labour got back in.(I stayed awake till 5am watching the results come in :-) ) All told this is I think the best possible result in the circumstances - no-one wanted to see the right wing Conservatives get back in and while we may love them dearly, also no-one really believes the Lib Dems (traditionally moderate, currently most left wing) would have half a clue of what to do in government - the Liberals haven't won an election since 1929.

In general everyone really wanted Labour to get back in, despite the fact Tony Blair clearly lied to the country about the war and then tried to cover it up in a really clumsy way - but the many protest votes for other parties has given our Tony a greatly reduced majority, which is what he sorely needed. Perhaps he'll take opposition seriously now?

Being a crazy young hep cat, I voted (could have doen twice, having been given two different poll cards *for the same city*) and would never not have done - but there's been fierce debate among my friends about why you should at the very least spoil your paper rather than not voting at all. And I'm pleased to say a few people went to vote for the first time on the strength of this. Hurray!

--Catherine

2005.05.11

I had an annoying run in with an "activist" crossing guard today.

On my drive to work, I go through two school zones, one in Watertown and another in Belmont. I made it through the Watertown without incident today.

In Belmont, they didn't have their blinking lights going. On that road and the other thickly settled roads that pretty much go on a straight line from Watertown Sq. to Waverly Sq., they don't have speed limit signs, so I actually go around 25 mph. So going by this school in Belmont, I went 25 mph because the school zone lights were off.

All the sudden, at the cross walk where the crossing guard lady usually positions herself, she jumps in front of my car and gives very ambiguous signals. I slam on the breaks, stopping in the middle of the crosswalk. While people walk across the crosswalk, the guard points at me and gives me this disapproving look. After the people cross, she comes close to the car then walks over to the passenger side. My girlfriend opens the window. The crossing guard tells me to watch my speed because I'm going by a school. I tell her that the lights weren't blinking. She says that she doesn't care, I should be watching my speed limit because I'm going by a school.

You know, I can understand her viewpoint to a degree, and that's why I go 25 mph instead of 30 mph down that stretch of the road. Nonetheless, the lady pretty much jumped in front of the car! Even if I were going 20 mph because the lights were blinking, I would have had hard time stopping as fast as she would have wanted me to stop!

It's very annoying. . .and with all the bad drivers on the road this morning along with stupid obsessive compulsive thoughts in my head, I believe the cosmos has something against me today.

--Mr. Lex

2005.05.14

Don't fall in love.

--Catherine

12 comments

2005.05.18

Crap!

1. I had an obsessive compulsive work related dream that kept repeating.

2. I forgot to clean my teeth this morning.

3. I came into work late.

4. I've got a sour disposition today.

Screw it.

--Mr. Lex

2005.05.20

Moved into our new house this week. Been quite a lot of work. Thought it would be less than the last move but was wrong. You hardly realize how much stuff you accumulate! Took from Saturday until now (Friday evening) to get to a point where I feel relaxed. Finally there aren't essential projects that need to be done. Last three items are a medicine cabinet for Kris (my wife), organize garage & basement. Will be great to be totally done ... but then it means back to work (ugh!!).

--Beau

2005.05.22

Ah, Americans. You may have pretzels, Fisherman's Wharf and those tasty sweets that look like corn, but what you don't have is Eurovision!

It's like Heaven in televisual format.

Obviously you can't enter (actually, since Israel enters, and they aren't in Europe, there's no reason you shouldn't) but I don't know if you can see it.

24 countries from the European area compete in a singing contest to see whose song will be most popular...and they're generally the tackiest Eurodisco with stick thin girls and obviously gay boys. (Except this year with the JOY that was Norway's Glam entry).

All the voting is very political between countries, and in Britain we have Terry Wogan doing the gently sarcastic and ever more drunk commentary just for us, and many people have parties and play drinking games, and it's such fun.

And it just occurred to me that you miss out on all of this! And I couldn't think of a similar event that you have - can you?

--Catherine

2005.05.24

Does anybody know if there's some special way to dispose of regular ol' non-rechargeable alkaline batteries? For some reason, it just doesn't seem environmentally safe just to throw them away.

--Mr. Lex

2005.05.29

Why is it, that sometimes you can go out and drink loads, and not have a hangover at all, and sometimes, you drink very little but feel terrible?

Today, I am mostly feeling fine, despite the entirely too much vodka I drank last night. Time for a bacon sandwich!

--Catherine

2005.06.02

ok ... here is my latest submission. Been a really tough week around the Hill household (on the outskirts of Cleveland). My wife and I were 22 weeks pregnant with twins (boy & girl). Unfortunately there were some pretty severe chromosomal problems with the girl and we ended up losing her. What an incredibly difficult thing (second time for our family).

--Beau

2005.06.08

Gah. Bored. Bored and unemployed and it's sunny outside and I could just ring a friend and we could go to the park....but I have to get a job. In the last couple of days I've got any amount of housekeeping (computer, not actual - be reasonable!) done, sewed buttons on trousers, chatted to people I've never met before (also online) and done all kinds of useful things.

But no forms.

Somehow it seems that if I'm sitting in front of the computer (which I did yesterday, with only a break for dinner, from 9am till 1am) then I'm doing something productive - even though I'm really not.

And this is another displacement activity....

--Catherine

2005.06.12

The recent news
that Microsoft have blocked certain words like 'democracy' or 'freedom' from their new MSN Spaces portal in China has just disgusted me to the point of not wanting to ever use their products again if I can help it.

I don't play computer games, so can any of you think of any reason to stick with Microsoft? I'm not looking for Gates bashing, but genuine thoughts.

(I'd be replacing it with Linux - Ubuntu's my distro of choice, built on Debian).

--Catherine

2005.06.16

Pet peeve of the moment ... it is so difficult to deal with individuals that have a preset agenda and you don't feel they have the best interest of the organization/company at heart. While I understand that most of us want to better ourselves (skills and financially) by moving up in the organization, it should always be with the intention and idea that it would be best for the organization and not only self-serving. As a cultural thing it is about getting as much power and money as possible while not caring about who you step on.

--Beau

2005.06.21

Witty observations and situational humor has never been my cup of tea ... sorry!! At least my previous post (which was pretty lame) is now not on the front page.

--Beau

2005.06.22

Just saw my little boy very carefully put on his shoes, what a site ... don't quite care that they didn't make it on the right feet.

--Beau

2005.06.24

So today is my boss' last day ... a new one will be here next week. Tensions are high & everyone is nervous about their jobs.

--Beau

(Damn, I don't mean to push Beau out of the way, but there's never been an entry when I've wanted to write before.)

There was a once a painter called Wayne, who was very interested in making money, so he would thin down paint to make it go a wee bit further.

As it happened, he got away with this for some time, but eventually the Baptist Church decided to do a big restoration job on the painting of one of their biggest buildings. Wayne put in a bid, and because his price was so low, he got the job.

And so he set to erecting the trestles and setting up the planks, and buying the paint and, yes, I am sorry to say, thinning it down with turpentine.

So he started out, but just as he'd finished the first wall, the heavens opened and washed the thinned paint off.
Wayne was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he got on his knees and cried: "Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?"

And from the thunder, a mighty voice spoke...

"Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"

--Catherine

2005.06.25

Some observations that I've made on myself and other people trying to get other people to participate in a 'zine or BLOG: 1. Having some kind of focus, broad or narrow, helps, 2. Stoking people's egos helps and 3. Public remonstrations, public pleadings and repeated public statements of desire for a medium sounds desparate, even though a permaneant post of purpose or mission statement goes a long way to supporting the beginnings of an "institution."

--Mr. Lex

2005.06.27

It's such an odd historical artifact that every Windows main hard drive is C: even after most computers skip B: and many don't even bother with A:. I guess it harkens back to when 2 floppies were standard, either dual 5.25" or a 5.25" and a 3.5". Future generations will have no idea why it's "C:", or that it ever meant "my third diskdrive" instead of "standard name for my main disk". It will likely stay that way forever, or until Windows gets a "singly rooted" filesystem ala Unix.

--Kirk

10 comments

2005.06.30

Lesson from Chicago: Approaching a revolving door made up of shaded glass can be disconcerting and a bit scary (especially coming in from the outside on a sunny day)...the doors seem to start speeding up or slowing down of their own accord, so you're never quite sure when to make your move. Way too much excitement for such a mundane task.

--Kirk

The cable modem supplied to me by Comcast started acting haywire last night. It acted haywire when I first bought my Linksys Wireless router (the third router in four/five years: how long do these things usually last?) about a month ago but then started behaving by the end of night. It's even worse now -- at least then, I could plug the cable modem directly into my desktop and they would work, now they don't seem to. Unless the modem started working since my girlfriend plugged it in today, I don't know what I'll do.

There's more of a description in the comments section, but I figured I'd post it in the sidebar. Maybe someone has a good idea (haven't found one yet on in the Internet).

--Mr. Lex

2005.07.01

Things you probably didn't know about California: It gets misty at night, esp. in the hills-like where I live on top of Echo Park Ave. Brown Lizards the size of chemealons running around. The highways actually do get deserted in the wee hours of the night. Everyone claims to know for sure that Tom Cruise is gay. You give a thumbprint to get a drivers license. The post office has clear walls between the clerks and the public (with drawers that open only on one side at a time for passing letters and packages) but the banks don't. Regular gas is $2.43 a gal. Small tin of Fancy Feast is $.68. Many hybrid cars. Kosher Chinese restaurants. My old, lazy, declawed cat chased a miniture doberman. Peace!

--ErinMaru

Sorry for the dwelling, but fixed the computer/wireless network this morning. At some point, connecting the modem directly to the computer actually worked this morning. I went to Windows update. It looked like there was an update for the Wireless atenna or whatever you call them connected to my computer. My question, though: If that was the problem, why did the cable modem pretty much go haywire and why didn't the direct, wired connection from my desktop to the cable modem not work?

I probably will never know, and if it keeps working fine, I don't really care. Technology can really just kiss my butt. Labor saving devices, my ass! When they go haywire, there goes the labor saving. . ..

--Mr. Lex

2005.07.02

Folks, another chapter in the story. I came home from work today. The Internet wasn't working again. After browsing the Internet, talking to a Comcast tech who didn't help me more than to try selling me network hardware, chatting to 5 Linksys techs then browsing the Internet a ton more, I discovered the problem: the cable modem and the wireless router sat too close together. The signal from the wireless router pretty much shorted out the modem. Stupid simple, elegant solutions.

Candi, maybe you should give it a shot. Try moving the wireless router across the room from the modem.

Sorry, folks, if this took up too much time.

--Mr. Lex

2005.07.03

How many of us share the childhood frustration of trying and failing to get that perfect little curly-q of toothpaste on the end of the brush, like they had in all of the toothpaste commercials?

(In double checking to make sure I hadn't previously kisrael'd this thought, I made the discovery that I have never used the word toothpaste in any journal entry, neither palm- nor web-based)

--Kirk

2005.07.05

I found out today that, when my employer, a science museum and science education facility (plus IMAX theaters and all that) started its merchant (credit-card) account with our bank, they had to go through a list of codes that describe merchants, and the closest the could manage to come up with to represent us was "Art Dealer." They swear they went through the whole list at the time and that's the closest the could come to a Science Museum. However, some of the corporate credit cards are fixed such that they cannot be automatically run to give money to merchants with the code that means "Art Dealer;" presumably someone there went through the list and decided what sorts of businesses need authorization, and which charges can just go through.

Our accountant head worked this out and asked them to re-code us as something like "Exhibits and Attractions," which is a so much closer than "Art Dealer," I'm stunned that they couldn't have found anything in between.

--LAN3

2005.07.06

Going on vacation can suck sometimes. It's not really the vacation, itself, that sucks but the catching up with everyday life afterward that sucks.

--Mr. Lex

2005.07.07

Aargh! I'm afraid to throw out the boxes that stuff comes in. Maybe I'll need to take it back to the store! Maybe it'll be useful to pack when I move someday! Maybe I'll want to sell it on Ebay! Maybe it's useful for something else that I want to sell on Ebay!

And of course, if I do decide to get rid of it, I'll be condemned to ecohades if I don't properly break it down for recycling.

--Kirk

2005.07.08

Got this email from someone who works with me regarding a Word document. This is a direct copy & paste ...

I detached the document sent to me by XXXXX in the hope of making some changes. However, in the present format, I am not able to do this without a very powerful microscope. The document is only readable after I print it. I tried making changes by hand, but there is not enough space and it is too time consuming. I would like to give my input and try to coordinate my brief version for the consumer with your detailed version for the workers. However, I would need to have the pages sent to me separately for editing. Let me know if this can be done.

--Beau

As the resident (?) Brit, albeit not one who lives in London, I suppose a few words wouldn't hurt (and you're going to get them anyway!)
Basically, it's stiff upper lip city. Within hours Londoners of my acquaintance were complaining about the lack of transport and (what else) the weather. It was raining.
I know a few people in London and I felt a bit sick with nerves until I knew they were okay, but as my mother says bad news travels much faster than good, so I would have heard if anything had happened.
Many of the aforementioned Londoners are of course used to all this sort of thing from years of IRA bomb threats. Of course, it's terrible and very disturbing, but people are just getting grimly on with business.
To sum up: not terrorised, not panicking. What else is new?

--Catherine

2005.07.09

Watching the first big hurricane of the season pass by a few hundred miles from here. This area had two direct hits last year, I'm hoping to avoing that this year. We're going to get a lot of rain, no biggie. The wind has been really creepy over the last 12 hours, constantly gusting and blowing in an unsettling manner. It is full of portents. Or contents, that's right, it's full of contents. Dennis is heading for Alabama, but could take a sudden right turn into my face.

--Mr.Ibis

Have to admit that I feel kinda guilty about the cynical anger that I feel about 7/7 in London, anger at the governments, anger at the people in office, anger at Bush, anger at Blair, anger at terrorists of all types, anger at the structure of politics in the world, anger at the economics in the world, anger at me for not having the power to fix these things or to even start to try fixing them, anger at myself for if I did have the power, I may also try to force my vision on the world rather than do what's best, anger at human nature, etc. etc. Sometimes, I wish I could express sympathy as well as everyone else has been showing these days.

--Mr. Lex

17 comments

2005.07.15

A couple summers ago, I noticed that I had less of an attention span than during the rest of the year. For some reason, last year, it wasn't such a big deal. Now I'm noticing it again. There a reason for this or am I just weird (please don't say weird!)?

--Mr. Lex

2005.07.19

Am I the only person disturbed by the name of faux-Australian "Outback Steakhouse's" heavily-advertised dessert "Chocolate Thunder from Down Under"? I mean, please.

--Kirk

2005.07.22

Helloooooo! Back! Back to terrorise teh interwebs!
It's been an interesting few weeks, comprised mainly of a crash course in networking, specifically network trouble shooting and crazy, crazy routers of craziness.
Of course, it was nothing to do with us at all, but a stupid typing fault at our ISP. D'oh!

It's been odd, actually. I didn't really miss the internet so much; it was a bit frustrating not to keep in touch with people but I didn't miss it half so much as I'd expected I would.
With luck, I'll keep reading and socialising as we've had to in these dark 'net-free days.....I'm on a strict schedule of an hour of Perl a day :-)

--Catherine

2005.07.26

Some do-gooder has used an empty bulletin board at work to post a "good home wanted" sign for a cat ("Maxy") now at the Marblehead Animal Shelter... they play up her nice quantities, but are pretty open that this cat has not had a good life and likely won't be traditionally affectionate.

So now with all my other issues at work I can have a twinge of guilt about not adopting this cat every time I walk down the hall. Fantastic.

Janeane Garofalo was right: "Cultivate the Switzerland of your soul and remain delightfully detached" indeed. There are just too many awful stories out there.

--Kirk

2005.08.01

Anybody know of a good way to dispose of useless computer equipment like a dead wireless router and a dead stereo setup, including a subwoofer. Should I just throw them in the trash?

--Mr. Lex

2005.08.04

German music notation is a bit different...instead of the usual A through G letter progression, what we call "B" they call "H", and what we call "Bb" they call "B". This let Bach do some cute stuff like including the progression "B A C H" in some of his music.

I find this surprising. I thought if anyone would strive for
consistency and good engineering principles in their musical notation, it would be the Germans.

--Kirk

2005.08.06

Initially, I was going to post about some terribly self pitying and mopey personal stuff which I'm sure you don't want or need to hear. Plus, it would make my upper lip wilt, which would never do.

So instead...I shall recommend you all join a book group. They're great. I belong to one that meets once a month (in a pub!). It's got me reading again, to the extent of having about 5 books on the go right now, it's brought about some interesting discussions (a group of scientists reading Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker, and discovering we don't all hold the same views on The Big Issues) and further more it's made me read books I never would have done. Plus, contacting people you know who are in the group and discussing the book with them all mysteriously in front of non group members is more fun than you'd credit, and as secrets go considerably better for you than having an affair.

What are you waiting for?

--Catherine

2005.08.11

Stupid, not-quite-awake thought of the morning:
Canada needs to be strictly reorganized into exactly three parts: Can, a, and da.

--Kirk

2005.08.13

Had an odd dream where all these people were getting together for "Pirates vs. Ninjas", a massive "real life" roleplaying game.

I was trying to figure out which side would have more fun. I think the pirates, because they can be flamboyent and say "arrrr" and all that stuff, whereas the ninjas have to be all stealthy and whatnot.

--Kirk

2005.08.17

i recently started a new job (early july) and i'm having to adjust to working either alone at home, or at my boss' home with him. both locations are very comfortable and my new boss is charming and fun to work with, but i'm starting to really, really miss the peer interactions i used to have at my old job. today has been much better than monday and tuesday were for missing people, but i'm still looking for some advice on how to feel less isolated... any thoughts? there isn't much in the immediate neigborhood in terms of coffee shops or other quiet but communal places to work. we have lovely office space on 128, but it's for entertaining clients, hence no internet service and no way i could work there...

--FoSO

2005.08.18

The article about Germany brought home some issues for me. Mostly because it provides a contrast which helps illuminate my own thoughts about America. Speaking about our relentless "freedom" rhetoric got me thinking because he is right. In many ways we are less free than we think. I'm particularly cognizant of this because I am discovering some rather onerous housing codes down here in Florida. We were just cited by the Police for code violations including such horrible terrorist-loving offenses as: peeling paint on the house, bare patches on the lawn, a torn screen on the BACK PORCH. Yes, the police will begin charging us $200 a day on the 1st if we don't fix these things. And apparently they can wander into our back yeard any time they want to check the screens. I hadn't realized I was moving to FascistConformityville

--Mr.Ibis

2005.08.20

We moved into our new house about 3 months ago. There has been ongoing issues with the basement taking in water. Tonight there was major rain and we couldn't drive down our street. We had to park one block over and walk ... what a headache. The only good news is that while we had a little water in the basement it wasn't as bad as a bunch of others in the community. What a headache!!

--Beau

2005.08.23

In Chicago I saw a guy wearing a shirt proclaiming "No One Is Perfect But Me". I was tempted to run up and ask "shouldn't that be '...Except For Me'?" but he didn't look like the type of guy who'd get the humorous nuance of that.

--Kirk

2005.08.26

I have to admit big SUVs like the "Hummer 2" do still grab my attention.

It makes me think that people in H2s have at least two things in common with special needs students: they're both riding a short bus, and neither are concerned with telling "good attention" from "bad".

--Kirk

2005.08.27

Looking at the crescent moon low in the sky, I realize that it's a big rounded arrowhead pointing at the sun, and suddenly I can almost feel the whole solar system in 3D around me.

--Kirk

2005.08.28

Looking at the news and Katrina. HOLY COW!! I am glad that we don't live in the Big Easy. This will make the 5.3" in 1 hour that we received in Cleveland last Saturday look like a little drool! Gotta pray for all those down there!

--Beau

2005.08.30

I just installed a carbon monoxide detector in my bedroom.

It's kind of odd to admit, especially since it was so long ago, but it was the sad death of "Weird Al" Yankovic's parents by CO poisoning, and the message to his fans after, that put the need for a detector in the back of my mind.

Anyway, consider getting and installing one.

--Kirk

2005.09.03

1 - I have to pee right now.
2 - Kris is watching Days of our Lives ... never understood the whole Soap Opera thing.
3 - Caden is sleeping on Kris, what a great sight.
4 - Being a father is tough, you often feel like you fail.
5 - Same feeling as 4 about being a husband.
6 - Wish that Katrina wouldn't have caused as much damage as she did.
7 - TiVo is such a great thing.
8 - Wireless networks & hi-speed internet are great too.
9 - Drinking Coke Classic, is there anything else?
10 - Looking forward to being a Dad for the second time this month.
11 - Our second sons birth though great will be a reminder of the girl twin who was lost. That is hard to deal with.
12 - My father in law is in town and he loves teasing my about my conservative viewpoints and liking of "shrubbery" (he won't say Bush).
13 - Remember fondly Kirks nasal tricks.
14 - Enjoy keeping up with a childhood friend through his blog, the only blog I read.
15 - Think that Bush gets a bad rap a lot of the time.
16 - Wish that my Christian faith was stronger.
17 - Don't spend time with my faith the way I should.
18 - Eating is such a wonderful pastime.
19 - 210 right now, a result of my love for eating.
20 - Am truly thankful for the wonderful friends & family that I have.

This OK Butch?

--Beau

1. I'm at work right now, so as I type this, I'm making money.
2. I work Tuesday through Saturday, which I tell people is because I like to avoid Mondays, but it's because my predecessor, like me, likes to roll in late and leave late, and they kick people out of the office early on Mondays.
3. Aside from Hawaii, I've never been outside North America.
4. It's mostly because the prospect of travel doesn't motivate me to save money and go places.
5. I'd like to navigate a barge on the French canals, from the Loire to the Seine.
6. I own a web domain for no particular reason except as a mail-drop, even though I've always had big, hazy plans to make something great about it.
7. I'm constantly flipping back to kisrael for leads on where to carry this.
8. I've got the BBC drama of "Vanity Fair" in the mp3 player right now.
9. The other things in my MP3 player are "Pelican West" by Haircut 100, and a BBC reading of "Day of the Triffids."
10. My beverage of choice is a mix of Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper, mixed about 3:1.    It's very sweet.
11. I'm in a long-distance relationship and it's fairly inert, yet I'm not particularly inclined to either move to her or find someone local.
12. My entire family on my dad's side has evacuated from Nawlins except my Dad's aunt, who were last heard from on the roof of their condo awaiting rescue.    This week I'm finding out that nobody who knows me at work, nor my current lot of friends, knows I have family there, since it's been so long since I've visited NO.
13. I've made every effort not to bring my family up in defense of my fairly unpopular (i.e. not Bush-hating) views on the topic.
14. I've been in the eye of a hurricane, and it was awesomely serene. The streets were flooded by a few inches, but the gutters were handling it pretty well.
15. I download most of the TV I view from the internet using bittorrent, gambling that the copyright owners will go after the distributors and not the mere users.
16. The movie I've seen more than any others is Spaceballs.    I can't swear it's my favorite, but it kills me every time.
17. I want to sail, but I also shun the sun because I burn easily.    Which ocean is perpetually overcast but temperate?
18. Though Joseph Conrad is my favorite author, I sometimes think he's just the most skilled and brillaint that I've ever made the effort to read.    Sometimes reading him is work, and so I still haven't finished Lord Jim, even though I count it among my favorite stories by him.
19. I consider this a motivation problem, really.
20. I never tag people to reply to LJ memes or the like, but if I did, I'd have to tag 16 people.

--LAN3

2005.09.06

Perhaps our ten-fingered decimal thinking colors our thoughts a bit too much. A binary "order of magnitude"-- being interested when something is two or four times as great--can be a more useful concept than the decimal one. A ten times difference is often overkill.

Heck, I'm the size of a refrigerator...within an order of magnitude. Also the size of as big as a microwave oven, within an order of magnitude the other direction.

--Kirk

2005.09.07

Went to work early this morning and got a call about 7:30. It was Kris saying that she is having pain. Thought it was baby time ... turns out baby didn't think so.

--Beau

2005.09.12

If you'll excuse the crudeness, and the pun...one thing I learned in eating National Guard mess hall chili is that it can lead to repurcussions. In fact, it risks one becoming a bit of a re-percussionist.

So to speak.

--Kirk

OK ... Liam Elijah Hill was born on 9/10 @ 12:15 AM. 7 lbs 3 oz. 19 in.

Both Mom & boy are doing well.

Liam's Picture Page

--Beau

2005.09.15

My Google startpage showed me this eHow article titled How to Catch a Horse. Am I the only person who (mis)reads that and wonders if there's a companion article about how to get one thrown to you in the first place?

--Kirk

2005.09.19

(I don't mean to be hogging my own sidebar! Fellow sidebar-ers feel free to chip in!)

Anyway...can someone think of a reasonable "kitchen science lab" demonstration that matter is indeed divided into atoms? It occurs to me that I've been taking scientists' word for it all these years.

--Kirk

10 comments

2005.09.24

While driving today it hit me: Arnold Schwarzenegger is actually the frickin' governor of California! I mean how weird is that?

I guess people who thought Jesse Ventura's governorship of Minnesota as the epitome of absurdity of life in America were just that wrong.

--Kirk

33 comments

2005.10.01

Ksenia has a decided fondness for white bread dunked in Coca-Cola.

I have not the words.

I guess my usual "abomination before God and Man" comes close, but not quite.

--Kirk

2005.10.04

Huge moment of guilt: seeing some recent coverage from New Orleans and thinking "Man...is that thing still going on?"

--Kirk

2005.10.09

Some @#$%^&@!! is sending SPAM looking as if the author is @alienbill.com. Gmail doesn't catch all the bounces as SPAM. "Postmaster, Postmaster, Mail, Mail, Mail" would seem like a great cheer if it wasn't showing up in my Gmail notifier as a list of "Froms" for the bounces.

--Kirk

2005.10.12

Just got an aftermarket alarm w/ keyless entry for my Scion. The keyless entry was the big appeal...makes me wonder why we don't have that and power locks for houses. (Or if it's out there, why it's not more popular.) Suddenly regular key and lock systems seem so quaint and a bit irritating.

--Kirk

2005.10.20

What happened to the days when other people posted on the sidebar?

I know I started my Blog at http://thelex-topia.blogspot.com .

Has anyone else done anything exciting?

--Mr. Lex

2005.10.22

I am lame too ... been incredibly busy with two kids and all now.

Actually, today (10/22) is Caden's 3rd birthday. Had a little "shin dig" at the house. Was a good time.

--Beau

2005.10.27

Ksenia is the first person I've heard of who doesn't like zombie movies not just because they're scary but because she feels kind of sorry for the zombies.

--Kirk

2005.11.01

I find it hard to get a balance of working hard to make yourself feel valuable to your company & working hard in your personal life. How often is a persons sense of self-worth tied up in what they do? Seems when you meet someone, what do you do? is often a question in the first few minutes. What happened to wanting to know who people are, rather than what they do?

We are often so busy at getting to the next task, meeting or project that we don't take time out for people? If we take time out for people, then we question if we are not productive enough.

--Beau

2005.11.05

Tonight is Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes' Night, commemorating the hideous torture and death of the Catholic Guy Fawkes who attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder, hence it's being known as the Gunpowder Plot.

Across Britain, families are having bonfires, burning effigies of Mr Fawkes, known as 'guys' and eating toffee apples and parkin. I used to love this when I was younger, but sadly as a skint city dweller I no longer have the space or the funds for such an event.

Fortunately, everyone lets off fireworks, too, which as I'm living in the top room of a house over a valley, I can see the best display in the city - and all for free, in the warm!

--Catherine

2005.11.09

Having one of those days at work ... anybody hiring?

--Beau

I noticed my gmail spam filter is getting "leakier"...usually (I think) by being fooled by the insertion of random character strings to defeat the Bayesian filters. You'd think they could make a "reverse" filter, than too many non-dictionary words should be a clear warning sign as well.

--Kirk

2005.11.13

I've got a new PC, and it needs a name.My previous machines were named Oppie and Teller, for Robert Oppenheimer and Edward Teller.

I'm thinking Nobel or Ulam would be good, but I'm open to suggestion.

--LAN3

2005.11.25

After discovering that there is now a viable alternative to Quicken that can run on Linux, I figured it was time to finally become a full-fledged penguin and use Linux as my primary OS. So, I repartitioned the hard drive, installed Ubuntu, and started configuring and installing apps.

Unfortunately, I found no viable replacement for the app I use the most in Windows: Outlook. I had assumed that either Evolution or Kontact would do the job, but I was wrong. While both are decent (and quite fast) barebones PIMs with Outlook-like interfaces, neither offers the flexibility or power that Outlook does for managing tasks. (I also found some of the design decisions incredibly frustrating, like the fact that in Evolution, deleting an open message automatically opened the next message, with no option to change the behavior.)

So, while I love the idea of free software and enjoy a number of things about Linux, it looks like I'm sticking with good ol' Windows for a while longer.

--Max

2005.11.29

Missed any new entries. Seems like withdrawal from Kirk.

--Beau

2005.11.30

My name is Candi, and this is my first sidebar entry. In fact, some of you may have seen my name or my journal link floating around Kirk's entries!

The past few days I have been thinking of alternative universes. Why, you ask? In the history of science class I am taking, we just began covering quantum physics, not so much the math aspects and the more in depth theory of course, but the basics. Anyway, I was wondering if perhaps there was a universe where everything is perfect, where things go how I want them to, and everyone I care about, myself included, is healthy and happy. But isn't perfect just a state of mind? Everyone has different views of perfect, so do all those universes exist? Am I living someone else's ideal of perfect?

--Candi

2005.12.09

While sidling on over to kisrael.com, have you ever forgotten the 's.'

I found it entertaining to do so. Try it.

--Mr. Lex

2005.12.12

Just an interesting note regarding the concern we had in the past what to do with broken and obsolete electronics.

I just read that Best Buy collects these things. I didn't read too much into it, but I guess you can go to this page on their website to learn more about it.

--Mr. Lex

2005.12.15

When it's cold and/or the loveseat seems a bit small for two tallish people to snuggle in it's nice to be able to bring the projector into the bedroom and project onto the big wall there (actually a bigger picture than in the living room...) Then I can use my PS2 or laptop as the DVD player.

So I was was catching up on some websites with the laptop waiting for Ksenia, using the laptop's own screen, with my back to the projected version. I suddenly realized that I could totally control the room's ambient light level just by scrolling to lighter or darker parts of a webpage.

Ok, I guess you had to be there, but it seemed pretty cool, and funny how it took me a bit to catch on.

--Kirk

2005.12.19

Just one more thing to tick me off about Microsoft: Outlook "helpfully" rearranges the taskbar so that "compose message" windows appear next to the main Outlook button, rather than in the last position on the bar...you know, WHERE EVERY OTHER DAMN PROGRAM PUTS ITS NEW WINDOWS.

It's not too bad to get used to I guess...but even beyond the onconsistency, it's the sheer hubris of it that annoys the holy living sheet metal right out of me.

--Kirk

2005.12.21

Last night I took a shot of sake from a bottle I've had since before I moved. I was very surprised to find that it tasted more like water than wine. I took another sip to be sure. Sake flavored water. Since wine doesn't turn back into water, I concluded that my crazy @#$%*&! ex-roommate had gone into my room, and drunk my sake, trying to hide it by refilling it with water! The sure sign of a cheap alcoholic. Just for the record, she stole all my sudefed too (an upper for some people). I am sooo glad I moved, even if I am paying $200 more in rent.

--ErinMaru

You know, it really bugs me that, even in a state like Massachusetts, people still think it's a good idea to teach "abstinence education" (i.e., "just say no to sex") to high school students. It's been shown not to work (duh!), plus it's not education, it's preaching. Education is telling people relevant facts and a variety of theories/beliefs, and giving them a chance to analyze those theories/beliefs in relation to the facts.

--Max

2005.12.26

Put on a little TV this morning, around 9am...Comedy Central, just to procrastinate a bit before cleaning the house. The station breaks had a lot of those "train for a new career" spots. I almost want to yell "Give it a rest! I'm gainfully employed! It's just the day after Christmas, is all! Yeesh!"

--Kirk

2006.01.01

New Years is kind of odd.

It's about the only time you can make an educated guess about what pretty much all of your former loves are up to, and when.

--Kirk

2006.01.11

In you Kisraelians august opinion, is it easier to look for a job when many other people are, cause then you don't feel like such a loser?

Or, is it easier to look for a job when no-one else is because you've got the field all to yourself - but hell, everyone who was looking for staff has hired everyone you know?

In case you haven't guessed, I'm looking for work. Meh.

--Catherine

13 comments

2006.01.21

Did everyone's elementary school have that ultimate "you're dumb insult" where you'd do an "impression" of, say, Mike, by putting a low "dumb guy" voice and saying "DUHHHH, my name is Mike I think...."
I guess it seemed like the sign of true and absolute dumbness was not being able to remember your own name.

--Kirk

2006.01.27

Russian Traditions I've Learned:
* If you step on someone's foot, they should step back on yours (lightly) to prevent bad luck.
* A floral bouquet should not have an even number of blossoms, which are for funerals.
* If you rush back in the house because you forgot something, look in a mirror. (I think the idea is to make it look like that was why you came back in.)
* Empty bottles go on the floor, they're kind of like "dead men" that are bad to have on the table.

--Kirk

2006.01.30

My Christmas gift to Ksenia was a decent Epson printer (refurbished) that can print on 11"x17" paper.

So now my question is...how expensive of a printer do you have to buy before they give you the damn USB cable? When the hell did they decide to make this like an extra luxury?

(PS... people who aren't Kirk, please feel free to write sidebars! I'm looking even more pathetic than usual here.)

--Kirk

2006.01.31

OK ... am in Nashville at an American Correctional Association conference. Pretty allright time but miss my family a ton. We had a program review and the audit team was very difficult, so we got an opportunity to appeal the audit team's decision. The appealing committee agreed with our appeal and we maintained our ACA certification through 2009. A big win for us and a huge relief off my mind!

Sorry for the lack of content lately ... will try and do better.

Couple of weeks ago went to Cinci and saw Jeff Shaffer, was a little disappointed because I had to buy 5 new pairs of pants ... size 38 ... UGH!

--Beau

2006.02.03

Fun prank!

Quietly move someone's (preferably wireless) mouse out of the way, and then put their cellphone there. They'll likely start trying to use the cellphone as a mouse!

Fun fact!

You might even be able to pull this prank on your self! More than once, even, if you don't take action and move the phone away.

--Kirk

2006.02.07

For all of us questioning our lives and careers, some words of wisdom from Atom Egoyan, Director of The Sweet Hereafter (from My Golden Rules in MovieMaker Magazine)

"Don't get depressed about not being whre you want to be. This nagging feeling of anxiety is actually called ambition. Ambition is your friend."

--ErinMaru

2006.02.08

Philosophy and soul/job searching aside, I thought I would rub in y'all's face the fact that today is a lovely 80 degrees and sunny day in L.A.

And the techies of Santa Monica are pretty hot too. ;-)

How's Boston??

--ErinMaru

2006.02.11

My friend Laura performed wonderfully last Thursday with her band Ghost Town. Three other bands went on that night in a tiny bar & grill. Three weeks ago I saw her and 4 other bands perform across town at another venue. Driving home, I saw multiple music venues open. It seems there are thousands of bands playing for hundreds of clubs every night in L.A. Thousands of artists that will never get signed because they don't look like Brittney or InSync boy toys. I heard Jessica Simpson was just signed to a new record deal. Will the internet revolution ever change the music business? It seems inevitable, like hybrid SUVs, and I've heard stories of small bands getting signed to small labels from internet reviews that boost their sales. But, the impact seems small. Will devices like ipods and sat. radio birth a creative boom that can actually support an artist?

--ErinMaru

2006.02.13

On Wed. my doc screens at the Pan African Film Festival. I'm getting excited! Had a real job interview today and everything. If anyone is in L.A. on Wed., come down to the Majic Johnson Theaters at 10pm to see You Got It Twisted playing at the Pan African Film Festival. Weee!

--ErinMaru

2006.02.16

A smashing success!! It's 1:30am and I am happy to report that the viewers loved You Got It Twisted! They laughed a lot! Thank God. A good crowd showed up, the theater was actually stadium seating with awesome speakers. I heard things I'd never heard before while editing. The Pan African Film Festival gets to use the Magic Johnson Theaters at Baldwin Hills Plaza, a state of the art commercial venue. The screen was huge. I got to check the picture and sound before opening the house, like a real editor! Like Walter Murch! I didn't get a photo of the electronic board of movie schedules that listed our movie right under Pink Panther and Big Momma's 2. That was the coolest, like getting to feel what it's like to have your movie playing in the local multiplex. Now, to submit to other festivals or not?

--ErinMaru

2006.02.21

Figure this would be something Kirk might appreciate:

The fiancee and I applied for an apartment we think we love over the weekend in Chicago. Not only is it a couple blocks away from Wrigley Field and Lake Michigan, but it's also a couple blocks from the Salvation Army's College for Officer Training.

--Mr. Lex

Holy Christing Bleep!

This DP World purchase thing is generating more hysteria than that time Dan Quayle set all those dogs and children on fire. The thing that bothers me most about the whole mishegas is that nobody is reporting it correctly in their headlines. Even NPR, who usually throttle the panic-making headlines has been doing it. They say, not in so many words, "terrorist company to take over US ports", then maybe, if you're lucky, they mention that there are tenuous links between the 9/11 hijackers and the country of Dubai, and they will only control a single terminal at each port. Also they are not in charge of security.

So that's the first problem. Beyond that we have what straight up racism behind it all. Every story I have heard so far has posited implicitly that "some arabs are terrorists, therefore all arabs are terrorists." They even go so far as saying the the governments of those arabs are also terrorists. And as soon as they start running a terminal in a US port, they will bring in thousands of pounds of plutonium and anthrax and OMGWTFBBQ!

At the same time they point out that Dubai is an ally in the war on terror. Well which is it? Either they need to be referred to the UN Security Council, or they can run terminals in US ports.

--Mr.Ibis

2006.02.28

As a "business traveller" geek, I've started to go a bit crazy with the gadgets and gizmos, not to mention the other assorted junk. Here's what I brought with me this trip:

In my pockets:

cellphone
palm
digital camera
wallet
sunglasses

In my courier bag:

extra camera battery
camera battery chargerTufts-branded USB thumbstick
Cheap "MuVo" MP3 player / USBthumbdrive
USB cellphone charger
headset for cellphone
charger/datacable for palmsmall wireless router
wireless mouse
a few extra adapterplugs for usb cellphone charger
laptop/power adapter
network cable
work ID/doorthing
2 checkbooks
nailclippers
soveneir sears tower coin
business cards
misc cards, mostly store related
way way way old giftcertificate to levi's store
graphpaper
book
penbag

Yeesh!

--Kirk

2006.03.04

Last week I noticed that my usual commute was getting longer. I drive north on Highland Ave. through Hollywood and then over the hills to Burbank every day. First they closed off Hollywood blvd. at Highland and then they put up tents and stands. Then I saw a traffic sign explain that the road would be blocked off till the 6th. That's when it hit me: it was Oscar weekend and I was passing the Kodiak theater where they hold it. Duh!

--ErinMaru

2006.03.06

Yesterday I tried cutting up a selection of a movie for a DVD menu screen. Gave me tons of trouble.

I have to say, Erin, have to respect the editing profession all the more now. . ..

--Mr. Lex

2006.03.13

BRISTLES ON
HER COOKIES MAP
THAT'S WHAT MADE
POOR GINGER SNAP
BURMA SHAVE

That's from some road signs archived in the The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland...where I learned the first electric traffic signal was in Cleveland, and I got to see it.

I wonder how many neurons I'm using up, carrying that text around in my head.

--Kirk

2006.03.20

The second night at our Brooklyn Hotel was disturbed by an endless car alarm loop that stretched at least well into the next morning. Once I double checked that it wasn't my own, I got to wondering if the owner just wasn't in the area...then realized that if the owner was Hassidic, he might not be allowed to operate the button, it being Shabbat and all.

--Kirk

2006.03.21

"Wednesday" is just spelled wrong.

Even if it came from "Odin's Day", it's still just wrong.

Someone else should write a sidebar.

--Kirk

2006.03.22

I absolutely love going out to lunch. It is great to get out of the office and not be bothered. Peace and quiet for a little while is priceless. Really the only excess expense I allow myself.

--Beau

WHEN GADGETS GO WRONG, Or, I've reached a pathetic new low:

At home, I have a device (a promotional freebie) specifically for cutting open CD plastic-wrap without damaging the case. Since I buy so few CDs, I've used it perhaps twice, and to me it's a novel-enough gadget that I want to use it more. So I've got a new CD here and, though I really want to listen to it now, at work, and rip it to mp3s for my Creative Micro N200 player, I'm conflicted because I want to take it home to open the plastic.

--LAN3

2006.03.26

Russians have a tradition of loading up a person heading back "home" with lots of gifts to convey to the people back there. By their own admission (well, one of 'em anyway) this is kind of a pain-in-the-ass tradition for both the folks having to buy stuff (often clothing) for kids they haven't seen for years, and presumably for the traveller who needs to use about twice the luggage space they'd otherwise need.

--Kirk

2006.04.04

I hope you are all watching "The Real Housewives of Orange County" on Bravo Tuesdays at 10pm, and watching for my name to go by in the credits. And if you really love dirt on the rich, check out the website:
www.bravotv.com/Real_Housewives/

It is so weird to have worked on something that is generating so much press/promotion!

--ErinMaru

Something I found out at my recent birthday dinner: my grandfather (Papa Sam) often used "NMI" for his middle name, an abbreviation for "no middle initial" assigned to him by the military during WW2.

--Kirk

2006.04.12

I was going to write about how surprised I was that TCP connections take so long to finish, but it occurs that most readers aren't very technical.

So instead, I shall say that it's nearly Easter, and it's having pretty much no effect on me or anyone I know. The whole country stops for Xmas, Xian or not, but Easter seems to be something you have consciously to make your own celebration for. Thoughts, anyone?

--Catherine

2006.04.19

My town of Arlington used to be called Menotomy, a native word whose meaning is either lost to history or "swift running water". (Actually I think "swift running water" is the default translation for any phrase the whitefolk don't quite get.) In 1867, after a brief stint as "West Cambridge", they renamed it "Arlington" in honor of the people buried in the national cemetary.

That's kind of morbid. And there are so many Arlingtons around. I think "Menotomy" is a much better name.

--Kirk

2006.04.23

I read an article in the Wall St. Journal about Chicago commuters forced to take trains after highway construction made their already long commutes hideous. The whole article was a bitchfest about how they LOVED driving the hour to work and how much they missed their cars. They whined about waiting in the cold for trains and having to wear more sensable (read: ugly) shoes for hoofing it. One lady had to transport a three layer cake for a coworker's birthday and boy was that akward! Hadn't it occured to this dingle berry to just buy one near her work? The regular commuters complained that the new commuters took the good seats and talked loudly on phones. No talk of a silver linning to the situation, like getting to know neighbors, saving money or the environment,..What a bunch of babies.

--ErinMaru

2006.04.26

They just resurfaced and repainted the parking lot around where I work. The guys were surprisingly effecient, especially the man with the rolling paint sprayer... he seemed to be eyeballing it but had very precise looking results.

They removed the barriers blocking off that part of the lot, so now I'm tempted to duck out of work and drive my car into one of the spots, just to get that "completely fresh parking space" feeling.

--Kirk

2006.05.05

Wikihow is on my Google custom homepage. Today's entries: How to Have a Successful Day of Shopping and How to Overcome Serious Regrets. The juxtaposition of the profound and the frivolous appeals to me.

--Kirk

2006.05.09

Why O Why is it so hard to get focused, to tackle my TODOs, to concentrate and get down to business, to settle up my old 401ks and move on? Or even to get to the books and games I'd like to make my way through?

And what should I do to get more people to write sidebars?

I was thinking of an arbitrary limit for the sidebar: 3 or 4 sentences max... it might be a cool restriction to work against, or it might just lead to big ol' run-on sentences like these.

--Kirk

2006.05.10

so i was lucky enough to attend a taping of the colbert report in nyc on monday night. unsurprisingly, everything is smaller in person. the audience is only 100 people. the set was wide enough but not as tall as it looks on the small screen. as for the man himself... well, i suppose i'm not accustomed to seeing actors in person. on tv, he's always talking directly to me, but in person, he doesn't know i exist.

but what a guy! what other person on the face of this planet would have the balls to stand mere feet from the leader of the free world and lambast his policies, his administration, his war, and his wife.

--FoSO

2006.05.12

today i decided to bring my nintendo ds with me on my way in to work. this, along with my cellphone and ipod, made me acutely aware of just how many electronic devices i had on my person this morning.

okay, i'm sure that some people lug around far more personal electronics on a daily basis than my mindbashingly huge number of three but it still struck me as kinda odd that one of the reasons behind my bringing a messenger bag with me was to bring along each device's associated power supply as well.

--miller

My laptop trackpad responds well to my finger (obviously) but not to a marble pressed with equivalent force. Nor a small rubber ball (one w/ the blinking lights, a common bit of dotcom schwag). But it does move the pointer in response to an apple.

The theories we've come up for this empirical data are numerous. But now I have to resist the urge to rub various things on my laptop trackpad to see if the pointer moves.

--Kirk

2006.05.13

Unfortunate April rushed by, blowing us like dry leaves on November pavement. Instead of scattering, we landed together, closer than we expected, somewhat closer than we would have been comfortable with a month before. Now, half way through a damp and scentless May, we begin to dis-entangle and resume March's labor. Twelve May days had to pass before we could be grateful for the lesser events of April. These smaller, happier, to-be-expected parts of April fled past us, unable to share the frame with April's burden.

In April, we were held up by the gentlest hands. In May, we have been set right and on our way. Thank you all.

--Evil B.

2006.05.15

Moving mathematics is based on more than simply floorspace.    Our previous 730 sq ft contained our posessions more compactly than our current 850 sq ft.    Even subtracting out the 100 sq ft given to the new baby's room,    our storage    should come out comparable.    But it isn't floor space that matters, its wall space and closet space.    In that respect, our new place loses, having 1/3 the closet space and less than half the wall space of our previous digs.

Thank goodness we have basement space, which is currently housing 15 plastic bins of books, clothing, athletic good as well as two baker's racks worth of junk.    Not to mention the inordinate    amount of periodicals, paperbacks, and old clothing I have thrown out or donated in the last few weeks.

The larger, more open rooms of the new place came with a price.    And that price is measured in trips up and down the stairs.

Cheers!

--Evil B.

2006.05.20

Ugh. Watching that blaxploitation Wizard of Oz, "The Wiz", years after playing its music in jazz band. Not bad, a few too many slow songs, but the Emerald City is a dressed-up WTC plaza. They use the fountain I kisrael'd up here as a stage... they even add a Z to the center sphere to make "OZ".

Sigh.

--Kirk

2006.05.21

blue sky of springtime
so close but i'm stuck indoors
what price a career?

--FoSO

2006.05.25

Rob at work was explaining how his brother got to talk with Peter Fonda when the brother was going to film school in Montana. Says it went pretty well 'til he pitched his idea, a sequel to Easy Rider... something about some scientist managing to preserve Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in ice or stone or something, then they get revived, and they have to go hang around with a bunch of gen-xers.

Rob also says his idea of spreading cheese from those litle cracker packs onto Pringles (both among the free snacks cupboard at work) was a bad idea.

--Kirk

2006.05.29

Have you ever noticed how when Kirk swears, he swears in one long streak?    Have you noticed how this tends to happen more in front of video games than other times?

There is relief!    If he is playing video games with his ever lovin' mother (YELM), he doesn't swear at all.    Not a peep.    Barely even a "Jeeeeeeezzzzz" passed his lips.

Of course right after his mom left the room, the engine sputtered to life.    A few fitful four letter forays into foulness escaped his mouth.    But when he got loud enough that his mother could here him upstairs......    a simple "Kirrrrrrk" in a warning tone throttled the engine back to neutral.        Even the next "Jeeeeezzzz" to pass his lips was muted.

Now I did not write this to put Kirk on the spot.    To know Kirk is to have heard him swear at least once, so this is not a secret.    I wrote this because I am in awe, with my impending parenthood, to be reminded that , "Mom is always Mom".

PS.    Even if you are a 30+ year old urban hipster playing video games in your Mom's basement on Memorial day. :)    (Yes, I know, I was there with my wife too.    Pot, meet kettle, kettle, meet pot.)

--Evil B.

2006.05.31

We are in the home stretch, folks. We are 8 days shy of the due date. My wife woke me up this morning, simply by saying in a calm voice, "I think the baby is coming this week." That catapulted me out of bed.

I understand the last week is when you start to get seriously nervous. I have also been led to believe that its a relatively short bout of nervousness; especially when compared to the teenage years.

--Evil B.

12 comments

2006.06.02

Leslee and I went to the Ob/Gyn on Thursday. Since we were gone for a month, we are still meeting everyone in the practice. Thursday, it was Dr. Hernandez, who is very lively and quick-witted. After a quick physical examination, she picked up Leslee's chart and said, "I will be very surprised if you make your due date." My ears pricked up, the official due date is the 12th, unofficial the 6th. I asked her to clarify. She continued, "In fact, I think your baby may arrive this weekend."

WOOO HOOOO!

--Evil B.

2006.06.03

As the guy, waiting on contractions are just plain weird. They come, they go, and you have to keep track of how many and how often. Once they get closer than 5 minutes apart for about an hour, you will scoot to the hospital. Until then, you wait, you watch, you worry, you wonder why the heck its taking so darn long. So here we sit, at home this evening, tick tock.

Let me put in terms appropriate to the town and time of year for the non-pregnant. It feels like the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied Red Sox - Yankees game.

--Evil B.

2006.06.05

Still waiting......

Here's the way it goes. If the wife spends the entire day in bed reading and sleeping, not too many contractions. If she goes out for dinner and walks around a bit afterwards, contractions.

So the question is, "Do I work from home on the basis that I might need to drive to the hospital right quick, or do I go into the office on the basis that it has been going like this with no change for the last few days?"

--Evil B.

2006.06.06

Now I understand why a guy gets hyper defensive of his wife right before labor.    Your wife will be in quite a state of "ow" for a while before contractions start in ernest.    "Ow" like worst menstral cramps you have ever heard of.    "Ow" like she    hurts to turn over in bed.    "Ow" like I am right now googling for her symptoms to make sure its within the "normal" range.    (Turns out it is normal, not fun, but normal)

Suddenly, husband fainting episodes don't seem that far fetched.    A few dozen hours of this before getting to the hospital would do me no favors.        Imagine getting to the hospital, totally exhausted and completely at your wit's end.    She lets loose with a soul curdling scream of exhaustion and pain as she starts to push.    The guy's brain does the only thing it can think of.... shut down.    I am hoping this does not play out in real life for me.

Now I know why you sometimes hear a husband apologizing for getting his wife to go through with this.    'tain't for the faint o'heart.

--Evil B.

2006.06.11

Thanks to Kirk for posting the first online pictures of Catherine. Leslee is doing very well for someone who just went through a C-Section. She is already up and walking around. Daddy is proud as can be, and much of the family has already been in to visit.

Unfortunately, Catherine has jaundice, which makes her very tired. She is currently undergoing light therapy, which involves covering the baby's eyes, strapping the little baby into a little tanning bed in a combo fitted sheet/nighty, and then turning on these really bright blue lights. Any time not spent feeding or cleaning is spent in light therapy. I sent Kirk the picture below to illustrate.

PS.    The whole fainting thing almost did come to pass.    After 14 hours of labor, Leslee hadn't reached the pushing phase.    Her doctor advised that we consider an immediate C-section.    Leslee asked for the consent form.    My mind, which had already packed its bags, left.    C-sections have received such bad press lately, and I had been consuming quite a bit of it.    I felt faint at the decision, but then I did some simple math.    I counted the number of doctors in the room,3, and nurses, 2.    I figured an average of 16 years experience.    That's 90 years of medical experience saying its time for Caeserian versus 9 months of indiscriminant reading saying "maybe not such a good thing".    The math was simple, I kept my mouth shut on my concerns and focussed on Leslee.

It was quick, and Leslee was up and walking by the next day, albeit not comfortably.    If you are giving birth,even if you would prefer natural, you are best off someplace that has the staff and equipment to make the decision and act quickly.    Surgical speed and accuracy are the determining factors for recuperation time.

--Evil B.

2006.06.18

It was a while back that I chose the moniker Evil Bas***d for this board.    It was a hold over from a previous relationship whose principle characteristics need not be discussed.    Suffice it to say, the words "Well, I guess I am just an Evil Bast***d for (saying, doing, thinking) that, now let's get on with the rest of the day" were an almost daily occurence.

Quoting Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven", "I ain't like that no more."    I don't feel terribly malevolent, ill-willed, or even irritable.    I have a lovely, loving wife, a healthy baby girl,    and a more wonderful extended family    than I had given consideration.    So two strikes against the name, I didn't renew my Evil license, and my family and friends treat me better than a "Bas***d" would deserve.

But I kinda like the initials e.b., and I would hate to make Kirk do all the work of changing it everywhere.    Anyone have any good suggestions what eb could stand for in lieu of the old moniker?

--Evil B.

OK ... today was Dad's day and pretty special. Love getting woken up by the boys (wish it would have been a little later than 7:30). They got me a green Tilley hemp hat (tilley.com) which is great. Went to church, had a buy one get one free sub at Penn Station and steak for dinner. The only thing that would have been better is if the "hefty lefty" would have won the US Open. Oh well ... the day couldn't be totally perfect.

Butch ... don't know why but for some reason I thought of your dad and the picture of him doing the moose or elephant ears. Couldn't find the picture ... what a great funny guy.

--Beau

16 comments

2006.06.21

I going to leave the whole EB thing alone for a bit, it got way too weird and none of the alternatives really zinged me. I'll let Kirk know when I have settled on something.

Moving right along:

Home early from work
Sleeping infant on my chest
Mommy sleeps nearby.

--Evil B.

17 comments

2006.06.28

Kirk, YELM, and YELAS dropped by to visit with Catherine. YELM and YELAS have been wonderfully generous to Leslee, Catherine and me. We had some baby time, a simple dinner, and some conversation.

With all the time spent rushing about, its pleasant and calming to have a quiet meal with friends.

Thanks guys, you made our night,

--EB

PS. In one of those odd symetries of life, both Kirk and I have a YELAS. However, "EBELAS" sounds like a new strain of something icky, and KELAS would just add to the confusion. So note to EB relations who might read this board, all "YELAS" refers to Kirks ELAS, not mine.

--Evil B.

2006.06.29

This is for EB, who at least twice has expressed schaudenfraude over the recent Limbaugh news:

"Rush Limbaugh was detained and questioned for transporting a possible illegal Viagra prescription into the country.

Well... a least we know his back is feeling better."

(from Mike Basinger in rec.humor.funny)

--Kirk

2006.06.30

There is one thing that I can do more effectively than my wife for our daughter: burping. Seems that I have the touch when it comes to coaxing those painful gases out and putting her to sleep. "Belch consultant" was not previously on my list of jobs I would find rewarding in life.

My only concern is that I might be conditioning my child to belch just at the sight of me. This might prove socially awkward during her teenage years.

--Evil B.

Why I am a little loopy:
1. It's a bit after 4PM before a 4-day weekend.
2. Speaking of 4, that's about the time I was up to finishing that silly Sci-Fi idea generator.
3. I suspect I'll be eating a lot with when FoSO and FoSOSO come over to vist with EB and family, so I've trying to save calories for later, so I'm coasting on fumes. And gum.

--Kirk

2006.07.02

The problem with Chinese food is not a problem with the food per se. It is a problem with your appetite for a few days after. Since our Friday evening dumpling free-for-all, I have had much greater and insistent appetite. Trying to sate it with Chinese left-overs proved less than futile. The only thing that has taken the edge off of it has been fresh fruit.

I've been trying to take some weight off recently, with moderate success. Thanks to Kirk and his geekery for finding the "Eat Watch", it's weight tracking has been a big help. One of the key concepts this time around has been distinguishing between appetite and hunger. Hunger is internal, while appetite can be generated by external stimulus. Hunger can be demanding, but we rarely actually let it get past that point. Appetite can be overwhelming, and we frequently find ourselves reaching for food to sate what it engendered. This in itself is a weak paradox. We go towards the thing causing the pain on the basis that it holds the alleviation of that pain. Is this just our failure to recognize it as the source?

--Evil B.

2006.07.05

A long time ago when kisrael was green,
there were more kinds of postings than you've ever seen!
They could be quite snarky, others quite deep
But from Dylan and Sarah, we ain't heard a recent peep!

And this goes double for the rest of you varmits out there: post dangit! Don't make me resort to bad poetry! Or the overuse of the exclamation point!

--Evil B.

2006.07.07

Who would win in a fight, Devo or Blue Man Group?

--Kirk

2006.07.11

Nice... I think New England is developing its own Monsoon Season.

--Kirk

2006.07.15

Some dreams linger well to long into the day, but just at the edge of memory. All it takes to bring them back into focus is an afternoon nap.    When I woke up I remembered both the night and nap dreams in full clarity.    I woke with this powerful urge to apologize to someone who doesn't exist.    And I can't apologize to the three people she was a synthesis of, because I don't think I ever wronged them all in that exact fashion.

My subconscious is an efficient bastard, one dream could yield three apologies.    Not terribly likely, as I don't plan on seeing any of those people again.

Thank goodness!

--Evil B.

2006.07.30

Hey Evil B: I saw a license plate that could provide you with a parody of your current alias: Lawful B
--The_Lex Sat Jul 29 22:22:15 2006

I like it! Mostly because "evil" and "lawful" are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the most ruthless, unkind people I know are also the most rigidly law following.
Coincidence?

--Evil B.

2006.08.03

In case you didn�t notice (and I�m sure you did, being web geeks that read sidebars on blogs and all) but we are in the midst of a new Internet Boom: Media on the Web. Studios sell downloads of T.V. shows, Itunes provides music videos, YouTube.com is the Napster of videos, and most ominously, Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace, adding it to his media empire. And now, after going to film school and dedicating myself to a new career, I find myself editing for a company hoping to cash in on subject based programming for the web. That�s right, 7 yrs after the dotcom crash, I work for a F*cking Startup... AGAIN.

--ErinMaru

2006.08.04

Alright� cue the �Lion King� theme.

So, Wes and I are walking along the beach a couple of days ago and we see a dead sea turtle washed up on the shore. It was very sad to see this gigantic, once beautiful creature, now all bloated and distended, cooking in the sun. I tried to tell myself if was probably 189 years old and had lead a long and happy life, but I�m all �Inconvenient Truth�ed at the moment, so I had a hard time not feeling melancholy for the sad state of the environment.

Then last night we are out walking again, and we see this cluster of people gathered around near the dunes, so naturally, we join them to see what they are all looking at. Turns out they are looking at a sea turtle nest hatching, and right as we get there 100 tiny baby sea turtles come crawling out of this crater in the sand, and start marching towards the ocean, in probably the most effective demonstration of natural instinct I have ever witnessed. It was an amazing sight� and definitely illustrated for me the whole circle of life business.

Isn�t that a lovely story?

--Sarah

2006.08.09

I declare Kirk the winner of our race to lose weight. For the last month I have been stable at 208 at about 1800 calories a day. In fits and starts I have tried to get back on the 1400 calories a day wagon.
But its the little things that get you, never the big things. So here is my list of foods that have proved my undoing, along with the ones that should be more tempting than they have turned out to be:

Cannot Resist:
Thai Summer Rolls (Deep Fried Goodness)
Dark Chocolate (60% Cocao or bust)
Honey Whole Wheat Pretzel Sticks
Trader Joe's Tamari Sembei (Tasty Rice Crackers)
Home-made baked anything (especially with baker staring at me wondering why I took such a tiny piece)
Fresh Raisin Bread from Panara
"Seasoned" French Fries

Can Resist:
Cheesecake (Factory variety used for test)
Brownies
Big Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Coffee (as long as I haven't had any within last 24 hours)
Second Half of Lunch Sandwich

--Evil B.

2006.08.21

Never leave Cape Cod on a Sunday afternoon.

Never.

Ever.

It took us two hours and forty minutes to clear the Bourne bridge.    An accident at exit 5 backed up traffic past exit 3.    It took us an additional hour and change to clear that.    The rest of the way was just slow.    My tonsils were floating for most of the journey.    When did they remove all the sanitary facilities from the smaller rest stops?    It was a brilliant move on the state's part, as now they can guarantee a demographically homogenized urea sample from the ground just beyound the chain link fence which encircles their "rest stops".        I don't consider it "restful" to run the length of the stop looking for the port-o-john, or at least the spot of ground that smells the least like the backside of Ren-Faire.

Three and a half hours into the journey, baby was out of milk and not interested in sleep.    Thank goodness breast pumps have cigarette lighter adapters.        And of course a good Sunday dinner was sacrificed to the convenience gods of gluttony and the deep fryer.

So an otherwise restful weekend in the woods in a little cabin that smelled of mothballs and drove my allergies into overdrive had the finishing touches put on it by my own stupidity.    I sat in the Masshole parade, cursing my own bad timing, and considering using the breakdown lane to get my Masshole Honor Badge.    Passing two cars that had evidently had the same idea at different relative speeds cured me of that consideration.

Feh!

--Evil B.

2006.08.27

Bitter.

The taste was indulgently bitter. Not excessively bitter , like cheap candy being too sweet. Rather it introduced itself gently as bitter and expanded to fulfill the initial promise. It was bitter without acidic tartness. Like good lemonade, I felt my stomach contract as I drank, but it lacked the tartness that would burn the esophagus. Expelling breath from my mouth after the first draught, the taste did not linger. I was left with the distinct feeling of being satisfied, of wanting no more, yet finding what I had pleasant.

Anyone want to guess which plant derived substance I was drinking?

--Evil B.

2006.09.01

So while stopped in my car at a red light.....

I was rear-ended......

by a priest.

The jokes just write themselves. Unfortunately, the jokes don't take care of my whiplash. The ER doctor prescribed muscle relaxants, so now I am seven shades of dopey.

Note to God: If you are hoping this will get me off the fence about joining a church, it did. The Episcopal's are off the list.

--Evil B.

2006.09.07

After dinner, a fair sized contingent of "we" took a walk down the minuteman bike trail from Arlington Center to Spy Pond.

The moon is full and bright tonight, so much so that moon shadows were distinct from streetlight shadows.Spy Pond is black and still, and you can just barely hear the cars on the otherside as they race up Route 2.

There is something about walking on a September night with five other people that reminds me strongly of college. The hint of fall in the air, the meandering conversations about everything, the way your eyes adjust to the darkness between streetlights are all fine reminders of what brought us together in the first place.

Thanks guys, you made my evening!

--Evil B.

2006.09.11

So this weekend, MDES showed up at my place to help me move stuff to the basement.    He did this because I was injured and in need of help.    He sacrificed a big chunk of his Sunday afternoon to carry small, heavy boxes down two flights of stairs.    He ended up listening to me gripe while packing boxes. He was as helpful by virtue of his patience as he was for going up and down the stairs.

Thank goodness for friends who make drudgery light.        Thank you.

PS.    Kirk also showed up later in the day, and was quite filling to help.

--Evil B.

2006.09.13

healing hands of fall
cool me down to a small knot
fireplace to untie

--FoSO

19 comments

2006.10.15

Here is to Kirk! Yay Kirk!

Kirk came over, rotated a futon 90 degrees, and then returned to other pressing matters.

The "hiding bodies" bit is over-rated. Friends move furniture, even when their own lives are pretty busy.

Thanks Kirk!

--Evil B.

2006.10.18

above twelve thousand
for the first time; i'm not scared
of october bears

--FoSO

2006.10.31

troll, how you like to
confuse by using a false
pseudonym, how odd

--FoSO

15 comments

2006.11.13

I like foglights.

They're the best way I know of making bright fog.

--Kirk

2006.11.17

i asked when the party was.    kirk said 5 pm.    i thought that sounded pretty early and asked when i should actually show up.    i received the tasty response below:

"Obviously the answer must be a carefully calculated equation of how much you like us, how cool you expect the party to be, what stage of the party you hope to arrive at, whether you'd rather be an instigator or a coat-tail rider, how much you'd like to drink, do you want to stake out an area in one room in particular, how late do you plan to stay, are you going to sneak off to watch meteors, how much food do you plan to consume, are you going to play any games, how(un)comfortable your outfits will be, what do you think the odds of EB and family showing up are, how early you have to get up the next morning, how much does the decor bug you, would you like to get distracted in my book collection, do you or FoSOSO have some built in time/crowd limits that could be at risk of being tripped, how much do you think you'll like the music, etc etc etc.    You should probably calculate a weighting for all of these factors, plus a scalar factor for each one of how much it should impact the designated arrival time. Your "mad excel skillz" may come in useful for this one, or FoSOSO might be able to put together a small program in PHP or some other scripting language.

Or, I dunno, like 6, give or take 20 minutes? How the heck should I know!?"

kirk, in order to properly derive a formula for an 'arrival time model' i would have to take observations of at least 30+ parties, decide what kind of probability distribution was appropriate for the data, devise the weightings and factors, perform significant back testing and real trials upon the resultant formula, and then be prepared for it to function quite poorly.    since much of this data is impossible to know in advance, there would be an extra layer of error from my undoubtedly poor forecast of the party conditions.    some of these data points would have no bearing at all on the optimal arrival time and others would indicate a high level of predictive ability which might well be spurious.    still more error comes from not having a good enough statistical package to do all this properly - excel sucks.    while this might be acceptable in such disciplines as money management, i fear that i'd be QUITE partied out should i make an attempt...

--FoSO

2006.11.29

who knew? who knew that bryan fuller, creator of 'dead like me', is also the guy behind FoSO favorites such as 'heroes', 'the amazing screw on head' (catch this on the sci fi website - i can't recommend it highly enough), 'wonderfalls', and some 'st voyager & ds9'. this man is the television producer of my dreams!

(n.b., try youtube for 'screw on head', i notice that sci fi doesn't appear to be streaming it anymore...)

--FoSO

2006.12.06

crackberries sounding
bells from a crossing and suits
make acela sweet

--FoSO

2006.12.09

Instructions:

1. go to http://www.harveydanger.com/downloads/
2. download a copy off "Little by Little"
3. Listen to the whole album.
4. Return here and comment.

(Hrm, I just realized that the only distinction between this post and the occasional comments spam is that a registered user is posting it. I feel dirty now....)

--Evil B.

2006.12.17

Sinced my last set of instructions failed, I thought I'd try my luck at other *uctions.

Constructions:

1.    Go to the beach at low tide.
2.    Position yourself half way between the high and low water marks.
3.    Push a bunch of sand together until it forms a knee high pile.
4.    Shape pile into something castle like.

Destructions:

1.    Watch the incoming tide remove your creation.
2.    Ponder the meaning of it all.

Deductions:

1.    Wonder why you can still comfortably make sand    castles on a New England beach in the week prior to    Christmas.
2.    Deduce that global warming will change your way of life.

Reductions:
1.    Concede that the problem is too large for you to change.
2.    Think that a few less cold days is not that big a deal.

Induction:
1.    Go back to your car, get in.
2.    Insert the key.
3.    Turn the key.
4.    Drive home.

--Evil B.

2006.12.18

Just joined the forces of HDTV. A little early Christmas gift. Pretty amazing! As long as the broadcast is in HD, I find myself watching the craziest shows. Never knew I cared about how the Pyramids were built or details of bugs ... the pyramids were pretty sweet actually (the man-power it must have taken would have been awesome to witness).

--Beau

2007.01.04

since deciding to look for a new job i've felt completely happy and relaxed. which will likely only last until the new job starts...

sigh.

--FoSO

2007.01.23

The sidebar was a bit stale so I thought I'd say: biggest decluttering issue--should I keep my varsity jacket or let it go? An irreplaceable chunk of nostalgia, a thoughtful gift from a deceased grandparent, a warm companion with a clever built in hood...
it might stay around for a while. In any case I'll probably do some goofy tribute on kisrael one of these days.

--Kirk

2007.02.01

How I know I'm a geek: (beyond posting to my own damn sidebar)

I see that an address is "404 Concord Ave" and my first thought is "Gee, I hope that isn't hard to find."

--Kirk

2007.02.14

According to wikipedia, Pachelbel's Canon includes a "gigue in the same key". According to the Wikipedia page for gigue, a gigue is a dance.

Could someone explain how you dance in D-major?

--Nick B

2007.02.20

You know, despite my intense childhood interest in both of these characters, I'm not sure if I ever noticed that "Luke Skywalker" and "Luke Duke" shared a name. Along with that guy in the Bible.

--Kirk

2007.03.09

Gmail just a momentary connectivity issue... but in watching the chat portion try to reconnect, I just watched it do a count down:
"trying in 3s...2s...1s.....

...And We're Back!"

That was lovely, software with a sense of humor, if you catch it at just the right time.

--Kirk

2007.03.17

Note to self: spicy horseradish mustard on steaming hot Udon noodles = face full of tear-inducing mustard-y steam.

Live and learn!

--Kirk

2007.03.29

SHOTDOWWWWN!

Cute new guy casualy remarks he likes the new girl he's started seeing, tactfully sending the message he's not interested in my flirting. My cute haircut, low cut shirt, makeup, all for nothing. Burnt to cinders in my
CRASH AND BURNNNNNN!

How cool was this dude? He's going to London next month for fun, has tattoos, likes Japanese snack food, appreciates the environmental issues of the show we work on, and did I mention for his day job he is cutting commercials for Oceans 13?

Well, maybe the security guard from Camaroon who's going to architect school will give me call.

--ErinMaru

2007.04.03

At Film School there was a huge Transformers fanbase. One guy was 23 & knew enough of the names to use them as call letters for the slate. As in "Scene 1-Autobot, Take 1" for scene 1-A, take 1. Usually you would say Apple or Alpha. Of course B was Bumblebee. He even new the more obscure letters, 'E' anyone? For non-film people, the number is the scene and the letter is the camera set-up or shot. Perhaps it's a sad sign of student production that we got to shot 'Starscream' for a five minute scene. We only had 6 hours to shoot and 'S' means 18 camera setups.

--ErinMaru

2007.04.14

It is 6:06 AM on Saturday, April 14, 2007. I have just ended a conference call with my outsource team, and I am packing up the family to go to granma and granpa's house. We will be interviewing contractors today for work on another house. After that, its the drive home and some more work for my employer.
If I am lucky, I will get in a much needed trip to the gym or a walk with my parents dogs.

I never realized how busy and full being a boring suburbanite is!

--Evil B.

2007.04.23

As you get older, you realize that you have different kinds of friends; friends from work, college, childhood, former romances, and family. These classifications describe division, not quality. In quality, there are only two measures: trust and duration. Kirk is one of my oldest friends, and I trust him implicitly. He has supported Leslee and me through labor and loss.

There are very few things I can say to adequately thank him. I can only hope that I have the opportunity to be as dependable and generous to him as he has been to me and mine.

Thanks Kirks!

--Evil B.

2007.04.25

oh
my
god

I might be working for the company that makes Project Runway.
oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please oh Tim Gun is Hot please oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please
oh please let them like me!!

--ErinMaru

22 comments

2007.05.28

Hello!
It's a Bank Holiday in the UK today, which means that, since no-one's at work, it's pissing down. [1] Marvellous. Instead of going to the planned, annual, Goth Picnic, whereby a large group of people in black drink/eat/play games/try not to get a tan whilst sitting in the sun, I shall be going to the pub, which will be expensive.

What did you do on your last public holiday?

[1]Also, how rude do you think this is? I don't think it is, much, which is why it's here, but how do you crazy USans feel about it?

--Catherine

2007.06.15

Birthday parties cheese cake jelly fish boom!
--REM,It's The End of the World as We Know It

My daughter's first birthday was last week.    The song was just a litany of pop culture references with a catchy tune.    I never thought about its theme.    Its shaped to sound like the rush of information we take in from the childhood through adolescence.

For an instant, the lyric became palpable.    We just finished her birthday party, the confusion and exhileration of her experience is fresh on my mind.    What will her first taste of cheesecake be like?    For how many month's will it be her favorite dessert?    Will an Aquarium trip leave her fascinated by jelly fish, or will finding a dead one on the beach disgust her?

What will be the boom?

Am I projecting too much on this poor defenseless song,    or is this how we are supposed to treat our pop culture prayers?

--Evil B.

2007.07.08

Wife is good, baby is good, my parents are relatively good. Having them all together up in Rockport is really good.

Having two days alone in Belmont to clean, organize, work and sleep is fantastic.

Thanks Honey!

--Evil B.

2007.07.30

Been a nice summer so far with the family. Hard to believe my boys will be 5 and 2 this fall. Get to enjoy the bike rides around our neighborhood and them playing in the back yard.

I guess I still see myself as being 21 so being a dad and all is still surprising.

--Beau

2007.08.13

"it were better to be a prince in hell, than a servant in heaven"
-- Milton, Paradise Lost

There are no princes in heaven, because princes must fight among themselves for their claim to the throne.    In conflict, in ambiguity, there is hell.    There are no pure servants in hell, because everyone must be trying to escape, to advance their own lot, regardless of the suffering they inflict.    Pure servitude is a state of acceptance, of resignation to the current state being as good as it is going to get.    This is heaven, where everything is accepted as being currently optimal.

Some people take the phrase as a comparison between what their status in either place would be based on their moral value here on earth.    I take it as a comparison of how individuals must behave under either circumstance.

Of course, there must be some poor deluded fools acting as servants in hell. Do they find redemption, or do they just turn on the wheel, serving one prince no more worthy than the last?    Or are they so lost that they believe it is heaven in their servitude?

And if you have any spare time after answering those questions, I am having a heck of time getting these angels to balance on the head of this needle.

--Evil B.

2007.08.21

~~Babies are a lot of work.~~

A baby is a lot of work.

Catherine is still getting up in the night. Last night she got Leslee up three times. Leslee is a wreck this morning, I am not much better. But I got up at 5:45 and started chores. Catherine started to howl, and I went in to see her. Once I realized it wasn't an emergency, I put her back in the crib, gave her a few toys, and went back to work. She howled a bit more, ran out of steam, and has been asleep for the last 30 minutes.

Sleep deprivation, it's what's for breakfast. If anything, you learn to admire your own parents for their endurance. Anyone have any hints on this?

--Evil B.

2007.08.27

Schedules and plans are important.

Schedules and plans make things clear, they let you know where things are likely to break down, how much time you need for an activity, and how much money it is going to cost you.

Babies, houses, are large software projects are the best plan solvents money can afford you. Plans and schedules disolve on contact with any of them.

I imagine that someone is working on an enterprise application for monitoring babies in peoples' houses. The application will be the crowning achievement of the Orwellian state. Fortunately, they are off schedule ......

--Evil B.

2007.09.26

Just to get this out of the way:    a relative has a phase IV cancer, I'll skip the angsty stuff, and I would prefer that it wasn't brought up.    Here is what I have learned so far:

#1.    Write your will, now.    If you already have a will, review it once a year.

#2.    Write your health care proxy form, now.    This proxy provides instructions as to how you are to be treated if you are incapacitated and appoints someone to make decisions for you.    It saves your relatives a lot of agonizing, they just follow instructions.    Make certain to include your disposition on experimental treatments (Phase I, II, and III trials).

#3.    When the first thing a doctor wants to talk about with you is the phase I trial they are doing to treat the condition of a family member, tell them you want to know about the standard treatments.    Phase I is for "we don't know what we are doing" experimental treatments. If you are having trouble sorting out whose interest the doctors represent, consider:    you aren't paying the bills for the trial, the drug company is.    The intersection of your interests is an illusion.    If you don't believe that, read the waiver they ask you to sign before participating.

#4    When a doctor starts spouting numbers from treatment studies, make sure they are relevant to the condition being treated.    A 50% survival rate for a treatment is meaningless if everyone in the sample was a left-handed bald mature female and the person being treated is a right-handed hirsute elderly male, regardless if the disease is the same.

#5 Immediately establish an assertive relationship with the doctors treating your relative.    The loud relative gets the doctors to visit the patient.    You need someone capable to act as advocate.    Doctors live a high stimulation life, being polite gets dismissed as noise.    Always have a pen and paper, always write down what they say, and quote it back at them when they contradict themselves.    Five extra minutes of their time to clarify what they said will make them upset, but you may only get one chance to ask.

--Evil B.

2007.10.17

I celebrated a birthday this Tuesday. Kirk came up to have dinner with us. It just doesn't seem that any family event is complete without Kirk these days.

Thanks Kirk, for everything. I don't think either of us knew how long and varied a college friendship could be. Here's to the next 12 years .... and the ones that will follow!

(Damn, we are getting old)

--Evil B.

2007.11.06

The odd thing about Fall this year is that it arrived all at once. It went from 55-65 T-shirt friendly days to jacket-required low 40's in the space of a week.

And is it just me, or did anyone else shiver when they mentioned snow in next weeks forecast?

--Evil B.

2007.11.21

"Cheesy is the new edgy".    That's my theory going into 2008.

There seems a Moore's Law of edgy content.    Every 18 months, horror movies get twice as gory, celebrity news gets twice as shameless, SomethingAwful goons and /b/tards get twice as annoying, and political bloggers get twice as strident.    Sexual arousal, disgust, annoyance, and outrage are easy emotions to pump, and I'm getting tired of it.

Is it any wonder we're so enchanted with YouTube?    "Chocolate Rain" has a lot of lines in it that are definitely about serious aspects of racism in America, though the complete message is a little more elusive. But the song itself, by Tay Zonday's own admission, is SO CHEESY. And it took the Internet by storm. I downloaded it and put it on my iPod.

That, my friends, is the future. Adding a pleasant cheese coating to make things easier to digest, not more difficult.

Don't believe me?    Chuck Norris endorsed Huckabee for President, with many references to those Chuck Norris "facts".    How will the Democrats respond to this historic use of an Internet meme in a Presidential campaign?    It's a strategy that Ron Paul overlooked, that's for sure.

--Nick B

2007.11.27

Seen on a license plate holder... "Box of rain. Eyes of the world." If that has a meaning it is lost on me like a sports reference at a gay bar.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.11.29

Last night my kitten and I came to an emotional compromise. He wants to sleep near me while I want to smother him with love.

We agreed that he can sleep on my pillow if I can hold his paw while I fall asleep.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.01

The Frankie Valli version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" sounds exactly like what (I imagine) Elmo of Sesame Street fame would sound like singing that song.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.04

Favorite phrase of the day: "Shut up, bitch. I'm trying to drink my juice"

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.06

Hand sanitizer + hemorrhoids = BAD idea.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.08

Three quotes from my voicemail:
1. "The Duke is knock knock knockin' on my butt-hole door."
2. "The man handed her a bag of poo and said, 'There's my poo in that bag.'"
3. "I need a pork pie, damn it. Where can a reasonable woman get herself a pork pie?"

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.13

We need to have an adult toy drive for all of the homeless transvestites. Because homeless trannies deserve Christmas too.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.17

A co-workers Christian camp song for saying grace sung to the Superman theme:
Thank you God for giving us food.
Thank you God for all this good food.
Thank you G-o-o-o-d.
Thank you G-o-o-o-d.
Thank you G-o-o-o-d.
For all this food.
And Jesus.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.18

If I were a lesbian, I would want Captain Janeway of Voyager to be my husband.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2007.12.24

Wishing me a Merry Christmas Even is like giving a horse a pet chicken.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.02

5 year summary:
# times poop in public bathroom:
< 10
# times vomit in public bathroom:
1
# times orgasm in public bathroom:
0
Scoring System
1pt / poop
10pts / puke
100pts / orgasm

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.04

I was scolded the other night by a fellow 30-something gay for thinking Beaches came out in 1989. It came out in '88.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.06

There is no Loch Ness Monster.
The US government has dead aliens.
There are ghosts.
Deal with it.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.09

Doesn't Rudy G know that he can't win with a last name no one can spell?

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.13

I just watched "The Number 23" On Demand. I want them to remake the last 23 minutes and make it original.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.16

Proud moment: I picked a booger so big it cast a shadow when I flicked it on the ground.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.17

Unexpected discovery of the day: gender-bent homoerotic native american painting.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.20

Radio DJ weather reporter's name: Ann Fibian. K-Frog Country Station in SD, CA.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.21

Saying "I'm sorry" doesn't change the future. That's up to you.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.24

Confessional: in college, I mutilated a library book about Venice by tearing it apart and stuffing it down my pants to get it past security. I needed the photos for a graphic arts project.

I got an A.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.01.30

Am I alone here? At night school I seek out easy-to-find but out of the way public bathrooms so I don't have to interact with (or ignore) other men.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.01

Most women under 40 in California have at least one tattoo. Over here, tattoos are the new pierced ear lobes.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.05

Auf Wiedersehen. Pack your knives and go. You're out. You're fired. And the original... you ARE the weakest link.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.08

Young Asian women account for more than 50% of my grad-level accounting classes. If I was a straight perv I would be in heaven.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.18

Lebanese and Greek Restaurant was "Lesbian and Geek" at first glance.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.20

Is it surprising that I don't see sea gulls at all in San Diego? I am 5 miles from the ocean - no gulls. Except today. One on the roof of a cafe. FYI I'm in shorts. (Feb 8 2008 8PM)

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.22

My psycho-pharmacologist discovered that I am a St3bucks manager and pulled out his secret stash of discontinued orange syrup from Sux. He asked me to snag him a bottle. We are drug dealers swapping drugs.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.25

I couldn't find a cart at the grocery store so - being the white male racist I have apparently become - I assumed the small Asian man with an empty cart was bringing it to me. He wasn't. He passed me with a scowl and continued into the store to do his shopping.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.02.28

Having a few Russian students in class feels like a bad movie from the 1980s set in 2010 when the Russians would be free to leave the country. Futuristic cliché.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.03.02

Starbucks Store Manager + Grad Student = naps in my car once per week.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.03.04

What does it say about me if I parked in a handicapped space at the adult bookstore? A Freudian slip. So to speak.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.03.07

Paxil withdrawal sucks!

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.03.10

The other evening I drove past an 80s Volvo on the side of the street with man sitting in the passenger seat playing his flute.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.04.04

I miss everyday city living: the woman on the trolley next to me is flossing and licking her hands.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.04.09

Sign on campus:
Vietnamese Student Ass.
Come eat our authentic food.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.04.11

Bumper sticker:
Jesusisreality. All one word. I am guessing they forgot the ".com"
Oh well. Reality sucks.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.04.16

Quote of the week - from a California college co-ed with her gay pal: "ok right... Like I totally shat on myself."

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.04.30

EB doesn't need an XBOX to play GTA! This chat was recorded live before a Kirkles audience:
kirk: anyway, I should be home 6:15-30ish
people say this game is really amazing
me: well, it should be for $150 bucks
kirk: !! ?
me: farking scalpers!
kirk: please tell me you're kidding
me: went to three stores, all of them sold out
kirk: please tell me you're kidding
dude
i didn't want you to spend that kind of money! i wanted you to preorder
me: farking circuit city kid was scalping them by the loading dock....
no worries, its all good
for a $150 I got the game... then I turned him into his boss, got the cash back and the game for free.
and got him fired
win-win, as near as I can tell.
kirk: whoo.
are you serious about all this shit ? or are you just making up stories so I don't feel bad about you shelling out?
me: unfortunately, he was waiting by my car and tried to start shit when I came out.
But the cops showed, I guess the boss had called them to escort him off the premises.
kirk: holy fucking weirdness
no wonder you sounded so wartorn when you left a msg
me: he took off running when he saw them, he was pretty fast.
faster than they were, at least.
once he got out of range they just went back to their cars and milled around.
kirk: sheez, it's like your own GTAIV adventure right there, fortunately w/ a bit less gratuitous violence

--Evil B.

2008.05.13

Only now, at 33, did I realize that the lower urinals are actually not for children but for the handicapped.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.05.22

There is a higher than typical number of hot people at the San Diego airport whenever I visit.

--Dylan's Blackberry

2008.06.13

Trend in San Diego radio stations: give themselves odd names like Jack 105.2, Sophie 102.7, or The Walrus 96.5

--Dylan's Blackberry