Such is the power of my mighty kick...
Posted on 2005-04-29 at 08:02
...that I can stop a 2 ton truck in its tracks. OK, well, actually, I freaked out in Data Dave's new truck when a spider reared it's dripping fangs and gaping maw. I spazzed out and kicked the floorboard to kill it. Apparently I flipped a switch that cuts the fuel line in case of accident. The mechanic said he'd never seen a person trigger it before. They laughed at me. I, too, laughed at the power of my spaz attack. :)
Hell Week
Posted on 2005-04-29 at 08:01
It's been quite a tumultuous couple of days around here. The Lawn Nazi is a fruitcake and wants to escalate his little spat. Denise and I considered moving to avoid dealing with the prick. In the end, we changed our minds and plan on seeing how this all pans out.
The Lawn Nazi Strikes
Posted on 2005-04-26 at 08:01
Apparently, some weed killer got onto the neighbor's lawn from the work being done on mine. He had a screaming and ranting fit. I offered both an apology and a remedy. He wanted neither. There are way too many jackasses in my life right now. For a minute I thought it was going to come to blows. For the record, I stayed remarkably calm while he screamed at me. I'm quite proud of that. The event has cemented my relationship with him as one of strife. That's a shame, since I tried to remedy that as well. He wanted none of it. He just wanted me to sit there and take his abuse. He's in for a sad life if he approaches everyone with the same callous disregard for human worth.
It's a Soy Hot Chocolate morning
Posted on 2005-04-19 at 08:02
Not sure why, but it is. Must have Soy Hot Chocolate. Damn you, Starbucks, for your tasty liquid confectionary with a healthy twist!
Dice.com
Posted on 2005-04-19 at 08:01
I've put my info up on dice.com in the hopes that I will find a small consulting gig there. We'll see.
I'm not a couch potato, but I play one on TV
Posted on 2005-04-18 at 08:01
Well, I will play one on TV if I'm hired by Jimmy Kimmel. Apparently his show lost one of the four guys who watches TV looking for funny shit and I've applied for the position. I do not expect to hear back from these people. But wouldn't it be hilarious if I did?
Planting Ideas
Posted on 2005-04-15 at 08:04
Pictures of flowers, bushes, and trees that I want in my own yard.
Garden Ideas
Posted on 2005-04-15 at 08:03
Pictures of gardens I want to imitate in my own yard.
Ubuntu Linux
Posted on 2005-04-15 at 08:02
I've switched my main box to Ubuntu Linux, to match what I've installed on Denise's laptop and her desktop as well. So far, I'm quite pleased with the distro. I can recommend it to anyone looking to install linux right now. The interface is clean and the developers made decisions that promote ease-of-use. It suffers from many of the same problems that all linux distros do (installing software is not newbie-friendly, there is no decent money program, some things that should work out-of-the-box don't, etc....) but it is definately the next level in linux user-friendliness. It's the first distro that I wouldn't worry about recommending to an Average Joe computer user. That's a huge step.
Tax Day Is Here
Posted on 2005-04-15 at 08:01
Let us all lament the passing of our cash reserves.
At least my taxes are a great deal less than expected. Man, my accountant is awesome!
They think I don't see it...
Posted on 2005-04-13 at 08:03
...but I do. The client is making all the moves to replace me and others. I've seen it coming for a while, but I see it on the near horizon. We'll see how it all turns out. I'm tired and not really that worried about it one way or the other.
Chocolate Silk
Posted on 2005-04-13 at 08:02
I've tried Silk (Soy Milk) in the past and didn't much like it, but yesterday I drove through Starbucks and got a Silk-based hot chocolate. Pretty dang good! I think I may be doing that again.
Voom's Finale
Posted on 2005-04-13 at 08:01
I guess there is no room in the marketplace for a third satellite broadcast company; even one with higher quality and lower prices than the other two. Voom has announced that as of the 30th of this month they will cease braodcasting. The end of the first HD Age is upon us. This is truly damaging to the market. It solidifies the duopoly of DirectTV and Dish Network and it proves that there is no room for the little guy in the U.S. satellite TV market. In lieu of Voom satellite service, I'll probably just use OTA free HDTV. Every local station braodcasts in digital HD, so why not try that out for a while?
Flooring
Posted on 2005-04-11 at 08:03
The flooring work is more steady now than a month ago. That opens my options a bit. I recently heard risk (in the financial context of the word) defined as "Having only one source of income." I agree, and I don't intend to disregard that advice. Flooring and consulting are a nice start, but I'd like to add writing and investing to my stable of incomes.
The biz
Posted on 2005-04-11 at 08:02
Things are still limping along at work. The client still pays me and I still do the work, though I have no idea how much longer they intend to do so. We'll see. I'm not too concerned one way or the other, but not knowing kinda sucks.
Beam Me Up, IBM
Posted on 2005-04-11 at 08:01
IBM has been doing research on teleportation of objects and people. Cool stuff, though it sidesteps the clear existential questions of selfhood and replication. Is the object that materializes in the destination existentially the same as the one that dematerializes in the source? I argue no. A perfect replica, maybe, but not the same object. It would be little comfort knowing that though I'm about to be disintegrated, a perfect replica of me will continue on in my stead. Nonetheless, quantum entanglement and leaping is just cool stuff.
Medgar Evers (1925-1963) - Why I Live in Mississippi
Posted on 2005-04-10 at 08:02
"It may sound funny, but I love the South. I don't choose to live anywhere else. There's land here, where a man can raise cattle, and I'm going to do it some day. There are lakes where a man can sink a hook and fight the bass. There is room here for my children to play and grow, and become good citizens---if the white man will let them...."
Two eyes took the aim behind a man's brain, but he can't be blamed. He's only a pawn in their game.
Posted on 2005-04-10 at 08:01
Medgar Evers was a well respected academician, a veteran, and a devoted husband to Myrlie Evers, but he was denied entry into the University of Mississippi's Law program. Why? He was black. Despite being well qualified, and despite the Brown vs the Board of Education ruling in 1954 that segregation was unconstitutional, he was turned away. On June 12, 1963, Medgar was shot when returning home to his wife. The bigot who shot him was acquitted twice in the 60's and it was not until 1990, when his widow got the D.A. to reopen the case with new evidence, that Byron De La Beckwith was finally put in jail for what he did. We should never forgot how recent such things are. Rascism isn't a historical problem, it's a current one.
Tom as Player
Posted on 2005-04-09 at 08:03
Since Will is gonna be the DM, I'll be playing Rury, a Dwarven Rogue, with a concentration in the dual arts of picking locks and disabling traps. Rury will be a fine addition to my stable of characters.
Will as DM
Posted on 2005-04-09 at 08:02
Though Will and I were both going to run the next campaign, Will has graciously volunteered to be the sole DM becuase we atrophied a few players. He is planning to run us through a dungeon campaign. I look forward to it.
Get Perpendicular!
Posted on 2005-04-09 at 08:01
You don't see corporate ads like this very often. I dig it. It's still an ad, and ads are of the devil, but as devilish lies to the common man go, this one's pretty catchy!
So Tom, Why don't you blog as much as you used to?
Posted on 2005-04-07 at 08:02
My computer is intermittently screwing up and my client is getting more demanding. I'm not pleased with either of those problems and I aim to fix them both this year. Why "this year" and not "right away"? Because that's not the plan. The plan is throw as much money into the mortgage as possible (precluding fixing the first issue) until I am no longer working full time (which will happen when the baby comes back from China, precluding fixing the second issue).
Crime statistics
Posted on 2005-04-07 at 08:01
A site with aggregated crime statistics by country. Very interesting stats in some case.