Friday, June 30, 2006

some throwing star skillz

MAKE: Blog: HOW TO - Make your own throwing stars

HBO: Deadwood: Games: Dead Man's Hand

Take a look at it, it is creepy.

HBO: Deadwood: Games: Dead Man's Hand

oops

I forgot the best part:

I'm outta here for the weekend. Four days of camping, canoeing, and hiking. Perhaps backpacking. I'll be smelly as hell and happy to be alive when I come back.

Happy Fourth of July.

Ever spent a 4th in another country? Eerie. One time in Germany, there was a doughnut cart (they don't normally do doughnuts) that had an American flag with a big semi-truck in the middle of it. That was a funny day.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

WOOOO HOOOO, PSP Kernel access.

I'm officially a nerd. This and anticipation of margaritas are the best things that have happened today.

QJ.NET - PSP Updates - 24/7 Coverage of the Latest PSP News - Breaking News: 2.60 Firmware Exploit Found - Kernel Access!

Yesterday and Sunday, however were spent in the woods, where there is still snow, while all you Portlanders were sweatin to the oldies. Pure bliss.

Friday, June 23, 2006

job hunt

So I guess an admonition I received about there being no jobs in Portland was about right. I'm still being patient as I can for several jobs to get back to me. But I still am looking for that perfect position (or any position that will pay something of a living wage, which is higher than most people because I have student loans that are HUGE).

Today's offerings: Salem (x2), Eugene, Newport (x2), Albany. And those are the ones in OR. Others I'll soon have to consider are: NYC, DC, VA, Maine.

Arrrrgh. Why, oh why did I go to law school? And why can I not locate a single acceptable position. I know, I could have studied a lot harder in law school and gotten great grades and stressed myself out even more than I did. But then I wouldn't have been remotely happy.

In other news, I've one section of the house painted, a lovely, creamy yellow. Tough going though, because I have to do it all myself. I do have that lovely sprayer which I was able to use yesterday to crank out a section. Yeay. But the scraping and the sanding. Blah.

We also stained all the millions of boards for the new fence that we will attempt to install on Sunday. Should be fun on a hangover, as we have poker on Sat. night, and I'm determined to get better than 3rd place this time. I needs the cash. We're also looking at the cabin up near Trapper Creek on Saturday. Hopefully we can find enough folks to purchase a share so we can afford it. Though I'm not too optimistic, as we already have a bit of strife involving one person's dislike of dogs (though they have a kid that still wets the bed). I swear, dog owners and parents are the most self-absorbed and inconsiderate sorts. Drive me crazy.

I'm gonna suggest that I get to bring my cats up just to piss them all off.

Good news: resolution with the white trash neighbors behind us. The ones that plague us with their light. They came over last weekend playing all nice and replaced the two bare bulbs with a shade they had purchased. In return we cut down the branches of the hazelnut that were over their yard. Then night came and we realized the light was 5 times worse than it had been before. So, we bought them a proper set of lights and I went over to the lion's den one afternoon. They haven't replaced the existing one yet, but they have had the light off for 3 consecutive nights. YEAY! The best part is now I know how to deal with them. I thought they were mean and vindictive. Ends up that they are just dimwitted (evidenced by the fact that they hung the light fixture upside down, on purpose). That makes communication much easier.

Straw dogs is a great movie. WOW. Dustin Hoffman again, acting all wimpy and then POW!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Going back in time - swimwear

remember that weekend at the coast, and that book from the 20's? Well, those funny skirts those ladies swam in are back!

WholesomeWear Styles

Guess my new bikini just won't fit in anymore, not that my boobs fit in it anyway.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Howdy

New hike, but I might not get to it until later this week. It was wonderful, pictures and all. More level this time and less strenuous except for the fact that we both carried our own water, which meant that I couldn't foist the pack off onto S when the going got rough. Too bad, but good as I need to get in shape for our backpacking adventure over the 4th weekend. Anyway, we followed a river that had one beautiful waterfall after the other. In Gifford Pinchot again. Have I mentioned that I think GP the best place on the planet? Better than Bend, the Gorge, what have you. Maybe not the Galapagos (of which btw, I'd like to see some photos , hint hint V.)

But I've been busy, ain't nothing like a new sprayer to make that prep work go oh, so much faster. Even though I don't have my trusty Nightsoil to help this time. Excuses abound, but I'm sure this isn't the last house I'll paint, so don't think you are out of the loop.

And in response to my fav. anon commenter, I wouldn't buy a sprayer that couldn't handle amber shellac. Ahhhhh, I miss Riley's Bay like I can't tell you. So much so in fact that we are looking into our own oasis in the woods. I think it needs half-logs on the exterior. I'll fill you all in after we look at it this weekend.

Pardon the insides, but I'm lax on proper channels of communication these days.

this is a pretty cool watch for $40


ThinkGeek :: Stonehenge Watch

one stop shopping

This is a service that will search all local classifieds for you. Now you don't have to go to Craigslist and OregonLive. Nice.

Portland Classifieds - Oodle

I got an airless paint sprayer today. Yeay. I love that man.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

blah

Two rejections in 20 minutes, via email. Yuck. Though I am glad to hear something. Frustrating process this.

Torn between having this fuel my further search and just taking the rest of the day off. I applied to 3 places yesterday and there is nothing new today.

Update: make that 3 in 40 minutes. I guess that makes me even.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Group projects

Per a discussion with Jaynokor!, we determined that group projects made mandatory in higher education suck ass. And what skills do they teach you for the real world? Nothing worthwhile...at least that's what the Wall Street Journal says.

Boing Boing: WSJ on bad brainstorming

I guess that might not be true however, if you are a robot. Robots learn teamwork; uprising imminent

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

The best actor

I've mentioned actors in the past, but mostly because I'm in love with their look. Today I would like to give some props to a man that I believe is one of the best actors of all time...Dustin Hoffman.

I just watched Lenny, and saw Midnight Cowboy a week or so ago. He plays every part so well, that I forget he is acting. Truly amazing.

It was a good movie too, Lenny Bruce saying the seven dirty words well before George Carlin.

Dig the Wiki: "Carlin was arrested as an audience member for refusing to show an ID at Bruce's 1964 show at the Gate of Horn in Chicago, after the police stopped the show and arrested Bruce for obscenity."

It's hard being a pimp out here

puppa 004

Thanks again to Lifehacker. Now Puppa has a sweatshirt.

puppa 001

Creepy Hara Kiri Covers

PCL LinkDump: Hara Kiri Covers

Monday, June 12, 2006

Hike #2

We purchased two books for a friend's birthday present, and ended up keeping one that seemed like it would provide us with unexplored hikes in the Gorge.

And because of that book, I have seen the most beautiful waterfall that I have yet to see in the Pacific Northwest. While Multnomah Falls might be higher, it is a mere pencil thin leak in a rock compared to this one that has three tiers, two visible from the main trail. Besides, we only saw one other group of 3 people the entire time, whereas Multnomah Falls is like being at the mall.

The hike was so wonderful that I was banned from posting photos on this blog, for fear that others might take the hike. However, you know where to find my photos, don't you?

The name of the book is Curious Gorge. I am unable to give exact directions or details because the book has been hidden from me so I won't expose its treasures.

But I'll tell you about the first hike (#14 in the book). A beautiful walk in, some of the last remaining old growth trees in the Gorge. Huge Douglas Firs that remind you why you live here. Millions of ferns and a wonderful hike. We didn't take the more strenuous 2,700 elevation gain hike to a lake, because frankly after 10 minutes on that detour, I was winded and we wanted to stay near the river. We hiked the 3.5 mile loop, though the second half was a bit lame. We did get a good look at a cabin for sale, however, and oh how wonderful it would be to have a vacation home there. The hike followed the river for the first half, while the last half was on the road, another good reason to turn around at the halfway point.

Oh, and this book is small enough and detailed enough that you want to take it with you on the hike. It became VERY important on the second hike.

The second hike was #15 in the book. This was the hike to the waterfall that I keep gushing over. Seriously, look at the pictures. A great hike, that you need to pay attention to in order to not get lost. You follow the river and increase elevation quite a bit, which made my calves ache something fierce. Well worth it when you finally hear the falls, look up and see it peeking through the trees. The hike continues to the base of the Falls, where the roar is deafening and the power of the falling water scary. Look at the pics.

We stopped there for a snack and a beer. The trail continued up to the level of the middle tier of the Falls. That part of the trail was rather difficult and sheer will power kept us going. We almost turned around. But it paid off after a bit more scrambling, allowing alook over the edge of the Falls into chaos.

Then the decision had to be made: take the trail back to the car, or climb what the guide book declared as the extremely dangerous path up to the top of the Falls, to see the top tier (the bottom two would be out of sight from there). The scramble up would also allow us to join another trail and loop back to the car. However, the route that we were supposed to take entailed climbing straight up, using roots for steps. There were too many loose rocks and no way Fife could make it up there. I tried and was too scared to continue. If there was a false step, the fall would have been several hundered feet.

So, we decided to scrap it. Unti we came to another, more wooded area that looked like it might be a viable alternative to get to the top and pray that we could reconnect with the trail. At least here a tree could break our fall. Straight up. With the first few steps, there was no option of going back. I believe we made it up with sheer willpower. And found the trail. And felt like we had climbed Mt. Everest without the snow. The view was lovely and my legs are scratched all to hell. The trail down from there was mostly flat, pleasant and made us clip back to the car at 4 mph. We moved faster than we likely should have at the end of an exhausting 8 mile hike because it was getting dark, and fast (9:00). Further, we didn't know exactly where we were supposed to turn left as the book told us to do at an unmarked path. We never would have found it in the dark. Nor would we have made it without referencing the book many times.

The book is a good one, allowing us to expore areas that even the roommate hasn't seen. Highly recommended. We got it at New Seasons. I'll not say any more.

Sucks to the Czech Republic!

Soccer is lame anyway!

Argh

I'm so eager to find a job that this morning I checked all the job sites, even before I read Boing Boing, if you can believe that.

Sadly, there is nothing else for me to do. I've applied everywhere that I have a remote chance of obtaining employment. I've even applied blindly to places I would like to work at (KPMG, please!). I've applied to places doing work that I'm not terribly interested in, and to places in godforsaken suburban areas.

Now begins the waiting game. I'm doing call backs and check-ins, but I really just need to get some bloody interviews. I've been encouraged to take the position I was offered, but I'm just not ready to cave yet. I still have hope that I can find something in downtown Portland, for a decent amount of money, doing something that is interesting. Is that too much to ask?

In the meantime, I guess I'll clean the house. Too bad I don't have some of that motivation that my saviors, BirdCrap, had when they cleaned my house before I came back from NYC. Which, by the way was one of the most wonderful things anyone has ever done for me. Thanks kids.

Friday, June 09, 2006

In a celebration of things good...

My favorite movie of all time (tied with Brazil) is finally out on DVD and in my home.

WOW, and I just found out that the very talented director is making The Life of Pi. Read it quick.

Why I am giving up irony

Boing Boing: Coupland's JPod: the Anti-Microserfs: "JPod is a novel about how the novelty-seeking, irony-soaked, instant-nostalgia, gross-out culture of the Internet can corrode your soul, so that when you crack wise, there's nothing underneath it but more wisecracks. The book made me uncomfortable and sometimes even angry, but I never wanted to put it down, and it made me think hard about my own life and values."

I didn't write this, nor read the book, but I will be reading it soon, and I've already thought about my own life and values. I'm tired of liking ugly or bad or stupid stuff because it is ironic.

I'm gonna try to like things because they are good, pure, nice, and beautiful.

DOWN WITH IRONY.

ear worm

At our home, we tend to get a little obsessed about certain TV shows that come on the DVD format. We watch as many episodes as we can get our hands on and then take a long break before the next one. There is an article in the latest WW that discusses some of the local 'brownshirts' (not a Nazi reference) and their attempt to show the movie "Serenity" for charity. An interesting idea.

I watched the failed series "Firefly" and the movie "Serentity" and loved them. However, the theme song from "Firefly" is once again stuck in my head. And for some reason, though I think it is silly to continue to be obsessed with a TV show after I've exhausted its offerings, that song still makes my tummy go a little fluttery. I did change my email signature to Kaylee for a while.

Listen to it, and watch the show. Good stuff. But don't join a club over it, that's a bit too much.

FireflyWiki.org - Firefly.FireflyThemeSong

A brilliant way to get rid of old CDs and get some new music

This makes lots of sense. Create a list of the CDs you don't want, find people that have music you do want and trade up. They take care of the logistics for $1 per CD. Legal music sharing. Sounds brilliant.

How 'la la' Works

I know, you're all thinking, why mess with that hassle, when I can just download the music? I know you've all been doing it for eons. Well, I'm paranoid.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Fife


We have a dog that can destroy the most indestructible dog toy.

Therefore, we have never bought him a squeaky toy for fear of him destroying it faster than it took to earn the money to buy it.

Then he went to the neighbor's house and stole one of their dog toys. He loves it so much, playing with it like a cat plays with a dead mouse, never chewing on it more than to make it squeak.

And it is in the unlikely form of a pacifier. Too damn cute.

Also, check out photos of Bugsy Baxter, Fife's good friend and child of PLM.

the cloud to my silver lining

Well, the interview went well on Tuesday, so well in fact, that at its conclusion I was offered a job, starting immediately (well, I would have started this AM).

Sadly, they are not offering nearly what I need to pay my bills, unless I can get a significant increase within a year.

We reached a compromise, and seems like the job is open for me if I cannot find something else. I could swing the amount of money by living even more frugally than now, but the roommate doesn't really like that idea. I am still entertaining the thought of working there because a job, any job would really help my psyche right now, and my pocketbook.

The best is that they do the type of work that I dreamed of doing when I decided to go to law school (i.e. helping the little man). I'm just not sure helping the little man increase his position to my financial detriment is the way to go.

So...back to the drawing board. I'm optimistic, have just sent off the application to the firm that I would like to work at more than any other (at least from what I currently know of them). I'm also applying at other places, that aren't doing exactly what I want but sound like good gigs. I'm still a bit apprehensive about applying for the jobs that want my law school transcript, but I think I'll send one of those out tomorrow just because I have nothing to lose.

I'm positive that I can get a job, that I am worthy of one, and am somewhat patient as to finding the "one." In the meantime, I need to come up with some serious cash to pay some impending and unavoidable bills.

Anyone wanna buy a car?

Friday, June 02, 2006

Even better...

Divorce PREP : Get CheckMate !: "Find out if she is cheating in minutes."

"Take a “quick check” if your gut instinct tells you she is fooling around...then you can plan.
Semen stains can be detected on unwashed articles for many years when stored at normal room temperature, so absolutely any garment of any color that you suspect has been stained with semen as the result of recent sexual activity can quickly, easily and accurately be tested with CheckMate.

The 5 Minute Test Kit is scientifically formulated to actually monitor your spouse’s sexual activity outside the relationship by detecting traces of semen that are left in the undergarments after sex."

Makes a girl wanna go lesbo.

Good men saddled with crazy women

How paranoid does this sound?Divorce PREP : Secret Divorce Planning for Men | Your Plan: "For good husbands who just want it all to work out, divorce is excruciating. It doesn’t start as a war, but quickly turns into one. After the wife recovers from the emotional impact of separation and sees her desperate financial situation, her lawyer will advise her of the unfair demands she can make. Together, they ‘attack’ your assets and your income. For the man who has not prepared, there is almost no defense. For you, there is Divorce PREP."

Check some of the topics:
"WHY MARRIAGE IS REALLY AN INSURANCE CONTRACT FOR THE WOMAN

WHY YOUR WIFE CANNOT KNOW WHY YOU ARE UNHAPPY

WHY THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT IS SO UNFAIR TO MEN"

And my personal favorite: "HOW PRE-DIVORCE PLANNING CAN BE THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE."

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Hey, hey motivation has success!

And as perfect as timing can be, I waited about an hour to make the call back to schedule a job interview, and just as I reached the person I needed to talk to, Fife started barking like crazy at the mailman. Great. Hopefully she is a dog person too.

Plan is working

See how I have used a lot of today figuring out how to manipulate metadata? But all in the name of getting those resumes out the door.

Procrastination is working for me now.

Last help with Word

If you want to make sure all new documents reflect your security measures, you have to make the changes to the normal.dot file, which is the template that opens every time you open word or a new document.

Here's how to change the normal template:

"The Normal template (Normal template: A global template that you can use for any type of document. You can modify this template to change the default document formatting or content.) opens whenever you start Word, and it includes default styles, AutoText, macros, toolbars, and other customizations that determine the basic look of your document.

On the File menu, click Open, and then navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.
If no templates are listed in the Open dialog box, click the arrow next to the Files of type box, and then click Document Templates.

Double-click the Normal.dot file to open it. To be certain that you're working in the default template, check to see that Normal.dot appears in the Word title bar.
Make any changes you want, using the menus and dialog boxes just as you would to change default settings for a document, but remember that any changes you make to Normal.dot will be applied to documents that you create in the future.
When you have finished, on the Standard toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, click Customize on the Tools menu, and then click the Toolbars tab.), click Save."

If you want to change old files, just cut and paste them into a new document, and viola! That will also change the date created, so that it looks all fresh and new. Yeay.

How to change computer and company name

From the help section of the computer (you can pay me later for all this great computer advice):

"When you install Windows, Setup requests that you enter your name, and optionally, the organization name. This registration information is displayed under Registered to in the General tab of System when you click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.

To change your name and company information after Windows is installed on your computer, follow these steps:

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
4. To change the company name, do the following:
In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOrganization. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
5. To change the name of the registered owner, do the following:
In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOwner. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
6. Click Exit on the File menu to quit Registry Editor."

Mexico and NYC

I have all the photos up. I've labeled some of them. Most I have not. I don't care anymore.

The trip rundown:
week one in Mexico, hotter than hell. Beautiful beaches and water blue and clear. Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan peninsula. Side trips to Tulum and Coba, to see Mayan ruins. Go to Coba, where you can still climb a ruin that is larger than Chichen Itza (take that, you assholes who got to go to Mexico in highschool).

Found an amazing unmarked beach that serves as a turtle sanctuary. Waves were huge and we body surfed ourselves sore. No one else on the beach.

We met the in-laws there, had a large apartment (with our own room), which made it more tolerable. I had my breakdown on day 3, which meant everyone was nice to me after that. Lots of good food, though mostly too touristy and expensive for my tastes. But I didn't have to pay for it.

Made a hellish mistake two nights before we left and ate a Caesar salad. Raw egg and lettuce. Never eat vegetables or fruits unless you can peel them, because they wash them in regular water. I also found out at the clinic when I got back, that guacamole and pico de gallo are the leading culprits of traveler's diarrhea. So, it could have been anything, but that salad sure made me feel like crap. Horrible heartburn in Mexico too.

So, sick as a dog and on my second week in:
NYC, Brooklyn to be precise.

We stayed with the brother and sister-in-law. They have a penthouse on the 11th floor, which meant that I had an amazing panaramic view of brooklyn, and to the right, I could see a pretty clear statute of liberty. On the roof, one could see more of Manhattan.

We did all the touristy things: MOMA, the Natural History Museum, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, walked everywhere, dim sum in Chinatown, insanity in Times Square, used the Subway endlessly, Central Park. We also went to NJ one day to a Six Flags, where they currently have the world's tallest rollercoaster, which was not operating. They had enough other rides however, to keep me scared for the entire day.

I thought NYC would be dirty and scary and I would hate it. It is however a wonderful city. The best food I've ever had. Amazingly efficient driving and walking and living. I forgot how much I missed truly big cities (mostly European for me). NYC felt like I could live there (if I could afford it, and they had more grass).

How to minimize metadata in Word 2003

Sending out electronic documents is a bit risky. For example,I regret that I named my company "wankr" when I set up this computer, because it shows up when you look at the "properties" of a Word file.

Another issue is not wanting anyone to see all of my errors and changes. Nor that I started out with a canned template. So, how to minimize this?
How to minimize metadata in Word 2003

Oh, and no, I'm not gonna change them all to PDF, unless someone wants to buy me a computer that can handle the space and memory hog that is Adobe.