Creepy Lord of the Rings trees

Creepy Lord of the Rings trees
Originally uploaded by jkf.

This struck me as rather odd. Two stark white trees, in the middle of one of the longest and most strenuous hikes of all time. It had it all: the base was at a mining operation that one could hear most of the hike; wasp's nests that attacked puppa and I; about 100 switchbacks with unceasingly boring scenery; and beautiful Arnica lake in a meadow at the top, with pretty flowers. We sang our way down the mountain, making up a song that contained the number of the switchback we were on. I'm glad there was no one else around.

Lost days

I have lost two days of studying. I was starting to really get on a roll, and then started throwing up. Then I got a migraine from having not eaten in so long. Normally, I just take my meds and the migraine goes away. Alas, I haven't any meds, nor any money to buy them without insurance. Thus, I took as many ibuprofen and aleve that I thought safe and had about 10 minutes where my head only felt a dull pain. For the rest of the night, I had to put a cold cloth over my eye just to tolerate it. Did I mention that migraines also make me throw up? Yep, so first the flu, then migraine. Perhaps someone wants me to lose weight? Yowzers.

However, I'm much better today, and gonna try and find some food to stave off any more migraines. And now I have to get some bloody work done. So much for going out tonight or skiing on Sunday. Looks like I'm stuck here.

And I should mention that you should never go to the Kenton post office. Besides the legions of old people that were there, making the process the slowest possible, they have a teller that loudly proclaimed that she never stays home when she is sick. Rather, she goes to work, and stays home when she is well, so that she can enjoy it. Lovely. Thanks for the flu, bitch.

forgot to upload the skiing photos

These are some photos from my first time skiing properly. Lying in bed yesterday and today has allowed me to remember to upload these. I'm lying in bed because I have the flu. Lovely, the chills, aches, puking and other lovelies. I'm most thankful that it's James Bond 24/007 week. Yeay. If I didn't feel like I'm dying of hunger and dehydration and caffeine withdrawl, I might just be able to enjoy it.

I would like to mention that my baby has taken wonderful care of me. 7up with a straw!

Back to sleep.

Musings

Today, I’ve decided to vent my inability to focus by typing the nonsense that goes through my head onto the bottom of the outline that I am currently working on. The product lies before you (hyperlinks to be added later – btw, it is impossible to pantomime “hyperlinks” in a game of Cranium. Try it.):

Every day I try really hard to focus on learning a significant portion of a predetermined subject. I have discovered I only have the ability to do about ¼ of what I need to do. Why? I have no attention span. My ability to focus lasts about 15 minutes, and then, though I try to consciously battle it, I will find myself engaged in some other activity. And not because there are so many distractions. If I were in a completely white, circular room with only a table and my study materials, all I need for distraction is my own head. I can look at a page of administrative law and immediately lose eye focus. Now, I’m the type that reads every word that I see. I cannot help it. But put some admin. in front of my face and I’m stuck in my head, with blurry eyes, thinking about how dreamy Russ Feingold is (I got to listen to him grill Allito on the way to the post office today – now I don’t have to study absolute immunity, thanks Russ!).

Solution? I don’t know. I have no insurance, so no way to get evaluated and medicated. So, in an attempt to self-diagnose, I’m taking something called “Extreme Energy. ” It has vitamins (mostly Bs) in addition to the 100mgs of caffeine per pill. I thought it might work a bit better than NoDoz’s pure caffeine pills. And coffee or soda, yeah, that just makes me pee more, which makes me leave the work station more. Speaking of leaving the work station, I thought that the reason I never got anything done was the million cigarette breaks I used to take. Nope. Well, so far, there is no extreme energy, but at least I’m not falling asleep nearly as often. Should be an interesting month and a half.

Good news: First: I went running last night. I had looked at my Costa Rica pictures, and realized that a year and a half ago, I had very little fat on my body. Thus, no more excuses, I have to lose 20 pounds, or maybe 15.

Second: I sold almost all of my remainder text books, to add about $400 to my pocket. WHEW! Money’s makin me ill, but some good news makes me feel better and now there are fewer books to deal with. I'm a wiz at ebay selling these days.

Third: the best podcast is the Ricky Gervais show. Get it through iTunes, it is free and funny as hell.

Anyone with any other hints on good podcasts, let me know. Ok, back to my 15 minutes on. My new motivation tool will be running my stopwatch next to me. Whenever I work, I get to let it run. When I stop, to say, type this, I have to turn it off. That way, I see how much I actually accomplish. Beta phase. I may reverse the process, I’ll see which make me more scared about the wasted time.

Oh, and lawnmower man (he mows local lawns and tried to attack Steve once) has again gone off of his meds. He’s been knocking on our door incessantly while we run and hide upstairs with the gun to wait until he breaks in. Evidently he messed with the wife of the very large man across the street (knocking also on her door, she mistakenly opened it. I’m so glad I put in the peep hole). He went to the crazy man’s house and told him to stop knocking on people’s doors and that he has a gun. Sweet. Perhaps he’ll harass some other neighborhood. Steve wants to get him some help, but I just would rather stay outta this guy’s way entirely. Perhaps if he was nice when on the meds, but he’s still pretty creepy.

Tomorrow I have to go back to the fraggin dentist. I love him, but I really don’t think this visit is necessary. I called him last weekend because I was in so much pain that I was crying. The intense pain has subsided, but there is a constant and annoying dull pain as well as sharp pain whenever I eat. I’ve only one spot in my mouth that can be used to chew. But that’s normal after having three fillings, isn’t it? Poop, there’s more money down the drain. He better at least give me some pain meds, but I wanna play it down a bit considering I don’t want a root canal. OH lord, please no root canal.

get phone calls from Jared, yeah, the Subway guy

I'm not one for practical jokes, because I really don't like them played on me. But if you know anyone that won't be pissed off (I would), please sign them up and let me know about it.

Jared's January Fresh Reminders Calls

Baby, I love you and am sorry, and I did it before I thought about it. It was just too good to pass up. Please save one so that I can hear it. Oh, and if you win a drawing, you might get an actual call from him. teehee

Besides, I wanna see your ribs again.

I need a favor folks

a floppy disk - 2½ x 3¾. An external one is what I'll need, because my secondary drive isn't swappable.

See, the Oregon Bar administrators are finally allowing the use of a laptop on the bar exam. And since I wrote my exams the first year of law school and then saw my grades go up by a full letter when I decided to start typing them, I do believe I've got a shot this time, no matter the subjects they throw at me.

So, if anyone can help me out, please let me know as soon as possible. The exam isn't until Feb 20ish, (OMFG!) but I'd rather make sure I have one and it works and I know how to make it work. Otherwise I'll just buy one.

my favorite photo for today

Wowzers, were we tired!

Netflix Jacked By USPS - Gizmodo

I knew it!!!!!!!!!
Netflix Jacked By USPS - Gizmodo

Install Windows unattended - Lifehacker

Ever have to do a clean-install? Or do you rebuild your computer, even half as often as you should? Then take a look at this article. The actual site I wasn't able to get to at the moment, but Lifehacker will get you there. The idea is that you don't have to spend so much time fiddling around with all the little things, just to get your computer working efficiently again.

"Have you ever wanted a Windows CD that would install Windows by automatically putting in your name, product key, timezone and regional settings? And have it merged with the latest Service Pack to save time? Followed by silently installing all your favourite applications along with DirectX 9.0c, .Net Framework 1.1 and then all the required hotfixes, updated drivers, registry tweaks, and a readily patched UXTheme.dll without any user interaction whatsoever? Then this guide will show you how you can do just that!"

The ending of this one makes it my new favorite

I'm pretty sure Jesus would write this:

hate-mail: "Post this B*TCH Hey you ateist son of a b***h, you are a big A*****E! If this is a joke, you are so GAY. You know that you have pissed the hell out of a christian when I start cussing. You are so full of sh*t; how can you believe all this crap. Pardon my french, but you are such a big jacka$$ for believing this bullsh*t.Come on, dumb***, do you seriously think that a pile of s**t, sorry, spagetti would fly around and create a mountain, trees, and a midget??!! God created you and all of your 'followers' and he can take you out just like that. You sound alot like what happened to satan. You and all of your followers are the ones that will go to hell. Just remember, WWJD
Michael Hearn"

Hate mail to the Flying Spaghetti Monster

This stuff makes me laugh so hard. I cannot believe that these are "christians." They talk so much about going to hell and having ass sex. What is that all about? Scroll down to the bottom for the newest stuff hate-mail. One of my favorites:

: "I just saw your fucking website and you have to be the most screwed up mother fucker out there. Do you realize that people eat your fucking FSM everyday. This is the most stupid bullshit I have ever heard in my fucking life. I feel sorry for your parents because they have raised such a dumbass and if I were them I would never show my face again. If i ever meet up with you or one of your 'followers' I will beat the living fucking hell out of them. You are so fucking stupid I don't know how you made it to college much less out of preschool. One of theses days you are going to mess with the wrong person and theyare going to slap the fuck out of you. Your pictures are stupid and the flying spaghetti monster is the ugliest fucking thing I have ever seen. I bet your just as fucking ugly as that damn thing is. That sort of monster would scare the hell out of any little kid in your preschool classes. Get a life you dumbass fucking idiot and then maybe you will see how stupid you really sound to the people that are not believeing in all this shit that you come up with. All your trying to do is get attention and obviously it's working but in the opposite way you fuckhead. You probably never get laid because of your stupid ass suggestions. Hope you have the most fucked up life with your FSM beliving dumbass girlfriend that you getone day. MAYBE!! When that girl comes along and belives this shitn then she will be just as stupoid as your ass. Have a good day and hope that you have really fucked up kids. God Bless!
- sherlet davis"

NYC inspires some crazy shit

This is almost as good as the I heart NYC snowglobe with at plastic garbage bage in it. A site that sells a cube of NYC garbage for $50.

another great web zen

This one is about found objects, some of the photos are fantastic. web zen. For some fun time killin flash games see last week's zen.

FAREWELL, BLACK TABLE.

Suck ass. This is one of my favorite websites. I haven't sent them money or anything, so I guess it is partially my fault they are leaving the internets. Suck. I'm seriously irritated. But if you need a good read, catch up on some of the back issues. Good stuff. FAREWELL, BLACK TABLE.

IRS to Tax Your World of Warcraft Booty? :: Street Tech :: hardware beyond the hype

This is why I should, or perhaps should not, be an IRS person. IRS to Tax Your World of Warcraft Booty? :: Street Tech :: hardware beyond the hype

New Year's Eve PARTAAAAY

I forgot to mention the most important social event of my last few months: the New Year's Eve Party.

I mistakenly thought it was gonna be a bit dull. I had just taken a nap, was a bit hungry and drowsy. That was all taken care of with a shot of Herradura and a glass of Johnny Walker. Then, the fun started.

I received two gifts: a magic 8 type ball on a keychain, but it is the devil's ball. Funny in too many ways. The other gift was a dollar store rendition of the old table football game. You know, the one where you fold a piece of paper like a flag and the other person holds up their hands like goalposts? It's fantastic. However, I left it there, because I had somehow lost the professional version of the football (it was larger than the collegiate version), and thought the only way I would ever get that back would be to leave the whole thing there, so that it at least made it into the packaging.

A present that S got was a horrible game that pits up to four players against each other to press the button when a light turns green. The last one to press their button (jeopardy style) would receive a mild or extreme shock. I did this WAY too many times.

And we drank and I was very flitty, the way I like to be at parties, the personification of stream of consciousness. I even had written in indellible ink on places of my body that shouldn't have been allowed to have been photographed. Ah well, it was all for fun.

Anyway, props to Crapartist for throwing a whopper of a party. It was indeed a fantastic way to ring in the New Year.

One more thing

Some of you are loyal to my site and have still been checking every day. I love you.

And I wanted to mention that I have recently converted to Firefox as my internet browser. I've been curious and tried it before, but was stubborn. It blows netscape and explorer out of the water for being able to be manipulated in the manner that I wish. I am in love.

Howdy

I'm lame, I know it. I haven't spent any time communicating to my long lost friends, not even in this sort of lame, third-person format. I just haven't had the heart to burden any more people with the soul torture that I've been putting myself through in the last few months.

See, I wasn't sure if I should take the bar again. What I really want to do is get a job, any job and work and get a paycheck and have money and be happy. But that is not my fate. I found a way to pay the application fee for the bar exam, and $700 later, I'm locked in. I have enough money to pay minimum bills until April. After that, I must have a job. Thus, I must pass the bar this time or I'll have to move to a country where I cannot be found. And that sounds uncomfortable, besides, where will I blend in? Ireland, Germany, Australia? Likely places where the law will catch up with me. SUCK.

Anyway, I've been talking to you, old blog, a lot, but not writing anything down, because I was happy with my thoughts being my own and not being read by anyone and everyone. Proud of me though, blog? I didn't destroy you this time. I'm learning.

So, I have wanted to say that Star Wars III is the worst movie I've seen in a long time. When everything, even the bodies of humans are CGI, you've gone too far. And how about hiring a writer next time? I feel bad about wasting my time.

On the other hand, King Kong was one of the best action/adventure movies I've seen in forever. I don't know how people can not like it. It was amazing. Long, but so what. Genius it was. Perfect for what it was supposed to be: entertaining and exciting. I've learned throught the review of these two movies, the people that I will never listen to for movie viewing advice.

Oh, and "The Long Way Round," the videotaping of Ewan MacGregor and his friend Charley something (son of a famous director) as they ride their motorcycles around the world is wonderful as well.

I'm off to study for now, I must keep plugging away at this material, and hope that more sinks in this time than the last.

Thanks for listening.

This some funny shit

Boys' Private Parts: 10 Things Every Girl Should Know About Them - IRON HYMEN - Girls Abstinence-Only Education Coolness Program: "The stuff that comes out of boys every time they use you has as many calories as seven whole pints of Häagen-Dazs. That's why all the girls who do 'it' always get so fat and ugly and have that ulcerated skin that screams to everyone in church, 'I am an insatiable slut!'"

Also see "10 THINGS ALL THE COOL DUDES ARE DOING INSTEAD OF BEING LAME AND QUEER AND HAVING SEX!"

Meet my new best friend: Candroid!

Candroid flossing his teeth with the annoying benders, his arch-enemies:


Candroid in time-out:

Candroid is frustrated, or happy, or in rage. I cannot really tell.

And now, he's lookin sexy!
The tree topper this year is.....CANDROID! And he's looking rather anti-christ-like.

Ahhh, this makes me remember the good old days, oh, wait, I still spend my days in the library.

Interestingly enough, the kids at PCC are much better at being polite, quiet and good fellow students. THE BLACK LIST: WE'RE IN A VERY DARK PLACE, EATING POPCORN.: "DISOBEDIENCE OF LIBRARY ETIQUTTE: Spending your Sunday at the law school library is bad enough. But when you are trying to revise your painfully mediocre final paper on Scalia's method of statutory interpretation for that useless jurisprudence class, and these annoying bastards sitting around you in the computer area keep cheerfully gabbing to each other in stage whispers, that makes it much, much worse. The signs posted on the walls say, 'Thank you for being quiet and not talking.' Could this be any CLEARER? And yeah, girl with the i-pod on, bopping your head to the beat as you type ... it's not cute. Could you be a little more self-aware? Please? Oh. Looky here. All 54 of my footnotes are formatted incorrectly. Fantastic. To you readers out there in Black Table land, let me preemptive strike it now: Don't think I deserve this because I will be making $125K when I graduate. Mama is going into children's advocacy work. I'll be lucky if I find a job that pays $35K. Please save your scorn for these budding lawyer snatches around me. Because in a mere three years or less, they will own all of us. D -- michaela wittenberg"

Bad-ass Brass Knuckle Implants [modblog.bmezine.com]

Bad-ass Brass Knuckle Implants [modblog.bmezine.com]: "I cut my arm off while listening to a really scene band that only played once in the basement of my really scene friend Bob's house. I have their 7 ' and it makes me cry. Actually it's the missing arm that is making me cry. However, I did just get 5,003 scene points. I'm going to turn them in for a really rare printing of Death cab for Cutie where they accidentally stamped the records with good music."

Santa Claus was listening!

Activist Judge Cancels Christmas

YEAY! Everyone, it's true, all is cancelled. I love our judicial system. YEAY!

The war on Christmas, if you haven't heard

BBC NEWS | Americas | Lines drawn in battle over Christmas: "'We just wanted to encourage Christians to have the courage to say 'merry Christmas' instead of 'happy holidays',' she says.
'We had no idea that it would tap into a national frustration.
'People are tired of being told not to celebrate Christmas, they are tired of the ACLU. This is just parents saying they want to preserve Christ in Christmas.' "

That's clever and new. And convenient, since I've recently decided to join the infidel side in the "war." But I have some pretty good company in Jon Stewart. See the Secular Central video.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Minutemen take fight to US capital

BBC NEWS | Americas | Minutemen take fight to US capital: "These guys aren't doing it legally, so why should the guys that are doing it illegally be put at the head of the line?"

Wow

I had no idea this picture even existed. My disbelief is rooted in the fact that Fife, indoors, with a bunch of screaming children and in a place that must reek of pepperoni... well it doesn't seem like he would be just sitting there. I'm assuming his former owners used a lot of those doggie sedatives on him.

Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog

Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog is one of the most lovely websites I've found in ages. Thanks boingboing.

A few things

1. My dentist is still hot. Sadly S made an appointment a month and a half early for my cleaning. Not so bad, except what I needed was an appointment for a filling. Now the appointment is set for December 22. The day that the in-laws are likely to be arriving. Can't have a better excuse than pain for going to bed early. It was also bad because I have a couple of horrible zits on my chin. Not my prettiest today. My entire mouth will have to be numbed because of the location of my cavities. We'll see if this dentist is a good dentist by how much pain meds he gives me.

2. Trying something a little new. It's mostly for Steve and I to see our photos more than we normally would, but I guess others can enjoy it too. I took the Flickr random photo generator that you see at the bottom of this page, and made it bigger and more numerous. Then I gave it its own blog. If I ever get my website up and running, this will definitely be included as a page.
Have you seen the world's largest burl? I climbed it. We found it by accident, and I'm so glad that we did.

3. Um, I'm not off to a very good start at studying. Yesterday was up late and done studying early due to book club. Today was interrupted by the dentist appointment. Tomorrow is back at it, up early and off to PCC all day. I have to make sure that studying is the priority and this doesn't happen again. This week I have Saturday to catch up because Steve is working all day, then company party that night. Sunday will be spent cross-country skiing and looking for a Christmas tree (because there is so much snow, the only way to get a Douglas Fir is to go backcountry on its ass).

4. Have I mentioned that I dislike Christmas? I would really like to figure out a way to avoid the holiday completely. I understand the using it as an excuse to get the family together, but I would much prefer that the family make a new holiday, say the third weekend in January. That way, Christmas weekend can be spent like Thanksgiving, stress-free and in my pajamas. Instead, the in-laws are likely flying in and all the trauma that I've suffered every Christmas since my birth will be revisited upon me. Great. Thanks Jesus.

What trauma could be worse than others' Christmas trauma you ask? Well, my mother was a Jehovah's Witness. My step-father was Lutheran. He wanted a tree and a full on celebration in the snowy lands of Wisconsin (we lived in the South), she wouldn't have anything to do with it. I was torn each and every Christmas about whose side to choose. Not a nice thing to do to a kid. Though they seemed to enjoy that torture, making even better when they split for the final time, asking me which parent I wanted to go with. I found out 20 years later that my answer made no difference, so I hadn't needed to feel guilty for choosing my step-father (under duress, I might add). Are you wincing yet? Wait, there's more:

Then, as I became an adult, I dated someone that lived in another country. So, every Christmas for 8 years, I would fly overseas to celebrate with people whose language I could not understand. Just about the time that I started liking the holiday again, I decided to break up with this person, you guessed it, at Christmas. Now, I fight with my current significant other about whether the in-laws will visit. Last year they came and then on the 25th, I left for a week in WI. That seemed to work for me, except for the guilt trip I was awarded from that significant other. This year was supposed to be my year to choose the events surrounding Christmas. I tried, but like always, the dog or the in-laws or whatever deigned it necessary to take the choice out of my control. Now, as soon as the SO reads this, I'll get even more grief.

Anyone with a solution? And Crap, this is NOT a hypothetical, so be nice. I think I just need a way to get rid of the holiday. No more Christmas. Buddhism is an option and more viable than Judaism, but I'd prefer a way to entirely avoid the drama. Say, hospitalization.

5. I just did a spell-check of this entry, and the blogger dictionary does not include the word "blog." Brilliant.

Well, off for now. Happy holidays.

Hello folks

An update for everyone:

Saturday last: I CREAMED all at poker. We were playing no-limit Texas Hold'Em. Usually there are about 5-6 people at the table, but this week, was the hostess' birthday. There were 12 people playing, until I decimated every, single, last one of them. I normally dislike going to play poker, there is something creepy about it, besides the fact that I always lose, early, and a lot of money. This time however, was the magic one. A combination of wonderful luck in the form of great hands (straights, full houses, and three-of-a-kinds were plentiful), and finally understanding how to read people (especially after they became drunk). It was wonderful. Though I should likely have won earlier, the same cause of that mistake was the one that caught the straight that allowed me to win the whole shebang. Thanks Crap.

Sunday: hungover for a great part of the day, but up at noon to buy some cross-country ski boots (afforded by poker winnings and a generous discount by an employee that gave me the "former roommate" discount), and off to Mt. Hood for my first-ever skiing experience. It was wonderful. I really like it, though going downhill is a bit scary, I've learned a few things, and the snow was at least 4 feet deep, all powder. I'm so gonna say "Dude, I telemark" soon.

Monday: yeay, time to start studying for the bar again. I organized and then headed off to PCC's library for orientation. I found the library entrance (harder to find than you'd think), and got situated.

Tuesday: up with the Tater and off to PCC to study all day long. Well, at least until 4:00, when I headed home, to wait for a friend to pick me up and take me to a company Christmas party. Since I still was working for Multnomah County during this year, I went (I missed last year's party). It was fun. Everyone was very nice and entertaining and I was able to be a nerd and talk about ITAX and Measure 37 and prisoners escaping by tying sheets together (really). It was especially nice to know that everyone still remembered and liked me and were still willing to recommend me when I apply for jobs. Even better was the support. It has been long enough that it doesn't sting quite so much when I have to say that I didn't pass the bar and have to study for it again. It was still a bit embarrassing, but everyone was understanding and supportive and several admitted to having taken it twice too.

So, that's what's happened in the past few days. I'm off to relax and get ready for tomorrow.

Back on track

So, today, I'm done painting for V. I would like to do more, and I'm sure she'd like me to, but I have to start studying again for the bar exam. Sad but true.

Last night I went to Portland Organic Wrestling for the first time in ages. It was lots of fun. I need to get out my aggression other than on Steve. Last night the referee was a guy that is always a spoil-sport. So, I made it a point to get him as wet as possible with my Pabst. The strategy was to position myself so that he was behind one of the wrestlers, then look as though I was aiming at the wrestler, and overshoot. It was pretty funny until he became a crybaby, and dropped his glasses and wiped his eyes and acted like the beer hurt him. I think he shouldn't be the referee ever again. Or he will be wet again. And I didn't get in trouble at the Bar of the Gods this time. In fact, I actually had a pleasant and stress-less visit there.

The best part of the night though was getting our picture taken on the way home.

Today, then, I finished painting, and went and got more and thicker chains for the downspouts. I replaced a section in the front that needed it, but was missing one end piece that I'll get tomorrow. The chains are up, and look lovely, and since it is raining, I know they actually work too.

I spiffed up the front yard a bit, making a second rock wall, 2 stones high (about 8 inches) to serve as a border for a front garden space. It looks pretty nice. I also placed more flagstones in the front area to make it look a little more finished. I tried to take pictures, but it is now too dark outside.

So, this weekend, we might just go skiing, which I'm pretty excited about. For now, I need to eat a bit and shower, cuz tonight is date night! Yeay!

more rock wall pics

Here are a few more photos. Click here to see them all. We are not entirely done, nor will we be for a while. The long section still needs capstones, which will be set tonight. Then, we have some landscaping to do in the front of the wall, including plants and flagstones. Drive by...you'll be amazed that Steve and I did this with some consulting and finish work by Wetzel. And a shout out to Crap and Bird for helping us get started.

The new rock wall. Day 1.

Click on the photo to go to my Flickr account of the building of the rock of Tater.

Happy Thanksgiving all

A busy weekend in this house. We've taken the plunge and are building a rock wall. I have photos, but am currently too lazy to post them. Besides there is currently a break in the rain and as soon as we eat our cheddar hot dogs which are laced with mexi-velveeta and wrapped with pop-can croissants, we'll be back at lifting the 80+ lb rocks. They are heavy. What really sucks is that by the time people get back to town and are able to help, all the heaviest lifting will be done. Damn!

The bathroom project was finished last week. New toilet seat took about 5 minutes, and the new tub fixture took about 15 hours. I now am rather well-versed in the ways to plumb. Which is kinda too bad, because I would have liked to hire that hottie plumber I met at V's house. But finishing the project was a matter of pride to me, and when pride is an issue, I'm all about doing whatever I have to do to get the job done.

Turkey was last week, and we've purchased lots of snack food for this weekend, brie, bread, olives, prosuitto, and the above mentioned velveeta. A yummy food weekend. And the best part: no dinner stress.

Fan site for the world's largest cat

THE WWW FAN WEB PAGE FOR TUBCAT THE FATTEST KITTY EVA :D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you've ever been on a skateboard or

have ever played a Tony Hawk video game, watch this video of Rodney Mullen.

You think those moves are impossible in real life?

White Stripes video

Here's a video of White Stripes: The Denial Twist. They sure are clever.

hey hey, boo bops

I've found two gems today on the internet today:

1. Beck's video for "Hell, yes" has dancing robots. If you like robots too, look at robot zen.

2. www.phoneswarm.com, a website that posts the phone numbers of pay phones around the country. One calls and tries to get someone at the reststop to answer. Seems like a funny idea that might just take off. I enjoyed reading what they have so far.

So, life is simple in my household.

I'm looking for a real job, one in the field of law, or at least something to do with the millions of dollars that I've spent on higher, higher education. One with some security, some future and a decent salary. That's all. Oh, and I would like to work with intelligent, dedicated people that are fun and interesting.

I'm still debating taking the bar exam again. I would like to, but I'm not really sure if I can afford to. I have until Dec. 31 to get my application in, so I just need to determine what I really want to do. I guess it will depend on getting a job. Regardless, I'm going to seriously start studying for the bar on Dec. 1.

I just put a 22 lb. turkey into the oven. We'll be sick of turkey before Thanksgiving, but I'm not terribly sad about that. I love turkey and it's fixin's and can barely wait.

Here's something for my wishlist: Logitech® Wireless Headphones for iPod

I'm off for now, time to start making mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, etc. I think I'll never forget last year's Thanksgiving. It was the first time I hosted it, and all was from scratch. It was lovely, except I couldn't enjoy it properly because I was drunk on eggnog by the time we sat down. This year, I'll be drunk and have already enjoyed the bird with the proper relish.

I'm back

Today I woke up able to breathe. No fits of coughing or having a head so full of snot that I just wanted to go back to sleep. That cold was one of the worst.

And now back to the land of the living. I have to get Vanessa's house painted. I need to study for the bar exam. And I need to figure out a new hobby that gets me out of the house (other than drinking). It would also be nice to find a job (for now and for real). Back at it.

Not sure how much I'll be blogging in the days to come. I'm not into the computer so much, and I'm going to try and avoid it while studying for the bar. That way, perhaps I'll actually study for the bar this time. So, know that I'm likely well, stressed and wishing that I had just sucked it up the first time.

Ahrgh

I'm tired. I decided to try my hand in the land of the living today, and went to V's house to paint some trim. (doesn't that sound suggestive? Speaking of which, V had the hottest plumber that I have ever seen installing her waterheater today. Made me actually think of making one of those, "Oh hi, mr plumber, wanna check my pipes" pornos.).

Well, leaving the house wasn't such a good idea, because I'm now exhausted. I took daytime stuff that helped for the first hour, then I just got progressively worse. So, now I'm gonna take a bath and crawl back into bed, likely where I belong.

Here's what you should do:

Take a look at the Liger's photos.

Here's what not to do:

Sleep only 5 hours,
get up at 7:00 A.M.,
play two games of kickball (3 hours) in the rain,
and get completely soaked.

Then, do NOT proceed to:
eat only one meal of two pieces of pizza,
drink copious amounts of alcohol,
run around town in more rain,
scream your lungs out at the tournament finals,
drink more, but don't eat anything else
and dance and drink all night long.

If you do, you will first lose your voice, which is funny and seemingly a badge of spirit honor. But then, you will become ill, very, very ill. Your throat will hurt like it hasn't since you were 7 years old (which I remember oh, so clearly).

I've slept several times as many minutes as I've been awake in the past few days. This morning I've been up for 1.5 hours. I'm now going back to bed for the rest of the day. Hopefully, all will be better tomorrow. I just want to be able to swallow again.

Ahhh, sweet victory

Well, the kickball tournament on Saturday was a lot of fun. Here's a run-down.

Our first game was at 9:00 A.M. We all were excited and hopped up on krispy kremes and coffee. We played well, and with gusto. The score was tied and went into extra innings. We won by two runs in the ninth inning. Victory felt very good, especially considering the other team used a do-over at a moment that felt like we were really getting screwed. We were able to legitimately use our do-over later in the game to level the playing field and make everyone feel the game was a bit fair. The other team was a good match for us, only one rank behind us, and they were good sports and played with humor, which always makes the games more fun.

Then it started to rain. We switched fields and lost even our tree shelter. We also had to play the team that has stood undefeated the entire season. Needless to say, it sucked. They were all 20 year old frat boys that play professional soccer. Okay, they weren't quite that good but they were large, very athletic boys and we didn't stand a chance. We held them the best we could in the sopping wet rain (oh, and for anyone out of town, it has been raining for weeks, the fields were mud pits). Some of the best plays of the day occured during that game, my favorites being when Steve was trying to catch a pop-fly, the ball bobbled up and Aubrey was right there to catch it. The other was when Jason, who was on second base, slipped while he was running to third on Nicole's base hit. He lost his hat while falling, then managed to pick up the hat, make it to third base and because they overthrew the ball, he came home. It was lovely.

Then everyone went home to shower and dry off, and came over to our house to start celebrating. We all drank and then took the MAX down to the PGE park for the final game. I couldn't have been more happy when I found out that the testerone-team that beat us in the second round had been trounced by the Pour Sports. PS was last year's champions, and were the first team the Ligers ever played. They have acted as mentors to us this year and saved our honor yesterday by beating the Swashbucklers. They then went on to beat the SE team (we're in the NE division), who were a bunch of hippies. Our entire Liger team was in the stands, screaming and cheering and trying to be supportive. It was a great game.

Then we went on to the Eagles club, where the Ligers taught both divisions how to dance. We also received three awards: our pitcher won the MVP for the NE league; one of our captains won the NE league's queen award; and the Ligers won the Spirit award for the NE league, which we accepted with much spirit.

So, my first season of kickball was a very good one, with lots of learning and even more fun. Our team was a very good one and I hope that we can keep it together for another season. I liked our balance of good and not-so-good. Each of us made mistakes and each of us made some really good plays and I think that is more important than winning every game. Though I'm sure we could do just that after kickball camp next year. That's right, we'll be coming in very prepared next year.

And today, I watched the first and second special edition Lord of the Ring installments. We just could not find the third one anywhere in town. If we had, that would have been 12 hours of LOTR. As it was, we watched 8 hours. Worth while.

Football

So, I want to try out for a full contact women's professional football team. Wouldn't that be fun? And a great use of a law degree. So the tryouts are November 13th and December 10th.

Our uniforms are purple. Ouch, that white girl is BIG!

They will score one on the following skills:
vertical leap, 40-yard dash, 800-yard run, shuttle drill and the maximum of sit-ups and push-ups in one minute.

I know that my success in qualifying for a professional football team is unlikely, especially in 11 days. But it would be a good excuse for getting in shape. So, I want to do the above activities. Any hints on the training I should undergo to get those down? Here are my theories: situps, pushups, and running several miles a day, including some sprinting. What is a shuttle drill? And how do I increase my verticle leap? This should be fun.

Long lost

During the time that I was supposed to be studying for the bar, a few people from my long lost past decided to get in touch with me. Two were siblings that I haven't seen in 15 years and the others were either highschool or college friends. I like all of these people, but since my initial response (which was a very convenient distraction), I've fallen to not e-mailing anyone. For reasons too complicated to go into here.

Now, someone has contacted me through my undergraduate university's "in-circle" networking, friendster-type online community. Problem is, I have NO idea who this person is. There are no photos of her on the "In-Circle" profile, and I don't remember anyone that connects us. What to do.

I don't really have anything else to write about. Errands and repairs today. More sanding and hopefully priming tomorrow in V's hallway. Tonight will be a date night of sorts. Ideally sushi, but more likely the equally yummy pork chops or ribeye steak. YUM.

The Ligers won again!!!!!!!!

Our stats: 3 wins; 5 losses; 2 tied games. A -7 run differential and our current streak is 3 wins in a row. We are currently ranked 8th place, out of 16 teams in the NE league. Not so bad considering that none of us have ever played before.

But I have to now admit that our last win was a forfeit. The other team didn't show up. Not a single person. I guess they were just too scared of our prowess.

The Playoffs/Finals Tournament is this next Saturday. We play the 9th ranked team first and then more if we are lucky. I'd invite you all, but I'm sure no one will show up, considering the first game is likely to be at 8:00 (ouch).

Instead of playing them, our two captains picked teams (just like the humilation of grade school - though I have a patented system of looking unconcerned when not picked), and we played each other. I was on the Evil Ligers team, and we kicked butt. I had a LOT of fun playing first base and making some amazing catches (I'd been hiding my skills until the end of the season). Once, I almost took a digger in a large puddle of mud. And once I was running backwards, and I would have caught the ball had I not, at the last moment, tripped over something, and fallen backwards onto my back, the fall broken by the ball landing first and under my head. Ouch. But I have the most fun when I get to play "balls out." It engages the crowd.

Halloween party was fun. We didn't go as the planned duo of Sonny and Cher. It would have been wonderful, with a zombie Sonny and Cher doing a skit/song from their horrible comedy show. Audio was the concern, we just couldn't figure out how to spontaneously burst into our routine without it looking like a lot of effort. Oh well, perhaps next year. Instead I was a pirate, and a quite good one at that, having found a velvet jacket that make the outfit wonderful. Sadly, there were two other pirates there. My costume was the most elaborate however. HA. Because of a rush out of the house, there were no pictures taken until I was home and took them myself. Thus the drunken quality of the images. Steve was already in the shower, so I was only able to get a shot of his face and makeup. It wasn't a pretty costume, but scary and slightly demented, and definitely no one else had the same.

This morning was spent making adjustments to my chain downspouts. It has rained so hard here that the water was splashing all over the place and getting into the basement. I used a funnel made out of screen to direct the rain onto the chain (thanks Larry), and all seems to now be well. The ideal situation would be to have several chains out of the same hole, as one chain just can't handle that much rain.

Sadly that allowed me to discover a leak in the garage roof. I will be unable to repair that for a while though, as the 10 day forcast says more, much more rain.

A podcast you must have

Looking for Hi5 music, here's what Itunes came up with: A Klingon Word from the Word. Something about the Bible, but the words from the Bible are read in Klingon. A new form of ministry, for the Trekkies. I'm seriously amazed.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, I just found the fellow's blog.
"mu''a'vo' mu' - A Klingon Word from the Word
Thinking about the Scriptures, through the lens of the Klingon Language Version of the World English Bible. "

And here is the Klingon Language Version (KLV) of the Bible. Here's John 3:16: "vaD joH'a' vaj loved the qo', vetlh ghaH nobta' Daj wa' je neH puqloD, vetlh 'Iv believes Daq ghaH should ghobe' perish, 'ach ghaj eternal yIn."

Humanity amazes me.

And more, sorry, I can't stop. The Bible website allows one to read many versions of the Bible, the best part is that one can choose several and then compare them side by side. The Joseph Smith translation is in the Questionable section (and the Klingon isn't). Anyway, here's a comparison of Klingon, Esperanto, and Joseph Smith translation. That makes me giggle.

An observation

I cannot figure out what this group is doing with a fan base, but I guess that is the nature of pop music. Check out the Hi-5 Theme and tell me how many Hi!'s you see. Looks like six to me.

Anyway, for more fun, meet the members of Hi-5. My favorite is Kellie Lynn, here's her bio, there's so much to enjoy:


Star Sign: Taurus
Fave Food: Ice
Fave Film: Close Encounters
Fave Actor: Harrison Ford
Fave Animal: My poodle Cassy

Describe Yourself In 3 Words: (as described by Hi-5) Beautiful, understanding & sensitive
Best Feature: My new car!
Worst Feature: Lack of confidence in myself
Person You Would Most Like To Meet: Madonna
Hobbies/Interests: Extra Terrestrial life outside of this planet, horse riding, sports, four-wheel driving and writing music.

First Job: Acting in a commercial
A Talent You Wish You Had: To be more assertive
The Best Advice Given To You: To sit, listen and learn
What Can You Never Leave Home Without: My hat!
If you were a cartoon character, which one would you be? Scooby Doo
If you were told you had a minute to live, what would you do? Call my family and sit and meditate.

Make your own stamps

Flickr and Zazzlestamps have united to allow you to make stamps of the photos you have stored on Flickr. Only $16.99 for a sheet of 20 - 37cent stamps.

Even more Flickr loveliness

QOOP flickr Photo Printer. With this service, one can make coffee table books or presents for the grandparents.

Yum

After a hard day's work, there is not much better than eggs benedict (with turkey) on fresh baked bread. YMMMM. Here's the secret: take Saran wrap, line a small bowl or glass with it, crack the egg into it, and then tie the top. That way, no crazy messy eggs or need for vinegar. I tried it tonight and it worked wonderfully.

Still painting V's house.

Officially bored with my own company. Luckily, tomorrow night is book club for girls. Yeay! The book, Thanks for Smoking. I'll review it after book club. I'm currently reading Wicked. I know, it's old news by now, but I'm not one to jump on a bandwagon just because it's driving past my house. It started slow, but seems to be getting better (1/3 through).

And trying to find time to get my costume together. Otherwise, I haven't even had time to surf the net.

sweetness

I have a halloween costume. Oh my, it will be wonderful. Steve and I are going as a duo, and we're rehearsing! Invite me to your party and perhaps we'll show up and be the entertainment. You'll be awfully sad if you don't.

I'm finally done painting V's bedroom. It took a lot more prep work than I thought and a double coat on the trim, which sucks. But it looks fantastic, so all is well.

This weekend was a wash. We did nothing, didn't want to. Just a weekend in. This weekend will be much better.

I've really done nothing else. Planning for Halloween and painting have been the only thing other than kickball that I have been doing. I'll try and get some pics of the costumes for you. If anyone could tell me how to post videos on the blog, I'll make a movie of it.

More on the game

I just went for a walk and was able to process the game a bit more. We really did well as a team. We caught, we kicked, we hustled. One of my favorite moments was watching, mouth agape, as the ball bounced after Jennifer, threatening to make her out and she was able to make it to the base, safe. Then the whole lot came home. Brilliant. I made it to third once, hit a double, and came home once. A sucessful game for the stats.

We made some mistakes, but our heads were in the correct place(except for Ted who will never likely listen to my base coaching :). We played smartly, soundly and were a team. It was a pleasure to play and win 13-7 to a middle ranked team. I love the Ligers.

The Ligers

We won another of our kickball games. We are now 2-5-2. We did a really good job this time, though because of a few misinterpretations of the rules, we got a little riled up. It's a fine line between having fun and not taking crap from the other team. The only time I don't have fun is when the call is unfair or completely random. Otherwise we rule! We even had a substitute pitcher that performed quite well. I think the only thing we really have to work on is trying to be more quiet. Everyone yells all the time, and with a quiet umpire, we often had no idea whether the play was fair or foul. Me included, I love to yell. Sadly, so does the rest of our team and the other teams too. Oh well, there's much room for improvement next season. One more game this season and the tournament. We're moving up in the ranks, so we'll be lucky enough to play a similar caliber team at the single elimination event. November 5th, mark your calendars.

San Francisco made out of jello

The City Look through them all, they use molds for the buildings, making the detail amazing, plus, there is a video at the end showing the effects of an earthquake on this city.

Where have I been? This is incredible.

GAME BOY MICRO. Talk about something else I don't need, but this is as small as my phone and STILL uses all the old cartridges. Brilliant.

Sup?

Check out my footer, five random photos, different everytime you load the page. Now, that's innovative. Pardon my revisions, I'm going through another change, and the blog follows.

Well, another day at work, and I've realized that S and I have completely reversed roles. I now work about 6 hours a day. He works 9 hours, then to class, then sometimes to band practice. It's an interesting mix-up.

So, the City has decided to fix a hole that appeared about 1.5 years ago, only 1.5 feet in diameter, but dangerously located in the middle of the street. It reappeared twice after the first fix (which took two weeks), and finally, they've decided to get serious about it. Now, they've cut a 8 x 8 foot hole. I'm curious to see what this amounts to, hopefully a fix, likely a retirement fund for the city worker assigned to it. The exciting part is that I now live on a street that is closed to thru traffic.

More sanding and scraping and cleaning and prepping today. I had planned on priming today, but decided the best plan would be to get all the dirty work done first. So, now just to paint. I do hate oil paint, gives me a headache every time.

Last night I worked later than I intended, missing kickball practice. S was also working late so I met him downtown for sushi at Yuki's, the best sushi I've had since Nanaimo. I was incredibly impressed with the sushi on Vancouver Island. Which reminded me somehow that I was the only one that swam in the ocean while on vacation.

Boring, I know, but I kinda like my life at the moment. Now I'm off to walk the dog and get my exercise.

Just checkin to see if anyone is paying attention

Hello,

Tired and dirty. Today I did some scraping and sanding at V's new house. Whew, that's some work. I cannot wait to start actually painting, which will look smashing by the way.

Thus, I have little to say today, I forgot the main thrust of my errand running to Home Depot, then was locked in traffic with a bunch of Couvers.

Now I'm off to sushi, Yeay.

Smurfs Get Bombed

Here's the good part of the commercial about the horrors of war. Smurfs Get Bombed

My Ligers

The Ligers kickball team, pre-victory. Notice how we all were so optimistic about the game even though we were 0-5-2.


Notice here how we WON, that's right beyotches! Now we're 1-5-2. We have two more games to play, which will determine our placing in the playoff tournament. If we win both, perhaps we won't have to go against the best of the best and might have a chance at playing more than one game that day. Come and cheer us on!
That will be our end-of-season score:

Adult Christianity TM | For Christ's Sake

Adult Christianity TM | For Christ's Sake It's blasphmeous, but tasty!

Kickball and the weekend

I forgot to mention, that we won our Kickball game on Sunday. We were playing the nicest team that we've yet to play (Twisted Kickers) and we WON (7-2)! We are now 1-5-2. That's pretty good considering this is the first season that any member of our team has played organized kickball. (We are only down 18 kicks, which is not so many, really).

My little baked potater hit a homerun, and I actually got on third base this time. I also whilst in the catcher position, caught a bumbling ball for a good out in the last inning. So we all did some good this game. We also all made some big mistakes, but little things that just need to be ironed out with experience.

I think it most important to just repeat every thing you want to be good at until you get it right. To that end, Steve and I have been kicking the ball at the park on weeknights. It not only gives us some exercise, I know much better how to bunt, and kick and control the ball. It's quite handy having a soccer boyfriend.

I skipped poker this weekend. Instead, Sara and I played Gauntlet (old skool) at Ground Kontrol, until we just ran out of quarters. Then we discovered that we can play Super Mario Bros. on an old skool Nintendo at the bar for free. So we drank and played and I discovered Sara is actually realllly good at the game, and showed me some new moves...slide, slide, slippedy-slide.

Other than that, I watched a documentary/art film on a fellow that builds rock cairns and such, but not in an annoying way. Normally I knock over un-important rock cairns because they disrupt my tranquility, but this guy had some skill. I even learned how to build a rock arch. Sweeet.

Also watched the Family Guy (Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story) movie, good, though I wouldn't purchase it, as it's not worth watching more than once.

And I finished Christopher Priest's "Prestige." I really enjoyed this book. It seemed headed toward a predictible ending, but really ended up different than I had imagined. I would like someone else to read this so I can discuss what the heck the ending was about. The book made me want to look at the last page for the entire second half of the book. Resisting is mandatory. It's a nice mystery surrounding an 1900 feud between two stage magicians. Clever and well-written, I'd actually keep this one to read again in the future.

Today I made beef stew in the crock pot and way more monster cookies that I should have. If you need a homemade cookie, let me know.

For you comics fans...you'll love this edition of webzen

Check it out: web zen. See Superman doing a Nestle Quik commerical, read the incredible Hulk's blog, ponder Spiderman's crayon reviews.

And if you are not into comics so much, look at their archives, I'm sure you'll find something you like. They take a theme and provide lovely links. One of my favorite is "your name zen" where you can find your smurf, pimp or evangelist name. Good stuff.

I apologize

This is the GoogleReader. It's pretty slick, though I do like the personalized search page quite a bit (that was what I thought was the reader - it kinda acts like one, but a bit more bulky). They both have their advantages, I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I would highly recommend looking at them all, and having a Gmail account is a must (let me know if you need one). Also, seems they just fixed the login process so that it is not continuously logging you out, which was making me angry. Now one log in works for mail, the personalized search page and the reader. Enjoy!

Also, check out http://www.misspelledauctions.comis a great way to get a good deal on ebay items that people list under poorly spelled titles. Just type in the correct title, and it will come up with misspelled entries.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

The movie. It'll be out in March, evidently. YES!

A new color

A bit of sunshine to brighten up these dreary sunless days. Let me know what you think. I was also going for ease of readability...

Umm, I drank way too much last night. That's right. One of my comrades fell last night, but I stayed in there to take the dog for not just one walk, but three. He evidently needed them, as he pooped each time, but I just really like to be mobile when I'm tipsy. That way I can seem to control events, events like taking out the yard refuse to the curb at 1:30 in the morning, and then taking a walk to go and watch the trains. Yep, it was a good night.

That's how a book club should be, drunken ribaldry continuing even after it is over. The book was a collection of short stories by Aaron Hamburger. They are all set in Prague, and most of them are gay- and or Jewish-themed. I didn't really like the book so much. It was interesting, but repetitive and seemed to contradict itself between some of the stories, trying to be clever, I think. I would give it a 6/10, for readability, clarity of presentation, and entertainment value, though lacking in overall luster.

Next book is titled "Thank you for Smoking" by Christopher Buckley. Looks interesting. Two weeks to read it. In the meantime, I'm gonna hit Christopher Priest's "The Prestige. " I'll let you know what I think.

For now, I'm gonna crawl back into bed and take a little nap. I feel awfully sorry for those bookclubbers that had to work today...My sympathies.

Music day

I forgot how dreary Portland Fall/Winters are. Don't get me wrong, they are a large step-up from those WI winters (which I never want to live in again), but the lack of sunshine really sucks the life out of one.

So, I'm trying to take more things off of my to-do list, which seems to grow everyday, no matter how many things I accomplish. Ah well, at least I currently have the time and physical resources to do them.

Today is take care of organizing some music, updating the ipod and fixing the shuffle for S to listen to Spanish with. I would like to say that Missy Elliot is amazing. Her new album, Cookbook, is just perfect, wonderful, fantastic. Thanks, a bunch!
I've also discovered that the Brian Jonestown Massacre's old music is all available for free download at the official website. If you haven't seen the rock documentary Dig!, you should, it will at least make you curious about BJM and the Dandy Warhols, their feud and the crazy-ass genius of Anton Newcombe.

To satisfy curiosity and to prepare for the movie viewing, I've read the first two Lemony Snicket books. They are quite entertaining, well-written for children and tell a good story. I don't think I need to read any of the rest of the series, they are really written for younger kids and the story doesn't capture my attention like it could, but I still very much would like to see the movie. I wish I had been able to read these when I was in elementary school, likely they would have made life a bit more bearable.

Off to research how to refinish a claw-foot bathtub. We would like to paint it before installing the new hardware. That's it to the left. It will be for our claw-foot tub, and won't have tile behind it. Instead, it will look so lovely, and feel so amazingly wonderful, that we are going to be thankful there is limited hot water in this house.

Also have to list some things on eBay that I no longer need and try and recoup some money from the GST spent in Canada. That and try and figure out how to successfully unzip and play .ogg files in itunes, so I can get them on my ipod.

So the rest of my day is decided. What I like best about my current life is that I have no timelines. I only have to worry about getting outdoor chores done in the daylight, and the rest I can do whenever. Sweeeeeeeeeet freedom.

gutter chains

were placed on the house today. Yeay. They work wonderfully and saved us millions of dollars. That's what I did today, that, and cleaned out the garage and made arrangements to get rid of some stuff.

Steve has a new position at work, which seems to be making him more responsible as far as getting to work on time and working later. With that and his Spanish class, our roles have very much reversed in this house. Now I have all the free time. That will soon change however, with November putting me back to the grind.

For now, I'm gonna walk the dog and watch a DVD of "Curb your enthuasism." More tomorrow...

"Nig, you ain't no G."

ummm, I'm only, like half-gay, but

Happy NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY to all ya'll queers out there.

A tutorial on RSS and Atom

Because I like sharing the cool things I figure out:

I like to look at several different websites everyday to see if they have been

updated. There is a much easier way to do this than clicking on each one. Here's how:

First, one must have a feed reader. Google now has one and it is amazingly easy to figure out. First, go to www.google.com. In the upper right hand corner, click on "Personalized home." Set up an account.

Then, click on the button in the upper left hand corner that says "add content." This will show you a stock list of news/entertainment/etc feeds that are interesting, click to add what you like.

Third, and this is the good part, click on "create a section." This will allow you to add any site that has a published rss or atom feed. Any blog on blogspot has an atom feed (if the owner has turned it on). If you look to the left of this post, under "My Shit" you'll see "my atom feed." To add my site to your Google homepage, simply right click on "my atom feed" to "copy the shortcut" and insert in the box on the Google "create a section" input box. There you have it, the section will be titled Drunken and will allow you to see the most recent posting, or will save you effort if I haven't yet posted.

Have fun, and holler if you have any questions.

P.S. If you have a blog...let me in on your site feed (look in settings, and turn it on "full").

Update: seems the Google/reader is still in the beta stage, and may not work so very fast just yet. However, the ease of having all things in one place, will make this a wonderful system as soon as the bugs are worked out.

As Carl would say "Jesus poker chips are frickin AWESOME!"

I like how they are selling them as an "ultra cool mini tract to hand out." And the best part is that I am certain the hostess of our poker games would actually love these. (She hates when we take the name of her Lord in vain.) My personal favorite (so clever!):

More gutters

So, gutters are repaired, cleaned, aligned and replaced. I only have one other thing to do and that is install two chain downspouts, one in the backyard (no, the Dr. Seuss one wasn't for real), and one on the side which will be experimental. I'm going to simply cut a hole in the gutter, enlarge it and place a chain to direct the water away from the house. That seems like a better option than replacing 50 feet of gutter that does not drain correctly.

Thanks to anon on the last posting - my kicking has greatly improved. We lost our kickball game, but again, could have done much worse. I believe the score was 3-7. We got shafted on a few of the calls, and their first base person didn't seem to understand staying out of the base line, but I'm getting over it. I got on base a couple of times. There is definite need for improvement, but I think I'm getting the hang of that big red ball. Playing an organized sport is an interesting mix of competitiveness and trying to remember that it is just for fun. When it is just our team, we seem to have both. Sadly I don't think some of the other teams can do that, thus making it very competitive for us as well, and a bit too stressful.

In other news, well, there's not much. Looks like I might put my car on the ice for the winter and we'll turn into a one-car family for a while. Save some money and incidently, the planet.

We had a fantastice crock-pot chicken with purple potatoes and gravy and green beans last night, then took the dog for a walk and MAXd downtown to buy some books (Snicket, to read before the movie is seen).

We also bought a snowshoeing in Oregon book, so that we don't get too chubby this winter. If anyone knows of any cheap deals on snowshoes, please advise.

Then we went to a couple of new places, one ended up being a gay bar and I didn't even know it, hahaha, the irony; and the other a "fusion latino" restaurant that has been open for one week. The chef (Jeff?) let us try some of his mom's habanero salsa. We just ate a carrot from the mix, but my tongue was seriously on fire. Ouch. I cannot recall the name of the place, but they do have window service and stay open late on Fri and Sat nights, so if you are downtown, keep your eyes open for the "fusion latino" on the sign (they have bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers with a chipotle-blue cheese dip that you will want to have more of).

That's all for now. I'm gonna read today, clean the house, then help a friend saw some things and/or get some kickball practice.

Sunday, sunday

I'm up sooooo late this morning. Not due to partying however, certainly not like Friday night (Bishops grand opening was fun, though some of our party suffered greater than others, ahhhh, good times). I'm just up late because I can.

Today my excitement will be taking the dog for a walk out at Kelly Point State Park, and playing kickball at 4:30 (I think?). I have cleats, and have been practicing my kicking. Watch out!

Boing Boing: Google launches a feedreader

Boing Boing: Google launches a feedreader

Here's my gutter project, finished. I replaced all the gutters on the extension.

Here's a detail shot of my gutter project. Notice the clean lines.

New pants

Sweet, everytime S throws pants away, I steal them outta the garbage and wear them for several more months. I need to have an income source, seriously.

Well, I've got little to say. Nothing has happened in the laast day. I am going to finish the gutters today if it kills me and post photos when I'm done. I was interrupted yesterday by rain of all things. Though initial results are that the pitch of the gutters is correct and they are draining well. Today, I may just figure out a way to capture the water for irrigation. That and, since I set up the X box yesterday, may just play a little of a new game we got (and get it outta my system before November when it will be time to start studying again for the bar).

Tonight is a grand opening of Bishops on Alberta, which I feel is my street, but driving down it has become as treacherous as Hawthorne, so I don't like to do it. However, I'm making an exception for tonight. You should join.

I just realized

That the father of Superman is Bo Duke!

Thursday

Last night was a blast. We played a scrimmage kickball game amongst ourselves that was really fun. We were able to play with much less pressure and I even kicked a home run, beyotches. But the best was a catch I made after taunting Swills, who kicked it to me and I had to jump and scramble to actually catch it. I pulled something in my ass, making that nerve rather painful today.

But nothing will keep me from finishing this darn gutter project. I've hit another bump in my road, but I think with a bit of tin snipping I'll be able to keep the water flowing out through the downspout.

After kickball last night, I went out downtown with a couple of friends, one of whom had just got her shipping out papers from her wife. Sad story, even sadder as she seems to be the one on the receiving end of what my situation was nearly two years ago. So, some insight and some sadness, but I was able to drink and get a ride home to my "fucking awesome" S.O.

And then up late this morning for some cleaning, laundry and work outside. Reading the survey results were quite funny (see yesterday), seems that not signing my name to someone's birthday card was a mere oversight of my significant other. Thanks to all participants. I would just like to say that I'll be making that mere oversight from now on, since it seems to not matter. I just wish I could take back the past times I assisted peace and happiness by signing names, to show everyone how much it does matter. Oh well, I'm gonna let it go now (even the blatant attempts to rankle my ire through the lame "I have testicles" excuse).

Btw, I've fixed the link on the bottom of the page, to now go to October, so that you can see the last few days if you've missed anything. Sorry it took me so long, I cannot figure out how to make it go to the latest and have to change it each month manually.

Back to work. If you are bored, check this out and tell me how it works.
Here's what BoingBoing said about it: "Last Call Poker is an alternate reality game built around the frame of a dodgy poker site. The site asks for your "date of death" when you register. After filling out a profile and playing poker for a few minutes, you start getting phone calls, emails and had strange images show up on you screen. There seems to be quite a bit of story hidden within the site including movies (with ex-child star Todd Bridges--better known as Willis from 'Diff'rent Strokes'), audio segments, and live poker games played at cemeteries around the country (using the tombstones as cards)."

Survey

The situation: You have NO idea when your significant other's mum's birthday is/was. You've been dating significantly long enough that you are co-habitating. Your significant other sends a last minute birthday present to his/her mother. He/she signs the card, but does not add your name.

Was this an incredibly thoughtless thing to do? Or a mere oversight?

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - sorry this post will make little sense, and don't worry it's not, strictly speaking, poetry.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force
by D Schoolly
album: (I like to substitute Sointula for shake-zula)

My name is...
Shake-Zula.
The mic-rula,
The old schoolah,
Ya wanna trip? I'll bring it to ya.
Frylock and I'm on top, Rock you like a cop
Meatwad you up next with your knock-knock.
Meatwad make the money, see.
Meatwad get the honeys, G.
Drivin in my car, livin' like a star.
Ice on my fingers and my toes and I'm a Taurus

Check it.
Check it, check it.

'Cuz we are the aqua teens,
make the homies say ho! and the girlies wanna scream
'Cuz we are the aqua teens,
make the homies say ho! and the girlies wanna scream

Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Number 1 in the Hood, G

Look out your window

Because Mt. St. Helens is pooping something white. Click on the pic for the most current.

What a rip off!

Gutter Love It! - Low cost gutter protection This is the same crap that you can get a million feet of at Home Depot for $30. Besides, I'm not putting it in regardless of how cheap I can get it. The best part is that they'll install it for $4.50 per foot. Installation is simply setting the thing into the gutter. I hope they can track back this link and rebut my contentions.

So, more gutters today. I think I've figured it all out and just have to get someone to hold the end for me while I install them. I'll get it all laid out and prepped and then have the boy be my helper tonight. Though I have Kickball practice, which may have to wait until I'm able to get the gutters up. Sorry kids. Unless someone wants to come over early to help.

So, out to get mucky again. Wish me luck.

Gutters suck

Little did I know that cleaning the gutters would lead me to learning a new skill. I have now taught myself to install gutters (with a little help from the internet). What a messy, and horrible job, but I will be able to install anyone's gutters in the future (for a fee, of course).

The blog will likely be mostly about my chores from now on (or at least for a while). Not paying rent, I can pay my other bills through November and will be ok. After that, I'm gonna need some income. In the meantime, I'm the slave of Steve. Admitedly, happily so. I do enjoy getting to all the things that need to be done around the house and I'm actually learning some new things. Damnation, I gots me some Mad Skills!

I have quite a few nicotine patches to give away...first answer wins (though Meg gets first dibs).

I'm dirty...feels good.

E-mail not working either....patience with me please...which reminds me, if anyone wants a g-mail account, please let me know. I have 100 to give away.

gutters

Well the rain stopped long enough yesterday to allow me to repair one side of the house worth of gutters and clean them out. However, this project is gonna take a bit of time as one side slants away from the drain spout and on another side, there is one section that has rusted through. So, today will be more on the gutters. I have to hit Home Depot first for some supplies and would like to take this opportunity to rant about neighborhood stores:

I know that it is difficult in this world to run a small business. However, that doesn't mean that you should just give up and run things like you always have. Carrying a shitty selection of poor quality hardware will not entice me to return to your store no matter how close I live to you or how horrible I believe meglo-mart. So, please, all I'm asking for is a non-plastic caulk gun, that doesn't cost $10. Thanks.

In other news: I've made split pea soup in the crock pot (with ham hock); and chocolate mousse. I'm being such a good little house wife.

I still have no idea where my cellphone is...haven't for several days. I'm thinking about getting a land line again. I think it would be much better for me and how I use a phone. Then we could completely cancel cable, and get DSL.

This blog looks more and more like a diary these days. But I guess if you don't like it, you don't have to read it.

Howdy

Today I begin on all the home improvement projects that I've been meaning to do for a while. Clean the gutters, repair various things, put plastic on the windows, etc. It feels good to be outside (when it is not raining) and getting things accomplished.

The weekend was good. Friday night was date night and we made pizza, went to a party and hung out with some good friends. We decided to walk home from their house, which ended up taking us an hour. It was fun though and I would definitely do it that way again.

Saturday night was poker night. I was able to stay in for a good period of time, but still lost. We played no-limit Texas hold-em, just like on TV, and I have to say I really don't enjoy losing my money. I think I would just rather stay away from gambling all together. It's hard to see your money being given to someone else when you have none.

Sunday we woke up and cleaned the house (whew!), then went to play kickball. This time I put no pressure on myself and had so much fun that I actually want to go again. We lost by only one run to a very well ranked team. We are quite good, and yes, we all need to learn how to kick. However, I've noticed that it doesn't matter how good you are at kicking, the results are completely random. The worst kicker can get home, or the best can strike out. Kickball is not like softball or baseball when there is required coordination. With kickball, just being able to make contact with the large and cumbersome, ball that is traveling at a rather high speed is an accomplishment. I think knowing that will make the game much more fun for all.

Back outside...the rain has stopped.

Friday

Well, not a whole hella lot to say today. I've done little other than try and clean some things. My main goal in life at the moment is to find some motivation, or some inspiration. I don't often feel like doing anything, and just getting me arse out of the house seems like a major accomplishment. And that I will do by taking the dog for a walk in the rain.

Yes, the rain has again begun in Portland. No more happy days here. Good for bar studying, bad for house painting. Also bad for pansy-assed kickball teams that won't practice in the rain. I guess we are Ligers, and I know that most cats hate getting wet.

Reality will set in very soon however, with bills to be paid no later than Monday, my dwindling bank account will slap me in the face with its reality and I'll find my motivation for sure.

Here is a very funny faux "Shining" trailer, the Jack Nicholson flick, made to look like a romantic comedy/drama...it made me laugh out loud. PJR, if you are listening, you'd most definitely enjoy. [via boingboing]

I'm a hacker

So I wanted to see the undergraduate job postings. There is a password required to access the database. So, I tried "student." That was incorrect, as a new web page told me, and they wanted to help me further by saying, "make sure you typed career." At first I speed-read "clear". But I tried "career" and it actually worked. Nice security system. Not that it even matters.

A note on Matthew Lesko

I used to think this guy was cracked, just promoting another scam, but this interview convinces me he's for real. Next time I have an extra $40, I'm buying that book.

Click on the pic for the interview

Rob Cordry is funny

Channel 102 - Viewing Gemberling - #2

The reason the internet was invented - homemade movies

Yacht Rock The tale of yacht rock, you musical buffs (most of you out there) will absolutely love this. And it was perhaps created by a relative of mine.

Also, check out Channel 102 (the cat news show made me laugh out loud). That's some good internet.

The new Japanese Ronald McDonald

Sorry, evidently the bikini was only on a TV commercial...I continue the search, but for now...

Not much today

First, for more offensive and hilarious videos: The B-Squad

Second, today will likely be mostly boring.

It didn't start that way, with my driving the boy to try and catch the MAX, me barefoot and in my pink bathrobe. We didn't catch it, because of some really odd bald-with-a-mullet-in-a-rusty-truck sorta fellow who was in no hurry (he kinda looked like Thug's pic).

And likely it will not end that way, because today is Sara Bird's BIRTHDAY! YEAY. And there is much celebrating of her birth to be done.

In the meantime, I have several hours to kill. Perhaps I should find a job. Anyone have a copy of last Sunday's classifieds? Nightsoil? I know, not where I should be looking for a job, but I really need the visceral feel of the crinkly and dirty paper to get in the mood.

So, now I'll clean something, I guess. I'm trying to be a good little homemaker so that I don't get kicked out of my rental agreement. I may, however have a painting gig to tide me over for a while, until I swallow what is left of my pride and start begging for proper employment.

I did realize on my drive to the Lloyd center that I do have it OK. I believe that we all have choices in what we do, and that shapes our fate. In effect we are in the current situation solely by our own hand. I made some shitty choices in the last few years, but I also made enough good ones to allow me some banked ablility to pull myself up again. There are others that are much farther gone, ie. the fellow that wanted to wash my windshield. So, sticktoitiveness. And it is never too late to prove what one is capable of. (I had a dream last night that I had Erin Brokovich autograph my diploma when I walked across the stage. HAHAHA).

Do not watch this at work

Watch it at home though, it's hilarious.Puberty Pals: the movie - a clip

The lord loveth me

It seems that lately, all things ugly get even more ugly in the early afternoon.

New: the rear neighbors, the ones with the barking dog...putting on a new roof.

I was gone for three weeks, and am so glad everyone waited until I got back to enable my sanity to be completely destroyed.

Check out this collection of Japanese vending machines. We need some of these here.

PhotoMann Travel Photgraphy - Images of Japanese Vending Machines

Clownish burger icon crosses over

Ronald McDonald is outta Japan: "In new advertising, he has been replaced by a woman sporting a bikini and high heels . . . "

A rocky start

To what will be a rocky week I'm sure.

First, the back neighbor's dog will not stop barking. The dog has never been walked, nor paid any attention except for the 30 seconds twice a day it takes to (I hope and assume) feed and water the dog. He is a 2 year old Rottweiler, horribly neglected and last night barked incessantly through the entire night. It was so bad that I called the police. They can't do anything. Animal control handles these matters. Sadly, animal control has a process where you have to talk to the neighbor and gather neighborhood signatures and a bunch of other bureaucratic crap. The law (HA!) states that a dog may bark for no more than 10 continuous minutes or 30 intermittent minutes (both honestly, a bit low). So we're gonna have to send them a letter, as they have a chain link fence in the their front yard that I will not cross, because though I've had my tetanus shot in the last ten years, I don't want cholera or something likewise. The only other option would be to call in my peeps at Multnomah County and try to talk to one of the officers that remember me handling their legal issues and see if they will help me out. That dog really needs to be taken away from them.

Second, at 8:00 this morning (promptly when quiet time ends - just like a campground), the neighbors (formerly unoffending, except for the crack party that went until 6:00 AM without an invite) decided to use a drill right next to my bedroom window to begin prep work for installing more insulation. I laid in bed a bit longer until going to the bathroom where I forgot that people might be on the neighbor's roof, and as I finished up bizness, I looked up to see two burly men looking into my window. Lovely.

That's all for now. On a better note, boy is back in town. Three weeks in close quarters was a bit much, but a weekend away was just enough to cure any ills. All is well again, and love is in the air. Today, I'll be on the internet for legitimate reasons. I gots to find me a gig. Any leads on a job for a enterprising law school graduate with personality, heart, and a penchant for anal attention to detail will be considered.

And props to for helping me out on the Flickr map process. I was too impatient to wait for a response to my plea for help, but he was there with exactly what I needed to complete the job. If I would just not be so stubborn, life would likely be a hella lot easier. Now I just want a cool button and an easy way for others to link to it. But not today.

I did it

Thanks to no one, I figured out how to make a map into an interactive exploration of my journey. I have the map divided into the three weeks, only because it is the first go. I'll be able to break it down into dates and locations later.



Oh and I spoke too soon about feeling well today. But at least I'm not pregnant!

Wowzers

So, today seems to be going better health wise, though it may still be too early to tell.

Last night the Megleg came over and listened to my problems and then told me some amazing news: Rehnquist is dead. I had no idea. I was in the woods for a good three weeks, but did listen to the news a few times, with no mention of his passing. Wow, that is gonna take some internet searching to sink in properly. She also brought over the newly shorn B-dog which made my puppa a hella lot happier, having been bored to death by my presence.



Have I mentioned lately how wonderful Flickr is? I love it. I just found a fellow that has a map on Flickr with links to open pictures for the city or locale. I sure wish I could figure out how to do that.

I also hung out with the kids last night, I didn't drink a hella lot, being ill and all, but had quite a bit of fun. It's nice to have such good people in my life. Now I just have to make sure I'm a good person in return.

So tomorrow is the big day. I have to figure out the path my life will take in the next months/years. The first concern is to find a money source, and since I don't think there is anyway I can take out another loan, that means I'll be finding a job to tide me over until I have to take the bar again in February. My creativity will however be tied up in the meantime figuring out the answer to the inevitable "So are you a lawyer now? and How'd the bar go?" Ah well, just a piece of humble pie. And am I hungry now.