Tiki & Beer (or vice versa)

Today, after work, I went to the grocery and felt compelled to buy even more beer (Maritime Pacific's Nightwatch Dark Ale and Full Sail's Wreck the Halls). Of course that meant finishing a beer or two when I arrived home, in order to have space for the new six-pack of ale, since the other was a single holiday-size bottle. If there was ever a time to test my new Tiki (from Hawaii) bottle opener, this was it, and by golly, it worked. To my slight dismay at my thoughtlessness, I did not use it on the best beer in the house, but it worked just fine on the 2 Below.

No Camus today (yet), though I did finish a fun series on chocolate where a blogger decides to explore the sources of an upscale Dallas Chocolatier who seems to prefer to be thought of as a chocolate maker instead. It seemed well researched, but I don't really see it as a story of anything other than a couple of people deciding to exploit this culture's desire to pay for exclusivity and the latest things. Did PT Barnum say "There's one born every minute"? If so, it still holds true, and quite humorously, many of them have money.

Journalism (and 'blogs?)

I don't take this blogging business seriously. I don't really see it as a hobby, and I think I am less inclined to document facts of my life online than I am in a journal. Since this is most definitely not a journal, nor a serious effort at much of anything, what is it? Why do I spend my time typing things here? Also, why are these questions important?

Last question first, as with any written effort, it is best to have an idea of why you are writing it. Is a journal a document of life? If not that, just a repository of ideas? Perhaps, a collection of quotes or poetry that one likes? Journals don't have a specified form, just like blogs don't, but you don't go to the bookstore and buy just any magazine, normally if you are buying a journal of that nature, it is focused, which is what makes it interesting, because something in its focus is of interest to you as a reader.

Like too many things, I don't have much to really through in here, because I don't believe my generation was taught to have hobbies. The esoteric hobby concepts like stamp collecting just didn't take off to a generation with a television around, especially when everyone was all excited about Atari or Dungeons & Dragons. Sports never struck me as a hobby, and still don't, though how past-times differ from hobbies is a difference I don't quite feel like parsing right now.

So what is this 'blog about? Still, I don't know, but I do recall that I mention interesting ideas I come across in my reading (a past-time, really, not a hobby, though I think rare book collecting qualifies as a hobby), and earlier today, prior to a phone conversation with Dave, I was reading Camus (Camus at Combat), and ran across an article on the nature of journalism in which he defines a journalist as a "historian of the moment." The article was one written shortly after the liberation of Paris when Camus was seemingly disgusted with the direction of the newly free press. The direction, "any news is fit to print provided it appears to be a scoop," seems to be one the press has yet to break, though bloggers tend to be more persistent regarding asides(side-stories) they see as important to the greater picture. Bloggers also seem more inclined to delve into the dark places mainstream avoids, since mainstream doesn't like to shit where they eat. Perhaps this last is the root of the problem. It seems that as long as moneyed interests control the press, and what are stock-holders but moneyed interests, the press is shackled by concerns for profit. This concern does likely effect decisions, though most media would deny it.

Hmmm... the way this has rambled really makes me appreciate a bit of good form, and also calls to mind something I recall reading which was said by Gunter Grass regarding computer composition. Basically it was to the effect that he could always tell when something had been composed on a computer because the style wasn't as tight and edited as something written first in longhand, which leads me to think if I am going to keep this up, then I should try to do a better job on the composition side.

Quickly, or perhaps not, I do think I write here for a purpose, but I don't really know if the purpose is to edify anyone or provide a living example of what not to do with a blog. I sometimes enjoy throwing things out, not knowing if they ever land anywhere, or if they will just be discovered accidentally 5 yrs out, when I have ceased adding to this. Maybe, like Atari, it is because of the newness and hipness of it that I am doing something here, but more likely it is because I have time to do something, and would rather do something here than with a television. Should I list more possibilities?

The perfect soundtrack for a blog-based movie?

At the encouragement and after the example of Dave, here is the musical list, though in advance I will tell you holiday tunes were skipped, since normally they don't receive play in shuffle.

Opening Credits--Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair (Nina Simone)... if nothing else, it starts things on an interesting note.

Waking Up--The Charleston (Spike Jones)... You better wake up it this is playing.

First Day at School--Forty Days and Forty Nights (Muddy Waters)... most likely a reference to how long it seemed.

Falling in Love--Peach Plum Pear (Joanna Newsome)... this is labeled "Harpsichord Pop" in the genre field. Not a common pop instrument, for something that hasn't been all that common for me.

Fight Song--The American Patrol (The Glenn Miller Orchestra)... I wasn't ever in the armed forces.

Breaking Up--The Moon and I (Ron Goodwin)... Nothing like an exotica instrumental for those difficult times of life.

I am actually doing this as I type, Prom being next truly concerns me considering how things have been going.

Prom--Hairshirt (R.E.M.)... how appropriate, just what wearing that prom tuxedo felt like.

Life--Explode and Make Up (Sugar)... stress relief

Breakdown--Jungle Safari (Nocabouts)... genre coded as rock, but more like exotica, with pseudo tribal moans, or some such thing, mostly instrumental, like any good breakdown should be.

Driving--Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush)... perhaps a hint that I should slow down my driving?

Flashback--Belfast (Sasha vs The Light Remix) (Obital)... a song that begins with ominous words on "the Mobius, a twist in the fabric of space where time become a loop" and so it goes.

Getting Back Together--Pressure Face (Sunbrain)... a song from a sampler that I don't play often, and now it is gone

Getting Back Together (Now that Pressure Face is no longer on my Ipod)... Chick on my Tip (Sublime), which of course being gay makes for an interesting choice.

Wedding--Meftuh' (Rachid Taha)... it is in arabic. Am I going to convert prior to have a gay islamic wedding?

Birth of a Child--A Whisper (Coldplay)... always thought they came in with a wail.

Final Battle--Cheops and Nefertiti (Francesco De Gemini)... somehow appropriate if you listen to it, but it is film music after all.

Funeral Song--Bama Lama Bama Loo (Elvis Costello)... so it will be a rockin' funeral.

End Credits--Ace of Spades (Link Wray)... just continuing our previous theme, though with an instrumental.

I found it odd that somehow, with almost the complete ouvre of David Bowie in my library, somehow he was missed--maybe I will try this again. By the way, I only skipped one Christmas tune, and it show up after I had to delete that track by Sunbrain.

Last Day Off

Christmas came and went with little exciting to report. On the eve, I made myself a dinner, then surfed the web for a bit. Yesterday, I made coffee, enjoyed the traditional Christmas breakfast of home-made cookies (supplied by Mom), and then opened the handful of gifts I had here, calling family (or receiving calls) along the way. I visited with Kip, Heidi, & Dominick, as well as going over to my old room-mates' place for dinner, and a gift exchange. Sometime after Kevin's birthday (in November) they decided to go off to Thailand, and it sounds as if a good time was had by all.

Tomorrow I return to work for the remaining three days of the year, and right now, I can't say that I am excited about it. I haven't done much the last several days, and now, I am doing laundry while I compose this. Perhaps because it is so close to the end of the year, and it seems another has gone by in which I didn't accomplish nearly so much as I desired, that I am feeling a bit of the end of the year depression. This is not to say that I feel the need to produce a list of resolutions, but rather I need to again focus on where I want to be and what it is that I would like to be doing. Since winning the lottery isn't likely to be in my cards, I should figure out some way to combine those things I enjoy with those things that are required.

Winter Brews

While I would hardly consider myself expert on winter and holiday beer, I do know that I enjoy it. It is unfortunate that I can't get Tuborg's Christmas Ale here, as I really liked it. So far this year, I have had Jolly Roger Christmas Ale, Full Sail Wassail, 2 Below Ale, Delirium Noel, and Jubilale. Likely there has been another, but these come to mind. My favorites would be the Full Sail Wassail and the Delirium Noel, while my least favorite would be the 2 Below. I don't exactly know what they mean by "tawny-roasted malts," but it tastes like they over-roasted them.

Miscellany of the day

At Thanksgiving I visited San Francisco for the first time, and in wandering down Market Street toward the Bay, found this festive scene. It was in the 50's or 60's that day, so the cooling machinery was working overtime.

Anymore I can never walk by a Macy's without a total lack of desire to go inside. It may be because it swallowed so many locally hallowed names (The Bon Marche, Marshall Field's, etc.), but it is also because the stores that now carry its name are no longer special, or at least I don't perceive them as such. Frango mints are a distinctly Marshall Fieldsian treat, but are now a Macy's exclusive, but why would I want to buy them as a treat for someone when they can head down to the local former Lazarus (now Macy's) and get their own. In my mind, there is no great reason to go Christmas shopping at the local department store (now that it isn't "local"), and I did enjoy shopping at Field's at Christmas in Chicago, and still have my well-worn, in need of replacement front pocket wallet/money clip purchased at Field's in Chicago, but I haven't had the same desire to go to Macy's here in Seattle. I can understand their branding logic, as with everything Macy's, you only have one set of in-store brands as well. Personally, I hope Macy's loses their battle to put a sign up on the State Street store, for no other reason than in the digital mock-ups it looks tacky and out of place. As it is, Macy's plasters their name everywhere on/in their premises, to such a degree that I am constantly being reminded that this isn't really "Macy's" but someplace that has been relabeled. I am sure the management there has heard it all before, and quite honestly I also know I am not a customer they desire, being someone who would shop at Field's for the holidays or for special occasions. I rather miss having a "special" place to go where I know there is a good chance I can find something interesting, but now I am out roaming a multitude of small shops, not always near malls, but also guaranteed to provide me with something interesting, though I might have to spend a bit more time looking.

4 more work days

Not too long ago, Dave (whose blog is linked in the sidebar), sent me these lovely postcards. I think my favorite is the chicks as breasts, but pouty with the puppies is also just beyond comment.

The boss is on vacation, so now several of the other managers at work have decided to tell me how to do my job--actually, not only me, but most of those in my department. I have a feeling none of them would like it if John did the same when they were gone, but it is what it is. To me, it is an ideal time to check the job listings at idealist.org.

It has been a bit blust'ry here, with schools closed today due to widespread power outages. I understand that it is threatening snow, but I don't really know if it is falling out in the 'burbs, which have a higher elevation.

Now I understand a bit why I stopped adding to this 'blog as there seemed to be a lack of ideas and activities to report, since I have been living such a lack-luster sort of life out here. My weekend has a few potential Christmas parties, but that is it.

Winter stuff

I keep trying to remember to scan a winter picture for my desktop at work. I am sure I could look into flickr for pictures tagged winter & Romania and find something interesting, but I rather like my picture of Sibiu, probably taken from a room in the Continental Hotel, during a Peace Corps conference of some sort, no doubt.

Christmastime is here, and I still haven't watched the Peanuts' special, though I did watch the Chuck Jones' Grinch last night, and thought about tonight doing something along the lines of Rankin/Bass' "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," though it may be "Frosty" instead. Such are the evils of Christmastime necessity.

I don't know if I will actually keep this up any better than I have in the last few weeks, but I scanned a picture today, so I decided to share it. :)

A doozie from de Tocque

"All who seek to destroy liberty in a democratic nation should know that war offers them the surest and shortest route to success." (p 766, Vol 2, pt III, Chapter 22)

and a bit before the above tidbit is this:

"War does not always deliver democratic peoples into the hands of military government, but it cannot fail to bring about a vast increase in the prerogatives of civilian government. It almost inevitably leads to centralization in the latter of control over men and things."

The book is good, and it keeps providing nuggets of interest. I don't know what is next on the book list for reading while on the elliptical machine at the gym, but I doubt there will be anything I bring back feel the need to transcribe bits and pieces for people, in the odd hope maybe someone else will read this book.

Meeting at Midnight

Nothing like a little Charlie Chan while away the evening. No extremely convoluted conclusions for the solution, but a fun mystery anyway. I am at a loss as to just how much to say about the movie, since I don't care to ruin it for the casual reader/movie goer.

Work was unexceptional today, and I managed to get to the gym and do a bit of cardio and read a bit of Tocqueville while doing so. The fun quote from our favorite frenchie: "In America, any vice likely to pollute the purity of morals and destroy the bond of matrimony is treated with a severity unknown anywhere else in the world." (p. 732, Vol. Two, Part III, Chapter 18)

Even with the married people in the minority, the same seems to still be pertinent today. In truth, it is hard to say which lags behind, law or culture. While married couples are now a minority when it comes to people living together, the law still favors them. In other instances, the opposite is true, where a change in law forced an acceptance (which will hopefully lead to change) in culture, even if it was far from open-armed.

I seem to have moved onto blathering somewhat aimlessly, so I will discontinue typing, and, though it is too late for another movie, I am sure something can be found to entertain me.

Guys + Balls

Sunday, raining as can be expected this time of year, I spent a bit of time in the afternoon watching "Guys + Balls" which is a German film, from within the past few years. It was a fun movie, predictable in the ways you expect in "underdog makes good" sorts of movies. Of a similar type, "Kinky Boots," which I saw this past spring, I think may have been better, but watching the guys play football (soccer) just as much fun as watching the yokels build fuck-me boots. Worth a sunny Sunday afternoon? Not really, but this is Seattle in the fall, and those are really rare, and no movie seems to justify that, but either of these are worth watching for an evening of light fun.

Interesting NY Times Op-Ed piece

The other day in the NY Times there was an interesting article concerning an piece of Roman history. It seems they had the equivalent of a major terrorist attack, in pirates attacking and burning Ostia, decimating the consular war fleet, and kidnapping two senators. The outcome of the attack was that power was granted to a single person, Pompey the Great, without checks and balances. This became the historical precedent which allowed it to happen again with Caesar, and most everyone knows what happened after that.

TSA Eminent Domain Proposal

After reading this article I had this idea, whether it is brilliant or not I am sure is a matter of opinion. Here goes, before leaving for the airport, aside from your baggy of goodies, prepare an addressed envelope (no stamp) which can hold the personal care products, and a form for TSA to sign itemizing the contents of the baggy, and that if they do not arrive at the address indicated within the normal span of time for the USPS to deliver mail, then you, the victim, can deduct said costs from your taxes. The TSA is a government agency, and the government, if one takes the laws of eminent domain as an example, is required to fairly compensate citizens for property "taken" for the public good. What better compensation than reducing the amount of taxes a citizen is required to pay by the amount the which the confiscated goods cost(pro-rated for amount used of course), if the government chooses not to return them to you. The government should assume the cost of postage because the government is denying you the right to deliver the goods to the assigned address yourself, with funds already spent.

Of course, this entire proposal is likely not legal (but I would guess there is no law specifically prohibiting it either), but it would make an interesting act of civil disobedience.

Life gets in the way of updates

All here in the Emerald City, though it is suffering deforestation, this weekend has been grand, at least in this neck of the woods (Ballard/Fremont). The Fremont Oktoberfest happened, and I had beer. I also saw an interesting use for the spare chainsaw laying about the garage. It seems some enterprising people decided to combine power tools and pumpkin carving. Great fun, though I can say I just barely missed getting pumpkin seeded yesterday, and none made it to my beer either, though it landed within six inches or so.

More happened, but I am not in a typing mood. Since I loathed the idea of yet another day with no updates, I took action.

The pictures really are...

visual cues that I have come by and updated. (I was going to say added something witty and enlightening, but thought better of it.)

Today though, no picture even with the update. It isn't that I don't have a picture, but that I am just going to exercise the option of not including one, though I do like their effect visually. Oddly, today I came home and napped, napped from 4:30-8:00 pm, which perhaps is more than a nap, but by sleeping so long, it gave me the perfect opportunity to skip dinner, and go straight to dessert--which was just a bit of ice cream, vanilla, and the thought of adding some dark chocolate M&M's crossed my mind, but then continued crossing the room as it came time for me to sit down and eat, deciding to stay peripheral until I finished eating, then calling attention to itself by showing its purple package on the countertop.

Hence, between work, sleep, and dessert, I haven't had time for any of the deep reflective thinking that has become my trademark here. Saying that, it is time for bed.

Borges & Bush

From Borges' "This Craft of Verse":

Here I remember another book that struck me: I remember Melville's Moby Dick. I am not sure if I believe in Captain Ahab, I am not sure if I believe in his feud with the white whale; I can hardly tell the characters apart. Yet I believe in the story--that is, I believe in it as in a kind of parable (though I don't exactly know what it is a parable of--perhaps a parable of the struggle against evil, of the wrong way of fighting evil). (page 109)

I read Moby Dick quite a few years ago, but I see Borges' point, and I happen to agree with it. Too bad our own Captain Ahab probably doesn't, though he is managing the destruction of everything around him. The quote is not political, but since I don't tend to read literary criticism, it stuck me as pertinent to a current situation, whether it is a common view among readers or not, I do not know.

It is always pleasurable to have someone give you another way of viewing something, to take and do with as you like. Generally when asked, I advise people to read the book, but unless they have a great interest in the working of nineteenth century whaling ships to skim the technical chapters, though those too, I am sure, appeal to some with an interest in cetaceans or the various manners of coiling rope.

A decent shopping day

Yesterday, while I woke up late because I spent far too much time drinking an excellent Wend Fest Seasonal from Pacific Maritime (sort of like an Oktoberfest), I did manage to get out and run at least one of my planned errands to a Half-Price Books, where I managed to get a single volume Blake, "The Complete Illuminated Books" and while it isn't so splendid as the reprint volumes focused on the individual works, it does a marvelous job of bringing back the visual to Blake that is missed when only the words are present. Definitely with him, the visual is as important as the written. Also, I found some Ted Hughes and a volume of Camus in hardcover which I didn't have, so I considered it a successful shopping venture. The fact that I found some flannel sheets at a different store, meaning I will be comfy and toasty in bed this winter, added to the days joys.

This morning has been coffee and reading and doing a bit here and there around the apartment, though I haven't been near as diligent about it as I should have been, at least some stuff is getting done. I tried calling a few people to catch up, but no one was home, or answering their phone, which is much the same thing.

Surely Bush hasn't forgotten...

The Alien and Sedition Act. I know this because it is the legislative equivalent of what he is doing now, only now we have secret courts, too. Secret courts so secret they needed to be kept from those who put Bush into office in the first place. The only reason Bush, Cheney, et al. Keep complaining about how civil liberties are endangering us is because they are afraid someone will use some civil liberties and send them all to jail, then Bush can go down as the first president in the twenty-first century to be impeached, and perhaps the first president ever to go to jail, but I doubt anyone would let it get that far.

I ask, why isn't the clamor louder, but then remember most Americans seem to have happily traded their freedoms for a bit of false security. When the Homeland Security Secretary states that the resources are not available to defend every possible target against every possible threat, then all Homeland Security does is satisfy the need people have of something being done, whether or not this is true is irrelevant--that is why I say Americans have traded their freedoms for false security.

Why do we keep moving in this direction? Not everyone agrees it is the way to go, but the majority still think secret spying is o.k! How soon before the U.S. government begins behaving like the Chinese government, blocking undesirable information on the web, hoping the populace doesn't notice the omission, or arresting 'bloggers who disagree and say so for the world to see?

Today I read that the military (Secretary of the Air Force, or whatever the big wig of the USAF is called) suggested using non-lethal weapons on U.S. citizens to ensure that there were no bugs that would cause them to be lethal. He is a bit late in his suggestion, but I think he was hoping to move beyond the Tazer.

Some day I will come up with exciting titles...

but today is not that day.

I am tired right now, having actually made it to the gym for a bit of cardio, though I haven't done weights for a few weeks, and that is something I need to get back into as well, but it doesn't seem to be happening now.

Today's highlight at work had to be a Boeing presentation on the 747 LCF . This plane is big. It is designed to hold fuselage sections of the new 787 Dreamliner. Considering how quickly Boeing was able to do the mod, it is very impressive, and it sounds as if some of their suppliers are a bit surprised that it is finished as well. Of course with all of Airbus' blather about their new double decker production delay, everyone surely thought the same for Boeing.

Monday...

Today was Monday, as it says in the headline. Monday seems just that, never quite like a Tuesday, as that is tomorrow, and only on special occasions does my work week start on a Tuesday. Monday also really isn't quite like Sunday, though I am sure if I looked hard enough I could locate a house of worship having Christian services, but most of these prefer Sunday. Sun = God for too long to escape that tradition now.

I worked today, and I posted some letters (again), but I will forego including the picture of that action again. Yesterday's walking about left me a bit red as everyone at work asked if I got some sun over the weekend. I didn't really score with a god, but I did manage to enjoy the sunny Sunday.

Yesterday & Today

Yesterday, after writing a quick letter to Dave, I mailed it. This photo is me mailing it. Yesterday I also bought an "Action Sampler" camera which I spent some time using yesterday, but spent a lot of time using today. I went through three rolls of film in less than two days with no monuments in sight, which for me is a pretty incredible use of resources. I can go get the rest later today, so I can see how those pictures turned out. Overall it was a pretty cool day. Absolutely gorgeous outside, and me with nothing to do (but laundry and housework with I assiduously ignored) except enjoy it.

Just the morning...

I wonder if I use ellipses too often? Not that it really matters, since their use seems dictated as much by personal style as by hard and fast rules.

The week has been that, and it is over now. Yesterday I received my 90 day review, which went well, though it was accompanied with no wage increase--not really a big deal, but it would have been nice. Actually, yesterday after work consisted of eating leftover pizza from the night before and I climbed into bed for a nap at 6:15 and at 9 p.m. woke up, putzed about the house a bit, decided I wasn't doing anything, then climbed back into bed. Not a terribly inspirational day, but the sleep was nice.

Since I don't have a digital camera, I can't put a picture up (and I am not going searching the web for it), but I found some "fruity cocktail" themed candles on clearance at Fred Meyer, so I picked up a couple, because I liked the lime sticking out of the top.

This morning I am back at my Jiffy mix mischief making Raspberry Muffins with added blueberries. It will be a tasty breakfast.

The day after Tuesday

There is something fun about going through old photos, though I am no doubt going about things the hard way since I decided to cut up my long negatives from my years in Europe and put them in little plastic sheets so I have the luxury of being able to scan the negatives at will into the computer. I am finding some fun images, and I am sure in time I will post more of them, but I don't know yet if I will register a flickr account.

The week has been much like any other week, excepting that work started on Tuesday. It is nice that it hasn't been a nightmare, and I have to hope there are no problems tomorrow, since I am meeting someone after work for a beer (and I may even eat if the menu looks appetizing) at the Jolly Roger Pub (and Maritime Pacific Brewery).

Dave just called and rejected all of my suggestions for a poem to present in class tomorrow. I don't know, they went from Dorothy Parker to William Blake--I held off on Catullus after I was informed that translations weren't looked upon favorably for this class.

The conversation did provoke my memory of a fabulous quote from today's reading in Tocqueville: "A nation that asks nothing of government but the maintenance of order is already a slave in the depths of its heart; it is a slave of its well-being, ready for the man who will put it in chains."

I can't say the quote is very uplifting, and it isn't quite concise enough to be a sound bite. A clarion call?

The night before Tuesday...

Work resumes tomorrow, but because I really felt the need to escape the apartment, I went to the Lock & Keel on Ballard Avenue. I had only been there once before to eat and watch the world cup, so it was a new thing to do in the evening. For the short time I was there, it seemed a remarkable hive of activity for a Monday. Initially, one of the two pool tables was taken, and by the end both were. The person sitting next to me, who was a Canadian Native American and is in one of the final scenes of the movie "Geronimo," did the above drawing based on a recommendation from her friend. (One of the two was named Debbie, but as names were flying fast and furious, I won't claim knowledge as to who the name belonged to.) I still don't know how or if I relate to Wooly Mammoths, but that is what was drawn for me. It seemed almost like a psychological thing, except that everyone had already drank far too much.

Labor Day...

In many minds, Summer is over and it is time to begin getting serious again. I don't recall having the time be very light with moving, a new job, and all that seemed to be going on. The weekend has been delightfully uneventful, though I did get some stuff mailed today to my niece and nephew in North Carolina. Yesterday, I did get up early and actually had a pleasant Ikea experience since I arrived before the crowds. I now have a bit more desk space as I bought a television/media stand for my printer. (It is also holding a few shelves of shoes, making it even more useful.)

Aside from the post office, today's only other outdoor activity has been a bit of furniture browsing and a quick trip to Safeway. After intending to for weeks, I finally managed to remember to get some tissues to blow my nose on so that I can stop using toilet paper which disintegrates upon use when blown into. Inside today I have been playing with my scanner and its negative scanning function. I have even managed to come up with a photo that looks better for the manipulation (though not the photo with this 'blog--maybe tomorrow). I used the printer to print photos for the first time today, and have to remember just how expensive ink is before I get carried away. It does give me some potential for the future, especially in the postcard line.

Sort of busy Saturday

I have managed to keep myself busy, though I still haven't made myself the gin and tonic that I keep thinking about...

...(makes g & t)...

With that taken care of perhaps I can get down to the serious business of blog writing here, though withy my great deal of busy-ness I don't think I accomplished much in the way of business. I may be going back to Ikea tomorrow for a Kelim rug which I wasn't terribly sure about today, but which I think will look nice covering the oh so off white carpet in the living room. There is something about modern apartments that just screams "boring" and they are like a challenge waiting for you to try and do something to improve them--this challenge is ten-fold if you happen to be a minimalist who hates off-white. The leases with all the caveats about holes in walls, and without something on which to mount wall decorations, there is no way to hang pictures/posters/art to enliven the room. My current landlord decided that textured walls are probably the best way to keep tenants from painting over the off-white, and I have to say, I wouldn't be real keen to expend the effort to cover the off-white then have to do it all over again with whatever color I chose. Of course, textured walls also rule out wallpaper, though that wasn't really on my radar anyway, but I am just throwing out its limitations. Aside from the rug, I don't recall any other "must haves" from Ikea, and perhaps while messing about the house this evening I will discover something else I need.

After not finding the table I wanted, which would have gone nicely with the chairs I bought from some other store this morning, I did go looking at all the normal suspects and if things work they way they are headed, then I will end up with a pedestal table for my chairs. Not really what I was looking for, but I think there is some possibility in the combination.

Friday leading into...

Well, the last three day weekend of the summer has arrived and I have absolutely nothing planned. I don't know that I will end up doing anything, but I rather like the fact I don't have to, as I have been looking forward to the extra day off for a bit.

I wonder if stamp collecting or matchbook cover collecting will make a resurgence. Maybe I have missed it, or maybe it is a more recent thing, but ephemera does seem to be pushing its way back into life, but not your own personal ephemera, but rather ephemera from a different era, or else brand new, mass produced ephemera trying to pass as the odd thing here or there, until of course you notice that all of them have the same thing. I rather enjoyed scanning the ephemera of yesteryear to give me odd images for my blog, though I try not to comment about them. This wouldn't even be here if I hadn't been at Sonic Boom Records and found a sampler CD, which I did not buy, which included ephemera of sorts. Aside from ephemera of other's lives, I should probably begin including some of my own, and if I can find them all that means I can scan my stellar museum ticket collection, though I may have lost many of those over the years.

License Bureau

Today I finally went to the license bureau (or Department of Licensing, as it is known here) to update the address on my driver's license. Last night while renewing the tags on my woefully forlorn Neon, I decided I should probably update the address on my license, since legally I only have ten days to do so after moving. I tried doing it online, and was told today it was possible, but I couldn't locate the correct links last night, so I sped off over to the Department after work to do the deed. After taking my number and waiting somewhere more than five minutes, but likely less than ten, I go to the counter and the clerk is fairly friendly, and asks if I want the cheap or expensive process for the address change. Turns out I opted for the cheaper method, as I don't exactly see why the state needs another ten bucks of my money. The clerk updated the computer, then told me all I needed to do was write the new address on the back. I have to say that I am most pleased by the cheaper method, as long as I remember to update the license itself. The cheaper method had no cost associated with it aside from my time and trouble to get there.

With that, I have pretty much explored the high point of my day, as work was nothing special, though Tammy will be gone for the next several days, so she has been rather busy. We had a new person start Monday, and I spent the first several days of the week recovering from the all day meeting Friday. I am glad tomorrow is Friday, and I am glad the weekend is three days.

Obligatory?

I like to try and through in updates regularly, but that is easier said than done, unless I really learn the art of making the everyday excruciatingly interesting. Today involved a meeting, and then much of the day at work playing catch-up from Friday, when, out of 11 hours, I spent under 2 at my desk. So today I spent staring at the computer checking on things, which really doesn't make much fodder for interesting things to write about. Upon arriving home, I decided that the remaining black bean and cheese taquito's from Trader Joe's would be a decent dinner, so I followed the prep instructions on them, using the oven method for preparation. I read a bit in a couple of books, as well as few web pages.

For now, that is all I am writing, and with luck maybe tomorrow will be a bit more productive for things to write about, but I no longer hold my breath for such excitement.

Der Rosenkavalier and the weekend

I managed to confirm that my postcards with the unusual provenance arrived at their destination, though my sister managed to toss hers into a basket with the mail which then was placed out of sight since there was a first-time visitor to her home, and heaven forbid anything as horrible as the mail might be in plain sight.

Saturday I went to the Seattle Opera's production of Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" and enjoyed the evening immensely, from the Thai food beforehand until the end. Before going, I read a synopsis of the first act, and during the first intermission was pretty sure how the rest of the opera would play out excepting the details. The details are what make so many things fun and interesting, especially comedies, as they get to the forgone conclusion by some hopeless literary Rube Goldberg type devices. I haven't really been to enough opera's to feel comfortable commenting on the performances, but one of my colleagues felt the singer in the title role lost some of her manly portrayal near the end. I do feel that her performance was stronger in other parts of the opera, but I don't think she was overly feminine in the end.

Gym and books

I am sure some would say that reading Tocqueville, or any "heavy" literature, while doing cardio at the gym is something sacrilegious. To this, I say not really, because that is the time I have to read it, and that is the time when I have fairly undivided attention. Luckily for me, the cardio machines are not in a great position to check out the eye candy at the gym. While I am sure there are things I am missing on, I also believe I manage to pick up on some of the important points as well, and try and pass some of those quotes on.

"The more equal conditions become, the less strong men are individually, the more readily they allow themselves to go along with the crowd, and the harder they find it to adhere by themselves to an opinion the crowd has abandoned." (Volume 2, Part II, Chapter 6) And here we have the genius of the Republican Party in that they have convinced everyone that since they are the "majority" party, then all of their opinions are correct. Just a thought thrown out for consideration.

Time for dinner, for which I have to thank those people out at Trader Joe's, who I am sure are communists or some such thing.

Tocqueville (again)

I realize that after a bit my continual blather regarding this author will get tiresome, but since Kurt Vonnegut expressed such high regard for him (and low regard for those who hadn't read him), I figure it is only fair to read what Tocqueville has to say. Today I was quite pleasantly surprised by a few chapters regarding his observations on American Democracy and Art. One easy to relate observation was the move away from the universal into the individual--rather than the great themes of the ancients, he thought American theater, when it finally truly developed, would instead focus more on situations of the individual, as well as be more intent on entertaining rather than "moving."

In part because it has been a long day, and also because I don't feel like finding the perfect quote, his chapter "On Some Sources of Poetry in Democratic Nations" is something I would suggest reading. The few that follow which deal with theater and dramatic works are also worthwhile.

I still keep wondering when they will revoke my gym membership because I am reading something other than "People" magazine.

Work today wasn't that bad. I guess some time in the next couple of weeks we should be receiving our reviews, and from the sound of it, John had to do a bit of reworking at the behest of the boss, and John said he had done some serious consideration in writing them in the first place. Time will tell just what it says.

One more Tocque

"Democratic literatures are always crawling with authors who see literature as nothing more than an industry, and for every great writer there are thousands of retailers of ideas." (Volume 2, part 1, Chapter 14)

Tocqueville's predictions

I know, the image really has nothing to do with what I am writing about, but it is one I found over the weekend, and I thought it was fun--besides, how else do you remove a salt stain?

At some point in the last year, I started reading Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," and while I was enjoying it, things got in the way, and I stopped near the beginning of Volume 2, though I am reading the Library of America version, so that is more an indicator for earlier editions than a physical break in the book. Aside from all this, I decided to take it with me as something to read at the gym while doing cardio, since there really isn't any point to just going nowhere for 30 minutes while making all the effort to do so. This book lays flat, which is one of the advantages it held when I chose my reading material.

"Aristocratic nations are by nature inclined to restrict the limits of human perfectibility unduly, whereas democratic nations sometimes stretch those limits more than they should." (Vol. 2, pt. 1, Chapter 8) Sounds almost like "bleeding edge" technology to me.

"When a small number of men are concerned with the same things at the same time and form a group whose membership does not change, it is easy for them to agree on certain primary rules, which each of them must then take for his guide. If the subject that concerns these men is literature, strict laws will soon be applied to works of the mind, and no deviation from these laws will be tolerated." (Vol. 2, pt. 1, Chapter 13) Does this in any way explain why most of the innovative literature of the 20th century originated in Europe? I don't know, but he is so full of nuggets like these that it makes reading him a joy, even if I don't have the patience to memorize it all.

No real exciting stuff going on today, other than resuming the Tocqueville.

For fear of forgetting...

(another attempt for a picture with no luck)

I really had no fear of forgetting to try and attach pictures, but I did have a fear of forgetting to finish the Wallace Stevens poem my friend Dave asked me to read, "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction." While I read the first part of this three part poem several weeks ago (feel free to scroll through the archives to find the mention if you feel the desire), I never wrote my impressions of part two, nor did I finish part three. Now I can say I need to read the whole thing again, though I am more than a bit confident the answer to what this poem is about lies in Aristotle, rather than navel gazing. If it is supposed to be "Poem as Manifesto" then I don't believe it worked, at least for those with an average level of erudition. For Aristotle, and I studied this particular bit of knowledge more than 15 years ago and haven't had call for it until now, I seem to remember that he believed the Epic poem one of the highest, if not the highest, form of art. Stevens in the final stanzas begins calling on soldiers, which ties him ever so nicely back to Homer' Illiad, which ties back to Phoebus. I don't know if I will reread this any time soon. I read it for Dave, and here I am giving him the feedback he asked for, perhaps not as precise as he would like, but feedback nevertheless, but I have books to read, that will otherwise just sit on my shelves collecting dust.

another week, no pics?

I was reading in a few other blogs about Blogger having issues with pics. It seems that it is a random, hard to determine how widespread, but still a problem for me. I even found some really cool stuff, and maybe I need to do something drastic like join Flickr to post those images, but I sort of enjoy the random image here and there on my blog, as a break from the words.

Today I went to the Fremont Sunday Market, which unlike the Ballard Sunday Market, doesn't have much in the way of fruits and vegetables for sale, but a bunch of other arts/crafts/almost flea market type stuff. I found some fun pictures, which I thought I would dole out a bit at a time over the course of a week or two, but I guess that won't be happening unless Blogger decides to stop its technological hiccups that are fouling up my artistic flow. I also scored a used copy of the Library of America edition of Walt Whitman's "Poetry and Prose." Since my old copy of "Leaves of Grass" was sent to Half-Price ages ago because of the yellowing paperback made no sense to send into storage, it is nice to get a new one, and at $10, probably not much more than a new paperback would cost.

Saturday I managed to get to the gym, which is something I haven't managed today, but then I have been out walking a bunch today, so it isn't that I sat around on my butt all day doing nothing. I did go out with Jason last night. Today is his birthday, so we went out for dinner, and then another friend of his showed up and we went to a couple of bars. Generally a pleasant evening, except when I realized that someone thought it would be a good idea to make a dance remix of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler," using Kenny's vocal tracks. Nothing quite like a bar full of people trying to pretend they don't know the words while mouthing along to them. I guess I should count myself lucky that it didn't break out into full sing-along mode--it was a gay bar after all.

Gilgamesh, part 2

I finished Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh was fun. Perhaps I have read just a few too many heroic poems, but everything seemed to flow pretty much the way it was supposed to, and it wasn't nearly as long as Homer. This particular version does imply a very intimate relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, but there are only a few lines that really imply they were sleeping with each other.

Other than that, today has been a fairly normal sort of day, with work, the gym, and dinner, with nothing terribly extraordinary about any of them.

Gilgamesh

Yesterday, I started reading the introduction to the recent "version" of Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell. Today, I finally finished the introduction to the recent "version" of Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell. Later tonight, though most likely tomorrow, I should finish reading the text of the recent "version" of Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell. All these repetitions honestly have no bearing on my opinion of this version, and perhaps don't relate in any way, but it was fun adding them along. I wrapped up the first couple of books this evening, and only just met Gilgamesh after Enkidu decided that certain privileges of the king just weren't copacetic. There is considerably more explicit sex in this one compared to Homer or some of the Latins, and Mr. Mitchell does a nice job keeping the tempo and interest up, at least he has so far. I really will get back to old Wallace, but I bought this book back in May at Powell's while on a trip to Portland and I am feeling this urge to buy more books, but first I have to read some of what is on the shelves. I will not read a huge number before making more purchases, but I need to read at least five books before I will allow myself to buy three more. Sounds stupid, but if I didn't try to reign in the urge, I wouldn't have space to walk.

Sunday Market

Sunday again, meaning time to go off to market. Found some more "golden" bell peppers, as well as some "Hungarian" hot peppers (green not red). The vendor I purchased them from was warning me on their spiciness, but I told her I had eaten them before, in Romania, and like to use them in tuna salad. Actually, I just need to grab some tuna and onions and I think I have all the ingredients for a decent tuna salad. Other than that, I bought a small bag of mixed new potatoes, mixed as in red, yellow, & blue. I haven't decided what I will do with them, but a few things have crossed my mind, one even involves the Hungarian hot peppers.

This is ridiculous

If I can ever the picture to upload, I will have some proof of the potentially gluttonous nature of some Burger King customers. Recently they sent out coupons for their new sandwich, "The Stacker," which is lots of beef, lots of cheese, and bacon thrown in for good measure. Amongst the "buy one, get one free" coupons, there was one for the "BK Quad Stacker" which is more than a pound (pre-cooked) of beef on each. The coupon doesn't mention if you can get extra buns so you can share this carnivore's delight with a handful of your closest friends and not feel that anyone will leave hungry.

(On 8/21/06, I uploaded the photo of stacker coupons. I know it is exciting, so I hope everyone who wants to see it gets the chance.)

W's comments

I heard somewhere today that Bush didn't publicly approve of the partisan use of the war on terrorism. He said something about it being fine to have different views of how to fight the war, but neither party should underestimate the need to fight the war. One of my biggest beefs with the whole war on terrorism is that rather than fearing the terrorists, I am fearing the government of the country I was born and raised in. The less than gradual shift away from civil liberties and secretive switch to constant surveillance is more than a bit unnerving, especially as those doing the surveillance seem to get upset when someone suggests there be some oversight.

Finally...An update

OK...So I have been a bit negligent this week. Unfortunately, it is hardly the first time since starting this thing that negligence has occurred. This week was hardly a wild and woolly ride, but I managed to get to the gym Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday--I may even get there today after finishing this. Yesterday was strictly cardio, so my muscles won't hate me too much if I go and do a repeat of Wednesday's upper body, which I was still feeling Friday.

Last night I was trying to decide if I should go out. I opted for bed instead, shortly after my Morrowind character got killed off by some sort of frost thingy. Call me stupid for not using a fireball on him, but I didn't know the monster had a cold affinity until it was a bit late. I don't always pick up on the color coded glows.

While I finished reading the Communist Manifesto a week or two ago, this week I managed to finish the third of the fine fantasy "Obsidian Trilogy," "When Darkness Falls." A fun book, filled with characters that I can see being revisited sometime in the future, though I do wonder, since they decimated their enemy so thoroughly, what another visit would bring.

We actually had a bit of rain this past week. Since I am in Seattle, that really shouldn't come as a surprise, but July & August tend to be dry out here, so it was a nice bit of change. I am sure I will be saying the same thing about sunny days in the months to come.

Let's be a "Fictioneer"

What a fun conversation I just had with my best friend, now creative writing grad student. I think he is glad he is doing a poetry program of study rather than fiction; otherwise, he would be a "fictioneer" as opposed to a poet. He found fictioneer a funny word--whereas I think it is absolutely hysterical and needs to be used as often as possible for maximum effect, with the hope that eventually I will stop smirking when I say it. (Actually, I believe Dave has the same issue.)

I wish I could report fabulous happenings, but they don't simply exist right now in my life. It does seem about time to plan my house-warming, especially as I have made the ninety day mark at work, so theoretically they now have to pay me unemployment if they let me go for some reason or other, though I don't plan to test that theory. Truth is, I have never really figured out how unemployment worked, though several times I know I would have qualified for it.

Just a Sunday morning

Someday I will get around to writing something on the back of this postcard and mailing it to my sister, but until then, it was something fun for a Sunday morning. I don't know if it is true in this case, but if you add pictures, does it really make something automatically more interesting?

Not much going on, I went out and played some pool again last night and managed not to win a game, but since it was free, that was cool. The best time to practice is when you don't have to pay for all the games you lose, though at least one of them was lost because of the eight ball went prematurely into a pocket.

Looks like another nice day outside and there is a farmer's market over on Ballard Ave, so I should probably look through a cookbook and see if anything appeals to my inner Betty Crocker.

Blueberry Muffins (again)

It is Saturday morning, time for coffee and blueberry muffins. Since I don't keep all the ingredients around to make muffins from scratch, I just make use of Jiffy mix, which is even better when real blueberries are added to it. The other nice thing about it is that I don't end up with a dozen or so muffins, which I guess I could freeze, but that seems more than I need in the first place, especially as I don't have the ability to thaw them quickly (lacking a microwave, as I do).

Last night was fun, perhaps a bit too much beer, but I enjoyed myself, and so did Kip. I played pool poorly and while he claimed to be playing poorly, the only game I won was when he scratched with the 8 ball. It is fun to blame the pool cue, and I had more miscues than normal last night, but I am sure some much of the problem was my own lack of ability, though it has only been a handful of weeks since I last played.

SeaFair is this weekend, and I haven't decided if I am going to watch the hydroplanes go round and round.

another picture...

I can't say why, though I am sure there is some technical reason behind it, but my scanner didn't give me a black and white photo when I scanned a b&w negative, though it was all shades of one color originally. I kind of like the rather odd tones in this one, though it is no where near as gorgeous as some hand tinted work.

This evening I think I am heading out for a beer with a friend, but I called during dinner, and haven't heard from him since, though he said he would call later. Such is life.

Work this week wasn't too bad, and my--just received a phone call, and have to get going. Friends do call and remember that they need to meet you for a beer.

Photos for Wonderment (or Bewilderment)

Sometimes as you go through things, you discover something that makes you go, "What was I thinking?" Anyway, I found this picture of me goofing around with the statues near the old Purdue Arts Buildings. The temporary structures were already elderly in these pictures, and they have since been put to rest, I believe.

This weekend I went down to Portland to visit my brother and his family who happened to be there visiting some of his wife's family, and bought a new scanner/printer on the way home. Of course, I had to have one that could do negatives, and this scan is actually from the negative. New toys, pointless fun, and something to do after (or instead of) the gym. I am sure more photos will be discovered in the future that only a mother could love.

Dare I say it...

Actually, today was yet another warm and toasty day, with the temperature in my office reaching 86, I think--it may have been 87 by days end. I discovered that it is far too difficult to stay awake at work at such temperatures, but, alas, I don't really have much choice.

I had new tires put on my car tonight. I am planning a trip to Portland because my brother will be there with his family, so it is a good time to go, but I needed some basic stuff on the car as well. Next will probably be the rear brakes. I was told the struts might also need to be replaced, but that new tires may delay that repair for a bit.

Dinner tonight was two slices of leftover artichoke pizza (with a white sauce base, rather than red), and a tomato, bean, and fried basil salad. The latter I was trying for the first time, and I think I need to work on it a bit more. It was tasty, but I don't think I cooked the basil long enough. I still have some, which means I will find out if it tastes better for having sat longer.

Dave, my best friend who has provided photo fodder, asked me to read "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction" by Wallace Stevens. My impressions after reading the first section, "It must be abstract" are that in the poem supreme fiction equals poetry, but not poetry divinely inspired, as "Phoebus is dead, ephebe." There is also an indication that poetry should celebrate the abstract, rather than the concrete. I have only read the first section, so I am my impressions are likely to change. If I am lucky, I will manage to avoid reading any criticism online, which might very well affect my perceptions.

Hot Sunday.

My best bud was kind enough to give me a disk of photos from our vacation together back in '04. This particularly disturbing mannequin seemed all the rage in a certain Sarajevo Boutique, as they had at least three of them, though I don't recall if all of them were missing limbs. I was trying to make the perceived expression a little more bizarre, but I couldn't manipulate the image enough to make it odder than in the original.

Today was actually another warm day where a late lunch/early dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant didn't seem a bad idea, so I had a beer and a chipotle chicken calzone at Olympia II. The food was tasty.

I don't have much to write today. It has been warm. I have gone to the gym, did a bit of puttering around the house, read a bit more of "The Communist Manifesto," and bought some (more) blueberries. If I am not careful, I will become much like Violet Beauregarde, though I won't have to wait until they work out the kinks with dessert.

Another Hot Day....

Today is supposed to be in the 90's again. A bit unusual for Seattle, but nothing impossible. Last night I went to the Mariners game and watched a rather painful 4-5 innings before the Mariners were able to score something and make the final score look like a real game rather than what was more like a home run derby for the Red Sox.

I don't know what is on the schedule today. Probably just hanging out a bit and going to the gym.

One great discovery I have made this week, after owning my pc since November '05, I finally decided to try and connect my cam and scanner, and to my dismay, neither are supported by their manufacturers for XP. Just a few more dollars I need to spend that I hadn't planned on spending just yet, but that is life, and it just makes my move that much more expensive--at least I have a few pictures stored digitally to manipulate when bored.

The Internationale

After watching Chico Marx play the "2nd Movement of the Beer Barrel Polka" I noticed in the related videos a music video for "The Internationale" A quick warning if you click though, it seems "The Internationale" "may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube's user community." I guess the flag is for people easily offended by anthems? Perhaps it is just to advise you to react intelligently upon hearing the song, rather than going bonzo anti-red ballistic on the poster. Don't know, don't particularly care, but it does seem that such a notice is perhaps over-blowing the threat posed by such a song.

Saturday's (Non) Events

Last Sunday I was out at the farmer's market on Ballard Avenue and bought a bunch of mixed berries. Nothing quite like fresh blue, black, and raspberries. So, after freezing a bunch and giving some to my neighbor, I used some yesterday to improve a Jiffy Muffin Mix. Yesterday, half the muffins were gone, and I need to report the disappearance of the other half this morning. After making muffins, I went to the gym, and did a leg workout and cardio--so much fun there. Then, thinking to use my new grill thing, I made a quesadilla with bacon, eggs, cheese and salsa. Quite the mess, but rather tasty. When I unpacked my grill I discovered it had no cleaning device with it, so I had to call the store and ask if I needed to bring the whole thing back to trade in, or did they have one of the cleaning things handy. At the time, all they would tell me is that I didn't need to bring the whole thing back, and they would check to see if there was one in the other box. Turns out there was(either in the other box, or laying around somewhere, I didn't ask), so later in the afternoon I managed to go and get it. Anyway, after eating my quesadilla, I decided it was far too nice a day to hang about in the house so I walked over to Fremont, the Center of the Universe, to check on my friend Lenin and look about some of the stores there. I did suffer a minor disappointment during the afternoon when I couldn't get a fun pair of shoes, but that is life sometimes. The reason for not getting the shoes is that one was just barely too tight and the other felt too big, and they were both the same size according to the shoes' markings (I couldn't locate them online to create a link). Never before had the difference between left and right been so apparent. After returning home, I had the message to go fetch my cleaning thing for the grill, as well as a message, apologizing for missing my call yesterday, but asking if I wanted to go over for dinner, from Brad & Steve. Steve is a good cook, so I went over for dinner. The two of them are great company, so it was a good food/good conversation sort of thing. After dinner, I had extant plans to meet someone at a bar I had never been to. Of course I gave myself far too little time to get there and find it, so I was late, but it was a nice sort of dive bar and I played some pool, not losing too spectacularly, which was suprising since I hadn't played in a while. After a few beers there, I came home and went to bed. Perhaps not the most exciting day, but it was full, and it was pleasant. Today I am off to Mitch's for a birthday/croquet party for Mitch. The invitation didn't specify croquet, but considering that seems to be the primary purpose of the lawn, I have a hunch it will be on the days events.

Sea Planes

In Chicago virtually everyone lives in a flight path. Ten miles from the airport and I could see the planes heading in for landing most nights, directly above my apartment. Here in my new place in Seattle, I am not in the flight path, but rather have a view of the flight path, and I have to say, Sea-Planes seem to be louder than jets, though I do know the things are closer to me as well. It was kind of cool initially, but with most kind of cool things, the novelty has worn off.

My weekend aside from that observation has been uneventful, though I have managed to get to the gym I joined Friday three times, which for me is a good record, and a percentage I will be surprised if I manage to maintain.

damned Blogger...pop-ups...and the internet in general

Actually, I had written a rather cool little post, but tried to do a spell check, then ran into a pop up blocker, and when I decided to allow pop-ups, it reloaded the page, swallowing my earlier text.

Now this is a short tiny rant for those who so abused the concept of pop-up window that blockers were required in order to maintain the semblence of control of your computer.

What I had written was that I was reading "American Skin" by Don DeGrazia, enjoying it, and wondering why I never have as much fun as characters in books. Is it because I edit the fun from my life before it happens by the decisions I make? Who knows?

Then there was some stuff about Hero Worship, though not quite--more relating to what sort of people I thought were really cool in school.

That is about it, but morning comes quickly for me when I am at work by 6 a.m. So much so, that even if I drove instead of walking, I wouldn't get that many more minutes of sleep.

Gorgeous Sunday

I skipped the parade, but the day was far too nice to spend around the house unpacking boxes or rearranging the contents of said boxes, combining some of the half emptied ones so I can break down one of the two. Earlier I was out, sort of looking for a sofa, but not really with much heart, so I walked up to Golden Gardens Park, which is a nice walk, and a nice park. I decided to take off my shirt for a bit, but as I now live in Seattle, I have too little of anything resembling a tan for me to leave it off for more than 30-40 minutes. On the way home, I stopped into the Old Town Ale House and had a pint of Dick's Cream Stout, which is a fine and dandy sort of stout, though perhaps a bit heavy for the day's temperature.

I wish I would have had a camera for a picture, but someone had set up the hydraulics on their white Town Car to life the driver's side front wheel several feet off the ground. I was at Market & 24th when I saw the car making a left off 24th, and I have to say, I thought it was pretty cool, though another spectator commented that it was a stupid thing to do. I can't imagine life without the occassional stupid things that are necessary to bring small joys to people. The car gave me a smile, and that was enough for me to think it a good thing.

First Saturday

It was my first full week in the new place, and if I had a camera I could post pictures of the boxes in the living room, full of books, for which I lack shelving. I am trying to refrain from the bricks and boards model of shelving, and perhaps things will stay boxed until I can find appropriate things to put them on. I also have to set up my stereo still, having spent the last week relying on my cd collection which has been copied into my computer, and onto my ipod, and a portable cd player.

Actually, I had almost had a crisis earlier this week when I discovered the power adapter for the computer speakers had been left at my previous address. I still haven't managed to go get it, but I have managed to find a replacement adapter amongst all the stuff, perhaps from a previous set of computer speakers.

The weather was gorgeous today and I managed to spend much of the day outside helping the Peace Corps man their table at Seattle Pride. It was nice to be outside, though unfortunately I didn't see anyone I knew.

Nice day, today was.

I don't know how many hours I spend doing it, but I finally managed to get all my cds (except classical and opera, which don't do random very well) copied onto my hard drive. I don't know the exact number, but somewhere just shy of 11, ooo songs, for non-repeatable play time around 28 days. I have no idea when every song will end up with a time played stamp, nor how many will make it past one.

Other than that, today was Mother's Day, and while I was a bit neglectful in getting flowers out, I did manage to talk with Mom on the phone, which does count for something, as she lives a half continent away, and if I had sent flowers, she wouldn't have been home to receive them, as they left Thursday for a visit to my sister.

First Week Completed

I finished my first week at my new job. So far, it looks very promising-- co-workers are cool, and the boss is understanding of the learning curve, so I haven't just been dumped in and expected to sink or swim. With their computer system, that is a very good thing, since it is taking me some time to make heads or tails of it.

I have also begun the "oh, so fun" apartment hunt. Today I am going to looking at something charming and cozy, and if it is both of those, I will be pleased. Since I don't have a bunch of furniture right now, it isn't as if I need something palatial.

New job on the horizon?

I finally had some good news on the job front in the way of an offer. A real offer, not from a temp service, not for a temp job--it is sort of cool to feel wanted. Anyway, I have a drug test Monday, though I don't see how that will pose any obstacles, unless it turns out I can't get out of work early.

Today was gorgeous, and I spent most of the day outside.

Depending on my daily mood, maybe I will spend the week trying to write something interesting, as it seems my desires at the beginning of April didn't really manage to carry through very long, though I am at least still updating.

Friday update

It is Friday afternoon, and I am fighting to stay awake. With a bit more than an hour to do, there is little that I feel like doing here, rather I would like to just head home. Realistically, I don't think that is much of an option. I don't know what the weather has been like today, so I don't know if going home means mowing the lawn or not.

The week has been uneventful for me, so which is one reason there is very little in the way of daily updates. Somehow I need to make my daily work sound exciting enough for people to enjoy reading about. Perhaps with a bit of practice that will happen.

During lunch today, while reading "The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman" I came across a very fun chapter describing how Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" is like having sex. It was odd reading that at lunch in the cafeteria, one of those passages where you wonder what people would think if they decided to read over your shoulder.

Also today, there was a "Peeps Show." My original idea didn't pan out, since I forgot all about it last night, but after lunch today, I decided to make "Peep cubes." Peep cubes were made by some creative cutting, folding, and taping of Post-It notes into the form of a six cube ice tray, then stuffing peeps into five of the spaces. While it may not have been the most creative idea in the world, I think it made wonderful use of materials at hand.

Today has been a day of too many sweets and a lunch that was deep fried (fish, shrimp and tator tots). With luck, I will eat something healthy for dinner, to balance with my healthy pre-donut breakfast, which was Muesli with Yogurt. [Dinner ended up being Chili, which was a better choice than it could have been.]

another (less than manic) Monday

Nothing quite like the nightmare return of Monday, and the headache inducing monotony of a pointless project. In reality, it seems now that the project we are on is less important than working as grunts for the Sr. Buyers. Perhaps I wouldn't mind the additional work if I enjoyed anything about being here, but as it is, I am only ticked off at what appears to be an extension of my sentence. I overheard someone on their cell phone as they walked in today comment they were in the dungeon and would talk with them later--and that wasn't a temp talking.

I really need to focus on something pleasant about this place, something that will make me feel as if I am accomplishing something. I have tried to find such a thing, but so far the only "good" thing is a regular paycheck, which is less of a good thing and more of a cultural expectation. Somehow we have become trained to give up our lives for a paycheck, to forgo so many things we would prefer to do for a paycheck. I guess in truth all I need to do is learn to live on less, then I could work less, but that is task of a different nature. There is a reason the phrase "wage slave" was created, and it really does describe many people in the world.

New (Used) Car

Well, after years of borrowing cars off others and taking advantage of a deal my father set up when I was attending university, I have finally purchased my own vehicle, a '98 Dodge Neon.

I haven't named her yet, but I am sure that something will prompt itself as I get to know her better.

Cat Fight

An interesting reinterpretation:


http://youtube.com/watch?v=OvLt1olovKM

I tried to embed the player, but couldn't figure it out after the error message commenting: "Tag is broken"

Reverse Auctioneering

Currently, I am doing temp work. Temp work provides some odd insights, and creates more than its fair share of questions.

My current place of work has decided the next big cost savings will be in reverse auctions. For those unfamiliar with the concept, imagine an auction, now a starting price of say $50. As a participant, you are unable to bid more than the starting price, and the winner is theoretically the bidder who has offered the lowest price. That is all well and good, and this is something that is normally done with commodities, rather than custom built parts.


Now then, here is how the same process is being worked at my current place of work. After identifying the products that can be reverse auctioned, basically everything, the company then asks its vendors for quotes. After receiving the quotes, which I assume to be competitive, they choose the lowest as the starting point of their auction. Then, the vendors who have quoted are notified that an auction is going to be held, and they need to register for it. After everything is set up, then on the day of the auction, a buyer from my place of work logs into the auction site and determines that the vendors are present, and if they aren't, calls are made to get everyone on board. Of course, during the auction, calls are made to the participants verifying there aren't any technical problems, especially if bidding seems slow. When the auction is over, my place of work now has a new, lower price than the one on its lowest bid. Though there is one more caveat, the lowest bid isn't guaranteed the contract.

What happened recently is that the auction process moved forward on some custom parts which had been bid out prior to the auction. During the auction, the company whose bid was the most competitive, Bob's Pins and Needles, also had the misfortune of being the company whose bid was used as a base for the reverse auction price. Bob's opened bidding at the base auction price, and during the course of the thirty minute auction, there was only one other active participant, each company bid once. Now, as it turns out Bob's Pins and Needles was the prefered vendor and will probably receive the contract, even though its bid wasn't the lowest. The difference is that now management at my place of work doesn't believe Bob's wants to play ball, and Bob's Pins and Needles has the distinct feeling that someone believes Bob's isn't providing competitive pricing.

This could only be called successful if damaging relationships is the goal of these auctions. My beliefs fall into the more old-fashioned line of thought that companies which work together are more likely to succeed than companies which are antagonistic partners, and what I see is the creation of distrust among partners.