Random Access

Today wasn’t bad. Not bad at all. It had a fairly standard start, standard middle, and it’s ending with DS9 and spaghetti. Who could ask for more?! And, as an added bonus, I tinkered around with one of my new old-Macs; they are what I had to get from the train station yestermorn. I haven’t used a Mac in…. hmm… the last time that I can really remember using one was in ’82 at the summer camp I went to.

• It was a computer camp in Connecticut.

::: watches as the Geek-o-Meter redlines :::

• Of course, it was also at this camp that I had the opportunity to learn trapeze work; the camp had a 28 foot tall flying trapeze.

::: watches as the Geek-o-Meter drops down a few notches :::

If you ever get the chance to do trapeze work, DO IT! Short of skydiving – or becoming an astronaut – it’s probably the closest feeling to flight that you’ll ever get.

Playing with the Mac was fun, but I don’t have much software for it, so I think that I will have to go on a quest to remedy that in the near future.

Anyway, on to tonight’s digression…

John and I started talking about movies while things were a little slow. We got onto the James Bond series and I asked him who, from favorite to least favorite, his favorite Bond actors were. His answers:

• Sean Connery
• Pierce Brosnan
• “The other guys.”

Gotta admit: I wasn’t expecting Answer #3 in quite those terms. We both got a good laugh out of it. He asked me who my favorites were:

• Sean Connery – In the words of Carly Simon, “Nobody Does It Better.”
• Pierce Brosnan – A fine successor to the 007 mantle.
• Roger Moore – Call his Bond “hokey,” if you will, his was the Bond that I grew up watching and, while he may have been a little campy, he was a good Bond for my money.
• Timothy Dalton – Only saw him in “License to Kill,” and I think that he did a good job, but he doesn’t make the top cut.
• George Lazenby – The only actor to make only ONE Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Any comments or criticisms of these lists are welcome… as long as you agree with my “Who’s the Best Bond” order. If you don’t agree, you could be forced to sit through hours of A View to a Kill, the movie not the song/video.

We also talked about what would certain movies be like if the stories were set in today’s world and they did not use their given mythologies. For example:

• Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope would tell the story of Luke, a high school sophomore, who wants nothing more than to get off the family farm and spend time with his friends. He becomes friends with the high school rebel (sorry, it’s the only word that I could think of that really works there), a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with the cool car and who doesn’t take shit from anyone. After a series of high school teenage antics, Luke’s deadbeat dad – who left the family before Luke was born – comes back to town to ask Luke to come to work for him. In a company that is opposed to everything that Luke was taught to believe.
• Superman: The Movie and Superman II would become the story of a young orphan, abandoned on the doorstep of a couple who had no children of their own. They raise the boy, whom they name “Clark,” to be a fine, upstanding youth and teach him what it means to be a decent person. Clark grows up and learns that he is the sole heir of a wealthy businessman, but finds that in living the “Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous,” he misses “something” in his life, so he creates a nebbish alter-ego… and meets the girl of his dreams, Lois. Lois wants nothing to do with nerdy-Clark, but thinks that rich-Clark is ALLLLLL THAT. When Clark finally decides to let Lois in on his secret, he discovers a loophole in his birth-parents’ will that says that he must give up his wealth in order to be with Lois… which he does. Of course, after that, three former “business associates” of Clark’s birth-father make headline news with a new invention that will “change the way that people live!” But, unknown to the general populace, this invention poses a great threat to the world at large. Clark has to make a decision: To live in quiet peace with Lois – at the cost of his conscience – or to give up his chance at happiness with Lois to reclaim his fortune and fight back against the three unscrupulous business tycoons.

Looking at these, I think that I either have WAY too much free time on my hands or that I am in the wrong line of work. Or both. Or neither. Maybe I’m just a few fries short of a combo meal. Nah…. that can’t be it. If anyone can think of any other changes to popular movies, I’d be interested to see what you come up with.

I think that this is where I’ll call it a night. Need to get some rest… I may actually go to the gym tomorning!!! Pick yourself up from the floor. Yes, I did say “may actually go to the gym.” I know… I know… it’s been a while, but I think that getting back into a regular exercise regimen will be good.

Until next time.

Peace.

Today (Monday) was a good day. It started WAY too early, though… My cell phone rang at 8:30.

This is a pretty good sign that whomever was calling did not know about Rule #2, which clearly states: Do not call me before 10:00 am… unless it’s an emergency. I don’t think that it’s an unreasonable request. And it works very well with Rule #1 – Do not wake me up before 10:00 am, again, unless it’s an emergency OR if I have to go to work early that day. This also is not unreasonable, in my opinion.

Turns out that it was the local Amtrak station – two boxes were there waiting for me. My father sent me a couple of things that we didn’t have room to bring on the last home excursion. I [heart] my Dad. I drove to the inlaws’ to borrow Sandi’s truck… and to get Brian – Jess’ stepbrother – to help get Boxes A and B from Station C into Truck D up Stairs E and into Apartment F. We went the station, got the boxes, got them here. No problems. Then I took Brian back, tinkered around with the inlaws’ PC, and then came home to get ready for work.

Work was pretty blasé.

• We had mail. DCOs keyed the mail. We sent people home.
• The radios have now become compulsory. *sigh* I don’t think that I need to reiterate my opinions on that issue. If, however, you don’t know my position on it, check my late-June entries; they are covered pretty clearly there.
• I worked with John tonight; we had fun. Yes, I did say “fun” and “work” in the same sentence. I must be delusional. No, that’s not it. Well, it’s not 100% of it, anyway. John and I work well together. We just happen to have fun while doing it. (Don’t tell our bosses.)

I came home, had a little snack, and I am now watching DS9. I’ve seen this ep a few times, but watching it MST3K-style with friends on IRC adds a little something to it. Ohhhh, yeah…. MST3K + Star Trek + IRC. I think that I just shot my Geek Quotient to an all-new high… or would it be ‘low,’ in this case? *shrug* I’ll worry about that later. Besides, some people obsess about Ally McBeal, others about ER; we enjoy watching DS9. God bless this whole “freedom of choice” thing.

I will be calling it a night in fairly short order – I’m a little tired and I have a few things to do before I head to work tomorrow.

Peace.

I feel MUCH better today. I’m not sure what was the problem last night, but a good night’s sleep seems to have fixed it. After saying that I was going to make it an early night last night, I wound up lying in bed for at least two hours before finally falling asleep. This was not exactly “helped” by the cats’ decision to play tag around the time that I crawled into bed nor by Jess’ yelling after discovering an unwelcome Praying Mantis. Talk about ‘No rest for the wicked…’

Got up this morning and sat out by the pool. I didn’t swim; I was practicing my figure drawing. A short while later, Jess’ sister, mom, and aunt (the one that we helped move on Friday) came walking into the pool area. We talked for a bit. My phone rang; it was Adrian. He asked if I wanted to go to Park City to meet a potential new business contact. *sigh* Did I mention that ‘no rest for the wicked’ part already? So, a shower, shave, and short drive (not to mention the frozen mocha, too) later… we were in Park City. Quaint little place. Today, however, it was “quaint little place with LOTS of people.” I had COMPLETELY spaced off the fact that the Park City Arts Festival was this weekend. That aside, it was a good – and fairly productive – meeting. I even ran into a co-worker and friends of his there. I even managed to stop in the Thomas Kincade gallery to pick up something for Jess. Double-point Bonus Score

Came home, freshened up and then Jess and I went to meet Ang for dinner. Applebee’s. USUALLY, it’s a nice place…. tonight…. *GAH* But we survived. And on tonight’s menu:

• I was going to watch L&O at 10pm, but Jess is watching (and laughing hysterically at) Eddie Izzard on HBO. I can’t complain – he *is* pretty damned funny.
• I guess I’ll try to put the last couple of cards back into the PC so that I can have my DVD player back and ::: crosses fingers ::: hopefully get the network back online.
• …and the Sisko Show is on at midnight….. that means MStarTrek3K time! *Hoo-wah*

Guess that I will sign off for now. Have a good night/day/(fill-in-the-appropriate-time-of-day).

Peace.

Today was a good day:

• Slept in… unintentionally.
• Got up, did the hygiene rituals, got dressed.
• Went to Bill’s for a cook-out/pool party for supervisors and managers… I’ll elaborate on this one later.
• Came back to SLC and stopped at Scott’s for a while – watched part of Star Trek: Generations and then wandered off to use his puter for a while. Also, while we were there, I discovered how incredibly tired I was and that my eyes hurt.

So…. I think that I am going to have a refreshing beverage (Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.) and call it an early night.

Peace.

Home again.

We just successfully finished Operation: Move. It was a well-fought campaign. We were very fortunate and suffered no casualties and only a few minor injuries (bumps and scratches). Some of our opponents were large, ponderous beasts, but our troops met them with valor and emerged victorious. After the initial skirmish, we trekked from Taylorsville to West Jordan… and the battle was rejoined! The going was made even more challenging as Mother Nature decided to join the fray and flung her elemental fury at us! But, once again, we prevailed and our enemies were dispatched posthaste.

Tonight, as a morale booster for the troops, we shall see Rush Hour 2. Until that time, I am off to the latrine to wash away the dirt and grime from the battlefield and then on to recapture my technology from the dark forces that have beset it.

Over and out.

Peace.

All in all, it’s been a good day….

• Woke up, did the rituals and went to work.
• Stopped for a frozen mocha (double espresso shot) since I was up until far later last night than I had planned to be.
• Nothing too bad happened at work, which I consider a great plus… and we are taking tomorrow off.
• Came home and spent a few hours trying to discern just how fubared things are on the PC…. and I’m not to thrilled with what I came up with. So… I will have to deal with getting it back into a decent condition before I can deal with the network issues. Yay.

I am going to make it an early night tonight. We are helping Jess’ aunt move tomorrow… and we’re starting at 8:30. It would probably be a good thing to be rested before toting boxes and furniture. I just hope that my body doesn’t go into shock from the “extra” rest. Don’t know if we will be done in time for Mallday or not, but we are going to see Rush Hour 2 for Movienight.

More later.

Peace.

My entries on Sunday and Monday dealt with work ethics and heroes. They grew out of my growing confusion about the mind set of a co-worker of mine. In the interest of maintaining this person’s anonymity I will hereafter refer to this person as “Skipnuts.” Here is a little background on Skipnuts:

• He is near-30.
• He has a wife and three young children.
• He suffers from migraine headaches that occasionally render him unable to come to work.
• Two weeks ago, he was in an accident and injured his back (spasms).

Okay, I think that covers the background, here are the things that make me go “Hmmmm.”

Situation 1: Christmas 2000.

A few days, possibly up to two weeks, before Christmas, Skipnuts bought himself a DVD player and a few DVDs. Cool. As a tech geek, I can understand and respect that. After the holiday, Dee and I asked him what did he get his kids for Christmas, his response: “A cartoon tape.”

BRAINCRAMP

Situation 2: Moving Day.

He had agreed to help Dee move into it back in April. He never showed up. He didn’t call. When asked about it later, he said, “Oh, my wife had already planned my day for me.” Hello?!? It’s not like the moving was something that “just came up;” Dee had asked us if we could help WEEKS before. If something had come up, logic – not to mention common courtesy should kick a person squarely in the ass and remind them Hey… I told so-and-so that we would do X today, but since I can’t make it, I should call. The thought never crossed his mind.

BRAINCRAMP

Situation 3: Fight Night

Jess and I went to Dee’s on Saturday to hang out and to watch the Roy Jones, Jr fight. Skipnuts showed up, too. Odd things about his appearance:
• He called Dee that morning to ask if he was still intending to watch the fight… and then asked if he could come up and watch it. Dee said that would be fine.
• To my knowledge, this is the first time that Skipnuts had been to the house (see “Moving Day” above).
• He drove :45 to get to Dee’s.
• Jess asked him why hadn’t he been at work. He told her about the accident and how it messed up his back and that he couldn’t sit for prolonged periods of time and has to stand up or walk around. Umm… didn’t he have to sit for at least :45 while he drove?
• He then proceeded to sit for over five hours while we watched the fights and other shows… and he only got up three times in that timeframe – twice to go to the restroom and once to refresh his beverage.
• He then had to drive another :45 back to his house after the fight.

  BRAINCRAMP

I can sympathize with someone who suffers from an illness that affects their ability to work; I have never suffered from migraines, so I will give the benefit of the doubt and say that I am sure that there are times when he would not be able to effectively be able to execute the duties of his job. I know others who suffer from severe migraines, but they are all right after a day or two – not a week to ten days at a time – and are back at their respective jobs. He exhausts his paid leave, his sick leave and his FMLA-approved leave and is then forced to use unpaid and unscheduled leave…. and then he complains about not having any money. And, I’m sure that buying little goodies for himself have nothing to do with this either. And I won’t even start on how often he leaves early “just because.”

Another issue is the “back injury” excuse for being unable to work. At our facility, our primary job is data entry. DCOs work for fifty-five minutes and then get rotating five- and ten-minute breaks.

work (:55) –> break (:05) –> work (:55) –> break (:10) –>repeat
As I noted above, it seems as though sitting for prolonged periods isn’t TOO much of an issue, at this point. We also have terminals that are configured for working while standing; if he needed to stand, he could do so AND work at the same time. He also has the option of requesting an accommodation for a limited-schedule or extra breaks or extended breaks. His decision: Stay at home, unpaid.

The main thing that… irritates… me is: Skipnuts doesn’t seem to give a flying rat’s ass about doing anything to make his situation any better. He rails about how everything is crashing in on him – bills unpaid, utilities being shut off, not having any money to do anything – but it’s not his fault. I disagree. It’s a conscious decision to go to work or not to go to. Case in point: Another co-worker has a podiatric condition that sometimes makes it painful for him to stand and/or walk. When the pain flares up, he makes a decision whether or not to come in; unless the pain is excruciating and crippling – and sometimes despite that – he comes to work. Some days, he can ride out the pain, some days it causes him to leave early. But, he makes the effort. His motivation: Living up to his responsibilities as a husband, father, and a man of integrity and honor. That I understand. Doing seemingly as little as possible to live up to your responsibilities… or worse, not living up to them? It boggles the mind.

I’m not married nor do I have children, but I do have a girlfriend and two cats. Not the same, I realize, but it’s as close an approximation as I can make. I am responsible for half of the expenses that we incur. I knew and accepted that when we decided to get an apartment together. The thought of doing something – or nothing, as the case may be – to jeopardize what we have is part of what drives me to take whatever steps are necessary to see to it that my part of the expenses, bills and incidentals are covered. And I am glad to do it. And if we had children? There would be nothing that could keep me from seeing to it that they had whatever it is that they needed and as many of the things, within reason, that they wanted. If that meant sacrificing some things that I wanted, so be it. My parents did it for me and I could do no greater dishonor to their examples than to give my children anything less.

Hopefully, this will end this series of diatribes. I know that they may sound rather judgmental, but that was not the intent. I needed an outlet for the irritation and outrage that I have harbored about this situation and this forum provided a perfect medium. I will not say that dam won’t overflow again, but now that I have gotten to the heart of what has been bothering me, I think that the tide has receded. If anyone has a response to this, or any of this week’s other rants, please feel free to comment.

Thank you for your time.

Peace.

Day: Good.
Night: Not good.

I am going to postpone tonight’s regularly scheduled diatribe until either tomorrow morning or night.

Plusses in the day:

• Jess.
• Talked to the parental units.
• Made it through the day without any major problems.

So aside from the inherent problems of dealing with BastardAss and Son-of-BastardAss (the names of the PC and laptop when they are being recalcitrant; otherwise, they are referred to as “Echo” and “Voyager,” respectively), it’s been a good day. I’m still having problems with the network; I don’t like that, but I’ll deal with it. Tomorrow.

::: off to storm angrily around The Dreaming :::

Peace

Hero.

he·ro n. pl. he·roes
• In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
• A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.
• A person noted for special achievement in a particular field.
• The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

Heroes. Many people have them. They come in many forms: super-powered and spandex- (or kevlar-) clad ; sports figures; people who have decided to stand up for their rights or the rights of others; and other men and women of integrity and character. Heroes have been part of human culture since we learned to communicate.

• Epic tales of a hunters’ triumphs over clawed and fanged beast decorate ancient cave walls.
• Mythologies from all over the world tell of unlikely women and men overcome oppressive odds to defeat fantastic creatures.
• Tall tales and legends relate stories of larger-than-life figures who made incredible feats seem run-of-the-mill.
• Strange visitors from other planets with power beyond those of mortal men patrol the skies, protecting us from evils seen and unseen.
• People who represent the pinnacle of human achievement in sports perform with almost superhuman grace and skill, doing things that echo in our dreams and that we clumsily attempt to recreate in our backyards and playgrounds.
• Women and men reach the limits of their endurance and fight back against their oppressors.
• Police officers, firefighters, doctors, and teachers put their knowledge and training to use in helping others.

Personally, I think that the word “hero” has been overused. According to the definition above, the word is being used correctly, but how often do we really consider “why” we label someone a hero? What makes someone stand out so far above others that we deem them worthy of awe? I have had a number of heroes of my own. I still do. I go to the comic shop to get the latest adventures of the X-Men or Superman or other costumed adventurers. I turn on Sunday afternoon/Monday night football games to watch my favorite teams struggle to control 100 yards of turf. I wait anxiously for the last pitch of the ninth inning. I watch as the basketball arcs through the air in a static-charged arena, swishing through the net as the buzzer sounds. I watch the news for stories of the men and women of our law enforcement agencies putting their lives at risk so that we can sleep safely at night. I hear reports of doctors making dramatic breakthroughs to help improve “the human condition.” I call home.

What was that?

Yes, I said “I call home.”

I carry the genetic makeup of my two greatest heroes. No, neither of them has a secret lair or an invisible airplane, but they are heroes, nonetheless. No, bullets don’t bounce off my chest and cannot I read the minds of those around me, but I have been blessed to have two wonderful parents who not only taught me what it means to be a decent person, they showed me. They raised my siblings and me in homes that were not filled with alien technologies and the latest crime fighting gear, but were full of care, concern and love. No matter what it was that we did, our parents were there for us. If being supportive meant that sometimes they had to let us learn to fly – and come crashing to the ground – they did. As great as the impulse may have been to save us from painful situations, they knew that some things had to be experienced firsthand and as painful as some of those learning moments were, I thank them for respecting me enough to let me learn them… even with all of the bumps and bruises – physical and emotional – that came with them. They also taught us to stand up for our beliefs and principles and also to stand up for and with those around us who were unable to stand alone. They taught us that success does not always come immediately or with great fanfare, but that it can take time for some goals to come to fruition. They taught us that we may have to put aside our wishes in the interests of others. They taught us that while life is not always fair, if we were patient enough that all things work out in time. They taught us to respect others and – equally if not more importantly – to respect ourselves.

I know that I will not be called up by Phil Jackson to fill out his roster for his next championship team. Nor will Mike Hargrove ask me to take Cal Ripken’s spot at third base. Nor will I don a brightly-colored costume and bend steel in my bare hands… not that I couldn’t, but one must be fashionable at all costs. I know that I can live up to the examples of my mother and father. And that’s heroic enough for me.

As a final note, I am including the lyrics to a song that I think works as a good corollary to tonight’s topic:

Nobody’s Hero -Rush, from the CD “Counterparts” (c) 1993

I knew he was different in his sexuality
I went to his parties as a straight minority
It never seemed a threat to my masculinity
He only introduced me to a wider reality
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that he was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart

But he’s nobody’s hero
Saves a drowning child
Cures a wasting disease
Hero — lands the crippled airplane
Solves great mysteries
Hero — not the handsome actor
Who plays a hero’s role
Hero — not the glamour girl
Who’d love to sell her soul
If anybody’s buying,
Nobody’s hero

I didn’t know the girl, but I knew her family
All their lives were shattered in a nightmare of brutality
They try to carry on, try to bear the agony
Try to hold some faith in the goodness of humanity
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that she was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart

But she’s nobody’s hero
Is the voice of reason against the howling mob
Hero — is the pride of purpose
In the unrewarding job
Hero — not the champion player
Who plays the perfect game
Hero — not the glamour boy
Who loves to sell his name
Everybody’s buying
Nobody’s hero

As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that you were gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart

But he’s nobody’s hero
Saves a drowning child
Cures a wasting disease
Hero — lands the crippled airplane
Solves great mysteries
Hero — not the handsome actor
Who plays a hero’s role
Hero — not the glamour girl
Who’d love to sell her soul
If anybody’s buying,
Nobody’s hero

Hero.

::: attaching cape and flying off into the night :::

Peace.

Musings for a Sunday night/Monday Morning…

Have you ever noticed how much worse the idea of “work” seems after a long weekend? I was sitting in the car on the way home contemplating the pros and cons of taking tomorrow of. I thought about something just before I made the call: If I took tomorrow off, I could see myself easily falling into the pattern of wanting to take time off at the slightest whim. While that does have a very appealing side, the downside – less money on Ye Olde Paycheck – provides a reminder of why staying at work is a good thing.

Something that I fail to understand is the lack of an apparent work ethic in many people in my age bracket (25-35). I will admit that there are those who don’t mind putting their noses to the grindstone to get their piece of the “American Dream,” but I know a few people for whom work seems more like an inconvenience or an annoyance. Is work inconvenient? That depends on your point of view; for me, it is not. Is it an annoyance? If you have read any of my posts that have dealt with my job, I think that you know what my answer is “sometimes.” Actually, let me amend that: Work can be an annoyance, but that is not always the case.

• I know people who love their jobs. These people do what they like (even LOVE) to do. For them, it isn’t “work” as much as it is “a labor of love;” one day, in the not too distant future, I hope to join them.
• I also know people who go to work because they “have a job to do.” For the most part, they don’t necessarily like or dislike their jobs, they just do them.
• There are those who work because they have to. Hand-to-mouth. Paycheck-to-paycheck. Day-to-day.
• There are the retired. In my opinion, these people have earned the right to do whatever it is that they choose – work part-time, volunteer, travel, whatever.
• There are those who, due to illness or affliction, are unable to work.
• I also realize that there are “grey areas” that exist between and within these distinctions.

As I said: I don’t understand the lack of motivation in members of my age group. Some of them seem not to care about whether or not they have a job. This is an alien concept to me. I guess that I am just old-fashioned, but I have grown up with the understanding that work was something that was just another part of life. I was also taught by my parents that while you may not always want to work, you get in there, do your job, and do it the best at that job that you can. Again, this was something that was just “understood.” I don’t know if thinking along these lines places me a little inside or outside of “the norm;” that’s just the way that I’m wired.

• I am not independently wealthy, so I have to work. I accept that and I have no problem with this.
• I’m good at what I do – by my own standards and by those of my peers and my superiors.
• I like my job… for the most part. But, even here, there are aspects of any job that can be loved or hated, depending on the day or the person or the situation.
• I am blessed and/or lucky to have a job. I know that there are people, in this country and abroad, who would jump at the chance to do jobs that many of us would consider “beneath us.” I am smart enough to realize that I have a rather “cushy” job and that I probably get paid more than I should for it. As much as situations at work may grate on my nerves, I am thankful to not only have a job, but to also be fit enough of body and mind to be able to work.

I am NOT trying to chastise someone for choosing not to work. If you are lucky enough to not have to work, more power to you. If you are unable to work, may you be blessed with the assistance, love and support of family and friends who truly care for you and your well-being. If, however, you have bills to pay and/or a family to support and you are constantly bemoaning how everything seems to be working against you and you don’t have enough money because you either don’t work, won’t work or don’t want to work, please don’t expect me to show sympathy unless you can show valid reasons why you shouldn’t be held to the same standards as most of us.

NOTE:I actually know someone who falls into this category. This person comes to work a few days a week and then decides, for whatever reasons, to call in or leave early the rest of the week… and then complains about not having the money to do things – and this includes paying bills and making sure that their family has what 99.44% of us would consider necessities.

These are just my opinions and I would be happy to hear others’ thoughts on the matter.

Thanks for listening.

Peace.

Didn’t do a lot today, but I had a good time doing it.

• Slept in. ::: bliss :::
• Got up and lazily performed all of the perfunctory rituals.
• Attempted, unsuccessfully, to fathom the mysteries of the laptop’s malady.
• Spent the afternoon and evening with Dee (a coworker), his wife Kim and their sons – we cooked out and then watched the Roy Moseley, Jr. fight.
• Came home and am trying to figure out what’s buggering up the PC.

No rest for the wicked.

Oh well, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Peace.

Yet another good day:

• Mallday – It was actually at the mall today. Imagine that!
• Went to the inlaws’ to get some drivers for the laptop.
• Finalized the when/where details for P.o.t.A.
• Came home and waited for Jess.
• Met Angie and Scott at the theatre; more on the movie in a bit.
• Went to Angie’s and watched the last half of “The Ref,” which I’ve never seen before.
• Went on a quest in search of The Big Hit, for Scott and to return some movies.
• Came home.

Now, on to Planet of the Apes. I won’t say that it was a “great” film, at least not when compared to something like the AFI “100 Greatest Movies,” but it was definitely a fine way to spend a few hours. Tim Burton and the cast and crew did an excellent job of bringing the world of Pierre Boulleinto the 21st Century. Some of the story was predictable, but there were enough twists to keep it interesting. The effects, done by ILM, were very good. And Rick Baker‘s makeup was nothing short of spectacular. But, while I give the “two opposable thumbs up” (pardon the anatomy humor), I am still going to refer to it as “Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch.”

Anyway, that’s it for now.

Peace.

Overall, it’s been another good day.

Work was bearable – for the 5-1/2 hours that we were there. Today was my Friday AND I have a 3-day weekend! Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Left work and headed to the comic shop for my fix. I think that I’ll leave today’s comic chat at this, although I will reserve the right to come back to it later. Disclaimers. Gotta love ’em.

We came home and hung out for a while and then left around 9:45pm to go to Angie’s gig at the Lazy Moon Bar; I don’t think that I’ve mentioned it, but Angie is the bass player for the band Groove Dilemma. It wasn’t a big turnout, considering that it is a “school night,” but they sounded good… and it looked as though they were having a lot of fun in the process. That’s what counts. After that, it was hometime, again.

Sitting in my Playspace, I started messing around with the laptop and made a rather disturbing discovery: It’s borked. *sigh*

• The CD-ROM has renamed itself.
• It isn’t playing nice with the other kids (not connecting to the network).
• And it’s just plain pissing me off.

So, after making sure that it’s really being a moody amalgamation of silicon and that I’m not as mentally deficient as I sometimes seem, I took what I deemed a necessary action: I restored it to factory defaults. This means that I get to look forward to lots of fun things:

• uninstalling some of the default software,
• reinstalling software that I’d put on there,
• finding out what other insidious things decided to go wrong.

I [heart] my laptop.
Well, it’s time for the Sisko Show, so I guess that about wraps it up for now.

And tomorrow is Mallday and Movienight; these come under the heading of “good things.” No clue where we’re doing lunch… or even IF we’re doing lunch, but we are going to see Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch tomorrow evening. I really hope that it doesn’t pull a Mission to Mars or Deep Blue Sea on us. Sorry, if you’re fans of those movies, but they were big wastes of celluloid, in my opinion. And “that movie” which was based on a certain (good and fun) role-playing game? That took “disappointment” to an entirely new level.

More later.

Peace.

Today was another good day; I like this trend.

After a stop for frozen mocha goodness, we stopped by the inlaws’ for a few minutes to drop off a radio for Sandi’s ‘new’ car; she just got a red ’72 VW Beetle convertible. Cute car, but the radio in it doesn’t work, and I happened to have an extra one, so… I gave it to her. And then, on to work!

Veni, Scribi, VROOOM!!!
“I came, I typed, I got the Hell out of there!”
Actually, it was a pretty good day. We have a series of terminals with on-screen displays and I happened to commandeer one today. I adjusted the RGB outputs so that my screen was red; I received many strange looks and queries. Go figure. I changed it to green after lunch. Same brand different flavor. A couple of people tried to see how I had changed it… unfortunately, they missed a couple of important steps in getting to the configuration menu for setting the RGB content, so I seriously doubt that they will be changing anything anytime soon. Silly rabbits, Trix are for kids!

Today’s discussions ranged from “How closed-minded are Americans when it comes to issues of the world” to “What kind of game would you design given the proper tools and money?” The most unusual topic derived from movie talk. We were talking about why sequels don’t always measure up to their antecedents. We got around to the first two Superman movies and the Star Wars trilogy and decided that – for the most part – they did a good job of maintaining continuity and story flow. We just won’t even mention the last two Superman movies.

::: waves hand in front of readers :::
There were only TWO Superman movies….
Where were we? Oh, yes… We started getting into very random thoughts around this time and out of left field came the question: “For all of his Jedi powers, can you imagine Yoda getting his swerve on?” Think about it: Yoda was 900 years old. There had to be a Mrs. Yoda or someone that he was intimate with. “All Force and no sex a very cranky Jedi master makes Yoda, yes.” Wait… He WAS pretty cranky in Empire. *ponder* That could explain a lot; I’ll have to mention that possibility tomorning. We also started talking about the upcoming Planet of the Apes. This looks like it will be verra interesting. The-Livejournaler-Known-As-Agrobat referred to it as “Marky Mark and the Monkey Bunch.” I was laughing so hard that I sent 90% of the mail that I was keying to the far side of Guam. (Ok, ok, ok…. I didn’t really, but it was within the realm of possibility.)

Well, that about wraps it up. L&O just went off, so I guess that I should prepare for an in-depth inner eyelid study.

Peace.

Twas a good day, this one.

Woke up, performed the daily hygiene ritual, packed my lunch and went to work. One of the benefits of keying is that you get to sit and be relatively mindless for fifty-five minute stretches. Oddly enough, this is one of the great detractors, as well. Depending on where you are in the building, you can even talk with the person/people immediately adjacent to you; I was informed that this policy may be changing in the near future. Whoopee. We’ll have to see about this one. After about an hour, I started getting tired. This was not a good thing. So, I did what any other self-respecting working stiff in my position would do: I started selecting the loudest and fastest musical selections I could find. These were a nominal help. Next hour was more of the same, with one exception: batteries in the CD player died. Okay, this does not bode well: Half-hour to next break, I’m tired, and the only thing that was keeping me awake just bailed on me. Shoot me now. Being the lightning-fast mentalist that I am, it only took me another three minutes to remember that I had brought my mp3-laden laptop with me. Salvation was at hand! Cue the angelic chorus and the light from on high. When they offered an early dismissal at 3:30, Jess and I lit out of there as though the hounds of Hell themselves were on our heels.

We headed to a couple of stores (I had to pick up the limited-edition Akira. No. Really, I HAD to… the little voices said so!) and then met Angie for dinner. Scott showed up a little later and then we split up: Scott and I to his place to watch Akira; Jess and Angie came here to watch Where the Heart Is. We met up after our respective movies for yet another late/early breakfast.

Came home, talked with Jess for a bit and now… it’s L&O time.

Yes, twas indeed a good day.

Peace.