The Unfriendly Pedestrian

How to shave your head...

2008-03-30T23:46:00.016-04:00

First, find a reason... or not...

I tried to get some of my coworkers to shave their head for next week. A couple have agreed (very hesitantly) but I won't know until tomorrow if they went through with it.

With the help of Glitzier I got started on my melon (she takes the pics and helps touch up my mistakes)

I want to comment on a blade that Glitzier got me while she was at the drug store. Its called the Headblade and it works well. If you currently shave your head or plan to start I suggest you try it and don't even bother with a regular face/leg razor.

and so it begins

Here I am before hand.

Time to start trimming. I used a 1/2" guide at first to keep it easy.

When I got down to using the trimmer without a guide, I was half tempted to just shave a "+" into my hair across my scalp for Monday and finish it later. But, I figured that the top of my head would then be a target for pigeons and would be tempting fate too much.

I look drunk or stoned here. I wonder if I look this way at work every day?

Halfway there. damn my ears are huge.

Time to lather up.

At least with my ears out of the way it makes it easier to get behind them.

Imagine a montage of scenes with Glitzy helping me with the spots I couldn't see well.

and voila...

Now that I'm done it is a little colder but not too bad. I don't notice the difference until I see my reflection or actually touch my head. We'll see how the next couple of days go.

{edit}

Apparently Glitzier wants people to know that I have mange.

Fade in...

2007-01-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

A woman paces along a red brick two story building intently reading her book. She barely registers the moans coming from a window as she passes. From the next window she hears a child's voice whine "... but it's called summer vacation. We don't want any homework."

That quickly pulls her back to reality as she thinks 'I don't know why I took this job. I hate teaching these brats. I sometimes think I was better off teaching night school. At least there the people could usually make complete sentences.'

She buries her head back in her book hopeful that she can finish it before the hour is over, and thankful that the kids usually ignore her during recess. She was never able to sit still while reading these self help books and this was no exception. Reaching the end of the school building she turns around and nearly falls down as she runs into one of the more aggravating knee-biters that has come up close behind her.

Without looking away from the book she asked the boy "What do you want?"
"Wanna play Zappy!" he begs while pulling on her dress.

Zappy wasn't so much a game as a song that she modified. One day after having the song "If You're Happy And You Know It" bored into her brain, the adapted version just popped into her head. She tweaked it a little later that night and later that week she presented it to her students as an alternative and they loved it. Aside from changing the lyrics a little bit she makes the kids follow her in a line, sort of like a conga line. And since this sometimes leads them out of their homeroom when no other kids are allowed out during classroom hours, they are constantly asking her to play.

She agrees, and continues to read her book as she loosely lines them up. She is so busy with it that she does not realize how the young boy that started this session stays right beside her during this process and makes sure he is at the head of the line when she starts.
Raising her hand up in the air to get their attention she begins the song and starts the march ...
"If you're a zombie and you know it, raise you limbs."
"If you're a zombie and you know it, raise you limbs."
"If you're a zombie and you know it, then your face will surely show it"
"If you're a zombie and you know it, raise you limbs."

Out of the corner of her eye she slightly registers that she can see a lot of limbs flailing around on this verse. Going to the next chapter in her book she continues with her chant...

"If you're a zombie and you know it, moan and groan."
"If you're a zombie and you know it, moan and groan."
"If you're a zombie and you know it, then your face will surely show it"
"If you're a zombie and you know it, moan and groan."

She barely notices a lot of moaning and groaning behind her as she thinks, 'The children really like this part when they are allowed to let loose outside.'

"If you're a zombie and you know it, scream and shout."
"If you're a zombie and you know it, scream and shout."
"If you're a zombie and you know it, then your face will surely show it"
"If you're a zombie and you know it, scream and shout."

Finally the amount of shouting and screaming behind the teacher is enough to break her concentration and as she turns to chastise the children she drops the book in horror.

Slowly we pan down from the teacher's ashen face to the cover of the book "Amateur Witchcraft: How to Get What You Want."

... fade out

I WON A NEW MERCEDES!!!!

2007-01-17T21:07:00.000-05:00

If I'm to believe the prize notice I got today then I must have won something. Maybe a new car, maybe a dream vacation. The only thing that gives me pause is the notice stamped on the outside of the envelope "I am NOT an advertisement for a time share!"

Well, maybe not... *sigh*

While going through the usual junk mail today I came across an envelope that I would normally throw away without even bothering to open.

Not today.

Instead I decided that I will try an experiment which has been on my mind for quite a while.

I carefully opened the envelope to make sure who it is from and after a quick Google search came across this site: ClownCarBlog
It seems that this gentleman decided to hassle the people hosting the timeshare. It's a fun quick read.

I carefully sealed up the envelope and put a small mark on the edge.
I will be putting it back into the mail tomorrow and I want to see if it will be sent back to me.
If I do get it back, I will mark it again and drop it back into the mailbox.
Cycle repeats.

I'm wondering how often I can get it sent back to me. I also wonder if the sender will actually get charged for each delivery. If this works out, I plan to perform the same test with some credit card applications. Then maybe all of my junk mail.

Imagine, no more landfills created from junk mail. At the same time the post office will not need to raise the prices of their stamps because their income will be supplemented by junk mail redelivery.

My hope is that I can collect about 50-60 pieces of junk, drop them off at the same time and get them all sent back to me. I wonder how long I'll be able to keep this going?

Future updates as they occur....

::UPDATE 01/23/07 - I sent out 2 pieces of junk mail (one for me and one for Glitzy) back on the 18th and they have both just shown up in the mail today. Time to mark them again and send them on their 3rd trip.

Every morning...

2006-08-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

Why is it that every time I walk into work I get that "Oh Boy!" feeling as if I was
Scott Bakula in "Quantum Leap"?

How I resigned from work today...

2006-04-17T23:55:00.000-04:00

Westley: Who are you? Are we enemies? Why am I on this wall? Where is Buttercup?
Inigo Montoya: Let me 'splain.
[pause]
Inigo Montoya: No, there is too much. Let me sum up...
- The Princess Bride

It all started when I got a call from Eric at a contract company on Monday 4/10. They had a job for me as a Network Admin in Alpharetta and wanted to know if I was interested. I said that I was and sent them a copy of my resume to forward to The Company.

I was told that The Company would review the resume and if they liked it I would partake in a phone interview. If that went well then I'd be asked to come in for an 'in-person' interview.

I got a call from Eric on Tuesday saying that The Company wanted to skip the phone interview and proceed straight to the 'in-person' interview on Wednesday. Well, the problem with this is that I am not a current resident of GA and The Company would not consider an out of state candidate. So the contract company lied to The Company and said I was local and arranged for the meeting to be on Friday.

I agreed to the Friday interview and made plans to get down to Alpharetta. The task was not easy because it was Easter weekend though I didn't realize it at first. I went to the web and had to run through the process of trying to book the flight seven times before I could get it to complete. Each time before the final attempt the 'deal' would be taken by someone else.

I got the itinerary for Glitzy and I to get to Alpharetta and the flight left from DTW to DC then to ATL on Thursday.

On the day of the flight we barely made it to the airport in time. We had to check in manually with an agent because we cut it so close. The rules for a flight that heads to DC are stricter than other flights and we didn't plan well enough ahead to compensate for that. We were told that our bags may not make it onto the flight and we may not either due to the screening process to DC.

We made it to the plane in time after some running but we need not fear however because the flight ended up being delayed. It was supposed to leave at 6:40am and after one trip to the runway and back we had to transfer to another plane because there was something wrong with the fuel system on this plane. Why not leave this flight and book another? Because every bag on a flight to DC is scanned. If any one bag is removed from the plane, all of the luggage has to be rescanned including our own bags.

I tried to get NWA to rebook the connecting flight 4 times because of the delays and they screwed up the last booking so we had to rebook ourselves and pay the extra money for the change. Now we have to get NWA to pay us back for it.

We finally made it to Atlanta but Glitzy's bag did not. It seems that it may have never made it onto the plane in DTW. We never found out. We checked into a hotel with walls a little too thin. This of course made the night before my morning interview less than perfect but it wasn't all bad because the bag was delivered before we went to sleep.

The interview went well and the rest of the afternoon we spent looking at some apartments. We found that all of the talk about the bad ATL traffic is right on the money. The traffic sucks. ALL OF THE TIME.

It was during this traveling that I found out that The Company wanted me to start in two weeks.

So we decided to change our plans for where we would end up living and had to work for the rest of the evening to find new places to search. Glitzy did a lot of work paring down the list of places using information she found online. Some of it was pretty bad.

After touring a bunch of apartments on Saturday we decided to go with the 3 bedroom McGwier unit here. Neat thing is that after 6 months 20% of your money goes towards the purchase of a new home.

We got a chance to sleep a little Saturday night after celebrating at Taco Mac and joining their Passport Club. Sunday we headed back home and I was able to create my resignation letter and I include it below. I printed it out on clear transparency film for effect and it came out great. (if you don't know the LCARS format, you should).

I gave it to my boss today when I went into his office for what was supposed to be my yearly performance review meeting. What is odd is that my boss and I rarely saw eye to eye. When I gave the letter to him he asked about staying with my current company and said that he would contact the people in ATL to see if there is something there that would work for me.

Now I'm in a rush to get things together for the move and all the usual stuff that goes along with it.

--Update: I've received a call from a manager down in GA for another division of the company I currently work for. It seems my current manager contacted him and he may have a position for me. We'll see if what he has is better than the offer I have on the table.

My new career path

2006-04-08T01:25:00.000-04:00

Choose a Ninja Burger Career at the
Ninja Burger website.

Would you live here?

2006-03-11T03:20:00.000-05:00

http://www.domeliving.com/

Pop Quiz Hotshot...

2005-12-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

When did the following occur in the land now known as the USA:

1. Taxation without representation.
2. Excessive religious influence on the political body.
3. Oppressive legislative and judiciary activities on the freedoms of the individual.

Choose:

A) 50BC-14AD
B) 1700-1776
C) 1774-1799
D) 2000-2005

Answer: B & D. If you don't agree then you haven't been paying attention. Go back to sleep and enjoy the rest of your life as a zombie.

Why I don’t celebrate the 'Holidays'

2005-12-02T02:15:00.000-05:00

Let’s start with Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday based on the tradition of celebrating the harvest. In America it was also tied to the celebration performed when the Native Americans saved the lives of a group of invaders from Europe (most people call them settlers).

Firstly I no longer perform any form of harvesting. I can respect those that do. I do understand the impact that the farming community has with my being able to function without having to grow my own food. But I don't feel the need to celebrate the harvest. The celebration served many purposes depending on who you talked to (reward for the hard work, thanking the 'gods', etc). Some people seem to think that the idea of Thanksgiving is to get together and spend time with family. They are mistaken. The act of getting together and spending time with family or any other action you may do on this day is the 'way' you celebrate not the reason.

In addition the holiday has taken on a taint as an American holiday. What are we celebrating as Americans? Some Native Americans helped out a group of settlers and these settlers (and many others) returned the favor by performing genocide.

As it stands I have no reason to participate in this ritual.

This leads me to Christmas. What a sham. The holiday itself is simply a religious holiday. Whether you believe it’s a day for Christ or follow the old pagan beliefs, it still exists as a religious event. Now, there are those that think that they are following the old ritual of Kris Kringle and simply exchanging gifts. This is just another distortion of the history of Kris and the fact that his existence is based on the same old pagan beliefs. Some people simply look at this holiday as another reason to get together with family but this is just a repeat of the above.

I believe that any religion is nothing more than a life philosophy that has become grossly distorted. This means that there is no reason to participate in this ritual either.

Now come the difficult part. How to interact with the rest of the world that still hangs on to outdated beliefs?

I thought that I would share

2005-11-24T02:27:00.000-05:00

Below is a copy of something I found at www.prickwear.com (they sell offensive t-shirts).
It seems that they have a part of their website set aside for their ranting.
I'm re-posting it here because they use a very small font for their text and it makes it hard to read.
Remember: The lesser of two evils is still evil.

08/18/2005

I recently received an email from a relative of mine entitled "History Test". This type of conservative hate-mongering crap makes me sick. After talking to a few friends about it I came to realize that most of the people I knew who had slightly conservative friends, family or co-workers have grown accustomed to receiving mail like this. Well, I am so angry I could shit Mexicans. This email was in protest to profiling laws that prevent our security forces from being able to target specific races in their quest to protect us from anyone different (anyone remember what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II?). This “test” gave 12 examples of terrorist activity that was perpetrated by “Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40”.
Yep, ANYTHING in extreme can be bad, and Muslims have definitely done some pretty nasty things. But what if I made a list of heinous acts through modern history performed by right-wing conservative Christians? What if I told you that it would make me feel safer if it were encouraged for security guards to pull someone aside in an airport line because they are wearing a shirt that says, “God is Awesome!”?
What if I gave you proof that sometimes Christian extremists do terrible things? I realize I have left many important events out of this quiz, including President Bush’s new Crusade against…wait, who all are we fighting again? This test is meant to illustrate how our enemy can so often look just like us, only holier.

Profile these assholes:
1. In June of 1964 three civil rights workers in Mississippi were gunned down and buried in a ditch that had been dug out earlier, specifically to rest their rotting corpses, by a group of
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50 (the man most recently tried in this case, Edgar Killen, was 38 and an ordained Baptist minister at the time that he conspired to murder the men)

2. From 1976 to 1983 as many as 30,000 were killed and tortured in Argentina; many of those who disappeared were disemboweled and thrown from airplanes into the ocean; others were killed and buried in mass graves. These atrocities were committed by
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50 (during the “Dirty War”. Look it up)

3. Tony Alamo was charged with felony child abuse for his involvement in the beating in 1988 of an 11-year-old boy that was so severe it left him unable to sit for almost three weeks. Alamo was a leader of a religious sect in California, and a
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian extremist between the ages of 17 and 50 (spank them into submission, that always works. Especially for the Christian father that in January of this year beat his son to death trying to “box” with him because he was afraid his son was going to turn out gay)

4. Paul Hill was the first person executed in the US for anti-abortion violence, after he was convicted of the 1994 slayings of Dr. John Britton and his bodyguard. Hill was a
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian extremist between the ages of 17 and 50 (and was also a former Presbyterian minister—double trouble! Thank you so much for helping rid the world of those pesky doctors.)

5. On April 19, 1995 an explosion ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It was, up to that point, the worst terrorist attack ever undertaken on American soil. The blast killed 168 people—19 of them children—and injured hundreds. The two “masterminds” of this attack were
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50 (we all remember Mr. McVeigh and Terry Nichols)

6. In 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten and left for dead by two men. He was found the next day, alive but never regaining consciousness due to his catastrophic brain damage. He had been pistol-whipped 18 times with a revolver. Since being imprisoned, his murderers have both justified their actions by claiming that they were dictated by the Bible. His murderers are shining examples of misguided
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian extremists between the ages of 17 and 40 (in quite possibly my favorite example of Christian hate-mongering, Reverend Fred Phelps and his supporters picketed Shepard’s funeral, displaying signs with slogans such as “Matt Shepard rots in Hell” and “God Hates Fags.”)

7. In January of 1998 a bomb was detonated in a Birmingham, Alabama women’s clinic. The blast killed one and left over a hundred injured. The man found to be responsible for this heinous crime was also found to be responsible for a blast during the 1996 Olympics that killed a woman and injured 100, as well as an attack on a gay nightclub. The bomber, Eric Rudolph was a
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40 (Rudolph wrote a statement during his trial that included frequent quotes from the Bible and condemnations of homosexuality)

8. A group of soldiers responsible for detaining prisoners of war in Abu Ghraib used their authority to force the prisoners to simulate oral sex on each other, eat pork and drink alcohol (in violation of the Muslim faith), as well as beating at least one prisoner with a baton until he begged to be killed. The first soldier to be court marshaled for the situation showed no remorse whatsoever and was often seen smiling as he walked with his lawyer up the steps of the courthouse. This man, Cpl. Graner was a:
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian extremist between the ages of 17 and 40 (at his Pennsylvania home, his truck bears a license plate with the word Jesus and a picture of a cross. Even more ironic is the stone in the garden painted with a Bible verse from the book of Hosea “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love…” (10:12))

9. Proving there are always new ways to shake things up, pharmacists all over the country are now refusing women’s prescriptions for birth control and the morning-after pill. Some of these pharmacists are so adamant about forcing their morality upon others that they hold the prescription hostage and will not transfer it to a doctor willing to fill it. The pharmacists who are imposing restrictions on these women’s reproductive rights claim that their religious views do not allow them to fill such prescriptions. Who the fuck thinks they can do this?
a. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 50
b. Christian extremists between the ages of 17 and 50 (there have reportedly been cases of pharmacists who mistakenly believe that contraception is a form of abortion and refuse to dispense it to anyone, or who will only provide birth-control pills to a woman if she is married. Find a new job asshole!)

You know I just can’t even keep doing this. Your moral exhibitionism makes me sick. So I propose that we begin to profile a new group of dangerous people—conservative, right wing, proselytizing Christians with every intention of homogenizing the globe, who don’t know shit about Jesus. Amen brother.

What the hell?!?

2005-11-04T13:03:00.000-05:00

More disgusting crap from our government and yours.

Why is it that Jeanson James Ancheta is indicted for computer crimes?

but Sony is allowed to get away it?

This isn't just an issue of Sony having so much money they can buy off the legal system. Its a problem where they are allowed to go free because the people that make the decisions have the ability to hide behind the obscure corporate facade.

What I did for Halloween 2005

2005-10-12T23:33:00.000-04:00

I've decided to create a seperate short blog to document the process I'm going through to make my Halloween costume.

The link is here:
http://unfriendlypedestrian-halloween2005.blogspot.com/

My Halloween Costume

2005-09-24T18:43:00.000-04:00

If I'm lucky

Night out pics

2005-07-30T20:55:00.000-04:00

Elizium our Guild Leader

2005-07-30T13:52:00.000-04:00

Reuters Article Sucks Balls

2005-07-25T21:08:00.000-04:00

You know, with the reputation that Reuters is supposed to have for news it just pisses me off to see crap like this published.

Technology News Article | Reuters.com

So, I had to tell them what I thought:
------------------------------------
The article "Hackers target flawed backup software-survey" written by Andy Sullivan is nothing but sensationalist trash and I wouldn't even consider it news.

There is no new information in the article. It simply rehashes old bits of news in an effort to fill space and create fear. There is nothing useful in the article and you can tell that no effort went into creating it.

Why not include something helpful such as links for additional information or (perish the thought) a unique perspective on the issue of the numerous security flaws in almost every piece of software on the market due to the computer industry's desire to dump substandard products on the consumer for a fast return.

How do you justify posting such worthless drivel?
------------------------------------

Heavy sigh.....

2005-07-20T03:55:00.000-04:00

Domes exist everywhere. Even in World of Warcraft.

Got Mana

2005-06-02T17:16:00.000-04:00

I bought a flute today

2005-05-17T00:24:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't the title of another idiosyncratic fictional story.

I purchased a flute over the weekend while out walking down Main street. It's a 'Crow flute in the key of A' from High Spirits Flutes. It is a 6 hole flute with one of the holes covered for ease of use as a beginner. Using it as a 5 hole flute means that it uses the harmonic pentatonic scale which is simpler to play as all of the notes compliment each other. As you progress in skill you can remove the cover to create a 6 hole flute and widen your range.

I've wanted to learn how to play a flute for a while now but never felt that I had the time to spend on the activity. Recently I've changed my attitude towards things like this and have been thinking "If not now, then when?"

Glitzier seems interested in it as well but I'm not sure if she ever intends to play it as much as I do.

As a side note I know almost nothing about the flute. I've played the trombone before in high school but would not even think of trying to compare the two except when it comes to the idea of breath control. The store I purchased it from is one of those stores that sells a lot of hand made items, jewelry, big chunks of amethyst as art, etc and the employees almost always have an air of being superior than you.
This was really an impulse purchase. The clerk asked me if I would like to test play the flute before I bought it(they have mouthpiece covers) but I declined. I said that I didn't know anything about flutes and wouldn't know if I was making an intelligent decision based on what I heard. I figured "Why fake it? Just to appear like I know what I'm doing?".
She accepted this and was happy that she was able to sell one. I'm not sure if it was because they don't sell or if she was just glad that someone purchased something she also liked.
Anyway, the other girl at the counter also asked me if I would like to test it out. I repeated what I had previously stated and she responded by saying that she liked to play them in the store and asked again if I wanted to test the flute. She seemed upset when I declined and her posture quickly dismissed me as someone that was unworthy of her attention because I chose not to test it.
I didn't take it personally. I could imagine any number of people returning them if they didn't try it our first and later found that they didn't like the sound of it. I've seen this happen all too often in my stint in the retail world. So, she may have felt that I was going to be another person that was just wasting their time because I would be back in a day or two to return or exchange the instrument.

Regardless, I am happy with the sound of the one I have chosen and I hope that I can eventually play it well enough to satisfy me. Who knows, maybe one day I'll stop by that store again and while I'm there I'll buy a second one from the unsatisfied clerk just so I can not test it in front of her.

Everyone has felt this way at one point.

2005-05-04T02:05:00.000-04:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO BERNARD DERRIMAN of Longueville NSW on his animated bunny clips for the track
"EVERYONE ELSE HAS HAD MORE SEX THAN ME".

Click on 'da bunny for a great video.

The lyrics are here: http://www.tism.com.au/

The runner-ups are here: http://www.madman.com.au/tism/comp.html

A most mundane post:

2005-05-03T02:59:00.000-04:00

With help from Glitzy and a hair trimmer, I decided to cut my hair.

Time spent where I work...

2005-04-29T05:56:00.000-04:00

Created while listening to the song "Everybody Knows" as performed by Concrete Blonde.

MALAISE

2005-04-27T01:01:00.000-04:00

Me... but not in ALL my glory. BTW, I am missing my lower jaw and my tongue(very dark blue) is hanging out.

I guess YOUR god isn't as powerful as you claim

2005-04-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

This guy, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is the offspring of small piece of bread and the discharge of an infected bedsore.

German Cardinal Becomes Pope

From the article linked above and a few comments...

“As head of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger disciplined dissidents”
So he helped squash anyone that spoke out against the Church because of how they handled the child molesting priests?

“...suggesting that Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union may be incompatible with European culture.
”What kind of idiot thinks that being a member of the EU (a financial collective) would require that your culture be exactly like one of the current members?

"The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers," he said.
Ummm isn’t Your god 'All Powerful'? If so how can you make such an idiotic statement?

“...He followed it up with a fiery speech to the cardinals ... warning about tendencies that he considered dangers to the faith: ideologies like relativism.”
Let’s see... Let’s start with a definition of Relativism (The view that truth is relative and not absolute. Truth varies from people to people, time to time and there are no absolutes) Gee this sounds just like how the church handles its problems when it comes to crimes it has committed, from the Crusades to the sex scandals.

"Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church is often labeled today as a fundamentalism," he said.
Which it is. The Church is just a bunch of guys sitting around spending other people's money. A religion is supposed to come from a belief in a deity. If all it takes to make a religion is a group of useless old men to make a few declarations the why wasn't David Koresh allowed to prosper?

“In his memoirs, he wrote of being enrolled in Hitler's Nazi youth movement against his will when he was 14 in 1941, when membership was compulsory. He says he was soon let out because of his studies for the priesthood.
Two years later, he was drafted into a Nazi anti-aircraft unit as a helper, a common fate for teenage boys too young to be soldiers. Enrolled as a soldier at 18, in the last months of the war, he barely finished basic training. “
EXCUSE ME! What kind of conviction in his faith is he showing here? This is the type of man you want leading the most powerfull and corrupt organization in the world? If he had any belief in the god that he 'works' for he would have refused this 'draft' and left his fate up to his god.

‘"We are certain that he will continue on the path of reconciliation between Christians and Jews that John Paul II began," said Paul Spiegel, head of Germany's main Jewish organization.’
You expect this from a man that "...urged caution in pursuing relations with other Christian denominations."
How can a man be expected to understand or reconcile anything with Jews or Muslims when he doesn't even want to speak to any of the other religions that are close to his own?

... and lastly he chose the name Benedict, which comes from the Latin for "blessing". He is not going to be a blessing to the Church or the people that follow this foolish religion. All he is doing here is trying to put a spin on the fact that he is an archaic, close-minded, overbearing, simpleton that doesn't deserve the power he has.

Note: Even though I think that all religions are foolish I do not desire to see anyone suffer under the kind of tyranny that this man will bring.

A Walk down Memory Lane

2005-04-18T16:59:00.000-04:00

Normally when I am walking down a street in a major city I would look at the stores around me and think about what they were selling and whether or not I needed anything they had. At the very least it could be entertaining to see what they had to offer if the product was unique.

Lately I find that as I was walking down Times Square I was looking at the businesses around me in a new light.

You see, I work for a very large corporation. We can count many Fortune 500 companies as out clients, including many companies that either have a store front or advertise in Times Square.

All I could think about was how we (the company I work for) has screwed almost every one of these businesses through processing flaws, incompetence, neglect and simple stupidity. As I passed by a building the 'event' that occurred when the client was 'inconvenienced' went through my mind and I kept thinking how amazing it is that we are still a functional corporation.

I must stop here because I get frustrated when I dwell on this crap too much...

I'm BATMAN!!!

2005-04-17T02:59:00.000-04:00

I was thinking about something that Glitzy told me once.

She was sitting down with a relative of mine (I believe around dinner time) and they told her that I did not use my height to my advantage enough (I'm 6'-5"). They thought that I was wasting my time trying to be suave.

I laughed when she told me this and still think its hilarious.

It wasn't until today that I think I came up with a good description of myself.

Imagine you were in an alternate universe and you met Batman, not the crap from the 60's but the Batman from the graphic novel, The Dark Night Returns. Then you found out that his 'mild-mannered' alter ego was Martin Short as Ed Grimley.
That kind of sums up how I often see myself.

Which Invader Zim character are you?

2005-04-17T02:45:00.000-04:00

GIR // GIR is one of the most hilarious people on
the show. He's a robot and is SUPPOSED to be
helping Zim.

His quote is "Can I be a moongoose dog?"
Which Invader Zim character are you?

..and the chain continues

2005-04-06T03:02:00.000-04:00

Stolen from Glitzier.... who stole it from Bella...

"Choose a band/artist and answer these questions only in song titles by that band/artist"

Are you male or female:
Describe yourself:
How do some people feel about you:
How do you feel about yourself:
Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend:
Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend:
Describe where you want to be:
Describe what you want to be:
Describe how you live:
Describe how you love:
Share a few words of wisdom:

My Example - Queen

Are you male or female: The Invisible Man
Describe yourself: Innuendo
How do some people feel about you: Stone Cold Crazy
How do you feel about yourself: I'm Going Slightly Mad
Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend: Liar
Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend: Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Describe where you want to be: Khashoggi's Ship
Describe what you want to be: Cool Cat
Describe how you live: Under Pressure
Describe how you love: One Year Of Love
Share a few words of wisdom: Keep Yourself Alive

NY City on a dime...

2005-04-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

... well not quite.

Well it's been a few days since we got back from NYC and I figured I'd put up a note about it.
The trip was a present to Glitzier for her birthday since she has always wanted to see the opera, Carmen.

The trip was good even though I was sick for most of it. Glitzier has a better description of the actual events. I'm just adding my 'version' here.

I took off Wed cause I didn't want to bother with work that day. I didn't actually have it off I just decided to not work that day. It was an easy day and we actually made it to the airport on time only to find the plane was delayed due to bad weather. We were one of the few flights that made it in to LaGuardia that evening.

When we got in there we were approached by a man asking if we needed a car to take us to the hotel. I agreed and we headed out. I mention this because Glitzier was concerned with getting a ride from someone that we didn't know and didn't look like they were from a major company. I didn't care for some reason and watched Glitzier as she worked to keep her calm and not yell at me while trying to determine if this guy was for real or going to take us to some abandoned warehouse and rob us.

Everything was ok and we made it to the hotel by 3am. It made for a late start the next day but we didn't have a set schedule so that was ok.

The highlight of the trip for me was being able to see the Lockheed A-12 Blackbird.

It's being housed on the deck of the decomissioned aircraft carrier USS Intrepid.

Later we had the fortune of meeting thephoenixnyc on Friday night. He's actually the first person I've met from the Internet and I've been using it since the days of the TRS-80. He's a great guy and a prime example of how nice the people in NYC are.

Unfortunately things went downhill from there. It seems that the flu that is going around at work caught up to me and hit me hard late Friday night. Based on the apparent incubation period that I've seen in the other people that have it, I caught it from a coworker that couldn't stay away while he was sick because he feels the world would end if he was not there.

Anyway, I spent all of Saturday in bed at the hotel so that I would be able to survive going to the opera.

The opera was great and we both enjoyed it. Afterwards I spent the rest of the trip in bed while Glitzier went around the town.

The plane flight back was bad. The plane was constantly changing altitude to try and find a good flight path due to the storms and the pressure in my head wouldn't clear.

In spite of everything it was a good trip for me but not as good as it could have been. The only thing I have left to do is find a way to extract the cost of the trip from my coworker.

Homeland Defense Department grant money well spent...

2005-03-03T00:53:00.000-05:00

... NOT!

Calif. Man Sets Off Nuclear Alert Detector

...butter well blogged

2005-02-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

Guns and Butter Blog

I don't know if I agree with everything James has to say here but his page is a true example of what a blog is; unlike most of what is out there (including my own).

... and if nothing else he gives me something to think about.

Subjective

2005-02-23T00:45:00.000-05:00

I always think you should appreciate art wherever you find it...

a thought that I jotted on a napkin one day

2005-02-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Relationship Cube

It’s an idea that I had one day to express the relationship an individual can have with the people around them.

With this cube the legend is as follows:
I = the Initial starting point.
F = Friendship
S = Sex
L = Love
and P = Partner

We all have interactions/relationships with people and hopefully you will find someone you can call your Partner.

With this in mind consider that you can mark your relationship with anyone you interact with on this cube.

For example take a person that you have a friendship with. Someone that you can hang out with and have a good time but there are no strong bonds with. The relationship with them could be placed on the graph along the ‘F’ axis as shown below with the yellow ball.

Alternately you may have a relationship with a family member that you Love but have nothing in common with, and hopefully there is no sex involved. This type of relationship would be listed as shown.

If you take the initial example and add the element of Love then you have a Best Friend and they could be listed as shown.

Or take the initial example of friendship and add the element of sex and you have what some people call a ‘Friendship with Benefits’ and could be listed as shown below.

Using this cube you can plot your relationship with a person and decide if they are the one you would call your Partner.

Ultimately, if the person you are charting rated at the highest level for each axis then they would be someone you should consider your partner.

There are no numbers listed on this cube because the actual values are set by the person using it. You would use it by setting the maximum values and then designate where, along the scale, the relationship rates.

I know that this cube is a basic concept but it is meant more as a starting point for thinking about the relationships you have with people.

Whether you use this or something like eHarmony’s 29 dimensions of compatibility, they are both simple methods to try and help someone think about and maybe come to understand their relationships with others. Both are simplistic in nature and neither can truly cover every aspect of a relationship....
... its just an idea jotted on a napkin one day

A day in the long life of a short time.

2005-01-13T01:26:00.000-05:00

"...'blathersnort'." she finished.

The man standing across from her simply stared at her blankly, so she covered him in Elmer’s glue.

As she walked past her handiwork she didn't even register that this was the 17th time she had done this today. Always it's a man. She doesn't bother confronting women. She knows that they will simply respond with "Blue cheese on motorcycle helmets smell like crayons."

Walking down the street in her favorite sunshine flavored underpants she ignored the stares of the large packs of orangutans that had been milling around the city since last month.

She continued down the block and as she turned the corner she came upon another person but was not able to determine if they were male or a fragrant clown. They were dressed in sharply pressed blue polyester, covered in ribbons and wore an official looking hat. What really confused her was that the person was riding a bicycle shaped like a 6 legged horse.

She had nothing better to do now that her supply of 19th Century collector baseball cards had been stolen so she approached this odd person. As she came near, she greeted this oddity by continually beating them around the head and neck all while they rode their wheeled horse around in a perfect octagon. After 20 minutes the Polyester Queen turned to her and asked, "Please tell me why there are nine planets in our solar system but only six lumps of firewood in my Kool-Aid."

She spent the rest of her summer vacation trying to understand what the Queen wanted and she was almost too late. As the Queen's hand rose above her head in preparation of pouring molten ice cream on her, she let out a squeal of delight. She understood. She had finally found someone that would be able to answer her question.

Quickly she replied "I know that marriage is like a week old spam sandwich on a warm summer night but I don't understand why everyone feels that the length of a man's pinky sounds like an ant farm sliding down a conveyer belt while the shop foreman screams 'blathersnort'."

For this the Queen paused.

Slowly the Queen twisted the horsy bike away and turned to the girl while pressing the small yellow button on the control box that was pinned to the handlebars. From under the girl’s feet the ground opened up revealing a deep pool of orange Jell-O. As the girl silently sank into the pool she felt a calm sense of overstated egoism overwhelm her.

And as I rode past my handiwork it didn't even register that this was the 18th time I had done this today.

It's crap like this that makes me sick...

2004-12-14T23:35:00.000-05:00

Hollywood Sues Computer Server Operators <-- This is just disgusting.

The MPAA is saying that the operators of computer servers that help file-sharing are parasites.

"These people are parasites, leeching off the creativity of others. Their illegal conduct is brazen and blatant." said John Malcolm, head of the Motion Picture Association of America's antipiracy unit.

Here you have the MPAA (one of the largest group of leeches) attacking another group of leeches. Normally I wouldn't care since I agree that the people that steal copyrighted material are parasites. Having one group of parasites attack and hopefully destroy eachother is a great thing.

What bothers me is that they try and sell these press releases as if they were innocent of the very act they accuse the Server Operators of.

While it is true that you are robbing from the artist and recording industry whenever you steal a song or movie you are only having a negative effect on the artist.

To see how royalties are calculated check here: HOW ARE ROYALTIES CALCULATED?

You ARE having a large impact on the recording/movie industry, but not the way you may think. That is why they are going after file sharing. As shown in the above link the recording industry is solely created to leech off of the regular artist indirectly through you, the consumer. So, if you are not giving them your money they will go after anything that prevents this.

Why do you think that every artist with any sense of the truth wants to start their own recording/production company? It's their chance to get one step closer to the real money.

The problem with this is that they become the very thing they despise. Sometimes they realize that they are only able to control their 'art' by reinvesting their own time and money into this process, but they are only perpetuating the disease by becoming part of it. Like a cancer that overwhelms the cells that it comes in contact with.

Whether it's movies or music, you are stealing if you illegally download and I dont agree with the process. I have downloaded music before and I have used the process to learn if I like a song before purchasing it. But I find that even this process is flawed because I am still feeding money into the parasitic recording industry.

By illegally download music or movies you may think that you can eventually convince the recording/movie industry that what they are doing is wrong but it is unlikely. If all you are doing is illegally downloading products, you will starve out the artist long before you starve the industry to change. The more you illegally download, the more likely you are to stop the true artist from ever creating anything worthwhile.

If you want to have any impact on the recording/movie industries you need to look at the independent artist. This can be difficult with all of the crap that is out there but in the long run it will be worth it. The artist will get a bigger piece of the pie and you will find true art(or something close), not the prepackaged crap that is prevalent on the 'Billboard top 20'.

Stop the parasites... ALL OF THEM!!!

SUPER SIZE ME

2004-11-20T13:10:00.000-05:00

I saw a great movie last night, ((((( SUPER SIZE ME ))))) A FILM OF EPIC PORTIONS.
A friend of mine told me about it but I forgot it until Glitzy rented it.
Its about a man that decided to only eat McDonalds for 30 days and, with three doctors, track the effects it has on his body. He documents the experiment on film along with interviews he has with doctors, nutritionists, and lawyers.
Along the way he discusses the idea of who is responsible for the obesity problem in the US. The movie idea came about when he saw the news report a few years ago about the two girls that were suing McDonalds because of their poor health and obesity. The idea that a fast food chain is responsible for these girls health is a joke. Don't get me wrong, I do think that the food the fast foods chains serve is junk. They know how bad the food they serve is and they are responsible for the advertising they do that targets children. However, their actions to not absolve the responsibility of the parents for their own decisions. Any person over the age of 15 knows that the food served at these places is bad for you. These girls problems are do to their own actions and the decisions made by their parents.
I lived through the ages of ever increasing advertising targeted at children. My parents taught me to eat well and how to make decisions that were not based on flashy, superficial, ad campaigns. I do eat at fast food restaurants but I don’t eat there so often as to cause me to have health problems.
There is an interesting point that is brought up in the extra features on the DVD. The food that is served at these places is not natural in any fashion. Every taste/flavor is created using chemicals, not from the combination of the base items (hamburger, mustard, bread, etc). So, why is the food so bad for you? If they are going to spend their time (weeks, months, years) designing and testing these foods, why not create healthy versions of them. They don’t have to try and replace any of the current foods but why not create new items and put the same advertising behind the new items.
BTW, the salads that they have introduced are not good for you. They have the same amount of fat and sugar as a Big Mac.

This movie is something that everyone should see that has ever eaten at a fast food restaurant more than once a month. If you are currently eating fast food, this movie with make you rethink your eating habits.
If you are ever thinking of trying fast food this movie would be good to watch first.

This isn’t a movie of fear. It’s a movie of knowledge. With more information you can make better decisions.
I know that any habit is difficult to change. If this movie makes you decrease your consumption of fast food by only 5% you will send a strong message to the fast food chains to alter their menu and improve your health at the same time.

Times a' wastin

2004-11-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

I find that I rarely accomplish anything. At least lately.
Work leaves me no room for accomplishments. It’s a constant struggle to just get through the day. I find that I have many answers for other people in order for them to finish what they need to do but I do not achieve any of my own goals. Much of my day goes to fixing things that other people have broken or performing mundane tasks that many other people could have done.
I have been told that some of the things I do, would not have been possible without me. But that is no consolation.
My problem is that I can fix almost anything. I have the ability to walk into a situation and use my troubleshooting skills to solve the problem. This is a problem when you work in an environment that is constantly breaking down because of bad planning/design.
I would like to have the time to fix the reoccurring issues that I find, but there is no time. Hence the lack of accomplishing the things I want to do.
To add to that, I had planned that by this time in my life I would have started the process for constructing my own Dome Home.
That vein has proved difficult to mine. I feel that much of what I do, day to day, is a sham. I am wasting my time performing menial tasks waiting for that ‘one thing’ to happen that will act as a catalyst for action.
I spend my time like a hamster in a wheel. Simply running, getting nowhere, rather than thinking of what I have to do to get back on track.
So, what am I avoiding? Good question. Hmmmmmm…

....

2004-11-14T13:44:00.000-05:00

Today is all about monkeys.

I just wanted to have a day where nothing but the monkey matters.
We start with Cheeky Monkey. It's a great monkey place to visit if you are in the area. The monkey people there are nice and the items they offer are of monkey quality.
My monkey thoughts all started when watching Family Guy reruns on Adult Swim. Of course, by then I had been up for the last 20 hours or more but that doesn't matter. Lack of sleep never put me into another state of mind.
Chris mentioned that he had an Evil Monkey living in his closet that was out to get him. No one believes him.... they never believe you, do they?
I think that if I am lucky I can stay in my current frame of being where nothing is important but monkeys. Forget John Lennon and his Imagine. Instead, I challenge you to imagine a world where monkeys are the all consuming thought.
Lastly I want to point out Hamstergeddon (cower in fear).
It is here that we are given reference to Anger Monkey.
     Transcript:
     Zim: "What'ya watching?"
     Gir: "Anger Monkey."
     Zim: "That..... horrible monkey!"
     Gir: "Mmmm Hmmmm"
But in an earlier episode we are told that the show is Scary Monkey.
We can only hope that they are two separate shows that both will live on forever to fill our lives with monkey joy.
Remember: Spend some time every day just monkeying around. Preferably at work or out in a public place where society expects you to be prim and proper.
In a courtroom... or a wedding.... or at a funeral.
Why not? Most people are already in 'monkey suits' there anyway. Just help them understand their place... beneath the Monkey.

This post is not endorsed by the Monkees, Planet of the Apes, or Clyde

2004-11-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

"Living the life of Mr Bean on Farscape"

That is the title of my life lately.
What would your life be like if you were the character Mr Bean and you happened to live in the Farscape universe?

Mr Bean = A man that tries to live his life as well as he can. At his best, no matter what he does, everything goes to hell.
Farscape = A universe that epitomizes Murphy's Law: "If anything can go wrong, it will".

So... (Mr. Bean) x (Farscape) = Black Hole of Pain

... well maybe just a gray pit of extreme annoyance and frustration.

How much effort should you put into a project when you know that there can be only two eventual outcomes?

A. The project is completed through repeated heroic efforts. Your health and personal life are a shambles. No one recognizes the blood and sweat you've invested. When it comes time for compensation (raises, promotions, bonuses, etc) you are forgotten. Or worse yet, they recognize what you have done but do not care to compensate you for it.
B. You let the project die. Allow it collapse in on itself; like a dying star. Refuse to sacrifice* yourself. Ignore the actions of those 'in charge' that drag it down to a watery grave. If that happens, you are used as a scapegoat and either relieved of your job or you are given a 'black mark' on your record that they never seem to forget.

So, I spend my day trying to finish a few simple tasks and I find exasperation at every turn. A day when you wish that some of your coworkers were not on the same project as you are because the best thing their incompetence can produce is more work for you.
If not for the help of some I think that I would have grabbed my red stapler, introduced an incendiary device to the environment, and taken a trip to the beach a long time ago.

*Sacrifice for any reason, on any level is evil and wrong but that is another post.

Its now official... sorta

2004-11-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

My job of Computer Technician has now gained the accolades it deserves.
It is now listed amongst the elite of the worst jobs in science.
November 2004 - Popular Science

It has been recognized that it causes the same level of revulsion as:
Anal-Wart Researcher
Tampon Squeezer
and
Public-School Science Teacher

I am now able to die happy.

(note: I am actually a Sr. System Engineer but the relationship of computer tech to my job makes the comparison valid. Of all jobs I think that a teacher is the least appreciated job of all. Remember, if you can read this, thank a teacher.)

The effect of Glitzier Numerary

2004-11-03T01:54:00.000-05:00

To see how I relate to Glitzier I took an online test today and here are my results:

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Enneagram Test Results

Type 1	Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Type 2	Helpfulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	42%
Type 3	Image Focus	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Type 4	Hypersensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Type 5	Detachment	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Type 6	Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Type 7	Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	62%
Type 8	Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	78%
Type 9	Calmness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	54%

Your main type is 5
Your variant is self pres