Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in i_despise_lj's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, October 17th, 2009
6:27 pm	boxes on the porch On Thursday, I lost Figlet. After six months of diagnosis with two doctors, we finally determined she had Hyperthyroidism, which is extremely rare in piggies. The doctor I was taking her to was an exotic specialist who had specifically done research on Hyperthyroidism in guinea pigs. In all of his time, he had six confirmed cases, so Figlet was only his seventh. Blood work showed Figlet had no kidney damage, which is a byproduct of HT. The options before the blood work were to have the mass removed now, before complications occurred in her heart and kidney (if the BW came back good), or let her live out the rest of her life with HT if she had signs of kidney damage (because HT 'treats' some of the problems it can lead to). The clean blood work and urinalysis meant surgery was the best option. After the mass was removed, Figlet's body didn't react well. Between her already high blood pressure due to HT, and the body rejecting the change in her thyroid, blood pressure and several other things, it couldn't adapt. She passed on the surgery table. She was completely under at the time, she did not suffer at all. That doesn't help me though, as she would have lived out another year or two with HT before having serious complications with heart and kidney. Complications that may have lead to having to choose to let her pass before she started suffering. Instead of that year or more, in trying to do the right thing to make her healthy and 'normal', I lost her. -- got home today, found a box on the doorstep from the University that I was taking Figlet to. I had a bad feeling I knew what it was. I opened it to find two things; a clay disc with four paw prints and 'Figlet' at the top and a small ziplock bag with her infamous butt plume hair. I understand keepsakes from departed pets, but i am not one for that. This box annoyed the living hell out of me because the last conversation I had with one of the doctors there went like this: Megan: Afraid I have bad news.. [..] Megan: We will do a necropsy, free of charge of course.. Me: Yes, I do that for all of my pigs, I'd like to know exactly what happened. [..] Megan: Would you like the body or for us to send it to Whoever Keepsakes? Me: No, dispose of normally, I don't do any keepsakes or memory items. *sigh* For them to do turn around and do that anyway is disheartening. http://attrition.org/~jericho/gpigs/figlet/ Current Mood: sad Current Music: Lamb: Alien (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
2:52 am	i like my place in Denver, you generally pay more money to be higher. even if you don't have mountain view, the higher up the building you are, the more you are out of pocket. While the mountains are certainly scenic, they just aren't my thing. I'd rather be on a hike than look at them from 30 miles away. My balcony looks out on the Denver skyline from half a mile away. Across a large parking lot, business and residential near. Bars and restaurants near so foot traffic is decent. Some of Denver's less fortunate wander this neighborhood. Shouting or suspicious activity could just as easily be a drunk suburbanite in town for the night, less than reputable local on a first name basis with law enforcement or someone that has lived on the streets one year too many. Standing in the doorway, quiet, not moving, just letting the city be itself. Enjoyable watching the light traffic during bar hours, the ten minute pickup for some event. Car horns, motorcycles, ambulances from the hospital half a mile away, blends in with the rest of the city's noise. Balcony about 10 feet off the alley, just enough to be safe, but close enough to remind me that i'm close to everything. Current Mood: content Current Music: Movie: Strange Days (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
12:44 pm	windows is beyond a joke (or, why we'll all be using macs soon) Mom has been limping along on a 7 year old computer that tries to run XP. Unfortunately, Bill loaded MS One LiveCare on it and didn't realize that they could do the internetz w/o the MSN software from the ISP. This comp is a dog, so miserably slow I would literally throw it in the garbage if it was mine. We finally talked Bill into getting a new computer, but it has Vista on it, with a coupon to jump to Windows 7 when available. So I have her old slow comp with XP, her new fast comp with Vista, and the self-imposed task of installing software and moving files over. I got my start on Linux, used Windows along the way for personal desktop / multimedia / etc. All along the way, for almost 20 years now, i've despised Windows for being poorly written, given minimal QA and generally being about the most un-intuitive operating system out there. Compared to my recent Mac Air purchase and experience, I can't see how people tolerate Windows any more. Today, these are the stupid problems I ran into that remind me yet again, why our industry needs to move away from Windows (any version): - Windows LiveCare. Microsoft's (failed) move into security. Supposedly protects a PC by managing a firewall, having a subscription to some signatures etc. In reality, it is the most invasive and annoying software you can get. The amount of times it pops up with vague warnings of not being protected are absurd. Not to mention the 'Windows Live' suite shows up over a dozen times in the installed software (less than the 23 pieces of software that show up after installing Canon's tools for her camera), embeds itself into everything it can (yet another 'toolbar' for IE). I uninstall it to try to make the rest of my task easier, only to have it force IE to load, dump me on a Microsoft page to take a survey about my experience with it, and promptly tell me the survey is closed. - XP computer shares out the entire D drive. Vista mounts that drive, and can copy some files but not others, citing 'permission problems'. All of the files/directories on the XP machines were created at the same time, by the same method, by the same person. Why do some magically have permissions that restrict this operation? - Vista, their idea of security through 'UAC' is so pitiful you can't even laugh at it. Every single thing you do, click a warning dialog 2 - 4 times. Copy a file, install software, load some programs, anything. It makes you click these warnings so often, any user will become numb to them in 18 seconds and start blindly clicking them. What's the point? Is that really how Microsoft envisions good security working, to nag the user like that? Rename a local folder on Vista, click twice to confirm/allow. - Manage to share a drive out on Vista, mount via XP and try to copy files. Apparently, even with XP, Microsoft never figured out file-by-file copying. The 6 gigs I try to move bomb out after a few minutes and gives me "not enough server storage is available to process this command". Err ok, so the copy is aborted, just try to open the shared drive and same error. Yes, I have to reboot just to access the share again. After reboot, can't mount the share anyway with the ever descriptive "The specified server cannot perform the requested operation" message. After renaming the folder, resharing it AND rebooting Vista, XP can mount it. (over 10 gigs to move, XP comp only has USB1, that wasn't an option) - After three reboots (security patches, windows patches Norton), Vista runs fine. Fourth reboot it wants me to install driver software for my PCI Simple Communications Controller. WTF? The HP Advisor software I disabled is back. WTF? Trying to reinstall the modem software that I removed because it said it was taking 18.2 GIGS of space. Current Mood: aggravated Current Music: Cowboy Junkies: Sweet Jane (Comment on this)
Friday, September 18th, 2009
8:29 pm	my MMA wish-list I enjoy watching mixed martial arts (MMA). It is extremely demanding, compared to boxing for example. The multi-disciplinary style each fighter must learn or cope with keeps fights interesting. While I appreciate a good old brawl in the cage, I can also appreciate technical fighting and submissions. That said, there are some parts i'd love to see change, even once in a while. 1. "I have to thank God.." as part of the winning speech. Ok fine, you got the power from God. Just once, one of these god-fearing religious types need to blame god when they lose. "Well, i guess God had it in for me this time.." or maybe "Wow, ya know, God really failed me here." 2. A fighter needs to enter the ring, and not have a single tattoo. No visible ink at all. No over-done tribal, no cursive names, no elaborate fiery demons. 3. A fighter needs to enter the venue to an unconventional song, these 'bad ass' songs and lame rap songs are boring. Joe Blow entering to Portishead's "Sour Times" would be great. 4. Just one fighter, needs to use his name, and not a nickname. Joe Blow fighting this time. Not Joe "Yo" Blow or Joe "Slapper" Blow. 5. If you talk shit for days before a match, don't wuss out afterwards, even if you win. You spent hours calling the other guy a pussy, saying he can't fight and that he chugs cock between matches. After you beat him, or he beats you, don't wuss out with "yeah, just talking shit, he's a great fighter blah blah wimp wimp". Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: UFC Fight Night 19 (Comment on this)
Friday, July 17th, 2009
8:12 pm	squirrel power? [07-16 23:55] jericho: zoo was too busy, so did the aquarium and the children's museum [07-16 23:59] K: how was that? [07-16 23:59] jericho: aquarium was pretty neat. never been to the one here [07-16 23:59] jericho: children's museum is not a museum, rather a place for kids activities [07-16 23:59] K: right [07-16 23:59] jericho: was jealous of the kids because they could put on coats w/ hoods that made them look like squirrels [07-16 23:59] K: :D [07-17 00:00] jericho: then i realized i'd be branded a 'furry' when my desire to dress as a squirrel has nothing to do with that [07-17 00:00] K: so what is the squirrel thing, anyway? :) [07-17 00:01] jericho: great little creatures, survivalists, adaptable, very clever and fantastic tails [07-17 00:02] K: so 'animal admiration' but not, say, to the point of being a totem animal, spirit guide, etc? [07-17 00:02] jericho: or sexually interested, right [07-17 00:02] K: well yeah [07-17 00:02] jericho: if a squirrel was my spirit guide, pretty sure i'd spend half my life on a grocery store isle w/ cans of planter's nuts, wondering how i got there Current Mood: amused Current Music: none (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
4:38 am	what is it like... [06-11 04:18] friend: so what is it like to be jericho? seems a simple question, but i'd be curious to see what anyone else replies with if asked the same question. the answer will greatly vary from month to month, more so year to year i bet. many years ago, while watching The Thomas Crown Affair, a particular line caught my attention. Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) tells Thomas Crown (Peirce Brosnan) "you live very well" to which he replies "thank you". While I am never going to be as wealthy as Crown is portrayed in that movie, the line stuck with me as much as the response. I've strived for years to get to a place in life where I am happy and comfortable, and live well by my standards. A place where I can answer that question with "I live well" or "Comfortably". Doesn't matter if anyone else sees it that way. Many aspects of my life most people would see as foreign, disagree with or consider a sign of 'problems'. In many cases, sure. In mine, not at all. I spend most of my time in my home, alone, except for 2 cats and 6 guinea pigs. I don't like hanging out with big groups of people. Most of my friends do not live in this state, and we talk daily via IM or e-mail. I see my parents every week or two for dinner; get along great with mom, get into frequent social/political debates (read: heated arguments) with my step-dad. Social with, but not particularly close with, my biological father. I venture out for food, groceries, pet supplies or occasionally because I want to. I have a very small group of good friends who I seek contact with regularly. I've met them all at some point, but even virtually they are dear friends and i would do about anything for their well being. When life is good for me, it immediately trickles downhill to friends, family and special interests. Special interests mean the Denver Zoo, Denver Dumb Friend's League, Cavy Care or other groups that seek to preserve. I live in a condo looking out onto Denver downtown. It is not luxurious by any definition, but it is ideally suited for me and has every luxury I want. My pets are dear to me, they are my kids. Two boys, six girls currently. My two cats rule the house and do as they please. My six girls are treated as best as humanly possible, receiving as close to perfect care as guinea pigs can be provided. Expert vet care, fresh timothy hay, fresh vegetables daily, a large habitat and more. They are all more important to me than your negative opinion of them. Snide comments or insults toward them typically get rewarded in a verbal lashing and public humiliation. They are good and innocent, you most certainly are not. I play online games, I work on osvdb.org / datalossdb.org / attrition.org, I work 40+ hours a week in the computer security realm. I am *deeply* connected with music and have an extensive playlist that probably has dozens (or hundreds) of artists you haven't heard of. I enjoy movies and well written TV shows / series while I work. I truly enjoy my day job, have the best supervisor you could ask for, and a great CEO who truly appreciates the 'one-off' employees who may not fit the perfect corporate model, but bring a lot more to the table. To those types of managers, I am fiercely loyal to and will work as much as it takes to make them happy. I believe in personal ethics, I fight against the industry I am a part of. I believe in honesty, at least to a degree that can fool the masses; meaning 99.9% of the world spews lies that are easily seen through. The industry believes that 99.9% of the time they should lie, hide behind ignorant standards, limp certifications or bullshit resumes. I cannot tolerate that, and I will not hold my tongue. If I reply to you in a public forum, odds are strong that you are part of the problem, not a solution. I will suffer hardship to stand for what I believe in. I will sever business / professional ties without second thought, if my friends or integrity should come first. As normal as the above may sound, it isn't. I know this based on just about every real-world person that has met me or gotten to know me. Many have said parts of the above, very few have lived up to it. The few that have, are the close friends I spoke of; the rest I have trouble remembering their names. The need of those few, certainly outweigh the need of the many (sheep of our society). Current Mood: content Current Music: Zero 7: Distractions (1 Comment |Comment on this)
3:36 am	bad month for pets lost Pringle mid-April, lost Juineapig mid-May. this month, Nugget had a growth on her flank that required removal. after diagnosis, a second trip for surgery (under anesthesia) and what will be a third trip to remove sutures is required. it is benign and mostly proactive care, but a Trichofollicaloma can cause ongoing problems and will never go away on it's own. Nugget is home and doing well, but must be segregated while she heals. I have her restricted to the bottom floor of the mansion, originally with Biscuit, now with Tater. i'll swap in other pigs as I can. given the location of the sutures, the only threat to them is another pig dominance mounting Nugget. Biscuit has never done that to any pig that I have seen, tater has only done it once or twice. the only other piggie I can swap in possibly is Waffle, who seems to have bonded with Nugget long ago. -- For the cats, Badger is doing great, healthy as can be. Speedbump on the other hand has serious issues with his teeth and more. A blood workup shows his kidney is failing and becoming a renal failure cat, common for 15+ year old cats. His teeth are in bad shape and is due for surgery next week to get them cleaned, many removed and more. After that he goes on a special diet as well. His surgery will cost between $500 - 1k. little bastard is worth it. between the three pigs and two cats, i think i crossed the ~ $2500 mark for the last 6 weeks of pet care. guess i need to curb my sushi, hooker and blow habbit. Current Mood: sad Current Music: Zero 7: This Fine Social Scene (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
3:56 pm	Juineapig The last 48 hours have been rough, ending in a forced decision to let Juineapig pass. She was put to sleep today by our pigdoc due to a long list of health complications. The Denver Dumb Friend's League had ruled her unadoptable hours before we got there, but agreed to let us take her given our history with caveys. We had her for around 1.5 years and gave her a great home. -- Extensive details of her health and struggle below, as well as necropsy results. Read at your own risk. -- Sunday, all of the pigs were out for their weekly run time, all over the living room floor in a huge pig-pen. Juineapig seemed to be in good spirits, was moving around, eating hay and demolishing the shared corn cob treat. That night she ate her share of the veggie platter and was put back with the rest of the pigs after being weighed. She came in at 995 grams, down almost 140 grams from 10 days prior. That dramatic weight loss was a huge concern and indication of serious problems. Since around 2AM Monday, her health went downhill rapidly. Monday afternoon she would not leave her cozy to get lettuce. She was interested, but hesitant to leave. I put a few pieces in front of her and she took a few bites and went back to sleep. Hours later I moved her to her own cage to give her alone time, since she had been getting increasingly worried/bothered by the other pigs. In her new cage, she hunkered down in a cozy and wouldn't leave it. At this point she hadn't had food or water for 12 hours and that was a bad sign. Several times that day, she would not eat lettuce or act interested in it. Overall she was more lethargic and more interested in burying herself in the fleece cozy. Evening lettuce time came, and she still wouldn't eat, still hadn't had water and was sitting in the same place. More worrisome, she had not poo'd at all. I consulted Kay who talked to her friend Scott who messaged me and began helping me diagnose her problem(s). After ten minutes of Q&A, we were sure she had 'bloat', which is gas build up that can be fatal to guinea pigs, unlike humans. By 9PM Monday night, we started her on Mylicon (name brand of Simethicone) and Critical Care (CC) to keep food moving and help break down the gas. I began to call animal hospitals with emergency care but had no luck. Very few doctors would even agree to see a guinea pig. Some would say yes, ask for symptoms and then change their mind. The few that would see her could only offer "general care" which does little good without an idea of the problems. It is incredibly frustrating when places like "All Animals Hospital" refuses to see your animal. What part of "All" don't you understand? After several rounds of Simethicone and CC, Juineapig ate a little lettuce on her own at 2:30AM (Tuesday). My main goal was to keep her comfortable and get as much food in her while i waited for Aurora Animal Hospital to open, where Dr. Esposito and Dr. Cogswell are very familiar with guinea pigs. As luck would have it, I get there at 8AM to find Esposito is out. Fortunately, Dr. Mish was there and helped while consulting Esposito via phone. X-rays confirmed our suspicion of bloat and also showed a small stone in her bladder. After a long discussion, I left with Buprenex to help with her pain and Metoclopramide to help get her GI system moving food. Throughout Tuesday she got those along with more doses of Simethicone and CC. Things began to look up when I noticed that she was able to poo and had more interest in lettuce. I woke up this morning to find Juineapig had not moved again, produced no poo and had laborious breathing. Overall she was unresponsive and seemed miserable. I got a dose of pain meds in her and took off for the vet again. Halfway there, Juineapig's limbs went limp as she has her back legs sticking straight out behind her. This was a horrible sign and I knew right then her health was in critical condition. Esposito was there today and immediately looked at Juineapig. The first thing she noticed were two lumps in her abdomen that hadn't appeared on the X-ray and could have been the root cause of many issues. One mass was visible on the X-ray, but only partially and very feint. It was not evident as a mass by Dr. Mish on Monday. At this point, Juineapig was unresponsive, had problems breathing and had no strength. Surgery was an option, but it would have been as much for discovering what the masses were as fixing any issues found. With a senior pig in that condition, surgery is extremely risky. Given her discomfort, I opted not to take her home either; while she may have been in a more familiar environment, she really wasn't aware of her surroundings and it would have been for my benefit, not hers. Esposito, Kay and I all agreed it was time to let Juineapig go. While it was clear she had many internal problems, I asked for a necropsy to get details of the complications. Since I have many other pigs and there is a lack of explicit detail on guinea pig health (e.g., as compared to cats and dogs), I want to learn as much as I can. Further, I want to ensure that nothing I do for daily care of the pigs has long-term adverse affects. Necropsy notes: first mass was a little smaller than golfball sized tumor, caudal abdomen, backside. irregular shape, white in appearance. blood supply extended off uterus, unusual presentation. wasn't uterine tissue. probably pushing on cecum, caused partial obstruction which likely contributed to gas build up. definitely cancerous. second mass on right side of abdomen where kidney is, 2x size of other mass, encapsulated / fluid of kidney tissue. metastatic masses on liver, small ~ 1 cm on several lobes. stone was 'regular' and totally in bladder, didn't seem to be causing any of the problems (weight loss, bloat, etc). she may have been passing stones for some time. her kidney likely had some function; there wasn't much urine present, but she hadn't been drinking water for almost 48 hours. I asked "she seemed to have a world of problems?", Esposito replied "yes she did". Hindsight: The first mass could have been removed by surgery, but wouldn't have fixed the other complications including the second mass. Based on the extensive problems, letting her go was absolutely the right thing to do. The one thing I should have done is describe in more detail the 'emotional' change in Juineapig the last few weeks, where she became a bit more aggressive toward other piggies that got near her (i.e. overly defensive of her area). While Kay told me that such a change could be a sign of physical problems, Juineapig's exam around three weeks ago did not find evidence of the masses. Even if I had ordered X-rays, they were mostly invisible on them yesterday and would not have been seen then. http://attrition.org/~squido/pics/08-02-10-juinea_bath/ Current Mood: sad Current Music: Tracy Chapman: Fast Car (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 1st, 2009
6:36 pm	Tina Dico apparently popular via Grey's Anatomy, she has two full albums out (haven't listened yet). but her song 'No Time To Sleep' is incredible. Who's gonna sing the song of change If no one can imagine life outside the beaten track And who's gonna stop a running train If no one cares to dwell or no one wants to look back Somewhere along the line you gave up askin' When it got a little too complex But if you don't question what has been Does it mean that you don't care what's coming next You got no one to follow And no one will follow you Ain't that a relief That everything and everyone must grow in opposition To resistance and contradiction This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep So who's gonna sing the song faith If no one prays for anything that can't be bought and sold And who's gonna tell the story straight Does anyone believe there's still a story to be told Somewhere along the line you just stopped walking When the undercurrent got too strong Some day a lonely busker will come knocking With a soft and long forgotten song 'Cause you got no one to follow And no one will follow you Ain't that a relief That everything and everyone must grow in opposition To resistance and contradiction This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep This ain't no time to go to sleep Oh, this ain't not time to go to sleep Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: Tina Dico: No Time To Sleep (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
4:30 pm	Biscuit reads Entertainment Weekly Biscuit Gpig, I guess her new full name, is a proud subscriber of Entertainment Weekly. I've mentioned before, but it still amazes me that a "loyal subscriber" who wishes to renew pays ~ 55 cents per issue, while the new subscriber pays ~ 38 cents per issue. Fortunately, applications that allow you to subscribe only really discriminate on the credit card details, not who they are mailing them to. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Faith No More: Epic (Comment on this)
Monday, April 20th, 2009
5:06 am	Legacy had a chat with my 'rents earlier about legacy. they have never asked me about 'settling down and having kids'. mom hasn't asked me about a grandchild or done what many moms frequently do with (not so) subtle pressure to have spawn. got me to thinking that i am not carrying my mother's maiden namesake, nor my stepfathers. my father's name won't end with me as there are several cousins that will carry it on. not sure it really matters to me as far as 'must keep the name going'. what got me thinking was that my parents have extensive scrap albums. not only of our development, but of our travels and their more recent extensive travels. when they pass, i will get them. when i pass, then what? be a shame to see them tossed in the trash, but really, who would look through them with any real interest. same thing with my journals i wrote many years back. tonight i thought "what if i digitize them" and put pictures of each page up on the web. that would be slick, would preserve them. but again, when i pass, odds are my web page gets tar'd up and becomes jericho.zip on a few people's hard drive (per my request). so 20+ volumes of scrap albums would become 20+ megs of pics would become 2+ megs of a zip file over time. i may do it anyway. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: Guinea Pig Wheeking (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
6:05 pm	Pringle Some time between afternoon lettuce and evening lettuce, Pringle passed away. She was resting comfortably, head on a small pillow; she clearly did not suffer. While I had an eerie feeling the last few weeks that something was up, our pigdoc said she seemed fine and that her minor weight loss was not significant. There are times where i'd see her sleeping, having serious spasms. They looked as if she was having vivid dreams, but it's likely it was a symptom of something neurological. She was adopted on March 9, 2008 from a shelter. When we got her, she was severely malnourished, well under 700 grams and extremely skinny. Her first doc visit resulted in finding ovarian cysts, which she had a surgery to remove. Despite all of that, and despite what was obviously an uncomfortable life before the shelter, she rebounded well. She became a very lively pig, very friendly, didn't mind being held or petted. She would "prairie dog" for vegetables and was always curious what you were up to. Her one year with us was spectacular. http://attrition.org/~squido/pics/08-03-09-pringle/ update: necropsy revealed that everything in her system was good except her liver, which had End-stage liver disease. there are several things that could have lead to it related to her previous health issues. Current Mood: sad Current Music: Lamb (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
2:06 am	Your life's soundtrack? You live a life, 50 - 100 years. It gets boiled down to a two hour movie. That movie has a soundtrack, say 10 - 12 songs. What would those songs be? Not just songs you groove to, but songs that you feel would personify you; make other's understand what kind of person you were. p.s. if you are under 50 years old and list 10 - 12 songs, I think i'd be disappointed p.p.s. my life's soundtrack (which i track on an itunes playlist), is only up to three songs. p.p.p.s. no, i won't list them here (yet) Current Mood: curious Current Music: Citizen Cope (2 Comments |Comment on this)
12:09 am	sideways You know it ain't easy For these thoughts here to leave me There's no words to describe it In French or in English Well, diamonds they fade And flowers they bloom And I'm telling you These feelings won't go away They've been knockin' me sideways They've been knockin' me out lately Whenever you come around me These feelings won't go away They've been knockin' me sideways I keep thinking in a moment that Time will take them away But these feelings won't go away Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: Citizen Cope (Comment on this)
Monday, March 30th, 2009
8:14 am	old joke... but much less so if an ordained minister sends this on a monday morning: Q: How do you get a nun pregnant? A: Dress her as an altar boy. yes, a real live minister, and one of the most brilliant, practical and skeptical men you will ever meet. apply that to 'faith' and 'god'; if he can find a way to believe, then maybe so should you. he can tell you more reasons to believe in UFOs than God, yet finds a reason or need to believe. as crazy as it sounds to me and my past, he demands instant respect and i make sure I listen to him when he speaks. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: none (1 Comment |Comment on this)
5:46 am	work schedules i love my schedule, which is also part of my day job. i wake up at 12:30 every day, weekday or weekend. once in a while i snooze for one hour if i cross the 5a barrier and intrude upon my 7.5 hour sleep schedule (yes, i'm spoiled), or I wake up an hour earlier if I can't sleep or have anxiety . upon waking I give the cats treats, give the guinea pigs romaine lettuce and then sit down at the computer, even if for a few minutes before rushing out the door. did my boss IM me? is it work related? is it just her cat sending me 8am ADS#!#$k2399sd8a text? is it something specifically work related that I need to respond to? if boss appeased: I check my personal mail for anything directly related to my personal life (mom?!). I check my work mail for anything that must be answered before 5P EST (two hours ahead, before they leave office). note: the other division managers are important, but if my boss doesn't say it's a priority, it can wait until I start my work day unless I feel it is a priority (e.g., the two or three devs in Europe, or I want to make Dev/QA happy). shower.food.mail.web.cats.guineapigs.osvdb.datalossdb.attrition.errands.fresh air.whatever around 7pm my time, i start looking at 'work' duties. the next 9 hours are mainly focused on work unless i've had to do something time-sensitive earlier in the day. this period includes checking IM, checking mail, occasionally loading into WoW to help a friend. any personal time that intrudes upon this work gets counted against my "work week" and I make up those hours on Sat/Sun as needed. my manager has next to no knowledge of this timeshifting unless it is planned in advance and will mean more than a few hours (e.g., recent Citizen Cope concert, i asked for in advance, time shifted most of that Fri to Sat/Sun). if it is a few minutes here, a few there, or adds up to an hour or two, I don't bother her because I will make sure the time is made up. this time is shifted on MY schedule when I want to. 99% of the time, work comes first, no matter how nice/cute/interesting/funny/amusing/sexy you are. work pays my salary and allows me to pay the bills and make my guineapigs comfortable. I *like* my job, I *like* the company I work for and I see myself working there for a long time very happily. my boss knows that, and she knows she can call down the thunder and demand I work if I am falling behind for any reason. that, and she knows where I live and will beat the ever loving shit out of me if i'm a bad employee. Current Mood: tired Current Music: Scarlett Johansson (Comment on this)
4:40 am	"well played" whether it is a game, acting out a part or professional advancement.. "well played" Current Mood: content Current Music: tv: The Unit (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
1:16 am	Citizen Cope - the rest No opening band, so people were inside early and not waiting in a line outside. The music playing before Citizen Cope took the stage was good. A lot of songs I don't think i've heard, including a few that had half the audience singing along. Heard one really good song with a female vocalist. While I heard some of the lyrics, it is extremely difficult to remember them through a two hour concert of a different band. Doh! The Ogden is a pretty small venue. I try to get a railing spot on the first level above the pit, as you are eye level with the performer's knees, but only 25 feet away at most. It gives the feeling of a very personal and up-close concert. While waiting, a few drunk girls in front of me in the pit were amusing. One made me and the two guys next to me all promise not to 'roofie her'. Apparently she had a bad experience with being slipped a roofie at a Wu-tang concert ten years ago. I promised, and kept my word, as I left all my roofies at home on accident. Watching her and her girlfriend make out for 80% of the concert was not the worst of scenery either. The amount of pot being smoked at the concert was humorous. The three or four girls waving their bras all concert was silly. Dancing for almost two hours was great, but my feet will regret it tomorrow no doubt. Current Mood: complacent Current Music: Citizen Cope (Comment on this)
1:06 am	Citizen Cope - the concert Tonight I saw Citizen Cope for his first of two shows at the Ogden Theatre here in Denver. I've become a fan of theirs over the last two or so years. Something about the songs appeal to me on several levels, leading me to believe that the singer (Clarence Greenwood) was passionate about his music. In person, it certainly seems as if he is as into his music as the crowd is. Most of the songs are performed with his eyes closed (or mostly so), hand gestures and dancing around that show his passion. At times, he is almost awkward with his movements, giving me the impression that he is desperate to share his music while also keeping pieces close to him. Incredibly thankful, he clearly appreciates his audience and performs for them. Watching Greenwood compared to more mainstream acts and you really see the distinction between a musician and an industry generated puppet singing as a business. The show started a bit late, but ran a full two hours and then some. With one encore, Citizen Cope played more than 15 songs with some extended versions of the songs that you'd only hear in concert. For about $30, this was exactly the kind of concert I love; great music, small venue, long set and a crowd that was as into it as the band. Even the older lady behind me who had never heard one of their songs until this concert couldn't help but dance to the music. Current Mood: content Current Music: Citizen Cope (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
4:57 am	why i hate technology #982732 I have a cheap DVD player in the bedroom. Forty bucks, I know it isn't designed for much. However, if someone could explain this to me, I might, MAYBE have some hope for the dismal state of technology we suffer. Every few weeks, the remote stops working. It is not the batteries, it is not line of sight. If I power the DVD off, no help. If I unplug /plug the power cable from the back of the DVD player (the funky two hole side of the power cable), no beans. If I unplug / plug the power cable from the *power strip*, the remote starts working again. Why? Current Mood: confused Current Music: Kosheen (1 Comment |Comment on this)