Warming Up

I remember thinking it wasn't that important.
Being able to just dive into heavy physical activity, get a litle winded and 5 minutes later to just dive right in again.

No longer.

Just moved some furniture, heavy stuff, I'm talking a couple hundred pounds and more. And right now the muscle under my left shoulder blade (deltoid) is killing me. Can't move it too much without it being on fire. I'm pretty much holding on to my right shoulder with my left hand and that's sort of ok.

OW.

Two advil and trying to slowly stretch it... probably not a good idea, but... well... don't want it too stay seized up.

Ow.

Must remember, limber up.

Frantic Activity.

Next couple of days are going to be a little bit hectic as training has started and is running until the end of the week. This unfortunately also means that I won’t have as much time to post, or visit with all you wonderful people. [sniffle] However, in the interim I shall leave in the wonderfully capable hands of my best friend and love, Hugin, and hope that I’ll be able to sneak in every now and again to say hello. See you all soon. [by Friday latest]
Lots of squishes.
Munin.

B&J

For those of you who can; enjoy Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day.

For those who can't...

Well...

Um...

Hmm...

Have a NICE day.

Scary

A scary little tidbit I found written on /. about the FDA's start:

In 1937, the Massengill Company put on the market an antibiotic elixer for children composed of the drug sulfanilamide dissolved in diethylene glycol and flavoured with raspberry extract. Massengill never tested the product for safety. Diethylene glycol being a very nasty poison, 107, mostly children, died shortly thereafter from liver failure caused by this medicine. Massengill could not be sued under the laws at the time because, as the President of the company said,

My chemists and I deeply regret the fatal results, but there was no error in manufacture of the product. We have been supplying legitimate professional demand, and not once could have forseen the unlooked for results. I do not feel that there was any responsibility on our part.
The nation's response to this was to pass the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which established the FDA and granted it sweeping powers to regulate the market to ensure that all food, drugs, and cosmetics were safe.

Wow. Hard to believe that's the way things worked before 1938.

Mild shock

This weekend I learnt that the training course I was suppose to be giving this morning has been moved to Tuesday. For some really weird reason that little tidbit of information sent me into shock. I sat there gaping at the screen, mouth opened wide, mind trying to work itself up to the thought that all the nervousness I have been putting myself through, would not bear fruition on Monday but will have to wait till Tuesday. Gah! I was so psyched, anxious and antsy. I don’t think I can mentally hold on till Tuesday, which is all very silly because you’d figure that the extra day would be a godsend, allowing for more prep time, and for one to pull themselves together before having to face the music. But, no, I am freaking out because I am not teaching right at this moment, but instead am sitting here being a panicky nervous wreck waiting for the inevitability of tongue tied instruction.

racing for gems.

Hugin and I ran away for the weekend, albeit it was very far. We stayed in to avoid the downpour, curled up on the couch, played Diablo II, watched Eco Challenge, which a dear friend was kind enough to tape for us, and then when the sun came out snuck out for fresh air. All in all it was a rather relaxing stare of affairs, except for the dreams. The dreams, well they were exhausting. I woke up this morning feeling worn, beaten and battered. One should never dream of adventure racing when they sleep. And, one should particularly not dream of adventurer racing combined with some mad scamper for gems, runes and gold, as one attempts to fend of strange monsters and race up the mountain, pedal down white water or rappel off a cliff. Tonight I am opting for something a little tamer, we are going to curl up and watch alias, followed by something bland and uninspiring. I don’t think I physically handle another night of running about like a madwomen, slaying demons and searching frantically for gems. Precious gems. [drool]

Lovey dovey feeling.

I am not sure if it’s the weather, the ultra long winter, or a sign of the times, but it does seem that there is a lot of icky, crappy unfriendliness going around.* So in the vein of this, Erika, has declared today a Blogger Love In.

When you have a moment, go to each of the blogs you read and tell them why you love them so much. Then post one thing you're happy about in your life. Then come back here, comment and be a part of the love-in, which is sort of like a sit-in, but with a lot more touchy-feely action goin' on.

* Please excuse the use of so many adjectives, lack of any grammatical structure but the coffee hasn’t kicked in and I feel that I am writing most of this on a tenth of brain power

white cottony numbness

Sitting quietly, letting morning coffee seep in and slowly begin to stir semi-conscious thought. It’s odd this sense of disjointedness, in which your body is revving to go, get out and do stuff but your mind is a million miles away, ensconced in white wholly cotton. Numb, and mildly oblivious to what is going on.

Madame Blanket Hog

Hugin has dubbed me a Blanket Hog, and is threatening blanket sanctions against my pillow and myself. I believe these sanctions to be thoroughly unjust and unwarranted. In my defence I claim that the culpability does not fall solely on my shoulders, and state for the record that he is as much to blame as I am. Why you ask? Well Sir, you see, at some point in the night, Monsieur Hugin will brazenly shuck off the blankets, exposing his derrière to the cold, leaving me stranded under a growing mound of duvet. In an effort to escape my confines I will twist and turn, nabbing the blankets as I roll and therefore leaving him further exposed. Had he not, in his need to bare all, thrown the covers off they would be safely anchored on his side and I in my twisting would not be able to swipe them. So it is with these strong shaky points, that I state with great confidence, that he is the culprit and not I! Furthermore, in retribution for my sullied reputation, the pillow and I will be seeking recompense in the form of snuggling sanctions! So there! [thumbs nose]

Hang Fire

I have noticed something about procrastination. Well mine in particular. It would seem that the more worried, stressed or nervous I am the more I tend to procrastinate. To put it in more scientific terms, because I am a big geek, my need to postpone, put off and drag my feet will increases exponentially with respect to the amount of trepidation I feel. Until, I invariably reach a point of mad stressed out insanity, and will run about, headless chicken like, trying to get a million things down at the last possible moment. This week is no different. Now if you to mind, it’s time for me to start running. Squawck!

Oh, in the interim:
Forty German authors are hoping to set a record on World Book Day on Wednesday by conceiving, writing and printing a book in 12 hours. - BBC

A birthday, you say?!?

They say senility comes with age and in our case it is more a fact of life then a myth. Having said that, I will now grovel pathetically and beg forgiveness from our dear Little Sister who celebrated her birthday on April 19! [Must tattoo that on person, somewhere obvious, so will not forget next year!]

Happy Birthday, dearest Sis! Wishing you many, many happy returns. Hoping that your birthday was splendid and filled with love, laughter, and happiness. Wishing you all the best for the years to come, may all your hearts desires and wishes be granted.

Our squishy love, hugs and kisses.
Hugin and Munin.

PS. We miss you terribly!!!

Earth day

According to Google today is Earth Day.

I love the fact that Google pays attention to these things and that they change their banner to reflect certain world events. Asides, these little Martian are so cute! I could just squeeze their cheeks.

In Memory: Nina Simone.

'Sometimes her voice changes from dark and raw to soft and sweet. She pauses, shouts, repeats, whispers and moans. Sometimes piano, voice and gestures seem to be separate elements, then, at once, they meet. Add to this all the way she puts her spell on an audience, and you have some of the elements that make Nina Simone into a unique artist.' - Online Biography.

Nina Simone passed away this weekend. She was one of the most amazing jazz/blues/soul singers I have ever heard. My words will never do her voice justice. So instead, go here. Listen to her voice. Let it sweep you away.

Human Yens: Curious and Inexplicable.

Why is it when one is confronted with the possibility of not doing something it becomes the thing they want most to do? Just realized that I have no real way of getting anywhere, as I have left my wallet with all it worldly goods in the bag that Hugin is toting about. The desire to be completely and utterly lazy has quickly flown out the window and having now been constrained to staying within a 10-mile radius of the house [it’s about as far as I can walk. Twenty if you count the going and coming] as I have no bus pass, money or means of obtaining more green coloured stuff, I am now struck with the desire to do something. The need to get off my arse and explore the unknown regions of the city, sip café lattes in unknown terraces has hit full frontal with the weight of a hefty sledge hammer behind it. There seems to be no rational reasoning behind the yearning, it is just something that I desperately need to do. Which is at once odd, inexplicable and curious. Anyone got any insight?

The Brain

Ok, it isn't about our brain or any animal brain. Rather it's about a media plugin that is supposed to analyze and replicate our listening habits. Sure.

I'm curious to see how well it works, but it implies a certain amount of manual fiddling with the playlist and songs that I don't necessarily do.

Still, I'm tempted.

Amorphous Brain Farts

Find myself writing in unstructured sentences. Words are thrown onto the page in any odd way. No real configuration. They are just there. Mindless farts of unformatted insight. Filling up the void. Memories. Thoughts. Words. Constants. Vowels. Sounds. All Higgledy Piggedly. An ode to the sheer laziness that I feel, having no real desire to do anything else but sit, twiddling thumbs. Watching the seconds tick by. Allowing the day to extend, lengthen before me. Each second savoured, not gobbled up by chores that forces moments to vanish in a blink of an eye. Un noticed. Devoured before one can fully appreciate them. Never stopping to sniff at the flowers, aromas, soft and light. Little speckles of conscious structure. And then retuning full circle back to the amorphous brain farts.

Happy Easter and Passover

Wishing everyone a Joyous Easter weekend, and a [belated] Happy Passover.

Something Interesting

The title of this post comes from the current blackmail scenario I am undergoing.

"Post something interesting." Cruel and unusual request to find in newsprint on my keyboard, noticing simultaneously that my Eeyore doll is missing. Bitterly cruel.

And this compared to say... oh I don't know... watching the Charlie's Angels movie. Very cruel... cheesily cruel.

Speaking of cheese while simultaneously avoiding the topic of blackmail, went and saw Bulletproof Monk last night. One, it is cheesy. Two, it is Chow Yun-Fat. So, the cheese is worth it and still enjoyable. Not a great movie, but it was cheesy fun as expected.

I am looking forward to picking up Once a Thief (the original John Woo movie) when it comes out on DVD. Details to be found at IMDB of course.

Other than that... a little of this, a little of that.

And then some Transporter later on.

Cheers.

New Link

There is a new link in my very small selection of links.

In honor of the coffee link, I sort of added another that I found a while back that connects with another beverage that I have been known to dabble at drinking.

Single Malt Scotch.
If you enjoy... enjoy.

Progressive inebriation.

…one breakfast outing and a hair cut later, and I am sucked dry, drained and one step closer to needing a night out, wrapped around a bar stool seeking full strung out inebriated bliss.

Elusiveness of mind

Some mornings it feels as if thought is a slow sluggish process. The words, elusive, flit about at the edges of consciousness, almost within grasp and their meanings become evasive, flighty creatures. Not making any full sense just sort of there, in the background, teasing you with their possible meanings. It is almost as if the gears of my brain need a good lubing*before any actual deliberation can be made.

I find that whole process frustrating. I wish I could wake up in the morning, brain ready to crank out intelligent thoughts on demand. Be able to be witty and amusing instead of slow, sluggish and incomprehensible. And, not lose the pieces of sentences, which were there just a moment before, but are now gone, puffs of insights scattered by the wind. [Which is to say, that I had a thought, went to look up a word in the dictionary and now the thought is gone.]

Why my brain finds thinking so difficult is beyond my understanding. Why, when I am not faced with a computer screen or nowhere near an expressive outlet [otherwise known as pen and paper] it will spew off whole sonnets, come up with brilliant notions and discourses but it will freeze up when said outlet is presented, is just plain baffling. I think I am going to go sulk in my cup of coffee until my mind decides to play nice.

*how odd, I am sure this is a word, and yet it does not seem to be in a dictionary.

Loud Yelp for help

I’ve been staring at a site design for about a month now, it’s almost there thanks to some really wonderful resources! The one thing [all right! there are more then just one, but the following been driving batty for the past couple of days] is: I really want to be able to align two lines of text with the borders of an image. Specifically, I would like one line to align itself with the right border of the image, and the other with the left border of an image. Simple. Right? Ok, well here’s the kicker, the images will vary in sizes. [Eeep!]

So if there are any coding goddesses or CCS gurus out there who would be kind enough to point me in the right direction, offer any hints, demystifying potions, charms, or any kind of help, I’ll be eternally grateful. Thanks muchly in advance. A rather batty Munin.

Threesome

They say that things come in threes: Good things, bad things, mediocre things, things you find on the streets, little wiggly cottony linty things and well, thingy things. Here are some more things that come in threes, as seen on allthingspondered.

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
01 | the thought of life without the ones I love
02 | standing on the roof edge of tall buildings
03 | loss
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ME LAUGH:
01 | Hugin
02 | dear friends [you know who you are]
03 | our silly psychotic kitten
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I LOVE:
01 | my best friend and significant other: Hugin
02 | snugly under the blanket time.
03 | sunshine. ocean. ice-cream. rainbows. butterflies and dragonflies.
-----------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I HATE:
01 | hypocrisy
02 | racism
03 | better then thouness
-----------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND:
01 | why people need to hurt others
02 | racism
03 | magnetic fields
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS ON MY DESK:
01 | computer screen
02 | green and purple moose
03 | large mug of coffee
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:
01 | multitasking
02 | pondering if another mug of java will send me over the edge
03 | wondering if I am spelling ‘Machinist’ properly. [that just looks wrong]
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:
01 | travel all over the world with Hugin
02 | make a difference in this wacky world, or at least in someone’s life
03 | ambitiously, though I am not really good: present a photo exhibit
----------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I CAN DO:
01 | laugh at my own quirkiness
02 | love with all my heart
03 | tie a cherry stem into a knot. [impish smile]
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY:
01 | quirky
02 | shy
03 | pensive
-------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I CAN'T DO:
01 | make sense of anything remotely related to electricity
02 | fly a plane
03 | love myself unconditionally
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO:
01 | those who love you
02 | your gut/ instinct
03 | body language
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO EVER:
01 | self-serving people
02 | liars
03 | politicians and lawyers occasionally
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE OF YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS:
01 | ice-cream
02 | baked goods
03 | any ethnic food [can't decide between, Mexican, Greek, Italian….]
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO LEARN:
01 | fly a plane/glider
02 | how to write properly
03 | everything and anything
-------------------------------------------------------------
THREE BEVERAGES YOU DRINK REGULARLY:
01 | coffee/tea
02 | grapefruit juice
03 | cranberry juice
------------------------------------------------------------
THREE SHOWS YOU WATCHED WHEN YOU WERE A KID:
01 | Sesame street
02 | the muppet show/fraggle rock
03 | mr. roger's neighborhood

Mish mash.

Waiting for the caffeine to kick in. Still partially asleep, visions of fluffy pillows and warm duvets tantatilize my thoughts. Would give almost anything, ok, maybe not anything, perhaps me mug of coffee, to be curled up underneath them listening to the rain patter against the glass, while watching silly movies.

Until conscious thought makes itself known; these little tidbits might keep ya’ll amused and astonished.
How to Be French a Guide for Americans. [Actual Book] Soccer and World Cup wins can help lower risk of heart attacks. British scientists have taken more credit for the discovery than they deserved. [How strange that they would do that!] Parallel Universes do in fact exist. Oldest Religious Icon in Americas.

Quote of the day:

"You're talking to a working actor. If they want an old man with sloppy speech, they have to come to me. I have a monopoly." - Kirk Douglas when asked by the Los Angeles Times if he has trouble getting parts after suffering a stroke.

And Cut!

Now that is very impressive.

You need Flash 6 for this to work...

Here's one that might be available in Quicktime: HERE! or HERE!

Here are the details on the clip: HERE

Enjoy.

Sunshine and butterflies.

Spent most of the weekend outdoors, wondering about the city and enjoying the sun.

Saturday saw us rising early as sunlight streamed through our bedroom window, beckoning us to come out and play. Coffee was brewed and drunk in mass quantities before we headed out to meet some dear friends at the botanical gardens so that we may wonder about and see the butterflies. The hot sun, made more potent by the glass, warmed our joints as we moved from one room to another taking in the sights and smells of spring, snapping pictures madly of anything that caught our fancy. [In the span of two hours, I managed to snap my way through 3 spools of film. Yes, you heard right 3 spools!]

After an hour of aimlessly wondering about we made it to the Mecca of all butterflies. Dozens of gorgeous beings fluttered about, flitting from one space to another, occasionally landing on a leaf, lens or body part to briefly say hello, only to quickly fly off again. Some would soar high above, gracious clouds of fluffy whiteness and others would swoop low between your feet, turning your steps into some form of silly dance as you tried to move around them. Then there were some who would simply perch on flowers, enjoying an afternoon snack. Moths, rested in the leaves, or hung of walls, their dark colours a stark counterpoint to the brilliance of the butterflies. As we left the confines of their arena a striking orange creature came to bid us adieu. Light as silk it landed gently on my hand; fluttering off as soon as we tried to take a picture.

Sunday was more subdued. We spent it wondering about our neighbourhood, purchasing groceries and just enjoying the spring weather.

Weekend Delinquent.

Warm weather beckons. Stretching we leave our caves, dark places of cold and humidity. Slowly we emerge, white winter wraiths unused to the suns glare. Staggering blindly we timidly raise our heads to the light, an apparition in the bright blue sky. At first sluggish, then as the heat warms lethargic muscles, our stooped bodies liven ready to dance once again in the sun.

The weekends to do list has been left undone, hopefully the next week will see them done. The sun has been absent for too long in this neck of the woods, would have been a sin to stay home and do chores/work. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it. Now hopefully I can convince my boss of that.

18

Happy Birthday Bro.
18...

Hope there is cool loot for you.
And that things are going well.

Reloaded

I think I just wet myself! Wow! Is it May yet? Can it please, please be May! Go see.

Browser Stuff

I'm talking web browsers.

We all have our favorites. I'm sure we have all had bad experiences with them also. I've tried Opera, Mozilla, Netscape, IE to name just the obvious ones. But a lot of stuff simply requires either Netscape or IE. And that's a shame.

Mozilla/Opera have wonderfully enjoyable (once you get the hang of them) gestures to perform functions. Plus tabbed surfing, pop-up blocking, etc... very nice stuff. I liked Mozilla and the lighter version Phoenix.

But the problem are those pages that `require' IE, etc. And some of them I either need or find inconvenient.

But THIS might help a lot.

So, if I don't try it before someone else does, please let me know how it goes!

White light of infinity gains a year

The dear old man be getting older today! Our warmest wishes go out to Stacey on his Birthday! Wishing you all your hearts desires. Hoping that you had a fabulous birthday filled with the best of everything. Now get, go give him some loving!

Matrices

Well, the Matrix Reloaded trailer #2 is being released as we speak - depending upon where you are.

All I can say from the tidbits I have seen, is that this looks damn good.

Spiderman might have to say buh-bye to all of its #1 records...

Sluice

Water pours down in big drippy goblets, pummelling out a beat on the bottom of the tub. Stepping under the spray I stretch letting the water envelope me, watching as little rivulets form, sluicing off the remnants of the nights sleep. Staring out the window wondering what the day will bring, playing with words in my head. Sluice. Squishy, slippery word, I love the way it feels rolling off my tongue. Sluice. Whipping it into sentences, I ponder which is grammatically correct: The water gushes down sluicing away the night’s sleep, or the water sluiced away the grogginess. Stretching once more, I rub the last remains of sleep from my eyes. Finally ready to face the day I step out into the cold, a new word to play with, bouncing happily about my head. Sluice.

spring

The windows have been thrown open and the lovely hint of spring permeates the air as it wafts past my desk. There are birds twittering behind me, singing their praises, calling out to the sun, tempting him to stay a while longer and play. My concentration is broken; words that were once at the tips of my fingers are now forgotten. I want to sneak outside and walk, breathing in the lightly warmed air and feel the sun on my cheeks. I want to read a book in an open aired terrace, sipping coffee from a tall transparent mug and watch the scenery as people walk by. I want to sing and skip and shout, yelling atop of my lungs that spring is finally here. But I dare not, just in case the winter gods hear my gleeful cry and once again thwart us with snow.

coffee, fishes and perry

Come on java gods don't fail me now! Must stay awake, need to be alert, chirpy and coherent. Chirpy?! What am I thinking? I am not a morning person. Grumble. Though ironically this song as now rumbaing it way through my head. ‘It’s a good day’

Also we are now back up to three, count 'em, three fishes. I honestly do not now how we keep losing the one.

All together now:

Oh! It's a good day, for singin' a song,
An' it's a good day for movin' along,
Yes, it's a good day, how could anything go wrong?
A good day from mornin' 'till night!

Yes it's a good day, ( it's a lovely day for shinin' ) for shinin' your shoes
An' it's a good day ( if you wan' a silver linin' ) for losin' the blues
( You got . . . ) Everything t' gain ( everythin' t' gain and nuthin' ) and nuthin' t' lose,
'Cuz it's a good day from mornin' to night! ( You're right! )

I said to the sun, "Good Mornin' Sun!"
"Rise an' shine t'day!"
You kno' you gotta get goin' if you're gonna make a showin'
And you kno' you got the right of way!

'Cause it's a good day for payin' your bills,
And it's a good day for curin' your ills,
So, take a deep breath, throw away all your pills,
'Cause it's a good day from mornin' 'till night!

Just this very day, I said to the sun, "Good Mornin' Sun!"
"Rise an' shine, why don't you rise and shine?"
You kno' you gotta get goin' if you wanna make a showin'
And you kno' you've got the right of way!

'Cause it's a good day for payin' your bills,
And it's a ' gooood ' day for curin' your ills,
So, take a deep breath ( Ahhh! ) throw away all your pills,
'Cause it's a good day from mornin' 'till night! ( Say that again! )
Oh it's a good day from mornin' 'till night ( That's what he said! )
Yes it's a good day from mornin' 'till night!

One more time!

Case of the disappearing fishy

Last night when we went to feed the fish we noticed that instead of the usual three only two fish could be found. We searched high and low, shifting rocks and plants of the plastic variety only to discover, nothing. Gave a quick peek in the filter and checked behind the aquarium in case he decided to flop out. Still nothing. Admonishing the cat just in case she had a midnight snack, we inched our way to bed perplexed as to how the fish could have mysteriously disappeared/escaped. This morning, at feeding time the fish once again numbered three. We mustn’t have been searching properly. Maybe we overlooked something. Still mildly puzzled we each headed off to work.

Feeding time this evening finds us gaping open mouth as two fish swim happily at the bottom of the tank and the third is once again nowhere to be seen. So my question is: How the heck does one fish make its escape out of an enclosed aquarium only to return the next time you look?

McHealthy!

'If you took the cheap burgers out of McDonald's what would be left? It is not a joke, but rather the big question that has been troubling the people who run the fast-food giant... For the moment, at least, the hamburger will stay on the menu but alongside will be burgers made from more wholesome meat. Low-fat yoghurts and a choice of salads will be among the new lines on offer' -BBC

I would really love to know what McD's definition of wholesome meat is. Is it meat that doesn't have any additives? Is it the real stuff or has it been cultivated somewhere in a lab? Maybe it's anything but beef.

'McDonald's failed to notice it was being dumped until its share price dived and it made a $344m (£222m) loss at the end of last year. '
Bwahhaahaa. Yes I know it's not nice to laugh at others misfortunes but seriously I just can't help but laugh. [insert more maniacal gleeful cackling] Seriously though, how does one fail to notice that they are being dumped? How far does one head have to be up their arses not to notice that they are losing profits and the only time they do is when a substantial chunk goes missing?

What I find interesting though, is that the concept is not necessarily to offer healthier less fattening foods, but to make it appear that to consumers that what they are eating is healthier for them then the old stuff was.

'Mr Baker believes that in this climate the move to healthier options could work in McDonald's favour by making people feel that they are eating food that is good for them... It doesn't mean they have to be healthy, but just be able to show they're more modern and relevant.'

Yes I’d like a triple cheeseburger with all the trimmings, some fries and a gallon of pop, but please hold the fat. Come on. Get real!

a grim future

Two of man's closest relatives in the animal kingdom will be on the edge of extinction within a decade, unless drastic conservation measures are put in place immediately -BBC

This makes me very sad and I find it distressing to know that we may lose two of our closets relatives. There must be a way to ensure that this doesn’t happen. I hope they find it soon. I hope they succeed in saving these amazing beings.

Where do you hail from?

I have always been fascinated where people come from. What their background is. Where their parents were born. Where they have personally lived. I am not sure why I have a need for this information, but somehow these little nuggets of data round out what I know of a person, completes them if you will and allows me to connect to them on another level. Yes, I know it’s a little strange. Today, however, Robyn was wondering the same thing.

Well, to make a really long story short, we proudly name ourselves international mutt representing from all the way up north, in Canada eh?!

...

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger." - Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

A dear friend sent me this quote last week. It has been sitting here for a couple of days as I try to sort through all the emotions and views that it evokes. As of yet, I have not been able to put any of them into coherent thought, but to quote Erika, it is definitely food for thought, no matter which side of the fence you sit on.

gimme back my hour

Gimme back my hour [pout] I knew this would happen. I knew that I would not be able to get to sleep at a decent time and have a hard time waking up this morning. Just knew it! And, no this has nothing to do with the fact that I am now hopelessly addicted to the new Diablo II mod . No sireee bob. Not at all. [shakes head] They are all mine! Mine! Mine!!! My precious gems and runes. Mine! uh-hum. cough. Oops. [sheepish grin]
Perhaps it is time for coffee, and sleep?

Spring ahead. Pah!

‘One more hour please’ she mumbles as she ducks head under pillow, burying herself deeper under blankets.

I have never been good losing what I perceive to be that extra hour of sleep. Every year we bounce ahead into spring, [Spring ha! There‘s still snow on the ground.] by resetting our clocks to the appointed hour, and every year I wake up feeling slighted and cheated by this yearly event. Every year I grumble and whine to anyone willing to listen about my embitterment at having to technically rise an hour earlier and that my body, used to waking up at a different hour, just can’t cope with the new schedule. [wry smile] This year seems to be no different.

Oh well, the good news is that the sun is finally shining, the coffee is warm, and hopefully in a few days there will be no more snow on the ground.

hope

“From now they will have their call to prayer five times a day - it will no longer be conducted behind closed doors, it will be done openly, as it should be…They are flying the Iraqi flag as a symbol of national identity...We can't play god and enforce our own societal values on people, we need to enable them." -BBC

…And then there are stories like this that give you hope that this is what it is all about.

Walking for a cure

Dawn will be participating in the MS Walk this weekend. If you can spare the funds please drop by her site and sponser her.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who give of your time to aid/help others. There is no greater gift.

*MS Society Canada

Sunshine in a plate

Nachos, sour cream, salsa and cheese heated up at 350^oF, served on a platter. Lemonade poured in a tall glass, gray light dances through it throwing rainbows onto the floor. A little hint of spiciness warms the tip of my tongue. Savory aromas fill my nostrils; memories of temperate summer days chase the cold form my bones. Going to go and sit on the sill and pretend it’s a terrace, gaze outside at the people, sip at my drink, and nibble at the sunshine in my plate.

Sweet

Well, this is a sweet story.

Don't know what else to say.
It's just nice.

Music Industry Bastards

The Music Industry can be pretty pathetic. At least in terms of the corporations that make billions, increase their revenues and complain about file sharing.

But this is just ridiculous.

Don't know about anyone else, but I don't buy music, I listened to it on the radio, I stream it on my computer, and don't like more than half of it. What I do like are bits here and there, rarely full albums. Does the music industry lose money from me when I record/swap a file?

According to them, they lose millions.
According to me, I wasn't going to buy from them anyways.

They don't have what I want, the way I want it, at a price I'd be willing to pay.

I have found albums that I liked and bought them. Not like I was never a customer.

Don't think I'd be one ever again.
To the individual artists, I apologize, because I like some of their work a lot. But supporting the music industry itself is no go.
Independents, sure.

Hello? Mother Nature?

This was splayed on the weather channel this morning. Hello, but aren’t we in the midst of spring, shouldn’t there be sunshine and birds twittering? Shouldn’t the lovely spring flowers slowly be poking through the ground, greeting the warm spring air, adding their soft fragrance to the myriads scents of spring? But no tonight’s forecast calls for a large dumping of snow followed by more snow on the weekend, to add insult to injury the temperature will be plummeting way below 0 ^oC.

Feh! I think I am going back to bed and shall be hibernating till Mother Nature figures out what is what! [Grump]

What Was I Thinking?!

Why have I never been on this site?!

Shawshank It Isn't

Scary when you read what can happen to innocent people.

19 years of life, gone. With nothing to show for it.
19 years that the real criminal has been free.

That's a long time.

Prediction

So, it seems that Jennifer Garner is splitting from her husband.

I predict an enormous increase in viewers for Alias in the Male age group between puberty and death.

On an extended note, it is sad that this is classified under entertainment.

It isn't.
As anyone who has been through a seperation (cordial or otherwise) would agree with.

Lowest point on the curve

Had another meeting this morning with some more bad news. It would seem that our company has not been able to right itself in the last quarter and has to make further cuts. This translate to further cuts in the engineering department, our hours are being reduced from a half to a third, which roughly translate into 32 hours per 2 weeks, and two people are going to be fully laid off. Marketing/Sales on the other hand will get to keep their full time positions, their salaries and their expense accounts, which are vital to finding new clients. coughBullshitcough. You got to love our sales department. Not only has one salesperson not produced any viable leads in over 18 months, but he get to keep his job and eat his cake too! I am beyond irate; in fact I am so vexed with the whole situation that I have become one big numb grumpball. How can a salesperson decide that it is ok to rest on his laurels after bagging one big contract? It just doesn’t make any rational sense. Or maybe I am missing something maybe this way sales actually works. Is it? And, shouldn’t the person’s arse be booted out of a company if he is not filling his mandate? I can understand having a bad couple of months, but a year and a half? [low frustrated growl]

There is some good news though. It would seem that the productive sales people have found some leads. Now we only have to hope that these will prove to be viable ones and that shortly we’ll all be back to work full time. [face scrunched up in hope] As my boss says, we are on the lowest point on the curve so things can only look up from here. Well here’s to the possibility if things looking up soon.

I wonder do you think if I refuse to go to meetings, maybe we won’t get any more bad news? I wonder if that would work?

Birthdays come in threes

There are three wonderful people who are celebrating their birthdays within three days.

Wishing Tanya a Happy belated Birthday, Ashley a Happy Birthday and Christine a Happy day early Birthday! Hope you all have/had a fantastics, fun loving filled day! Wishing each of you many happy returns, much happiness, love and all your hearts desires.
[Big Squishy Birthday Hugs]

on the side

Today's lunch discussion: Penile Erectile Dysfunction* and Viagra. Followed closely by a discussion on pneumatic cylinders. I kid you not

*these links may not be work safe.

Big wussy wus

According to the following, a big wussy wuss is what I am.
Though I wonder what happens if I use my real life alias?
Ooh an 8.4! Which makes me a Purple People-Eating Spider Monkey.
Bring it!

First spotted at Dick's place!

A Little Groaner

A dear friend sent me this groaner the other day. I must warn you that I am not using the word 'groaner' lightly, so please proceed with caution.

Short hot love story

I shall seek and find you...
I shall take you to bed and control you...
I will make you ache, shake and sweat until you grunt
and groan...
I will make you beg for mercy...
I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved
when I leave you...and you will be weak for days.

All my love,
the flu

Sci-Fi

Reading "The Mote in God's Eye" by Niven/Pournelle. I had been reading EE Doc Smith's Lensman series, which was written even earlier.

I must say, it is always entertaining reading old sci-fi. Spaceships with tape drives on them and the like.

But then no matter what you can imagine, at one point in time it will probably be the technological equivalent of stone knives and bearskins.

What I did like was the brief discussion (In The Mote) on evolution and how humanity has reached a peak in evolution because it is now able to mold the world around it and survival of the fittest no longer applies because of our ability to let the sick/injured to live their lives.

I've felt that way about humanity for a while. We can advance, we can learn more, but I do not see us evolving.

Does that mean we are stagnating? Does it mean we will become vulnerable?
Perhaps.

I was thinking about illness and disease and wondering if the immunity to those things is a form of evolution. I don't think that is the proper way to determine evolution. It can't be shown in little steps, because there is no way of knowing if those steps will be important, or if they will end up being a dead end.

I certainly wouldn't say that the Spaniards were more evolved than the Central American tribes they met in the 15th century, just because the Spaniards had resistances to Old World diseases which the natives didn't.

Certainly evolution isn't going to be evident on such a small timeframe.
Perhaps in the same light, I cannot say that a lack of evolution would be evident on such a small timeframe either.
But theoretically, based on the direction we are taking and the goals behind what we wish to do, we are moving away from evolution.
We want to extend the status quo, make life longer, make everyone healthy, avoid change.

If someone developed an evolutionary feature spontaneously, we would probably try to `heal' it. And then modify whatever situation caused the situation so that it wouldn't happen again.

Maybe we want to control evolution as well. Shape not only our external to match our wants, but also our internal.

And that's just a scary thought considering what we have done to our world so far.

Morning commute.

The morning commute sees me slumped in a chair in the corner of the bus/subway, a ball of half woken uncaffeinated grumpiness, eyes barely open watching the commuters get on and off. Listening to their music that is played too loudly on headsets, perusing their morning papers, catching a word there, and a phrase here; an onslaught of incomprehensible media. Noting who relinquishes their seat and who guards it possessively. An hypothesis begins to form in the recesses of my mind. Women are more likely to give up their seat then men. The question is then posed: ‘Why is it the women are more likely to offer their seat to others, while men will feign ignorance, guarding their seat by sulking, brooding and pouting if any one comes near?’