Monthly Archives: June 2011

ocf

obligatory OCF post

this will be my 8th OCF. i’m leaving on tuesday, getting a ride with myron and marylin, and arriving on wednesday, after staying with their kids in portland, and returning monday, which is more or less exactly what i wanted… if it had been exactly what i wanted, i would have arrived on tuesday, but when relying on the good graces of others to provide my transportation, i can’t be as picky as i would be otherwise. i’m also going to send a couple of boxes of “heavy gear” with sasha, who is going to be stopping by on monday, so that the car-top carrier won’t get overloaded.

this year’s production is Peter Pan. as it is now a tradition, we are going to have the first – and final – “complete” run-through of the panto at the fair, on thursday, and we’ll be doing two shows a day, at 12:00 noon, and 3:00 pm, in the “purpose built” Morningwood Odditorium, friday through sunday for (presumably) paying audiences. at the rehearsal i attended yesterday, we didn’t have all of the music, and the lyrics hadn’t yet been written for most of the songs… i wonder if those (presumably) paying audiences are aware of what is waiting in store for them… actually, my impression is that most of them have either seen our performances before, or don’t care, because they’ve ingested some combination of drugs and/or alcohol and are oblivious… and the ones who are neither of the aforementioned groups are usually the ones who actually pay us the most.

and, in spite of everything: in spite of the long lines for the porta-potties, and long lines for breakfast and lunch, and the long lines for the showers, and the overpriced food, and the “hippie ineptitude factor” — in spite of the fact that it is a “hippie mall” with all the trimmings and a “footd court”, i’m actually looking forward to going again this year, in spite of the fact that i was full of trepidation when i first went to the fair.

by the way, in order to circumvent the aforementioned “hippie ineptitude factor”, simon has arranged for my pass to be under the name “Harry Smith”, because they don’t seem to understand anything else… 😉

baby gramps, pictures, snake suspenderz / alive

the can can

baby grampsthe show at the can can last night went exceptionally well, but i think that the exceptional parts were more because of disorganisation and lack of planning than anything else…

the can can was STUFFED with people, which was a good thing from our point of view, because our “take” was based on sales at the door, but i suspect that a large part of the reason why the can can was STUFFED last night is because we opened for baby gramps — which was a complete surprise to us. i had been lead to the understanding that we would be opening for He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister, and, indeed, they were there, and played after baby gramps. truckin' davethe main objection we had was that nobody had told us that we were opening for baby gramps… we had discussed an apparent discrepancy in what the booking person had told us compared to what they had announced on their web site – which was just us and HMBSMS – and we had prepared for the possibility that they had just been disorganised (the can can has just recently moved back in to their original location, after having temporarily relocated across the street to accomodate a construction project). and, apparently, when gramps was called by the can can (he does shows there on a regular basis), he was under the impression that it was as a favour to someone, but he didn’t know who…

but if someone had only told us that we would be opening for gramps, we would have talked it up a lot more than we did… which, for us, was pretty extensive, but if people had known that gramps was gonna’ be there, more people that we told would have actually showed up…

and, as an added bonus (for me, anyway) was that accompanying baby gramps on toy pianos was my friend truckin’ dave – this guy – who i have known since the early 1980s, from bellingham (a “bellinghammer”)… i had no clue that this guy knew baby gramps, although gramps introduced dave as “my friend from the ’60s”, so the whole evening was full of surprises for me… and it’s close enough that it could actually be considered a birthday present… 🙂

cannabis, drugs, i am a terrorist

another week closer to the eschaton…

The Patriot Act and the Quiet Death of the US Bill of Rights – welcome to the united states. here are your chains, your desk is over there. somebody will give you food, eventually, if you do your job well. have a nice day…

When they took the fourth amendment,
     I was quiet because I didn’t deal drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment,
     I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment,
     I was quiet because I didn’t own a gun.
Now they’ve taken the first amendment,
     and I can say nothing about it.

No automatic right to lawyer in US civil cases – I can’t… oooooOOOO… <stamping around waving arms>… 😛

Woman arrested for filming police from her front yard – instead of going after real terrorists (the guy who was stopped that she was filming was not arrested) the rochester cops clowns arrest an innocent bystander, on private property, who was legally entitled to take the video that she was taking… and then, later on, Rochester Police Ticket Supporters of Woman Who Taped Police From Her Own Front Yard… don’t rochester cops clowns have better things to do?

TSA stands by officers after pat-down of elderly woman in Florida – instead of going after real terrorists, the TSA clowns see fit to strip search a 95-year old lady in a wheelchair, including forcing her to remove her adult diaper…

CMPD Independence Officer Goes Postal Over Blogger With A Camera – blogger takes a picture of an arrest in progress. police officer lies and tell him he doesn’t have the right to take pictures, then police officer lies about his identity, and when blogger calls for clarification, he is lied to by a police public information officer… what! the! FUCK!?!? 😛

Bank robber planned crime and punishment – he robbed the bank of $1, so that he would be arrested and sent to jail… where he could get the medical care that he couldn’t get any other way… and says that, if he is released, he’ll do it again… 😛

Surprise! TSA Is Searching Your Car, Subway, Ferry, Bus, AND Plane – they haven’t caught a significant number of “terrorists” in the usual fashion, so now they’re upping the ante. i was on a crowded city bus the other day and four burley, uniformed, jack-booted thugs got on the bus and rousted all the passengers for proof of ID and of paid fare… and then escorted one pathetic bum (who was actually asleep) off the bus because he didn’t have the “proper papers”… you would think that they could find better things to do with their time. 😐

TSA claims it will soon stop molesting little children, but not adults, veterans, senior citizens or the disabled, but TSA Lies About Policy "Change" On Child Pat Downs – i was at the king street station, recently, and observed a quiet gentleman with a jacket that said “TSA Inspector” on the back, watching the crowd for “suspicious behaviour”… i tried to take a picture of him, but he was apparently aware of me (i was making no effort to hide), and he successfully dodged my camera…

12 Things That The Mainstream Media Is Being Strangely Quiet About Right Now – “the worst nuclear disaster in human history continues to unfold in japan , US nuclear facilities are being threatened by flood waters, the US military is bombing Yemen, gigantic cracks in the earth are appearing all over the globe and the largest wildfire in arizona history is causing immense devastation… but anthony weiner, bristol palin and miss USA are what the mainstream media want to tell us about and most americans are buying it.”

Full container screening ‘not best’ move: US security chief – you are required to be body-scanned every time you travel, but those big containers from outside the country sail through with no inspection at all…

John McCain, Imperialist – and, so far, he’s not in the running for president this year… which is, probably, a very good thing indeed, because John McCain’s Claim of Illegal Immigrants Starting Arizona Wildfires is Disputed by Forest Service and then McCain Now Denies Ever Saying Undocumented Immigrants Started Wildfire… if he can’t get it right whatever they say, he doesn’t have much hope as president, much less getting a nomination… WE HOPE… 😐

9/11 and the Orwellian Redefinition of "Conspiracy Theory" – welcome to 1984: War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength… and any other definitions will result in prison torture retraining.

NATO admits causing Libya civilian deaths – fine, get gadhdhafi out if you must, but don’t kill babies, okay? it’s not the babies’ fault, regardless of how hateful gadhdhafi is…

Call Off the Global Drug War – by President Jimmy Carter

Hill: Barney Frank, Ron Paul Propose Legislation That Would End Federal Marijuana Prohibition – Historic Bill to End Federal Marijuana Prohibition Introduced – Tell your representative in Congress to put an end to the war on marijuana users!!

Public Serive Announcement: Should I Change My Password? uses a number of databases that have been released by crackers to the public, and has been created to help the average person check if their password(s) may have been compromised and need to be changed.

pictures

की कुर्सी और के जूते

shoezi went out to get the spare tire fixed that moe blew out on the freeway last weekend, and i also went around to various different places to find a chair to replace the one that i’ve been using for 10 years or so, that has taken its share of abuse over the years and isn’t really a chair any longer… moe told me that they have them at walgreen’s, but they only have folding camp chairs with arms, and i need one without arms, so i went to sportsmens’ warehouse, and they didn’t have ’em either, so i went to REI, because i know they’ll have them there… and while i was at REI, i decided to look at the vibram-soled barefoot shoes that i saw at SACBO last weekend, and, lo-and-behold, they actually had them on sale, and they were doing a "backyard camp-out deal with a 15% off coupon for one full-priced item… so, i bought a new folding chair (it’s actually a stool, because it only has three legs, but it does have a back rest) and new shoes for the first time in twenty years or so.

it’s really difficult for me to buy new shoes, because, if they’re not made right, i have a tendency to “run over” them really quickly: the sole of the shoe doesn’t match my weird arches, and i end up either walking on the inside of my feet, or the shoes give me massive blisters, and, one way or the other, i end up wearing holes in the sides of the shoes within a couple of weeks. birkenstocks seem to be the only decently made shoe that i can wear for more than a day with out getting blisters, and that’s been the way it is pretty much ever since i started buying my own shoes… but these are amazing… they’re like being in bare feet, except that they’ve got an extra layer of vibram in between me and the ground, and they’re practically impossible to “run over” because they fit so well… 8)

i’m really jazzed, and can’t wait to “try them out” on a long hike, or a trip to the beach or something… wait! i’ve got OCF coming up… that should do it… 8)

chaos at work, reasons to quit

must… resist… urge… to… kill…

"I can’t watch the video you sent me cause it’s mp4. Can you send it in mp3?"
     — Clients From Hell

i’ve heard that before… from an employer… and it’s all i can do to not email that employer RIGHT NOW and figuratively strangle him until his eyes bug out, for uttering such inane drivel, despite the fact that i haven’t actually been employed by this particular IDIOT for at least 5 years… 😡

bssb, ocf, philharmonic, players, snake suspenderz / alive

busy busy busy…

let’s see… fremont phil rehearsals this week, monday and wednesday, tuesday was my 13th wedding anniversary, thursday held a fremont phil performance at a private “ice cream social” in richmond beach, and today was a sousa band performance at the king street station, commemorating the remodeling (which hasn’t actually happened yet) and reopening of the king street station, and to which i actually took public transportation from federal way (which is the closest actual bus station to my house)… really, $2.50 and 40 minutes from federal way transit center to the king street station makes taking the bus almost realistic enough that i would be willing to consider it… if it weren’t for the fact that, usually, i am travelling with my tuba and all my gear, which i’m sure they’d let me do on the bus, but i’m also fairly sure that it would irritate the hell out of certain passengers. tomorrow is pretty much open (although i’m going to go replace the tire that moe blew out on the freeway last weekend) and sunday looks like it’s going to be another snake suspenderz performance at the ballard sunday market…

that enough for ya? it’s not over… next monday i’m breaking the tradition of only having one rehearsal per day, and rehearsing (again) with snake suspenderz, as well as a rehearsal with the fremont phil, tuesday i have a snake suspenderz performance at the can can, and wednesday i’m back to one rehearsal per day, with the phil… thursday, next week, is far enough in the future that, to my mind, it doesn’t even exist yet, but by that time i will have expended enough spoons that it will be time for a couple of days break… we’ll see how it goes…

and that’s not to mention OCF, which is coming up very quickly, and this year’s panto, which is peter pan, for which we (still) don’t have all of the music, despite the fact that it’s going to go on stage for the first time in a little more than 2 weeks…

whuff…

important things to remember, moe, pictures, snake suspenderz / alive, spoons, summer solstice, wedding anniversary

so…

i expended A LOT of spoons last weekend, because it was the solstice festival, and snake suspenderz played both days, apart from the caravan on friday. i’ve uploaded a whole bunch of pictures, which i haven’t yet got all sorted out, so there’s very likely going to be more pictures uploaded eventually. of course, the fremont “solstice” festival actually didn’t occur on the solstice (something for which i’m sure our ancient ancestors would decry with loud voices), but that’s because us “modern” folks have to get up and go to work on monday… a tradition which, despite the fact that it recently included me, i have never been able to figure out…

but today is especially important, because it is also our 13th wedding anniversary, which means, traditionally, i’m supposed to give my sweetie lace – which would be nice and i’m sure she would appreciate it, but it’s also impractical and i’m not sure she’d ever use it for anything… the “modern traditional” gift is textiles, and we just got a new bed-spread recently (with zebra stripes), but i’m not sure what other textile items we actually need at this point – i’m sure clothes are on the list, but i’d really rather give my sweetie something more romantic than clothes…

and i’m more convinced than ever that the decision to get married was one of the smartest decisions i have ever made in my life, but that’s only because of the fact that i decided to get married to moe, and not someone else.

i am a terrorist

another week closer to the eschaton…

it’s getting to the point where i can’t honestly say that i’m happier with obama than i would have been with any of his potential republican counterparts… at this point, he’s marginally better than anybody the republicans have fielded so far, but that’s not saying much, simply because the potential republican candidates, at this point, are all raging, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, christianist nut-jobs who give the normal homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, christianist nut-jobs a really bad name… this country is long overdue for another revolution… 😐

Mitt Romney Feels Your Pain: ‘I’m Also Unemployed’ – you spent $42 million on a failed presidential campaign three years ago. when you’ve had a brain injury and are on disability, then – maybe – we can talk. until then, you’re yet another raging, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, christianist nut-job.

F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds – which means allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention… by the way, F.B.I…. I AM A TERRORIST! and i will continue to be a terrorist until you have something better to do than poke through my garbage. 😐

Families say Guantanamo ‘suicides’ were killings – but they’re wrong, because, as we all know, committing suicide by tearing out your own esophagus is common practice…

DHS Should Focus on Criminal Activity, Not Beliefs – but they won’t, because going after people who have divergent beliefs is so much easier…

How police are turning military – i keep seeing things about how we’re living in a police state, and how lawmakers are agreeing that the federal government has, basically, abrogated the constitution. this is one more, shocking, aspect of that perception.

10 Members of Congress Sue President Obama over Illegal Libya War – we all know that it’s going to go nowhere, but once again, dennis kucinich is at the forefront of keeping the goons in charge off balance…

The 4th Amendment Is Now A Mere Guideline For The FBI. But ‘Prominent’ Bloggers To Get Extra Protection!

When they took the fourth amendment,
     I was quiet because I didn’t deal drugs.
When they took the sixth amendment,
     I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the second amendment,
     I was quiet because I didn’t own a gun.
Now they’ve taken the first amendment,
     and I can say nothing about it.

The Cloud: Trojan Horse For Internet Takeover – this is something that i’ve been saying ever since the whole concept of “cloud computing” has become more prevalent… and one of the primary reasons why i REFUSE to put any of my personal artwork or information on “the cloud”.

Seized Domains Fight Back – “The Rojadirecta site, which is made up of user forums and link indexes, has been found by two Spanish courts specifically not to violate copyright.”… not that it makes an awful lot of difference to home clown-land security… 😐

Magic mushroom’s positive effects lasting over a year, say researchers – it’s too bad nobody’s going to do anything about the fact that mushrooms – A PLANT – are illegal… at this point, we’ve got states which say that cannabis – A PLANT – is legal and, at the same time, a president who promised to make federal enforcement of cannabis laws the lowest priority, but a federal government which, thus far, has cracked down hard and fast on the (legal) cannabis dispensaries which have popped up… so i don’t hold out much hope for mushrooms. 😐

Cannabis and Radiation Protection and Cannabinoid Administration Halts Disease Progression, Decreases Mortality In Primate Version of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) – that innocent plant that you say is a drug so evil that it’s illegal to even think about? that innocent plant will protect you from radiation poisoning, and will cure HIV infections! how do you like them apples, big brother? 😡

Man tossed off flight after cursing in Detroit may sue – instead of going after real terrorists, they’re throwing this guy off of a plane for dropping the F-bomb.

finally, Spongiforma squarepantsii lifeform found in Borneo – i wish this were a joke… i really do.

bizarre, pictures

i was reading my RSS feed and came across this…

deborah harry, chris stein. clusterthe picture on the right is from a collection of famous people hanging out with their vinyl. this particular one is deborah harry and chris stein, but what’s important is the vinyl that’s hanging above their heads. among the albums is Cluster II, an album that has been in my collection, in one form or another, for quite a number of years…

it’s actually kind of strange, because i don’t know who chris stein is at all, and i only have a vague notion of who deborah harry is, but i recognised the cluster album right away… oh well… 😉

i am a terrorist

another week closer to the eschaton…

Fukushima nuclear plant may have suffered ‘melt-through’, Japan admits – this isn’t going away any time soon, regardless of how much the media tries to obscure the fact.

One in four US hackers ‘is an FBI informer’ – hmm… this makes the fact that cyber-terrorism is now an act of war particularly bothersome… quite apart from the fact that there is a distinct difference between a "HACKer" — which is a "white-hat" who explores, but doesn’t cause any damage — and a "CRACKer" — which is a "black-hat" who does indiscriminate damage and vandalism (and what the article is probably referring to is, actually, a "CRACKer"), what if the hacker that starts the next war is also an FBI informant? does that mean that the government is going to declare war against itself?

Cyber War, Civil liberties and Internet freedom in the US: "It is truly a shame that what is viewed abroad as heroic is considered as suspect at home." – i’ve been wondering about that myself: US bankrolls ‘shadow Internet for dissidents’ abroad, but if we were to do that for use at home, it would very definitely be cause for suspicion…

Two Women Ticketed For Eating Doughnuts In A Brooklyn Playground – instead of going after real terrorists, the brooklyn cops are ticketing people for being in a park without being accompanied by a child.

Special Needs Son Harassed by TSA at Detroit Metropolitan Airport – instead of going after real terrorists, two TSA agents fondled, and then forced a severely mentally disabled 29 year old to throw away his favourite toy in order to travel… 😛

Ex-TSA Supervisor Gets Prison for Stealing From Passengers – instead of going after real terrorists, this guy was stealing from the people he was supposed to be inspecting… 😡

Legalize Cannabis, Says Inventor of ‘Spice’ Chemicals – legalise the real thing so that people won’t do stupid things with erzatz chemicals that mimics the real thing, but haven’t been as thoroughly and extensivly tested on human beings…

Homophobic Men Most Aroused by Gay Male Porn – they’re kidding, right? it was my impression that this was known years ago…

finally, Crime to Post Images That Cause "Emotional Distress" "Without Legitimate Purpose" – they can’t really do that, can they? because it’s my impression that at least half of the images on internet will cause ’emotional distress’ to somebody… 😐

enlightenment

Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability

Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability
Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability

i had the opportunity to wander for several hours down by the puyallup river this afternoon, and i made one of those kind of discoveries that you would expect from time to time, from enlightened people. like most discoveries, it wasn’t really a discovery so much as it was putting familiar things together in a way that makes ultimate sense — and it produced a feeling that i probably should have thought of it a lot earlier than i did, because one of the “familiar things” that was put together was the phrase “Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability”.

this phrase probably has a very specific meaning to physical scientists, and it is from that, that i have taken the phrase and “expanded” on it. fundamentally, “Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability” refers to the way atoms combine and interact with one another, in very much the same way as water going over a waterfall: “Bounded Chaotic Mixing” is the water, in a riverbed; it is “bounded” by the riverbed, but the individual water molecules have the freedom to move wherever they want, within those boundaries. when it goes over a waterfall, the “mixing” gets decidedly more “chaotic”. “Strange Stability”, once the water has gone over the waterfall, it is “stable” in that most of it falls more or less in the same place, most of the time, but it is “strange” because, occasionally, some of the water falls in a place that is dramatically different from the majority of the water: you can be standing right next to a waterfall, and not get wet most of the time… but occasionally, and you can’t predict precisely when, you will get wet.

this is a phenomenon that i have known about for most of my life, i learned that the phenomenon could be summarised by the phrase “Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability” about 20 years ago, and for the past 10 years or so, i have been noticing that “Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability” can be used to describe a lot of things that happen in life, but while i was watching the river ripple, this afternoon, i realised that “Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability” is what people are talking about when they talk about “The Meaning Of Life” — “Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability” is THE reason, whether you’re talking about why your car broke down today, or why you and your next-door neighbour don’t get along, or whether you’re talking about the evolution of human beings from single-celled life.

“Bounded Chaotic Mixing Produces Strange Stability” is, for all intents and purposes, “God”… and this is coming from an enlightened person, so it carries more weight than it would otherwise.

philharmonic, poop, printing stuff, SACBO, snake suspenderz / alive

update

i’ve been working on a business card, but i’ve needed important things like the location of hi-res images and the names of the fonts and stuff like that before i can actually create anything… which means waiting for them to get back to me… of course, once i actually have all those things it took me about 15 minutes to put together a business card that is like the example they sent me, and now i’ve got to wait (again) for the customer to either approve the card, or make changes… and, being that it’s a business card for an artist, if there are changes, they’ll most likely want something exotic, unusual and expensive…

we had a snake suspenderz rehearsal on tuesday. it’s really great to play with the guys again, but i’m afraid that, once we’re through with the (one) gig that we’ve got scheduled so far (28th june, at the can can) the band will fade from existence again… and, as much as some people complain that it’s a “hobby band”, i get the very strong feeling that it could very easily be a good deal more than that. we’re going to be playing for SACBO on saturday and sunday. i have my canopy, and i’m going to be there anyway, because of my art car, so i figured what the hell… we can busk, and because of the fact that it’s the fremont solstice festival, we’ll probably make some money, and it’s a couple more “rehearsals” before we have to do it “for real” at the can can…

i decided that, because of the fact that SACBO is imminent, and because of the fact that the continued working existence of the current Ganesha The Car is still very much in question (it’s still working – touch wood – but who knows whether or not it’ll be working tomorrow, much less next week), i decided that i was going to put “freeform” art on it, and save the complicated design work for a car that i have confidence is going to last me a little bit longer. i haven’t taken any pictures of it, yet, but it vaguely resembles this drawing from my sketchbook. it’s not nearly as “artistic” (read “exotic and unusual”) as i would like it to be, but it will have to do for the time being.

we had a fremont phil rehearsal on wednesday. there was a rehearsal last week, as well, but i was in the middle of preparing for my colonoscopy last week, so i didn’t go to that one. the phil has taken off in a new direction, which is interesting and intriguing, and not entirely unwelcome. we’ve gotten a couple of new flutists, a new trumpet player and the baritone player and the EWI player from last year, who are all dedicated musicians and very interested in moving forwards with the group. we’re playing a private “ice cream social” near edmonds on the 23rd, and we’re sounding surprisingly good, considering the small amount of rehearsal we’ve had.

speaking of the colonoscopy, the results arrived yesterday. the other two polyps that i had removed were benign as well, and there’s nothing to worry about, but they want to see inside my ass again in two years, rather than the three that they told me originally, because of the fact that the polyps were there to begin with.

corruption, politicians

My impression of the majority of mainstream news for the next three weeks:

1 Comment

weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weinerweiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner weiner…

get it out of your system now, and pay attention to things that are really more important… 😐

i am a terrorist

another week closer to the eschaton…

Japanese PM Says He Will Resign Over Fukushima – my impression is that resigning will, among other things, be like saying “it’s somebody else’s problem now”, a lot more than it would be like saying “this happened on my watch, and i am dishonoured by it”… at the same time, he’s probably going to be long dead before we have heard the last of fukushima anyway…

Cyber Combat: Act of War – the united states now has the “legal” ability to respond, with conventional military force, to any country which is behind the launch of a cyber-attack… i feel "safer" already…

God Bless America… And Its Bombs – apparently dropping bombs is not a war, but guessing a password on a computer is… yep… i feel a lot "safer"… 😐

Police ROBOT attacks and BURNS DOWN HOUSE – yep… "safer"… NOT! 😛 and it’s no wonder that i read about it thanks to a foreign news source. my guess is that local news sources have been told off not to report something this embarrassing… and violent… 😐

Pay or Die – brief and to the point.

We Are The Terrorists – NO justice, NO peace!

Boeing Paid No Corporate Taxes For Three Years, Still Wants A Tax Cut – this is why we’re experiencing a recession these days…

The Happiest Countries In The World – guess what… the united states is not one of them… i would say “big surprise” but it’s not really surprising…

Apple causes ‘religious’ reaction in brains of fans – so that’s why they’re such die-hard fanboys… and, it possibly explains why i am not a mac-head any longer…

The NutriSmart system would put RFIDs into your food for enhanced information – why is it that i am reminded of that old axiom regarding computer software: “if it contains the word ‘smart’, be on the lookout for something REALLY dumb”? could it be that i am concerned about what happens to the RFID once we’re “through with it”? 😐

World Leaders Encourage Drug Legalization – not all of them – yet – but it’s a step in the right direction… also Global War On Drugs Has Failed – now, can we please have states control the dispensaries and the feds keep their hands off, like obama promised would happen (but hasn’t yet)…? PLEASE? 😐

Fresno Co. Deputies Bust Medical Marijuana Dispensaries – apparently not… 😐

Spiritual Environmentalism: Healing Ourselves by Replenishing the Earth

German Catholic Doctors Offer Homeopathic ‘Gay Treatment’ – what. the. fuck??? 😮 but only if the “gay” asks for it, otherwise they won’t give the treatment… i thought they didn’t believe in that kind of shit…

getting old, health, poop

retrograde amnesia?

so i had my colonoscopy yesterday. when i went to my “introductory” appointment, about 2 weeks ago, they told me that i would be under a general anesthetic that would cause “retrograde amnesia”, but then they couldn’t answer my questions satisfactorily about whether or not that meant that i would “lose memories of things that haven’t happened yet” — “amnesia” implies “loss of memories of things that have already happened” and “retrograde” implies “moving backwards”… “moving backwards” from “things that have happened in the past” implies that it affects “memories of the future” and i still can’t figure out why they think i should have memories of things that haven’t happened yet… — but i think i am beginning to get the idea of what they were actually talking about, because while i was experiencing them, i was conscious and more-or-less rational, but now that they are in the past, i’m losing track of what i actually did, the sequence of events, and pretty much everything that happened yesterday. at this point, not even 24 hours separate from the actual events, i’m having distinct difficulties remembering conversations that i was a part of yesterday, even before i was anesthetised…

the event, itself, was pretty uneventful, but the day before was pretty miserable. the day before was complicated by a clear-liquids fast, a gallon of orange-flavoured salt-water, and many, many, MANY trips to the bathroom. yesterday was a “nothing by mouth” day, so i was extra hungry, but the clinic called in the morning and rescheduled my appointment from 2:30 to 1:00, so i wouldn’t have to wait as long. i took a cab to the clinic, because they weren’t going to allow me to drive after the procedure – because of the “retrograde amnesia” – and from then on it gets a little hazy… i remember getting undressed, getting on the gurney, being rolled into the procedure room and being asked to roll on to my left side… and that’s it.

i then sort of vaguely remember waking up, getting dressed and going to another part of the clinic where they had some “comfy recliners” to “recover” on… i don’t remember whether or not moe came in, or whether they escorted me to the car… i remember, even then, wondering when the “retrograde amnesia” was going to start kicking in… i remember complaining about how tired i was, despite the fact that it was still early afternoon… moe made a stop before we got home, and bought some “immediate” food, and when we got home, i remember her putting before me, a very large plate of some REALLY yummy food (mostly carbohydrates, so that i wouldn’t get pancreatitis from trying to digest fried food on a truly empty stomach… but i do seem to recall a disassembled skewer of meat and vegetables in there, as well) which i DEMOLISHED… then, i remember going to bed around 8:30.

i woke up this morning at about 8:00 and immediately noticed that i’m still REALLY TIRED — as though i had spent the previous day running a marathon, or something like that… seriously, i’m thinking of taking a nap, and i hardly ever take naps (i find them to be really confusing when i wake up and it’s the middle of the afternoon)…

i think the most significant part of the whole thing for me, at this point, is the realisation that i can actually eat stuff again… nuts… i can eat almonds for the first time in a week! and when the stuff in the pantry or the refrigerator calls to me, i can eat it and not resist… and i don’t have to drink that orange-flavoured salt-water goo every 15 minutes…

oh, the result of my colonoscopy? they removed 3 polyps, one of which they said was benign but the other two are going to have to wait for biopsies. also they said i have two hemorrhoids, which were the cause of the occult recal bleeding that was a cause for concern prior to the procedure.

as the song says, “what a drag it is getting old”… 😐

forward into the past, links

um…

Today, while I was sleeping, my girlfriend took my phone and set the ringtone to a bloodcurdling scream. I found this out when I received a call while driving to work and, thinking someone was being murdered in my backseat, I panicked and swerved into a parked car.
     — FMyLife

mean… but funny… 8) (as long as it’s not happening to me)

which reminds me of a funny story…

a long time ago, when i was in college, i had come home for the break between spring and summer sessions and discovered that my parents had rented out my room, so i was forced to sleep in the family room. i didn’t spent an awful lot of time at home anyway, so it wasn’t much of a problem, but the problem came when i changed the phone-answering-machine message to a quote from a song by Crème & Godley:

This is The Bad Samaritans, hello loved-one. Sorry there was nobody here to take your call personally, but we understand what you’re going through; how you’ve travelled life’s highways with your smile on upside down. And now you think you’ve found the ultimate answer to all your problems. Don’t be hasty. Why waste a life? Wait ’till there’s a crowd down below. Give a little when you go.
     — Crème & Godley, The Sporting Life

everything would have been fine, except that the woman(!) to whom they had rented my room was a suicide counsellor, who had, among her clients, a couple of parents whose son had just committed suicide…

and, naturally, they called shortly after i changed the message, when nobody was home…

oops… 8)

rants, tina chopp, videos

xtranormal


if the video doesn’t load

so a while ago i got the idea to make animations that were reciting the books of tina chopp…

i actually went so far as to create the first 6 cantos of the book of children… before xtranormal changed how things are done… i had to buy “xtranormal points” in december, so that i could finish an unfinished animation. but now it turns out that i will make no more animations at xtranormal after i run out of “points”, because they have now made it so that you have to pay to make animations.

previously, they had a few scenarios that were free, and you had to pay to make more elaborate movies – which was just fine with me – but now you have to “pay” what they’re calling “xtranormal points” in order to make any animations. it would be fine if you were able to accumulate these “xtranormal points” in less offensive ways than “convincing your friends to sign up” and that sort of thing, but they’ve actually got a way to “buy xtranormal points” with actual money, and that goes against my grain…

especially when they originally offered the service for free… 😐

not only that, but i guess they assume that people don’t really care what their animated characters look like, because they now have a bunch of “new” characters, like “chuchus” and “luchadors” and “dummies” and “presidents” and “historical figures” and “fútbol” that are very definitely not appropriate vehicles for the dissemination of profound spiritual knowledge… or something like that…

in any event, i will not be using xtranormal in the future, unless they change things again. i’m not ruling anything out, but i don’t want to have to pay for things like this.

i suppose that if i had thought about it a little bit, i could have anticipated this, but it’s still anoying. 😐