No control today. By the end of it, I just wanted to take my ball out back and smash it into little bits. Other then that, it's been a slow day. :: Bowling Update Game 1: 103 Game 2: 89

 
I was reading the New York Times this evening, when I happened upon the business section. It turns out that Pfizer is giving up on their clinical trials of Viagra on women. It turns out that while Viagra does a good job of increasing blood flow and sexual function on the female genitalia, this means absolutely nothing when it came to increasing the libido of the test women. Or, to put it simply, arousal and desire are completely disconnected in women. Apparently, getting a women "in the mood" requires exquisite timing, careful manipulation, and a bit of luck. Thank you scientists. Millions of dollars in research to document the obvious. Was the entire research staff gay? Have none of these people ever met a woman before? Men, on the other hand, simply require a naked women to get all hot and bothered. This too was extensively documented. Who are these researchers? Asexual Asgard aliens? (Yes, that was a Stargate SG-1 reference. Leave me alone.) :: I'm not liking my Jersey trips so much anymore. Not because Jersey is terrible, but because it really is sucking up my Saturdays. One of these days the weekend will be all about what I want to do.

 
Tonight I had dinner with foodies. Which is not a bad thing, if you're a foodie. If you're not, then you just have to sit and bear the first two minutes as they sit and analyze the food. You learn some neat things, like the salsa has olives in it. But mostly you just grin and nod in inquisitive agreement. Not that I don't like food. I love food. I used to live to eat. But my palate is not that discerning. If it tastes OK, I'll eat it, and enjoy it too. I'm a thick sauce, volume centric kind of guy. The taste counts, but so does the portion size. I'm not into the subtle interplay of flavors, the subtle tweaking of spices, or any of that other crap. Tastes good? Lots of it? Pile it on baby! :: I'm not too hard to please, apparently. I thought I was looking for more money, more respect, more security. Apparently a pep talk that did not harp on the theme that we are all expendable is enough. Not so much of a rush in getting my resume polished. Doesn't hurt that we're doing some business now too.

 
I can't explain much more, since it came up during a staff meeting. But needless to say, this will be the subject of much humor for the next few days. :: President's Day was last week. And yet the car commercials continue. We get the point already, Chevys are cheap, move on to the next holiday already. Sheesh. :: Huge floor to ceiling cracks in concrete is usually a bad thing. A very disturbing thing, in fact. But there are worse things. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Coming home from work, I got lost trying to find my new doctor's office. This being the doctor that my coworker recommended, but could not remember how to spell his name. But after a couple of google searches, I finally hit paydirt. Of course, I forgot to actually set an appointment with his office, so I decided to at least see if I could find it. I couldn't. But then I remembered that I had to get home right quick while the stores were still open and I could buy some salmon. And that's when I made my first visit to the 17th Ave. entrance to the N line. It's not, at first glance, anything special. It was relatively clean, not much graffiti. Fresh paint, mostly clean floors. And it had been under renovation for the better part of a year. For what, reason, I didn't know. They don't shut down an entrance to replace a part time tolken booth with automatic Metrocard entrances. And then I noticed that there were a few giant floor to ceiling cracks in the once solid concrete and cinderblock walls. What's worse then giant cracks in a concrete hallway situated above a constantly vibrating subway bridge? When it's being held together with giant rebar staple sutures. That's right. Rebar, bent into the shape of 2ft. long staples, plungered into both sides of the crack, holding the walls together. Giant steel staple sutures for the walls and the ceiling, like some giant construction Frankenstein creation. How in the world this is up to code, I'll never know. :: Happy Smudge Day! I got smudged! Did you?

 
Today the headache got the better of me, and I tipped my hand. I mentioned that I was revising my resume. This, of course, is a bad thing, as the last person who mentioned that he was unhappy in his position soon lost his position and was replaced ... ... by me. :: And badstone is my newest Metafilter idol.

 
I was riding the razor's edge. I made a preliminary budget in my head, did some quick back of napkin calculations, and my numbers held true. I was hanging on to the last minute. It was down to the wire. And when a last my last tissue was used, I was waiting in line with a fresh box under my arm. Plus another bottle of Tylenol.

 
It turns out that the guys were not at the bar on Friday, so I missed nothing, which was good. It also turns out that I bowl better when I am slightly feverish, and take my time to bowl at my own pace. Furthermore, it appears that I'm getting worse, as I didn't leave the house all day, except to go bowling. And I have to get up by 5:30am tomorrow at the latest. Doh. :: Bowling Update Game 1: 162 Game 2: 143

 
What is kind of funny is that whenever I complain about my atom feed or rss in general, that's when BottomFeeder has real trouble reading my xml feed. So, needless to say, it's all a conspiracy by the nerds to suppress any bad opinions about rss feeds (which, btw, are not as hot as you might want them to be). :: Staying up until the wee hours of the morning is generally not advisable. Especially when it was time spent making stupid title banners for your dinky blog. Enjoy them anyway, I spent far too much time making them. :: This morning I felt worse, and the fact that I am sneezing now just confirms it: I'm sick. I managed to get to Jersey to do one or two things there, but I had to leave early because I was losing a lot of focus. Somehow, in my delusional brain, I thought it'd be a good idea to stop off at Han Ah Reum to pick up some Bulgolgi, before stopping off at Pronto Pizza on 14th Street to get 2 slices and a soda (for $3.50 it is not a steal, but the slices are nice and big, the soda is OK, and the seating is fairly decent). And then I fell asleep on the R all the way to 59th Street. That was one long deep nap. But now, at 1:30am, I am feeling like I should never have left the house at all. So much for my plan to go hit the town and pick up chicks. :: I'm not a big Christina Aguilera fan. Actually, I don't really have much of an opinion on her in general. But watching her on Saturday Night Live, I've noticed that her default method of expressing an emotion, be it anger or excitement or determination or independent resolve, is to shake her shoulders back and forth, essentially swinging her chest from side to side. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. But it is interesting to note.

 
Birthdays are always sad events. They used to be happy, when you were younger. They meant advancement, growing up, getting to do more cool stuff and being more mature. But after a certain point (specifically, 10 minutes after I turned 21), it just meant another day closer to death. With various body parts either breaking down or needing serious rest for a week, inbetween. My co-worker buddy had her birthday today. Normally she doesn't work on her birthday, but I guess today was the day that tradition went down the tubes. So I was tasked to buy the cake. I forget the name of the place I got it from, a nice little French bakery down the street, but it was a very nice cake, even if it was too small. White chocolate topped with raspberry mousse. Very rich, and very delicious. But it was a small affair, as we don't have that many people left any more. And in the end, it was just a normal night's ride home, so I felt a little bad about that. Happy Birthday Liz. :: My fever is better today, although this morning I really had to fight to concentrate on anything. But my throat is still pretty scratchy. I can talk just fine, but it feels like sandpaper when I swallow. This, plus the guilt I'd feel if I ditched Liz on her birthday, means that I dissed Rudy and his invitation to go drinking tonight at the The Salty Dog. Too bad, I really felt like some alcohol tonight. :: Chaos will rule come Sunday. Full Manhattan Bridge Service Returns to the NYC MTA subway system. The old B line used to run with the M, the D with the Q. And then they closed the North side of the bridge. And thus was born the W line (which followed the B line in Brooklyn) and the Q Diamond (a D inside a diamond shape) which essentially is a Q Express in Brooklyn. So now that the North Side of the bridge is reopening, do they follow conventional wisdom and put the B and D back where they belong? Of course not, silly, they get reversed. The B is replaces the Q Diamond, the D replaces the W. Mind you, even though the W has been around for 3 years, people still call it the B line. Some old B Line signs are still around. But in their infinite wisdom, the MTA has decided to instead call it the D from now on. And the same goes for the D line. I know for the next three years I'll be trying to direct confused senior Chinese folks back onto the D, even though they've been conditioned for years to use the B. If you look at the board of directors of the MTA, you'll notice they're mostly white. I think this is their way of screwing over the limited English speaking immigrants. Do I really think that? Maybe not. But then the other rational explanation is that the MTA is staffed by total idiots. Idiots that I trust my life to on a daily basis to get me from point A to point B in giant electrified steel boxes, through narrow 100 year old tunnels and bridges which run either over or under large bodies of water. Or there is no rational explanation, and the MTA is guided by total and complete chaos and chance. So, sad to say, the MTA as evil racist suburban geniuses is the most comforting explanation of all. Welcome to New York City.

 
Work was a blur. Part of it because it was more crazy then usual this morning. But a big part of it is that I've got a low grade fever running. I've got a tickle in the throat that's getting worse and worse by the hour. And now a headache to boot. Ick. :: Another source of headaches is this whole XML deal. Apparently, my entire post where I rant about XML and RSS and RDF ... does not properly output in my atom.xml file. Irony of ironies. In any case, I give up. If you want to read my blog using a newsreader (I'm currently trying out BottomFeeder), good luck, because until I move to Moveable Type, this is going to be a rough ride.

 
Was the name of a salad place back in Ann Arbor, back in the day, which was owned by this one dude that always managed to have this harem of 5 asian girls around him all the time. He was envied and despised by all. Eventually the place closed, leaving only the memory of its existence behind. But, for some reason, the name has always stuck with me. :: For lunch today, I went with my two co-workers to get salad at The Country Cafe, located in the atrium of 60 Wall Street. I wasn't too enthused about salad, and I hear that they were not feeling too well after having the salad (although they did admit that it was delicious). I couldn't help but wondering about their ceiling though. It was a gabled wooden affair, that clearly was decorative in nature, as it was in the heart of a 60 story office tower. But I wondered about the dead space that the gable enclosed. They can't have wasted all that prime real estate. I wonder what they did with it. :: Gene's To Do List 1- Get flowers for Mom (I love you mom, but $50 for 6 roses? I'll wait until after Valentine's Day, thank you very much.) 2- Schedule dentist appointment 3- Schedule physical 4- Schedule eye exam 5- Get stupid bag from Macy's for co-worker 6- Plan pickup line for use at bar Friday.

 
The good thing about shortened work weeks is that it is a shortened work week. The terrible thing, of course, is that you've lost a day to get meaningful stuff done. And I actually went home at a normal time to boot. So this means I'll be drowning in work tomorrow. Great. :: The thing that has really be scaring me lately is that the quality of my spam has improved dramatically recently. No longer is it the same shotgun blasts about herbal viagra or the classic Nigerian bank scam. Now I'm getting spam targeting me, as in my name as opposed to my email address, referencing my neighborhood, my zip code, my home address. And so I wonder who I've given my personal data to, and whom they sold it off to. Sooner or later I'm sure my identity will be stolen, and maybe then they'll get all my spam instead of me. :: :: Sitemeter has been on the blink for a while now, so I thought I'd give my preferred vendor, NedStat Basic, another try. Besides the fact that you don't need to specify an index.html page anymore, and the merging of multiple counters under one account, I can't really tell what the big improvement in the 3.0 version is. But the graphs are much much prettier. And, as I touched on yesterday, in the end it's all about the eye candy.

 
Much of my Saturday night, rather then being consumed by girls or studying or America's Army, was caught up in my obsession with making ATOM syndication work. It doesn't. But more on that in a minute. It all starts off with RSS. RSS stands for a lot of things, depending on who you ask. But the general consensus is that it all starts out with Netscape, so you know it's bad news to begin with. They had this idea about syndicating content, where you could embed content in simple text format that you could shoot along, and then others would syndicate the content, and it would be really simple and cool. Like your dot com magazine site inserting a news feed from ESPN's women's basketball section into your own site, updated automatically. It was a really cool idea. Of course, nobody understood the spec, there were no parsers to retranslate the crap back out, people who actually owned content worth reading noticed that there wasn't a way to get money back built into the system, oh, and it turns out people like eye candy (which is why you are reading this in a web browser instead of in gopher-space, which was information rich but eye-candy poor). So it died. Or at least, I thought it did. Turns out a dude named Winer and his company Userland kept it alive, and even expanded the original spec (Can you see where this is going?). So, of course, Netscape released their own update, which included most, but not all, of the Userland changes. And then Netscape died. But Userland had it's spec. Which of course, it wasn't. So they released yet another version. And by now weblogs had become popular, and suddenly content was sexy again (Because, apparently, we desperately need to know what Caoine thought of this Saturday's Pokemon episode.). So others started jumping into the make your own version game. Long story short, there are NINE different versions of RSS. Not that even the term RSS is even agreed upon. There's RSS, RDF, XML, and now ATOM. Which bring me back to Blogger. A short while ago, Blogger announced that they were finally supporting this newfangled RSS thing, and included easy to insert code, of which I did quite eagerly. I even validated it using Feed Validator. And then I settled back into my routine. Which leads to Saturday night. Which is when I had the brilliant idea of making a web page that would automatically syndicate content from other people's sites. I mean, this was the point of RSS, right? Here's the thing, tho: I have no resources. No access to a php enabled server, no money, and no time to really learn all this crap that's supposed to be easy, but never is. But that's never stopped me before. If you notice to the left, I already have an rss feed coming in, from Metafilter. Thanks to David Carter-Tod's Wytheville Community College News Service, it's easy to do. Essentially, their server calls up the feed, parses the xml, and spits out JavaScript code, which your browser then interprets into html, thanks to a simple two line JavaScript code I insert into my pages. There are a few others that do this too. But none of them support ATOM. Which is what Blogger outputs my site as. So, this sucks. Ahh, but all hope is not lost. IE5+ has an XML parser built in! In fact, if you click on my ATOM feed, you don't see XML, as if you were to look at Metafilter's 0.91 RSS feed. Instead, IE5+ has been nice enough to interpret the raw xml as pseudo html, and formatted it accordingly. IE5+ also supports something called XML data islands, where you can load an XML document into the browser, and then bind certain html elements (a table, spans, divs) to the XML data. It works really well. Except with ATOM. Somehow, the way ATOM is structured, you can't get IE5+ to read, much less bind, elements within the xml. It will format the raw XML so long as the file is a .xml extension, but within a .html document it will not interpret the raw XML. So for now, you simply can't syndicate ATOM feeds unless you run a php enabled server. All this took me an entire weekend of trial and error to discover, and is still eating away at my vacation. But I thought you might want to know. (Also, it seems that besides tech savvy nerds, nobody else on planet Earth seems to really care about this. When Microsoft finally releases their newsreader in the next version of Windows, I'm sure all these compatibility issues will finally fall by the wayside.) :: Bowling Update Game 1: 115 Game 2: 139 :: Sunday night was surprisingly hopping at the bar. After bowling one of the guys in the league asked if I wanted to join them at the bar afterwards. I wasn't working Monday, so I said why not. Everybody is at least 40 (with one exception) and has kids, so I figured it would be a slow hour and then I'd go home. Instead, we end up at The Salty Dog, a bar in Bay Ridge, where all the girls have ID's for 21, but you'd have to ask some hard questions before going home with them. My tolerance was good, for a change. I had a Rolling Rock to get all buzzed up, and then when it finally wore off, I could take two Kamikaze shots (an hour apart, tho). Talked to some girls, but wasn't in the mood to be hitting it up. I need to get some single friends my age that live in Brooklyn before that really takes off. Well, that and some better clothes (my bowling duds are nothing to write home about). It was nice tho, to really get out for once.

 
Besides the late late start to this morning's activities, work was pretty much in deny everything mode. Which, sadly, is about what I was hoping for. Of course, this also means that I'll have to be walking about on eggshells for the next few days. Great. :: It was also a sad day at work for another reason. A co-worker is leaving, for a fantastic gig. Apparently Lord Abbott funds is hiring, and in a big way. I'm very sad to see him go, he was a great guy (even though lately I haven't seen much of him at all). But I'm also a little sad about how easily it seems he slid into this new gig. It's the big time. And how my hard work seems to be misdirected into all the wrong things. Well, I wish him luck, with his natural charisma I'm sure he won't need it, and I plug along on my little pony show, hoping not to be so self-centered in the face of other people's success. :: The redesign has begun. I don't think I'll really have time to redo the whole thing. And skinning doesn't really suit my tastes. So for now some new banner graphics, and perhaps a few informational pages will suffice. That bridge project beckons me as well. Maybe on my day off on Monday I'll see if I can't tackle the Williamsburg and Manhatten bridges.

 
I'm a fairly avid New York Times reader. Not because I snobbishly adhere to the self appointed Paper of Record, but simply because there are so many copies around the office. The articles are interesting, the business articles are enlightenning, and the editorials are predictably left of center. What really catches my eye, these days, however, is the newfound spirit of flourish that seems to have gripped the TV guide page. At first the weather page was simply a dry listing of facts. Snowy today, clear tomorrow, and all that good stuff. But a few years ago, perhaps with a change in editors from one more traditional to one more frustrated poet, the weather has taken on a much more evocative tone. The infection seems to have spread to the movie reviews in the TV guide, which are categorically short for lack of space. And yet, there is some good stuff now to be found there: :: Today at work, the revolution finally came to a head. And the revolutionaries have won the battle, apparently, and possibly lost the war for us all. There was some shouting, some screaming, some "drama" as a co-worker very effectively puts it, and it ended up with somebody storming out in a huff, promising never to return. Of course, this is a bad thing, as the person was vitally important to our operation. The worst case scenario is that the office will either close or be merged into another one, in which case I've probably lost my job. The best case scenario is that today was just another day of overactive emotions, and we pretend it wasn't a big deal tomorrow (but secretly we'll all be walking around on eggshells). Either way it is about time to polish off the old resume and get out there again. Anybody have an open position at their firm for a hardworking, but not too bright, guy? :: Just to keep the continuity clean, Bacon is good stuff. It's easy to make (except for Om). It's easy to eat. Storage is not a big deal, as it'll stay good in the fridge for a little while. It's perfect for making eggs with (and, should you fear no plaque in your heart, the grease is perfect for making other things with), not to mention perfect for cast iron skillet seasoning. It's loaded with both salt and fat, with hardly any of that pecky protein to get in the way. It's crunchy, it's crispy, and did I mention that it's dripping with oil? I'm still not sure what the best meat in the world is (beef ribs? shell steak? ham? meatloaf?), I do know it is the second best.

 

 
My site, as much as I like it, is due for a makeover. If nothing else, I've got to finally get the Title graphic looking nice. The problem, of course, besides the fact that I have no time, is that I also lack a critical amount of design instinct. This might call for me to bring in a professional. But, of course, the only professional I can afford to call in is my cousin, and his site blows (graphics wise). Oh well, I guess I'll just slog through and do what I always do ... steal somebody else's style. In the meantime, enjoy yet another pic from the archive. This time it's me testing out my new tripod. More on that tomorrow (assuming tomorrow ever comes). :: Bowling Update Game 1: 150 Game 2: 115

My average climbed up to 114. I should be closing in on 115 soon.

 
Do I get off at 59th St. Columbus Circle, or do I ride further down? I really should get off here, it is part of my routine, but I'm too lazy (I had just woken from my nap), I think I'll stay. Hmmm, some old cranky African-American guy is trying to get on the train, and some tall white dude is blocking him (if you can call standing to the side of an otherwise empty doorway "blocking"). Hmm, the white dude moved aside briefly, and the old guy came on board. Oops! The old dude tripped and fell ... onto me. Hmmmm, now he's apparently pissed. At the white dude. For "shoving him". Now he's swinging his cane. Hard. At the handrail. 12 inches from my face. Hmmm, this is not good. *bang* Now he's shouting for an apology, and threatening to knife the white dude. Hmmmm, he got his apology. Now he's going to sit down, while still shouting at the white dude. Hey! What about me?! Where's my apology?! The crazy old man fell on me, and, as thanks for catching him, slammed his cane 12 inches from my face! If he slipped, I could have lost an eye! Where the hell is my apology?! Stupid old man. I hope he gets shoved again. :: The Main Post Office between 33rd and 31st is open on Saturdays. Actually, it's open 24 hours a day. It's the only one in the tristate area. Which means that if you need to mail something at 10pm in a Saturday night, you can go there and get it done. It also means that everybody else is looking to do the same thing. I, in my shoving the old man in front of traffic when I had a chance daydreaming, forgot this very important point. And so I failed to get a magazine before stepping into the 45 minute wait line. And, for once, it really wasn't the post office's fault. For some reason, everybody on line was looking to mail packages larger then they were. When your box is large enough to hold you, my friend, it's time to check out freight delivery services, not the post office ... at 10pm on a Saturday night. And stop whining about how long the line is taking, it's because of idiots like you. :: The chinese bakery has a new creation. A creation on the level of Tuna Bun joy. Not as much fun as their surprisingly good $1.25 slice of cheesecake (It was a lot better then $3.00 slices I purchased at Italian bakeries and coffee shops around town.), but a close second. It's Pizza Twist! Essentially, it's a long piece of bread with rolled puffy sides, with the middle being tomato sauce and melted cheese. The bread is very close to pizza dough, but a little more tender. For $.75, it's not a steal like $.60 Tuna Bun or $.50 Pork Bun, but it's a nice addition to the bun ecology. :: As promised, more pictures. This one is of me at my desk hard at work into the wee hours of the morning.

 
When you ride the same rails day after day after day, you get comfortable with the character of the tunnel. Like an old shoe, you know where it's slow, where it runs fast, where that little nudge to the left, and the stop and go (not to mention where it's stinky too). And you read those signs to tell you where you are, or if something is wrong. So it was a bit of a suprise last night, when the train took an unexpected slow and go. A real slow and go slower. That's not right. Doesn't feel like a track worker delay (no horn). Not a signal, stalled train delay (we weren't stuck in the tunnel for half an hour). Certainly not a traffic jam (no stop and go and stop and go, plus, it was very late at night). What could it be? Oh, that's it. They've elevated the tracks. With 2x4's. That are sitting in water. Welcome to the MTA. :: Stupid sitemeter. Just when I need it the most, the site is down! I'd much rather use nedstat, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to use it with blogspot. It can be done, because I've seen people using it. :: Perfect. Just perfect. I have to keep quiet. There are things afoot. Bad, bad things. Things that mean I'll have to be sending out my generally lackluster resume soon. And that's all I can write because, apparently, people now read my blog. OK, 2 people. But they're very chatty. If I knew who they were. Which I can't. Because sitemeter is down. Perfect.

 
I was watching the news, and they mentioned that it really was true, to the disbelief of many. My hate of stupid news teasers aside, I actually watched the news long enough to find out, to my shock and horror, that there is a thing called Line 56. Line 56, on the 2003 New York State Income Tax form, simply put, is yet another reason to leave New York State. The base sales tax is 4.25%, but each county/municipality adds it's own rate, translating into a sales tax of 8.625% for New York City (The lowest sales tax municipality rate is 7%). So, when shopping for stuff on the internet (sales tax 0% depending on where the business is located), or Jersey (5% to 0% depending on special enterprise zones), the sales tax difference adds up to real money very quickly. Money that those thugs up in Albany apparently want to get their greedy mitts on. And that's where Line 56 comes in. Line 56 is where you report all the stuff you purchased out of New York State, but brought into New York State for your own use, and now must pay sales tax on. Did you enjoy that t-shirt at Disneyland? Only paid 6% sales tax? Well, bucko, if you brought that shirt back to the city and it's sitting in your closet right now, time to whip out your calculator and pay the remaining 2.625% to New York State. Did you have a snack in Jersey? Well, I hope you saved the receipt, because you owe New York State the other 1.5% in sales tax. In a fit of benevolence, like how the mob will shave 10% off your 80% loanshark rate if you hand over the principal + 50% of the owed interest instead of breaking your kneecaps, New York State offers a table where you can input an average based on your income. But don't even think about skipping the line. A number, even a 0, must be entered into Line 56. Now, mind you, I don't mind taxes in general. Especially for the rich. Or at least the upper middle class. Maybe even middle class. Government brings many benefits, despite what my experiences at the DMV tells me. But the sales tax is probably the most regressive of all the taxes. And the inconvenience of this new tax collection is sheer madness (It should be pointed out that this law was always on the books, it was just never enforced. Much like the Stamp Tax, back in pre-Revolutionary days. The Stamp Tax was just a new incarnation of a previous tax, that was actually going to be enforced for once. However, the British were at least a little smart about it, as they cut the tax rate in an attempt to placate the colonists, whom they were sure were going to be angry about the "new" tax. We all know how well that experiment ended.). However it is this fascist mentality, this sense that New York State owns you, controls you, oppresses you to the point where you can't buy coffee in Connecticut without having to calculate the New York State sales tax should you dare drive it over state lines and drink it in New York State, that really irks me. So, I suppose it's time to dust off my musket and formally declare this apartment independent of New York State. Or at least look up my state legislator/state senator and send them an ultimatum: Fix this monstrosity or find yourself another job.

 
I was showing my brother some funny things that I occassionaly come across on Metafilter, such as Quest for the Crown, and Dolphin Dash - The Most Sense Assaulting Flash Game Ever, when he mentioned that he had already head of a few of them. Which is an odd things as he is not a regular MeFi, Fark, or /. reader. So where could he have found all this? And then it hits him. He found the link on the mini-blog from Ernie's blog. If you don't know who Ernie is, then my friend, take your stone tablets and your Apple Newton back home and free up some more bandwith for the MyDoom.B varient to use. It's pretty funny how all links somehow lead back to Ernie. Or Maystar. Or Caoine. Who are these people? How did they become centers of the blogverse blogsphere blogworld blogwhatever? And how come they are all so young? Damn kids. Well, the madness must stop. The links must lead elsewhere. So I promise you, I'll never link to any of the Triumverate of Blogs. Or /. for that matter. :: It occurs to me that I haven't posted any new pictures in a while. Not that I haven't been taking any, quite the opposite in fact. It was a pretty funny moment when we were trading pics, and even though my little brother has had his digital camera 6 months longer then me, and he's also scanned in plenty of pics, I've got 3 times as many pictures as he does. It also means I can't edit. Leaving that aside for the moment, one of the big reasons to get the camera was to puts up some pics on the web. So, tomorrow, look for less blogging and expect more posting of photos. :: Another month, another funeral. This time for the mother of a former co-worker. I wanted to stick around longer, but it was late to begin with, and it was too crowded too. At least I got to lend some support. One of these days I'd like to enjoy a 3 month stretch without having to make a passing visit with Death. :: Great, now I've got the stupid Dolphin Dash theme song stuck in my head.

 
I like my bowling league. It's fun. The people are friendly. I don't chat as much as I'd like. But it's fun. It's also dominated by women, we have a lot of them. And women, I've found as a general rule of thumb, don't really care too much for the Super Bowl. Some do, but most don't. And certainly not enough to convince to postpone bowling. So tonight, I bowled, and caught bits and pieces of the game on the bar screen. it was still fun. :: I suppose it's a bit corny, and a bit obvious, that I miss my brother. I really wish I could have taken a week off to hang some more with him when he was here. I feel a little disappointed that we didn't do more things together, it's not often that he and I manage to be in the same place at the same time. And two single guys in the big city ... we should have done something to tear up the old town. *sigh* :: Bowling Update Game 1: 114 Game 2: 139 note - Game 1 started off terribly, only a 40 by the 6th frame. Yet somehow I managed to pull out a respectable score. It was amazing.