Music soothes the savage beast. Even frenetic tracks such as this one.
Distorted from Cirque De Soleil’s “La Nouba” Note: link updated to MP3 format on 2007-05-12.
If anyone can tell me what genre of music and perhaps where I can find more music like this this is I’d be most appreciative.
So it’s Friday. I finished the semester yesterday, paid for my summer course today and now I sit and wait and wonder what my final grades are. I have a pretty good idea, but there’s a couple of variables sitting out there being variably.
I tried mowing the lawn, but since it rained last night and this morning I ended up throwing a lot of water out of the shoot on the lawn mower. So much for that. I think it’s be easier to rent some goats.
I was working on various home improvement projects when I found I needed some things (bolts and a toilet seal, all so sexy) from Lowe’s. Earl called while I was working, I mentioned me intended trip, he said he’d like to go to Lowe’s with me. I don’t think he trusts me at Lowe’s with the debit card.
I’ve been arguing with my HP laptop today. For some reason Firefox keeps freezing when I’m trying to watch videos on YouTube. I don’t know who’s fault it is and I’m not in the mood to care, so notice the “Made On A Mac” flag in the sidebar. Update 5/12 – my Linux computer and I have made up, so I’m back on Ubuntu. -J.P.
It’s Friday. Perhaps we’ll see Spiderman 3 this weekend, though everything I’ve read and heard says that it’s not that good. Well neither was Jaws 3 and this Spiderman isn’t even in 3D.
I have officially completed my first semester of college. Today was my last final exam. It was 50 multiple choice and true/false questions in the wonderful topic of Sociology 101. I loved the course but I hated the final since it was the standard exam given to all students regardless of the professor for the course. The questions were worded a little differently than other exams. I felt there was some ambiguity thrown in for good measure so I’m not entirely comfortable with my performance. Hopefully I at least got a “B” on the exam so I didn’t compromise my grade too badly.
Grades come out a week from tomorrow, then it’s off to summer school on the 21st! I hear that’s where the bad boys hang out.
Mother Nature has been gracing us with thunderstorms today and I couldn’t be happier. Tom ducked for cover a couple of times with a few of the louder rumbles. One of the beautiful things about our home is that the breakfast table is surrounded by large windows on three sides. It’s almost as if we have a panoramic view of the storms blowing through. We’re under a severe thunderstorm watch through this evening. I think the National Weather Service is too quick to issue these watches and warnings these days; I feel like they “cry wolf” too often. When I was younger I don’t remember the constant barrage of weather statements, bulletin, watches and warnings. (One that I particularly dislike is a “snow event”. I have no idea what that is.) One thing that I don’t agree on is the activation of the Emergency Alert System with all of these weather watches and warnings. That should be reserved for the really bad stuff like tornadoes and hurricanes when it comes to weather (and other things such as nuclear plant meltdowns too). And now that I’m starting to get slightly ranty about this, I’m going to say that I don’t know what was wrong with the old “Emergency Broadcast System” with that loud two-tone screech that used to make one’s hair stand on end when they heard it. With this relatively new Emergency Alert System we hear modem farts over the radio (in radio we called them duck farts). They just don’t have the same sense of urgency as the old EBS tones from the Cold War Era.
My friend Sean at Idle Eyes and a Dormy just sent me the link to the cover art for the upcoming DVD release of “The Secrets of Isis”. What a beautiful way to start a day.
Here’s a link to the article. By the way, I’m the one that’s been changing Wikipedia back to “The Secrets of Isis” (with ‘secrets’ a plural) because that’s the way it’s suppose to be. I might be hazy on a few things about my childhood, but I am never hazy about Isis.
Andy Mangels, author and comic book editor (and bear!), is guiding the project, which is scheduled for release on July 24.
Some of my readers have noticed that the “Made On A Mac” badge in the right-hand corner has been replaced with a “Made On Ubuntu” flag. It’s true, and I may have mentioned it before, but I have moved off of my beloved PowerBook G4 onto my HP Pavilion laptop full time. There’s a couple of reasons for this, the primary being that I had this beautiful laptop that we had purchased last fall for school that I wasn’t using. It was just sort of sitting there on the other desk, occasionally being used for school work. I couldn’t post my homework to my online classes using it, because Windows Vista isn’t compatible with the industry standard “Blackboard” software (for online classes) used by thousands of college.
The other thing that has been sort of bugging me about Apple, aside from the delay of their latest version of OS X, Leopard, is their advertising campaign. The “Hi, I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” ads have been on for a year or two. They’re starting to get on my nerves because I’m finding them somewhat hypocritical. Apple makes fun of the fact that Microsoft delayed Vista for five years and then delays Leopard six months. Apple’s latest ad makes fun of the trial software installed on Windows computers, which I find exceedingly annoying as well, however, Earl and I have had to remove trial software from our new Macs. Plus the guy that plays the Mac is getting entirely too greasy for my tastes. I like my Macs to look clean cut.
As a former commercial copy writer for both television and radio, I always worked under the thought that the best commercial is the ad that points out the positives of a product instead of harping on the negatives of your competition. At the very least, don’t harp on your competitor for doing something and then doing the exact same thing.
So I wiped out the hard drives on my new HP and installed Ubuntu Linux. The setup survived the acid test of the 12-hour ride in the car yesterday, with several stops in wi-fi spots.
I’ve made the switch. To Linux.
I’m sitting in another Thruway service area using their wi-fi. I’m taking a little break from my ride, and yes, it’s the same ride I started around noon today.
One of the cool things about technology is that even though we are separated by nearly a thousand miles, Earl and I are able to keep in touch no matter where we are. For example, I needed to send him an important text message after a particular experience.
I got myself one of those 20 minutes massages. In the middle of the mall. With people watching.
I figured I was in a mall where no one would know me and if they laughed and pointed or whatever they wouldn’t know whom they were laughing or pointing at so I plunked down $22 plus tip and got myself a 20 minute massage.
It felt wonderful. I still feel wonderful.
I told the masseuse to not hold back and the older gentleman certainly didn’t. He pushed, prodded, kneaded and punched until I felt like a loaf of bread ready for the oven. I didn’t giggle like the Pillsbury Dough Boy though. My muscles were a little sore from working out but now they feel great. I must have set a trend because when I got to the booth the four chairs were empty. When I left, there was a line waiting.
I’m going to do it again in a strange city! Soon!
I am currently sitting in a service area along the New York State Thruway, the self proclaimed “Main Street” of The Empire State. Always keeping up with the times, the Thruway has installed free wi-fi service in each of their service areas along the world’s longest toll road. This is the first time that I’ve used it.
In an effort to be money conscious, I packed a lunch for my little ride with the intent of eating and surfing at a stop along my drive. It’s still sitting on the kitchen counter. I’m sure it’ll be delicious tomorrow. So I’m eating a veggie wrap from a local sandwich chain called “Mr. Subb”. The second “b” denotes that this place is hip. My wrap has an extra “p” on the end, because it was made Pretty darn quick.
There is a person behind the counter at the McDonalds that is snapping their gum incessantly. I am very tempted to walk up to the counter and slap them right across the face but I suppose that would be rude. It would probably be ruder than the snapping of the gum, though many would agree that snapping gum like some sort of cow is pretty rude in itself. Now that I think about it, cows don’t really snap gum, they just chew their cud and they do it quietly.
I’m not sure where I’m headed on this ride today. I’m out enjoying the weather, picking up tubes for my bike tires and just clearing the cobwebs from my head so I’m ready to go for my last final exam on Thursday. Earl is out of town until tomorrow night. I plan on studying the majority of the day tomorrow and hope to sit in the sun while doing so.
Today I’ll just enjoy being a loner in an Acura on the Thruway.
I’ve always been a fan of dandelions. While it seems that everyone I talk to wants to eliminate them from their picture perfect yards, I don’t think a lawn is complete unless it’s dotted with dandelions.
They’re a natural part of spring!
This morning I was up bright and early to drive Earl to the airport. He is spending the next couple of days in Indianapolis on business. I get to hold down the fort for the next couple of days. Perhaps I should focus on studying for my final exam scheduled for Thursday.
You’d think that after 11 years of living with a partner that is an intermittent jetsetter that this sort of thing would be standard operating procedure, but I still feel like I’m punched in the gut when I see him head into the airport. I guess I am just a romantic at heart. I don’t know how couples that deal with this more frequently do it so eloquently.
Feeling a little woozy from our weekend of partying, I decided to stop at Panera before hopping on the Thruway and heading home. I have not been at this Panera before, it’s in the more afluent suburban village of Fayetteville. There are a lot of guys with computers using the wi-fi and drinking bottles of water. This is my first non-Mac experience at Panera, as I am using my newer HP laptop running Ubuntu Linux. Getting connected to the wi-fi network here was a flawless experience. I can’t believe it was easier to accomplish with Linux that it is with Mac OS X! This makes me very happy. I don’t know how these people can run around with Microsoft Windows, it’s just too much work.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
