It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, as usual. I’ve been considering not posting much more publicly. The Internet is a very different place than it was when I started a weblog back in ‘99, and even more different than the experience I had when I frequented dial-up BBSs in the ’80s. Back then, the likelihood that someone who was reading it would be of at least a similar mindset was a lot better. AOL hooking to Usenet was just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s not all bad, of course. Having non-geek friends is a good thing. I just feel, I don’t know, more exposed. I always knew that anyone could be reading, but the likelihood was rather low. It still is, with the huge number of weblogs out there, but it just feels different. Everyone* is on now. I’m not exactly exposing myself to all gawkers, but telling your life story to a bunch of friends gathered in a public bar has a different feel to it than shouting it out in a crowded mall. Being on-line used to be like meeting up in a friend’s basement, then like a friendly pub. Now it’s a bit how I image a shopping mall would be like if it was run by the Russian Mafia.

I’ll probably always have a presence on-line, and the website isn’t going anywhere; I just may be posting mostly friends-only on Livejournal from now on. I prefer to keep full control over my content, but I know that keeping multiple log-ins is a pain, and most people who would be reading are already on there. Who knows, maybe I’ll post more. Heh, yeah, that’s a good one, isn’t it?

*By everyone, I mean everyone in a first-world country who has money.

Thanks to /., I’ve found a new webcomic that I really like. So of course I had to buy the t-shirt.

I sometimes remember the birthdays of my immediate family (barely), but forget those of even my neices and nephews. My dear friend, MrsV, has a great policy posted on her site, so I’m stealing hers.

Birthday Policy

I’m not too much for the whole meme thing, but this one is music…

From the crazy cat lady, list your collection alphabetically by song and list the first one for each letter:

(more…)

I thought I would share a few recipes with my horde of rabid reader.

Scubbo
Bring a pot of water to boil.
Place vegetables and anything else even remotely edible at hand in pot.
Let stew.
Eat.

Blind Scubbo
Same as Scubbo, minus the vegetables and edible bits.

Spoo Cubes*
Cut Spoo into 1/2″ cubes.
Garnish with parsley.
Serve at 62 degrees F.

*Not technically vegetarian

The patient is stable, but still critical. I won’t bore you with all the details of how my printer has had problem after problem after problem, but I will say that I can understand how people end up thinking that they’ve been cursed. I just want to be able to print, dammit.

Okay, so as soon as I hit “publish” on that last one, they came back to me. Oi.

I want to sponsor a NASCAR team just so I can hear the announcer say “the Cheesy-Poofs car…”
I want to be rich so that my immature behavior can have a bigger impact upon the world. (see above)
I’m considering hibernating this winter. Wake me in April. (Forget March. I’m sleeping in.)

I have a hard time sitting through a movie without having to visit the restroom, so I don’t see movies in the threater any more, but two that are on my must-see (actually, must buy) list when they hit DVD are Serenity and MirrorMask.

Someone recently asked me if I could name all seven dwarfs from memory. It reminded me of when I got inspired (or just bored) and decided to play with their names, swapping around the first one or two letters among them. I ended up with

Sleezy
Gropey
Dumpy
Snappy
Dashful
Beepy
and Hoc

I think that would have been a very different movie. Unfortunately, not to much can be done about Hoc.

In a recent issue of InsideMS, the magazine of the The National MS Society, they had an article on animal assisants; dogs specifically. It reminded me of how I’ve been thinking that it would be cool to have a service monkey. I would name him “Pestilence”. He could sit on my shoulder and fling poo at people who annoy me. That would be perfect for movie theaters.

“That ain’t popcorn, lady. Now shutup.”

I think I need to get out more.

I’ve often wished that I could have gone through something like SEAL training in the past. Making it through something like that must give you a real confidence boost. I imagine that all of life’s problems take on a new perspective.

Panicked co-worker - “Oh no! We’ve got to get this TPS report finished by five!”
SEAL - “I once killed a shark with my toenail clippings.”

I guess I have something similar now, only it seems a lot more like just not giving a shit.