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| Saturday, June 13th, 2009 | | 1:09 pm |
| | Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 | | 10:38 pm |
My car was broken into again...
I came out to my car today and found that sometime between Monday evening and today, someone had broken into it. The driver's side door was unlocked (I'm 95% sure that I locked it, because if I hadn't, it'd be the first, MAYBE second time in the 9 years I've owned it), the central "storage bin" was open, and stuff was scattered on the driver's seat. Fortunately: a) Nothing was scratched or broken as far as I could tell; I guess they used a Slim Jim or a pick to open a lock; b) I couldn't find anything missing in the car or in the trunk, not even old receipts I'd forgotten to toss or car-related paperwork; I can only assume they were after cash or electronics, which I don't keep in my car, and my radio was still present; c) I had my pedal lock on, so the car stayed where it was. One thing I like about it over the Club is that, unlike said Club, you practically have to kneel outside the open door to try to break it off without any awkwardness. Still, the idea that someone rifled my car is pretty creepy. The fact that it was parked next to a sidewalk in close proximity of apartment windows made it pretty ballsy of him/her/them. Since nothing was taken and there was no damage, I didn't bother to report it, but I hope the creepy feeling goes away soon. :P Current Mood:  cranky | | Sunday, November 9th, 2008 | | 2:26 pm |
Typical.
So I order three items from Amazon: two things I really want to read, and a bunch of bookmarks for a $1.50 that I only bought so I could get the free shipping. I get an e-mail today saying they've shipped one of my items in advance, and will send the rest as they become available. Guess which one I'm getting first? Oh, well, at least they aren't charging me any more shipping fees for sending stuff this way... Current Mood: annoyed | | Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | | 8:28 pm |
Congratulations to President-Elect Obama
No matter what your critics say, you earned this. You've got a lot of work to do and a tough road ahead. I hope you can live up to your potential. Current Mood:  impressed | | Thursday, October 16th, 2008 | | 6:34 pm |
Technical question...
My computer has been making this occasional odd sound in the past couple of days. It's a very short (like less than a second) high pitched mechanical "whine" that starts low and rapidly escalates in pitch. I compare it to the sound it makes when it begins to read a freshly inserted CD-ROM, or maybe when the HD starts spinning after being idle (though this I'm not sure about; it's been so long since I've heard it that I have only the vaguest memory to compare it to). I don't think I've ever heard it make this sound before yesterday; I could be wrong, but somehow I don't think I am. Do I have any cause for concern with the hard drive or other parts? The computer is an eight year old Mac desktop, and the HD is about a year or so younger (the first starting making grinding sounds after the first year or so). Thanks in advance! Current Mood:  curious | | Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 | | 9:16 pm |
| | Monday, September 15th, 2008 | | 12:12 am |
Stupid economy...
(As you can tell from the subject, this is similar to my last post; I won't blame you if you skip it. In fact, I encourage it if you feel you need to.) Short and sweet: as I watch AIG in trouble, Merrill-Lynch bought out, Lehman Brothers go down in flames, and everything else put together, I start wondering about my personal financial future, not to mention that of the people and businesses/institutions (the ones I care about; you know which) I hold dear. Again, people are panicking, which is hard to ignore. Some folks wonder if the efforts to prop things up won't be worse in the long run than just letting everything crash. But then, they're not economists, and neither am I - and even they can't agree on what should be done. Like the election, this is just another one of those things I have to wait to calm down, and deal with when that comes. I guess I just have to trust in the underlying strength of those people/institutions... Not to mention my own. It's funny, though, considering both this post and the last, just how much trouble a few stupid/greedy and powerful people can cause. This, at the very least, should hopefully serve as a warning to future generations. If not, well, they can't say they didn't see it coming... I promise, my next entry will be on something good! Current Mood:  blank | | Sunday, September 14th, 2008 | | 3:40 am |
Stupid election...
(General grumbling, nothing really political. Feel free to skip if you want. It'd be ironically appropriate to do so, considering what I'm grumbling about and why. :)) This whole election is giving me a headache. It's bad enough worrying about things that don't affect me. It's a lot worse when it's something that DOES. I'm tired of being told to be afraid, from both sides. I know which side I agree with, but even their fear (of what'll happen if the other side wins, which is always a real possibility) is infectious, especially for someone like me. I try to tell myself it won't be the end of the world no matter who wins, but since when has that ever stopped me? The fact that the rabid partisans KEEP stirring it up doesn't help; neither does the fact that, again, it comes from "my" side. I realize that they really feel that way, and why they're doing it, but besides all the other issues, I'm inclined to think that fearmongering, no matter who does it, is harmful to the whole political process in general. It just shouldn't be this way. Sometimes I wish I could just go to sleep, and wake up at Thanksgiving. :P (Yeah, yeah, it's a little irrational and something I don't really want to happen. It's just to give an idea of my frustration here.) Oh, well. Got my own life to think about. But I'm sure I'm not alone in any of this... Current Mood:  distressed | | Saturday, July 5th, 2008 | | 10:35 pm |
Changes to The Price is Right...?
I know not many people I know care about the show. Heck, not even I watch it regularly anymore. But it's a source of great nostalgia for me (kjaeros even gave me one of the greatest birthday presents EVAR - a DVD collection of early episodes and Bob Barker's last week on the show), and the reasons that it may be in trouble now makes me kind of sad/angry. Apparently, Fremantle Media (a company with an apparently bad track record of overhauling shows) recently fired The Price is Right's producer (who's been with the show since day one) and is talking about making all sorts of "modernizations" to the show, changes that rumor says infuriates both Bob and Drew Carey. This apparently includes stuff like completely changing the format, eliminating "Come on down!" and Contestant's Row; basically, altering things that have been key parts of the show for over thirty years, and that have penetrated pop culture to a huge extent, even among non-watchers. Granted, most of it is rumor and hearsay, but those who know what Fremantle's done to other shows are apparently taking it seriously due to their track record. Now, the hardcore fans, the ones who still watch and have memorized the prices of some prizes and items, have basically gone either into hardcore mourning or outraged freak-out mode. As I said before, I'm not hardcore. But the thought of an institution like The Price is Right, which I enjoyed a lot, being basically driven into the ground due to idiocy makes me kind of ticked. I can understand a show or whatever going away because it was time, or old age, or whatever. But seeing it, or anything, pointlessly "killed" by corporate ignorance just pisses me off. There's way too much of that in the world, and I'd hate to see it happen here. Current Mood: annoyed | | Saturday, June 28th, 2008 | | 6:18 am |
| | Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | | 12:26 am |
What the fuck?!?!?!
Okay, so I open my mailbox today, and there are three shiny new bills. So that's a strike right there. But there's one from a company I've never heard of before. I open it up. Oh, it seems that my apartment complex has switched utility billers. Then I look at the amount. Last month, old company: $41. This month, new company: $58. WHAT THE HOLY HELL???? Coincidentally, as I'm stomping back to my apartment, I pass by a woman talking to a couple. They're talking about this exact thing. Apparently, I got off lucky; some folks have had theirs go up by $25 OR MORE. ARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! Current Mood: angry | | Saturday, May 10th, 2008 | | 4:28 am |
| | Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 | | 11:29 pm |
I finally fully join the 21st century...
For a long, LONG time, my main browser and mail client was Netscape 7.4. I stuck with it all this/that time because I had no other mail client I particularly wanted to use, and it was incorporated into my browser. Finally, I started using Firefox last year. But since it didn't have a mail client built-in, I still used Netscape (7.4, recall) for mail. I considered Thunderbird, but the native profile transfer ability caused an irretrievable hanging of the program. Well, after finally realizing just how easy it was to take my mail and addresses from Netscape to Thunderbird without going through any profile transferring whatsoever (just copy a few files and paste them into another folder), I am now Netscape free. No longer am I using a years-old version of a browser whose support has ceased. I am now fully vested in open source software that works and is easy to back up. Finally. :D Current Mood:  accomplished | | Friday, March 14th, 2008 | | 6:36 pm |
Any economists out there?
Or those interested in economics? Because I've come across a couple of things I'd like opinions on. (And I'd like to apologize to one of my friends in advance for this "pessimistic" post. :D) E-mail me if you're unable to comment here, or post to your own journal if you're unable to do that. I really am interested in opinions. 1) James Howard Kunstler's The Long Emergency is one of several books of an emerging "industry" in discussing peak oil. Kunstler is especially pessimistic; in his view, oil production is declining, even crashing. It's too late to find any sort of viable alternative that will allow the world to function the way it is. The inescapable result is BILLIONS of deaths as food and other imports become unavailably expensive (especially, I'm sure, on islands like Hawaii and NEW ZEALAND - see, Mr. Croft, THAT is pessimistic >:D), world war over oil, and (I kid you not; read my first link) the sacking of California by overseas pirates. In an NPR interview, he sees this happening within the next FIVE YEARS. The more outlandish predictions aside (Kunstler has apparently long had a burr in his saddle over the wastefulness of suburbia), what're your thoughts on how bad the oil thing is going to get? To you technology buffs, is it truly much too late to see any viable alternative before the whole system goes kablooey? 2) Many experts, looking at the housing bubble collapse and the subprime debacle, seem to think we're headed for another Great Depression. The Fed's recent rate-cutting is seen as a major panic in the highest level of government, which is seen as evidence that we're spiraling towards an economic collapse unseen since the 1930's. Any truth to this? Current Mood:  thoughtful | | Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 | | 11:55 pm |
A gripe...
I was sharing with Leo earlier... The price of gas is up a quarter a gallon in just 26 days. And there are all sorts of buzzing and message board threads around about just how bad things are going to get, economically. I'm currently freelancing/hoping to work in an industry that makes definite NON-essential stuff, so it does make me concerned (though the actual company I mainly deal with now is owned by a big corporation, which I suppose is one of those times when such a thing is GOOD). Hopefully things'll be okay... Current Mood: annoyed | | Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 | | 6:38 pm |
Message board quote that got me thinking...
Believing absurd things with no proof is stupid. And people should look down on those who do.
... I simply don't smile and pretend like the ludicrous idea of theism is a fair choice. It's a childish choice and I find those that choose it unworthy of respect. I know perfectly nice religious people and I'm friends with at least two, but I certainly don't respect their intellectual integrity or reason.The quote above is typical of some militant atheists on this particular message board who believe that faith itself (as it relates to the "supernatural" or non-scientific, not in people) is a harmful thing that bespeaks of irrationality and intellectual bankruptcy. I know many folks who believe in were-type stuff are atheists (insofar as the strictest definition of the word - not believing in God). Still, as anyone who knows me well knows, I tend to latch onto things that make me doubt, and this is one of them. I obviously won't start to look down on anyone I know and like, but it certainly doesn't do my own already shaky faith much favors. Any thoughts from the faithful? :) Current Mood: thoughtful | | Friday, February 15th, 2008 | | 6:21 pm |
Random thoughts and bits!
Just to fill in the public listing for this LJ, how about some of what's been going through my brain lately! * I admittedly don't know much about global politics and economy, but this old Atlantic article has me pretty worried. Granted, it doesn't take much to do THAT, but the thought of national economic collapse (especially what that means for the people I love and the companies I enjoy/work for) is pretty mind-blowing for me. Anyone have any thoughts on this? ( ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) geistbear, feel free to e-mail me instead if you have anything to share, but can't comment here. :D) * My upstairs neighbor broke up (rather messily) with her boyfriend. On Monday night, he spent about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, standing or sitting outside her door, knocking every three minutes or so and begging for her to open the door. It only ended when she finally opened the door to yell at him and slam it shut in his face. Of course, since the wall with the front doors is the same one right next to my head in the bedroom, I heard all this. It sounded, and felt, pathetic. Did I mention this started at around 2 in the morning? I felt like going out there and yelling, "Dude, she doesn't want to see you. Go away." OTOH, at least I know my upstairs neighbor's name (Liz). * If you like puzzles, and have a Nintendo DS, you must, must MUST pick up "Professor Layton and the Curious Village." Do it. Now. * Didja know that if it's really cold somewhere, that proves global warming doesn't exist? (Well, it doesn't, but I hear this from certain places enough that I'm mighty sick of it. :P) * I'm hoping to see a different accountant for taxes this year. For my '05 taxes, I owed a certain amount, but got ALL of it back from the IRS months later. For my '06 taxes, I don't believe my income changed in a significant way, but I paid about the same amount (or a little more) and have gotten NONE of it back. I have no idea why, but I hope/suspect a new accountant can take a look and tell me. * Still no substantial updates on the job front, but there are a couple of irons in the fire I hope will develop into SOMETHING, even if temporary/low paying. But I got paid (relatively) early for a recent freelance bit, which is good. (If any of you hear anything that would fit me, lemme know!) That's it for now. More as it develops! Current Mood: okay | | Monday, December 3rd, 2007 | | 6:38 pm |
*pounds head against brick wall*
When you're applying to nine different jobs one after the other in a short time, errors can creep in. So of COURSE, the one cover letter where I accidentally refer to another job title is the one for the Word Processor position, where accuracy is vital, which I trumpeted in the rest of the cover letter, and one of the ones I thought I was actually qualified for! I think the response I got, "we don't have any [wrong title] positions open," was a gentle way of saying, "we don't think you can use you, 'cause you screwed up." Gah! Current Mood: frustrated | | Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 | | 6:42 pm |
Man, I feel like a heel...
Background: On Wednesdays, I usually go out to browse a local comic store and bookstore. I generally stay out 'til about 4. Today, I lingered at the bookstore and went grocery shopping. Further background: My grandparents are visiting my aunt. I drove up Sunday night to visit, a road trip of some 70 miles or so (and on 45 minutes sleep, no less). I left Monday, and forgot to call when I got back. But I figured, on some level, that they'd assume I got back. When I left my apartment this afternoon, I was eating lunch when I realized I'd forgotten my cel phone at home. Ehh, forget it, I thought. Who'd be calling me? When I got home, I found six messages on my cel phone and four on my answering machine. Eight were frfrom my grandmother, frantic because she hadn't heard anything from me. The other two were from my uncle and aunt (the latter ducked out of a meeting to take a call from my grandmother) asking me to call her! Please note I'm over thirty. But man, I feel like a huge putz. It figures that the ONE Wednesday in the past month I don't bring my cel phone, this happens. She's over eighty, and I worried her so much! Granted, it was a pretty needless worry, at base - I mean, I am an adult - but still! (I wonder if this is where I get my tendencies from...? :) Current Mood:  guilty | | Monday, October 1st, 2007 | | 9:31 pm |
Stephen Colbert is right!
According to a poster on Slashdot: The Nunavut language has a special word that means "bears are evil", for which there is no English equivalent, as we have no special word that refers specifically to the type of evil that can only be associated with a bear.Smart people, those Nunavut. Current Mood: amused |
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