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Monday, June 30, 2003
Love at First Post...
Archives ... fixed! they work! *knocks on wood*
I also like the new interface. I think it's easier to use.
And Archiving works again! YAY!
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 1:15 PM ::> [
Tiiiiiin roof - Rusted.
Or not really.
http://www.metalroofing.org/
I had never heard of this until today. Someone was in asking my officemate questions about whether we can do houses with metal roofs, and asked in a rhetorical sort of way "Why would anyone do this?".
So I typed "metal roofs" into Google, and got this site. I guess she wasn't expecting an answer from me about "Why". :D
Kinda cool, though. Add that to the list of things I'd want in my Dream house. Geothermal heat with a geothermal heated driveway (no shoveling!) and a metal roof, on a lake somwhere close to Ann Arbor.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 11:56 AM ::> [
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
100%
I'm fully up and running on the new machine. Monday was spent reloading software: Windows XP service packs and patches, Office 2000, Diablo 2, D2 X-pack, WS_FTP, Winamp, winzip, Seven Lances (D2 Mod), Digital camera software, mIRC, Trillian, ICQ, Printer software, photoshop, flash mx, dreamweaver mx.
Fun Fun. I got to bed around midnight, setting the thing to defrag before I stumbled upstairs.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:32 AM ::> [
Monday, June 23, 2003
The Weekend Review
School.
Finished off the two papers due for class on Saturday. I skimmed through the rest of the book I supposed to read a few weeks back on Thursday and Friday night - bad, bad book. I cranked out a Critical Review of it on Friday night, with a final round of editting on it Saturday morning. I then patched together a working version of the final project -- a sexual autobiography -- revised twice, and zipped it off via email around 2:30. They were due at 4:00.
US 23 North, Attempt 1
I then attempted to head up US23 north to attend my cousin's graduation open house. Heartland is only about 40 minutes from here. 45 minutes into the trip, and I had JUST managed to merge onto the US23 North/M14 West junction. *sighs* So I made an illegal turn in the "authorized vehicles only" thing, and headed back home to prepare more for my appointment at 6:00.
MTG DB Done!
I finished entering all of my Magic cards into a database I designed. I'm going to query off it in the next few days to get a complete cardlist to list on Ebay. I'm selling the whole lot. Bidding starts at $250. I've got a lot of older cards, some newer cards, some out of print cards. Over 3000 total cards available.
Web Business Open
Met with some friends of ours who have invested in a salon business. They need a website for their salon (it's required by their franchise), and "professional": web developer's quotes are coming in at THOUSANDS of dollars. Consulted with Matthew early this week, and decided to charge $50/hour for web services. That's on the cheap asside, according to Mr. Matthew. So, alls good. I think it'll take about 10-15 hours to complete, providing they aren't picky about every detail. I don't think they will be. We had dinner with them and watched 4 episodes of Queer as Folk into the wee hours of the night. It was fun ;)
US 23 North, Attempt 2
I enlisted my brother in law to assist me in upgrading my PC hardware. So, headed on up US23 again at about 11:45 on Sunday morning. Ran into the same damn traffic as before. I've NO idea what they're doing.
This time, took the M14 east branch (which was free and clear), exitted at Ford Road, Found Plymouth Road, took Plymouth to Barton Drive, and went up Whitmore Lake road to North Territorial where, by the time US23 meandors its way up that far north - is fine. *shrugs*
Upgraded.
Thus Sunday was spent in Mason, Michigan with my brother-in-law. He bought me a motherboard, processor and RAM to help me upgrade my computer (he picked them, I purchased them). Unfortunately - the Compaq case that contained my previous computer guts was "wonky" and, of course, had some Compaq Proprietary B.S. in it, so we couldn't use the case. I had to shell out about 120$ for a new case, power supply and two case fans. BUT! I still have an amazingly fast computer now for about $450 total. The only thing that needs serious upgrading is the Video Card. Christmas, perhaps? Either way, I'll be upgrading after the new house is settled, but before next summer to a new Vid Card. The one I want is about $199 currently.
The Specs:
Antec Lanboy Case (Aluminum, greyish color, PC window on the side to view internals. VERY LIGHT)
2 Antec Blue glowing PC fans. You see BLUE GLOWING from my PC when it's on. :D
Asus AX7N8 Motherboard (onboard sound, onboard LAN)
AMD Athalon Barton 2500+ Chipset (1.83 gHZ)
512 mg Corsair 3200S DDR RAM
32 mg Nvidia Geforce 2 MMX Video Card (from the old PC)
30 gig Maxtor HD (old pc component)
It looks cool and loads FAST :) Didn't get much time to play with it, though. I got home around midnight.
School, Redeux
And of course, since I didn't read email on Sunday, My prof emailed me. I attached the wrong friggen file to the second email. SO! I had to try and have Jarrod start up the new PC and try and get the file for me. PROBLEM. The new PC was complaining. Mouse wasn't working. Keyboard wasn't working. GReeeeAt.
So I zipped home for lunch, and proceeded to try and finagle thing to give up the file so I could ship off the correct file to my prof to get a grade.
Life's full of fun adventures ;)
Managed to get it (just barely). The computer is still acting flakey, so that's my focus for tonight: Whip PC Into order, install software, patch OS, get file system defraged.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 1:50 PM ::> [
Thursday, June 19, 2003
LoL
| aular | | Magic Number | 11 | | Job | Leader of the Free World | | Personality | Slacker | | Temperament | Steely | | Sexual | Whatever, Whenever, Whoever | | Likely To Win | Some Lubricant | | Me - In A Word | Belligerent | | Colour | | | Brought to you by MemeJack |
|
Via Angel Mills
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:00 AM ::> [
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
1. Kucinich, Cong. Dennis, OH - Democrat (100%)
2. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat (88%)
3. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (85%)
4. Gephardt, Cong. Dick, MO - Democrat (80%)
5. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (79%)
6. Lieberman Senator Joe CT - Democrat (77%)
7. Graham, Senator Bob, FL - Democrat (76%)
8. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (72%)
9. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol IL - Democrat (66%)
10. Libertarian Candidate (33%)
11. Bush, George W. - US President (10%)
12. Phillips, Howard - Constitution (-1%)
13. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat (-8%)
I guess that means I'm pretty liberal?
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 1:53 PM ::> [
Quote for today
I like this one:
"It is said that love is blind. Friendship, on the other hand, is clairvoyant." -- Phillip Soupault.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:52 AM ::> [
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
*gags*
Have you ever had spoiled milk? It's FOUL. I bought milk from the deli downstairs - 2 half pints of milk to calm the hot and spicy orange chicken I had for lunch. First one was fine. I got about half-way through the second and as the hot and spicy taste left my mouth, a rank and gamey taste entered. I looked at the expiration date - June 10th.
Greaaaaaaaaaat.
I hope I don't get sick. I got 1/2 through the half pint before I realized. That's about 1/2 a cup of spoiled milk.
My day's just been on a steady decline since I woke up....
But! In other news...
The long awaited Kitchen Countertops have arrived! They aren't as blue as I thought they'd be. They're a lot more grey:
I love them.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 1:07 PM ::> [
Monday, June 16, 2003
Saddle Up, Lock and Load ...
We're officially locked into a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 5.125.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Lower than we were budgeting on by almost a WHOLE POINT.
Yay, us. :D
I'm SO getting Maevyn
I think Maevyn is the first character I've really, really connected with. Am having much fun playing him, now. I'm enjoying character interactions as much as plot line, now, which hasn't happened with a character yet. This weekend, Maevyn attempted to check on something he's been suspecting for a while (which he was wrong about). It illicited a lecture by his wife (which I, the player, wasn't really expecting). He also got doubly hurt - rather deeply - by someone he thought actually needed him and that he could implicitly trust (Delwin, for you in-gamers). It'll be interesting to play out the conversation with Delwin now. I'm kinda bummed that we're not having a July session. I've THINGS to do, People to cross, and an Arm to buy ;)
And definitely need to get the wife back into Chaosian society. That's goal #1 at the moment. Not for the reasons you're probably thinking, though ....
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 2:38 PM ::> [
Thursday, June 12, 2003
In the News
Ontario Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Not civil unions - marraige. The Big "M". Weddings in Toronto will be all the Michigan Gay Rage ;)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:38 AM ::> [
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
*HISSES*
So in class today, we watched a 25 minute film produced/funded by an unknown group. Lots of people espousing PHD's without the decription of what, exactly, their doctorate was in, lots of people who were blaming their current ilks on past experiences, lots of people analyzing ambiguous statistics, omitting relevant comparable statistics, waving banners of family values, children's innocence and corruptability, recruitment, and no less than one dozen "Former Homosexuals" telling their stories behind and in between all these "experts" and "statistics". Some of the "experts" were also "former homosexuals".
I had to literally prevent myself from HISSING at the fricking screen. As it was, I snickered and snorted at least twice.
*grumbles*
The only retribution to it all was that I took two pages of furious notes and broke the arguement apart in analysis of the film to my classmates, and several classmates assisted in deconstructing the reconstruction-deconstruction of their "ex-gay" arguements.
NOT a good way to start the day. I'm feeling orniry and pissed and riled up and .... aggressive.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 11:41 AM ::> [
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Weekend
Busy day yesterday Thus, no blog.
The weekend was nice and relaxing. I gamed Saturday, and despite the fact that I didn't feel much in Lysis-mode, I think I did alright. It was a laid back session, which helped immensely. I'm starting to get a taste of the Political life I'm going to be dealing with shortly. Heh.
Sunday was nice, too. I decided I had too much homework to make it to the MTG Sealed deck thing my friends were organizing. Jarrod and I watched parts of Queer as Folk, which I have a presentation on this morning. I hate presentations.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:11 AM ::> [
Friday, June 06, 2003
Measure your Inner Geek
http://www.innergeek.us/geek.html
I got a 39.64497% - Major Geek.
PFT :D
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 3:52 PM ::> [
My Brain....
Via Form Follows Function, via others
Your Brain Usage Profile
Auditory : 50%
Visual : 50%
Left : 55%
Right : 45%
Patrick, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant with a balanced preference for auditory and visual inputs. Because of your "centrist" tendencies, the distinctions between various types of brain usage are somewhat blurred.
Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor, unless it requires total spontaneity and ability to improvise, your weaker traits. However, you are far from rigid or overcontrolled. You possess a degree of individuality, perceptiveness, and trust in your intuition to function at much more sophisticated levels than most.
Having given sufficient attention to detail, you can readily perceive the larger aspects and implications of a situation or of learning. You are functional and practical, but can blend abstraction and theory into your framework readily.
The equivalence of your auditory and visual learning orientation gives you two equally effective sensory input systems, each with distinctive features. You can process both unidimensionally and multidimen- sionally with equal facility. When needed, you sequence material while at other times you "intake it all" and store it for processing later.
Your natural ability to use your senses is also synthesized in your way of learning. You can be reflective in your approach, absorbing material in a non-aggressive manner, and at other times voracious in seeking out stimulation and experience.
Overall you tend to be somewhat more critical of yourself than is necessary and avoid enjoying life too much because of a sense of duty. You feel somewhat constrained and tend to sometimes restrict your expressiveness. In any given situation, you will opt for the rational, and learning of almost any type should be easy for you. You might need certain ideas explained to you in order to fit them into your scheme of things, but you're at least open to that!
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:52 AM ::> [
Rolf
A friend of mine has decided that she's going to learn how to do this. Rolfing is a hollistic body massage treatment that takes massage a step further. Rather than relieve stress and trauma for the immediate, rolfing attempts to realign the body completely so that it can heal on its own. The result is that once you rolf through their program, you won't have to come back again (except for maintence as you see fit).
It's an interesting concept. And when/if I ever have the spare cash, I'll probably do it. $100 or so a session (1 hour session) for ten consecutive weeks is more than I can handle at this point.
Though, I think I'll just go and get a 1.5 hour massage and call it a day ;)
Birthday Surprise
If you happen to be a member of the Van Kirk clan, every birthday you see a check for $100 in your birthday card. From what I've been told, this has been a staple for many years, now. Now, if you're a VK by association, you get a card, cake, happy birthdays. Which is fine. I like cards, cake and happy birthdays :) And since my birthday is only 3 days off from J's dad's, we go out to dinner in PA to do a celebratory meal as well. Alls good.
Memorial day was early this year. We did dinner at the cabin, but there wasn't a card. That was mailed after we all got back, and I received it earlier this week. And lo and behold, within the confines of that yellow paper envelope was ... a check.
I guess I'm one of the family, now. The gesture of the thing is worth more than the value of the thing itself. It has explicit instructions: "Do something fun with this." So, I'm either going to get more RAM for my computer, or I'm going to get a massage with it. I haven't decided yet.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:07 AM ::> [
Thursday, June 05, 2003
An alarm is supposed to wake you, right?
I somehow managed to smack it without really waking up. I vaguely remember a conversation with Jarrod, and him turning the radio on. After that .... dreamland.
Which means I awoke at about 8:20 to the sound of some report-or-other on NPR. Uh. Oops.
Seeing that I start work at 8:00 am, I called my boss and told her I was on my way, and would make up time. Grand.
So, I'm staying late tonight to make up the time. At 6:30, I'm off to a class meeting where we're going to discuss a novel I didn't like at all, Phillip Roth's The Dying Animal. It was a rather over-objectification of women, I thought. It was so Patriarchical and self-entitled WASP-Het male that it made me roll my eyes many, many times.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 11:30 AM ::> [
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Bloggerland is quiet today...
Missing the normal voices today: WSF and KG. Hope everything is okay in your planetiods.
I watched, last night and for the first time, Chasing Amy. I've decided I like the director - a bunch. I'm going to have to peek at the rest of the movies in the 'trilogy' and grab more movies as well. The movie itself, I thought, was pretty remarkable. There's a lot to read from it and a lot they're saying. I, of course, had the immediate thought that I should watch it again to really gleam more from it for the discussion tomorrow in class when I realized that I won't need to go that in depth about it for class. Class, in general, is not in depth. We skim the surface, dance the waves ever-so-lightly and flit to something else of little consequence whilst about a half a dozen people actually bother to say anything, and only 3/4 of them say anything interesting. *sighs* Have I mentioned I'll be happy when I'm done with undergrad?
I had a moment yesterday that was semi-interesting. I was chatting with my sister, and she asked about school and classes. I launched into my diatribe and mentioned that I was already writing things down to add to the professor's course evaluation. She stopped me with a "WOW. Y'know? As a student, I'd just want the quiz and to be left alone. Why aren't you teaching?"
I had to stop and think about that. I think I could handle teaching college level English. I don't think I could handle the impatience and disciplinary problems of Middle and High school ... but college? I think I could do that. In the very least, there are SOME college students taking courses for the pure interest of learning something.
Going to have to think about that one.
Just a little under two weeks, and this class finishes. I have a seven minute oral report on Queer as Folk to do yet (easy), and two 3-5 page papers to crank out: a critical review of a scholarly work or novel (easy) and a 'sexual autobiography'. Since I've had more than a few classes on this topic already - this should be a breeze. I've got 4 pages of stuff to talk about in my head already. The trick will be cutting it back to only include important points while making it a cohesive narrative.
In other news...HOUSE IS SOLD!
And I mean SOLD-sold. All contingencies are clear on our initial offer. Which, is 5K less than the second offer we've received, but we have a closing date for sometime next week. In less than two weeks, Jarrod will no longer own 1976 Burns.
The next major step is locking in a rate on the new house. We'll get a 45-day rate lock, which is the highest one you can get and not pay points on your loan (at Standard Fed). We'll probably do that towards the end of next week, since they're peeping that we should be able to close July 21st (maybe sooner!) and definitely before the 31st. YAY.
Which means ...... WE GOTTA START PACKING! I think we're going to start on the laundry room or the storage room tonight. Maybe the spare bedroom. One of them :D
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 4:38 PM ::> [
Monday, June 02, 2003
Last for a while...
After the flurry of the birthday season, I'm now +5 above my previous Final Fantasy CD score.
yay. :D
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 1:40 PM ::> [
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