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Monday, September 29, 2003
The weekend was nice
Relaxing. No work, didn't do much homework, either, which means I now get to play catch up this week. Ah well :)
And lo, the Landscapers hath arrived!
We have actual people working in our yard today! Jarrod reported that they're burying the downspouts today, and irrigation may go in today, too.
Cool ;) They're hoping to be done by Friday.
50% off is a good thing
We went to Meijer last night, and all their landscaping stuff is on super-sale: 50% off! We bought some goldflame spirea, some eunymous emerald (I think? green and yellow short plant) and some Crimson Barberry plants. We'll lay them out this week in their approximate spots, and determine if we need more. The big trees will probably have to wait for spring: we'd like a redbud and a dogwood for the front.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 11:42 AM ::> [
Thursday, September 25, 2003
UgH
Busy couple of days.
Had an all day training course on Business Objects, a Microsoft tool that queries databases of all sorts. They crammed a three day training session into ONE day, so it was only a little boring in parts. I could have handled just a TAD faster, but not by much.
Which meant that a few people in the room were lost in the afternoon session. Ah well.
Today was out first "quiz" in the freshman level course. That is to say, the prof (who is a visiting prof from Italy) decided to give us a mini-exam. Double-Ugh. It was a bluebook test, 1 essay and 10 short answer identifications. It took me 50 minutes to do it, which was all the time we were alloted. I stretched the last 3 short answers. I warned my GSI that 50 minutes wasn't reasonable to do a midterm exam of that length. He agreed, and said we'd see how it went.
I WAS RIGHT. The midterm is supposed to be TWO essays and 10 identifications - in the same amount of time. Yeaaaaa right. GSI is going to make a case to the prof that it's unreasonable to expect that. Else he better curve the damn thing.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 5:34 PM ::> [
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
OKAY...THIS is the last one ;)
Calling all gourmands!
I need a good chili recipe. Work is sponsoring a chili cook-off contest. The winner gets company-wide production of the chili and $500 donated to a charity of the winner's choice.
I think it'd be cool to see work's name next to WRAP as a donator, don't you? Send all those conservative bankees shivers?
I think that'd be fun ;)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:08 AM ::> [
Last peep for the day....Tentative Housewarming Date!
Saturday, October 11. Probably a pot luck. 5ish or 6ish forward.
POM'ers: Mr. GM has made noises that we might shoot for a noon to five session.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:03 AM ::> [
Fall fell
Happy Autumn. :D
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:01 AM ::> [
Anyways...
What I was going to report was: ContractorIdiot who was Supposed to build the deck has been fired.
He messed up. Too many times to recover from. Fatal error. Error 404 - cannot find page. He was lame.
He was referred to us by the husband of the sales person at the sub-division, who is going to put our lawn in. HE'S a good businessperson. It was a personal friend of his who he had never worked with before. Idiot came in 2K or so less than everyone else, so we went with him.
He claimed he was going to start the week before Labor day. He didn't call, didn't show up. We called him and left several messages before he got back to us. Said he'd start the day after Labor day.
No call, no show. He didn't call and didn't show up ALL WEEK. We called and left messages, and finally heard back from him on Friday (5th). He said he applied for the permit, and that it only took a day or two. We talked about firing him then, and decided that our best shot of getting a deck in this fall was with this guy. So I took over the management/arrangement. I called the township Monday(8th) to check on the status of the permit. He had *JUST* dropped it off that Day, and incomplete at that. He needed our "OK" on the app to do the work. I faxed that in, and told Idiot he had to pick up the original from us. He came over Tuesday (9th) and did so - this is the first time either of us had met him in person.
The township stated they needed 7-10 business days to complete the permit process. Gah. Idiot said they always say that, and that it'd only take a day or two. Sure enough, the permit was approved on the 17th - 7 business days from application. I called, since the township called me about it, and Idiot said he'd come over Friday night to sign a contract and get 1/2 down. He instructed me that we needed to pick the permit up. Jarrod spent some time in the morning going over to the township office to discover that the permit had been applied for in a manner that meant only HE could pick up the permit. Okay.... I called him, leaving a message, telling him we couldn't pick it up per the township, that he needed to get it, and that we'd reimburse him when he came over Friday (19th). I called Friday, leaving a message, reminding him of the appointment.
He didn't call, and didn't show up. He was supposed to start Saturday morning - no call, no show. I called him Saturday at about 6:00 pm to inform him that we no longer required his services.
He, of course, hasn't bothered to call back.
SO ... Dan Bud of Bud's General Contracting. I'd not recommend him AT ALL. I should check the Better Business Bureau's website to see what mayhem I can cause.
Oh, and the crowning piece: Contractor, who is FRIENDS with the Landscaper ... won't return the LANDSCAPER'S CALLS either. The Landscaper has rescheduled the lawn installation multiple times now and was trying to get ahold of the Contractor to see when he could start the lawn. No call back. Some friend!
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:05 AM ::> [
Gah.
The second PC has IE 5.5 ...and blogger looks freaky-weird in it.
I think it's rather lame that different VERSIONS of the same browser look so vastly different, let alone across different browsers or platforms.
Isn't this supposed to the be the WWW? Html is a UNIVERSAL language. Web languages should be UNIVERSAL. They should all look the same and have the same functionality.
Gr. I can understand Wendi's frustration, now.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:03 AM ::> [
Monday, September 22, 2003
Rain, Rain ....
Bah. But, eh. *shrugs*
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:47 AM ::> [
Tranceiver picked up another...
Another world located in the vastness of the cosmos.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:44 AM ::> [
I sense a theme to my quizzes today.....
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 8:55 AM ::> [
Congratulations, you're Los Angeles, the City of Angels.
What US city are you? Take the quiz by Girlwithagun.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 8:55 AM ::> [
You are an angel.
What legend are you?. Take the Legendary Being Quiz by Paradox
Via Nuahda
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 8:43 AM ::> [
Saturday, September 20, 2003
Cabin 2003
More delayed than I would have liked, but late is better than never, right?
PA 2003 photo album
To the attendees: I have the original files, which will make up to a 5X7 in high quality. If you want them, just give a holler over e-mail and I'll burn them to a CD for you. Meijer and the like will take CDs and print off photos ;)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:47 AM ::> [
This was funny....
So, I admit - I've not much experience in the wedding department. I've been to three family weddings before college: one when I was 5, one when I was near 10, and the other when I was about 14. All much to young to really understand why my parents were dragging me along (though I did remember liking the first wedding, as I was a ring bearer and liked attention as a five year old).
Thus, I didn't know what a bachelor party entailed. Or a bachelorette party. Or a wedding shower.
So, I thought I'd browse for some information. I wanted to know what was expected of me at tonight's endeavor. I found this:
Straight Person's Guide To Gay Etiquette
and more specifically:
Chapter 4: Weddings and Other Nightmares
It's amusing, in the least. Still doesn't have what I'm looking for, so I'll either guess, make it up as I go tonight, or (hopefully) find a web site that explains it better.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:23 AM ::> [
Friday, September 19, 2003
Behold my Two-Fisted Power!
FINALLY have my second PC working. It took bypassing our 'help'desk and contacting a networking guy directly, who happens to be pals with one of the area's team leaders whom I work with. Yay.
So I now have two PCs operating on my desk. Which will help make me less bored. When I'm querying one of our databases on a server in the mystically locked server-room, it can take several hours to complete. And the more I use my PC whilst it's running, the longer time it takes TO run and the longer I get to wait.
This second PC will remedy that. Now, to be a true geek, I ought to get a second flat-screen (15 inch) monitor for my desk. Then people would KNOW of my power! I've got them running through a KVM at the moment, so I can save on desk space.
But wouldn't it be cool to have two monitors?
I can see you in awe at the prospect. I can. :)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:43 AM ::> [
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Connect!
And we've now picked up TKS again. Yahoo ;)
Prozac actually had this transmitting a while ago. Just jogged in my brain to add it here. Now I get to scope through the list and see if [Form Follows Function] had posted a recipe for Corn Chowder.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:50 AM ::> [
R I P
Allied world [Blog Box] stopped transmitting. Several attempts to raise the planet on the transceiver failed.
Allied world [Onion Girl] has completed the colonization to [Spiral Moon].
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:36 AM ::> [
I tried to blog yesterday....
Twice, in fact. I was thwarted each time by an overflooded Angell Hall Fish bowl lab. Silly students.
Lunch was weird...
I was sitting in the diag between classes, munching on lunch. I watched a little chipmunk by the Natural Sciences building dart in the planting bed for about 10 minutes. He was a bold little sucker - he hopped up onto the cement wall RIGHT NEXT TO another student, similarly munching on lunch. His attention was focused at the band playing on the steps of the Graduate Library, so he didn't see the little guy. Said chipmunk hopped right up next to him, between the student and the student's sandwich. If it weren't for the fact that the sandwich was larger than the chipmunk, the little guy could have probably had a very nice lunch. He skittered away when the student moved to grab the sandwich. It was amusing.
Speaking of Libraries...
Had a "DUH!" moment during lunch. I was planning on going to Borders to pick up a Javascript book to help me with my current project, when I watched the chipmunk and then focused attention to the band. Behind it was the Graduate library. Brain kicked in and went "AHA! LIBRARY! ...They have BOOKS there!". Sure enough, I checked out two books on Javascript, and have already solved my problem. Now, I'm looking at adding some subtle scripting to make the page a bit more interesting (nothing flashy, mind - perhaps a random image on the front page, or some browser identification stuff. Maybe a rollover).
I tried to earn my Butch Points yesterday...
..by helping Kristen change a flat. We were thwarted, however - we couldn't find a wrench to undo the lugnuts on her wheel. I did, however, find the camera I was missing.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:58 AM ::> [
Monday, September 15, 2003
Moving from 'Lawful' to 'Nuetral'...
I guess age and wisdom have me moving from 'lawful' to 'nuetral' in these quizzes.
Which is fine by me. Some laws ("PATRIOT" ACT) just don't make sense.
I Am A: Neutral Good Human Paladin
Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered 'normal'.
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.
Paladins are the Holy Warriors. They have been chosen by a God/dess to be their representative on Earth, and must follow the code of that deity, or risk severe penalties. They tend towards being righteous, but not generally to excess.
Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan!
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 5:29 PM ::> [
Busy week
Lots of things to do this week - reading for school, finish the web project I've been working on, a Bachelorette party on Saturday, dinner with the folks on Sunday.
Fun Weekend!
Very fun weekend. Gamed on Saturday - which was relaxed and enjoyable. Housewarming on Sunday, which was fun as well. I enjoyed seeing Jack and Kristen positively glow as their friends sat in their house. The port that Kristen opened was simply heaven.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 11:08 AM ::> [
Friday, September 12, 2003
Pft
We Want Your Soul
Your soul is worth £14998. For your peace of mind, 61% of people have a purer soul than you
Via: Macgeek
Sidenote: the website and questions have an obvious slant.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 12:03 PM ::> [
Fun Night
Much fun and romance.
Today
Nauseous today. I think I slept on that freakin' muscle 'wrong' last night. It's sore again.
Thus...
I'm going to be a sloth this weekend. Ideally, I won't have to leave the house. 'cept for the Housewarming party over in Canada ;)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 10:02 AM ::> [
Thursday, September 11, 2003
Happy Anniversary
Thailand joins with Canada and France in the boycott of News.
Happy Anniversary, my Frenchman.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 3:05 PM ::> [
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
LOL!
You're Thailand!
Calmer and more staunchly independent than almost all those around you,
you have a long history of rising above adversity. Recent adversity has led to questions
about your sexual promiscuity and the threat of disease, but you still manage to attract a
number of tourists and admirers. And despite any setbacks, you can really cook a good
meal whenever it's called for. Good enough to make people cry.
Take the Country
Quiz at the Blue Pyramid
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 4:45 PM ::> [
Mood: Gr
Not very happy with work at the moment. Most people here are stuck in a rut - "This is the way we've always done it, thus this is the way it must be done." And the way we do ANYTHING tech-related is by an ass-backwards method of the people who have to use the technology to write up what they'd like it to do, and the IT people sit down and transparently make it do exactly that.
Never mind adhering to basic design principle, never mind trying to get it to work the proper way - they'll just plow ahead and do it THEIR way, and to hell with you. "That's not in the scope of this project." "You're not a sponsor on the project, we're not doing it." They're implementing something this Friday that we asked for a YEAR ago that we no longer need. It's a check box, a flag to indicate when something is True. And they're implementing in such a stupid, stupid way that we can't even use it, even if we did need it. Well, we can ALMOST use it, but it'd be like going to Toledo through Indianapolis from Ann Arbor. It's that lame.
[tech]They're taking a totally unrelated table that holds document LOCATIONS, and putting two 'fake' locations in: one for when the checkbox is in a true state, one for when the checkbox is in a false state. When someone checks the checkbox, it'll insert a record with the 'true' type, when you uncheck it, it inserts a 'false' type. If you recheck it, and it has both a True and a False record already inserted ... it'll UPDATE the True record, overwriting user and date entry information. Bad bad bad database design. They just needed a freakin' checkbox on the main table. Is that so flippin' hard? [/tech]
*grits teeth*
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:31 AM ::> [
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Quizzes
I was summer and I'm 16, for the record.
Oi Vey
Too much class on one day. Soul feels siphoned.
April...April...April....
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 4:51 PM ::> [
Monday, September 08, 2003
Yay.
Just pulled a muscle. An I...I .... I-something. Beneath the abdominal wall. It connects the thigh to the spine. Thus, why I feel it practically all the time. When you're sitting, reclining, walking, driving ... doing ANYTHING with your foot/leg, you use that muscle.
He said a couple of more weeks ought to heal it up.
We did have to go through the whole "turn your head and cough" deal, though, to rule that out. Of course, we're in that awkward phase where I'm exposing and he just has to wait, so he stares downward (to be polite, I guess?) and sees my name badge from work and we chatted about work.
It was a bit surreal.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 12:08 PM ::> [
In the Cd Player this morning:
LOTR: FOTR and LOTR:TT. I really want to see TT again. Pending results of the below post, I may have a ton of movie-viewing time very shortly.
I guess that'd be a perk.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:17 AM ::> [
7 AM is just too early to be thinking...
Up early and to work early to make up some time. I've a doc's appointment today that I'll need to make up. I figured coming in at 7 AM was the route to go. It's 9 now, and I'm already feeling like I need a nap.
Ah well.
Doc's appt is at 10:40 - which probably means I'll actually SEE someone by 11:30 AM. Ideally, he'll tell me that I just pulled a muscle in my side/thigh area, and that it's NOT a hernia or my appendix or something that would require surgical reparations. I can't afford down time these next few months.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 9:14 AM ::> [
Sunday, September 07, 2003
Hmm....traveling...
Lynne's weekly guests, the Sterns, have informed me that I must visit Juilleret's of Charlevoix for the best pancakes in the world.
Must remember to eventually make it up to Charlevoix for a weekend ;)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 1:18 PM ::> [
Friday, September 05, 2003
I should be dating Prince Benedict!
Which Nine Princes of Amber Prince Should You Date?
brought to you by Quizilla
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 5:02 PM ::> [
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Bank Error in your favor, collect 1 Credit
I turned in my senior audit form yesterday. It's this blue thing that every senior has to turn in to start their class/requirements Audit by the U of M to determine if they happen to be eligible for graduation and a diploma.
Now, I've been keeping pretty meticulous records about my classes. I've got an excel spreadsheet that's more tweeked out with information than wolverine access has. Grades, credits, courses, progress to graduation. So, I know how far along I am. At least, I thought I did.
The senior audit came through e-mail, listing that I needed 16 credits to graduate. I thought I needed 17. This isn't *THAT* big a deal, until you break that into classes. I'm allowed to take two classes a semester and have work pay for it. Most classes are, at most, 4 credits (I've never seen a 5 credit course, at least). Thus, that made for 5 classes at minimum: 2 Fall 03, 2 Winter 04, and 1 in the spring.
But ... with this extra credit surfacing - I should ... SHOULD ... be done in April rather than in June.
I also discovered the source of the discrepency. I read somewhere that an LSA student was allowed 12 non-LSA credits as a part of their degree. That's 12 credits in other colleges besides Literature, Science and the Arts. Either they amended that from when I started school, or the requirement changed to 20. I wasn't counting my 1 credit Band course that I took as a freshman - they are. They also list in the audit that I need 100 LSA credits to graduate, not 108. So - it counts!
April April April ... I can't wait for April ;)
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 8:47 AM ::> [
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
It's going to be a LOOOooong semester
Today began school. Joy.
The professor is an old grey-haired guy who thinks himself quite funny. He's dry and hard to hear.
I also got the unique pleasure of sitting next to Melissa in class. What I've learned about Melissa thus far:
- She should probably be heading into some kind of typographical or illustrative field - she has very precise penmenship, and can replicate her name across an 8 by 10 paper many times in many different creative fonts.
- She knows Spanish. In addition to scrawling her name many times, she uses some basic Spanish vocabulary: "Tengo que irme" (I need to go), "aburrida" (bored).
- She's dating some guy named Paul, illustrated by the fact that MELISSA HEART PAUL was included among her typographical experiments. I do recall her putting "MELISSA (Middle Name) (last Name)", thought I can't recall the middle or last name. I'm pretty sure it's Paul's name, of course. It only fits with the rest of her whole persona.
She did scrawl a few notes from the actual lecture. I was impressed she was listening despite her doodles and constantly checking her silenced cell phone for a call.
[post.command] ::>auth-code~ Aular-0802ZXC -; ::>Time.stamp ~ 5:17 PM ::> [
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