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Monday, March 14th, 2011
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10:38 am - Random joke.
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...based on one of my coworkers talking about keeping their involvement with a project at arm's length. Someone else said, "Is that a space shuttle robotic arm's length?"
I replied, "I'd come up with a joke about inspecting the tiles (our company makes software that breaks down large chip designs into tiles), but maybe not."
I got back a chuckle, and the speaker said, "Well, maybe you should. We could use the humor on a Monday."
So that always puts my brain into 'come up with pun mode.' And it didn't take me long to come up with this one...
"Hrm. That's sad. Now that we've got our longest-lived shuttle grounded forever, does this mean that NASA is canceling their broadcast of the Discovery Channel?"
-Trav
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, January 10th, 2011
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4:49 pm - A little late on the clock cycles....
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...but Happy 1 2 3 Day to all of you.
Can't say I have a lot to say at the moment, save that sometimes we make the decisions that shape the rest of our lives, not because they burn bridges behind us or in front of us, but because we think once we've made up our minds, there's no changing it to something else.
But really, the point of having free will and an open mind both together is being willing to adapt to changes, and not stubbornly doing something 'just because we've always done it that way'.
-Traveller
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, August 13th, 2009
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9:33 am - Relevant to my interests....
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I know that we're supposed to know ourselves. And that in the knowledge of one's self-space, headspace, spiritual identity, emotional satisfaction (or dissatisfaction), change or constancy both occur. That when we are in command of all of our faculties, and possess a full list of our preferences, we make the decisions that drive our days.
Things like 'what do we want for dinner?' Are repetitive tasks that must be answered two or three times a day. When we are young, that decision is often taken away from us. When we begin to be semi-independent, we are presented with limited choices at the school cafeteria, or the decision is forced upon us ("...great. Tuna fish sandwiches again?") and some of us strove to gain some freedom of choice. ("Mom, can I just get money to buy my own lunch instead?")
( Random ramblings, based on an inflection of surprise. And because, long time, no post.Collapse )
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, September 29th, 2008
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11:29 am - Life On Mars...
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38 percent of normal earth gravity. Temperature extremes like Antartica. Not enough air pressure to support life without a suit or a dome.
Given today's technology plus 50-75 years, which is more likely?
a) We terraform Mars enough to give it a reasonably breathable atmosphere so you don't need space suits, but might need breathing gear.
b) We build enough habitable surface living units to move a large part of Earth's population there.
c) We have the technology to build 'underground' habitats (in craters, in the canals, maybe) to pull off the same.
d) None of the above. Need X years to do a/b/c above.
If you're wondering? Working on a spec idea for this year's NaNoWriMo. Could use some help from those of you into the space science disciplines.
Which leads to the bonus Physics question:
If I smack a baseball on Mars, it'll travel a whole lot farther due to the lack of air pressure, mass, and gravity, right? But how much farther are we talking here?
-Traveller
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(13 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, September 19th, 2008
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2:18 pm - A Matterin' Sin Tax...
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"So you've gots yourself a problem with yer blinkey box, ya does."
"Sure do. My computer doesn't load Windows."
"So, ya've got a problem with the booty, mate. Time to put a mallet to the bilge."
"Er..okay?"
"Take your scurvy rat and drag it over to the kitchen midden...err.. Recycle Bin.."
"My what?"
"The thing at the end of the lash. Ya pokes it with your finger."
"My mouse?"
"Yar. That optical rat."
...why pirates should never be technical support.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, August 11th, 2008
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4:21 pm - Geek Fad Redux: Still Good Or SuckedInPractice?
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All right, this is a question set to all of you geek friends of mine who may have at one point bought yourself a Roomba....
1) What generation was it?
2) Do you still use it? (within the last 6 months)
3) Did it work as well as you expected, better, or worse?
Not that I have the cash for one, and I live on a second floor (stairs+roomba=bad), but I was thinking about them for a story scene and whether or not they lived up to the hype.
In other news: Dyson vaccuum cleaners are very nice things to have, considering my ability to be a walking hairball generator.
Thanks in advance,
-Traveller
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, August 8th, 2008
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11:35 am - Everyone could use a little luck.
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Happy Double Fortune Day, those of you who are numerologists, Chinese, or Chinese numerologists. 8-08-08 (today) is supposed to be very lucky for making money -- and I imagine the lottery is going to have a lot of extra load today.
S'funny how I found out about this, though -- the radio commercials for River Rock Casino, who're giving away special prizes today for going to gamble.
...an Indian gaming casino is telling me that I need to come for an Asian tradition. Riiight.
But then I kinda thought about it, and said, 'You know, these folks are paying attention to the traditions of the people around them. Maybe it's not for altruistic reasons -- their goal is to get more people out to their casino, some 2.5 hours away from the Bay Area -- but at least they try to know their audience.
The other day was 'get to know your neighbors' day, but I worked late that night and, like any other day, drove straight from work to the garage and shut the door. Is it bad that I don't really know my neighbors? Is it strange that I know more about folks who live halfway across the country than the people I have nothing in common with except a shared wall and an exterior paint job?
Anyway. Those of you crazy enough to play the lottery, today's supposed to be the day to do it. Good luck. Those of you who don't play the lottery, may no bad luck befall you this day.
-Traveller
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, August 1st, 2008
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10:56 am - Thought of the Day: Words of Power, Words of Wisdom, Words of "Whoa"
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Who does the story belong to, once a writer has plied his or her craft and released it to the universe of literate folks? It is the property of the author, and he or she is to be compensated for it if the work is designed to be sold for pay. This is the point of 'writing for a living.'
We write what we know, else our words sound false and perhaps contrived to be illogical. One does not continue reading a book wherein the author's plots do not make sense, and the impetus to keep turning pages involves keeping the reader intrigued and involved.
When you find a good author, usually it is for visceral reasons, for the empathy factor, or for the suspension of disbelief so powerful that you are swept up in the passages enough to lose track of time.
( Why the pen is mightier than the sword, and responsibility goes with it...semi-ranting ramble.Collapse )
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, July 25th, 2008
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12:41 pm - "...they're already dead."
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"...I have to wonder why we kill zombies with fire, Trane," Deviss said, patting his smoking trouser leg out with a leather-gloved hand. "I mean, classical elements are the only things that really work -- fire, holy water -- it's as if these things are conspiring to be as destructive as possible for the collateral damage. For every zombie we kill, we have to put the house out afterwards."
Captain Trevor Trane eyed his subordinate. "Holy water isn't destructive, Leftenant," he said.
( Mindless fluff; skippable. In a writing mood.Collapse )
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Monday, July 14th, 2008
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9:56 am - Not-so-random birthday spam
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Taking a moment here to remember on time and on budget for once, ta wish the Big Blue (that'd be you,  tugrik) a happy birthday, indeedy. Here's hoping it's a good one.
-Trav
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, July 10th, 2008
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8:45 am - ...and they don't exactly run on gas....
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Our homeowner's association controls a little 90 by 20 yard plot of land that borders the apartment complex; it's a scrubby field of what used to be grass at one point, but has turned into a weed field high enough to hide the picnic table they put there, so they pulled the table out and gave up fighting, at least until recently.
Every month they put out a newsletter, and for the five years we've been living here they tend to be very similar -- 'curb your dogs, don't speed in the complex, fishing day in the pond is here,' and 'we need a new member for the board' -- with the occasional oddball thing, like doing termite inspections or gutter cleaning.
( ..whatever they were smoking, I don't want any...Collapse )
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(13 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, June 5th, 2008
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4:01 pm - Looking for a good cheese fondue recipe
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The one time I tried making cheese fondue, something went horribly wrong -- I ended up with a pancake sized lump of cheese at the bottom and liquidy cheese at the top, and the rest turned into a string-cheesy glop in the middle. I subjected poor tugrik to that fiasco, but at least the stroganoff came out okay. :} What I did was I grabbed two bags of complemeltary (my word) cheese cubes and put them in the pot, added a little bit of garlic powder, and turned the pot on what I think might have been medium.
Well, it's been awhile, but I'm getting up the nerve to try again at some point in the next few months -- anyone out there have a good track record with fondue that can give me advice?
Truth be told, it's the second time I've tried the fondue thing (but the other time was with beef broth that boiled away entirely too quickly for my liking.
Suggestions welcome.
-Traveller
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
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12:21 pm - Not So Much 15, But 7+2+2+4
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"Can you believe it's been fifteen years since you started working for this company?" my manager asked me at lunch yesterday.
"Actually, it's been really more like four since I got transplanted into the current division I work in." I explained. "We've changed divisions a number of times over the years, and I'm not doing the job I was originally hired on to do -- I was hired to document compilers. And now I'm spending my time doing a job that scares me half to death sometimes with the amount of complexity that's involved in topics I was never good at."
"But you always come through. You have never failed at anything you've put your mind to."
Sure I have. Just most people never hear about it. My reaction to failure is to fix it until it's no longer a problem for anyone else but me, and then some -- a big pet peeve of mine is to break something and then not be allowed to remedy it.
Guess that's a personality flaw of a sort; but on the other hand, it's gotten me where I am.
Four different divisions, five countries of correspondence (six if you count Alabama as a separate country ^^) and a plaque with a misspelled name to show for it.
A longer way away from the kid who believed that he'd stick it out at a place for at least two years, maybe five.
Sometimes, inertia is the bear. Other times, it's the stubbornness and challenge of new things every few years.
-Traveller
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
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3:23 pm - Saving this quote for a story:
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"A thief takes what he wants and can get his hands on, when it is best advantageous to do so. And he hides what he takes when he gets it. A cheat has what he wants and hides what is in his hands until it is to his best advantage to show what he has."
"There is no honor in stealing from those who have precious little to lose, and no loss from those who have ill gotten gains."
-Trav
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, January 28th, 2008
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12:59 am - For those of you I saw today...
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| Friday, January 25th, 2008
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10:24 am - Those of you who blew into town this weekend...
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...who brought the cold wet weather with them, ah?
Schedulewise, I'm working today and Monday (stuff has to be turned in on Tuesday) and I have a class from 10 to 5 on Saturday, so I'll probably be scarce during the con -- may stop in and lurk after work and/or put in an appearance on Sunday.
Hope it's a fun experience!
-Traveller
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, January 10th, 2008
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10:26 am - What's Your Game?
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| Tuesday, December 25th, 2007
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12:47 am - A Simple Enough Wish...
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For all the things you ever wanted
For all the things you ever cared
For all the things you thought to wish for
There will be stars in the sky for you.
I never wish much for something new
Or skies so blue that they hurt the eye to see
And yet these gifts the world delivers unto me
When I open my eyes first thing, each day. True?
And so I begin the day with almost nothing
Save promises that I must see to the end
And wishes of a cheer that others need
And gifts to friends and family delivered.
For all the things you thought you deserved
For being good and true and proper, too
And gone to sleep this night before
And waiting for boxe'd gifts ere morn.
Destiny is what you make of it
Your own path leads you to rich or poor
Your choices and learning to take on or ignore
And in the end, we sleep again, when day is done.
I've lit candles, made my wishes, and saved Karma by the ton
And it never seemed enough to matter, when Luck sufficed
And chance meetings brought me friends and family I never knew
That's its own gift. Hearts and minds, all new.
The best way to never be disappointed in what you get
Is to expect nothing, but gift others with a smile
And the things they want, or didn't know were cool
And don't worry about that extra mile
See the gift for what it is -- a thought, some effort, and not the dough
Believe that people would have if they could but didn't
Touch a smile by a simple thought and wish of dreams unrealized
And never lament what did not arrive.
Tis the season.
Know the reasons.
-----
Merry Christmas, to all, and be you safe, whole, and healthy by its end.
-Traveller
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
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9:38 pm - I'm okay!
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| Friday, October 19th, 2007
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11:53 am - Angular Momentums Like This...
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I want you to think about these questions in the earnest 'hang on a moment' air in which they have been asked. No peeking at the rest of this until you do.
When was the last time you...
1. Called a relative without thinking "I should talk to..."
2. Took a day off without having to do something for someone else on it (doctor's appointment, visit sick relative, attend friend's wedding) -or- because you had a vacation planned?
3. Didn't touch a computer for 18 hours waking time straight and weren't traveling?
4. Handwrote something that was larger than would fit a postit note?
5. Went outside and walked where your starting and ending destination wasn't a car or the front door of your house?
6. Created art of any type?
7. Cooked a meal of your choosing, crafted from start to finish based 100 percent on your choices?
8. Read the want ads in your local paper, just for practice?
9. Took a long hot bath?
10. Checked out a library book?
Now. Answer these questions:
a. Do you own more than one video game system? (if your PC has Solitaire on it, that counts as 1)
b. Do you have stuff left on your TiVo to watch, DVDs you haven't opened yet, and a pile of VCR tapes you have no idea what's on them?
c) How many days a week do you go out for food? Is it more than four?
d) How many movies have you seen this year in the theater?
e) Have you made a four digit purchase this year that wasn't completely necessary to keep your household running? (To wit: TOYS!)
f) How many items on your New Years Resolutions are still untouched?
g) When was the last time your tub got washed and your carpets vaccuumed?
h) How many TV shows do you drop everything you're doing to catch, per week?
i) When was the last time you balanced your checkbook?
j) If you've ever wanted to learn a foreign language... how's that going?
( Read more...Collapse )
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