Sleep Is Good.
I hear that getting a good night's sleep helps your mental and physical well-being.
*yawn*
Maybe tonight....
Thursday, April 20, 2006
*harumph*
The to-do list is shrinking, thankfully. The documentation for my prior learnings evaluation has been mailed, my computer(s) seem to be running smoothly, Dr. Black's website issues are (almost) resolved, the office is in (reasonably) good order, and I'm in an upbeat mood. The liberal use of (punctuative) parethesis should attest to my (almost) giddy feeling, despite the (rain) and (cold).
The remaining to-do list items are all medium-priority: eBay auctions, personal to-dos, etc. - or scheduled for the coming days (lawn fertilization and cleanup, lawn mower tune-up). About the only pressing item is the paper I have to write for my Modernism class (ew...) and the exam (which I have yet to receive via e-mail).
All I need is some nice weather and a chance to get the fishing gear in order, and my life should be reasonably balanced, for the time being.
Yay.
The to-do list is shrinking, thankfully. The documentation for my prior learnings evaluation has been mailed, my computer(s) seem to be running smoothly, Dr. Black's website issues are (almost) resolved, the office is in (reasonably) good order, and I'm in an upbeat mood. The liberal use of (punctuative) parethesis should attest to my (almost) giddy feeling, despite the (rain) and (cold).
The remaining to-do list items are all medium-priority: eBay auctions, personal to-dos, etc. - or scheduled for the coming days (lawn fertilization and cleanup, lawn mower tune-up). About the only pressing item is the paper I have to write for my Modernism class (ew...) and the exam (which I have yet to receive via e-mail).
All I need is some nice weather and a chance to get the fishing gear in order, and my life should be reasonably balanced, for the time being.
Yay.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Featuring: Teh Wednesday Rant
Well, this 'blogging' thing eventually sinks its' claws into you. Especially in the absence of paying writing gigs, anyway. At first, I thought it would be novel to have a blog - leaving it bereft of updates for almost a year. Then - I pick it up, and make an attempt to update regularly. But - as I started to get more and more pressed for time, between job search, kids, house, dog, cat, armadillo, lawn work, and tabletop fusion development, it became pretty convenient to just hop on and drop a 'blog entry, whenever the mood hit me.
Now - it's like morphine, man. One hit hasn't been enough. As my good friend and adopted brother Terry, aka 'Pigdog' (rest his soul) once said: 'It ain't about who reads 'em. It's about who writes 'em. THAT'S what they're for.'
So - now, I consider myself wholly addicted. I miss a day - and the guilt walks right in, wipes its' muddy feet on the carpet of my ego, drops down onto the couch of my conscious, and asks for a beer as it flips aimlessly through the cable channels of my brain.
I'm still struggling with the 'topic' thing: the editor portion of my brain screams 'You CAN'T just write a line, and call it a blog entry! Where's the substance? The thought? The reflection? The sardonic humor? Do you want to end up like all those poor bastards on MySpace? Spending the rest of their lives dreaming about their buddy list and communicating totally in in-jokes and acronyms? Paragraphs, devoid of substance, structure, or actual punctuation? ZOMG WTF LOL BBQ!!!!11 uno'
So - Since I've a penchant for curmudgeonry....I present a new weekly feature: Teh Wednesday Rant. In which: I will void my soul and vent my spleen of that which offendeth me, throughout the week.
This week's subject: Drivers.
Much has been said about the skills (or lack thereof) of your garden-variety Minnesota driver. Most of it (from out-of-staters) is, regrettably, unprintable in this, a family-friendly blog.
(interlude: BOOBIEZ!)
Ahem. Anyway - it's far to easy to call out the large number of asshats that take to Minnesota's roadways between the hours of 7 AM and 6 PM. Instead, I will focus on two particular areas of concern for me. I-35E, between Sibley Memorial Highway and Highway 110 (traveling South) and I-94W, between Highway 280 and the U of M exit.
Both of these spots have similar topography: A curve to the right, going slightly uphill. Both of these spots are 2-lane highways, with wide shoulders and a center divider. Both of these spots are notorious for the asshats that slow way the fsck down as they go around the curve.
Listen, people. You're more than willing to drive 65 (or faster) through the heart of the city. You'll make lane changes without looking, OR signalling - sometimes, signalling AFTER you've moved into the new lane. You'll gladly cut people off in doing so, because you didn't plan ahead to make your exit when the goddam sign TOLD YOU 5 miles ago it was coming up. You'll happily drink your double-tall half-caf soy milk espresso (no foam) while tweezing your eyebrows and yakking on your cell phone at 65 mph. Why the fsck can you NOT maintain a semblence of the speed limit around these corners?
Everyday, it's the SAME. DAMN. THING. Slowdown around the corner - pass it, and there's nothing but open road ahead of you. There is NO KNOWN REASON for you to slow down to 45 (or slower) as you go around these curves. They're not on a mountain pass, the road's not littered with nails, there aren't fuzzy little lambs frolicking with children near these curves.
In a sane world, these people would move over, into the right lane, and let people like me - who are unafraid of the evil curves, and know *how* to drive sensibly - pass them. But that would be too easy: oh, no. You have to stay in the left lane, because traffic will speed up soon, and you can go back to multi-tasking your brows, your latte and the business section at 70 mph. Of course, these people don't believe in 'reasonable' acceleration, so by the time these morons are back up to the speed limit, reasonable drivers (like me) are trying to pass them on the right (because the right lane is OPEN NOW!)
Bottom line: If you can't drive the speed limit in the left lane, stay the fsck home. If you *must* go out - for another latte, or your medications, or whatever: stay the fsck in the RIGHT LANE. The more you idiots drive in the left lane, and slow down around curves, the more reasonable drivers (like me, and a lot of others) will get angry, frustrated, and search for ways to mount a military surplus 55 MM Howitzer on the front of our cars.....
Well, this 'blogging' thing eventually sinks its' claws into you. Especially in the absence of paying writing gigs, anyway. At first, I thought it would be novel to have a blog - leaving it bereft of updates for almost a year. Then - I pick it up, and make an attempt to update regularly. But - as I started to get more and more pressed for time, between job search, kids, house, dog, cat, armadillo, lawn work, and tabletop fusion development, it became pretty convenient to just hop on and drop a 'blog entry, whenever the mood hit me.
Now - it's like morphine, man. One hit hasn't been enough. As my good friend and adopted brother Terry, aka 'Pigdog' (rest his soul) once said: 'It ain't about who reads 'em. It's about who writes 'em. THAT'S what they're for.'
So - now, I consider myself wholly addicted. I miss a day - and the guilt walks right in, wipes its' muddy feet on the carpet of my ego, drops down onto the couch of my conscious, and asks for a beer as it flips aimlessly through the cable channels of my brain.
I'm still struggling with the 'topic' thing: the editor portion of my brain screams 'You CAN'T just write a line, and call it a blog entry! Where's the substance? The thought? The reflection? The sardonic humor? Do you want to end up like all those poor bastards on MySpace? Spending the rest of their lives dreaming about their buddy list and communicating totally in in-jokes and acronyms? Paragraphs, devoid of substance, structure, or actual punctuation? ZOMG WTF LOL BBQ!!!!11 uno'
So - Since I've a penchant for curmudgeonry....I present a new weekly feature: Teh Wednesday Rant. In which: I will void my soul and vent my spleen of that which offendeth me, throughout the week.
This week's subject: Drivers.
Much has been said about the skills (or lack thereof) of your garden-variety Minnesota driver. Most of it (from out-of-staters) is, regrettably, unprintable in this, a family-friendly blog.
(interlude: BOOBIEZ!)
Ahem. Anyway - it's far to easy to call out the large number of asshats that take to Minnesota's roadways between the hours of 7 AM and 6 PM. Instead, I will focus on two particular areas of concern for me. I-35E, between Sibley Memorial Highway and Highway 110 (traveling South) and I-94W, between Highway 280 and the U of M exit.
Both of these spots have similar topography: A curve to the right, going slightly uphill. Both of these spots are 2-lane highways, with wide shoulders and a center divider. Both of these spots are notorious for the asshats that slow way the fsck down as they go around the curve.
Listen, people. You're more than willing to drive 65 (or faster) through the heart of the city. You'll make lane changes without looking, OR signalling - sometimes, signalling AFTER you've moved into the new lane. You'll gladly cut people off in doing so, because you didn't plan ahead to make your exit when the goddam sign TOLD YOU 5 miles ago it was coming up. You'll happily drink your double-tall half-caf soy milk espresso (no foam) while tweezing your eyebrows and yakking on your cell phone at 65 mph. Why the fsck can you NOT maintain a semblence of the speed limit around these corners?
Everyday, it's the SAME. DAMN. THING. Slowdown around the corner - pass it, and there's nothing but open road ahead of you. There is NO KNOWN REASON for you to slow down to 45 (or slower) as you go around these curves. They're not on a mountain pass, the road's not littered with nails, there aren't fuzzy little lambs frolicking with children near these curves.
In a sane world, these people would move over, into the right lane, and let people like me - who are unafraid of the evil curves, and know *how* to drive sensibly - pass them. But that would be too easy: oh, no. You have to stay in the left lane, because traffic will speed up soon, and you can go back to multi-tasking your brows, your latte and the business section at 70 mph. Of course, these people don't believe in 'reasonable' acceleration, so by the time these morons are back up to the speed limit, reasonable drivers (like me) are trying to pass them on the right (because the right lane is OPEN NOW!)
Bottom line: If you can't drive the speed limit in the left lane, stay the fsck home. If you *must* go out - for another latte, or your medications, or whatever: stay the fsck in the RIGHT LANE. The more you idiots drive in the left lane, and slow down around curves, the more reasonable drivers (like me, and a lot of others) will get angry, frustrated, and search for ways to mount a military surplus 55 MM Howitzer on the front of our cars.....
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Back from Nebraska....
A quick recap of the Easter trip:
Too much food.
WAY too many treats. (erp.)
Good Ol' Nebraska Mud - EVERYWHERE.
The yearly 'get sick/allergy flareup'.
Sleep.
7 hours in a car, one-way, with a 6- and 3-year old.
In other newz...the job front isn't looking wholly promising. Digital River shot me down because 'they weren't sure I was comfortable with CSS." This rates the 'OMFGWTFBBQ????' of the week.
Guidant and ShopNBC are still (spins wheel) 'considering candidates'. The job boards are chock full of....'business analysts'.
.....sorry, I just threw up in my mouth, a little, there.
Anyhow - the good news is that class ends in 2 weeks. The bad news is that class ends in TWO WEEKS OMG!!!1 I suppose I should start my final paper, eh?
A quick recap of the Easter trip:
Too much food.
WAY too many treats. (erp.)
Good Ol' Nebraska Mud - EVERYWHERE.
The yearly 'get sick/allergy flareup'.
Sleep.
7 hours in a car, one-way, with a 6- and 3-year old.
In other newz...the job front isn't looking wholly promising. Digital River shot me down because 'they weren't sure I was comfortable with CSS." This rates the 'OMFGWTFBBQ????' of the week.
Guidant and ShopNBC are still (spins wheel) 'considering candidates'. The job boards are chock full of....'business analysts'.
.....sorry, I just threw up in my mouth, a little, there.
Anyhow - the good news is that class ends in 2 weeks. The bad news is that class ends in TWO WEEKS OMG!!!1 I suppose I should start my final paper, eh?
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