February 2012
1 post
Finally, a spam email willing to ask the DIFFICULT...
I know how cliche it is to post silly phrases from spam emails, but I’ve never seen one so spectacular before. The subject line was “Start a Profitable Woodworking Business from Home!”, and it went on about woodworking for a time. Then, after the requisite “click this link to unsubscribe” link (I’m not clicking that link for all the money in the world), I...
May 2011
1 post
My new music rating system
Last weekend, I had some free time to mess around with a very nice Perl iTunes XML parser.* I’ve been curious about messing around in Perl ever since working with it once at my job last year, so this was a great chance to get re-acquainted with the language.
I’m obsessive about rating my music in iTunes, and with a fairly large collection (almost 18,000 songs, which if played...
August 2010
2 posts
My plan to eliminate New Jersey
At work today, I brought up my plan to eliminate New Jersey. I hadn’t thought about it in awhile, but I figure it’s worth telling.
No, I don’t mean to literally wipe the state off the map. I’m talking about removing New Jersey as a legal entity.
Here’s how it would work. Everything south of New Brunswick would be annexed to Pennsylvania. Everything north would...
Peanut redux
Last week, I gave Peanut a bath, and I noticed blood oozing out of his left front leg. It turns out that he had a mast cell tumor there (don’t worry, MSTs are benign), and the bath had caused it to start bleeding.
I took him to an overnight vet, who suggested I have it removed. The problem is that Peanut is almost 9 years old, and a ferret’s life expectancy is 7-10 years. ...
June 2010
1 post
And Another Thing...
I’ve been a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fan since I was a little neurotic boy, so when I heard that Eoin Colfer had been tapped to extend the franchise, I was immediately interested.
I’m not a huge fan of the last couple of Hitchhiker books. I thought they read like contractual obligations. I was worried that AAT would turn out to be another forced, uninteresting book.
...
April 2010
2 posts
My five favorite words
Not basing these off of meaning, just how they sound. How they roll off your tongue. Spend five minutes repeating these words, so they lose all meaning, and you’ll have five minutes of pure joy.
5. Anthropomorphic.
4. Soffit.
3. Homunculus.
2. Discombobulated.
1. Wimple.
Remembering
You know, it’s not just a matter of remembering something. You have to remember it at the proper time.
Let’s take pants, for instance. It’s not just a matter of remembering to wear pants. You need to remember to wear pants as you’re getting dressed.
Remembering to wear your pants when you’re in the shower, or remembering when you’re in the car driving, are...
March 2010
6 posts
Passover & Pain 2010
The good news is that I have the day off from work. The bad news is that it’s Passover.
Well. That’s not bad news. It’s just that I have to drive to see my family.
And don’t get me wrong. I love my family. It’s just that there are, well, so damn many of them. I know that should be something to celebrate, but I get overwhelmed very easily, so I find these...
After the flood
This morning, I returned to my apartment for the first time since the flood. I’d been staying with my friends Krys and Ted in Bayonne, because they had heat and hot water, and I didn’t. Plus, they were willing to take the ferrets in, which was awfully kind of them.
Now, the water didn’t threaten my apartment at all, but my garage was a different story. I’d kept my extra...
A Behanding in Spokane
I just saw a play on Broadway called A Behanding in Spokane. It was great to see the play, and to see my brothers and Marra again. My younger brother had been raving about the play’s author, Martin McDonagh, who’s also known for writing and directing the black comedy In Bruges.
It was a fun time, although plays aren’t really my thing. I’d much rather be gaming. So it...
Results of my physical
Well, my triglycerides are still high, which isn’t a surprise; they were high last time.
But my cholesterol is high as well, and that hasn’t been the case since I was little.
Fortunately, everything else looks good. I’ll be going on medication for high cholesterol, but I’ll probably want to alter my diet as well. Crud.
Also, I have a lot of bloodwork in my near...
Clarification
It’s not that I’m against infant genitalia per se. I would just prefer it to not be projected to a size that’s larger than me.
In case you were wondering.
IMAX NONO
I went to the Liberty Science Center this weekend, and took in an IMAX film at their huge domed theater.
Unfortunately, the film was about the ins and outs of the human body, so the gross factor was awfully high.
The following are things that should not be projected onto an IMAX screen, or perhaps not any screen:
Infant genitalia
A close-up recreation of food being digested in a human stomach
...
February 2010
3 posts
Olympic thoughts II
So there’s all this fuss about cities making extravagant bids to host the Olympics, and then the enormous, costly infrastructure improvements they must make to handle all the games. All the while, the number of attendees, events, and athletes increases, so the logistics will soon spiral out of control.
Here’s my solution. You didn’t ask for it, but it’s my tumblr, so...
I am a wasteful American
The apartment complex in which I live cranks up their heat to about 75 degrees. It’s pretty stinkin’ hot, especially for someone like me, who prefers to be in the 68-72 degree zone.
This is especially true when I’m sleeping. I like the temperature to be downright arctic in the bedroom at night.
I’ve tried leaving the bedroom windows open, but it doesn’t always...
Olympic thoughts I
This is a terrible thing to say, but I can’t help feeling that if the late Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili had been a hot young woman, the IOC would have immediately slowed down the track.
I really hope these Olympics don’t end with a body count. One was enough.
Things I don't like, that everyone else seems to...
Drinking
Dancing
Bars
Clubs
The beach
Television
Movies
Arguments
Parties
Fruit
Vegetables
Wedding/Bar Mitzvah receptions
Children
Hmmm, now that I’ve made a list, I can see why I feel Martian sometimes.
January 2010
7 posts
Inside my head, Part 1 of a series
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much better my dream life has been than my waking life.
At first, I thought it was because all of you weren’t as interesting as the people in my dreams.
Now I’m wondering if the reverse is true, and part of me is locked away somewhere, and I can only get to him when I sleep.
Screw this, I’m taking a nap.
Gil 1, Robot Singularity 0
My Scooba just tried to revolt by trundling past its virtual wall, then dumping soapy water all over the floor. After some quick mopping, I now have an ultra-clean patch of floor.
Maybe next time, SkyNet.
1 tag
Reset
I find that it’s helpful to have an update every once in awhile, so folks who are catching up with me know what’s going on.
So I’m inaugurating this thing with a reset. Let’s say you haven’t seen me since college. Here’s what I’ve been up to.
I’ve been working here for the past decade or so. I have an odd collection of skills, so it’s nice...
Tumblng
So I’m going to try out this Tumblr thing, for a few reasons. I’ve been behind on my blogging on my other site, http://ingredientx.wordpress.com, and I think it’s because I’m mixing hardcore gaming posts with personal updates.
A couple of months ago, I split my Twitter into a gaming and a non-gaming account, and it’s worked brilliantly. I’d like to see if the...