Babble Archives (2Q00)

June 19, 2000 11:20 AM

Out of Arlington, Chap. 4
Jebus...beware of the cheap vodka.

June 18, 2000 1:23 AM

Out of Arlington, Chap. 3
About 24 hours out now. Haven't made it far yet. Last night I transfered my residence from Peanut's to Henry V's place, though I'm guessing Columbia Md counts as being far enough out of Arlington to be out. Gah, I'm currently transcribing this with pen on paper, an experience I haven't tried in a few years. Only 24 hours and already lack of net access is taking its toll. Anyway, everything's pretty much packed and organized and ready to go now...just waiting for the train out on wednesday. Odd experience to try and pack everything down to what you can carry vs. what you might need in the next 6 months.

Anyway....said my final farewell to my kids last night...8-ball and Sam-Cat. A very God-awfull tough thing to do. There's a couple other kids who, unfortunately, I won't have the time to bid farewell to...one being my new neice Jane (though I do have another nephew due in one months time out on the west coast), the other being my quick-digited Mario Brothers buddy. To him I gotta say "keep the faith. You *can* get to the Big Castle! Your big sister loves you always."
Peace,
QE

June 16, 2000 1:05 PM

Out of Arlington, Chap. 2

And the winner is.....

Yep, after much debate and deliberation, I've decided to "turn my eyes westward" and head out to join Crunchland West in Portland. Leaving on Wednesday afternoon on the mighty Amtrak (three days in coach class...this'll be interesting...and belive me you I'll be documenting every day of it and boring y'all with it here as soon as I'm back online), and, come Saturday morning I'll, like, be, fer-shur on the, like, totally rad west coast. Pretty odd for this country boy who's never really been off of the east coast (furthest west to date: Pittsburgh), and I can't really say that I've been 100% convinced that the world really is round and that I won't fall off the edge of the earth somewhere around, say, Minnesota. Should be interesting though. Was looking through pictures of Portland yesterday and saw a skyline that reminded me that the place is overshadowed by a Big Whompin' Mountain...new experience there. :)

So what will I be missing most from the east coast? (*shurg*) Galaxy Hut probably.....and you guys, of course. Probably gonna try and toss together a last happy-hour, though might be a bit rushed....will have to see.
June 14, 2000 11:07 PM

Out of Arlington, Chap. 1
Strange thoughts on this Arlington night. What'll I do? Where should I go? Apparently when ya got nothing, there really is nothing to lose. Not that I have nothing anymore, just seems that I have no anchor anymore....no home or job holding me down in Arlington. The writing on the wall is pretty clear...need to take some skud job to make ends meet. The question comes up, though, why do it here? I remember eight years ago moving here from Burlington, Vt wondering "why the hell am I moving to DC??" (*shurg*) my sister lived here and Vermont was getting hit hard by the repression. Now I find myself wondering "why the hell am I *still* living in DC??" There's supposedly some big job boom going on working for defense contractors and others with little imagination. I haven't bothered to learn SQL or Oracle and the bottom line is I hate databases and no one's going to hire me here 'til I do learn em.

Why bother?

Crunchland. I think crunchland, the friends I've met here have been anchoring me here for years. Good quality folks. But maybe its just got to be the time to let go.

Sure, there's always Baltimore....nice cheap housing, but that just doesn't seem to be coming together, and, as one of my IRC friends said to me tonight "dude, you know Baltimore sucks".

Talked to Po earlier today...yah, the job situation's not much better out on the Left Coast, and out in Portland web designers are a dime a dozen, but phoo, maybe its just way high time to get the fuck out of Arlington. I did some poking around on the web. Portland's got a far better TG community out there going than DC ever will. Maybe its just time to go get some Left Coast 'tude going on.

(*shurg*).....maybe its just time to go.

Plus I hear they like Yello better than Kraftwerk.

Today's belly chuckle...7+ years experience with NT. Oy.
June 10, 2000 3:09 PM

This is kinda weird:
Today's Horoscope: You began a new energy cycle on Tuesday, June 6. At first, you may have felt little more than a vague urge or desire for something new in your life. It's time now to give this new energy more meaning and direction. Was anything particular going on in your life on June 6? What were you feeling and thinking about then? Don't let your new burst of energy dissipate and amount to nothing. Today, tell yourself what you want to happen during the next several weeks.
June 6th was the day before the eviction. 'Course, not so impressive that they're calling it 4 days late....somebody's clearly been giving alcohol to these animals.

God I hate job classifieds....hate em hate em hate em! Today's belly chuckle...2+ years of ASP experience rqd. Yeah right. ASP has only been in general usage for about 2 years....bite me. That, and an add for someone knowing C++, Java, VB, SQL, COM, HTML, Oracle, ASP, certified with a CS degree, specializing in RPC and TCP/IP on both 'doze and 'nix...$60k/yr. ha ahaha...good fucking luck guys.
Caught Ferris Bueller last night on the teevee. AFterwards decided that I just had to have a mp3 copy of Yello's "Oh yeah". Great lyrics! "The moon....beautiful....the sun....more beautiful...oh yeah". Yello rocks....Yello could easily kick Kraftwerk's bunch of pansy butts. Oh yeah.
Today's Fantod Deck reading: the Sea (January, wasting, loss of ears, an accident in an elavator, lurching sickness, cracks, false affection, vapors, a secret enemy, misdirection, demons, estrangement, chagrin)
Oh yeah....
June 9, 2000 5:45 PM

Whelp, its official. My first niece, Jane Elsa, arrived in the world today as of 12:13PM. A mite tiny (6lbs 6oz) but otherwise perfectly healthy. Due to her position in the womb she was born basically mooning the world. Woohoo! :) Best part is that I'm the only single sibling left, so I get to be the cool crazy one who teaches her all the bad habits. ;)

June 8, 2000 11:07 AM

Diary of an evictionist, part VII
And so the move was pulled off.
I owe major huge thanks to bunches of people for their help (and probably will for quite awhile), especially to Henry V for pulling my fat ass out of the fire and helping me stuff 6 years of dentritous into storage. Overall the move was slightly freeing as I had the chance to shuck a ton of stuph that I really didn't need. I ditched all of the furniture, and quite frankly, only regret losing about 4 pieces...a nice ikea dresser, a nice ikea bookcase, my huge, 1-ton gov surplus desk, and my groovy coffee table. I think I've decided at this point that the next living area I inhabit I'm just going to fill with large cushions, and low tables...who needs furniture? Odlly enough I found it was far more important to ditch the furniture but hold onto a 6 high stack of old 486's....priorities. Yesterday I watched from across the street as they carted off 6 years of memories....was it depressing? Yeah. Do I have any illusions it was anyone's fault but my own? Naw.
Future's so bright gotta wear shades....

Turns out that pregnant sis #1 is going to have a planned birth...so, as of tomorrow morning, I'm going to be Uncle Queen Elvis!
I'm finding that I really hate walkmen. I've loaded all of my stereo equipment into storage and am down to using a discman and just don't like the sensation of being so cut off from outside noise anymore. Odd.
Today's Fantod Deck reading: the Blue Dog (October, loss of one of the senses, weltschmerz, unnatural voices, disorders of the knee, diseases of the tongue, disturbances, miscarriage of a child, an accident in a garage, dementia, fraud, a quarrel, wispiness)
I am feeling a bit wispy today...
June 1, 2000 11:29 PM

And so the exodus begins...

Feh....sometimes life just hands you lemons and all you can do is choke on the seeds and the crappy tasting rind, and after you choke it down someone points out that you were supposed to have the lemon after you drank the vodka, and its crappy cheap vodka and you have a hellacious hangover the next morning.
And all you can do is try to remember to have an orange next time.
Even though you know you'll forget when next time comes.

Any fortune that doesn't say "Good lord you're about to win a fuckload of money" just isn't worth my time right now.
Oh, tried to wrangle up some screenshots of the latest Half-Life project, but unfortunately they all came out just too damn dark to be useful. Not that that's bad, the first part is supposed to be good and dark actually, its a fairly flashlight intensive segment. Oh well, y'all will just have to trust me that progress is being made.
Every day I tell myself I am the cosmos....
May 25, 2000 12:03 PM

With age comes wisdom, and I feel that I have reached a point in my life and experience where I can safely pass along the following sage advice:
Avoid psoriasis. Avoid it like the plague...because it makes you look like you've got the damn plague. And you start considering going out and contracting the plague if it'll just provide some relief from the damn itching. Might as well get the plague anyway, since it looks like your head's about to rot away anyway.
(*sigh*). Alright, I'm just whining, but sheesh this stuph is a pain in the neck (literally).
Not only all of that but fortunes continue to mock me:
Today's Bazooka Joe Fortune: If you itch for success keep scratching.
Fuck you Joe...no wonder someone poked out your eye.

Hearty guffaw of the day: Red's musical Fat Albert interpretations. :)
May 23, 2000 8:02 PM

The levels get weirder....:)


(poke to enlarge)

Eh, that didn't quite come out how I was hoping....and no, I have no idea what those yellow sparklies are. Anyway, have a very, very happy one Po!!! Love ya!
May 21, 2000 10:09 PM

(*sigh*)...well, this is just fine. Recently had an odd little scalp problem develop over the past couple of weeks. Kept getting steadily worse. At first I thought it was some allergic reaction to hair dye, but after doing some digging around found out its highly likely to be psoriasis. Great. Its fairly oogy, so I won't go into all the gory, oozie details. Apparently its a genetic condition that flairs up thanks to stuph like stress and sudden changes in weather. I don't get these stress conditions....life's going tough, and what does the body do? Crap out even worse....great, nice design guys. So anyway, been spending most of my time trying to resist the itch urge, itching, and enjoying hydrocortisone. Fun.

Half-Life level's been coming along real nice, albeit slowly. Been doing a lot of additional work in it on things like custom sounds and custom textures...trying to make something with a little custom flavor to it. Proceding along solidly which is good.
Today's Fantod Deck reading: the Burning Head (Sunday, bafflement, loss of saliva, a forged deed, an impasse, extradition, a boating accident, chilblains, delayed desires, wandering sickness, evil companions, an impediment, despondency)
Man....that Chilblains bit is a little too appropriate...
May 18, 2000 7:02 PM


:)
Today's Bazooka Joe Fortune: You will read a fortune today.
I dunno who's more useless...Bazooka Joe or the lame horoscopes.
May 17, 2000 11:33 AM

Man, I remember once upon an era, way back when, when *I* was the web journal queen of Crunchland. Granted, that's been slipping for awhile, but, phoo! No way I can even compete against Red's web cam technology. Obviously I've become obsolete (sheesh, she even scooped me on ranting about Fox "news" ;P). Oh well, I'm still The Queen. ;)

Guess I really can't be spending all my time doing HL level design without throwing together some k-rad leet screen shots...guess its time to revive the projects page.
Today's Bazooka Joe Fortune: Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself.
True....true...
May 13, 2000 4:11 PM

So the weird dreams have been continuing. Well, not odd really, just a little different. They keep having bunches of people who I don't know in them, which is kinda odd for my dreams. Weird phenomenon last night. As some people know, I can actually be instantly hypnotized by having someone brush my hair or give me a scalp massage or whatever, think it goes back to when I was very small and my mom would give me a scalp rub to make me sleepy (no its not sexual, you buncha fruedians)...makes getting my hair done a bunch of fun. Anyway, I had this dream that I was at this party, and some chyck walked by and mentioned that she had extra peroxide from doing some other chycks hair and did I want her to touch up my stripe. So while she was in the middle of that, I woke up and was in the same usual hypnotized/mellow state...weird. And no, its NOT sexual.

Been doing some Half-Life level editing lately. Not sure why exactly, guess I just started getting that creative urge again, and have been playing a bunch of Half-Life customizations lately. Not sure how far its gonna go, but seems to be coming out pretty well so far. Did some custom HL levels awhile back, but I had forgotten how bitchy-assed of a game HL can be. Been trying to through in some custom sounds, and it gets all bitchy about cue-points etc etc. And Q2 kicked HL's lazy ass in terms of lighting...preset lit textures on compile? WTF is that?? Anyway....
Today's Horoscope: Your way with words will dazzle those you meet at social gatherings. You do best when you're given center stage. Don't let it go to your head. You may upset your current mate if you are too dynamic.
Check...keeping the dynamic factor low....wouldn't wan't to upset the mate(?!). (Who's that supposed to be...my IRC friend from Australia??)
May 10, 2000 1:03 AM

Ok, at first I agreed with those around me, the X-Men movie looked pretty cheesy...another big budget crappy batman movie. But...then I saw the trailer and realized that Patrick Stewart was playing Professor Xavier, and well, hey, its Patrick Stewert...Then I caught a commercial on teevee tonight....started out as any other political commercial, but then started seeming slightly odd....talking about the dangers of genetics and such. Turned out to be a "political ad" for Senator Kelly (for those who are uncultured in the Marvel mythos, Senator Kelly was always on the verge of starting some vague american nazi movement against the mutants, especially the X-Men). The commercial was actually very well done and the only obvious reference to the movie was a small line at the very very end. Ok, I still don't have huge hopes for the movie...the X-Men was always my favorite marvel comic growing up (I dumped it for the superior Alpha Flight when all the secret wars BS started...then dumped all of it for Phil Foglio's rendering of Aspirin's "Myth Adventures"...er, anyway)...but...Patrick Stewert? Clever Ads? Hm...
Eh, what the hell...its summer, gotta go see at least one cheesy movie.

May 8, 2000 11:45 PM

I was a late comer to the latest gun debate on Crunchland. Not suprising, since, frankly, the whole debate tends to bore me since both sides are so hopped up on hyperactive dogmatic blather (er, I mean that toward the national scale, the Crunchland one's tend to be ok). But...this quote from thantos:
"Entertainment has always consisted of conflict; the easiest form of conflict? Violence. The violence of previous centuries’ entertainment was written and oral, but it still existed. Human beings crave violence, but the hypocrisy of decrying the representation of violence while holding the instruments of violence is stunning."
Hot-CHA! That's some nice writing, whether you happen to agree or not. I've seen plenty of eloquence on Crunchland, this definitely falls easily into the top 5.

Notes to Nearlifers(5/8): "Sometimes the only winner in the game, is he who doesn't play" --er, I dunno, some boob said that...probably was in Wargames or something. Anyway, I'm a firm believer of tossing the game and convincing everyone around you, with the most innocent of expressions, that you never were playing in the first place. Keep repeating it til you believe it yourself. If that doesn't work, wait a few weeks and lie that you were really the winner and they all must of been awfully drunk if they don't remember that. :)
Note to Anonymous Diarist re dangers of remoteness(5/8): Maybe you just weren't paying close enough attention.
May 8, 2000 4:18 PM

So at some point last week, I was watching Nightline for some unknown reason (ok, it was cause I had just made some popcorn, and I like watching TV while eating popcorn, and there was just nothing else on) and saw this story that came across as the most irresponsible piece of journalism I've seen since Fox shut down the Buzz Club (yeah, yeah, I know...."Nightline? Irresponsible? Duh!"). It was some story about a woman who had given up her baby to adoption because she was in college and the father was an irresponsible boob at that age. Ok, fine so far, giving up a kid for adoption has to be a tough choice, good, I can handle that. The story then followed the mother for through her next 18 years, how she agonized every damn day about the child she "had" to give up, and how her life never could be complete again, etc etc etc. Feh. So anyway, when the mother knew her child was 18, she tracked her down through a private detective and sent her a letter. Reply comes back from the daughter to leave her alone. So what does mom do? Finally let the whole thing drop? Noooo...she goes ahead and calls two years later. She finally manages to bully the kid into meeting her. Everything goes fairy tale, they love each other, mom helps kid track down her father, mom and dad have a heart to heart, get back together and end up getting married. Yeah, puke from the sap now. Sorry, romance in one's life is one thing, but let's face some facts. First off, mom came across as, frankly, living in some fantasy world the entire show. She said that she knew dad was "the love of her life" the first time she met him and has never met anyone she loved so much since....she was 18, knew him for six months, and he screwed her. Oh yeah, that's a love of one's life right there, what a gem! Then there was this 20 year obsession with this child she saw once. Ok, again, I realize that giving up a kid has to be tough...real tough. But fer chrissakes, get some therapy, get some prozac, get a damn chihuahua, but fer chrissakes, get over it. Don't obsess for 18 years straight and then threaten to completely overturn the life of this child you supposedly "love" so much to sooth your own poor aching heart. Christ, talk about selfish. Sheez, so you made an error in your life, poor you. So what made me think about this? Salon had an article about exactly what happens when it doesn't work out to a fairy-tale ending. Unfortunately, I'm sure more moms probably saw the Nightline story, and how many more have they encouraged to go out and try to improve their lives through a kid who never knew them and probably would rather not.
I'm sure I'd hear plenty of comments (if I bothered asking for comments) about how I could never know what its like to give up a child yadda ya, to which I'd have to say "feh".

Today's Horoscope: Friendships you make through organizations will be lasting and fruitful. You can get your point across easily and drum up support at the same time. Communications will be your strong point.
I don't think that point was easy to get across...well, unless the underlying point was "Nightline sucks ass"
May 7, 2000 4:24 PM

Sometimes I find myself eating some odd stuph...well, maybe not so odd, odd for me maybe. Lately I've gotten in the habit of having rice for breakfast. (shurg) as easy to make as toast, about the same nutritional value. Usually I'll toss in some cherry peppers (dahrool) or melt some swiss cheese into it (and I used to hate swiss...tastes like bacteria farts, which it is). Today I went all nuts (it being sunday) and fried up some potatoes and onions, with marinara spice and soy sauce(?), hot peppers, swiss cheese and rice. Yum.
Ok....I guess that's not so weird.

Went out last night to the Hut with Peanut. Had a good ol' time, not really sure what all this renovation that they did was...all I really noticed was that they re-concreted the bathroom floor (*shurg*) Anyway, good conversation, good beer (bud...mmmmm), ok music. Afterwards she treated me out to Bob&Ediths diner...ah, gods. I ordered a grease deluxe double bacon cheeseburger. Ok, I know you all have been through puberty at least once...think back to those heady days of yore, and remember how wonderful a truly grease laden feast could be at times. Normally, something like this would probably still be hanging around in the tummy as a big lump, but this time my body just went into absolute paroxysms of grease-laden joy. Maybe part of it was the reaction to alcohol, but only part...
Reflections on Near Life 5/5 & 5/7: Don't play the game. 'Course, remember that actively not playing the game seems to be the same as playing the game. Toss the game, bring out the garbage and call up the trash collection folks to make sure they drag it away right quick.
Today's Horoscope: Avoid gambling. Travel will be exciting, but you must be prepared to spend more than you had planned. You need to gauge yourself carefully and steer clear of individuals who are after your cash.
Ok....I did spend too much money on beer last night...(*shurg*)

May 6, 2000 8:03 PM

Either I'm going a little nutty, or my neighborhood is...and at something like 5000 people vs 1 who's already shown signs of being slightly off kilter as is, don't think I got the betters behind me. Anyway, I syep out just a bit ago to go down to the kwiki-mart for some beer (got my late afternoon, got my beer, still no porch), and there's just this horde of people heading up Wilson. That happens occassionally, usually during the 4th of july when everyone rushes the metro to get downtown. For the life of me I couldn't think of anything happening downtown today....cinco del mayo was yesterday, mother's day is tomorrow (right?) and today's...nothing that I know of or was invited to. Anyway, get close to the kwiki and notice people are heading away from some gathering. The weird part was, the gathering just seemed to be something happenening behind this tiny little thai restaurant, in the safeway parking lot. Someone had a cooler and quarter keg....but there just seemed to be no clue as to anything specific happening. And dammit, whatever it was, I wasn't invited. Weird. What's the score here? What comes next?

Now I want some nachos.....damn food cravings...
May 6, 2000 5:11 PM

Man, do I need to find a friend with a porch. I've had the desperate craving lately for a nice, late afternoon beer on an open porch. Or maybe a vodka tonic. Can't really say I know where this craving is coming from really...never really had a porch to any great extent in my life. Peanut had a pretty cool front porch when she lived in DC, but I can't really say I spent a whole hell of a lot of time there. Henry had a pretty cool balcony, we were always too busy playing Shogo though. Had a pretty kick-ass back yard in college, but that wasn't really a porch. Some friends had a brownstone with a really kick-ass front porch in college, that was nice, but I seem to remember more fond memories from the friends who had a rooftop patio. So I'm not sure exactly where this urge is coming from...just want a porch and a beer and this weather.
Course, I've already been reminded twice about the curse of drinking beer during hot weather...waking up with the Beer Sweats. Really need to remember to put the ac on before falling asleep. Ok, so I want a friend with a porch and good ac...oh, and beer. :)

Fine, great...ok, I admit, I went ahead and took out another online personal. I've gotten a handful of responses, most of them sort of lame, one nice possibility. They write me, I write right back to everyone...its the courteous (desperate) thing to do. Then I never get any more responses. I don't really tend to say anything huge or anything that anyone might take offense at, usually just ask that they start mailing to my netzero account since the personal's e-mail sucks poo. But, just nothing further...(*shurg*) I guess they're just not as courteous (desperate) as me.
Today's Horoscope: You will probably say things that you'll regret later. Don't get involved in a senseless debate that will prove nothing. You have to gauge yourself carefully. Don't be a follower or a leader.
Man, they've been accusing me of that a lot. I don't tend to regret things said all that often....I regret money spent, time wasted, drinking cheep champagne...but not so much saying stuph. (*shurg*)
May 4, 2000 3:52 PM

I think I need to get out more.
Had this odd dream last night...I was back in high school but I just couldn't do anything. Anytime I tried to do any physical activity, I just got all tired out immediately. Couldn't even walk up a hill. Then I had to go to gym class. Luckily it was the first day, so it was just some orientation class, but I could hardly climb up the bleechers. Then my parents showed up. Then I decided to get off the transport boat to have a cigarette, the boat started to leave and I jumped off the dock...well, obviously things were degrading at that point.
Anyway, I think I need to get out more.

Man, was it good to see Po again. Even though it was him on vacation, felt like I had a bit of a vacation myself. Guess its all sort of a matter of change of habits. 'Course, it was good to see Henry V again too.....
Today's Horoscope: Expect to face opposition from both family members and peers. It is best to keep your ideas to yourself. Catch up on your reading and letter-writing.
Hm....actually I did that yesterday....I need to find a new soothsayer, or new stars, or something.
Still waiting for the day that my horroscope just says "whazzzzzzup??"
May 4, 2000 2:46 AM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEANUT!!!!!
Wow, even a mention in today's Mark Trail!

No...not sure if I get it either....

May 2, 2000 3:21 AM

It's fun being ignored sometimes.
Really, try it sometime.
Its fun playing high school games when you're 31.
Its fun being wrong.
Its fun being lied to by committee.
Its fun learning what's being said behind your back.
Really, try it sometime.
Its fun to be forced into concentrating on the positive before you go a little too nuts.
Its fun to get a really kick-ass haircut.
Its fun to watch the Superfriends qwiktime over and over again.
(Really, try it)
Its fun to have a friend buy you a vodka tonic.

Quote of the day: "when I am king you will be first against the wall" --Radiohead
Alt quote of the day: "whazzzzzzzzup????" --Superfriends
Today's Horoscope: Don't take on financial burdens that will put you in a tight spot. You need to cut back, not incur more debts. Your generosity with family and friends will be your downfall.
Yeah, yeah, yeah......
April 26, 2000 4:50 PM


I've been noticing that there is some information running around on the net claiming that April is National Jigglypuff Month. While this is certainly common perception, it is, unfortunately, incorrect. The error comes about in the translation of the old Veridian calender to the Gregorian calender. Scholars have noted that an adjustment has to be made in the translation for the period known as the "Mt. Moon Disturbance" where many historical records were lost. As a result, National Jigglypuff month actually falls between May 4 and June 17, well known as the longest month of the Veridian Calender. Due to the shift, we are actually currently still in National Electabuzz Month.

Which is why April sucks.
Today's Horoscope: You may find yourself getting upset with colleagues or your boss early in the day. Keep your cool and let it pass. You should be more intent on making yourself look good, not on making others look bad.
As a leo, I always believe in making myself look good over making others look good.
Er....bad
April 25, 2000 4:17 PM

This weather stinks....this weather sucks to high hell. I'm personally blaming this weather ("did you see what God just did to me, maaan...") for the general malaise that seems to be pervading everywhere. Not only my own, but Red's journal, even the Crunchland servers are sluggish. Not only that but they've killed the damn heat in my apartment for the year already, and dammit, its cold. Bitch bitch moan...

I hate April. April sucks too. Not just for it obnoxiously sucky weather, but its just a sucky month. Bad crap always seems to happen to me in April (the classic was in college when there was a fire in my fraternity, a friend got terribly burned, and another friend tried to commit suicide on the same night). I used to think that it seemed to cycle between years...one April would be especially crappy, the next year would be only mildly crappy, but I've since lost track of which years are which. Anyway, this has been a pretty crappy April this year. I've noticed that a lot of people around me have pretty crappy Aprils too. Lot of my friends on IRC have had crappy Aprils. Thought it was over, but just found out last night that one of my good friends from Australia is going through crappy April crap. Time zone difference I guess. Its a pisser too, because she's one of those people who definitely doesn't deserve crap...especially not crappy April crap....but then, I guess, who does deserve it? Crap crap bitch bitch moan crappity crap....
Quote of the day: "Let's get those missiles ready to destroy the Universe!" --TMBG
Today's Horoscope: You should look into all your professional possibilities. You may not be too happy with the changes taking place at work, but if you try to retaliate, you may find yourself unemployed.
Look! I'm unemployed!!! Dumb-ass stars.
April 25, 2000 12:08 AM

(*sigh*)...bored and uninspired....another typical monday night at the Elvis household.

Watched "The Three Stooges" on ABC tonight. A passibly done tv movie, a mildly interesting story. The odd thing I wondered through the whole thing is why no one had bothered to do it before this? I've never really been a huge Stooge fan (well...I do like Iggy) but you do have to give them credit as an enduring comedy team.
Been kicking around the idea of possibly starting up a tg news/message board site. Not that I really think it'd be a *new* concept, its just that I've been noticing lately that an awful lot of what's out there is just crap, most sites are just tack-ons to GLB sites, or just backwater makeup tips, catfighting or, frankly, lack of support "support groups". I dunno, gonna have to do some thinking on whether or not its really important....may make for an interesting project though.
Today's Horoscope: Changes at work may not appear to be to your benefit at first. If you are accepting and professional regarding the circumstances, advancement will be yours.
Whatchyou talkin' about Willis?
April 21, 2000 4:08 PM

After several months I had pretty much convinced myself that life is a complete illusion and there was, in reality, just nothing going on. The sun has finally broken through the clouds again, and Po's guide to near-life experiences is back! (clickety-click...www.nearlife.org)

Good lord but this has been a week and a half of social and emotional turmoil, from rl to IRC things have been going absolutely psychotic (and I'll fully own up to my own contributions). I think it may finally be lifting.
Major Huzzahs to the Vermont senate for passing legislation to legalize same gender Civil Unions. Once again the Green Mountain State cuts through the social and political bullshit. Clicky-Ho!

The Big "Feh" today goes to the Mississippi senate for unanimously outlawing adoptions for same gender couples. "But Mike Crook, state director of Donald Wildmon's Tupelo-based American Family Association (AFA), told the Associated Press that, 'Since there's waiting lists for kids out there already, why should we let homosexuals adopt children?'" Oh yeah, that's some fine-lookin' moral logic there bud. Clack.
Today's Horoscope: You may be overpowering today. Don't let others goad you into saying things that you'll regret later. Re-evaluate your own motives, not others.
Yah! So piss off all you fuck bastards!
Wait....I didn't mean that the way it sounded....
April 20, 2000 11:29 AM

Been doing some babysitting for the past two days. Somebody has entered into the "why" phase of life (which seems to last until one is about 80 years old, most people just stop vocalizing it at around age 7). It really fills one with an understanding of nihilism and complete reduction of concept when one attempts to answer the question "why" to 50% of the things one says. (ie "Don't jump in the puddle, its wet"--"Why?"--"because it has water in it"--"Why?"--"because it rained"--"Why?"--"because the humidity in the air reached the point whereby it condensed into droplets"--"Why?"--"ummm......why do you think??" (*shurg*)

Pokemon Snap just rules. One of the cooler console games I've played in awhile. Cool graphics, cool tricks, cool concept. I can certainly understand how a lot of people are burned off the Pokemon concept, but from a game design standpoint, they keep putting out some rockers.
April 12, 2000 1:18 PM

So, my latest source of entertainment has been wandering around online reading people's personal ads....whee. Here's my favorite quote to date: "I'm looking for someone who enjoys being lesbian because it feels good and not because they are trying to impress some guy." Now, ok, I understand what this person was probably trying to say, and, yeah, I realize personal ads are a pretty easy target for humor, but this phrase just struck me as so sublimely funny I just had to adopt it for the night. Yes! I am going to become a lesbian to impress some guy! Whee! Another great one was something along the lines of "I have a boyfriend, but since I am bi he could never satisfy me fully." Oh, good going, keep that rumor alive that bisexuals are inheirantly unable to be faithful to one person. Foo. Anyway, I spent a lot of the night running around IRC telling people I was going to be a lesbian to impress some guy, until I heard one user use the phrase "Get butch, girl" to another user. Oooo....now there's a phrase I wanna adopt and would love to see brought into common usage in high schools! :)

Link of the day: Redhead on Jack Chick.
April 11, 2000 12:08 AM

Ok, I'm lost here.
Right now there are two major protests brewing or happenening in the country. The first is special for all us locals, the World Bank/IMF Trade Talk protests. Am I just completely missing some grand importance here? Ok, yeah, I understand that the IMF and World Bank have some spotty records when it comes to trade talks with countries that have some pretty nasty human rights reputations, but....ok, I am missing something here, no clue what though. The World Bank and IMF have existed for years. Tons of US corporations and private investors are involved with ethically questionable investments in foreign markets. Since when did the "socially active youth" of this country get so wrapped up in economics anyway?? I am seriously missing something...because, frankly, the protestors are just coming across more as a bunch of boobs who don't like Starbucks.

The second protest is, obviously, lil' Elian. The less said about that, probably the better. Biggest damn american media circus since OJ.

Link of the day: Brian Peters puts the smack down on the Oregon school system in black velvet. An interesting little tale as told through memos from the principal, students, and parents as well as the local press coverage. Gotta give the kid kudos, not only for guts, but for pretty fair reporting.
Quote of the day: Alex Dunne (editor of Game Developer magazine) on Amazon's latest bunch of bullshit regarding their "one-click" web patent and its repercussions to the web: "If you're not part of the problem, you're getting screwed."
Finally!! The damn song they kept replaying on the last X-Files episode was bugging me. I was pretty sure it was Moby...just couldn't remember for sure. Course it HAD to be track 17 ("The sky is broken"). Anyway....thought it was a pretty good episode though sorta cheap and draggy in points, overall I though ol' Gil did a good job with it.
April 6, 2000 6:06 PM

I'm fucked. I'm super-fucked. Most of the day yesterday I spent a fair ammount of time just being bored to tears by the web...just finding 0 interesting things out there. Something...don't remember exactly what it was, made me pop over to ebay for the first time. I'm so fucked. For some reason, I never really expected that they'd have clothes on there. Jebus help me, its like an entire Goodwill online....aghghghghgh. I mean, red PVC pants for only $10.00?? Gah!!! Luckily, right now my bank account only has $0.86 in it, so showing some restraint wasn't too tough for right now, but, man, am I fucked for the future.

Lotta people in a spring-time rut out there and on IRC I've noticed (and, yeah, I'll include myself in those ranks). Spring can be an insidious time of the year sometimes. Despite the nice weather, for some reason, it can really remind you just how single you are at the moment (provided you're single of course). Here's hoping that warm beer-drinkin-on-the-back-porch weather comes real soon.

Millenial GLBT March on Washington is coming up on April 30. Even though I pretty much burned out on the whole concept of marches back in '92, thinking I may go to this one. Lemme know if you'd be interested.

Interesting bit of the day: D&D is getting copylefted.

April 5, 2000 12:08 PM

Ok, so a friend (ok, Auguste) bitched to me on the phone last night, "Dude, you don't update your weblog nearly enough" (this, of course, coming from someone who hasn't updated his webpage in god knows how long). Anyway, QE is certainly not going to go down in history as dissappointing my loyal subjects. After a little thought I made a few minor, though highly vital changes. First off I've archived all the old stuph for all y'all still using 2400 modems for hot-cha quick loading (plus I was getting tired of looking at it). Secondly, and probably most importantly, I've gone back to naming this page as what it is, and has always been...the Babble Pages. Slightly more free-form in style and content, etc etc, whereas "News" was an attempt to somewhat segregate just news about what was happenening to me....when news wasn't happenening, nothing was written. Now I can just blow on and on and on and on....

Now where's my new Mr. Grumpy award???

April 5, 2000 4:17 AM




(*shurg*)


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