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| Friday, August 28th, 2009 | | 1:40 pm |
New York Trip
So I got to go up to New York City on the company's dime a couple months back. Over all it was a pretty good trip, and I will probably go back for another visit at some point, but I definitely would not want to live there. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was fantastic, so much stuff I liked there. My boss and I took a tour through the Chinese art and sculpture section and it was most interesting to see how the same styles ran through 3000 years of art. And then we walked through the medieval arms and armor section, which was one of my personal favorites, of course. I took quite a few pictures of some of the armor, and I would love to try to reproduce some of what I saw. Central Park and Times Square were neat, but mainly in that "I went there" kinda way. I wish I had set up twitpic on my twitter account so I could have uploaded a pic of me there from my phone, but that is about it. So, over all an interesting trip, but I am glad I didn't have to pay for it myself. A couple of the flights were a pain in the ass, and I am seriously wanting to destroy Atlanta's airport. I ALWAYS get stuck in Atlanta if I have to fly through there. On the connecting flight from Charleston up to Newark the AC on the plane was out, so it was boiling on the plane and some people obviously forgot what deodorant is. That plus having to circle the area a few times due to weather made me slightly cranky by the time we got to the hotel at 2am. Then my flight out of Philly (We drove from New York to Philly...pretty short trip, about the same as going from New Orleans to Lafayette) got delayed a couple of times and I was not able to make my connection in Atlanta (that hated place) so I grabbed a hotel room and a couple hours of sleep before taking a new flight down the next morning, without my luggage which had been placed on another plane. A couple of things I learned through all of this is to always make my own travel plans (My boss made some of them and he sucks at it) and never let my boss drive. Though me as navigator was a lot easier since I can actually use a GPS. The point of the trip was to evaluate a couple of instruments that we are looking at purchasing, which is why I was brought along. My experience with the instruments we have and technology in general let me ask all the little questions my boss wouldn't think of. Each one of the damned things costs enough to buy a reasonable sized house though. In the end we are gonna be spending about half a million dollars on my department, so I am not gonna complain too much. Well, back to the grind. Current Mood:  calm | | Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 | | 3:11 pm |
| | Sunday, May 10th, 2009 | | 2:59 pm |
Star Trek
Like many out there, my father introduced me to Star Trek. We used to watch the reruns of the original series a lot when I was a kid and I still remember when The Next Generation first came out. He and I sat down to watch it right after Quantum Leap (Sam was playing a guy in the musical The Man of LaMancha, I still remember the songs). And they succeeded in making a great continuation of Star Trek. In many ways better than the original. I've always found Science Fiction in general to be fascinating. Its a giant game of "What If?" and in many cases "What will be?". So, as many people were, I was somewhat skeptical of the new Star Trek movie. I needn't have worried. Being raised on the original series where there were so many silly scenes, crazy plots, and scantily clad green women, this movie was positively tame by those standards. It was definitely something to see on the big BIG screen though (went to see it on IMAX). It was a very fun two hours in which a lot of the old jokes were polished off and revisited (I'm a doctor, not a physicist!...I'm givin' ya all she's got Capt'n), the tech was given a new design and twist, and the characters I grew up with came back out to play with a new attitude. While the film has been touted by the advertisements as "Not your father's Star Trek" I think dad would have liked this one. If you haven't gotten out to see it yet I would highly recommend it for a fun time. Even those who have not liked Trek in the past will most likely get a kick out of this movie. Current Mood:  giggly | | Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 | | 9:02 pm |
Asian Heritage Festival
For all of those in the New Orleans Area interested, the Asian Heritage Festival is going to be held at Audubon Zoo next Saturday from 10-4. There will be a lot of different things and demonstrations there from many different Asian cultures. A friend of mine from work is helping to organize the event and asked me to promote it and distribute coupons for admission, so if you are interested in going drop by the web site http://www.apasneworleans.org and click on the main flyer link to get a printable coupon for the event. I am definitely going to be out there most of the day, hope to see as many people out there as possible. Current Mood:  bouncy | | Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 | | 5:57 pm |
April 29th
April 29th - Normally one of my most hated days. I will be raising a glass later in memory to both my dad and my grandfather later. April 29th, 1990 my dad passed away, after a two year battle with cancer. It was his father's birthday and unfortunately granddad got into town 4 hours too late to say goodbye to his son. Usually today I am quite depressed, but today hasn't really been too bad. Don't know if its because I actually slept a bit last night, or because I got up and did yoga this morning to wake up, or maybe its just cause last year this day was so sucky that this one looks positively rosy in comparison. I am going to raise a glass in salute to all of those I have lost in Aprils past, whether due to death, moving, or their own stupidity, but I don't think its gonna be a night where I would want to drink myself unconscious. April still isn't my favorite, but I have gotten to the point where I am even-keeled enough to know that life is not fair, shit happens and the world goes on. If you have the opportunity, raise a glass with me. Current Mood: calm | | Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | | 9:54 am |
I hate April...R.I.P. Gary Smith
My hatred of April continues unabated. Whether its the end of a relationship, getting stabbed in the back by supposed friends, or the loss of a loved one, more often than not it happens in April. Add one more to the list. Gary Smith, 1953-2009. He had been sick for years with a congenital heart defect, but he had been very stable for the past year and a half. It was quick and quiet. Something of a shock to us though. He had stuck through for so long most of us thought he would outlive us. I guess I am strange, most of my family "wants to be together during this time" and I just want to be alone. I guess its how I deal with things, I realize that a funeral isn't about the dead person, its about everyone they left behind. Its coming to terms with the loss inside of ourselves, and everyone around me seems to need other people to lean on for that. I am used to being the one leaned on, and when I have the chance going off and looking inside myself to come to terms with what this means to me. One thing seems pretty clear though. If I don't die on New Year's Day, its gonna be in April. Current Mood:  depressed | | Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | | 3:27 pm |
A Cyberpunk St Patrick's Day
While everyone out there is wearin green and drinkin Guinness, let us not forget that the man who coined the phrase "Cyberspace", William Gibson, also celebrates his birthday today. "Neuromancer" was my first real foray into the "Cyberpunk" genre when Cryptoknight gave it to me and that was well and truly appropriate since it WAS the real start of all things cyberpunk. Let us not forget either old Johnny Mnemonic, based off of one of Gibson's short stories. For me, I think I am gonna celebrate by sipping some Irish Whiskey and getting my cybergame on. Current Mood: geeky | | Saturday, March 7th, 2009 | | 3:39 pm |
Who watches?
We do, as of 1:30pm Sunday at the Elmwood Palace theater. If anyone else is interested in joining let me know and I will be sure to get tickets ahead of time. Current Mood: bouncy | | Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 | | 10:28 am |
The Watchmen
So, this weekend The Watchmen will be released. Not only that but it will be released in IMAX, which the Palace 20 in Elmwood has gotten ahold of from the old spot in Covington. It is a moral imperative that this is seen in IMAX. Anyone want to get together this weekend to achieve this goal? Current Mood: excited | | Thursday, February 19th, 2009 | | 5:58 pm |
Times
Its been an interesting year so far, thankfully not in the Chinese curse way. Things are, dare I say it, quiet. I am in a stable relationship with a, for once, stable person. Work is steady with no real fear of layoffs. Lauren and I have spent weekends getting lots of little projects done around our houses and its been a nice feeling of accomplishment. Besides a brief bout of the flu, health has been good overall. The pessimist in me says "But wait, there's more!", but for once I am going to be optimistic. Things have been going well and as long as I keep working to improve things, there is no reason that they should not keep going well. I think that bit of optimism actually comes from the recent lack of drama in my life. Having no drama is nice...very nice. Being in a relationship with someone who agrees with that and actively tries to help make sure there isn't any is even better. Its been a long time since my life was really this stable and that I felt I could actually make some plans. Not that I am at the point where my level of paranoia is going to go away. Like the man said, "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Its just nice to be at a stable point for a change. Besides, I have this reasonable, even toned voice in the back of my head these days that keeps smacking me upside the head anytime I want to wallow in melodrama. Its quite possible that this is a sign of my sanity finally fracturing, but I like to think that its all of the introspection and meditation I have been doing over the years. Being mindful of my own thoughts and feelings has made it almost impossible to lie to myself about the way things are. When you are actively going over your reasoning and thought processes on a daily basis, many of those get streamlined a great deal. At times I envy those who can live the lies they tell themselves over and over again until they actually believe some of it. It must be easier to escape from reality than to deal with the consequences of one's actions. Most of the time though, I just pity them. I get told "You were right." when pointing out reality to some of these people, but that phrase has pretty much lost all of its joy. What is the point of being right or of revealing reality to people if they are just going to ignore it again 5 minutes later and make the same mistakes they did before? I begin to understand more and more the old saying, "He who speaks, does not know. He who knows, does not speak." Its something one must come to in their own time, in their own way. Telling someone "The Way Things Are" over and over again doesn't work. If someone is not ready, they will not listen, they will simply talk over it with what they want to hear. Heh, I have gone off speaking again though. Bad habit, hard to break. Instead of looking back over the year and seeing what has gone undone, I am looking back and seeing progress made. There have been a lot of things accomplished. Books read, deeds done, projects completed, goals met. On the journey of life, I have made progress. This makes me happy. Current Mood: content | | Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 | | 9:18 pm |
The Color of Magic
So I recently found out that Terry Pratchett's first book in the Diskworld series has been made into a TV movie by the same director that did The Hogfather. When I found out I, of course, had to go find it. I was amazed at the cast they got together with Sean Austin playing Twoflower, Christopher Lee as the voice of Death, and Jeremy Freaking Irons playing Lord Vetinari. This makes me do a little happy dance. Current Mood:  sick | | Thursday, January 15th, 2009 | | 8:57 am |
| | Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 | | 4:13 pm |
| | Thursday, January 1st, 2009 | | 7:44 pm |
New Years
So far, this one has been good for me. For the past few years I have dreaded the coming of New Years. Its been one thing after another, and while after flat-lining on the operating table I can always say I have had worse starts to a year, they haven't been fun. There has always been something bad happening for it, but this year was an exception that, I hope, will break the rule entirely. Granted part of the reason for that is that I no longer have the cause of so much of the misery of the past few years in my life anymore. Dumping the lying, cheating little tramp was the best idea of the past couple of years, I just should have done it a lot sooner than I did. This year has been good so far though. Stayed in bed late, got up to coffee and coffee cake, and have taken it easy all day after staying up to watch the ball drop and drinking a glass of wine with Lauren. I'm not making any hard and fast New Years resolutions this time. I reached some of my goals that I set last year, and in general I am just gonna keep on that track of self-improvement. I will agree with Emily though, we must start our preparations for the Apocalypse. I have said for years now that gaining the skills and tools necessary will improve me and my life, even if the end never does really come. If it does, guess I will be one of the few ready for it, heh. Till then, I am going to try to make as much of the time I have as possible. I hope everyone has a very happy and healthy year for 2009. Current Mood: hopeful | | Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 | | 3:26 pm |
Cyberpunk
For those of you that have ever read William Gibson, especially Cryptoknight who introduced me to him, his AGRIPPA files have been revived today on the 16th anniversary of the poem's original release. http://agrippa.english.ucsb.edu/ has an emulation of the poem running as it was meant to be seen, plus pictures from the American Society gathering in 1992 where it was first released. Current Mood: geeky | | Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 | | 6:03 pm |
Yay! Gustav is coming to kill us all!
Is it just me, or does everyone want to shoot meteorologists? One computer model says today that, in a week, we MIGHT get hit by Hurricane Gustav. Might. And yet everyone from the Governor on down is panicking. Should we prepare, yes. Should we plan, yes. Should we panic? Why? Sigh, this is getting annoying. But it just goes to show, rule 1, people are stupid. Oh well, I do hope everyone in the area does have an actual plan in place for hurricanes. Most likely this will just be another false alarm, but if it does come everyone keep in touch and if possible get in touch with each other for carpooling and safe places to stay. I will personally probably be freezing my ass off in Iowa if we actually do get hit. A fun 15 hour drive with 3 cats and my mother! Yay! Someone shoot me now... Current Mood:  annoyed | | Sunday, July 20th, 2008 | | 8:59 pm |
Ouch...
So I am sure all were wondering when it would happen. When I would injure myself seriously one more time. Well, it finally came to pass Saturday. I was at the gym doing Boot Camp as usual, and one little misstep took out my right knee again. Kodi was out the door for ice almost as soon as I hit the ground and it isn't as bad as I have had before, but man does it hurt to move. So I am making an appointment with the Bone and Joint clinic tomorrow, and if the doctors tell me I need surgery this time I am not going to argue. The first thought to go through my head though was, "DAMNIT! This is totally gonna throw off my training schedule." Heh, I guess I have become something of a gym addict. Oh well, this doesn't put it to a complete stop, I just have to take a little time off to see how my knee is gonna play. This is going to make going up the stairs at work tons of fun. Sigh...oh well, no more procrastinating about doctors appointments. Current Mood: sore | | Monday, July 14th, 2008 | | 12:57 pm |
Jury Duty
So I got chosen for Jury Duty on Friday. It was quite the experience. It was a special Grand Jury, which has a lot more power than a normal jury. We were encouraged to actually ask questions of the witnesses. One of the things that really struck me though, was the people that showed up for the summons. 150 people were summoned, 39 showed up. When the whole thing started, I looked around and the thought that crossed my mind was "These people are allowed to breed, much less decide someone else's guilt or innocence?" It actually makes me question our entire government and legal system. Not that I didn't already, but it brought another point into my head. Jury summonses are done by the voter registration, so all of these people are choosing government officials as well. Does that really make sense? Someone who can barely string a sentence together, much less with proper grammar, helps to put judges on the seat, and presidents in the white house. This may sound elitist, arrogant and cruel, but personally I think we need a system that is a little more strict on who can and cannot vote. If someone cannot understand what the issue is about, should they be allowed to vote on whether or not it passes? Then we get into the bloating of government offices as a whole. "Money pit" is the term that comes to mind. Legislators being able to vote themselves raises, millions upon millions of dollars in "discretionary funds" and political side projects for the benefit of those in office, not to mention lobbyists. When all is said and done do we need as many people "running things" as we have? Should those people be held to a higher standard than we currently have? Should the standards for voters be raised as well? I don't think we need the bloated system we have now, especially if those who are put in power are actually capable of doing the job, a decently intelligent and educated populace, elects them to do. All in all my experience as a Grand Juror has me shaking my head at the system in place. A massive reorganization should be done, but I don't see it happening until society collapses as a whole. Those who are in power now would not allow it out of their grasp. Oh well, who's gonna help me pick up the pieces after things blow themselves up? Current Mood: cynical | | Monday, June 23rd, 2008 | | 2:48 pm |
I hate mondays
Got the phone call this morning that my uncle had passed away. We knew he was terminal, it was just a question of when, but it was sooner than expected. He didnt even last two months from the time he found out. So now my grandmother has lost 3 of her 4 children to cancer. I don't know what she is going to do, or how she is going to really handle this. I didn't like my uncle much. He was one of those people that I strive not to be like. He had a lot of children, but was never really a father to any of them. Drinking and drugs and all sound fine on paper, but that is all he had. He tried to never take responsibility for anything. Eh, him I don't care about...its my grandmother that I am worried for. What does it do to you to see your children die before you do? To have your husband die at the breakfast table of a heart attack while you're in the kitchen? To watch as most of the grandkids are semi-raised and end up in jail, on drugs or in mental asylums. (Wish I was joking...I really am the white sheep of the family). She is a strong woman, I know...but still. There is only so much one person can take. So I may be driving down for the funeral. Its a 12 hour drive, and I may have to take my mother with me...that would suck more than doing it alone. We will see I guess. I hate funerals. Current Mood: depressed | | Monday, April 21st, 2008 | | 5:31 pm |
Cell phone roulette
So I am about to come up on the end of my current contract with Sprint and I definitely need a new phone. I have been looking around at stuff and talking to a few people to see what everyone thinks about the latest and greatest phones and carriers. I am torn between two extremes of thought on phones. I either want one that is JUST a phone with text messaging added, or a phone with everything down to GPS and expandable memory. Sprint offers the Blackberry Pearl 8130 which fits the bill pretty well, but all of the other carriers have their own little things too. I have been with Sprint for a number of years now and have been over all pleased with the service, but they do have their limitations, so I was wondering what everyone else's experiences with their companies and phones was. Help me out here people, I wanna stay in touch!!! Current Mood:  confused |
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