It's OK. I'm OK. It's no big deal. People friend random quasi-strangers on Facebook all the time, right? And I am sending this dude about 2 letters a week. On the plus side, there aren't any pictures on my Facebook that I'm ashamed of. I'm verrrrrry careful to limit photographic evidence of my activities. Not that I do much that's really bad.
Really, it was a bad idea because it ruins my whole "no face to the name" thing I was trying to do. I don't want to know if he's attractive, or single, or anything like that. I am writing letters to give a soldier a (hopefully) bright spot in his day. The last thing I need is to have random nonsense floating around my brain. It's definitely a good thing that he probably won't be able to approve/deny the request for a couple of weeks. I should be in a fairly normal mental space by then.
Random aside: I am posting this from my home! I am wireless, baby!
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
11 February 2009
10 February 2009
Past Sins and Present Woes
Someone please tell me what sin I'm paying for. Did I mistreat my Walkman? Was I a perpetrator of car stereo abuse? What did I DO?!?!
While I'm sad and frustrated at my inability to have wireless internet at my home, I believe that my IT guy feels worse. I just have to sit there and say "Oh, that sucks" or "It's totally got to be Comcast". He's the one poking around, trying to make my recalcitrant network actually work. I have faith that he will make it work.
On a completely unrelated note, I've gotten a couple of emails from my penpal. He's only received one of my letters so far, but seems pretty excited to get more.
On a less happy note, they laid more people off at work yesterday. I think I'm fairly secure, but these are uncertain times. Normally, it doesn't really bother me when people get booted (unless I like them), but this time I felt it. I decided to go home and drink a bit. One large vanilla screwdriver later, I was reasonably cheery.
While I'm sad and frustrated at my inability to have wireless internet at my home, I believe that my IT guy feels worse. I just have to sit there and say "Oh, that sucks" or "It's totally got to be Comcast". He's the one poking around, trying to make my recalcitrant network actually work. I have faith that he will make it work.
On a completely unrelated note, I've gotten a couple of emails from my penpal. He's only received one of my letters so far, but seems pretty excited to get more.
On a less happy note, they laid more people off at work yesterday. I think I'm fairly secure, but these are uncertain times. Normally, it doesn't really bother me when people get booted (unless I like them), but this time I felt it. I decided to go home and drink a bit. One large vanilla screwdriver later, I was reasonably cheery.
09 February 2009
No Time Like the First Time
Hey babies, thanks for reading, and I hope I don't disappoint. Now gather 'round children, it's time for today's Bout 'O Bitching! (In case you were wondering, yes Daddy is also a bit of a queen.) Today I'm going to rant a bit about a podcast that I listen to on a daily basis. And just to get it out of the way, yes I enjoy this program, it's just this one thing that pisses me off, not a condemnation of the entire show. Anyway, the podcast is called "Gay Pimpin' with Jonny McGovern". It's a really funny show that is targeted to teens and young adults. Thing is, while they are all about taking pride in yourself as a gay person and expressing yourself, the cast is so nasty when it comes to fat people. It's been mentioned several times when they discuss listener mail that they get questioned about why they are so mean about this. Every single time a nasty comment is made and the whole issue is made fun of. Maybe I'm being over-sensitive about this since I grew up as the fat kid, but I think that people who are making a show targeted to teens have a responsibility not to single out a group of people in a community that already has a very high suicide rate.
Anyway, I think I'll leave it here, since I'm getting perilously close to babble mode. Feel free to comment early and often.
Anyway, I think I'll leave it here, since I'm getting perilously close to babble mode. Feel free to comment early and often.
28 January 2009
Broken and Disconnected
My boot broke today. I have a sort of old, but in really good shape (or so I thought), pair of Columbia boots. I got them a couple of years ago but didn't wear them much. Honestly, they look about as they did straight out of the box.
Since we got a decent amount of snow last night, I hauled the old boots out this AM. The right boot was a slightly different shade of blue than the left, but I figured there was some salt residue from the last time I wore them. The boots did their job as I cleared the wet, heavy snow off my car. They kept my feet warm and dry. It was a bit tricky to drive, but I managed OK.
I get to work and swap the boots for my work shoes. Did you know that if you haven't shaved your legs for 2+ months and wear Columbia snow boots it really hurts? Imagine tiny little evil elves yanking on the hairs on your ankle. Still not gonna shave. Moving on. It wasn't until I went to put the boots back on for my break that a coworker noticed the cracks.
Yes, there was a crack running all the way around the rubber part of my right boot. The boot that was slightly discolored, remember? I'm bummed, but I figure I'll break out the temperature-resistant tape and patch things up. I don't especially care how pretty they look. Though, I did get many compliments on my boots.
As I'm walking outside, I hear this crunching noise. I look down at my afflicted boot and see pieces of the rubber flaking away. I now have gaping holes where the rubber used to be. I may take a pic later and post it. Several people said I should call Columbia because that should not happen. I don't know that they will help me out, but I may try anyway.
That's the broken - here is the disconnected. jr and Jewfro were over the other night. jr and I made bacon cookies while Jewfro worked his magic and made it possible for me to Stumble without being tethered to my modem. There were some quirks: the network would say disconnected when I was still online, the icon showed a disconnect, but I didn't care. Access is access.
I don't remember if it was Monday or Tuesday, but I was having serious problems staying online. Also, it took an inordinate amount of time to connect (or not connect). I tried resetting the modem, restarting my computer, bupkes. I can't stay online wirelessly for more than 10 minutes or so. What is the point of having an awesome new toy if I can't go online? As it is, I'm posting this at work.
Oh, and nothing to do with anything, but I am surrounded by incompetents at work. Too many chiefs for us Indians.
Since we got a decent amount of snow last night, I hauled the old boots out this AM. The right boot was a slightly different shade of blue than the left, but I figured there was some salt residue from the last time I wore them. The boots did their job as I cleared the wet, heavy snow off my car. They kept my feet warm and dry. It was a bit tricky to drive, but I managed OK.
I get to work and swap the boots for my work shoes. Did you know that if you haven't shaved your legs for 2+ months and wear Columbia snow boots it really hurts? Imagine tiny little evil elves yanking on the hairs on your ankle. Still not gonna shave. Moving on. It wasn't until I went to put the boots back on for my break that a coworker noticed the cracks.
Yes, there was a crack running all the way around the rubber part of my right boot. The boot that was slightly discolored, remember? I'm bummed, but I figure I'll break out the temperature-resistant tape and patch things up. I don't especially care how pretty they look. Though, I did get many compliments on my boots.
As I'm walking outside, I hear this crunching noise. I look down at my afflicted boot and see pieces of the rubber flaking away. I now have gaping holes where the rubber used to be. I may take a pic later and post it. Several people said I should call Columbia because that should not happen. I don't know that they will help me out, but I may try anyway.
That's the broken - here is the disconnected. jr and Jewfro were over the other night. jr and I made bacon cookies while Jewfro worked his magic and made it possible for me to Stumble without being tethered to my modem. There were some quirks: the network would say disconnected when I was still online, the icon showed a disconnect, but I didn't care. Access is access.
I don't remember if it was Monday or Tuesday, but I was having serious problems staying online. Also, it took an inordinate amount of time to connect (or not connect). I tried resetting the modem, restarting my computer, bupkes. I can't stay online wirelessly for more than 10 minutes or so. What is the point of having an awesome new toy if I can't go online? As it is, I'm posting this at work.
Oh, and nothing to do with anything, but I am surrounded by incompetents at work. Too many chiefs for us Indians.
16 January 2009
Tiny and Adorable
Mmmmm, toys.
I got a text message from my dad today stating that I had a package waiting for me at my parents' house. I let out a little "squeee!" and may have wiggled in my chair a bit. My eeePC had arrived! Ohboyohboyohboy!
I made tracks to the parents' and there it was. Everything packed in a box that was about 8"x12"x4". I broke out the pocketknife and sliced happily through the packing tape. Nestled in a white wrapper was my tiny 1000HA.
It is super shiny and yes, it picks up fingerprints like a motherfucker. Luckily, a handy little cleaning cloth is included. The screen is bright and sharp. I'm still getting used to the smaller size, but hiding the taskbar helps. I've been playing with it for about 2 and a half hours now, and it's only warm. The shift key placement is a bit tricky, but I think I'll be able to adjust. The spacebar is about 2/3 normal size but it hasn't been an issue so far. The touchpad is super sensitive and the buttons work fine as long as you remember to tap on the front edge. The two-finger scroll isn't great, but that may be a practice issue.
So far my biggest problem is a wireless issue. I'm having some trouble getting on my network but I can deal with being wired for now. I'm beginning the verrrrrry slow process of entering passwords, bookmarking pages and downloading assorted junk.
I got a text message from my dad today stating that I had a package waiting for me at my parents' house. I let out a little "squeee!" and may have wiggled in my chair a bit. My eeePC had arrived! Ohboyohboyohboy!
I made tracks to the parents' and there it was. Everything packed in a box that was about 8"x12"x4". I broke out the pocketknife and sliced happily through the packing tape. Nestled in a white wrapper was my tiny 1000HA.
It is super shiny and yes, it picks up fingerprints like a motherfucker. Luckily, a handy little cleaning cloth is included. The screen is bright and sharp. I'm still getting used to the smaller size, but hiding the taskbar helps. I've been playing with it for about 2 and a half hours now, and it's only warm. The shift key placement is a bit tricky, but I think I'll be able to adjust. The spacebar is about 2/3 normal size but it hasn't been an issue so far. The touchpad is super sensitive and the buttons work fine as long as you remember to tap on the front edge. The two-finger scroll isn't great, but that may be a practice issue.
So far my biggest problem is a wireless issue. I'm having some trouble getting on my network but I can deal with being wired for now. I'm beginning the verrrrrry slow process of entering passwords, bookmarking pages and downloading assorted junk.
14 January 2009
2 Minute Update
In the surprise move of the decade, the maintenance crew decided to get off their saggy asses and replace the padding in my sorely abused hallway. Forgive me if I don't sound super grateful, but those dudes work so fucking messy. My cats were attempting to eat carpet fluff all last night. They should buy me a year's supply of vacuum bags.
In entirely unrelated news, I ordered a new laptop this past weekend: the ASUS eeePC 1000HA. Quite the mouthful, no? It's one of those mini jobbies, but not too mini. It has a 10-inch screen as opposed to the 8.9-inch screen most minis have. I'm sad my ancient Dell couldn't be salvaged, but very excited about a new toy. I hope it's as awesome as I imagine.
Another news flash that has nothing to do with anything I've already written about today (that's awkward), one of my supervisors is spying on me. He thinks I don't know, but I do. The supervisors can check on us using the VNC, but certain things happen when they pull you up. For one, the icon turns from white to black. For two, the screen blinks. For three, and this may only be me, my wallpaper (super cute pic of my nephew) disappears. Not as sneaky as you think, Mr. Supervisor. I'm on to you.
In entirely unrelated news, I ordered a new laptop this past weekend: the ASUS eeePC 1000HA. Quite the mouthful, no? It's one of those mini jobbies, but not too mini. It has a 10-inch screen as opposed to the 8.9-inch screen most minis have. I'm sad my ancient Dell couldn't be salvaged, but very excited about a new toy. I hope it's as awesome as I imagine.
Another news flash that has nothing to do with anything I've already written about today (that's awkward), one of my supervisors is spying on me. He thinks I don't know, but I do. The supervisors can check on us using the VNC, but certain things happen when they pull you up. For one, the icon turns from white to black. For two, the screen blinks. For three, and this may only be me, my wallpaper (super cute pic of my nephew) disappears. Not as sneaky as you think, Mr. Supervisor. I'm on to you.
30 December 2008
Death Has a Blue Face
Any child of the digital age can probably figure out what my headline means. I fired up the old laptop this AM and sure enough, I got me a blue screen of death. Can I have a "boo"? Luckily, I don't need my laptop for much more than checking email and a couple of blogs. Well, there's the StumbleUpon addiction to contend with, but I am hopeful that the withdrawal symptoms will be minimal.
Huh, I was hoping that by logging into Blogger and writing about something, anything, I would be inspired to go off on some random tangent (who me?). I am aware that my posts have been few and far between, but rather than bore all 4 of you with tales of cookie baking, I decided that nothing was preferable to mundane. I also thought about doing a year-in-review post, or something about the holidays, but it all fills me with meh. For your sake, dear reader, I hope that the new year will bring fresh sources of inspiration.
Huh, I was hoping that by logging into Blogger and writing about something, anything, I would be inspired to go off on some random tangent (who me?). I am aware that my posts have been few and far between, but rather than bore all 4 of you with tales of cookie baking, I decided that nothing was preferable to mundane. I also thought about doing a year-in-review post, or something about the holidays, but it all fills me with meh. For your sake, dear reader, I hope that the new year will bring fresh sources of inspiration.
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