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January 3rd, 2010
11:58 pm - My flight next month to Texas
...Will be American Airlines 1337.
Full of dUd3z + h4X0r$ I assume.
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10:51 pm - The 2000's (copied from Facebook)
I was thinking yesterday that when I add it all up, the 2000's were a pretty good decade for me. Even some things that seemed bad might have had an OK result.
December 30, 2009 at 10:46pm
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January 1st, 2010
09:54 pm - Couchsurfer
Just now, while I on the phone giving directions to my Couchsurfer for tonight, he had a car accident. "Someone just sideswiped me." Apparently not hurt, though. I'm thinking the other driver slid in the snow. This will probably mean a late-ish night for both of us.
EDIT: He's pretty much OK although his wrist hurts a little. He did get a ticket as he apparently did not have right of way. His car was towed away and will need body work. The guy who hit him was upset, and his car was in bad shape. My CSer has insurance that will pay for it. Tomorrow morning early I will drop him off at the coffee shop, he will hang out there for a few hours and then walk to the rental car place, rent a car, and we will rendezvous later. I would have given him my spare key but can't find it--I think it's in the hands of a friend.
If anyone who lives around here has some time tomorrow to show Ian around, give me a call. It looks like he'll be stuck in Columbus for a few days.
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December 31st, 2009
09:57 am - Doh!
Only as I look outside my window at this moment and see the garbage truck rolling by do I realize what I forgot to do last night.
Fortunately I can cram 2-3 weeks worth in my garbage can. Recycling really helps.
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December 30th, 2009
10:21 pm - new phone
Buying a phone from Verizon (specifically a Motorola Droid) is very different from buying a car. When I went to buy a car, the guy was extremely intent on telling me good things about the car and closing a sale ASAP. On the other hand, at the Verizon store not only was there no pressure at all, the guy asked, "Are you sure you want the Droid? Have you looked at the other (cheaper) phones?" Clearly they are not on commission.
I won't write a review because there's enough out there already. Suffice it to say, the maps/GPS, video with YouTube, camera, and the browser are amazing. I'm writing this on said phone and it isn't as weird as you might think. On the less positive side, I turned down a car charger at the store but might have to get one after all. The big, bright display puts a pretty heavy load on the battery. Using it all day while out and about would be a problem.
EDIT: Forgot to mention the Google Voice Searching. This is fun, sometimes useful, and sometimes inaccurate. But if it weren't sometimes inaccurate, it wouldn't be as much fun. A bit like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates.
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08:39 am - Solution to the full-body scanner problem
If this is accurate, privacy is no longer a concern.
From AP: Amsterdam's Schiphol has 15 body scanners, but their use has been limited because of privacy objections that they display the contours of the passenger's body. Neither the European Union nor the U.S. have approved the routine use of the scanners.
New software, however, eliminates that problem by projecting a stylized image onto a computer screen, highlighting the area of the body where objects are concealed in pockets or under the clothing and alerting security guards.
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December 29th, 2009
09:45 pm - Atheism bingo
Passed on from Debb. I'm lovin' it as much as I'm not lovin' Mickey D's.
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December 26th, 2009
08:53 am - Homelessness and semi-homelessness
A useful list:
10 Places People Slept in 2009
Storage units. Cars. Tent cities, including one informally dubbed "Obamaville." The streets. Abandoned buildings. Underground tunnels.
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December 25th, 2009
06:48 am - Merry Christmas! I get to deliver meds this morning! Joy to the World!
Maybe at least the truck stop will be open and I can buy an umbrella.
Fri
Dec 25
7 am
38° F
Precip:
100%
8 am
36° F
Precip:
100%
9 am
36° F
Precip:
45%
10 am
36° F
Precip:
65%
11 am
36° F
Precip:
50%
12 pm
37° F
Precip:
55%
1 pm
39° F
Precip:
70%
2 pm
40° F
Precip:
70%
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December 24th, 2009
09:52 pm - In honor of my ethnic heritage
...I will enjoy some Chinese food tomorrow night with a fellow tribe member.
Some doggerel for the occasion:
It's not all the singing that we do not like
It's not lights on trees, nor wrapped presents for tikes
But these celebrations, though not meant to hurt us
Of an executed Jew sure do make us nervous
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December 22nd, 2009
07:12 am - Cat medicine
I was able to give Grendel both of her oral liquid meds this morning. I ambushed her by the water bowl, as she was more thirsty than scared, and used the pet/grab/squirt trick. Fortunately, both just have to be squirted into her gum area, if she spits some out it's OK.
I'm not sure if she'll run away the next time she sees me, or if she'll remember the effect of the painkiller and thus react positively when she sees the syringe of Buprenex. I'd think that the latter, being topical, would take effect quickly.
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December 21st, 2009
December 20th, 2009
11:36 am - This'll solve that football concussion problem!
NFL To Fine Players For Getting Concussions
"...the only way to nip this thing in the bud is to make the players accountable," Goodell said. ...Hopefully these fines will make our players think twice before they have their brains jostled against the insides of their skulls."
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December 19th, 2009
08:27 am - From an acquaintance, regarding "A Charlie Brown Xmas"
Kel wrote,
I won't go into the secular origins of the holiday since I'd be preaching to the choir here. But what gets me is that people for the most part are more educated today and even members of the clergy freely acknowledge that it all started out as various pagan celebrations and the church for ages objected to it being celebrated. I think most people have heard this by now.
"A CB Christmas" also goes after that all-familiar easy target boogeyman - "commercialism". I remember when I first overheard people talking about it. I'd hear "Gee, I wish they'd make it a purely religious ceremony and forget all this other junk." Nowadays I seem to hear everybody say that and I think "Realy? Seriously - REALLY? You'd rather just go to church and toss out all the fun stuff?" And I was still Catholic at the time thinking this. It seems to me if the people who say this really meant it, sales of tacky secular holiday merchandise would plummet big time. Hasn't happened.
Leave us face it. Commercialism is the reason for the season. Commercialism is the reason it thrived. It's also the reason we have a federal day off work to enjoy a supposedly Christian holiday. Commercialism is also the reason we are able to go to the local shopping mall and buy Charlie Brown tree ornaments, Peanuts Christmas cards, plush Snoopy dolls with Santa Claus hats and DVDs of popular animated Christmas specials.
And that's what commercialism is all about, Charlie Brown.
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December 18th, 2009
06:33 am - Best one I've seen in a while
...and that was the day mommy stopped drinking.
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December 17th, 2009
07:19 am - The unkindest cut
I cut my thumb yesterday while absent-mindedly cleaning a kitchen knife. It probably wouldn't have hurt much if I hadn't been slicing jalapeno peppers immediately beforehand. So I got a chance to practice my first aid, which I guess is a good thing. The burritos were worth it.
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December 16th, 2009
December 15th, 2009
06:42 pm - Job opening!
Who said there are no jobs in activism? This doesn't pay a whole lot and has tough demands, but I guarantee you would be working with some GREAT people. A lot of those skills under "pluses" are skills you might learn on the job if you don't already have them.
( SSA hiring full-time staffer in Columbus )
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December 14th, 2009
09:50 pm - Retirement
I just asked this of my dad, who is semi-retired but actually works quite a bit: University teaching, research, and assorted speaking and consulting gigs.
"'Re' means 'again.' So does being retired mean you are tired again?"
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December 13th, 2009
09:50 am - Invictus
Really inspiring, well-acted and well-made. Great music and sound--I recommend seeing it on a big screen rather than waiting for DVD, unless you have a really good sound system. Makes me want to learn more about rugby, and South Africa's reconciliation process. I especially liked the sub-plot about the gradual easing of tension between Mandela's black and white bodyguards, who would have previously been on opposite sides of a conflict that involved assassinations, disappearances and torture.
The movie's only real flaw is its predictability. But I guess there wasn't any way around that. Also, I would have liked to learn more about the point of view of the only black member of the Springboks, the national rugby team that was a symbol of apartheid until Mandela came along.
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vorpalbla's journal
