Moody Meow

If you will notice - there’s a little box for Meebo - a web-based chat client. I’ve used it for a while now, after Frankie revealed that it would bypass the heavy-handed network security at work. Beyond being very very easy to use, it seems to stay online  even when G-mail crashes.  I’ve watched the features expand, and now I can put this little window on my site. When I am logged into Meebo, you can chat with me. How cool is that? I’m not sure how well it works, but I am hopeful.
The other thing I am in love with are the live bookmarks. I am a littel late on this one. They’ve been out for a while, but I was a little intimidated by the use of RSS and such. But, with Firefox (my favorite browser) there’s a neato little button that makes a live bookmark. I’m a lazy surfer. There are some blogs and sites that I stalk constantly, but the live bookmarks makes it easier by showing the last posts when I roll over the link. Good stuff.

I invested in a bluetooth headset for my Pebl. I know it sounds a little silly, but I am tired to trying to find the damn handsfree contraption. It gets lost in all the cords and plugs on my desk. So, I bought one. My sister had one (it was pink - ew!) but it didn’t sound very good. I found one that matched the color of my phone, but it was the same model as the one Lex had. So I bought the nice one. The sound is wonderful and it’s all shiny. The problem with it is that the phone keeps losing the bluetooth signal when I shut the headset down. I have to go back and dig through the menu to reconnect it. Honestly, this is probably user error, but it’s damn annoying. Last night I used my sister as a guine pig, calling her and haning up on her in my failed attempts to make the headset connect without going through the menu. It did’t work. I have to read the damn manual again.

Here is his projected path. It’s been a quiet season so far, thankfully. August 13th is coming rapidly. It’s the anniversary of Charlie’s little visit. I would like Chris to respect my stress and stay somewhere out in the Atlantic. I can’t wait until I don’t have to worry about these damn storms anymore…. Keep… thinking … of …moving.

This morning I realized how much I love my earrings. I’ve had to stretch them to a 4g to fit, but I think they are lovely. I’m trying to get away from bone jewlery. I feel bad for the poor buffalo. They are not slaughtered for their horn and bone. They are just using the remants that would otherwise go to waste. But because they use animals to begin with, it makes me feel icky. So, I found these amazing beauties, and am quite impressed. They came in a few weeks ago but I looked at them again this morning as I put them on and I was really struck by how pretty they are. I love personal decor made of stone.

I had a long talk with Cat about the disconnect with my family. She’s wisdom in an tiny, adorable package. Relationships, like all things, cycle through phases. I just need to ride this one out, and be present in every moment. I live while gazing at memory. If I turn away, I can focus on this amazing year. In the following 12 months we will: move to Portland, I will graduate with my BA (finally!!!), we will celebrate our 2nd anniversary of our first wedding, and our second anniversary of our second wedding, move Tali back to FL and figure out how we can all get to Portland… It’s going to be busy, so I can’t expect everyone to understand how important this is. I will just move on and wait for things to cycle back into a comfortable space.

I have a sinus headache from hell and I have to go to this silly “Workplace Violence” class. They require everyone to go, so this is not a class I am being sent to because I am particularly violent…. and I know that was the first thing you thought too.

Tonight is my last night of class for the summer. I am very glad it’s over. Very very glad. I still have an incomplete in my Spring humanities class… I wish that woman would grade my damn thesis… ugh.

Happy Wednesday…the week is downhill from here!

Holy shit! Dog parks galore!
I think our puppies would be very very happy.

Metroblogs Portland
An interesting place to get info about Portland…

Sustainable Living! 
Cat and I talked about this… so I found some interesting info.

Dinner Cruise 
David took me on a cruise like this (although this looks a lot classier) and I loved it. Perhaps we should all make a date, eh?

A Japanese Garden
I think Cat already linked this, but I thought I would restate it

The Farmer’s Market 
Again… I think Cat already linked this, but it’s a nice site.

And a Chinese Garden! 
This is going to be a day trip.

Birdies and such.
I liked this so much here, I can’t wait to see what Portland brings to the experience.

If you need to get around..
I am going to use this a lot

Beer, beer, glorious beer!
Kudos for you if you get that movie reference (I think Julie will get it)

Okay… I really should get back to work now…. damn work… it interrupts my surfing

The Cheaper Version 
I’ve wanted the nike shoes to go with my nano so I could track my runs, but I faced the dilema of giving up my shoes. I love my shoes. They keep my legs from hurting. That being said, this hack looks like it would work pretty well without the shoes…. you have to love creative solutions

“Hail to the Jewel in the lotus”

My bracelet came yesterday, and I have to say that I was more than pleased. Today, I’ve beem trying to learn how to pronounce it. That may take some time though…

This shop showcases fair trade goods. The artisans that work on these stunning peices of jewlery are paid properly for their work. I try to make a difference in small ways, because I do believe that even the small moments of sharing collect in big ways. I bought the bracelet for myself, for my left wrist has felt naked since the loss of my grandmother’s bracelet. I figure should take me where I need to go. And yes, I should be working on my thesis…so shut it!

Try it and see!

Yeah, this is going well.

I listened to NPR yesterday afternoon as reports came out about the two soldiers that went missing last friday and were found dead, and I drove like a robot before pulling over. I don’t know why that particular story struck me, but it did. They were kids. Younger than I am. And then Sadam’s lawyer was kidnapped and killed. How is this a successful war? Someone needs to tell me what we are doing right, and don’t bullshit me about “we need to do this to protect the American people.” I think that’s a load of steaming crap. And now we can’t even provide the population with consistant clean water and electricity much less security. I’m not blaming the troops for this because they are just the pawns in this game of ego and ignorance. I blame the President and his cronies. I blame them for the lack of solidifying their goals and sticking to them. I blame them for underestimating the insurgancy (which is well documented). I blame them for the diving the country into the “patriotic” and the “unpatriotic.” I blame them for fellating their fellow cronies with sweetheart reconstruction deals that put the country further in debt.

This is not an issue about who is right - the liberals or the conservatives. This is about not fucking around anymore and getting as many people out of there are soon as possible.

I am glad that the preseident only has a few years left. Let’s hope he can do some good between now and then.

I learned long ago that violence begets more violence. I am a pacifist who prays… for everyone.

A long time ago in a South Florida, far far away, I went by the name “Q”. I was a regular in a few select chatrooms on AOL via accounts that were….uhm… borrowed. Throughout those years I met a lot of amazing people, did a lot of drugs, and laughed hard enough to make me pee my pants. Well I got an e-mail from an old roomie and with it, pictures that brought back memories. The picture of me is from when I was 19 (I think - not really sure - those years were pretty hazy) and when I was a little, uhm, loose. So of course, I had to show everyone my wonderful bra, because that’s what you do. I just thought it was funny that people still remember me as “Q” and a kid with a big mouth, full of piss and vinegar.

On a more present note, I got accepted as a contributor for Metroblogging Orlando. I’ve read this blog on and off, and found the variant viewpoints interesting. It’s also been a great place for me to find new things to do since I’m trying not to drink anymore (did this weekend…on new meds….fucking bad idea). So, I should start writing for them in a week or so. I’m not sure how selective they are, but I am going to have fun with it none the less!
My first nights of class were pretty good. It’s a loooooong fucking day on Saturday. We watched, for those who are keeping track, Heathers and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Both classics, but one dark and the other quite innocent. Although, after some discussion, I realized Ferris was a little deeper than I first assumed. But all in all it was a good class. Thankfully, next week we are in our regular classroom. Being in the library this Saturday, we weren’t allowed to bring any food. I was dying without my coffee. Dying, I tell you! Give me my morning coffee or I will kill!!

The rest of the weekend, if you can call it that, went well. Working Mon-Fri and then a full day’s class on Saturday doesn’t leave a lot in the way of a weekend, but we made the best of it. We did manage to get rides in both Saturday and Sunday, which is pretty happy.

But now, my laundry calls. It says “Errrriiiicaaaaa… foooold meeee!” Don’t you just hate it when your underpants talk to you?

Do you know why this an issue?

Because we are failing in our “war” in Iraq. Remember, we never offically went to war, we are just in a conflict according to the government. The images of dead soliders, bloodied children and the scandals that followed are sitting at the foot of the president. Our government can’t seem to get body armor to the kids fighting this conflict, but they can get the money and the votes (not really) to debate this issue.

Do you know what’s bad for families? Not having a mother or a father. Have a parent that is mentally damaged from the things they witnessed in the war. That vacancy left when the person you knew and loved comes back different, foreign. If they want to support families they should bring the parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, sons and daughters back home so they can rebuild their fractured families.

Bush has done this to families. The inaction in the senate and the house have done this to the family unit. Although it’s in vogue to be against the war, don’t let them distract you with our “immigration” issues (Mexican terrorists???) and the saving of the “family”. Remember, that we have not caught Bin Laden - have you heard about him on the news recently?
I understand that I don’t have an immediate loved one overseas. That I don’t have kids that could be damaged by the conflicts overseas. That I am very left-wing, a pacifist, and all for gay rights. But to cheapen the idea of family all in the name of political pandering pisses me off to no end. Why isn’t all the money they are raising, on an issue that isn’t going to pass to begin with, going to the South that was blasted by the hurricanes last year? Or how about music and art programs for kids? How about helping out failing schools or making urban park?. How about research into alternative energy source?. Instead of cheapening the idea of family…do something good. Don’t let them blindside you….

If you played diablo at all.. well… if you got that you are as much a dork as I am! Muahahaha!

I just got up from a nap. I must say that sleep heals all wounds, makes the world a shiny place, and gives me less of a reason to kill the people I work with. I finally, after being a complete braincase, sent Cat’s present. I also sent out a Lala exchange. I don’t have much I’m willing to give up for other people, but I am trying. Aslo, it would take a good long while for me to list all of my cds. If you want an invite, I’ve got 10 left. I e-mailed them a few months ago and just didn’t have the time to get it involved until now. It’s a cool system!
D saved my ass with my thesis. I’ve been trying to fit a square peg into my bunghole (that’s a joke!!) with using Vargas as a main talking point. As much as I love his art and his pin-up work, without the scholarly texts to back my thoughts up, well I’m going no where. Then I thought of other artists I like, such as John Singer Sargent, but realized most of the ones I really enjoyed are Romantic or on the ass end of Classicism (that looks wrong, but ‘m going to leave it) and I can’t tie that to the world Wars. Then D illuminated me with one name: Egon Schiele. If you want to know where Peter Cheung got his influence, look this guy up. He’s an expressionist, with a great sense of sexuality and emotion. His figures are almost grotesque at first, but once you delve deeply beyond the strange lines and dynamic poses, you can find his kind of beauty. He was close with Klimt, both as a friend and a fellow artist. And he died young, three days after his pregnant wife died. He was only 28. So, he’s my talking point for sensuality pre WWI… It’s all downhill from there.

Okay, this is freakin wonderful

The new thing lately is for wierd, violent shit to happen near our house. A few weeks ago there was a car jacking and they shut down Mills at Nebraska street because they had the guy cornered. They diverted traffic through Colonialtown, and I didn’t find out till much later why there were swarms of people flooding our streets. They ended up killing the guy (not a huge shocker there), but that was damn close to the casa. Then there was the murder of the woman in Delaney Park near our old duplex. Finally this. Sometimes I think it’s a good idea to move to the country. Someone should tell those fucktards that camo isn’t meant for the city.

What do you think of this?

This is the ultimate in girl power. And so typical of the comic world. Sometimes when you kill a character off, the unexpected thing is to keep the damn character dead.

I don’t know much about the comics universe, about how they kill people off, and who is involved with who, and what incarnation one character is in one universe verses the other. The comics I like have a true beginning, middle and end. I like story arcs, but finish the damn story!

That being said, I like the idea of a lesbian Catwoman. That makes sense in my mind. Although she’s got to have a girlfriend. I wonder if Supergirl is avaliable… tee hee hee

Audubon Center for Birds of Prey

I can’t tell you how jazzed I am about this! We are going on Saturday to see these awesome creatures. Now some of you know that I hate zoos, circuses (except Cirque de Soliel, because no humans were harmed in the show…that was a joke) and most aquariums. I understand that there are good programs in good facilities that try to save endangered species and do good works for the animals. I get that, but I still don’t like the caged thing. What I do love are rehab centers. I think that  saving creatures is a noble thing (I also think saving people is a noble thing) and I love giving my money to such centers. Everyone that I’ve spoken to about this place raves about it. I also think that keeping the crippled animals as educators is amazing.

I think I’ve been facinated with birds all of my life. I always hated caged birds, and would watch them outdoors with glee. I have a birdfeeder in Seemore, but the damn squirrels eat all of the good stuff and knock the rest of it to the ground. I can’t begrudge the squirrels their snack, but I got the feeder for the cardinals, who do make a showing now and again. But birds facinate me. From the hawk that was eating the squirrel on Ferncreek and Nebraska, to the pair of ospreys playing chasey chasey in Leu Gardens, to the sounds of the owls - I love wild birds. There’s something facinating about flight, about their ability to defy the restrictions of gravity with effortless grace. I’m jealous, I suppose. I understand how Icarus lusted for greater heights.

Okay, enough of my babbling….

New IKEA Store To Employ Hundreds In Orlando

Again, they don’t really specify when it’s going to open. But I hope it’s going to be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon! I heart Ikea

Stay for the message!

I wonder if I need a secret decoder ring for this?

Robertson: God Says Tsunami Possible For U.S.

Will someone please shut this guy up? I don’t mind those that seek to bring the light of Christ into their lives, but it royally pisses me off when Christian leaders spout nonsense (actually, it pisses me off when any leader spouts bullshit). If you believe in Judgement day, this guy won’t be flying up to heaven. I mean, come on - he called for the murder of the Venezulean president! Why can’t these guys get into the trenches and help out those that need it? Stop building the massive structures (hello Vatican City!) and put that money to good use. Fund reading programs for kids, stop with the apocolyptic visions. Jesus would be ashamed.

That is the end of my rant for the morning.

Aren’t they cute?

I heard about this yesterday on NPR as I drove to school. The idea is facinating and the man they interviewed (I am going to assume the builder) said it was hard to convince Americans to buy smaller homes. I’d have to agree. D and I are looking for more space in our next home, but nothing obnoxious. I thought this would make an excellent writing space, isolated from the main house, but close enough so that I could enjoy the modern convienances. It’s a thought. I love new house ideas.

Ellsworth AFB foam test

This is quite amusing! I am glad that I wasn’t there for the test. Do you know why? I’m short! Thanks for the link, Tali!