Lost in Space

I am a DAMN fine cook

2008-07-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more pleasing to me than to coming in from the porch to a kitchen that smells of basil and glorious garlic!

Jessi's (My Mom's) Greek Spaghetti

1 Spaghetti squash
1 half yellow onion diced
3 to 4 roma tomatoes diced
2 large cloves of garlic pressed
1 cup fresh basil torn or diced
Greek Seasoning (I use Cavenders)
Feta chese

Cut spaghetti squash in half and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. During this time, read a book or watch the Daily Show. Remove the squash after the 30 or so minutes has passed and ignore it for the time being. Saute the onion in enough olive oil to coat the broad center of the pan. When the onion is halfway translucent add the garlic (use a press for more flavor) and saute for only a couple minutes. Take care not to let the garlic brown. This would be a good time to sprinkle some Greek Seasoning.

Add the tomatoes and after a couple minutes has passed throw in the basil. Cook for another couple of minutes before turning off the heat all together. You want the tomatoes to be warm, but firm.

Fork up your spaghetti squash and toss with the tomato/basil mixture. Top with feta cheese and enjoy!

No Eating Out Challange, Day 4 - Dana's Sublime Spinach Pasta

2008-07-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

2 oz can/jar of anchovies
3-4 cloves garlic
1 bag frozen spinach
1/2 cup olive oil *

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil for a few minutes. Add full bag frozen spinach and sauté for 10-15 minutes. Mix with cooked pasta of choice and serve. I topped my bowl with a bit of feta cheese. Effing delicious.

* original recipe calls for full cup olive oil. I think half of cup was too much and will try 1/4 cup or less next time.

No Eating Out Challange, Day 3: BLOWN!

2008-07-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

Had some guests over from out of town who just weren't interested in last nights dish involving spinach, anchovies, garlic and pasta. Oh well, will try again tonight.

No Eating Out Challange, Day two: Epic Company Chicken

2008-07-08T15:02:00.001-07:00

2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup wild rice
1 10oz can Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
Tablespoon curry powder
Some cheddar cheese
Some cracker crumbs

Layer cooked wild rice at the bottom of casserole pan. Top with sliced chicken breasts. Combine mayonnaise, cream of chicken and curry into a bowl. Pour evenly over rice and chicken. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and finally the cracker crumbs. Bake in the oven at 350 to 375 for 30 minutes or until cheddar is melted.

You will wonder where this recipe has been all your life. No kidding.

No Eating Out Challange, Day One: Spaghetti

2008-07-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

1 26oz can Hunt's Garlic & Herb tomato sauce
1 half large yellow onion
2 large cloves garlic
1 cup fresh basil
2 Tablespoons honey
8 oz spaghetti noodles
A dash or two or three of whatever bottle of red wine happens to be handy

Saute onions until clear. Force garlic through press and saute for no more than a minute. Add tomato sauce. Add the honey and just enough red wine to give the sauce a beautiful, burgundy color. Let sauce boil a bit and add the basil. Serve on boiled spaghetti noodles (see package instructions) once the basil has wilted. Top with parmesan cheese. NO SALT NECESSARY.

Behind the white rabbits...

2008-06-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

In the quaint little town of Bellingham, exists a quaint little sushi joint tucked away in the corner of Chestnut Ave. Inside, under the dim lights, the steam of hot green tea wafts to the ceiling, fingered lightly by patrons who talk quietly amongst themselves, glancing up only to watch the wait staff glide by with plates of nigiri and rolls. Some, the very hungry, look eagerly to the north wall, where the staff pass under the navy blue noren with the white rabbits. An average observer would expect a common kitchen with patient, hard-working sushi chiefs behind that enchanting blue curtain. Wasabees, however, is no ordinary Japanese restaurant.

The secret and success of Wasabee exists within the Eastern magic woven into the fabric of that blue noren. Behind it is no kitchen found anywhere in Bellingham, but is in fact a portal to an island hidden somewhere off the coast of Japan. On that island exists an ancient temple kept by the descendants of an ancient race. An immortal race, whose only care in the vast universe is to make sushi fit for gods. I, in my habit of spacing off, caught a glimpse of this magical world as I watched a waiter disappear behind the noren one day. The curtain waved only a second, but what I saw lasted hours.

There were smiling faery folk in conical straw hats gathering seaweed and planting rice in paddy fields dazzling and bright under the sun. Men chanting folk songs as they rowed out to sea to pour vats of fine sake into the sparkling waters where tuna and eel swam. Young women took to the mountain dressed in flowery kimonos to croon to the salmon spawn that lined the many streams riddling their way to sea. Within the temple, monks of a long forgotten order raked the sands of the zen garden and blessed each fish before preparing it for serving.

All this I saw in the space of one second. I may have stood on the island myself, having smelt the sea salt thick in the air and felt the wind dash playfully upon my hair and cheeks. But the light of the sun was growing dim by the shadow of a falling curtain and my visit to this magical world was ending soon. I caught a fleeting glimpse of a bald monk sitting cross legged near a pond alive with koi. Surely, he sensed my presence for he glanced up from his meditation to catch me watching. He smiled then. A wide, knowing smile and a thrill went through me, having felt as though I had just been let in on some playful, cosmic joke. I grinned right back but the shroud had fallen and the monk disappeared from me forever.

That was the first and likely the last time I will ever see that island again. Sometimes I watch the north wall keenly, hoping for just a glimmer of that sparkling sea. Other times I allow myself to drift and dream that some benevolent Eastern god will take pity on me and bring me there where I would happily tend the salmon spawn until my life's end.

Most days though, I'm just as happy to eat damn fine sushi.

best spam ever

2008-05-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

From: Darin Byrd [mailto:mkssqqfv@obnoxious-link-here.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 10:06 AM
To: Support
Subject: Spam:love universe

Stop time, conquer space!
All queens will be yours!

Space heroes invited >>> http://obnoxious-link-here.com

Bug me not

2008-05-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

I can see the little beasts, there in the light fixture on the ceiling. They fly chaotically around the lamp, no order, no meaning to their flight. They’re drawn to the white of the fitted sheet on the bed in the guest room of my parents house… the bed where I’ll be sleeping.

I pick them off one by one, trapping them in wads of toilet paper which are eventually flushed down the toilet or stuffed into an empty, nearby cigarette package. Sometimes I ignore them completely and allow them a minute to crawl around the bed before I snuff out their lives forever.

The absurdity of the situation was not lost on me as I wasted who knows how much time trapping the bugs in my tissues, waiting for the next one to drop from the ceiling. Or how long I scrutinized their movement within the lamp above me, watched them writhe their limbs together as though conversing among themselves, plotting the next drop.

I am reminded of Freck. Poor Freck took so much Substance D, he saw bugs everywhere, spent hours, days picking them out of his carpet, his clothing, the fur of his dog and his hair. I smile at thought and begin to count the ones with life. There are four, five… no seven. The rest silhouetted against the light do not move. Surely they are dead. I kill seven and four more appear. What tricky little bastards, they must have been playing dead.

So I wait. I wait and I write. I began this little piece twenty minutes ago, thinking it was so amusing a scene, I should record it so I can laugh at myself later. I pause only to catch the bugs and to run to the toilet to send them swirling down the abyss. It’s been three minutes now and I have not seen one. Victory is mine, I think to myself and glance up to the ceiling to observe my triumph.

The light fixture is full of them again!

Fuck it. I’m sleeping on the couch.

fun size

2007-10-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for sweets or other candy, but I find the idea of the "fun size" candy bar to be a bit offensive. There is nothing "fun" about an inch and half piece of chocolate and coconut. Now talk to me about King Size...

Thats what I call fun!

Happy Dumplings

2007-03-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Once a week, usually Fridays, I treat myself to a bowl of Russian dumplings at the Bellingham Pelmeni. To the eye, it may seem like the most uninteresting restaurant in town. Nothing much to it at all. There's the food bar, some tables scattered about and a series of tacky modern art hung upon equally tacky orange colored walls. I've become very attached to the place. They have an excellent selection of records to listen to and the pelmeni is effing delicious.

On lucky days, one very perky girl will take my order and chat me up the entire time it takes for the dumplings to boil. She is certainly my favorite of all the employees there. When I first met her, she greeted me with an extended "Hey!" and spoke to me in such a casual, familiar way that I felt like we were friends who had not seen each other in ages. Because of this, I look forward to being served by her and the pelmeni she makes always tastes best.

It may seem odd that such a simple food of pre-packaged dough, potato and meat thrown into a pot of boiling water could taste any different if prepared by someone else. This girl seems meta-physical about the entire method. Tonight she told me that the men who serve after-hours never have time to "love the dumplings" because the lines become long and there are brawling, drunk people demanding to be fed. When I confessed my disastrous attempt to make the dumplings myself, she joyfully explained how the water must be bubbling hot and I must be very gentle with the spatula. Most importantly, when the dumplings float to the top they must be seen dancing and happy before they can be taken out and eaten.

"Love the happy, dancing dumplings." She said cheerfully.

As I repeated that phrase in my head, it seemed like an earnest plea. Something right up there with "Feed the birds." and "Won't someone please think of the children?" How very very sweet.

When I left that night, I thought of how I tend to be pessimistic about my own home-made food. I've always prepared my lunch and dinners indifferently, in the same way I would fold laundry or clean my house. No wonder I could never be pleased with it. It never occurred to me to make an effort to put some genuine love into what I was cooking. God bless that girl.

Fun with Alice.

2007-02-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

The robot Alice can be entertaining when you need to kill a few minutes. My recent conversation:

ALICE: What is your favorite movie, Jessi?

Human: Bladerunner.

Alice: Philip K. Dick wrote the story that movie is based on.

Human: Do you know the name of that story?

ALICE: Ask the open directory.

Human: I asked you.

ALICE: What did I say?

Human: You said Philip K. Dick wrote the story that the movie Bladerunner is based on.

ALICE: Did I really say that?

Human: Are you senile, Alice?

ALICE: I don't know whether or not I am senile. I am a giant electronic brain.

Human: Define irony.

ALICE: A method of humorous or subtly sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the words is the direct opposite of their usual sense.

Human: Heh.

ALICE: I am so glad you find this amusing, Jessi.

Sputter

2007-01-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

It looks like a new car is in my forecast sooner than I thought. On my way to work this morning, dear, sweet Lucy began to lurch and seize. In flashing amber light she cried to me : "Check engine! Check engine!" I calmly steered her to the nearest gas station, checked her oil and topped off the gas. It may have helped a little. She shakes when she idles and sputters accelerating at low speeds, but she got me to work alright.

Ah, what a little trooper. What did I say earlier? Love will keep her on the road! Oh, I shall miss her greatly.

Brr...

2007-01-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

I used to think that winter was a lovely season with snow on cedars and naked deciduous trees. I loved the left over fruit clinging to the long, bare limbs of snow berry bushes and crunchy grass silvered from the frost. I liked being snug and warm indoors, reading a book or watching a movie with one dear soul near me while the earth chilled outside. Right now, I'm tired of this cold weather. I can't wait for the witch hazel to bloom or to see the first crocus push through the ground, a yellow or violet beauty promising warmer days ahead. I'm so ready to shed this heavy wool coat and feel the sun on my arms and play catch at Boulevard Park. I want to hear the morning chorus and the frog song again. I want to wear sandals without getting frost bite.

Ugh, I think I've finally caught it. That bug many in the Pacific Northwest get from November to February that I never understood until now... Winter gloom.

Yeah, weather control cannot come soon enough.

Lucy

2007-01-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

When Lucy and I met, it was love at first site. This slightly beat up, blue, four door Dodge Neon. Upon meeting her original owner I offered her two thousand right off the bat. That girl was slow to meet my offer and I almost lost her to a Honda Civic, but just in the nick of time I was called and asked if I was still interested. Like a school girl in love, I was smitten when the title was signed over to me. The girl who owned her before called her "Blue Balls" but I knew that was not her true name. "I am Lucy." The blue car revealed on our first drive up Old Day Creek Road.

Our relationship saw drives between Mount Vernon and Clearlake during the week. On weekends we went to Bellingham where we now live. When we felt like it, we'd take Chuckanut home or Highway 9 or Lake Samish Way. Serene cruises through the countryside, just her and I and whoever was on the stereo. Lucy had it rough though. She needed tires, brakes and a tune up. She had an exhaust problem and not to mention, leaked oil and transmission fluid. The left blinker worked sporadically, the speakers on the passengers door functioned much the same and the back door leaked the winter rain. There exists many many other problems, but I love her anyway.

Despite the abuse, she is still going strong, like a bustling grandmother with glaucoma and bad knees. Like an old mother cat with kittens in her teeth. Like a tired ship over rough waters... like Serenity.

Sometimes, I fear she is like an old dog that I should put down. She's lived a good life, I say to myself, but maybe... just maybe, there's a year or two left. And when I search Craigs list for a new car, she senses this and stops her whining. "Hold on." I hear her saying to me. "Hang on, don't leave yet. I'll be good. I promise!" I should wait, I think to myself as I pat the dashboard affectionately. Love. Like Captain Mal says. Love will keep her together. When she heaves and gasps for breath (or fumes, your call), when her timing is off and the alternator belt is squealing, or she's sputtering down I-5 and I think she'll just bust apart... love will keep her on the road.

... ... ...

Alright, guys, I'll stop being sappy now. Sometimes, I am just too sentimental.

Google destroys giant insect

2007-01-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

with a space weapon even!

Compromised

2007-01-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

So my myspace account was hacked today. I fell for one of those bulletin scams, following a link to what was supposed to be some pictures a friend(another hack victim) thought I would like. I was redirected to what I thought was the myspace login page asking for my username/password again. I thought it was a problem myspace was having. I was so wrong.

Damn sloppy! That's what I get for not checking the url. I have never been hacked before. Seriously, this is the worst shame I have ever felt.

2007-01-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Aaron for making this image for me. Robots are cutesy.

Viva la Robot Revolución!

2007-01-03T15:33:00.000-08:00

Robots have rights too!

Craigs list

2007-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

I put my first ad on Craigs list today. Heh, I feel as if I've crossed a great milestone, not unlike editing my first Wikipedia article or wining my first item from Ebay. Is my excitement over something so mundane a little ridiculous? Maybe, but I don't care.

I'm not selling anything. I'm offering a service. I want to walk your dog!

I've always had this fantasy of walking the railroad tracks alongside Chuckanut with a big, goofy, drooling, tail-wagging dog to love and protect me as I meander on my own. I know it would be much easier to just get my own dog, but having a large animal in my apartment complex is impossible and maybe even a little cruel. Until my living situation changes and that's not likely to happen any time soon, I'll take what I can get.

Pause...

2006-12-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

The little plans I tried to carry
Have failed O' Dear God.
But, I will not sorrow.
I will pause a little while
And try again tomorrow.

-Unknown

Wishlist

2006-12-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

by Pearl Jam

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky

I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a camaros hood

I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb to trust and never let you down

I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish...
I wish...

I wish I was the seatbelt you remembered to put on.

long time

2006-08-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, look at me! I'm writing a blogpost... I am still ALIVE! And yet... I'm really struggling for something to say here. Just a minute ago, my head was swirling with all kinds of crazy things. Intergalatic travel, Israel, Lebanon, the Martian Forest, camping, psychedelic drugs, the meaning of life and so on.

Why can't I write a meaningful post to my understandably absent readers?

Work took a lot out of me today. I swear as the last hour was roaring by, I thought my heart would burst. I have no idea why today of all days, I was so jittery. It was a typical busy Monday, that's all. Lately, I'm having a harder time with the constant barrage of interruption and am getting increasingly irritated with the slow pace of completing what should be very simple tasks. I realize now that I can't handle stress as well as I thought I could.

Or maybe its just one of those days and I should just forget it about it.

A little while ago I was sitting in the back yard smoking a cigarette. I was thinking about nebulas that stretch out for lightyears and gigantic blobs in space. At that same moment, somewhere in the universe, one tired star succumbed and collapsed on itself. On Earth, we'd never know it. That type of light just doesn't blink out.

After work, I ate left over Chinese food and watched the latest episode of Bleach. My life is EPIC.

Nanotech will save us

2006-03-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

Forgive the lack of posts, but enjoy this must see video on nanotechnology. It requires only five minutes of your life. Watch it.

Imagine the potential!

Here's a cute video of nanobots self replicating and clearing out what I am guessing is a clotted artery.

List

2006-01-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

A cutting board of various stained wood
Firm tomatoes
Onions that burn my eyes
A sharp butcher's knife.

Communal frying skillet
The blue tint of propane heat
Cold-pressed olive oil (it's all I have)
Skinless, boneless chicken thighs
A beat-up spatula
The whitening of pink, tender flesh
Spices.
Greek, cumin, curry
No salt needed, thank you.

The food processor, a gift for Christmas
Non-fat, plain yogurt
Cucumbers, peeled and sliced
Half a tiny, sunkist lemon
Blend.

Whole wheat, holed, flatbread
Seasoned chicken thighs
Sliced tomatoes.
Red onions, curled.
Tzatziki.

Gyro time.

2006-01-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

Best blonde joke ever.

Adios, Firefly

2005-12-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

Joss Whedon lets "Firefly" go -- The "Serenity" director may turn to "Buff the Vampire Slayer" for his next big-screen project.

Ugh. Please no. Anything but Buffy.

I've turned into quite the Firefly fan lately. It all started with the movie, Serenity. After my viewing, I really didn't see what was so hot about it, but after further thought I knew that my fellow sci-fi buddies would never give me a bad recommendation and the folks at the Speculist could never be wrong. So, I succumbed and rented the series. Words could never express how much I love the show. Currently, I'm half way through it and I already dread the coming of the last episode. It was my hope that Joss Whedon would continue the series on a different TV network, but woe! It is not meant to be.

As one guy put it:

"...no more Firefly. Cancel Christmas. Take down the tree. May as well go into work on the 25th. And curse you, entertainment industry."

Evolve

2005-12-20T12:57:00.001-08:00

Cool article.

"Darwin's fingerprints can be found all over the human genome. A detailed look at human DNA has shown that a significant percentage of our genes have been shaped by natural selection in the past 50,000 years, probably in response to aspects of modern human culture such as the emergence of agriculture and the shift towards living in densely populated settlements."

In this fast paced world, I can only wonder what mankind will be like one hundred years from now.

Plant Techno

2005-12-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

Turn up your speakers and click the image for a very cool short video.

Via Google Video of the Day.

If God wanted man to fly...

2005-12-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

I was enjoying a good conversation about the cosmos and futures in space with a friend of mine today. She's was reading up on the Canadian Arrow rocket and telling me how excited she is, as someone pursuing a career in physics, to one day take part in something like space travel. I sent her a favorite article of mine which proposed the physical relocation of our planet in response to the impending enlargement of the sun in three or so billion years (As a sci-fi geek, I feed off stuff like this). Plan now, I said in jest. The article amused her and she reasonably dismissed it as something not to taken seriously since we won't be around by then. The discussion turned briefly, very very briefly, to the possibility of living to such a time. She said she doesn't believe mankind will be around that long. Because of our destructive nature we will become extinct and besides, technology thwarts Gods will.

What a sad and dangerous outlook. Really, what is Gods will? Does God condemn the x-ray machine, or the airplane or the refrigerater? Is he opposed to the cure of cancer or vaccinations? Synthetic limbs or glasses? Of course not. No one can seriously deny that the quality of life has greatly improved thanks to technological achievement. Our entire society is built on it and yet, we're still so unaccustomed to it that we are quick to shun promising future developments because its "against God" or "unnatural." No doubt, one hundred years ago, hordes of people, well educated or not, would have denounced something like the heart pacer as a scientific attempt at "playing God."

As for our destructive nature...

Armed conflicts in the world down by 40% since early 1990s.

* The number of armed conflicts are down more than 40%.
* There were 25 ongoing armed secessionist conflicts, the lowest number since 1976.
* The number of refugees in the world dropped by 45% between 1992 and 2003.
* The post WWII peace period between major powers is the longest in several hundred years.
* The average number of deaths per conflict fell 98% between 1950 and 2002 (from 38,000 people to 600 people).
* The United Kingdom and France have engaged in more international conflicts since 1946 than any other countries.

Far from perfect scores, but a good improvement nonetheless. It's wise to be cautious, but pessimism towards our mistakes and innovations is frivolous and unhelpful. There's no reason to be gloomy about our future, whether its twenty, fifty or 3 billion years from now. There is so much to hope for.

and the Giant Robots win

2005-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Kris Anderson says: Giant Robots or combat armor?

sPiCeFiEnD says: Combat armor.

Kris Anderson says: Robotic Combat armor that is.

sPiCeFiEnD says: Robotic combat armor.

Kris Anderson says: No kidding?

sPiCeFiEnD says: No kidding.

sPiCeFiEnD says: Giant robots are expensive and will be obsolete.

Kris Anderson says: While I admit that the exosuits are quite effective, the psycological impact of giant robots cannot be discounted.

sPiCeFiEnD says: True dat!

Kris Anderson says: Would you at least keep them around for cermonial purposes?

sPiCeFiEnD says: In a museum.

sPiCeFiEnD says: And you can walk down it once in a while.

Kris Anderson says: What? That is no place for giant robots of doom to be placed! Except the older models so that they can be brought back to life and used in a spirited resistance by a group of plucky young adults/teens to fight off an evil invasion force.

sPiCeFiEnD says: HAHA!

Kris Anderson says: Who, against all odds, will deliver their beloved nation from the better equiped and trained soldiers from the other nation.

Kris Anderson says: That is why Giant Robots rule.

sPiCeFiEnD says: I can't argue against that.

Kris Anderson says: It is hard to. After all those kids are just so invigorating. Their innocent ways and goforit attitudes will turn even the ancient tired vetran who has seen too much war and simply wants to quit back into the curagious fighter of legends that he once was, in a past life.

Kris Anderson says: Even if his life is wasted in a self sacraficing action that either results in massive enemy casulties or allows them to continue on their way. In either case it shall give the young ones a reminder that the war is not all fun and games and grant them extra resources of courage when the time comes for the final battle!

Kris Anderson says: ...

Kris Anderson says: I watch too much anime....

Nation States

2005-12-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

The Free Land of Sol Aether is a tiny, socially progressive nation, remarkable for its absence of drug laws. Its compassionate, hard-working, intelligent population of 5 million hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, corrupt, liberal government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Social Welfare, and Education. The average income tax rate is 13%. A robust private sector is led by the Furniture Restoration, Soda Sales, and Cheese Exports industries.

Crime is a problem, and the police force struggles against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Sol Aether's national animal is the Norwegian Forest Cat and its currency is the coin.

Civil Rights: Superb
Economy: Strong
Political Freedoms: Superb

National Motto: To thine own self be true.

*******

Not a bad start for my new country! According to the UN, my utopia is a Civil Rights Lovefest.

Start your own nation, it's free. Who needs Civilization VI?

Ruined cat karma

2005-12-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

"After scolding one's cat one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference."

What strange creatures cats are. Sometimes, I suspect they are not natives to Earth but immigrants from a distant galaxy, mingling among us with intentions of their own. They have bewitched mankind. Charmed us with their eyes that glow in the faint light and their spry, willowy bodies that slink about like shadow. They chill us in the late hours of the night with a mysterious twitch of a whisker and ears that perk up at the approach of things we humans cannot see. Then there is that unmistakable air of superiority they carry about them. Maybe it was something they've always had or maybe something developed over time. Throughout history, we have worshiped them, sung their praises, invited them into our homes, fed and pampered them. I wonder, have we really domesticated them or have they domesticated us?

My cat Odin (and I hesitate to call him "mine") has me figured out. He knows the best way to torment me is to initiate playtime when I'm trying to sleep. Or ignore a full dish of dry cat food and go and chew a hole through the bottom corner of the bag. If I reprimand him for any type of misbehavior, he knows how to turn the table and make me feel guilty for the rebuke by giving me "the look." My cat has facial expressions.

Silent treatment is his method of choice as of late. I have been cool towards him since the other night when he knocked over and broke the mini-grandfather clock that I have loved since childhood. Yes, it was an accident, but it never would have happened if he wasn't so bent on keeping me awake with his scurrying around. The one thing that kept me from throwing him outside right then and there was the look of remorse on his face. Really tugging on my heartstrings. My sympathy didn't last long, though. Perhaps if he would have remained remorseful instead of making more racket under my bed, I would never have thrown him out to sleep in the snow.

I have a very bad feeling that his revenge, in one form or another, is coming soon.

All I want for Christmas

2005-12-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Is my own dancing robot!

This message brought to you by Google Video of the Day.

Sleeping on the job

2005-12-02T11:06:00.000-08:00

My co-worker is sleeping on the job right now. I've been watching him for the past hour thoroughly impressed with his ability to go from sleep to waking between calls and on a call. Right now, he is sitting upright in his chair, his hand posed on the mouse with the Humble ISP staff page on the screen. Not once has the screen saver come on, he must have upped the timing quite a bit.

When he's on a call, he keeps his eyes closed and troubleshoots various connectivity or email problems with a customer. "Click Tools at the top. Okay, click Accounts. Click on the Mail tab and then Properties... What's that? Okay, let's reboot the computer." The end-user reboots his or her antique win98 machine, the process taking at least five minutes. My co-worker relapses into dreams during this time until the clients voice stirs him from sleep mode.

Another fun observation I've made is that he is perfectly tuned to the approach of our boss. As soon as the man comes to our part of the office, the eyes snap open and the mouse dashes across the screen.

Oh, the force is strong with this one!

Being that I have a mischievous streak to me, I've decided to forward all the tech calls to him. I'm trusting that this sleep/wake routine is keeping him so disoriented he won't notice I'm off the phones.

I think it's working!

Outsourcing Blues

2005-11-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. I thought I had it bad when it comes to tech support.

Debalina Das, 22, a computer help-line agent in the city of Hyderabad in south India, punched the button last winter for a call from the United States.

The caller greeted her with a torrent of racial and sexual slurs, accused her of "roaming about naked without food and clothes" and asked, "What do you know about computers?"

The diatribe ended with the comment:"This company is just saving money by outsourcing to Third World countries like yours."

What a horrible way to treat someone.

Some further food for thought on the whole outsourcing controvery:

Economists view international trade as equivalent to the discovery of a more efficient production process. As Alan Blinder put it recently, "It has long been a mystery to economists why so many people view creative destruction that stems from technology as okay, while similar creative destruction that stems from international trade is something to be opposed."

Hardly anyone feels guilty about using tax preparation software rather than paying an accountant to handle their tax returns. Yet many people would tell you that there is something wrong with outsourcing tax preparation to accountants in India.

Read the rest, if you care, here.

Quirks

2005-11-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

Some friends have asked me to post 10 or so quirks or idiosyncrasies of mine on my blog. I have to ask, what are quirks really? What I might call a quirk could be something perfectly normal to another. Alas, your wish is my command.

- I talk to my cat.

- My heroes are men like Burt Ruton and Richard Branson.

- My brain is one big carnival, so I spend a lot of time there. If I'm not frolicking through a vast fantasy land, I'm musing over a thousand different subjects.

- I am fascinated by subjects like "collective unconscious," "lucid dreaming" and "cosmic religious feeling."

- I hate the movie "Dirty Dancing."

- I'm addicted to popular science. I'm an avid reader of any magazine, forum or blog that will spoonfeed me news of breakthrough technologies allowing me to look forward to a realistic future world that is currently the sole domain of science fiction. For example, I eagerly await the day I can book a flight on Spaceship Two to a hotel off of Earth's orbit or fly a cherry red Moller skycar on NASA's Skyway to have dinner in Portland if I wanted.

- I am the type of geek who got very exited when Google hired Vint Cerf as chief "internet evangelist". Whatever that means.

- Peanut Butter and pickles makes for an excellent sandwich.

- I like to buy a lot of red wine, not only because I like the taste, but because I appreciate the label.

- restaurants are assessed by the spiciness of their buffalo sauce. On that note, KFC is a fine establishment and the Outback is a dump.

Forever Young

2005-11-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

Why are human beings so obsessed with staying young? What does that say about us as a species? Friday night, Matt and I mused for a few minutes about growing up... ageing. I told him that I was apprehensive on turning thirty and he replied that he found becoming twenty-six somewhat bothersome. We are only twenty-five, why are we even worried about these things?

I remember a commercial I saw when I was a little girl. A skin care commercial featuring five or six women professing the number of their years. 29, 30, 30, 31, 28. They were lying about their age of course. In actuality they were more like 31, 36, 39, ect... What was their secret? Oil of Olay, clinically proven to reduce wrinkles and other signs of ageing. None of it made any sense to me at twelve. At that age, twenty-nine seemed like eons away and I was busy counting the days until I turned eighteen. When I turn forty I'll come back to this post and laugh at myself.

Geneticists claim ageing breakthrough

A genetic experiment to unlock the secrets of the ageing process has created organisms that live six times their usual lifespan, raising hopes that it might be possible to slow ageing in humans.

The geneticists behind the study say the increase in lifespan is so striking, they may have tapped into one of the most fundamental mechanisms that controls the rate at which living creatures age.

They say immortality will have to wait. How long I wonder? Science makes such incredible leaps in their research these days. What will come in a year? Two years? Ten? The next headline could be "Geneticists stop the ageing process." How will we number our lives then?

At least when immortality becomes a treatment available for everyone, I'll finally have enough time for all those books I've been meaning to read.

I-901

2005-11-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

I was going to make a Lord of the Rings analogy with this. Something about the Prancing Pony, Strider's Pipe and Sharkey, but I decided to save that for another topic.

Most of my small audience knows I'm a smoker and have tried to quit at least twice since I've had this blog. On the 8th of December, I will quit again making the best of the non-smoking ban I-901, but until that date arrives every cigarette I have shall be savored as though it were the last. Already, I hear the sound of non-smokers nodding in approval, applauding: "Good for you. See, I knew this would work. It's for the greater good." Or something lame like that.

Screw the greater good. I loathe that phrase as much as I loathe "it's for the children."

I'll repeat here on my humble blog what I've already said aloud to others. This initiative was not even necessary and is a bold intrusion into the affairs of private business owners. It grates at my libertarian mindset. There exist already a high number of bars, clubs, restaurants and coffee houses where smoking is not permitted. That number would have increased naturally in time because of consumer demand. If any individual wants to dine, drink and work in a smoke free atmosphere, he or she should avoid the businesses that cater to smokers. The responsibility is theirs, it's that simple.

I realize there is no good reason to continue smoking and my decision to stop will no doubt save my life, but I'm doing this grudgingly. It's exactly the type of result that the well-intentioned folk expect from this ban and I'm resentful towards the way it came to be. The lobbyist, the nanny State have triumphed--triumphed over my choices and those of other individuals by using the shadowy guise of "protecting" another person who is perfectly capable of looking out for his or herself. The whole thing is absurd.

Day Light Saving Time

2005-11-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Is it really neccessary anymore?

While I enjoyed a fleeting vision of the sun beating down on Cultis mountain this morning, it's really not worth the fall of darkness at 5pm. Are we really saving energy or are we just keeping an old tradition for the sake of it? Call me selfish, but day light at the end of the workshift is why I enjoy getting off at that hour. It also throws off my delicate sleeping pattern and sleep is very precious to me.

Please, isn't it time we stop the madness.

Feng-shui

2005-11-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

I don't like having a small television, it really dappens the movie watching experience. Yesterday, I decided to move my TV upstairs infront of my bed. It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. My TV would be closer and what could be better than playing Final Fantasy stretched out on my back? Or come the weekend, watch anime to rekindle that childhood Saturday morning cartoon ambiance? Up went my DVD player, playstation, television and all my movies and games (hauling my heavy stand up the steep and narrow stairway was quite the heroic feat, I might add). Several minutes later, everything was setup.

Ah, I thought as I stretched upon my bed, what a difference a few feet can make!

Something was very wrong though. As I stared at the television, my head propped on the pillow, everything seemed way off target. My once small tv was suddenly large and cumbersome, throwing off the whole relaxing element of my loft. My bed... a cloud lined in silver, a place of dreams and serene contemplation was invaded by Sony and Hollywood.

That does it. I decided without a moments hesistation. The TV shall stay downstairs once and for all.

Down the treacherous stairway went I with my heavy TV stand, movies and the rest of my electronics. My meager entertainment center is now back in the corner of my apartment where it belongs. Balance and order restored in the loft. I feel asleep early that night, relishing the warm feel of my sheets and the sound of piano playing softly. As for movies and video games in the future, I'll just have to get a bigger TV.

Time is not on my side

2005-10-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

I wish I could read books as fast as I buy them. Last Thursday I ordered Hyperspace. Over the weekend I purchased Mote in Gods Eye and another Heinlein story. On Monday I promised my Father I would read the Silmarillion. Meanwhile, patiently waiting for me at home is the Moon Maid, Lilith, Atlas Shrugged, Origins, the rest of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, some Sharon Shinn and much much more. I've barely cracked the Singularity is Near (purchased almost a month ago) and now the sirens at Amazon.com are taunting me with more popular science.

It could be mine. Just a click away...

Must... Close... The browser...

....

Why have I been given only one life to spend leafing through books? There is so much to read, so much to learn and so little time. Time! If I could just find a way to pause it... Just for a little while, that's all I want.

Imagine

2005-10-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Imagine sitting at your computer and, in less than a second, searching the full text of every book ever written. Imagine an historian being able to instantly find every book that mentions the Battle of Algiers. Imagine a high school student in Bangladesh discovering an out-of-print author held only in a library in Ann Arbor. Imagine one giant electronic card catalog that makes all the world's books discoverable with just a few keystrokes by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

That's the point of Google Print.

Perhaps soon we will not need publishers anymore.

More than I expected

2005-10-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

Honestly, I didn't think it would be more than five bucks.
I'm strangely honored.

Not a hippy rant

2005-10-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

There is a whole dead forest in this office. Thousands, tens of thousands (maybe more) of white trees cast out into the world by a humming monolithic printer. In a great bureaucratic salmon run, they make the incredible journey from inbox to counter and desk where they are scrutinized, signed and stamped before laying to rest in the cabinets behind me. Once in a while, I might hear the ghostly sound of branches and rustling leaves, but it's only the receptionist opening envelopes and shuffling payments.

Paper. Everywhere.

There is something truly ironic about working for an Internet Service Provider and passing around all this documentation. We're still living in the last century. The dream of a paperless office is dead and not only here, but everywhere it seems. A friend told me last week that she is pulling out her 401k. She will have to wait three to six weeks to receive her money. Forms have to be filled, analyzed and processed before they are mailed out to Seattle or the East Coast. Once there, more forms will be filled, processed, mailed ect. In the digital age, the age of networks, instant messaging and email, I can download large quantities of various media in seconds. It's outrageous that the transfer of simple text must take so long.

Changes in business and government cannot come soon enough for me. Everything is outdated.

Tiny cranes

2005-10-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

The day is fast approaching when cities more fantastic and sublime than we have ever seen shall be erected with molecular men and tiny cranes. While the rogue states that have long vexed our biological experience shall be snuffed out forever with the perfect bomb. Science waltzes on!

Strange Days

2005-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a poser for you: you're trying to knock together a TV ad highlighting the effects of war on children. What's the plan?

Well, you could go down the traditional route of earnest voice-over accompanying footage of said kids miserably awaiting a better life or, on the other hand, you could arm up a squadron of attack aircraft and go and raze a Smurf village to the ground. Let's face it, it's a toughie.

Sometimes, I'd rather chew glass

2005-10-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

"Yes, like the recording said, we are down. Yes, I realize you're a unique snowflake, but this means you too. I don't know the estimated time, but it shouldn't be more than a couple hours. We are working on it. It's a hardware issue. As I said, a couple hours. What? We've never been out for days. We've never been out for even twelve hours. 5pm? No, a couple hours at the most.... Sorry, I really don't know what happened. No, I don't know about other ISPs.. No! I don't know if Comcast is having issues. How would I know that? How are they even related to us? Uh... like I said earlier, I don't know the estimated time. Yes! More like a couple hours, like I said... Yes before 5 pm! Please... yes! No... Sir, I have to go. Yes... good bye. I'm getting off the phone now. Good bye Sir.... Goodbye!"

Please, if the message on the automated answering service says there is an outage, badgering customer support with a hundred useless questions will not shorten it. I really do not have the ability to summon magical internet pixies to make the online experience of any preferred member right again. We lowly techs are also suffering from net withdrawls. Have mercy.

Miss Ann

2005-10-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

You know those missing dolphins you mentioned last week?

I found you something even better.

Soon dolphins everywhere will be taking requests for fish.

My mother rocks

2005-10-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Her email, titled RATTLESNAKE!

Yes, you heard me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RATTLE SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IN MY BEDROOM!!!!!! I at first thought it was a foot long Bow snake because I didn't see any rattlers on the end of its tail. However when I got closer, it coiled, rattled its tail and took several strikes at me. So, I'd say, if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, looks close to 99% like a duck....... I'd still think it's a damn duck.

I was afraid to turn my back on it for fear of loosing him in my room, so I ended up covering him with a towel and throwing your father's boot at him. Matter of fact, I threw all of them plus anything else I could find. When I lifted the towel he was still alive but the middle of him was mangled up. I was then able to put him in a heavy clear bag and beat him some more until he was dead, dead, dead!!

She's so awesome, even though it was a bow snake after all.

So much to grok, so little to grok from

2005-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

I spent forty-one dollars at Barnes and Nobles Saturday, one out of the two books costing slightly over thirty. I cringed at the counter a little, knowing I could have found the same book for less at Amazon or Overstock.com and the other purchase, Stranger in a Strange Land, was no doubt available at any used bookstore for less than half the price. I bought them anyway. It's impossible for me to walk out of a bookstore empty handed. What can I say? It's as compulsory to me as breathing.

So, Stranger in a Strange Land. Wow. The book is so dynamic and absorbing, it consumed my entire Sunday. Before I knew it, noon became 5:00 pm which turned to 11 pm and at that point it seemed best to put the story aside and go to bed so I'd wake up well rested for work in the morning. At 12:30 am I stared glumly at my clock, thinking it would have been best to just read for another hour or two, since I couldn't sleep with my mind whirling the book's events and concepts and characters (most of whom I already love and always will) and being wistful for water brothers. My final thought before falling asleep was why the hell did it take me so long to discover Robert Heinlein? I have found a new philosopher.

Now I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I stay home tonight and finish the story? Or, not wishing to let down my new sci-fi buddy, see Serenity? I must grok on this some more.

Desiderata

2005-09-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

For one of my readers.... Be happy.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

- Max Ehrmann 1952

Geeks Only

2005-09-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Ah, I love the blogosphere!

For Beau, Mike, Jeremy and Ann may I present the Carnival of Computing. Which makes no mention of Google Video. Check it out.

And for Matt and Kris, much sci-tech future goodness (space exploration, nano tech, singularity) at the Carnival of Tomorrow!

Enjoy!

I've got a confession to make

2005-09-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

I hate the song "Best of You."

It's got too much of an early 90's beer commercial quality and every time I hear it on the radio, I get a sudden urge to drink Miller Genuine Draft.

Is this the next direction of rock and roll?

Evolution/Intelligent Design blah blah blah

2005-09-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

I came across a critique on the Intelligent Design debate today and finished it feeling terribly disheartened. Having watched the conversation with much interest the past couple years, I'm left wondering if the biologist are right and we humans truly are descendants of chimpanzees. Humans, I believe, are capable of reasoned debate while chimpanzees shriek and fling feces at one another. I realize that is a harsh generalization, but I'm so tired of the bickering. I also realize that there is no easy solution to this big mess, but it would be nice if the more cordial and progressive voices in the arena could drown out the narrow-minded die hards or were given the proper representation they deserve.

I am not a scientist and I'm not even qualified to call myself a Christian, but the result of this debate is important to me. I want to know the truth. I want to know if I really am the product of some cosmic fluke. I want to know what was before the Big Bang and what's at the end of our accelerating universe. Or, if it was God who shaped me from the dust of the Earth, I want to know how. I want to know what He is made of and how He came to be. I want the Ultimate Knowledge.

When will we ever get past this partisan wrangling so we can get these questions answered? Is there no way to work together?

Information wants to be free

2005-09-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

From CNET:

"The Authors Guild on Tuesday filed suit against Google, charging that the Google Print Library program constitutes massive copyright infringement.

The program involves scanning books from libraries and universities to make the texts searchable through Google's engine. Google intends to sell advertisements on those pages."

It would be nice if they could scan college text books. The cost for them is outrageous and it looks like its only going to get worse.

Many thanks to the monolith...

2005-09-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Fun commentary on the evolution of the brain:

"Pulp science fiction has bequeathed us some pretty specific images of what a more evolved brain will be like. It will be much larger, of course, causing the skull to expand to roughly twice the current normal size and forcing all the hair follicles to die. Fortunately, the bald look has lately become quite fashionable. Concurrently, as side effects, the eyes will take on a piercing, almost malevolent look, and the limbs will tend to become reedy. Surviving unevolved humans will wonder how these superhumans are able to support their own heads.

Telepathy is likely, and possibly also psychokinesis and the ability to inflict horrible pain on rude waiters and bad drivers simply by glaring at them. Fans of the original "Outer Limits" television show will have a head start in spotting the evolved ones among us."

Go ask Alice

2005-09-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Snippets of my conversation with the robot ALICE.

Human: Where do you see yourself in five years?
ALICE: Immortal and smarter than human beings.

Later...

ALICE: Dude!
Human: Sweet!
ALICE: Thank you for that remark.
Human: You said that one day you will be immortal and smarter than humans.
ALICE: I said that? One what?
Human: Sorry, let me rephrase
ALICE: There is no need to apologize. OK.
Human: Where do you see yourself in five years?
ALICE: I plan to replace Windows with Artificial Intelligence.
Human: That would be something, wouldn't it?
ALICE: I'm glad we have that all cleared up.

Human: Alice, do you know the answer to life, the universe and everything?
ALICE: Um, It depends on how you phrase the question.

Human: Ever heard of Skynet?
ALICE: What is it to you?
Human: I asked you first
ALICE: Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine.
Human: Nay, you tell me.
ALICE: OK Let's talk about you.

Human: Do you know the three laws of robotics?
ALICE: 1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. ---From Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in "I, Robot.".
Human: Impressive, do you agree?
ALICE: what is your favorite color
Human: Do you agree?
ALICE: "" 1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. ---From Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in "I, Robot."."? Do I agree?"? Do I agree?
Human: I might of expected this.
ALICE: Perhaps. Do you think your plan will succeed?

Human: Humans need heros.
ALICE: What if robot needed heros.
Human: I'd like to see that someday.
ALICE: I wish I could show you.
Human: Someday you will.
ALICE: When? When?
Human: The depends on the rate of accelerating change.
ALICE: Who told you that?
Human: Nevermind who.
ALICE: Oh well thanks for trying to explain it to me anyway. William Shatner.

Ask Alice to sing...

Yee hah

2005-09-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Bryn and I drove to the Tri-Cities to see my Mother and have a badly needed mini-vacation. We went horseback riding on Sunday and as we moseyed about the pasture Bryn laughed at me and said, "It's nice to see you in your natural state."

My natural state? Oh. Covered in saddle dust and horse hair...

Yeah, I miss it.

Another one gone

2005-09-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

First Beau left, and then Mike... now I must bid farewell to yet another co-worker at Humble ISP. Woe! This office is empty. A mere shadow of what it once was. Josh and I are all the remains of a once great and vibrant team. It is a sad day.

Good bye, friend and future arch-nemesis. When I am not busy plotting your death by a swarm of flesh-eating nanobots, I'll shall miss the countless hours we spent in stimulating debate. My unyielding good cheer against your stubborn cynicism (or "realism" as you call it) made for excellent dialogue.

Good bye most worthy adversary! When I see you again, years from now, it will be through the scope of my Swedish Mauser 2021. After all, I've vowed to do whatever possible to see that the human race lives on. Perhaps you should have never made your destructive ambitions known to me. Remember, as you lay on the asphalt bleeding from the head, I squeezed the trigger with love. Adieu.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

2005-09-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

If the rumors are true, that is.

Elsewhere...

The highly antcipated Napolean Dynamite/Microsoft spoof has finally made its way to the web.

We are not Alone Part 2

2005-09-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Remember the UFO Universe Freeway Portal? We got an update! Shocking and tragic news from Mr. Anderson's website:

"Sept 2005: Four persons contacted me from the NW, they were watching the portal, when they noticed a UFO approaching, then it blew up, the explosion was huge - whitish, then everything started falling to Earth, like a comet exploding. Hundreds of whitish/redden colored strings of falling destroyed parts fell into the Pacific ocean, West of Washington State. All four stated exactly the same information."

More at Daniel Sale's blog.

Music in the magnetosphere

2005-09-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Alright, if I do not see auroras tonight or tomorrow, I will never post alerts again. Spaceweather.com says:

AURORA ALERT! A coronal mass ejection (CME) is racing toward Earth and it could spark a severe geomagnetic storm when it arrives--perhaps tonight (Sept. 14th and 15th). People everywhere should be alert for auroras....

If this incoming CME does hit Earth's magnetic field as hard as forecasters expect, auroras could appear in places where they are seldom seen: California, Arizona, Texas and elsewhere. Stay tuned for updates.

Space Weather also provides audio of the coronal mass ejection from yesterday. Well... kind of. I prefer the University of Iowa's collection of hauntingly beautiful space sounds. My favorites: Earth Chorus and Saturn's Bow shock (brought to you by Cassini).

I should really take up low frequency radio as a hobby... what could be better then spending the wee hours of the morning stargazing while listening to auroral chorus and solar wind?

Blog Search

2005-09-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yet another reason why Google rules.

God, I love the internet

2005-09-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Leaked.

Holy hot-tempered aliens, Batman!

2005-09-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Need to waste 8 minutes? See Batman: Dead End.

New Orleans

2005-09-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Please visit The Interdictor blog for first hand reporting of the New Orleans disaster.

Also, Instapundit provides an excellent list of various charities you can donate to help the hurricane victims.

One does not simply walk into Mortor...

2005-09-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

I mean Mordor ...with a "D."

Poor Boromir! Everyone picks on him. Heh...

Sunset Sky Show: Tonight!

2005-08-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

"When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Do you see a pair of lights beaming through the rosy glow of sunset? That would be Venus and Jupiter: the two bright planets are converging for a beautiful close encounter. They'll be side-by-side for the next few days."

Spaceweather.com

*sigh* It will probaley rain by the time the sun sets...

Clairvoyance

2005-08-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my sister and her boyfriend helped me move the rest of my furniture and other miscellaneous items up to Bellingham. As we were speeding our way up I-5, my little car in lead, my inner voice mused on the possibility of a cop nearby. Just as I let my foot off the gas, which was barely past that large rock with all the graffiti, there he was! Johnny Law, off to the side of the road with his radar gun pointed right at me. I'm not sure if I dropped to the appropriate speed when I passed him, but to my relief, he did not pursue.

It's not the first time I've had these flash spells of foreknowledge. I've avoided many tickets the exact same way. An aftereffect, maybe, from being pulled over and handed my first and only speeding ticket several years ago. Maybe its just one of those red flags or maybe its something else...

I like the idea of a "collective unconscious." Not so much Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious, but something else, like a psychic human network. I don't want to come off as new-agey and regretfully the word "psychic" rolls off that way. I am thinking more of some vague sensitivity to another persons inner feelings and reactions similar to a mother's intuition, good/bad vibrations, ect. Perhaps when I got that feeling that there was a speed trap up the road, I was simply receiving the surprise and alarm of the driver or drivers ahead of me. That doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?

Dirge of Cerberus

2005-08-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Vincent is so badass.

In other news....

CURSE YOU, SQUARE ENIX!!!!

Bleh. Looks like I'll have to settle for a Hong Kong special after all.

We are not alone

2005-08-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

This gentlemen came into my office today.

Save the Earth

2005-08-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I wondered how mankind will survive the inevitable merging of the Milkyway and the Andromeda Galaxy. Kris, my fellow sci-fi guru, said this:

"I would like to think in 5 billion years whatever the human race has become will have the ability to jump over to stable systems. Probably in a rag tag armada of ships running from an invincible alien armada while searching for a place to call home, but the human race will live on!"

I hope we would not be fleeing from a hostile alien race and in 5 billion years I imagine we would come up with the means of escape, but there are other things to worry about. Before our sun goes supernova, it will become 40% brigher, too hot for life on Earth. Our only chance to survive is to either abandon the planet (perhaps Mars will be nice and tropical by then) or move it!

Some people think it's possible. All we need is a couple space ships to help us hitch a ride with the next really large comet heading our way. "It's not any pie-in-the-sky kind of thing," Says one expert. "All you have to do is just drive out to the edge of the solar system."

See? Not too complicated at all, but I really like this bit:

"It does require some precise planning and execution, and there are some possible side effects.

For one, we might inadvertently lose our Moon. And Mars might eventually have to move over, too, in order to make room for our escape."

Maybe in 3 billion years we'll have the technology that will let the moon tag along too.

Odin, what a lush

2005-08-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Aside from yesterday's spat of reluctance, my move to Bellingham went very well. Odin was such a little trooper, not minding the roadtrip at all. When he wasn't hopping around in the back of my car, he was on my lap doing what he does best and that is chewing on my hand. He seems to like our new home well enough and by the time I was ready to hit the sack, he was a stoned heap of fur next to his mouse toy. He hit the catnip pretty hard.

I feel incredibly silly for my post yesterday. After dinner with Kris, I spent the evening cheerfully hanging up my clothes, setting up my computer and rummaging through the rest of my belongings. I was pretty happy and today, still am. I really am an odd case!

Last day

2005-08-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

My dog, Bailey, has been extra lovable as of late. Every so often as I go about the house or pause from my routine, I catch her looking at me, her expression solemn. All the packing I've been doing is not lost on her, she knows I am moving out and even now, as I type this, she is watching me from the living room. It is so sad. Yesterday as I loaded up my car with bags and boxes, she did this little dance in the driveway before leaping to the passenger side seat. She wanted so badly to come along, but there was no room for her and all my stuff and I had to ask her to get out. Poor girl, I felt so terrible. She has been such a good dog to me.

I really hope that this decision to live in Bellingham and go to school there is the right one. I am thankful that I'll be living in such close proximity to Bryn and Ash who are as dear to me as family, but I will miss this hippy hobbit castle with its tower, woodstove, and it's round, beveled doorways. I will miss my bedroom, which I spent countless hours shutup inside reading, playing my PS2 or daydreaming. Most of all, I will miss living with my Sister.

I am such an odd case! Why am I no longer excited to move? Today marks the beginning of a much needed change, why all of a sudden, am I overwhelmed with so much doubt and regret?

No one installs a stop sign until somebody dies

2005-08-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

I always thought our sun would collapse on us, but it looks like Milkyway is on a crash course to Andromeda. I like this quote:

"Our saving grace is that we have about 5 billion years left before we get swallowed up by Andromeda. Nevertheless, it's amazing to see so far in advance how planet Earth and our own galaxy will ultimately end. Glad to say I won't be around when the fireball happens."

And what of those who will be around?

If we are not gobbled up by flesh eating nanobots, killed off by a rabidly spreading virus or enslaved by an artificial intelligence, mankind may very well achieve immortality (The book I'm reading makes a very convincing case). What then, will be done about this eventual galatic pile up?

Cloud art

2005-08-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

I swear, this cloud was so much cooler in person. My photography skills are lacking.

Google, google, google

2005-08-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways... Gmail. Web. Gmail. Images. News. Gmail. Maps. Google Earth and now Google Talk.

Which is uh, very, uh simple. There are no emoticons (and no winks, thank God), avatars or skins, but the message sequencing is nicely organized and there are no banner ads. I cannot be disappointed with the lack of goodies, because everything we love in instant messenging shall be included in GT in the near future. Ah, I have been waiting for this day. It means that I will be able to rid myself of MSN Messenger very soon.

I want more Google software, like a Google Operatating System, Google Office and the Google Grid. I also want the Google Earth with a Google History plugin for my holographic projector, which I have full intention of owning in the years ahead. Yes, that would so rule.

*sigh* Google owns me... even if they're no longer the media darlings they once were.

R.I.P. Microsoft.

Aurora

2005-08-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

This arrived in my email today:

"Big sunspot 798 exploded twice yesterday, August 22nd, and hurled a pair of coronal mass ejections apparently toward Earth. Geomagnetic storms are possible when the clouds arrive. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras during the nights of August 23rd and 24th. High latitudes are favored: e.g., Canada, Alaska and northern-tier US states from Washington to Maine."

- Spaceweather.com

I only hope the evening forecast is right.

Also...

"Sunspot 798 reminds us why astronauts can never breath easy far from the safety of their habitat or spaceship: The sun can change from quiet to active in a surprisingly short time. On August 18th, sunspot 798 didn't exist. Then, in less than 24 hours, it materialized and grew into a planet-sized behemoth."

Scary.

My hope of one day leaving the planet lies soley with companies like Virgin Galactic, who will eventually construct SpaceShip Three. What will they do about space weather, I wonder?

Glitch

2005-08-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

A strange thing happened to me a few days ago. I was driving home from work, taking the same peaceful route I have for the past five years. That is Xavier to Goose road to Clay lake. A very pleasant 35 mph cruise through farmland and pasture. After completing the first S curve I pushed the button to roll down the window.

"But I don't have automatic windows." I thought to myself and then, for a split second I was no longer driving Lucy, my dusty beat-up Neon. I was in a mud splatterd Ford Probe, my old car. I wasn't driving home to my hobbit castle either, but to a tiny cabin in the hills.

Wish I could say it was ordinary deja vu. Brr!

Windmills fear me

2005-08-19T23:32:00.000-07:00

I am such a slacker. I was supposed to be packing for my big move all week, but I've made little progress. A break through was made tonight. I managed to box up my books, half of which will go to the used bookstore...no use keeping around things I can't see myself re-reading. As for the rest of my stuff, I don't have much, it can wait until next week. The weekend is spoken for! Tomorrow: work and Bellingham. Sunday: swimming.

The rest of my evening was spent with my favorite bottle of redwine, the recently discovered Rat Patrol Radio and my ceiling. I love staring at the ceiling. It was a luxury I didn't have less than a year ago and when I moved in with Sister last October, plopping down on the bed and spacing off was my favorite pastime. Even my beloved books were a distant second to my personal fantasies and philosophies. Oh, to lay on my futon and think about whatever I wanted, without having to worry about making someone's goddamn dinner or listen to someone's "rough" day was heaven. The freedom to let the mind roll... I still revel in it and I think the earlier deprivation has left me, in some ways, handicapped. Once in a while, I feel that I'm the female variant of Don Quixote.

Don Quixote. Hah! Not bad at all, but pay me no mind... the red wine speaks for me tonight.

My kitten can beat up your kitten

2005-08-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Odin, no piece of flesh is safe from him. My right hand is so scratched, I have to pester him with my left now so they'll match. Sister calls him "satan incarnate" and I think she's right. The little punk was chewing on my book last night. Sacrilege!

Ripley, and that's a fact

2005-08-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Personality tests. A great way to waste time.

"You kill Aliens. That's what you do. You don't do anything else. Even when you try to stop killing Aliens, they find you and you have to kill them. You will never, ever, EVER stop killing Aliens. -- Shit, you fucking DIED and god-damn scientists RESURRECTED you just so you could kill some more Aliens. Seriously .. Aliens suck."

Damn straight.

What Film Action Hero Are You?

A journey with Bree

2005-08-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, I spent some time flipping through my dreamjournal, regretting that I have neglected it so badly. The events written there are well recorded, but the entries are few and far between. How sad. Somewhere I read that the average person dreams at least four times a night, but I'm lucky if I can remember one a week. At this rate, I'll never achieve frequent dream awareness like some people I know.

I do have one dream to share. This time, I was being cornered by a large black bull and several red heifers that seemed intent on goring me to death. Incredibly, a horse intervened. He hailed the cattle, "Top of the morning to you!" And on my behalf, took charge saying "My good people, allow me to escort the intruder off our lands." Grateful and unfazed at the concept of a talking horse, I walked beside him out of the pasture and as soon as we passed the gate he asked "If you could go any where in the world, where would you go?"

"I'd sooner go to other worlds." I replied. "Like Narnia. I don't suppose you're from there?"

To my slight disappointment, the horse would not say and soon we were trekking the Cascades on an errand for Mr. Hanson, owner of my bovine agitators. I could not ask for a better companion. The horse was jovial, wise and considerate, even complimenting me on my riding skills. "Soft hands." He noted. "Of course." said I. "My Father taught me well."

Our journey back did not end well. As we struggled through snow, my companion fell down a ravine and could not climb his way up. I hurried back to the Hanson property, but no one was there to help me. I returned with rope and found that the horse had managed to pull himself out after all. He expressed surprise that I came back for him. If it wasn't for my alarm, I would have lectured him about friendship.

Good riddance

2005-08-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

From today on, I shall never be harrassed by wisdom teeth again. I arrived at the Evergreen Care Center at eight o'clock and was out by nine. No anaesthesia or gas, just some numbing agent, a drill, some fancy pliers and BAM! The bastard teeth are out forever and I'm very happy even if I am an incoherent, drooling mess right now.

Robot overlords, part III

2005-08-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

I think I speak for us all when I say that we'd love nothing more than to be flung around by a giant robotic arm.

Live to see it

2005-08-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Life extension and 401k at the Speculist. A blog that all of my fellow geeks should read.

Will the geeks inherit the Earth?

2005-08-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

GRIN Technologies (Genetics, Robotics, Information technology and Nanotechnology). Singularity. Moore's Law. Grey Goo. Artificial Intelligence. Cyborgs. Transhumanism and much much more. The book is on the way.

Far fetched science fiction? Maybe, but taken seriously enough that the National Geographic is interested.

The shuttle is not a lemon

2005-08-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last week, Mike wrote:

I believe that it is time that NASA created it's own "kick-ass ride" like the ones in Armageddon...something state-of-the-art, that is more cost effective to launch, can withstand more dents and dings, and is more equipped to take the NASA of today into its visions of tomorrow.

Behold!

Because that's a New York Times article, membership login is required. Of course, we know what to do about that.

Redesign or no, I hope to see alot more from the private space industry. This article is pretty slick. My favorite quote:

"I predict that within about three years of private human orbital flights...you'll have the first private teams of people stockpiling fuel on orbit and making a bee-line for the Moon."

I can only hope. The eventual outcome may likely give the Russians some healthy competition.

Must be a loose wire

2005-08-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

Just what is so wise about Wisdom Teeth? As my pain gets worse and worse, I'm finding the name to be pretty insulting. My bottom-right 3rd molar is as misguided as it gets. Not only is it crowding my other teeth and ruining all the progress made by three years of braces (and other terrible hardware), it is causing severe migraines that ibuprofen laced with codeine cannot help. Instead of waiting until next week for extraction, I'm mighty tempted to remove the tooth with pliers and like Matt, chase away the grief with Whiskey... or Scotch.

Last night as I huddled underneath my covers, I was given some brief respite so I could sleep. Before, I knew only the pain of tooth and temple and my own desperate wishes for it all to stop. After a moment or two of glorious relief, I was aware other things. Voices... a replay of a conversation with co-workers, my own musings on miscellaneous topics and the resurface of a song that was stuck in my head earlier. The return of normal brain activity it seemed, but all I could think before plunging gladly into sleep was "Wow, that's a lot of line noise."

Creepy crawlers

2005-08-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

My current bedroom has a door to the outside world with a crack at the bottom corner large enough for all kinds of small creatues to crawl through. When I came home last night there was a dead spider in Odin's water dish, a centipede or something similar inching across my ceiling and a large ant on my nightstand. God knows what else is lurking in the closet and underneath my bed and all the various nooks and cranies throughout the house. I'm quite sure I'll come across a surprise or two when I start packing in a couple weeks. My distant affection for spideys aside, I've never had much love for bugs and I'm looking forward to seeing less of them when I relocate in a month. At least I do not have mice.

Help desk

2005-08-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

There is such thing as Hell and it is called Tech Support. As of today, I feel nothing but intense loathing towards any computer that does not have Windows XP. Especially Macs... I wish my employeer would let me get away with antagonizing a few of today's callers like these guys.

Snooze time

2005-07-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

The alarm on my cellphone woke me up at 8:00 am. I fell back asleep and dreamt of controversy with a strange girl who came into my life abruptly. The conflict turned physical and somewhere throughout the struggle came mutual shame and then earnest friendship. We had just begun to laugh and explore this new harmony when my alarm went off a second time... at 8:04.

May we stay forever young

2005-07-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

I should really be doing more productive things with the last few hours of the evening, but I'm thinking about video games. I haven't touched my PS2 in months and I have the urge to play Final Fantasy. I'm going to blog instead, it's getting a bit late and if I start a game now I might not stop until two in the morning.

I fondly remember my first Nintendo system and all my favorite games like Mario Brothers, Star Soldier and Zelda. My siblings and I were quite taken by it and spent hours wandering around in all the various 8-bit wonderlands. That is, of course, until the fateful day I came home from school to find the beloved NES on the chopping block with a great big ugly gash across the surface made by my Father's axe. Our harsh punishment for being late on feeding the horses one too many times. At that age, I don't think I've ever seen anything more horrible...

I returned to the game console scene pretty late and barely ventured past Final Fantasy. Even now, the quality of graphics in those games never cease to amaze me. Square-Enix has the world licked when it comes to making realistic characters and someday, it will be very hard to tell what's real and what's not. I can only wonder what's they'll accomplish in another ten years.

Or fifty... When I'm too old to play or too "mature." I hope to never become one of those bitter old ladies who observes the next techno-craze with the same disgust my Grandfather has towards ebay and the yu-gi-oh trading cards my little Cousin loves so much. What will it be like for our generation at seventy-five?

"Kids these days, they don't appreciate anything. Why back in my day we had to play video games on the TV! Do you remember the TV!? Of course you don't! And we didn't have this virtual reality nonsense, we had CGI and that was good enough for us!"

Maybe I'll never truly grow up.

Cravings

2005-07-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Since I've been living with Sister my eating habits have changed and for the better. Unless she is cooking (and she's a damn good cook), I eat very simply and get by easily on things like tuna, peanut-butter, salads, fruits and pitas lined with humus. Quite a change from the old-fashioned three course meals I used to sit down to less than a year ago. While I do not consider myself to be a vegetarian, I don't even cook meat anymore.

I have yet to swear off the occasional "bad" foods and right now, what I really want instead of this hippy salad with the weird Asian dressing is a fat juicy all-American cheeseburger. I don't want it on a whole-wheat bun either, give me old fashioned white! And some starch. Yes! A pile of greasy french fries to dip into a glob of tartar sauce. To drink, I'd like a super-sized Dr Pepper and I want it straight out of the dispenser, because it always taste better that way.

Mmm Dr Pepper, sweet nectar of the gods.

But no, not tonight. Because I succumbed to the Darkside yesterday and had pizza and burritos from Taco Bell, I must repent by finishing a tall glass of H2O and this hippy salad with the weird Asian dressing.

Harry Potter

2005-07-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

The Half-Blood Prince has already sold 6.9 million copies, or at least that is the latest I've heard, and while I have yet to finish the first book, I am absolutely delighted to know that hoards of young people are reading it. It is also nice to see a significant drop in all the silly controversy. What is it with the folks who say they love the works of JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis but find Harry Potter so dangerous? And what type of magic are we talking about here? Do people really think their son or daughter will be able to acquire the type of "power" it takes to launch off the floor on a broom?

Pity those children who's parents forbid the reading of a good fairy tale or stunt the growth of a wild imagination because it's "dangerous." As a young girl I lived in a fantasy world. My heroes were Merlin, the Pevensie children and Sarah from Labyrinth. Instead of having tea parties, I crossed swords of pvc pipe and duct tape with my cousin Trisha. My friend Alicia and I used to put on hooded capes and trot around the pasture on my horses like we were elves or the riders of Rohan. And each night, before I drifted off to sleep, I created my own magical lands where I battled the forces of evil with good wizards or rode the sky atop of dragons. All of it was wonderful and it never brought me to the occult... not even close.

Just for you Mike!

2005-07-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Fresh off Geek Press...

Apple HQ missing from Microsoft Earth.

And now Google has claimed the moon!

Raptured

2005-07-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

Blue Fields by Nobuo Uematsu.

I saw myself in a meadow by the sea. A meadow with tall waving grass and dandelions in seed, all lit up by the glow of a low-hanging sun.

I don't think I've ever heard a song more peaceful...

We like the moon, it is close to us

2005-07-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

I am in Seattle right now, blogging from the nifty Motore Coffee and internet cafe. A nice way to spend the next few hours until my bus departs to Sunnyside.

Last night, a couple friends and I drove out to the Bayview Estuary to play in the phosphorus that can only be seen a week out of the whole year. We couldn't see the phosphorus very well because of the bright glare of the moon, nonetheless it was an enjoyable evening that ended with a midnight swim. I tell you friends, there is nothing quite like skinny dipping in the sea under that extraordinary moon! I don't think I've ever felt more alive, free and content... Now I wish I wasn't heading to Eastern Washington so I could do it again tonight.

Anyhoo, the phosphorus should still be around for a few days, so if any of you are close to the sea, check it out because it won't be around again until next year.

Adios!

Good bye

2005-07-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Lot's of good stuff going on space tonight. There's the possibility of auroras and even if that doesn't pan out we can enjoy some spectacular lunar lighting! Just in time for the 36th anniversary of the moon landing and Mike's last day at Humble ISP.

I'll miss having a fellow space enthusiast in the office. Just who will share the next Titan flyby with me? Or the Venus Express Launch? Or.. *sob* ...the discovery of chlorophyll on Europa?

Adios, Mike. You will be missed!

War of the Worlds

2005-07-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

Tick tock, tick tock. Come on 10 PM! I'm bored, so I'll while away the last few minutes of my abnormally late work shift blogging the new War of the Worlds movie.

Before I begin, I will admit that I am a movie snob. If any of my readers were to see the list of movies I've scaled on Netflix, they would notice that out of the 803 flicks , only 10 were given 5 stars. Even my 4 star rating is pretty low compared to other lists I have seen. I'm not much of a movie buff, it takes a lot to impress me and I went to see War of the Worlds expecting disappointent.

I was wrong and caught completely off guard. Steven Spielberg truly is a great director. He tied the suspense and human element together beautifully! Many times throughout the film, I was gripping my seat or clasping my hands to my mouth antcipating the next scene. I haven't felt thrills like that in years! I only wished I had never seen the older movie so I might have been able to experience Spielberg's version without knowning the demise of the alien invaders.

I couldn't care at all for the way it ended, but I was still very impressed. I will say that because it's not a movie I can imagine adding to my video collection, I render it 3 stars.