Sunday, February 23, 2025
So was the name of this blog that I haven't posted to in almost 2 decades (and boy did I love to write in the passive voice back then, too). On a lark, I decided to look up my blog on the Googles because I was having ....well, thoughts. While doing my research, I read that apparently, the sky turns chartreuse just before a tornado.
Considering these stormy times, I'm not shocked at the irony.
This is probably going to end up somewhere between a confession and word salad, but here goes. I once fancied myself able to foresee the future, at least to some degree. I even had enough weird things happen (though never to the scale of my "predictions") to make me believe this delusion. As time went on, I had a *new* delusion of being able to fly away to a distant world with a small group of close acquaintances and restarting society. One more just, one a bit closer to perfect if such a thing were ever possible. I had a name for it. A special word. It began with the letter "X" and that letter dominated my thoughts. But the Dream didn't start out that way, except for the first bit. I was king of this distant world. I was the Main Character. New technology revealed to me by the heavens, and by God did I conquer worlds with it. As I got older and wiser, the Dream was tempered, more and more each time to become the vision of a just society that I envision to this day. And to add to the gravitas of my Dream was a dream I had as a mere child that haunts me to this day: of flying away from a world engulfed in flames, of being warned by a glowing man.
And that's not all. The Special Word was also supposed to act as a road sign. One that heralded significant change. One to follow to achieve the Dream, or at least get somewhat close to it. You all may have to google what a "blue feather" is, but it's essentially a symbol to watch for.
Of course, that was all high fantasy; but as a teen and a young adult I *believed* it could be true. As time went by and reality set in, a kind of despair and resignation took the place of belief and hope. I hadn't planned on the Dream *not* happening to me. That I should be relegated to the ordinary kind of life of the Everyman (side: the benefit of my path so far is to learn to not look down on the "ordinary life," but that's a post for another time).
Fast forward to today, and we can all think of another Man Who Would Be King who has this fascination with the letter "X". I've found myself quick to judge him on his reckless disregard for his fellow humans, all but to forget how only several billion dollars and some special K are really the only things to separate this man from the person I was only a couple decades ago.
Xanadu was supposed to come true in 2005. It's almost 20 years later and another man with his eyes on the stars and his brain in another galaxy apparently has his goals and the means to do so. And between him and our current re-President and his fascination with the Starfleet symbol, if I don't see the writing on the walls. That Blue Feather I mentioned, the watchword, Xanadu, has been popping up an awful lot in the past couple months.... Maybe it's some kind of form of delusional pareidolia*, and I'm just more perceptive to the Word lately; but I'm also quite observant, too, when I haven't seen it in...well...years. Not like this, anyway. Everything feels like it's building towards something, both amazingly wonderful and horrible at the same time.
If this is all reads as rambling, it's because it probably is. After the election, as a veteran and a die-hard patriot, I should've felt nothing but unrelenting dread. But instead, there was a weird feeling of hope instead. Even a bit of excitement. No, I'm not normal.
But, I swear to f*ckin God if he calls all his endeavors something along the lines of "Operation Xanadu," I'm bound to lose the last of what marbles I have left.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Opinion: The Roads Have Eyes, Part One
Opinion: The Roads Have Eyes, Part One
Quote: "Dave Goodson, a motorist with an engineering background, performed a number of measurements and calculations after receiving a ticket at Union City Boulevard and Lowry Road. His case forced Union City's traffic engineers to concede that they had set the yellow signal time 1.3 seconds too short. The timings weren't faulty, they were illegal."
With that having been said (it's at the very end of the article), I hereby present for your consideration, PhotoBlocker Spray. It supposedly makes it very difficult for speed and red-light cameras to take a picture of your license plate. I don't generally condone anything that encourages someone to break the law; but what's good for the goose, as they say. If city governments are so corrupt as to do things like shorten the yellow-light cycle timing for the sake of garnering your dollars, then we as citizens have the right to stimy these attempts.
Quote: "Dave Goodson, a motorist with an engineering background, performed a number of measurements and calculations after receiving a ticket at Union City Boulevard and Lowry Road. His case forced Union City's traffic engineers to concede that they had set the yellow signal time 1.3 seconds too short. The timings weren't faulty, they were illegal."
With that having been said (it's at the very end of the article), I hereby present for your consideration, PhotoBlocker Spray. It supposedly makes it very difficult for speed and red-light cameras to take a picture of your license plate. I don't generally condone anything that encourages someone to break the law; but what's good for the goose, as they say. If city governments are so corrupt as to do things like shorten the yellow-light cycle timing for the sake of garnering your dollars, then we as citizens have the right to stimy these attempts.
Opinion: The Roads Have Eyes, Part One
Opinion: The Roads Have Eyes, Part One
Quote: "Dave Goodson, a motorist with an engineering background, performed a number of measurements and calculations after receiving a ticket at Union City Boulevard and Lowry Road. His case forced Union City's traffic engineers to concede that they had set the yellow signal time 1.3 seconds too short. The timings weren't faulty, they were illegal."
With that having been said (it's at the very end of the article), I hereby present for your consideration, PhotoBlocker Spray. It supposedly makes it very difficult for speed and red-light cameras to take a picture of your license plate. I don't generally condone anything that encourages someone to break the law; but what's good for the goose, as they say. If city governments are so corrupt as to do things like shorten the yellow-light cycle timing for the sake of garnering your dollars, then we as citizens have the right to stimy these attempts.
Quote: "Dave Goodson, a motorist with an engineering background, performed a number of measurements and calculations after receiving a ticket at Union City Boulevard and Lowry Road. His case forced Union City's traffic engineers to concede that they had set the yellow signal time 1.3 seconds too short. The timings weren't faulty, they were illegal."
With that having been said (it's at the very end of the article), I hereby present for your consideration, PhotoBlocker Spray. It supposedly makes it very difficult for speed and red-light cameras to take a picture of your license plate. I don't generally condone anything that encourages someone to break the law; but what's good for the goose, as they say. If city governments are so corrupt as to do things like shorten the yellow-light cycle timing for the sake of garnering your dollars, then we as citizens have the right to stimy these attempts.
Freezing your credit
Link
It's almost winter, so I cannot think of a more appropriate time to talk about freezing your credit. It essentially tells the three major credit bureaus that NOBODY has access to your credit information without your consent.
Check out the link.
It's almost winter, so I cannot think of a more appropriate time to talk about freezing your credit. It essentially tells the three major credit bureaus that NOBODY has access to your credit information without your consent.
Check out the link.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Because you can never get enough "Harry Potter"...
...I present you with: Kill Harry!
Oh, and this is for you guys who liked "Kill Bill," by the way.
No, I did not do this comic. It's somebody else's.
PS: Harry dies at the end. Hahahahahaha! Actually, I don't really know. I'm on "page" 14.
Oh, and this is for you guys who liked "Kill Bill," by the way.
No, I did not do this comic. It's somebody else's.
PS: Harry dies at the end. Hahahahahaha! Actually, I don't really know. I'm on "page" 14.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
It's funny, but...
Ghastly's Ghastly Comic - Tentacle Monsters And The Women Who Love Them.
So I've stumbled onto yet another comic site. Some of this shit is absolutely hilarious, but I have to warn you:
THIS WEBSITE IS TREMENDOUSLY NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!!
Or sanity. Either way. Proceed with extreme caution. There's stuff on here I couldn't dream up even while on the best drugs available.
Man!
PS: Do a Google for "Evilest Person Ever". Somehow, I'm not surprised.
So I've stumbled onto yet another comic site. Some of this shit is absolutely hilarious, but I have to warn you:
THIS WEBSITE IS TREMENDOUSLY NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!!
Or sanity. Either way. Proceed with extreme caution. There's stuff on here I couldn't dream up even while on the best drugs available.
Man!
PS: Do a Google for "Evilest Person Ever". Somehow, I'm not surprised.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
The slippery slope
Court tightens limits on student speech - Yahoo! News
If this were a debate on whether "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" was puerile or not, I would've supported the Supreme Court. The banner was silly at best. However, that's not the issue on the table here. The issue on the table is a person's freedom of speech.
Of course, if you want to be literal about it, the First Amendment says that Congress, not the Supreme Court, shall make NO law abridging a person's right to free speech. However, the Supreme Court, I guess, has free reign to restrict you as much as possible.
But now there's precedent for any asshat teacher or principal who, if they don't agree with a student's political views, can simply say, "Well, he's only saying something with no merit, because..." And then they can just fill in the blank with any rationale they can to suppress a teenager's freedom of expression because, well, they're not 18, so they must not know any better.
Oh, the magic number 18. Except there are plenty of fuckwads running around this country right now with less of a clue than a rock, and they're over 18.
It's a slippery slope we're on, now that there's precedent. I don't care if I agree or disagree with the message, or even if the message appears to me to be juvenile. It's not our job to allow or disallow what we agree with (or not)--that's called CENSORSHIP, and it's used with great relish in places like Iran.
I served in the armed forces to protect everyone's rights, as (supposedly) guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States, and this ruling makes me sick. I'm sure Thomas Jefferson is rolling over in his grave right now.
PS. I changed the name of the blog, for obvious reasons.
If this were a debate on whether "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" was puerile or not, I would've supported the Supreme Court. The banner was silly at best. However, that's not the issue on the table here. The issue on the table is a person's freedom of speech.
Of course, if you want to be literal about it, the First Amendment says that Congress, not the Supreme Court, shall make NO law abridging a person's right to free speech. However, the Supreme Court, I guess, has free reign to restrict you as much as possible.
But now there's precedent for any asshat teacher or principal who, if they don't agree with a student's political views, can simply say, "Well, he's only saying something with no merit, because..." And then they can just fill in the blank with any rationale they can to suppress a teenager's freedom of expression because, well, they're not 18, so they must not know any better.
Oh, the magic number 18. Except there are plenty of fuckwads running around this country right now with less of a clue than a rock, and they're over 18.
It's a slippery slope we're on, now that there's precedent. I don't care if I agree or disagree with the message, or even if the message appears to me to be juvenile. It's not our job to allow or disallow what we agree with (or not)--that's called CENSORSHIP, and it's used with great relish in places like Iran.
I served in the armed forces to protect everyone's rights, as (supposedly) guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States, and this ruling makes me sick. I'm sure Thomas Jefferson is rolling over in his grave right now.
PS. I changed the name of the blog, for obvious reasons.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Good advice
How victim snared ID thief
Near the bottom of the linked article is a list of ten things you can do to protect your financial identity. I suggest you check it out.
That is all.
Near the bottom of the linked article is a list of ten things you can do to protect your financial identity. I suggest you check it out.
That is all.
Friday, June 08, 2007
THIS IS THE SONG THAT WOULD NOT DIE
Don't get me wrong. I like the song "Xanadu." Srsly. It's also a catchy name. And, it's used in one of the finer works of 19th century poetry. And...AND...I used it in the title of my book.
But come on people!!
Apparently, "The Olivia Project" just released this very year a CD with something like 6 different remixes of Xanadu.
Yes. In 2007. Many of you may remember this post ages ago where I counted the number of songs named--in whole or in part--"Xanadu," and the number of remakes of said 1980's song. I think the count stood at 18. Now, I see we have 6 more versions (actually, 5...their "Millenium Mix" is one I have already heard, so I'm thinking this album is a re-release of older mixes, with some new ones thrown in).
Oh, and did I forget to mention the 1994 Muzak(tm) trumpet version of "Xanadu?" It's ...it's... I don't know what it is. It sounds like Herb Alpert-style music. But it's Xanadu, ffs!
This is only the beginning. If you have Napster, you can do a track search for "Xanadu." There are some in there I've already listed. There are the new ones, done by the Olivia Project. And there are even more here.
I'm telling you, people! It's the song that just won't die! And, it's a crying shame the vast majority of these remixes SUCK!
WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TRYING TO DO TO ME!??!?!
(curls up in corner and sucks thumb)
But come on people!!
Apparently, "The Olivia Project" just released this very year a CD with something like 6 different remixes of Xanadu.
Yes. In 2007. Many of you may remember this post ages ago where I counted the number of songs named--in whole or in part--"Xanadu," and the number of remakes of said 1980's song. I think the count stood at 18. Now, I see we have 6 more versions (actually, 5...their "Millenium Mix" is one I have already heard, so I'm thinking this album is a re-release of older mixes, with some new ones thrown in).
Oh, and did I forget to mention the 1994 Muzak(tm) trumpet version of "Xanadu?" It's ...it's... I don't know what it is. It sounds like Herb Alpert-style music. But it's Xanadu, ffs!
This is only the beginning. If you have Napster, you can do a track search for "Xanadu." There are some in there I've already listed. There are the new ones, done by the Olivia Project. And there are even more here.
I'm telling you, people! It's the song that just won't die! And, it's a crying shame the vast majority of these remixes SUCK!
WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TRYING TO DO TO ME!??!?!
(curls up in corner and sucks thumb)
Thursday, May 31, 2007
PUNISH BAD BEHAVIOR!!
FARK.com: (2835992) Livejournal accounts deleted on a massive scale by abuse team. In related news, stock in razor blades doubles
A Farker on Fark.com made the following comment:
Emphasis mine.
Can you imagine the shitstorm that would ensue if groups such as abuse survivor groups (among those deleted and, apparently, lumped into the above statement from Warriors for Innocence) all got together and filed a class-action lawsuit against WFI for such a libelous statement? Oh, YES! It would be a victory for freedom of thought everywhere, and a resounding defeat for draconian so-called "Christians" still stuck in the 14th century.
I'm going to look up the list of these groups, see if I can contact any of them, and RAISE ALL HOLY HELL!!
A Farker on Fark.com made the following comment:
wow... after reading the slashdot thread on this, I found the link where people found posts by the WFI group responsible for this mess. It basically comes down to them being dominionist "xian warriors". This explains a lot unfortunately.
The most disturbing quote form them, though, is this:Every single one of you [LJ users that were banned] are indeed pedophiles. Nasty, filthy, stinking pedophiles. You all preface your statements with "I'm not a pedophile myself BUT"
I would think with that a direct accusation like that in a public forum would be a fairly open-and-shut libel case...
/that's using logic in law, though, which is obviously a stupid thing to do
Emphasis mine.
Can you imagine the shitstorm that would ensue if groups such as abuse survivor groups (among those deleted and, apparently, lumped into the above statement from Warriors for Innocence) all got together and filed a class-action lawsuit against WFI for such a libelous statement? Oh, YES! It would be a victory for freedom of thought everywhere, and a resounding defeat for draconian so-called "Christians" still stuck in the 14th century.
I'm going to look up the list of these groups, see if I can contact any of them, and RAISE ALL HOLY HELL!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
I WOULD PAY A MILLION BILLION GAJILLION DOLLARS...
scaryideas | Star Wars: Airport
...to see someone dressed up as Darth Vader go through airport security AND STAY IN-CHARACTER!
Oh my God that would be TOO FUNNY.
...to see someone dressed up as Darth Vader go through airport security AND STAY IN-CHARACTER!
Oh my God that would be TOO FUNNY.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
I've often wondered...
The Life Purpose Discovery System |
...how many of these self-improvement sites are really nothing more than a regurgitation of what other sites have said. I'm not saying that there isn't truth in what they say (because many times there is), but I can't help but wonder how much is borrowed from others; and that becomes their way to 'success.' Not everyone's way...just some of these sites.
I present to you, for your consideration, this site and this site. Tell me if there aren't any immediate similarities. Now, these are only two sites; not the bulk of them. But it was enough to make me take notice.
Which leads me to my next question: how many of these self-improvement sites bogus? How many of these sites are just shameful copies (or near-copies) of others' work, and you're coughing up$97 $47 for each site?
I know very few people ever read this blog, but I figured I'd throw it out there in the off chance someone has had experience with this. The 12-week life transformation site has free stuff (so does the life purpose site), just so people know--I guess--they're not just out for your money.
Maybe I'm too cynical.
Anyway, that's my thought for the day.
...how many of these self-improvement sites are really nothing more than a regurgitation of what other sites have said. I'm not saying that there isn't truth in what they say (because many times there is), but I can't help but wonder how much is borrowed from others; and that becomes their way to 'success.' Not everyone's way...just some of these sites.
I present to you, for your consideration, this site and this site. Tell me if there aren't any immediate similarities. Now, these are only two sites; not the bulk of them. But it was enough to make me take notice.
Which leads me to my next question: how many of these self-improvement sites bogus? How many of these sites are just shameful copies (or near-copies) of others' work, and you're coughing up
I know very few people ever read this blog, but I figured I'd throw it out there in the off chance someone has had experience with this. The 12-week life transformation site has free stuff (so does the life purpose site), just so people know--I guess--they're not just out for your money.
Maybe I'm too cynical.
Anyway, that's my thought for the day.
Friday, May 11, 2007
The Bank of America wants your money. Really.
This is the story (stories, actually) as told to me. The people I've heard these from have more details, and my time is short; so I have to do this quickly.
Story Number One: A friend of our family is a probate paralegal. She is working with some people in Seattle to get a CD out of Bank of America (the person who died, lived in and died in Maine, so State of Maine laws apply here). However, even after 14 years after the death of the decedent, the SOLE LIVING HEIR cannot get the money from the CD. Bank of America has pulled a series of stall tactics, wanting: (1) to refer back to their legal department, (2) have the probate paralegal all but commit perjury (as she explained it) by signing some kind of affidavit, (3) simply just not respond AT ALL to letters of inquiry from the paralegal (and other lawyers and I understand it), and (4) telling the paralegal that she must get a court order to get Bank of America to release the funds from the CD which should have been released to the heir 14 years ago.
What the hell is that all about?
Story (Stories) number 2 can be found on MSNBC.com. I'll link in the story later. You can probably find it a few days earlier as a post on this blog. It was about identity theft. Which leads us to ...
Story number 3. My father, through a debt management company, paid off a debt to MBNA, just after MBNA was bought out by Bank of America. MBNA, while in their transition phase, acknowledged the debt was taken care of under special circumstances (reduced intererest rate, forgiven past due penalties, etc). However, Bank of America decided to completely ignore this prior agreement (the agreement was made BEFORE BoA bought MBNA, and was completed just after the buyout), and has continued to hassle my father ever since.
I suggest that, based off of these stories, and the 1300+ comments (may be more now) from that MSNBC.com article, that anyone with a BoA account should really consider another bank, before they get screwed.
Allegedly. You know. Standard disclaimer to hopefully avoid getting sued for 'libel' or some other bull. Considering some of the tactics BoA has pulled so far on their so-called 'valued' customers, it wouldn't surprise me if they fought dirty if someone called them out on it.
Story Number One: A friend of our family is a probate paralegal. She is working with some people in Seattle to get a CD out of Bank of America (the person who died, lived in and died in Maine, so State of Maine laws apply here). However, even after 14 years after the death of the decedent, the SOLE LIVING HEIR cannot get the money from the CD. Bank of America has pulled a series of stall tactics, wanting: (1) to refer back to their legal department, (2) have the probate paralegal all but commit perjury (as she explained it) by signing some kind of affidavit, (3) simply just not respond AT ALL to letters of inquiry from the paralegal (and other lawyers and I understand it), and (4) telling the paralegal that she must get a court order to get Bank of America to release the funds from the CD which should have been released to the heir 14 years ago.
What the hell is that all about?
Story (Stories) number 2 can be found on MSNBC.com. I'll link in the story later. You can probably find it a few days earlier as a post on this blog. It was about identity theft. Which leads us to ...
Story number 3. My father, through a debt management company, paid off a debt to MBNA, just after MBNA was bought out by Bank of America. MBNA, while in their transition phase, acknowledged the debt was taken care of under special circumstances (reduced intererest rate, forgiven past due penalties, etc). However, Bank of America decided to completely ignore this prior agreement (the agreement was made BEFORE BoA bought MBNA, and was completed just after the buyout), and has continued to hassle my father ever since.
I suggest that, based off of these stories, and the 1300+ comments (may be more now) from that MSNBC.com article, that anyone with a BoA account should really consider another bank, before they get screwed.
Allegedly. You know. Standard disclaimer to hopefully avoid getting sued for 'libel' or some other bull. Considering some of the tactics BoA has pulled so far on their so-called 'valued' customers, it wouldn't surprise me if they fought dirty if someone called them out on it.