i bloviate

[mobile]My fortune...

2008-05-12T18:30:22Z

The text of my fortune cookie at lunch today with ellalthea -
You are the man of righteousness and integrity.
That's right, not a man, but the man of righteousness and integrity.

It will be a good day.

New Lappy

2008-05-12T11:13:21Z

I flat need a laptop now, which is depressing. Actually, I flat need a computing platform of some sort, a laptop would be pretty nice... a good sub-laptop would be stellar. So, I'm saving up my tin cans and pennies for this sexy beast. It runs SUSE 10, has a 1.2GHz processor with a GB of RAM (which, on SUSE, should be plenty), 120GB SATA HDD, 802.11a/b/g internal, and an actual VGA monitor out in addition to its USB/Mic/headphone/rj45 ports and built-in camera.

Oh, and it is 10"x6.5"x1" and weighs in at 3lbs. Of course, it also weighs in at $550 + shipping/tax, so all said and done, I need to scrape together $620. If I sell... carry the one... 3 months of plasma... this little beauty is mine!

I really like that, I think I'm going to start calculating things in terms of months of plasma, it makes them seem cheaper. :)

On Indecision

2008-05-11T15:35:12Z

Some mild potty language, but less than if you were listening to me order a pizza.

SMOScast Update

2008-05-09T14:17:31Z

Umm, holy shit! In the first 24 hours, 160 downloads... or a tad over 6.5 downloads an hour. I kinda expected 6 downloads TOTAL.

I really feel like we didn't do nearly a polished enough job for wide public consumption... so I guess, tell us what you like and didn't like. Don't be shy. If you hated it, tell us why! (I don't know why I keep rhyming *sigh*) (omg, that rhymed too! I'm going to cry!) (alright, the last one was on purpose, bye!)

[Update 11-May-08] 48 hours, 270 downloads. Wow. You guys are awesome.

Green Porno

2008-05-09T13:36:41Z

Isabella Rossellini (yum) shows us how different little critters reproduce. All of them are interesting, although its interesting exactly how much "sex" in nature amounts to rape... and is it wrong that Snail and Fly both kinda turned me on?

See for yourself

I am seriously considering showing this to the kids as it is pretty damned informative.... but for some reason, that just seems... I don't know... wrong?

[mobile]Evaluate This!

2008-05-08T23:14:44Z

There exists an element xP(x) where x is students and P(x) is a student about to pass out from a combination of boredom, exhaustion, and heat. The domain is this class.
The statement is true, because I am that student. It is not uniquely true, because I am not the only one whose head keeps drifting perilously close to the desk.

It doesn't help that the Swedish Chef is teaching this class... "Hurka burka hurka burka salad"

One more hour to go.

Truest in the season of trial...

2008-05-08T17:01:14Z

I met him in the Consuite at Penguicon 6.0. Of course, the same could be said of about 200 other people that I met similarly, but this guy stuck. He does that; he sticks. It's a special skill, a flavor of charisma even, that most of us simply don't have. If you've ever had someone root through their consciousness trying to wrest your name from nook deep in their cerebrum while you stand uncomfortably before them, you don't have it. This guy did.

It was strange, really, because when I looked up to see him and his cadre headed my direction, he seemed unassuming enough; a reasonably good looking guy for whom nothing stood out too much either good or bad. He simply didn't seem specifically notable. Then, of course, he spoke. That's how they do it, those sticky ones, they start to speak and they indelibly mark themselves on your psyche. The question wasn't important, but his eyes and his focus, they cling to a person. Before I knew it, I was hooked. It was only after wandering with him and the "cool kids" for a little while that I even stopped to realize I hadn't asked his name.

"The Ferrett," was his reply.

At no point did it even occur to me that this moniker might be a pseudonym. This was clearly a dude that deserves a unique--dare I say outlandish?--name.

Since that time, if someone asked me, I would hesitate to say that we were friends only because I always hesitate to call anyone "friend" that hasn't used the term first--a sort of lowered self-esteem thinking that is a holdover from a less self-assured time; a sign that I'm not always as with-it or together as I pretend to be--but he is a friend. A friend that due to geographic proximity (or lack thereof) I do not see nearly as often as I would like, but a friend nonetheless. It is a friendship that I cherish because he is a person that I feel I can be entirely myself around, that I can speak to frankly and he will "get it" even if he disagrees, and a person with whom I can disagree without it become a drama filled super-event.

theferrett, you are awesome; but I use that term frivolously--even PopTarts are awesome. You are awe-inspiring. Thank you for being a part of my life, even if it is at the periphery most of the time.

A Request

2008-05-08T10:58:57Z

Does anyone know where I can find karaoke (or lead vocal-less) versions of:
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Cream - Sunshine of Your Love

Your help is appreciated.

SMOScast Episode 1 - A Babe in the Woods

2008-05-07T22:26:05Z

SMOScast Episode 1 has just been uploaded (or, more accurately, is in the process of uploading as you read this). Please, come along and listen to Jess and I stumble our way through the first of what we hope is many such aural treats! :)

Episode 1 - A Babe in the Woods (55:27) (MP3 (50.7MB) / ogg (37.4MB))

00:00 Intro Music (Throne of Blood http://www.throneofblood.com)

00:25 Show Start

01:14 Host Introductions

04:00 Show Introduction

07:25 How to get involved with the show (smoscast at penguicon dot org)

09:00 Penguicon 6.0

09:19 A note with love and understanding by Jer

09:55 Our favorites of 6.0

10:53 We aren't at all conceited

13:27 Steve GUTTERMAN, not Steve GUTTENBERG

13:50 Official Soundbyte!(tm)

15:47 Dreamland Theater (http://www.dreamlandtheater.com)

16:40 Shoggoth on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgvogA7r5b0)

19:07 Guest of Honor lovin'

19:43 Woobies: A woman causing a motorboat situation with her breasts!

20:40 Tim Leib is teh awesome / Penguicon != Scientology

25:42 Jer's phone makes an annoying appearance (35 seconds of pain, oops)

28:35 Jess has mathematical difficulty

20:28 Matt's missing ConChair Report

29:40 Jobs at Penguicon

32:17 penguicon.info (Coming soon)

33:39 Job Opening: Operations & Ops Staff!

34:39 Obscenity Alert - Only 34 minutes late!

36:15 consuite at penguicon dot org

36:45 Introducing Penguicon *BING*

37:06 Job Opening: Sponsorship/Marketing and Staff!

39:39 Help Wanted (http://sites.google.com/a/penguicon.org/penguicon-7-planning/help-wanted)

42:02 The truth comes out

42:13 Meeting List (http://sites.google.com/a/penguicon.org/penguicon-7-planning/milestonesandmeetings)

43:17 SMOS explained

44:30 Wrap-Up/Kick-Off Meeting recap (Jess's drunken escapades)

49:38 Hosting your own SMOS Dinner

50:56 We're about done here / Planning for live broadcast

51:45 http://www.penguicon.org and http://www.ibloviate.org

53:02 Ending matter and license

53:15 Closing music (Throne of Blood)

penguicon

[EDIT 20080507-1029]

Audio-rific

2008-05-06T02:44:53Z

Just got done laying down the audio for Episode 1 of the SMOScast¹ with twoofdtm and I am excited. I really just want to stay up all night and edit it and get it posted right away, but I have a LONG-assed day tomorrow... work, two classes at the new school, and a AASFA board meeting... my day starts at 8am and likely ends at 11pm. So I'm off to bed.. the only thing that could stop me is if *someone* calls soon. (hint: I really hope she does)

Look for the SMOScast to be posted by week's end!

¹SMOScast: A new venture by Jess and I. A podcast about Penguicon; the making of and the community behind it. So far, it's a lot of fun.

I Love My Fiance

2008-05-04T21:55:55Z

Me: You should come here and we'll get dinner.
Her: If you keep cheating on me, it's not gonna happen.
Me: What if I stop cheating on you.
...long pause...
Her: We both know, that's not gonna happen.

Quick Update

2008-05-04T13:32:46Z

In no order of importance...

Done with school at HFCC. Got a B in Calc II and I'm 99% sure I did so in Physics. I know I have an A in Telecom though. So the 4.0 is dead, but at least it waited patiently until the last semester to do so. On Monday, I has an associates degree!
UofM on Tuesday. SCARED! I have to wrangle time and money on Monday or Tuesday to buy my books ($300 for two classes.. *sob*) but I'm looking forward to it. This is the last push of school before I adopt a more relaxed pace. I have to muddle through about two years of the "job/freelance work/school/single parent/Penguicon/vague stab at a life" thing and about two more years of the "figuring out how to afford each semester" thing... but then I can do the part-time thing for my grad degree.
Penguicon Wrap/Kickoff... w00t! Much fun. Spent some quality time with great friends (and got cuddly with a new one..) and made some progress toward 7.0 to boot! Now if we could just convince Kimba that she wants nothing more than to shut her gaping pie hole, life would be grand. (Ooops, did I drop a name in here? My bad, I meant to say "Someone who is not Kimba Wilson needs to shut the fuck up regarding things about which she knows nothing... and that list is CONSIDERABLE!" Oops, I don't think that was any better.)
Miss, miss, miss Ger. :( Want her here now, or at least want her phone working again so I can talk to her. I don't like going a day without talking to her, let alone two or three. (I'm LAME!)
Walking out the door right now to go cycling with friends. Catch up with you on the trail

Peace, and updates probably to come from the ride!

Yeah, That's the Date

2008-05-01T14:06:57Z

Absurdly not work safe. But fantastic. :)

[mobile]From Jess's Party

2008-05-01T00:49:37Z

Ninjas and sharks are the clear winners. The angry mob has spoken.

Finals, Part I

2008-04-30T15:24:00Z

Well, I finished my Calc II final today. I definitely didn't ace it, but I think I did pretty well. I totally blanked on the parametric version of the formula for length of a curved line (I could readily bring to mind the cartesian and polar versions, but spaced on parametric) so I had to spend 15 minutes working through the pseudo-proof of the thing to arrive at the formula.. which I blew a sign on anyways so I'm STILL wrong.. hehe. That said, the rest of it was fairly easy, I think. I suppose I'll find out soon enough. It would be nice to have done well enough to keep an A, but frankly, I'll be happy with a B.

Tomorrow is Physics II, and this week I have to do my Telecom final, then I'm done here. That's right, by the end of the week I'll have a degree!

The transition to university money is going to be a pain... I have NO idea how I'm going to survive financially... but I'll figure something out. Working at the college is certainly going to help, as are loans and scholarships, but I think I'm going to have to seek out some kinda minimally paying side-gig to make ends meet. To hell with that, though, its a problem for another day. For now, I'm just excited that I'm about to graduate.

It's that time of year again...

2008-04-28T13:40:45Z

It's the time of year when my ex-wife makes her annual "the schools where I live are better, the kids should live with me" post.

Now, mind you, she's sort of right. The schools in her district are mildly better than the schools in the district in which I live... but not by a massive amount. Significant, but not massive. The problem is the entire rest of it. The making them do homework (she's very hit or miss on that, even with the limited number of school nights she has them), disciplining them for misbehavior, or even observing their behavior at all. While she does a remarkably better job than she used to, that still leaves her well short of the "acceptable" level of behavior monitoring.

How short? Well, I asked the kids this year (as I did last year) what they wanted to do. Both want to stay at their current school, but both want to live with their mom. I feel that it is a minor victory that they feel comfortable telling me their preference because I've drilled into their heads that they can't hurt my feelings with the truth (a bold-faced lie, but a necessary one). When I said that I would take that under advisement but that I wasn't sure it was the best idea, Cody responded that he knows they SHOULD stay with me, but they WANT to spend more time with their mom. Amber concurred.

So we discussed some possible middle ground, giving them more nights with their mother during the school year so long as their grades and attitudes don't slip as a result. Hopefully she's willing to accept that, because I don't want to have to deal with the whole expensive court thing again for something that is so obviously necessary.

A Little Bit of Emo?

2008-04-28T13:21:01Z

Apparently, posting song lyrics is a LJ signal of depression. Ooops. Sorry guys. Nothing to see here. I was cranky from studying for finals and watching Scrubs when a Colin Hay song that I enjoy came on.

Of course, the greatest of all quotes was from my fiance who said, "I'm sorry, but when I see someone post song lyrics on LJ, I just assume they're cutting themselves."

That having been said, I really do love that song. :)

Who Wants to Ride This Weekend?

2008-04-28T02:00:26Z

Alrighty folks. Sunday is the Metro Grand Spring Tour, and I want to go. I'm thinking about doing the 25 mile (since I have done ZERO training so far this year aside from one or two 20 milers). Saturday is the Penguicon Wrap/Kickoff Party/Meeting, so there's no reason not to work off all that Brazilian beef with a nice short ride!

Who's in?

Waiting for My Real Life to Begin

2008-04-28T01:10:45Z

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
I'll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down down down, on me

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in
But don't you understand I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams, I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again

And you say, just be here now
Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin
Let me throw one more dice I know that I can win
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I’ll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call
It's gonna happen soon, soon, soon
It's just that times are lean

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart, let the light shine in
Don't you understand I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

*shrug*

Pins

2008-04-25T11:23:44Z

I want two pins for next con.

One, green, that says "I survived OSBP-Gate"

One, red, that says "No, I wasn't there, but I have a loud opinion"

Funny Stories

2008-04-25T08:33:34Z

It was requested that I post quick links to the funny stories Dawn and Greg did dramatic readings of at Penguicon. Well, I had to sanitize the second one some (names and some details blotted to protect the partner in the events described), but here they are:

Messy the Pooh
Surprise!

For more information about Dawn and Greg's shows, visit NakedComedy.net.

Greatest... Bug Report... Ever

2008-04-25T07:20:48Z

This is why Debian is the greatest distro.

Penguicon 6.0 Wrap Up/Penguicon 7.0 Kickoff

2008-04-24T20:02:01Z

Hey all,
Now that we're recovering from the con and real life is depressingly starting to creep back in, I want to remind you all that we have the wrap/kickoff meeting on Saturday, May 3rd at Jess's place. The address is:

19131 Indian, Redford, MI 48240

We will be serving whatever food we have left from the ConSuite, to include Brazilian Beef for those that missed it at the con (or those that just can't get enough, like me), hanging out, congratulating each other on kicking ass, and finding people to run the various departments for next year... so if you have a desire to get involved with our team for 7.0 (Penguicon *BING*) this is THE place to be.

Food will be on between noon and 1, the meeting will start at 2, the party will run until Jess gets really tired of seeing us and makes us all go away. (Traditionally, Jess has an absurd tolerance for our shenanigans, so I wouldn't count on an early ending! :P)

[Crossposted to penguicon]

(Oh, and just a reminder that we are compiling links to Penguicon reviews, reports, pics, and vids over here. It's just a link dump now, but I'll pretty it up when the flood slows.)

Happy Birthday...

2008-04-24T10:38:33Z

Happy birthday, zoethe, and for you, a birthday song...

Ooops, I couldn't help myself. Happy birthday :)

OSBP

2008-04-24T01:37:30Z

Holy crap, it's on Feministing, it's on Metafilter, it's on Digg, it's fucking everywhere... and all I have to say is...

Seriously, can I touch someone's boobies please?

*slaps hand* Not your's, Ger, a STRANGER'S BOOBIES! *nom nom nom*

Sorry. I can't maintain anything akin to composure when this is blown as out of proportion as it is. *sigh* I love teh intarweb. (For the record, I used the creepiest icon I could find for this post... it is my sincerest hope that someone out there is so squicked out by the combination of my request to the internet and creepy sketch that they feel the need to publicly bash me on every possible "news" outlet on the net. I mean, since no-one else makes mistakes and all. And, y'know, I hope that the gals at Feministing bash my appearance and stereotype geeks in general... because stereotypes are COOL when sexists do it!)