| (no subject) |
[Mar. 25th, 2009|07:34 am] |
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Ah airports, why do you have to be so awful? |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 8th, 2009|12:10 pm] |
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Making some delicious playa waffles (thanks aubilenon!) |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 6th, 2009|09:10 am] |
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wondering if there is an a priori reason for the remarkable tenacity of life. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 30th, 2009|06:01 pm] |
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Science is awesome, especially when Jade is drowning in it! |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 25th, 2008|11:30 am] |
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Happily wishing everyone a merry christmas! |
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| full of mold, healthy, and giddy with autumn |
[Sep. 30th, 2008|12:14 am] |
it's that best kind of chilly days. crisp. not quite cold, but you can feel the season's seam. the montana air is dry and smells of brown grass and frost. everything seems to have sharper edges, it's like the resolution of the world got cranked up. it's my favorite time of year, i'm just glad to be healthy again to enjoy it.
i've eaten the last of the penicillin. the streptococcus routed, villages burned, stragglers put to the sword: i am well again. i was on the mend when i decided to purchase a rotisserie chicken. the ones with the chewy salty skin and juicy meat. after the first meal, i stripped the bones of meat and made broth with the carcass and some leftover wilted veggies. the next night: onions, peppercorns, carrots, celery and garlic. a couple potatoes because they were there. kosher salt. egg noodles. two bay leaves and half a fist full of oregano. everything is scoured, but keeps its skin. the kind of soup that just gets better until it's gone. today (3 days later) i've finished the soup which by now was more like a pot pie missing its crust. a bit more gumption and i would have made the crust. perhaps next time.
something from brc:
ballet
it was friday i think. it took us a very long time to get going. it was one of those group escapades that just as we were about to leave, a few more campmates asked where we were going and if we could wait just a few minutes until they were also ready to go. it's a common enough thing. but by the time we finally pushed off, i was a little grumpy.
i decided then that burning man playa cruising parties had the same optimal population as a board gaming group. three to five players are optimal. more than that and it becomes a mess trying to keep everyone in the same groove. people get distracted.
we were headed towards something thirty. five maybe. i think a bar was to be lit on fire. i didn't much care, i was just happy to be moving. the esplanade was (as should it be) clotted with flamboyant traffic. we kept in a loose pack, passing around a wineskin of mango juice and rum. it was perhaps 7:30 where we ran into the stage. really, we ran into the audience. i don't normally like ballet, but i was captivated by the contrast of grace and slapdashery of the city. the troupe was skilled and rehearsed. there were lights and the sound was good. it was not half-assed, it was a full moon shining and i was stuck in its headlights. i briefly remembered my pack-mates, and turned to them and said that i wanted to watch this, but that i didn't want to stop anyone up and they were welcome to move along or whatever. i don't remember the first piece very well. it was a group, maybe eight, four men and women. they were enacting a scene of people who were methodically stripping from themselves inhibition and clothing.
it surprised me how much i liked it. i clapped and hooted when it ended. i was happy. an announcer came to the foot of the stage and asked us please to not photograph or record the next performance. two dancers came out. i recognized the song immediately, it was tom waits growling waltzing matilda. it was a story of domestic abuse told through ballet. she was (with such delicate ferocity) hit and pushed and fucked and she kept falling back to him. she looked she was never quite on her balance. she could never get purchase as he pushed, pulled, shoved, and fucked her. a couple times she would pull away, and almost do it (almost make you think she might even stand and fight or something) but he would be there, and hold her and caress her face and she would collapse along his body. and it would happen again and again. a pattern that wasn't ever exactly the same, but maddeningly close enough. the song wasn't long. it was breathtaking. i'll never forget it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 18th, 2008|06:40 pm] |
Apparently I'm to post an unedited pic of how i look RIGHT NOW, and then pass it on.
Pol is sick and wandering the internets, Alice is playing WoW. |
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| Arrrr... |
[Sep. 18th, 2008|05:27 pm] |
It's gettin' ta be that toim o' year!
My pirate name is:
Dirty Tom Flint
You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.part of the fidius.org network |
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| sick sick sick. ugh |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|04:31 pm] |
so, i am sick. mom says it's the flu and not meningitis (i was thinking it might be meningitis, since I already have the cold-sore herpes virus and maybe it decided to find its way into my meninges). still, i am exhausted and kind of miserable.
so, that's why i didn't do a black rock city post. maybe i'll be up for it later.
also, i have been playing spore a lot, though i spend the vast majority of my time in the item editor. it's fun. people complain that it doesn't model evolution (more legs doesn't equal more speed), but i disagree. for example, you can have a monster without arms, but it limits your options. it is more of a toy than a game, and more of a game than a simulation, but it is quite remarkable. My civilization of moose-lizard-centaurs ride around in galleons with robot legs. and the game doesn't punish you for being creative. so, that's nice.
this weekend we played yet another session of dnd 4e, and good fun was had by all. my only quibble is that combats take too long, so i would like to encourage the characters to avoid encounters if they can. A coworker mentioned that giving characters benefit points (bennies as he called them) that would let you re-roll a particular roll has been an effective reward in his rpg group. it's a good idea, and he also said that the characters could grant them to each other if they thought someone did something particularly cool. I like that idea too. The only hitch during the session was that one character made a rash move at the beginning of a combat the blew the undercover sneaking plan that the group was working on. The rest of the group was pissed, and it was all tense and stupid for a while. The thing to take away from this is: blame the character, not the player, and make it a "thing". So instead of "You're stupid!", it's "Wow, that dwarf must really hate orcs." or "Damn, this dwarf is a loose cannon that could potentially 'go off' at any time." That stuff adds drama and richness to the situation, the former one is not only mean spirited, but it is boring.
ok. that's enough for now, i'm gonna go to sleeps.
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| good day (more brc) |
[Sep. 11th, 2008|11:38 pm] |
today was a good day. i went to the dentist, discovered a cavity, filled the cavity and got my teeth all cleaned. i hadn't gone to the dentist in years, i was expecting a terrifying ordeal. instead, friendly people scraped gunk off of my teeth, patched up a hole, and gave me a goody bag of toothpaste, toothbrush, floss and a couple replacement sonicare brushes (those weren't free). also, the day was the best kind of fall day, warm, but with a patina of winter on the wind. delicious.
oof, i'm tired, but i want to keep up with the brc bits. even if they are boring. 80% of success is just showing up, right? right. onward...
7. moonshine tavern
i don't know if i should describe the phenomenon which is the black rock city bar (non-burners never seem to get it when i tell them that there are bars all over the place that serve drinks as gift. "well, you have to give them something back, right?" "not really. i mean, if you gave them something, they wouldn't refuse it, but their whole schtick is to pour lovely drinks into parched throats. so it's not required."), or describe an event that happened in the moonshine tavern (we set up a cigarette bar there, they were gracious hosts. we were looking for a place to give custom cigarettes a try, and they were more than happy to let it be the moonshine tavern. i got into a long discussion with Roul, made cigarettes for as many people as I could, and basked in the praise as people smoked what was probably the best tobacco cigarette they had ever smoked), or describe the tavern as compared to other black rock city bars (it was great! not too loud so you couldn't talk, the dance dome was next-door, not right in the bar (good move) and the hosts were happy and glad to serve. sometimes you find services in the city where the hosts put on airs or expect something in return (that's not a gift!), not the 'shiners. they were top notch. plus the space was nice, lots of couches and chairs to lounge in. ) or maybe just give up because there is just far too much to describe and i couldn't possibly fit it into a little paragraph vignette. such a quandry. |
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| a good day |
[Sep. 10th, 2008|11:36 pm] |
today was a good day. i went to see a counselor, the first time in my adult life i have sought the ministrations of a mental health professional. it's too early to tell if it is going to work, but i have hope. i am a little concerned that the guy might not be exactly right for the job, but i won't really know until after a few sessions.
i think the last two brc moments were a bit flowery. i'll try to tart them up a bit less.
5. bummer
the bummer was a giant hummer. not the bird, the vehicle. the vehicle that in normal-land is its own punch-line. we passed it heading somewhere else. i had been hearing about this monstrous thing. i wasn't terribly excited about it, though rumor had that it was made by the same group that did the big rig jig from last year (which i liked quite a lot). what was so awesome about a big crappy sport utility vehicle that was bigger? but as much as i want to say that it wasn't that awesome, that it was exactly what i expected, i still can't forget it. a giant dump of car meat in the desert. irritating, banal and completely unforgettable.
6. wiener camp
oh, wiener ladies, how i miss thee.
our northerly neighbor on Allanté was the wiener camp. (maybe weenie camp? i can't remember) They had some carny games "toss the wiener through the hole", "ring around the weiner", etc. but their real draw was the wiener roasts on tuesday and thursday. a big line of hungry citizens stretched out into the street as the hollers of "Get your fresh hot wieners!" ricocheted down the street. There were two charcoal grills, one manned by a man who looked suspiciously like Col. Sanders wearing a chef's hat. The lovely serving girls wore fluffy skirts and served up the feast with flirty zest. "Your hot meat, sir." "I've got your wiener right here." A laughing man exclaimed that he just *had* to get a photo. The wiener girls pulled their skirts up to reveal their own wieners (brightly colored dildoes sewn to their skirts that bobbled to attention) and posed for the photos. it was *brilliant*. The condiment table had several bottles of ketchup, mustard two other bowls that held condoms and mints. condom-mints. i don't think i shall ever tire of that pun. all in all, i think i ate 5 wieners during the two roasts that wiener camp held, and I am in their debt. thank you wiener camp, i love you!
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| cupcakes, awkward moments, and more brc |
[Sep. 10th, 2008|01:47 am] |
i am making cupcakes. it's a little late (some might even say a lot late), but i like cupcakes, and it's the birthday of a friend tomorrow. this time i am making lemon cupcakes with the zest and juice of two lemons! i expect that they will be tasty.
awkward moments... you know that feeling you get sometimes that there is an elephant in the room, but there actually isn't? like, anxious and nervous and expecting that any moment that thing that everyone is thinking about will finally air, but it never does because it isn't actually there? so, i'm trying to be casual and lighthearted, to try to bust through this weird feeling, but it ends up sounding forced and awkward. i hope the mystery elephant in the room will either make itself known or go away!
more moments from the brc:
3. dawn
it was late, and i thought i was tired. i wasn't feeling the groove dancing at the golf ball, so i made my way over to dan (tingling in the smaller dance dome). i pulled my ear plugs out and told him that i was feeling tired and was going to head back to camp. he wished me well and went back to his business. i popped the earplugs back in and made my way back towards camp. as i was walking, i was struck at how different i felt with the city muffled all around me. i felt like an undersea explorer. i could hear my breathing. it was very soothing and i realized that i didn't want sleep, i wanted solitude. so i wandered. it was just starting to get light at the edge of the sky when i found myself at the all-american living room. it was an open scaffold with a couch underneath it facing an old wood box television that played a mosaic of the american flag. there was a coffee table to put your legs up on. the couch faced east-ish, a good view to watch the sunrise. i sat down, relaxed, and watched the colors of the sky change. the next thing i knew, i was waking up. on my left was a cuddling couple, and on my right a guy sitting on the arm of the couch. i must have fallen asleep. i popped the earplugs out and said hello to my couchmates. they said good morning. they were british and quite friendly. the sun had not yet risen, and it seems they had the same notion that i did about the couch. the couple lit a joint and passed it around. i decided to have a drag, since i wasn't conversing. the high settled in as a calm, heavy weight. a skinny man in a motley unitard appeared and asked if we knew where the drummers were. we didn't know. he was carrying a drum (one of those big ones shaped like an hourglass) and a bag of candy that he joked was crack and heroin. he pronounced marijuana "mary-jew-ah-nah". he was trying too hard to make friends and it was a little awkward. we listened distractedly as he rambled. the sun started to breach and he sat on his drum and began to softly play. i swallowed a gulp of my water. i could hear myself breathe as impossibly brilliant light spilled into a canary blue horizon.
4. ring wings
it was a blistering hot afternoon, and we were roaming the desert looking for interesting art. over towards the lower hours, we came across a roped-off circle. in the center was a steel ring mounted vertically on an axle sunk into the ground. on the sides of the ring were giant majestic steel wings, the glinting layered feathers were both wicked and graceful. at first the rope seemed to indicate that the art was not interactive. but after some discussion, it was decided that the rope was there to keep fast (bikers) or careless (drunken) citizens from wing-related decapitation. so in we went. you could stand inside the ring and grip the sides and the whole assembly could spin. you never got going very fast (even if two people pushed) but that wasn't the point. some people were disappointed that it wasn't a merry-go-round. but why? as you gripped the hot metal ring, you could almost imagine the two massive pinions straining your shoulderblades as they gained purchase on the rippling thermals and bore you up. up to the land of valkyries and harleys. unlike an angel's wings which were just the dressings of snappy obedience, these were hot welded instruments of freedom. wild, ferocious and unafraid.
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yay! my cupcakes are all done and it's only 3AM. :-/
time to get a few hours of sleep before work. wish me lovely slumbers... |
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| today and notes from the brc |
[Sep. 8th, 2008|11:28 pm] |
first, today:
i'm trying to get better at being managerial, so today i did my first round of one-on-one meetings with my developers. i was hoping to not only get some idea of where they were at, but also what their frustrations were and how they were feeling in general. It seemed to work pretty well, but one of my favorite people seemed unhappy. not with work, maybe not with anything specifically, but i don't know for sure. i asked them if they were all right, and they said 'yeah', but i could tell they weren't feeling tip top. the rest of the meeting was a little awkward as i pretended to not notice that they were feeling down, but was always trying to think up some way to make them feel better. i don't know how to best approach that situation, i guess maybe that was it? anyway, it didn't feel ideal, but, whatever. any ideas?
second, the brc:
this is going to be a series of flashbulb memories that i have jotted down in my little journal. i might not be remembering them just right, and they won't be in any sort of order (just they order they were written down in). i'll try to be mostly faithful to how they made me feel, so i might get the facts wrong.
1. kisses at the panorama
we (a big bunch of sfgh'ers) were wandering the esplanade on friday night. i think it was friday anyway. it doesn't matter terribly much when it happened. eventually we ended up at panoramic pictures of black rock city from years past posted up on plywood boards. i was a bit drunk, we had made a bota bag full of mango coconut rum cocktail that was delicious, and adam had a backpack of liquor and mixers. i remember feeling wobbly and happy as i scanned over the long pictures of the city. the spot was a little puddle of light and memories in the midst of the dark, blinky, explody city. dan pulled out his tingler and started in on the random citizens (as he loves to do). one particularly pleasant burner traded some kisses for a drink of water and a tingle (from adam and dan respectively). they were pleased as pop to have gotten some kisses, they don't get them very often even though they are top notch guys. i basked in the happy glow of their blushy giddiness. it reminds me that it makes me so happy when my friends are happy. what a treat.
2, rolling dome
having been taken care of many times when high, i try to take special care to make sure that others are cared for when in similar circumstances. (also i think i have a fairly strong streak of service submissive in my character, i get off on doing things well for loved ones and friends. i didn't know about the term 'service submissive' until recently, but it resonates with me). anyway, one of the nights i came upon a pile of happy people in the cuddle dome. i poked my head in and said that it was me and i was wondering if anyone needed anything. they said no, but i wanted to make sure that water was available, so i checked the main water reservoir. I discovered that it was empty, so i grabbed a 7 gallon container from the truck and filled it up. i went back to the dome and popped my head in and let everyone know that the water was refilled if anyone needed any. at this point i was beckoned in by a lovely lady and asked if she could kiss me. i smiled a bit sheepishly and said: of course you can. She gave me a nice kiss and I kissed her back and told her that my friends were still waiting on me and that i had to go. I gave her another kiss on the forehead and made my way back to my traveling buddies.
...more to come. |
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| a recap |
[Sep. 7th, 2008|02:04 pm] |
Since getting back from burning man, it seems like everyone that I camped with is on this livejournal place. I mean, I knew that ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) moominmolly and cuthalion had active livejournals, but it seems now that this is the hip place to be. So I figured I may as well try to get back to it.
On the way back from nevada, I made a list in my little moleskine of the things that were awesome. but i thought, hm, maybe i should catch the internet up on what i've been doing between november of last year and burning man.
so, here's what happened (with details after the cut if you are so inclined):
Grandpa died
Got a new job doing Ruby on Rails for science
I moved and got back togehter with Alice
My childhood friend shot himself
Went to Rails Conf in portland
Had my 2^5 birthday
Started playing D&D4E
Went to Burning Man
Stopped playing WoW (mostly)
( Details of those things... )
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 26th, 2007|09:27 am] |
Recently:
my grandfather passed away and I drove back and forth from bozeman to missoula to be with family and help out. the service was nice, it was at a senior center, there was table of pictures and things from his life. i didn't know that he lived for many years in a yacht in a harbor. he was a nice guy who moved to rural montana to be near his son and grandchildren. he will be missed.
in the process, the cv joints in my car's axles became worn to the point of making terrifying clunking noises while driving and turning. i had to leave the car in missoula to be fixed, and took a bus home (this was the weekend before thanksgiving). then i caught a ride with my friendly roomate to missoula while he was going to whitefish to visit his family.
i drove back to bozeman with a repaired car (thanks Mountain Imports, you rock!), and some stuff from my grandfather's house. a sewing machine, microwave, some nice family-crafted ceramic bowls. i passed on the handgun.
i also agreed to take the cat, of indeterminate gender, with no name. as it turns out she is very friendly. she really disliked the borrowed cat carrier she was in and scraped her nose to bleeding from thrashing around in it. i let her out at that point, and she yowled mournfully while sniffing around the car. she ended up on my lap and seemed more calm as i petted her. then she peed on me. not much to do really, but just get peed on. stay calm, freaking out wouldn't help. i pulled over at a truck stop, cleaned up and changed my pants. she was content to lie on my lap the rest of the way to bozeman.
she is a little skittish in her new home, and Mercy is terrorizing her less now that she's more used to her. she didn't have a name, so I named her Tamarin, because i liked it and her head reminds me of those monkeys with manes. she has long, soft, black fur. she is a good lap kitty, especially for cold wintery evenings. Mercy is used to sitting on my lap, though, and she has twice tried to jump up to my lap when Tamarin was there and a catsplosion resulted. i have not yet been injured by it, but the likelihood of future injury is high. i need bigger/more lap.
because of the wake and thanksgiving, i have been able to see a lot of my relatives that i don't usually see. it was really nice. i hope your peoples holidays are just as good. |
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| Juice Fast - Day 7 |
[Aug. 15th, 2007|09:41 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | fasting | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | boom bip | ] |
Morning Measurements
Weight: 156.8 lbs
Body Condition: I feel fan-goddamn-tastic.
Mental Condition: I feel sharp as a whistle!
Notes: So, I started warming up the old gastro with some orange juice (squeezed from the finest of organic valencia oranges). It was so tasty! I am pondering which veggies i am going to buy after work to make my broth tonight.
My current plan is:
1) procure veggies
2) stick them in water and some other leftover veggie broth with pepper (<3), salt, fresh rosemary, and other tasties. This will go in a slow cooker.
3) leave that to become awesome and go to the hot springs and work out, then soak.
4) come home and enjoy said broth.
Tonight is gonna rock. |
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| Juice Fast - Day 6 |
[Aug. 14th, 2007|08:30 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | fasting | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | pinch | ] |
Morning Measurements
Weight: 157.4 lbs
Body Condition: I feel weaker than usual. More muscle-tired when going up stairs and such.
Mental Condition: I feel pretty good. A little grouchy.
Notes: I am officially tired of drinking potion all the time. I lust for pasta. My dreams feature dancing potatoes. Anyway, I have decided to make the 9 day fast (I was going to go until friday) a 7 day fast and start adding more things to my diet tomorrow. I still drink the potion, but in addition to that I add some orange juice. Tomorrow night I will make some vegetable broth to drink a bit of. Then on thursday I will try to eat some solid vegetable food. Friday I will add eggs/dairy and perhaps some meat.
Have I met my objective? No, I was going to stick it until friday. Am I satisfied with my performance? Yes. No matter how you cut it, not eating for 7 days is strange for the (modern?) human. I am satisfied with my mini-fast. |
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exhausted
tired