friends

from pat... a reminder

[Jul. 6th, 2008|06:38 pm]

silona

"Who is to say whether madness is,
or is not,
the loftiest intelligence.
Whether much that is glorious,
whether all that is profound,
does not spring from "disease of thought."
From "moods of mind."
We who dream by day
are aware of many things that escape those who dream only by night.
In our gray visions, we obtain glimpses of eternity,
and thrill, in awaking,
to find that we have been upon the verge of the great secret.
We penetrate, however rudderless, however compassless,
into a vast ocean of light.
Who, then, shall blame me for my visionary hours?
Who dare call my conduct into question?
To dream has been the business of my life."
-- Edgar Allen Poe

If you didn't get enough fireworks

[Jul. 5th, 2008|09:51 pm]

[	Tags	\|	polar lights	]
[	Current Location	\|	Office, but fleeing momentarily	]
[	mood	\|	happy	]

When the fireworks are over, and you still lust after them, get a natural firework fix:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Vx9nWB-ig

Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcartiersr/sets/72157594420812359/?page=5

Haven't yet found a good picture of the Southern Lights!

Happy belated birthday, Kristine!

[Jul. 5th, 2008|08:27 pm]

[	Tags	\|	birthdays	]
[	Current Location	\|	Office & watering trees	]
[	mood	\|	cheerful	]

In honor of your birthday, the house has given back to me my CONTACT IMMINENT, missing for months, for e-reading so I can finally read the last Jani book and remember where I was!

3 comments|post comment

Happy Birthday, ALG!

[Jul. 5th, 2008|07:47 pm]

[	Tags	\|	birthdays	]
[	Current Location	\|	Office & watering trees	]
[	mood	\|	awake	]

Hope you are celebrating in high style your birthday and the birth of our nation!

i have only basic cable, netflix is in order, pbs

[Jul. 5th, 2008|06:04 pm]

oliana0

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I find that i can happily watch PBS all Saturday. Until the Lawrence Welk show starts. Although they are showing the really old ones recently. Apparently overly cheesy is perfectly acceptable to me as long as it doesn't come with late 70s' and early 80s' hairdos.

I debated, but I'm pretty sure the "'" goes after they s in 70s and 80s. Because the hairdos belong to the 70s and 80s. In fact they belong IN the 70s and the 80s.

sunday morning movie club

Sunday Morning Movie Club -- Waaaaaaaaal EEEEE Alamo South 11:00 am

[Jul. 5th, 2008|03:36 pm]

oliana0

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Please join me in watching Wall-E for some robot romance this Sunday, 11:00 in the morning at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.

And anyone that wants to help me celebrate the brain-dead after effects of taking a CPA exam part Monday: who's up for Ironman on Monday 9:55 pm (Alamo South Lamar as well)? Monday's Alamo's discount night, and they are down to one showing day for this movie so this is probably one of the last weeks to get that done in the theater.

I'm likely to be brain-dead enough to treat for the Monday night movie. Supplies limited. ;)

4th of July

[Jul. 5th, 2008|03:35 am]

sheilagh

Reading parts of the Declaration of Independence? [√]

BBQ in 78704? [√]

Mellow mid-town mingle? [√]

White trash stars & stripes fashion show? [√]

If you are not yet free & independent, I hope that you soon find space & time to relax and connect with friends.

2 comments|post comment

Mac Mini or white box with XP for Quicken?

[Jul. 4th, 2008|11:58 am]

apthorpe

Dear Lazyweb,

I’ve finally broken down and decided to buy a dedicated Suzy Homemaker desktop machine for which to balance my finances, specifically with Quicken. I don’t want to spend a fortune, the machine doesn’t need to be particularly glamorous, and I don’t want something that I’ll fiddle with so that it dual-boots into Linux. It should be fairly reliable – neither the OS or the hardware should be known for torching itself. I don’t care about games (I have the PS/2 and Dosbox for that.) It should back up and restore easily.

No laptop. No Vista.

A VMWare image of XP might be ok, but that’s probably considered stealing. I looked at the Wine compatibility chart for Quicken and it’s pretty gruesome so I really don’t want to go down that path. That pretty much rules out emulation and virtualization.

I’m narrowing down the choices between a Mac Mini and a white box PC running XP. Both are coming in around $600 or so which seems a bit steep. I’m tempted to hit Discount Electronics and see what they have in the $200-300 range but I’m worried about buying used gear, especially since I know I’ll immediately wedge an old PATA drive in the case and make it dual-boot to Linux. Stupid.

XP is perfect for my needs and might help if I need CAD/CAM applications. On the other hand, Microsoft is actively killing it for the exact reason I want it – it works and it’s not Vista. So XP is end-of-lifed whether the market wants it to be or not.

That leaves OS X. Mac hardware is expensive, unreliable and inconsistent. Either you get third-generation hardware that’s solid as a brick or you get what endemic fault or bad batch of hardware that typifies that hardware generation – overheating, bad keyboard, dying drive, bad power supply – whatever. With good backups, this isn’t so much of an issue. My anecdote is the MacBook Pro at work – I bought SuperDuper and an external drive immediately on the advice of jwz – a few months ago the ribbon cable connecting the keyboard and trackpad to the motherboard went out and the laptop went in for repair. I didn’t need it, but I had a backup and that’s all that matters. At least I don’t have to worry about Apple dicking me over with their OS to get me to buy a new rev of hardware (they did that when they switched from Power to Intel.)

Is there an option I’m missing? The ultimate goal is to get positive control over my finances, not build the ultimate Linux box for under $400, so I’m having a bit of trouble. Can someone help a lazy brother out?

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whiskey tango, my dear foxtrotters?

[Jul. 4th, 2008|12:22 am]

sheilagh

Texas now requires that computer repair technicians have a private investigator license!?

5 comments|post comment

Two Stories at 15 MPH

[Jul. 3rd, 2008|07:52 pm]

incandragon

Traffic was backed up on 520 for a mile north on 405. (For Austinites, that's like I-5 being backed up for a mile on 71, maybe.) I nearly cancelled my reading at Talking Books, figuring it would be too late by the time I got there. But I stayed on target. Geting off the highway always just makes a mess of things, I've found.

I thought I found the cause of the delay when I passed six or seven cop cars on the side of the road, parked before and after a big white SUV/van. Then, just as my car was passing the mix, one officer got in his car, and pulled it out to block the HOV lane. That was, I quickly saw, to provide a safe margin for the sniffer dog that they brought out. Wow, I thought. Sniffer dog. Wow, I thought. Blocking the HOV lane during rush hour. Good thing for me I made it past before the merging hell started.

But traffic didn't get better. I found the REAL cause of the delay about a mile later. A charred, burned-out husk of a shuttle-bus on the side of the road, still being swept and hosed by road crews.

Drugs, dogs, and infernos. And you know, with all that, I was only fifteen minutes late!

2 comments|post comment

Wanted: The Movie

[Jul. 3rd, 2008|08:57 am]

incandragon

Lycangeek, as he's leaving Wanted: "... and then it occurred to me. Without all the really stupid stuff, it would have been an awful movie. But with all the really stupid stuff, actually it wasn't bad!"

And, Mouser? I agree with you on the inspirational movie aspect.

5 comments|post comment

Resolution

[Jul. 3rd, 2008|09:51 am]

silona

things are better btn rob and I.

we talked about it and he apologized.

we also (more importantly) talked about where did this come from? And agreed it was probably the fact that he wants to do both and has tied that to his sense of self worth (something that I don't think is all that healthy) and inappropriately projected that desire on me.

His piano playing is sexy just as it is... I mean he can pick up just about anything from listening and improv from it ... why does it mean he has too sing too? I think he's already doing something so creative... It's great to want to do everything but not completely ok when it starts to bother him that much. Honey we think you are an amazing artist as anyone at oddfriday will tell you.

I was writing this in an email and realized I need to share it with people that are reading too. For resolution and all!

2 comments|post comment

Questions, questions...

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|09:57 pm]

[	Tags	\|	natural foods, nutrition	]
[	Current Location	\|	Office, and work is being accomplished!	]
[	mood	\|	annoyed	]
[	music	\|	A/C and filters	]

1.) Does anyone have a grease car, or a friend who has one? Is this car in the central Texas region? I have 32 oz. of safflower fry oil and I hate to toss it in the trash.

2.) For the love of the Universe, does ANYONE know of something I can do to aloe vera juice to kill the taste without losing the benefits? So far 50-50 with pomegranate juice does not dent it. It was just sweet aloe vera juice. I feel like I need to spike it, like gin and quinine, but I should not be drinking alcohol.

And yes, I'm afraid I do need to drink the nasty stuff. At least my taste buds are numb after the first sip.

14 comments|post comment

Question number two:

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|03:24 pm]

treebyleaf

Is it more useful to hear:

"That's unacceptable. You need a new doctor."

Or to ask:

"Under what conditions would you want to look for a different doctor?"

Or even:

"How would you go about getting a different doctor, if you decide you want one?"

- - - - -

Situation for context:
John has a chronic condition that Jane knows a lot about. John has been venting to Jane about this condition getting worse. Jane can tell that John's doctor-- who is the very first doctor John saw about this condition-- has been downright negligent in treating or educating John. How can Jane handle this situation in a way that will be of the most help to John in the long run?

6 comments|post comment

Sent.

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|02:28 pm]

apthorpe

Two weeks.

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I got Promoted!

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|02:17 pm]

oliana0

[

Tags

finally

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17 comments|post comment

Why?

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|11:37 am]

treebyleaf

Quote from a friend's journal:

"I did my little "get a new doctor" lecture, which she -- of course -- resisted. They always do."

I know exactly what she means.

Why is this?

21 comments|post comment

Forgot to be Thankful for My Doctors

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|09:35 am]

incandragon

I talked to a woman this past weekend who seems to have what I have, but with ( different doctors. )

12 comments|post comment

The Plains! The Plains!

[Jul. 2nd, 2008|08:54 am]

mongo42

Susan and I are heading up to Kansas to hang with her relatives. Be back eaarly next week.

Have a good Independence Day, all!

(And I wish

cholten99 a happy Insurrection Day! It all depends on your perspective, I guess...)

"...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

-- Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence

Kind of ironic given how blatantly our government ignores the populace these days. If Mr. Jefferson were alive today I wonder if he'd be working to overthrow our current government as well...