A strange dialog between Daria Morgendorffer and Eric Cartman pretty much wrote itself as I was staring at an empty Notepad document. Unfortunately, Cartman got a little crude (as usual) and I really feel it necessary to censor the post. Basically, it was a post-breakup discussion after Daria dumped Cartman (yeah, I know, I know... how could it have ever been in the first place? That was answered as well).
In other news... well, there is no other news. You may return to your life, completely unaffected by what you haven't read here.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
What Do Other People Really Think About You?
The conversation between myself, one of my sisters, and my children, as the kids and I were taking off after this past weekend's visit down to Southern Illinois:
Me: Well, we're not going to go straight to [the kid's mom's house]. I'll probably take a few side trips along the way.
Sister (to my kids): Is your dad adventurous?
Kids (with more than a hint of exasperation ): Yes!
Son: Dad's like a cross between Peter Pan, a monkey, and a mad scientist.
Sister: Well, I can see Peter Pan and a mad scientist, but I don't get the monkey.
Me: You know, Darwin.
Sister: Oh, right, the monkey from the Wild Thornberry's. I can see that.
Me: I meant Charles Darwin, the theory of evolution?
Son: No, I meant Dad acts like a monkey.
Me: Well, we're not going to go straight to [the kid's mom's house]. I'll probably take a few side trips along the way.
Sister (to my kids): Is your dad adventurous?
Kids (with more than a hint of exasperation ): Yes!
Son: Dad's like a cross between Peter Pan, a monkey, and a mad scientist.
Sister: Well, I can see Peter Pan and a mad scientist, but I don't get the monkey.
Me: You know, Darwin.
Sister: Oh, right, the monkey from the Wild Thornberry's. I can see that.
Me: I meant Charles Darwin, the theory of evolution?
Son: No, I meant Dad acts like a monkey.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
St. Jude
No, not the patron saint of lost causes (although that would be terribly appropriate for me), but Jude Milhon, known far and wide in the geek communities as "St. Jude." A talented programmer and counter-cultural icon, she is attributed with coining the terms "cypherpunk" and, more famously, "hippie." (At least so claims the Wikipedia). Although a native Midwesterner, she was definitely part of her adopted California culture (can you say "Berkeley"?)
Today marks the fourth anniversary of her death. She is missed by those who knew her, as well as those of us who only knew of her.
Quotes (again, lifted from Wikipedia):
"Hacking is the clever circumvention of imposed limits, whether imposed by your government, your IP server, your own personality, or the laws of physics." — St. Jude
"If we can't have sanity, we can fake it with humor. Humor gives you the same distance from the situation, the same metaview, only laughing is easier than sanity and possibly more fun." — St. Jude
Today marks the fourth anniversary of her death. She is missed by those who knew her, as well as those of us who only knew of her.
Quotes (again, lifted from Wikipedia):
"Hacking is the clever circumvention of imposed limits, whether imposed by your government, your IP server, your own personality, or the laws of physics." — St. Jude
"If we can't have sanity, we can fake it with humor. Humor gives you the same distance from the situation, the same metaview, only laughing is easier than sanity and possibly more fun." — St. Jude
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Sermon I Need to Hear Today
"...the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."
---Koheleth
Why am I so stupid? Probably because I haven't traveled very far down the path of wisdom. In fact, it's safe to say that I usually take a couple initial steps down the path, and then I turn back and follow more comfortable paths: the path of reason, the path of self-reliance, the path of pleasure, the path of despair, really, any path but the one that will actually get me somewhere that I want to be.
It's not that the path is hidden. God Almighty has spoken His Word, incarnated His Word, and sent His Spirit. Humility. "Islam" means submission, which would be a great name for a religion. Submitting humbly to the Creator and Ruler of the Universe, the One whose holiness judges you and whose love redeems you. Sounds easy. Why do I always flee from that path?
Because it's not so easy, at least not for me. Humble submission means accepting that God is God. Easy enough under a clear blue sky on a gentle spring day. Trickier under the smoking ruins of a 9/11 or the muddy, bloody aftermath of a tsunami or a Katrina. God is God Almighty. He could prevent these things. In His wisdom, He doesn't.
But I usually can't accept that. So I backtrack off the path of the fear of the LORD and head down the path of reason. I invent explanations for why bad things happen (or, more often, seek the arguments of others). God allows free will, so bad things happen. God does not know free future events, so bad things can happen and surprise Him. He can change His mind in response to changing events. (Ah, the open theists help make this line of reasoning so much easier...)
Or, perhaps, God has already predestined the good from the bad, and everything is working out as it should for the best possible way. This might sound like humility, but I think that this kind of Calvinism is also a form of the path of reason. We argue that God has a plan, if only we could see it. And this plan involves some people dying in horrible ways and other people going through fates worse than death.
Or we argue that God does not cause the bad things, nor allow them for His master plan, but they happen because we live in a fallen universe. And God, whose will cannot be thwarted, finds a way to make all things right. He draws straight with crooked lines, as Chesterton once quipped.
But... the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. God is God. God Almighty. Whatever happens happens by His divine allowance. And that is good and right, for He is God. Why does He allow evil? Because He is limited, because He is cruel, because it fits into a Master Plan? Maybe the answer is to trust in God. He laid the foundations of creation at the beginning of time. He has promised a final consummation of history with a new heaven and a new earth.
Who am I to ask why some small moment in history occurs the way it did? I, who know there is a Creator, but live too often like there is not. I, who spit in the face of redemption by wallowing once more in the mud of sin. I do not live out fully the answers and callings He has put before me in His Word, why should I expect to understand those things He has kept hidden? Like Job, I am ashamed of my arrogance. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, but it is only the beginning. How much closer to being a saint would I be if only I could stay on that path?
Instead, I too often answer His question to Job like a good modern: "I am a human being. And yet, if I could, I would spare people the loss of their loved ones, I would spare their innocence from the touch of the predator. If I was in charge of all nature, then all disaster would be unnatural, for I would end hurricanes and floods and earthquakes. Why can I be so good, so compassionate, so caring for these strangers I've never met, and You, their Perfect Creator, let all of this happen to them?"
The path of arrogance. Why, if I were even Superman, let alone God, I would do more than Yahweh seems to want to do. The path of arrogance, the exact opposite of the path of wisdom.
And it's not just the question of evil. Why demand faith in an invisible, inaudible, undetectable, unverifiable deity? If I were God, people would know it. I would not hide from them. If I expected them to be in awe before me, I would give them undeniable evidence that I am awe-worthy. Not just for 30 years to a small rural backwater of the Roman empire, but always. Why does He hide?
And, of course, there are theological answers. The path of reason steps up to the plate. We step in as God's lawyers, defending Him to His critics. God needs a lawyer? Is the path of reason a side street leading to the path of arrogance?
The fear of the LORD. I distract myself from that. There are issues to discuss, to address. Even ministries to do, time is short, I gotta get moving... for Jesus, of course. My Friend, My Redeemer, My Co-pilot. Co-pilot? Can I even fly the plane at all? Do I look to that still small voice and experience fear: awe, reverence, humble submission, trust? Sometimes. But, sadly, usually not. God calls for my effort, my best... like an athlete, I got to step it up a notch to reach for the prize (hey, even Paul said something like this, right?)
Martha, He said, Mary has chosen the one needful thing.
Is there no place for thinking, for reasoning, for activity, for serving? Of course there is. We are called to be the living body of the Word in this time and place. But not the living body of our will, not the living body of our plans. His body, His will, His plans. Everything we do must be done in the context of the road we're on. And there is only one road that leads where we say we want to go, the road of Mary, of reverent attention and humble submission to our God.
God, help me to bend my knee before you. Break my heart, my will, knock me off the way of pride and help me to begin---and remain--on the path of wisdom. In Christ's name I ask...
---Koheleth
Why am I so stupid? Probably because I haven't traveled very far down the path of wisdom. In fact, it's safe to say that I usually take a couple initial steps down the path, and then I turn back and follow more comfortable paths: the path of reason, the path of self-reliance, the path of pleasure, the path of despair, really, any path but the one that will actually get me somewhere that I want to be.
It's not that the path is hidden. God Almighty has spoken His Word, incarnated His Word, and sent His Spirit. Humility. "Islam" means submission, which would be a great name for a religion. Submitting humbly to the Creator and Ruler of the Universe, the One whose holiness judges you and whose love redeems you. Sounds easy. Why do I always flee from that path?
Because it's not so easy, at least not for me. Humble submission means accepting that God is God. Easy enough under a clear blue sky on a gentle spring day. Trickier under the smoking ruins of a 9/11 or the muddy, bloody aftermath of a tsunami or a Katrina. God is God Almighty. He could prevent these things. In His wisdom, He doesn't.
But I usually can't accept that. So I backtrack off the path of the fear of the LORD and head down the path of reason. I invent explanations for why bad things happen (or, more often, seek the arguments of others). God allows free will, so bad things happen. God does not know free future events, so bad things can happen and surprise Him. He can change His mind in response to changing events. (Ah, the open theists help make this line of reasoning so much easier...)
Or, perhaps, God has already predestined the good from the bad, and everything is working out as it should for the best possible way. This might sound like humility, but I think that this kind of Calvinism is also a form of the path of reason. We argue that God has a plan, if only we could see it. And this plan involves some people dying in horrible ways and other people going through fates worse than death.
Or we argue that God does not cause the bad things, nor allow them for His master plan, but they happen because we live in a fallen universe. And God, whose will cannot be thwarted, finds a way to make all things right. He draws straight with crooked lines, as Chesterton once quipped.
But... the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. God is God. God Almighty. Whatever happens happens by His divine allowance. And that is good and right, for He is God. Why does He allow evil? Because He is limited, because He is cruel, because it fits into a Master Plan? Maybe the answer is to trust in God. He laid the foundations of creation at the beginning of time. He has promised a final consummation of history with a new heaven and a new earth.
Who am I to ask why some small moment in history occurs the way it did? I, who know there is a Creator, but live too often like there is not. I, who spit in the face of redemption by wallowing once more in the mud of sin. I do not live out fully the answers and callings He has put before me in His Word, why should I expect to understand those things He has kept hidden? Like Job, I am ashamed of my arrogance. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, but it is only the beginning. How much closer to being a saint would I be if only I could stay on that path?
Instead, I too often answer His question to Job like a good modern: "I am a human being. And yet, if I could, I would spare people the loss of their loved ones, I would spare their innocence from the touch of the predator. If I was in charge of all nature, then all disaster would be unnatural, for I would end hurricanes and floods and earthquakes. Why can I be so good, so compassionate, so caring for these strangers I've never met, and You, their Perfect Creator, let all of this happen to them?"
The path of arrogance. Why, if I were even Superman, let alone God, I would do more than Yahweh seems to want to do. The path of arrogance, the exact opposite of the path of wisdom.
And it's not just the question of evil. Why demand faith in an invisible, inaudible, undetectable, unverifiable deity? If I were God, people would know it. I would not hide from them. If I expected them to be in awe before me, I would give them undeniable evidence that I am awe-worthy. Not just for 30 years to a small rural backwater of the Roman empire, but always. Why does He hide?
And, of course, there are theological answers. The path of reason steps up to the plate. We step in as God's lawyers, defending Him to His critics. God needs a lawyer? Is the path of reason a side street leading to the path of arrogance?
The fear of the LORD. I distract myself from that. There are issues to discuss, to address. Even ministries to do, time is short, I gotta get moving... for Jesus, of course. My Friend, My Redeemer, My Co-pilot. Co-pilot? Can I even fly the plane at all? Do I look to that still small voice and experience fear: awe, reverence, humble submission, trust? Sometimes. But, sadly, usually not. God calls for my effort, my best... like an athlete, I got to step it up a notch to reach for the prize (hey, even Paul said something like this, right?)
Martha, He said, Mary has chosen the one needful thing.
Is there no place for thinking, for reasoning, for activity, for serving? Of course there is. We are called to be the living body of the Word in this time and place. But not the living body of our will, not the living body of our plans. His body, His will, His plans. Everything we do must be done in the context of the road we're on. And there is only one road that leads where we say we want to go, the road of Mary, of reverent attention and humble submission to our God.
God, help me to bend my knee before you. Break my heart, my will, knock me off the way of pride and help me to begin---and remain--on the path of wisdom. In Christ's name I ask...
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Nothing to See Here, Move Along
The library remodeling is at that "Things Appear to Be Moving Really Slowly" phase (and I'm feeling like I'm not moving much faster...)
Summer is a weird time to be a grown-up. As a kid, summer was magical (even though I was, and still am, a fan of autumn). Now, it just seems hot and humid and electric bills are too high and gas prices are too high. When I was younger, the heat didn't seem to matter so much. I understand the difference between being responsible for bills and being a child, and I truly have no desire to go back to any point in time. I like being where I'm at in life, I liked getting here (mostly), and I suspect I'll enjoy (most of) the future... except for the bad bits. But... where did summer magic go to? Is it like other childish things, something one puts behind, or is it just misplaced, waiting to be found behind some forgotten box of memories yet to be?
PS - Retraction to the Slackware Store being insecure. It's plenty fine secure. My browser must've been balking at things that day :-)
Summer is a weird time to be a grown-up. As a kid, summer was magical (even though I was, and still am, a fan of autumn). Now, it just seems hot and humid and electric bills are too high and gas prices are too high. When I was younger, the heat didn't seem to matter so much. I understand the difference between being responsible for bills and being a child, and I truly have no desire to go back to any point in time. I like being where I'm at in life, I liked getting here (mostly), and I suspect I'll enjoy (most of) the future... except for the bad bits. But... where did summer magic go to? Is it like other childish things, something one puts behind, or is it just misplaced, waiting to be found behind some forgotten box of memories yet to be?
PS - Retraction to the Slackware Store being insecure. It's plenty fine secure. My browser must've been balking at things that day :-)
Monday, June 25, 2007
Why I Am So Sick and Tired All the Time
The four basic food groups:
Caffeine, sugar, salt, and fat.
The perfectly balanced meal:
Mountain Dew and Doritos.
Caffeine, sugar, salt, and fat.
The perfectly balanced meal:
Mountain Dew and Doritos.
Another Week, Another Pint
Welcome to this week (or the second day of this week if you keep time the traditional Christian way, rather than the secular work-week way). I have nothing to say, except that I am grateful to be here, at this time and place, and to know those of you whom I know (which, at various levels, is all of you). I hope this day provides some pleasant surprise for each of you!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Temporary "Promotion"
Self-appointed benevolent dictator for life (well, a couple of weeks anyway!)
Actually, there's no way on earth I'd want to be the director. Not my kind of calling, I'm afraid. I'll stay in my Spock/Riker role, thank you very much! (Riker's beard, Spock's heart, for those interested
:-)
Actually, there's no way on earth I'd want to be the director. Not my kind of calling, I'm afraid. I'll stay in my Spock/Riker role, thank you very much! (Riker's beard, Spock's heart, for those interested
:-)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Slack News
Slackware 12 release candidate 1 is out!
I actually thought I might pre-order the thing, to show my support for all of Pat's hard work. Imagine my shock to find the Slackware online store to have a little slash through the lock on the screen where it asked for my credit card number! Um, unencrypted, insecure financial transactions are not my First Choice in ways to make my money disappear. I'll have to find some other way to transfer my money into the project... Historically, when I've purchased official releases, I've bought them from cheapbytes.com, but lately cheapbytes hasn't been carrying the official discs.
Anyway, Slack 12 will dispense with the 2.4 kernel and be a 2.6 only release (or so I've been led to believe). This is good news, since Slack is just about the only major distro still defaulting to 2.4. My only concern is that my aging Handspring Visor doesn't work so well with a USB cradle under 2.6. Serial is fine. USB under 2.4 is fine. I've got both cradles, so I'm covered, but it'd be nice to stick the serial cradle up into the closet forever. Oh well, it's time to move into the 21st century, for me and my OS (just call me Epithemeus)
I actually thought I might pre-order the thing, to show my support for all of Pat's hard work. Imagine my shock to find the Slackware online store to have a little slash through the lock on the screen where it asked for my credit card number! Um, unencrypted, insecure financial transactions are not my First Choice in ways to make my money disappear. I'll have to find some other way to transfer my money into the project... Historically, when I've purchased official releases, I've bought them from cheapbytes.com, but lately cheapbytes hasn't been carrying the official discs.
Anyway, Slack 12 will dispense with the 2.4 kernel and be a 2.6 only release (or so I've been led to believe). This is good news, since Slack is just about the only major distro still defaulting to 2.4. My only concern is that my aging Handspring Visor doesn't work so well with a USB cradle under 2.6. Serial is fine. USB under 2.4 is fine. I've got both cradles, so I'm covered, but it'd be nice to stick the serial cradle up into the closet forever. Oh well, it's time to move into the 21st century, for me and my OS (just call me Epithemeus)
Library Remodeling Steals Blogger's Valuable Time!
The headline says it all... But scanning the circle of bloggers I read, it seems everyone else is Being Busy as well. I'm working on a couple of posts at home (but I've also been watching classic Trek season 1, as loaned to me by the recently promoted Commander J.H. Stein of the US Navy; congrats, dude, you richly deserve it!! And thanks for the loan :-)
OK, the remodeling. Here's my office. Well, the Section of Space Formerly Known As My Office. If you look next to the door, you can see the inside of the book return where books (and other objects) would drop into my office at odd times. Happy note: they removed the book return today, so when my office is rebuilt it won't double as a book drop!
And here's our old circulation desk, well, half of it...
I'm going to miss that desk. I spent many happy hours there as a student worker. The plans for the new desk are pretty cool, though.
Anyway, I hope to get back to kender and drow and necromancers Real Soon Now!
OK, the remodeling. Here's my office. Well, the Section of Space Formerly Known As My Office. If you look next to the door, you can see the inside of the book return where books (and other objects) would drop into my office at odd times. Happy note: they removed the book return today, so when my office is rebuilt it won't double as a book drop!
And here's our old circulation desk, well, half of it...
I'm going to miss that desk. I spent many happy hours there as a student worker. The plans for the new desk are pretty cool, though.
Anyway, I hope to get back to kender and drow and necromancers Real Soon Now!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Checking the Calendar of Saints
June 3, The Feast Day of Saint Morgan Adanon of Tashkent,
Patron saint of high-level gamers, spider slayers, and drinkers of rum
Happy St. Morgan's Day to y'all!
This is the day traditionally ascribed to the birth of that near legendary figure, Morgan Adanon, Duke of Tashkent. While the tales of Morgan's deeds as an adventurer par excellance are well-known to every man, woman, and child in the Nine Realms, the circumstances leading to his canonization are less known. In fact, many school children to this day do not associate Duke Adanon of the Ebon Blade with St. Morgan the Drow-Killer.
It happened in this way.
As popular legend records it, Duke Adanon was slain in battle against the foul Dark Wizard Rhoghar Pyepr and his horde of mindless automatons. His body was ransomed to his family for an obscene amount of gold, but so great was the love of his people for the fallen duke that no price was too great. For seven weeks the people of Tashkent mourned him, for seven weeks his body lay in estate, held fast from decay by the workings of the duke's dear friend, the kender necromancer Quinn Reddghost. In time, he was buried and the world continued without its great champion, master of the Ebon Blade and spinner of song and spell.
In the spring, the combined forces of the Eastern Regents marched on Rhoghar's tower. The wizard sent out his automatons, but this time he was in for a rude surprise. A contingent of druids from the unallied Far Wildermost accompanied the armies of the Regents. Torrential rains and ginormous water elementals rendered the wizard's machines less than functional.
The following morning, the armies entered the wizard's now undefended tower. Expecting some resistance, Lord Kyle was perplexed that no magical traps, summoned demons, or other magics slowed their progress up to the tower's top, to Rhoghar's chamber. Upon entering the room, the party found the wizard dead, his throat sliced, a broken bottle of Captain Morgan's Dark Rum on the floor. Pardoo, Lord Kyle's confessor, was with that first group to find the wizard. He reports that the entire area was tinged with divine magic, and that the apparent suicide was the work of a god. The only question was, which one?
[Editor's note: this is all patently absurd. The implication that Morgan came back from the dead as some kind of lesser deity/saint-like entity is nonsense. The man is obviously not dead, even if he blogs less frequently than I. Nevertheless, I had to wish him a happy birthday somehow, and I, uh, forgot to get a card. Happy birthday, comrade Morgan!]
Patron saint of high-level gamers, spider slayers, and drinkers of rum
Happy St. Morgan's Day to y'all!
This is the day traditionally ascribed to the birth of that near legendary figure, Morgan Adanon, Duke of Tashkent. While the tales of Morgan's deeds as an adventurer par excellance are well-known to every man, woman, and child in the Nine Realms, the circumstances leading to his canonization are less known. In fact, many school children to this day do not associate Duke Adanon of the Ebon Blade with St. Morgan the Drow-Killer.
It happened in this way.
As popular legend records it, Duke Adanon was slain in battle against the foul Dark Wizard Rhoghar Pyepr and his horde of mindless automatons. His body was ransomed to his family for an obscene amount of gold, but so great was the love of his people for the fallen duke that no price was too great. For seven weeks the people of Tashkent mourned him, for seven weeks his body lay in estate, held fast from decay by the workings of the duke's dear friend, the kender necromancer Quinn Reddghost. In time, he was buried and the world continued without its great champion, master of the Ebon Blade and spinner of song and spell.
In the spring, the combined forces of the Eastern Regents marched on Rhoghar's tower. The wizard sent out his automatons, but this time he was in for a rude surprise. A contingent of druids from the unallied Far Wildermost accompanied the armies of the Regents. Torrential rains and ginormous water elementals rendered the wizard's machines less than functional.
The following morning, the armies entered the wizard's now undefended tower. Expecting some resistance, Lord Kyle was perplexed that no magical traps, summoned demons, or other magics slowed their progress up to the tower's top, to Rhoghar's chamber. Upon entering the room, the party found the wizard dead, his throat sliced, a broken bottle of Captain Morgan's Dark Rum on the floor. Pardoo, Lord Kyle's confessor, was with that first group to find the wizard. He reports that the entire area was tinged with divine magic, and that the apparent suicide was the work of a god. The only question was, which one?
[Editor's note: this is all patently absurd. The implication that Morgan came back from the dead as some kind of lesser deity/saint-like entity is nonsense. The man is obviously not dead, even if he blogs less frequently than I. Nevertheless, I had to wish him a happy birthday somehow, and I, uh, forgot to get a card. Happy birthday, comrade Morgan!]
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
One More Sign of the Coming Apocalypse
The end of the Dewey Decimal System??? One more of the meager skills in my wretchedly pathetic skill set is becoming obsolete... the end of the world, or at least my world, is at hand.
On other fronts:
On other fronts:
- Tomorrow's scheduled release of Fedora 7 will drop the "Core" from the name (and end the distinction between "core" and "extra.") Good move, Fedora. I'm looking forward to trying Fedora 7 (yes, Uncle Slacker is looking for a new distro... not because Slackware isn't great, but because having many, many packages of ready-to-run software is very good :-)
- Speaking of Linux, the Linux-sponsored car in the Indy 500 smashed big-time. Still, seeing the penguin on a car on ESPN was cool!
- The Open CD is a great collection of open source software for Windows users. Sure, you could search the web and gather it all yourself, but ISO images and broadband Internet can save the time for more World of Warcraft (or, with this crowd, MySpace ;-)
- I took the kids to see Pirates 3 on Monday (since it was a holiday, does it still count as opening weekend?) I'll forego a review as to not spoil anything, but if you haven't seen it, and you do go see it, stay around until after the credits. I think you'll be glad you did. (Even my six year old daughter, who loves Pirates but hates staying for credits, was glad she stayed this time!)
- My son joined Rob and I for our last game of Settlers of Catan, since Rob is leaving to start a new job in Northern Indiana. My eleven-year-old evil genius whooped both of us (laughing maniacally the entire time... cute, annoying, and disturbing all at once.) We played a second game to eliminate the "beginner's luck argument" and the boy genius didn't fare so well. Still, he enjoyed it enough that I think I may have to buy a copy.
- My favorite gaming system that I have never played is getting reincarnated! Of all of White Wolf's World of Darkness games, I loved the setting of Changeling the Dreaming the best. When White Wolf rebooted their World of Darkness, Vampire, Mage, and Werewolf came back immediately, but Changeling didn't seem to be in the cards. Now there's an August release for Changeling the Lost! I think that while I've resisted D&D 3.5, Serenity, and the hilarious (Insert Your Favorite Gaming System Here)
for Dummies books (which seem like unconscious parodies to me!), I won't be able to resist the new Changeling. Well, everybody needs their own follies (I just happen to have more than my fair share.)
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Random Song Quotes
"Port Royal to Tortuga, all the strumpets he would woo, a cross between Keith Richards and that skunk Pepe Le Pew" --Luke Ski, "You Don't Know Jack"
"Not much happening here, nothing ever does" --Bob Dylan, "I and I"
"When you touch me, when you hold me, when you kiss me, it's just like Novocaine, I don't feel anything" --Alice Cooper, "Novocaine"
"I just want to be a lover, not a red-eyed screaming ghoul" --Blue Oyster Cult, "Black Blade"
"Just as I am, I am stiff-necked and proud, Jesus is for losers, why do I still play to the crowd?" --Steve Taylor, "Jesus is for Losers"
"Are we figments of our gin, are we long-lost orphan kin, or the mad descendants of our writer's pen?" --Escape Key, "Girl That's Never Been"
"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand" --Firefly theme
"No good deed goes unpunished, no act of charity goes unresented" --Wicked soundtrack, "No Good Deed"
For what it's worth, the last one is my current ringtone. And, no, there's no hidden message in here, unless you're John Nash, and then, go for it!
"Not much happening here, nothing ever does" --Bob Dylan, "I and I"
"When you touch me, when you hold me, when you kiss me, it's just like Novocaine, I don't feel anything" --Alice Cooper, "Novocaine"
"I just want to be a lover, not a red-eyed screaming ghoul" --Blue Oyster Cult, "Black Blade"
"Just as I am, I am stiff-necked and proud, Jesus is for losers, why do I still play to the crowd?" --Steve Taylor, "Jesus is for Losers"
"Are we figments of our gin, are we long-lost orphan kin, or the mad descendants of our writer's pen?" --Escape Key, "Girl That's Never Been"
"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand" --Firefly theme
"No good deed goes unpunished, no act of charity goes unresented" --Wicked soundtrack, "No Good Deed"
For what it's worth, the last one is my current ringtone. And, no, there's no hidden message in here, unless you're John Nash, and then, go for it!
Life at the Moment
Um, end of the semester, sick kids, crazy remodeling plans at work, general craziness at work, wardrobe gradually falling to bits, sleeplessness, weird dreams, headaches, old age, kid with detention, too many borrowed books and movies, a sinking realization of my own total depravity (damn Calvin!)
Blue skies, spring breezes, kids laughing, new sneakers, blackberry jelly, hawks on road signs, trees and trees and more trees, long walks, music, lifelong friends, a grateful and growing awareness of the gift of grace and freedom (thank God!)
Blue skies, spring breezes, kids laughing, new sneakers, blackberry jelly, hawks on road signs, trees and trees and more trees, long walks, music, lifelong friends, a grateful and growing awareness of the gift of grace and freedom (thank God!)
Friday, May 04, 2007
What's This?!? A Post???
Long time, no blog, eh? But a scan of y'all's blogs reveal I'm not the only slacker 'round these parts. Maybe you've moved your net lives to MySpace, or maybe Real Life(TM) is actually more interesting than swapping electrons with virtualities? I hope that whatever is going on, that everyone is healthy and happy and full of rainbow bliss (just shoot me now, I've got that damned rosy-eyed optimism thing happening at the moment... 'Had a good day.' 'You had the Alliance on you. Criminals and savages. Half the people on this ship have been shot or wounded, including youself, and you're harboring known fugitives. 'Well, we're still flying.' 'That's not much.' 'It's enough.')
Generic life update: not much happenin' here (well, actually, that's almost 100% false, but let's just let sleepin' dogs lie, shall we?) The semester careens madly towards its inevitable end, Yet Another Graduation. The relative calm of summer is only mildly threatened by those not-so sleeping dogs that we shall continue to tip-toe around. "Work" is, as my Uncle Trapspringer use to say, a completely different word than "play" (actually, my uncle never said that since there is no word for "work" in the kender language. The closest we get is the phrase "involuntary action with pain and/or boredom." Gnomish. on the other hand. has twelve different words that translate to "work" in Common.)
My reading's been all over the place. Most recently, a little book by Peter Kreeft titled Prayer for Beginners. Kreeft, a philosophy professor at Boston College, provides a clear and engaging introduction to prayer that is of value even if you've been praying for years (especially if, like me, you've been at it for years but still feel like an amateur!) I am, of course, biased, as Dr. Kreeft is my favorite living philosopher, but for a book weighing in at 124 pages, it is the work of a few hours (less for some of you) to devour.
I see Twin Peaks season two everywhere, but I can't seem to find season one sitting around in stores. I'm still debating whether I actually want to own that show or just re-visit it. Quark is still not available on DVD even though EVERYTHING else is (hello, Dungeons and Dragons the Animated Series, complete with edition 3.5 stats for those wretched brats! As a former valley elf, "gag me with a mace!" and get Richard Benjamin's greatest role onto disc already!)
Generic life update: not much happenin' here (well, actually, that's almost 100% false, but let's just let sleepin' dogs lie, shall we?) The semester careens madly towards its inevitable end, Yet Another Graduation. The relative calm of summer is only mildly threatened by those not-so sleeping dogs that we shall continue to tip-toe around. "Work" is, as my Uncle Trapspringer use to say, a completely different word than "play" (actually, my uncle never said that since there is no word for "work" in the kender language. The closest we get is the phrase "involuntary action with pain and/or boredom." Gnomish. on the other hand. has twelve different words that translate to "work" in Common.)
My reading's been all over the place. Most recently, a little book by Peter Kreeft titled Prayer for Beginners. Kreeft, a philosophy professor at Boston College, provides a clear and engaging introduction to prayer that is of value even if you've been praying for years (especially if, like me, you've been at it for years but still feel like an amateur!) I am, of course, biased, as Dr. Kreeft is my favorite living philosopher, but for a book weighing in at 124 pages, it is the work of a few hours (less for some of you) to devour.
I see Twin Peaks season two everywhere, but I can't seem to find season one sitting around in stores. I'm still debating whether I actually want to own that show or just re-visit it. Quark is still not available on DVD even though EVERYTHING else is (hello, Dungeons and Dragons the Animated Series, complete with edition 3.5 stats for those wretched brats! As a former valley elf, "gag me with a mace!" and get Richard Benjamin's greatest role onto disc already!)
Friday, April 13, 2007
Some Books and Not Much Else
Stumbled across an unexpected treasure in our local public library: Cory Doctorow's short story collection Overclocked. I've read the first two stories, much geeky SF fun! "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth" is such a great tale of apocalyptic woe that I'm still smiling. I'll probably re-read that story (after I finish the rest in the collection) at least once before I return it. Find and read already!
It appears Fate has opted to control my reading. My mentor and friend Dr. Castelein left a book for me to read (and I just finished Factoring Humanity, the previous book he lent me). This time a non-fiction work of techno-history called Masters of Deception. Looks good, but there's just not enough time to read EVERYTHING on my stack (I still have a copy of Eragon, loaned from a relative, staring guiltily at me. I refuse to rent the DVD before I read the book.)
Life is basically good. There's much weirdness (no, no tremors in the Force, nor any fevers, either) just weirdness. I find myself singing on the sidewalk more than usual (be thankful for your geographical remoteness from that particular experience.) I'm also sending a telepathic message to the resident of Logan County who has "The Maltese Falcon" checked out: RETURN IT!!! (please...)
I hope that you all have a wonderful Friday 13th and a great weekend! (I've got house cleaning and, likely, grading. Oh joy! The end of the semester approaches...)
It appears Fate has opted to control my reading. My mentor and friend Dr. Castelein left a book for me to read (and I just finished Factoring Humanity, the previous book he lent me). This time a non-fiction work of techno-history called Masters of Deception. Looks good, but there's just not enough time to read EVERYTHING on my stack (I still have a copy of Eragon, loaned from a relative, staring guiltily at me. I refuse to rent the DVD before I read the book.)
Life is basically good. There's much weirdness (no, no tremors in the Force, nor any fevers, either) just weirdness. I find myself singing on the sidewalk more than usual (be thankful for your geographical remoteness from that particular experience.) I'm also sending a telepathic message to the resident of Logan County who has "The Maltese Falcon" checked out: RETURN IT!!! (please...)
I hope that you all have a wonderful Friday 13th and a great weekend! (I've got house cleaning and, likely, grading. Oh joy! The end of the semester approaches...)
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Cinderella and the Geek
Just finished watching Cinderella III with my daughter. I've never been a big Cinderella fan, but I actually enjoyed the movie. I'm not saying I fell in love with a Disney character (especially since Tink would be really jealous), but I found both Cinderella and the Prince to be much more interesting characters than I remembered from before. Musically, the movie wasn't as good (to my sensibilities) as either classic Disney nor the best of the new Disney tunes, but the story and characters more than made up for it, for me anyway.
Geek news: Debian Linux finally released version 4.0 this month. May 1 is the release date for OpenBSD 4.1, but the biggest news, for my money, is the flurry of activity in the Slackware -current changelog. Whether the next release is 11.1 or 12 only Pat knows, but there are several major upgrades, including the gcc 4 series for the compiler tool chain and no more 2.4 kernels! So much for all those trolls who claim Slackware is "the bleeding edge of 1995." While the new book from No Starch Press about Designing BSD Rootkits is a tempting call to join the FreeBSD camp, Slackware still continues to deliver an operating system that feels like home.
In other news... I've been thinking about "childhood friends and the dreams we had." Dreams. I'm not sure that most of my dreams were terribly realistic (I'm not sure any of my current ones are, either). One of you bloggers has talked about seeing what's in front of you. C.S. Lewis talks about how going backwards is sometimes the way to make progress (like if you've gone down a wrong path, you have to go back to where you've went amiss to get to the right path). I'm not saying that I've gone down a wrong path (but I have, of course, made my share--and then some--of mistakes), but sometimes looking backward is the way to see what's in front of you. Maybe. Like River, "I don't know what I'm saying, I never know what I'm saying."
Geek news: Debian Linux finally released version 4.0 this month. May 1 is the release date for OpenBSD 4.1, but the biggest news, for my money, is the flurry of activity in the Slackware -current changelog. Whether the next release is 11.1 or 12 only Pat knows, but there are several major upgrades, including the gcc 4 series for the compiler tool chain and no more 2.4 kernels! So much for all those trolls who claim Slackware is "the bleeding edge of 1995." While the new book from No Starch Press about Designing BSD Rootkits is a tempting call to join the FreeBSD camp, Slackware still continues to deliver an operating system that feels like home.
In other news... I've been thinking about "childhood friends and the dreams we had." Dreams. I'm not sure that most of my dreams were terribly realistic (I'm not sure any of my current ones are, either). One of you bloggers has talked about seeing what's in front of you. C.S. Lewis talks about how going backwards is sometimes the way to make progress (like if you've gone down a wrong path, you have to go back to where you've went amiss to get to the right path). I'm not saying that I've gone down a wrong path (but I have, of course, made my share--and then some--of mistakes), but sometimes looking backward is the way to see what's in front of you. Maybe. Like River, "I don't know what I'm saying, I never know what I'm saying."
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Engagement! You're All Invited...
...to a wedding, exactly one year from today! Last week I met the most wonderful woman: she's smart, funny, liberal, spiritual. We knew within fifteen minutes that we were meant to be. Oh, she's also rich (which helps considerably) and cute (which never hurts!) The wedding will be held somewhere near Area 51. Did I mention that she's half-Native American, half-Irish, and half-Transylvanian? Pretty cool mix. Oh, and she's an honorary "queen" of some small country that used to be part of the British empire. Yep, one year from today, I'll be marrying April the First! I hope y'all can make it!
But Seriously Folks...
The kids have next week off for spring break, so I'm taking it as vacation time. Since work is my only net access at the moment, I'll probably be more or less silent for the next several days (I know, this differs from my current track record how?) For those who appreciate: a blessed Easter to you! For the rest, welcome to Spring!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Where the Heck Have I Been?
Well, whether you wondered or not, I'm going to answer the question. I've been moving my ex-wife out of town (against my heart's --and my back's-- fervent wishes) and moving a ton of my kid's stuff into my smallish apartment. I've also been caring for a puking kid, being a single parent (for all of one week now!), and trying this weekend to figure out what "everything in its place" means in this new environment (the kids are with their mom on the weekends for the next couple of months.) And then there's work (which has its own stories, that I won't bore y'all with, but suffice to say it adds to the stress.) Unfortunately any other activities have been Seriously Neglected (thus my absence here... :-(
One thing I did take time to do was go see our campus production of My Fair Lady last night. It was a lot of fun! The cast did a great job and I found myself laughing at the antics of Alfred P. Doolittle, Henry Higgins, and the incomparable Eliza. While out Eliza was neither Audrey Hepburn nor Julie Andrews, I'd say she held her own very well. She brought a presence and passion to the role that made you want to weep for her by the end. This is the first time in a long, long, long time that I've gone to any kind of stage production. I'm glad I did and I think that maybe I may keep my eyes open for other opportunities around here (summer's approaching, and with it the Illinois Shakespeare Festival up in B'town-Abnormal!)
Today I was on the road running Stuff(TM) to various New Places for it. I saw a beautiful hawk at the beginning of the trip and another one (slightly smaller) near the end. I'm all for interpreting this as a Good Omen. Regardless, I'm always glad when a bird catches my attention and I watch it fly. Maybe I'm just a wonder junkie, but it never fails to make me feel a little better about life, etc.
I hope each of you are finding a bit of wonder in the midst of the busyness of your lives!
One thing I did take time to do was go see our campus production of My Fair Lady last night. It was a lot of fun! The cast did a great job and I found myself laughing at the antics of Alfred P. Doolittle, Henry Higgins, and the incomparable Eliza. While out Eliza was neither Audrey Hepburn nor Julie Andrews, I'd say she held her own very well. She brought a presence and passion to the role that made you want to weep for her by the end. This is the first time in a long, long, long time that I've gone to any kind of stage production. I'm glad I did and I think that maybe I may keep my eyes open for other opportunities around here (summer's approaching, and with it the Illinois Shakespeare Festival up in B'town-Abnormal!)
Today I was on the road running Stuff(TM) to various New Places for it. I saw a beautiful hawk at the beginning of the trip and another one (slightly smaller) near the end. I'm all for interpreting this as a Good Omen. Regardless, I'm always glad when a bird catches my attention and I watch it fly. Maybe I'm just a wonder junkie, but it never fails to make me feel a little better about life, etc.
I hope each of you are finding a bit of wonder in the midst of the busyness of your lives!
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