- Monday, September 29, 2003
Lately, I have been busy with life and the pursuit of happiness.
Specifically and in the order that they are consuming my time:
work.
the kid.
the girlfriend.
the friends.
site-related projects.
watching tv, (movies or sports.)
I am working to bring all of the web-site related projects to a close so that I can show you guys all of the new tricks I have learned recently. Well, that and Tim is finally near completion with one of the promised flash projects I have been bothering him about. (I think this is exciting and hope that it will be a popular feature).
I am aware that the word-a-lizer updates have fallen behind; I have received some really great word submissions, I just have not taken the time to put them in yet. I promise to do my best to get to this during the next week. (really, I will try.) If you have words that are not in the word-a-lizer that you would like to see added, please feel free to submit them (use either the link under the word-a-lizer, or the e-mail link towards the top of this page.) Slang is accepted, some discretion is reserved on my part for censorship so some words will be rejected. (besides, your mama reads this site.)
This week, I will post something a little more meaningful than just a hasty post of excuses on why I have not posted since Wednesday. (It's in progress).
pero @ 1:37 AM | œ | 5 comments
Great. My name is on a list that will end up in the trash and get me more phone calls.
CNN: 'Do not call' list on hold
U.S. court rules FTC overstepped its authority when it set up the list to block telemarketing calls. The ruling Tuesday by the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma was a victory for the Direct Marketing Association and telemarketers who said the registry violated their rights under the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution.
(full story)
I would love to know how telemarketers feel when they get a call by another telemarketer as soon as they get home after 8 hours of talking to people on the phone.
"Look, pal, I just spent eight hours talking to rude-assed people who yell at me and hang up when all I'm trying to do is make a living." (click).
-or- "Hi! Well you know, I would love to sit here and listen to your entire two minute sales pitch, but I just got home! Can you call me in about 45 minutes when I am eating dinner, or would three hours from now when I am in the shower be better for you? If you prefer, you can call me in the morning before I am out of bed. I get up at ten, so call me before that, OK?"
If I am interested in purchasing it, I will go find it. I do not want to receive the newspaper on my door-step. On the days that I have time to read the paper, I pick it up on my way to work, glad to spend any higher price just because I can buy it ONLY on the days I plan to read it. I do not want to subscribe to fifty magazines. I get the ones I like to read already, and if and when that subscription runs out, I will respond to the notice that comes with my "LAST ISSUE!".
I keep up with local events well enough to know when the voting polls open. I know how I plan to vote. It is not your business, and I have no intention on sharing that information with the staff of either candidate.
I do not wish to change my long-distance company. I use what I like, please don't call me every month boasting big savings and better service. I am happy with my life the way it is. Oreos are better than Hydrox. Sam's Choice does NOT taste like Coca-Cola. I am a creature of habit. I live for being the habitual creature that I am. I cannot be swayed.
I should not have to decline your offer politely five times before you give up. From this point forward you are allowed one pleasant "NO, Thank you" from me, and then I reserve the right to be as rude to you as I see fitting to my present mood. This is my personal stand against you, telemarketers.
(read a rant from the past on this topic)
pero @ 12:23 PM | œ | 4 comments
Brutality in Little League Sports?
As I drove past the Little League Soccer fields today, I could not help but notice when a little boy in a blue uniform fell down as he was kicking the ball down field. A boy in red ran over to the boy in blue and threw himself onto the boy in blue. This boy in red was obviously the leader of the pack of reds, because four or five more reds piled on. I was not aware that soccer involved TACKLING.
pero @ 7:28 PM | œ | 4 comments
Wake up, You're Dreaming Again.
After I got home after working a double shift, I fell asleep without any problem, but I had a strange dream and forced myself awake. I did not get out of bed to write about the dream like I have in the past so I don't remember a lot of details. Here is what I do remember:
I was with a group of friends from work, and John Leguizamo was also there (I don't know him, but I guess I cast him as a friend of mine; in my dream he was just one of the guys and not an actor.)
Anyway, everyone is walking around drinking beer, playing pool or darts or something - a few people are at a card table. "John Leguizamo" walks up to me, pulls me aside and tells me he needs to go to the Hospital "NOW". He looked pretty normal (not sick / no obvious problems), so I asked him what his problem was.
He told me he had blood in his piss and he started to get upset and was beginning to panic.
We all loaded into of my SUV, and I put him in the passenger seat. I started to drive him to the hospital. (I do not know why everyone else came along.)
My dream took place in where I live and work, and when I got within two or three blocks of the closest hospital, the cross streets changed and I was suddenly all the way across town.
I thought, What in the Hell?
Now, we were closer to a different Hospital so I started towards that one and the same thing happened.
"John Leguizamo" was in full panic by this time and bleeding from his ears and his fingernails.
This navigation problem repeated four times and someone in the car said "Dude, you're a paramedic and you live here, and can't find a fucking hospital?"
- and then I woke up.
My Theory: I've been watching too many movies and TV shows. (Namely Basic, and within six months Bringing Out the Dead.) I also watched some documentary style show on VH1 (I think?) about the original cast of Survivor, on which some cast member shared he went to the island with no body fat. Since they only got 2 cups or rice a day to eat, he had blood in his urine since his body was using lean mass for nutrients. That possibly explains the source of John L.'s symptoms, but I cannot explain the rest.
Labels: Dreams
pero @ 2:53 PM | œ | 3 comments
You are The Cap'n!
Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not
What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!
WHAT is pero talking about?
September 19, 2003 -Shiver me timbers - its 'Int'l Talk Like a Pirate Day'
ALBANY - Arrrr, piracy be hard work, matey, harder if you are the founders of "Talk Like a Pirate Day," which buccaneer wannabes celebrated arrround the nation for the second year Friday.
pero @ 3:13 PM | œ | 5 comments
Validation Overload.
Once again, I am struggling with CSS, accessibility and other web-authoring stuff that seems to be important enough to have requirements in the first place. During my re-build project, I have attempted to include a font resize script, which would allow a reader who finds that the chosen font size to be either offensively small or too large to change it without changing the setting in the browser. By "I have attempted", I mean that I have used a script which I found on one of those "grab-a-script" sites but have not been able to get it to apply to all of the CSS (styles or classes or whatever they are supposed to be called).
This is not really a cry for help, but just a place for me to express my frustration in CSS authoring; since I am NOT a web-author by nature or profession. My progress in this re-design will be slow due to my lack of patience when things are not working the way I envisioned them. This slows my progress down to converting one or two pages at a time, after which I lose all composure and begin to insult my monitor and abuse the computer's keyboard and/or mouse. Eventually, I begin to feel like myself again and continue working on my projects for another one or two pages. It is an endless cycle which I cannot escape.
With each re-build of my site, I learn more about CSS, and Accessibility, and eventually I hope to have a site that meets all of the validation requirements.
pero @ 2:38 PM | œ | 4 comments
I can see my words bouncing off of your forehead, you moron.
I constantly tell people how important it is to keep up with the preventative maintenance on their computers. Most of them do a great job. It is surprisingly easy today to keep a virus scan database current, and today's maintenance software packages practically automate the process. In my opinion, there is no excuse for these people to ask me questions when they wouldn't have the problem in the first place IF THEY HAD LISTENED TO ME. I am repeating myself constantly. I feel as if they are purposely trying to annoy me by asking my advice and then disregarding it, only to ask the same question a week later. I wish I could hit some of them with a closed hand right between their eyes.
As it turns out, this particular "friend" lives nowhere near me, and she lacks the capacity to follow directions on how to do anything more complicated than launching AOL from one of the eighty-two icons on her cluttered desktop. I am glad I am not expected to go over to her house and "fix" her system. I did what I could by sending her the link to her virus software vendor's website. I have referred her to this site before on numerous occasions. This is the fourth time this year she has "discovered" a virus on her system.
She claims that she "forgets" to update her definitions. When I asked her how she can forget when the REMINDER WINDOW pops up every 14 days, she told me she disabled it because it was annoying her by reminding her every day to do it.
When I asked her why it would do that every day she informed me that she didn't have time to update it and it kept reminding her so she turned it off. Now, she has a virus, and wants my advice.
pero @ 2:47 PM | œ | 4 comments
Beware of the Cat?
Everybody survived the visit with the Jack Russell Terrier (JRT). There was one incident involving mild trauma, which I will put into more detail in a few minutes.
Peppy's owners made it back from vacation and picked him up. I was glad, because he would not let me sleep without himself being glued to my back. I tried to put him in another room and sleep in my own bed room [where Pryor (the cat) was hiding out]. This only resulted in the dog whining and attempting to "dig" my carpet, trying to get under the door and into my room.
Giving up, I stumbled out into the living room and tossed and turned on the couch with the fifteen pound dog burrowed between my back and the back of the couch. He slept through my tossing and turning, BUT if I got up; thinking he was asleep and hoping to make my escape, he would pop up and jump to the floor closely tracking my every move.
We are all beyond exhausted. His people called to tell me that the dog was surprisingly calm throughout the next day, which he spent most of sleeping. Pablo has spent an abundance of time sleeping and pacing around as if he needed something to do.
The incident: Friday morning, as I entered my bed room, Peppy zipped past me and charged towards Pryor. He was yapping enthusiastically, but I was unable to determine whether it was out of fear, excitement or threat. I attempted a few times (unsuccessfully) to grab the little dog, who escaped like a greased pig.
Pryor, deciding that the dog was not only a nuisance, but also a possible threat, stood up and leaped off of the bed and onto the dog. The screaming dog backed away but continued to bark. Seeking shelter, Pryor slinked under the bed; not knowing that unlike Pablo, Peppy can also fit under the bed. This was the climax of the event.
There was a lot of noise and then the JRT ran back out into the hall. It was only after everything had settled down that I noticed blood on the bedspread, and more blood on the carpet in my room.
"Oh Shit! Pryor wounded the little bastard," I said (out loud) and went to the hall to inspect the dog's white coat for injuries. Finding none, I returned to my room to check the cat. I found him in my bathroom next to a trail of small bloody footprints, licking his wound. His left front paw was the source of the blood.
Upon closer inspection, the hard outer layer of the claw was torn and bent back, exposing the soft tissue of the nail. This looked normal in shape (sickle shaped like the cat's claw) but it was bleeding enough to cause concern. I was able to get the bleeding to stop fairly easily, and called the vet to make an appointment to have the paw treated. This was not a life threatening injury, but there would still be an additional fee for "emergency treatment".
The vet removed the damaged claw pieces and assured me that the claw would grow back. Roughly $85 later, I left with a prescription for Clavamox (antibiotic) and one cat, minus a claw. Recovery is progressing smoothly and I am sure he will be back to normal in about two weeks.
pero @ 5:32 PM | œ | 3 comments
Weblog Post Mysteriously Disappears - Readers Confused.
I had originally posted this on Sept 10 - and somehow the post disapppeared. Unfortunately, the reader comments are also missing?.
Meet Peppy. Peppy is a ten-month old (smooth-haired) Jack Russell Terrier (from here on referred to as a JRT) suffering from separation anxiety, hyperactivity disorder and general youthful dogness. For the next three days he will be living at my house while his people go on vacation.
Meet Pablo. Pablo is a seven-to-eight year old mixed-breed, who was adopted at the SPCA after he was found roaming the streets. He has permenant living arrangments in our home. We were expecting Peppy's arrival between nine o'clock and nine-thirty this morning, as agreed by his owner and myself. FOr reasons unknown to me, when Peppy's owner called at eight-fifteen and I was still in the shower they seemed surprised that I was not out on the front porch waiting for them. "We're on our way!", owner of Peppy exclaimed, "What do you mean you are in the shower! We said we'd be there around nine!"
"Yes, you did," I said. "and it is (pausing long enough to reach my watch on the bathroom counter)... eight fifteen. Give me about ten minutes ok?"
Once that was settled I hurridly prepared for our houseguest. I removed breakable items from low tables. I moved Pryor (that is Pablo's cat)'s dishes to my bedroom (oh yes, I forgot to mention he has a cat) and I warned Pryor that Peppy would be arriving soon. Peppy preparation is similar to preparing for a monster hurricane. Batten down the hatches. He is here.
Small, very cute and extremely energetic, he ran into my home, his stump of a JRT tail wagging with amazing speed.
Pablo was happy to see that a new friend had arrived. They greeted eachother with enthusiasm and proper dog ettiquette. They played for the first four hours, and then slowly, Pablo's age started showing. He began to walk rather than run. He no longer wanted to play chase. Now, he only wants to sleep.
pero @ 5:30 PM | œ | 1 comment
A solution for those who (like myself) sometimes find it impossible to make a pot of coffee:
Once, somebody handed me a small bag tied with ribbon as a "Thank You " gift. When I looked inside, the bag contained small chocolates. I soon found out that inside each soft chocolate shell was - a coffee bean!
Whoever invented this is brilliant! The idea of combining two things I hold at the top of my favorite foods list!
(Now, alot of you know that my favorite food of all foods is CHEESE; however, the thought of a cheese covered coffee bean really does not appeal to me.)
These tiny things are highly addictive. I could not stop eating them. Soon, I had consumed so much caffiene that I could feel my eyes wiggling around in their sockets.
"These are the greatest things in the world!" I said to a complete stranger as I passed him on the street. He just looked at me, unable to comprehend my excitement.
As Mr. Newton so eloquently stated, "What goes up... must come down." That statement holds enough truth that I found myself wishing someone had lobotomized the man as a child. Actually, that would neither have changed the laws of gravity, nor would it have helped me in my suffering as I crashed from my caffine-induced high into a sluggish stupor. "This is the worst thing in the world," I said to nobody in particular - as I hobbled around with one hand on my stomach.
Chocolate covered coffee beans are great. I love them. But I have learned the hard way that a person should eat them in moderation.
pero @ 8:47 PM | œ | 5 comments
Tip of the week: Your coffee will be richer and more flavorful if you remember to add ground coffee to the filter before turning it on.
pero @ 6:15 PM | œ | 7 comments
Here's a Novel Idea (for those of us born before 1977 and some younger folks who remember what it was like to listen to LPs):
I was reading a post written by Blow Hard on We Are Full of Shit (weblog) To get the whole concept of what I am thinking here, it is a must read. It isn't a long post; and it is amusing so just go read.
"...Then you put in the new Goldfrapp cd and start wondering what it would sound like on vinyl.", he wrote.
What if... someone produced an entire album with a retro theme - with light static and small 'pops' throughout? Just like the vinyl LPs used to sound?
I think it has been done on one song (Praise You by Fat Boy Slim) *which is actually the Song of the Moment at the time this is posted.
Thinking about vinyl and CDs - made me think of a time I was at a flea-market with a friend of mine back when we were in the 8th grade. (1983 - I think?)
We were walking around looking at the various tables. One table had eight-track tapes. HUNDREDS of them. My parents gave me an eight-track player when I was in the fourth grade. I knew what they were. Hell, mine was even a recorder. I could record from my LPs and make mixes of my favorite songs and listen to them whenever I wanted.
He picked one up and said, "What is this thing? It must be new! Maybe they want to replace CDs with this. They (CDs) are too expensive anyway!"
I looked at him, mostly in shock that someone my age would not know what the hell an eight-track tape looked like. I had alot of the things at home, I guess he never knew why he was hearing the clack-click as the music changed to the next track every time he was at my house.
I said, "Are you retarted? These things have been around for a long time. They were before Cassette tapes and after real to real."
He said he had never seen one before. But then, this is the same guy that when we were helping his brother bleed the brakes on his car (later the same summer I think). He opened the center console of his brother's car and pulled out a small, square foil like package. I recognized it as a "rubber" He told me, in a matter of fact way, that "This says LUBRICANT-- it must be what he uses on the brakes."
I think that was the last summer I hung out with that guy. I guess I didn't want the responsibility of educating the poor bastard.
pero @ 11:28 AM | œ | 8 comments
