stonetalker is at it again doing a one card draw tarot reading ending on Sunday the 20st at midnight.

Go check it out!

Solstice is a good time for reflection and revelations. :-)

(Edited because I got the date wrong.)

We are a country run by barbarians and the world rightly sees us as such. Science Fiction author Peter Watts was beaten and imprisoned while trying to return to Canada from the US:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/11/dr-peter-watts-canad.html

Worse yet they took everything and left him without his coat or indeed much of anything when they released him.

Okay. So let's supposed that Dr. Watts was a bit sarcastic with the border guards.

That should not matter a bit. Period. And being "lippy" as some people have categorized it is not a crime in the US or Canada and should be off the table as far as the border goons are concerned. (I refuse to categorize them as people in reference to this incident.) But EVEN if you go with them hassling him because of that they crossed the line by THROWING HIM OUT IN THE COLD IN THE WINTER WEATHER WITHOUT HIS COAT!

If the rest of the US is wondering why the world is looking at us sadly and shaking their heads as if we're some mentally damaged individual banging their head against the wall and drooling THIS sort of shit is why.

I'm so embarrassed to be a US citizen right now. It probably won't do anything but I've just posted a simple message with the link to the BoingBoing story on whitehouse.gov contact page. I urge everybody else to do the same or similar things.

December 10, 2009 9:26 PM 12/10/09

What is it about cold and snowy days that make you feel like you want to just curl up into a little ball under a ton of blankets.

I’m not talking about those days of bright sun and brisk cold that make you feel sharp and aware with a tang in your nose. I’m talking about the days of bitter cold where any exposed skin becomes taut and cold as if you’re made of ice yourself and all you touch feels slightly sticky as if you would be stuck if given even a moment’s hesitation.

Yeah...it’s cold here.

I even had trouble getting into the hatchback today. Well...not getting into it exactly. The cold was so bad that the latch mechanism of the door was gummed enough that the door wouldn’t stay closed. Someone watching me would have probably mistaken the situation for a bad situation in a comedy film of some sort. I got angry and repeatedly slammed the door and watched it bounce back almost immediately about a half dozen times before my brain finally engaged and I got out the hair dryer to heat up the latch.

Never was there a better excuse to buy a remote starter. Unfortunately that’s a bit out of my price range right now.

People on the road today were idiots as usual. A ton of large SUVs and trucks and luxury cars that just don’t have a clue on how to actually drive. I drive a 28 year old hatchback with a low-slung suspension and manual steering and manual brakes and I have more control on these roads than most of these yutzes.

I did manage to score an inexpensive little A/V transmitting pair from a local friend that allows me to play and control the unused satellite receiver in the garage. This is pretty cool because sometimes I miss certain shows while I’m working out there and while I don’t watch a lot of TV I do kind of like a couple of shows.

Speaking of the workshop I was sitting out there tonight trying to get something working and all of a sudden there was this cold draft. Turns out I forgot to staple plastic over the two large gable vents out there. I managed to get the one covered but not the other. I’ll do that tomorrow hopefully.

Been writing in a small black notebook about the world in The Unlicensed. Worldbuilding in red ink with a fountain pen. Go figure. It’s good I started doing that because there were some things I didn’t understand about the people I’m writing about.

Y’know I never really understood that whole “my characters tell me what to write” thing. I accepted it because it fits and makes sense but I’ve never really experienced it until now. It’s actually a pretty cool feeling and one that is oddly completely comfortable to me. Again. Go figure. :-)

The temp is dropping and so are my eyelids. ‘Night all!

siliconshaman's friend greyladybast has just been booted from her house by her father who's keeping all her stuff. She's got a place to stay but is currently jobless and needs money for car insurance and the like or a job to produce such. (ANY job was her exact words.)

A link to the post is here. There's a PayPal button for donations but any sort of help would be appreciated.

December 5, 2009 9:17 AM 12/5/09

So it’s been almost a month since I’ve posted anything - sorry.

Things are going okay. We’re paying our bills and other things well enough.

First snow here this week. Whoop-de-doo. I am frankly tired of snow. Thankfully I managed to get the tractor and plow into the garage so there won’t be any issues once it snows more. (If it snows more. Global warming is a definite reality as far as I’m concerned.)

Still writing on and off but I’m not focused on it yet. I’m working on reorganizing the workshop so one area is a space just for writing but that’s slow going. Will probably build more shelves out there this coming week so I have better storage.

Drew up plans for a box outside the garage window so I can store the firewood outside in a dry space rather than in the garage because I want to reclaim the space under that window. Planning on building another workbench for that spot using the wood I already have and maybe a 2x4 or two from the local big box store.

Also drew up a framework to put on the outside of the shed to be able to store the jon-boat on top of the shed instead of off to the side of it.

Managed to get the grill and the non-working motorcycle into the shed this year so the yard is actually fairly clear of junk. Still a lot of dead vegetation to be handled but with the snow that’s waiting until next year. Though I really really want to get proper lights for the walkways even if I have to use non-green AC run lights.

It’s funny because I figured out how to make simple LED pole lights using standard copper plumbing pipe and a regular AC lighting transformer. Polish the copper but don’t coat it so it patinas properly and they should look pretty cool. Not sure if my wife would like them or not so I’ll probably have to make one first to show her.

Have friends coming over this afternoon to do paper RPG stuff which is going to be good fun. Unfortunately that means a buttload of cleaning because we’ve been a little lazy since the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s mostly just clutter anyway so we should be able to knock that out without too much issue. (Ick. I just remembered that I have to clean out the fireplace. Fun.)

Picked up a free Compaq EVO N610c notebook and loaded Ubuntu 9.10 on it and it seems to just frakking work which I’m quite grateful for. Got a 2.2ghz processor to upgrade it and wedged wireless into the thing in place of the internal modem and it just rocks. Pretty damn solid for such an old notebook.

Managed to get the carb on the 024 working right. Someone screwed up the rebuild and I had to switch the solenoid on it but now it runs like a champ. Just in time to have to replace the exhaust. *grin* And I managed to start the truck using a pair of pliers across the relay terminals so I can at least move it. I may just wire a starter switch on the dash - at 497k miles diagnosing wiring issues is a bit of a pain.

November 18, 2009 4:11 PM 11/18/09

Who in this universe decided that cars required blood sacrifice to work on? I’d love to meet the genius that made the call on that little quirk.

So for that that haven’t been hearing me curse loudly within 100 miles of my garage I’m currently down two vehicles.

The first is my old ‘93 Dakota that has 497,000+ miles on it and the starter has packed it in...right in the middle of the driveway so I will need to either replace it in the driveway (I have the new starter already) or push it into the garage somehow. I’m not a lightweight but I think I’m not going to get that one done easily. So I’m hoping the rain will let up this weekend.

The second is my ‘81 Dodge 024 that I just got a new carburetor in for and installed today...and can’t get to idle properly.

*sigh*

I like having older vehicles because I understand how they work and there’s less to go wrong but sometimes...

Stalled on the writing front. Not for lack of ideas but lack of time lately. Need to keep making that time every day. I’m slacking and there’s really no excuse.

Bought some spare parts for Banpei last month and was happily surprised that there was enough to make a second roomba out of. So Skuld is going to clean the kitchen/library/hallway, and Banpei will clean the living room, bedrooms (once they’re picked up), and the other hallway.

Speaking of cleaning the city finally came by and vacuumed up the rest of the leaf piles. (YAY!) Now all that’s left is maybe a final mow before snow and then some other weedy cleanup. (Dead peonies for example. I like them but every spring they get blown down as soon as they grow. Bummer.) Oh and gutter. (Blech. Gutters.)

Still not finished with the workshop out in the garage yet. I had to move all the boxes into the empty space so I could get the car in there to work on. Once I finish the vehicles I will continue finishing that project.

Still cold all over from working on that car today. I had to have the car half out of the garage for exhaust output and it has been nasty and drizzly all day. This made absolutely sure I was cold and grumpy the whole time. I’m still cold but less grumpy.

And my friends are going to want me to go out and do RPG stuff with them tonight too. I’ll probably go but I really can’t stay out all night because I have to drive everybody and pick everybody up tomorrow so I have a vehicle and can get things done. Thankfully unemployment comes in this week so I’ll have money to finish the repairs on both vehicles. I hate to say it but I might just have to take the hatchback to someone more skilled unless I manage to figure it out for myself. That likely won’t be cheap.

I think I’m going to go crawl under the covers now and try to get warm...

So the other day I had to pay $95 for a tow because my truck didn't start. Turn the key then nothing. Because the key felt like it had no spring in it I figured the ignition switch died. Replaced it and all was well...for a couple days.

I go to start it this morning and the same thing. I swapped starter relays and nothing. That means I called it wrong or had two issues. I have a replacement starter it's just a nasty job on that vehicle.

So I pressed the '81 024 into service kind of two-footing my way to work because that car has carburetor issues which I have yet to rectify despite having the parts. I'll probably swap the carb tomorrow as I have everything for the job and it's a self-adjusting feedback carb so all I have to dink with is idle, high idle, and the A/C solenoid. All easy.

Right now I'm at my mother-in-law's house waiting for my daughter to get home from school. Posting this from an iPhone btw is interesting but not as easy as it should be. Apple really needs to allow Bluetooth keyboards.

(Edited because iPhone predictive text sometimes get is wery vrong. ;-)

stonetalker is giving single tarot card draws tonight until midnight US Eastern time.

Check it out here: http://stonetalker.livejournal.com/26057.html?view=54985#t54985

MacHeist is running a freebie special on several apps for OS X for the next 5 days:

http://www.macheist.com/

The apps are:

Shovebox

WriteRoom

Twitterific

TinyGrab

Hordes of Orcs

and if they get 500,000 then Mariner Write will also be added.

Warning! - You have to give some personal info away (email, etc.) so they can give you the license keys and such. I'm paranoid about my personal info and I was okay with what they wanted but your mileage may vary. ;-)

I would give everyone completely free energy and space travel.

Hey it's either that or common sense and the inability to lie to themselves. Which would be more valuable?

October 24, 2009 9:12 AM 10/24/09

Our carpet has never been cleaner since I got the roomba. I’ve decided to name it Banpei since it seems to like attacking people randomly when we’re at home and it’s running. My wife in particular. ;-)

It’s been drizzling the last couple of days here which is quite depressing. I really miss the sunshine but I know this is a necessary part of the season. Still haven’t ordered the next rain barrel yet. I’d really like to get two more total in place before winter hits but between money being tight and snow on the horizon that likely won’t happen.

Started Chapter 3 of The Unlicensed and it seems to be going okay but I have a re-write to do already. (I need to change one of the background characters because they just don’t fit right a.) I want to do that before I post it.

Still haven’t gotten the beam installed in the garage and time is running out. I need to get that installed and get the truck in there before the snow falls or it’s going to be considerably messier to do the truck repairs. (Tried to install it last night by myself and dropped it on my head twice.)

I really could use a team of people to help me whip this all into shape but one I don’t think I rate it and two almost _everybody_ can use that sort of team to get things straitened out.

Thinking about that it occurs to me that you could do that on a large NPO scale and maybe get away with it. Kind of like an NPO version of Clean House. (Though I think that’s funded by the show so the people being helped probably don’t have to pay for it except by the yard sales they have on there.)

1) Collect a small group of dedicated people that go to other peoples’ homes and help them get their stuff cleaned and organized. And I’m not talking about just those people who are consumed by clutter and bad living conditions I’m talking about everybody.

2) The person being helped agrees to put in however many ours helping someone else as it takes to get their stuff into shape. If the person breaks this agreement then they get charged for services. (Please note - even an elderly person can help sort papers or shred bills or such. There’s always ways that someone can help out unless they are truly too old or feeble.) Not a horrendous amount mind you but just enough to deter people from abusing the system.

3) This is a cleaning/organizing service not a repair service. People involved may not have the proper skills or certifications to safely or legally repair things.

4) If the person is living in squalor do what you can to clean up the mess but point them in the direction they need to go to get help. All this is about is cleaning and organizing. They still have to donate time though.

5) It’s a one time service with the exception of if you actively donate time to it. So if you want the group to help again you need to donate time.

Definitely not a perfect idea but it could be worked out. Anyway it’s just more of my random ramblings.

October 20, 2009 5:10 PM 10/20/09

Chapters 2 and 3 of The Unlicensed
================================

October 20, 2009 3:50 PM 10/20/09

Chapter 2
============================

George Carlson was seven years old and he was in the situation he hated the most. He was stuck in his mom's car in traffic on his way home from soccer practice. So George did the only thing he felt he could do in this situation - throw a temper tantrum.

"I want my TV! I want my computer! When are we going to get home! MOM!!!"

George's mother sighed and with more than a little frustration in her voice turned around to address her son. "George settle down dammit! Why don't you look out the window for boats or whales or something!"

However George was not going to be settled so easily, "I don't give a crap about some stupid whales! Nothing outside is ever any...good?"

( Read more... )

So I managed to finish Chapter 3 of The Unlicensed but whenever I try and post it screws up the formatting - particularly italics. I guess I'll have to manually format it tonight when I get home.

Edit: Oh and it drops the extra lines too. Computers! Bah! ;-)

October 16, 2009 10:04 PM 10/16/09

So I got the roomba vacuuming today and as expected it’s awesome. :-)

The little dude ran for a good twenty minutes then stopped and beeped and blinked red meaning the battery is discharged. Plugged it in and it charged right back up again a few hours later. Ran him for a little bit to make sure it could be scheduled and then docked and it blinked red again and beeped a code worthy of R2D2 before refusing to move.

( Bleep bleep bloop whistle... )

October 15, 2009 2:43 PM 10/15/09

So once again, more than a decade later, I’m parked in the forest preserve parking lot looking at the oak trees and the large pond. It’s even raining as it often did while I was here in the past.

I started writing here really - in this spot. (Oh I wrote a few things before while I was on jury duty but that wasn’t much even if it technically was the start of it all.)

( Twisty oak trees behind the cut... )

October 2, 2009 12:56 PM 10/2/09

So I’ve been annoyingly ill for the last few days. Pretty much the entire week actually.

Yep - the flu. And my wife has pretty much gone through it as well. We should be all cleared up by this weekend thankfully and I no longer feel like I’m a character in a plague disaster film.

( Post-disease words beneath the cut... )

So I just got the Google Adwords+Livejournal note in my Inbox and deity forgive me I'm actually considering it.

I'm not a fan of advertising but anything that brings in money right now is a good thing.

The problem I have is that I can't see any good way to choose what brand or flavor of ads appear on my LJ.

I'll have to think about this one because part of the reason I paid for an account originally was to remove ads. The other was alternative ways of posting but I can get around that if need be.

I don't know but honestly the money does call to me a bit. Like I said I'll have to think about it...

Edit: One other note - I can't find any reference to being able to turn it off once you turn it on. That bothers me a bit.

Edited again: Embedded crapfest removed. Thanks for letting me know guys! :-)

September 17, 2009 1:50 PM 9/17/09

So before my wife and I went on vacation I ordered some handmade marshmallows from Polidori Chocolates (referred to them by yuki_onna) and they didn’t ever arrive and weren’t waiting there when we got home form vacation.

I thought either Pollidori went out of business due to rough times or that they were lost on the mail. I moaned and lamented my lost dark chocolate and vanilla bean marshmallows and moved on. (I wish I could move on from other things as easily but I digress).

So after also missing a box of something else sent from a friend in MD I talked with the mail carrier and she said that even though they said delivered on the computer they should have never reached the house since we put our mail on hold. Mind you this was supposedly around July 17th of this year.

So rolling the dice for a long shot I went over the the post office today and explained the situation.

Turns out they had both boxes I was looking for. I collected the boxes and headed home expecting the marshmallows not to have survived the experience.

So driving home and stopping at a stoplight I cut open the box and to my surprise not one item was melted!

So there you have it. By luck and the fact that they were in a temperate post office building the handmade vanilla bean and dark chocolate marshmallows survived.

And even after two months in that post office (to the day) they still are soft and fresh and taste wonderful. :-)

The other box? Babylon 5 laserdiscs from a good friend of mine.

Sometimes it’s the little things that rock my world.

September 11, 2009 9:15 AM 9/11/09

So I’m eating brunch at a different restaurant today. Feels strange.

I’m planning on visiting the one restaurant I’ve gone to lunch at for the last 5 years or so.just to say goodbye to the staff there. All of them are very cool and in my mind deserve an explanation for my disappearance. They were very kind to me over the years.

I was going to just drop off my iPhone charger at my previous place of employment but my gut is telling me to never set foot on property owned by that company again. And I’m listening to it this time. Better to just mail the stuff back.

Just paid up all the bills today so that means there’s another bill in the mail. Go figure.

( Extreme rambling and danger beneath the cut! )