Bibliomancy

Jezebel is a test for echo; suffer her no longer.

Nephew-quote, cute:

On the topic of sparkling grape juice: "You turn wine into soda pop?"

Semantics, pedantics

Exactly what about seeing a puffed-up spelling flame pedant at work sends me into overdrive?

Perhaps it's because these people touch such a resonance in me. I'm a desktop editor at heart; I have to be, after spending so many years hacking away at the novel, trying to ensure that every little bitty bit was in correct order.

Part of it is an almost psychiatric urge to weasel out people's hidden motivations. The anonymous spelling flamer of last night proved to be a grump from a few journals over. Evidently he and the opinions of bibble don't get along too well.

Part of it is a desire for perfection in my own self, and frustration because I occasionally lack the Will to enforce it. Who'd want an absolutely perfect person? Nobody. Who'd like me just a little better if I was able to make a few of my more annoying "features" submit to my mastery? Just about everyone I care to spend time with.

Old (March 30, 2001) Letter to NetZero regarding Surf Safari

Okay, that was not good.

It severely worries me when something starts installing on my computer that I never gave permission to install on my computer. I just saw this little "Okay, you now have Surf Safari" message, and the little Surf Safari window thing. I know you guys are my ISP, but that still doesn't make me comfortable with your putting something on my computer that I didn't say yes to. I might decide on my own that I do want Surf Safari, but until I do check it out for myself and decide "hey, this would be nifty," I am not going to have it on my computer because I don't know what it is, what it does; I just know that someone put it on my machine without my permission. That is not cool. That is just not cool.

If you can download Surf Safari to my computer, you certainly could have popped up a little box ASKING me if I wanted Surf Safari, with a short bit about how completely nifty you think it is.

I am far, far less likely to ever install Surf Safari again because it was forced upon my computer.

The legal definition of "rape" is where sexual intercourse is given to someone who did not consent to it or was unable to give consent for it, whether by reason of intoxication or being underage. I know that a very small program downloaded onto my computer is not a violent assault, and I have in the past given permission for your company to put assorted programmage on my computer, but just because I consented all those times before does not necessarily mean that I would have consented to this. Perhaps it doesn't seem in any way analogous with rape in your mind, but it does in mine, and I'm not the only one who thinks this way about my computer.

Annoyed,
Azz

Quiz time!

You are 40% evil! [?]

You're more good than evil, but not by much. You've drank straight from the carton of milk in the refrigerator, and maybe kicked the neighbor's cat, but you're still good. Kinda.

Heh. I suppose Votania hasn't corrupted me enough yet. Maybe we'll balance out at 50% evil, her having dropped from 100%, me having increased from 0.

How Gay Are YOU? [?]

How Gay Are YOU? [?]

Evidently I'm bi. I like 'em both.

Which Kiss Are You?

That one fits.

Fwd: some man-bashing

I'm very exceptionally sorry that I dated BJ, who made all of these seem reasonable.

1. Don't imagine you can change a man, unless he's in diapers.


2. What do you do if your boyfriend walks out? shut the door.


3. If they put a man on the moon, they should be able to put them all up there.


4. Never let your man's mind wander, it's too little to be out alone.


5. Go for younger men. You might as well, they never mature anyway.


6. Men are all the same, they just have different faces so that you can tell them apart.


7. Definition of a bachelor: a man who has missed the opportunity to make some woman miserable.


8. Women don't make fools of men, most of them are the do it yourself kinds.


9. Best way to get a man to do something is to suggest they are too old for it. (or not man enough)


10. Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.


11. If you want a committed man, look in a mental hospital.


12. The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40 years. Even in biblical times, men wouldn't ask for directions.


13. If he asks what sort of books you're interested in, tell him checkbooks.


14. Remember a sense of humor does not mean that you tell him jokes, it means that you laugh at his.


15. Sadly, all men are created equal.

If you have a man that makes you think all of these are funny and oh-so-true, it is time to put him as far, far away from you as you can, preferably with a few restraining orders in between.

Fwd: Australian Military Helicopter Simulation (or, be careful with your reusable code....)

This is supposedly a true story from a recent Defence Science Lectures Series, as related by the head of the Australian DSTO's Land Operations/Simulation division.They've been working on some really nifty virtual reality simulators, the case in point being to incorporate Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters into exercises (from the data fusion point of view). Most of the people they employ on this sort ofthing are ex- (or future) computer game programmers.

Anyway, as part of the reality parameters, they include things like trees and animals. For the Australian simulation they included kangaroos. In particular, they had to model kangaroo movements and reactions to helicopters (since hordes of disturbed kangaroos might well give away a helicopter's position). Being good programmers, they just stole some code (which was originally used to model infantry detachments reactions under the same stimuli), and changed the mapped icon, the speed parameters,etc.

The first time they've gone to demonstrate this to some visiting Americans, the hotshot pilots have decided to get "down and dirty" with the virtual kangaroos. So, they buzz them, and watch them scatter.

The visiting Americans nod appreciatively...then gape as the kangaroos duck around a hill, and launch about two dozen Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter. Programmers look rather embarrassed at forgetting to remove that part of the infantry coding... and Americans leave muttering comments about not wanting to mess with the Aussie wildlife!
As an addendum, simulator pilots from that point onwards avoided kangaroos like the plague, just like they were meant to do in the first place.

Ron lectured us about reusable code and proper encapsulation and things like that. He told us the story of the game designer who wrote all the hard stuff on his first game, and, when he came out with the second one, which was much better, all he'd had to do was replace a few things and use the same game guts, and it was all good.

I'm reminded, for whatever reason, of the classic argument between BJ and James... that was interesting. It was a gamer bitchfight about the PS2, back when there was a nasty artificial shortage. They were arguing at cross-purposes, and I think BJ was wrong.

unconscious

Need more sleep. Next door neighbors are loud. Lady to the north is quiet. Guys to the south are noisy stoners with good taste in Metallica.

Adam is much fun to play with in the mornings. Don't mind spillover; he does the same for me with Darkside.

Oddly enough, with this I'm happy for him. Compersion. It's a good thing.

Sneeze

it's hot, it's summer. I'm melting, drooping, wondering why I don't want to stay inside.

When it gets hot, you know it because I soak my feet in cold water once every half hour to stay cool. Silly? Yes. But it works.

Darkside is busy busy busy. Votania is busy busy busy. Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue: The Movie is sillier. Any more cheese, and we'd grill it and eat it for lunch.

Nephew is playing electronic pinball on Enki in Mommy's room. It's too hot for darts.

I need to call Mama and wish her a happy Mother's Day.

List

Chocolate syrup
cheese
parmesan cheese
orange juice!
milk
marninated mushrooms
green olives
dill pickles
oranges
apples
lettuce
vodka( it goes on... )

Perfume Oil Brewing: Nurturing Woman Brew

Nurturing Woman Brew
1/2 cup base oil -- almond
-- bad move: jar too small. Oil all over.
1/4 cup base oil: almond. Other 1/4 cup reserved for next brew.
5 drops vanilla [oil]. +4.
3 drops orange oil.
~1/16 tsp cinnamon powder
.......this is good as is -- wasn't sure whether should add to.

---

1 & 1/2 pinch ground star anise
2 small pinches ground nutmeg
Has good review from marxdarx ... this is better.

---

This is from the oil-stained page that is my original brewing notes. Will later polish with just total amounts.

Thanks to wiredferret who helped me come up with this combination. Mmmm. Yummy.

marxdarx commented on this one that it smelled like you'd want to drink it.

Perfume Oil Brewing: A Manly Scent for marxdarx

A Manly Scent for marxdarx

Slightly short of 1/4 cup almond oil (spill)
3 drops rosemary oil -- lid is broken -- should fix!
...Nice herbal piney evergreen smell to it
1 drop orange oil. Hm.
No Frankincense. Does not smell complimentary.
1 drop myrrh [oil]. Seems to cancel out other scents. Bummer.
3 more drops rosemary
1 drop orange Better. Damn, the myrrh's powerful!
2 rosemary
2 orange (oops, meant 1; ah well)
2 more rosemary
1 large pinch cinnamon
....--not quite it
1 large pinch cinnamon
2 drops rosemary -- better, not quite. --strong. --He likes.
1 drop orange
..............--yes.

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[edit to mix]
votania says it lacks something.
The Viking says musk.
....--Or cedar, Votania says.
--smelling it, it's musk.
2 drops musk
......--little high on musk (Viking)
2 Rosemary
1 orange

---

...--Perfect. (votania & Viking.)

---

Yeah.
...This is also from the original brewing notes. Again, I'll have to come up with a summation recipe so others can duplicate it with more ease.

I should like to get some cinnamon oil, for ease of brewing. Mmm.

---

Oh yeah. This is delightful. marxdarx has never smelled anything like it, but it's him.