posted 2005/02/28 at 15:50
For those of you reading this on the XML feed/LiveJournal: I have no idea why all those carriage retturns got inserted at the ends of my Backwash links in the last entry. I've tried to fix them, but the tags aren't on this end, and the entry shows up just fine on the .org.
Speaking about Backwash, it was a little over a year ago that I wrote there about the death of Boogie Records, Toledo's best independent record store, and how I felt guilty about it because I'm always one to advocate buying locally, yet whenever I want to buy CDs I always head to Media Play because of the discounts I get there. Well, it's happened again: our best locally-owned and operated bookstore, Thackeray's Books (in the same mall where Boogie Records used to be), is shutting down operations in April because there's going to be a Borders opening at a nearby mall, and they know they won't be able to withstand the competition. I buy from Thackeray's sometimes, especially because they tend to carry a lot of stuff that the national chains won't, but I probably get the majority of my books either from Media Play or Amazon. How much longer will it be before all the good local stores here in town are gone?
In other news, I did my taxes last night, and I'll be getting a pretty nice refund cheque in a few weeks here. So what I'm going to do is use that money to buy a Japanese PS2 and a couple of Japanese DDR games (probably Extreme and Party Collection, since I have no interest in Festival and pretty much the only way to get the older mixes these days is through eBay), and since I had a good-sized chunk of change in the bank I went ahead and ordered my flat panel off of NewEgg.com last night. I'm getting an Acer AL1715b 17" black flat panel (black to go with Yggdrasil, my self-built computer), and knowing how fast NewEgg is with stuff I'm guessing I'll have it no later than Thursday. Good thing, too, since my current monitor is crapping out on me more and more.
posted 2005/02/27 at 23:07
New on Backwash (yeah, I know, I never update over there anymore): "A Bad Hit." It's a brief polemic/whine about the problems of finding that special someone when you're transgender. I'm sure the subject matter is already making a few of you squeamish, but on the plus side I finally make something I've been alluding to online for the past month or so a bit more explicit. And that's all I'm saying about that.
posted at 17:09
I woke up this morning to find that my sister still hadn't done the laundry after avoiding it for seemingly a week. What this means is that right now I'm down to my last pair of clean underwear, and I can't work out until after she gets the laundry done so I'll have something to change into when I'm done. I also won't be able to leave the house until then, because all my winter pants are in with the laundry to be done. (Right now I'm wearing my grey sweatpants -- the only non-black pair of pants I own -- and if they were any thinner they might get mistaken for one of Dubya's reasons for invading Iraq.)
I was kind of planning on playing DDR at home today anyway, so the pants thing isn't too much of a trouble in that regard. Really, what's on my mind right now is that later tonight there's a performance of The Vagina Monologues at UT, and not only will some of my Spectrum friends be in attendance, but some of them will even be part of the performance. Given how I've been feeling lately about things in Spectrum, though, I just don't think it would be a good idea for me to go, as much as I want to support everyone there. It just seems like no matter whether I go to the show or not, I'm going to feel super-depressed.
posted 2005/02/26 at 16:55
Ah yes, it's one of those lovely days where I can't decide whether or not I want to go out. I probably should go out -- I need a new sleep mask, I want to do some more shopping, and if the machines aren't swarmed I'd like to get in some DDR at the arcade -- but there's a temptation to stay here, save money by playing DDR at home, and work on homework. (Even though I got a good head-start on my homework at school yesterday while I was waiting for that meeting which never ended up happening.) I'll probably go out here before too long, but I need time here to goof off, er, I mean think about that decision some more.
It's really kind of amazing just how much I don't listen to the musicians I love so much. I don't think I've listened to any Björk since I bought Medulla, apart from when I bought The Beekeeper I don't think I've made a deliberate effort to listen to Tori in months either, and as far as Sarah McLachlan goes forget about Afterglow Live; I bought Afterglow the day it came out and I still haven't listened to it! Seriously, I don't know what's up with that, but I'm wondering if it may have something to do with why I've been so depressed these past few months. Of course, I can't have music with vocals on when I'm studying, so that may explain why I've had mostly new age CDs in my player recently.
Don't even get me started on all the RPGs I've bought through the years that I either never played, or I tried out for a little while, thought I'd get back to later and then never did. Playing those would probably take me all of summer break, but of course since I haven't played all the way through Final Fantasy VII for a while now, I'm kind of wanting to do that this summer.
The ironic thing, of course, is that right now I could be doing those things instead of laying here on my bed typing about them. Then again, it's getting late, and if I'm going to head out here then I should start getting around soon. Eh, maybe after I check my Friends page on LiveJournal one more time here ...
posted 2005/02/25 at 16:20
About twenty minutes ago I was supposed to start a meeting with a professor over a writing contest I'm helping to run this semester (as part of my Research Assistant duties; this is the same contest I won $200 in a couple of years ago, but it's only for undergraduates), but the professor hasn't shown up yet. I have to run some errands today -- namely getting birthday presents for the brother-in-law, as his birthday is this coming Wednesday -- so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay up here in my office. I hate coming to campus on a Friday as it is, especially when I don't get paid until next Friday, but at least I can use the time here to work on homework and write here.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm bipolar. I've been really depressed these past few days, but whenever I'm writing to people online, my mood seems to go up a bit. Then again, there's something about talking with all my new friends in Cincinatti that seems to fulfill me in a way that I'm just not getting from talking to my friends here in Toledo. Given the big shake-ups that happened the last time I went down to Cincy, part of me wonders if I'll go down there at the end of Spring Break and just not want to come back up here. Of course, my lack of money to get my own apartment/buy my own food kind of snuffs the flame of that possibility out before it even gets a chance to flicker.
I have to say that I'm giving serious thought to running for President of Spectrum again when elections are held in April. It's not that I don't think the people who took over from me are doing a bad job, but I really miss having my hands at the controls of the group. Especially after my previous leadership experiences (in the pre-.org days) turned out so poorly and I did so well running Spectrum last year, I kind of wish I could keep helping Spectrum in as direct a way as possible. If nothing else, our current Vice-President will be leaving UT at the end of the semester, so there will be a vacancy there that I might be able to take over. Still, given all my responsibilities as a graduate student (especially since I'll start teaching in the fall) and the possibility that I might hear some decision as to the university's decision to recognize UT Un/Gagged soon, I might not have the time I need to do those things.
posted 2005/02/23 at 15:35
I'm supposed to be writing a summary of Foucault's essay "Discipline and Punish" right now, but I'm just not in the mood to right now. It's just not the fun ways of disciplining and punishing, you know?
Anyway, for once in my life I actually have plans for Spring Break. The Friday before break starts (I only have to go to campus to pick up my paycheque that day) I'll be going down to Defiance to participate in my first DDR tournament. They're making it sound like there won't be too many highly skilled players there, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up; if anything Marc aka [+Duracell-], who's probably the closest player to me skill-wise that I know of (my PA is slightly better but he's a lot better on harder songs) is going, and I know that any match with him will be determined by the tie-breaker; he'll pick a hard cata I have no chance of passing, I'll pick 5.1.1., and then it'll be up to the luck of Random as to whether or not I beat him. So I'm really just hoping to have a fun time down there; hopefully some of my fellow DDR players in Spectrum will be going as well.
Then the final Sunday of Spring Break, I'll be going down to Cincinnati to visit with some friends. These are the same friends I visited back in October of 2000, and being with them, in part, led to the huge changes of the following month that led to the creation of the .org. I'll probably be meeting Christina and Milena from LJ down there as well -- and I'm going to see if Penny can meet us too -- and hopefully that will be all nice and evil. >:}
In the meantime, though, I've still got one-and-a-half weeks' worth of classes to slog through here. And that all starts with getting this stupid summary typed up ... sigh.
posted 2005/02/22 at 23:20
So yes, buy ten copies of The Beekeeper (and yes, you have to buy the deluxe edition -- this is Tori Amos we're talking about) just as soon as you can. I do have to say, though, I hope we get back to girl-and-a-piano Tori here soon. Maybe it's just because I started listening to her in the Under the Pink days, but I really miss that sound from Tori.
While I was at Media Play picking the new Tori up after class, I also picked up Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now on DVD, since apparently there's some unwritten law in England that women can't do stand-up comedy, so I'm showing Mark some Ellen and some Margaret Cho. (He doesn't subscribe to the theory that women can't do stand-up, it's just that he's never seen any woman do it.) I also got the Armitage III Dual Matrix Limited Edition DVD/Lunch Box/Action Figure set for eight bucks, and when I went to get the Amazon link they were selling it there for sixty-three dollars. Go figure.
Now if only I actually had time for all of this stuff ... back to schoolwork for me. Gah.
posted 2005/02/21 at 00:42
Author Hunter S. Thompson Commits Suicide -- Yahoo! News
Fuck.
posted 2005/02/20 at 22:54
You know, Hearts of Space always plays the best music in the winter months ...
I've been wanting to say this for a while, but I thought that putting Norton Utilities on my computer was supposed to make my computer better, not worse. It now takes about twice as long for my computer to load everything up at startup (although it's still not taking all that long), and sometimes when I close a pop-up window IE will freeze on me. Granted, my computer's working better in some ways now, but all in all it hasn't been all that great an experience. And I swear I'm about to turn off the ad-blocking feature of Norton Personal Firewall because it's starting to block a lot of legitimate images that I'd, you know, like to see.
As much as I really don't care much for MP3s -- I can detect the lost frequencies of them easily (probably thanks to all my musical training) -- I have to say that I'm tempted to get a portable MP3 player here. Music Choice's Soundscapes channel just repeats the same stuff too often for my tastes (although I'll probably be picking up some Matsui Keiko CDs soon thanks to all of her songs they've been playing), and it would kind of be nice to have a jukebox to play all the new age songs I really like while I'm studying.
posted 2005/02/19 at 15:20
You know, this is one of those days where I really should stay home all day. I don't have a pressing need to go out, I can save money by playing DDR here today instead of at the arcade, and it'll give me more time to get a head-start on my homework for the coming week. Yet I feel this compulsion to head out of the house anyway, and I have no idea why.
So yeah, LCD monitor for my computer or Japanese PS2 with a couple of DDR games. Which should I buy (once I actually get my paycheque on Monday)?
posted 2005/02/18 at 23:33
So I have a hard time getting to sleep last night, and got up this afternoon having to rush through all the usual stuff so I could get to campus in time to get my paycheque. I get there twenty-five minutes before the English Department office (where said paycheque is stored) is scheduled to close, and the place is dark and locked up solid. Gah.
I still had some money in the bank, of course, so I hit up Media Play before DDR and got Tori Amos: Piece by Piece. Even with all the reading I have to do for school, somehow I have a feeling I'll get through that book in record time. (And of course I'm headed back there Tuesday for the new album. Do you even have to ask?)
posted 2005/02/16 at 20:45
You know, there's nothing quite so anxiety-inducing as waiting for someone to send you an IM. (No, I can't take the initiative, thanks for asking.)
Oh, and Don: Expect to get snowed on any second now. That's how it seems to be going this year; Toledo broke its previous record for snow in January, but it was hard to tell because it kept coming and going. There were at least three times we had at least six or eight inches of snow on the ground, but those first two times it all melted away because we got up to the fifties for a day or two -- and then the next day, poof, down below freezing again and more snow on the ground. (If this weather were any more dysfunctional, it could be mistaken for a member of my family.) That third time the snow didn't melt away for weeks, and only disappeared yesterday in the afternoon. So of course we get three inches of snow overnight. Ugh.
posted 2005/02/15 at 18:08
Okay, now that I've gotten the early-week craziness out of the way, I can relate to you all the developments of Sunday ...
My maternal grandmother (Granny) died about a year and a half ago, leaving my paternal grandmother as my sole remaining grandparent. When Granny died, my maternal aunt (Aunt Jo) was named the executor to her estate. The less said about Aunt Jo the better, but let's just say that when we heard that Carrot Top was renting the apartment next to hers (no, I am not making that up), I actually felt more sorry for Carrot Top.
Anyway, Granny had been living in the same home that Mom and Aunt Jo grew up in, and when she died there was nothing left in the house. So far Aunt Jo has done nothing to divide up the estate, and so the house has been standing there all this time, unoccupied for the most part. (I think Aunt Jo goes up there every so often for a couple of days, but don't hold me to that.)
On Sunday my father went up to see his mother -- she needs a (minor) heart operation -- and he was also asked to check on some repair work to the furnace system at Granny's house. When he opened the door, though, the place was soaked. Apparently the furnace people must have knocked a water pipe loose or something, because the place was drenched. The living room ceiling had caved in, and I guess all the antiques that had been kept in there were ruined. The basement was flooded with several inches of water, and my father didn't want to move around in the house for fear of floors giving in on him.
So my father calls the local fire department asking them what he should do. They tell him to try to turn off the water supply if he can. The problem, of course, is that the valve he needs to close is way deep in the basement, and not only is there several inches of water down there, but the electricity is still on, making for one hell of a potential electroshock hazard. My father, being the courageous (perhaps idiotic) person that he is, does so, and then drives ninety minutes home in freezing rain.
So yeah, that kind of put a damper on things Sunday. Everyone's safe now, but we don't know if Granny's house is still insured, or whether or not we can hold the furnace repairpeople accountable for what happened. If the house and all the antiques are lost, though, that's going to be a huge chunk of money gone for both Mom and Aunt Jo -- assuming Aunt Jo ever gets around to dividing it up. More importantly, though, the house that they grew up in is probably a total loss at this point. Mom's handling it well, but Aunt Jo owns a big flower shop in Charlotte, and for her to get this news on the day before Valentine's Day ... well, you figure it out.
posted 2005/02/13 at 22:53
I've got a paper due tomorrow, an oral exam on Tuesday, and a whole lot of work to do for my assistantship. And I'm just getting started now.
Much to update you all on, but it'll have to wait for later. Work, work, work ...
posted 2005/02/12 at 22:19
Okay, this was pretty long overdue, but I now have an XML feed for the .org for those of you interested in that sort of thing:
http://www.seanshannon.org/atom.xml
For those of you not interested in those things, if you have a LiveJournal account, you can now add me to your Friends list and get all the .org entries in with your Friends entries:
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=seanshannonorg
So now in order to keep everyone coming back to the purty colours on the .org I guess I'll have to get more content up here ... sigh.
posted 2005/02/10 at 22:50
Note to the Weather Channel: Your new Website design sucks. Please put the ten-day forecast back on the main city page.
Just so everyone knows, my Webhost has just put on a new spam filter that, unlike the first filter they put in last year (and is still operating on top of this new filter), deletes messages it detects as spam instead of just deleting them. Not that I ever receive that much e-mail aside from the few mailing lists I'm a part of, but in case anyone e-mails me and doesn't get a reply, I just wanted to let you know that there's a chance that your e-mail isn't getting through for some reason. Meh.
posted 2005/02/08 at 23:15
Yesterday wound up being one of those days that I didn't even want to write about in the morning. Don't get me wrong, I've had much, much worse days, but I guess sometimes there are days that are only mildly bad, but you really don't want to remember them in any detail or talk about them or write about them. Meh.
School is ... what it is, I guess. Unlike last semester, I'm not letting myself get behind in my work when I get sick; it was hell, but over the weekend I got caught up with everything I missed as a result of my previous illness. My classwork is really tilted towards the end of the term, though, so I'm hoping to get a good head-start on end-of-term stuff over Spring Break ... among other things.
I just remembered I was supposed to call someone after I got home from the arcade tonight. Poop.
posted 2005/02/07 at 21:20
This took me freaking long enough, but as promised, my answers to the 40 Question Reality-Based Community Quiz ...
Warning: This post is incredibly long, so if you don't want to read it, please be sure to scroll down and read previous posts. This goes double if you know something about LCD monitors and/or console gaming, and redoubled if that's the case and your name is Don Becker.
1) Do you think a significant percentage of prominent Republicans would secretly like to see the US become a theocracy?
As always, I love how quizzes like these are couched in hedge terms like "significant." How many is significant? Anyway, since I've yet to hear any halfway-decent secular argument against same-sex marriage, I'll go ahead and answer this with: Yes.
2) Do you believe it was a mistake to go to war in Afghanistan?
No, but it was a mistake to run the military campaign in the way it was waged.
3) In your opinion, is it a myth that American soldiers were spit on when they returned from Vietnam?
No. It happened, and it shouldn't have.
4) Michael Moore's distribution group, Front Row Entertainment, received help marketing Fahrenheit 9/11 in Lebanon from the terrorist group Hezbollah. Do you believe that was appropriate?
This was the first I ever heard of it, and to be honest I'm not sure I believe it. Just to be on the safe side here, though, I'll answer no and have done with it.
5) Do you think you can be a patriotic American and support Iraq's anti-occupation resistance?
Yes. Contrary to what the corporate media and the radical right would have you believe, most of the "anti-occupation resistance" is non-violent. And personally, if I were an Iraqi citizen, I wouldn't want the US still in my country after all this time.
6) Do you think there is a significant chance that the capture of Saddam Hussein was timed to help George Bush politically?
No. If it had been planned out, the timing could have been much, much better.
7) In your opinion, is there a significant chance that Diebold is rigging elections in order to help the GOP?
Let's see, a machine in Ohio tries to give 4,000 extra votes to Bush at a polling place with about 750 total registered voters, voting machines in Ohio were wiped clean before a full recount could occur ... I'll say yes.
8) Is George Bush more "evil" than Saddam Hussein?
Evil is ... ah screw it, let's just say no.
9) In your opinion, is there a significant chance that Republicans rigged some of the Senate races in 2002?
If by "rigged" you mean direct tampering with votes, then I would say no. If you mean disgracefully using Paul Wellstone's funeral to try to smear the entire Democratic party, I'd say yes. But I have the feeling it's the latter that's the proper definition.
10) Was Ingrid Newkirk right when she said, "There is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. They're all mammals"?
I guess by this definition, then, that the radical right thinks that non-heterosexuals aren't even human beings. Yes.
11) Is there any nation in the world that's more of a force for good than the United States?
Yes. Iceland, for one.
12) In your opinion, is the US a "stingy" country?
Look at country's donations per capita for tsunami relief. Yes.
13) Is there a significant chance that America will become a fascist state in let's say the next 10 years?
Some would say it is already, but I'm thinking that the use of the word "fascist" here means "as bad as Nazi Germany." In that case, no.
14) Do you think there's a significant possibility that liberals will be rounded up and put into some sort of camps in let's say the next 10 years?
No. Of course, by the time the Democrats are done moving their party right of centre, who's to say what could define a "liberal" in ten years' time?
15) Is America an imperialist nation in your opinion?
Yes. I don't think I even need to dignify this with an explanation.
16) Do you think "losing" in Vietnam was good for America?
I'm not even sure what "losing" means here. Doing anything at all in Vietnam wasn't good for America by any stretch of the imagination, but given all the soldiers who were killed or injured or forced to suffer in Vietnamese POW camps, I'll just answer this with a no.
17) Are you sometimes ashamed to be an American?
Yes. For all the good this country could do, we do bad so often that I can't help it.
18) Do you think it's wrong for the President to put the welfare of Americans ahead of the welfare of people in other countries?
No, I don't. But then why are the Iraqi people about to get free health care from the government while tens of millions of Americans remain uninsured, and often forced to choose between health care and other necessities like food and shelter? By the way, although the President should care about the welfare of Americans first, everyone else in the world should come a real damn close second.
19) Do you see significant, noteworthy, parallels between America and Nazi Germany?
No. Not yet, anyway.
20) In your opinion, was Iraq primarily a "war for oil"?
Yes. Well, that and Halliburton.
21) What about Afghanistan? Was that primarily a "war for oil" as well?
I don't think it started as one but it certainly became one, so yes.
22) Do you think it's likely a draft will be declared by the end of George Bush's term?
I'll say no to this, but let's face it: if Iran launches a nuke into Israel, or North Korea lobs one into South Korea, Dubya will be forced between pulling troops out of Iraq to fight a real war, or reinstating the draft, and I'd put money on him picking option number two.
23) Do you think Iraq was preordained and planned before 9/11 ever took place?
Yes. You mean you haven't read the memos yet?
24) In your opinion, is sleep deprivation a form of torture?
Yes. What the hell?
25) Would you prefer that we lose in Iraq?
No, I just want to get all of the troops out of there yesterday. That's not "losing."
26) Do you believe anyone who goes to Afghanistan or Iraq as a soldier is fighting for an evil cause under an evil commander in chief?
No, but it's certainly a wrong cause.
27) Was Michael Moore correct when he said, "There is no terrorist threat in this country. This is a lie?"
No, and given how close Moore's hometown of Flint is to the headquarters of the Michigan Militia, he should know better. I think Moore was engaging in a bit of hyperbole here to undercut how Dubya and his cronies overplay the terror threat, but he should have chosen his words a lot better.
28) Is there in your opinion a significant chance that the Bush administration either was behind 9/11 or knew it was coming and allowed it to happened?
Well, Condi Rice's testimony certainly showed that someone knew it was coming. Is "ignored" the same as "allowed it to happen," though? I'll be generous and answer no here, but I reserve the right to change my answer later.
29) Do you think there is a significant possibility that the Bush administration had a hand in Paul Wellstone's death?
No.
30) Do you believe that somebody rigged the vote in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential election?
Yes, yes, and shit yes.
31) In your opinion, do you think there is a significant chance that the Bush administration was behind the anthrax letters that were mailed out to some members of the media and US Senate?
No. (What is it with the conspiracy questions?)
32) Had George Bush lost the election, do you believe there was a significant chance Republicans would have thrown a coup?
No. Kerry wasn't too ideologically different from Dubya (hence my steadfastness in voting for David Cobb), and I'm sure the right-wing politicians and businesspeople would have found a way to make sure they kept rolling in moolah under Kerry.
33) Do you believe there's a significant chance that Karl Rove or someone else in the Bush administration had something to do with the last minute appearance of the Bin Laden tape right before the Nov. 2nd election?
No, that was probably bin Laden's doing. He needs Dubya just like Dubya needs him, and the timing of the video served bin Laden quite well.
34) Do you believe comparisons of George Bush to Hitler are appropriate?
No, at least not yet.
35) Do you think Communism could work if the right people were running it?
"Communism" as defined by what happened in the former Soviet Union, which was basically as much a bastardization of Marx's theories and teachings as Britney Spears' cover of "Satisfaction?" Hell no. Do I think socialism could work if the right people ran it? Then yes, but not in my lifetime.
36) Do you believe that black Americans who support and vote Republican are betraying their race?
No, that's just stupid.
37) Do you think people who say Al-Qaeda doesn't exist are right?
No, that's even dumber.
38) Are the insurgents in Iraq roughly comparable to Americans who fought against the British in your opinion?
"Roughly comparable?" What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'll say yes, but all these hedge terms are starting to piss me off.
39) Do you believe Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur was correct when she said, "One could say that Osama bin Laden and these non-nation-state fighters with religious purpose are very similar to those kind of atypical revolutionaries that helped to cast off the British crown"?
Yes. (Then again, Marcy's my Congresswoman. I've even voted for her and everything, although given that she's pro-life I don't see myself ever campaigning for her.)
40) Do you believe there's a significant chance that the US Government knows where Bin Laden is and is deliberately allowing him to remain free?
No, because that would actually be the smart thing to do. Kill bin Laden, and you'll have tens more like him pop up in his place. (Then again, this is a man who goes hopping from cave to cave, requires dialysis three times a week, and the US still can't catch him? Meh.
Total yes answers: 16, which according to the results key doesn't make me a member of the "loony left" just yet. Hopefully I'll get there soon, though.
posted 2005/02/04 at 23:52
In addition to advice on LCDs (see previous entry), I'm also looking for help in the following areas ...
A while back -- like years ago -- on TechTV (actually I think this was during the ZDTV days ... good grief does this world need Leo Laporte and Kate Botello back on The Screen Savers in the worst way), one of the hosts said something about being able to connect a cable modem to a network by having two network cards in one computer: one to the cable modem, and one to the network. I understand this is supposed to be safer than hooking up every computer in the network through a router, and on top of that, none of the computers I'm looking to hook up here can recognize the cable modem for some reason. Can someone help me with this?
Also, given that it looks like I won't be able to treat my Red Wings fix here at least until the fall, I'm probably going to break down here and buy NHL 2005 here soon just so I can get some hockey back into my life. I'm curious, though: I know that I get unlimited online play on XBox through my XBox Live account, but does online play cost extra on the PS2?
posted 2005/02/03 at 23:58
Yeah, so for those of you who don't click over to the diet log, I did catch whatever bug this was that was going around the Shannon household in the middle of last week, hence my lack of updates as I've just not been up for much of anything here. I missed classes on both Monday and Wednesday (Wednesday because in spite of my other symptoms abating, I got such a bad case of cramps I can't even begin to describe them). I'm slowly getting back to my "normal" life, though, and I'm sure that in a couple of days I'll have a nice big emo rant to give. (Although I may put that one in a more private place because, well, some stuff I just don't like talking in a place as visible as this.)
I haven't forgotten my promise to do that political survey here that I was asked about on the .forum. I did, however, totally forget to weigh myself on the first like I was scheduled to, and given that my numbers will be skewed by me being sick this past week (and hence off-diet), I think I'm going to go ahead and wait until March to weigh in properly. At least I'm feeling well enough now that I'll probably try a little DDR tomorrow and see if I can handle it.
In other news, my old 15" Gateway monitor here is starting to give me more trouble than I'd care for, so since I'm getting paid tomorrow, I'll likely purchase a flat panel in the next week or so. I'm looking at black 17" LCDs from both New Egg and Tiger Direct, and if anyone can give me any good brand recommendations from the models offered at either place (keeping in mind I can't blow too much money here), get your ass over to the .forum and tell me.
copyright © 2008 Sean Shannon