View from above

This is Lake Union as seen from the Space Needle. I live somewhere on the perimeter.






Have a great weekend everyone! I'm riding the depressingly wifi-less Amtrak to Portland. It should be fun to "rough it" like the settlers did 200 some years ago. Can you imagine how boring it must have been to ride a stagecoach all the way across the country with no internet access? They had to wait until they got here to update their Myspace's. It's just like riding Amtrak for 3 and a half hours.

You know it's bad when ...

... you have to dust off the vacuum cleaner. I don't think I've changed the bag in it. Ever.


I don't have much to say about myself (collective sigh), so here are some cool links.


This is an article about the 22 year solar cycles discussing how the next peak will be in 2012 (they call it an 11 year cycle in the article, but the magnetic poles switch every 11, so a true cycle takes 22 years).

I note that the Mayan calendar ends December 21st, 2012. I'm not going to tell you the world is going to end then like some would, but it does sort of indirectly suggest that the Mayans knew about sunspots (that would be thousands of years ahead of Galileo, a good 2300 years ago -- sunspots were observed long before Galileo, but he first properly explained them). Why the Mayans felt the need to predict solstices more than two millennia into the future, and why they stopped in 2012, remains a mystery.

You can actually observe the larger sunspots with the naked eye, but I don't recommend it. If you want to observe the sun, use welder's glass or project the image on a screen. Directly looking at the sun will literally burn your retinas out. /disclaimer

I'll just off-handedly note that increased solar activity seems to coincide with warmer temperatures and more violent weather. I'm not trying to discredit the greenhouse gas argument, but if you care about global warming, you ought to know about one of its likely causes. The icecaps are melting on Mars too, is all I'm sayin'*. Correlation/causation and all that.


This article is about the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin (mushrooms). Shit, I could have told them about the 'shrooms. If you do it right, in nature in the summertime with friends you can trust, and you don't take too many, you will have basically a religious experience (not that I know what that feels like). You probably shouldn't eat them for the first time right before you have a big formal dinner while on a school field trip in DC in a huge 2000 person conference hall while sitting next to your adult chaperon. Just sayin'.

Note that the conditions of the study are that only patients who don't respond to other treatments should use these drugs for therapy, and then only in small doses, and only under supervision. Um... ok. I guess they have to say that to get government approval.


* Jupiter's weather patterns are also changing.

He's just not that into you

I "broke up" with one of my guy friends yesterday. It would be hysterical if he didn't take it so badly. I tried ditching his calls and ignoring his emails, but he never took the hint. I actually used "It's not you, it's me".

I tried to explain that I just can't spend every fucking day with the same person, especially not a dude, but he was hurt anyway. I knew he'd be upset, but I had to do it.


You know how when you half break up with your significant other? Where you rationally explain how you still love them and don't want to cut it off completely, but they need to stop calling you and coming over and doing that whole sharing-of-life thing? You'll call them. And when you do, it's perfectly fine if you keep having sex, but there's to be no emotional involvement? Yeah, it was a lesser, non-sex version of that. I suppose it's my own fault for letting it get to this level.


It's awful. I had to tell him I need time to be myself and not worry about meeting someone else's schedule or expectations for what we ought to do in a day. But he sensed the truth. It's him. I can't spend any more time with him.

Having JB and his bro here for a weekend really underlined to me how it feels to hang out with friends who don't drive you nuts (though I reserve the right to drive JB insane by playing The Family Guy at jetliner decibels). But even then, I couldn't see JB everyday.

Also the VT massacre, like my father's various dalliances with death, forced on my consciousness the feeling that you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. You probably don't remember, but just before that tragedy, some guy hunted down his ex-gf at UDub (4 miles away) and shot her and himself dead. The NASA shooting would make the "these things always happen in threes" superstition seem true.

I'll be damned if I'm spending my last days being annoyed. Not that I feel the icy hands of death upon me, but life is too short to spend it on someone who's a drain on your energy just to be nice. I don't like being a jerk, but I will if it means I can have some peace.


So how is it being "single" again? Sweet, sweet peace. I get up every morning around 7ish with the sun, get the gym done by 9, get my clusterfuck of a life in order 'til 4pm (when hockey starts), and watch TV/read/blog until an early bedtime. Depending on your life, that may sound terribly lame, but it means alot to me to have a regular sleeping schedule.

You may think a guy who's been basically unemployed for several months would have his personal affairs in order, but no. You know how everytime you move you tell yourself that this time you're going to sort through all your stuff before you move? Uh huh.

But I've turned over a new leaf. Since Monday I've gotten all my financial stuff arranged, switched health insurance, spent 3+ hours on tech support to fix my lemon of a laptop (fuck alienware), caught up with my Mom for another 3+ hours, and cleared out a huge rats nest of wires and old computer crap from my room. This is invaluable.

And I owe it all to being a jerk to the one person who's been nicest to me in Seattle. Let that be a lesson to ya.


Yes, this is the drivel I produce when I feel like blogging.


In other news, I noticed the water in the toilet was an odd shade of brown this morning. No, it's not that! I tried to flush it away, but to no avail. Hmm. I left to run my errands and ran into surprise construction just down the street. "What the hell is that?" I wondered. They had dug huge holes right in the middle of my street that were full to the top with water. "Looks like a water main broke" I laughed to myself. About 45 minutes later I put it together. Yeah, I'm a quick one.


And here's a nifty article about hyperspace and antigravity from New Scientist (read: reputable magazine). I doubt anyone reads these types of links except possibly garlic, but I likes to links 'em anyhows.

Dirty groceries

I'm sure the checkout people at the grocery store judge us when we go through. How could they not? I sure as hell would. So no, I hold nothing against them for the state of affairs.

But I will game the system to my advantage.

Take today, for example. I went to Fred Meyer's to open a checking account and do a little shopping. This being my first time, little did I know you can also get a new wardrobe, buy an engagement ring, and have someone circumcised there. This was my chance to dig out the shopping list 'o things I never seem to get around to picking up!

I got almost everything on the list, which was great, until I looked at my cart and realized someone was going to judge me based on this stuff. So I padded out my cart karma (cartma?) with some lettuce and broccoli. But it wasn't going to be enough.

Ok, that's easy, just look for a dude cashier. Even if he's a queer, it won't matter because I'm not attracted to him. Right? And surely I couldn't let the pretty young thing on register 4 see this cart of shame -- as though, if the cart contents were to her liking, she would throw herself at me on the conveyor belt right then and there.

No dudes, but there was a fat old lady on 6. Score! I'm so glad no one but her saw my dandruff shampoo and athlete's foot cream (hey, at least there's no Preparation H). Fortunately that knowledge is kept safely to myself.

Manhood and dignity intact, I've got to go. There's Star Trek on.

I'm an asshole

I pissed off one of my friends by IM'ing him "God dude, you're like a girlfriend I can't screw" because he can't go a day without face time or calling to fill me in on his day (he kind of reminds me of Paulie Walnuts, well meaning but annoying).

Let me just lay it out nice and clear for y'all: if you don't have a vagina that you're willing to grant my penis access to on a regular basis, I don't want to talk to you everyday no matter who you are, and even then I'm probably only tangentially interested in your day to day activities.

He wrote back something all mad about how he wasn't going to call me anymore. That lasted about 4 (peaceful) days.

That makes me sort of an asshole. I prefer "impish", myself. What makes me a full blooded asshole is my immediate reaction was, "Thank god, can I get that in writing?" It's a good thing his phone is shut off.

I don't know if thoughtcrime is a sin, but I do know that I was going to hell so long ago, it doesn't matter anymore.


Perhaps another example of my assholitry is that I am sick and tired of hearing about the VT massacre. That's not to mean any disrespect to the victims/survivors, to whom I send all due respect and love. I know people who went there and I'm sure this is a hard time for them.

I've just seen all I can see about it. Another sobbing young woman on TV isn't going to bring the people back or tell us "why" (what value was there in interviews like that anyway? Besides the ratings bonanza, I mean). The media has squeezed every ounce of sympathy and story they can get out of it and frankly, I'm disgusted by their behavior.

That fuckhead claimed that the blood was on all our hands. I know this because NBC had a chance to not give Mr. Fuckhead the posthumous publicity he killed 32 people to get, and, after what was surely reasoned and idealistic debate, came down on the side of making a fuckload of money.

The blood of the victims of the next person who goes on a rampage for attention will be on NBC's hands, the same NBC that has a policy of not televising it when fans run onto the field and charge the mound so as not to -- get this -- encourage that behavior in the future. Short sighted idiots.


I'm not surprised, just indignant. Ah well. Hockey is in playoffs and the weather is turning. Life overall is good and I shouldn't get too worked up over things I can't change.


I just watched the third episode of the end of The Sopranos. Despite the title of this post, I'll refrain from discussing it on the main page. But I invite you to join me in the comments. So, like, don't read the comments unless you want to read spoilers. Man.

Who killed JFK?

Theory number 7 billion and 2. True or not, the article is a good read, as it's mostly about the crazy life of a CIA guy who on his deathbed told his son who killed JFK (supposedly).

If you want to skip right to the conclusion, I'll put it in the comments.


In other news, The Sopranos is back on HBO, but Rome has ended. I really hope they make a third season of Rome, aka the greatest show ever made.

I wonder what's going to happen to Tony? His weakness is definitely a theme, as well as AJ's unsuitability to take his place. If I had to predict, someone rolls over to the cops and at least Tony and Christopher Moltisanti go down, since they adhere to the old code (Chris had his love, Adriana, killed). Johnny Sacks copping a plea shows that even the old guard will roll over when under pressure.

If they resurrect Adriana somehow, I'm going to be severely disappointed. Look for one of Janet's schemes to go too far.

Your lucky numbers are 7, 13, and 24.

It's no shark, but it will have to do

They're talking about building a giant Michael Jackson robot that will wander the Vegas desert shooting laser beams. You know it's true because you can't make shit like that up.

As stupid as it sounds, I actually hope they build it. Like getting fined in Ohio for cursing*, I would consider it an honor to bear witness to a 50 foot tall metallic Michael Jackson shooting laser beams.


In other news, here's a collage of Ralph Wiggum (ws).


* I forget which town, but there's a small town somewhere in Ohio with a religious college at which you can actually be fined for cursing on campus. I've always wanted to go there and say "Give me a fucking cursing ticket, douchenozzle" to a campus cop. Then I'd fight the second ticket (one for each curse) in court on the grounds that "douchenozzle" isn't a curse word. Can you imagine talking about this to the DA? What if it went to trial? That would basically be the greatest thing ever. Related.

Not again

You know war is more or less inevitable when Jon Stewart is beating the drum (ws vid). Of course, it's much worse on the right, where the discussion isn't so much about whether we should attack or not, but the particulars on when and how it should be done.

[sigh]

In happier news, here's some pictures of a tiger raising a litter of baby pigs.