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| Monday, July 6th, 2009 |
alobar
|
5:12p |
me fucked up Vista!
 Probably a simply remedied problem, but it is driving me nuts.
I do not want to start my 30 days of free phone support from Dell until I get my shipment of disks so I can do backups before I start messing around.
All was working fine, then I changed some setting, and now I get no internet. I have been logging on to free unsecured network connection (I can use over a half dozen choices from my apartment). Signal strength is excellent. According to task manager, I have internet connection but my local network is turned off. Windows warns of a conflict with the DNS of my network. Using automated problem fixer in windows yields nothing even remotely close to my problem.
Dell requires me to tell them my serial number. The number is on the bottom of the laptop, and is in type so tiny that it makes the fine print on a legal contract look positively huge. I could not have read that small type when I was 20, and my eyes are much less able to read small type now, than when I was young.
Ingenuity is one of my strongpoints. I put the laptop on top of the scanner & scanned at 600dpi. Problem getting a clear scan. Laptop case is not flat on bottom (to allow air circulation), so I got a blurry scan. I fucked around & rotated the laptop so the high ridges were off the scanner. It took me 4 tries, but I got a readable scan.
For now, my internet connection is by going to the Bastille Internet Cafe.
Week is forecast to be wet, so taking time off to fix my fuckup is easy to do write now. Weekend crowd was poor. I made $20 working 8 hours on Sunday. So today (cleanup day for the Essence Festival) would probably not be great even if I did work. Usually the day after a festival, there is good business from those who can afford to stay an extra day for sightseeing and shopping. |
adustierstar
|
11:11p |
Leaving again
I know I only just got back here, and I am for sure not looking forward to 10+ hours in airplanes tomorrow, not to mention the accompanying airport time D: I am excited for the wedding, though! I just wish I had more recovery time in between. Alas! I'll be without internet until the 11th, when I get back into Valpo. Just so you know. In other news, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) avatar1983 and I seem to have eaten something wrong this weekend sometime, because we both had digestive problems last night, and he's pretty ill still (I'm feeling better, fortunately - not entirely well, but better), and I'm not too happy leaving him like this, either. Grrr. I hope it goes away soon. So the moral of this story is that I'll be in Colorado from tomorrow evening (5pm Mountain time) until Saturday evening (5pm Central time), after which I will be in Valpo until the beginning of August. But I will also be updating in Valpo, so worry not :D Current Mood:  preemptively exhaustedCurrent Music: Journey - Faithfully |
auryn24
|
9:52a |
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interdictor
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1:43p |
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| Sunday, July 5th, 2009 |
docbrite
|
8:47p |
Vegetable Rights & Peace
I am turning into such a fucking hippie. I just signed up for the local paid recycling plan, since Nagin's wonderful recovery plan for the city hasn't managed to include the resumption of curbside recycling in nearly four years, and I bought a copy of Mother Earth News today. Well, dammit, I want a decent gardening magazine, and most of the ones on the market seem geared toward either morons (three different stories on How To Water) or yuppies more interested in landscaping than gardening per se (Planning Your Perfect Pergola). Not all that impressed with Mother Earth so far either, though. Any suggestions, txtriffidranch? |
adustierstar
|
5:40p |
"You could have your choice of men, but I could never love again"
Yesterday was a very good 4th of July - we went to an excellent barbeque, where I met some new people and got to see some people I hadn't in some time, which was all good :D I didn't watch 1776, as is traditional, but Nick and I watched it in Norway, so that's pretty close? We also did watch excerpts from Eurovision, which was good fun. The night before last we had a housewarming barbeque at Erik and Mogs's new place, so that was also exciting, though there were probably fewer people I knew? Maybe not, but it seemed that way. It was still good. Today, a big group of us went for publunch, which was also good! It's been a weekend for good food, evidently XD Bungalows and Bears is still our number one Sunday roast pub. Their potatoes are magical. Now I have laundry and packing to look forward to D: Much as I am excited about the idea of the upcoming trip-and-a-half, I'm super not excited about packing, getting up to be on the train, being on airplanes forever, etc etc etc. Especially since I'll pretty much have to shower immediately when I get to the cabin in order to shave and have my hair dryish enough for curlers before bedtime AUGH. It's all so complicated. I wish I could have gotten in a day earlier, but that just wasn't practical and also I'm kind of dreading travel at all - so much the worse if it were tomorrow instead of Tuesday. In other news, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera has been announced to open in London early next year - which is probably going to be awful, but is just the train-wrecky sort of thing I will be intrigued to learn about when it happens. More distressingly, avatar1983 is looking at pictures of Jeremy Clarkson through the ages, and I'm really not sure what it's all about...O_o;; PS because cassandra_7 mentioned it was hard for her to keep track, I shall attempt to make better use of the "location" box on these posts XD PPS HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIGITTE! Current Mood:  reluctantCurrent Music: Collective Soul - Heavy |
padiwack
|
5:00a |
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docbrite
|
12:10a |
Soldier Flies
I've been composting for several weeks now in one of those big black plastic bins designed especially for the purpose. It's fun (and compulsive, as I scour the kitchen and yard for compostables that might be going to waste). When I was about 12, my mom had an open compost pile that was always full of these segmented maggoty-looking things that disgusted me to the point of fascination. I'd stare at them and think, "What if you had to stick your hand in there?" Now they are present in large numbers in my own compost pile, and I learned that they are soldier fly larvae (I don't advise clicking that link if you dislike squirmy things), which are not only harmless but such excellent composters that they sometimes drive earthworms right out of the pile. And now I can stick my hand in there, not just without fear, but without even being particularly grossed out. After all, they work for me. They're also said to make excellent bait, should I ever wish to take up my short-lived fishing habit again, but that seems pretty cold-blooded: "Here, turn my kitchen and garden waste into compost. Thanks! Now I'm going to reward you by sticking a hook through your body and feeding you to a speckled trout!" Ah well; specks probably wouldn't hit them anyway, and ain't nuttin worth eatin but trout. [ETA: The adult soldier fly is a predator and gardener's ally, so this is an excellent bug all around.] |
| Saturday, July 4th, 2009 |
scyllacat
|
8:11p |
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Apparently, it's better to get personal than intelligent, thought-provoking, or controversial. But I don't feel like competing with Sarah Palin this news cycle, so I'll catch you guys on the flip side. |
padiwack
|
7:00a |
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| Friday, July 3rd, 2009 |
auryn24
|
9:10p |
Home town rappers...
Ok NOLA people, I don't know if this has been done before, but I need a complete list of "good ol days" New Orleans rap songs. RIP MC Thick So far, I have "Marerro" and "Smokin dat Weed" by Lady Red. Help me out on this, guys and gals! |
docbrite
|
4:37p |
Shady Grove
My latest gardening project is a small, shady grove at the back of the yard -- near the giant tiki head, if you remember the geography from my Flickr photo sets -- whose entrance will be marked by banana trees and Carara ginger. (Yes, I know these plants need sun, and will get it -- they'll be providing part of the shade, that which isn't already provided by the scrubby trees and brush I've left covering the rear quarter of the yard as bird habitat.) I cleared and mulched the whole area, planted asparagus ferns, and arranged lots of container plants -- mostly bromeliads, as well as one tiny jade tree I hope will grow mighty. The only frustrating thing is that this all happened too fast. I got the idea a few weeks ago and figured I could begin implementing it gradually and lazily, as befits summer gardening. Then I realized I had better go ahead and get those banana trees and gingers in the ground if I wanted them to get a really good head start before winter. I had a burst of energy this week despite pretty bad sciatica, and now, before I know it, the project is practically done. Of course I can keep adding details forever -- I have a broken granite pot that begs for some creeping herb or other, and an empty bracket for a hanging basket, and lots of fence space for art, and eventually I dream of having a stone bench -- but overall it was not the leisurely project I thought it would be. I've always had trouble not throwing myself into things. [Please note: Because my Assbook is still out of commission and I've kinda gotten used to the witty repartee we enjoyed there, I have temporarily opened this journal to comments from friends. Sorry, I know I have a lot of friends reading who aren't LJ "friends," but I don't feel like dealing with trolls and anyway you can still comment on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) prime_liquor or one of my other groups. I don't have e-mail notification for comments, so don't go commenting on old entries and expect me to see it. Caveat emptor. Quid pro quo. My name has been Kevin; please enjoy your meal.] |
| Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 |
docbrite
|
9:36p |
Wherefore Art Thou, Assbook?
My Facebook account has been disabled, and I have no idea why. Is there something wrong with the site, or do I just suck so bad that even Facebook doesn't want me? My last status update was, " ... is worried about my hypothalamus. If my brain is worrying about my brain, does that make me meta?" I don't think that violates any FB TOS ... (Actually, come to think of it, my Amazon Connect page recently disappeared too. I didn't care enough at the the time to try to find out why, but this is clearly a conspiracy!) |
docbrite
|
9:15p |
Conversation Over Coffee
PZB: ...blah blah blah blah blah Stephanie Meyer. CdB: Uh-huh. PZB: You don't know who that is, do you? CdB: Who? PZB: Twilight? CdB: What? PZB: Edward? CdB: Who? PZB: Sparkly? CdB: Huh? PZB: You don't have any idea at all what I'm talking about? CdB: No. PZB: Oh, I love you. I love you so much. You are the most wonderful man in the world. |
docbrite
|
8:32p |
Green Goddess 4th of July Persian Party & Menu
Just wanted to mention that Chris is doing something really cool at the Green Goddess for the Independence Day of the Colonialist Power (a.k.a. the 4th of July): they've rented the penthouse apartment on the fourth floor of their building and will be serving a Persian buffet in honor of the people's struggle for independence in Iran. As Chris points out in his entry, "This will be a private RSVP party, and the only way to find out how to attend, with a lush Persian banquet, a clear view of the fireworks display on the Mississippi River during the night of Independence Day, and a preview of a few of our creative cocktails soon to be available at The Green Goddess, only happens if you get an email invitation from us. The only way to score an invitation is to ask me for one on our website email listing for your chef correspondent." Or you can just call for reservations at (504) 301-3347. There's a reason he is being all 007 about this, but I'm not allowed to say it here. He will also be running a Persian tasting menu all this week and probably next week too. Here's the drool-inducing part of the post: Our 4th of July Tasting Menu, to Persia and her people, Let us remember their courage this Summer 2009 Chilled Cucumber Soup (for Rumi) Blended with Yogurt and Sumac, Finished with “Snow” from Lemon Balm, Crenshaw Melon, & Pimm’s #1 $8 Shamsi’s Refreshment Watermelon Juice, Izze Sparkling Pomegranate & a Big Sour Cherry Ice Cube $8 A Fragrant Slice of Koukouye, A Persian Frittata redolent with herbs, & Homemade Havashu Naan Flatbread $9 A Pair of Stuffed Vegetables Eggplant filled with Roasted Red Peppers and Pomegranate, Swiss Chard Dolma filled with Zeresk Pilaf of Barberries, Basmati Rice, Saffron, Ivory Lentils, Pistachios, and Black Lemon $15 Peach-Passion Fruit Tea with Green Cardamom $4 Oasis Sweetmeat Medjool Date stuffed with Rose-Scented Almond Filling $8 Pistachio Gelato in a “Nest” Shredded Phyllo, Orange Blossom Water, Saffron, & Candied Yuzu Peel $9 Tasting Menu $54 (including drink pairings) |
amenaspointyhat
|
3:34p |
Bah humbug
I'm one of those people who views their life in terms of LJ entries. Just yesterday I was recalling my previous Independance Day celebrations and how they have all sucked (hence this tag- JUST to be sure!) and I thought, via LJ entry in my head, "man, this year will be so awesome". I overcame some personal BS to make a trip happen this weekend and... ...now I'm getting sick. What?! I got sick the last time I went to Tallahassee, although I got better the morning we actually went to the beach. We'll make it to Tally Town by Saturday afternoon. I hope that whatever this is will hit it's peak tonight or at the latest, tomorrow morning, so the whole weekend isn't spoiled. What the freaknik. |
adustierstar
|
8:57p |
"Are these times contagious?"
Yesterday was predominantly occupied complaining about the heat and humidity while moving other people's things. Mostly complaining, though. God it is terrible. It was like 80 yesterday, almost that again today, and like 70% humidity. It has dried out a little today, and BBC weather says it's down to 58%, which is still a bit sticky. Yuck. I feel extra bad, too, because gross weather makes me cranky, and then add to that doing things that are not that fun and I become not terribly pleasant...I don't mean it! I just really. really. hate. sticky weather. Sorry D: Today avatar1983 and I went grocery shopping, then to buy a fan that doesn't make angry noises similar to breaking spines (like the little one I bought when I first moved here). It has been a good investment already. I have also preliminarily packed the litte rolly suitcase, and it looks good for the Great Luggage Caper, but I won't know for sure until Monday when I finish packing for real. Oy. Though it does mean I was productive and finally sewed on the two hook-and-eye combos I'd been meaning to do for a while. In other news, limbomonkey gave me some questions! ( memecut )comment here (not talking about stuff mentioned above) and I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.
Current Music: Sinéad Mulvey & Black Daisy - Et Cetera |
alobar
|
2:47a |
The Truth Alone Will Not Set You Free
Posted on Jun 29, 2009
"Those who care about the plight of the working class and the poor must begin to mobilize quickly or we will lose our last opportunity to save our embattled democracy. The most important struggle will be to wrest the organs of communication from corporations that use mass media to demonize movements of social change and empower proto-fascist movements such as the Christian right."
The ability of the corporate state to pacify the country by extending credit and providing cheap manufactured goods to the masses is gone. The pernicious idea that democracy lies in the choice between competing brands and the freedom to accumulate vast sums of personal wealth at the expense of others has collapsed. The conflation of freedom with the free market has been exposed as a sham. The travails of the poor are rapidly becoming the travails of the middle class, especially as unemployment insurance runs out and people get a taste of Bill Clinton’s draconian welfare reform. And class warfare, once buried under the happy illusion that we were all going to enter an age of prosperity with unfettered capitalism, is returning with a vengeance.
Our economic crisis—despite the corporate media circus around the death of Michael Jackson or Gov. Mark Sanford’s marital infidelity or the outfits of Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest incarnation, Brüno—barrels forward. And this crisis will lead to a period of profound political turmoil and change. Those who care about the plight of the working class and the poor must begin to mobilize quickly or we will lose our last opportunity to save our embattled democracy. The most important struggle will be to wrest the organs of communication from corporations that use mass media to demonize movements of social change and empower proto-fascist movements such as the Christian right. ( Read more... ) |
alobar
|
2:24a |
From Organic Bytes
Breaking News of the Week
Horizon Sells Out Organic Farmers With New "Natural" Milk
Dean Foods' WhiteWave division has announced it will release a new non-organic "natural" version of its popular Horizon dairy products. Horizon is the largest organic dairy brand in the marketplace, and many consumers will likely alternatively purchase the Horizon "natural (conventional) " brand at a premium and at a time when organic dairy farmers are already experiencing record losses.
Breaking the Organic Monopoly and the "Natural" Foods Myth
Whole Food Market and United Natural Foods, Inc.: Undermining Our Organic Future
After four decades of hard work, the organic community has built up a $25 billion "certified organic" food and farming sector. This consumer-driven movement, under steady attack by the biotech and Big Food lobby, with little or no help from government, has managed to create a healthy and sustainable alternative to America's disastrous, chemical and energy-intensive system of industrial agriculture.
However, the annual $50 billion natural food and products industry is threatening to undermine the organic movement by flooding the marketplace with conventional products greenwashed with "natural" labeling. "Natural," in the overwhelming majority of cases, translates to "conventional-with-a-green-veneer." Natural products are routinely produced using pesticides, chemical fertilizer, hormones, genetic engineering, and sewage sludge. "Natural","all-natural," and "sustainable," products in most cases are neither backed up by rules and regulations, nor a Third Party certifier. These are label claims that are neither policed nor monitored. For an evaluation of eco-labels see the Consumers Union Eco-Label website.
For example:
* Tests Show Widespread Presence of GMOs in So-Called "Natural" Foods * So-Called "Natural" (non-organic) soy milk, including leading brands such as "Silk," are made with conventional soy lecithin, utilizing the hazardous chemical, Hexane, as an extraction agent. * Dozens of "natural" and "made with organic" personal care and household cleaning products contain known carcinogens such as 1,4 Dioxane. Just about the only personal care products you can trust are those bearing the "USDA Organic" label. * 90% or more of the vitamins and supplements now on the market labeled as "Whole Foods," "natural" or "food based" are spiked with synthetic chemicals.
Despite the massive popularity and demand for certified organic products, retailers like Whole Foods Market, and wholesalers like United Natural Foods Inc., continue to push "natural" products at a premium price, while, in effect slowing down the growth of organics with their near market monopoly. In fact, the majority of products sold and distributed by Whole Foods Market and UNFI are not certified organic, but rather so-called "natural." Meanwhile, independent and cooperative grocers often offer more certified organic products at competitive prices.
Will you stand up for organics?
Contact Whole Foods Market and UNFI today and tell them that you will buy only certified organic products for you and your family. |
alobar
|
2:13a |
Bummer, Man!
I just attempted to install Photoshop 4. No go. It won't install to a 64 bit Operating system. I love my Photoshop. I sure do not have the cash to buy a new version.
|
alobar
|
12:17a |
Update on Vitamin D3 as Sunscreen
Some time ago, I began using Vitamin D3 in the form of Carlson's Ddrops as a sunscreen. People who are deficient in vitamin D burn more easily. As I mentioned previously, I have patches of skin with no pigment (partial albinism, like Michael Jackson). Those white patches never tanned. They burned, no matter how much sunscreen I used.
This Spring, I purposefully got many hours of sun exposure in April and early May. I got tan. Once I had a bit of peeling, but no pain. Not once did my white patches turn red or become tender to the touch.
These days it is too fucking hot outside to work in the sun, so my tan has faded. But I still take 16,000 I of D3 from Ddrops, along with Carlson's cod liver oil (for D3) & fish oil (for omega 3).
My skin is supple. If I run errands by day, even after an hour or two of blistering summer sun, I do not burn & my white spots do not turn red.
|
| Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 |
docbrite
|
8:26p |
The Last Time I Wore A Dress (Was Today)
Last night I had occasion to send "Enough Rope" to a gay couple from my OLGC rosary group. Rereading the essay, thinking about it and my other, somewhat less serious gender essay "Cocksucker Suit" (published in Greg Herren & Paul Willis' anthology Love, Bourbon Street), I came to a realization that I hadn't ever really admitted to myself before: I like wearing dresses. Mentally and emotionally I identify as male and always will, but the older I get, the more fluid my feelings on gender seem to become. It makes me happy that terms like "genderqueer" are used in casual online conversation. It makes me realize that when I put on a nice dress and shoes, fix my sacrum-length hair, and generally get all done up, it doesn't make me feel female; it just makes me feel sharp, the same way I feel when I wear my cockseersucker suit and Stacy Adams boys' alligator loafers. I don't wear much makeup, but I do like me some jewelry. Most of the time my style of dress resembles supergee's timeless description of his own fashion sense -- "garish and slovenly" -- but when I want to look nice, I don't care what gender my clothes are. I did for a while in 2004 and 2005, going through a phase where I wasn't at all comfortable wearing women's clothes or jewelry, but then in '05 there was this certain little event, and after that I found that I had bigger things to worry about than whether wearing a dress made me less manly. And everybody knows that most men in New Orleans, gay or straight, have at least one dress in their closet anyway. |
alobar
|
3:13p |
Collagen (from Duncan)
Below are a few snippets from Duncan on a thread on coconut oil list
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sorry I meant to write Knox gelatin is type III collagen, and many people benefit more from typeII collagen. The 29 types and their functions are 1/2 way down this WIKI page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collagen
Duncan
. . . many other health pros are up on the subject and you can get correct advice on collagen supplementation from them instead.
Essentially, you'd use gelatin (type III collagen) to regenerate bone, cartilage, tendon, bone marrow stroma and other connective tissue, and Type II collagen for (hyaline) joint cartilage, the center portion of the discs between the vertebrae in the spine, the inner ear, eye fluid etc. Type II provides the most discernible benefit due to it's action on rebuilding joints.
all good,
Duncan |
alobar
|
3:04p |
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docbrite
|
2:47p |
Evil Confession
For nearly two years I could not look at my Authors Guild bulletins at all, and would throw them in the trash as soon as they came. Now their headlines grow increasingly desperate (Spring 2009 issue: "Can This Industry be Saved?"; "The Future of Publishing"; "Keeping Calm in Changing Times" ... ), and I have to confess that I enjoy little thrills of schadenfreude as I flip through it. Not about the misfortunes of writers; I could never enjoy the fact that writers and books have fallen on hard times, but when I think of the incompetent 22-year-old assistant editors and publicists crying because they've lost their benefits package, I must admit I come a little more alive inside. (From the "Along Publishers Row" column -- and please note that all the Guild's missing apostrophes are sic: A cartoon by David Sipress in The New Yorker shows a smiling editor behind her desk. Across from her, an author looks shocked as the editor says, "We'd like to publish it, do nothing to promote it, and watch it disappear from the shelves in less than a month.") Ah, kiddies, I am a bitter old publishing buzzard for sure. |
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