Naked Incoherent Gibbering

About Recent Entries

Aug. 20th, 2008 @ 02:47 pm
There's a new sign above the drinking fountain I use here at work. It reads, "Is what you're about to do safe?" I know it's supposed to make you think about safety.

But safety isn't exactly what I think of when I see that sign above the drinking fountain. It makes me wonder what's in the water. Or how many people have used the thing before me, and what they might have done to it when I wasn't looking.

I'm guessing whoever came up with the idea of putting that sign in that spot didn't think about the psychological ramifications. Either that, or I'm just weird.

Um... Hi? Aug. 8th, 2008 @ 09:34 am
So it's been what, 11 months since I posted anything? I look at it every now and then and think that I should write something, but it's been so long since I've written anything that I don't know what to say.

There are plenty of things running around inside my head, so it's not like I don't have anything I could write about. I just... I don't know... I'm out of practice, I guess.

I've noticed that work seems to be feast or famine. Last summer, I got so busy I didn't have time to read or write or anything. Hell, I nearly fell off the online map. Now, things are really really slow. So, I have time. But I can't think of anything to do with it. (While I'm at work, anyway; I have plenty to do at home.)

So, anyone still paying attention?
Look!: At work
I'm Feeling: lethargic

Sep. 12th, 2007 @ 08:04 am
Okay, I have a moment where I can actually write something, so I might as well give you an update. Still don't know when I'm going to get back to reading again, but that's a different issue.

My elbow flared up again, so I went back to the doctor. He sent me to a specialist, I got a shot of cortisone, and I'm all better now. The elbow saga is finally over. It was olecron bursitis, and a cortisone shot usually clears it up, so I don't expect any other problems out of it. And it does, in fact, seem to be back to 100% now.

However, if it's not one thing, it's something else. My blood pressure is running a little high, so I'm supposed to keep an eye on it. I've already started making some dietary changes (less salt, for instance), but I think it's going to take real exercise of some sort to go back to what I consider normal.

Right now I'm looking at walking and biking (along with golfing, of course), but I might have to graduate to something more strenuous. I'll probably go back to the doctor and ask for advice. That's what they're for, after all.

Why did no one tell me about the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series of video games from EA? When I first started playing Outlaw Golf, I was impressed with its physics, and the actual game play itself. The gimmicks were just flavor. But when I really started playing Tiger Woods, I realized it was better. Yes, I have less control over how precise my shot is, and I don't know exactly how many clubs I have to shift for sand, rough, or slope, but that's closer to real life. And I think it improves play. People who prefer something a little easier should probably stick to the gimmick games. But you know what my favorite feature is? If you said Game Face, you're right. Any video game that lets me create a character that resembles myself (or anyone else I feel like creating, for that matter) gets bonus points.

I live! Aug. 20th, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Over the last couple weeks, I've been rather busy. I haven't had time to read anything, either. And because I haven't been reading for this long, I don't think I'm going to be able to catch up. So if you actually need me to see something, you'll have to let me know directly.

I am alive, however, and doing reasonably well. I may have time to write more later, but no promises.

Aug. 8th, 2007 @ 09:49 am
Intel no longer powers the urinal. This saddens me.
I'm Feeling: disappointed

Aug. 7th, 2007 @ 01:33 pm
My elbow is pretty much back to normal now. It still stings when I bump it against stuff, so it's not 100% recovered, but there hasn't been any further swelling or anything. I'm going to call it good.

It's brought to my attention, however, the fact that I'm starting to get old enough that 100% recovery may not be guaranteed any more. Up until now, I've always taken it for granted that every time I did something to myself it would always be perfectly healthy again a few weeks down the road at worst. But I guess that's not always going to be true, is it?

The longer we get in the tooth, the longer our recovery time from strains and injuries becomes, until at some point recovery time is longer than the rest of our lifespan. To tell you the truth, it's not a very pleasing thought. Never having been a real participant in the goth movement, contemplating my own mortality was never a popular pastime for me.

Still, I suppose I should count myself fortunate that my parts work as well as they do. And as long as they continue to do so, I'm going to continue to use them. No sense letting functionality go to waste.

Jul. 31st, 2007 @ 09:59 am
I have this nifty little idea for a game to play. The idea is to see how long you can make a chain of actors, connecting them through movies and TV shows. It's like the Kevin Bacon game, only you're trying to make it longer, and you don't have to connect to Kevin Bacon. Here's an example.

Say I started with Natalie Portman. The next person connects her to Ewan McGregor through Phantom Menace. Then to Orlando Bloom through Black Hawk Down. Lord of the Rings gets you to Elijah Wood. Jessica Alba from Sin City. Fantastic Four to Ioan Gruffudd. To Jamie Bamber from Hornblower. Edward James Olmos through Battlestar Galactica. Don Johnson via Miami Vice. And so on and so forth.

So, here are the rules. I'm going to make a list of actors. You pick one of them, and start a chain. You can also continue somebody else's chain (which you'll have to do once all of my chains have been started). Then when somebody continues your chain, you come back and continue other peoples' chains. Let's see how long we can make this. And no using IMDB to cheat.

Here's the initial list:

  • Samuel L. Jackson
  • Rutger Hauer
  • Tommy Lee Jones
  • Christian Slater
  • Joan Cusack
  • Renee Russo
  • Linda Hamilton
  • Drew Barrymore
  • Sean Connery
  • Wesley Snipes

And, go!

Of urinals and elbows Jul. 24th, 2007 @ 01:38 pm
Okay, update time. Past time, really. So here's a quick update on the state of me.

At work, I'm pretty much back into the swing of things now. I have a good handle on what needs to be done, and I'm confident that the parts I have control over are in good shape. And the parts that I don't… well, I'm doing a halfway decent job of not worrying about them too much.

I started running a role-playing game not too long ago. I could post about it here if there's interest.

And now for some updates on interesting events.

A couple weeks ago, one of the urinals in the men's room was running constantly; it wouldn't stop flushing. A sign got posted above it saying that maintenance had been notified of the problem. By the end if the day, it was back to normal. Almost. There is now a sticker on the front of the urinal saying "Intel Inside". It still amuses me every time I see it.

On a slightly less pleasant note, one of my elbows doesn't like me. My left one, as it happens. I think it's mad at me for being right-handed or something. Anyway, something happened to it (I'm still trying to figure out what), and it decided to swell up with fluid. When it didn't get better on its own, I decided to visit the doctor.

Important safety tip when it comes to body parts. If it's red and irritated looking, filled with liquid, and radiating heat, then it's infected. I guess you really do learn something new every day. And not only that, but new experiences, too.

Ever had fluid drained out of a body part? First, they stick you with a needle to numb up the area. Then, they stick an even bigger needle in there to suck everything out with. I guess it would take too long to suck it all out with a small one. So to your doctor, at least, size does matter.

That fairly quick (and actually relatively painless) procedure was followed up with a band-aid to stop the bleeding, an ace bandage to squeeze out the swelling, and a prescription for antibiotics to kill the stuff causing it all. Then they sent me home.

That should have been the end of it. But it decided to flare up again not much more than 24 hours after I polished off the antibiotics. So, back to the doctor I went. No fluid draining this time, but a two-week supply of antibiotics instead of only one. With refills, even. And if that doesn't take care of it, then I'm going to have to go back and ask him to dig a little deeper and figure out why so we can stop it at the source.

Anyway, that's how I've been. How are you?

Jul. 10th, 2007 @ 02:36 pm
My temporary work assignment is over. I'm back where I belong!

I'm not dead yet Jul. 4th, 2007 @ 08:49 am
I've been absent for a while, haven't I? Not only haven't I written anything, but I haven't read anything, either. I've been ignoring this place for nigh on three weeks now. For those of you still reading, let me try to catch you up.

In case you weren't already aware of it, I've been working on a temporary assignment at work since about March. I didn't want to do it in the first place, but you don't exactly say no when the deputy program manager (who happens to be two steps above my boss) requests your cooperation. Well, that temporary assignment is now coming to an end.

Starting next week (for this week I am on vacation), I will be transitioning back to my real job. I get to start working where I want to be again. And, amusingly enough, circumstances have made it so that I'll be working the exact same piece of the pie that was mine before I left. Can you say, "Woot!"? I thought you could.

Thank you for banking with me Jun. 14th, 2007 @ 04:07 pm
The Bank of Me is apparently open for business, at least to members of my immediate family. I have no idea what they did for money before I became financially solvent, but ever since, I've pretty much been the go to guy.

Fortunately, it's rarer than I make it sound. My siblings have at least some semblance of financial responsibility, and well, I learned it from Dad, so he has it, too.1 But they've all needed extra cash at one time or another, and I've provided it.

As far as banks go, I'm pretty easy to deal with. I give out loans based on my ability to loan, not your ability to pay. My interest rate is nonexistent, and the payment due date is 'whenever'. I don't keep very exacting records, so I'm not even sure at any given moment exactly how much I've got outstanding. If I were a real bank, I'd be out of business in a heartbeat.

However, I'm not a fountain of money for people who want to abuse my inexact record-keeping. Because while I don't keep track of exact amounts, I do have some idea of how responsible you are with my money. And that's the criteria I use when deciding whether to loan you more.

To show you what I mean, let's look at some track records, shall we?2

  1. Dad: Hasn't paid back a damn thing. I'm fairly certain he would have paid everything back on time with interest if he wasn't married to that psychotic, needy bitch.3 But he's got a parasite that'll suck away any money I lend him into a black hole, and it won't go toward what it's supposed to be for. He gets nothing until she's gone and he pays me back.4

  2. My sister: She took years to pay off a small debt, but she gave me what little she could spare when she had it, and worked off the rest by doing chores for me. She scores high marks on responsibility, and can have more of my money any time.

  3. Brother number one: Still owes me some, but has already paid back half or more, and did it when he said he would. Assuming the rest comes in on time, he gets more, too.

  4. Brother number two (and the reason I'm writing this): Hadn't paid back the last loan yet, but the reason for the last loan was more expensive that he'd planned for, and he got caught short. And he only came to me because a real bank turned him down, and he's smart enough to know that those payday loan places are pits that you can't get out of. He got more. But if he doesn't start paying me back like he promised, he's getting cut off.

  5. Friends #1: Haven't paid me back yet, but I'm not the only person who loaned them money, and they're barely making ends meet as it is. If it would put them squarely on the road to solvency, I'd be willing to give them more.

  6. Friends #2: Haven't paid me back yet, either. But I did tell them not to hurry. As long as it's for as good a cause as the last time, I'd be willing to do it again.



It's kind of hard to get cut off completely. You always get at least one or two chances, and a high probability of more. But I'm not a doormat, and I refuse to be walked on. I didn't get to be reasonably well-off by simply throwing money away. But I refuse to be stingy with it when there's need. I don't get to take it with me, after all. It doesn't do any good unless I use it for something. And if that something happens to be someone else, well, I'm okay with that.

1. Mom no longer graces the living with her presence, and I'll talk about Dad's current wife later.
2. If you've gotten money from me, and you don't recognize yourself on the list, either I've forgotten about it or it was a gift. And if it's the former, it may as well be the latter because I won't know the difference unless you remind me.
3. Can you tell yet that I don't like my step-mother?
4. That's not going to happen. I love Dad a lot, but I sometimes wish he didn't believe that marriage is forever.

Jun. 7th, 2007 @ 03:55 pm
I'm slowly but surely making this place seem more like home. I have a whole bunch of icons, a layout I like, and my profile is no longer just a couple free speech banners (although not by much).

What I need now is text in my bio. Since it looks a lot like an FAQ at the moment, let me ask you, my readers, what questions you want my profile to answer.

So, ask away!

Jun. 5th, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
See icon for where I should have gone for lunch instead of Popeye's. Now, don't get me wrong. I usually like Popeye's, and they have the best side item available in fast food today (red beans and rice, for the curious).

But I'm a little annoyed at how badly they screwed up my order. Now, it's not entirely their fault, as I could have checked to make sure it was mine before driving off (I ordered at the drive-thru). But you know, I shouldn't have to. So, yes, I'm going to blame them instead of myself.

I don't care what level of education you have, it's pretty much impossible to confuse the 'mild chicken strip combo with mardi-gras sauce and red beans and rice' that I ordered with the '4 piece wings and legs' that I actually received. What kind of a moron do you have to be to screw that up? It's especially bad when you take into account the fact that I was the only one in the drive-thru.

If I wasn't too lazy to drive all the way back, I'd go complain. But I decided I was hungry enough to just eat the damn chicken anyway. And now, of course, my stomach is telling me I shouldn't have.

And now I'm just waiting for the apocalypse. It is Tuesday, after all.
I'm Feeling: annoyed

Jun. 2nd, 2007 @ 04:04 pm
I figure I might as well say something, so that people running across this recognize that I'm an actual person.

I started this thing as a reaction to LJ Strikethrough '07. We'll see whether I use it for anything.

I must say, though, that out of all the LJ alternatives out there, I think this one has the most character.
I'm Feeling: bored
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