Saturday, August 04, 2001

According to Sven (my computer), I've only added 11K to MooT. According to Fetch (my FTP program), I added 12+K to it. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it -- you can read -this- file, right, Scrubby?

Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:46 AM |

Oh, and about this latest bit... Look, by adding in yet another of my character constants, I neatly avoid a trite situation!

Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:48 AM |

Windows Media Player 7 Upgrade Notice
Unfortunately, Windows Media Player 7 does not play on Windows 95 or Windows NT 4 operating systems and a version of Player 7 will not be created for those operating systems.

Thank you. That is soooooo -not- helpful.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:45 AM |

Maybe I should try talking Ev into selling me his computer... I use it, and modify it, far more often than he ever does. And it's -faster- than mine. On the other hand, it -is- a Windows machine... *Can practically hear Reesa chanting something about the dark side* *Snerk*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:11 PM |

Okay, this is weird. Sometimes, I call up the HBE and I get a pop-up. Sometimes, I don't. Hm.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:16 PM |

Oh Reesa... -Teenagers- are all inherently _evil_, y'know. *Nodnod* Therefore we must deny them anything that even looks like it might accidentally lead to anything -sinful-, up to and including the right to privacy. Especially privacy. You know what happens when kids have -privacy-, don't you? -SEX-. Because 'privacy' is too much like 'privates', and everyone knows those dirty evil teens will have sex with anything that moves, even if its the same gender, 'cause they're EEEEEVIL!

*Ahem*

I don't know why people think that 'open line of communication between parent and child' equals 'I get to search them/their room/bags/boxes/whatever any time I want'. Or why 'Parental Authority' equals 'Utter Tyrrany And NO ONE can -say- BOO'. I really wish I did.

No one seems to trust teenagers, or to think that they're as worthy of being treated like an adult as adults are. Hell, until this last school year, I did _NOT_ get treated like an adult by hardly -anyone-. Then I started working with these kids that -didn't- know me, -hadn't- known me, and accepted me as an Adult and Authority Figure. And I -finally- _felt_ like an adult. Not always, and not very often, and not for very -long-, but it was there.

My opinion on teenagers is that they're pretty self-centered. Okay, so -most- people _are_, and kids especially. When they take the time to look outside of themselves, they can be incredibly decent people. Unfortunately, a lot of today's social messages (er, messages pushed onto us by society) tend to discourage looking outside of one's immediate needs -except- when it comes time to blame someone for something.

Guess what?

It's everybody's fault. It's mine, it's Ev's, it's Bush's and TV's and Saddam's faults. It's our faults because... We. Are. Human. Beings.

We are not infalliable.

We are NOT perfect.

We hurt and we hate and we -suck-. Human beings are horrible.

We don't _have_ to be.

Accountability for one's actions is a good place to start. And, to take a volitile example from the recent media... Guns. (You saw this coming, didn't you?)

If I decide to commit a felony by taking a gun to school, no one else made me pick up that gun. _I_ decided to take it. Oh, there may be mitigating factors -- I feared for my life, I was really pissed off, etc. -- but that doesn't change the fact that -I- chose to take the gun to school.

A gun manufacturer has no way of controlling the people that purchase their products. They can no more -induce- someone to kill another person with their gun than they can -prevent- it. It all boils down to behaving rationally.

And to -paying attention-. For God's -sake- _don't_ go through your kid's sock drawer looking for marijuana, -talk- to them. Ask them how they are, ask them to have their friends over, observe and listen and -be respectful-.

You can't demand respect. You can't legislate morality (well, you can -try-, but that's another rant...). You can have five million iron-clad rules, but be aware that the more arbitrary they are, the more likely they are to be broken. Some will be broken anyhow.

I was once grounded for pulling the stunt of spending a night at a friend's house and walking up to either the nearest grocery store or the nearest convenience store (we went to -both- in one night, but at different times). First of all, we went at an incredibly ridiculous hour -- the grocery store at about 2:30 AM, the 7-11 at about 7. Secondly, I wasn't to go out to the lake that was between my neighborhood and the 7-11, let _alone_ all the way to the grocers. Thirdly, -no one- knew when, where, or even that we'd gone. We'd told our younger brothers that we were going to take a nap, then snuck out her window for the store; they were asleep by the time we went to the 7-11.

I can't believe I did that. If my kid had done it, I would have been _furious_. Look at the description! I could have been kidnapped. I could have been -killed-. I could have ended up on milk cartons and WalMart bulliten boards and Unsolved Mysteries. Fuck, it scares me now to think about it, but I -didn't- think at the time. Well, at least not until a week later or so, when I -realized- how dangerous doing that had been. I was only about 12 or so. And my friend and I got 'dressed up' to go to the 7-11 -- we wanted to look older than we were.

The point is, despite -doing- that horrendously, monumentally -stupid- thing, my mother still trusted me. Granted, I've never told her -everything- that goes on in my life (in fact, I think she still only knows half of that story -- I just can't remember which part I told her about), but I know I _can_ tell her, and that she'll -wait- for me to tell her. In fact, weekend before last, she and I had a long and involved discussion about how I felt about the ECA mess and my current state of affairs in general. I instigated the conversation, and she said she'd been wondering, but was content to wait until I was ready to discuss it.

I know I had a point in here somewhere... I wonder what it was. Oh, yeah. Look, I had plenty of privacy (actual agreement terms: "You stay out of our bedroom, we'll stay out of yours, okay?" "Okay." "Just don't have lit candles in there, okay?" "Okay."), and I turned out just fine.

And I wonder if that commercial is actually meant to say 'Hey, slacker, take an interest in your kids -before- they turn into juvenile delinquents', only in a less clear manner?

I'm babbling now, so I guess I'll quit. But yes, that commercial is as annoying as hell and there are too many people that I'll never agree with running the country.

So, who's up for moving to Canada?

Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:00 PM |

No, I -still- have no idea what my point was in the foregoing.

Other news: I fixed the horrible sticky shift key on this keyboard with the judicious application of some hand cream. I need to fix the space bar on my keyboard, as it -used- to stick and currently wobbles.

Download windows that automatically draw the cursor to the 'cancel' button are -evil-, -evil-, _evil_. Grr.

Um... I'm looking at The Novelist's Notebook and thinking about MooT some more.

And that's all the news that is news, at least for right now.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 4:26 PM |

I am -such- a big baby!

I've tossed two email messages, both of which were perfectly acceptable, pleasant, polite, and not personally revealing. Well, okay, other than my sense of humor, but that's not such a big deal.

So why have I tossed them? I have _no_ freakin' clue, other than I'm a big baby.

Unless it's that I so admire the people/persons to which the mail is going that I'd rather avoid the possibility of them thinking I'm a dork, let alone proving it to them. I don't know.

 

Posted by: Shannon M.: 6:48 PM |

How can I be hungry again? I ate at like 2:30! I should eat something a little more complex than pure carbs, I guess.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:11 PM |

Wai! *Grin* If you're not a National Geographic subscriber, go to the library or pick one up at Borders -- there's a big article all about BLM and public lands.

 

Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:31 PM |

Friday, August 03, 2001

This post will make more sense after the mail is delivered either today or tomorrow...

In addition to a copy of Creature, I also have a copy of Offspring's Smash, which I never listen to any more. Actually, the last thing that I listened to by them was a cover of I Wanna Be Sedated, and I actually rather liked it. But then, I'm weird.

So, if you'd like those two albums, I'll ship 'em on down.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:58 AM |

Oh, and Smash is in its original box with liner notes and everything, but I've _NO_ clue as to what I did with everything for Creature. I think it's buried on my table, somewhere... *Eyes it warily*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:00 PM |

My brother and Jason are off on a 800 (+/-) mile road-trip to Beautiful Downtown Fairbanks. I don't know why they're going, other than the only other options being to go down on the Kenai peninsula. I suppose they -could- go to Canada, but I don't think three days is quite enough time.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:03 PM |

I want/need to work on MooT, I know. My latest idea for a plot twist is bugging me, though... It feels kind of...dumb. Or rather like it's been done too many times, or like its a rehashing of something else I did a long time ago.

Or maybe that's just me being lazy, and trying to find a good excuse for not writing after all. I -doubt- it, but it's as good a theory as any...

I wonder if TitleWave has any Frisian phrasebooks?

Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:10 PM |

Gah, and before I forget! Ladyslipper has Capercaillie's Sidewaulk.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:15 PM |

In another attempt to totally avoid something I shooooould be doing, I'm thinking about anime. More specifically, the fact that Trigun and Rurouni Kenshin a very much alike, for all that they take place in radically different settings. I may put my list on a seperate page, for spoiler reasons.

Also, I like Magic Users Club. The vice-president is constantly hitting on the president, who doesn't exactly turn the VP -down-... And they're both guys. Granted, the president (whose name starts with a T and isn't Tanaka) doesn't -accept- the overtures, either... But still! The president is a typical hentai character, but he has his moments.

Can you tell that there's a dearth of shounen-ai anime in my life? I'm asking for Earthian for my birthday, though, which (from the previews) looks like it should have lots of if not overt SA, enough subtext to slash the Ticonderoga. *Snerk*

The girls are okay... I'm trying to reserve judgement until I see a little more of the series, because Nanaka -really- gets on my nerves with her bullying of Sae. Akane looks nothing like the Ranma character -- she actually reminds me of Natsume from Generator Gawl, but with a less retiring personality... Her hair is more like Umi's, from Magic Knight Rayearth, rather than sculpted pink bubblegum. (Though I must admit that part of my abiding adoration of Natsume is because of her hair... How does she get it to -do- that?)

Sae is... Well, she's not very confident in her abilities, yet, though -she- was the only one that managed to do magic while flying and without these special cards that the others have to use... She's only a freshman in highschool, though, so I'm assuming that she'll get better as the series goes on.

And speaking of shoujo anime, I wanna see Card Captor Sakura. It sounds interesting...

Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:40 PM |

And yes, buying MUC -did- violate my semi-cardinal rule of _not_ buying anything I didn't already know -something- about... But it worked out! This time, I _liked_ what I bought! I nearly gave myself a heart attack, though... AnimeWorks did -not- include the dual-language information under special features. It -was- on the box, in about 3 point font, and waaaaaay down at the bottom... But for a few seconds, I thought I'd bought nothing but a dub DVD. (Which would have served me right for breaking my own rule....) Yeek.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:03 PM |

Oh, and thanks to Technomancy (yes. again.), I had parts of The Opening Number to Kenshin: The Musical running through my head while trying to watch Ice Blue Eyes.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:11 PM |

The best line in that whole damn thing has -got- to be 'They dance, presumably in a frustrated manner.'

Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:13 PM |

Hey, there's something new at SmutBlog! Ooh.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 6:35 PM |

Thursday, August 02, 2001

I'm currently reading Eiger: Wall Of Death. Cheerful-sounding book, isn't it? It's about the people that climb/climbed/attempted to climb Eigernordwand, or the north wall of Eiger. It's considered to be one of the most difficult climbs in the world; technically demanding and highly dangerous.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:58 PM |

If you'd rather read a more light-hearted book about mountain climbing (or climbing in general) Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air fame) is a much better choice. I think. The parts I've come into contact with were amusing, anyhow.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:02 PM |

Speaking of reading things... I reread MiLVO last night and discovered a few technical problems with the pages themselves. The story is actually pretty good, if I do say so myself...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:36 PM |

You open one of the 1007 boxes on this floor and find...

A claw hammer made of glass. Anything hit with it shatters.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:51 PM |

Ooh, pretty things here... Not the most easy-to-navigate site in the world, but not impossible, either.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:56 PM |

Now -this- is useful.

You open one of the 1002 boxes on this floor and find...

Silent Velcro.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:14 PM |

Hee...

You open one of the 1002 boxes on this floor and find...

Boxes of small chocolate-bar sized plastic packets labeled "Desert Survival Bar". Eating one of the tasteless and leathery bars will turn the subject's skin green and waxy (DR 1), reduce liquid excretion to virtually nil, and allow him to photosynthesize enough to survive without food for at least a month, provided he stays in the sun for at least 8 hours a day.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:15 PM |

Another Zork reference!

You open one of the 1008 boxes on this floor and find...

A maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:28 PM |

Glory Road!

You open one of the 1008 boxes on this floor and find...

A wristwatch with the brand name "Morph-O-Matic." If the button on the side is pressed, the user changes to look like a hideous three-eyed betentacled alien. Anyone seeing the user while this effect is on will not seem to notice anything amiss, and no one will have any recollection of having met the wearer after they leave.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:35 PM |

Last one, as I'm hungry and need to go to the bank...

You open one of the 1008 boxes on this floor and find...

A TL8 military gauss gatling staple-gun with 4,000,000 rounds of 'smart' monowire ammo.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:02 PM |

Wednesday, August 01, 2001

Okay, the USPS has yet to -do- anything like lose or severely damage any of my packages. *Knock on wood* *Hush the dog* But I still can't help feeling a -little- apprehensive... Go safely into the great void, little box! Travel bravely, and be whole when you arrive!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:37 PM |

Has anyone seen the new Badtz Maru line? For some reason, I can see Ethe teasing Nicky about it... Or I think it would be funny if he did, anyhow. I'm going back to putting together my giant character compendium.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:40 PM |

Tuesday, July 31, 2001

One thing I love about Topcities: despite their irritating banners, their FTP is exquisite. I just uploaded a 60+K file in about five seconds. On my funky little 56K dialup.

The file I uploaded would be MooT In Entirety, including the beginning of the next bit, though I'm not at all sure I want it to go this way. I'll see what happens in a little bit...

Er, and how did template-tweaking go?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:16 PM |

Muh. Maybe I'll just go back to my original look, and quit messing with this. I like the colors, but the font size... And since something made IE crash, I have no idea if it looks better or worse there.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:26 PM |

Sunday, July 29, 2001

Ho-Kay! Now that I have finished a marathon veiwing of Trigun (it took all day, because I kept running off to do other things), including crying like a baby over Rakuen as usual.... I feel better.

I decided to make the rounds of my usual blogs, and as usual found a link on TM that I couldn't resist. *Snerk* Hooked on mnemonics worked for me! -- This is from The Journal Of Endless Amusement. I had read it once or twice, and hadn't found much to really stun me, until today. Not that the writing is bad (it's not) or the posts are boring (they aren't), but... It was all about stuff that _I_ knew about. 'Til today. Today, I learned more than I had -ever- wanted to know about Cognitive Science. Wow. *Blinkblink* I'm _still_ trying to wrap my brain around some of the stuff she mentioned.

The other thing I'm struggling with is the link to The Screen Savers slash. Er. See, I -see- all that subtext between Patrick and Leo... And. Er... Well, there was this clip where -some-one, I cannot -remember- who, made some crack about the guy from Fresh Gear being dressed up like an elf (Santa's), drunk, and hitting on Leo. But it's -RPS-, and I... RPS makes me twitchy. It's hard to enjoy something that makes me think of litigation and legal bad karma. So... Bah. I'm a weenie, and I want to read it, but I probably won't.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:07 AM |

My campus is two years old and it's already broken. -- From bluelikethat.

I, weirdly enough, find 'great, it's -broken-' humor to be highly amusing. I can keep myself entertained for a good number of minutes by reciting the best line out of some awful fic I read on Nummy Treats -- "Great, we broke the vampire. Now what are we going to tell Mr. Giles?" I think it probably stems from the fact that I'm fairly clumsy and no matter how careful I am, I'll break _something_, eventually. This is why Herbert wasn't too excited by the idea of going back to Finch's place, which looks like my room. And the way my house would, if I were allowed to have a domicile of my very own.

See, my possessions are like a gas: they expand to fill the space in which they are placed. That's really the only explanation for it, aside from the fact that I tend to not throw things away... I might -need- it, you see, and if I get rid of it, then where will I be? But I think this next week here -will- be a clean-up week, because _damn_ am I tired of not having any room. And knocking things over. And not -knowing- where things are. And not being able to find important things (like the System Restore CD for the Macs in the house...yeek That's bad.) And stepping on annoying things. And -avoiding- stepping on things that are pointy.

Things I Need To Do:
-- Put the boxes of Stuff I Cannot Bear To Part With Yet Never Ever Use/Touch/Read/Whatever in the shed
-- Determine what constitutes the above; i.e. Polly Pocket sets, Cherished Treasure or SPCA donation?
-- Go through clothing, get rid of more. Particularly T-shirts that are never worn.
-- Throw things away. Throw things away. THROW THINGS AWAY!!
-- Did I mention throwing things away?
-- Go through books and take some to TitleWave (mmm, trade credit!)
-- Decide what to do with giant table -- take to the shed, or keep upstairs?
-- Turn Blazo box into book box (not that it will hold -nearly- enough, but every little bit helps!)
-- Get rid of Wooliam*
-- Either toss pansy chest or convert it to -useful- storage; resort contents.
-- Check out matress prices
-- Find out what re-weatherstripping window entails
-- Clean out desk, decide what to do with it (A/V ctr, computer desk (I think it's too small...), put typewriter on it, ?)
-- Remove closet doors, replace with curtain/screen
-- Clean off bookcase, use for intended purpose (i.e. storing books)
-- Reassemble CD collection (liner notes, cases [if whole], discs [if found] and replace in CD rack
-- Build more shelves for storing books, showcasing pottery, displaying Gundams/action figures
-- Find/make small frames for Mme. Jean's pictures: Fox-girl, Cid, Hubie/Kitty
-- Consider painting/recarpeting; new blinds (in -black- aluminium or whatever metal they make them out of)
-- Take down old snowboarding posters; Little Luncheonette poster; Colorado River Rafting picture, put up FF8 poster
-- Spackle holes in wall by window...
-- Look into 2nd converter box/coax in room, getting other VCR repaired

That's really all I can think of at the moment. The biggest (and worst) part of the whole project is getting my room cleared -out- so I can rearrange it. Mostly because it's one of those projects that takes _FOR_ever to start, and then once -I- wind down at the end of the first day, I never ever -ever- want to start on it again. I keep telling people that I need help, and they want to help me by making lists and things. I guess I should tell them that I need them to work -with- me so that I won't just sit down and declare myself done. Or maybe just have them hide my computer. Heh.

'Course, I -did- offer Ev and Jason lunch plus whatever music they wanted to listen to if they were slave labor while I directed... They've not yet taken me up on the offer, nor have I reminded them of it. Hm.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:01 AM |

Gah! * = Wooliam is this teriffic toy sheep that I got as a present ages ago. Sadly, when Yazminda was a puppy, -she- thought he'd make a spiffy chewtoy. Poor Wooliam no longer has eyes or a nose, and his face is horrible to look at. I keep him under my giant table, at the moment. *Blink* I'm an idiot. It rather belatedly occurred to me that I could, like, -fix- him instead of getting -rid- of him... Though I don't know where I could find the black faux-fur that makes up his face. *Grin* I _do_ have sources, though... *Ponders this happy thought*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:07 AM |

Okay, it's another name generator. But it's funny! And it involves pirates.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:18 AM |

Just on a completely different note, here... I want an octopus, a flying fox, and a tankful of moon jellies. Marc would have a tank of moon jellies in a heartbeat. And I guess I'll think about everyone else, while I'm at it. Hm. Vic would get along well with fish, or (a) bird(s), I think. Of course, one could -always- go for the obvious and give him a pet rock... (And actually, I think he -likes- cats [I know Marc does], but he's allergic. Which I'm sure you knew.) Finch would accidentally kill any pets through neglect, I think... Not because they'd be too much hassle, but because he's not -home- often enough. Herbert doesn't want a pet. -Hubert-, on the other hand, seems like another cat person. *Blink* Gah, that's a -duh-. Um. Or a fish person, I suppose. Alvie would want a bat because he's 'supposed' to, but... Hm. Maybe a rat? Or a squirrel, sugar glider, or something else that's small and tends to cuddle up against one's neck. Ferret also comes to mind, and I suppose if he wants one he can have one. -I- don't particularly care for them, though.

Sparx has a cat, and Mercury Vanguard (whom I left off the list, oops) has a hedgehog... Er, who was Mercury's friend? The annoying one that answered the phone with their name, 'Queen Of The World'? *Digs around on aknet* Rio. And I remember that I did something with him that I almost _never_ do, which was take the -very- cool name of someone else's character and use it for mine. Rio... Rio... I can't remember. I have it written down somewhere, though. Bah. Okay, found it! Rio Freeverse. There was a Freeverse in Nia's or IWT, only they were a bard or something. And I really shooooould go back and do more with Merc and Rio, 'cause if I remember right, Mercury was fascinating. I have no idea what sort of a pet Rio would have. Probably flashy tropical fish. Or guppies. Guppies are good.

Ed's Topless Do-Nut Emporium. Which I'm sure is right next door to The Wicked Weasel. This is what happens when I get distracted by bright shiny things.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:18 AM |

Okay, time for bed. I get to go -home- tomorrow! Yaaaaay!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:13 AM |