The only redeeming factor about this disgustinly abyssmal holiday is that is is the birthday of the fabulous
so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a physical manifestation of awesomeness,
I hope you have a lovely day.
Monday Hatings:
For some fun and therapy, I thought I’d do a list of things I hate: (as to be read in the voice/character of a cantankerous old man)
*The Olympics: (yawn) whocares KTHXBYE.
*Anime: visceral reactions are thus.
*Conflating taste with judgment: squick, it’s a word.
*Other people’s crises: Uh-huh, why again should I share your emotion while I fix your problem?
*Mondays: duh
*The Telephone: I don’t want to have to talk to you. I want to want to talk to you.
*”Human” as used versus “animal,” rather than its proper use as subset of “animal.” Sorry, Joey Merrick, you’re a fucking animal.
*Figure skating/dancing & anything “.. on Ice”: I hope you all fall and break your fucking hip.
*Zealots: Thank goodness you came along to enlighten me. I might have purchased the wrong brand of salad dressing!
*EPSON: Still skating by on making a nice dot-matrix printer 400 years ago.
*Richard Stallman & Eric Raymond: Take showers, take some social etiquette classes, then marry each other you worthless fucks.
*SMTP: Thanks a lot, assholes.
*eIntimacy: Gee, I liked you much better before I knew that much about you.
*Offense: Fuck ’em whether they can take a joke or not.
*The Eagles: If this were a cab, I would get thrown out of it.
*KISS: oh, yeah, Mr. Makeup, you’re hot shit. Bo-ring crap-rock.
*Justification: If you need to explain why the evil you did was actually good – guess what?
*Indian Givers: No, I take that back (Thanks, Emo)
Hugs and Kisses!
In which Craig gets a haircut
I finally cut my hair again. I need to do this more often: I really feel much better about myself with a good do.
On sunday the sun was shining and the budgie was happy (as was I with new hair, sun, and puppy) so Heather took some snaps. The camera washes out the shadows a bit, but the contrast is fun:
(Ooh, look at those pores!)
This is certainly a happy Craig.
Works in progress
So here is the status of my old-timey drink illustration:
Tall glass: I think it’s about done, will fine tune the droplets and colouring.
Rocks glass: about 1/2 way done – I’m experimenting with Ice cubes before I move to the garnish.
After this, I”m moving on to tiki mugs with shiny highlights.
And yes, I’m doing this for drink menus.
SF bound
Greetings, my lovelys!
The infamous
The main point of this trip is to visit friends and more importantly, H&M. We’re good for lodging all nights except for Saturday night so I’m asking here for hospitality. We’ll likely hit the bars/clubs on Saturday night, so somewhere in the city or with someone who is out with us would be ideal!
So:
1. Who wants to hang out?
2. Who wants to put us up for the night?
😀
Mary Read was already taken
…so I named her “Mary Reid.” Here are some snapshots of the Villian I am playing in “City of Villains.” She is a mighty pirate.
This snap was taken before the installation of a new video card
These are after:
She seriously kicks some butt and is a blast to play. If you want to come hang with a Pirate, make one on the “Infinity” server and chat me up. Global name is @TheTalisman 🙂
Technology doesn’t work
Those marketing campaigns where they have the magic of technology being easy (daggers at Apple in my eyes) are filthy lies.
They are also dangerous because they teach a lie as if it were truth: Complex things are easy!
Bullshit.
Complex things are complex, and the more complex they are, the easier they are to break. No, computers are not easy to use – any illusion that they are, whether it be an iPod wheel or a flashy GUI or a yellow smiley face are illusions in the true sense: it seems easy, so everybody can use it!
More like everyone can pay some company money for the illusion of an easy-to-use interface for a complex system.
This philosophy is dangerous because it creates a world of ease that masks reality: be it automatic transmission, a computer OS GUI, An investment strategy, pre-prepared food products, what have you. If you simplify a system, you run the danger of having that simplification BE the system for you and you forget (or never knew) that it was a simplification of something more complex.
What we make collectively as a group from these simplifications (more people on the internet, productivity “improvements”, self-empowerment) comes at too-great a price for our collective knowledge and perception of reality.
The Machine* is the devil:
We want things easy. The world isn’t easy, it is complex. Systems designed to make hard things easy are (even if they ‘work’) inherently filled with a spiritual lie. That masked complexity doesn’t just dissapear – it lives in the shadows like a debt that will need to be repaid, like a worn-out photocopy.
Stop trying to live easier, live deliberately.
It is never a problem with your machines or technology when they break or ‘go bad’ or malfunction. It is a problem with you.
—
* A device (mechanical, systematic, model, etc) that attempts to make a difficult task easy, or replace man-hours of ‘work’ with automation, simplification, etc.
swiftboating new target: Google
Now that it was announced that Google won’t play Nazi Youth to the BUSHies, guess who is getting all the negative press?
Google’s China program scrutinized
Google has your personal data
Google is supposed to do “no evil”
Google’s stock is taking a beating
Interesting how all of a sudden they are in the ‘bad’ press, isn’t it? Wow, what a coincidence.
airmchair philosnippet
When you are clever in a pinch, you find yourself getting pinched all the time.
work schmerk
So:
I’m stuck in a long spiral of general resentment and ennui in my work situation.
Anyone have cheerleader-type advice for me?
Basically, I’m in a position where I am working below my ability, doing things that I should be far beyond. It was ok for a while, but any help on how to deal with this (while looking for another position?)
I don’t want to have to be this resentful/defensive/unhappy, but it seems it is in my cards? Any help playing the hand?