PreZ

In 1914 - 1918 we had the Great War, or the War to end all Wars.
Along came 1939 - 1945, and we have World War II, guess the Great War didn't end all wars, and was renamed World War I.

1929 - (different times worldwide) we saw the Great Depression. Does that mean we're now heading into World Depression II?

Godda love a good sequel :S

OK, so I don't post much. And when I do it's usually not very political. But this is my soap box, so I'm about to get political on your collective asses ;)

( My 10 reasons for being scared of the Republican ticket )

All of this basically adds up to the scariest ticket I've ever seen. I'm not saying the Obama-Biden ticket is without flaw, but at least these candidates don't scare me like McCain-Palin ticket does!

Thanks for reading if you're still with me ;)

EDIT (10-Oct): Almost as if I'd planned it, the New York Times has an article on the Palin obsession with Trooper Wooten today. And it reads quite well.

Kit! Did you happen to pass through the New York area last night?

My laptop is dead :(

I had sent it in last week because the CPU fan was being real noisy.  I got it back, and it was better.  No noise, and they even replaced the plastics and such, so it looked brand new (but the HDD data was still thee, so it was cool).

Last night however it started locking up while I was playing WoW.  First it happened after doing 2 bosses in Hyjal, the computer had been online for a while then, so it was something that happened right at that point.

So I rebooted, and it let me get back into the game, and get ready to go, and locked up again.  Ugh.  So another reboot, and this time it locks up again when I am getting ready to tackle the 3rd boss.  So finally I said 'fuck it' and played on my desktop.

Later on I tried to go from my laptop again, and it locked up during the logon screen of wow, so didn't even let me enter the world.  After that, it refused to even turn on properly.  I started getting no display, and sometimes beep errors (one long followed by two short - which according to the intarwebs, means it is the system board, video card or something like that having problems).

After leaving it off for a while, I got it to power on again, but I could only get to login and maybe try to connect to the network before it locked up again, and then subsequently would go back to not booting.  So I called tech support (it IS still under warranty until '09) and they're sending me a box that I can ship my laptop back for repair in.

It really sucks, its only now I realise how much I've come to rely on my laptop.

PreZ

As you would already know if you were reading tanthe's journal, today I welcomed my daughter into the world.

Matilda Anaïs was born at 3:54pm (GMT-5) on March 25th, 2008.
She weighed in at 8lbs 1/2 oz (3.64kg) and measured 19 1/2" (49.5cm). So basically nailing the 50th percentile according to the Center for Desease Control's Growth Chart for Girls (PDF link).

She was a surprise breech birth. She had been presenting head down for several weeks, but I guess at some point near the end she decided to flip. She was still born naturally, at home and in water (in a pool I had setup in the living room).

Of course, she will never live down that her butt was the first thing she presented to the world ;)

And without further ado ... ( Proud Daddying (pics) )

Well, it doesn't happen often, but I have another sporting injury. This time in the form of a sprained ankle. Hurt like a bitch yesterday, but today its OK unless I try and put weight on it or move it too much. But if its just resting its OK.

This is my first 'real' sporting injury from Ice Skating. I've fallen badly on my knee before, but that just hurt and forced me off the ice, but went away pretty quickly. Normally my sporting injuries come from Karate (such as a broken rib during a promotion test, or what I believe was a fractured toe in another promotion test, but they could not find anything on X-ray). I also had problems with my knees after last years Skiing, however that was not really linked to skiing, because it happened a few months later, though I did find I needed soft knee braces while skiing or my knees would not be able to last very long.

So for now I'm perfecting my hopping skill - not fun since it means my foot jerks, but its the only way to get around, as a) we have stairs in this house, and b) Dash likes to dispurse his toys right after they've been put away, so crutches would not really work. Though I AM glad this happened BEFORE tanthe gave birth, since right now I can't really do anything and while she is heavily pregnant, she can still brace herself on 2 feet to pick things up.

I've been off work the last 2 days sick. I hate being sick.

I get headaches (ahh, aleave).
My nose runs like a tap (ahh, afrin).
My throat hurts (ahh, cepacol).

I also have no energy, and my eyes burn like I've been keeping them open for days. My throat also gets very parched (often because of mouth-breathing). And I have a temperature to boot, though my body has not been giving me wild hot/cold fluctuations, for which I'm thankful - and I've not gotten so bad that I saturate the sheet with sweat (which is icky, but something I do when sick a fair bit :( ).

I am also trying not to get Dash or tanthe sick - especially since at 2, Dash would just be a royal pain in the arse (he is really starting to act 2 these days, tantrums and all) - and with Lilith pregnant AND Dash's primary care giver, having her sick would not be good.

I don't think I'll be going into work again tomorrow, unless I suddenly feel remarkable. Problem with me often when I'm sick is that I am in kind of a haze - physically I'm fine usually (at least, I'm not so drained I can't get out of bed and do things), but mentally all I can do is sit in front of the boob tube (aka. TV) and be passively entertained. I can't do anything that requires intense thinking, which, unfortunately, is my job.

On the up side, I get unlimited sick days from work, but even today I got 4 different phone calls from work, and my boss said he would like me to look at an issue tomorrow, even if I'm still sick.

All in all, this sucks :(

Check these out, they are phenominal

Its all about perspective:


Just, wow:


For the fast :)


For the slightly naughty:


The first two are simply amazing because of all the effort put into something so very temporary. The last three because they are 'stream of conciousness' art (ie. one thing mutates into the next before your eyes).

There is some good shit on youtube ;)

I'm back in Sydney until Oct 14th (except for a stint in Melbourne from the 4th - 9th) ;)

If you want to meet up with me, give me a call on my pre-paid mobile: 0424 821-742.

I am checking my email too, but my internet connection is spotty (dialup, ugh).

PreZ :)

If you ever get the choice, do not EVER get anything shipped with Home Direct USA if you want to get it before you die of old age.

I am still waiting for my chouch and loveseat shipped from California. They were picked up from the shipper on the 6th (so thats 14 days so far). I was pretty surprised when my delivery estimate was the 11th to the 20th. Thats a pretty big range (9 days!).

But then my couch sat in Utah for 8 days without any explanation. I called, and at one point got some call center in India where they could obviously only really see the same tracking information I could see. It finally arrived in Indiana on the 18th. It has sat there since, and today is the last day of their 'estimate'.

So I called again, aparently it sat in Utah because they didn't have a full truck and din't want to move it until they had a full truck. The same is happening in Indiana. The earlies tit will ship out is tomorrow, meaning I might get a call to arrange delivery next week.

I'm sorry, but they made a delivery promise. They are now going to exceed that (which I thought was a long time already) by at LEAST 5-6 days, probably more. Its not really my problem that they can't fill a truck, if you need to deliver something by a certain date to fulfill your promise, you ship out a half empty truck if needs be.

The problem is, I have no real recourse. Its not like I can force them to hurry the fuck up. I complained to the place I bought the couch/sofa from, and they are sending me some free cushions. But that won't make the couch arrive any faster - in fact, the cushions will probably arrive before the goddamn couch. Personally I hope the shipper demands their money back (which they should technically refund to me, but I have no way of knowing if they got their money back or not.)

So I'm doing the only thing I really CAN do - vent, online, in a public forum, and hope that if you every buy something and the company says they use home direct USA for their shipping, you tell them 'FUCK no, ship it UPS or FedEx.'

Most TV ads bore me, and my eyes glaze over when they come on.

This one I found amusing - especially the 'bomb' in the truck ;)

An Absolut World

Obviously an ad for Absolut Vodka - and no, I didn't take up drinking suddenly :)

OK, so I think I passed the TSA once, I am fine.

This time they confiscated my toothpaste because its a 4oz bottle not a 3.4oz bottle. I wish they would TRAIN these people.

For future reference, the actual rule is 3 oz. Also, there is no labeling requirements. So my shampoo was confiscated for an INVALID reason on the way over, and my toothpaste for a valid reason, but only AFTER having traveled with it once!

Personally, I think the TSA guys arent happy until they've invented a new rule to allow them to confiscate something. I would not be as pissed if at least both were confiscated on the initial flight, rather than having two completely separate sets of rules being applied.

That being said, I don't think these restrictions do anything more than give some personally insecure people a power trip. But absolutely nothing to stop terrorism. Especially when flying out of a small regional airport which can only support prop planes!

*sigh*

I'm getting FiOS in my new place when we move. I called them up and because the previous tenants also had FiOS, all they really had to do was flip a switch at the CO and then I could plug in my router and be done with it.

If only it were that simple.

Apparently, Verizon doesn't know how to deal with the situation where a house already has FiOS connectivity when a new customer signs on wanting FiOS in that premesis. So they have to dispatch a technician.

So now I have to go to the new house and wait around from 8am - 5pm for a verizon tech to arrive, then say 'ooh look, there is already all the stuff installed, I don't need to do anything', make a phone call and leave again. Total time estimate: 10 minutes.

I had planned to be at the new place friday anyway - but from about noon - 5pm, not 8am. The reason for all this? There is no option on the person on the phone's screen to NOT dispatch a tech (ie. remote activation only) on a new install order, and since I'm moving, its a 'new install'.

This is the problem with data entry screens with no override switch! :(

I've been in a little bit of a creativity rut recently, and I'm starting to feel the effects of it I think.

I've not really had the time or dedication recently to actually sit down and create something. Part of it is just wanting to veg out after work, part of it is other things happening like the move coming up and such. But I've been thinking and my life has been getting more and more in a rut recently.

( mope mope ... )

How does one shake the curse of laziness?

Well,

I'm VERY happy to report Dash's surgery was a success!

Granted, this is the second time he's had to undergo it, since the first time the device they ended up needing to put into his heart (its a plug to close up an open valve, not a pace maker or anything) was not FDA approved yet (well, technically, the device was, but they changed the delivery mechanism, so it had to get re-approved).

But he now has the device in his heart which has mostly closed his PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosis), and the PDA should fully close anywhere from within 24 hours to a month. Either way, the excess blood pressure in his lungs has normalized (he was not having any problems because of this excess pressure, but it was above normal).

Right now I'm posting this from the hospital, since Marieke and I have to stay overnight with Dash.

Very happy now :)

PreZ :)

Before I get into being sick, for those interested, I've posted the pictures of tanthe, Dashiell and my trip to South Africa.

You can see them here: http://www.neuromancy.net/gallery/v/SA/.

Well, as the subject says, I'm sick. I seem to have contracted some kind of stomache bug or something. It robs me completely of my appitite, and makes my stomache all crampy and such. It also makes me need to go to the bathroom a lot and gives me headaches.

All I have had to eat since Monday night's dinner has been:
- A Starbucks coffee cake (Tuesday morning, I did not feel sick then). Though even at this stage I knew something was up, because my digestion system was not quite working right (there was more fluid in my bowels than there should be).
- One spoonfull of soup and a small piece of bread (ie. french loaf sliced) with some herb cheese on it (Wednesday night, trying to force myself to eat).
- Half a bowl of cereal (today, I think).

ie. not very much at all. My body is starting to complain about the lack of nutrients, however every time I get in the kitchen, especially if I smell food being prepared, my brain just goes 'wooo, no.'.

By tuesday night the only thing in my bowels was fluid (gross, I know, but hey). And of course, I went to bed early tuesday night but did not end up sleeping much through the night. I even had to cancel a phone interview scheduled for Wednesday, since my brain was just sort of buzzing, making it hard to concentrate.

Anyway, I'm hoping my appitite kicks in soon. I go through brief periods where I think I could eat something, but its usually things like grilled chicken, or chips (aka. crisps) or french fries (aka. chips). Nothing that is particularly good for me, and probably not the best thing to re-introduce my stomache to after mostly starving it for 3 days.

*sigh* Any suggestions on what I SHOULD ask Lilith to make me to help ease my stomache back into food? Soup is out, since the soups we have are all a little heavy and often taste 'tinny' in my opinion, I'm not that huge a fan of them even when I'm not sick (though it might be the brand).

Anyway, I'm off to take some Tums (heartburn meds), vitamins, echanatia (immune booster, just in case) and some NyQuill.

PreZ :S

This video is Hi-Lar-I-Ous!

Thanks to tanthe for sending it to me, who got it from darkvervain.

Without further ado ... The Internet is for Porn.

Best of all, it plays just fine on Linux right in the browser! Thanks Google! :)