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Yes, classical artwork. It's horrifically indecent. Sends dirty messages to impressionable little children. Boobs are bad and should be done away with.

Oh yeah, and if you ever serve as president, your spouse's ability to later serve as president should fall within the confines of your term limits, not be counted separately.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/15/AR2008061502188.html

Washington is a town filled with boobs.

They're everywhere, from the bare-breasted ladies who decorate the fountain at Dupont Circle to the peekaboo statue in the Justice Department's Great Hall to the countless nudes in our museums. But while those of us who live here hardly blink at the public nudity, it can shock some of our visitors. Such was the case for Robert Hurt, who last week tried to add the issue of artistic indecency in the nation's capital to the platform of the Texas GOP.

"You don't have nude art on your front porch," the Dallas Morning News quoted the delegate as telling the platform committee at the state party convention. "So why is it important to have that in the common places of Washington, D.C.?"

Hurt, 54, a Kerrville, Tex., rancher and father of 14, told us in a phone interview he first came to Washington a decade ago for a gathering of the evangelical Promise Keepers on the Mall. "It was probably not much different than 'The Beverly Hillbillies' going to Beverly Hills," he joked. At the National Gallery, he was appalled to see statues of unclothed people. "I found it very inappropriate," he said. Returning a few years later, he discovered Arlington Memorial Bridge, flanked by the bare-chested figures of Valor and Sacrifice.

"The Lady Godiva thing -- that's what it conjured up, and that's not what our country's about," he said.

Hurt notified his elected officials of his concerns but believes nothing was done. While he said he respects free speech, "I believe art affects a country indirectly. I have been studying the decline of morals in this country. It's sending the wrong message to children that nudity is fine, that nakedness is fine. . . . There are degrees of vulgarity, and it opens up the door for the other stuff."

The platform committee did not adopt Hurt's recommendation on Washington nudity (nor his proposal to extend the 22nd Amendment -- presidential term limits -- to spouses). But Hurt said he'll pursue the issue, possibly with another trip here to videotape the evidence. "I'm not going to stop until I succeed. I'm prepared for a long fight."


Hmmm....looks like he's anti-birth control too.

*sigh* Well, it's good to know that he's gotten nowhere with this so far. Let's hope it stays that way. The very existence of stuff like this makes my brain trickle out my ears.
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"Close to Hopkins" as the only location information.

Uh...is that the main university campus? The hospital?

Hell, I just got an email back from one, turns out it's near the freakin' Peabody.

Really, people would it kill you to specify? We're talking completely different parts of the city here.
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This is beyond enraging. A rape victim not allowed to say that they were raped???

Judge’s ban on the use of the word ‘rape’ at trial reflects trend

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/654147.html

It’s the only way Tory Bowen knows to honestly describe what happened to her.

She was raped.

But a judge prohibited her from uttering the word “rape” in front of a jury. The term “sexual assault” also was taboo, and Bowen could not refer to herself as a victim or use the word “assailant” to describe the man who allegedly raped her.

The defendant’s presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial trumps Bowen’s right of free speech, said the Lincoln, Neb., judge who issued the order.

“It shouldn’t be up to a judge to tell me whether or not I was raped,” Bowen said. “I should be able to tell the jury in my own words what happened to me.”

Bowen’s case is part of what some prosecutors and victim advocates see as a national trend in sexual assault cases.

“It’s a topic that’s coming up more and more,” said Joshua Marquis, an Oregon prosecutor and a vice president of the National District Attorneys Association. “You’re moving away from what a criminal trial is really about.”

In Jackson County, Senior Judge Gene Martin recently issued a similar order for the trial of a Kansas City man charged with raping a teenager in 2000. Despite the semantic restrictions, the Jackson County jury last week found Ray Slaughter guilty of forcible rape and two counts of forcible sodomy.

Slaughter’s attorney, who requested the pretrial order, declined to comment because she is preparing a motion for new trial. The judge also declined to comment.

Bowen’s case gained national notoriety and drew the attention of free-speech proponents after she filed a lawsuit challenging the judge’s actions as a First Amendment violation. A federal appeals court dismissed the suit, but Bowen’s attorney plans to petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

Although he dismissed her suit, a federal judge said he doubted a jury would be swayed by a woman using the word “rape” instead of some “tortured equivalent.”

“For the life of me, I do not understand why a judge would tell an alleged rape victim that she cannot say she was raped when she testifies in a trial about rape,” wrote U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf.

Wendy J. Murphy, an adjunct professor at the New England School of Law in Boston, is representing Bowen. She said the practice is “absolutely” unconstitutional.

“There’s no law anywhere that allows courts to issue these kinds of orders against private citizens,” Murphy said. “That doesn’t mean judges aren’t doing it.”

Prosecutors may object, but rarely do they have the time and resources to stop a trial midstream to appeal, she said.

But in cases where the defendant’s version of events is pitted against that of the alleged victim, “words are really important,” Marquis said.

“To force a victim to say, ‘when the defendant and I had sexual intercourse’ is just absurd,” he said.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar said juries are smart enough to understand that in the adversarial system of justice, the state is going to take one position and the defense is going to take another.

“These are common terms that are used both in and outside the courtroom,” he said. “If someone says something that one side feels is prejudicial, it can be addressed in cross-examination.”

The issue is a discretionary call with judges, said Jackson County Circuit Judge Brian C. Wimes, who did not preside over Slaughter’s trial. Wimes said he typically would not grant a pretrial order limiting certain words, but he would verbally tell the attorneys to avoid using words in a prejudicial or inflammatory way.
badstar: (i'm a genius)
Abstinence Pants

Hey kids, how would you like to have "True Love Waits" plastered across your ass just like some women plater "juicy" across their ass????

Now you can with K-Mart's abstinence pants!

Whether she is lounging around the house, going to practice, or doing her chores. These soft athletic style crop pants will keep her comfy. Perfect for wearing with her favorite sweatshirt or tee. These athletic pants boldly proclaim just where she stands by pointing out that "True Love Waits" in a large screen print on the front and back of these pants.

* Drawstring waist
* Bold abstinence screen print
* Elastic cuffs. Cotton/Polyester blend
* Machine washable
* Imported


(Bonus! Can you spot the grammatical errors?)

From http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/TheBuzz/25024 :

"A spokeswoman for Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart, told The Buzz the pants have absolutely nothing to do with taking any kind of position, either way, on abstinence. 'It was not associated with any group or any cause,' said Amy Dimond. 'It was just a graphic put on the pants.'

"Piper & Blue, Kmart's private label brand, designed the sweatpants as part of its summer collection that hit stores in late April.

"Although the pants were not designed to make a statement, Dimond admitted that 'there may be some (customers) who made the (abstinence association), but it was not the intention.'


Oh yeah, it's not about taking a position regarding abstinence, it was just some graphic they had lying around....For the record...cutting because this isn't really what the post is about, but it will likely come up. )

Kinda ironic that they're putting an abstinence message on the ass and right by the crotch of these pants, eh? Perhaps it is meant to divert prurient eyes away...but it seems to me that having any kind of writing there only attracts more attention?

Oh yeah...and of course they didn't create any similar garment for guys.

So just so you know... I think it looks trashy to have writing on one's ass at all. (All-over prints notwithstanding. Because it would look really stupid to have printed material...and then a big blank spot where one's ass goes.)

Somewhere in this world exists a woman with a twisted sense of humor who would go and buy a pair of those pants, just so she could have prematial sex with those pants down around her ankles. (Actually, I would be tempted to do it myself, were it not for the fact that I don't think they come in adult sizes. So it would need to be a rather small woman.)
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"I Just Trnd On My Computer and It Just Wontend My To Re Lond It A gean And I Just Reand Stold It 2 Days A Go .It Dont Exspir Taol The 9-3-2008. And It haes Bean Workeng Un Teal now"


Thanks gawds he added the error code or I never would have been able to do anything with it.

How do these people get computers????
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The only way to truly believe in the equality of all people is to believe in God.

An atheist doesn't follow the command of some book, therefore cannot have any basis for believing in human equality. Because it's just not possible to have such a belief without being commanded by some supposedly omnipotent supernatural dude in the sky.

Emphasis and whitespacing mine.

This post is not quite coming out of the blue.

Some of Gil Smart’s columns have nearly prompted me to write this and now a response on TalkBack to one of my recent posts here has pushed me to do it.

I would not vote for a candidate for governor or president, and probably not Congress or the state Legislature either, who does not believe in God.

Would I press a candidate for the state House or state Senate on the point? Probably not but an espoused atheist or agnostic would probably have no hope of getting my vote.

Is this because I want a theocracy? No.

Is this because I believe non-believers can’t be moral, ethical people? No. (From all that I have heard about him and what I have witnessed in my limited dealings with him, I believe Gil Smart, for instance, is a wholly decent fellow — moral, ethical and all the rest.)

The reason I want a God-believing candidate for executive office goes back to the belief at the core of this nation’s founding: “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …”

I would submit that this belief is key to the humility I’d like to see in elected officials, particularly presidents and governors, because they wield much of the life-and-death power of the state.

And I would suggest that a belief in God is the only way to believe in equality of human beings.

Let’s face it: Some people are smarter, better-looking and more physically capable than others. We can even objectively measure some of these things with IQ tests, physical fitness tests and games played by the rules.

The only logic that makes human equality work is a God-based logic that goes something like this: We are all created in God’s image and the differences in ability, beauty and intelligence between us are stunningly insignificant when compared to the gap between all of humanity and God.

And, so if God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves (in effect, to acknowledge them equal rights), then we have no business doing otherwise.

I do not see on what basis an atheist believes in human equality and the granting of equal rights that flows from that.

Now, has every president who believed in God acted in a way that made his belief in God evident at all times? No, but at least a belief in God offers a chance for the humility I want in every president when making important decisions for our nation.

Ronald Reagan, who I believe exhibited humility, said it best:

We need religion as a guide. We need it because we are imperfect, and our government needs the church, because only those humble enough to admit they’re sinners can bring to democracy the tolerance it requires in order to survive.

Amen.



http://blogs.lancasteronline.com/alwaysright/2008/06/03/why-my-candidate-must-believe


(For anyone who may wonder, Gil Smart is a columnist for the Lancaster newspapers, whose website on which this blog post appears. Gil isn't so popular with the more conservative set. Don't actually know if he's atheist as insinuated in this post though I could swear I've seen writings of his before that mentioned going to church and/or believing in God. Not sure anymore though, and I don't really care if he's atheist or not.)
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Dear Baltimore,

What the hell is the deal with you people? Seriously. Mother's day was a month ago. There's no reason that random strangers in the street should still be wishing me happy mother's day. For serious, it's really old now. Knock it off.

Aside from that, why the fuck must it be assumed that because I am a female of childbearing age, that it means that I am a mother or am looking smilingly forward to the prospect of being one in the near future? It's not like anyone has ever seen me gaze longingly and sigh wistfully at the sight of a little bundle of er, joy. Stop it. Just cut it the hell out already.

Really irritated,

Fuego


So seriously, today on the way to the grove, some random guy walked up to me and wished me a happy belated mother's day. My bus was pulling up and I didn't want to miss it, so I didn't launch into a tirade, however difficult it was to resist.

Additionally, I heard him say as I got on the bus "You don't need to have kids to be a mother, you just need to be female."

Oh hell no.

Look. World. I'm not a mother. I have no interest in being a mother, I have no plans to have kids and I am thankful that I have a girlfriend who is even more actively disinterested in having kids than I am.

I am not a mother. I am an aunt. I am cool with that. I love my nieces. But for the love of Bob, that is NOT the same as being a fricken mother.

I'm now past the point of taking assumed good intentions into account. I'm really irritated by it. This isn't even a few days later, it's a blasted month.

I did get a little ironic amusement though, seeing a woman speaking to a man who appeared to be a stranger, and wishing him an early happy father's day, saying he didn't need kids to be a father, if he ever even babysat some kids, then he was a father. (If anyone cares, the guy didn't protest)
badstar: (i'm a genius)
...or did I simply manage to miss this anywhere else...

But what is it with random strangers wishing EVERY woman they come across happy mother's day? Not only that but belated happy mother's day? This seems to come largely from men but not entirely. I've only ever encountered this in Baltimore.

I was waiting for the bus home for damn near twenty minutes and I am not kidding when I say that seven people passing by me wished me happy belated mother's day- six of them men.

Two days after the fact.

Okay, so you know...on Sunday, I get that they're trying to be nice and all, but for serious, I'd really rather not it be assumed that I'm a mother because I happen to be a female who looks like she's old enough to have at least one running around. (Or assumed that I'm a future mother as I've been informed that I am when the first few times I ever encountered this phenomena, taken by surprise, I said "thank you but I'm not a mother", I was informed by complete strangers with no uncertainty that I would be someday and they are wishing me happy mother's day for the future.)

But two days later? Okay...belated happy mothers day is what you wish your own mother or those close to you if for some reason you were unable to do so on mother's day proper. Not every stranger you pass on the street just in case she happens to be a mother.

I wonder, if I were to go around wishing every guy I encountered a happy father's day when it comes around, how many of them would be all "Nope, not a father! No kids for me, can't tie me down like that!"

Spam

Mar. 12th, 2008 10:38 pm
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from the email I'm working on at work...

"Sharon got wet and desperate for my new large monster in her"

Seriously, this is supposed to entice someone to buy the product?

Granted, I'm not a guy, so I don't know how many guys would actually buy something based on that line, but really...
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Short story, I can't get the surgery done.

So in essence, what should have happened is that I should have walked in, they should have looked at my prescription and said "Sorry, can't do it." That's what I was told in the end.

But no, I went in, I filled out the paperwork, I went through all their screenings and testings...including a numbing and dilation- the technician who did everything told me very specifically that they determine eligibility for procedure before getting on to the dilation part.

so there was all kinds of flower speech bout how unbelievably healthy my eyes are for the severity of my vision deficiency. and then that LASIK wasn't the right procedure for me, but PRK is what I'm best suited for- it's a similar procedure, laser only yada yada and they have a few different lasers for the procedure and the doctor would come and fetch me in a minute to discuss the different laser options and which one they would actually use if I had the PRK done.

Doctor comes, doctor fetches me and sits me down and immediately informs me that they would not work on a patient with the severity of prescription that I have- my prescription is around a -12, they stop at -10.

They could do it, and would likely correct it to 20/20, the problem is that I would eventually need to have it done again due to natural deterioration (which would be included in their lifetime guarantee)...but the amount of tissue they'd need to remove from my corneas would leave them unable to do any further work in the future- and again, I would definitely eventually need it.

Well...I'm glad that the doctor was honest with me in letting me know that there was no question I'd eventually need the procedure again. And I'm glad that they weren't willing to do it now and leave me screwed in the future- no doubt there are less honest doctors who would have done it anyway.

But I am thoroughly pissed with the technician who should have took one look at my prescription and told me I was done there. I would have been disappointed, but not in the least bit surprised. But I went through all the tests, I had my eyes numbed and dilated, and was told that I would be able to have my vision corrected...and then...sorry, we won't touch you.

What did irritate me about the doctor was when she suggested that I go to another doctor (for a minute, I thought she was going to say "but this doctor will still do the procedure if you want!")...this doctor specializes in something called an implanted lens which apparently they recommend to a lot of people who can't have the laser correction.

Basically, they implant an artificial lens behind your cornea. Oh, joy. The thought was terrifying, I was sitting there, gripping the arm of the chair, stammering, and her response was "Don't worry about cost, I'm sure they also have financing!" (She was rather scarily chipper)

I managed to get out that I hadn't even got as far as thinking about cost, it was the idea of having something stuck into my eye.

"Oh, it's almost identical to cataract surgery!" she says.

"Uh, I don't know a thing about cataract surgery." So, she explains and I'm just like "Uh...I dunno, I'll have to really think about that." and I got up and left.

At this point, I'm just going to leave it right there. Implanted lens is a much newer procedure, and really not something I want to even think about let alone have done.

The other thing that happened that really pisses me off...I now know that I need to file a complaint about the doctor over at Katzen- he wasn't just an ass, he completely brushed off what was actually an allergic reaction.

So I had my eyes numbed- I have to say this is partially my fault because I missed it when the technician said that she was going to use a numbing drop until she was putting them in my eyes, and the same thing happened as before- I immediately felt like I was smacked in the head with a blunt object, and then the sinus pressure settled in, and my face got very red. and I suddenly felt like a dumbass.

This all happened the last time too- though, the red face and headache, I thought was a reaction to me being so mad at the doctor for his attitude, that it exacerbated the actual reaction. Guess not. Well apparently this time i got really pale for a minute there- she made me sit back in the chair with an ice pack on my neck for a little while, and I started to get dizzy this time- that didn't happen last time. Thankfully, the reaction passed quickly, I was okay in about ten or fifteen minutes.

So, I now know that I'm allergic to fluoricine which is particularly distinctive because it's a rather disturbing neon yellow color.

So if anyone ever has their eyes numbed and has a reaction like that...you know what it is.

But anyway, I had an allergic reaction, and the doctor told me that it was all in my head because I never would have known he had given me numbing drops if he hadn't told me- never mind that I said that something was wrong before he told me they were numbing drops. So...IF I ever go back to Katzen (they're still supposed to be one of the better ones in the city), I'm going to have to make sure that I don't see him. Dr. Williams I think was his name...

I tried to call them today, but they were closed by the time I called. So...Monday. First thing. But I wanted to try right away- I wanted them to get the brunt of my ire.

Well, at least I know now.
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I see so very many Pagans who are surprisingly ignorant of what I consider basic parts of Paganism. I consider basic knowledge about multiple pantheons, their traditions, their deities, to be necessary for anyone who calls themselves Pagan. I also see many Pagans out there who have no knowledge of astrology, Qabala, Tarot or any other divination system. In my opinion, and in the traditions in which I am initiated, knowledge of magic is considered extremely important to one's religious path. If you can't do any magic, are you really a Pagan? Even if you specialize in theurgy rather than thaumaturgy, knowledge of magic is vitally important.

This came as part of an email from a list that I'm on. Pagan, non-Hellenic, mostly local-based. The poster is pretty well-known in the Northeast (and probably, by this point in most of the rest of the country, at least to some people)and from all that I know, she's generally considered to be well-respected. I've met her a few times, but can't say too much more to that than "she was a very nice person to chat with."

I'm trying to come up with an intelligent response to this because my gawds, it pisses me off and I have a hard time just letting stuff like this go by without batting an eyelash.

Now, please keep in mind that I do not advocate the idea of not learning.

HOWEVER! That doesn't mean that any of these particular realms of knowledge are REQUIRED to be pagan.

Can anyone tell me WHY one needs to have multi-pantheoinc and traditional knowledge to be pagan?

Can anyone tell me WHY one needs to know Qabala, astrology or tarot to be pagan?

Can anyone tell me WHY one might not truly be pagan if one doesn't practice magic?

In discussing this, [livejournal.com profile] chironcentaur remarked that more and more, she distances herself from the label pagan, here's just another reason why (I tend to agree. It is a rare thing tha tI call myself "pagan") When you get right down to it, though, it's nearly impossible to completely avoid the label. So...I'm pagan.

So why is it that I should try to learn about a mystical system that I could never learn in its proper context because I am not a Jewish man of forty years of age or older? (To my Jewish friends, if I'm incorrect about my understanding of that as requisite to study Qabala, please do correct me)

Why must I learn astrology? I've done well so far without it (Though if others want to study and write about it, that' fine too. I'm more than happy to laugh my ass off at Stella Hyde's Darkside Zodiac books.)

Yeah, I work with tarot. On a very sporadic basis. I can't see my life being much different if I didn't. I can't see my religion being much different if I didn't either.

Why am I required to work magic to be pagan?

If it's so important in the systems to which she is initiated, fine. The folks who work in those systems are perfectly within their rights to say that certain practices are required.

But fer crying out loud lady, who died and left you with the right to determine what is necessary to call oneself "pagan" or not? Don't try to herd us all into the same barn and tell us we all need to have the same knowledge to qualify.
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I had the most bizarre night last night.

I couldn't say how many times I fell asleep and woke up again. I can't remember the last time I tossed and turned so much. The "dream" I had...if you can call it a dream, I don't know if I ever got to sleep deep enough to really be dreaming, so maybe my half-asleep brain was just stringing a bunch of stuff together...who knows?

But anyway, there was this over-arching theme of me reading my email, and each time I clicked an unread subject line, a new segment of dream would come up. And the subject lines were basically the sort of thing I see a million of every day on Hellenic email lists. At the top were a bunch of Apollo and Dionysus-related subject lines....Dionysus, Apollo, Apollo and Dionysus, Zagreus (wow, that name hasn't come up lately in dreams), Delphi, Wine, Apollo with Wings...and then there were other random ones like Lindt Chocolate, coffee, shipping notification from Amazon. There was no spam that I remember though (okay, then, maybe it really was an actual dream!!)

So the only ones that I ever actually clicked on were the Apollo and Dionysus subject lines. And a segment of dream would start that would be like watching a documentary on TV, with a disembodied British voice talking about the history of the subject while images of temples, vases and mosaics flashed by. Occasionally this documentary voice would speak of some of my own experiences as if they were known history. (I guess they're known history to me?)

And then periodically, it would flash back to my email screen and that subject line would be marked as read...and sometimes a subject would get updated, as if I had recieved a new email on the topic (If you use gmail, you know how the threading works...that's how it looked)

So that's not so much the bizarre part.

What's bizarre is that these documentary segments were interrupted by "commercials" talking about the gods and prophetic dreams...and how they're linked...TO LINDT CHOCOLATE! (I can barely type this, I'm laughing so hard!) and especially to Lindt Cherry-Chilli bars. (I just bought one of those last night.)

Interspersed with everything else was segments of dreams of me doing normal every day stuff- getting up, making coffee, going to work, buying a newspaper, but...as this has happened before, during these segments, random words would be replaced by the name "Zagreus": "I'd like one copy of the Baltimore Zagreus, please. And this bottle of Pepsi." "Okay, that will be two dollars and thirty-Zagreus cents." Yeah, like that.

All through this, I kept waking up and falling back barely asleep. At least twice, I woke up singing the song Far Away by Chantal Kreviazuk, which is still stuck in my mind right now. Okay, this is weird, when I have a song stuck in my head, it just seems like I'm hearing it as if it were playing from some external source...except without the external source. Right now, there's an almost physical sensation of hearing the song from a specific spot in my head just above and behind my left ear.

Around 5am, I seriously considered just getting up. But I fell back to sleep. A few times. Oh gawds, what kind of day am I going to have?
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So every morning, this guy walks in and turns off all the lights in the office. Never bothers to say anything, just turns them off like he owns the place. (Solved the problem of the one coworker turning them all off all the time at night forever ago)

Usually at some point in the night, we turn all but one or two rows off- usually the one right over my head stays on, sometimes one other. Then in the morning, first another coworker comes in and turns the row nearest the outside wall on- it runs right over her desk. Then invariably, this other guy comes and turns them ALL off- except the one by the outside wall.

Today he comes in and announces that he's going to turn off the row above my head "Just want to make sure you don't have a problem with that."

WTF??? Why the sudden courtesy??? Why didn't you care to ask yesterday? Or last week? Or last freakin' year?

Just turn the damned things off already, not like it's going to make a difference if I tell you not to.
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Bizarre IM conversation I had just now:

[23:54] IconicSalmon: Hi.
[23:54] fuego4496: hello
[23:55] fuego4496: do i know you?
[23:56] IconicSalmon: doubtful
[23:56] fuego4496: ah...may i ask, of curiousity how you happened upon my screen name?
[00:00] fuego4496: did you IM me for a reason? Or should I just wish you a good night and close the window?
[00:01] IconicSalmon: I saw you today, I liked your socks but I was to shy to say anything
[00:02] fuego4496: obviously you are just making this up or confusing me with someone else because i didn't see anyone that i didn't know today, didn't give my screen name out...and was wearing plain white cotton socks
[00:03] IconicSalmon: wait, aren't you tim?
[00:03] fuego4496: no...
[00:03] fuego4496: fraid not
[00:03] IconicSalmon: Damn, do you know his sn?
[00:04] fuego4496: Uh....I've met about a hundred tim's in my life
[00:04] fuego4496: but I don't believe i know a screen name for any
[00:04] IconicSalmon: I'll ask Chris, she'll know
[00:04] fuego4496: uh, ok
[00:04] IconicSalmon: Thanks anyway
[00:04] fuego4496: sure.


So...I've noticed that since I started using AIM on gmail at work, I've beeng etting some random IM's from people either thinking I'm someone else, or in a few cases, I get the message, but they seem to be carrying a conversation with someone else.

However, when I had the above exchange, I was on Trillian, with gmail signed out of AIM.

Anyone had any weird things like this lately?

Feh.

Dec. 12th, 2007 08:59 pm
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I love how having a cold fucks with my sense of taste.

I'm tasting aspartame in stuff that does not contain aspartameould not) I've scanned the label obsessively for the last three minutes to determine that no, I have in fact, not missed it somewhere in the ingredients list. And sugar is the number two ingredient after filtered water.

I hate the taste of aspartame.

Okay, I's gonna make chicken soup now- like, real homemade stuff. I've never done chicken soup before. This should be good.
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On the way to work this evening, I stopped at Rite Aid. In line I saw US News & World Report on Display with "Sacred places" emblazoned on the front cover. I picked it up and glanced at the table of contents. Saw Delphi listed as one of the places and decided to go ahead and buy the magazine. There was a long line behind me, so it seemed rude to flip through the magazine and waste time.

I got on the train and found the article, which is about 3/4 page long. I read the article.

If I didn't know better, from the article, I would swear that Delphi is just some old ruined building with geological fault lines running under it that collected some sweet-smelling gas that makes people go funny. Oh, and there were a couple of Plutarch references.

Okay. HOW do you write a an article about Delphi, however short, and completely fail to mention Apollo's name- even once? There was no mention of spirituality in the article or Delphi being a sacred place.

Seriously thinking about writing letter to editor.
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*looks at her leatherman, looks at the screen, looks at her leatherman, looks at the screen...*

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312483,00.html

ORANGEBURG, N.Y. — You wouldn't want to use it to carve a Thanksgiving turkey, but if you need to push a cuticle, measure a tire tread, clean a golf club or adjust a bicycle spoke, this is the knife for you.

No registration needed to read.

Hey [livejournal.com profile] chironcentaur have you ever seen so many implements of pain and torture in a single neat little, slightly-more-than-pocket-sized package?


The former Girl Scout in me says "Wow...shiny. I could take that to camp!"

The realist in me puts in one of her rare appearances and says "Um...who needs that? and how in the HELL would you hold it to use it- it would require both hands! I'll take my leatherman, which ONLY has four screwdrivers (one phillips, three flathead), a knife, scissors, can/bottle opener, needlenose pliers and two types of wire cutters. And I can use it with one hand."

Thanks be to [livejournal.com profile] saratoga80 for posting this first.
badstar: (Default)
We WOULD be getting 35 MPH winds on the day I'm going to the eye doctor, wouldn't we?

Someone turn off the damned fan! *shakes fist*
badstar: (captain logic)
If you can't follow the chain of events, I completely understand. Just understand that this is an hour of my life that I can't get back. This call should have been over and done within 10 minutes. 15 at the absolute outside if the computer was slow in the RMA setup.

Ok, so Genius has two phones of the same model. One works where it's plugged in (phone A), one doesn't (phone B). He can get incoming calls on phone B, but when he tries to make an outgoing call, when he dials the first digit, it gives him a tone similar to a fax machine line.

Took the working phone and plugged it in where the non-working phone is plugged in. It now doesn't work in the manner described above

Took the non-working phone and plugged it in where the working phone was...now it works.

Simple answer, right? The problem lies with the line where phone B was plugged in, right? One would think.

As soon as I suggest this, Genius informs me that he's only switched the phones. Not the power adapters. Soooo Phone A & B work with phone A's power adapter, phone A & B do not work with phone B's power adapter. Okay, likely a faulty power adapter, I offer to set up an RMA and inform him that for this model, we'd need to send him an entire new unit, not just the adapter but it's under warranty, so no charges or anything like that. Most people would be ecstatic with this answer. With me so far?

Suddenly, he wants to bring the other power adapter in here and test it to be absolutely sure. But it's on the third floor, he's on the second. *Sigh* Ok, I'll hold.

Roughly five seconds later, Genius is back. Can't bring the adapter down because it's wired into the wall (huh???) and he needs wire cutters to free it (what?????)

Another five seconds later (that was quick) he has a power adapter and is plugging it in down here in this outlet. Now this adapter doesn't work. Okay, back to the faulty wiring theory. To be absolutely sure, I ask him to try a third outlet because I am convinced that it's the adapter. He tries both adapters and phones in a third outlet and both phones work on one adapter, neither phone works on the other adapter. We have a winner. Let's RMA that puppy and get Genius off this call that's already taken four times as long as it should have. Right?

Wrong.

Genius has a third phone of the same model (phone C). He wants to bring that phone (also on the third floor) down and test it and its adapter. Before I can tel him there's no reason to do that, he's got me on hold and comes back a few minutes later. Suddenly NONE of the phones are working with ANY of the adapters.

WTF has this guy done?????

I put him on penalty hold and go vent to our QC guy who is trying to explain something to a new guy, but the unit they were working on is rebooting, so I can bitch for a minute. New guy starts blithering on to me about the polarity and voltage and analog versus digital in this bizarrely-accented voice, speaking far too quickly and incoherently, as my eyes glaze over, he suddenly gets up and walks away. I give up and go back to Genius on the line, ready to tell him to take it all up to the third floor because there was a known-good outlet up there at the beginning of the call. He then informs me that he realized he was plugging the power adapters into the wrong ports on the phone, and that phones A & C are working on all power adapters in this outlet, and Phone B isn't working on any of them and he wants his RMA.

For this, Genius deserves to die.

How many times can I say I'm sooooooo happy I only deal with this four hours a week???
badstar: (Default)
Overheard this evening, a woman chasing after a kid who can't be more than 3 or 4 years old:

"Come back here boy! Lemme fix yo pants! Yo boxers ain't showin', I gotta pull dem jeans down some!"

In what universe is it attractive to run around with your underwear hanging out? And for pete's sake, a little kid?

Back to Mt. Vernon! Stat!

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