Monday, December 31, 2007

i WONDER what was said

WA woman arrested after argument over dog in bathroom

01:41 PM MST on Saturday, December 29, 2007
Associated Press


BREMERTON, Wash. - A 25-year-old woman was arrested for investigation of second-degree assault for getting into an argument with her boyfriend over whether his dog should be in the bathroom while the couple were taking a shower together.

A police report said the 26-year-old man wanted his dog to join them in the bathroom, but the woman objected on Thursday night.

She told him if the dog wouldn't stay out, she didn't want to be his girlfriend anymore. He replied that maybe his next girlfriend would appreciate the dog more, and called her a name.

The police report said the woman punched him in the face several times and the man dislocated his shoulder when the naked couple grappled. He told police his girlfriend threw a picture frame, which broke and cut him.

The woman was taken to the Kitsap County Jail in Port Orchard. Bail has been set at $50,000.


See you auntie! (xref G12)


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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Happy Brumalia




Happy Brumalia

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Friday, December 14, 2007

IT HURTS! IT HURTS!

i'm barely 17 minutes into this and i'm in pain. holy shit this is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. i've known it's bad by reputation and from those who have suffered thru it. but WOW....



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Thursday, December 13, 2007

random pictures of the moment: looking out my back window










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jebus xmas. 2 1/2 hrs to get home. fucking snow storm came in early and everyone bolted early and the snow plows had no chance to clear the roads.

at least i'm home now.



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the holy WHAT!?!?!?!?!?

found on Fark: The foreskin of Jesus has gone missing. Penis

Writer searches for a peculiar relic

The "Holy Prepuce," the supposed foreskin of Christ, has disappeared.

By FRANCIS X. ROCCA, Religion News Service

Last update: December 7, 2007 - 6:09 PM

VATICAN CITY - When freelance writer David Farley first visited Calcata, Italy, five years ago, he figured it would make for a colorful article for a travel magazine.

The picturesque hill town 30 miles north of Rome featured a medieval castle and narrow cobblestone streets, as well as an international population of artists and ex-hippies who had saved the abandoned village from demolition.

Locals called it the "paese di fricchettoni" ("village of freaks"), and on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, one could find residents dressed in Indian saris strolling across the historic main square.

But Calcata's most remarkable attraction -- and the subject of a book that Farley is now writing -- turned out to be something no longer there: the supposed foreskin of Jesus Christ.

For more than four centuries, the "Holy Prepuce" had been the city's treasure, kept behind bronze doors over the altar in the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. It was displayed every year on Jan. 1, the Feast of the Holy Circumcision. At one time, pilgrims who came to venerate it were rewarded with an indulgence that cut 10 years from their time in purgatory.

To believers in Jesus' Resurrection, Farley notes, the foreskin is "one of the only conceivable parts of his body that he could have left on Earth."

Legend holds that the Emperor Charlemagne received the object from an angel, then gave it to Pope Leo III in the year 800. It supposedly remained in the papal collection until the early 16th century, when a looting German soldier brought it to Calcata.

At one point in the Middle Ages, Farley says, there were as many as 18 putative Holy Foreskins in various monasteries and towns in Europe, most of them in France. By the 20th century, all but one had disappeared.

The specimen in Calcata finally vanished in 1983, an event the church's pastor blamed on "sacrilegious thieves."

Farley set out to tell the story of the relic's history and, he hoped, solve the mystery of its disappearance. From the start, one of his biggest challenges was getting taken seriously.

When the New York-based writer spoke to an employee at the Holy See's mission to the United Nations, the reaction was not encouraging.

"He said, 'What? The Holy Foreskin? You want me to hook you up with someone at the Vatican to talk about the Holy Foreskin? No way! That's ridiculous.'"

The priest in Calcata on whose watch the foreskin went missing was also unwilling to discuss it with Farley.

Silence is in fact the church's official policy on the subject, Farley says. He speaks of Vatican decrees from 1900 and 1954 that he says threaten excommunication of anyone who writes or speaks the relic's name, in order to discourage "irreverent curiosity."

Yet that threat has not inhibited many residents of Calcata, who gladly told Farley their various theories of the foreskin's fate.

Some say the priest sold it to a relic dealer in Turin. Others claim it was stolen by a local group of Satanists for use in their occult rites. Still others blame Neo-Nazis. The most popular explanations, though, point to the Vatican.

Farley is not saying which, if any, of these scenarios he finds most credible, but promises he will offer an explanation of his own when his book comes out in the spring of 2009.

In the meantime, he shares his thoughts on the foreskin's significance, as "not only a holy relic but a relic of a past time," which survived as long as it did only thanks to Calcata's remote location.

"I just find it really fascinating that this thing stuck around for so long, because it represents a way of thinking that we lost, that we evolved away from," he said.

Even the Catholic Church, Farley notes, has in recent years deemphasized the ancient tradition of venerating physical remains of holy persons and the relics associated with them.

But even if the Holy Prepuce is not gone for good, Farley thinks it's unlikely to be held up again as an object of veneration.

"I think most people would agree that it won't do the church any good to get publicity" of that kind, he said. "Most people still snicker about it."

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Monday, December 10, 2007

bloody fucking hell

i can't wait to hear this.
1st source dloading as i type. will be in my ears tomorrow morning. w00t! (//mol - 12/11/07)

outside of a few odd goofs, it was one hell of a fucking show. and i can't wait for some other recordings to surface. i've heard snips of 2 different sources that should be very nice. but many thanks to slowburn for being the first to post the show in its entirety. and now the search continues. but it's one hell of a show. In My Time of Dying is fucking brutal, just oozing blues. Kashmir may be the song that Robert considers to be what Led Zeppelin is all about (and i do agree), but In My Time of Dying is a fucking work of art. and to anyone who had doubts about Jason - he did his father very proud. like the millions of other fans, i hope they tour, but if they don't, like Pink Floyd, they went out on top. there is absolutely NO question in my mind. Led Zeppelin = greatest band ever. //mol - 12/12/07



Good Times, Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
For Your Life
Trampled Underfoot
Nobody's Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Since I've Been Loving You
Dazed & Confused
Stairway To Heaven
The Song Remains The Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir
{encore}
Whole Lotta Love
Rock and Roll



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Friday, December 07, 2007

techie humor to hide my annoyance

Most unusual data disaster horror stories for 2007
A man in Thailand took the cover of his hard drive off and sprayed the interior with insect repellent


Sandra Rossi

December 06, 2007 (Computerworld Australia) -- An ant-infested hard drive and a failing parachute top a list of data disaster horror stories for 2007.

The list, provided by Kroll Inc.'s Ontrack Data Recovery unit, illustrates some of the strangest and wackiest things that people put electronic storage devices through on a regular basis.

Putting drives in the washing machine. Using oil to stop them from squeaking. These are just two examples of the user bloopers the company's engineers nominated for inclusion on the list. Remarkably, Kroll data recovery specialists were able to recover the data in both instances.

This year, Kroll's engineers said the company has seen more damaged portable devices than ever before.

One woman called to complain that she had "washed all her data away." Her USB stick had been through a cycle in her washing machine and -- surprise! -- she couldn't retrieve any data from it.

A British scientist was fed up with the way his hard drive was squeaking, so he drilled a hole through the casing and poured oil into the mechanics. The squeaking stopped, and so did the hard drive.

A wedding photographer faced the potential wrath of a new bride when he discovered he had overwritten her photos with ones from another event, the photos were recovered before the couple learned of the mistake.

In an effort to test a parachute, a camera (acting as the chute's cargo) was dropped from a plane. Unfortunately, the parachute failed its test and its fragile cargo shattered into several pieces. Ontrack's engineers had to reassemble the camera's memory stick and the video of the parachute's demise was recovered.

But the best recovery of all has to be the ant invasion.

Discovering ants had taken up residence in his external hard drive, a photographer in Thailand took the cover off his computer and sprayed the interior with insect repellent.

The ants didn't make it, and neither did the drive.

Adrian Briscoe, general manager of Kroll's Ontrack Data Recovery Australia unit, said the company's staffers are always fascinated by the extraordinary things people do to data that is often irreplaceable.

"We can often perform a successful recovery from what may seem to be a hopeless case -- proving that you should never give up," he said.



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Monday, December 03, 2007

annoying annoying annoying...

i'm stuck here in braintree at the new office not so much my choice, as i am because a stupid drive decided it wasn't happy with its working environment and now the stupid RAID card WON'T STOP BEEPING AND IT IS DRIVING ME INSANE AS I STAND HERE AND TYPE TO YOU PEOPLES.

i got paged about this yesterday morning, but figured it was a UPS issue, and not the server, so Q tried to silence it, but it turns out she didn't need to silence anything as it wasn't the one of the myriad of UPS' we have.

so i drove down here figuring it would only take a few minutes to address the issue and boy was i wrong. i've attempted to remove the faulty drive from the RAID config and it doesn't like it because the array is 'degraded' (NO SHIT) and when i physically remove the drive, it doesn't like it because the faulty drive isn't there to be disabled. it's a no-win situation, so i said fuck it and now i wait for the drive to be rebuilt within the array. if that doesn't fix it, i'm not sure what i want to do.

but it beeps every 2 seconds and normally, i like background noise, but this high pitched beeping that i can't silence is driving me insane.

and it's cold in the server room, more so because i'm keeping the door mostly closed to keep the insanity provoking beeping from driving other people insane. it's a good thing i grabbed my sweatshirt to help keep me warm, as well as the hood is providing protection for my neck. the rebuild is now at 92% and i started around 10am give or take so it's taking a long fucking time to rebuild the array and that in itself is frustrating enough, but to have the beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep of the alarm is just maddening.

happy thought happy thought happy thought happy thought....No Country for Old Men was pretty good. i meant to see it a while ago, but kept forgetting about it so i finally remembered yesterday. i still want to see The Mist but as that's been out shorter than No Country, i figured i should see that first. maybe i'll see it tonight with my free movie ticket.

anyways, i enjoyed No Country - wonderfully twisted and fucked up. i found it quite entertaining and humorous. and even better was i didn't get paged.

our first 'major' snow has come. all of 2" or so of heavy stuff, but it is enuff to make things a mess. KO did the driveway and i cleared my car off so i didn't have to do that when i left for work. the ride in wasn't bad...

no beep....time to reboot and get the fuck out of here.



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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

heh

three rights make a left. hadn't thought about that one in a long time, but had to laugh. thanks ant.



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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

...

i'm so glad i'm no longer smoking. you always see that rubber lung thing when you are a kid in school, but this is just nasty. this is what i was putting into my system back when?

eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww.....


Still Smoking? Watch This !! - The most amazing videos are a click away

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Saturday, November 17, 2007

random bits

well, the move is complete. that's not to say that everything is as it should be in the new office, but for the moment at least things are quiet. i considered going to the new office today, but opted out which was a mixed blessing. i hate being dragged into other projects that have the cart being drawn before the horse. what a fucking mess that is turning into.

finally got around to seeing Saw IV in the theater last night. i thought it was ok, nothing great or special, just ok. i didn't think that it was bad, but i liked how the first 3 played out and this one had the feeling of trying to fit into them, but didn't quite make it. it certainly had a few moments, but all in all it was just ok. i've always been a fan of the series, but now i'm wondering if there wasn't a bit of shark jumping with this one.

M stopped by last night and startled me a little - i was debating what i wanted to watch on dvd tonight and she opened my door. it didn't help that i was listening to music and completely missed her call so it wasn't until i saw my door opening out of the corner of my eye that i realized what was going on. i rather enjoy being lost in my world of music, and i suppose that's my achilles heel - once i tune in, i tune out the world around me.

while she was here it dawned on my that as of 11/8/07, i am by definition debt free. there will always be bills, but i no longer have any loans hanging over my head as my final student loan payment has come and gone. it was so very nice to see this when i logged in to check on it:

Loan Balances
You do not currently have any active or fully disbursed loans on our system.


it took a few moments for that to sink in, but it's really nice to think that the chunk of change i've been sinking into paying that off now sinks into my bank account. i'll try and enjoy this while i can, but at the same time i also know that i have a new car coming in the coming months (i'm finally fed up with my explorer - i don't want it anymore but will suffer thru the winter to save down payment money to help minimize that loan) and of course once the house hunting starts up again, that's going to put me in debt for pretty much the rest of my life. so i'll have to enjoy it while i can.

weather has turned brisk around here which i suppose is expected for this time of the year. and it looks like the trees around the house which had their leaves up until very recently have finally dropped most of them. it's been odd to see just how many leaves haven't fallen yet, of course they are shades of brown, so it's not as nice as leaf peepers would like. tho i do have to chuckle at a sermon the assistant priest in high school gave about how he enjoyed fall and the fall colors, but how one year in school it was explained why the leaves change color - the are dying and when dying they go from green to the bright vivid colors, etc. anyways, he had a hard time dealing with that as he couldn't figure out why if they were dying were they so vividly colored. eventually it clicked that it wasn't a bad thing as in the spring there was a rebirth and life would return, etc.

i always found it amusing as i guess i never looked at leaves that way. sure i knew why they changed colors, but i never gave it much thought other than to wonder why they'd change to the color they did (yellow, orange, red, etc). he certainly got over it, but it was some time before he shook that memory, eventually relating it to whatever bible story was the subject of that sunday sermon (most likely rebirth or something along those lines). but i guess it's since stuck with me - i still smile a bit when i think about it. anyways, moving on.

Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet is a current front runner for the Molius Album of the Year award (sounds fancy). if you haven't heard it, it's well worth plunking your hard earned money down for.

and on that note, i'll wrap this up.


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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

huh

go figure. who knew that oprah and i actually have something in common - we both like Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. (that and goldens i suppose)

the rens bought me the book years ago for xmas, and it's one of the few books that i can recall pretty vividly (meaning i really liked it). that question of what books would i bring with me if i was stranded on an island is always answered by my wanting The Dark Tower series, the entire Dune series (old & new) and Lord of the Rings. Pillars would be one of the few non-series books i'd want with me.

it's a long book and well worth reading (and it's not scifi - go figure). must be those cathedrals i seem to have a passing interest in.

Ken Follett is latest Oprah Winfrey pick

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer

NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey went for the big time Wednesday with her latest book club pick, choosing Ken Follett's 973-page "The Pillars of the Earth," an announcement that will likely mean hundreds of thousands more sales for an author with a huge, international following.

Winfrey, whose TV talk show airs from Chicago, called Follett "a best-selling author that everybody has heard of, but this novel is unlike any of his books he's known for around the world."

Follett, a 58-year-old native of Cardiff, Wales, is famous for spectacular thrillers such as "Lie Down With Lions," "Eye of the Needle" and "World Without End," published last month, and a sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth," which came out in 1989.

Follett has called "The Pillars of the Earth," a love story set in England in the 12th century, his favorite novel. According to his Web site, the book still sells around 100,000 copies a year in the United States alone.

"My publishers were a little nervous about such a very unlikely subject but paradoxically, it is my most popular book," Follett writes on his Web site.

"It's also the book I'm most proud of. It recreates, quite vividly, the entire life of the village and the people who live there. You feel you know the place and the people as intimately as if you yourself were living there in the middle ages."

A year after "Pillars" came out, Follett was so popular he agreed to a two-book, $12.3 million deal with the Dell Publishing Company. He reportedly has 90 million readers worldwide and recently signed with Penguin Group (USA), which released "World Without End," for a planned multigenerational trilogy set in the 20th century.

___

Associated Press writer Tara Burghart in Chicago contributed to this report.



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Sunday, November 11, 2007

unfucking believable.

i got paged at 7am this morning to find out that NStar is planning on shutting the power off to the building where our main office is.

and we have no fucking clue what is going on because we can't seem to get a straight answer of WHY this is, or HOW LONG this will take.

ok, i now have an answer so i'll leave what i wrote alone.

some fucking asshole smashed into a electrical pole around 545am. we lost power while nstar cut us (the building) over to a secondary power feed. they are in the process of fixing the pole and at some point today, when they don't know, they are going to shut the power down and put us back onto the primary power feed.

i'm now waiting for a quick email to alert the agency from my boss and then i'm heading home to hurry up and wait to find out when things are going down and when they do, i'll head back in to get stuff restarted.

just fucking lovely.



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Friday, November 09, 2007

long day

i left home around 930am today and returned at 1030pm tonight.

what a fucking mess.

the good:

  • stuff is moved
  • i have the switches patched (thanks RB)
  • we have data connections to all offices on both voice and data sides
  • i'm finally home

the bad:
  • the network upgrade didn't go quite as expected. (it's fine now for the most part, but i guess the phones were totally fucked in MN and the guy they had working on the routers was a fucking dolt
  • i had to replace the batteries in one of the UPS which sucked ass and wasted 2 hours of my life
  • the 208v outlet has the wrong plug for my UPS (electrical guy will be there in the morning)
  • the server room is a fucking mess
  • not everything is wired up
  • i have to be there for 8am tomorrow
  • there was no alcohol provided
  • i still have to reprogram the phones and extensions (ugh...)

i realize that it sounds like there was more bad than good, but all in all, the important stuff from my view is in place and it's now down to the busy work. i should be able to get the simple stuff done pretty quickly and find a quiet corner to reprogram the phone system so with a bit of luck, i'll be out by mid-afternoon. changing the phone numbers is going to take a while - it took me 2 hours to do it last year for some 50 or so users. i have nearly 150 i need to do here, so i'm hoping i can crank it out as long as i'm left alone. if i could, i'd just lock myself in my office in MN and do it there, but i need to be able to test it a bit while i'm there, so i'll see where i can hide.

not much else. LB picked up dinner from cheesecake factory, but they didn't bother to include forks, ketchup or straws. so thanks LB for dinner.

well, i'm tired and need a little mindless entertainment before i collapse in a heap. only to be rudely disturbed by my alarm in a few hours.



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Thursday, November 08, 2007

this weekend is going to be long

most likely. we're moving one of our offices this weekend and it all starts tomorrow at noon. at least my piece of the massive puzzle that is this move. in typical fashion, my sleep has suffered as the anxiety of the move gets to me. at least i know that's what it is, and that things should return to normal when this mess is all done.

but at noon i shut down all the servers in the office and start the process of pulling it all apart. and then i need to remove a few of the servers, pack them up and move them to the new office, get them reconstructed and with a bit of luck, all will be as it should be.

yeah, right.

we'll see. but it should at least prove to be entertaining. i have a 4 walkie talkies so the banter should be what gets us thru the mess. we need to think of handles to use while we work. clerks 2 seems to be inspiring my train of thought right now, but i'm having a hard time figuring out who picklefucker would be....


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Friday, November 02, 2007

D'OH!

Led Zeppelin reunion show postponed

LONDON - Led Zeppelin fans awaiting the rockers' reunion will have to wait a little longer.

The band's first concert in two decades, scheduled for Nov. 26, has been postponed until Dec. 10 after guitarist Jimmy Page fractured a finger, organizers said Friday.

"I am disappointed that we are forced to postpone the concert by two weeks," Page said in a statement.

"However, Led Zeppelin have always set very high standards for ourselves, and we feel that this postponement will enable my injury to properly heal, and permit us to perform at the level that both the band and our fans have always been accustomed to."

Led Zeppelin, who split up in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham, announced in September they were reuniting for a one-off show. The lineup includes Page, singer Robert Plant and bass player John Paul Jones, along with Bonham's son Jason.

More than 1 million fans entered a draw for a chance to buy one of the 10,000 tickets to the concert at London's O2 Arena, a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who died last year. The lineup also includes former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, Foreigner and young Scottish singer Paolo Nutini.

Organizers said tickets for the Nov. 26 gig will be honored at the rescheduled show.


at least it won't be like the start of the tour in 1975 when he broke his finger then and they continued on. but then it did bring How Many More Times back into the setlist...




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Friday, October 26, 2007

stupid fedex

i need to ship a faulty tape drive back to our vendor and they enclosed a fedex PRP (Package Returns Program) label. so i call to schedule a pickup, but none of the prompts ask for a suite number. it gets our building address right, but as this is an office building, there is more than one company here, so i didn't schedule the pickup figuring i'd use the online system.

and what a mess that is. you have to register to schedule a pickup (ok, that's fine) but during the registration process, it asks for a 9-digit fedex number. what? i don't have that. i just want to register to schedule a pickup, but it won't let me w/o this stupid number. so i cancel the registration and to my amusement, it asks if i'd like to take a survey. normally, i HATE these surveys. but this time i wanted to leave feedback. i doubt that my words will influence anyone, but at least one person will have to read the following:

What suggestions do you have to improve the overall registration process for FedEx Pickup?

it is awful. i have a PRP label and i'm trying to schedule a pickup, but you won't let me because i have to have an account. i attempted to sign up to schedule the pickup, but it prompts me for a 9-digit fedex number that i don't have, nor will ever likely need. if it wasn't for the fact that this is already prepaid, i would use either UPS or DHL as neither one of those have given me a problem in the past when i have needed to schedule a pickup.

at the very least you should have an option to fill in the shipping label and where the pickup is for any prepaid shipping labels because not everyone scheduling a pickup will want or need to jump through your awful hoops just to ship something back to a vendor.

What suggestions do you have to improve the overall registration process of obtaining either a 1) FedEx.com user id and password or 2) a FedEx account number?

do not require a fedex account number when signing up. require it for when someone wants to ship something that isn't a PRP shipment (prompt for shipper number to verify). if they want to ship something w/o a PRP number, and then direct them to whatever they need to do to sign up for your fedex account number.


and for any of those questions you say what your satisfaction level is, i left it as 'Extremely Dissatisfied'

so now i'm disgruntled.



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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

random picture of the moment: failed backup



the note reads:

DH,

We had a slight issue with FP's backup tape.

I think we have a good restore from last November

JB :)



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Sunday, October 21, 2007

20 cents is all it took

twenty pennies. four nickles. two dimes. and it cost friday's (if you let this load, be sure to kill the annoying music) $25.16 on the bill JJ & i had. the short of it is this: be sure to check your bill when they give it to you.

so rewinding a little, JJ & i decided to have dinner at friday's. she had a hankering, and i hadn't been to one in i don't even remember how long. (as far as i can tell these days, friday's = applebee's = 99 restaurant = chili's - it's all the same thing) so things started off fine. hostess seated us fairly promptly (~715pm) and told us our server's name (something with an 'R'). we started looking thru the menu and a few (long) minutes later, he shows up and takes our drink orders (Dr. Pepper & 16oz Sammy Octoberfest). he returns with JJ's soda and informs me that "the machine broke" so i switch to a regular Sammy.

the machine broke????

anyways, he returns with my beer and we place our order (1/2 rack ribs & smoked brisket dip sandwich). ~730pm

silly me figures that it won't be that long for us to eat. it's nearly 8pm when my meal is delivered by a lackey. JJ & i look at each other and wonder where her dinner is. we also begin to wonder where the au jus that we thought we saw on the menu was, as my brisket was looking a little under-au jus'd. and around this time i'm nearly finished with my beer and i notice a seed (we think) stuck to the bottom of the glass.

when 'R' shows back up (nearly 810pm now) to ask if we need anything (he appears to be oblivious to the fact that i have food and JJ doesn't) so i bring the seed to his attention. he tips the glass and as he starts to walk away, JJ asks about my missing au jus (my food is rapidly cooling at this point). he brings my beer glass to someone with a headset, they tilt the glass and they disappear somewhere. while this is transpiring, another lackey stops by and he asks if we need anything, JJ asks for a refill and her meal (mine continues to cool). we continue to muse, both of us have taken to nibbling my rapidly cooling fries.

i receive a 'fresh' beer (the glass was clean, but the taps need to be cleaned) and we ask again about JJ's meal. a few minutes later and by 815pm her meal arrives. (i forgot to ask what the temp was)

we're both starting to be irritated at this point and not sure if i'm getting a comp beer or not. so we try and enjoy the meal. mine was south of luke warm at this point, but i decide it's not worth getting too upset over. by this point, i've pretty much written off eating at friday's again. 'R' walks by us several times while we are eating, but never once stops by to check on us. by 830pm, i've finished my meal and JJ isn't far behind. ~835pm 'R' stops by and asks if we need anything, and i reply 'napkins'. he clears my plate and returns a few minutes later with a bone plate, a small stack of napkins and 2 handy wipes. (to their credit - their handy wipes are big, plush, and heavy duty)

by the time he returns however JJ is finished, so he fails to notice that she is done, so he doesn't clear her plate.

845pm - 'R' shows up and asks if we want anything else (desert, etc), we decline and ask for the bill. he returns a few minutes later with the bill.

problem. i see i ordered 2 sandwiches. (the good news is i was only charged for 1 beer)

so, 'R' is at the booth across from where we were sitting and as he turns to walk away, i tap him and ask why there were 2 sandwiches. he stammers something about something (it made no sense to us) and wanders off to correct it.

a few minutes later, he returns with the original bill and a handwritten $25.36 written on it.

i look at it and pull my phone out and start to calculate things out. i can't get it to add up. each time i calculate it, i get $25.16. JJ starts to calculate it and gets the same total. we both wonder how he landed at that total. 'R' has vanished, so we decide that we would like to speak with the manager. shortly before this, we had decided that we were only going to leave $1 as tip (in quarters, i add a penny, so $1.01 total) which is more insulting than leaving nothing. (you leave nothing, they know they fucked up, you leave them $1, they learn that they fucked up. JJ tels me about this bitchy waitress that dared to be surly with her sister - it ended up really messy.)

after we had figured out that the numbers didn't add up, JJ asked for her quarters back - we were leaving nothing.

so i get up to try and find a manager and bump into 'R' and ask to speak to a manager. he heads off to find a manager.

a few minutes later, the manager shows up and JJ and i explain (very calmly and patiently) that we can't figure out how 'R' arrived at that total, showing him the napkin with my calculations. he takes the check and my napkin and tells us that 'R' was having a problem ringing it up and that he should have found him (the manager) to ask for help. he returns a few minutes later with a bill for $25.16. exactly what JJ & i both calculated. he laments that 'R' isn't the sharpest person and how people these days can't even handle remedial math. he then relates how his daughter came home and told him that she needed a $150 calculator.

uhhh...if you are referring to the TI-83 or TI-85, neither of those is over $100, but nevermind.

as the total is correct, i give him my card and he walks off. a few minutes later, i see him walk towards the entrance and a few seconds later 'R' returns with the receipt and my card saying something that i guess was an apology and that we were all set and then promptly walks off. JJ & i look at each other slightly bewildered and i say that i think he said we were all set and let's go. we grab our jackets and bolt. on our way out, the manager says something about 'R' needing some remedial math skills, we nod and head out. it's now ~910pm.

we laugh about it as we walk to my car and we both agree that had 'R' just given us a PRINTED check with the correct total (like the manager did), i would have paid it without batting an eye. but because we were given a handwritten total on our original check, we looked a lot more carefully and then questioned the difference. both of us know that 20 cents isn't much, but it was the principle. 'R' fucked up and we caught him.

so that ended our dining experience at friday's. but not my evening.

after dropping JJ at home, i decided that i should put gas into my car even tho i was at a 1/2 tank - my commute usually works out in a way that if i put gas in on saturday or sunday, i won't need to until the following weekend when i have more time to remember that i need gas. since going on vaca, my fill up schedule has been a little screwed up and i was late(r) to work one morning because i forgot to get gas on the way home the night before.

so i stopped by the irving on the way home (home of the cheap gas in the area, altho the sunocco was cheaper tonight) to top off my tank, which should put me back into my regular feed my car routine.

so, as i pulled in, some asshole was in my way, so i slowed and he moved to avoid me, but i could see he wasn't pleased that i had turned into his way. what didn't help this asshole was he didn't have his lights on, so i didn't really see him until i had turned. i gave him a 'what the fuck' look and pulled into a pump. as i got out of my car, i could hear him yell something at me as he drove past and i just shook my head and marveled at how in the last 30 seconds, i watched someone fuck up 3 times.

the first being driving w/o his headlights on.
the second being taking an illegal left out of the exit he used.
the third being blowing thru a red light, with the car that had the green starting to move into the intersection that he was blowing thru.

what a fucking idiot. learn to drive you fucking idiot. i think he had to act tougher than he was because he had a friend in the car with him who was egging him on. so to him, i also say fuck you.

the rest of my drive home was uneventful. and here i am now sitting watching the 8th inning of the red sox game. it's looking like they may win, but the game isn't over. i'll finish the game in bed.

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it's nearly party time

oh fuck yeah!

i have scheduled my FINAL student loan payment.

it's nearly over. and in a few weeks, it will be.



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Saturday, October 20, 2007

how annoying

i'm not sure what was causing it, but i woke around 640a (now 720a) this morning to a constant rapping sound (quoth the raven) which prompted me to see what time it was.

i quickly realized that the power was out as my alarm clock was dead. walk around to assess the situation, and sure enough, there is no power in my apartment. grab a flashlight and confirm that i'm not alone as stinky's always on TV is quiet (only off if she isn't here). so i grab what cash i had ($7) and my license and head out to see just how widespread it is.

well, not very far. i get a block away and they have power. sure enough, there's power elsewhere (including starbucks which provided me with a coffee and muffin, reduced fat whole wheat tri-berry) so now i'm sitting here glad that my laptop has dual batteries which allows me to at least entertain myself for a little while as i hope things will brighten up. it's not light enuff to read in here yet as it's rather overcast.

i've finished my muffin. i can confirm that it has at least 2 different berries, raspberries (i have a seed stuck in my molars) and another darker, most likely blue and black berries. it was 'eh'. i liked that it was soft, and that it wasn't covered in sugar (something M doesn't care for and i've become less fond of in the last few years). it did have that slightly soggy/slimy feel muffins get when they have been packaged for a little while. they didn't put too many berries in, and you could taste the wheat. it didn't have that gritty feel that some whole wheat products have (usually to prove that it really is whole wheat i've found). size was smaller than a dunkin' muffin, more like the size of a regular cupcake size, but with a big top, the kind you see on TV, that perfect mushroom shape.

i have a slight update to the lack-of-power situation i'm currently annoyed by: the timer that turns on the lamp in my living room appears to have stopped a little before 6am, so i'm now closing in on hour 2 (currently 748a).

lesse...yesterday M&i were going to goto some thing her college was doing in boston, but shortly before 5pm, she called and asked if we should blow it off. so we went to dinner in watertown instead. we ordered a few appetizers, drinks and dessert. it was a fine dinner, altho our sweet potato gnocci wasn't as hot as we were expecting, but outside of that it wasn't bad.

weather yesterday was screwy. when i left it was misting on and off, and on my way it started to rain and then it stopped and then it rained, misted, rained and let up. during dinner the heavens opened up, and on the way home it continued that screwy trend until i hit 93 when it just started pouring and was like that for pretty much the entire way home. it let up a little bit when i got home, but i could hear it pouring on and off during the evening.

and it is certainly a lot warmer than one would expect for the 20th of october. i don't mind, and with the power still out (now starting hour 3) i'm glad as it means i'm not worrying about it getting too cold. if anything, i have my windows open as i'm warm.

one of these days i'll get the european pictures up. maybe i'll do some work on that now.

signing off for now i guess. 803am

well, at 807am, power was restored.


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Thursday, October 18, 2007

random picture of the moment: heading to the other office



saw this while heading to the other office to look at the server room i get to tear down in less than a month. i saw it and can't seem to put my finger on why it caught my eye. of course when i wanted to be stopped at the traffic light on the way back here, i couldn't catch the red light to contemplate why it was ringing a bell.



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random picture of the moment: heading to work



this was my view this morning - i felt like i was in The Mist




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Sunday, October 14, 2007

fall is officially here

nearly a month after the official start of fall, i now decree that it really is here. not so much because the leaves have changed color (for the most part, they haven't) but for me, i use the need to turn on the heat in my apartment as my gauge of fall.

for the years of apartment living i've done, i've been very conscious about not cranking the heat when it's cold out. (much to the chagrin of M i'm sure.) i realize that heating is expensive, so i'll start to layer rather than turn up the thermostat. but when i've layered and i'm still feeling a little chilly, that's when it's time to nudge the heat. and this morning, i nudged the heat. i prolly won't keep it up, but i've used the action of turning it up as my personal indicator that it really is starting to cool off. maybe i'll pick up another sweatshirt. tho i don't think i can match M's target discount find.


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Sunday, October 07, 2007

mother F'n pager

last night, i was FURIOUS. bent. beside myself. boiling, browned off, corybantic, crazed, demented, desperate, enraged, fierce, frantic, frenetic, frenzied, fuming, hacked, hopping mad, incensed, infuriated, insane, irrational, livid, mad, maddened, maniac, rabid, raging, smoking, steamed, vehement, vicious, violent, wrathful.

in short, i was full of rageohol.

just ask RB when i called him.

(yes, i removed a few synonyms i felt didn't fit)

anyways, there has been an ongoing saga with CC at work. she has her own laptop, and recently obtained an external monitor (19" if i recall our discussions internally). that's all fine and good, however, SHE BOUGHT THEM. which means that officially, WE DON'T SUPPORT them. we don't support the laptop. we don't support the monitor. we don't support connecting HER laptop to HER monitor. yet she doesn't get that. so whenever there is a problem, she pages the IS pager and we sit for 5 minutes as she rambles at 100mph while we try to decipher what her issue is.

this time, she had just returned from vacationandwhenshepluggedinhermonitortoherlaptopshecouldn't *breath* getthemonitortoworkwithherlaptopandshehadthisproblembefore *breath* andRBandCLhelpedherfixitandandand...

turns out that she has written instructions (thanks to RB & CL) as to how to connect her monitor to her laptop. it turned into a massive undertaking on their part, but in the end, she managed to do it. only this time she couldn't find the Fn (that's Function for you non-laptop users) key. after several minutes of her flustered rambling (including a mention that she had called RB at home - a MAJOR no-no, and why i called him afterwards) i tried to help her find the F'n key on her keyboard. on my laptop, it's in the bottom row, between the Ctrl & Windows (the little flag like key) keys. however, i knew that she had a Dell laptop, and mine being Fujitsu, couldn't be sure that it was there. (i think HP puts it right of the spacebar on some models)

so she reads off the bottom row of keys, and sure enuff, no F'n key. so i have her look at the top row, and it's a standard top row (Esc, F1, F2, etc...). while she is reading them off, i'm frantically googling an image of a Dell laptop keyboard. and i finally find one and sure enuff, the F'n key is exactly where mine is. bottom row, left side between Control & Windows keys. at this point in time, i've been on the phone with her for nearly 10 minutes. i'm baffled because i know her laptop has the key. i've seen it. and so i explain to her, that i've found a picture of a Dell laptop keyboard and it shows it where i expected.

then i hear:

oh, maybe it's on the laptop keyboard. oh, i see it now!

how i managed to keep my cool is nothing short of a modern miracle. i think a nervous laugh escaped, and i realize that she was looking at her fucking EXTERNAL keyboard. i had no idea she had one. she never said she had one. and i don't think that RB or CL knew she had one. of course she won't see the F'n key on that, because it's not a LAPTOP configured keyboard. (i don't think i've ever seen a laptop specific external keyboard that includes the F'n key). so i suggest she annotate her notes to indicate that the F'n key is on the LAPTOP keyboard, and that it's in the lower left corner. i'm hoping like hell that she doesn't lose that piece of paper, because if she does, we're all screwed. fortunatley, i heard her pager go off, so we were off the phone a moment later, at which point i just exploded.

i called RB (who had left me VM while i was on the phone with her) and as he asks how things went, all i could do was yell "WHAT A FUCKING DUNCE!". (i think i startled little CO downstairs with my bellow) RB let me rant for the next few minutes and we talked about the situation and we both agree that my first statement is fairly accurate.

she's always been a problem, and my experiences with her have always been painful. she's one of these people who are so unwilling to try and learn a few simple things when it comes to computers that it makes it painful for any of us to deal with her. and to top it off, her manager is aware of this.

example: we have a log that the night managers are required to fill out, and it took her ~2 months to come in to have it set up on her laptop. and when she did, due to a medical condition, she refused to walk down to the IS department, so LJ had to goto where she was sitting and then spent the next 30 mins trying to explain how to use a painfully simple application. (i wonder what goes into the 'Name' field? what does the 'New Patient' button do?) by the time LJ finished working with her, she was clearly frustrated (we were sharing an office at this time) and she ranted for the next 10 minutes. all of the other people who cover were all set after 5 minutes. and i don't consider any of them to be particularly computer literate.

anyways, i'll stop here. suffice is to say, she makes computer illiterate users look like savvy users. and we all suffer for it.

oh yeah, she paged me again at 930pm. her laptop had gone blank. by the time i called her back (a few minutes later), she had discovered that her laptop hadn't been plugged into the wall.


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Friday, September 28, 2007

Thursday, September 27, 2007

we're home. relatively uneventful flights. quite a temp change - 50's & breezy to 71 & humid. at 11pm.

anyways, now the recovery stage. pictures eventually.


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and it's nearly over....

*jumbo sigh*

M&my european vacation has nearly drawn to a close. i'm writing this from the british air lounge (hooray!) in brussels airport. our flight is departing 10mins late due to weather i believe, so the end is near.

i suppose technically it is as we're waiting to leave. i'll post pictures and more details after i get home, but it's been a lot of fun, tho a little pricey (mostly our meals).

there was tons to see in all 3 major cities we stayed in, but the one thing that i wanted to see the most was cologne cathedral. it's really impressive. REALLY impressive.

brussels was very nice, as was brugge. actually, all of them were really nice in their own way. brussels is a small city, brugge is quaint (for lack of a better word right now) and cologne is, well, full of beer.

mmm...beer....and if you stay at the hyatt in cologne, Ratna is a wonderful source of information. she gave us 2 places to eat, and they were both excellent. the one night that we tried to go on our own, not so good. so cheers to her.

i'll wrap up now and write more whenever.

M&i are alive and very well. stories abound and some will be shared here i'm sure. but that's for another day.

next entry - from home.

time to finish my beer (leffe bruin in case you wondered)



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Monday, September 17, 2007

random opus of the moment: and we fly tuesday



thanks for the laugh Mr. B.



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and we're nearly off

as i type this, in 24 hours, M&i will be an hour or two away from heathrow airport outside the fine (and expensive) city of London. then we land, mill about for less than 2 hours and off into the great blue yonder again to land in Brussels.

it's exciting and a little frightening at the same time, at least for me. M has done a lot more travelling recently than i have, so she's playing the role of cucumber (filed under: cool as). my anxiety levels were elevated this morning, but as i took care of things, i've started to feel better about things again. i think the big turning point that told me that things were going to be ok was when i had the euros in hand. cost an arm and a leg ($1.46 per 1 euro), but i now have enough for our B&B's (they like this cash on arrival thing, not credit cards) as well as other incidentals w/o having to get raped by an ATM.

i've packed the bulk of what i'm bringing, my little sony 2gb 705f (yes, it is pink) is nearly fully loaded (i have 124mb free), fully charged and now i need M's to load the Harry Potter books on for her. battery is charged for the new camera, batteries are charging for the small camera. memory cards are clear. laptop is charging and has our basic info. card reader packed, micro mouse packed, so i'm feeling pretty good right now.

so off to Brussels, Brugge & Cologne we go.


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Friday, September 14, 2007

it's VACATION time!

no work until next month.


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Thursday, September 13, 2007

random picture of the moment: technical fat?



saw this on the way to work yesterday.



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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

what a shame...

i have the day off.

Led Zeppelin confirm reunion gig

The surviving members of legendary rock group Led Zeppelin are to reform for a star-studded tribute concert in London.

Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will play at the show to remember the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.

The one-off concert, the trio's first performance for 19 years, will take place at the O2 arena on 26 November.

Tickets will cost £125 and be allocated by ballot. Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and Paolo Nutini will also perform.

Ertegun, who signed Led Zeppelin in 1968, died last year.

The place of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980, will be taken by his son Jason.

Plant said: "During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord.

"For us, he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator. This performance stands alone as a tribute to the work and life of a longstanding friend."

The news is likely to spark a huge rush for tickets as devoted fans scramble to get into what could be the band's last show.

Tickets will only be available to those who register on a dedicated website, ahmettribute.com, and will be limited to two successful applications per household.

With their pounding, blues-influenced anthems and explosive stadium shows, Led Zeppelin paved the way for artists across the worlds of heavy metal and alternative rock.

Their best-known songs include Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Rock and Roll, Kashmir and Communication Breakdown - although they never released singles in the UK.

Led Zeppelin's last full concert was in Berlin in July 1980 - two months before John Bonham died.

'Whole set'

Page, Plant and Jones performed at Live Aid five years later, and also get back together at a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records in 1988.

But a rift between Jones and the other two band members opened after Page and Plant started working together without him in the 1990s.

Rumours of a reconciliation surfaced several years ago, leading to speculation about a reunion.

Harvey Goldsmith, who is promoting the concert, said that he had originally asked the three band members to play a 30-minute set.

"Jason Bonham became part of the catalyst, and they did a week's rehearsal," he said. "We had a meeting and Robert turned around and said we're not going to do 30 minutes, we're doing to do a whole set."

"It's a day I never thought would come," said Dave Lewis, editor of Led Zeppelin fan magazine Tight But Loose. "The four people on stage in 2007 - wake me up, I'm dreaming!"

The concert coincides with the release of a new two-CD best of compilation, Mothership, on 13 November.

Profits from the show will go towards scholarships in Ertegun's name in UK, the USA and Turkey, the country of his birth.

His wife Mica said: "He would be very proud that Led Zeppelin have chosen to reunite and headline a benefit concert in his name featuring so many of his friends.

"I would like to thank all of the artists for their generous contribution to help make Ahmet's vision a reality."

Goldsmith said Ertegun "became a friend and was my mentor".

"Our industry deeply misses such a giant of music," he said. "It is a fitting tribute that these great artists have all come together to perform in his memory."

He also warned that tickets being sold on the black market would be cancelled.

Paolo Nutini, Ertegun's last UK signing, went on to score a hit album last year.

"He touched my life with his amazing personality and opened a few doors when I was starting my career," he said.

"He was a special guy, a real gentleman and it's such a shame he's gone but a massive tribute that all his music lives on - and will do forever."




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Sunday, September 09, 2007

holy shit that was fucked up

we had a series of bitching thunderstorms (my first real one of the season - i keep missing out) that pleased me, but just as they started to fire off, M&i were leaving B&N. and after a fairly uneventful ride up 128, i head north on 93 and that's where things went from bad to fucking nuts.

i'm in the right lane, rolling along, but not going crazy. rain is falling pretty hard when under the ramp that hooks over to target M sees 2 cars crunch. all i see is the first one head perpendicular to the road and go slamming into the guard rail, car parts flying everywhere, bouncing off and spinning 180 degrees. at the same time, i see the other car flat spinning into the guard rail 100 yards down or so, facing south. i hit the brakes pretty hard as M start praying i stop in time. and thankfully, ABS brakes work. i came to a stop and was able to pull off into the breakdown lane. flip my hazards on, gather myself for a moment and get out to see if the driver was ok. M calls 911.

fortunately, he was fine, a little rattled, but he's in fatigues, so i figure his military training helped keep him keep his cool. we both survey the scene, as another car pulled in behind me and she offers to call 911. meanwhile, as we try to figure out what happened - he tells me that out of nowhere, the other car just slammed into him, and he can't seem to find his hat (military berret). we can see another car with the other car involved and it looks like people are ok - someone comes over to check on us and ask if we've called 911. (he has found the berret at this point) we then push his car out of the lane and manage to get it most of the way out (and me in flip flops!). i head back to my car to hear M saying we were on 128 (i correct her and she relays the correct road to 911).

i head back out (it's pouring and i'm soaked) by which point the couple in the other car have come over and they are both ok. we then find out that she had hydroplaned and the next thing she knew, she was slamming into the other car only moments later to slam into the guard rail. at this point, M has given info to 911, and i get ready to make my way off. we thought about staying, but decided that as long as everyone was ok, and a tow truck was nearly there, we would head home rather than hang around.

one of those random thoughts i had was i wish i had a camera. i didn't think about it, but M mentioned that i prolly did think that. she was right. it was more subconcious on my part, but when she mentioned it to me, i remember thinking to myself that i wish i did have my camera.


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Thursday, August 23, 2007

"It's always funny until someone gets hurt and then it's just hilarious"
-Bill Hicks



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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

random pictures of the moment: trifecta

i managed to take ~150 pictures on sunday, so i'm weeding my way thru them now. these are more shots from swampscott. the first two are the same location as sundays picture (beach in town), the third is at beach bluff (on the swampscott/marblehead line)


beach shot - i like the way the camera caught the sun



the boston skyline



self-portrait




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Sunday, August 19, 2007

random picture of the moment: boston skyline



drove around w/JJ today. while wandering, we stopped in Swampscott to look at the Boston skyline. i'm pleased with this shot. (full size shot is 514k)



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i wonder...

someone has a rather hacky sense of humor over at Channel 7 for monday nights forecast. i was curious what the weather was going to be like (because i barely watch the news anymore these days) and this is what they had posted:

Forecast (Sunday, 8/19/07, as of 1130am)

Pollen Count: Pollen, High; Mold, Moderate

Today
Not as windy but a lot of clouds around. Highs in the lower 70s. NW 5-10 mph.

Tonight
Mostly cloudy skies tonight. Lows in the 50s.

Monday
More clouds than sunshine---plan on mostly cloudy skies Buzzard's Bay/Cape/Islands. Highs in the lower 70s.

Monday Night
Clouds thin out (like a night club crowd at 2am). Lows in the lower 50s.

Tuesday
Sunny skies. Highs in the upper 70s.

Wednesday
Sunny to start with clouds arriving by late afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s.


har har har.

(screen cappy goodness)



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Saturday, August 18, 2007

random picture of the moment: sad lunch



saw this sad sandwich when i was leaving work the other day.


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Friday, August 17, 2007

JESUS FETUS!

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

random picture of the moment: biohazard



some of us were wondering what was in this jumbo sized cooler bag and discovered a beef roast (still in packaging) not looking so good. MD took a harder look and reported that the use by date was 8/10/07.

i know that the use by date is a 'guide' as to when you should use/freeze meat, but it's just sitting in the fridge. rotting. and reportedly it's resting on top of some frozen dinners. that are no longer frozen.


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Thursday, August 09, 2007

i've been in the computer support business for a long time now so i've seen my fair share of the 'my cup holder on my computer is broken' type requests.

my favorite site for this (and in my not-so-humble opinion REQUIRED READING for anyone in this line of work) has to be:

The Chronicles

of George


i have yet to find a site that so brilliantly shows what some of us go through.

on a daily basis.

so, i'm going to start posting some of our more brain dead colorful help desk requests. these will be as they are written (with an attempt to protect the stupid). i won't change the spelling, i won't change punctuation, i'll just remove the names (Bubba becomes B.) and extensions.

826am, 8/9/07
Hi C., I can't from the print screen key on keyboard. Thanks, h. r. x1234


and as i'm writing this up, the first message is followed by:

908am, 8/9/07
Hi C., please cancel my last email, thanks, h. x1234




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Wednesday, August 08, 2007

game shows

i was just talking with M and i came to the realization (surprise) that i absolutely despise game shows on TV. the only ones i can even remotely stand are Jeopardy and reruns of Press Your Luck (not Whammy).

but M was telling me how she fell into some new one on CBS with Drew Carey and i could feel my temper just go flying out the window. i know i prolly sounded annoyed, so i do apologize for that, but as she is describing this abomination to me, i was growing more and more disgusted with how fucking lazy the networks are.

i know i've reached a saturation point when it comes to television, and i know that the bulk of it is absolute dreck, yet i still watch it (no wonder it's called an idiot box). with minor exceptions, i hate pretty much all reality (that really isn't) TV. (i'll admit to watching Top Chef and Project Runway, altho i think Runway is a challenge away from jumping the shark)

but fucking survivor, or american idol. jesus fucking christ...we are a really fucking pathetic society if more people are casting votes to boot a tone deaf singer off idol than there are voting in a presidential election. (if we haven't yet, give it time, it will happen)

i realize it's cheap and if it catches on, the ROI is pretty high. no writers (or fewer as people are discovering some "reality" shows are partially scripted to make them interesting *cough*hulkhogan*cough*), small crews following a group of attention whores act like a group of fucking idiots, what can be better than that?

fark is fucking right - hollywood is out of ideas. how long before they decide to start putting 2 hour episodes of the price is right into theaters for us blind sheep to go rushing to see. and let's not forget the director's cut DVD that comes out afterwards that includes a deleted scene where drew "accidentally" cops a feel.

fucking reality TV. and motherfucking game shows.



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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

screw you jim

actually, you were one hell of a guy. yesterday on my way to work, i was stuck in traffic and Opie and Anthony were on a commercial break so i had the afternoon show The Doors did in Boston (April 10, 1970) playing. while the concert is starting up, my PPC (technically not mine, the one i use at the grace of AP) was making noise about the battery being low (so i forgot to plug it in over the weekend. big deal). as traffic was heavy (see the slideshow from last week for a taste of my usual traffic), i figured i'd see if i could find the charger for my phone to shut it up. so just as i start rummaging around, Jim proves just who prophetic he can be.

Ah keep your eyes on the road,
Your hands upon the wheel.
Keep your eyes on the road
Your hands upon the wheel.


thanks Jim. just what i needed to hear as i'm rummaging around for the charger i couldn't find. i did find the charger for my previous phone, and my nextel back when i had that. (i still need that worm game and flight of the bumble bee for my phone)

at least my ride into work was nicer today. didn't hurt that i was heading to work at 10am after my dental appt (which went well).

sad thing is that was pretty much the highlight of my day. there's a war brewing at work between Ops & IS and it's going to be really fucking ugly.

there's a lot of moving people around planned for the next few weeks (including myself) and one of the bitches who was sposed to move out of her office (LO) cried like a fucking whiny bitch to AM who told her that she was moving. (that had been netogiated w/FAS)

so rather than accept her fate, she went to our new Veep and cried to her because AM didn't say 'deal with it'. so an office that was given to IS (in this case, LJ) is now no longer going to LJ. which means LJ and i get to share our office for now and LB (currently) ends up getting screwed.

LB is giving me her office, as LJ was sposed to have her own office (currently occupied by whiny bitch LO), i would get LB's office and LB would move into the office that LJ and i are currently sharing.

it looks as tho i'll keep my office and LB is going to move into some enlarged cube that whiny bitch LO was sposed to get. LJ's pissed at LO, AM & KD for screwing LB. i'm pissed at LO, AM & KD for similar reasons, plus AM's been a real bitch to IS of late, so the schism that exists between Ops & IS is only growing wider.

work is going to be interesting in the coming weeks. i wonder if our phones work at 10mb or not...


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Thursday, August 02, 2007

random slideshow of the moment: my ride into work (8/1/07)

i was playing with my camera (my little one, not my new one) on the way into work and this is the result - ~2/3 of my wonderful ride in. i held the camera against the window and just let things fly and here you go. the only thing i did was resize all the pictures (400x300). some quick googlin' found a pretty easy to use slideshow maker (just adds a splash at the end). and here's my first flash slideshow. (ed: now with click-to-play!)

leave a comment, lemme know what you think (good/bad/indifferent).







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Sunday, July 29, 2007

random picture of the moment: nature shot (widescreen)




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Saturday, July 28, 2007

random picture of the moment: looking outside




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Friday, July 27, 2007

random picture of the moment: On-coming traffic



taken with the new camera outside tonight. i like the night mode it has, plus my little tripod helps.


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Thursday, July 19, 2007

to quote Opie and Anthony:

thanks AAAAAAALLLLL

they talked about this yesterday, but i figured i'd post this with a bonus.

Rev. Sharpton won't oppose Imus comeback

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton, who urged the Imus' firing, wouldn't object if the radio personality returned to the airwaves. "He has a right to make a living," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Sharpton said he hadn't softened his views about Imus, who was dismissed from his syndicated program (simulcast on MSNBC) in April for calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." But he added that, under the right conditions, the radio star's banishment could eventually end.

Sharpton said he hoped that any broadcast outlet that hired Imus would take steps to ensure that he wouldn't return to a brand of humor that included race- and gender-based insults.

"We had never asked him to never work again," he said, echoing comments he first made to Radar magazine.

Imus' attorney, Martin Garbus, wasn't answering questions about his client's future Wednesday.


(bonus originally found here - thanks Anthony. just be warned, link may lead to NSFW audio/video/pictures so don't blame me when you get in trouble)

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Monday, July 16, 2007

Random Picture of the Moment: Non Illegitimi Carborundum!

many years ago (some 17-18 i think) dad stuffed his Bill the Cat into the copy machine at work and made the following. ever since then, 'Bill Stuck In The Copy Machine' has traveled with me wherever i have lived at the time and is usually displayed on my fridge (as it is today). i haven't figured out how to sneak that tie out of the house yet w/o dad noticing.



the post-it says 'from one latin scholar to another'

(translation)


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now there's something that doesn't happen every day

i was driving into work this morning, stuck in the traffic that surrounds the local T station and the minivan in front of me dives into the pull off (that isn't really much of a pull off) to drop her passenger off (who thankfully jumps out pretty quickly). she starts to pull back into traffic (i can't do anything but let her in) but then she starts to turn back rather than out in front of me. so i start yelling at her to move left (pull back into traffic, go around the idiot in front of her)

then Uncle Al usurps me.

the final four lines to LiesLiesLies (a fine little ditty off Rio Grande Blood, also available in remixed form on Rio Grande Dub) are:

Don’t listen to me, listen to your head
Don’t listen
Don’t listen to anything they say
Don’t listen


i know the song is a political rant, but taken out of context (me yelling at a stupid driver), it sounds like Uncle Al was telling the foolish driver to ignore me.

D'OH!

(turned out she was being kind to the car in front of her who wanted to pull out, but i couldn't see due to her being in a minivan obstructing my view (i saw the first car, but not the one immediately in front of her). by which point the CD had moved onto the next track - The Great Satan)

i laughed.

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Sunday, July 15, 2007

this has been a while

i think i've done this from time to time, but i know i haven't done it recently. prolly since the great cheesecake fiasco (nearly 2 years ago, how i've not missed that dump).

anyways, yesterday M&i decided that we wanted to have lunch at Finz in Salem. to our surprise, there wasn't much of a wait (none) as the last time we tried, it was pretty busy. so i'll list the good things (you may see a pattern developing)

the good:


  • there was no wait to be seated
  • they moved a table out of the sun under the awning so we could sit in the shade
  • lunch was free


we arrived around 1pm, and were promptly seated (outside on the deck, see above, they moved a table for us). so far so good. we are given water with lemon, ordered ice tea (after considering the peach mojito). that was promptly delivered.

without a way to sweeten it.

110pm
our waitress (i believe her name was Michelle, but she never tells us her name, we find this out later on) takes our order. nothing fancy, fairly simple, all appetizers.

  • Watermelon Salad (entree size)
  • Scallop Ceviche Mini Tacos
  • Guacamole Topped with Crabmeat (added at the last moment)

after taking our order, our waitress gives us the sugar packet thing so we can finally sweeten our ice tea. at this time, 3 women arrive and are seated, and another couple arrive and are seated (they opt for a sunny seat). a few minutes later, a party of 6 (and infant) arrive.

M&i chat about this and that, the usual lunchtime conversation. M wonders if we are getting rolls (as she arrived pretty hungry). our waitress is nowhere to be found.

during this time, all 3 of the afore mentioned tables have placed their orders and had drinks served.

120pm
ditz of a greeter shows up, sucking down her dunkin' iced coffee. my water glass facing traffic with passing waitresses, a ditzy greeter and sluggish bus boy, is empty.

125pm
M wonders aloud how long it takes to put together 3 cold appetizers. we managed to flag ditzy greeter over (after she blatently avoids eye contact with us for several minutes) to ask about our waitress. my water glass is still empty.

130pm
the party of 3 women now have a hot appetizer. we finally manage to flag down our waitress (thanks to sluggish bus boy) and ask if we are getting rolls. she informs us that they don't serve rolls at lunch, but she can have some put in to warm for us. the only thing is our meal would be out before we received the rolls. we pass on the rolls. we ask what the problem with our order is and she informs us that everything but the tacos are ready. we send her off to the kitchen to bring out the salad and guacamole. running theory is that she never placed our order. my water glass continues to be empty.

135pm
the couple sitting in the sun receive their lunch. (not appetizer, LUNCH) M is boiling. we receive a basket of rolls. just like several OTHER tables. after a 2nd trip, all of the seated tables around us have baskets of rolls. we flag ditzy greeter over and ask her why it is taking so long to assemble 3 appetizers. she stumbles over her words and heads off to talk with someone. hot appetizers are delivered to party of 6 (and infant). and like my water glass, my ice tea is now empty (i could only nurse it for so long).

140pm
one of the several managers comes out to speak with us. she apologizes for the delay, that things will be taken are of. couple sitting in the sun receive their bill. my water and ice tea glasses are empty.

145pm
couple sitting in sun depart after paying their bill. M tries a roll. water glass: empty. ice tea glass: empty.

149pm
lunch is served.

150pm
M&i receive ice tea refills. ditzy greeter neglects to remove empty glasses from now overcrowded table. oh yeah, water glass is still empty.

at this point, M&i finally have an opportunity to eat. it was hard to really enjoy lunch, and we can't say we were really wowed by the food (most reviews we have read imply that the food & service is pretty good). as we sat there, we looked at what we had ordered and wondered how it could take so long to make what we had ordered.

the watermelon salad was nothing fancy, it isn't hard to place guacamole in a large bowl, add some crab meat, surround with chips. and the tacos aren't that complicated either - as an appetizer, they are pretty small, so while we were eating, we were boggled at how it could take so long (unless the order hadn't been placed until we complained).

206pm
we finish eating. waitress comes over to clear the table and ask if we want anything else. M orders another ice tea which is prompty delivered.

215pm
we couldn't leave the place fast enough.

never once did our waitress apologize to us. the manager did, but by the time she did, we were both boiling. we never received an explanation as to what the delay was, or why there was such a delay.

so, M&i will say this: don't eat at Finz in salem.

i realize that there have been plenty of people who have had really good meals there, but based on our experience, i cannot, nor will i suggest anyone go there to eat.

so, like the burlington cheesecake factory location, finz in salem is now blacklisted. i will not eat there again.

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Saturday, July 14, 2007

heh

according to the Machiavelli personality test at Salon:

The Machiavelli personality test has a range of 0-100
Your Machiavelli score is: 78
You are a high Mach, you endorse Machiavelli's opinions.

Most people fall somewhere in the middle, but there's a significant minority at either extreme.

This survey itself measures only one thing -- whether you subscribe to the ideas of a 16th century Italian political philosopher. But experiments have shown that reactions to Machiavelli act as a kind of litmus test, delineating differences in temperament that can be confirmed with more traditional personality inventories. High Machs constitute a distinct type: charming, confident and glib, but also arrogant, calculating and cynical, prone to manipulate and exploit. (Think Rupert Murdoch, or if your politics permit it, President Clinton.)

True low Machs, however, can be kind of dependent, submissive and socially inept. So be sure to invite a high Mach or two to your next dinner party.

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Friday, June 29, 2007

GO AWAY!

i'm trying to enjoy looking thru the headlines at Gizmodo and every other post for the most part is on the iPhone or the fucking douchebags waiting in line to get one.

i give little stevie jobs points for creating this media (and in turn fucking douchebags) frenzy over this thing, but this phone is not the end all be all of phones.

and, to top it off, the tubbalard who is first in line at the NYC apple store is a professional first in liner. that's what he does for a living - be the first on line for whatever "it" is. why do you want to pay $500 for this thing? or $600 for the 8gb version? nevermind the additional required phone plans you have to get.

ugh...


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Thursday, June 28, 2007

i'm just going to keep this short.

yesterday i was informed that my cousin's husband killed himself. what little we know, there were marital issues that precipitated this, but for whatever reason, he felt that it was better to kill himself than go down a different avenue.

i never met him (my cousin is on a different branch of the family tree than mine), so i have no idea what he was like, so i don't have any real opinion on this other than 'oy'. the part that bothers me is his family is blaming my cousin for him killing himself. fuck you. you obviously don't know the full story, and if thru your grief and rage actually set your rage aside for a moment, you might discover that maybe it wasn't my cousin's fault. i certainly do not know the circumstances, but in a time like this, getting angry at the person who was the supposed root of HIS depression/insecurities is just plain wrong. maybe, just maybe, there was more to this than you know. maybe if you would talk to my cousin in a civil tone, you might hear her side of the story.

suicide is fucking selfish. it affects everyone around you, and he took the easy way out. he didn't think of his family, his wife, his SON. he thought of himself. he killed himself.

so i end on this:

to his grieving family, fuck you.

to my cousin, i'm sorry. our side of the family is here for you.


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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

what a jackass


Michigan Woman Claims Starburst Candies Are Dangerously Chewy in Lawsuit


Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Starburst Fruit Chews are exactly as their name would indicate: chewy. But one Michigan woman says the candies are so chewy, they should come with a warning label.

Victoria McArthur, of Romero, Mich., is suing Starbursts' parent company, Mars Inc., for more than $25,000 for "permanent personal injuries" she claims she sustained after biting into one of their yellow candy in 2005.

"I don't know, maybe about 3 chews and it literally locked my jaw … and it just literally pulled my jaw out of joint," she told MyFoxDetroit.com.

McArthur's lawyer, Brian Muawad, says the candies caused her to develop a condition known as temporal mandibular joint dysfunction. McArthur says she has had trouble chewing, talking and sleeping since the incident.

Muawad says McArthur offered to negotiate a settlement with Starburst's insurer to pay for her rehabilitation, but the company said no way. A spokesman for Mars refused to comment.

McArthur says she just wants to make sure nobody else meets the same end she did when she decided to indulge her sweetooth.

"I don't want to see anybody else have to go through what I have gone through from eating a piece of candy that was supposed to be soft chew," she said.


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Friday, June 08, 2007

i am so enjoying this

thank you Judge Sauer.

Hilton sent back to jail in hysterics

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES - Screaming and crying, Paris Hilton was escorted from a courtroom and sent back to jail Friday after a judge ruled that she must serve out her entire 45-day sentence behind bars rather than in her Hollywood Hills home.

"It's not right!" shouted Hilton, who violated her parole in a reckless driving case. "Mom!" she called out to her mother in the audience.

The 26-year-old hotel heiress was taken handcuffed from her home in a black-and-white police car, paparazzi sprinting in pursuit and helicopters broadcasting live from above. She entered the courtroom disheveled and weeping, hair askew, without makeup, wearing a fuzzy gray sweat shirt over slacks.

She cried throughout the hearing, dabbing her eyes, and her body shook constantly. Several times she turned to her parents, seated behind her in the courtroom, and mouthed, "I love you."

Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer was calm but apparently irked by Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to release Hilton three days into her sentence due to an unspecified "medical condition."

"I at no time condoned the actions of the sheriff and at no time told him I approved the actions," Sauer said. "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home."

The hearing was requested by the city attorney's office, which had prosecuted Hilton and wanted Baca held in contempt for releasing Hilton despite Sauer's express order that she must serve her time in jail. The judge took no action on the contempt request.

A member of the county counsel's staff said Baca was willing to come to court with medical personnel. The judge did not take him up on the offer.

Assistant City Attorney Dan F. Jeffries argued that Hilton's incarceration was purely up to the judge. "Her release after only three days erodes confidence in the judicial system," he said.

Hilton's attorney, Richard Hutton, implored the judge to order a hearing in his chambers to hear testimony about Hilton's medical condition before making a decision. The judge did not respond to that suggestion.

Another of her attorneys, Steve Levine, said, "The sheriff has determined that because of her medical situation, (jail) is a dangerous place for her."

"The court's role here is to let the Sheriff's Department run the jail," he said.

The judge interrupted several times to say that he had received a call last Wednesday from an undersheriff informing him that Hilton had a medical condition and that he would submit papers to the judge to consider. He said the papers never arrived.

Every few minutes, the judge would interrupt proceedings, state the time on the clock, and note that the papers still had not arrived.

He also noted that he had heard that a private psychiatrist visited Hilton in jail, and he wondered if that person played a role in deciding her medical needs.

The last attorney to speak was another deputy city attorney, David Bozanich, who declared, "This is a simple case. There was a court. The Sheriff's Department chose to violate that order. There is no ambiguity."

As the final pitch was made for Hilton's further incarceration, her entire body began trembling. She clutched a ball of tissue and tears ran down her face.

Seconds later, the judge announced his decision: "The defendant is remanded to county jail to serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence. This order is forthwith."

Hilton screamed.

Eight deputies immediately ordered all spectators out of the courtroom. Hilton's mother, Kathy, threw her arms around her husband, Rick, and sobbed uncontrollably.

Deputies escorted Hilton out of the room, holding each of her arms as she looked back.

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this has my vote

A Solid Candidate for Photo of the Year (now with picture goodness)



(via Best Week Ever)

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today is brought to you by the letter "J"

as in jury duty. i had it. and thank whatever gods there are that kept me out of it.

got up at the asscrack of dawn to head into cambridge goto the cambridge courthouse. parked at the galleria and hoped like hell that i'd be out before the 5th hour was up. (that's when parking goes from $8.99 to $20, talk about a jump)

so at 7am sharp, i pulled into the garage and parked. a quick stop by dunkin' yielded a large ice coffee. a short walk up the street and i arrived at the courthouse. waited my turn going thru security and waited for them to let us upstairs to the jury pool area (read: cattle pens). and there i sat, listening to Opie and Anthony and waited with my fellow jurors for the next hour until we were herded into a room to watch a 17 minute cinematic masterpiece that instructs us on the duties of a juror. ($5 if interested.)


i had to laugh a few times during it at the wonderful production qualities. the old lawyer with his hands clutching both lapels of his suitcoat. set a top hat on the table next to him and you'd think it was filmed a long time ago.

so, by 9am the video finished, and we were told that we'd have a 50 minute break and we had to be back by 950a. and on the 2nd floor, the cafeteria had food so i wandered down. turns out it was a corp cafe so i laughed (we have one at work, didn't see Stingy S at this one). while looking out the window, i spotted a bus and a few state police cruisers and started to get a little nervous.

when dad was a jury foreman (lucky him), they bused people to the site where the accused did his deed, so knowing that i was afraid that we'd be going for a ride. it wasn't until i was upstairs (and remembered i had a camera on my phone) that i realized that maybe that was the bus used to transport the accused to the courthouse. thankfully that's what it appears to have been the case. i had to chuckle when i first saw the police cruiser that was numbered 666 (you can sorta make it out on the roof - sorry, didn't have time to get a better picture)

i found it humorous as most state police cruisers are crown vics but this one was a dodge charger.

so around 10am, jurors whose number was between 2 & 75 were asked to assemble in the hall. they did a roll call and all told, there were prolly ~60 of us (i was in the 60's). we were then led upstairs to the court room and asked to take a seat. the room was circular with what reminded me of an eyeball with an extra ring on the ceiling, i suppose to provide that faux sense of natural light.

the bailiff then explained a few things to us, swore us in, the judge comes in and he starts informing us of the details we needed to know. at the 2 tables were 3 people, 1 on the left, 2 on the right. the guy on the far right had the look of an overworked underpaid public defender with beady eyes, crappy haircut and big chin. turns out he was the accused.

the judge explained the hearing to us, a convicted sex offender was petitioning for release. he was convicted in 1993, served his 9-12yr sentence and since then has been incarcerated. currently there were 10 jurors seated, and they needed 4 more. so i figured ok, the odds are in my favor. then he told us the expected duration of 2-3 days testimony and a day for deliberation. any hardship problems? a few raised their hands. ok, so far so good. being out of work for more than a day wasn't thrilling, but if need be, ok, i'd live with it.

then the question was raised as to whether people would be able to deliberate objectively. then i started getting a little nervous as i didn't raise my hand and 2/3 of the people seemed to. (don't blame them, but i realized that i wouldn't be able to come up with a convincing reason, tho i now realize that i do have one.) so we still needed 4 jurors, and my number was high enuff that i stood a chance of not being picked.

then the players were introduced and i realized that i was sitting not 15 feet from a convicted sex offender. (i won't list his name as i'd rather not have someone plug his name and have my blog pop up). turns out he was the beady eyed, crappy haircut big chin guy. i knew something was slimey, but i thought it was lawyer slime, not convicted sex offender slime.

a few final formalities and jurors were brought into the judge's chamber, ~10 at a time. after the 2nd batch of people were brought in, the bailiff gave us 1 of the 2 things that all jurors want to hear.

1) if you are excused, you can go home.

because MA has this one jury one trial thing, if you aren't selected to sit on a case, you are not excused. you have to return to the jury pool and wait in case you are needed for another trial. you don't go home. unless told otherwise.

a few more groups go in and then the last group walks in, and walks back out a few seconds later and the bailiff announcses the 2nd thing that all jurors want to hear.

2) you can go home, your service is complete

the bailiff then informed us that we'll get a form in the mail 8-10 days from now stating that we served. he also suggested making a copy for future reference in case we get called back as that's our get out of service (for a period of time, minimum of a year). if we can't produce documentation that we served, we'd have to serve again. so i'll keep it in a safe place.

so, just past 11am, i headed out of the courthouse and headed back to my car, pleased that i'd be out before that $8.99 turned into $20.

and the best part, i didn't get stuck in traffic on my way home.

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