mo 1·17·05- 2:2230p-  Life has lost all meaning.  Form has been manipulated by abstraction.  My mind is at war with my heart and I'm having an even harder time waking up in the morning.  There's no going back.  This is the end.  My only friend, the end.  On a different note: It's Martin Luther King Jr. day and all this rain has washed away the snow.  Who would've thought that a temperature increase of a few degrees could make the world such a depressing place?

  th 1·05·05- 3:4010p-  I keep hearing that it's a new year, but I don't really feel the difference.  I guess my resolution is to write more in here and more often.  We're five days into two thousand five, so I guess I can start with it right now.  New Year's eve: Amanda & I had been adding a first course of medium breadsticks to our dinner menus throughout the break, so after watching The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou it just seemed natural that whatever we were going to scrounge together that night would taste better after breadsticks.  As we walked up to the restaurant, two ladies out front asked me to open their bottle of champagne for them.  They were drunk & had been shaking it frantically, thinking that would build up enough pressure to pop the cork out.  Not knowing this, I opened it by twisting the bottle (not the cork) so as to minimize the spillage, but still ended up with a drenched hand.  They were disappointed that I hung on to the cork rather than hitting a car with it or something.  They gave Amanda and I each a plastic glass(sic) with a strawberry in it for helping them and we drank the cheapest champagne ever while waiting for our breadsticks.  Amanda went back home to Seattle that evening to take down all the decorations in her classroom leaving me alone, bored and restless.  I thought about going down to the Brown to see who was playing, but decided against it.  I would just end up buying a pack of cigarettes and breaking yet another resolution.  Saturday the first: I spent the day reformatting my harddrive and reinstalling programs.  I have to do this more often than ever since my computer's old enough to be in school now.  Specs: AMD-K6 (POS) 233MHz 64.0 MHz of RAM.  I also wrote up a very long to do list and didn't check off nearly enough items.  Monday the third: Another resolution I had was to check back with Northern Marine about my application, but I had heard that they just had another one of their massive lay-offs just before Christmas.  I don't know if or when they'll be considering applicants, but as I see it they need employees now more than ever.  I didn't ever call them to find out what's really going on, though.  Instead I downloaded Napoleon Dynamite and watched that.  Tuesday the fourth: I woke up early (one p.m.) and ran a few errands.  First, I dropped a cd off at Todd's house, then went to Bank of America to bring my balance up into the positive.  I had an incredible urge to stop by Penguin Coffee and spend my last few dollars, but ended up just filling the french press instead, topping off my mug with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream.  (You just gotta love the French).  Today, Wednesday the fifth: I started the day off right by staying up until 4:30a downloading more movies.   I woke up at eleven and let in the frozen dog.  Once again, I didn't call Northern Marine to inquire about a job.  I merely sat in front of the computer for four and a half hours being excessively unproductive.  I would like to make plans to go down to Seattle this weekend, but lack the gas and the motivation.  I really hope something major changes soon.

  tu 12·14·04- 9:3439p- Nothing.

  th 12·02·04- 11:3846p-  Well it's here.  The month that everyone is always waiting for.  Snow, vacation, presents.  We all hope to end with a bang and get started on the right foot at the first of the year.  I'm planning on getting a job soon, then moving in to a new house next month.  How 'bout it?  I think I have some goals!

blahg    

  mo 11·30·04- 4:3617p-  To many, the day after Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday retail season. But to hundreds of regional residents and countless others worldwide, the Friday after Thanksgiving was annual Buy Nothing Day.  To others still, the best is yet to come.  They're promoting Saturday, Dec. 4, as Skagit County's first-ever Buy Local Day, when shoppers are encouraged to invest in their communities by spending money at local businesses.  I belong to the relatively small school of thought that believes that the shopping should be left to the consumer, not the person who ends up with the consumer on their list this year. The only gift I'm giving out this Christmas will be twenty dollar bills wrapped in fives.  Whoever said "It's the thought that counts" never got an ugly, black candle stand from their husband.

  mo 11·29·04- 10:1443p-  Rumor has it that LEGO isn't going to survive the holidays this year.  The Danish toy company has been around for seventy years, but after their peak in 1996 they've been caught in a downward spiral losing millions of dollars every year.  LEGO's target market has always been ages 6-12, but with the rise of the video game culture, kids don't pick up a toy that doesn't do anything.  Other companies have tried to cash in on people's past love for LEGOs by trying to link them to a new product (e.g. the honda element commercial).  I suggest you read the whole story and if you have anyone under thirty on your Christmas list this year, go out and buy them a box of LEGOs.  Remember how fun it used to be as kids to use your imagination?

  we 11·26·04- 5:0006p-  Sebo's filled the Eastern half of their parking lot with Christmas trees today.  A few of the gutters around town are donning icicle lights and the average opinion of it all is, "Oh dear, now we have to hang our lights up."  The weather is so frigid here in the Northwest that we may even see a third season this year.  Being so used to our Spring, Fall, Spring, Fall cycle, we complain when another category, such as "Summer," forces us to buy a different version of the polar fleece we're never seen without.

  we 11·24·04- 2:5203p-  I'm most thankful for a warm place to stay that doesn't cost me any money.  It's nice to be around family during the holidays.  If we could keep it strictly to holidays we'd be doing a lot better.  Happy Thanksgiving.

  we 11·17·04- 4:4736p-  Winter's here.  REI has shifted it's inventory and slashed all prices on light-weight clothing.  Every retail shop in America has traded in its unsold candy for Christmas tree ornaments.  I just hope we get some snow soon.   And a lot of it.  With frisbee over I really have nothing to do until March.  I wonder how long I can hibernate this year.

  tu 11·02·04- 1:3059p-  You'd better get out there and vote.  If you don't know where you're supposed to vote, there are many sites dedicated to telling you.  Google Search for "Where do I vote" or check out the most popular one: mypollingplace.com

  tu 10·20·04- 4:3954p-  There are still quite a few loose ends to be tied up around here. My appologies to the two of you who have taken the time to explore my site. Soon there will be more to look at and less dead links. Thank you for your patience.

  tu 10·19·04- 3:1623p-  Anacortes...  There's really not much to say about this town.  It's small & it's secluded.  Everyone that grew up here finds their way back at one point or another.  Despite my tone, I like this place very much, although I'm really gonna leave it this time.  I promise.  I need to get a life.

  tu 10·16·04- 8:2448a-  At least a few times everyday I say outloud, "I wish I would have bookmarked that page."  This time it was triggered by an article I read the other day about how wireless networks are dangerous for you health because they transmit electromagnetic radiation.  Today however, in my searches I find only arguments against that statement.  "In the case of cellphones/cordless phones/wireless tranceivers, the power is well below levels than can cause genetic mutations associated with cancer - and the intensity of radiation falls off inversely as the square of the distance from the source (1/r^2). 2.4Ghz devices access points (phone bases, wireless access points) are meant to be operated at least 20cm (~8 inches) away from anyone, and user devices (wireless access cards in your computer, and phone handsets) are meant to be operated at least 5 cm (~ 2) inches away from the user.  In reality, with the very low wattages involved, after more than 1/10th of an inch, the radiation drops off to almost nothing.  Basically, unless these devices are actually in your body, they present no radiation danger."   If you like, you can click here to read the entire article.  Here is another example: "I just explain to people that the cell phone that they hold right to the side of their heads is 300mw and my radios are only 50mw.  If they're going to have trouble it won't be from my stuff. There's six times more 'danger' from the cell phone than from the wireless Internet."  I originally intended to find more on the topic and email the info to a friend who suffers from migraines & also has a wireless LAN in her house, but I guess now we can be sure that her symptoms aren't agitated by radiation.

-herff