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Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

Month: January 2007

  • And this post makes… ten.

    You know I’m having a bad month when I can barely eke out ten posts from 1st to 31st. As it is, my son wrote most of the previous one… two weeks ago. Ouch. As anyone who knows me could tell you, I haven’t been doing so well lately, a time period defined as “since I lost my job last March.” You’d think that being employed for over six months would have given me the time and money needed to get back on my feet, but apparently you’d be wrong in my case. I’m sleeping poorly, getting sick more often, and generally have very little energy or enthusiasm. Even the things I could usually handle with grace and a smile are getting to me, such as getting thoroughly trounced in a game of Munchkin.

    That’s not to say I’m living in some kind of hell. Drama levels are generally down, my bills are paid, the basic necessities are covered. I enjoy the company of people who care about me, we share laughter fairly often, and nobody’s currently in what I would define as a serious crisis situation, nor are there any active feuds that I know of. Life could be so very much worse, indeed.

    And yet.

    I’m searching for something that will help lift my spirits again, without falling into the trap of thinking, “As soon as I find [whatever] then I’ll be happy!” That was always Mom’s problem, her persistent belief that there was something or someone Out There(tm) and all she had to do for her “happily ever after” was to find it or them. So, no, there is no wonderful fix-it-all waiting for me. (I’ve been fixed, thanks.)

    I’ll figure something out. Unlike some people, I don’t like wallowing in misery and I don’t like using pity ploys to gain attention. Hell, that’s why I’ve not been writing very much lately: You don’t want to read a continual string of depressing posts, and I don’t want to write them. See? I’m always thinking of you, my loyal and devoted readers. That’s what kind of a great guy I am.

    There are a few amusing things to write about and link to which I plan on getting posted over the next few days. I’ll even go so far to say that “I’m back, baby.”

    I know, I know. I’ve claimed to be “back” several times over the last few months. Time will tell, as usual…

  • Spud Rides The Floating Twinkies

    Apparently, part of my son’s evening activities yesterday included leaving the surface of the planet for a few minutes… here, I’ll let him tell you all about it:

    So, yes, I rode the OHSU tram. Both ways, in fact. Before I describe my acrophobia at the time, I must say that there was an amazing view of downtown Portland about halfway up the hill. Absolutely amazing.

    I must admit, however, that my fear of heights had kicked in long before we had even left the station on the ground. They must have anticipated my acrophobia long before, though, because there were many bars to hold onto on the way up. Four vertical ones in the “corners”, and two long horizontal ones running along the curved ends. So I had TWO bars to hold onto. Security at its finest.

    Enough about me. Anyway, we had ridden it during the night, so I got to see the brightened city from a bird’s-eye view, so to speak. I would love to ride it in the day, but I’d need to ask Steve, who works at OHSU and was gracious enough to give us the tour that night. That is, I think
    we need to be accompanied by someone who has an OHSU ID.

    So, one way or another, the tram ride was an incredibly interesting experience… overall. Only my fear of heights got in the way of my enjoyment.

    ~Spud

  • Some kind of new-age voodoo curse.

    Define funny:

    I leave work at 5pm and step onto the snowy streets of Hillsboro, Oregon with my little iRiver portable music player going and a jaunty spring in my step, and the second song I hear is Dada’s “Spinning My Wheels.”

    See, it’s funny because I don’t have any wheels, and because I watched a lot of wheels spinning in futility on the roadways and in the parking lots.

    (The first song? New Order’s “Guilt Is A Useless Emotion.” Make of this what you will.)

    And then there’s the advertisement I heard a couple of times on Friday:

    “Feel like curling up on the couch and watching a movie tonight? Go buy The Illusionist, coming out Tuesday on DVD.” Wait, what? Do they assume everyone’s got a blue, dimensionally transcendental police box stashed away so they can hop a few days into the future to make a shiny-disk purchase?

    Crazy, I tell you.

  • Zubbles!

    Allow me to introduce you to my new favorite use of Flash technology in a website:

    Zubbles.

    Move your mouse pointer toward the right side of the page. Then back to the left. Then put it in the middle of the bubbles animation circle. Lather, rinse, repeat.

    Too bad I can’t buy this stuff yet. I love blowing soap bubbles.

  • Genre Books Meme

    Via your average bear:

    Bold the ones you’ve read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

    1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
    2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
    3. Dune, Frank Herbert
    4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein (No, but I have read Time Enough For Love as well as Job.)
    5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
    6. Neuromancer, William Gibson (I’m sorry, folks. As a card carrying techie I’m supposed to love this one, but I just couldn’t get into it. Gibson’s style annoyed me.)
    7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
    8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
    9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley (I tried, Lil’. I really, really tried.)
    10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
    11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
    12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
    13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
    14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
    15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
    16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
    17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
    18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
    19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
    20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
    21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey * (Pern books are my anti-drug. Well, at least up through Skies. After that, fuggeddaboutit.)
    22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
    23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson (Donaldson’s only enjoyable work is the Mordant’s Need set, and maybe the Gap series if you like really grim Sci-Fi.)
    24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
    25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
    26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
    27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams *
    28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
    29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice (Oddly enough, I read Queen of the Damned first. Take pity on my soul.)
    30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
    31. Little, Big, John Crowley
    32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (No, but I’ve read the Amber series. Ugh.)
    33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
    34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
    35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
    36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
    37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
    38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke *
    39. Ringworld, Larry Niven (It’s on my list.)
    40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
    41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien (I own an old, old copy… thanks Dad!)
    42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
    43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
    44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
    45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
    46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
    47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
    48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (At least, I vaguely recall having started it once. Maybe I even finished it. Hmm.)
    49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
    50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

  • A Call To Brains

    I’d issue a call to arms, but I already have two of them. What I need is brains. Whyfor? Because I can’t figure out to what clever use I should put the concert ticket generator!

    So. C’mon, you big brains out there. Show us what you’re made of.

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