Search This Blog

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Abstractocity. It was a dark and I wish it was stormy night.

It's been a hella long day and I am attempting to recover some of the thoughts I had during the day that were like "hey these would be great blog topics. I should blog right now but dammit I have to go to a meeting".

Needless to say I am still working on the XSL FO project and adding PDF requirements to boot. This should mean nothing to most readers. If you do understand it you are sick man, sick. Or, you are my bud, John Smith from IT. <-- Dude, you rock. The only way your name could be cooler is if it was John Doe.

One of the things I thought about today was how we have a lot of products on the drugstore shelf that have mysteriously veiled names, as if to suggest that changing the name of something might pull the wool over most people's eyes and make you wonder what it really is. Either that, or these companies are trying their best to merge a highly scientific name for something (pseudoephedrine, for example) into a common household name, often describing a body part. Well, Sudafed, my faithful decongestant doesn't fit this bill very well (pseudoephedrine for the government?), but there are plenty of other examples. Anusol. My favorite one to make fun of. How the hell does adding "sol" to the end of "Anus" make this something appealing on the shelf? It might as well say "Ass Cream". Or, if it follows scientifically, Anusol means "The Sun's Anus". This, of course, being a great name for a band. Any band.

What about Nasalcrom. Oh, man. That's a product that will never reach my nose. It sounds painful. "Nose Spray" is much more appealing. Nasonex (which I use) -- does this mean elimination of my nose? Am I breaking up with my nose so that it becomes an ex-nose?

I'll delve into the pharmacy of Drugstore.com. ARM. Allergy Relief Medicine. WTF??? Do I put it on my arm? Is there an arm in the box? Acta-Tabs: perhaps these are bar tabs for active people. Or the thing the government uses to keep tabs on activists. Hmmm...

WELL enough of that.

I've been reading "Seth Speaks" again recently and it's so much easier than the first time I read it. I'm a veteran reality creator now, so it's all easy stuff. OK, well, not exactly easy as recognizable. OK, well, I still have a lot to learn. But the reading is still going faster and I understand much more than the first time a zillion years ago.

So, I worked out today also and my body is quite unhappy. But unhappy in the "sore but I feel good" way. I worked through some muscle pain today which I am not usually successful at (the unsuccessful part is generally me not working through it) so I am oddly optimistic. Wow, a pain free body? Somebody pinch me. LOL that's a good irony.

I chatted with my cool friend Vicki about OCD. Apparently I exhibit signs of this condition: I am afraid to eat new foods or to try new medicines and I have set routines I don't like to deviate from. I always thought it was just not being adventurous and succumbing to my incessant desire to perfect laziness. You can read as many contradictions into that as you like. Do I have OCD? I doubt it. I'll go check the Internet later. It will tell me if I am or not. LOL.

I think that's enough for now, don't you think? I am yawning obsessively and I have this repeated desire to sleep every night. I should obey it.

Thought for the night: "I AM A GENIUS". Correction: "I AM A WEALTHY GENIUS". If I think it, it will be so.

Monday, March 29, 2004

Haulacitude.

Think about it. There's a force in the universe that we are coming into contact with. It's just a force, neither positive or negative. It's perceived negative by many. It's the force that makes us do things very quickly. It's the force that makes us sure we don't have enough time to get "it" all done in, that we can't control, that controls us with malicious exhaustive intent.

I call this force "haulacitude". It surrounds us and binds us, those of us in the fast-paced entropic world of modern technology and gizmology. The fax machine started it you know, or if I want to get really back in time, then it was the telegraph. That "instant communication" we keep trying to achieve. Now, we have a world full of wireless, wired, and instant communications. I can chat with a nice dude in Wisconsin (like I am right now) and chat with someone in a foreign country like Somalia (like I wish I wasn't right now) all at once. It requires a sort of mental balance to timeslice like that, but I've accepted it. My mind works that way.

So, our lives speed up and we are convinced we can't keep up with it. I think, though, that we can and our stress comes from thinking we can't. Perhaps we need to choose those things we can do quickly but well and concentrate on those. Efficiency means choosing battles wisely, making quick decisions about things that happen quickly.

Ultimately, we will realize all this is just symbology for what we do anyway: we have instant communications through thoughts an energy that is much more clear and pure and honest than anything we devise, including cell phones, instant messengers, and blogs.

But you already know that because we communicated instantly and oh so very efficiently.

I would tell you to have a nice evening, but you already knew it. Bwahahahahaah!!!

Stretching doesn't prevent injuries.

If only I believed in coincidences. Here's an article that just popped up on my news alert about muscle stretching.
====================
WOAI-TV
Updated: 8:05 p.m. ET March 28, 2004March 28, 2004 - People who stretched are no more or less likely to suffer injuries such as pulled muscles, which the increased flexibility that results from stretching is supposed to prevent.

By IRA DREYFUSS, Associated Press Writer

Stretching does not live up to its reputation as an injury preventer, a study has found. "We could not find a benefit," said Stephen B. Thacker, director of the epidemiology program office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Athletes who stretch might feel more limber, but they shouldn't count on stretching to keep them healthy, he said.

Thacker and four CDC colleagues combed research databases for studies that had compared stretching with other ways to prevent training injuries. They combined data from five studies so they could look more closely for any benefits that might emerge as a pattern. Their report is in the March issue of the American College of Sports Medicine journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

People who stretched were no more or less likely to suffer injuries such as pulled muscles, which the increased flexibility that results from stretching is supposed to prevent, researchers found. And the injuries found in the study typically happened within the muscle's normal range of motion, so stretching them would not have made a difference, Thacker said.

Other research has found that warmups, which increase blood flow through the muscle and make it more ready to respond to exercise, can reduce the risk of injury, Thacker said. Being in good shape also helps. Strength and balance training reduced injuries as well, he said.

People such as gymnasts and dancers might be exceptions, because their activities require great flexibility, so stretching might improve their performance, Thacker said.

In case future research does find a benefit, Thacker has no problem with athletes continuing to do gentle stretching. That's not the case with stretches that include sudden fast movements, called "ballistic stretches," which have been found in other studies to raise injury risks.

The study's findings make sense, said Mike Bracko, director of the Institute for Hockey Research in Calgary, Alberta. "We have done some work with hockey players showing flexibility is not an important variable," he said.

A strain typically happens when a muscle has to react suddenly to control an athlete's movement, Bracko said. An example would be a tear in a muscle in the back of a sprinter's leg as it contracts to keep the muscles in the front of the leg from moving the knee too far forward, he said.

Two other researchers said, however, that there may still be value in the stretches that coaches require, and athletes do.

Lynn Millar, a professor of physical therapy at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich., said her experience in treating people with injuries tells her that those who don't stretch may find they can't move their arms and legs as far as they used to, and this could set them up for injury.

"Unfortunately, a lot of us don't have a normal range of motion," Millar said.

Stephen Rice, director of the sports medicine center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, N.J., said he values the experience of trainers and athletes.

Flexibility is an element of fitness, and stretching ought to make a person more flexible, Rice said. "I would say the conventional wisdom has a certain amount of wisdom to it," he added.
===========

Dammit.

All the News Fit to 'Print'.

It was actually a busy weekend for once. Ha ha for once!

On Friday night, after restless late-night Internet wandering, I had an epiphany about my back injuries. I remember from the original injury way back in 1991 that the doctor said I injured my Lumbar muscles. After looking around I discovered there's a muscle specifically called quadratus lumborum. This muscle attaches the hip to the 12th rib. When injured, it becomes contracted, pulling my hip up and my rib cage down. This can cause trauma all the way up to my neck, and does. All the symptoms of this injury I have or do:

-- lean to one side while sitting to accommodate
-- difficulty taking in a full deep breath, which is the result of destabilization of the diaphragm from the 12th rib being pulled down. This has been enormously irritating.
-- straightened lordosis (no curve in the back, or, flat back)
-- piriformis muscle injuries from muscle taughtness. I have this big time.
-- sciatica from piriformis compression

So, basically, I now have a way to stretch and restrengthen this muscle, thirteen years later. I wasn't given much instruction when I originally injured it. So, this is all good and will help in the long run. I hope the recovery doesn't take another 13 years.

Then, next in the news, I cashed in some American Express membership points and bought a telescope. This is a beginner's telescope and will let me see the polar ice cap on Mars, the moon in extreme detail, rings on Saturn, and moons over Jupiter. I can also see binary stars and all the other mysterious things out there. Perhaps I will discover a new planet. I will call it Friedmanopeia XLTWF87Q. Now I can join my brother in his nocturnal wanderings. Together we will watch the celestial dance and feel extremely, extremely, really very small and insignificant. After all, the Earth is just a piece of nanodust in the immensity of space.

Then, last night Dawn and I watched a really good movie: The LadyKillers. It was really good! Tom Hanks was hilariously offensive and disgusting and the movie was just plain entertaining. I think my grandmother would enjoy it (if she can handle the bad language -- but I think she can). David would enjoy it as well. Or, possibly not because I tend to like movies he doesn't and vice versa. Except the ones that matter. On those we are tight.

So, today, I am finishing homework for class (but not at work), doing Laundry (which is evil), and writing an XSL FO program to test functionality of creating high-resolution transformation on images and to test very low resolution large images scaled down to smaller so they become effectively larger resolution in an attempt to handle sizing issues. Piece of cake, right?

Off to work!

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Something.

See, yesterday was about nothing. Today is about something.

Trouble is I have no inspiration at the moment and who wants to read about me trying to think of something to write just to fill out pages of a weblog? Creativity, it seems, is fickle. I believe they call this writer's block. All that is here for me to think about is inanities and nonsense.

I think you get the point by now. Perhaps tonight will inspire me more. I will be doing nothing. Or, more importantly, homework. Intention, it seems, is also fickle.

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Nothing

Absolutely nothing. More on this tomorrow.

Friday, March 19, 2004

The Dream is Never the Same.

I just woke up from a dream where my grandfather was alive and standing without the aid of a cane, walker or wheelchair. He showed up at the door of a conference room at work, one hand in one pocket, tall (I'd forgotten he was) and distinguished looking. I burst into tears of relief / grief in the dream and I remember marvelling at the sensation within the dream. I was not experiencing grief per se, but the shock at recognizing I could see him physically again.

We had a short conversation and I walked him to some elevators because he was leaving (I was now in a hospital or something). I kept hugging him and having these short fits of relief weeping. Every ounce of him was real and alive and I was just soaking that up. He kept saying the word "operationally" which I found incongruent with everything else. For example, he indicated the "University" -- which he indicated with a nod in one direction -- "where he taught, operationally". I can't help but think he meant some kind of psychic university where he reminded people who were alive that dead people are really alive as well, just focused in a different area.

Since Zayde's death, I've always felt like I could still communicate with him -- or with a deposit of his energy that stays around to make sure I am ok and to just catch up on the little things. He's totally aware of my recent accomplishments at work and is glad I am expressing my energy well in that arena. I think I can still almost see him physically sometimes -- out of the corner of my eye or the way another milumet person will do something. I see him a lot in my friends Patricia and Cynthia because they have very similar mannerisms, ideals, and virtues. I have very close affections and friendships to those two as well, in a very similar energetic manner to my grandfather.

So, my grief was particularly interesting in the dream because it really wasn't grief -- I don't consider him gone exactly. Just focused in different areas. The shock and emotion was from realizing I'd manifested a physical Zayde again who looks the way he should look and acts the way he should (although we both have the good beer bellies going on). The sharp "aliveness" of him was so real in the dream that I was relieved.

When I woke up, the contrast of it all became especially clear and pointed a very specific difference to me of the dream state. Upon waking, I noticed immediately my beliefs trying to change the dream into the logical, factual, and "real" -- that Zayde was dead, he was unable to walk before he died and I'd never see him physically again. And a funny thing happened in that twilight between dream and wakefulness. I realized dreams are a "real" as "reality" waking life is. In them, we can suspend -- or perhaps more accurately, accept -- beliefs about things so they have less power over me. So, I decided to accept the dream as very real as it was, even though in wakefulness it was somewhat of a stretch.

In the dream, it was perfectly legal for Zayde to be "back" and alive and well. In wakefulness it's perfectly legal to believe when we are "dead" we'll never see each other again. But, I think that veil between these duplicitous beliefs is falling -- in the dream world I am able to believe someone has died and I'll never see them again and in wakefulness I am able to believe and actually create a "dead" person again, perceptually. Living, breathing, focused again, if briefly, on the attention we share in both realms anyway.

Hey! I am hungry! What's for breakfast?

Thursday, March 18, 2004

A Tax Upon Both Your Houses

I turned my taxes over to our Tax Attorney on Monday. I can't stand taxes. Pardon the anti-government brief rant, but it's my right to bitch about taxes as an American citizen. I am sure I am taxed for that right.

It seems weird to me that we should have to pay this much tax on something the government had no hand in. The government didn't help me with anything this year, and so they are justified at taking out 30% of my income... how? Perhaps there are other things the taxes go into that cover me like roads or something. But, from my perspective, the unknowledgeable consumer, it seems like everyone is making money but me: I work to give 30% of my taxes to the government. I drive my car (which I paid tax on) which eats gasoline (which I pay tax on). Anything I buy (food, telephone services, etc) has some kind of tax on it. I bet if I took the time and calculated up all the different taxes I pay each month I would freak out.

And, God forbid you have a "small business". I did when I had my computer consulting company. But, apparently for the government "small business" means you are netting over $100,000 per year. Below that it's just a hobby. For hobbies, that earns you a merciless pounding of not only regular tax, social security tax (all of it, not employee matched), but Self-Employment tax.

Boy, take the American Dream of having your own business and they decimate you with taxes. I had to put in half of my netted income aside for taxes when I was in business for myself.

Someone was very smart when they guaranteed the "pursuit" of hapiness and not the actual happiness itself. Unless you are really good at business, taxes, and government, it seems a pipe dream.

I am not bitter. Not at all. I just wish the government had to come here and do some work with me to earn the right to my money. Or, if they are doing it in an indirect way they should let me know about it better because all it does is piss me off.

That was a very happy post. But, my blog only guarantees the pursuit of happiness. lol

Friday, March 12, 2004

Emptiness

I have absolutely nothing to write about right now. I've started 3 blog posts, each of which I have deleted because they were stupid. This is the effect of my current sugar coma. I don't drink many carbonated drinks but today a cherry Coke looked particularly tasty so I drank the whole thing. Now, I am stuck under the insulin haze of the afternoon and 2.5 servings of Coke and 3 oatmeal cookies (I bought them because they are healthy).

I guess I will write more later. I am on vacation for part of next week, so there will likely be time to write something. Knock on wood.

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

All Spammed Up with Nowhere to Go

I received an astounding 180 e-mails today, all filled with delicious spam-poetry madness. 5 of the 180 e-mails were important to me. Blessed be my spam-filter software. I love you. I really do.

It's kind of funny to watch spam evolve, as spammers get more familiar at tricking the various filter software out there. They start using more common words in the "from" area. For example, I receive e-mails from "Hourlies Q. Rejoinder" and "Aphelions J. Whycherley", these being addresses the spam engine will find so utterly unique that it can't possibly be spam. But, the filters are figuring it out and there's less and less. Then there's the creative subject lines:

"Offshoore Acccount Within 24Hours, Michael BqBT"
"Ron got some thingamajig to pull on his weiner throughout the day, after a month he's biggr"

You gotta love e-mail subjects like that. Spam as entertainment, for real.

I also love the pictures that accompany SPAM e-mail, should my filter miss it (because it was from "Atacama R. Petting"). I won't put them here because they range from cheesy to pornographically disgusting. I find most amusing and contradictory ("Hot Teens want to meet you" shows pictures of mature Russian women). Thank goodness for the "This is Spam" button. Minimizes my time with these things.

Oh well. So much for Spam. I don't like it, but I don't want some agency monitoring it because then they get to decide what is right and wrong (much like the tv media these days) and then freedom of speech becomes freedom of my type of speech, not yours.

So, I am off to finish my Earl Grey tea and to listen to some old Tangerine Dream CDs as I ingest them into my Music library -- which, attention to the RIAA, is NOT shared on the Internet so you can bite me, stupid jerks.

It must have been a long day -- I remember it all hazy-like and it makes me think of sand (which gets all in my belly button when I go to the beach).

Have a good night. It's 11:11pm here. hrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh....

Monday, March 08, 2004

Monday, 8:30am

It's that magic time on Monday.

Time for a jolt of caffeine.

Don't forget your assault weapons.
*Note: To any agencies or persons monitoring this blog, my reference to assault weapons is purely comical in nature, intended to convey in exaggerated fashion the sense of dislocation that Monday brings. It is in no way intended to convey that I am a murderous terrorist, bent on the destruction of those whose beliefs I do not share or understand. Thank you.

Here's what Howstuffworks.com has to say about caffeine. And here's what some guy on the web has to say about Monday.

Draw your own conclusions.

Here's mine. Monday is about the moon, which is about night time. Therefore, we should be sleepy, or, preferrably, asleep. Caffeine is required to keep us unnaturally awake. Clearly we need Monday as an official sleep day.

Stop laughing.

Friday, March 05, 2004

Friday, 5pm

It's that magic time on Friday.

Time for a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.

Don't forget your towel.
-----------------------------------------
How to create a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster:
The effect of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.

1) Take the juice from one bottle of that Ol' Janx Spirit.
2) Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V.
3) Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzine is lost).
4) Allow four litres of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it, in memory of all those happy Hikers who have died of pleasure in the Marshes of Fallia.
5) Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract, redolent of all the heady odours of the dark Qualactin Zones, subtle sweet and mystic.
6) Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger. Watch it dissolve, spreading the fires of the Algolian Suns deep into the heart of the drink.
7) Sprinkle Zamphuor.
8) Add an olive.
9) Drink ... but ... very carefully ...

Thank you, Douglas Adams.

Lint

Many people I know are observing Lent right now. This, for them, is a time of self-reflection, recognition of repentance, and restriction. I've decided to observe an Umbilicus holiday (the first one) called "Lint".

Lint is about cleansing, unblocking the ways of nourishment, and the creation of divine mysterious objects. I'll explain. First, cleansing is important because otherwise your bellybutton fills up with Lint. A far cry from the physical object, this is metaphysical & spiritual Lint. This kind of Lint builds up from negative thoughts ("negative" meaning anything you don't feel positive about), unexpressed anger, and a lack of slurpees. Keep your spiritual belly button clean, please!!

Secondly, you need nourishment. Even though you are no longer in the womb, your belly button still functions -- it connects to another plane of consciousness where you receive mental and spiritual nourishment. This is why younger people are more free and unconcerned about things: they let their belly buttons show. They are uncluttered, open, accepting. Their trans-spatial galactic umbilicus is firmly connected to the plane of spiritual and mental fulfillment. Try freeing your belly button more. It will lead to goodness. And we men like seeing them.

Finally, we have the creation of divine objects. Since the belly button is connected to other planes, it is the natural pathway for divine energy. This energy, when merging with matter from our physical plane, sometimes forms special objects -- always misunderstood as "Lint". This is no Lint -- Lint exists only in the spiritual realm. This lint is the residual formation of divine spirit energy and the common energy of this world. Hence, they are divine spiritual objects. They should not be kept, but should be released into the world where they can accomplish their unique goals. Coveting these divine objects is grounds for psychotherapy.

Everyone, please enjoy Lint: the holiday of Umbilical Awareness.

Thursday, March 04, 2004

My Desk is Clean. My Plate is Clear. And other Nonsense.

Today, this morning, I accomplished the impossible: I cleaned my desk off at work. It's totally clutter free, bright and shiny. Please appreciate this moment to the fullest extent possible.

Spring cleaning came early this year... I've also been creating a space in my home office for more creative, leisurely endeavors, replacing the Borg-like appearance of computers, cables, devices, intimidating computer books and so on. I'm doing it so I can put in a small corner-chair there that will allow me the freedom to kick-back, drink tea, study for school, study for certifications, and nap comfortably with one of the omnipresent cats.

The cleaning is going quite well -- I started with the corner where the chair will go, near the window, put up a new picture that we had framed ages ago that was sitting behind the door waiting with anticipation to be put up. This all, of course, snowballed into a cleansing of the whole room, which led to the more terrifying prospect of cleaning up the miniscule but enormously filled closet. There was evil in there... pure, storage evil. Don't make me speak of it.

So, the office is mainly cleaned... the chair arrived early from the manufacturer and now I am tasked with finishing things up. But that's ok... cleaning has afforded me a mental freedom I did not anticipate. There are fewer distractions and it's amazing how many things one can put off doing when there are these perceptual other things that seem to need to be "done" or "cleaned" first before you can get to the next thing.

It's amazing how much crap I keep around. I'd make a very bad American Indian.

Monday, March 01, 2004

Chai Tea and Me

This was supposed to be the first post. Alas, I have been "off" the last few weeks.

I think about the quirky things people get known for. Aside from my quirky mind, I am known for my tea. You see, I drink tea made from whole leaf. Yes, at work -- as nuts as that is. Instead of mindlessly droning out to the coffee machine (ok, sometimes I mindlessly drone out to the coffee machine) I do the whole process of using a tea-ball to fill with tea, traipse over to the kitchenette/copier area and douse with almost hot water and steep, steep, steep.

Tea is about the navel. You Milumet people will know what I mean. It's about process, ritual, and groundedness. And, of course, it's important to choose the right tea to drink.

Never mind health benefits. Although they are important, I am all about the taste and the experience. My favorite tea right now is Chai tea. It's a black tea from India traditionally made with milk & honey. It's very rich and sweet and very spicy. Not hot spicy -- it has cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, pepper, and other spices light in it. It's very fragrant (especially in whole leaf form) and wonderful to drink!

Of course at work, I can't make it with milk & honey -- hot water and one cinnamon creamer and sugar is the best I can do. No matter -- the chai takes over. It's not like a cup of chai tea on the porch at home with Dawn or my friend Patricia, but it sure makes the day better.

In any case, I recommend Goldenmoon Tea for their Kashmiri Chai: it is most excellent and you can't find better customer service. Also, I recommend Tazo for the Tazo Chai they sell at various retailers.

Enough writing about chai. It's getting cold sitting on my desk. Must drink. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....