Random Meanderings: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -- Plato

Fun at YearbookYourself.com

2008-09-20T13:52:00.008-04:00

Gaffe a Minute

2008-04-17T14:42:00.003-04:00

As I was reading through this great site, I was inspired to send in my own:

I was waiting tables at a popular chain restaurant when a young couple in their late teens sat down in my section. They were very nice and after talking with them for a while, I noticed that the young man sounded as if he had just had his tongue pierced. I have mine pierced, so I know that for a few days afterward, you talk pretty funny because you can hardly move your tongue. This guy talked exactly like a post-piercee; I was so convinced I was right that, in an attempt to connect with them further, I asked him, "So, when did you get your tongue pierced?"

It was like I dropped a gigantic rock on the floor between us. The couple's faces fell and they stared at me. There was a beat, full of pointed silence, then the girl frankly replied, "That's just the way he talks."

In an uncomfortable moment under their stares, it dawned on me that I had just accidentally made fun of someone with a speech impediment. My eyes grew wide, and my apologies spilled forth. I wanted them to realize that I am not the kind of person that would intentionally do anything of the sort. I finally realized I was probably digging myself deeper, so I sincerely apologized one last time and took my leave. I continued waiting on them, giving them the most personable, stellar service I can offer.

Fortunately, by the end of the meal, they had forgiven me!

Share your gaffes in the comments.. I would love to read them!

Yay, Economic Stimulus!

2008-04-06T04:12:00.002-04:00

I really should be going to bed, but since I have been trying to get the answer to this question for days now, instead I am going to post something I just found to be very useful.

Calculate how much your tax rebate will be here.

Thanks, Mr. Bush, for helping me move out of Roanoke!

Why I'm a Bad Blogger

2008-04-05T15:40:00.003-04:00

So, I'm pretty much back to square one here, writing this blog for myself. It feels a little ridiculous to post this, considering I lost what few readers I had by taking an unannounced year-and-a-half break. In a way, I'm sad.. none of my blog friends asked where I was or anything.. I just quietly faded off their blogrolls.

I can't blame them, though. I'll never be a good blogger for one reason; I can't write unless I'm inspired. I never intended to let my blog wither away in some lost corner of the internet, but life happens and sometimes you suddenly find all your energies focused in another direction. Blogging was always in my mind, but I don't know.. I just couldn't.

My time in Roanoke hasn't been fun and I find myself not having the mental energy to blog. For one, if I'm going to bitch about something here, I want it to be humorous.. and not much about Roanoke is entertaining. It's boring and conservative, I live in a trashy apartment complex, and, as a bonus, every work day is full of B.S. and catering to the sometimes-ridiculous whims of the local rich. I guess you could say I've been demoralized since moving here, and all of this doesn't exactly make for entertaining blog reading.

Even my picture-taking has suffered, and that is saying something! When I look in my photo folder, there are huge, months-long gaps between shoots. Even when I lived in Parkersburg and was at my most miserable, I was still taking pictures all the time.

As far as the blogging thing goes, the biggest thing is the inspiration issue. All my life, I've been told I should be a writer. Maybe so; I do have some talents in this area, but I have a gigantic obstacle: I can never finish any of my work because once the inspiration passes, I'm at a loss to continue. So has it always been with my blog; if you look through the archives, you will see that I'm a fairly sporadic poster.

I need to get over it and start blogging again for my own sanity. I need to focus some creative or whatever energies in a semi-constructive manner. So, as an excuse to get out and take more pictures, I'm toying with the idea of posting more photos here than I have in the past, at least until I leave Roanoke. Or maybe it'll be something I really like and it'll become a permanent feature.

Anyhow, I will be attempting to post more in the future and try to revive this poor, dead blog. Wish me luck.

Homo Erectus Extinctus

2008-04-05T15:20:00.005-04:00

I just finished reading this article and I have to pass it on because I just find it endlessly fascinating. It is jam-packed with information on various topics related to the decline of the Y chromosome, artificial reproduction, and the latest technology that indicates it's possible for two women to use their genetic material to become parents.

"The bill is a reflection of much wider scientific and social changes. The technology to produce artificial sperm, or even create offspring from two females, is already in the pipeline; in addition, genetic evidence has shown that the Y chromosome, the only one that confers maleness, is in a long-term evolutionary decline."

An Afternoon in Portetto

2007-12-13T17:37:00.000-05:00

False Advertising

2007-12-10T17:11:00.001-05:00

So, when I was last at the grocery store, I decided to take a risk and I bought some Lean Pockets, in favor of eating just a smidge better than the regular ones. I always resisted trying them, even though the commercials always show some doofy dude who stole his wife's Lean Pockets and doesn't realize it because they taste so good. I'm afraid I never really bought it and I see now that I was perfectly correct in my fear of these abominations.

Now that I have tried these evil, icky cousins of my beloved Hot Pocket, I see these commercials with new eyes. It's not that the Lean Pockets are awesome, it's that the husband doesn't recognize it's a Lean Pocket because it's so much like eating a handful of sawdust and weird-tasting goo.

Yum. If their sales lag, they could always market toward people who have pica.

The Alena Burger

2007-06-21T22:06:00.001-04:00

Hi.. I'm Alena.. remember me? Sorry for the haitus, it wasn't really intended, but blogging sort of took a back seat once my computer broke last year. After that, it's been sort of hard to get back into the groove. I haven't been writing much, period.

Anyway, onward and upward, shall we? Right then.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but this here is honestly the best damn burger I have ever eaten. It's so good that I am compelled to share the recipe with the world so that everyone else can savor the perfection that is the Alena Burger.

This delicious sandwich was born, purely by accident, one evening when Jen had a craving for a Whopper and my craving was for fresh, homemade french fries. We decided to compromise; we'd eat at home and I would do my very best to recreate the Whopper. While in the produce section, we both noticed ripe avocados and when I found out Jen had never had avocado on a burger, I quickly talked her into adding it to ours. Then we saw the sweet onion burgers and our mouths watered... but aside from that, the burgers were as close to a Whopper as I could get and boy was the outcome goooooood. We've had them several times since. :)

For one burger:

-- 1 Sweet Onions Bubba Burger
-- Pepperidge Farm sandwich bun*
-- 2 slices American cheese
-- 2 rings from a white or yellow onion slice
-- Romaine lettuce, burger-sized leaf or bag mix
-- 2 slices of a good, ripe tomato
-- Mayo
-- Ketchup
-- Half an avocado

Cook hamburger** and while that's cooking, lightly toast sandwich buns. Put one slice of cheese on bottom bun. Spread mayo, ketchup, and avocado on top bun. Place the lettuce on the top bun, then the tomatos and onion. When the burger is cooked, place it on the bottom bun and put the second slice of cheese on top. Put the whole thing together and enjoy!

* The Pepperidge Farm sandwich buns are bigger than your average skimpy burger bun, plus they're yummy.
** Using a George Foreman grill (highly recommended if you don't have one), the burgers take about 7 minutes to cook from frozen all the way through (well done). ~6 minutes for med. well and ~5 minutes for medium.

2006-12-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

Bring the LOLZ

Probably NSFW, but OMG, this video kills me. I heart Margaret Cho!

My Puss

Flash Game To Suck Your Soul: Grow Cube

2006-11-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

Here's a little something to while away those lonely hours waiting for your Wii to arrive or to take up all that time at your job when you're supposed to be working. It's a devious little game, unsuspecting and cutsey, seemingly simple... but beware! This game will own your soul after a few go-rounds.

read more digg story

2006-11-01T15:29:00.000-05:00

2006-09-26T14:48:00.000-04:00

I have long known that PETA is a group of hypocritical blowhards, but it was rather disturbing to read through the above site, as well as their links to other information. I guess I hadn't realized just how horrific PETA is; mainly I believed that they were misguided and more than a little out there. My Conservation Biology professor told our class about how, one February, PETA activists broke into the Natural Resources College and took all of the turtles out of the terrarium. The PETA people left a note stating they were "liberating" the turtles, which they then "freed" into the Monongahela River. In February. Those poor turtles, going from a pretty easy life in a warm terrarium to freezing to death in a polluted river. Way to go, PETA.

I encourage you to read through the above site and see for yourself. If you are so moved, you can also sign a petition to have PETA's non-profit status removed.

2006-09-07T17:31:00.000-04:00

Yo

So... it's been an eventful couple of weeks. Let me start off by saying that my last day at the Motown OG was two Sundays ago and it couldn't have come a minute sooner. Most of the people there were great and fun to work with and I'll definitely miss them. However, I will not miss the rest of my experience there.. the only words I can use to describe that restaurant are 'chaotic', 'hell', 'disorganized', and 'way too damn small'.

My last week there was particularly hellish; I was plagued with having the family table a lot and when I didn't have it, I was facing 45-60+ minute ticket times on my tables' meals. Add in a couple of shifts that started out on the totally wrong foot when my first few tables were exceedingly rude/demanding/annoying and/or something big went wrong because of the kitchen, plus the fact that my bag went missing from the break room one night, never to be seen again, and you'll see why I was dying to run out of that place and never look back.

I am just now recovering from some annoying bug that had me run down and feeling like poo for over a week, so dealing with all of the above really took an extra something out of me. I realize the restaurant is new, but that place is a gigantic circus. Not only that, but there are a couple of managers in particular that often act rude, condescending, or sometimes downright bitchy to the employees. I don't know if they're having high turnover because it's so stressful, I don't know if the pieces just aren't fitting well together yet, but wow, is it a gigantic mess!

As for my bag going missing, I'm still a little bit in shock and denial. I didn't have anything of monetary value in there, but not having my keys, card wallet (with my driver's license, etc.), and prescription sunglasses really screwed me. I definitely wouldn't leave money, my iPod, or anything of value sitting around where no one's watching, so I don't understand why anyone would steal it. On one hand, I don't know for certain it was stolen; if someone took it, they didn't try to use my check card or phone card. Nothing else in there was worth anything to anyone but me, which maybe is the most frustrating thing. Even more frustrating and upsetting to me is the idea that whoever took it ended up tossing it in a dumpster somewhere once they realized there was nothing good inside.

Anyway, Jen and I officially live together now. We haven't done much exploring yet, so I'm not sure what or how much the city has to offer, but it doesn't seem like a bad place to live. Our apartment complex is nice and quiet, a welcome change from the rambunctious party neighborhood I just left. The neighbors and people in this area generally seem very friendly and nice, which is also welcome. I thought people in WV were pretty friendly, but I dare say the people here are even more so.

Last but not least, I arrived just in time for the Pride festival! I've never heard of Pride in September, but they apparently hold it now because there's too much competition from other events during spring/summer. Jen and I live close to a Barnes & Noble, something of a treat for both of us because we both like to wander around, and during our visit last night, I met a really nice gay boy who worked there. I was trying to find The Advocate and he stopped what he was doing to help me, then we started chatting. He let me know about the Pride celebration this Sunday and, as luck would have it, I have Sunday off! Not only that, but I looked at the Pride website and almost couldn't believe it when I saw that Melissa Ferrick will be playing! I was excited enough by Pride alone, considering it's been ages since I last went (though I've wanted to), but to find out that after about five years of waiting to see her live, I get to see Melissa Ferrick twice in a year? Sweet!!

2006-08-23T16:12:00.000-04:00

Quickie

Just a quick note to say that I have no internet at home these days.. my computer is essentially just barely working. Financially, I'm trying to save my money for boring stuff like bills and rent, plus the plan is that I'm going to be moving to Roanoke in maybe a month or so, depending on whether I can rent out my apartment or not. I know this last bit may seem a bit of a surprise; the decision was a bit sudden, but honestly, I think it will be really good overall.

For one, I haven't been very happy at WVU, both with my program and the school in general, so I definitely wasn't looking forward to registering and going back this semester. The plan is that I'll apply at Virginia Tech, which appears to have a program very similar to mine, so hopefully, the transfer won't be too painful. Secondly, after basically living with Jen for like three months, this separation is really difficult for both of us. I think we both agree that our quality of life is much better when we're together; we eat better, exercise more, and we're definitely much happier when we're together.

So basically, I don't have the resources to get my computer fixed, nor do I have the patience any longer to figure out what the problem is. I have been suffering through the stop errors and other weirdness for about a month and a half now, and I'm really over it. It's a little boring at home without the internets to occupy me, but hopefully I won't be without for too long. I'll post when I'm able, but I just wanted to drop in and explain the cause of my absence.

2006-08-09T15:17:00.000-04:00

Hola

So.. I've been crazy busy and basically not living at my apartment for nearly a month, which is the cause of my most recent blog hiatus. Well, that and the fact that my computer is dead; no idea what the problem is, but I can't even boot it up anymore. Le sigh. If I can't fix it by the time school starts, that's really going to bite.

I'm currently in Roanoke, VA.. I am very sad to say that Jen's time in Motown has run out and it's been a bit hectic getting her house packed up and moved down here in time for her internship. She's in her last year of a psychology PhD program at WVU; her internship just started on Monday and, unfortunately for both of us, she will be working here for the next year. 5.5 hours away from one another.. very sad. :(

We haven't been apart much yet, so I'm not sure the reality of the whole situation has entirely sunk in, at least for me. I have to drive back home tonight because I have to work in the morning, and this will be the start of our extended separation. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too much, considering long-distance relationships aren't easy (and there are other complications, as well) but I admit that part of me feels like this is just the start of something good. I found someone awesome.. she's smart, funny, goofy, laid-back, fun, kind, fair, considerate.. and to be perfectly honest, I really want a future with her. If it's not plainly obvious, yes, I'm in love! I'm trying to be realistic, so anything could happen at this point, but keep your fingers crossed for me.

Anyway, I suppose that's all the news I have for now. Please send good computer-fixing vibes my way!!

2006-07-02T22:29:00.000-04:00

Alena's Bat Adventures, Part Deux

After the heart-pounding excitement of my first bat adventure, I had both hoped and assumed that it was a singular strange and random event. As in.. oh, I don't know.. it wouldn't repeat itself.

Just a bit ago, I went into the kitchen for a moment. Because I wasn't planning on being in there long, I didn't turn the light on. As I was turning to walk back into the living room, I heard a noise behind me. It was a small, rustly thud that sounded like something lightweight and soft falling on the ground. Seeing as my kitchen is full of random stuff likely to fall on the floor, I didn't think much of it. As I approached the far end of the kitchen, I spotted a dark shape somewhat resembling a crumpled-but-uncrumpling grocery bag, and assuming that's what it was, further approached in order to pick it up.

That was when the thing moved and in an instant of shocked recognition, I saw what it was. On the floor, crawling and flailing its wings, was a bat. Oh, shit! was the first thing out of my mouth and I froze. Not again!

I flipped on the light and visually verified that I was looking at a small, furry, winged mammal, which was now chilling in the vicinity of my stove. I did a quick pace of the apartment, closed my bedroom door, and tried to come up with an eviction strategy. I was grateful that the bat wasn't flying around all crazy like the last one, but I worried that if it wasn't simply stunned, it might be sick or something. I'm not afraid of bats per se, but the last thing I want is to get the rabies. You think I'm crazy now, but wait until you see me foaming at the mouth.

The bat's calm demeanor afforded me the opportunity to run and grab my camera because, of course, no bit of craziness in my life should go undocumented.

What is the deal with these bats, anyway? I mean, who else do you know has had two bats invade their home within a one year period?

Since my little friend was kindly holding still despite my moving around and multiple camera flashes, I decided to venture near it to grab my bucket. When I have insect invaders, I use a cup-and-postcard method to put them outside. I figured, why mess with success?

I got my bucket and positioned it over the bat, but it was partially under the stove and didn't move, even when the bucket was mostly on top of it. I looked around for something to poke it with, and then nudged it away from the stove.

The little bugger put up a bit of a fight then and proved it wouldn't let me win so easily. It started flailing and skittering across the floor as I attempted to maneuver the bucket around it, a difficult feat considering I was trying really hard to not crush a wing or hurt it.

After a bit of wrangling, I found my window of opportunity and got the entire rim of the bucket on the floor. The bat was finally captured and, as the plastic closed in around it, it chitter-shrieked to let me know it wasn't too happy about it.

The most nerve-wracking part over, I took a collapsed cardboard box and gently slid it under the bucket. I then opened the kitchen door to the balcony and propped open the screen. Of course, being 4th of July weekend, a ton of people were gathered in my neighbors' yard, with plain and full access to the potential drama about to unfold. Under the watch of fifteen drunken people, and once again in a wife-beater and boxers, I carried the bucket, cardboard, and bat out onto my balcony.

I opened the contraption and set the bat on the armchair outside, which was the best-lit portion of the balcony. I wanted to keep an eye on it as I went back inside, lest it come attack me or try to fly back into my kitchen. I watched for a moment and the bat seemed confused. It crawled around a little, but didn't take off right away. I felt badly for it because I thought it was sick, but then the next thing I knew, the little bugger took off and flew in my general direction.

To my credit, I avoiding shrieking or making an ass out of myself for the most part (you know, aside from my carrying out a big yellow bucket and a cardboard box in the least flattering outfit I own), but when I saw that bat coming at me, I did run back inside rather quickly to shut the door.

2006-06-30T18:19:00.000-04:00

Just... Wow Part II (Now With Even More Craziness)

2006-06-30T18:18:00.000-04:00

Just... Wow.

2006-06-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

What's Up

So, as I alluded to in my previous post, I've been pretty busy hanging out with Jen and haven't been spending much time online, hence the lack of posting. Not that I've ever been a really good blogger that way, but whatever. Anyway, said 'hanging out' has included my starting to cook again, something that I generally only do when I have someone else to cook for. Cooking just for myself seems more of a pain in the ass than anything else, so I tend to get extremely lazy when it comes to feeding only myself.

Apparently, my subconscious digs the fact that I'm cooking, or maybe it's the fact that I've pulled off a few really good meals lately.. which has been especially satisfying because I didn't really know what I was doing and sort of made it up as I went along. For example, we got some steak and chicken breasts and had some red wine in the kitchen, so I pulled off a pretty decent-tasting wine sauce using mere guesswork. I was pretty proud of myself when I tasted the end result.

Anyway, as I was saying, I guess my subconscious likes my self-congratulatory pull-it-out-of-thin-air cooking lately, because last night, I had a really fantastic dream. I can hear you all groaning from here.. yes, I know other people's dreams are rarely very interesting blog fodder, but I have to share this particular one because it was so awesome.

An indication that perhaps I've been watching too much T.V. lately, I have started having dreams involving different shows and characters from the shows I like. Last night's dream, though, was the best so far. I really enjoyed watching the first season of Top Chef, and in my dream, I found myself in the Top Chef finals. Me and someone else, battling it out for the title of Top Chef.

In the dream, I was basically me.. that is to say, not a chef. Ha. But somehow, it didn't seem weird that I'd gotten as far as I had, that I'd beaten out all the other fancypants chefs, which I'm guessing was due to my mad kitchen skillz. No matter how strange it might seem upon waking that I should find myself in the Top Chef finals, it was obvious by the way the other chefs treated me that I had earned my place there. As in, no one seemed shocked at all.. though I have no idea whether anyone knew I wasn't actually a chef.

The dream was really vivid and linear, which made it like watching myself in a movie. On the show, a bunch of chefs start out, get whittled down in number in various challenges, until two remain. Then, the final meals are these two huge multi-course shebang things, cooked separately by the two finalists and their sous-chefs, who are some of the eliminated people from previous episodes.

So I'm cooking my meal, and at the beginning, everything was going pretty well. My appetizer and first course went out without much of a hitch. No idea what they were, but I was pretty satisfied with my effort. Then the trouble started.. I started having to put out fires. I'd forgotten this, I had to do that, this didn't get finished.. until I was somewhat panicked and began to realize I wasn't going to win. The thing is, I was so honored to have gotten as far as I did, I didn't care that much that I'd be placing second. The end part of the dream was a bit like what I call 'server nightmares', which are essentially dreams of waiting tables, involving a brand of high panic because something is seriously wrong and for whatever reason, you can't fix it in the dream.

So I realized mid-way through my courses that I was supposed to be serving different wine varieties with each course, and one of the judges snarkily pointed out where they had been sitting, unnoticed, all along. It was kind of late to fix it, so I went on to the next thing. Then I was supposed to have a cheese plate go out before the dessert, but I was in the weeds and had to run around asking my sous-chefs if any of them knew anything about cheese because I didn't. I don't know whether that ended up going out, but the thing that sealed my demise was the dessert.

I had been trying to make these apple tartlets, not anything I've attempted before in real life, but the best part was I didn't have them in tart or pie pans or anything; I instead just laid down some tin foil on the oven rack (which I've been having to do at Jen's because she owns no baking sheets or pans) and put the tartlets on that. When I opened the oven and saw that the crusts had expanded into brown, unappetizing mounds on the foil, I knew I would never win the competition. I finally just shrugged and accepted defeat, but was determined to get all the food out anyway, as unappetizing as it might look. To my sous-chefs, I joked around and called the ruined tartlets "poo pies," either because they looked like crap or because they somewhat resembled.. well.. you get the picture.

In any case, I did not win the title of Top Chef, but I was so pleased with myself for having come in second. As we left the competition, my sous-chefs and I, they told me they were impressed with all I had done to get there, and I talked fondly of how cooking runs in my family. Chefs walk into the sunset.. roll credits.

Anyway, the second point of this post, aside from the uber-boring, drool-inducing dream segment, is that I have been having some really good meals lately. So good that I may have to brag... What we had tonight was so exciting and delicious and GOOD that I just had to share. I fired up the charcoal grill and made grilled corn, asparagus, and yummy, meaty short ribs with a Jack Daniels BBQ sauce. Yum!

2006-06-09T20:33:00.000-04:00

So... Hi!

Wow, has it been a month-ish already? Someone should kick the management of this blog in the ass and get them in gear, you know? Yeesh.

Anyway, my apologies for the unexpected hiatus.. I have been a mixture of busy, preoccupied, not home, and not online. I only just noticed how long it's been since I last posted, so whoops!

About two months ago, I met a really cool girl and we have been spending a lot of time together. Because she is a potential reader of this blog, I feel way too shy and awkward to gush about how much I like her, so you'll have to forgive the lack of details. In any case, I'd like to you all to meet Jen. Isn't she a cutie?

2006-05-11T12:35:00.000-04:00

Evolution of Dance

Truly one of the funniest, most awesome things I have seen in a while. Take a look!

(ganked from apostropher)

2006-05-03T14:50:00.000-04:00

Spammers Take It Where It Hurts

A few weeks ago, I joined Blue Security, an Israel-based company bravely fighting on the front line of the spam war. If you're interested in both fighting spam and receiving less of it, go to their website and download the Blue Frog software, then register your email address(es). Blue Security will add it to its Do Not Intrude Registry and then automatically send opt-out messages to the spammers you report, as is your right under the Can-Spam Act.

Apparently, Blue Security and Blue Frog have been so successful that they are really pissing off the spammers. One in particular, the second biggest spammer in the world at 9% of all spam emails sent, has declared war on Blue Security and its users. Many of us received the following email:

Hey,

You are recieving this email because you are a member of BlueSecurity (http://www.bluesecurity.com).

You signed up because you were expecting to recieve a lesser amount of spam, unfortunately, due to the tactics used by BlueSecurity, you will end up recieving this message, or other nonsensical spams 20-40 times more than you would normally.

How do you make it stop?

Simple, in 48 hours, and every 48 hours thereafter, we will run our current list of BlueSecurity subscribers through BlueSecurity's database, if you arent there.. you wont get this again.

We have devised a method to retrieve your address from their database, so by signing up and remaining a BlueSecurity user not only are you opening yourself up for this, you are also potentially verifying your email address through them to even more spammers, and will end up getting up even more spam as an end-result.

By signing up for bluesecurity, you are doing the exact opposite of what you want, so delete your account, and you will stop recieving this.

Why are we doing this?

Its simple, we dont want to, but BlueSecurity is forcing us. We would much rather not waste our resources and send you these useless mails, but do not believe for one second that we will stop this tirade of emails if you choose to stay with BlueSecurity.

Just remember one thing when you read this, we didnt do this to you, BlueSecurity did.

If BlueSecurity decides to play fair, we will do the same.

We are quite sure you will think this will not continue, that we will not continue wasting our resources doing this, feel free to wait out the first 48, or the second, and see whether these stop, you will be quite suprised.

If you have another email under the protection of bluesecurity, and have not recieved this there, do not worry, you will soon enough.

We mightve had your email addresses before in our lists, but now, we are targetting YOU, because YOU are a bluesecurity user.

You might also notice, that the BlueSecurity site(http://www.bluesecurity.com) is down..

Just remove yourself from BlueSecurity, and make it easier on you.

Nigel Montano

The tone is rather threatening, but I can't get over the author's righteous indignation. Kind of amusing and sad at the same time, yet also somewhat hopeful because it indicates we're winning. You can check out the blog entry in response to the spammer's attacks, including Denial of Service attacks on the Blue Security server (it's really not all that alarming). I encourage you to sign up, as well. The more people reporting spam means the more emails the spammers receive and, based on the above reaction, I'd say all we need to do is keep on fighting.

And I just want to know.. is spam email even lucrative? Who the hell actually buys stuff from spam solicitations?

Articles:

- Spammer Desperately Tries to Undermine Blue Security (Alice Hill's Real Tech News)
- Retaliation for Antispam Success? (Wired News)
- Spammer Threatens Anti-Spam Group (InternetWeek)

2006-04-29T14:31:00.000-04:00

Rejected!

So, today I got a rejection letter in the mail from a national wildlife refuge in NH, to which I had applied for an internship this summer. I suppose I'm disappointed and a little confused, but that's life, right? And it's not like I really have a ton of experience, but, duh, that's the whole point of taking internships. I'm confused because I received a forwarded email from the place that essentially stated they were desperately in need of applicants, yet in my rejection letter they stated that they had received many applications and the position was highly competitive. Eh? I mean, I guess they could have received a deluge of applicants after the email was forwarded on, but I can't help but wonder if they were simply being nice.

That leaves me here in Motown for the summer, disappointing on one hand, but also not on the other. For one, being a year-round resident, I really enjoy it when everyone clears out for breaks. It's way quieter and more peaceful, plus there's less traffic and annoying/idiotic people to deal with.

The semi-suck thing is that I have to get a job because I'm sick of being broke all the time. It's not working that sucks so much as where I'm going to be working. You see, there's an OG opening up here, they've been building it for months and I have been waiting to apply. Actually, it looks pretty nice, it's a Tuscan Farmhouse OG, plus I think it would be fab to work in a restaurant that wasn't falling apart in various ways, due to age.

Back with the spaghetti-slinging, guys. I'm simultaneously okay with and dreading it. I just really, really hope the clientele is better than in Pburg. I mean, Motown is more affluent in general, but OG, I think tends to attract a certain type of customer because it's in the family restaurant market. If the tip situation is anything like the scraping-10% crap I had to deal with for over two years, I don't know what I'll do. I really wish the Cafe Bacchus thing had worked out, or alternately that my boss hadn't been such a degrading prick that I had to quit.

Despite my dreading the whole step-and-fetch deal of OG, I think my best job option at this point is to wait tables. Can't beat the flexibility and having cash all the time. Plus I have really been a lazy bum and quite aimless and unmotivated without a job. On the other hand, I feel like I'm happier when I'm working even if the job annoys the hell out of me. Also as a small bonus, working at a restaurant makes me a thousand times less likely to eat out of boredom, so that combined with the running around will help me shed some of this weight. :)

2006-04-25T22:01:00.000-04:00

Sadly, No Mutant Powers Yet

You guuuuuuuuys... I'm a mutant. :(

Earlier this evening, I all of a sudden noticed a freakish, semi-large bump on my right wrist. I've lately been having a bit of wrist pain, and was thinking I might be developing carpal tunnel due to my extremely "up yours, ergonomics" computer setup. I have long had a freakish bump on my right shin, similar in appearance but painless and probably a random fat deposit, except the the one on my wrist is as hard as bone.

I spent some time palpating it, rotating both wrists, and trying to assess whether it was bone, which only led me to the conclusion my left wrist is normal and my right is definitely not. In fact, in some positions, the bump is huge. And slightly sickening.

I then consulted the Google Oracle, and Lord Almighty, I have yet another medical condition, possibly requiring surgery: interesting name, but kind of gross to look at.

I guess if you're going to have a disturbing medical condition, it may as well have a creepy name.

I had a migraine coming on all this afternoon, which was only getting stronger despite the Excedrin I took. Looking at my grody wrist bump at length and doing the online research totally pushed me over the top. I was this close to hurling from the grossness of it all and had to go lie down. YES MY OWN WRIST KIND OF MAKES ME WANT TO VOMIT.

Just waiting for those cool mutant powers to kick in and make up for it...

2006-04-25T10:30:00.000-04:00

Congress is Giving Away the Internet

Rather disturbing article here.

This is bad. Very, very bad. :(