happy solstice weekend

This weekend is the brightest weekend of the year, what are you going to do about it? Go out and have fun. But, first read my answers to the friday five.

1. Is your hair naturally curly, wavy, or straight? Long or short?
Fairly straight, short, kinda thin.

2. How has your hair changed over your lifetime?
It has changed mostly in color. Blue, black, purple, blonde, and once it had a red stripe. Right now it's back to natural brown, but hopefully I'll dye it again soon.

3. How do your normally wear your hair?
With gel. Sometimes spiked.

4. If you could change your hair this minute, what would it look like?
I could change my hair this minute if I wanted to. But, the only change it'll get in the next half hour is to be washed.

5. Ever had a hair disaster? What happened?
I agreed to let a friend cut my hair and ended up with a buzz cut.

let the dancing begin

Tonight was the first of a series of swing dance lessons. Yes, I want to learn to swing dance. Then I'll be able to go dancing at the Derby with Jenny and friends. The first lesson was a little intimidating because most of the people in the class are over 40 and have taken swing lessons before. Also, I found out that despite numerous people's claims there are not in fact more women than men at the dance lessons. There was a shortage of women. So, I had to sit out every few rotations. Fortunately both assistants were female and would sometimes dance with me while I had no partner.

Often I find myself frustrated and critical of companies I deal with. However, today I want to comment on a couple really good experiences I had. I ordered something from Office Depot online, but their website was having trouble and somehow the item got double ordered. The items arrived before I had the chance to object, so I opened up one and looked for a phone number to call in my complaint. Normally, the only phone number any company lists is for the totally-useless-people-department, also known as "sales engineers". These people can only do two things: 1) sell you more of the product you're trying to return, 2) transfer you to the wrong number. If you manage to get passed the sales people you end up talking with the only-slightly-less-useless-customer-service-department. Should you ask for anything more complicated than an order confirmation they'll respond as if you requested heavy artillery support for invading Switzerland and transfer you once again. After being transfered several more times and disconnected at least twice you might be lucky enough to reach the finally-someone-with-a-brain-department.

However, the very first person I spoke to at Office Depot quickly found my orders (even though I had used two different accounts to order them and couldn't remember the order numbers). Then, without any hassle, they offered to send someone out the next day to pick up the extra package. All told the mistake took a mere five minutes of my time to fix. I recently made an order at amazon.com. I don't have any specific story to tell about them, they just generally rock. Amazon is one of the last companies fighting for a tax-free internet. It was great to order cheap books, pay no tax or shipping charges, and have the books arrive at my door in just a few days. Woohoo!

weekend and beyond

This last weekend I went hiking with Kurt and Thrasher and we found an abandon mine. Our only light sources were a keychain LED and a nearly dead minimag. This limited us to exploring only the first 50 feet or so until it branched. Going further would have put the entrance out of sight making an exit difficult if our lights failed. At the split is a pool of water so still I nearly stepped in it without realizing. The pool leads down to a vertical shaft dropping off into murky obscurity. The mine splits off into at least two other tunnels, and something that looks like a third area goes upward. We plan on returning before long with better equipment.

Vikki and John's wedding was on Sunday. For a last minute wedding it was pulled off fairly well. That makes the second wedding so far this summer, several more to come. On Monday Terra, Nat, and I saw Goonies at the New Beverly theater which is not very new anymore. What if you changed a theater's name to keep up with it's age? The Old Beverly theater. And for a while it would have been called the Middle-Aged Beverly theater. And if it was bought out by different owners it would be called the Second Hand Beverly theater. Or, perhaps the Pre-Owned Beverly theater.

I bought a flashlight today with the most ridiculous piece of advertising on its packaging. "Photon tube reflectors increase brightness" When translated from pretentious-advertising-speak this reads, "it has a mirror, you probably know how that works." The description on the back talks about how the flashlight was designed by two German scientists as if Einstein and Planck had taken a break from quantum mechanics to work on camping gear. The package also informs you that the flashlight contains "optoelectronic technology" which is an antiquated way of saying that it has an LED. I think it's kind of silly for advertisers to describe their products in the most obscure and esoteric terms possible. This doesn't make the average consumer more informed. And are people really more likely to buy a product covered with pseudo-scientific terms that they don't understand? I hope not.

On a somber note, my blog received a comment from the cousin of a Marine who died this week in Iraq. Like mine, his name is Ryan Cox. I found a few articles about the incident. It was eerie to read them, like reading about my own death. Somehow it makes the whole war feel closer and louder. It makes me glad I'm not in the military. It makes me miss Marty. A heavy price is paid for war. And it's paid not by the leaders and decision-makers, but by the young men and women with good intentions dedicated hearts. My sympathy and prayers go out to Ryan Cox's family.

it works better when you turn it on

I was going to comment on Bush's segway incident, but another blogger already said it perfectly. Also, here is a funny song for your amusement.

great friday five this week

Friday 13th. It's almost a full moon. A black cat crossed my path a few hours ago. So did a big fat orange one.

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?
Ah, so many come to mind, can't stop at one. I want to roll naked in the snow after being in a hot tub. I want to fly a plane. I want to jump out of a plane (hopefully not the one I was flying). I want to slaughter, prepare and eat my own cow. I want to submit a short story for publication.

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?
Most of the time, yes. If the person is just an aquaintance I may give a short, vague answer and avoid making a real comment. And I always prefer being given the harsh, brutal truth.

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?
Yes, like when I found out that Jenny runs an illegal shoe string factory that forces third-world hamsters to work 38-hour days.

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?
It's close, but I'll have to go with Middle Earth. Narnia is a close second.

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?
I've always wished I could draw or paint.

verbatim

George W. Bush, speaking in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 7th, 2002:

We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.

In his address to the nation on Marth 17th, 2003:

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.

On Polish television, May 29, 2003:

But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong. We found them.

Washington DC, June 9th, 2003:

The credibility of this country is based upon our strong desire to make the world more peaceful and the world is now more peaceful after our decision.

Chicago, Illinois, June 11th, 2003:

Thanks to the bravery of our military, and to friends and allies, the regime of Saddam Hussein is no more. The world is peaceful and free.

Particularly with these last three I am beginning to wonder if Bush isn't actually living in a different universe and merely visiting ours for the occasional press conference. Back in our world violence has been on the rise recently, not peace. Baghdad is ruled by chaos. And despite the invasion being "over" our troops are still dying at a rate of more than one per day (80 dead since April 9, half in fighting, half from accidents). I wonder if world hunger has been cured in Bush's universe?

don't be offended, but ...

One of the current jokes going around among British soldiers is that we need a war once in a while if for no other reason than to teach Americans some geography. Also, what is the difference between an American and an American bomb? The bomb is smart enough to find Iraq. A little harsh no doubt. But as recently as November 2002 only 13% of Americans could correctly identify Iraq on a map. Americans are notorious for their ignorance of the rest of the world. I saw a great example of this while visiting Ohio. A kind friend of my mother had prepared invitations for my brothers' graduation party. The invitations started with a brief description of the two guys and a picture of Earth. The description read something like:

European born
American educated
Where will the Lord lead them?

Next to "European born" and "American educated" were lines pointing to the respective continents on the globe picture. The only problem was that the creator hadn't realized that the continent in the middle of the picture was not in fact North America, but Africa. The partially cloud-obscured land mass she assumed was Europe was actually the southern edge of Asia. My brothers' birth place was marked as being somewhere in the Indian ocean. Most people I know scoff at surveys that claim some number of Americans can't even find their own country on a map, but here was a college-educated professional who couldn't tell Africa from North America. Embarrassing.

Another thing that has bothered me recently is the special treatment of wealthy people by our justice system. The SEC and investigators for the DOJ have concluded that Martha illegally made $46,000 and tried to cover it up. Is she treated like other criminals? Of course not. She was allowed to drive up to the FBI's office on a street normally closed to traffic, had her prints and mug shot taken privately, was allowed to skip her court appearance, was released without bail and is allowed to travel at will. And unlike the photos of lesser thieves, Martha's mug shot is not available in public records. Also, consider the corporate swindlers who engineered the Enron debacle. The top executives made off with billions of dollars, but not one arrest was made. Both Bill Gates and Bill Clinton lied under oath, but no one in the DOJ would dare pursue perjury charges. Why do these people get off so easy in the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world?

... and then you go surfing

Taking a friend to the airport sucks. First, a friend is leaving, maybe for a weekend maybe forever, sad either way. Second, while driving back you are not only lonely, but your solitary state prevents you from using the carpool lane. Insult to injury. When picking someone up, all of this is reversed making for a great experience. But, on Friday I had to drop Shane off, which sucked. Additionally, my car started behaving badly, dying every time I let it idle. So, I found myself battling my way back to Pasadena for an hour and a half while trying to keep my foot on the gas at all times and restarting the engine whenever I failed. It was a long and frustrating experience.

My cousin, Terra, also left on Friday. She came down to stay with me for a couple days after her fiancé (whom she has been with for three years) broke up with her. Love sucks. Or at least it certainly hurts a lot when things go wrong. It was an emotional visit, but I really enjoyed spending time with Terra. We shared chicken noodle soup, played poker, ate lunch in Santa Monica and watched a bizarre anime film. Terra has lived in SoCal for the last five years but we rarely saw each other during happier circumstances. Regardless, I was glad for chance to hang out, tears and hugs and all.

Being rather exhausted from the week I basically disappeared into my room for the weekend. Can't say I accomplished much. Joe, Seth and Shaggy came over for poker on Sunday night. It was a hard game for me because I wasn't doing well and I couldn't quite tell why. So, I ended up talking about it with Nat till 7am and now I feel I've learned more in one night than in ages. Poker is such a wonderfully complex and interesting game.

friday five on saturday

1. How many times have you truly been in love?
Of the many passions and crushes in my life all but one fall short of being "truely in love". I've experienced feelings, desires, and attractions of varying intensities, but only once were they born out by time and hindsight. That was during highschool. In recent years I have rarely found myself under love's spell, but I do hope it finds me again someday.

2. What was/is so great about the person you love(d) the most?
To simply describe her good qualities would make her sound like anyone else's favorite girl. Sure, she was intelligent, beautiful, fun, and so on. But, I have met other intelligent or beautiful girls I didn't love as much. She was "so great" because I loved her. I can't fully say why. Something about her energy caused the cords of my heart to resonate in response.

3. What qualities should a significant other have?
Above all other qualities, I value intelligence, honesty and beauty. Spontaneity, a penchant for philosophy, a need for adventure, a love of poetry and a tendency to wear combat boots would also be nice.

4. Have you ever broken someone's heart?
Not intenionally, and not severely.

5. If there was one thing you could teach people about love, what would it be?
Who am I to teach lessons about love? Ask Solomon, Shakespeare or Donne, not Ryan. But, if I must dispense advice I would suggest that people should take more risks while young and take more time getting into long term relationships. I would remind guys that lack of clue is no excuse, and would caution girls that what is charming at first is often slimy in retrospect.

1 am

It's easy to park at 1am. It's easy to find what I want in Ralphs at 1am, no one is crowding the aisles. At 1am, it's easy to pick a checkout line, because only one is open. The drive back home is easy at 1am since the roads are empty and the traffic light at Walnut switches for me immediately. It's easy to blog at 1am, all is calm and free of distraction. The crowds have gone home, the rush has subsided. I like 1am. I feel like 1am waits patiently for me all day long. It lingers in the shadows until the busier hours have faded or wandered off like frat boys at a dying party. Then it calmly strolls out to greet me and we walk beside each other in silence. I wish it could always be 1am, serene and vacant. How can people sleep through such a beautiful moment? Oh, but it would be spoiled if people stayed up to see it. Fine, let the endless throng occupy the daylight hours. As long as I can keep 1am.

I walked to Ralphs today. My car's battery was dead which forced me to remember that I still have legs and am able to use them for certain trips. While walking into the Ralphs parking lot I was nearly run over by a fire engine (yes Jenny, engine not truck). An ambulance arrived behind it and a rather bored crew emerged from both vehicles. They sauntered into the store behind me, and were directed to an elderly man in a wheelchair. I later learned from a cashier that the man had been experiencing discomfort then became unresponsive so they called 911. Why call out the fire engine for one man's health problems? I'm guessing that the fire engine guys saw the ambulance crew getting ready to go and said, "aw, jeez, can we come too? pretty please?" The fire station is probably not the most exciting place to hang out.

I barely woke up in time today to take the US Puzzle Championship test that Kat mentioned. Groggily I pulled up the web page to get the password and begin the test. However, I was surprised to find only a blank page instead. Several minutes of reloading produced only more blankness except for a couple minutes where it disappeared entirely. At times even the main puzzle page wouldn't respond. So, I got some extra sleep instead of taking the test.

Those of you who also blog might be interested to know that your happy days of Google ranking are soon to be over. After complains that blogs are cluttering Google's search results Google has indicated it will be removing blogs from the main results and creating a side tab for them. This might be helpful for certain web browsing, but will disappoint many a blogger. A certain sense of fame is delivered when a stranger reads your blog because google ranked your site third for some obscure search. How then, will strangers find us, if not through Google? Perhaps blogger communities could form. I think friday five is a good example. It provides a way for many bloggers to post links to their site at a central place. The site LAblogs.com attempts to list bloggers in LA, but the site kind of sucks. One very cool tool is blo.gs which lists all of the most recently updated blogs on a variety of hosts. But, all of these sources are for those just looking for blogs. Perhaps the incidental visits by web searchers is just a passing phenomenon.