Miki's Notes and Rants

Posting from blackberry browser

ok, i have the poster that is central to my living room, and now i want to paint my living room. But it's an XPI weekend.

Do i know anybody who is any good with color and willing to drive to Fairfax VA to help me get paint. I'm looking for paint, trim and ceiling colors, but will start by just buying quarts and testing it out. But i really just need somebody to talk it out with because i'm fundamentally incapable of doing anything by myself..and i don't live in a little town where the paint guy knows me and my preferences...

I don't have a preference when to go this weekend, (day or afternoon) although i'm usually much less ill in the mornings, i can usually stand to be around me until about 4pm...

There is no requirement to help me paint and i'm wiling to meet AT the paint store if you are allergic to dogs or cats or just live in fear of my poorly behaved monsters (tm). Once the color is picked, i can do the rest of the buying, it's the picking and possibly the testing that give me the fear.

the last time i bought a car you could have had me. You had reasonable cars for reasonable prices with reasonable gas mileage...So i went and looked at your cars. And then they told me I COULD NOT GET A STICK SHIFT.

Please understand, i have diabetes mellitis and a condition called hypoglycemia unawareness. That means when my blood sugar is deadly low, and i am unsafe to drive, i CAN NOT TELL. The stick shift in my little toyota is my reality stick. If i change gears from 5th to 3rd, or, attempt more than once to go into 6th gear, that means i need to test my blood and possibly treat it. I'm not ready to give up my stick shift. It keeps me alive.

I keep hearing how you are trying to woo back the american consumer. I figure it's only fair to tell you how.

Release your compact and full size cars (you know, like the sebring i was looking at?) with the option for what you call in the business "a five speed manual transmission" - heck, do it for ALL your cars.... That's really about all i could want. If i could've got that sebring with a manual transmission ... I'd've bought it--and you'd have me back already.

Oh, and Before you say --well, you're probably a used car customer, no...i buy a NEW car and i run it until it can no longer be run. I am the person you want to woo.

I sendz meeting request Subject: "I can haz normlzation?"
He sends new time suggestion comment: "I buyd you a book on data models, but i readed it"

I love my job. I love my coworkers.

Fear is a tremendous motivator, especially among people who feel as if they have little or no control on their lives.

I listened to a white woman honestly say that she was afraid Barack Obama would win the election and use it to create some sort of opposite of Jim Crow where the white people were treated the same as people of color were. In fact she said the words 'payback time'.

Her opninon was not questioned, so i did not come to understand where she was coming from, but she was an older woman than me and she lived in an area that is very rural. But that is about all i know about her. But she really made me think.

Fear motivates.
After Oklahoma City and 911 people of arab descent especially those who were obviously muslim or sufi were treated with extreme anger and fear, and sometimes grievously.

These perpetrators felt out of control, and used their anger and fear to gain some measure of control.

So what happens if a man of color is elected? Certainly it is a huge change for this type of person, it is placing something that they hate as the "Leader of the Free world". So what happens? What do these people do to counter their fear of losing control of the world?

There hasn't been a lynching in 25 years. (Statement is built from a lot of radio listening indicating the last public lynching was in 1983 - i may be wrong)

In 1870something, a man of color was sent to congress in the South. Fear of this happening elsewhere created both Jim Crow and the era of lynchings....

So...what happens if he wins?

Hopefully nothing. Perhaps we will find out.

What happens if he loses?

Hopefully nothing. perhaps we will find out.

er, uh...seeking unbelievably shiny and tacky dress that takes a hoopskirt. size 14/16
intercon or earlier pickup?

let me know

Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project with Dr. Spencer Wells
Monday, October 27
7:00 p.m.

Who are we? And where do we come from? The story of humanity’s journey can be found within each of us—encoded in our DNA. In 2005, National Geographic and IBM, with support from the Waitt Family Foundation, launched the Genographic Project, one of the most ambitious scientific research and public participation initiatives ever undertaken. Led by population geneticist Dr. Spencer Wells, and with over a quarter of a million people already taking part, this non-profit, anthropological initiative is studying humankind’s ancient family tree to provide the first true ‘snapshot’ of how each of us moved out of Africa and around the world 60,000 years ago. Join in this landmark study and discover your own deep ancestry with a Genographic public participation kit – available for purchase at the lecture or on the web here. Following the lecture, Dr. Wells will sign copies of his books, The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey and Deep Ancestry: Inside The Genographic Project. This event is co-sponsored with National Geographic Live! and the Genographic Project. The cost is $6, or receive 2 free tickets with the purchase of a Genographic public participation kit ($107.50), available for purchase upon entry the night of the event. Purchase tickets here.


is at sixth and i historic synagogue near chinatown

600 I Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20001

Phone: 202/408-3100 

i'm gonna have a spare ticket since i buyin the kit. Who want to go wif me?

We've never offered this course in this country before, so come out to Moonfire UUCA tonight at 7:30 to learn about how herbs integrate into the Stav mind/body/spirit system.

Tein seid - Herbalism in Stav (1.5 hr) -

Using alternate translations of the words,Tein Seid means 'thorough knowledge of the plants'. This course covers the stav approach to herbalism via the 18 Trees and Herbs and their applications on the Mott (physical body) and Megin (energy body) . This course extends from finding and gathering herbs to their uses in the body to their magical uses (charms etc) . The student should expect to leave with a good idea of the use of herbs and trees in Stav and even with one or two recipes for common ailments.

Location: Moonfire UUCA; 4444 Arlington Blvd; Arlington, VA
Date/Time: Today, 10/9/08 7:30-9pm
Cost: $30 at the door (no credit cards please) - Members of Moonfire UUCA, William Blake Lodge OTO and Ice and Fire USA receive $5 discount.

more information or to sign up online for a (further) $5 discount, visit http://iceandfire.us and choose "events".

Yan sat upon the rock bench before the home of the Pitman fidgeting tensely. He was the Pitman’s apprentice, so it was not very odd to see him there, but eventually he was in the way. Skara Brae was not the largest city and the open courtyard was only so large. Terra finally raised her voice to him. That was when he began to cry.

She was shocked. He was nearly a grown man at 10 winters old, and grown men do not cry. But every woman in Skara Brae was as mother to him and to all the children, and she took him in her arms to comfort him.

------
Note: this is unresearched and uses random names not based on the prehistoric language of Orkney. Oh, and before you come after me for overaging a child, consider this. The average age of death in -2700 was 45, assuming three tiers of life, a boy is only a child until he is 15. So it's kind of like a 17 year old kid crying....

And if you played 1948 Scotland, you may see me reusing concepts. Just not many.

---

The Pitman by Miki Tracey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

This is what happens when you get user centered people onto a medical condition problem.

(if you missed the link, look at http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/category/charmr-project/)

i was drooling. WANT!

I actually did enjoy Dark Night. And i actually don't think i'm going to spoil anything but will spoiler lock the section anyway.

( Dark Knight Spiler Potential )

and i walk out going...so who is next? I even got some forwards to some other blogs about it. List out your favorite bat villains.

Who's left, the riddler? *sigh* The only villain left worth any salt in my opinion is Catwoman.

This gives me the fear.

I am not a Batman Fan. I have, however, followed Catoman since Catwoman 1 by Jo Duffy (which i have a signed copy of)

I have NEVER seen Catwoman done properly. Hollywood tends to land the 'statuesque' or 'sexy' part ok. Witness Julie Newmar... (by the way, the less said about the unfortunate page 1 rewrite bearing the same name from 2004 the better) and don't even get me started on the frakkin need to create some sort of mutant power because a woman just can't do that sort of stuff. A man is different...

oops, started ranting. point was that they get the look and the acrobatics, but not the attitude or history.

Look, I have begun to respect Nolan after this movie. After a Joker that makes you laugh nervously for making a pencil disappear. But bringing in Catwoman is a tough call. On the other hand, she's a perfect foil for a batman as he will be after this movie. She is his opposite, clawed her way from the bottom but still unenhanced, just as he is. She is both his opposite and his complement. And she is the right person to say 'yeah, you're so special, look at you now'. But that doesn't make me less frightened. Because she has NEVER been done right, and she means a lot to the few of us who are her fan girls. I don't give a rat's patootie who plays her, or what she lookes like. What i care about, is that it is done proerly. I want to love her, and hate her, i want to think she's just as right as he is and absolutely wrong at the same time. I want a realistic catwoman that is true to the early jo duffys. Otherwise i will be almost as upset as after the unfortunate page1 rewrite previously mentioned (i will point out that i saw it for free, and felt cheated-i wanted my 3 hrs back).

So, while the director claims he isn't thinking about the next movie, i am actually, almost worried...

So Nolan..do it right, or don't do it at all.

I can has Celtic Thunder?
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/15004053D30DBBA0?artistid=755495&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=5

More info:
http://www.wliw.org/productions/celtic_thunder.html

it's like...irish opera..no, that's not a good description...i literally want to go march on Belfast (which is totally saying something, since many people know my opinion on 'the troubles' and war in general)

These guys have more talent in their pinkies than most celtic bands have in the whole band. I mean how many people can sing Come by the Hills in fookin Irish! How many 14 year olds can give Paul Anka a run for his money (as in, i'm not exactly sure i like pauls version anymore)? And did i mention i STILL want to march on Belfast?

So what WOULD happen if you took William Gibson's Neuromancer or Johnny Mnemonic and tossed it in a salad with Spenser's Faery Queen (or maybe "A midsummer Night's dream")? You tell me:
http://www.chasingthebard.com/dm/digital_magic_freepdf.pdf

Now, imagine your standard D&D Dwarf, sucked through a portal into 1929 Chicago and making a bit of a name for himself as a PI, THEN hire him to figure out why a certain Baseball Player is doing so well at the game.
http://www.teemorris.com/BB-PitchersPendant.pdf

Or even better, wait till next Friday, and help us storm Amazon.com to get our physical copies. (and move these authors up in the rankings)
http://www.teemorris.com/billipodcast/double-trouble/

Wow, let's talk about depressing....Prior to coming to my current company via an acquisition, i worked for like, 6 different firms: as follows
Mark Minasi & Company - Computer training firm - Extinct
I forget the name - computer training firm - extinct (only because they aren't at the same address, they MIGHT have moved)
AAUW - It's hard to say what they do, other than study how girls learn and give grants to females doing graduate and post graduate work - Wow LOOK- they're still around at least.
Electric Press - Web Development firm - Extinct
Noblestar - Sfotware Contracting firm - Extinct
hiFusion - uh. netZero for schools and undrage kids - Extinct

talk about depressing. 14+ years of work experience all --i was going to say down the drain, but i guess i mean 'unverifiable'...

i need a shirt that says "I SURVIVED THE DOT.COM BUBBLE"

I suppose this is just really late, since most of those companies died either before or during the dot com bubble of the LATE 90s, but hey, when you realize things is never timely.

K so Monday was Crap all over Miki Week.

As i explained to my yoga buddies, sometimes you start to get a big head about your skills and abilities, and the universe has to konk you upside the head with a big baseball bat to keep you from getting too cocky.

So since release my one app can't seem to keep anybody signed in. So we start explicitly passing the session tokens in the url. So that just reveals that the fucking thing won't stay up for all the tea in china. Two 'tag team' meetings later, and i've really had all i can take. When they schedule a third for monday, i know it's not good. I go in ready for them though. I communicate in much nicer terms than i expected 'if XERW knows everything, why isn't he fixing the problem?' and they say 'hm. XERW do you have the time?' he says yes. Yay, score one for me.

Immediately after that meeting is scheduled, the client has this hube blow up about how much time it takes me to transform xml to xhtml and post it on the web. Their other client, the creator of the xml says 'it shouldn't take this long'.

This is quasi true, as most of the time is spent fixing things that the transformation code didn't deal with properly because the dtd is laying out something different than i am getting (although what i get is still valid to the dtd. Long story, i'd love to explain...but i'm busy transforming xml into xhtml. So i explain why. The pm doesn't get it, i explain again, he effectively says i will have to meet with the client and other contractor and explain it to them. (it sounds like 'this is on you' to me, doesn't it sound that way to you?) In said meeting the guy who communicated to me that i must follow strict xhtml (as in, image tags need a close and all entities must be communicated in hex) says it's not that big a deal. Not what he told me, but whatever, however i STILL have to retransform these fucking files. not useful... Thanks to the web dude for backing me up. But why exactly am i retransforming these effing files. Why am i not just fixing the html? Search me.

So ok, crap on miki week did not go so badly, but that does not make me any less weary.

I have passed the buck on dealing with the insurance company because i won't talk to the adjuster, period. If he calls me i am civil but curt, if we need to reach him, savage calls. Regardless, not only is my bathroom not fixed, but i don't have an appointment for them to start because my freakin adjuster hasn't responded to the quote they sent him on July 6.

So, here i sit, trying to think of something nice to do for myself. I'd hoped to go dancing saturday night, but i was in ikea when the dance started. so then i was thinking of going to see passion of persephone at the fringe festival only ikea ate my bank account. It does not refresh until friday. so...what to do?

? http://www.fenrir-inc.com/us/sleipnir/
All i can say is "I bet it runs like an 8 legged horse"

Yesterday, i spent my second day in the blazing heat at Faerie Festival, and picked up some interest as well. My cohort stays to help bring down the tent, so I have a relatively easy time of cleanup, however. I drive home, sans migrane i had yesterday.

I get home and shower the crap off me, put on a giant cloth, and nothing else, and my upstairs neighbor is hammering and moving heavy things.  All of a sudden i hear a thud, then a few seconds later, i hear water.  My guest bathroom is now a warm version of niagra falls.  (at least it's not cold...) Then my kitchen joins in the fun, and my convector (heater), and my master bathroom.  we, luckily have a number of coolers in the house, and we put them under (as best we can) the worst of it, Savage goes down to warn the downstairs neighbor, and up to let them know water is everywhere-which of course they know, but i'm just crossing my t's. While he's gone, it starts raining in the laundry closet.  Then he gets back, and it starts raining in the living room.  So we move all the electronics and put something under the two drippy bits there.

The water eventually stops, and now the ceilings in most of the rooms are soaked and sagging, and the light fixture has fallen out of the wall in the guest bathroom.  The bedrooms are dry so-far.  Two rooms unaffected. luckily the ones that contain the largeportion of stuff.

Oh, and did i mention i have about 12 hrs of work to complete in 8 hrs tomorrow and after that am going to be out of town for a week?  Yeah. my life is so much fun.  Oh, and insurance companies replace carpet with carpet. Course, i'm not entirely clear on how that works, since, don't they just write a check?

I also feel terrible for my upstairs neighbor, who had his foot on a broken hot water pipe for about 45 minutes until the 'emergency' maintenance guy (who lives in clinton md) finally showed up and turned off the hot water.  He is limping and his eyes are red rimmed (for the water hit him in the face first) and on top of that, my place is hosed, and so is my downstairs neighbor's, and he is responsible (unless we can shift it onto the condo, because i've been complaining there's something wrong with the pipes for at least a month.) Oh, and one of the maintenance guys lives ON SITE, why in sam ell did we have to wait for the senior guy to mosey in from Maryland.

even better, this morning, Alfred is rubbing his eyes and shaking his head. We're not entirely sure what he got into overnight, or if he's just allergic to the proto mildew that one can smell wherever one goes.

But hey. somebody is gonna fix the pipes, so maybe i will get hot water in my master bathroom.

Did i mention that i answered my door like, a hundred times in a giant sarong? at least it was giant!

1) very recently, the ice system spat out a few ice cubes. So maybe its going to start working? Anyway:, we have two options.. try to shop-vac the water through, assuming blockage and open the back of the fridge and the exposed areas and look for water.

2) Wednesday was a bust, apparently turning off the hot water is NOT teh same as turning of the water. So i had to schedule a water off for Monday (yesterday)

OK. so, changed the sink and the valves. (have i mentioned that i should NEVER allow a boy to know that i'm doing stuff with plumbing. The other apt maintenance guy, when i had him turn it on and it leaked like a sieve, decided i couldn't fix it myself.) Said same maintenance guy also gave me GREAT detail on the pipes which actually MATCHED my experience. Other than that, the valve change went fine, and i got a BIT more hot water, but not ENOUGH. Showed maintenance guy. Also showed him how, even though he'd turned off water, it was still running. Really raised a rukus about it.

Now, to prep for a call to the management office again. Hopefully i can be fairly firm in stressing that i will invoice them if i call a plumber and he tells me what the last guy told me, which is that it's the bloody frakkin pipes.

Why didn't i buy a house and not a condo?

1) OK. Bought plubming supplies, cut massive holes in the walls between kitchen and laundry (because, literally, it's closer)
hooked it up and it leaked.
Went to ACTUAL plumbing supply store with problem, got MORE plubming supplies, hooked it up,
it leaked
Three days later it is now, and it's all hooked up WITHOUT LEAKS.

tried to draw water through the refrigerator...no dice. something is broken between the wall entering the fridge and the fridge output for water and ice.

*sigh*

2) Ok, poked around drawing diagram of house in order to determine where in sam ell the water pipes are, determined that it APPEARS that they go up and down between the condos, rather than coming into the condo in a single place and running about to supply water. Not positive, so we went to the management office. Management said..i think you're right. So i reported that i had a problem in only one of my bathrooms...

manager said, let's check with your upstairs neighbor, she is the only other person on that line. That night i check and damn, she DOES have a similar problem.

so manager sends out mechanic guy. His assessment? That we need to replace all of the valves on all of our sinks and bathtubs because he's sure that THAT is the problem. (in other words, our lack of hot water flow is simply that four separate valves are all clogged at the same time, rather than that the problem comes from the pipes.

riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

so, IF they turn off water wednesday, i will change my valves. Once i've done that, i can say that it cannot be my valves because THEY are BRAND NEW. But they probably won't...so i have to find time to do this on my own.

In looking at a planting zone map, one truly realizes that one is quite far from home. there are three separate partial zones between here and home.