Hieronymus Blogsch
http://www.rjray.org
rjray.org - Journal and Log for Randy J. RayenRandy J. Ray (rjray@blackperl.com)Copyright Randy J. RayBack in Town Now
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/okc_back.html
Back and safe on the ground in the south bay. There are a few entries to
follow this one, since I never found a Wi-Fi point in OKC to upload my earlier
entries. I'll catch up on LJ sometime tomorrow...
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-12-30T07:04-07:00Back and safe on the ground in the south bay. There are a few entries to
follow this one, since I never found a Wi-Fi point in OKC to upload my earlier
entries. I'll catch up on LJ sometime tomorrow...
]]>And Eight Days Later...
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/leaving_okc.html
I'm sitting in the OKC airport, about half an hour before my flight starts
to board. It's been a good week, with many friends visited and too much rich
food eaten. But then, the holidays are never the time to be too diet-conscious.
In years past, I've groused about the smokiness of this place, both in terms
of my dad's house and just going to restaurants in general. Living in California
has spoiled me on this point. But rather than bore what readers I have with a
re-hash of an ongoing gripe, I think I'll look more inward this time...
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-12-29T21:17-07:00I'm sitting in the OKC airport, about half an hour before my flight starts
to board. It's been a good week, with many friends visited and too much rich
food eaten. But then, the holidays are never the time to be too diet-conscious.
In years past, I've groused about the smokiness of this place, both in terms
of my dad's house and just going to restaurants in general. Living in California
has spoiled me on this point. But rather than bore what readers I have with a
re-hash of an ongoing gripe, I think I'll look more inward this time...
]]>Layover in Las Vegas
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/vegas.html
Sitting here, with about 30 minutes before I have to board. The flight out
from San Francisco almost got badly screwed– there were two flights from SFO
to Vegas, smartly placed at adjoining gates both of which were numbered
77, differing only in a letter suffix. And of course, I was at the wrong
one. I found out in the nick of time, and was one of the last 2 or 3 to board.
Luckily for me, the flight was running late, or I might have missed it
completely, and if the other flight was as completely booked as mine was
there would have been no way to get a connection here in time to catch my
second leg to Denver.
But I did make it, and since the layover here in Vegas was supposed to be
pretty long to begin with, the lateness of the SFO leg didn't hurt me. And
lo and behold, there was a Quizno's near my arriving gate, just as I was hungry
for lunch.
Of course, I'm in Vegas, and that means two words: slot machines. In fact,
I had expected them to be just everywhere, but I hadn't seen a single
one even as I finished eating my lunch. But that was quickly fixed, as I
walked towards my connecting gate. Sure enough, there was a little island
with what was probably 36 or so slots. I'm prone to addictive behavior; I've
known this for a long, long time. I had my first taste of slots in 1998 when
I was bringing the rest of my possessions to my new apartment in Campbell,
from the storage facility in Denver. I stopped at a place on I-80 just before
you get to the California border. I learned quickly how easy it is to get
caught up and instinctively go back for more tokens/change when you run out.
So I just walked on past, tempted though I was. And wrote this instead of
feeding my quarters into the gaping maw of the beast.
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-12-22T22:02-07:00Sitting here, with about 30 minutes before I have to board. The flight out
from San Francisco almost got badly screwed– there were two flights from SFO
to Vegas, smartly placed at adjoining gates both of which were numbered
77, differing only in a letter suffix. And of course, I was at the wrong
one. I found out in the nick of time, and was one of the last 2 or 3 to board.
Luckily for me, the flight was running late, or I might have missed it
completely, and if the other flight was as completely booked as mine was
there would have been no way to get a connection here in time to catch my
second leg to Denver.
But I did make it, and since the layover here in Vegas was supposed to be
pretty long to begin with, the lateness of the SFO leg didn't hurt me. And
lo and behold, there was a Quizno's near my arriving gate, just as I was hungry
for lunch.
Of course, I'm in Vegas, and that means two words: slot machines. In fact,
I had expected them to be just everywhere, but I hadn't seen a single
one even as I finished eating my lunch. But that was quickly fixed, as I
walked towards my connecting gate. Sure enough, there was a little island
with what was probably 36 or so slots. I'm prone to addictive behavior; I've
known this for a long, long time. I had my first taste of slots in 1998 when
I was bringing the rest of my possessions to my new apartment in Campbell,
from the storage facility in Denver. I stopped at a place on I-80 just before
you get to the California border. I learned quickly how easy it is to get
caught up and instinctively go back for more tokens/change when you run out.
So I just walked on past, tempted though I was. And wrote this instead of
feeding my quarters into the gaping maw of the beast.
]]>Ready to Head Off to Oklahoma
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/okc_bound.html
I'm sitting in SFO, waiting for my flight to start boarding. In order to
get an airfare I could manage, I have two stops on my way to OKC. I go from
here to Vegas, then to Denver, and then on to OKC. It means spending a good
nine hours or more either on a plane or in between planes. But it also means
actually going, as opposed to spending the holiday alone with my cats.
When I got past security (and I don't even want to go into the whole
tirade about our "upgrade" to Threat Level Orange yesterday, but suffice to
say everyone here is feeling the effects), I say a little island area touting
free wireless connectivity. In fact, when I got closer, I saw that they even
had a dozen or so laptops at various stations, for people to use. So, I
thought I'd be a good WiFi citizen and let those without their own gear use
the loaners, and wandered off to a corner where I could get some current and
a signal, without taking up space that others could be using.
Well, it turns out that the "free" part only applies if you are using
their hardware and their MAC addresses. When I
tried to connect anywhere, I got the T-Mobile service screen, and an offer of
24 hours for $9.99, or 60 minutes for the bargain price of $6.00. I think
I'll pass.
It's a shame. For all the fees that SFO gets you with, and all the extra
costs (overpriced food, souveniers, etc.) one would thing that providing
cost-free WiFi would not be unreasonable. But I guess they'll never pass up
the chance to make a few extra bucks.
So I sit here, near my gate, writing this with the intent to upload it,
well, whenever. No rush. And on the plus side, I was here at just the right
time to help two nice Korean men, who spoke no English, to make a phone call.
Speaking from my experience in London, when the local numbers just don't have
what your brain considers the "right" number of digits, it can get pretty
damn confusing. Once I figured out what they needed, it was just a matter of
making the right pseudo-sign-language, and they were set. My good deed for the
day...
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-12-22T18:26-07:00I'm sitting in SFO, waiting for my flight to start boarding. In order to
get an airfare I could manage, I have two stops on my way to OKC. I go from
here to Vegas, then to Denver, and then on to OKC. It means spending a good
nine hours or more either on a plane or in between planes. But it also means
actually going, as opposed to spending the holiday alone with my cats.
When I got past security (and I don't even want to go into the whole
tirade about our "upgrade" to Threat Level Orange yesterday, but suffice to
say everyone here is feeling the effects), I say a little island area touting
free wireless connectivity. In fact, when I got closer, I saw that they even
had a dozen or so laptops at various stations, for people to use. So, I
thought I'd be a good WiFi citizen and let those without their own gear use
the loaners, and wandered off to a corner where I could get some current and
a signal, without taking up space that others could be using.
Well, it turns out that the "free" part only applies if you are using
their hardware and their MAC addresses. When I
tried to connect anywhere, I got the T-Mobile service screen, and an offer of
24 hours for $9.99, or 60 minutes for the bargain price of $6.00. I think
I'll pass.
It's a shame. For all the fees that SFO gets you with, and all the extra
costs (overpriced food, souveniers, etc.) one would thing that providing
cost-free WiFi would not be unreasonable. But I guess they'll never pass up
the chance to make a few extra bucks.
So I sit here, near my gate, writing this with the intent to upload it,
well, whenever. No rush. And on the plus side, I was here at just the right
time to help two nice Korean men, who spoke no English, to make a phone call.
Speaking from my experience in London, when the local numbers just don't have
what your brain considers the "right" number of digits, it can get pretty
damn confusing. Once I figured out what they needed, it was just a matter of
making the right pseudo-sign-language, and they were set. My good deed for the
day...
]]>Sweet Weeping Baby Jesus
http://www.rjray.org/misc/spamagain.html
LiveJournal has again decided that all the stories in my RSS feed were
new and/or updated, and has spammed anyone who has the rjray_rss feed
in their friends-list.
I don't know why. I've been too busy to write anything, and the only
template change I've made was several days ago (and it would not have affected
the checksums of the stories– it was to the <head> section of
the page only). I would have thought if that were the cause, it would have
appeared before today.
Sorry. Again.
]]>/miscRandy J. Ray2003-12-17T22:00-07:00LiveJournal has again decided that all the stories in my RSS feed were
new and/or updated, and has spammed anyone who has the rjray_rss feed
in their friends-list.
I don't know why. I've been too busy to write anything, and the only
template change I've made was several days ago (and it would not have affected
the checksums of the stories– it was to the <head> section of
the page only). I would have thought if that were the cause, it would have
appeared before today.
]]>Home Again, Home Again...
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/goodbye_denver.html
Oif, but this has been a long day. It started at 5:00AM MST, as I got up to
head out to the airport to come home. When I laid down to sleep last night, I
felt the onset of some flu symptoms– joint/muscle ache, chills, etc. I had
a flu shot a few weeks ago, so this kind of surprised me. Luckily, it didn't
really catch hold, and the fever broke overnight. By this morning, I didn't
have any fever or other symptoms (except for headache and dehydration).
So anyway, off to Denver International Airport. Check-in was quick, but
security was a drag since the "Concourse 'A'
Trick"* no longer works– too
many people seem to have caught on. On top of that, my belt buckle set off
the metal detector, and that was an invitation to a full pat-down search. Both
legs of the flight were packed, but uneventful. I slept what little I could
on the planes, but not enough. It'll be an early evening (relatively speaking)
tonight. Getting back to San Jose was nice, after a week at high altitude.
Picked up the cats from the kennel, and they're both anxious for my attention.
I've caught up on most of my e-mail (I never ended up back online after
Friday afternoon), and all of the
LJ traffic I
missed. Still more to catch up on in terms of news, software releases and
such, but I've done enough for one day.
Oh, one other thing that just kills me: when I got all my stacked-up mail
together and went through it, I had gotten four solicitations from
Capital One to get their credit card. Four. Within one week. It is to weep.
* To understand the "Concourse 'A'
Trick", it helps to know how DIA is laid out. The main terminal is essentially
a square, and there are three concourses: A, B and C. The concourses are all
parallel lines, essentially. A is closest to the main terminal, B is about
twice the length of A or C, and is in the middle. Anyway, the important
details are, that the security check in the main terminal is a wretched mess,
and that you use an underground subway system to move from the main terminal
to the concourses. As it happens, there is a sky-bridge from the main terminal
to the A concourse. And up until recently, the security checkpoint was much
less clogged and much quicker than the main terminal. So the trick was this:
Go across the sky-bridge, go through security at Concourse A (in usually a
quarter of the time it would take to go though security in the main terminal),
then go down to the subway and take it to your concourse (unless your
concourse is A). Usually saves you upwards of twenty minutes. But not
anymore; today it was packed. I guess too many people have caught on.
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-12-02T08:01-07:00Oif, but this has been a long day. It started at 5:00AM MST, as I got up to
head out to the airport to come home. When I laid down to sleep last night, I
felt the onset of some flu symptoms– joint/muscle ache, chills, etc. I had
a flu shot a few weeks ago, so this kind of surprised me. Luckily, it didn't
really catch hold, and the fever broke overnight. By this morning, I didn't
have any fever or other symptoms (except for headache and dehydration).
So anyway, off to Denver International Airport. Check-in was quick, but
security was a drag since the "Concourse 'A'
Trick"* no longer works– too
many people seem to have caught on. On top of that, my belt buckle set off
the metal detector, and that was an invitation to a full pat-down search. Both
legs of the flight were packed, but uneventful. I slept what little I could
on the planes, but not enough. It'll be an early evening (relatively speaking)
tonight. Getting back to San Jose was nice, after a week at high altitude.
Picked up the cats from the kennel, and they're both anxious for my attention.
I've caught up on most of my e-mail (I never ended up back online after
Friday afternoon), and all of the
LJ traffic I
missed. Still more to catch up on in terms of news, software releases and
such, but I've done enough for one day.
Oh, one other thing that just kills me: when I got all my stacked-up mail
together and went through it, I had gotten four solicitations from
Capital One to get their credit card. Four. Within one week. It is to weep.
* To understand the "Concourse 'A'
Trick", it helps to know how DIA is laid out. The main terminal is essentially
a square, and there are three concourses: A, B and C. The concourses are all
parallel lines, essentially. A is closest to the main terminal, B is about
twice the length of A or C, and is in the middle. Anyway, the important
details are, that the security check in the main terminal is a wretched mess,
and that you use an underground subway system to move from the main terminal
to the concourses. As it happens, there is a sky-bridge from the main terminal
to the A concourse. And up until recently, the security checkpoint was much
less clogged and much quicker than the main terminal. So the trick was this:
Go across the sky-bridge, go through security at Concourse A (in usually a
quarter of the time it would take to go though security in the main terminal),
then go down to the subway and take it to your concourse (unless your
concourse is A). Usually saves you upwards of twenty minutes. But not
anymore; today it was packed. I guess too many people have caught on.
]]>Connected at Last!
http://www.rjray.org/misc/connected.html
After having endless problems dialing in to my ISP (connection would drop,
sometimes after only 30 seconds or so), I've found a place in Boulder where I
can get reasonably-priced wireless access. It's part of the
Surf and Sip network, in case you want
to give them some business on your next travel outing.
Mostly caught up with e-mail, and my LiveJournal friends-list. Crikey, but
people write a lot...
]]>/miscRandy J. Ray2003-11-28T22:05-07:00After having endless problems dialing in to my ISP (connection would drop,
sometimes after only 30 seconds or so), I've found a place in Boulder where I
can get reasonably-priced wireless access. It's part of the
Surf and Sip network, in case you want
to give them some business on your next travel outing.
Mostly caught up with e-mail, and my LiveJournal friends-list. Crikey, but
people write a lot...
]]>My Denver Lament
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/denver_lament.html
I really miss Colorado. I've felt this way each time that I've visited,
but for some reason the feeling is a lot stronger this time. Maybe because
I'm not as happy in my current job as I wish to be (and last year, I was only
about 3-4 months in, too soon to make that sort of judgement), I'm more given
to the feelings of longing.
What really triggered the feelings so strongly this time was a trip we
made yesterday to the Denver Art Museum. (We were there for the current
headlining exhibition, "El Greco to Picasso." An amazing display of works
from the Duncan Phillips collection, which sounds so casual as I type it now,
but of course I knew squat about it before yesterday.) As we drove down US 36
to I-70, and south into downtown Denver, I just felt like this was where I
belonged. Seeing the skyline of downtown, and driving past the place I
used to work, just brought it all back.
I wonder why I feel so strongly about this place. Fact is, I've now spent
more time in California than I did in Colorado. As of the 15th of this month,
I've lived in California for six years. I was only in Colorado for about five
and a half years when I left. Maybe because this is the first place I lived
once I made the move away from Oklahoma. I don't feel this strong a tie to
Oklahoma, and I lived there for nearly 24 years. Something about this place,
maybe something about the friends I had here. It's hard to tell.
Mind, this doesn't mean that I'm going to immediately start looking for a
job out here, and move back at the earliest opportunity. I have a lot vested
in the bay area, and I can't just pull up stakes and go. There are things I
want to get done, and friends that I've made that I can't imagine leaving
behind. But I feel very strongly that I'll end up back here, some day. It may
be five years, it may be longer. Funny thing is, I'm frustrated by the dryness
of the air here, and the static it creates. I'm more easily winded due to the
altitude (though that would improve over time). But I just miss it here.
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-11-28T07:23-07:00I really miss Colorado. I've felt this way each time that I've visited,
but for some reason the feeling is a lot stronger this time. Maybe because
I'm not as happy in my current job as I wish to be (and last year, I was only
about 3-4 months in, too soon to make that sort of judgement), I'm more given
to the feelings of longing.
What really triggered the feelings so strongly this time was a trip we
made yesterday to the Denver Art Museum. (We were there for the current
headlining exhibition, "El Greco to Picasso." An amazing display of works
from the Duncan Phillips collection, which sounds so casual as I type it now,
but of course I knew squat about it before yesterday.) As we drove down US 36
to I-70, and south into downtown Denver, I just felt like this was where I
belonged. Seeing the skyline of downtown, and driving past the place I
used to work, just brought it all back.
I wonder why I feel so strongly about this place. Fact is, I've now spent
more time in California than I did in Colorado. As of the 15th of this month,
I've lived in California for six years. I was only in Colorado for about five
and a half years when I left. Maybe because this is the first place I lived
once I made the move away from Oklahoma. I don't feel this strong a tie to
Oklahoma, and I lived there for nearly 24 years. Something about this place,
maybe something about the friends I had here. It's hard to tell.
Mind, this doesn't mean that I'm going to immediately start looking for a
job out here, and move back at the earliest opportunity. I have a lot vested
in the bay area, and I can't just pull up stakes and go. There are things I
want to get done, and friends that I've made that I can't imagine leaving
behind. But I feel very strongly that I'll end up back here, some day. It may
be five years, it may be longer. Funny thing is, I'm frustrated by the dryness
of the air here, and the static it creates. I'm more easily winded due to the
altitude (though that would improve over time). But I just miss it here.
]]>Turkey Day '03
http://www.rjray.org/food/turkey.html
Once again, my devious plans for world domination have been foiled by the
sedative powers of tryptophan.
Pasha, the friend I'm staying with, has always been an amazing cook. But
this year, she's made what I believe to be the best turkey she's ever done.
Factor in home-made rolls, green bean casserole, fruit salad, and all the
usual Thanksgiving trimmings, and you get one very bloated me. We didn't even
get as far as the pies, let alone the chocolate-frosted peanut-butter
brownies.
Thanksgiving week is never the time to be worried about your weight.
]]>/foodRandy J. Ray2003-11-28T04:30-07:00Once again, my devious plans for world domination have been foiled by the
sedative powers of tryptophan.
Pasha, the friend I'm staying with, has always been an amazing cook. But
this year, she's made what I believe to be the best turkey she's ever done.
Factor in home-made rolls, green bean casserole, fruit salad, and all the
usual Thanksgiving trimmings, and you get one very bloated me. We didn't even
get as far as the pies, let alone the chocolate-frosted peanut-butter
brownies.
Thanksgiving week is never the time to be worried about your weight.
]]>TiVo Envy
http://www.rjray.org/tech/tivo.html
I've been here at my friend's place for about four days now. My friend has
TiVo. I have many friends who have TiVo, but
this is the first time I've spent any amount of time in a house with TiVo.
I've avoided getting TiVo for two reasons: Firstly, I generally don't
watch enough TV in a given month to justify even the monthly charge, let
alone the set-up and installation costs. Secondly, I worry that if I had a
tool like TiVo at my disposal, I would end up watching significantly more
TV than I currently do.
The last four days haven't done anything to assuage that second concern.
Mind you, I am on vacation. And I'm making it a point to relax and
not focus too hard on anything work-related. Nothing quite takes my mind off
of work like hours of TV. But as a side-effect of all this watching, I've
finally seen "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", and caught a few BBC America
programs as well.
If I make the plunge into TiVo, I'm almost certainly going to end up
watching more TV than I currently do. I'll also not have problems with
recording multiple programs in a given evening (something I can't currently
do with my Comcast cable set-up). Pah. I'm still thinking about it.
]]>/techRandy J. Ray2003-11-27T04:51-07:00I've been here at my friend's place for about four days now. My friend has
TiVo. I have many friends who have TiVo, but
this is the first time I've spent any amount of time in a house with TiVo.
I've avoided getting TiVo for two reasons: Firstly, I generally don't
watch enough TV in a given month to justify even the monthly charge, let
alone the set-up and installation costs. Secondly, I worry that if I had a
tool like TiVo at my disposal, I would end up watching significantly more
TV than I currently do.
The last four days haven't done anything to assuage that second concern.
Mind you, I am on vacation. And I'm making it a point to relax and
not focus too hard on anything work-related. Nothing quite takes my mind off
of work like hours of TV. But as a side-effect of all this watching, I've
finally seen "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", and caught a few BBC America
programs as well.
If I make the plunge into TiVo, I'm almost certainly going to end up
watching more TV than I currently do. I'll also not have problems with
recording multiple programs in a given evening (something I can't currently
do with my Comcast cable set-up). Pah. I'm still thinking about it.
]]>Here I Am in Snowy Denver
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/in_denver.html
(Actually, I'm in a little suburb called Superior, but there's no need to
split hairs...)
The flights on Saturday were fine, though once we were on the ground at
DIA we had to wait nearly 45 minutes for a gate to pull into. Weather that
day had started out as mildly snowy and gotten progressively worse. When we
were leaving LAX, the flight captain said that the weather report had
visibility at DIA at about 2 miles. By the time we were over the Rockies and
making our approach, it was down to half of a mile. Still enough to land
safely. But it was holding up some departures, and of course that cascades
downward.
Once here, things were fine. I was wiped out, since I'd only gotten two
hours of sleep Friday night. After we ate, none of us was up for much more
than some TV and then sleep. But my host managed enough energy for a
spur-of-the-moment cake, which was heavenly. When I went to sleep, it took
a bit to adjust to the different bed, but apparently not too much, as
I'm told I was out within 20-30 minutes.
(Of course, how timely these journal entries appear all hinges upon
whether and how often I find a source of wireless connectivity...)
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-11-24T07:52-07:00(Actually, I'm in a little suburb called Superior, but there's no need to
split hairs...)
The flights on Saturday were fine, though once we were on the ground at
DIA we had to wait nearly 45 minutes for a gate to pull into. Weather that
day had started out as mildly snowy and gotten progressively worse. When we
were leaving LAX, the flight captain said that the weather report had
visibility at DIA at about 2 miles. By the time we were over the Rockies and
making our approach, it was down to half of a mile. Still enough to land
safely. But it was holding up some departures, and of course that cascades
downward.
Once here, things were fine. I was wiped out, since I'd only gotten two
hours of sleep Friday night. After we ate, none of us was up for much more
than some TV and then sleep. But my host managed enough energy for a
spur-of-the-moment cake, which was heavenly. When I went to sleep, it took
a bit to adjust to the different bed, but apparently not too much, as
I'm told I was out within 20-30 minutes.
(Of course, how timely these journal entries appear all hinges upon
whether and how often I find a source of wireless connectivity...)
]]>Chicks With Casios
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/music/capricorns.html
By way of Warren Ellis, I was
led to the website for a female duo who call themselves
The Capricorns. Two women with
Casios, and they aren't afraid to use them either.
]]>/entertainment/musicRandy J. Ray2003-11-19T08:59-07:00By way of Warren Ellis, I was
led to the website for a female duo who call themselves
The Capricorns. Two women with
Casios, and they aren't afraid to use them either.
]]>Again the Floodgates Open
http://www.rjray.org/tech/spamflood.html
In just the last half-hour or so, I've been getting the damnable "Latest
MS Security Patch" worm-spam in a veritable flood. In addition, I'm also
getting a ton of bounce messages from a Japanese e-mail server that uses the
RAV for Linux suite. Those,
at least, I can filter out, since they
come from a consistent address. The "security patch", like most spam and/or
worms, randomizes the address. All I can do is wait for it to show up in the
virus descriptions that my ISP uses for
SpamAssassin.
In the meantime, each time
fetchmail perks up, it
strangles my dial-up bandwidth for several minutes.
]]>/techRandy J. Ray2003-11-19T08:53-07:00In just the last half-hour or so, I've been getting the damnable "Latest
MS Security Patch" worm-spam in a veritable flood. In addition, I'm also
getting a ton of bounce messages from a Japanese e-mail server that uses the
RAV for Linux suite. Those,
at least, I can filter out, since they
come from a consistent address. The "security patch", like most spam and/or
worms, randomizes the address. All I can do is wait for it to show up in the
virus descriptions that my ISP uses for
SpamAssassin.
In the meantime, each time
fetchmail perks up, it
strangles my dial-up bandwidth for several minutes.
You should be dating a Pisces. 19 February - 20 March
Your mate is loving and caring, trusting and
hospitable, and romantic. Though he/she can be
self-pitying, temperamental or dependent, the
fishes are quite romantic in bed.
That wouldn't be so bad, but I am a Pisces. Self-pitying?
Tempermental? Oh well, at least I'm romantic...
You should be dating a Pisces. 19 February - 20 March
Your mate is loving and caring, trusting and
hospitable, and romantic. Though he/she can be
self-pitying, temperamental or dependent, the
fishes are quite romantic in bed.
That wouldn't be so bad, but I am a Pisces. Self-pitying?
Tempermental? Oh well, at least I'm romantic...
]]>Headed to Colorado
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/travel/colorado03.html
With the holidays setting in, I'm gearing up for more travel. I'll be
leaving for Denver this coming Saturday, and staying there through the 30th.
I'll be basically lounging about most of the time, trying to actually rest
while on vacation, for a change. I do hope to commence writing again, but the
main focus will be visiting with friends and eating. Yes, eating. See, I'll be
staying with my ex-SO, who remains one of the most amazing cooks I've ever
known. And while we'll be eating out at favorite restaurants of mine a few
times, she's already promised me some of my favorite dishes, as well as
utterly fattening and sinful desserts. I won't be surprised if I get back and
learn that I've gained five or more pounds. Crash-space and decadent
food; can't beat that deal with a stick.
While I'm there, I will also of course be up for hanging out a litte bit
here and there, should there be anyone reading this who's in the Denver area.
Just drop me a line before Saturday (my internet connectivity will be spotty
during that week– in fact, I'd love to know of any WiFi hot-spots or fairly
cheap net cafés where I'd be able to check mail).
]]>/thoughts/travelRandy J. Ray2003-11-19T03:45-07:00With the holidays setting in, I'm gearing up for more travel. I'll be
leaving for Denver this coming Saturday, and staying there through the 30th.
I'll be basically lounging about most of the time, trying to actually rest
while on vacation, for a change. I do hope to commence writing again, but the
main focus will be visiting with friends and eating. Yes, eating. See, I'll be
staying with my ex-SO, who remains one of the most amazing cooks I've ever
known. And while we'll be eating out at favorite restaurants of mine a few
times, she's already promised me some of my favorite dishes, as well as
utterly fattening and sinful desserts. I won't be surprised if I get back and
learn that I've gained five or more pounds. Crash-space and decadent
food; can't beat that deal with a stick.
While I'm there, I will also of course be up for hanging out a litte bit
here and there, should there be anyone reading this who's in the Denver area.
Just drop me a line before Saturday (my internet connectivity will be spotty
during that week– in fact, I'd love to know of any WiFi hot-spots or fairly
cheap net cafés where I'd be able to check mail).
]]>Neil Gaiman's Matrix
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/movies/gaiman_matrix.html
Through a series of links on LiveJournal, I came across this short bit of
"Matrix Fanfic" written by Neil Gaiman:
Goliath
I find the thought of someone like Gaiman doing Matrix fanfic kind of
amusing, but I can't really laugh at it, because it's really damn good.
And not just in that "I like Gaiman so everything he writes I blindly like"
sense, either. I do love his work, yes. But I like plenty of writers,
and while I gush about the stuff I really enjoy, I just don't bother with
talking about the stuff I don't like. So while I admit to being a
fan-boy where NG is concerned, I truly believe that if you liked the first
Matrix movie at all, you'll enjoy this story. Bonus points if you can guess
the identity of the antagonist(s).
(When I say "enjoyed the first movie", I mean that this story was clearly
written for the whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com website, which was first put
together to promote the second film. There's nothing about it that places it
in any particular part of the timeline of any of the three movies, but I'm
pretty sure that Mr. Gaiman wrote it before the second film was released,
that's all.)
]]>/entertainment/moviesRandy J. Ray2003-11-16T00:51-07:00Through a series of links on LiveJournal, I came across this short bit of
"Matrix Fanfic" written by Neil Gaiman:
Goliath
I find the thought of someone like Gaiman doing Matrix fanfic kind of
amusing, but I can't really laugh at it, because it's really damn good.
And not just in that "I like Gaiman so everything he writes I blindly like"
sense, either. I do love his work, yes. But I like plenty of writers,
and while I gush about the stuff I really enjoy, I just don't bother with
talking about the stuff I don't like. So while I admit to being a
fan-boy where NG is concerned, I truly believe that if you liked the first
Matrix movie at all, you'll enjoy this story. Bonus points if you can guess
the identity of the antagonist(s).
(When I say "enjoyed the first movie", I mean that this story was clearly
written for the whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com website, which was first put
together to promote the second film. There's nothing about it that places it
in any particular part of the timeline of any of the three movies, but I'm
pretty sure that Mr. Gaiman wrote it before the second film was released,
that's all.)
]]>Underrated Albums: Concrete Blond's "Mexican Moon"
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/music/mexican_moon.html
(The first in what may or may not be a series...)
While cleaning house recently, I came across my copy of
Mexican
Moon, the 1993 release by
Concrete
Blond. So I slotted it into the player and gave it a spin. Wow.
I had forgotton just how really good this album is. And I started
wondering why it didn't run the charts like Bloodletting
had. I suppose (and this is purely conjecture) that the legions of tortured
goths who felt that CB really "felt their pain" with songs like "Bloodletting"
and "Joey". And maybe they felt left behind when
Walking in London wasn't another paen to
children of the night. Of course, if you read the reviews at Amazon, they're
all written by people who feel, as I do, that this album has always been
unfairly dismissed.
Who knows, I guess. But this one strayed even further from BL than WiL
had. Not that I don't like those albums; "Tomorrow, Wendy" remains one of my
favorite songs by any band. But this album just meshes really well.
From the opening "Jenny I Read", into the title track, you just know that
you're going to enjoy every track on the disc.
Money, art, a broken
heart, where do you want to go?
—Mexican Moon
I think it was the track, "Heal It Up," that got the radio air-play. I
know that I'm not a tour-following devoted fan. I had BL, but hadn't gotten
around to getting WiL. When I heard "Heal", though, I had to get this one.
It's a powerful track, with great lyrics and poetry. And in a disturbingly
smooth blend, it goes right in to the sampled excerpts of
JimJones
that open up the track,
"Jonestown".
And we're only up to the fourth track.
I can go one about pretty much every track. The whole album is very
listen-able, from start to end, on auto-repeat even. The last track is
titled, "Bajo La Lune Mexicana," and as you might guess even without speaking
any Spanish, it's the title track again, only with the lyrics in Spanish
(though alternating lines of the chorus are still in English). In a way, this
is the most relaxing, almost ambient track of the disc. I don't focus on the
exact words as much, and instead on the timbre of the singer's voice and
the music that accompanies her.
Very happy that I dug this up.
]]>/entertainment/musicRandy J. Ray2003-11-14T10:25-07:00
(The first in what may or may not be a series...)
While cleaning house recently, I came across my copy of
Mexican
Moon, the 1993 release by
Concrete
Blond. So I slotted it into the player and gave it a spin. Wow.
I had forgotton just how really good this album is. And I started
wondering why it didn't run the charts like Bloodletting
had. I suppose (and this is purely conjecture) that the legions of tortured
goths who felt that CB really "felt their pain" with songs like "Bloodletting"
and "Joey". And maybe they felt left behind when
Walking in London wasn't another paen to
children of the night. Of course, if you read the reviews at Amazon, they're
all written by people who feel, as I do, that this album has always been
unfairly dismissed.
Who knows, I guess. But this one strayed even further from BL than WiL
had. Not that I don't like those albums; "Tomorrow, Wendy" remains one of my
favorite songs by any band. But this album just meshes really well.
From the opening "Jenny I Read", into the title track, you just know that
you're going to enjoy every track on the disc.
Money, art, a broken
heart, where do you want to go?
—Mexican Moon
I think it was the track, "Heal It Up," that got the radio air-play. I
know that I'm not a tour-following devoted fan. I had BL, but hadn't gotten
around to getting WiL. When I heard "Heal", though, I had to get this one.
It's a powerful track, with great lyrics and poetry. And in a disturbingly
smooth blend, it goes right in to the sampled excerpts of
JimJones
that open up the track,
"Jonestown".
And we're only up to the fourth track.
I can go one about pretty much every track. The whole album is very
listen-able, from start to end, on auto-repeat even. The last track is
titled, "Bajo La Lune Mexicana," and as you might guess even without speaking
any Spanish, it's the title track again, only with the lyrics in Spanish
(though alternating lines of the chorus are still in English). In a way, this
is the most relaxing, almost ambient track of the disc. I don't focus on the
exact words as much, and instead on the timbre of the singer's voice and
the music that accompanies her.
Very happy that I dug this up.
]]>Hot Wheel, Indeed!
http://www.rjray.org/tech/unibike.html
The
Forbes.com "Vehicle of the Week" for last week is this very chic-looking
answer to the silly Segway. Besides capturing that cross between Terminator 3
and Sorayama, the thing runs on fuel cells for an added twist. There's no
telling what it will actually cost when/if it comes to market, but I'd love
to test-drive one.
(Placed in /tech for lack of a more vehicle-oriented
category.)
]]>/techRandy J. Ray2003-11-13T01:59-07:00The
Forbes.com "Vehicle of the Week" for last week is this very chic-looking
answer to the silly Segway. Besides capturing that cross between Terminator 3
and Sorayama, the thing runs on fuel cells for an added twist. There's no
telling what it will actually cost when/if it comes to market, but I'd love
to test-drive one.
(Placed in /tech for lack of a more vehicle-oriented
category.)
]]>To the Charge of Journal Neglect: Guilty
http://www.rjray.org/misc/november03.html
I'm not exactly off to a great start for November. Today is the 12th, and
this is my first note of the month.
There are a lot of interesting goings-on, but there isn't a lot of free
time. I'm hoping to catch up on things, so there should be some new entries
(with actual content) fairly soon.
Be warned, though, that I will be making some adjustments to the templates
that are used to generate the individual stories. This
may or
may not
cause a large number of entries to re-appear on LiveJournal. So I'm apologizing
in advance.
]]>/miscRandy J. Ray2003-11-12T22:58-07:00I'm not exactly off to a great start for November. Today is the 12th, and
this is my first note of the month.
There are a lot of interesting goings-on, but there isn't a lot of free
time. I'm hoping to catch up on things, so there should be some new entries
(with actual content) fairly soon.
Be warned, though, that I will be making some adjustments to the templates
that are used to generate the individual stories. This
may or
may not
cause a large number of entries to re-appear on LiveJournal. So I'm apologizing
in advance.
]]>What the F***?
http://www.rjray.org/misc/wtf.html
LiveJournal has spewed the last 17 entries from my RSS feed, all in a row,
all at about 2:26AM this morning. I have no f'ing clue why this
happened. For one thing, the RSS feed itself should only produce 15 entries
at a time. Although, checking with some command-line tools just now shows me
that it's sending 41. I'll have to look at that separately, but it doesn't
explain 17. Secondly, the only time in the past that this has happened was
when I made a change to the story templates that actually affected the content
of the individual stories (I suspect that the LJ application that fetches RSS
feeds tracks things with checksums of some sort, probably MD5). That hasn't
happened, either. Not counting this entry right here, the last file modification
in my blosxom file tree was about 5 days ago, the follow-up to the "Find the
Boeing" story.
Ironically-enough, that followup was to address the fact that LJ seemed to
be correctly leaving RSS-fed stories in their chronological order when such a
story had an update.
No clue why this happened. Apologies to those who were spammed.
]]>/miscRandy J. Ray2003-10-26T23:55-07:00LiveJournal has spewed the last 17 entries from my RSS feed, all in a row,
all at about 2:26AM this morning. I have no f'ing clue why this
happened. For one thing, the RSS feed itself should only produce 15 entries
at a time. Although, checking with some command-line tools just now shows me
that it's sending 41. I'll have to look at that separately, but it doesn't
explain 17. Secondly, the only time in the past that this has happened was
when I made a change to the story templates that actually affected the content
of the individual stories (I suspect that the LJ application that fetches RSS
feeds tracks things with checksums of some sort, probably MD5). That hasn't
happened, either. Not counting this entry right here, the last file modification
in my blosxom file tree was about 5 days ago, the follow-up to the "Find the
Boeing" story.
Ironically-enough, that followup was to address the fact that LJ seemed to
be correctly leaving RSS-fed stories in their chronological order when such a
story had an update.
No clue why this happened. Apologies to those who were spammed.
]]>In Case You Read the Boeing Entry Yesterday
http://www.rjray.org/politics/boeing2.html
It seems that LiveJournal is now smart-enough to tell when a change in the
RSS feed is just an update to an entry it already displayed. Used to be, if I
made a small update it re-posted the entry in question as if it had just
appeared. Now it stays at the original place in the chronology, but with the
updated text. This is a good bug-fix, in my opinion.
However, in this case, it means that my update to
yesterday's entry on the "Find the Boeing"
conspiracy didn't get the same prominence that the original did. If you
read that via the RSS feed at LJ, please check back and follow the link to
the debunking of this particular theory.
]]>/politicsRandy J. Ray2003-10-21T23:51-07:00It seems that LiveJournal is now smart-enough to tell when a change in the
RSS feed is just an update to an entry it already displayed. Used to be, if I
made a small update it re-posted the entry in question as if it had just
appeared. Now it stays at the original place in the chronology, but with the
updated text. This is a good bug-fix, in my opinion.
However, in this case, it means that my update to
yesterday's entry on the "Find the Boeing"
conspiracy didn't get the same prominence that the original did. If you
read that via the RSS feed at LJ, please check back and follow the link to
the debunking of this particular theory.
]]>Get on the Global Frequency
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/tv/gf.html
I haven't yet talked about Warren Ellis' excellent Global Frequency
series under my comics category, because
it is still in issue format and I wanted to wait for the graphic novel. It's
easier for the non-comic-fiend types to get a GN than to hunt down back issues.
But this recent bit from CNN (not sure how long this link will be in their
archive) means speaking up a bit early:
So while the "full review" is still forthcoming, let me say that this
could be potentially excellent news. WB has done some stinkers, but they also
gave Joss Whedon the elbow room he needed to develop Buffy and Angel. And GF
is something else; it is in fact very spy vs. spy in nature, but the writing
is extremely crisp and tight, and the pacing is just fantastic. What really
struck me about it, though, is that it's already episodic. Each issue is a
single, stand-alone story, with recurring characters but otherwise not leading
up to a single grand-finale sort of conclusion. I've even mentioned to the
friend who turned me on to it, that it would lend itself well to TV, since it's
already written for it: each issue's final page runs the credits over the last
few panels as the story is wrapped up and last lines are spoken.
I just hope that the WB has the minerals to use the existing stories,
rather than just using the concept and writing new stories. The ones they have
are brutal, harsh, and very realistic (save for the near-future sci-fi tech
that they use). It would be a shame to not have characters like Grishko come
to life on the screen.
]]>/entertainment/tvRandy J. Ray2003-10-21T23:38-07:00I haven't yet talked about Warren Ellis' excellent Global Frequency
series under my comics category, because
it is still in issue format and I wanted to wait for the graphic novel. It's
easier for the non-comic-fiend types to get a GN than to hunt down back issues.
But this recent bit from CNN (not sure how long this link will be in their
archive) means speaking up a bit early:
So while the "full review" is still forthcoming, let me say that this
could be potentially excellent news. WB has done some stinkers, but they also
gave Joss Whedon the elbow room he needed to develop Buffy and Angel. And GF
is something else; it is in fact very spy vs. spy in nature, but the writing
is extremely crisp and tight, and the pacing is just fantastic. What really
struck me about it, though, is that it's already episodic. Each issue is a
single, stand-alone story, with recurring characters but otherwise not leading
up to a single grand-finale sort of conclusion. I've even mentioned to the
friend who turned me on to it, that it would lend itself well to TV, since it's
already written for it: each issue's final page runs the credits over the last
few panels as the story is wrapped up and last lines are spoken.
I just hope that the WB has the minerals to use the existing stories,
rather than just using the concept and writing new stories. The ones they have
are brutal, harsh, and very realistic (save for the near-future sci-fi tech
that they use). It would be a shame to not have characters like Grishko come
to life on the screen.
]]>Find the Boeing
http://www.rjray.org/politics/boeing.html
This is an interesting link:
I offer no further comment, or specific endorsement. But it does raise some
interesting questions.
Update:Andrew pointed me
towards the debunking
page at snopes.com. It might not convince all the theorists, but
it's good-enough for me.
]]>Total Recall: the Fallout
http://www.rjray.org/politics/recall2.html
(Updated)
Well, it's all over except for the gnashing of teeth. With over 90% of the
polls accounted for, the recall is passing 54.2% to 45.8%. Schwarzenegger is
the clear winner over Bustamante, with 47.8% of the vote to his 32.6%.
Soon, the state will be in the hands of Governor
Pete Wilson Arnold
Schwarzenegger. On the plus side, both propositions (53 and 54) were
defeated. So, the state hasn't taken full leave of its collective senses.
Let's be clear: I am willing to
admit when I'm wrong. So
if, a year or so from now, we are truly in better shape under this new
administration then I will admit it. In fact, if we are in truly better
shape when re-election rolls around, I may vote for his re-election. Assuming
he hasn't been recalled or otherwise brought down by the abuse and harassment
charges. Don't think for a minute those are going to go away, just because
the election is over.
]]>/politicsRandy J. Ray2003-10-09T03:04-07:00(Updated)
Well, it's all over except for the gnashing of teeth. With over 90% of the
polls accounted for, the recall is passing 54.2% to 45.8%. Schwarzenegger is
the clear winner over Bustamante, with 47.8% of the vote to his 32.6%.
Soon, the state will be in the hands of Governor
Pete Wilson Arnold
Schwarzenegger. On the plus side, both propositions (53 and 54) were
defeated. So, the state hasn't taken full leave of its collective senses.
Let's be clear: I am willing to
admit when I'm wrong. So
if, a year or so from now, we are truly in better shape under this new
administration then I will admit it. In fact, if we are in truly better
shape when re-election rolls around, I may vote for his re-election. Assuming
he hasn't been recalled or otherwise brought down by the abuse and harassment
charges. Don't think for a minute those are going to go away, just because
the election is over.
]]>Total Recall: No Sequel, OK?
http://www.rjray.org/politics/recall3.html
Let's be clear about something here: I didn't vote for Arnold, and while I
will be ready to admit if I'm wrong, I expect him to do at best an ineffective
job, and at worst a truly horrible job.
But I do not, under any circumstances, support the notion that we
should be immediately serving the GOP a taset of their own medicine. I
do not support any effort to recall Schwarzenegger. He's won, he's won fairly.
Let him serve the remainder of the term that's left, and judge him on his
merits (or lack of) at the next scheduled gubernatorial election.
In the meantime, if you are truly angered and disenfranchised by all of
this, then plan for the presidential race and the congressional races next
year. Having a GOP governor of California is going to make it harder for the
Democrats to assume that California is safely in their camp. It will mean
using more of their resources here than they would have otherwise, and that
will mean they have to spread the resources around more carefully in other
states. We had a huge voter turn-out this time– far more than voted in the
initial gov race last year. Try to keep that going for next year.
]]>/politicsRandy J. Ray2003-10-08T23:26-07:00Let's be clear about something here: I didn't vote for Arnold, and while I
will be ready to admit if I'm wrong, I expect him to do at best an ineffective
job, and at worst a truly horrible job.
But I do not, under any circumstances, support the notion that we
should be immediately serving the GOP a taset of their own medicine. I
do not support any effort to recall Schwarzenegger. He's won, he's won fairly.
Let him serve the remainder of the term that's left, and judge him on his
merits (or lack of) at the next scheduled gubernatorial election.
In the meantime, if you are truly angered and disenfranchised by all of
this, then plan for the presidential race and the congressional races next
year. Having a GOP governor of California is going to make it harder for the
Democrats to assume that California is safely in their camp. It will mean
using more of their resources here than they would have otherwise, and that
will mean they have to spread the resources around more carefully in other
states. We had a huge voter turn-out this time– far more than voted in the
initial gov race last year. Try to keep that going for next year.
]]>My Recall Rant
http://www.rjray.org/politics/recall.html
It has reached the point where I feel a great need to speak up on the
recall, even if only for my own sake. I realize that this is pretty much an
11th-hour treatise, but then I suspect that most people who are likely to read
this (and actually living in California) have already made up their minds.
Heck, at least one that I know of has already voted by absentee ballot.
(Behind a cut, since I expect this to be pretty long...)
]]>/politicsRandy J. Ray2003-10-07T03:43-07:00It has reached the point where I feel a great need to speak up on the
recall, even if only for my own sake. I realize that this is pretty much an
11th-hour treatise, but then I suspect that most people who are likely to read
this (and actually living in California) have already made up their minds.
Heck, at least one that I know of has already voted by absentee ballot.
(Behind a cut, since I expect this to be pretty long...)
]]>The (Really) New Word of the Day
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/rships/convivant.html
On NPR this afternoon, as I was returning from lunch, I listened to Talk
of the Nation where the guest was Simon Winchester, author of
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford
English Dictionary. Besides being a very entertaining interview subject,
Mr. Winchester had opened the floor to listeners to suggest new words that they
thought should be in the dictionary.
Well, one guy called in with a word that both Neal Conan and Mr. Winchester
agreed sounded very good and could be a real contender. So here I present to
you, slightly paraphrased from my memory of the call (and apologies to the
caller for forgetting his name):
convivant, noun,
("kän-vE-'vänt, "kOn-vE-'vän)
A committed, romantic partner with whom you share living space.
The caller was certain to leave gender out of the definition, and presented
it in the context of needing a clear, convenient word to describe a person's
parner(s) where "spouse" was not accurate.
Best part is, if it gets used in enough "real" (published and/or broadcast
media or entertainment) arenas, it could actually make it into the
OED.
(On the one-in-a-million chance that the caller happens across the entry
[perhaps by Googling to see if anyone has used the word?] and wants to
provide his name and/or clarification of the definition, I'll update this to
reflect that.)
]]>/thoughts/rshipsRandy J. Ray2003-10-07T01:30-07:00On NPR this afternoon, as I was returning from lunch, I listened to Talk
of the Nation where the guest was Simon Winchester, author of
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford
English Dictionary. Besides being a very entertaining interview subject,
Mr. Winchester had opened the floor to listeners to suggest new words that they
thought should be in the dictionary.
Well, one guy called in with a word that both Neal Conan and Mr. Winchester
agreed sounded very good and could be a real contender. So here I present to
you, slightly paraphrased from my memory of the call (and apologies to the
caller for forgetting his name):
convivant, noun,
("kän-vE-'vänt, "kOn-vE-'vän)
A committed, romantic partner with whom you share living space.
The caller was certain to leave gender out of the definition, and presented
it in the context of needing a clear, convenient word to describe a person's
parner(s) where "spouse" was not accurate.
Best part is, if it gets used in enough "real" (published and/or broadcast
media or entertainment) arenas, it could actually make it into the
OED.
(On the one-in-a-million chance that the caller happens across the entry
[perhaps by Googling to see if anyone has used the word?] and wants to
provide his name and/or clarification of the definition, I'll update this to
reflect that.)
]]>Midnight Movies Again (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/movies/raiders.html
Under the heading of "ages really, really well," we can file the film,
Raiders of the Lost
Ark. This was the current weeks' selection at the Midnight Movie series
being co-sponsored around here by the Camera Cinemas chain and the local
radio station "The Wave". (This was the same series at which I first went to
see 28 Days Later
back at the end of
June.)
This movie has held up against the current generation of "action films"
amazingly well. It's supposedly a recently "enhanced" print, in that they've
worked on the overall visual quality and sound quality of the film, but not
in the sense of Lucas' decision to add all sorts of weird extra stuff to the
original Star Wars trilogy. Nothing was added or changed, just shown the way
it originally was, 22 years ago. That's what blows my mind: this film
is old enough to buy booze and have graduated from college. And it is still
heads and shoulders above pretty much anything released in the last five
years. I'm sorry... did I say five years? Let's say ten. In fact, let's
say fourteen– since the release of
Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade. I may be exaggerating, and I'm no doubt biased by the fact
that it's still rattling around in my skull. But being reminded of little
things like the "Sieg Heil!" monkey, the bad-ass swordsman that Indy just
up and shoots, and of course the whole amazing opening sequence in the
Peruvian temple (featuring the first credited film appearance by a then-unknown
Alfred Molina), I guess
I'm given to enthusiasm.
Wow. Quite a treat.
(Anyone in the south bay area can see it midnight tonite [Saturday the 4th]
at the Camera One theater in downtown San Jose. I can't recommend it
enough.)
]]>/entertainment/moviesRandy J. Ray2003-10-04T10:24-07:00Under the heading of "ages really, really well," we can file the film,
Raiders of the Lost
Ark. This was the current weeks' selection at the Midnight Movie series
being co-sponsored around here by the Camera Cinemas chain and the local
radio station "The Wave". (This was the same series at which I first went to
see 28 Days Later
back at the end of
June.)
This movie has held up against the current generation of "action films"
amazingly well. It's supposedly a recently "enhanced" print, in that they've
worked on the overall visual quality and sound quality of the film, but not
in the sense of Lucas' decision to add all sorts of weird extra stuff to the
original Star Wars trilogy. Nothing was added or changed, just shown the way
it originally was, 22 years ago. That's what blows my mind: this film
is old enough to buy booze and have graduated from college. And it is still
heads and shoulders above pretty much anything released in the last five
years. I'm sorry... did I say five years? Let's say ten. In fact, let's
say fourteen– since the release of
Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade. I may be exaggerating, and I'm no doubt biased by the fact
that it's still rattling around in my skull. But being reminded of little
things like the "Sieg Heil!" monkey, the bad-ass swordsman that Indy just
up and shoots, and of course the whole amazing opening sequence in the
Peruvian temple (featuring the first credited film appearance by a then-unknown
Alfred Molina), I guess
I'm given to enthusiasm.
Wow. Quite a treat.
(Anyone in the south bay area can see it midnight tonite [Saturday the 4th]
at the Camera One theater in downtown San Jose. I can't recommend it
enough.)
]]>Wrapping Up September
http://www.rjray.org/misc/september03.html
Counting this, I'd made 4 journal entries this month. Feh.
On the plus side, the big oppressive project at
work went live today. No quirks or bugs
upon launch. We've made a number of subtle interface improvments to the
1-800-FANDANGO voice application. Call
it and try it out. Better yet, call it and order your next movie tickets
through it. The skim off of the ticket sales are how we actually make money
in the deal.
(The most notable interface change has to do with theaters that show one
or more movies in digital project, Spanish subtitles, stuff like that. If you
happen upon such a theater, you can now choose the special version if you
are so inclined. I happen to be a sucker for digital projection. Most of the
changes are behind-the-scenes, so that it works better and responds to the
caller better. Hopefully it will just work for you and you won't notice.)
For the month ahead, I hope to get back to the building and painting, and
maybe even squeeze in a little journalling.
]]>/miscRandy J. Ray2003-10-01T06:51-07:00Counting this, I'd made 4 journal entries this month. Feh.
On the plus side, the big oppressive project at
work went live today. No quirks or bugs
upon launch. We've made a number of subtle interface improvments to the
1-800-FANDANGO voice application. Call
it and try it out. Better yet, call it and order your next movie tickets
through it. The skim off of the ticket sales are how we actually make money
in the deal.
(The most notable interface change has to do with theaters that show one
or more movies in digital project, Spanish subtitles, stuff like that. If you
happen upon such a theater, you can now choose the special version if you
are so inclined. I happen to be a sucker for digital projection. Most of the
changes are behind-the-scenes, so that it works better and responds to the
caller better. Hopefully it will just work for you and you won't notice.)
For the month ahead, I hope to get back to the building and painting, and
maybe even squeeze in a little journalling.
]]>Enneagrams: So Close, It Almost Isn't Funny
http://www.rjray.org/funny/enneagram.html
I can't claim to be a huge Zevon fan, and I don't own any of his albums.
But he was original, eclectic, and he gave us the title, "Things to Do in Denver
When You're Dead". It's always a shame to lose such talent at a comparitively
young age.
At least he won't have to play "Werewolves of London" ever again. As I
understand it, he really came to hate that WoL was his best-known and
most-requested tune.
I can't claim to be a huge Zevon fan, and I don't own any of his albums.
But he was original, eclectic, and he gave us the title, "Things to Do in Denver
When You're Dead". It's always a shame to lose such talent at a comparitively
young age.
At least he won't have to play "Werewolves of London" ever again. As I
understand it, he really came to hate that WoL was his best-known and
most-requested tune.
]]>August 2003, A Bad Month for Journalling
http://www.rjray.org/misc/august03.html
Between a wholly-unreasonable (and inflexible) work deadline, and my silly
desire to actually sleep and eat occassionally, I haven't made any entries in
the last 10 days, and I've only made 14 all month (including this one). This is
a notable drop from my high-point of 43 this past June.
To be honest, September isn't really looking any better at this point.
]]>/miscRandy J. Ray2003-09-01T00:22-07:00Between a wholly-unreasonable (and inflexible) work deadline, and my silly
desire to actually sleep and eat occassionally, I haven't made any entries in
the last 10 days, and I've only made 14 all month (including this one). This is
a notable drop from my high-point of 43 this past June.
To be honest, September isn't really looking any better at this point.
]]>Good Intentions Don't Equal Good Results
http://www.rjray.org/tech/good_intent.html
Thanks to the latest worm, I'm getting a renewed flood of junk e-mail. Most
of it is caught by my ISP's spam filter. But there is another contributor to
the madness, a source that probably didn't mean to be making the problem
worse. And yet...
I have seen a serious percentage of these e-mails that are not the actual
virus messages, but instead are auto-reply messages from spam filtering systems,
most often tied to SpamAssassin (as a loyal user, I also recognize the report
format). It looks like there are a lot of people out there who mean to punish
the spammers by returning messages to them, thus causing them the same level
of headache they cause (higher, in theory, since others are doing the same
thing). But that isn't working. How do I know this? Because I'm not the one
sending the virus messages.
These virus mails are going out because someone who got infected has me in
their addressbook. Sending me the auto-reply simply because that is the address
on the "From" line isn't doing anything (aside from making me a little bit
more annoyed). I understand the reasoning behind this– hell, I've thought
about doing something similar. But if I'm getting this many returns, then there
are certainly people out there getting even more than I have.
So if you are one of the people doing this auto-reply mojo, please stop
it. I hate to break the news, but I doubt that any spammers are going to
be truly moved by your efforts. Meanwhile, there are a lot of people who are
already getting more than enough useless messages because of the virus. At
least the virus messages are caught by the filters. The replies aren't, because
they don't look like spam. So I'm getting more of this faux-spam
than I'm getting of the real thing. Please stop.
]]>/techRandy J. Ray2003-08-22T01:19-07:00Thanks to the latest worm, I'm getting a renewed flood of junk e-mail. Most
of it is caught by my ISP's spam filter. But there is another contributor to
the madness, a source that probably didn't mean to be making the problem
worse. And yet...
I have seen a serious percentage of these e-mails that are not the actual
virus messages, but instead are auto-reply messages from spam filtering systems,
most often tied to SpamAssassin (as a loyal user, I also recognize the report
format). It looks like there are a lot of people out there who mean to punish
the spammers by returning messages to them, thus causing them the same level
of headache they cause (higher, in theory, since others are doing the same
thing). But that isn't working. How do I know this? Because I'm not the one
sending the virus messages.
These virus mails are going out because someone who got infected has me in
their addressbook. Sending me the auto-reply simply because that is the address
on the "From" line isn't doing anything (aside from making me a little bit
more annoyed). I understand the reasoning behind this– hell, I've thought
about doing something similar. But if I'm getting this many returns, then there
are certainly people out there getting even more than I have.
So if you are one of the people doing this auto-reply mojo, please stop
it. I hate to break the news, but I doubt that any spammers are going to
be truly moved by your efforts. Meanwhile, there are a lot of people who are
already getting more than enough useless messages because of the virus. At
least the virus messages are caught by the filters. The replies aren't, because
they don't look like spam. So I'm getting more of this faux-spam
than I'm getting of the real thing. Please stop.
]]>Here's A Thought
http://www.rjray.org/thoughts/rx_flirt.html
Flirting with the pharmacist who fills your prescriptions is futile, no
matter how friendly (or cute) she is.
She knows what meds you're on. She knows just how messed up you
really are.
]]>/thoughtsRandy J. Ray2003-08-20T23:25-07:00Flirting with the pharmacist who fills your prescriptions is futile, no
matter how friendly (or cute) she is.
She knows what meds you're on. She knows just how messed up you
really are.
]]>Two Times 28
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/movies/two_times_twentyeight.html
I went to see 28 Days Later
again, for the purpose of seeing the "original" ending. This was supposedly
the way it was meant to end, but had tested badly with audiences. Thus, the
movie got a "happier" replacement ending, á la Bladerunner.
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend that anyone go just for the sake of the extra
bit of material. In this case, they were wise to re-do the ending. It was
badly-paced, and just didn't fit with the rest of the movie.
(The details, and other spoiler-level discussion, behind the cut.)
]]>/entertainment/moviesRandy J. Ray2003-08-10T08:10-07:00I went to see 28 Days Later
again, for the purpose of seeing the "original" ending. This was supposedly
the way it was meant to end, but had tested badly with audiences. Thus, the
movie got a "happier" replacement ending, á la Bladerunner.
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend that anyone go just for the sake of the extra
bit of material. In this case, they were wise to re-do the ending. It was
badly-paced, and just didn't fit with the rest of the movie.
(The details, and other spoiler-level discussion, behind the cut.)
]]>Two From Moore: Promethea and Top 10
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/books/comics/moore.html
Let me start with a bit of fair disclosure: I'll read just about anything
this man has written. The main barrier to reading his works is working their
purchase into my budget. I can't buy all the books I want to, and I don't have
time to read all the books I want to, either. But when I can treat myself to a
new Alan Moore volume, it jumps to the top of my reading list.
And that was the case with the first volume of
Promethea. I had been looking at this somewhat
askance for over a year now, as I haven't really been budgeting a lot for
books, least of all graphic novels. But one recent trip I decided to give this
a try, after thumbing through briefly and looking at the artwork. After all,
I'm already certain I'll like the writing, since it's Moore. And the artwork
was really enticing, so I gave it a shot. Good thing, too.
Promethea is the story about a heroic figure that seems to appear
rather consistently in mankind's legends and literature over the span of
hundreds of years (if not more). A college student is doing a term paper
on this, when she learns that Promethea has actually existed, in
different forms over the ages, as a kind of by-product of the belief in the
various myths themselves. And more, she (the student) is next in line to take
up the mantle.
The story is really well-paced, and the vision of a not-too-near future is
all believable. The innovations are subtle, and seem like logical extrapolation
from what we already have here and now. Like I said, the art is really good.
The dialog moves the story along, and the way the different literary myths are
intertwined give the book a very unique feel. I'm already looking forward to
the second volume (even if I have to borrow it from someone).
]]>/entertainment/books/comicsRandy J. Ray2003-08-08T08:29-07:00 Let me start with a bit of fair disclosure: I'll read just about anything
this man has written. The main barrier to reading his works is working their
purchase into my budget. I can't buy all the books I want to, and I don't have
time to read all the books I want to, either. But when I can treat myself to a
new Alan Moore volume, it jumps to the top of my reading list.
And that was the case with the first volume of
Promethea. I had been looking at this somewhat
askance for over a year now, as I haven't really been budgeting a lot for
books, least of all graphic novels. But one recent trip I decided to give this
a try, after thumbing through briefly and looking at the artwork. After all,
I'm already certain I'll like the writing, since it's Moore. And the artwork
was really enticing, so I gave it a shot. Good thing, too.
Promethea is the story about a heroic figure that seems to appear
rather consistently in mankind's legends and literature over the span of
hundreds of years (if not more). A college student is doing a term paper
on this, when she learns that Promethea has actually existed, in
different forms over the ages, as a kind of by-product of the belief in the
various myths themselves. And more, she (the student) is next in line to take
up the mantle.
The story is really well-paced, and the vision of a not-too-near future is
all believable. The innovations are subtle, and seem like logical extrapolation
from what we already have here and now. Like I said, the art is really good.
The dialog moves the story along, and the way the different literary myths are
intertwined give the book a very unique feel. I'm already looking forward to
the second volume (even if I have to borrow it from someone).
]]>Mike Hawash Pleads Guilty
http://www.rjray.org/politics/hawash.html
Some time back, I mentioned a case in Oregon about
an Intel
engineer arrested regarding supposed terrorist links. I was very upset
about this, because it seemed like just the sort of thing that I
feared the post-9/11 administration would pull.
Well, he's plead guilty.
I accept responsibility for my views, and readily admit when I'm wrong. Not
that I enjoy being wrong, but I don't shirk away from it. I'm tempted to be
suspicious, to think that his decision to confess (when his trial wasn't
scheduled until January of 2004) might have some overtones to it. But really,
right now I'm just annoyed that he got so many people to stand up so
righteously on his behalf.
]]>/politicsRandy J. Ray2003-08-07T08:56-07:00Some time back, I mentioned a case in Oregon about
an Intel
engineer arrested regarding supposed terrorist links. I was very upset
about this, because it seemed like just the sort of thing that I
feared the post-9/11 administration would pull.
Well, he's plead guilty.
I accept responsibility for my views, and readily admit when I'm wrong. Not
that I enjoy being wrong, but I don't shirk away from it. I'm tempted to be
suspicious, to think that his decision to confess (when his trial wasn't
scheduled until January of 2004) might have some overtones to it. But really,
right now I'm just annoyed that he got so many people to stand up so
righteously on his behalf.
]]>So, Will We Get Arnold For Governor?
http://www.rjray.org/politics/schwarz.html
Arnold Schwarzenegger has officially announced that he's going to run for governor of California.
If you aren't laughing at us here in California yet, I don't know what else
we can do to amuse you. Really. At least when Jesse Ventura ran in Minnesota,
he ran a full campaign, took a stond on issues, and basically made a committment
to choosing a life in politics. This is opportunism, taking advantage of a
wave of resentment that's been fostered by conservatives unhappy that they
weren't able to actually win the governorship.
We're to believe that the blame and cause for our current budget crisis is
in the hands of one person. Nevermind that the fall of the Internet economy
was not in the hands of any one person. Never mind that the so-called energy
crisis was more manufactured by Enron than truly an emergency. But not to
worry, because the same Republicans who deregulated the energy industry are
keen to take over the economic recovery.
As for Arnold, I don't know what to think. One person I know made a very
good point– that he could at least prove enough of a polarizing personality
to prevent too many voters scattering amongst the wider array of crackpots. I
think that this will spell the end for Davis. I just don't know what
to expect for a replacement. I feel very strongly that Schwarzenegger has
little or no qualification at all. The argument that "anyone would be better
than Davis" is as much as strawman argument as can be put forth. I'm not
defending him. I'm not even sure yet how I'll vote. I will probably have to
accept that Davis is doomed, and pick a likely replacement. But it won't be
Arnold.
Update: As it happens, the movie
Demolition Man is on. There is
an eerily-prescient reference to "President Schwarzenegger" as Sandra Bullock
is driving Stallone to the fancy dinner at Taco Bell. Eep.
]]>/politicsRandy J. Ray2003-08-07T08:28-07:00Arnold Schwarzenegger has officially announced that he's going to run for governor of California.
If you aren't laughing at us here in California yet, I don't know what else
we can do to amuse you. Really. At least when Jesse Ventura ran in Minnesota,
he ran a full campaign, took a stond on issues, and basically made a committment
to choosing a life in politics. This is opportunism, taking advantage of a
wave of resentment that's been fostered by conservatives unhappy that they
weren't able to actually win the governorship.
We're to believe that the blame and cause for our current budget crisis is
in the hands of one person. Nevermind that the fall of the Internet economy
was not in the hands of any one person. Never mind that the so-called energy
crisis was more manufactured by Enron than truly an emergency. But not to
worry, because the same Republicans who deregulated the energy industry are
keen to take over the economic recovery.
As for Arnold, I don't know what to think. One person I know made a very
good point– that he could at least prove enough of a polarizing personality
to prevent too many voters scattering amongst the wider array of crackpots. I
think that this will spell the end for Davis. I just don't know what
to expect for a replacement. I feel very strongly that Schwarzenegger has
little or no qualification at all. The argument that "anyone would be better
than Davis" is as much as strawman argument as can be put forth. I'm not
defending him. I'm not even sure yet how I'll vote. I will probably have to
accept that Davis is doomed, and pick a likely replacement. But it won't be
Arnold.
Update: As it happens, the movie
Demolition Man is on. There is
an eerily-prescient reference to "President Schwarzenegger" as Sandra Bullock
is driving Stallone to the fancy dinner at Taco Bell. Eep.
]]>Review: Preacher, by Garth Ennis et al
http://www.rjray.org/entertainment/books/comics/preacher.html
After a steady diet of Alan Moore and Warren Ellis, I got talked into giving
this title a try. I hadn't heard of Garth Ennis before, but several people
recommended this one. I picked up the first collected
volume, and I was hooked. The story is really what drew me in, more than
the art which is often the case.
The story centers around Jesse Custer, the minister to a very small
town in Texas. Only Jesse isn't happy at his job, and he has a tendency to
ease the pain by way of the bottle. One Saturday night, he pulls a major bender.
He ends up at the local bar, loudly airing the towns dirty laundry to all
present. The next morning, he finds the church packed to the rafters with the
town's populace (most of whom just want to see if he'll pick up where he left
off). As he gets ready to try and cover his actions of the night before, the
church is struck by a "meteor" in the form of Genesis– a half-angelic,
half-demonic entity that has broken loose from heaven. The result is literally
explosive: the church and all in it (the entire population of the town, it
turns out) are immediately incinerated. All but Jesse himself. He regains
consciousness some hours later, to find that he's the central suspect as
Feds and local police try to learn what happened. Not only is Jesse alive, he
has a strange new power, and somehow knows that not all is right in Heaven. He
decides to find out what is going on, and sets out in the company of
an ex-girlfriend whose path crosses his, and a hard-drinking Irish vampire
who had rescued her the night before in Dallas.
It should be pretty obvious that this is not a title for most people, and
it is definately not going to sit well with those who are hard-line
fundamentalist in their take on the Bible. This takes a lot of the Biblical
story and turns it in directions you would never have thought of in a
lifetime. It will offend a lot of people, but it will also make a lot of
people think, especially about questions of man's free will. The characters
are all colorful, though some of them seem to be just there for easy laughs.
And I don't know that I agree with all of the premises Ennis presents, either.
But I could barely wait between volumes. At nine installments, I couldn't
just walk out and buy them at a whim. Still, after each one was ended, I was
itching to get my hands on the next one.
Highly recommended.
]]>/entertainment/books/comicsRandy J. Ray2003-08-07T07:16-07:00
After a steady diet of Alan Moore and Warren Ellis, I got talked into giving
this title a try. I hadn't heard of Garth Ennis before, but several people
recommended this one. I picked up the first collected
volume, and I was hooked. The story is really what drew me in, more than
the art which is often the case.
The story centers around Jesse Custer, the minister to a very small
town in Texas. Only Jesse isn't happy at his job, and he has a tendency to
ease the pain by way of the bottle. One Saturday night, he pulls a major bender.
He ends up at the local bar, loudly airing the towns dirty laundry to all
present. The next morning, he finds the church packed to the rafters with the
town's populace (most of whom just want to see if he'll pick up where he left
off). As he gets ready to try and cover his actions of the night before, the
church is struck by a "meteor" in the form of Genesis– a half-angelic,
half-demonic entity that has broken loose from heaven. The result is literally
explosive: the church and all in it (the entire population of the town, it
turns out) are immediately incinerated. All but Jesse himself. He regains
consciousness some hours later, to find that he's the central suspect as
Feds and local police try to learn what happened. Not only is Jesse alive, he
has a strange new power, and somehow knows that not all is right in Heaven. He
decides to find out what is going on, and sets out in the company of
an ex-girlfriend whose path crosses his, and a hard-drinking Irish vampire
who had rescued her the night before in Dallas.
It should be pretty obvious that this is not a title for most people, and
it is definately not going to sit well with those who are hard-line
fundamentalist in their take on the Bible. This takes a lot of the Biblical
story and turns it in directions you would never have thought of in a
lifetime. It will offend a lot of people, but it will also make a lot of
people think, especially about questions of man's free will. The characters
are all colorful, though some of them seem to be just there for easy laughs.
And I don't know that I agree with all of the premises Ennis presents, either.
But I could barely wait between volumes. At nine installments, I couldn't
just walk out and buy them at a whim. Still, after each one was ended, I was
itching to get my hands on the next one.
![[cover]](http://www.rjray.org/blosxom/B000002UQZ.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg)
![[cover]](http://www.rjray.org/blosxom/entertainment/books/comics/1563896672.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg "Promethea, vol. 1")
![[cover]](http://www.rjray.org/blosxom/entertainment/books/comics/1563892618.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg)