Month: March 2005

I had a 5 hour computer repair tonight. I would have liked to have laid hands on the computer for another 3-5 hours. People really can’t afford to pay what repairing these machines are worth because if I billed an appropriate hourly rate they’d be better off buying a new machine. Of course, the data is what is actually valuable to people and businesses. I think I’m going to publish the method I use for cleaning the machines.

As for now, I’m exhausted but really need to work through the night.

After a half a month of procrastination (and hopes that my PageRank™ would jump from 4 to 5) I have finally placed my links to Adagio Tea in hopes of getting to try some of their tea for free. Be sure to place a link for free tea on the page of your site with the highest pagerank. See Spy Journal Blog Tips for an explanation of PageRank™. Remember that if you put the reference in a post it could potentially scroll off to an archive with a pagerank of 0.

Be sure to read about the experiences of Cathy, Catawampus, and Zero Boss.

Two proposals out! Yahoo.

Did we, the United States, plan the terrorist attack in 1976 while George Bush Sr was running the CIA? Has GW Bush been planning for almost 30 years to steal away our freedoms in the name of making us safe? Timothy McNiven says “Our own U.S. Army devised a plan commissioned by Congress to bring down the WTC using commercial airliners and box cutters as weapons.” He apparently has documents proving his claims.

I have not Snoped this story yet. Remember, this is the Internet. Anyone can make up the "truth". Confirm your sources. I am on a deadline so I can’t confirm this story right now.

True or not the story should make us think daily on our civil liberties and ask ourselves “are we having our freedoms stolen away?” and “have we gained anything other than a false sense of security by turning our society into a George Orwellian reality?”

How far off I sat and wondered
Started whistling a tune from 1962

Then the older dog jumped on the bed and tried to climb on top of me. She really doesn’t like storms. The puppy seemed to take it well. This was midnight. I’d had a good 2 hours sleep but could not convince myself to get up for a much needed all nighter. Instead I fell into a deep, deep sleep and woke at 5am to rise at 5:30. At least I’m consistently pre 6am now.

Ok. I didn’t clear my plate. I made a good effort but I’ve still got some distance to cover.

I’ve hit that time of the evening where I’m so tired my body just aches. I should go for a run around the block.

I’ve actually been pounding keys on a project most of the day without too much distraction. What a pleasure to get work done. Unfortunately, I don’t have a deliverable to show for it which is frustrating. I need to take a break and switch gears for a bit.

Dinner routine is coming fast and Tommy has STAR tonight so we all hoof it out to Lenior City. Cool!

The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) announced that STAR has been awarded a $2500 Quality of Life grant. STAR will use the funds as a part of the Rider Patron program, which allows us to continue providing cost efficient
therapeutic services to our riders through the donations of individuals,
civic groups, businesses, and foundations such as the CRPF. STAR riders pay
only a portion of the actual cost of the lessons, therefore there are many
costs associated with lessons that must be covered by other sources.

Study: Teens Who Pledge Virginity Try To Bend The Rules “Poll finds they’re more likely to have tried anal and/or oral sex.” Man! Being a teen sounds a lot more fun than it was in my day!

Teens who take abstinence pledges are almost as likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases as kids who don’t, according to a new study that found pledgers tend to substitute other risky behavior for regular intercourse. … Researchers found that kids believe engaging in oral and anal sex gets around the rules of abstinence programs by technically preserving their virginity.

What do the naive adults have to say?

Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, called the study “bogus.” “Kids who pledge abstinence are taught that any word that has ‘sex’ in it is considered sexual activity”

And the message to those teenagers on the dating scene is ‘if you want some action, try an abstainer!’

Just 2 percent of kids who never took a pledge said they had engaged in oral or anal sex but not intercourse, compared with 13 percent of “consistent pledgers.”

Of course the message to parents is “talk to your kids!”

We have heat! Let the spaying begin!

Why is that marriages have to degrade to “us against him”?
Sterotypes revolving around marriage and the roles in marriage obviously exist for very valid reasons.

I found that if the dog bolted I could use a harsh tone in my voice and reel her back in. Gruff “Molly COME!” and she would come. I trained myself to use that gruff tone to get her to respond. A few days ago I consciously began calling her in using a softer voice with more cheer and happiness and found that she responded just the same as when I would call her gruffly but there would be more excitement in her eyes rather than an submissive tucked tail and lowered head. Making the effort to be excited at her return or answer to my call/request made her happy to respond to my request.

We sometimes have to leave Molly at home alone. She cannot always be left in the car or go wherever we happen to be traveling. Crating her was too tramatic. Her panic attacks in the crate grew to the point that we thought she was going to hurt herself and we conceded to letting her run free and paying whatever consequences resulted. Those consequences to date have been packages of food (like spaghetti) strewn about the house, toys eatting, feces and urine on the floor, books torn up, papers dragged from desks but overall nothing irreplaceable or terribly costly. Mostly, being as intelligent as she is, Molly communicated quiet well that she was punishing us for leaving her alone. A few times (maybe 3) I came home and called her over to the mess, forced her nose into the mess and scolded her. Now she is doing much better and last night was along for nearly 3 hours and didn’t even have an accident! No mess! Nothing to clean! Last night she did not cower from me but the few previous times she has been left home alone I called her excitedly to tell her how good she was but due to the 3 punishments she would cower to me each time despite my wanting to reward her. I would feel horrible.

In punishing a child, or adult, or animal – in dealing with them with anger – consider how much damage is being done. One slip, one bad time takes many good experiences and much more time to heal the unnecessary damage. I am still very angry and jaded toward the Knoxville Police Department for what I feel was a very unjust ticket. If I cannot move beyond that one incident, how am I to except a child to move beyond a harsh scolding when a gentle talk is all that is necessary.

I cannot change the world but I can change myself; and perhaps, just maybe, the world will decide to be like me.

Anger has to be the absolute worse emotion and the most unnecessary. It accomplishes absolutely nothing that less harmful sentiments cannot achieve. Recently I had grown to believe that the only way I could get the puppy or the children to respond was to bark orders at them. I’ve made a concerted effort to try to break what developed into an “angry habit.”

I’ve slipped once today already. I’m going to be more prudent for the remainder of the day. I feel better in my chest when I am not being angry towards others.

Anger is so contagious. When others are having a bad time the good energy in you seems to evaporate quickly. It’s as if your good energy burns twice as fast to try to help bring the down person up but as you burn through your good fuel you crash and suddenly there are two negative magnetics sucking energy from the room. Unhappiness breeds unhappiness like coachroaches produce offspring.

Today I plan to clear my plate of all programming projects. Kaput. Finished. Done. It’s not a terribly reasonable goal but needs to be done.