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Post by E on Nov 7, 2009 12:39:36 GMT -5
Little Bear is damned genius. She is so witty with great timing.
I saw on the news that "they" are predicting the economy is starting to pick back up. I"ll tell you though, I think that it just more media hype. "They" said the housing market was improving and housing sales were up X percent. "They" didn't mention that housing losses were up too and in fact worse in August of this year than ever.
That reminds me of someone I overheard on TV talking about the swine flu, I think a football commentator, he said "The media hype flu, I mean the swine flu". It was pretty funny.
Although did anyone hear about that beautiful young girl that got a swine flu vaccine and it caused damage to her neurological system? These vaccinations scare the hell out of me. It really comes down to KNOWING what these do. You can test and get results within a few years but you don't know what the result will be in late life or in a generation when there may be more effects. Later down the road, as they say. Now, they're saying that teen girls are dropping like flies with the cervical cancer vaccine. It is really dangerous.
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Post by Denethor on Nov 9, 2009 20:54:18 GMT -5
Working extra because I won't be able to this weekend; for explanation, see my large smelly turd longish post in Rants & Raves. Between my issue and Shannon's, and with the holidays coming up, I'm really thinking maybe we should start a special thread specifically for ranting about family.
Lodge yesterday. Went well - we had an "emergency" meeting to come up with people for two rather important positions that are coming open next year. And we managed it! There are times when I am blown away by the function level of this organization - a week ago we didn't even know we were going to need to do this, we all showed up on short notice, found qualified people, and agreed on who should take each spot, that very day. Amazing. Many organizations would be near to blows about a thing like that for months.
Added bonus for me yesterday, I had time to stay for the ritual. No "vanish in a puff of smoke" thing, no carloads of Realtors sent out to catch up with me. Some good discussion afterward, and still got home in time to go to bed early.
One bad thing...I woke up like five times last night, no reason, just needed to support the Red Bull company in the morning. Blah. And now I'd like to work late tonight.
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Post by E on Nov 12, 2009 13:04:10 GMT -5
Den, the day you posted this, I had slept like crap the night before too. I just couldn't stay asleep. Did anyone else have that?
Life is busy here. Soo busy.
Shannon, I suck for not calling.
We are due in exactly a month. Can you believe it? Eek. The nerves.
Damn, got to run. Gabba's are on. I could strangle those two mangy "creators".
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Post by Denethor on Nov 12, 2009 16:42:51 GMT -5
Funny how it works that way, ennit? When I have a "mysterious" hard time sleeping, I swear, ten to one I'll get to work and find everyone else yawning too. Not to mention people from the Internet, like on here, so there's no way it's just a particular city being noisy that night or something (not like say, the 2008 election night - no one in this town had a wink, and there wasn't any mystery). Not even a "contagious yawning" phenomenon. Gabbas? Is that a TV thing? I swear, I get lazy about one silly converter box and already I'm out of touch with modern culture. If I don't see you guys until after my weekend of trials hope you all have a good one. Take care all.
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Post by E on Nov 19, 2009 12:23:39 GMT -5
Yeah, the Gabba's are the critters on "Yo Gabba Gabba". It is a preschool "developmental" show on Nick Jr. Which used to be Noggin after it was Nick Jr to start with. Marketing. Anyway, I was a little put off by the characters at first, but they have grown on me and V LOVES it. They seem to hit some really good lessons during their program. Things like, "Don't bite your friends" and "Don't eat food off of the ground, it's dirty". There are a ton more, inside voices and when to use them, trying new foods, not saying mean things to your friends. They seem to wrap it all into song and ask the kids to get up and dance with them. Here's a link. yogabbagabba.com/#/party-in-my-tummyAt about 1:20 it gets to the eating your veggies part. I like that it gives parents another way to approach, "Eat your veggies".
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Post by E on Nov 19, 2009 12:24:05 GMT -5
OH Shit! Den how was your family weekend???
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Post by Denethor on Nov 21, 2009 20:31:21 GMT -5
I survived it. With pics! First off, the venue was excellent. We were at a bed and breakfast in New Jersey, in one of the areas that isn't paved over and that proves New Jersey is not as bad a place as rumor would have it (full disclosure: I was born there), near the beach (the brochure said a block from the beach. Actually, a mile from the beach, and a block from the railroad tracks - more on my theory of why that later). Second, before I forget: My excuse for why I couldn't find wi-fi and post. Allow me to present...the media center:Ta-DUM! Crystal radio from 1934!!! (But, to my endless glee, it still works! Stations are from 2009, though, not 1934 ). Third, the thoroughly creepy guy who runs the place. No, not Lovecraft creepy, more the breezy, pleasant, plastic, can-supposedly-have-everything-to-please-you-and-this-place-is-perfect creepy, "you'll never wanna leave" creepy. Sound familiar? If not, allow me to describe the four block "business district" found in this charming small town, much of which is for sale. Uh-oh. Several clothing shops, one or two sporting goods stores, a chocolatier, a regular candy shop, an optician (closed for the season), an old-timey variety store, a liquor store, one restaurant with a liquor license, eleven real estate offices, a bank, a pizzeria.... hold it hold it right there guys that was not a typo ohmiGODDDD....Their listings filled their windows all the way to the top; I went up and peered into one, to see the Realtor there at a desk, fast asleep. Not knowing when the creature had last tasted animal protein, I moved quietly along. Idiot family did indeed bring me to Planet of the Realtors. One of those places was hiring more! (I stayed well away from that one). I get back from my first trip out and asked when Creepy Plastic Guy ditched his license. "Two years ago, how'd you know?" Yea, though I can smell a Realtor from near earth orbit, I shall fear no evil...for it's time for a trip to the beach. Surfey nice? Beach umbrella nice? Tide pool nice? Try Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald nice: And yep I went out on that spit. Allow me to prove I am Mad as a Hatter, with the following photo: Oh, and there were these creepy alien pods everywhere: My sis opened one up. It didn't attack, because it was already empty. (Now we know where those Realtors came from). More seriously, we decided it was seed pods for some seaweed that must have washed up during Hurricane Ida...did I mention Hurricane Ida? That storm wasn't all that strong in New Jersey, but there is a curse on us...whenever we go to the coast (New Haven doesn't count because it's on Long Island Sound, not open ocean), there's always a hurricane. But, there comes a time to face your fears, right? So this weekend, I'm spending most of my time at Lodge. It's a celebration weekend. The good news: Our minicruise (three hour tour) did not result in my being stranded on a desert island with a bunch of drunken real estate agents (because you know who would be drafted to build the radio out of coconuts, right? ) The bad news: Two words..."Disco Inferno." But other than some musical bumps in the road this weekend is going well. (Though I've heard some choice jokes about government contractors, which I can only assume are admittedly well-deserved retaliation). Thanksgiving also looks much better. And I managed to avoid the more shrewish (male or female variety) of my relatives for the most part. Though if they don't stop comparing their property values and square footage, I'd better avoid ordering anything involving a steak knife next time. No pics of my relatives, unfortunately that means also my absolutely adorable niece and nephew, because I don't want to post pics of other people (most especially, their children) on the 'net without prior permission. Sorry on that note. Edited to add: the family dinner deserves its own surreal post. A highlight: the flower garnishes were edible; the waitress, who clearly had no children of her own, said so in earshot of my niece and nephew. All went well though, until my Dad ate a flower. Soon we were all eating them, unabashedly comparing them to other non-food items found in nature, with whose flavors most of us were intimately experienced. "Grass." "No, dandelion stems." "I never liked those, too many ants." You know, in the fancy fixed-price dinner place where the least-fancyass items are the veal ones. You know who about had a heart attack. I suppose I should have mentioned that, real estate experience notwithstanding, we are extraterrestrial.
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Post by E on Nov 21, 2009 23:58:07 GMT -5
I'm glad you had a good time, Den. I have to admit your descriptives of events had me laughing.
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Post by Denethor on Nov 22, 2009 20:13:50 GMT -5
Thanks E...I have returned from the Lodge celebration weekend of pretty much nonstop ritual and/or workshops and am high as a kite. As to our Realtors, I trust them know where they live so they won't hurt me. Though I have to admit to the following scene: Me: "Don't worry, I know you're a good guy, so I don't have that thing against you." Realtor: "Oh, I know. It doesn't bother me..." [pause as I turn to the buffet table] ... "because I know you will be a customer someday soon." And yes, I felt that little push of Realtor energy as he said it. Shields up! ...But I was still pretty sure he was joking, and that he did that because he knew I'd feel it. Plus, I was telling the truth the first time, that's a good guy, and if at any point I were to be a customer of his, erm, kind, he's on the short list of people I'd go to. Because I trust him ( why do I keep saying that?... ) and because of the fact that if I ever needed to buy something, he'd know my exact needs, being a mystic in the same order as me...and if I ever needed to sell something, he could stack five tons of horsemanure in an empty parking lot and sell it for you for half a million dollars. And be ethical about it besides. Our Realtors go to eleven. If only I could talk about something from this weekend besides that sort of exchange, because I had a great time and I'm bursting with it, but there's this Oath issue. In any event, as soon as Thanksgiving's over I have more or less promised to make it to the rituals and the fun stuff as well as the boring business meetings that have been my contribution of late, and I honor my Oaths and promises to these people. I have to. They know where I live.
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Post by Denethor on Nov 24, 2009 11:58:04 GMT -5
Good Morning is as good a place as any to put smilie news. It appears the experiment is working, so I went and got us two butts, the poke, the fish, and two whips (ok odd sentence but I'm sure you know what I mean ). The hunt is on for the B.S. flag. If anyone can think of any others they'd like to see/use here, let me know. There are others I've seen that look like fun, but, for right now I'm prioritizing the ones that I remember being popular on the old site. ( Hint - if I miss your fave speak up!) I should also let you know that I'll be traveling for Thanksgiving starting tomorrow, but this time the high-tech might well be more accessible than before (the place I'm going to has free downtown wi-fi), though there might be time, family, diplomatic, or reliability of said service concerns. In short, I might be wanting to avoid an international incident precipitated by me running off from family to do Internet stuff - and that is only a very small exaggeration. Boy has life gotten complicated. I'll be on and off for the next few hours or tonight, 'cause I'm kinda psyched about the smilies. I've been using the site I saw that our regular ones came from (freesmileys), but if any member has a favorite smilie site they'd like to share, speak up and you may find some of their stuff available here. The correct price for the use of the site must be $0, on the principle that anyone who charges money for the simple use of a smilie ought to be taken out and shot. There appears to be no limit to how many we can add, though I'll bring up the caveat that the old Grove site got so laden with smilies that (a) the smilie pop-up took forever to load and (b) it got hard to find the smilie one wanted among all the others. Right now, I can keep like ones grouped together, but organizing them for easy finding involves a lot of copy-pasting code and I don't want to risk messing stuff up, a risk that gets greater if we have a novel-length list of them. But we should remember this about having a lot of smilies, that it can be both a curse and a blessing. Also, obviously, if anyone has an objection to adding the additional smilies (serious objections only please), NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME to bring the matter up. ;D This is one thing I'm fairly confident of because it was something that's been an issue for a long time, but, just in case...
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Post by E on Nov 24, 2009 22:25:14 GMT -5
Did it work? Oh my GOD! It's the realtor smiley! I LOVE them.
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Post by blackrose on Nov 30, 2009 10:56:08 GMT -5
Hope everyone had a nice holiday. I enjoyed the food - but got into some tiffs over 'Twilight' and politics. (Actually got up from the table with a "I'm not listening to this bullshit" and watched TV). Luckily only had to spend a few hours with the family. Enjoyed the rest of the time off work, got a lot of shopping done (online), and touched up some paint in the d/s bathroom, so that's one less thing needs doing, which is always good. And now I'm back to work, and this is my first 5 day week since October started, so I'm not looking forward to that.
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Post by MsAriel on Nov 30, 2009 10:57:01 GMT -5
YAY...
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Post by Denethor on Nov 30, 2009 17:49:55 GMT -5
heheheheh REALTORS!!! (if that's what we want to call those things. That's as good a name as any, and I believe in Realtors more easily than I believe in aliens...after all, I really have been abducted by Realtors...the gov't doesn't want you to know this but it happens all the time... ...massive cover-up and all...) And of course who should show up in my neighborhood but the same one. This time, he's got designs on the house two doors down. "Owner financed" (translation: "FSBO that didn't shoot fast enough") and he doesn't have the listing up yet. My guess is that it's that he couldn't get any pictures today because it's raining cats and dogs! ...The de ja vu, it's hitting me like a train! The dude simply can't come on the block without it raining! It's like someone put a curse on him or something... don't worry they'll have to prove motive method opportunity...oh shit, I'm fucked. At least it's not my place this time. Not yet. But my landlord had better rent out the place downstairs and fast. My Thanksgiving trip went well. One pic: I thought people would find that one amusing; it's in downtown New Haven. More or less everything else in downtown New Haven is visible for the Googling, either of New Haven itself or of Yale University, including this: www.grovestreetcemetery.org/slide_show/Grove_Street_Cemetery_Slide_Show/grove_street_cemetery03.htmlwhich is, appropriately, across from the law school. In any event, I'm back and will soon add more smileys...starting, I think, with a good "banghead", and maybe a nice animated laughing-to-the-point-of-incapacitation sort of smiley. If I recall correctly those saw a lot of heavy use on the old site. Edited to add: got these: Yep I went looking, and didn't find what I was looking for right away (the "Bump!"). You know how that goes. Most of these I remember, or they're similar enough to ones I remember. There are others I remember on that site; I think I've found where Valerie was getting them, which is great for "old Grove feel" for those who want that. I'll definitely be visiting that site again. Should anyone have trouble loading our site or anything, or have any difficulties with the smilies whatsoever, you know know who to call! (and to blame). Let me know about anything like that and I'll trim them down right away. Like one? Use it! If we have to cut back, the most popular (and/or useful) little guys should be the last to go. Though something tells me I'm going to be seeing those "Realtors" a lot... ;D Edited to add more: I've also saved the images on my machine (the site expressly states that we can do that), in case we get so busy (hah!) that our constant tapping of this particular site's "free" hosting becomes a problem for their server. Should this ever happen, they respectfully request that we host our most popular smilies on our own site. As it is, they all but state outright that non-busy people, like us, can just use them, so that's where it is for now. I don't presently have a site where I pay the bandwidth, and I'm not sure if any of our other peeps have one either, but if the eventuality ever arises where we need that, at least the gifs themselves are on file somewhere. Incidentally, the html for our original cohort of little dudes simply refers to those smilies on that same site, so it's probably expected.
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Post by blackrose on Dec 1, 2009 11:52:25 GMT -5
It's the first of December, and we still haven't had our first frost. Bit weird... No global warming here... move along... there's nothing to see...
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