Blended Living

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_OQoQ24-v8

Sitting here trying to work and code and be responsible, but my cold cuts out my legs.  I can’t find that part of me that propels me towards the finish line.  Despondent, then lucid, then sleepy, I can’t quite shake this head cold.

The distant intermittent drilling has finally stopped, disappearing along with my excuse to leave early.  Thankful for Laborers hours, that aural headache has ceased.  I was about to say banker’s hours, but that’s not true anymore.

http://www.millionsubs.com/index.php

Name, zip, email and birthday.

• Guess slumdog becomes a part of the vernacular
• didn’t see it
• but might add it to the Q
• the nonexistent Q, which I will create soon
• at Netflix probably
• I kinda liked the opening, it was creative if a bit cheesy
• but I guess I have a soft spot for musicals
• the magic of DVR allows me to see the rest later
• but will likely be hard to not hear about all the awards tomorrow
• didn’t create a SoC graphic, but maybe I’ll just insert some of my own photography randomly
• as I couldn’t resist buying that camera I kept eying last week
• its a bit smaller than my other DSLR-like camera
• so I’ll likely have it by my side most of the time
• it also takes 720p video, which I’m not sure how I’ll use
• but some nice mood, or B roll stuff could be good to spice up some website ideas I keep kicking around in my head
• a friend’s site – a SMF Bboard inspired the writing of that last fiction piece
• the guidelines were 60 minutes of writing or during lunchtime
• which is nice to write and let stuff go – like helium balloons (without the pollution side effects)
• just type away and see where it leads you
• but the idea for that last piece was inspired partly on a subway ride
• and the mood was set from the nightly news
• was thinking about making a randomizer that takes topics from news, websites, blogs and randomly spits out a topic to write about
• could be fun to do, writing is really just like anything else – the practice makes it easier and better
• another idea would be to tag team writing things
• spit out a paragraph or two, and pass the baton
• I’d also like to write an entire episode of a fav TV show
• its likely more work than I want to do, but in the end it could be very entertaining
• picture 2-6 people, some pizza, a white board or similar and a few keyboards
• could be a couple hours of fun, just have to agree on which show
• and there will likely be many other ‘rules’ and guidelines created as you go
• other writing ideas that came up were
• random characters from history meeting or running into each other at the supermarket
• like what would Hitler and Ghandi say picking up a quart of milk?
• or Hillary Clinton and Miley Cyrus, or Harry Potter and Dirty Harry?
• it could be fun if it grabs ya

A glimpse at a darker future
——-

They rode the A train up in silence, glad to have caught it.  The out-of-breath-ness left them alone with their thoughts.  It was painful to let optimism carry her away just to deposit her back into the reality that was her life now.  Still her Dad pounded into her the habit of counting her blessings.  The subway was working today, a mild relief to not have to walk the 4 and a half miles home.  Her bookbag seemed lighter lately, but it wasn’t as light as when she could simply use the netbook.

Her thoughts dreamed into the past, when a rosy future was all but a guarantee.  She remembered surfing the web for High Schools, and future careers and mp3′s, and whatever else was the province of a near teenager.  The social networking sites kept her abreast of all the latest trends and what her friends were up to.  That was until electricity became unreliable.

The new president came in with such great hope and promise.  The fears of global terrorism started to fade, or at least it wasn’t the lead in the nightly news, and it wasn’t plastered all over the net.  The recession distracted everyone, but there was a silver lining to it.  People started to not take things for granted as much.  Family and friends wasn’t just a cell phone slogan – it meant something again.   That stimulus bill was going to improve the electrical grid, create jobs, carry us all out of the recession – until that fateful day.  It was hard to think about it.  Best to think about more pleasant things.

She longed for her little DS and the multitude of games she had on it.  It made travel time more bearable.  Wait!  The kid a few feet over was playing something…  She strained to see what it was.  In between shuffling passengers, she could almost make out buttons being pressed, little giggles as some high score was attempted.  How could this kid be playing a game?  All the juice was being rationed.  The corner billboards all said that the hospitals needed it to save lives.  What was that kid thinking?

As the train car emptied at 72nd steet, she eased over and saw that it was just a cardboard box.  That kid was playing the cardboard box from a DS- and having a good time at it.  She smiled, and then lost the smile.  It was a bittersweet moment.  Her fingers nervously twitched, the muscle memory from countless hours of play.

The International Music Score Library Project or  IMSLP for short, “attempts to create a virtual library containing all public domain musical scores”.  They boast many thousands of scores, and I randomly printed out a couple pages.   The printout looks better than it did on the screen.

You can search by composer or by period.  There’s also a phpBB forum for announcements and score requests and general discussions.  If expensive scoresheets have kept you away from playing that childhood instrument, point your browser over there, you might find something worthy of dusting off that old keyboard, viloin, or whatever.

IMSLP

It was a day off for most people today, but not for me.  Still I was able to jettison a work responsibility that has been like a ball and chain for far too long- so holiday it was.  I felt a foot taller and like a 100 pound weight was lifted off my back.  Sort of celebrated by opening some Sake with my chicken and pasta.  Chased that with some cinnamon buns and while my palate was confused – it was pleasured.

This could be the beginning of a new adventure down a long rice wine highway.  The stuff has a bit more of a kick, yet isn’t quite hard liquor either.   The clear stuff was pretty smooth going down, and  I hear the cloudy Sake is good too.  Memories from my younger days come flowing forward – when my grandpa made rice wine, and was pretty liberal with sharing it with his clientele.  I did try it a couple times, but no clear memory rings loud.

I wonder if the markets will finally take off here as the charts look like its leaning sideways and could break through to the upside.  Holiday today – but tomorrow might signal some clues to a new direction.  Long term outlook is still to the downside, but a little pop here is due.

• I should spend a few minutes with a graphics program and design a SoC logo
• stimulus seems to be missing the mark
• and that’s a large $800 B arrow
• think its a long term negative
• with a shorter term positive for the markets
• once it gains some momentum maybe starting this week
• bought some sake today for the first time
• guess I’ve always sponged off others sake
• whether made or bought
• sun staying up longer which is a good thing
• but the mood out there seems to be deepening on the dark side
• wanted to find a BK for an angry whopper
• but kept misremembering locations of MCDs instead
• gotta step up a couple to-dos
• as my 7 week cycle is coming up.

• wow what a warm weekend
• and I didn’t get the chance to run, but took the opportunity to fit in a couple nice walks
• played some poker
• met a new player
• that is a free spirit, or seemed to be one
• drank more beer than I have in a long while
• and surprisingly I had the headache before the game and felt fine the day after
• despite the shortened, disrupted sleep, and strewn beer bottles in my wake
• that urge to buy something is still there, while I (the other me) pretends to listen
• and may in the end win out and I’ll find myself with a new camera, monitor, and TV
• but not today
• I have 27 books out from the library, one of which I read a bit from as I was the first to go “all in” and get knocked out
• as I was complimented sideways as being so smart -> because I read so much -> because I get knocked out of Texas Hold’em so early
• I used to think I could play poker better
• but it “wasn’t in the cards” last night
• while walking saw some more images I would have loved to photo
• but no camera on me at the time
• played with forum / BB software – have an idea for a new project
• and I’m excited
• trashed FB a bit recently, and then it reminded me of a birthday
• which I found useful, but I remembered already, still I might not the next time
• these modern conveniences are such harsh mistresses
• as shows fall off the bottom of my DVR list
• I get more email than I can possibly read in any given day
• as I search for more things I’d like to learn about to
• borrow more books and I hit the limit at the library
• but at least I’m mostly not paying fines at the NYPL
• which reminds me there is another site I have to login to before I sleep…

I was just saying the other day that I found Facebook less a social convenience and that it was starting to eat into my free time.  Then I came across this article about “25 things”, the Facebook equivalent of chain mail.   I suppose it can be fun, but the sheer scale is daunting. (either my life is an open book, or I don’t have 25 things most people don’t know about me. )

Also I only have a handful of FB friends.

Time Magazine article