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I always thought it was funny that Butthead and Beavis laughed at the word Dill. This is from my little windowsill herb garden.
Also for Photo Friday: Growth.
As my former laptop sits in its box, ready to get picked up by UPS tomorrow, I send this out via Ubuntu just the same. Our hardware upgrades came today. I installed more memory, a DVD burner and a new hard drive — and got Ubuntu installed on it and ready to go. All before dinner and all while being a computer idiot.
So you see: my awesomeness transcends ordinary ignorance.
And for the record, Ubuntu runs faster on my desktop, all on a non-LCD screen (I love my CRT) and hooked up to my big stereo.
On the crappy side, I spent a beautiful afternoon inside. And cut myself three times, fairly badly. And dropped the DVD drive on my table, taking a chunk out of it — though the drive still works. And I cut my foot on the door running to meet UPS barefoot.
You win some; you lose some.
But the real winner is Ubuntu. Err, uh, yeah.
I totally failed Shut Down Day at 12:01 a.m. because I had to burn a disc of data for someone. I don’t feel that badly about blowing it. I’ll shut down another day, on a weekday to make it count more somehow.
The cover of the latest album by The Roots has a hangman game on it, which is funny to me, since my wife and I like to play dirty hangman on scrap paper while we wait for movies to start at The Rotunda. I insist on getting there very early because I am very particular about my seat at the movies (!!).
I walked ten miles today, all over North Baltimore. Long story. Ate leftover fried rice I made last week with cheap chopsticks next to a lake that was a weird green with yuppies’ fertilizer runoff. Or maybe I was in the mood to hate yuppies a little today. I know I live in Roland Park, but please don’t get on my ass about it. The yuppies are not here that much anymore. Everyone is either very young or very old on my street. And it’s cheaper to live here than Hampden. Or maybe I don’t know what a yuppy is.
Tried to explain my dissertation topic to a religious 13-year old today, too. He genuinely tried to have a mini-dialogue about it, too, which gives one hope about the next generation of religious folks. Then again, I think he’s just a nice kid who happens to be religious, which makes me feel a different kind of hope — that there are nice kids out there when everyone paints such a doomsday picture of today’s youth. Which I guess might not include me anymore, at 27 & 1/2.
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Noisy black and white shot of my bass and I reflected in my television set. With tomorrow being Shut Down Day, I thought I would pull out my bass because I thought it was Unplug Day, and I thought I should plug in now since I have not in four or five weeks. Had to play on my crappy little practice amp though, leaving the monster amp gathering dust instead of dusting the rafters and waiting for my rocking days to return. Because I’m not fond of posting photos of myself, this will go on during Shut Down Day, thanks to the awesome power of WordPress. I’m thinking of shutting down tomorrow. I hope it works out. Maybe I’ll use my computer stool to sit and play some music, inspired by Gary’s Riff Dreams.
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I wanted to take my camera with me for a research day out yesterday, since the weather was so beautiful after not being so nice lately. But I didn’t want to ruin it by searching for photos ops at the expense of enjoying a day in Baltimore City where you could hear the “Hons” carrying across the air extra clearly.
This is a knick-knack from Ikea on my windowsill instead, for Photo Friday: Sentimental.
So I know this guy. We are both involved in what amounts to a service organization, so we get to chat. I thought he didn’t like me, and then I bought him a cup of coffee once. I think it was a good icebreaker to get to chat more. I have no idea how old he is, but he’s pretty old. Elderly, literally. And very very white.
Over a year ago, I heard him say something about “this Jew” cutting him off or something. “Damn,” I thought, “what’s with so many old anti-Semitic people in Baltimore?” I didn’t say anything because our boss was there, but he said it in front of a kid — which pissed me off. I thought maybe the boss might correct him, but he didn’t. This guy is old. So I thought that was an excuse, and so did everyone else when I brought it up. Why I excused such ignorant talk while on the way home to my interracial marriage bed is beyond me.
No it’s not. I was afraid to. And I was afraid to say anything a few weeks ago when he made a comment about Maryland’s governor “catering to the blacks” in front of kids, claiming that was how he got elected mayor, too. One could argue that there is nothing actually incorrect about what he said, though the insinuation that Martin did it only to get elected is disputable (I’m not setting myself up and picking a side). But it was the way he said it. You know what I mean. No one said anything, including me. But the boss and I were talking about it, and he was thinking the same thing I was: What the hell is wrong with this guy?
Well I found out last week. He lives in a totally other world. A few of us were talking about the Geico commercials that feature the cavemen. Personally, they make me laugh my bum off. Another guy thinks they are not funny but are stupid. But this guy got all offended because of some imagined agenda whereby those commercials go against his church.
Yes, his church. He thinks the commercials propogate evolutionism, I gather, though I might be propogating something I myself am imagining. Maybe three years in the Midwest have tainted me on old white zealously religious people. But I didn’t know what to say when he said that he didn’t believe in evolution, saying, “I believe the Scripture.” What’s worse the other guy (who I think reads this blog!) had to walk away, and I was just…there.
The old guy went on to tell me about those Left Behind books, which I have nothing per se against. He mentioned that in one novel/prophecy, Iran drops an atomic bomb on Israel, but God saves them, exploding the bomb in midair, telling me that it was “because they are God’s chosen people.” For quite a while in college, I wished I were Jewish (and still do at times), so I responded to such an uncomfortable assertion that it makes me wish I were Jewish. He looked at me in complete seriousness and responded that it makes us glad we are Christian. I didn’t say anything.
I realized why he says this stuff. He thinks that I think like him. I’m white and educated. I must be Christian, anti-Semitic and racist. While I would not label myself an atheist, I would not label myself a Christian, either. But I have the whole Catholic Mass memorized from my tenure as an altarboy and all my Catholic schooling, so I can see how someone might make that mistake. I suppose that as far as the Church is concerned, I am a very bad Catholic who married outside of the Church after ditching the priesthood being pushed on me.
But how anyone could mistake me for a conservative, an anti-Semite or especially a racist is beyond me. It freaks me out, to be true. Did I do or say something that might make someone identify me with that shit? Probably not. Like I said, we live in different worlds. He thinks there is no such thing as global warming, either. It’s liberal propoganda. Right.
I think I need to muster the balls to correct him next time he drops the racist tip, no matter who I have to offend or piss off because the boss doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing it, no matter how much he likes my black wife.
My friend Dan, who scratched marks onto a smashed bottle cap on St. Patty’s day and responded to his wife’s inquiry with, “I’m putting eyes on my little monster.”
I celebrated by sleeping until 11:30 and eating breakfast ten minutes ago at 2:30. Have enough ale and stout from Ireland in my fridge to make two people sick and movie tickets to the four o’clock showing of Black Snake Moan at the Rotunda in my pocket. Green clothes, including undies and socks. A big mug of Barry’s Tea right in front of me. And the supplies to make pizza from scratch in my kitchen. It’s going to be a good St. Patty’s Day.
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Weeks without a photo, and all I give you is this old one from nearly a year ago? Sorry, it’s been nuts around here with the move, computer shopping, etc. We’re all moved in and unpacked. And we are likely returning our laptops, for several reasons, one of them being the idea that we spent our savings on our dissertations (entities we hate) and the biggest (for me) being that I don’t like working on laptops. So we’re going to upgrade a few things on our perfectly-good Dell and run Ubuntu on there. If we never thought of Vista, it never would have occured to us to do the better thing for our small apartment, bank account and the planet to boot.
Yeah, we do stupid things like own three computers for a week when we only need one and buy cars we don’t need only to sell them and lose money and get bikes. Yeah.
But we have the guts to admit when we’re wrong and to back-pedal and correct it. You gotta give me that.
Anyway, this photo is for Photo Friday: Heat and is a neat building on Main Street in Memphis from last April. The sunset from the Mississippi River is catching it, and I just liked the structure shooting up higher than everything else around it.
If your blog reading is not the blog version of living under the proverbial rock, then you surely miss Inkmusings, Gary’s blog about writing and, well, life. I sure do. While Inkmusings is not back, Gary has just launched a new blog called Riff Dreams about guitars, music, and, well, life. Even if, for some reason, you don’t like music and the people who make it, it’s Gary, so you know it’s great anyway:) So check it out!
Just got back from running some errands and having breakfast, travelled to and from on two wheels. We have gotten out on our bikes four days in a row, now. The traffic and hills are weird after the peaceful riding we used to get in Carbondale, and I got out of shape this fall and winter (not that I was ever in great shape). So it has be more than merely awesome to get some riding in while doing chores, visiting family and going shopping/eating. Maybe this is a step in reducing my chub.
This is the first post from Ubuntu. With the post soundtrack “Starlight” by Muse. Got our home network up and running today. Got no homework done since Monday. Had veggie BLTs for dinner, though, which is damned yummy. March snow, looked like it would have been great for sledding. And I have not been sledding in a long long time. But not as long as you would think. I think we borrowed lunchtrays in college and did some sliding. I think. I miss sledding. I should get a cool sled. Kids sled down the middle of my street all the time.
I live on a long hill in North Baltimore. If I ride my bike down the street, I can hit 30 mph without much pedaling, 26 or 27 without pedaling at all. And I live on the top/fourth floor. So tonight the wind is shaking my storm windows. It sounds like someone wants to get in for a hot cup of tea or coffee with the sudden cold we’re getting in Maryland. Of course, this high up, they would need a very large ladder. And be very brave.
I am very excited because my laptop should come tomorrow, and I’ll be blogging via Ubuntu then, barring any dead pixels/issues with my new toy. I think my case might shot up, though I feel guilty about getting that big piece of plastic, even if T2 is off vinyl. I think I will try harder to find a recycled/more sustainable means of carrying around my chunk of plastic and heavy-metals. I found some online, such as recycled feedbags, and they are not very expensive and are way cooler than a Timbuk2 bag. I think I might have to order me one, or something more awesome and/or hemp.
Maybe I’ll get more of these: ////////
Dang, I have a lot of stuff. Usually, it’s the masses and masses of books that slow down the move. This time, we went nuts and lugged them all up to the new apartment in rapid trips that lasted less than one hour. Unpacking was really killer this time because of the haste with which we sorta packed things up. There is very little clutter around now, since we have hung most things up on the walls, put them away, etc. We have a bigger closet now, which would be a walk-in if it were less full of stuff. And a better place to keep the bikes, which has given me two opportunities for short rides this weekend.
Dang #2, my lard-booty has gotten out of shape. After a mild two and half mile ride, I thought I was going to die. But I did better the next day. That evening, I saw a lot of other cyclists out with their blue-ish LED lights and scarves. Nice to feel like a part of a growing faction of two-wheeled hipsters. I usually feel pretty out-hipped.
My custom laptop has shipped and will get here by Tuesday. But now I read about how common dead/stuck pixels are in LCD screens, so I’m all freaked out about my new toy being flawed out of the box. Crazy, I know. On the bright side, because of some kind of stocking error, they are sending me the $300 more expensive version of the laptop I ordered, with dedicated graphics and a webcam.
There’s a dude from Carbondale right now on “60 Minutes” right now who fights terrorism online. Weird.
This is coming to you at 52.3k. Yes, Verizon is taking literally weeks just to move my DSL — this after they promised us they only needed three business days. I might try the wireless that’s in my building. For the logins we will need, it’s only $5 more than our DSL, and they claim to be faster. And they are a local business, too…
This is fast becoming like a page from my planner/diary.
Note to Johnny: Get red tea; change address with the Sierra Club and the Thoreau Society; request library books; write to friend in Portland; call just-married friends to see how they enjoyed London; hang things on wall in bedroom; etc.
Fatherhood
