Entry: After pilates class

Ok. So I was in my pilates class today. About 5 minutes into the class, I realized that I wasn't in the best of moods. It wasn't until about 10 minutes after that that I was hit by a startling realization....I really do HATE this class!! That wasn't the bad part though. It wasn't until an hour after that that the class actually ended. It's like realizing that you hate rollercoasters right as you're being slowly cranked up there to the top right after you get onboard. You know...I use the word "hate" here, but in reality, that's a tad harsh. I guess this simply marks the end to yet another experimental phase.

So, I was on my way home from the gym after the pilates debacle and I was listening to the radio (still in a funk from that class). I sat there and listened to a commercial about some horse jockey trying to buy a Hummer H3. It was...err....irritating...to say the least. I got home and turned on the tube and there was Hulk Hogan (well...actually a 90 lb. double) talking about Arby's burgers. I couldn't help but wistfully sigh at the lack of mindless entertainment coming from the magic moving-picture box in front of me. It was then and there that I decided that it was time to take a stand. And, since I really didn't feel like making the effort to take that stand, then I shall simply lobby my opinions via an small act of disention. (By the way..no spell checker as I'm writing this). I have decided to form S.P.A.R.C. For all of you geeks out there, this is in no way a reference to Sun Microsystems. It is, in fact, the Sane People Against Retarded Commercials. And no...I mean no ill against the mentally challenged...it's just that that word fit the acronym too perfectly. :)

Hazah!!

(Why is it that the brits have a cool word like that and we don't??)

Entry: How to make sense of it all

I ran across this graphic while surfing around today. I thought it was interesting. Bravo to Diane (whoever she is). Assuming that I'm interpretting it correctly, it talks about that weird limbo that someone lives in when they realize that they love a really good friend. There's that horrible catch-22 where they can't do anything about it since it's their friend that they love but, at the same time, they can't talk to anybody about it because the person in whom they'd usually confide is that same person. Ugh. I'm so glad that I'm one of the few people who has been able to emotionally evolve beyond the mortal coil and its constraints. ;) Anyway...this was just a random entry. Thought you guys might like it.

On a different note, have you ever noticed that the longer you've been out of contact with a friend, the harder it is to re-establish ties? Often, there's no real reason for it. It's like you've been silent for so long and it would be disrupting the universe somehow if you were to disturb that silence. That's when the whole "I'll do it tomorrow" thing sets in. Then, "tomorrow" becomes "next week", then "next month", and so on.

This is such a random post. I'm sitting here on my computer listening to Madonna's "Live to Tell". If you're ever looking for inspiration to write something, that's the song that'll do it. Of course, that was 80's madonna. That was the pre-sexual-revolution pre-childrens-books pre-kabala pre-mother-of-multiple-children Madonna. It's my personal opinion that she was a much better artist back in the day. Then again, who am I to judge. :)

I'm having trouble forming complete sentences at the moment. I think I might have mad cow disease or something.

My neighbor, for some reason, REFUSES to turn his #$%!@*&#$ bass down on his stereo or computer or whatever the heck that thing is that he has pressed up against my wall. I've never met him, but I know that he should be attacked with a mallot by some disgruntled Wal-Mart employee. How many notes on this guy's door do I have to leave before I'm forced to narc on him??

I can't wait for 'The L Word' to come on. That's my show for Sunday nights. I hope that tonight doesn't start the rerun season. It's getting so good!! Dana succumbed to her breast cancer last week. It was so sad. <:( And I swear....my love of this show has NOTHING to do with the fact that they are all lesbians! Nobody seems to ever believe me when I tell them that!!!!

I noticed today that that new movie Slither is coming out next week. They're touting it as one of those horror/comedy movies. Now, granted, it can't be nearly as good a horror/comedy as 'Cabin Fever', but I think it's still worth a look-see. If anyone else is interested in seeing it, let me know!

By the way....Audra....smile! :-p

I'm tired of talking about politics with people. Have you ever argued so much with people that you just get tired of it? The funny thing is that I rarely argue a point with anybody when it comes to politics. The abrasion comes in when I share my point of view and the other person has a problem accepting it and feels the need to "correct" my misconceptions. The sad thing is that everyone is under the impression that they know the right and wrong ways to do things and that everyone else is just trying to forward their own selfish agendas. The harsh reality of it is that just about anything can be argued for or against. I could argue both sides of Democracy or Capitalism if I had to. I briefly caught a part of Rush Limbaugh's show on Friday. That guy makes me ill. The sad thing is that everyone who doesn't agree with him is just "mentally ill". He has THAT much reverence for his own opinion. Oh well. Bah. I think the reason that I hate politics so much is because, as a programmer, I like the ability to solve overly complex problems with very simple and delicate solutions. There never seem to be any such things with politicians. There are no issues that don't come with pork and strings attached.

Rex is well (for anybody who knows him and cares) these days. He's happy as a clam and is sporting a brilliant gradient of dark blue and dark red.

I have put the hubcap back on my car AGAIN. It has fallen off twice. If it falls off again, I'm going to remove ALL of the hubcaps and not worry about it any more.

I need to get back in the gym. Someone kept grabbing my love handles today and, of course, I'm one of those horribly vain people who gets embarassed easily.

Alrighty then....time to go do something useful. And by "useful", I mean "useless". So, I'll probably be camped out in front of the TV. Cheers!!

P.S. For all those who read my commentary on the sad state of Microsoft Word in a previous post and felt my pain.....hazah!! We should unite!!!

P.P.S That reminds me of a funny joke I heard once. "Bad spellers of the world...UNTIE!!!"

Movie: Inside Man

I gotta say....I really wasn't impressed with the previews for this movie. However, it turned out to be much better than I thought it would be. 8 out of 10 stars from me. Of course, the two pieces of Tollhouse Pie I had afterward probably didn't do much to dampen my disposition any. :)

I think that Jodie Foster's character was pretty useless. I have absolutely NO idea why she was even in it at all. But, alas, at least she didn't bring the movie down any. Of course...had she been accidentally shot in the head or something during the bank robbery, I would have had no complaints. :)

Definately worth the see. You're guaranteed to laugh your butt off a couple of times.

Picture: Oh...if only....

Entry: Really nice sunset shot

Check out this seriously cool picture taken from an aircraft carrier.

Entry: Freedom of Speech

(Ahem)

(clears his throat)

I would like to exercise my freedom of speech by talking about how much Microsft Word absolutely bytes. And I do mean BYTES!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously though...how much stuff does uncle Bill think that they need to cram into a single application?? I swear...they should rename it K.I.T.T (a reference from the old 'Knight Rider' show).

Here is an example dialogue between me and my application:

Me: Hey...I want to paste this picture in this spot just like I could do in Word 2000.
Word: Sorry. Those keystrokes and mouse movements have been depricated and have been replaced with a new process which takes twice the amount of time but is cool enough to add a TON of new features that you're never ever ever going to use.
Me: Let me re-phrase....I'm going to paste this picture here in this spot.
Word: I'm sorry Jason. I can't do that.
Me: Yes you can.
Word: No I can't.
Me: Yes....you CAN.
Word: No....I CAN'T.
Me: You really are a piece of junk, Word, did you know that?!
Word: No, I didn't. However, please feel free to peruse my all-encompassing MS Office help file. It really won't help you get anything done, but it will let you know what kind of processes I've automated (since uncle Bill knows MUCH better than you do how you should construct your documents).
Me: Junk. Reeeeeeal junk.
Word: Would you like me to automatically generate and send a trouble report to uncle Bill?
Me: Will he read it?
Word: Not likesly.
Me: Ok...just forget it. I'll skip the picture and just add these roman numerals in this spot instead.
Word: In that spot? I'm sorry Jason. I can't do that.
Me: SONOFA.......!!!!!!!!
Word: ( Squeal like a pig!!! BWAHAHAHAHAH )

Entry: First day of spring

Today marks the first day of Spring! Anyone who's been in Charleston long enough knows that there is no better place to spend it. Too bad the prices over at Middleton Plantation have gotten so bad or I would spend more time there.

Well..according to CNN, spring technically starts today at 1:26pm. Ok...how many people out there actualyl knew that it mattered what time of the day it was??

A little more information about the first day of spring...

The first day of spring, or the spring (Vernal) equinox was celebrated March 21. Alban Eiler, which means, "Light of the Earth," was the day that night and day stood equal. Crops were typically sown at this time. The equinoxes and solstices were seen, to the Celts, as a time of transition. This rare balance in nature made these days a powerful time for magic to the ancient Druids.

The part that I like about all of this the most is that the days will FINALLY start being longer than the nights. Just to clarify for everyone who doesn't know, the two Equinox days of the year are the days when the days and nights are of equal length. The two Solstice days are very different. The Summer solstice marks the longest days and shortest nights. After this day, the daylight will start to decline to make way for the night. The Winter solstice is exactly the opposite. The night begins to decline to make way for the day.

Don't you guys just LOVE random trivia like this?! :)

Article: Witchcraft alive and well

Read this interesting (albeit spooky) article about a couple in India who were brutally put to death (with "crude weapons and machetes") after being found guilty of witchcraft. Ouch!!

Also, random piece of trivia....
Did you know that the state of South Carolina was the last state to have anyone tried in a formal court of law for Witchcraft? True story! :)

Movie: V for Vendetta

I have to say that I was particularly impressed with this movie. 9 out of 10 stars from me. A truly great story that was supported by truly great acting.

Plus, there was one element in the movie that I absolutely LOVED! The guy never took his mask off. That may sound trivial to most of you, but to me it means everything. Nowadays, it seems that all mystery has been replaced with computer graphics and bogus scripting. But with this one, you leave the theater only having seen his mask and hearing the associated voice.

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason, and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot."

Jolly good show! Definately worth the $8.

Entry: My St. Patty's day

Welpers. It was yet another long day at work but at least it was followed up with some relaxation.

I ended up going over to a friend's house downtown for a couple of hours and snacked on her food. Oh my thighs!!! By the way...can you say "abundance of alcohol"??? Her kitchen looked like something out of a Frat movie. :)

Afterwards, I met some other folks down at the Noisy Oyster downtown. Parking REALLY sucked too. We left and did a brief stint at Club 213. Then left, departed, and called it a night. Not bad for a Friday. :)

Entry: Hell hath no fury....

So, I posed this question to a friend of mine recently. I had never really thought about it before. Put aside what any religious doctrine has ever told you.....could you tell me what kind of crime could warrant the ultimate suffering for all time? Seriously!!

Think about it. Say some guy horribly murders 20 people with an axe. He then adorns his car with their body parts and drives around for all the world to see. The police catch, try, convict, and sentence him to death. Now, there would be no shortage of people who would say that this guy deserves to go to hell. But, I ask you this.....

So the guy is executed and ends up going to hell. Lucifer decides that his punishment will be that his skin is flayed off every day with a cheese grater and a potato peeler, his eyes will be devoured by birds (inspired by Prometheus), his hair will be set on fire, he will breathe nothing but chlorine, and, at the end of the day, he will pass a softball-sized kidney stone. He will, of course, be regenerated every time and this process will repeat indefinately.

Now, this guy goes through this for, say, 100,000 years. Talk about ultimate suffering! My question is, can anyone tell me that that's not enough punishment? I personally believe that, if there is a hell (or something like it), then people should be able to redeem themselves after so many years of ultimate suffering.

Think about it....what kind of sin/crime would warrant an ETERNITY of ultimate suffering...never to end...for all time....forever and ever?

This is a rhetorical question. You don't have to answer (although, comments are welcome). This is just something that I was thinking about yesterday. I personally don't believe in hell.

Cheers! :)

Entry: I swear I thought this was Vanilla Ice at first

What would be really funny is if this guy wasn't joking. You guys know how in the movies the people never believe stuff like this until it hits them in the face? :)

Entry: Beware the Ides of March

"Beware the Ides of March!"

This was a warning to Julius Caesar by the soothsayer in William Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'. This was the day that the Caesar was to meet his untimely demise at the hands of Brutus and the other disgruntled politicians.

In Roman times the expression "Ides of March" did not necessarily evoke a dark mood—it was simply the standard way of saying "March 15." Surely such a fanciful expression must signify something more than merely another day of the year?

For a further history lesson, read this article.

Movie: Ultraviolet

Saw 'Ultraviolet' this evening. A friend treated me to the movie. I give the movie 5.5 out of 10 stars. It could have been MUCH MUCH better. They lost me there in the beginning when they had Milla Jovavich driving the motorcycle on the side of a building. Ummm......yeah.

Although...I will admit that there were some pretty profound lines in the movie. My favorite among them is the following dialogue...

Violet: Why are you doing this?
(short pause)
Garth: Isn't it obvious?
(long pause)
Garth: Why won't you let anyone in?
(short pause)
Violet: Because these moments...as beautiful as they are...they're evil when they're gone.

Anyhoo...enough of that. :)

Entry: Yo. 'Sup?!

Well...it's that time of the month again. It's the time when I crawl out of my newly-dug hole to tell the world how I am doing.

Well...the answer is "fine"! Now leave me alone you bas***ds!!!

Just kidding. All is well. Not really much to report. I'm currently reading 'The Exorcist' (which just so happens to be a pretty good book).

I haven't been dancing in a while. My knee has been hurting something fierce of late. I must have done something traumatic to it recently because I've been having to wear my knee brace a lot.

By the way...I think that I've mentioned this before, but for anyone out there who hasn't been to Kaminski's and had a piece of one of thier Tollhouse pies...you are SOOOO missing out! :)

Oh yeah...I've also been plagued with internet connection and e-mail problems. Go figure. (hrmph).

Entry: Happy Pi day!

Happy Pi day everybody! March 14th (3/14) is the day when the universe rejoices and celebrates that beautiful constant.

For all those who don't already know (which I hope is not many of you), Pi represents the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter.

To read more about this wonderful thousand-year-old discovery, read more at wikipedia.

Entry: In God We Trust.

I received this e-mail from a good friend earlier. I thought it was interesting...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm proud to send this one...

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE
NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR
ALL.

I was asked to send this on if I agree or de lete if I don't.
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore
I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a
problem in having "In God We Trust" on our money and having
"God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell
the 14% that they're free to leave the country if they don't
like it! If you agree, pass this on, if not delete it.

I AGREE !!! 
--------------------------------------------------------------

I'm actually very glad that I received this.  It gives me the opportunity to vent on something that has always bothered me.

First off, a little history (for those who don't already know this).  In 1954, the phrase "Under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance and the following year saw the addition of "In God We Trust" being added to all American currency.  Contrary to popular belief, these phrases were NOT always there.  They were added to solidify America's diametrically opposite views of the ever-growing atheistic stance of the communist powers.  Even if I agreed with America's stance at the time, I still think it's fair to say that that addition to the pledge is no longer applicable given the reasons that it was added.

Now, let's check out some similar situations...

- A LOT of people in this country smoke.  However, the majority does not and (arguably) think that the others are simply forcing a disgusting habit on the rest.  The smoking minority can feel free to leave this country if they don't agree with the rest.

- In 1920, the 19th Amendment was made to the US constitution which granted women the right to vote.  If a census had been taken among the male and female populations at the time, I'd be willing to bet that the majority of the country would NOT want to give women that right (this includes the conservative female demographic).  Therefore, at the time, all people who felt otherwise should have been gladly free to leave this country because they didn't agree with everyone else.

- In 1862, President Lincoln abolished slavery with the 13th Amendment to the US constitution.  If a popular vote were taken at the time regarding whether or not that amendment should have passed, do you really think that it would have?

(By the way...feel free to argue the statments above.  I'm a computer jock, not a historian.  What's important is that you GET WHAT I'M SAYING - and please don't argue that you don't.)

The U.S. is a very heterogeneous populous.  It has always been my humbled opinion that her doctrine's should be compatible with everyone possible.  By having "under god" in the pledge, we ensure that it only applies to a percentage of her people.  By NOT having it there, we make it so that ALL can enjoy pledging their allegiance.  I'll never understand why people think that God isn't given more than the necessary reverence every single minute of every single day.  Why must we force it in our pledge to our country?  I'll spare you guys my seperation-of-church-and-state speech.  But seriously....some of this planet's worst atrocities have been commited under the impression that one school of thought should be forced upon the whole.

So, what's the bottom line to all this?  Simple.  Firstly, just because a lot of people agree on something doesn't necessarily make it right.  Secondly, trying to enforce your idea of "right" on someone else is the same thing that has started some of the worst of history's wars.  What if the roles were reversed?  What if the majority wanted "Under God" removed from the pledge and told all the others that they were "free to leave this country" if they didn't like it?  Do you really think that they'd wanna leave either?  Probably not.  They'd probably huddle in a corner somewhere in a fetal position and keep as quiet as possible.

Anywho....asalamalekum!  ;)

Movie: Match Point

I give this one an 8 out of 10 stars. It was a pretty good flick. It was all story....no action. Definately one to be enjoyed for its plot (and their twists). It's kind of a chick flick but with more infidelity and fornication than other chick flicks. I definately recommend it! :)

Article: The Best Way to Negotiate a Better Salary

This is a pretty good article. The author chimes in on topics such as increased workloads with no pay increase and also lack of severance pay. It's a good read.

Entry: Hello everyone!

Hello and good day! Many have been asking (more like complaining) about my blog and why I haven't updated it in a while. Well...I've recently lost interest in the media. Don't worry....it's just one of those mood swings that everyone goes through every once in a while. I haven't even been reading the news every day like I usually do (which is where I get a lot of the material for this blog). No cnn.com. No msnbc.com. no google news. No fark.com. (sigh). It'll all pick back up one of these days. ;)

I do have some rather exciting news (well...at least *I* think it's exciting). My friend Tracy has moved to SC from Conn. I had my first visit with her up in Columbia this last weekend. Good times were had by all. We watched a couple of movies.

The first movie was 'Underworld 2'. Rule number 1....try not to let your sequals be as bad as this one was. Rule number 2....make sure that the person that you're seeing it with has seen the first one. I give it a 6 out of 10 stars. Blah. At least all the main characters came back for it. Even the ones who died off in the first movie came back to do flashbacks and cameos in the second. Other than that, I think the story was a joke. What I'd like to know is this....if Celine became a super vampire after drinking the blood of the oldest immortal and Michael was a super hybrid (being half werewolf and half vampire), what happens when they mate? Do they conceive Godzilla or something?

The second movie we saw was was 'Firewall'. I rather enjoyed this movie (which is surprising since Tracy actually picked it). ;) I give it 8 out of 10 stars. As for technical details, I'm kinda up in the air about that aspect. They used some good techno-speak in the movie which sounded legit. For instance, in the beginning, Harrison Ford's character uses a terminal screen to add/modify a router access rule to block out some would-be cracker(s). Of course, the scene was so fast that I didn't get a chance to view it all for a total analysis. Unfortunately, a secondary character had to add some BS line about "Wow...that would eliminate false positives too!!". (barf). I also like the way that he removed the scanning filament from a fax machine and hooked it up to his daughter's IPOD and then scanned a database record dump as it scrolled up the terminal. However, he was kind enough to add the fact that he would use some OCR software to later get the data from the image that was captured. They had a habit of mixing really good techno kung fu with some really bad. Blah. Good movie though. It was right there in the same line as Ford's role in 'Airforce One'. Same type of role. Same type of situation.

Also, this weekend, Tracy, Katie, Myself, and some of Katie's friends went to a "tupperware" party. It was interesting. It was the first party of its kind that I can honestly say that I've ever been to. Let's just say that certain "tupperware" can be used to scratch backs and comb hair.

I also ended up buying about $50 worth of those Magnetix toys that I like so much. Those things are so cool. They're like legos, but kewl in a different way.

I went to a lecture last night at the 2nd Presbyterian (sp?) church downtown. It was concerning the whole evolution/intelligent design issue. Unfortunately, the first hour was spent discussing the personal histories of EVERYONE even remotely connected to evolution. So, after the first hour, we ended up leaving.

Blah.

My eHarmony account has expired. However, the folks at eHarmony are kind enough to send me e-mails telling me about my latest matches. Of course, they don't let me actually contact them. I think that's kinda rude not being able to tell people that I'm no longer available when they request communications with me. Blah. Then again, maybe it's just another case of RTFM. I seem to suffer from that a lot these days. :)

I'm within a few pages of being done with 'Sphere'. It's my latest Michael Crichton book. I'm still kinda stumped as to what to read next. A friend suggested one but I kinda want to stay on the Michael Crichton vein. So I'll see where that goes.

I hope that all is well with all my peeps out there. Sorry I haven't written much on here lately and sorry I haven't e-mailed many people either. Getting me to talk on the phone seems to be a bit troublesome these days too. Again, apologies to all. :)

Other than that, my time has been spent wisely watching TV, sleeping, and reading. That's 'bout it. :)