I am, in fact, the kind of person who despises professional sports in their current form, and the Super Bowl in particular. However, most of the time I keep a lid on it in order to be civil. Yesterday was reasonably nice, and I was blissfully working on other things without being forced to think about overpaid 'roid-head modern gladiators ( Read more... )

So I hear that there was a setback for the Democratic party lately. I barely know the big picture, and I really don't care about the details at this point. What happened was, my current standpoint got vindicated again. That standpoint is that I am actively not paying attention to micro-level political maneuvering because the big-picture ( Read more... )

What helps you go to sleep?

Normally, it takes me a while to get to sleep. That bothers me. Like anyone else, I waste time, but time spent lying in bed trying to sleep feels fiercely and viciously wasted, because the number one thing I think about is - "I'm not particularly tired, I could be doing something." Not necessarily something ( Read more... )

The most recent thing to seriously jab at my self-image was my father telling me that I have a "dark" worldview. That's tremendously at odds with my view of myself. I discount the view a bit because it came during a discussion about health insurance, and I'm not shy about criticizing the Current Arrangement. Outside the context of that ( Read more... )

Hey, remember a year ago, when we'd just elected Black Superjesus Reagan?

Click to view

It's a little bittersweet to watch now. As a friend of mine has pointed out, Mr. Obama could dedicate himself to playing World of Warcraft for as many hours as humanly possible and still be a better President than his predecessor. On the other hand, like the bubble whose ( Read more... )

I'm finally back in college, by the way. Here's the short version:

• At a local community college,
• Paying for it with grants and loans that mean that the out-of-pocket cost is zero,
• On track for three for-serious certifications (RHCE, CCNA, MCSE/MCITP-Server-2008), and a passel of lesser ones (misc CompTIA/MCP stuff).

There are, of course, drawbacks. ( Read more... )

I am very unhappy that this appears in one of my textbooks:The column headings in the table are not as clear as they need to be, but I've written them as they are written in the motherboard documentation so you can learn to understand this kind of cryptic documentation.

Dear Jean Andrews: You are so very much Doing It Wrong. I hate your textbook ( Read more... )

The mood of I Hate Capitalism has been strong lately, complemented by its partner in crime, Why Isn't Capitalism Working. The latest stimulus for both is the SF Chron's article "Need a job? Show them you can Twitter." This one will be scored as a point for Why Isn't Capitalism Working, however.
Job applicants may not think it's fair for ( Read more... )

Nothing quite like sorting through a job-lot of media artifacts to drive home the truth of Sturgeon's Law. Who here remembers, just for example, Extreme Ops? The Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius movie? Something's Gotta Give? I was happier not knowing that most of these movies existed. I was also happier not thinking about Dreamworks. As bad as ( Read more... )

This evening, I went to go see The New Twenty. I'd love to say something like 'wow, that was a real stinker,' but it doesn't rise to that - it's just a mundane failure. The movie is like the characters: self-absorbed, not very expressive, and at its best when leaving. It made me surly. For one thing, it was shown in a queer-film series, but it' ( Read more... )