The Official Voice of Northampton

The Only Thing More Powerful Than a Blue Shell...

Wed, 14 May 2008 04:54:53 GMT

Shamelessly Stolen from dunkelza

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:35:41 GMT

Stupid Commercial

Fri, 09 May 2008 23:17:20 GMT

This commercial keeps coming on television that is seriously pissing me off. It's for a website called freecreditreport.com. This guy and his two buddies are singing a song about how he is stuck working a crappy job in a seafood restaurant because his financial identity was stolen. It's a fairly silly and innocuous commercial, for the most part. But one thing keeps pissing me off.

They are all dressed like pirates. But about halfway through, one of his buddies gives us a nice "Yee Haw!"

Why the hell is a pirate singing like a cowboy? GRRRRR!

Oh No He Didn't!

Thu, 08 May 2008 14:14:09 GMT

Pay particular attention to the fourth paragraph from the top.

FINALLY!!!

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:09:37 GMT

pinksbrat and miashell are finally done with Season Three of BSG. As soon as dinner is done, we are going to finally start in on Season Four.

It's been a real treat watching the series again through their eyes, but I am SOOOO ready to finally see the new episodes!

Interesting Article

Mon, 05 May 2008 15:47:08 GMT

Who Will Tell the People?

I'm going to present this without comment. Just go read it and think.

An Open Letter to Apple

Thu, 01 May 2008 18:59:08 GMT

To Whom it May Concern (I am not foolish enough to think that Steve will see this),

Thank you for the many wonderful products your company makes. I love my Ipod, ITunes is a joy to use and play with, and your home computers are the envy of the tech world. Your operating system kicks serious ass, so much so that I, like many people I know, am planning to get a MacBook when my PC shits the bed. You do a lot of things very well.

One request, though? I don't mind that ITunes and Quicktime auto-updates. That's cool. But can you PUHLEAZE stop offering me Safari every gods-damned time the updater runs? If I wanted it, I'd have downloaded it one of the previous dozen times you "offered" it to me.

Otherwise, keep up the good work. Any chance we could get another cool commercial from you guys for the next Superbowl?

Sincerely,
Micah

Stolen from lil_laurel

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:51:36 GMT

Your LJ Slut Stats!
Out of your 226 friends, percentages you have:
met		66.81%
hugged		51.76%
dated		5.75%
kissed		21.68%
seen shirtless		18.14%
seen naked		9.73%
had net sex		3.98%
made out with		6.19%
had oral sex		5.75%
fucked		6.63%
Get your LJ Slut Stats!

Questions Meme

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:59:22 GMT

Haven't done a meme in a long time, and since I am home from school today with a badly sprained ankle, I've got time to kill.

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A shot of Saturn backlit by the sun, taken from the Cassini probe.

Q. How many televisions do you have in your house?
Two, only one gets regular use.

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
One tooth.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
Some big rocks at the new co-op in Northampton. I helped dig holes and plant trees there Friday.

Q. Have you ever been knocked out?
No.

BULLSHITOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Yes.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Micah Taylor. I seriously HATE my given last name.

Q. What colour do you think looks best on you?
Dark blue, purple, grey and black.

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item?
Yes.

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
Sure. Done it for free. :-)

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
No. I use my pinkies for typing and "other activities".

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000
Once upon a time, this would have been an easy yes. Now, I don't think so.

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
I'd be thrilled if someone wanted to pay me to see my butt. :-)

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
Depends on the strength of the hot sauce. Too much of a really strong one can seriously injury you.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
Yes. Just call me Martin Blank...

DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket?
Not wearing anything with pockets at the moment.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good film?
Yes.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
Carpet.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
Usually stand.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
Zero.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Last person who texted you?
miashell

Q: Last person who called you?
pinksbrat

Q: Person you hugged?
pinksbrat

FAVOURITOLOGY

Q: Number?
3

Q: Season?
Any one that doesn't start with a "W".

Q: Colour?
Black

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?
Yes.

Q: Mood?
Sore. Sprained my ankle badly yesterday.

Q: Listening to?
pinksbrat making coffee in the kitchen.

Q: Watching?
The Weather Channel.

Q: Worrying about?
Finding a job for the summer.

Q: Wearing?
Nothing. :-)

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?
The bathroom. That's about as good as it gets for me today.

Q: What can you not wait to do?
Graduate!

Q: Do you smile often?
I smile lots and lots, but would NEVER say no to more!

Q: Are you a friendly person?
Yes.

Random Quote...

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:05:10 GMT

...from yours truly as we sit here watching BSG (almost done with season three!) and a thunderstorm, after a particularly nice bolt of lightning:

"It's too bad you can't TiVo the world..."

Completely Gratuitous Post

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:16:43 GMT

I'm sitting in the Friendly's on Rt. 6 in Seekonk, MA having dinner with pinksbrat right now.

That's it. Nothing else to say. I just think it's really really cool that this Friendly's has free WiFi. Feel free to move along.

A Yankee Fan Sees the Light

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:41:49 GMT

New York family of Yankees fans heads out one Saturday to shop for the youngest boy's birthday. While in the sports shop, the son picks up a Red Sox jersey and says to his older sister,
"I've decided to become a Red Sox fan and I would like this Boston jersey for my birthday."
His big sister is outraged by this and promptly whacks him upside his head and says, "Go talk to mother!" Off goes the little lad with the jersey in hand and finds his mother.
"Mom?"
"Yes, son?"
"I've decided I'm going to be a Red Sox fan and I would like his jersey for my birthday."
The mother is outraged at this, promptly whacks him around the head and says, "Go talk to your father!" Off he goes with the Red Sox jersey in hand and finds his father.
"Dad?"
"Yes, son?"
"I've decided I'm going to be a Red Sox fan and I would like this jersey for my birthday."
The father is outraged and promptly whacks his son in the back of his head and says, "No son of mine is ever going to be seen in THAT!"
About half an hour later they're all back in the car and heading towards home. The father turns to his son and says
"Son, I hope you've learned something today."
The son says, "Yes, Dad, I have."
"Good, son, what is it?"
The son replies,
"I've only been a Red Sox fan for an hour, and I already hate you Yankee bastards."

Life is Good

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:50:12 GMT

All told, it was a pretty damn good weekend for me, even with a small mountain of homework looming over me. The weather cooperated on Saturday better than I could have hoped, so the Princess and I spent part of the day at Six Flags for opening day. The park was emptier than I have EVER seen it, so much so that, at one point, we walked right up to a waiting train at Batman, got right on, and there were still empty seats when we left the station! I don't think we'll ever get that lucky again.

Pretty good show last night at Rocky, even if the audience was thin. Pretty good turnout for potluck at the Space, which is very exciting. Lots of new faces, and I heard second-hand praise of my burgeoning singletail skills.

But today was the topper. We had to pick miashell up at blacstag's place, so naturally, we took the opportunity to get some geocaches away from home. My streak continues (closing in on a solid month with at least one find per day), we found a cache today that is the oldest I've ever seen in the field (over seven years old!), and said cache is my 500th find! I had hoped to reach 500 total finds before the end of the YEAR, and it's only April.

Oh yeah. The Red Sox have split so far with the Evil Empire, and are kicking their sorry asses again right now.

Not a bad weekend, eh?

Random Thoughts

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:28:08 GMT

Apparently, not having an office to go to during the week has cut into my blogging time. It was my favorite way to waste time being unproductive, so this isn't too surprising, when I think about it.

This weekend is the opening weekend at Six Flags. As most of you are aware, I am a major roller coaster junkie, and pinksbrat and I have had this weekend circled for a long time. Sadly, the weather isn't cooperating, so we may not go right away. Equally sadly, the new roller coaster, The Dark Knight, which was advertised for a spring opening, is not going to be finished until summer, according to shegavemeapen_x, who is once again working for Six Flags this season.

The weekend is still crammed full, though. We've got the Space tomorrow evening, Rocky tomorrow night, a potential geocaching "date" with two friends who are newbies, and a mostly empty apartment for the weekend (miashell and blacstag are spending as much time together as possible before he goes on a three week business trip) . I don't doubt we'll find something to amuse ourselves in between being busy. ;-)

Two geocaching goals this month: Find at least one cache every single day in April (so far so good), and find at least 100 caches for the month (39 and counting, on track to make it).

I spent part of the afternoon today removing nearly everything that was left of my things from the condo in Chicopee. sylvari's house is once again about to take on a new stray, and since most of the household is moving around again to accommodate, she needed me to clear some closet space. glaucos is also moving in (in addition to the aforementioned stray), and doubtless that has something to do with it as well.

I was ok except for two moments. The first was right after I arrived. My garden is coming in. We worked hard to get things to grow in our little patch of dirt, and this year the evidence of that is readily apparent. There are new lilies coming up where I know I didn't plant them, and the little lilac bush that could is putting out buds again. There are even some dandelions in approximately the spots where I put the seeds last year. I'm glad it's growing, but sad that it isn't mine anymore.

The other was when we went upstairs. Lisa and her daughter swapped rooms again, and the little bedroom closet (which is the largest closet in the house, ironically) is where most of my old board games were stored. As I was reaching up to get the games, my gaze found the new red leather cuffs and collar on her dresser. I can't quite put into words why that hurt, but I suspect words aren't necessary. It's not that I don't want her to be happy, or expect her to give up something that was a good part of our sex life and relationship (especially considering how long she had to wait in order to get it in the first place), but it hurts nonetheless. I do miss her, still, and while I am not second guessing my decision last December, I still regret the necessity of it.

I can only imagine that she is having similar thoughts, as the walls looked very bare where my art and weapons used to be. There are still a few things left in the basement, but I suspect getting those boxes won't be like how it was today.

It's April, so it's baseball season. J.D. Drew is FINALLY starting to make it look like he was worth signing. I'd like to see a little more consistency from the rest of the Red Sox, though. It's early, and this team is clearly still finding itself, so I am willing to be patient. It is odd, though, because this is virtually the same team that won the title six months ago, so you'd think they would come out of the gate faster than this. I can't help but think the trip to Japan has something to do with it.

Good Thoughts...

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:17:12 GMT

for miashell. Her grandmother is in the hospital again, which sadly has been a regular occurrence the last six months or so. She is not in great shape, and honestly, at this point it is hard to say what the better outcome would be. Either way, good thoughts for her and her grandmother would be greatly appreciated.

A Request to All my BSG-Obsessed LJ Friends

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:10:21 GMT

Tonight is finally the night that the fourth season begins. But I will NOT be watching tonight, because pinksbrat and miashell still need to catch up.

So, in anticipation of the BSG SQUEEEEEE! posts that will doubtless be posted, I respectful ask and remind you all to use cuts for spoilers for poor little me. Thanks. :-)

Unexpected Complications

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:29:10 GMT

pinksbrat and I were totally unexpectedly laid off last night. Apparently our little law firm here isn't doing nearly as well as it needs to, nor as well as we thought. We are finishing out the week and that's that. I'm not angry, and not terribly upset, but a bit disappointed. This has been a nice office to work in, better than many I've seen, and I'm going to miss it. In many ways, being here reminded me of being at the Abundant Wellness Center, and I still miss that place, too.

We already have a plan to cope with this, and should be fine. Don't be surprised, however, if you see less of us publically for a short while until this shakes out. For example, we had been planning on going to the Arisia Relaxcon, and those plans are now in serious jeopardy.

As things change and develop, I'll keep you all informed.

On a positive note, the girls need to do some serious BSG watching to catch up (they haven't started season 3 yet!), so this kinda comes at the right time. ;-)

Blog Meme #6: Dream House

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:53:40 GMT

My "dream house" has had almost as many incarnations as my favorite RPG characters. At various times, it has been everything from a big condo to a Victorian house and nearly everything in between.

At this point, I think I'd be happy with a home that was "expandable". I've always wanted a big poly family, so living in a small house/condo/apartment is not necessarily the smartest idea. Of course, getting a condo for now, which is easy to buy, sell and upkeep, isn't a bad idea either, since going straight for the "big poly house" is difficult to do. Once when we actually have said poly family, THEN we could go get the big house.

I don't want to say that I have given up on the idea of a "dream home", but I honestly don't care all that much about what the home looks like so long as my family of choice is in it.

And a hot tub. :-)

Blog Meme #5: Dungeons and Dragons

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:44:16 GMT

This one is harder to answer than one might think. I've been playing D&D, in some form or another, since I was ten years old. I've played dozens of different PCs, and countless NPCs. But, like many players, I tend to play a couple of different characters, in slightly different incarnations.

The one I keep coming back to the most is Delia. She is typically a fighter, most often a ranger, and in one notable campaign (not D&D), she was a mage. Her family life sucked ass (last daughter of poor farmers), and she spent as much of her time as possible in the woods. She learned through trial and error how to hunt small game, identify edible plants and herbs, fish and track, and basically survive in the woods. Her family didn't quite know what to do with her, aside from beat her whenever she came back home after an extended stay in the wild. This went on until puberty, when she was suddenly expected to do more "women's work" at home, and was beaten for not "pulling her weight". She resented the fact that her contributions up to that point somehow "didn't count", and left home for good at fifteen.

At that point, her history gets really murky. She has alternately run away from home with a band of adventurers, joined a military scout unit, and been taken by a wizard to be his apprentice.

The mage incarnation, which happened about seven years ago, was for a game called Ars Magica, a world based on the idea that medieval Europe was exactly like all of the fanciful tales said it was, but still strongly rooted in actual history. Wizards lived in towers of their own kind, and were among the most powerful people in the world. But the power of the nobles and the Church was ignored at their peril. It's a fun world, and the character creation process of that game is among it's best aspects.

This incarnation of Delia's revealed a part of her personality that had never presented itself before. Delia's family disliked her because her latent magick made strange things happen around her (things would spontaneously burst into flames around her, or it would rain indoors), but she was also in love with her best friend and lover, Lucile. The two of them were discovered together, doing "unnatural things" (as far as the Church was concerned), and thrown into jail. This coincided with an outbreak of sickness in their village, and the two of them were condemned as witches. Lucile was burned at the stake while Delia watched. When her turn came, a strange man in flowing robes "rescued" her from the crowd using strange magickal powers, and took her to a tower where he taught her how to harness her elemental powers. Delia swore to get revenge on the Church that took her lover's life, and never could reconcile herself to Lucile's death.

Since that campaign, Delia has always been a lesbian in my head, even in campaigns where sex and sexuality didn't come into play.

Music Meme

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:38:24 GMT

MUSIC Meme!
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. Don't cheat!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY?" YOU SAY?
Hakuna Matata – The Lion King (oddly appropriate!)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Winterborn – The Cruxshadows

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Satisfaction – Benny Benassi

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Never Give Up – Melissa Ferrick

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Creepy Doll – Jonathan Coulton

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Sympathy for the Devil – Guns N’ Roses

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Extraordinary – Liz Phair

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
This Shit Will Fuck You Up – Combichrist (ROFLMFAO)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
Comfortably Numb – Hayseed Dixie (you haven’t heard this song until you’ve heard it bluegrass style!)

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Pressure – Billy Joel

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS?
Star Wars Theme (LOL)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I’m Doing the Best That I Can - Godsmack

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Engel – Rammstein

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Seven Bridges Road – The Eagles

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Take Me or Leave Me - Rent

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Fear is Never Boring – Adrian Beleu (another one oddly appropriate)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Would I Lie to You? – The Eurythmics

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Take a Look at Me Now – Phil Collins (I can’t believe my ITunes threw me under the bus like this…)

WW Update

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:37:37 GMT

Regular readers of my LJ may have noticed that I haven’t posted anything about weight loss or Weight Watchers in quite a long while. That is because I canceled my subscription to WW about a month ago. I did that because I reached my goal. Back last year, when I first joined WW and rededicated myself to getting healthy, I set a goal for myself to reach my service weight. Back when I was in the Army, I tended to hover around 205 to 210 pounds. The day I left the service, I was about 215. At my heaviest (when I started South Beach about two years ago), I was between 235 and 240, and my official WW starting weight was 225.

About two months ago, I hit 205. I didn’t maintain it very long (about a day or so), but I got there. I did continue to count points (still do, in my head) using the online WW tools for about four weeks, but it didn’t seem to matter. Since I first hit my goal, I’ve maintained a weight between 205 and 208 pounds, fluctuating only slightly in either direction depending on activity level, food intake, etc.

So, as far as I am concerned, WW worked for me. I lost weight, feel healthier than I have in many years, and have learned how to be better aware of food, my relationship with it, and how to maintain a healthy diet. Looks like success to me. :-)

JoCo and Paul and Storm Next Week

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:12:20 GMT

We got our tickets today for the show at the Iron Horse next Thursday night. I'm taking an informal poll (meaning I am way to lazy to set up a real one) of my F-list to see who is planning to go. I'm curious because I'd like to BURY Paul and Storm in panties. And when they throw a snack cake, we ALL (as many people as we can get) throw one BACK. :-)

So who's game?

My Own Fault

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:53:52 GMT

Last night, I didn't get to bed until almost 1:30 AM. The Princess didn't either. And yes, our schedules are as full today as they ever are. So why up so late?

A new geocache was published in Blandford. And I made the mistake of checking on it one last time at about 11:30, as we were thinking about heading to bed.

"No one's found it yet?", she said. "Let's go!"

We arrived shortly after midnight (it's a 35 minute drive), made the find, drove home.

I've created a monster....

Haven in Trouble?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:00:12 GMT

I just saw something from a friend that I trust to be in the know that Haven is in trouble. She reported that if attendance does not increase, it might close. It doesn't make any sense to me. People don't normally go out on Tuesday's, yet Haven is almost always busy (and often busier than Diva's is on "normal" nights).

Does anyone know anything more about this?

Appropriate Icon...

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:37:31 GMT

...as I had this very thought at the top of Mt. Hitchcock. And I just noticed that I don't post on weekends very much. Busy doing stuff to blog about during the week, apparently.

This past weekend pinksbrat and I did a hike that I've been wanting to do pretty much since I moved to the Happy Valley. We hiked the Holyoke Traverse via the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, starting at Rt. 47 on the western approach to Mt. Holyoke, past the Summit House, over the Seven Sisters, Mt. Hitchcock and Bare Mountain, ending at the Notch on Rt. 116. For those that are unaware of the names of these peaks, or where they are, when you are driving Rt. 91 between Holyoke and Northampton, you can see the white Summit house from either direction. The Holyoke Traverse takes you over the top of that entire ridge from the Summit House to the second of the two eastern bumps that appear to be the same size (because they are). Almost seven miles, around 3700 feet in total elevation change, three named peaks. Not a bad day. :-)

This hike is one of the most demanding we've done, made more so by two things. It was our first major hike of the new year (we did mostly short hikes over the winter), and the eastern and northern slopes of these peaks were still partially to mostly iced over, making for slow going in many places. About halfway, I started having cramping issues (much like last year's hike on Mt. Ascutney), and that didn't help matters either. I so completely wore out my legs that, by the time we were coming down the icy trail on Bare Mountain to the Notch parking lot, they were so shaky I could barely stand. I think that leg strengthening exercises would help increase both my endurance and address the cramping issues, assuming I can work it into my schedule. On a positive note, my heart and lungs were more than up to the challenge. I wasn't "tired", rather my muscles had reached their failure point (pushed far past it, truthfully), if you follow.

Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, we enjoyed ourselves greatly. Naturally, one of our goals was to find every geocache along the trail, and our efforts were well rewarded. We found every single one along the entire ridgeline, for a total of ten finds. We're also trying to see how many days in a row we can go with at least one find. To date, our streak is nine days (going back to coming home from Lunacon), and we have a plan to extend it quite a bit into the future.

All told, not a bad spring break. A sci-fi con, a great hike, lots of good times. Sadly, back to the grind this week.