Rolling Thoughts

I was fired today

Don't worry, I was offered a new job at the same time :-)

Weekend

This weekend was jam-packed. And I NEVER thought I'd say such a thing.

First, I took Friday off because my friend Dale was visiting for the weekend. He and I go Waaaaay! back. My longest friendship actually. He was in VA for a site-install for his firm. When he finished up he crashed at my place for a couple of days. We checked out a brew pub in Bethesda, walked the Mall and Monuments in DC, and basically hung out together.
Sunday morning I had my last Beginner glassblowing class. The instructor invited me to attend the intermediate class and said that I "got it" faster than almost anyone he's worked with in the past. That felt really good. And he let me try out an idea for making a multi-colored flower and it worked! He told me up front that he had never tried this method before and it might not go ... but it did. Can't wait to pick it up.
Then Sunday night I picked up Lisa from the airport and drove her to Alexandria where we walked a ways and had Thai food. She had a misserable flight and got a nasty layover & delay in Chicago. So getting a surprize pickup from the airport made her day and she was a lot happier.

Metaphysical feel good crap

I got an e-mail from an old friend(now ex) today. I almost checked the name to make sure it wasn't from my mom. The attached article was just the kind of warm & fuzzy feel-good crap she insisted on cramming down my throat as a kid. Alas, it wasn't from her, rather someone I used to love and being used as a justification for ending our friendship.

Using a phrase "Consider my feelings" implies that the say-ers feelings are more important than the recipients. That isn't friendship. That's selfishness. That doesn't mean the say-ers feelings aren't important or aren't a basis for ending a relationship/friendship but asking the other person to consider them on a higher level than their own is crap.

So be it. Ezekial, you've lived up to your nickname.

Cool Links

http://yeti1.yetisports.org/yetisports5/

http://www.gonegold.com/

Missing Books

Pout. I'm missing books. And not just one of two. A significant number of my collectable series (stuff that is out of print now) have dissapeared in the last couple of moves. Unfortunately I never made a comprehensive database of books on my shelves so I don't know exactly what's gone. It's only as I go to re-read a book on my shelve that I realize it's not there. damn.
So it's off to Alibris or Amazon.used to shop. Spent $100 this month to buy my missing books. This sucks.

My Warning Label

Bummer

I decided to withdraw from my summer class at JHU. I got an e-mail from the instructor that basically said the homework project we've been working on is much more complicated and in-depth than the syllabus indicated.
When I checked with the team member who has taken this instructor before he confirmed that my dread was indeed correct.
So with a little regret I've decided to withdraw and see what class is available in Fall ... from another instructor. Oh well :-(

By popular demand ...

From NeoCass:

A Poem For My Cat
=================

Hey, get the fuck off of me, oww, oww, stop it, oww,
why are you doing this? I am *so* going to throw you
in the shower.
Fuck fuck fuck.
No, you cannot have a treat.

It seems to be that kind of week

In yet another entry for the "Duh!" news reporting, researchers have learned that "lean" teens who eat fast food compensate for the massive intake of caleries by ... wait for it ....

... eating less the rest of the day! Wow. I would have never guessed.
Read about it here.

On a related note, I've noticed that since I've started excercising both in the morning and after work that my appetite has increased. I never used to eat breakfast. Now I find myself picking up a plain bagel on the way to work ... and eating lunch ... and craving protein rich foods for dinner. Think my body is telling me something. But I'm still hovering between 154 and 156 so I'm content.

Well ... duh!!

In what I can only call an amazing observation of the obvious is seems that researchers have established that angry men should not drink. Well DUH!!! Read about it here : http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2004/06/14/hscout519461.html

Also it seems that I may have expressed my viewpoint a little strenuously in my last blog entry. Thank you all who have expressed an interest in the continued well being of my colleague. But please don't worry. Like I said, I keep my temper on a really tight leash. I don't let myself get trapped in a situation where I only have one outlet for it. I talked with Michael the next day and everything is cool. He understands what set me off and to his credit appologized profusely for the part he was responsible for. It's copacetic.

Temper

Today was the closest time in years I've come to losing my temper.

That is bad.

I have an incredibly violent, dangerous, and highly controlled temper. If I ever totally lost control I have no doubt that major property damage or homicide would occur. The only time I ever came close to losing my temper I nearly killed the poor kid. I didn't becuase the preacher pulled my off him and broke my strangle-hold on his neck. He threw a cup of scalding water on my arm. The scar is still there and that happened 17 years ago. The only other time it happened was in 1999 when I was reaching for a 4-foot length of aluminum strut to beat the crap out of Nate Hamilton. Walter Rogers yanked me out of the room when he saw the look in my eyes.

Ever since I've been damn careful to remove myself from situations like that. Today was such a day. I left the lab. Had some coffee. Went to the range and blew lots of holes in paper targets. 198/200 kill shots at 25 feet rapid fire. I was pissed. I'm still pissed.

I don't dare open my door right now.

FUCK!!! I hate how this makes me feel!!!

Addendum. I talked with Michael today about what happened yesterday and he appologized profusely. I explained about my temper and why I had to leave. I think we're both better for the conversation.

David Gerrold

For those that don't recognize the name, he's the guy who wrote the original Star Trek episode "Trouble with Tribbles" He's one of my favorite authors.

I had an interesting experience Friday when I was reading his blog. I found out that he is gay. The interesting part was that a) I didn't even pause in my reading (that could be because he is such a good writer) and b) when I realized what I had just read I didn't care. It wasn't just that I didn't care, it was that the only bearing the information had was on the story he was telling about adopting his son as a single gay man.

Now, I've never considered bigoted or not. That whole "No, that doesn't bother me" type attitude, but this is the first time I've had evidence that I just don't care one way or the other. I would like to think that Dr. King would be proud.