What Sort Of Head?

Link --> A Marblehead! <-- Link

A New Year, A New Life, A New Blog

So, I've been thinking... I'm not a huge fan of this blog anymore.  I don't feel inspired to write here, the color scheme is SO 2003, and I feel like all I do here is whine and bitch and complain, instead of what I should be doing, which is waxing philosophical and enlightening the masses (which is how my dad would describe whining and bitching and complaining, but whatever).  Therefore, I am going to be firing up a new blog, and best of all, it's NOT going to be one that you have to register to comment (unlike SOME blogging places *cough*LiveJournal*cough*).

I have been stockpiling free music and pictures, and I figure if I get myself on a real schedule, and stuff, I'll be able to keep on top of this one.  A new layout, new and improved spiffinosity... in fact, a whole new me.  I will post a link here at the top of this one, so people who only have this link can find my new one. Even so, I can't decide on a new name for my blog.  I've been Mighty Jalapeno for so long, it's all I know how to be.

Suggestions?

Busy... Busier.... DEAD!

Ok, to sum up my immediate future:

I was on TV yesterday.  I'll be dropping off a blank tape at the studio tomorrow so they can put a copy of it onto a tape, then I'll find some way to put the tape onto a viewable format, and then upload it onto YouTube (I might be such a cheap bastard that I'll just aim the camera at the TV and record it that way).  Since then I've gotten 96 unique hits on my website, and one interested party looking into straw bale homes.  Consequently, I really have to finish the website ( http://www.thinktankdesigns.ca ).

Nextly.... that's a word, right? Nextly, I have to get my boards and presentation material AND Powerpoint stuff ready for the Energy Fair, where I will be touting said business for eight hours to people interested in energy efficient housing.  I also have to give a presentation to all of them at some point without barfing on myself.

Thirdly, I have to make up my half-page advertisment for the booklet that's being distributed by the thousands AT the fair.

Fourthly, the Seniors Guide (http://www.seniorsguide.ca ) is up and running again, and I have to complete the Victoria guide in about three weeks, on top of everything else I'm doing here.

Fifthly, I am really behind on my writing projects, which I have been putting off like crazy.

Sixthly, I have a full-time job at work, and a full-time job at home, plus yard work and farm work.

Seventhly, I have to go over here and die a little inside.

....

So, to everyone who keeps bugging me and bugging me to blog.... there, I blogged, now shut the fuck up.

Welp...

... I finally got a good night's sleep, and my stomach finally isn't sending shooting pains from my ass through to my eyeballs, so all in all, I think it's safe to call today "Recovery Day #1".  With any luck, tomorrow will be "Exercise Day #1", assuming, of course, Throkette either miraculously stays asleep in her crib all night (like she did last night.... wierd), or Throkky lets me put her on the mattress in her room.  Whoopee!

Also.... I think that, after 18 years, thousands of dollars, thousands of hours and millions of kills.... I think I'm finally getting bored of the computer! I mean, over the past week, I've only set up my laptop at home twice.  At first that was because I was too busy to sit down for a minute to check my forums or anything, but then it just became because there wasn't anything I really, really wanted to do.  I can't find my "The Movies" disc, and it's driving me NUTS, because now I'm afraid I have to go buy a new one to replace the one I got for Christmas that I used for all of 45 minutes.... but other than that, and a few writing projects in my head, there's nothing I feel like doing on the computer.  Chatting on the forums has lost it's luster, my blog is just self-gratification (and you're ALL watching!) and most of my games now bore the whatever out of me.

I think... I'm finally bored of computers.

This couldn't have happened at a better time.  Now when I look at my computer, I think "I should really work on my CCG", or "I should work on my website", or "I should talk to building suppliers and start building a catalogue" or "I should work on a story", or "I should play a little Alpha Centauri..."

...

What? I love that game.

Anyways, this is a break through (or a break down? MAYBE!!!) for me, and I hope it means positive things.  I can't handle many more negative things.

And now, I'm off to save a building from imminent collapse.  Cadmonkey, AWAY!!!

Allright, Confession Time

Over the past three months, between the wonderful joys of working my day job, doing the Seniors Guide, handling Throkette during the evenings and nights, getting ThinkTank Designs off the ground, and generally making sure we have enough money to keep us from becoming destitute, I've let my diet and activity levels slide.  Those of you who knew me before are probably thinking "Yeah, but you were already at rock bottom, how much could you have slid?"

Quite a bit.

I myself have noticed quite a bit of chunking-up in the past few months, something I've never actually NOTICED before (it's never happened fast enough for me to ever look down and think "I look bigger than I did not too long ago...") It's always been a slow, steady climb.  Lately, though, I have most definitely noticed extra weight.  I'll spare you all any gross details, but needless to say... it's there.  Now, Throkky has somewhere between bupkis and zero self-censoring ability, so either she actually hasn't noticed that I've gained weight (and volume), or she has discovered the ability to be tactful about it (insofar as her constant jabs about my weight and excercise haven't increased, but stayed at their steady roughly-one-a-day pace). 

Zalgite had been on a tremendous excercise-and-healthy-eating kick lately, due in no small part to a couple books we've read together as well as the discovery that healthy foods TASTE good (mangoes! asparagus! red onions! nine different kinds of apple!)  He is constantly asking me who is winning the "Trying New Food Race, Where Whoever Tries Everything Except Brussel Sprouts Wins" (he hates brussel sprouts), and I reply that he is.   I am moving less and less from my desk at work, and there are painful and persistent leg-kinks whenever I actually get up to get coffee, or walk to the car.  I estimate I walk less than 3000 steps in a day (probably nearer 2000, and that's generous), and my diet consists mostly of:  coffee, coffee, coffee, fast-food or restaraunt-food, maybe a sandwich, coffee, pop, coffee, coffee, dinner, then assorted snacks, then bed.  Periodically throw in cookies, Easter candy, more pop, and occaisionally a banana.

Throkette is FINALLY sleeping through the nights (most nights, diaper-permitting) with a better than 50% rate, to the point where if I wake up at six am, it's because I WANTED to, not because someone is screaming at me.  Because of this, I am going to start excercising in the morning, which is really my only time to get stuff done (evenings are taken up with chores, kids, the occaisional must-see TV show, e-mail, and sleeping).  Now, I know I've said this before, but the stabbing pains in my knees, ankles, and entire gastrointestinal tract are sort of gently reminding me that if I don't do it now, I'm probably never going to start.

Does anyone out there have any advice to actually STICKING with a diet and excercise regime?  I do it for, tops, four days at a time and then backslide back to my neutral position (or right now, backslide to my fat-ass-McAmerican position), and I fully acknowledge that I suck when it comes to quitting food, and moving when I don't have to.

I'll be checking ShinyStat to see if anyone reads this.


Huh, it seems that my bad diet stemmed from this sickness and this response to it. That was the last time I felt "good", when I got over that... whatever the hell it was. I feel the same way now, for some reason.... at Coopers, wandering the aisles, all I bought was juice and yogurt. EVERYTHING ELSE looked nasty (even microwave popcorn... and I'm a man who loves his microwave popcorn).

ShinyStat Saves The Day

According to ShinyStat, fully 66% of the site hits on this blog are.... me.  That means for every two times I go to my blog, one other person does.  Throkky did so last night for some reason, and a guy I know named Seven went here a few days ago, so with the four times I came here to find links I'd posted, that accounts for everyone.

Whoopee!

See, this means I can write violent and disturbing things here, because no-one will read them.  See, if you write violent and/or disturbing things, and someone reads them, you could go to jail, although since I'm not Asian, I should be safe.  Now, it is argued that he should have censored himself because the VA attacks had been so recent, but really, the teacher specifically asked the students to write what they were thinking, what they were feeling, to write anything.  Nothing this kid wrote was threatening... just sort of creepy and gross.  You know, the same stuff that makes Hollywood billion$ and makes Stephen King a household name.  When it's a quiet, well-liked straight-A Asian kid with aspirations of joining the Marines, then you kick him out of school, and send the police to his home.

Good to know.

FACE!

Or rather, FACEBOOK!

Geoffy, aka Mona, wouldn't shut up about it, so I joined up, and have had way better luck at tracking down people I knew in high school than I did on MySpace (piece of CRAP) or anywhere else.  So, add me!

FACE!

Lately...

... a few things have happened!

Last night, we witnessed the most severe case of road-rage ever (for me, at least).  We passed a guy on the highway who was pulled off to the side of the road, but he leapt over the retainment and into his car right when we passed him.  About a click or two down the road, he comes up beging us about about 150 or 160, and starts flashing the highbeams DIRECTLY behind me.  Ok, dickwad, I start to pull over, but he FLIES past me on the inside lane.  Uhm... ok, fella.  Then, he pulls up behind a truck right in front of us, and does the same thing... highbeams, then passing.  Once he pulls BACK in front of the truck, though, he slows down... 120... 110... 100.... 90... 80... semi trucks are now passing, and I'm scared to pass the truck/BMW pairing, who obviously have something personal going on, because the BMW is swerving like mad.  Eventually, the truck, and then me, pass the BMW.  Shortly, though, the BMW SOARS past me, and pulls alongside thr truck, and they BOTH begin to slow down to 80, then 70!  Obviously, some sort of heated exchange is going on between the drivers.  BMW pulls in front AGAIN and slows down, and I pass them both.  Thankfully, they both slowed down to 60 or so, and we never saw them again.  One phone call later (Small BMW convertible, drunk driver, license place 077-AMS), and we were home, safe and sound.  Now, two options...

1.) He was drunk
2.) That's how he drives when he's SOBER.

Both are terrifying.

Also, I have just now decided to make my own CCG.... Not sure what it's called, but it's going to consist of religions, the same way Magic consists of colors.  And yes, "Flying Spgahetti Monster" and "Aetheist" will be represented, as well as Buddhism, Hindu, Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, and more if I can think of them.  There will be a variety of cards for each (Do you play "Loving" Christian, or "Fundie" Christian?), and "mana" will be replaced with "believers".

So.... going to hell, or what?


Video Hilarity Of The Day - Why Are My Fingers Little People?!? (Note: all voices are the same guy)

Zalgitism Of The Day

Zalgite: "I want my underpants made out of candy, so I can eat them when I'm done."
Throkky: "I don't think you want to eat anything that's touched your bum."
Zalgite: "Oh, that's a good idea.  Ok, normal underpants."

I love's him so much.

One of the best AMV's I've seen in a while... Queen - Who Wants To Live Forever?

There Are No Words

Read my previous post, below, and then read this....

.... M is HERE AT WORK.

F***ING AUTOCAD

So this morning I show up to work.  Strangely, my computer is at the "Login" screen.... wierd, I left AutoCAD on last night.  It can't possibly be on the login screen!  Nope, sure enough, someone restarted my computer.  Ok, that's not a huge problem.... I fire up AutoCAD, and go to my last worked on file, the cross section, elevation and detail of a huge timber awning for a building in Squamish.

Huh.  All the work I did yesterday is gone.  Peculiar. Apparently, it didn't save when I hit "Save" last night.  No problem, we have auto-backups for that occaision.

Huh.  My temp directory is empty.  Absolutely auto-backups. 

Huh.

Three hours of work, gone, because someone flicked off my computer without thinking "Hmm, this isn'y my computer, maybe I shouldn't do this."

FUCK.

Ding Dong, The Frog Is Dead!

My co-worker, whom I shall call "M", once again vanished after a payday.  My boss has given him six chances so far, and six times M has done this, known as "Going Indian" around here.  Well, this time... my boss finally said "Enough is eventually enough".  M is out of here. No-ones seen him or heard from him in five days... and that's it.  His desk is empty.

AAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Ahhh, it feels good.

Song & Video of the Day - New Clutch Single "Electric Worry".... This is what rock is all about, people.

Bitch, Bitch, Bitch...

"Oh, MJ, you don't blog often enough!"

"Oh, Zalgon, why don't you blog more?"

"Oh, Topper, your blod hasn't been updated in so long!"

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get the picture.  People inexplicably feel the need to know what's pissing me off on a day to day basis.  On the other hand, it has occurred to me that this is the only place I really talk about what makes me mad, stuff I don't talk about on the forums (since they banned me) or on MSN (since they ignore me) or with Throkky (since she bans AND ignores me :) ).  Still, I only ever feel like blogging when I'm away from my computer, and something occurs to me.

Things like:

• Stuff Zalgite says ("Will Dave come to the potluck, if he's done whining?")
• Stuff Throkette does (Jumped down off of Zalgite's bed with not so much as a bruise)
• Stuff that makes me mad (drivers, technology, patriotism, the world, the RIAA, drivers)
• Stuff that makes me happy (bass, writing, and other stuff I don't do)
• Stuff that makes me tired (drivers, Zalgite, Throkette, work, more work, drivers)
• Stuff that makes me think (see: list of things that make me angry).

I know, you'd all like it if I would illuminate you all more on the inner workings of my brain, but to be honest, I don't feel like sharing what I don't fully understand, especially given the responses I've gotten from people over the past decade. Most of me is destined to stay locked away in my noggin, never to see the light of day, for the safety of the world at large, which means all that's left for me to talk about here is just whiny 'physical world' stuff that everyone already knows.

...

See, this is how I write when I'm sleepy and hungry.

Obligatory Amusing Youtube Video

Obligatory Youtube Video Of Awesomeness

AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I am really, really getting close to the limit with my co-'worker', whom I have gone off on here before.  Now not merely content with keeping his job despite massive unexplained absences, he's getting my boss to pay his thousand-dollar certification fee, and he CONTINUES to get mad at me for not doing his work for him, especially when he doesn't even explain to me what I am supposed to be doing.

I just have to vent, but it's not helping.  I am really mad.  I really, really want to hurt him.

SO, My Son....

... and me, and my wife, have a sort of running gag about Steve.  Those of you who have seen the comic Scott Faulconbridge know who Steve is... he's reality-impaired.  Anytime we can't think of a name, or we want to call Zalgite something wierd, or we can't answer a question, we answer with "Steve".  We also got it from Steve the Pirate, a la Dodgeball.

Anyways, many of you know that I am a building designer.  This morning, my son asked me why my buildings looked like buildings, and I explained that buildings have to look like buildings.  He then told me that he wants me to name my next building Steve... and it has to be a human-shaped building, named Steve.  It also needs a ramp up, so you can drive into the belly, because Steve the Building is a hotel.  Steve the Building's feet are the basements, and you can live in his body, and look out his eyes and see other buildings, and keep food in his arms, because Steve the Building has lots of food.

He's awesome.


Song And Videos Of The Day: Al Gore and Bender - An Inconvenient Truth and Seymour Dog - I Will Wait For You

Link Testing 2!

Hows this work? Song AND Video Of The Day!  Buckcherry - Anything

Link Testing!

Ok, seeing if this code works right, too:

Link AND Video Of The Day: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_VqbZBJUMY">Buckcherry - Anything</a>

The Power Of The Remote Blog

Guess what? To the untrained eye, me sitting here at my desk typing an e-mail actually looks like work! How sweet is this? Well, to answer my own question with an answer, I'd have to say "stupid mad sweet". That's really sweet.

So I'm now on a $100 corticosteroid puffer for what may be whooping cough (strangely, one of my employers, Bud, just got over this.... STUNNING COINCIDENCE!), as well as new-and-improved corticosteroid lotion for WHATEVER THE FUCK is on my arms.  If they call it "dermatitis" one more time, I'm gonna smack someone.  The best part, though, is although my physician still doesn't really believe I'm having seizures (since the referral form has quotes around the words "seizures", "typical", "low on sleep" and "thinks"... oi), he has finally referred me to a neurologist who actually specialises in epilepsy! My last neurologist had a 12 month waiting period... this new one? SEVEN WEEKS!  Yayyy!

I know, Throkky is keen to point out that they won't be able to do anything, and Grimsby is quick to point out that his are way worse than mine, but call me crazy (and some do), but I'd like to get some answers for once in my life.  I can't remember names or nouns with startling frequency now, my sleep is getting worse and worse, my stuttering is on the rise again, and I have various eye tics and twitches that are beginning to really annoy me, as well as nervous paper-shredding habits which a waitress at the pub pointed out a few weeks ago, after I had destroyed every single napkin without noticing. The doctor may not be able to help, and my seizures may not be as bad as other peoples, but guess what.... it's my brain, and I'm scared.

Ok, back to work.  Everytime I start typing, one of our drafters (who had been fired, but since no-one told him, he came back to work and now still gets paid, and strangely enough, I can't remember the name of the guy from Office Space in the same situation), gets up and walks over and STARES AT MY FREAKING SCREEN.  Buddy, when you've been here for two whole weeks without mysteriously vanishing for five days at a time, you can make comments about how I spend my time at work.




Song AND Video Of The Day: Buckcherry - Anything

Shameless...

... I'm sure you're all familiar of the practice of "Captive Suggestion", which is to say, forcing someone to experience ONE thing in order to get ANOTHER.  Point in case: the one thing that, statistically, the most people go to the grocery store to get most frequently is milk.  Thus, they put the milk as far away from the grocery store doors as possible, so that you must walk through each and every department to get there, and thus buy stuff you had not originally planned on buying.

At the new Save-On, though, it's shameless.  It's actually TUCKED into a little alcove at the back, between Bulk Foods and Coffee Creamers, with a little low ceiling, so it's like you have to LEAVE the grocery store, and ENTER the Milk Department.  It's remarkable in it's total lack of subtlety.  On the plus side, it did let me get two awesome cards for Throkky... one I gave to her last night, and the other I'm saving for the right time.  I'll ask Throkky to scan it in so I can share the disturbing sentiments of love.

Ok, back to work!

Stupid Manual Posting...

... I sent this three hours ago via "Post by Mail", and, as you can see... ain't here yet. Well, here it is, retrieved from my outbox.


Can someone tell me why Zalgite, after almost two years of perfect dental hygeine is SUDDENLY very, very against ever brushing his teeth, to the point where he starts crying and I have to take away video game privileges in order to get him to take 1 minute out of his evening to do it? Two years of HIM reminding ME that he had to brush his teeth, all gone and replaced with this intractable refusal to let mint touch his gums.

*sigh*

Kids...

Also, in response to some previous comments, he loves meatloaf (even though it was full of onions). He also has tried and likes: pineapple, refried bean tacos, stir-fried tofu, and pickled beets. PICKLED BEETS, people. Even more peculiar, yesterday morning he grabbed Throkky's gardening book, flipped through it, and found "rhubarb", and without knowing what it was, told me he wanted to try it this summer. When I explained that it makes BRIGHT PINK PIE, he was all for it even more!

It was unsolicited, he just walked up to me, put the book on the table, and told me he wanted to try it. After a bit more flipping, I explained what eggplant was, and he wants to try it, too.

He's awesome. In related news, I tried several things that I normally hate last night at the vegetarian potluck, including squash soup, and vegetable-mixed rice (with celery. I HATE celery.) And I liked everything. I still wont try rhubarb (horrible child-hood memories), but if he tries eggplant, I'm all for it. Thank you, vegetarian potluck, for corrupting me.