I write this from Lombard, IL. I am no longer accustomed to writing in this manner; using a pen and notebook rather than a keyboard. It feels slow and cumbersome. Messy too. My handwriting sucks. Especially since I'm so out of practice. Will our descendents even know how to use these antique devices known as "pens" at all? I wonder.

Well, I was thinking about getting an early start this morning. Well, I'm about to head out of town, and it isn't noon quite yet. So I guess that might qualify as early.

This will likely by my last rambling for a while. I'll be departing for Chicago tomorrow. Exactly how long I'll be there isn't certain. If I were to guess, I'd estimate a return sometime aound next weekend.

You DO talk about Hacking Society. You DO update the Wiki about what happened at Hacking Society.

Somebody should have had a tv camera for this one.

I woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. So I read the last 30 pages of Philip K. Dick's Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said.

The following email came from CDBaby. I don't think I've ever seen such an elaborate message just to inform me that my order has shipped.

A few minutes ago, my mom called from Chicago. (Yes, that's right, even though she just arrived back in Denver on Thursday, as of Saturday, she's back in Chicago again.) Looks like I'll be going there before long too.

Somewhere between Sheridan and Federal Boulevard...

An entertaining movie. A little heavy on the overwrought Hollywood cliché dosage for my taste, but still enjoyable.

Words are slow. I surf the web. Read my bloglines. Try to think of something to write, or rather, how to write it.

Scattered bits and pieces today.

In my recent journies, I discovered a most excellent network of bike paths that connect directly to the realm of the Neighborly Abode. Since they aren't running parallel next to any streets, there is no road noise, and they go for a nice distance. To the east, the trail goes underneath Sheridan and next to to a bunch of cement water canals. I have yet to make it to the end in that direction.

You know when you've done something right when a client sends you boxes of chocolates upon completion of a project. I can only take partial credit for this one, since scott was the one who dealt with most of their issues. But since I installed and configured the server, and did some random troubleshooting, he says he's going to pass 2 of the 4 chocolate boxes on to me. I like days like this.

For today's rambling before I get down to business with the serious work of the day, I'm going to babble briefly about something that appears to to be turning into a fading art, though perhaps not a lost one. Music, specifically of the subset which falls into the popular realm, designed specifically to raise awareness about social issues.

"We upgrade our production servers."

Today, all loyal Lounge Minions are instructed to proceed immediately to the nearest music retail outlet and purchase a copy of Alanis Morissette's So Called Chaos.

As beautiful twilight set in over the Rockies, I drove Tobias into Boulder, the rippling breeze blowing in through the open driver's seat window.

I hadn't planned to drive back over here tonight. I had planned to go to bed and sleep peacefully after my evening spent in Boulder. Maybe sleep wasn't realistic, given the alterations done to my somatic cycles during the fest. But in any case, I'm feeling a bit pissed off at the moment.

The fest of May 2004 is over. Rygel is now back at the Neighborly Abode, settling back in and filling up the remaining free hard drive space with episodes of tv shows I missed over the past couple weeks.

The fest up until now.

This is a movie that had a really interesting concept behind it, many things that were well done, and also many flaws. I enjoyed the first hour of it the most, when it showed the most promise. The closer it got to the end, the more weak and cliché it became.

A very fun movie to watch. :)

Now that I've finally gotten around to the part of the fest that involves a little bit of code development, and wanted to add a new feature or two, I had to come to terms with what a terrible mess the lounge codebase has turned into.

Yay! In the late night hours, we got around to watching the one I voted most for! (See also Jaeger's results chart, although it probably won't be visible for most of the world until next week.)

I first saw this one like a year and a half ago, when I first bought it. But for some odd reason, I neglected to log that viewing. I shall now amend that.

[Crossposted from Yanthor.net, since I want to have a record of this here too.]

I'm going to diverge from the more personally immediate subject of the ongoing fest for a bit. As I've been catching up on my news surfing for a bit, the urge to type up yet another political screed has come. And since I just used Humblik's handy connection to download an entire album from none other than Black Sabbath, which I'm now listening to, I'm in the perfect mood.

This is one of those rare movies. It is well made, well written, well acted, has great cinematography, and crafted with mastery. Despite all this, it is just not an enjoyable film for me to watch.

As far as screwball comedies go, this is a masterpiece. In addition to the excellent build-up to a crescendo of hilarity, the black and white cinematography was surprisingly well done. The fact that it was a comedy didn't stop the photography and lighting people from setting up some incredibly elegant shot compositions. (Within the constraints of a 4:3 aspect ratio, no less.)

Yesterday morning. After sleeping in, packing, getting Tobias a procrastinated oil change, and loading my stuff into the car, I decided there was barely enough time to eat a big, pre-roadtrip meal at King Buffet, which might also be called Poultry Heaven. (Sesame chicken, chicken shish kabab, lemon baked chicken, hot wings... Yum.) An almost too-good way to stave off hunger not only for the entire roadtrip to Licoln, but the rest of the evening as well.

A couple days ago, my dad bought a giant, Costco-sized container of stawberries. Big, plump, deep red; they look absolutely delicious. But when you take them out of the case and put them in your mouth, they're very bland and flavorless. It's not that they aren't ripe; they are. The taste in them is just very dull.

After the torrent of last weekend, I suppose it's somehow a fitting balance that this weekend, I've written almost nothing here. Haven't done a whole lot either. There are, however, a few bits to relate. Let's start with Thursday night.

I've decided I freakin love this cd. I'd likely buy a physical copy if I could find one, even though I've already paid to download it. The amount I paid was miniscule, yes, but I did pay for it.

I have noticed that one of the inevitable effects of the my mood swings is that during the downward portion, I often find myself with an incredible sense of neediness combined with a paralyzing fear that something will go wrong around every corner.

The past couple of days have seen my energy levels, alertness, the excessively heightened perceptual amplitude of the previous week (not even a whole week) gliding down with stunning rapidity. This is a good thing, I suppose; but still, a part of me wishes it could have lasted just a little bit longer.

Having seen this one years ago on VHS, I decided to give it another try after discussion with Jaeger and Captain Logan last Saturday night. Watching it again now, original aspect ratio and all, my memory of it is confirmed: It is a pale adaptation of George Orwell's great novel.

Today, scottgalvin.com and I ate lunch together in the kitchen of the data center. We shook hands on a deal.

I'm signing off now. I'll probably be working a bunch tomorrow, so there won't be much time to ramble. For some reason, it just seemed right to end this day with one paragraph, the only real content being to state the fact that it's the last one. Poetic, maybe? I dunno, I guess I'm a strange character. Anyway, I hope there may be some peace and rest for all in these strange times. My eyes are heavy. This paragraph is now more than long enough. Goodnight.

Ok, so I finally get down to doing some reading. I had heard little summaries, but this is absolutely sickening.

So far I've written 2 out of the 4 planned ideas I had for ramblings today. Not a bad start.

A couple days ago, Yanthor extended an offer on his website. He said that anyone who wants to stay in Lincoln for an extra week after the upcoming fest to job hunt is welcome to do so. In the past, he has asserted that he believes there is more tech employment available in Nebraska than in Colorado. I'm not sure I really believe him on that count, but in any case, that's beside the point right now. The main question for me comes down to something that I put on a poll here yesterday, which has already scrolled away because I've made so many entries recently.

Here's my list.

Yesterday afternoon, I didn't actually get underway with my trip to Boulder until hours later. For a while, I was thinking I would just skip the library entirely, and go when it was time for the play. I just wasn't ready, and there was stuff I wanted to do online.

I just had a really excellent nap. After breakfast, I just lay back on the couch, closed my eyes, and drifted off into nowhere. I know I dreamed a bunch. I woke up a few times, and knew with certainty that I had just been in a dream a moment ago, but I couldn't remember any of the content. It didn't matter.

I decided I was hungry, and went out on foot to scout for a possible breakfast. Besides, I wanted to check the out area surrounding the Neighborly Abode. The only real way to do that is to walk. When you drive, you miss all sorts of interesting stuff going by.

I slept well and continuously throughout the night last night, if "night" is defined as existing between the times of 0200 and 0630. Though I wouldn't mind more sleep if I could have it, I find that I am now awake.

The rest of the Logan family arrived. Well, except for the Slayer, but she was probably off in another county or state or something. I didn't bother to ask. The group now consisted of myself, Jaeger, Captain Logan, and both of their parents. Jaeger's dad gave me my ticket, and I reimbursed him for it. We talked briefly, and then entered the auditorium.

I slept a bit better last night than I had the previous several. I still awoke several times in the middle of the night for a while, but always managed to get back to sleep. I'm not out of the proverbial woods yet; maybe I never will be. But I think I can say, without injecting too much ego or self-delusion, that maybe, just maybe, I'm finally learning to ride these waves and navigate them with some success.