You Are a Centaur

In general, you are a very cautious and reserved person. However, you are also warm hearted, and you enjoy helping others in practical ways. You are a great teacher, and you are really good at helping people get their lives in order. You are very intuitive, and you go with your gut. You make good decisions easily.

"Quality is never an accident.  It represents the wise choice of many alternatives." ~Willa Foster

Zombie School:  A Documentary is the second entry I've ever Boosted.

Well, after a few months of psyching myself up and letting my insecurity get the best of me, I believe I am ready.  I spoke with Debbie today, and it further embolded me to go forward with the plan.  It's an action I've not done before, and I pray that it goes off well.  Months of research and prayer shall not steer me wrong, no matter how much I might fear otherwise.  Wish me well.

A co-worker is quitting, so I get to go in an hour early on Tuesday so he can train me to take on some of his duties.  I'm not sure when I'll have the time to do the extra work, I don't get done everything I'm supposed to do now.  I try to delegate, but because I have no authority, almost no one will assist me.  Those who have the time and talent would rather read the Internet or chat. 

The departing co-worker's duties will be split between three people, rather than hire someone new.  I wish him luck in his search for something better.  He's a good guy, who was stuck in a job that I certainly never envied.  It's the one possition in the company where I think no one could have met (the somewhat unreasonable) expectations.  That's probably why that possition is left unfilled for years at a time, and why when they do hire someone they never last. 

Heroes:  The Best Show on Television and Supernatural were great this week.  I'm trying to decide what to do about Heroes on Monday.  I'm doing the 2-4-1 deal with some friends at the King Henry the Only's Birthday at the Arizona Renaissance Festival and Artisan Marketplace.  I guess I'll have to tape record it, but when will I have the chance to watch it before the next episode?  This is going to be tough.  Tough, I tell you. 

I bet non-viewers didn't know that the Weekly World News was featured in this week's Supernatural episode, "Tall Tales".  But even if you did see the episode, did you know that both the print and online editions of the Weekly World News dated 15 February 2007 featured Supernatural?  Talk about brilliant marketing.  That's even better than when they created the web site which was featured in the episode "Hell House".

Saturdays start early for me, and I'm later than I should have been.  Night all.

Thanks to jada_marnew for the quiz:

You Should Rule Mercury

Close to sun, Mercury has very long days - and is rarely visible to the rest of the solar system. You are perfect to rule Mercury, because you live for the present - and can truly enjoy a day that goes on forever. Like Mercury, you are quick and elusive. Your wit is outstanding, and you can win any verbal sparring match. Some people see you as superficial, but in truth, you just play many roles and have many interests. A great manipulator, you usually get what you want from people. And they're happy to give it to you.

"The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen." ~Roy Moody

So many people give flowers without knowing the Language of Flowers.  It's become a lost art.

This past week has been interesting.  Wednesday night, while we were trying to close down at work, the power went out.  That made things rather difficult.  I find out that the whole block is out, due to a fire at the nearby acrylic spa retailer.  That's right, another major fire on the same block in less than a year.  It was on all of the news stations, despite not being as major of a fire, because the fire took out the transformer for the area.  That meant that the traffic signals for the interstate were out, causing major traffic delays.  My mom called me that night to make sure I was alright.  I guess several witnesses saw a transient throw something burning over the fense and onto a pile of vinyl spa covers. 

Thursday, a couple decided that they had to leave our store before they were finished browsing because they had just heard the news that some woman had died.  When I didn't register the name, they seemed kind of surprised.  Apparently, she's big news, but I hadn't heard of her until then.  I notice that she seems to be in the news a lot now, but as it's not really news I just tune it out.  It just seems to be some of that filler news that the news media creates.  I monitored news for a living long enough to recognise non-news when I hear it.  Unlike print news media, audio and audio/visual news media can't change the length/size of it's broadcast to match the quantity of the news available.  So they create filler news for the rest, which they can easily drop should real news pop up. 

The sad thing is that people actually invest themselves into such non-news.  People die every day.  Read the obituaries some time.  All ages and walks of life die every day.  Each is its own story, but do you see audio and/or audio/visual news media covering the obits?  Nope, just the few they decide are somehow more important than the rest.

Saturday after work I helped haul desks around town.  In exchange I got to unload an old computer desk I haven't used since I had possession of the LepreCon Program computer.  Today I took advantage of the extra space and reorganized the entire living room.  It has a lot more open space now. 

Sunday my mother and I brought In-N-Out Burger to my grandparents.  We hung out and played golf (a card game using two decks of standard playing cards shuffled together) and Mexican Train Dominoes.  Afterwards my mother attended mass with me.  She spoke with Fr. Milt after mass about the actual condition of her parents, who apparently try to downplay things to him. 

After work yesterday I stopped by Mike's to catch Heroes:  the Best Show on Television.  He's finding the number of interpersonal relationships to be breaking his suspension of disbelief.  This despite the things he's tried to get away with for his role playing characters.  This despite the many superhero comics, movies, and television shows he's seen.  I'm not finding any of it hard to believe.  Truth is often stranger than fiction.  Look at the NASA love triangle fiasco from last week!

Tomorrow is Arizona Statehood Day.  I wish all Arizonans a wonderful day. 

You Are 68% Gentleman

You are definitely a gentleman. You're very considerate and you have excellent manners. Occasionally, you slip and do something foolish... but usually no one notices!

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." ~Mother Teresa

With all the major sporting events going on today, I thought I'd let people know:  What is a Knickerbocker?<

Mass this evening was emptier than I've seen it for a SuperBowl Sunday.  And that's saying something.  Mass was over in 45-50 minutes, and that's with a longer than average homily.  We had that few for Communion.

ABC's Perspective covered The Blasphemy Challenge today.  Apparently it's a lot worse than I thought.  The folks behind it are paying for ads on web sites targeting teens.  Both the lady and the guy behind it shared how they were both tired of the condemnation within Christianity, so they started an atheist radio show under assumed names.  Even now, they claim to get death threats.  Why do so many people spread fear and hate in the name of Love?

Thanks to Footprints, I discovered someone in Ohio reading this site through MaxStealth.com.  It seems obvious now that I've seen it, but I never realized that people'd bother with making web site reading anonymous.  Hello anonymous reader(s)!  I don't know why you'd need to read this site anonymously.  All Public posts are Public for a reason.  I choose to assume that all Public Posts could be read at any time by any people I might know, might know me, or even might know of me in the past, present, or future. 

Monte had us watch Lifeforce on Saturday night.  It was interesting seeing the parallels between it and X-Men 2. 

Friday Bill had Jay and I over for Earthshock and pizza.  I actually stayed awake through the whole episode!  I recalled parts of it from previous viewings, but now it all makes sense.  :^)  Unfortunately, I stayed up too late for a Friday, and got to work a few minutes late.  I barely got the store open in time.  :^(  Luckily, no one seemed to notice.  :^)

Speaking of work, we're so understaffed right now that I'm stuck with a Monday and Wednesday through Sunday schedule.  That's the first time in all of these years I've been switched for more than just a single occassion.  It's less than optimal, as I won't be able to attend Parish Time tomorrow (and potentially the rest of the year).  It also means that work is rather hosed by my submitted time off for Presidents's Day.  Hopefully, people will be hired and trained asap.

Hamster You scored 52 Loyalty, 49 Affection, 64 Spontaneity, and 57 Demeanor!

Although you aren't particularly affectionate, you are pretty loyal, mainly because the last time you broke out of your cage, you ended up in the toilet, and the view was terrible. Not wanting to repeat that set of circumstances, you tend to stick close to home and close to your humans, or at least, close enough to see where they are stepping so that you don't end up like your paralytic Uncle Marvin. You love running your little hamster course, especially since you always forget its layout and each run is like a new course. Sometimes you will just dive off and into the exercise section of the cage and go for a nice, long hamster wheel run. Altough a pretty nice hamster, you aren't a big hugger, again, mainly because of all the injuries you have witnessed in your little hamster life from humans who don't understand their own strength.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 64% on Loyalty You scored higher than 60% on Affection You scored higher than 44% on Spontaneity You scored higher than 68% on Demeanor

Link: The If I Were a Pet, I'd Be A.... Test written by n-e-s-t-r-a on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

"Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God." ~Teilhard de Chardin

Thanks to my mother for this link to Lego musicians.

Yes, I rearranged my Xanga layout.  It needed it.

I had promised a self-reflective post earlier this month.  I've finally composed something that isn't TMI.  I have a tendancy to do too much backstory.  That's despite the fact that I've been journaling since I was a small child, and have no doubt covered that backstory many times.

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My childhood was full of mental and emotional turmoil.  As I grew older, the dysfunction in my family led me to The Recurring Nightmare.  As I grew even older, I hardened my heart.  I tried to convince everyone that I wasn't a member of humanity, but above it all.  I never really fooled myself, but I tried.  I wanted to be above the pain and pettiness of humanity. 

By the time high school rolled around I decided to have a possitive outlook.  I unthawed my heart, and tried to be the best person I could be.  I became a peer leader within my parish's teen program.  I joined over half a dozen school organizations.  By the time college came around, I was actually capable of dating (as brief as that was). 

Then I took a job with a media clipping organization.  I've always enjoyed keeping up with current events, so the job seemed a no-brainer.  But being bombarded with the pain and anguish of humanity on a fulltime, daily basis was too much for me.  I was either going to become depressed or go mad, so I just shut off my emotional connection to the world again.  It was the only way to watch tsunami and earthquake disasters, genocide, chauvenism, et cetera and maintain my mental health.  If you can call that healthy...

After I left that job, it took a long time to regain my connection to the world again.  And to be honest, I've hidden from pain so much in my life I'm no longer sure when I do feel pain if I'm feeling too little or too much.

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I couldn't agree with this quiz more.  I do take life a little too seriously.  Not so much as I once did, thanks to a little help from my friends...

Metaphysical Block your blockage: 7% sexual 11% emotional 50% metaphysical

You think too much, take life a little to seriously, and as you can see from this handy illustration, that gets in the way of you enjoying yourself. Take it easy. Let the good times roll. Give peace a chance. Yes, try living life like a great classic rock song. Then you get the pie.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 4% on sexual You scored higher than 4% on emotional You scored higher than 80% on metaphysical

Link: The Brain Impedance Test written by staff_robot on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." ~Vincent Van Gogh

I really am behind the times.  living_embers has pointed out another YouTube advertisement.  It's an advertising campaign for a DVD-Video which encourages people to get a free copy of the DVD-Video by posting YouTube rejections of the Holy Spirit.  We need to desperately pray for these people:  those behind the DVD-Video and it's Blasphemy Challenge and those who accept it.  One of the people who responded, Jessica, talked of fearing her fellow Christians--even those in her family.  Perhaps if she had been approached in love, and helped through her sins compassionately, she wouldn't feel compelled to deny God.  So let's also pray for the friends and family of those that accept the challenge.  Even the loving friends and family of those who accepted the challenge will need our prayers in this time of crisis.

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I think most people in the USA know what the Amber Alert is.  When a child goes missing an alert is broadcast on all media outlets by law enforcement asap.  While this is a great thing (and has been 100% successful since it began here in AZ), it does point out some flaws in our legal system.  For instance, we now protect missing children like that, but once they are 18 years of age forget it.  We wait a full 24 hours before we count an adult as missing.  That's precious time where they can end up maimed, raped, dead, et cetera, and they often do. 

But I bring up the Amber Alert for another reason.  Last night it aired during Heroes:  The Best Show on Television.  Several of my friends complained about this.  Obviously, a child's welfare is of less importance than our entertainment.  Then I heard on the news that local television stations were flooded with calls of complaints for the interruption.  I was annoyed, sure, but realistically we can watch the show on nbc.com for the missing pieces.  Many of my friends complain that they are on dialup, but I think they forget that libraries are not. 

But I do have a complaint about last night's Amber Alert.  They killed the audio and close captioning for Heroes to broadcast the Amber Alert.  The close captioning?  I can usually read a Weather Watch or Weather Warning bulletin while still watching a show.  I think most people in our modern era can take multiple data sources at a time.  Don't kill the close captioning.  There's no reason.  Speaking of weather bulletins, why not post Amber Alerts that way instead.  I could write down the details I'm afraid that I won't recall.  Heroes is one of the most watched shows on television.  Getting those people working on the Amber Alert greatly increases the chances of the child's return.  Turning those same people off of Amber Alerts hurts the chances of this child and those missing children in the future. 

The other complaint I have about last night's Amber Alert is that they were midway through the Amber Alert broadcast when they stopped it for commercials.  Right smack dab mid-sentence is was stopped for commercials.  Just as it's sad that people think that their entertainment is more important than a child's well being, it's sad that the television stations think that the income from a few commercials is more important than a child's well being.  Then, when the commercial break was over and Heroes was back on they had to repeat the Amber Alert all over again, from scratch!  Where are people's priorities?  Once it goes to commercial break, either continue the override of the audio and close captioning or switch over to your news team and let them finish the Amber Alert in its entirety.

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Piano Man You scored 28 angst and 22 tempo! (scale for each: 0-60)

I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes... You're the song that made Billy Joel famous-- Piano Man, off the 1973 album of the same name. Sadly, legal hassles meant that Joel never made much money off you, but you did provide him a spiffy nickname. You may be a little sad and world-weary, but at the end of the day, you still enjoy a good tune. You might enjoy Billy's early material, which had a folk-rock quality to it. Or this test might not have pinned down your musical tastes, but you still got an excellent score. Congratulations!

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 50% on angst You scored higher than 18% on tempo

Link: The Which Billy Joel Song Are You Test written by rjb1862 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

"The future depends on what we do in the present." ~Mahatma Gandhi

I had no idea people used YouTube to advertise until my friend George forwarded his advertisement for Team Bias.

I have a self-reflective post and a DarkCon 2007 review floating around in my head which I'll post here eventually. 

B & I saw Curse of the Golden Flower on Civil Rights Day.  Wow!  A definate must see. 

It's been raining these past few days.  Friday, I arrive at work and one of my coworkers says to me, "I thought you'd take the bus today."  I was astounded.  After six plus years, you'd think he'd know me better.  I love the rain.  I always ride to and from work in the rain.  And this week's rain has been the best:  steady, but not soaking.  If I don't have to wear a different set of shoes home than I rode to work, that's excellent in my book. 

Admitably, Saturday was a bit painful.  I had a blowout in my front tire on the way into work, and with the rain the bike just slid out from under me at the same time.  I slid down the asphalt of the street like a slip and slide, and the left side of my neck still hurts.  I did laundry yesterday, and the asphalt stains didn't come out, so it looks like I'll have to use bleach. 

I've been watching the first episode of The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet.  It was decent, for the kind of show it is.  I think the friendship between the hosts is more real than between Regis & Kelly, their main competition.  As I don't really watch such shows, that'll probably be the last I see of them.  However, if you like shuch shows, I encourage you to give them a chance.  They do an excellent job, and would definately watch them over Live with Regis & Kelly if given a choice. 

Earlier this month I also took the time to listen to the first episode of Ankarlo Mornings.  Darrell Ankarlo is a conservative talk show host who actually shows respect to folks on all sides of an issue, something few conservative hosts are capable of.  The sad thing is most conservative hosts claim to be Christian, then fail to act like it.  Ankarlo actually seems like the real deal.  And that's something to appreciate in the media.  He's no Pat McMahon or Tony Femino, but he's a good addition to the News 92.3 KTAR schedule.  I'll probably listen occassionally over time, even if I won't be a regular listener.

The new Chuy's on Greenway has finally opened.  They closed down the one on Bell and have changed that to another kind of bar/restaurant by the same owners.  I like the new restaurant, as have my friends and family.  I'll try to remember to review it soon. 

You Are a Newborn Soul

You are tolerant, accepting, and willing to give anyone a chance. On the flip side, you're easy to read and easily influenced by others. You have a fresh perspective on life, and you can be very creative. Noconformist and nontraditional, you've never met anyone who's like you. Inventive and artistic, you like to be a trendsetter. You have an upbeat spirit and you like almost everything. You make friends easily and often have long standing friendships. Implusive and trusting, you fall in love a little too easily. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

Currently Listening
Doctor Who 29:  The Chimes of Midnight (8th Doctor & Charlie Pollard)
By Robert Shearman
see related

 

Thief Sins at Holiday Mass

I've copied the Shadowfist events from the DarkCon web site to my own Events section.  It's been awhile since I've used it.  I wish the Photos, Videos, Audios, and Profile portions of Xanga followed my skin like the Weblog, Reviews, and Events portions do.  Heck, I wish I could hide the Videos and Audios portions of my Xanga as I have no current intention to post any.  They automatically hide Reviews and Events, which I had to unhide.  Why doesn't Xanga make each category optional by radio button or check box?  That'd be the most logical thing to do.  Then maybe it'd fix the situation where the Photos, Videos, Audios, and Profile don't show up when looking at Reviews or Events and where Reviews and Events don't show up when looking at Photos, Videos, Audios, or Profile. 

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." ~William Feather

Windows Vista Security Flaw Discovered!

2007 could look to be a bleak year, if one was pessimistic.  My grandparents are starting to change their talk from positive preparation for the inevitable to dejected near-embrace of the inevitable.  It's beginning to wear on my mother and uncle.  When you start to lose will to live, it's a slippery slope.  When those around you aren't strong, what's to stop you from falling?

Then we have my water leak.  It's been patched, but I've been warned that my house probably won't be worth scrap in a couple of years.  So I've got an option to sell it as junk soon to get enough money for another downpayment or live here long enough to have it fall apart and pay to have someone dispose of its corpse.  Obviously, I'm going to see about getting a second opinion after the convention.  I was happy to have this place paid off.  I don't want to enter the mortgage game again. 

But hey, I'm physically healthy.  I've got great friends and family.  I have a steady job that I enjoy.  I'm working on improving my prayer life.  I've been clearing the house of clutter.  I certainly have it better than most in this world, that is for certain.  How can I not thank the Lord for all of that? 

Well, as the title implies, I should already be in bed.  I pray that everyone have a blessed 2007.  Good night.

I'm starting to think these polls are rigged as I scored as Obi-Wan again...

You scored 6 Boba Fett, 6 Darth Sidious, 73 Obi-Wan, and 33 AnakinSkywalker!

If you scored Boba Fett your personality is basically all about money and nothing else matters, unless it could help gain you more money. If you scored Darth Sidious your personality is all about power to rule over everything else, you have no friends, only pawns and enemies. If you scored Obi-Wan your personality is loyal to your friends, and want to everything to be good and on your side (the light side). If you scored AnakinSkywalker your personality is all about love and selfishness, everything is good as long as everybody is on your side. Congradulations! You have finally completed this senseless test, oh, and sorry to all the ladies, but I hope to create a female Star Wars character test in the future. Of course, if you liked/disliked the test let me know, and have any suggestions on improving it also let me know. Hope you had fun, cause I sure didn't! LOL!

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 0% on Boba Fett You scored higher than 0% on Darth Sidious You scored higher than 87% on Obi-Wan You scored higher than 22% on AnakinSkywalker

Link: The who in Star Wars are you? Test written by DarthKull on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." ~Abraham Lincoln