The pain of writing
October 26, 2008
The worst thing about writing, is the block.
I would pay good money to the man who invents the literary jackhammer.
Then there are days the block is no where to be seen and writing comes flowing out like warm syrup over chocolate pancakes.
Today is chocolate pancake day.
Preview: Mountain-Plains conference
October 24, 2008
Today is the second day to the Mountain-Plains philosophy conference, held this year at my University, Fort Hays State, in Kansas.
The keynote was superb. For a concept as difficult as Metaphysics the speaker Ted Sider from New York University explained it in such a way that his objections did not leave me feeling like an idiot.
Also: I found out a strange thing today, the laces in my left shoe were put in backwards. The pain was excruciating but I never thought the laces themselves were responsible. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the one who put them in that way.
Strangeness abounds. Anyways, off to write finish a paper for Lit.
Another Day, Another Dollar, another exhausting Event
October 20, 2008
The end of my weekend wasn’t as bad as one might think, what with the universe conspiring to ensure I’m busy at all times with things I probably should have finished years months weeks ago. Despite being sick last week work wasn’t bad. Never mind sounding like Steve Urkle during phone calls, consistency is what matters in this day and age.
I’ve had an interesting few days. Between stress over papers, the need to finish fixing computers and the eventual overthrowing of the universe by people who are far too smart even by my standards (hopefully I’ll be given the promised keys of Australia), I’ve had moments of happiness, my kitten has purred and my laundry slowly decreases in density or volume, depending on the configuration of the universe at the time.
By the way: I need more movie suggestions and book suggestions so I can continue my procrastination into the next few months and weeks before I fail all my classes.
Someone will have to explain to me how to finish school or at least achieve a semblance of time and energies to succeed more admirably than I may currently be doing.
Enough of the late night ranting, I have to get to sleep before the clowns come after me.
Frank, you should talk to them, bunny to clown.
Editor in Chief
October 10, 2008
Strange events, today the good Doctor Drabkin threatened me that if I were silly enough to keep up my journal writing he’d compile the works for publication.
I don’t know how scary that may be.
Sometimes
October 5, 2008
Sometimes I wish I didn’t have obligations.
It would make leaving so much easier.
new Experiences
September 28, 2008
Life goes on.
The Pen is mightier than the Rapier
September 27, 2008
Despite the invention of the typewriter, computer and secretaries we continue to use pens to put our thoughts into record. Some of us will use any pen, even those five-dollar-for-1000 kind found at hotels. Maybe I’m a pen-snob (there’s no maybe about it bucko. -ed.) but even with the large variety each pen works best for a specific purpose.
Mind you, I realize that just as for me, a car is a car is a car regardless of my need and its designed purpose, for some of you a pen is a pen. It may be an issue of my absolute adoration of putting thoughts into the realm of the written but even a task as simple as note taking has a best suited writing implement.
Ballpoints for taking notes, while a felt tip is great for scribbling in a harder paged journal and should you ever be so lucky as to have parchment paper lying around use the original pen, the quill, or its modern day cousin the Fountain Pen.
The human mind is a devious thing; It can destroy, subvert, and betray. Yet it also lends itself towards compassion, love and the creative act. In spite of our abilities to act physically, It can’t possibly be as impressive as our feelings and thoughts. It’s the most evolved form of existence yet we hold it inferior to taking action.
The synthesis of the incorporeal into compelling is the finest act a person could do. The hardest one too, considering I am sitting here trying to put not only the thoughts regarding this into words but of desire and fulfillment, quite unsuccessfully. A single person with a single story will move nations and states out of apathy into cultural movement. An army cannot change the self-honest thoughts of a person, however much it may try.
That’s why we take to writing. We want to affect the world around us. Our worth is affirmed when the world changes due to our acts.
Now to quit being worthless.
A painless change of occupation
July 27, 2008
A few weeks ago, about a month now actually, I underwent a rather dramatic shift in employment. Besides suffering the standard “how the hell am I going to pay my bills” stresses for a few weeks during the interim it’s been kind of eye opening.
For instance, why should I be killing myself for $7.35 an hour? Instead I can be killing myself for $8.90 with all sorts of benefits like 2 weeks paid vacation, insurance and excellent overtime opportunities.
The change over from a family owned and run establishment (for all its faults) to a dyed-in-the-wool corporate environment has left me a little shook up. Never mind the public relations aspect, even in the hotels I was the front line between customer and corporation, it’s the behind the scenes that have messed me up slightly.
People are happy to be at work, even if the job itself isn’t the greatest on earth. I’ve also been treated with more respect and appreciation by all the middle management; those in Human Resources, New hire training, the quality assurance guys, and by the company as a whole. WIthout giving details, they’ve spent more money on me in the first month than about 3 months at my previous employ. Did I mention the insurance doesn’t suck, because wow I’m paying a lot but the company is paying 4 times that?
Tomorrow will be my first day since training, the first chance to prove to myself and my trainers those 5 hard and enjoyable weeks were worth it.
Before I go here’s something I’ve held true to even before, it’s only a job if I let it. Imagine how long I could last here if I made it five years in the hotel biz.
Too lazy even for me
July 22, 2008
Because writing blog posts from my laptop wasn’t good enough, now I can write from my iPod.
Woo.
Last week of training at the new job.
As time moves on (our software does not)
May 31, 2008
What type of file system is not priority number one for 98% of the internet. Unless your job involes something with multi-gigabyte files (Photoshop and Final Cut Studio users give yourselves a round of applause!) it doesn’t really matter. Until the time comes when your old applications can’t function.
My lovely mother gave to yours truly a copy of the Star Craft battle chest for being an awesome son of twenty three years (Golly I don’t feel old). After downloading the latest patch that abolishes the CD requirement after eleven freaking years I clicked on the application only to face…
This enterprising (yet utterly clueless when it comes to programming) geek googled that very phrase. Viola this very site topped the list. After a quick translation from Swedish the Engrish version told me exactly what went wrong.
Since Mac OS X 10.3 Panther there has been the option to format your hard drive as “Mac OS Extended (case sensitive/journaled).” Ignoring what Journaling is (a simple google search provides more accurate and interesting reads than I could ever hope to write on the subject), that “case sensitive” part is where Star Craft kept getting into trouble.
The solution is simply renaming the file “Local” to “local” in the starcraft files folder. Do that, and you’ll be stomping zerglings as quickly as can be!
