September 2004

Random Generator

Ok, this is neat - this guy made a bunch of random [fill in the blank here] generators for various uses. I mention this because several of them were inspired by Les Miserables and I think I know someone who watches my LiveJournal who might be interested in those.

Items of noteworthy nature.

Behold my 100th deviation, in all it's glory! Most of my pics are photographs, but I couldn't resist drawing this.

Still have Gmail invites up for grabs. Reply if you want one.

I've more to say, but I need to go to work now.

Open letter to the people thinking up new reality TV shows

Dearest reality TV producers,

Please stop.

Best regards,
Blake Emrys

Rambling, with links.

Greetings from the land of fire (outside) and ice (my office)!

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Teaching is going well, and while I'm still sick, I'm getting better. Kelli's having good days and bad days, but any time I compare now to a month ago I see some good progress.

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I was thinking about what kind of vehicle I should get next, as I can't keep driving Kelli's car when she's out and about. At first I was toying with getting a Jeep, but my Dad (who happens to have a Jeep) managed to talk me out of it. My price range of $5000 just wouldn't get me a Jeep newer than 10 years old, and who treats a Jeep NICELY for 10 years?

I think it can best be summed up in a conversation I had with Paul (and a few others):

Me: But Jeeps are really rugged! My Dad's Jeep kept going even after a wheel came off!

Paul: Yeah, BUT THE WHEEL CAME OFF!

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I still have a bunch of Gmail invites. Reply to my LiveJournal (No more Anonymous accounts, please) if you want one. First come, first served.

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My most recent graduate course ends today. Does that mean I'll have free time? Of course not, silly! It means I'll have time to start doing all of the other crap I've been putting off. However, I have found a particular geek culture forum that's been sucking up some spare minutes every day.

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At the time I'm writing this I now have 99 pictures on my deviantART account. I would like to do something special for the 100th picture, but I've no idea what. Suggestions, anyone?

Who wants some?

Gmail accounts, that is! I've got 6 invites for the first 6 people who want them - just reply to this entry and give me an e-mail address to send the invite to.

Bow, BOW to the silly cucumber!

I apparently woke up with a cold this morning, as I was quite congested and my throat was sore from my chronic post-nasal-drip acting up. I'll speak no more on the subject except to say that 12 hour Aleve Cold & Sinus works for no more than 4 hours.

While picking up the aforementioned medication I saw this and bought it without hesitation. Childish or not, I've been a VeggieTales fan for years. (Although Chaeval was watching them long before I was.) I even managed to get Kelli hooked on it as well. The DVD is still sealed, as Kelli and I will both be watching it tomorrow in the hospital. I love the fact that laptops have DVD players in them, don't you?

Purple Fingernails = Bad

So yeah, it was so cold in my closet, I mean office today that my fingernails were literally a purplish blue. This is not a natural thing to encounter when the weather is 80 degrees outside.

I'm a little bummed because now I've taught every class in my base school and I have to move on to school #2. But at least a higher percentage of teachers handed in their forms this time around. I sent a reminder out, so if they choose to still do nothing I guess they don't get art and I can return to my base school all that much faster :P

I also met with the local Arts Coordinator for my base school's town's Department of Recreation. They have a pretty sweet setup going on right now and a $500 we'll-match-what-the-PTA-gives-you grant to throw around. My only hesitation is from the fact that more then one person has pulled me aside to explain the politics of the situation. I hate politics in school, unless they're part of a Social Studies lesson.

Kelli did well this weekend, staying off the respirator for over twelve hours at a time on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I brought pizza, then we went for a walk & roll (I walked, she rolled in a wheelchair) down to the gift shop and I bought her a smiley balloon. On Sunday we called her Dad to wish him a happy birthday.

This weekend I also tried to install Linspire onto Kelli's old Compaq Presario since they're giving it away to DeviantART members. I think I may even enter the contest, although I haven't gotten this thing to install yet. There's a version that boots off of a CD, so I'm going to try that too. I'm in line for it to download as I'm typing this. (Number 52)

The other night Gretchen had an away message on that said she was quite angry. (Except she used a different word than "quite" to describe her mood.) She was too mad to go into details, but hopefully everything will work out in the end.

Beka got her new Powerbook (Woot!), and just in time as she is now being sent elsewhere by her job. I forget the state, but I do believe she's flying there. Up, up, and away!

My Dad's B-day is the 19th. I already got him a present but I'm not sayin' what, even though my Mom knows which means he probably knows already as well.

Nurses

Occupations in the medical profession should be careers, not jobs.

Bagging groceries, flipping burgers, and stocking shelves are jobs. They pay bills, but not much else.

Teaching, healing, fixing, building - these should be careers. Nobody should walk down those paths unless it is something they would do in spite of the salary.

After several run-ins with nurses at Kelli's hospital doing nothing or looking indignant when they finally got off of their butts to do their jobs, I must assume that nursing for them is a job and a chore, not a career. I have even heard them hold a conversation for several minutes while ignoring call buzzers.

As such, they should either quit or be fired before Kelli has to spend one more day waiting for essential medical care while they do heaven knows what.

I have made my opinion known, and have gotten supportive responses from everyone except those who are supposed to supervise the $*&@-ups who dare to call themselves nurses.

I'll stop now before I work myself up again.

Why I'm not a Democrat.

Ok, there are many reasons, but I'll only mention one here. Remember Clinton? Yeah, that guy. I'm not interested in his personal life, but remember when he said he would raise taxes on the rich?

My taxes went up.

Remember when George Bush #2 handed out the tax breaks?

Now as I listen to NPR I keep hearing the Democrats screaming that it was a tax break for the wealthy.

Let me set something straight here: I AM NOT RICH! Most of the time I'm living from paycheck to paycheck while trying to scrounge up a little bit of savings for the big purchases I know I'll have to make. (Including a car, since I can't keep driving Kelli's all the time.)

Unfortunately, the Democrats that are deemed important enough to have a microphone put under their nose seem to think that someone who made ends meet this summer because HIS YOUNGER SISTER LOANED HIM MONEY is rolling in dough. Don't these hypocrites have fund raising diners where the admission price is more than my annual salary?

No wonder the No Child Left Behind act is so important if most elected Democrats (& their staff/advisors) can't master simple mathematics.

Now before anyone flames me, keep in mind that I don't always agree with Republicans either. Heck, I wanted Towsend to be the next Maryland Governor - and she's not just a Democrat, she's a KENNEDY!

I just look at it this way: If someone tells you they will only attack people with no internet connections, then they stab you while you're reading this, wouldn't you be just a tad more ticked off at them?

N, the bouncy, exploding stick ninja!

There's a free game out there called N. It's for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

They say:
N - unique 2D puzzle / platformer
Play as a ninja trapped in a world of well-meaning, inadvertantly homicidal robots.
version 1.3 includes tons of levels (300), organized neatly into 60 unlockable episodes. your progress is now saved as you play, and you can compete with N users worldwide in the online highscores. nice!

I say:
Download this game and become addicted like me. Now.

12 Hour Work Day

I didn't have to work that many hours, but I wanted to get as much student work on the walls as possible today.

Kelli was off the respirator 12 hours yesterday (a new record!) but not at all today.

Beka also had a bad day. She should get a blog so she can rant about it as well. She's getting a Powerbook soon, so I think she should. :)