I don't want to start
Any blasphemous rumours
But I think that God's
Got a sick sense of humor
And when I die
I expect to find Him laughing

Depeche Mode may be on to something there.

God is real. She exists, and while I might not call it a sick sense of humor, it is certainly odd, and absolutely ironic. It has taken me a great many years to get it through my thick skull, but God is out there. A reasonible question that you would be asking yourself is "how do I know?" Well, I can identify 2 prayers that she has answered for me.
In the summer of 1981, I was living in Escondido, CA and attending Orange Glenn Elementary School. We lived in an apartment complex across the drainage creek from a small church. The church was next door to my friend Albert's house. One Saturday my Mom and I were on our, very small, patio when a van from the church's youth group came through our neighborhood trolling for sinners to be saved. The youth minister came over and asked if I wanted to join their church and attend their summer program. Like most 12 year olds, I was going through a rebellious stage, and was looking for myself. Since my mother is a free spirit, I decided that it might be good to check this "church thing" out. My Mom gave me her blessing and encouraged me to go off and see if this was right for me. In retrospect, if this were to happen today, we would probably assume that the guy driving the van was a pedophile and would call the cops. Mom certainly wouldn't have put me in the van and told me to have a good time. It was a couple weeks into my new life filled with the Sunday adventure called church when there was some kind of bazaar going on. There were Pony rides, games, and a raffle to win tickets for 4 to Sea World. I decided to try out my new connection with the
"man" upstairs and I prayed. I told "him" that if he let me win those tickets, I would believe in "him" and continue down the road of the righteous. Well, I won. God called my bet. Apparently, I lied to God. I think that I went a couple more times and then got too bored and stopped attending. Hopefully I promised to be a good person, and not a church goer, and that my attempts at being the best person that I can is payment for those tickets.
My second experience was in 1994, in Flagstaff, AZ. I was living in sin with a woman with whom I planned to marry. I was in California for spring break from University. I wasn't entirely happy with the state of my relationship with with woman, but I thought that she was my future. While in California, I wished/prayed that she would fall in love with Geoff. I meant my friend Geoff who I had known for years. When I got home, I was greeted with the information that we were no more, and that she had been fucking this guy Jeff from her work. I guess I needed to be a little more specific. Nothing like a nice "you get what you ask for" slap in the face, huh?
So, there you go, 2 prayers answered. I don't remember if I made any bargains with the second one, but I would think that the irony is payment enough.

Much to my surprise, I seem to have started an autobiography. I can't believe that I am doing this. It seems like such an egocentric thing to do. However, I am doing it, and it looks like I might have a rough of the first completed chapter up here in a few days. Also, don't let me forget to write about why the fall guy's insurance company should have denied him coverage.

A song has been beating it's way through my head for days. It's deep, dark and foreboding tones marching in and out.
The song is The Edison Museum by They Might be Giants. I was hoping to be able to find a nice midi file to post, so that you could hear this piece. I does an amazing job of fitting with the mood of the lyrics. I think that you could probably connect the lyrics with the midi file without ever hearing the song.


The Edison Museum, not open to the public
Its haunted towers rise into the clouds above it
Folks drive in from out of town to gaze in amazement when they see it
Just outside the gate, I look into the courtyard
Underneath the gathering thunderstorm
Through the iron bars, I see the Black Mariah
Revolving slowly on its platform
In the topmost tower, a light burns dim
A coiling filament glowing within
The Edison Museum, once a bustling factory,
Today's but a darkened cobweb-covered hive of industry
The tallest, widest, and most famous
Haunted mansion in New Jersey
Behind a wooden door, the voice of Thomas Alva
Recites a poem on a phonograph
Ghosts float up the stair
Like silent moving pictures
The loyal phantoms of his in-house staff
A wondrous place it is, there can be no doubt
But no one ever goes in
And no one ever goes out
So when your children quarrel, and nothing seems to quell them
Just tell them that you'll take them to the Edison Museum
The largest independently owned and operated
Mausoleum



I don't know what it is about this song, but it has invaded me. There are days where I surprise myself by whistling it. I don't know nearly enough about music. This is especially true as I am amazed by the art form. I am also amazed when I consider that music is little more than math. I don't understand how it works, but there is a beautiful formula saying that this note is complementary to these notes. It is analogous to a color wheel with huge array of colors and and a complex system of complementaries and contradictories. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know, just by looking or hearing, the complementaries of any note or color? To be able to walk the scales on a pianos keyboard simply because it makes sense? To be able to play or paint as easily as one can do his or her 9's times-tables? Hell, I would be happy to be able to do it like a me in the 7th grade when I struggled daily with my 9's. Even that struggling child having a better grasp than those of us who are so unlucky as to fall on the other side of that horrible divide that is the separation of the analytical mind and the artistic one. Even more troubling for those of us trying to swing between the sides. Those to who the science of art makes sense, but cannot create it. Those that can show you the mathematics of music, but cannot create it. Or those able to regurgitate the theory to re-create the formula of the song, but without the passion.
What is art without that passion?
-Is it science?

What is music without love?
-Is it mathematics?

Republic commando

This is a rough first draft. If I decide that I care, I might edit, or rewrite
this.

Republic commando

-Videogame review

I just finished Republic Commando on the PC. I played the demo and fell in love with the game play, so I had to pick this one up. Obviously I took my own sweet time doing so, and it actually took Steven dropping it in my lap, but I finally got it. For those of you unfamiliar with title, or more likely, don't give a
crap about video games in general, Republic Commando is an 8-10 hour long, mixed-difficulty, squad based 1st person shooter title that revolves around a squad of elite clone troopers in days between Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3.
You are the squad leader and can command your team. There are only 4 commands that you can give your squad from the keyboard, and some others that are contextual. You can point at a turret and tell the next clone up in the order to man it. This contextual command system really pissed me off at times. For example, I would want the trooper that I just opened up on with a grenade launcher to go get some help, but to do so, I would have to run to wherever I can see the Bacta
dispenser and point at it, to make it happen. I am sure that the need for this
limited command system is due directly to the limitations of the console gamepads.
PC gamers are really spoiled by the mouse and keyboard gaming setup. You have a control interface with 108 or more different buttons and a mouse to look around. As nice as some of the 3d control methods are on the consoles, it is very difficult to match keyboard and mouse gaming on gamepad. Still somehow manufacturers and game publishers keep forgetting this. Has any console system since the Dreamcast enabled us to use a keyboard and mouse for our FPS? I guess the Xbox has, but I haven't seen many games that list support for this type of gameplay.
If I am wrong about this, please let me know, I hope it is really there and I am just not observant enough.
Since I got this as a hand me down, I didn't have to pay anything for it. If I
had bought this as a new title, sometime near it's launch, I would would be pissed off that I paid fifty-some bucks for an approximately 8 hour long game (including retries for some of the very difficult levels). The difficulty of this game really seems to vary. It might just be that I am more of a run and gun type player when it comes to FPS games, but some of these levels are pretty tough. There are some well designed bottlenecks, where you have to work smart and fast to clear a room of droids and then blow up the droid dispensers, a multi-level attack that is impossible to accomplish alone, you have to use your squad, but not
let giving them orders keep you from helping out in the fight.
As you play through, and complete “levels,” you will be awarded “bonus content.” As nice as the it sounds to earn bonus content, it is just the special edition stuff that I love to see on a Special Edition DVD, but in a video game? Not so much...
This game looks good, plays fast, and sounds like a Star Wars game. Star Wars as a genre has some excellent titles, like the X-wing and KOTOR series and the classic stand up arcade game. On the other hand, it also has to claim some real stinkers, like any of the direct movie tie-in games for episodes 1-3. Luckily for us who love Star Wars games, this is a good one. I would recommend it to anyone who likes squad based FPS games, most general FPS gamers and anyone who loves Star Wars and Gaming like others love the moon and stars.

I give this game a 7/10. I give this Star Wars game 9/10
PROS:
Star Wars done well
fast paced action.
Squad commands done to about 90% of perfect. (I would just like to be able to tell my team to do something without having to point at it.)

CONS:
Short gameplay with limited replay potential.
Rule 66 in Episode 3

I am sure that sometimes I can be pretty anoying with constantly acting like I know everything. It has to piss off my roommate, Steven, that I point out "how things work." I am sure that he is close to the point that my telling him "I told you so" will lead to my death.

This is the way that I remember the whole "cat story."

Steven wanted to get a cat. Cassidy, my dog, was already living with us, and Steven just wanted a cat. He is, afterall, a cat person. So, he started pitching the idea to me. I told him that it would be fine, but he had to make sure that he took care of the cat and all of it's needs. I even went so far as to play the asshole card and say "if I ever come home and can smell the cat's litter box from my room, I will empty it in your bed." I also said that the before he brought home the cat, that Cassidy and the cat would have to meet, oh and that he would have to have it fixed before it went into heat and went insane.
Well, Cassidy didn't meet the cat until the day that she moved in. I wanted Cassidy and Durka to meet so that we could make sure that they would get along, they didn't. It didn't take too long before they got used to each other, and now they do cute things like nap together and clean each other. I think that this all changed when Cassidy go Pregnant and had pups. See, I don't know everything, and sometimes I don't even listen to my own advice. With the pups in the house, the two females bonded and became fast friends. Well, when I finally called to make an appointment for Cassidy to get fixed, I was told that they couldn't even make an appointment for 2 months. So, they put my name on a list and called me in early April to make an appointment. When I was fighting to make the appointment, I told Steven that he should go ahead and make an appointment for Durka as well, so that she wouldn't go insane in heat.
Well, my appointment is for tomorrow, and Durka is in heat, and insane. This damn cat has been a pain in my ass since she moved in. Her temporary cuteness just masks her evil. I might post in the future about everything that she has done to piss me off, but right now, I will leave it at her howling. I got almost NO sleep last night, as I was kept awake by it. MRROOWWW MMMRRRAHHHHOOWW . . .
So, the cat is in heat, it is keeping me from sleeping and, the worst part is that it is exactly how I told Steven it would be. So, now he said that he is going to make an appointment fo her to get fixed, a term that seems oddly appropriate when it comes to that damn cat. He said that as he got home from the 24hr diner where he was writing all night. He said it as the sun was coming up. Now, he will be going to sleep, and the cat will be quiet until dusk. It just isn't fair. But then, I knew this would happen, and I am a pretty anoying whiner.

Ciao

Scott

I am an Archaeological Field Technician. I found this description while doing a search for potential field work in California. The firm that I work for is much better than what this describes. We are full-time employees, treated with respect, generally properly prepared, and even have health insurance. However, you cannot work in this field without hearing about conditions like this throughout the industry.


What is an Archaeological Technician?

The people who go out into the heat, rain, and snow to survey and record the information needed for compliance reports (for Archaeology and Cultural Resources required under Federal Law) are the true work horses of the Cultural Resource Management Industry. These legions of underpaid and unappreciated people are the "Archaeological Technicians." But, what exactly does it mean to be an "Archaeological Technician?

What is an Archaeological Technician?

Flying the flag for the Pope at half-staff.

***Note: This rant is an incomplete thought. I just wanted to get it out there, as it was bugging me. ***

As you may know, I live in Charleston, SC. When I listen to the radio, I listen to 96 Wave. On the station, they have a guy who does editorials, who calls himself "The Southern Avenger." It is important to point out that the Avenger wears a wrestling mask with the Confederate flag on it when making public appearances. The Southern Avenger is a smart guy, a great writer, and sometimes I even agree with him.
In his latest piece, which aired today, he says:
"For example – as we all know, the Pope just died. Most people liked the old man and are making a point to pay their respects. In Wisconsin, this meant orders from the governor to fly all flags at half staff for the entire week. A nice gesture, right? Not according to the "Freedom from Religion Foundation," -whoever in hell that is - who believe that honoring the Pope in this manner is an endorsement of Catholicism. "
What really got me about this is that, at least in the US, the pope is a sitting foreign dignitary. The Holy See received it's sovereignty from Italy on February 11, 1929, and the US recognizes this status. Additionally , the Pope is recognized as the Chief of State. This means that the President ordering our flag to be flown at half-staff, yes half-staff, is covered under US code title 4,7 section m:
In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law.
As you can see, it is appropriate, and not a separation of church and state issue to honor the memory of a Foreign Head of State by flying our flag at half-staff.

Enough for now..

Ciao

Nature, WOW!

Today, I was helping out a co-worker by volunteering and digging at the burial mound at Magnolia Plantation.
While we were out there, one of the crew noticed an Egret with what looked like a fish in it's mouth. After a couple seconds, we realized that this was not a fish, but a baby alligator. The bird had the gator by the shoulder and it moved and flexed to the point where it was able to grab latch onto the bird's beak with it's jaws. It hung there for a little while before letting go and falling to the ground. Next, the bird picked it back up, this time by the neck and proceeded to choke it out. The gator fought the best that it could, even getting the bird to drop it a couple times, but each time the bird latched it's beak around the gator's neck and continued with the suffocation. Once most of the fight was out of the little guy, the bird dropped it and with a hit so hard that we heard it 30 meters away put it's beak THROUGH the gator's skull. A second hit followed in short order. Upon withdraw of this blow, the gator was hanging off the bird's beak and with a shake, it fell. The bird hit it another time, this time through the midsection. Now that it seemed that the gator was completely dead, the bird proceeded to eat it like you have seen so many pelicans devour fish on nature shows, and Bugs Bunny episodes. Once it was done, the bird washed the blood off it's beak in the brackish swamp water and wandered off.
I used to carry a little digital camera with me whenever I was out in the field, however, the thing got jammed with some sand and now won't focus, or close it's shutter. So, noone had a camera.. Trust me when I say that it was an impressive sight, at an impressive site.

Ciao

I was out of town this week.

When I got my job, I was told that travel could be a major component. Having wanderlust, I didn't expect this to be, or become, a problem. Well, I spent last week in the South Carolina region known as the upcountry. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this is beautiful country. However, we were working, not playing. We spent most of the week working in light rain. Well, Tuesday presented us with a downpour, but we only took pictures in that. We are working on 12 SCDOT projects in district 3. Mostly this means that we walk around a dangerous intersection looking for historic homes, taking pictures, and digging holes. A couple of these have been pretty sketchy with blind corners and cars traveling at high speeds.
As bad as this week may sound, it wasn't so bad. In fact, we spent Thursday night and yesterday morning in the mountains near the SC/NC border. Thursday night, we stayed at a hotel in Hendersonville, NC. It was almost like a vacation driving around in the mountains. The reason for this, is that we were working at the intersection of Gap Creek Rd., and SC25. (I will have to post some of the pictures that we took.) To get to this intersection from Spartanburg, where we had worked earlier in the day, we took SC11, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. Despite having driven through this area on Interstate 26, I hadn't recognized it's beauty until this trip. This could be because I was in a hurry, or it could have been at night. I just don't know. I am also surprised to learn, on looking at a map, that my recent visit for a Wilco show, was not my first time to Asheville. So, even though this was a work trip, it felt almost like a vacation while we were driving through this amazing country. Country that I had overlooked time and again. Apparently I am such a mountain bigot that I was willingly overlooking the Appalachians because they are smaller and older than the Rockies. I blindly ignored their beauty because I still feel, regardless of where I live, that my home is in the west. I first recognized this when I fell in love with Asheville. I went so far as to try to figure out if there was a way for me to live there. I have turned down jobs in Greenville, SC without ever even visiting the area. Greenville is like the Denver of the SC mountains in that it is on their doorstep, but still in the (mostly) flats. It is a very good thing that I didn't take these Greenville jobs. If I had, I would still be in the computer industry and miserable. I am much happier being a broke Archaeologist.
So, even though I had a great week in the mountains, since I have to go back up on Monday, it feels like work. I have a very full weekend planned just to get everything in order to head back up. We are going to work VERY HARD on getting back down here in time for our weekly Wednesday dinner, that we affectionately call "Big Beer Wednesday."
This is an important one for me. The Wednesdays after I have been out of town are usually important for me, but this one is . . . If you know me, and you know BBW, please come..

CIAO

179 pages.

I am currently in the process of printing out Steven's manuscript. It is 179 pages. My 4 page/minute Laserjet 4L printer seems particularly slow right now, and I am not buying it's advertised 100 sheet capacity.

It is really exciting printing this thing out. I am going to go to Office Depot or Staples tomorrow and buy some of those plastic binding combs to bind this thing on our binding machine in the office.

Seeing his book sitting here, on my desk, makes me want to get mine blasted out. I am going out tomorrow to do some research on my book. My current plan is to go; out to Ft. Sumter to see what they have in their collections, to the South Carolina Historical Society to make copies of letters about Sullivan's Island, and to the main downtown branch of the public library to visit their special collections room.

On Sunday, I should hit most of the places that I miss tomorrow, assuming that they are open. I will also go try to get some more pictures of the batteries on Sullivan's Island, and talk to the Fire Department about gaining access to Batteries Butler, Capron, and Thompson.

But, in order to do any of that, I need to get to sleep now.

Ciao

FDR's government sponsored art

The Library of Congress has an exhibit online of the WPA posters of the 1930's and 40's. The WPA was created as part of FDR's New Deal.
Many of these posters are like those that Bill Maher satarized in his book When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden

You should take a look at these. They represent an important part of American History. While you are at it, you should look into the other art works that were created under the WPA.
Here is a site where you can find New Deal art near you.

I am most likely an asshole. Add to that hypocrite, snob, and slacker.
I am also a rather picky person. I have a very specific way that I expect the world to work. Within this worldview, there are certain rules:
1. Do unto others as you would have other do unto you.
2. Um.....

I guess that is it.. 1 rule. How about that?

However, that rule is a very important. Important enough that it should encapsulate all the other possible rules.. However, that is the way that particular rule is supposed to work. That is why they teach it to everyone so young and in so many places.

Now, here is my picky part. I like to be precise in certain endeavors. If I give specific instructions, I expect them to be followed. Just, as I would be sure to follow those instructions if someone were to provide such to me. Oh hey... there is that rule again....

Another thing... If I tell someone that I will do something, I try to do it. If I make plans with a group, I don't leave them hanging. Why? you might ask? Because I hate when it happens to me.

I would give examples, but there are none, as this is "hypothetical."

My roommate's cat destroyed my room. Well, not all of it.. Just one window. She attacked my blinds and destroyed them. She also gnawed on my window sill and the desk that my printer sits on. Oh, and speaking of printers, she knocked it off the desk and onto the floor. It is an all-in-one printer and has a very large piece of glass and a sensitive scanning head.

Anyone want a cat? How about cat stew?

Ciao

A man of too many hobbies.

If you know me, you know that I am a man with too many hobbies, goals, and projects. One of my hobbies is movie making. Steven and I have been working towards the goal of making our own movies. Our friendship was first sparked by a conversation about a movie idea over a cup of coffee more than a decade ago. Off an on for a while now, I have been playing with making short films with pretty much anything that I have access too. Recently I found a blog about a guy that seems to make a new short a couple times each week. I love this idea. So, I am going to try to publish a film online and link it here each week. I don't know when in the week I will get it posted, I am hoping to have this week's done by Friday.

Who are the world painters?

"It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it." A classic statement by the #23 greatest stand-up of all time (according to Comedy Central) Steven Wright. The thing is that short of this, there are few ways that you can "change the
world." Yet, most beauty pageant contestants state this as one of their goals.
This begs the question "who has painted the world?" Or whose actions have effected the world on a level near that of painting the place?
The first two candidates that spring to mind are near polar opposites of each other. However, each has left an impact far beyond that of mere paint. First, is Jesus Christ. Regardless of what he actually did, and what is elaboration, he
has made a lasting impression on our planet. There are people that fight for and against his beliefs every day. There has been more bloodshed in the name of religion than any other cause since the One Ring. One might say that his followers and those diametrically opposed to them have painted the world time and again
in blood.
The second is Hitler. Personally responsible for condemning MILLIONS of individuals to death. However, one could argue that his actions were yet again those of a passionately religious man who was following what he believed to be the wishes of his God, and possibly said God's illegitimate son.

There are plenty of others whose actions have made ripples throughout the collective history of our species, largely for religious reasons. However, this brings us to a couple of individuals whose impact cannot go unnoticed, however whose
actions were for reasons beyond religion. . . maybe.
First up is the patron saint of bed-heads, Albert Einstein. 20 percent of Americans get their power from sources built on the shoulders of this man. However,
his ideas also led us to the scariest Mexican standoff in the history of the world. Of course, we wouldn't have gotten there without the help of, the often overlooked, J. Robert Oppenheimer, who after seeing the destructive nature of his
creation said of himself, "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." Someone out there could make the argument that Ol' Al was a worshiper of the church of science. He said "All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree." Einstein may have done the bidding of science as it's prophet, but he did not do it out of difference to God. He did it while searching for a relationship with God that worked in his scientific world.
Lastly, there is Bill Gates. His impact is felt the world over, his status as the world's richest man should punctuate that. In a 1995 interview with PBS Bill Gates said "I'm not somebody who goes to church on a regular basis. The specific elements of Christianity are not something I'm a huge believer in. There's a lot of merit in the moral aspects of religion. I think it can have a very, very positive impact." and "I don't know if there's a god or not." There could be arguments made that he is a worshiper in the church of technology, or that of money, either of which could very well be true. There are those that believe that he is not a moral man; lying, cheating and stealing his way to where he is. However, there is also proof that he is a good man who wishes to use his money for the betterment of mankind. One need only look at his record of charitable contributions to see this. However, the question remains, "Is Bill Gates trying to buy his salvation?"
Here are four men who have made an impact on the world. While none of them painted it, they have created legacies which will likely last long after the paint would have faded and chipped.

Bill Gates will be remembered when the giant computer that his company builds becomes self-aware and starts building robots to destroy the weak and virus-like humans for the sake of the planet.

Einstein will be remembered for his contributions to physics, time travel, and the ominous threat of nuclear annihilation that hovers over us. . . Well, that and his hair.

Hitler will be remembered for taking what the voices in his head said a little too literally and attempting genocide.

Jesus will be remembered for . . . talking. For chatting with a couple people and saying things that made sense. For encouraging people to be good and to not be selfish. Then, they told two people, and they told two people . . .

Of all the ways to paint the world, I think that Jesus had it right, whoever he really was. Let's talk.

I am NOT going to install Flash, Java, or anything else just to view your webpage. If you are not willing to make a website that conforms to the W3C's standards, than you are not interested in having me as a customer.

Ciao

This is an attempt at an entry with bloGTK.
It appears to be a pretty simple blog client for linux. However, it appears that I cannot save my posts with titles.

I like things that "just work." Relying on things like Java makes the potential for things just working much lower.
This app seems to Just work. Maybe I won't lose another post.

Ciao

Raleigh

I just wrote a HUGE piece on why I disliked my trip to Raleigh. I just lost said HUGE piece by accidently pressing CTRL+R when trying to redo something that I undid with CTRL+Z, thus reloading the page. This is the reason that I didn't update my livejournal, because web-based editors, even ones as well thought out like google's blogger is are inheirently STUPID. So, F this. I am not going to redo that post as I was being nice and witty and I can never mimic that on a second draft.

point was that Raleigh is cool for food, but driving there sucks because the Interstate signage is lacking, at best, and the drivers are too busy talking on their cellphones to realize that they almost took off your hood ornament with the 2 inch trailer hitch ball on their oversized SUV.

Raleigh got 4 points for the positives and 35 for negatives. If you are there on business, let your co-worker drive, but go to Lilly's for pizza.

SCREW THIS, I am gone.

F livejournal.... Hail blogger. pt. 2

So, somehow I have decided that a good alternative to actually using my livejournal acount is to start a blogger.com blog. Why I think that I will use this more than my Livejournal is a mystery to even me. However, it is probably because I have given up on getting logjam, a livejournal client for linux, working on my machine. So, here I am in the wonderful world of Blog. Actually, this isn't even my first foray into the world of blogging. My first attempt was associated with my angelfire website, www.angelfire.com/nt/sucks.

more later.