archmage45

Thank you tigergladys

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:52:33 GMT

I don't mention it nearly as often as I should, but I have a wonderful partner in tigergladys.

She was the one who encouraged me to get out of Sarges, and get my life started.

She was the one who invited me to join her in the adventure of starting a new life in Maryland.

She was the one who pointed me to my current employer.

She was the one who realized I could do more, and said I should go back to school, and do something that I actually enjoy.

She was the one who found Lucy's breeder, and the dog club where we are now members.

She is the one who corrects the grammar in my LJ posts (FYI).

She is the one who while I am at school, continues to work on making our ~~house~~ home beautiful.

I am so thankful to have her in my life.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:15:10 GMT

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:
[Column 1]
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

[Column 2]
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

[Column 3]
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

[Column 4]
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

[Column 5]
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

[Column 6]
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

D&D at the beach

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:31:04 GMT

The interview went well. I should hear next week or the week after if they want to have me back for a second round. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

As you can see from my last post, the D&D books arrived yesterday. You would think that I ripped open the package and started reading all three at once. Actually what happened was that I got home, and it was sitting waiting for me, and I brought it into the house, put it down, and didn't touch it for about 3 or 4 hours. Crazy I know, but a combination of being really worn out from the excitement of the interview, and needing to get a few things done around the house conspired to keep me from opening the box. Once I did open it up I started reading the players handbook. I only made it to the second chapter before exhaustion claimed me.

I don't expect to get a whole lot more reading done until this weekend. Luckily the weekend starts tomorrow!

The plan is to get up early and to drive to Assateague Island National Seashore. There we will spend the day relaxing on the beach, swimming, and walking the nature trails.

The plan for Saturday involves sleeping in!

HA!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:35:39 GMT

Yet hope remains while the company is true

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:05:40 GMT

About 2 months ago I applied for a job in the finance department of another hospital in the system. About 2 weeks later I heard back from them stating that they weren't interviewing yet, and that they had already received a number of highly qualified applicants. Aka, I shouldn't expect to hear back from them.

I did, last week.

I have an interview Wednesday.

Theme: International Travel

You have the summer and plenty of money to travel abroad. Where all would you go?

Normally I'd say Europe, but I think I'd want to go to India.

What foods would you be sure you got to eat?

Lots of local stuff, and I'd want to learn how to make some of it.

What landmarks would you be sure you got to see?

Don't know.

What airline would you use?

Can't I take an ocean liner?

Would your knowledge of other languages influence where you went? (i.e. would you be more likely to go to France if you spoke French)

No. It would make some things easier, but I don't want to go overseas just so I can have McDonalds. I want local flavor, in whatever language it comes in!

Theme: USA Road Trip

Who would you take with you on a road trip? Tigs and Lucy

What states would you visit? I suppose I'd want to go to Washington, and hit as many states along the way as I could.

What national parks and/or monuments would you go see? Any that we pass

Las Vegas: Overrated or a Must-See? Only for Star Trek The Experience which is apparently closing this year :-(

How long would you be gone? 2 months would do it I think.

And because you all wanted to see it, the new water heater! (Monster shown for scale purposes.)

I do not believe this darkness will endure

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:39:10 GMT

Monday morning, after coming downstairs I heard a strange hissing noise while in the kitchen. It was coming from the basement. I followed the noise to the water heater. It looked fine from the front, but water was flowing out of the back and luckily into the drainage trench, rather then onto the floor. I turned off the water and the gas. The water continued to flow for a little while, but eventually slowed to a trickle, and then stopped.

I spent a good portion of Monday morning at work calling plumbers. The guy we used last time was on vacation in California. The company that installed the water heater no longer existed. One company wanted over $1,000 to replace it. Another wanted $700. That's the one we went with. Unfortunately, they couldn't come until Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday went in for a half day at work, and then came home at lunch. I played with Lucy while waiting. Once the water heater dudes arrived I kept mostly out of their way and studied, checking in on them only a couple of times. Lucy didn't like them much, and barked most of the time they were in the house.

Because we live in Baltimore County (rather then the city) there are some slightly different rules about how the water heater gets installed. The most pertinent thing in this case is that the county requires a thermal expansion tank. This is a small tank that sits above the water heater whose only purpose is to keep the water that is in the tank from flowing back into the county's pipes. The plumbers seemed to think that we lived in the city. We're close, only about 1,000 feet from the city line, but not in the city. That means they didn't bring a expansion tank, so after they were half way done I asked how the expansion tank hooks up. They looked at me, and the older plumber looked at the younger one and told him to call in for a tank.

The expansion tank arrived, they screwed it on, turned on the water heater, made sure it was running, and then cleaned up. It took them about 2 hours.

For the record I must state that on Monday night, after Lucy's agility class, Tigs did take a cold shower. I did not. She says this is because I am a wuss.

I have a hard time disagreeing with her in this case.

Tuesday night however everyone got a shower. Even Lucy, who was beginning to smell.

Tigs is mad because she used the $$ she was saving for a new camera/lens to pay for the water heater.

Also:
The top 126 reasons Picard is better than Kirk

The city has fallen silent. There is no warmth left in the sun.

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:19:51 GMT

It was a busy weekend. Fun, but busy. On Saturday I went up to Westminster to film a dog agility trial. tigergladys would normally have done this, but she had to do inventory at work.

Sunday while tigergladys went to film, I headed over to the farmers market, and then back home before driving up to Pennsylvania to spend the day gaming with my cousins. We started with a couple of games of Lord of the Rings. We picked some simple scenarios from the Return of the King rule book.

The first game involved a horde of orcs (24, split into 2 groups played by Alex and me) attacking a smaller group (8) of Warriors of Minas Tirith(WoMT played by Cory), while the remaining WoMT (16) moved up the far side of the board to assist the beleaguered defenders. The first side to reduce the other force to half wins. The game only ran about 7 or 8 turns, with the orc casualties numbering around 17, with only one dead WoMT to show for it. When we picked this one I hadn't realized how lopsided it was in points. The basic orc costs 5 points while the basic WoMT costs 7 points! It also helped that Cory kept rolling really really well for his archery attacks and wounds.

The second scenario was a group of 24 Warriors of Minas Tirith performing a rear guard action, holding out for as long as possible so the rest of the army can get away. Against them are a never ending tide of orcs (only 24 on the board at a time). The longer they hold out, the better the result. If they could last for 19 turns it would be a minor victory for the good guys. A little longer and it would have been a major win. Alex, playing the Warriors of Minas Tirith set up a couple of archers in a ruined tower, and the rest of the troops mostly within some low walls. Cory and I split the orcs. I took the 4 archers and a bunch of sword and shield and 2 handed weapon guys. Cory had spear & shield and sword & shield orcs.

I moved my archers up to shoot at the 2 hiding in the tower, and I killed one of them a couple of turns in. The remaining WoMT and the orcs traded shots for most of the game until finally the orcs managed to kill him.

The really exciting part of the battle occurred around turn 8 or so, as one of my orcs took on 5 opponents, and won! 4 turns in a row!! Killing a guy just about every time! Around this same time, on the other side of the ruins, one of Alex's troops performed a similar feat. We opted to have these "captains" duke it out. After several dramatic tied rolls the Warrior of Minas Tirith killed the orc. However this only delayed the inevitable, and a turn or two later the remaining men were slaughtered by the orcs. Final result was a minor evil win.

I would post pictures of the battles, but in spite of having charged the batteries, made sure the memory card had space, and even brought the camera to the table, I forgot to take a single picture until it was all over.

I also got to try out Super Smash Brothers on the Wii (didn't really like it, needs a tutorial), and a game on the x-box 360, the name of which escapes me, which was pretty cool, and had Cory kick my ass in Halo. He is scary good at that.

My next post is going to be about the water heater.

Damn Comcast

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:48:17 GMT

So starting last Thursday we lost our internet connection. It had been a little spotty recently, and when I called Comcast they said that there seemed to be an issue with our modem. They could either send someone out to fix it on the following Tuesday, or I could bring the modem in to their White Marsh office and swap it out with a new one. Because of the NADAC trial, I couldn't actually get to White Marsh till Monday, which was mostly ok, because we were at the trial and couldn't use the internet anyway. So Monday was a sloppy wet day, but after work I drove up to White Marsh, found the Comcast customer service office and drove around the parking lot twice before I found a parking spot.

Then I stood in line behind lots of other people who were thrilled to be there. There was one guy who stormed out of the office, slamming the doors, and someone in line said "Another happy Comcast customer!" much to the amusement of everyone else in line. Eventually I made my way to the counter, handed in my old modem, and they handed me a new one. I took the box and headed home.

When I got home I plugged the box in, the lights turned on and everything looked good. So I clicked on firefox, and got a forbidden error. I ran the install disk, and got an unknown error. I called Comcast. It turns out the morons at the customer service office never assigned the modem to our account. They said they took care of that, but there was a network issue they needed to take care of. The rep said that he would call me back in 45-60 minutes to let me know it all worked. No call.

Upon returning home from class I called Comcast back. The next rep I spoke to said that not only was the modem still not assigned to me, but it was assigned to someone else!! He said that he needed to get another department to remove the modem from the other person's account. This was at about 10:20. He asked how late we could get a call back. I said 11:15. No call.

Tuesday after work I called Comcast back and asked to speak to a manager. The manager said the ticket was in progress and that fixing the problem would take between 45-72 hours. I spent the entire time from when I got home until I had to leave for school expressing my displeasure. That didn't get me anywhere, but I did feel better about the situation.

After class that night I again called Comcast. I got a woman this time, who was genuinely baffled at my situation. We spent about 80 minutes on the phone together and she helped me get the internet working. She fixed the registration problem, helped me set up the connection configuration on my computer, and made sure that I could access the internet on the Mac too.

If there was another internet provider that wasn't worse I'd switch service.

Last night, with access to a working internet connection, I decided to apply for some jobs. I saw a job at BG&E that looked promising, so I sent in an application for that. Then I clicked on over to the Games Workshop website. They never have anything that I would either want (bad hours, bad money) or could get, but I keep looking. I applied for an Accounts Receivables position open at their Glen Burnie location.

NADAC!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:37:05 GMT

Well, we survived NADAC!
Tigs was the Trial Secretary for this trial. All the paperwork for this trial has been living in our ugly orange living room for the past three months.
Lucy was feeling off all weekend, we think it was from allergies, but she still ran in 10 of the 11 runs we had her signed up for. Saturday I did all the running, while Tigs focused on making sure all the record keeping was going well, and that there weren't any screw-ups with the program. The first run was novice tunnelers, which consisted of… you guessed it, tunnels. Lucy ran it very quickly (shock) and very accurately. She listened to all of my directions, and we finished in Elite time.

The second run was weavers, which was the first run of the day to include weave poles. There were 2 sets of 6 poles, and you had to do one set twice. We had a very good run, and attempted the weave poles a couple of times each. Weave pole boot camp definitely paid off as she valiantly attempted them, but never succeeded in completing them. Lucy did do the practice area weave poles right, though.

After that came chances and two regular runs. Again Lucy was great, and listened really well, but there was still trouble with the weave poles, so no qualifying scores.

The day finished with a jumpers course, which started great, but then I screwed it up. Around a curve I ended up on the wrong side of a jump, got in Lucy's way, and she knocked a bar. Two more bars ended up on the ground by the end of the run, but it was still a pretty good run, and not a horrible way to end the day.

Sunday Tigs ran Lucy and the first run was jumpers. It went pretty well and Lucy seemed to be enjoying herself. The second run was touch n' go, which again went pretty well, except that Lucy decided that she thought the A Frame looked weird and didn't take it. We aren't sure, but we think it may be the fact that unlike every other organization, NADAC's contacts don't have slats, so it looks and feels different.

The third and forth runs were both regular runs, and the weave poles continued to be an issue, as did the A Frame. Also, Lucy's frustration level kept going up and she was paying increasingly less attention to Tigs as the day progressed. By the second regular run Lucy wasn't listening at all and was just doing her own thing. So we scratched her from the last run.

Things afoot

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:57:21 GMT

Ok, last post on the D&D books for a while. Why? Because they are completely out of stock, and at this point are not scheduled to be back in stock and shipped to me until July 3rd. Yup, a month from now. All because I ordered the 3 books in the gift set with the nice slip cover. Had I ordered the books individually without the slip cover I would have had them probably on Monday. At this point though, looking at my calendar, the July 3rd ship date means I'll get the books (theoretically) just as I'm finishing up my summer class. So the timing works out kind of nicely for that. I'm disappointed, but this really gives me the time and incentive to focus on my accounting class.

Speaking of, tonight is the first test for the class. In preparation for that, I took my notes and the book to the library last night for some focused studying. I read the chapters, did some problems, checked the answers, and then reread the sections that I screwed up. And while I was there I also checked the library catalog to see if they had the new D&D books.

They didn't.

What? You thought I wouldn't look!!

tigergladys pointed something important out to me the other night after reading my post. We already have the paint for the hallway. It's the same paint we've been using for the closets. So, I guess that answers the question of what's next!! :-)

Of course the next question is when that'll happen. Chances are it's going to be the weekend after next when there will be some real time to devote to it. Until then we'll prep the area; get it cleaned out, wash down the walls, and tape it up.

This weekend is the NADAC agility trial, the one which Tigs is the secretary for. One of the events we are running Lucy in is a weavers course. Now, mind you, Lucy is only so-so with weave poles. Sometimes she gets it perfectly, most of the time she doesn't. But it's also a fairly advanced skill to learn, and we hadn't really been focusing on it. That is until Tigs thought about the fact that we are entered in a weavers course this weekend. Thus began "Weaving Boot Camp" week. Practising 3 or 4 times a day for about 5 minutes each (sometimes longer) is really paying off. We'll see how it goes this weekend.

It's still hot out, and I still don't have my D&D books

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:01:32 GMT

muskrat_john is currently dealing with a flooded basement, and has suffered some losses to his graphic novel collection (hardcover 300 and Girl Genius vol. 1). From this loss he posed this question:

What games or trade paperbacks would you grab first, if you only had a few minutes?

I'm presuming that basic necessities are taken care of here. That said I'd probably grab the 3 core D&D books. I'd think about some of the warhammer stuff, but they take up too much space. Plus then I'd want to bring my paints and stuff … too much. As for books, I would probably grab something I haven't read yet, and something I have read a number of times. Maybe the Chronicles of Narnia?

Last night before agility class I touched up the paint in the dining room. I took care of the inevitable spots where the tape pulled up some of the paint, or didn't keep the trim paint out, or a spot that just didn't get enough coverage. It was kind of hot detail work in generally uncomfortable places (along the baseboard, in the corners, etc.) but it didn't take too long. After I finished that I went up to Trader Joes for some needed groceries, and then we went to class.

Agility went pretty well. The buildings air conditioner kept things tolerable, but it was still warm. Were focusing pretty heavily on weave poles right now because I'll be running Lucy in the Weavers class this weekend, and she doesn't really have them down yet. Aside from that we had a bit of a hiccup with the dog walk. I think this is due to a combination of factors, including the fact that the ramp is warped, and she slipped off of it during the walk for the animals demo. We'll see how it goes.

When we got home tigergladys went and watered her gardens while I took down the x-pen in the dining room. We then swiffered the floor, put down the rug, and took the dining room table from the living room (removing our one and only zombie barricade) and brought the chairs up from the basement. We even put in both of the leaves to the table, which means we can put all 4 chairs under the table without them sticking out several inches each.

After that was all set I pulled out the drill and installed the window shades. We had to get ones that are a little too long, which isn't too big a deal, as they can be shortened (in spite of what the twit at Home Depot said). However one of the ones I put up was actually too short! Somehow it was either mispackaged or mislabeled. This is also not a big deal because it is the right size for the blue/craft room windows.

This is the first room in the house that really looks done. While we've done the bedroom and the library, there is still a ton of clutter in each of them. The library has mismatched shelves, and the books aren't in any order. The bedroom has all the fragile stuff in it, mostly all boxed. The dining room however looks done. Sure, we still have to hang pictures, and put the books on the dining room shelves, but it's not cluttered or messy.

Next up is either the hallway or the living room. The living room is going to be a major pain. MAJOR. So it might just be better to hold off on that till we can devote some serious time to getting it done. It's probably a weeks worth of work to get it done, and unless we take time off of work to do it, it'll probably consume a whole bunch of evenings plus a couple of weekends. And of course during that time the living room will be rather unlivable. Probably more of a July project, when I'm done with my accounting class.

Amazon still says that my D&D books are due to ship today, but the internet says that it probably wont ship till next week.

Not that I'd have any/much time to read them anyway. *sigh*

Skill check - customer service

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:03:18 GMT

According to Amazon my D&D books still haven't shipped, but that I should expect them tomorrow.

Books 6-10

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:23:28 GMT

Mike Nelson's Death Rat
By Michael J. Nelson
Cute little story, great read for lunch.

The Man Who Ate Everything
By Jeffery Steingarten
A poor lunch time read because he talks about all these wonderful foods, and I was eating PB&Js.

Homegrown Democrat
By Garrison Keillor
Every reason we need to and should elect Obama this year.

Poison Study
By Maria V. Snyder
Wow. Seriously wow. I could not put this book down, and stayed up way too late to read it. I can't wait to dive into the next one!!

Star Trek Q&A
By Keith R. A. DeCandido
Much much better then Resistance. I also stayed up way too late reading this one.

Summertime!

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:04:10 GMT

I started mowing the lawn at 7:30. By 8 I had pretty much finished the front yard and was completely soaked in sweat. I immediately took a cold shower, and have started the laundry. There is probably about 3 loads worth to do.

Once I finish my coffee I'm going to go do a sink load of dishes, and then do a little painting. It's already 80+ degrees out. Today's high is 93...ug...

Well, darn...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:59:03 GMT

First off a slightly belated Happy Birthday to tritoochietops

Plans for tonight:
Continue painting trim in dining room
Paint second coat in bedroom closet, and in hall closet, and maybe in library closet
Paint shelves for the closets.

Not plans for tonight:
Reading the new D&D rule books - In spite of the fact that I preordered them and they were released today, Amazon didn't feel they needed to get them to me today. In fact, Amazon doesn't think that I'll need them till Tuesday.

I’d like to get as much painting done tonight as possible that way over the weekend while it’s dreadfully hot I can hide in the shade and move as little as possible.

This month’s First Saturday theme in Frederick is “I ART Downtown Frederick” Not nearly as exciting as it was when it was Literacy month and they had all those tables of books. Since Tigergladys has to work a half day, and we won’t want to be walking Frederick during the worst heat of the day, we’re probably going to be making a somewhat later trip then we usually do. This isn’t as big a deal in June as it is in November because the sun doesn’t set till much later.

1. What's your weather?
Hot & humid

2. Where are you on your way to?
My CPA license

3. Are you good with directions?
Somewhat

4. Do you know your neighbors?
Not yet

5. What do you smell?
Not much

6. When was the last time you had your hands in dirt?
A week ago?

7. When was the last time you had your hands in clay?
Same time as the dirt. Depends where you dig in our yard.

8. When was the last time you had your feet in mud?
A very long time ago.

9. When was the last time you had your feet in sand?
3 years ago? Maybe 4

10. What part of your life could use a serious cleansing?
The house, my desk at work

Bold the ones you’ve done!

01. Bought everyone in the pub adrink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside theGreat Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula.
07. Taken acandlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meantit
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungeejumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm atsea The storm was at sea, I was on the beach
14. Stayed upall night long, and watch the sun rise
15. Seen the NorthernLights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked thestairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa – it was closed
18.Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Touched a glacier
20.Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22.Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23. Watched a meteorshower
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more thanyou can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night skythrough a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at theworst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on awinning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

31. Asked out a stranger
32. Hada snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the officephotocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35.Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken amidnight skinny dip
38. Taken an ice cold bath
39. Had ameaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a totaleclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43.Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44. Danced like afool and not cared who was looking
45. Adopted an accent for anentire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47.Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48.Had two hard drives for your computer
49. Visited all 50states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care ofsomeone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be trulysatisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with astranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56.Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken aroad-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreigngovernment's official in that country to avoid notice
61.Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. VisitedIreland
64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually inlove
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had ameal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Bench-pressed your ownweight - and then some – with my legs
68. Milked acow
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be asuperhero
71. Sung karaoke
72. Lounged around in bed allday
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scubadiving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by MarvinGaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78.Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theater
80. Donesomething you should regret, but don't regret it
81. Visitedthe Great Wall of China
82. Discovered that someone who's notsupposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog.
83.Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started abusiness
85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
86.Toured ancient sites
87. Taken a martial arts class
88.Sword fought for the honor of a woman
89. Played D&D for morethan 6 hours straight
90. Gotten married
91. Been in amovie
92. Crashed a party
93. Loved someone you shouldn'thave
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95.Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without foodfor 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won firstprize in a costume contest – Well, actually it was Lucy thatwon…

100. Ridden a gondola in Venice –skipped it to walk around Venice, which was more interesting
101.Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials canturn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been ontelevision news programs as an "expert"
105. Gotflowers for no reason
106. Masturbated in a public place
107.Got so drunk you don't remember anything
108. Been addicted tosome form of illegal drug
109. Performed on stage
110.Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113.Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. SeenSiouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combatzone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
119. Shavedor waxed your pubic hair off
120. Been on a cruise ship
121.Spoken more than one language fluently
122. Gotten into a fightwhile attempting to defend someone
123. Bounced a check
124.Performed in Rocky Horror..
125. Read - and understood - yourcredit report
126. Raised children.
127. Recently boughtand played with a favorite childhood toy.
128. Followed yourfavorite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your ownconstellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in aforeign country
131. Found out something significant that yourancestors did
132. Called or written your Congress person
133.Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134....more than once?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136.Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone waslooking
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138.Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn'thave survived.
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141.Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having aflashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted astingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animalgive birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Wonmoney on a T.V. game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed ahuman being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden amotorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greaterthan 100 mph – I actually got the Kia up to about 105 up inVermont. It was going down a very large hill.
154. Had a bodypart of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun,or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157.Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on amoving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to thebottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight:takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hoursover the course of 48 hours
164. Visited more foreign countriesthan U.S. states
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken acanoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroomeat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169.Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had yourpicture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romanticrelationships for over a year in your lifetime
173. Changedsomeone's mind about something you care deeply about
174.Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name -
178. Petteda cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes.
180. ReadThe Iliad
181. Selected one "important" author whoyou missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant andstolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment neededthem
183. ...and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you didit so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taughtyourself an art from scratch
185. Killed and prepared ananimal for eating
186. Apologized to someone years afterinflicting the hurt
187. Skipped your school reunions
188.Communicated with someone without sharing a common spokenlanguage
189. Been elected to public office
190. Writtenyour own computer language
191. Thought to yourself that you'reliving your dream
192. Had to put someone you love intohospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Soldyour own artwork to someone who didn't know you – terrain onebay
195. Had a booth at a street fair
196: Dyed yourhair - Halloween
197: Been a DJ
198: Found out someone wasgoing to dump you via LiveJournal
199: Written your own roleplaying game – it wasn’t very good
200: Beenarrested.

69/200

Quick update before class

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:30:23 GMT

I'm feeling a whole lot better then I was at the beginning of the week. I still have a little bit of a cough that creeps up on me now and again, but aside from that, I'm good to go!

School - started Advanced Accounting 1, terrible first class, but it can only improve. Oh, and I finished Intermediate 2 and Advanced 2 with A's.

Tomorrow the D&D core books should arrive. I am unreasonably excited about this. I also have a gaming day planned with my cousins in a couple of weeks. We're going to be playing some Lord of the Rings, but we haven't picked the scenarios yet. Need to do that so we can pull together our army lists.

I'm going to be interested in seeing what comes out of the Obama camp now that the primary season is over. Clinton would be a bad choice for the VP slot, but at the same time she needs to be asked. I think she would make a good Secretary of State, but I don't really know what she wants (aside from the presidency, which she isn't going to get).

It looks like summer is going to arrive this weekend. Highs in the 90's, and staying there for the foreseeable future. We get to see how cool the house stays. Even in the 80's the house isn't bad, and the basement is great.

Off to class!

Home Sick

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:49:05 GMT

I've been home sick today.

Read the D&D adventure that I bought, along with the most recent White Dwarf. Napped. Played with Lucy. Sat outside. Drank tea. Took cold medicine. Read the internet (not all of it). Talked briefly with morons at Comcast. Twice.

Back to work tomorrow.

Post-Balticon update

Sat, 31 May 2008 21:07:15 GMT

This was a very different Balticon from any that tigergladys and I have attended before. For one thing, we only attended on Saturday and Sunday. We both had to work on Friday, and there wasn't anything all that interesting going on either Friday evening, or Monday, so we just didn't go.

We also didn't volunteer at all. Usually we'll do at least enough time for the free t-shirt but not this year. I felt a little bad about that, because I know how much work goes into running a con, but I just didn't have the energy to do it. Next year, I promise!

Ok, onto the good! The masquerade and the film festival were both better then last year. A whopping 32 entries in the masquerade (only a couple of which were merely a pair of fairy wings or ears and a tail) and then a whole bunch of movies the worst of which was merely bad (as compared to last years worst agonizingly bad 2 hour long "short" film).

All of the panels we attended were full, and then some. Seeing people sitting on the floor was common. There also seemed to be far fewer conflicts in the schedule this year. I'm not sure how much of that was good luck and how much was good scheduling, but either way, it was good! The con suite also seemed to be better stocked this year, and the coffee was decent. The art gallery had some familiar stuff, but also some neat new things.

The less good has to be the gaming side of things. There weren't really any scheduled games, and there didn't seem to be all that many panels with a gaming theme. With D&D 4th edition and 40K 5th edition both coming out this year I'd have thought there would be something to talk about. I was disappointed.

Because I was so disappointed I went ahead and caved to the temptation of the first D&D 4th edition adventure (with quick start rules) that was for sale in the dealers room. I've finished reading the players guide (only about 15 pages or so) and have started reading the adventure. So far I'm relatively impressed with the new rules that I've read so far, and have actually gone ahead and pre-ordered the D&D4e boxed gift set with the 3 core rule books.

Games of my life

Sat, 17 May 2008 01:30:38 GMT

In my previous Goml post I wrote about Kings Quest 3, and how it was one of my first games. I always got stuck at one point in the game where it came time to cast some of the spells. You see, some of the guidebooks had the spells written down incorrectly, and if you type the spell in the game incorrectly, you die. Anyway, it's been out of print for a long while now, and unless you had a really old computer you couldn't play it even if you found a copy.

Last night Tigs and I went to Target to get a couple of odds and ends, and as we passed an end rack with a couple of clearance computer games Virginia paused and pointed and my eyes were immediately drawn to a very pretty box. It was a compilation of all of the Warhammer 40K Dawn of War games! (Ha! You thought I was going to say Kings Quest!) And right next to it was a compilation of the first 7 Kings Quest Games (which was what she was actually pointing at)!!!!

No, I didn't get both. Wanted to, but I realized that I barely have any time to play games as it is, and the Kings Quest set comes with 7 games!!

After we got home, I loaded it all up, and then clicked KQ3. The screen went black… and then popped back to the deck top after about 20 seconds. It turns out it needed a couple of patches to make it work, so I downloaded them, and restarted the game. I played for about 12 minutes before I died. It's amazing how much I remember. I spent way more time obsessing about this game when I was 10 then I needed to, probably because I got stuck. I'm so thrilled I can finally beat that damn wizard!

1. What's your favourite TV network?
Netflix

2. If you could create your own channel, what would it be?
A mix of scifi, history/documentary, foreign and independent films, and home improvement shows.

3. What TV show did you watch as a child, that you wish they would bring back?
Star Trek The Next Generation

4. What show have you always hated, and wonder why they ever made such a dumb show?
Soap Operas

5. What TV show's seasons would you buy on DVD?
Heh. Lots of them!!

6. Are you a good worker?
I can be.

7. What do you carry?
Years of experience, less hair, my wallet, cell phone, and keys

8. Do you know your neighbors?
Not yet.

9. Where do you like to go for a day trip?
Hiking.

10. What is at your feet?
My backpack

11. What makes you feel old?
Everyone telling me I'm old.

12. What makes you feel young?
Sticking my tongue out at them!

13. What was better when you were allowed to do it the old way?
Summers (when it actually meant time off)

14. What's better now that you do it the new way?
Driving to work, I don't use the beltway anymore!

15. What's something you are old school about?
Video/computer games

Let the world burn!

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:37:01 GMT

So you know I have a miniature habit. It's a pewter monkey that get's heavier with every new release by every company that looks cool. Every once in a while, when its claws dig in a little deep, I give it a small sacrifice to ease it up a bit. The most recent sacrifice was the new Chaos Codex for Warhammer 40K. Mind you, when I say "new" what I really mean is it came out 8 months ago, and I was both annoyed at the reported changes, and gearing up to buy a house plus taking classes so kinda busy.

I'm still not thrilled with the changes. My very characterful (though often not that successful) army is going to need some tweaking to make playable again. Some of these tweaks will require converting some figures, which is kind of ok, as I wanted to make some changes anyway, and some will just require refiguring how my guys are organized within the army.

Of course this is all rather theoretical, as all of the painting and converting I'm doing right now is on the house. I'm hoping that by the time I finish my summer class (July 10) that all the painting in the house will be done, and that I can do some gaming stuff over the following 7 weeks before I start my fall classes. Is it doable? Maybe. We'll see.

Now I'm off to go take a final.

You've got to earn it

Wed, 14 May 2008 01:59:09 GMT

I heard back from that finance job I applied for. No go. There have been a number of applicants who have years worth of experience in that position already, so I was basically told to try again later, when I have more experience. *sigh*

I've noticed online and on the radio people talking about the Democratic primary, and how die-hard Obama supporters feel that Clinton should just get out of the race, and stop hurting the party. I don't get that. How is the party hurt by her running in a primary that has not yet been decided? Was North Carolina hurt by the election? How about Indiana? Are the people of West Virginia hurt by her running? I don't think they are. States that usually have no say in the primaries, which get no campaign attention or money, are getting it now! Sure it's only for a week or two, but for that time states are getting visited by busloads of reporters, campaign helpers, security details, all who buy food, rent hotel rooms, and bring an infusion of cash and excitement to what is usually by this point a wrapped up primary.

Oh, and have you noticed how McCain isn't getting all that much attention right now? Tell me how that's a bad thing!

Is Hilary going to win? No, not unless something really drastic happens. Does that mean she should quit? No. If Obama is going to be president, then he needs to earn it, and according to the delegate count, he hasn't done that yet. When he does the Democratic Party will rally around him, and in January we'll swear him in as the new President of the United States. Until then he has to keep working on earning it.

So stop whining, and let the rest of the country have their say.

Where does it all go?!?

Mon, 12 May 2008 22:53:42 GMT

When you move from 900 square feet of living space into almost 1300 square feet of living space, you would presume that everything would fit, and then some. When you add over 600 square feet of basement storage space, you figure there isn't any way that all your stuff doesn't fit. My friend, you would be wrong. But then all of our stuff has been in boxes, and boxed items always take up more space.

Sunday afternoon, since it was raining and I couldn't paint, I went up into the blue room (which is being used for storage) to reorganize everything. Actually, that's a lie. It was never organized, but it was structured so that you could at least walk around the stuff. Over the last week or so we've been unpacking it, and in the process it had gotten to the point where you really couldn't walk into or around the room. I spent about an hour in there, sorting boxes into piles, and freeing up space in the middle so we can access all the piles. You might not believe it, but we've actually made progress!

Prior to that tigergladys and I went to the Farmers Market in Baltimore, then to Ikea, where we had to wait an extra hour because their flyer lied about what time they opened. So while we waited we read the Sunday paper (having thoughtfully decided to bring it with us). After returning home, when Tigs and Lucy went off to track I mowed the front lawn, and prepped the garden for 2 more plants. While it wasn't the most productive day, it was pretty relaxing.

Plans for this week include painting the trim in the dining room (we're supposed to get a couple of warm sunny days in a row) finals for my accounting classes, and then there's the USDAA trial this weekend. Lucy isn't entered this time, so I am just going to help out.

A ruined city in my basement

Sat, 10 May 2008 02:45:25 GMT

I received the first 2 seasons of Enterprise for my birthday from Tigs. We also got season 3 of Stargate from DVDswap still in it's shrink-wrap. It even had a Wal-Mart sticker on it. The swapper said they just didn't have time to watch it. I'm wondering if it was acquired illegally? However I can't seem to drum up any indignation that someone may have stolen it from Wal-Mart.

1. What's one of the nicest things a friend has ever done for you?

Probably the going away party that Eric set up for me was the nicest.

2. What's one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for you?

There have been so many little things.... :-)

3. What is a trait in another person that you instantly admire, and that draws you to them?

If they're big readers it usually gives me something to talk about with them.

4. What is a trait in another person that instantly repels you, and prevents you from forming a close relationship with them?

Being a smoker tends to repel me pretty quickly.

5. Time to vent: tell us about something rotten someone has done to you.

When our ex-neighbors urinated on my car... twice.

6. Describe where you grew up:

I grew up in Lancaster City PA, right next to F&M College.

7. Do you wear any jewelry?

Not currently, but I've worn rings in the past.

8. What do you have too much of?

Things to do, I have way too much of that.

9. Who is a fool?

Everyone sometimes.

10. What's your nickname?

DM – for either Dungeon Master or DavidMonster

11. How do you feel about spicy food?

I think spicy food is yummy.

12. What kinds of condiments do you add to food in order to spice things up a bit?

Mustards

13. Not counting salt and pepper, what's your favorite flavor enhancer when cooking?

Mustard

14. What's the spiciest food you've ever eaten?

Thai I think…

15. In what way might some other aspect of your daily life be spiced up, and what's keeping that from happening right now?

For the moment I actually like my spice pretty well confined to my food. Right now I've got enough other things going on that spice in my life would just give me heart burn.

16. If you knew that you had only one day left to live, what would you do for the 24 hours?

I’d start the day by making breakfast (everyone’s favorites) then I’d go for a hike with Tigs and Lucy, and have a picnic lunch with them. Then take Virginia out to dinner, something nice and romantic, maybe on a sail boat in the Chesapeake.

17. Do you think that life has meaning?

It has all the meaning that you bring to it.

18. What was your favourite childhood toy/object, or some of your favourites?
(Remember childhood according to the United Nations is anywhere from 0-18 years, so this is a fairly broad span of time).

Joggy Lion

19. When you clasp your hands, do you put your right thumb over your left thumb, or your left thumb over your right thumb?

Left thumb over right

20. If you had to teach the most ignorant person on earth the most difficult thing you have ever learned, how would you go about doing it?

Slowly! I’d start with the basics and take it step by step, breaking it down into its smallest components.

So a new dishwasher installed will cost about $500. Well we don't have that right now, so we searched the internet for a cheaper solution.

I've found a game board that has just about everything I'm looking for. This looks more like a museum piece then a game board.

I want it

More then that, I want to build it!! And then game on it!

It never fails...

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:16:32 GMT

Sunday night while Virginia took a shower I was in the kitchen cooking bacon when I heard this strange noise, like a bit of grease splattering from a great height. This seemed odd as the bacon was in the oven. I didn't see anything odd with the bacon, or in the rest of the kitchen. So I didn't worry about it.

Then I heard it again, and again, and then I noticed a small puddle in the middle of the kitchen floor. Lucy was asleep in the living room, so I knew it wasn't her. As I watched, the puddle got hit by another drop of water. I looked up, and with increasing speed the water continued to drip down the side of the light on the kitchen fan. Fun hua?

I ran upstairs and got Virginia to wrap things up, and then pried off the access panel to the bathtub plumbing. It's not a big leak, but steady. It looks like it's not too hard to access, so hopefully it wont be too hard (or expensive) to fix. While we're at it we'll probably get the dishwasher taken care of too (I'm not sure I mentioned, but the dishwasher leaks into the basement).

Good news everybody!

It seems not so much a leak in the pipes as a leak where the fixtures come through the tiles. He said some caulking should do the trick. As for the dishwasher, it needs to be replaced. Ahh well. Win some, lose some.

Bit by bit

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:36:06 GMT

We officially moved into the house this past weekend. It took 2 trips with a 12' Penske truck, but it was done by about 2:30/3pm. We never would have gotten it all done if it wasn't for all the help we got, so a huge THANK YOU to Terence, raven296, Kim, Cory, and Alex. You've provided help, support, and friendship that's really made so much more possible then would otherwise be the case. So again, thank you!

Ok, so Wednesday the electrical work was taken care of. *thumbs up* We can now plug things in without having to use the 3-to-2 prong adaptors! Plus the service cable was replaced out back, so that worry is gone, and it's amazing how those 2 things have made such a big difference. Right now I need to continue to see significant progress being made, if only for my own sanity.

I painted the first coat on the trim in the library, and it's going to need a second coat. Even kilz primer couldn't cover that shade of pink! After that's done, there will be a little bit of touch up work, and then we can bring all the bookshelves in from the dining room. Conveniently that's the next painting project, and it should go quickly, since the walls and trim were already (4 shades of) white, and I've already done the ceiling. I don't have anything else pressing to do, so my goal is to get that all done. Two thing that might slow me down a bit are the taping, and waiting for paint to dry, but we'll see.

Last night I picked up my car from the shop. It actually drives noticeably better then it did when I dropped it off, though it is still doing that weird noise thing from the back tires sometimes when I first start driving.

I heard back about the job I applied for up at the central business office. I wasn't qualified for it, based on their experience requirement. However they had an other (lower level) job that they wanted to get me into which would have been fine just to get my foot in the door. Unfortunately it wouldn't have fulfilled the experience requirement for the CPA, and while I'm willing to make a lateral move, it needs to either pay me significantly more, or it needs to give me that experience.

There is a job at another hospital in the system in the finance department that would in theory both pay more and offer the experience I need. I've already submitted my resume for that.

1. How often do you listen to music?

Almost constantly.

2. Do you ever listen to the radio? What is your favorite station?

I generally listen to NPR news radio, NPR's local music station, and the local classic rock station.

3. How do you find new songs, albums, or artists to listen to?

Generally it'll be something that Tigs will turn me onto.

4. When was the last time you bought a CD? A digital music file?

I think the last time I bought a CD was when Tigs and I were scouting places to live in MD. I think it was a comedy CD… And I've never bought a digital music file.

5. Do you think any of the technologies and distribution methods mentioned above will still be around in ten years? Why or why not?

Yes. People have spent a lot of money of the technology, and while there will be new stuff, the stuff from today will still be around.