This is what happens when I'm at home at 9:15pm on a Friday night blog (Originially titled "I'm sorry")

I hate to do this but I have to put the scrabble word verification for comments up. I've been getting a lot of spam comments lately. I don't want any of you to have to deal with them anymore than I want to. So you have to type the word. Still comment though. Or don't. I get the impression that many of you reading this have never commented. It's cool. I appreciate that. There are many blogs I read and don't make myself known. Anywho, sorry about making it more difficult, but ob-la-di, I'm sure you'll all get over it.

Side note: Love the haiku comments (example here). Don't ever stop, mysterious haiku poet hiding in the shadows of the internet. You're one of the reasons I'd never make approval needed for comments. The world needs your words and far be it from me to interfere.

Second side note: I'm deep into a sort of "retro" kick. Lots of Jawbreaker and Lifter (don't shun the myspace, it's still good for music). Reminds me of being 15, only different. I guess I can more see where the writers were coming from.

Third side note: Sorry for the recent lapse in service. It's been a few days. I feel like I lied to you. As a result I am going to launch myself out of a cannon into a steel orca. BUT only if you can acquire a cannon large enough to fit me into (I'm a big guy), you have a steel orca (I'm going to be very picky about this one) and you have a wide array of safety gear (again very picky). If you meet my standards I'm down. Hell, I'll even blog it.

"The only way out is through"

I was Enneagram'd on Wednesday by the amazingly talented and always pleasant MNom. It was interesting to say the least. For those of you who aren't familiar the Enneagram is a psychological profile. We didn't go through the entire test but I think that she was able to successfully identify my personality type: 9 - The Peacemaker.

The quick description of this is "The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent". Which can be me. Here's so more "highlights" of my personality type:

"They are usually creative, optimistic, and supportive, but can also be too willing to go along with others to keep the peace."
"no type is more devoted to the quest for internal and external peace for themselves and others. They are typically “spiritual seekers” who have a great yearning for connection with the cosmos, as well as with other people."
"When Nines are in balance with their Instinctive Center and its energy, however, they are like a great river, carrying everything along with it effortlessly."
"Ironically, therefore, the only type the Nine is not like is the Nine itself. Being a separate self, an individual who must assert herself against others, is terrifying to Nines."
"Nines tend to focus on the “bright side of life” so that their peace of mind will not be shaken. But rather than deny the dark side of life, what Nines must understand is that all of the perspectives presented by the other types are true, too. Nines must resist the urge to escape into “premature Buddhahood” or the “white light” of the Divine and away from the mundane world."

I thought for a while about it after I got home and the more I thought about it the more I thought it wasn't me. Then I read deeper. Now if I'm following this all correctly when you can be stressed, average or growth. As a 9 when I'm in a stressed environment I tend to regress to being more like a 3 - The Loyalist (The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious), which is totally true, well maybe not the responsible part.

When I'm trending towards growth I'm 3 - The Acheiver (The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious). There are definitely times in my life that this is the truth. I think I'm leaning more that direction at this juncture. At least I hope that I am.

However it's all pretty interesting. I'd be interested to hear what category everyone else falls into. Hit it up in the comments if you so desire.

Strange are the things we miss

Lately I've missed the smell of fermenting yeast. It's not the most pleasant of scents. Honestly at first it kind of repulsed me. But then I slowly grew to love it. How after an unfortunately yeast explosion how it would permeate through the entire house for a few days. Or how when going into the basement you couldn't escape it. Like bread gone sour.

I apologize this isn't the anime version

Had a few strange dreams last night. In one I was sitting in my neighbors apartment (which I've never been in) and there was a fire going. I was there with him, a lady friend of his and another woman. We were watching some kind of nature show. The conversation was awkward and forced at times, seeming that none of us really knew what to say to the other. He began flipping through and endless list of channels. There must have been thousands. This then agitated the other woman who abruptly said, "The Love Below is on, why don't we just watch that." This enraged him, "I'm not going to watch that shit on broadcast. And besides it's the shitty one. I only watch the anime version." I had no idea what they were talking about...

Then I was in a city of the future. Everything was damp and dark. There didn't seem to be any roads, just an endless maze of alleyways. The alleys never seemed to end, but would occasionally weave inside buildings. Much to my surprise Durango popped out from around a corner, "C'mon [Desomniac] we need to get going. I followed him through one of the buildings, losing sight of him for only a moment. I ran after him, but took a wrong stairwell. It led to a ledge, with no railing, over looking an alley. He was beneath me. I ran back down and caught up with him. After a while I asked where we were going and he replied, "Breckenshire, you'll know it when we get there." We never got there...

I'm going to close with a little treat that I found on Duh.Blog...

Apocalypse in the Boneyard (...from the vampire's point of view)

I've seen a couple of different shows and read a few books in my time that hypothesis what the world would be like if we humans all but disappeared. Everyones approach is different and has it's own merit. I think that at some point I might have to write a story along similar lines. When I do there is only one setting that it could take place: 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG).

AMARG is down in Arizona and is where they send decommissioned aircraft. It's also been called "The Boneyard." I can't think of a better place for a post-apocalyptic storyline.

Maybe about a soldier of fortune type guy who sets up his own little base at AMARG and kills anyone that he encounters until a nomadic family happens upon the installation and is so in awe of it that the dude spares their lives in exchange for a steady supply of food.

Or maybe mega fauna makes a come back in North America and the whole story is about how these mammoths gain intelligence and then inhabit the base, eventually discovering how to recommission the planes and from there take over the whole world.

Or maybe something from the vampires point of view.

I dunno. Here are some pics:

Kick it, Quit it, Kick it, Quit it

I didn't drink this weekend. Probably won't next. Might not drink till Easter, kind of a lent thing. Might not drink ever again. Who knows. Bars are strange when you're not drinking. Especially closing the Knarr sober. Spilled drinks, slurred words, open drugs deals. It was actually one of the most interesting things I've seen in a long time...

Started a bunch of seedlings yesterday. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with them, but I figured that worse case scenario I give them away. I still want to find some elderly individual who doesn't want to keep up their yard and would let me have a garden there in exchange for maintenance services. For some reason I doubt it's going to happen...

I have a serious problem. I'm addicted to the Olympics. It happened two years ago with Beijing, now it's Vancouver. I haven't watched anything not relating the Olympics since they started and I've been average about 3.5 hours of television a day. It's too much, but I can't stop. Luckily it's only another week and then I can get back to my regular routine. Scary part is that I don't remember what my regular routine is...
****I just had bullshit called on my about this section of the post. I have watched one thing unrelated to the Olympics - LOST!!! How could I have forgotten!! Can't wait for tomorrow's episode!!!! ****

An old co-worker just brought me back "Ghost in the Shell". I completely forgot that I owned that movie. Great flick. I might have to watch that soon. After the Olympics are over of course...

Finally got my mail from the post office. I hate the post office. They had me trekkin' all over Ballard. I don't understand why they leave me a note to pick up my mail at the post office when in actuality my mail is at the post office ANNEX. Wtf?...

I can't get enough of GSH. I think I'm going to have to roll by a used CD place and pick up a bunch of his albums. How have I gone so long without it?

"Me and the Devil"

I'm going to put together a post later with some more substance. It's been awhile. But for now here's a little Gil Scott-Heron off his new album. I've been very impressed with everything I've heard off of it so far...

Why should anyone have to clean their teeth without imported new ingredient!

Great find Jonny D

Olympics: A symbol of Fascism

I'm a fan of Olympic competition. I think it's amazing what the athletes are able to accomplish. They spend their whole lives training and struggling to become the best in the world. All for a chance to hear their national anthem played before the world and then return to their home country to crowds of people celebrating their success. It's all pretty amazing.

However I'm finding the American coverage of the winter events currently going on in Vancouver to be painful. It really sickens me the extent to which the games have fallen under corporate control. Now I'm not sure who's at fault so I guess I have to hold all parties accountable (NBC, IOC, etc)

NBC has the broadcasting rights for the Olympics. Now their first fault is airing the games with a 3 hours delay here in Washington state. We're just over 100 miles from where they're happening and have to wait for unnecessary delays because NBC has decided that they're only going to air events when most people will watch them. Now this wouldn't bother me so much if they were providing more complete coverage, however you'll be hard pressed to see anyone who isn't an American, Canadian or poised for a medal compete. The bias is infuriating.

I also don't understand why they are concerned about who my home cable provider is in order to watch live video over the internet. Their site is covered in advertising so why should it matter that I don't subscribe to Comcast Digital Cable. I have Comcast internet but apparently that's not enough.

There is one thing that the IOC could do to change this. Before Beijing 2008 we were able to watch the CBC broadcasts of the Olympics, but not any more. I think that in order to make as much coverage available as possible there should be no restrictions on which outlets you can watch the coverage regardless of your location.

Now I'm just ranting. I'll spare you anymore. Needless to say there are going to be some angry letters sent out.

In need of explanation

 

I found this while I was going through all the photos I'd taken on my old Blackberry. I want to know what led to this pic. It reminds me of the bus back from NYC.

Unintentionally Left Blank

I'm really pissed off about Olympics coverage. Beyond the time delay and haphazard coverage I hate that I can't watch it at work for some reason. I think that NBC is in some deal with Microsoft so it doesn't let me view anything through Chrome. I tried using Explorer, but it just crashes - go figure...

Went to the aquarium over the weekend. It was pretty cool. I was surprised to find a huge line to get in. The biggest down side to the whole thing is the screaming children everywhere. I think that the zoo and the aquarium should have an "adults night". I think that a lot of people would attend. Not everyone is into screaming children...

Sounds like Sen. Evan Bayh isn't going to be seeking re-election. Too bad. I always thought highly of him. He'd have been a good candidate to replace Harry Reid as Majority Leader...

I did something horrible, but I can't remember what I did. I feel really bad about it. I wish I could remember, either way it's time to reevaluate a few things...

Late Valentine

I guess I missed the Valentine's Day post. Oh well. I kind of missed Valentine's Day so it's only fitting. This however was too good to pass up.

DJ Shadow does Radiohead

2x4ster just brought this to my attention. I feel obligated to share it.

I can't explain anything about this picture, but something about it I like.

"My geode must be acknowledged"

"I'm weak with a heart from the Old Skool"

It's rare day that I go to wiki a band and they don't have an article. Rare as in this is the first time it's ever happened. I'm beyond words. I guess tomorrows mission is to start a wiki page for Lifter. Unfortunate there aren't any decent Youtube tracks that I can embed. But you can check out:

Headshot
The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red of Hate

I'm listening to this album as I post this. ...Red of Hate, just came on.

Don't everybody like the smell of gasoline?

I went outside of my building here at work and it reeked of gasoline. I can't say why just that it did. I figure the recycler is doing some shady nonsense. It reminded me of some of the "new to me" Outkast. Turns out that I didn't have the complete Stankonia album, but more just the interludes with a few of the actual tracks. I couldn't understand why everyone was so into that album. I think I'm finally starting to get it.

Lying in the reeds

This is a great video for "All I Need". They took video from the movie "Microcosmos" which works perfectly with this track. On a side note I can't wait for Life to debut. Loved everything about Planet Earth and hopefully Life will be just as good. I don't think that Oprah was the right choice, but I guess it's better than Mike Rowe.

Morning Transportation Wake Up Test

Good morning! I'm mostly just figuring out how to post pictures with my new phone. Bummer is it won't let me upload new ones. I'll bet I could load them to flickr first and do it that way but that's a pain in the ass.

The writings on the wall

While I search for the others

Last night I was searching for something. I don't know what but it led me to my old house in the valley. As I got there I found the door was already open as if it was waiting for me. Everything was as it was when I lived there. It was summer and the p patch was in full bloom along with the indoor garden.

I went upstairs to my old room expecting it to be the same and it wasn't. None of my belongings were there except and old dresser I didn't recognize filled with clothes that weren't mine but were in my size. I changed into a pair of shorts that in actuality I would never wear because they were more daisy dukes than shorts.

Uncomfortable in my new attire I returned to the lower level and found a note I'd missed initially, "search the neighbors and you'll find it". I went outside, it was cold but still bright as July, and walked across the street. The house looked like no one had lived there in 20 years. Where had the [Clarks] gone? I always expected they were there for life. I went next door to [Betsy]s house to find the same thing.

I walked out into the street and shouted, "does anyone still live here?" Some time passed before my old roommate appeared from the direction of the orchard. "Why did you come back?" He said in an unpleasant voice. "I'm looking for something," I replied. "Well you're not likely to find anything here. But since you are here you should at least have a cup of tea."

I followed him back in the direction he came from and went into a house not far away. The house was covered a large plastic tarp, similar to those used for fumigating. His girlfriend was in the kitchen boiling water and greated me only with a statement of my name. I took a seat in an old chair and he said, "so what are you looking for?" I thought for a little whille and replied, "the note said I'd find it if I went outside and looked for the neighbors. Where is everyone else?" He spat back quickly, "there is no one else."

theres a first for everything

First post from the new phone. Can't find a blogger app but this works all the same. Now I just need to figure out if I can do pictures.

Only some of these images are real

Last night while I was sleeping I saw a map. It was a large rectangular piece of wood raising in various places to suggest topography. There was one large ridge that crossed diagonally with two smaller ones extending from its sides almost like a cross. Some of the mountains seemed to drop off in massive cliffs while others slowly graded down to the edge of the map. A few rivers were indicated by blue lines the snaked through the lower elevations. One the map there were about half a dozen red dots, marking some kind of important locations. A few of them were clustered together, while the majority of them were spread out. I cannot remember the significance of the red dots or of the map itself...

I get a lot of strange comments nowadays. Part of me is starting to think that I'm going to have to moderate them, but I really don't want to have to do that. However it's kind of bullshit that I get a comment everyday on the same post in some asian language or people spam it up with links I'd never follow. There are some that I really enjoy though. Bah...

I'm getting my new phone today. I'm interested to see how it works out with blogging. I got the G1 so I'd have a keyboard. I'm hoping that it's really easy to add pics and things like that. We'll see...

Speaking of pictures, here is a few that I particularly enjoy...

I really...

Hope Wolf Parade reads my blog they're awesome.



..."with a stolen voice"

Triple Triple Zero

My desolate little corner of the internet

The analytics must be flawed

My deepest apologies to the people of Alaska and New Mexico. It has been brought to my attention that Leandra has been representing your fair states in viewership. I will not be placing either of you on "the list". Further more I take back anything that I said that may have been taken as offensive. I was wrong. I'll say it again: I WAS WRONG! I hope that this incident doesn't hamper any further progress between us.

As for the people of Wyoming you can all go screw yourselves with a rusted spinning wheel. You mean nothing to me.

Werewolves aren't of any concern to us anymore

I think that I may have experienced a mild traumatic brain injury last night. I bashed my head into a door and the force sent me backwards and I hit my head on the shower wall. I've been pretty out of it ever since. I'm afraid that whatever happened to me might negate any telepathic ability I've built up at this point...

You think it's alright?

I love this picture and everything that it represents:



You think it's alright?

Lets all take a moment to publicly shame the people of Alaska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Of all the states in our fine union they are the only ones who have never had a citizen stumble upon my blog. Now I understand that they're small states however I find it hard to believe that the number of people in Alaska with internet access is smaller than the number of people in Mozambique with access and they found my blog. I think this is just a big fail on their part. I've now decided that these people have had their chance and am going to be looking for a way to block my blog from the people of AK, NM and WY...

You think it's alright?

On the way to work this morning I was a bit confused and wandering to catch the 7. As I was walking along Jackson a woman rolled down her window and yelled at me, "Brandon!" I turned to look at her and when I did she cover face and sped away...

You think it's alright?



Can't you feel the knife?

Please continue to hold to maintain your priority sequence

I can't decide if I should re-pot my plant here at work. Part of me thinks that it would thrive even more if it had some more space. But it's continuing to grow new leaves, so I don't think that its terribly bound yet. Maybe soon. When I do re-pot it I'm going to plant it in a much larger pot. Right now it's in a 10" pot, when I move it I might use the 30" pot under my desk. It'd look a bit foolish at first, but if I'm going to encourage to grow as tall as I am it's going to need a lot more soil...

According to the groundhog we've got another six weeks of winter. I guess if that means six more weeks of weather like we've had for the last month I'm okay with that...

CP just made the comment: "pretty sure that Richard arrived on the island via the black rock. I'm guessing he was the captain". I think that he might be right. Can't wait for the premier tonight...

I've been taking a stroll down my memory lane of music today. Came across this little gem:

Tusk Talk: The Unicorn of the Sea

I was boning up on my tusk knowledge and ran across a rather prime piece of ivory. Turns out that Poland's Prime Minister answers to the name Tusk. A fine name for a fine fellow. I was going to make this whole post about him, but than I remembered the marvelous tusked creature, the narwhal.

If I'm ever mutated into some sort of whale I would most definitely choose the Narwhal. How majestic they are! They swim about the arctic seas in search of food without a care in the world, slicing through the water with their magnificent tusk. The tusk, which is actually an elongated tooth that grows through the lip, is most commonly found on males, however females have been known to sport the ivory as well. In some very rare cases they've also been known to grow double tusks! I'd spend all my days searching the seas for a double tusked beauty to bear my children in hopes that they too would be blessed.

At times they are known to engage in an act known as "tusking" where the males gather together and rub their tusks against each other. At first this may seem slightly homo-erotic but in truth its far from it. They do this in order to establish dominance over each other in order to ensure they are rewarded with the best female mate. Now if I were a narwhal I wouldn't rub my tusk up on another dudes. I'd more likely just lunge at him and hope that my tusk pierces my opponent in the heart or lungs. Survival of the fittest.

Aren't Narwhals grand? If not for the reasons stated above, than because they make a brief, but very satisfying, cameo in the hit song "Rock Lobster" by the B-52s.

Muppet Babies FTW!!!

Can we all take a moment to remember the Muppet Babies and how great it was?

We'll now be returning to regularly scheduled service

It's been four days. Sorry for the lapse in service. We're working with our contractors to ensure this sort of disruption doesn't happen in the future...

I'd like to start by giving a huge shout out to ElizaBeth for sponsoring me in the MS Walk. You're awesome!!!

I was ill last week. It wasn't very pleasant. Didn't go to work on Friday and then spent the rest of the weekend taking it real easy...

NESF and I are rewatching Lost Season 5. All we have left is the finale tonight and then tomorrow Season 6 begins. I can't wait. I've got all kinds of theories right now about what's going on. SPOILER ALERT!!! For instance I've convinced myself that the reason that some people are in the past and some in the present is Jacob. Jacobs dies at the end of the fifth season, but they also detonate the bomb. So I'm starting to think that while the nemesis is controlling everything in the present, Jacob is the one who's influencing events in the past, hence negating his own death and staying a step ahead of his nemesis. Anywho. I can't wait for the new season!!!

I do the Newsday and NYTimes crossword everyday. Monday's are by far the easiest day. Friday and Saturday it's unbelievably difficult to finish. It leads to my going back and forth as to whether or not I'm any good at them. Right now I feel like a master, ask me at the end of the week and I'll feel like a hack...

I watched what might be considered an unhealthy amount of CSPAN in the last 96 hours. I couldn't stop. Lost was the only thing that could tear me away. There was some good stuff though. The POTUS's soiree with congressional republicans was actually very interesting to watch as was the confirmation hearing of Bernanke and the questioning of Geithner about his involvement with AIG. So much going on...

I need to find a video of Pink's grammy performance. I hear it was out there. A colleague of mine told me about it, which led to my finding this pic:



And then this one:



Looks like it was pretty amazing...