Woah, that felt better than I expected. I was talking with macklinr about dreams and aspirations, and that got me to go on a tear about how my job's stress levels are driving me nuts. He reminded me that I pledged to myself last year that I'd pursue a side business of photography, probably starting with stock or product shots.
Well.
I got off my ass just now and posted an ad on craigslist. Once I got the text somewhat ok and put some of my product images from the few gigs I've had on there and clicked submit, something happened. The ball of tension I've been carrying around in my stomach for the last six weeks suddenly relaxed. Like, FURIOUS relaxation. I almost felt an audible click as the muscles relaxed. Holy shit. If I had known putting one ad with a few pictures for photographic services would FEEL so damn good, I would have done so ages ago.
You scored as Agnostic, Agnostics consider the possibility that they may be wrong about God's existence, no matter which side of the fence they stand on. Always willing to objectively evaluate the most ridiculous proof, nevertheless, these guys are skeptics of the Nth degree.
5 questions woofiegrrl has been participating in an interview thingy here on lj, and I asked her to send me five questions. Here they are. Also the answers. And some other stuff I typed. Like this, what you're reading now. Yeah.
1. When you were growing up on the East Coast, what was your perception of the West Coast, where you live now?
My perception of the west coast as a child and young adult was almost entirely formed by my consumption of mass media products. So, it was always sunny, warm, and full of strange men and loose women. Thanks, Three's Company/Pornography! (Strangely, this wasn't too far off the mark.)
2. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always used to tell people 'an architect', but that was mostly a dodge of an annoying adult question. I had NO clue what I wanted to do, and largely didn't care. This persisted up until my junior year of college, where I was forced to pick a major. I did what my dad did; I counted up my credits and declared the major I was most likely to finish, which was Russian and Soviet Studies. Not that I had some burning desire to be a translator or anything; I just thought a gig at the State Department's Russian Desk would be interesting and lucrative. Sadly, I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I just program computers for the money.
3. How much of the usual crassness we display on moo is really a part of your personality?
In word: all of it. I will say just about anything if I'm comfortable with my audience, or a majority of it. In deed: none of it. I'd never kill a baby, set someone on fire, intentionally infect them with AIDS, etc. I would (and have) play along with a rape fantasy, but only if explicity invited.
4. How old do you expect to be when you die, assuming freak accidents don't happen?
I used to figure mid-sixties, given my lifestyle. But, I quit smoking and almost never drink, so I think that may be off. Plus, my mom's side of the family is VERY long lived, and my dad, while adopted, shows longevity as well; he's pushing seventy and is healthy as a horse, in spite of several debilitating conditions (spasmotic torticullis, diabetes, etc). So maybe 75-80, if I'm fortunate.
5. If you had to move out of the United States (and all its territories) where would you choose to move to?
I've spent a lot of time thinking about that in the last six or so years. I'd probably move somewhere where there's a decent economy and a need for IT skills, so I could still work. A tropical climate would rule, but not many countries in that kind of place have a lot of need for professional geeks. I'd probably just wuss out and move to Canada.
Southern. Love it or hate it, your accent says you're probably from somewhere south of the Ohio River.
Midland. The Midland (please don't confuse with "Midwest") itself is the neutral zone between the North and South. But just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from there. Since it is considered a neutral, default, "non-regional" accent you could easily be from someplace without its own accent, like Florida, or a big city in the South like Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta.
taking a stab at the dream I've got a burr in my tailpipe about trying to make some money with photography. I've decided to start trying with stock photography. I've been building a light tent out of PVC with plans I found on the intartubes, and so far it's been working pretty well. I'm using my studio flash heads as primary lighting, with my lens mounted ring flash as fill. Here's an example of what I'm doing today.
The image is of some neat blue glass eyedropper bottles I found at our local hippie food co-op. I loved the color and picked up a handful, not knowing what I was going to use them for. I'm glad I finally found a use. :)
HDR breakdown I've been playing with high dynamic range digital photography lately. I've read that you can make an HDR image from both a composite of images with different EVs, or from one RAW formatted file. My FujiFilm S7000 can shoot in RAW format, so I tried it tonight, with a regular ole JPG of the same scene with the same settings for comparison.
Wow! You are truly a student of the Bible! Some of the questions were difficult, but they didn't slow you down! You know the books, the characters, the events . . . Very impressive!
You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause.
Memetastic If there is someone on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.
CPAP Journal I managed to get more sleep with the CPAP on last night. I definitely snored less, too. I think that most of the snoring issues from last night came from being still stuffed-up from the cold I had. I'm noticing something new, however - my nostrils can close and open on their own a few times a night. I was unaware of this before now. This morning, I woke myself up snoring, and both of my nostrils were half-closed. I think that not enough pressure was making it to my airway, so it was constricting. Like last time, the snoring wasn't that bad. I guess SOME pressure was making it down there.
I didn't get close to a full night's sleep, but I did get more than last night - maybe three or four hours with the mask on. I took it off once last night to adjust it and promptly fell asleep. I woke up holding the mask around 5am or so, and promptly put it back on.
Overall, I think I'm getting slightly more used to the mask every night I sleep with it. I trained myself to sleep with painful headgear when I was 12, so this should be a snap. :D
In other news, I had some pretty intense dreams last night, mostly about naughty, naughty things :) One person on my friendslist (who shall go nameless) featured briefly in the dream, wearing a very interesting outfit. 8D
*ADDENDUM 11:42 PM*
Lemme just say, I spent most of today actually energetic and totally awake. I haven't had a day like that in a long while. This is nice. :)
CPAP Journal Earlier this month, I was diagnosed with acute blocking sleep apnea. Basically, my throat constricts at night, cutting off my air supply. It means that I don't get much rest even when I sleep for a long period of time. It also impacts my heart and brain, potentially damaging both in the long run. Fortunately, there are several treatment options, one of them being a device called a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). This device is an air pump hooked to a nose cup, which is then strapped lightly to the patient's face. It forces air down the airway when the patient inhales, which keep it open, assuring constant breathing.
My doctor prescribed a CPAP for me, and I tried it for the first time last night. I'm using my LJ to keep track of how I feel each morning after using it, during this initial trial period.
The CPAP can be set to a variable level of pressure, measured in centimeters of water. During my initial sleep study, the CPAP they put me on was set to 6cm, so that's what they set my CPAP to when I picked it up. The pressure level can only be changed if my doctor prescribes it, and only by the technicians at the medical equipment manufacturer. (Fortunately for me, the manufacturer has a distribution center only a few miles away.)
I didn't get much sleep last night with it; having the mask strapped to my head was an odd sensation, and it kept me awake. I did get some sleep, mostly in small patches. I was woken several times by snoring, which the CPAP is supposed to eliminate. In all fairness, I am getting over a cold, and my throat was swollen from that and from coughing. This may be why I snored. I'm going to reserve judgment on whether or not to ask my doctor to increase the pressure, until after I am totally over this cold. My snoring usually is loud enough to wake the dead; the snoring I experienced last night was pretty mild in comparison. At any rate, the CPAP is at a very low level of pressure, it can go up to 40cm. If I have to go up a bit in pressure, it shouldn't be a big deal.
I think the air pressure forced some gunk back down my throat, causing me to have a huge coughing jag, on top of everything else. That wasn't fun.
All in all, I'd say I got maybe two hours of sleep total last night. But, I think they were good, deep sleep. I feel tired, but not exhausted. I am definitely rested, and less tired than I was when I fell asleep, which is an excellent sign. Hopefully the last of this gunk from my cold will be gone soon. I may take Tylenol PM tonight to dry me out, just as a test.
Wow, a quiz that's worth the time to fill it out. This is one of the few online quizzes I've taken that falls firmly in the 'worth a damn' category. Some interesting, thought provoking questions about morality and murder. It's not particularly gruesome, but the moral conundrums it describes are very interesting. here's how I did:
You scored as Nebuchadnezzar (from The Matrix). You can change the world around you. You have a strong will and a high technical aptitude. Now if only Agent Smith would quit beating up your friends.
Coming on December 1, 2005:
Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? The Sequel
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necanthrope's journal
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