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Saturday, July 26th, 2008
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9:14 am - Good news, bad news
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The good news I found some bits of Race the Wind that I thought I'd lost, so I can work more on the later chapters. The bad news is that I'm going to have to renumber those later chapter because what I thought was going to take 1-2 chapters is in actuality going to take closer to 4-5 chapters. Er.
Still have written the bridging chapter(s) between what I've posted and the three later chapters I've written. I swear, I'm going to actually finish the story before I finish the middle chapters. And then it will be frustrating because none of the later chapters make sense without the middle chapters and I can't just go ahead and post them for comments. SIGH.
Life is hard.
current mood:  aggravated
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
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7:47 pm - Saga of the IRS: Interlude
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"Due to technical difficulties, your call cannot be answered at this time. Please call at another time. Thank you for calling the Internal Revenue Service." *click*
ARRRGGGGGHHHHH!
current mood: annoyed
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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1:13 pm - Thesis research is a go
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Looks like I'll be doing some of the field work for my thesis late next week. The grad student who didn't email me back for two week got brownie points back by offering me a place to stay (his parent's house) for the 2-3 days I'll be up there so I don't have to make a 5hr commute or try and find a hotel.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) miome and I have become addicted to Design Star from HGTV. Mostly because it's interesting to see what the people are going to come up with (I could never be a designer because I think a lot of the stuff they come up with is hideous) and even more fun to watch people have a melt down.
Finally, I cannot wait for the school year to start. When it does, I'll have a nice set schedule and will therefor write more. I know that sounds weird, but I write much more when my plans are not constantly changing. I've gotten some writing done this summer, but would have liked to have written more.
I may regret saying that when it comes time to get my thesis going. Sigh.
current mood:  working
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
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12:36 pm - Look! A metaphor!
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Imagine, if you will, that you use to rent an apartment. Now this wasn't just one apartment. Oh no. You rent about 10-15 apartments each month, spend about 30 minutes in each, and then wait around gleefully so you could do it all again. This took up a good chunk of the money you made as a teenager, but you did it anyway because you loved the apartments and wanted that 30 minutes of time in each apartment.
The only problem was the more you spent time in the apartments, the more you noticed the 100lb green chimpanzee or the 250lb orange lemur. As time went by, more and more of these primates showed up. You didn't know if anyone else noticed them, but you did. Eventually when the 300lb pink baboon showed up, you called it quits and vowed to never again rent apartments.
Years pass.
Eventually you notice an apartment. A nice apartment. Really nice. It has amenities you haven't seen in any other apartment. The lure is strong but you remember the primates. So you figure you'll just take a tour and make sure that nothing is hiding. You look under the bed, in the closet, open the cabinets, and check behind the shower curtain. Nothing. Awesome. You jump right in and for a year, everything is fine.
Then you come home one day to find an 800lb purple gorilla sitting in your living room. Peeved, you contact your rental agent. "What's up with the gorilla?"
"What gorilla?" he asks.
"The 800lb purple gorilla! It's in my living room. Fix this."
"Well, let me come over and take a look."
Rental agent comes over. He wanders around your apartment. The 800lb purple gorilla grunts at him. Then he turns to you and says, "There's no gorilla here."
"What? WHAT?!?! It's right there."
"I don't see any gorilla," he says again, giving you a worried look. "Are you sure you see this gorilla? Is there... any medication you might not have taken this morning?"
"Don't patronize me. I know a gorilla when I see one, and that is an 800lb purple gorilla."
Meanwhile, the gorilla has begun to eat your bread, smash your furniture, and leave poo everywhere. It doesn't seem to care that it's trashing everything in the nice apartment you started renting. That doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the 800lb purple gorilla, because really, how the hell are you going to stop that thing?
"Maybe..." the rental agent says, and you look at him desperately hoping that he finally sees the problem. "Maybe you've mistaken the violet couch for a gorilla."
"Violet couch?" There is no violet couch in your apartment. "What violet couch?"
"That one," he says, proudly gesturing towards the gorilla.
"That's not a couch. It's a 800lb purple gorilla."
"I agree that violet is an unusual color for a couch, but we're doing things differently. We're cutting edge and have a very detailed plan of where the decor is going. It all start with the violet couch to match the green curtains we've already put in."
You look at your curtains. They are cream. "There's no green curtains. There's no violet couch. The only thing there is the gorilla and it's destruction. There is poo everywhere.
"You're going to have to trust us on this. We've been in this business for many years. We know how to handle things."
"Handle things? Yeah, I've seen how you handle things and you want me to trust you? You won't even acknowledge the FUCKING GORILLA.
A sigh. "You'll see. Everything will come together when we're done redecorating.
Dear Marvel,
Your complete and total lack of respect for any canon you have devised? It's an 800lb purple gorilla. And it's full of shit. Don't try to convince the fans otherwise.
Hugs and kisses,
Tsaiko
current mood:  amused
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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8:17 am - SWEET JESUS ON A POGO STICK
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I finally agree to spend next week helping my internship do site visits for what I've been mapping and NOW you email me back saying that next week is when you'll be sampling the lakes for my project? After I email you two weeks ago about this?!?! ARGH!
Looks like I'll be doing some emailing back and forth today to get this settled. I have got to go out and sample these lakes for my thesis. Sigh...
current mood: aggravated
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, July 19th, 2008
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4:12 pm - Food and story
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miome and I went to one of the local farmer's markets today where we cleaned out their bruised tomato stash. This place usually has a box full of fruit that got bruises or is slightly damaged in transit, so they are half off. Seven pounds of tomatoes for $7. Miome then cut these up, added some white wine and bullion, and is letting them cook down in the crockpot right now. Tomorrow we shall have delicious marinara sauce.
Also, I'm working on the Desert Marriage story again. I've added some notes, wrote a bit of what will probably become a side story (which is currently tacked onto the end and will get moved to a separate document as soon as I have enough of it to justify one), and decided that I didn't like how it was starting in the middle of things. So I'm backing up a few scenes and am going to write the build-up to Osmond actually getting kidnapped. Might even back up even more in the story and write Amenan going through the ritual at the temple and talking about the kidnapping. I think that'll set up the whole story better.
Right now it looks like crud because of this, but I'll clean it up when I get what I need to done. Also added a line at the top with the date of when it was last updated since I realize Google Docs doesn't automatically tell people this information.
I think I'm also going to include an email in case people stumble across it and want to contact me.
I desperately want to write Nankah's story. I will remain strong and wait until I've got Osmond and Amenan's done. Or mostly done. Because really, I have the willpower of an eggplant.
current mood: working
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, July 18th, 2008
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7:07 pm - Saga of the IRS: The plot thickens!
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Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3
Yesterday I got a letter from my bank with a copy of the tax check in it. First off, I did indeed make it out the US Treasury. Second, it was cashed on March 31st. Third, it was cashed in the correct town at... Bank of America? WTF? At this point BoA better hope that the IRS has an account with them or they are going to be explaining to Uncle Sam why they cashed a check made out to the US Treasury for someone else.
I should call the IRS tonight, but my brain is fried. It'll have to be Monday. Still at least now I have routing information from when the check was cashed (although I can't read the endorsement on the back because its a stamp and the copy I have is piss poor). I'm going to give that to the IRS and see what they have to say.
At this rate, I'll get my extra $30 back in about six months. -_-
current mood: aggravated
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9:17 am - o_O
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| Thursday, July 17th, 2008
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7:23 pm - Gardening babble
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Today I pruned the Cherokee purple tomato plant so it will hopefully produce more fruit. To be honest, I didn't realize I needed to prune it. I'm so use to growing determinate varieties (like my roma) that I didn't realize that the Cherokee purple was an indetermine variety that would benefit from pruning. Live and learn.
The roma is producing has about a dozen or so tomatoes on it right now. The first batch of four should be ready in another week or so. The others will ripen over the next month. I haven't lost a single fruit to blossom end rot, which is caused by calcium deficiency . Last year, I lost about half my crop to it. I managed this by finally finding tomato specific fertilizer which was actually tomato specific. You'd be amazed at the number of fertilizers promoted as being "for tomatoes" that have excessive amounts of nitrogen and little calcium. Never mind that calcium deficiency is one of the bigger problems with tomato plants.
I've got four tomatoes on the Cherokee purple. It's probably not going to produce as much fruit as the roma, but it'll produce fruit much longer than the roma. Maybe. Summers are shorter here in Indiana than in North Carolina. My roma was producing tomatoes up till the first frost last year. Then again, I also started it late. This year I started it early indoors. We'll see how that works out.
I'm going to record how much each plant produces in the lovely gardening diary miome gave me. Then I can decide next year whether to grow both kinds again or stick to one.
I'm so looking forward to my first harvest!
current mood: excited
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1:11 pm - Ranty McRanty pants
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Okay boys and girls, gather round. We're going to have an impromptu lesson about street addresses in the United States. Do you know what the components of a street address? Let me show you.
1313 Mockingbird Lane
^ ^
House number Street Name
Now I want you to focus on those numbers at the beginning of that address. Do you see that? That is what's called a house number. You don't need to actually be a house to have one. Businesses, parks, hell even empty lots all have one. The second part is the street name.
Why is this so important? Because if you don't give the house number it is impossible to find the damn location of a place with GIS. Do you realize how many damn green areas that may or may not be parks you can have along a street? I'll tell you how many. FUCKING LOTS. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGURE OUT WHICH PATCH OF TREES IN YOUR TOWN PWECIOUS CENTENNIAL PARK IF YOU DO NOT GIVE ME A FUCKING CORRECT STREET ADDRESS?!?!
I feel better now.
current mood: aggravated
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
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10:28 am - Sam and Dean in Indiana?
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miome and I were at the hospital cafeteria for lunch a couple weeks ago. We had just sat down at a table when the intercom system came on.
"Would the owners of the black Impala parked in front of the hospital please move your vehicle? You are blocking an entrance. Would the owners of a black Impala please move your vehicle. You are blocking the entrance."
Cue us cracking up.
current mood: amused
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, July 14th, 2008
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9:06 pm - The Guessing Game
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| Sunday, July 13th, 2008
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12:55 pm - Kitties are displeased
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One of the things about our cats is they suffer from an excess of ear wax. It builds up really bad in their ears, makes them really cruddy looking, and irritates the cats, especially Nadia, who spends a large amount of time scratching and messing with her ears.
This isn't good because excessive scratching can cause blood vessels to burst in the ear at which point the ear blows up to three times it's normal size because of the blood pooling in it (I believe the technical term is hematoma). You then wind up taking the cat to the vet to get it drained, at which point their ear crumples and stays crumpled. I've had this happen with two cats who suffered from continual ear mite problems.
Our previous vet suggested cleaning their ears twice a week with mineral oil on a cotton ball. As you can imagine, the cats loved this. Not. I eventually stopped because it didn't seem to be stopping the build-up at all, the cats messed with their ears even more afterwards, and the whole procedure stressed the kitties out. When we went to the new vet a few weeks ago, I mentioned the problem. She prescribed a cleaning solution that would soften the wax, wouldn't be as greasy as the mineral oil, and would get farther into the ears where there was a problem.
I've been using that for the last couple of weeks and it is so much easier. I still have to wipe the ears out with a cotton ball, which the cats hate, but I can tell this irritates them less. Instead of bolting and hiding for an hour, both cats with trot about 4 feet away from me, sit down, and start grooming themselves. Heck, they'll even let me approach them and pet them afterwards. They don't mess with their ears nearly as much and it's much easier to catch them to do this.
Doesn't make them any happier about the whole thing. I am a terrible person for putting stuff in their ears and they let me know it.
current mood:  okay
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8:50 am - Wanted: black kitten and spiderman mask
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velithya is writing a truly hilarious fic involving Tony Stark be transformed into a kitten over on the Captain America/Ironman community (part 1 |part 2 |part 3 |part 4). There's only one more part left.
I now really, really want a small black kitten and a spiderman mask so I can take a picture and make a cat macro just like the one in the story.
current mood: amused
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, July 11th, 2008
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1:35 pm - I'm glad I'm at home
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They've started shutting buildings down on campus due to excessive heat and the lack of air conditioning. At this point they don't even had an estimated time of when they'll restore service. I am really glad I'm at home with my working AC and my kitties.
Also, I've had three emails from my internship asking me about a variety of issues. Sigh. Why is it always on Friday they decide to play with these files as opposed to Thursday when I'm actually on site and can answer their questions in person?
current mood:  contemplative
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(comment on this)
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9:49 am - The childbirth song
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Every time I listen to this I crack up. It's the Childbirth Song. NSFW because of minor language.
Favorite line? When you can poo a watermelon, I'll agree.
current mood: amused
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(comment on this)
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7:11 am
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AC is still out on campus, meaning miome and I are staying home today because she said yesterday was miserable.
I got dressed for nothing. -_-
current mood: annoyed
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, July 10th, 2008
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6:43 pm - Kind of glad for that commute
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Today is one of the days I drive one & a half hours to my internship. It's not great, but it's doable. I was rather glad to make the drive today because some idiots were doing construction and accidentally hit the chilled water pipe that feeds all of campus. What this boils down to is there was no AC on campus all day long in the middle of summer.
From what I understand, it was sweltering in the buildings.
Also, there's been a slight glitch in my summer research. Seems that the DNR has decided to foist the collection of the plants off onto a graduate student. Meaning that if I want to go out and see for myself what's going on in some of the satellite photos, I have to coordinate with him. Add to this that my internship is making noises about me going up to Northern Indiana to help with getting data for their project, and the last half of summer just got busier. Sigh. I can't believe school start on August 20th.
At least this means that I get to play with one of the departments very nice GPS units. Technology is shiiiiiny.
current mood: okay
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
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3:04 pm - DAMMIT!
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| Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
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9:21 pm - Harem fragment, scene from hell
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shocked