Something That Happened.

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Thursday, September 11, 2003

Regrets...
I've had a few.
But then again,
Too few to mention!
--"My Way",
written by Paul Anka
When I hear that song, I think of Frank Sinatra, and sometimes Elvis or Sid Vicious -- all of whom have been known to perform, in their own unique manner, that wonderful song. Wonderful because -- though I don't always enjoy hearing it, I've heard it so much -- the song is a wonderful personal anthem. That's something we all need: a personal anthem. A song that praises our individuality; a mark of devotion to oneself. After all, they say you're going to have a helluva time loving anyone else unless you've first learned to love yourself, right?

This is not to replace your love for your God, or your spouse, or your family. I'm simply saying that we all need to give ourselves a bit more self-love at this time of year. (No, not that type of self-love !) Too many of us beat up on ourselves throughout the year, and then nearly destroy ourselves at year's end. No wonder there are so many suicides during the Holidays; the messages bombarding us are to Buy Buy Buy and to Give Give Give -- but what if you have nothing to give but love? If you have a dearth of that good stuff, then you'll have a bitch of a time spreading it around to your neighbors.

So be good to yourself, whether you're Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Athiest, Hindu, Islamic, Mormon, Podcastin, or otherwise. Don't take the pills, they won't do you or anyone else any good; you'll simply miss out on the Next Big Thing (which may turn out to be Your Next Big Thing). Just do things your own way, singing that little hymn as you do so:
For what is a man,
What has he got?
If not himself,
Then he has naught.
To say the things,
He truly feels,
And not the words,
Of one who kneels.
The record shows,
I took the blows
And did it my way!

Friday, July 29, 2005

"Please hold while we connect you to the next available representative..."

I have now been on a phonecall with Earthlink for over two hours, and I have yet to speak with a representative about my issue. I have been transferred from one department to another, at least ten times, maybe more, in the following order:
    From

  1. the Wireless Support line listed on Earthlink's Wireless homepage at (888) 304-2773

    2. to

  2. Wifi Sales at (888) 303-3843

    3. to

  3. Handheld Devices and Laptop Cards at (888) 304-2773

    4. back to

  4. Wifi Sales at (888) 303-3843

    5. to

  5. Earthlink's Main line (apparently) at (888) 327-8454

    6. to

  6. ??? at ??? (Perhaps I'm in the Twilight Zone at this point; the representative told me I could reach the Zone again by dialing [800] 890-5128)

    7. to

  7. Wireless Tech Support/Home Networking Dept. at (800) 895-0620

    8. to

  8. Wi-Fi Sales (again) at (888) 304-2773

    9. to

  9. W

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posted by Harold  7/29/2005 03:38:00 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Record-breaking heat in Los Angeles today; the newscast mentioned something about 1974 or 1976 being the previous record holder for the date of July the 20th. With no air conditioning, it was unlikely I was going to be staying in the oven all day, so it was out in the big house, where hardwood floors and multiple stories buffer the heat some. Also a few electric fans to produce a breeze. With my head in a borrowed computer programming book, I coded a few minor programs - the simple examples in the book - to resume my education in the programming arts.

The day passed swiftly, the girl reading Potter on the couch behind my armchair, me fighting off the nap induced by the heat, ultimately losing the battle. I slept, and it was good, until awakened by her voice, "Don't sleep, let's go to the pool..." The tiniest pang of resentment at being pulled from my comfortable laziness, then the struggle to get up - I wanted her to be happy, it's her day off.

What did you learn today? I learned how to write small programs again. Again? Yes, it was many years ago that I had my first taste of programming, at John M____'s house, using his Apple ][e (c?). So long ago...I must have been 11 or 12. Perhaps younger. Those were some of the best times, my Dungeons & Dragons days.
posted by Harold  7/21/2005 01:11:00 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

The feeling of entering a post via the Links browser using xterm on a very old PowerBook running Ubuntu, the Linux distribution...ah, to be geeky in 2005...the magic of learning how to transform a 1998 machine running an obsolete operating system into a 1998 machine running a modern OS, without performance issues...(well, as long as you stay in text mode until you get more RAM)...like suping up an old bug, my version of Herbie...learning how to compile...beginning self-study of C++...learning, yearning for knowledge, for the tools to build...space and rockets and shuttles to the moon...looking at the larger-than-usual Moon on a hot July evening...the sound of leftover fireworks in the distance, not far away at all...the neighbors chatting on the "porch"...having to pee but too shy or lazy to go outside and down the way to the restroom...watching the flashing lights of the Wi-Fi card, wondering whether it's going to pick up an open network...the girlfriend on the bed, reading Harry Potter's latest adventures...thoughts of mom, and sadness at the situation...recollections of the morning session with one who is paid to listen...a phrase, "The Dog Days of Summer" -- what does it mean again?...needing to pee real bad...licking the film on your teeth...ready to post...posting.
posted by Harold  7/19/2005 11:44:00 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Monday, July 18, 2005

The good news is that I've relocated my iRiver. The bad news is that I am unable to afford batteries. I still can't quite remember how to blog.
posted by Harold  7/18/2005 02:30:00 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Sunday, July 17, 2005

I may have misplaced my iRiver recorder.
posted by Harold  7/17/2005 10:54:00 PM | 0 Comments | Links to this post
I forgot how to blog.
posted by Harold  7/17/2005 11:26:00 AM | 0 Comments | Links to this post

Businesses in Huntsville, Alabama

*

I once posted, in this space (this right column), the following:

If I had friends they would be listed here

That particular bit o' text, that silly and idiotic phrase, was repeated a dozen or two dozen or so times and was intended to be temporary. I had been working on a project -- a new layout for this blog -- and had intended for that text to be placeholder content. That is, the text was supposed to temporarily replace the content that had previously occupied this column (which was a list of links to friends -- that is, other blogs and web sites I linked to). I didn't know what content I was going to place into that (this) space, so I placed a bunch of duplicate phrases here as a placeholder so that I would remember to fill in this space again later.

At the same time, I thought I was being cute with the heading:

NEW & IMPROVED FRIENDS!

The fact remains: I still don't know what content to put here, in this column. Links again? Pictures? Video? Audio? Ads? Oh, hell no! It hasn't come to me yet, but I'm sure it will eventually, and when it does it'll come quick and (as usual) with consequences.