Dichotomy...

I can't find my copy of Master of Magic. =( It's probably one of my favorite computer games of all time. It's got all the great elements of a game like Civilization, plus you get to use magic. I mean, what more could you ask for? Okay okay, so it's got VGA graphics and it needs a DOS emulator to run on any newer computer. But still... I wish I knew where my copy was. I'm pretty sure I played it this past summer, otherwise I'd say maybe I accidentally threw it out with the 486 I was playing around with for a while. I vaguely recall getting it installed on that piece of junk and that it ran awesome (minus the sound). I really hope I didn't throw it out with that old box; I'd be so bummed. Also, can someone explain why a used copy of an 11 year old game costs $30+ still? That's extortion! I really hope my copy turns up somewhere... =(

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

The movie version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy turned out pretty well I have to say. I was expecting either a triumphant flop or a faithful reproduction. With books of that calibre, there's really no other outcome. Yes, the movie version followed the stereotypical subplot that was must less prominant in the book, and took some creative license to tie up loose ends, but overall I think it was much better than I was anticipating. Certainly worth watching, which is more than I could ever say for the $4.50 I spent on Spawn all those years ago...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

*drool* I really have to wait until June 7th for the new A7X record? So not fair. Maybe I can get Matt or Jimmy to send me an advance copy...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Hooray for free Baskin Robbins smoothies! I don't know why, but they were set up and making them in the lobby when we came back from lunch. Mmm...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Bill Cosby was right; chocolate cake (especially chocolate birthday cake) is the best breakfast ever.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments

Today did not go entirely as planned... In fact, I dare say that I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, which, if you know the layout of my bedroom, is a rather complex task. Blah...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

Allergies are killing me this morning. I've managed to last this long without Claritin though, so that's a good sign. I did buy some ionic breeze things and I gotta say that they actually work pretty well. The ozone smell was a little annoyign at first, but now I don't notice it at all and my apartment doesn't smell like anything when I walk into it anymore. The free small ones they sent emit a high pitched buzz kind of like the flyback transformer on a tv, which was really annoying the first 24 hours, but you can't hear it unless you're near it, and it's easy to drown out with other things. Thumbs up on those and the crap they pull out of the air. Now if only I was smart enough to bring one into the office... Although that doesn't really help me get from my apartment to the car coated with a thin sticky layer of yellow dust or from my car to the office. Oh well.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

Hooray! Emily officially has a place to live for the summer! And it's about a mile away from me! Not quite easy walking distance, but certainly easy jogging distance. And there's only one street to cross in the process too. Now we just need to solve the furniture dilemma, but I think I might have a solution for that already. Yay for summer being rescued from the clutches of despair! =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tommy is awesome!! =)

This was a very nice thing to come home to today. Especially after I found out that my other gourami died. =( He seemed fine and had a good appetite last night, and seemed to be swimming quite happily when I left for work this morning. But he was laying motionless on the floor of the tank when I went in to check on him after my dinner of leftover salmon from last night. He looks fine as far as I can tell. No signs of fighting or any visible diseases. I think maybe he died of lonliness the way he was so sad looking after the other gourami died a couple weeks ago. Meanwhile, poor little Nemo is still alive and swimming about despite his impediment and has outlived both gouramis who seemed to be doing great. Go little tetra, go!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Many thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. =) I got birthday wishes in almost every way possible besides skywriting and singing telegrams! Thanks again, you all know who you are, and it's very much appreciated.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's like looking in a mirror that can see the future! That's me at 60! Except I'll be fatter and balder. And way smarter. And way less Republican, but I repeat myself. ;) And I sure as hell won't be clutching an Apple product. [RANT] They're the polar opposite of open source. The reason IBM crushed them when the PC industry started to take off was IBM clones and third-party hardware development. The only reason they're still around at all was the education concession with Apples for the Student Plus, although the schools finalyl realized that was a waste of money since they were teaching kids to use macs who would never see anythign but an IBM PC in the real world. Stupid Apple... Letting other people develop tools for your platform is what makes your platform more user-friendly and more useful. [/RANT] Sorry for my Apple rant, now back to W. Seriously, it's like a spitting image of how I imagine myself when I get old, except, you know, minus the religious zealotry and dumb accent.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

At least busy work days make the day go by quickly. I'm going to have worked 9+ hours today by the time I leave, and I feel like I just got here. Last week was crazy busy and I don't remember it hardly at all. The faster time seems to go, the better, because it means Emily will be here that much sooner. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

Congrats are in order for Mr. Bezos who has accepted a new job starting in about a month. His desire to be in school forever and pursue two of the most difficult degrees on the planet has proved rather lucrative. He's taking a position at a law firm in downtown DC where his engineering BS and Masters will aid him in his dream of working on patent law. With still about 3 years of school remaining until he earns his jurisdoctorate, it's amazing that he's going to actually be a practicing junior lawyer for this firm. But then, he is basically one of the hardest working, brightest guys I know, and one of the few people whose deeds, no matter how hard I try, I can never surpass, but yet never mind being runner up to. Apparently, he'll be getting paid more, have better benefits, and get the remainder of law school 100% paid for, and he'll be doing exactly what he loves. Who can say no to that? Congratulations Sal!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

My parents are off the hook this year. Unlike last year, they called me twice today! The first time I was coming back from lunch and in the elevator, so I missed them. But then they called again around 3 right before going to bed, so I got to talk to them for a few minutes. It sounds like they had a really nice time in Greece last week but were glad to be home again.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

Hooray! I don't have to go to Groton again this week. Although I was kinda looking forward to it, but I do hate the short notice travelling thing. Oh well. Looks like I may have to go to Portsmouth, NH in the somewhat near future instead. *shrug*

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

Stupid Fox... I wanted to watch the Simpsons. But no. Ryan Seacrest is hosting some new dumb music show that's on instead. Grrr...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

The people upstairs have insisted upon playing some sort of hip hop with their subwoofer turned all the way up. I can't hear the music, only the steady pulse of the kickdrum. My solution? Fight fire with fire. I'm pretty sure my stereo would deafen me before they could drown it out, and I'm also reasonably sure that my stereo down here can overpower whatever they have upstairs, especially if I turned my mids towards the ceiling. And besides, if I'm going to have to listen to the pounding beat of a kick, it might as well be the furious double bass of Fear Factory's Demanufacture. Adam 1, neighbors 0.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

Further proof that northern Europe is one of the best places in the world for good music: Barcode. Today's example happens to feature Denmark instead of my usual Scandinavian sources of hardcore and metal.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

What is up with this weather? Hot hot cold hot cold... Wednesday felt like July, but Friday felt like November. What's the deal? Is it spring yet or not?

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

As always, Scafidi puts things in perspective:

the matt 999: i like the fact that you feel really sick, but not too sick as to prevent you from typing up a big long away message.
Auto response from XchaosdawningX: *whimper* so much for any plans i had today. i haven't felt this awful since caryn's 21st birthday when i spent the night curled into a ball on teh floor of her bathroom under a pile of towels. and i haven't been this violently ill any time i can distinctly remember, so probably since elementary school. so i'm sure as hell not leaving my apartment anytime today. in fact, i'll be amazed if I even feel well enough to leave my bed or my bathroom until sunday. :-X
the matt 999: feel better, jerk

Posted by Rev. Adam at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

Progress report: I'm out of bed, but somewhat confied to laying on the my bed or the fouton. I can stand up under my own power now for short periods of time, but even sitting makes me a bit dizzy. I haven't eaten anythign since lunch yesterday, so I'm starting to feel a little bit better now. Too bad I already put away my "I'm not leaving the house today" pants. Looks like a nice day outside too. Oh well. Time to go lay back down on the couch for a couple hours.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

*whimper* being violently ill is awesome... so much for doing anything else today besides being in the bathroom or in my bed.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yay for my first paycheck with my raise on it! After taxes it's not really that much, I know, but the increase over two paychecks slightly more than offsets my rent increase, so it means I'll be saving an extra like $20 a month or something. Woo! I can't wait to get a promotion, than we'll see who's who and what's what. I'll outrank Todd, and there should be a nice pay increase on the order of at least 10% based on some preliminary calculations. Moon told me with my raise that I'm currently make about 90% of the average for my job description, which means there's at most 15% growth potential before a promotion. After a promotion, the average will obviously increase, so at the bare minimum they'll have to give me 100% of the previous average. It's a virtually guranteed 10% raise! And I was excited enough about my most recent 4.7% raise. Plus, then I can get all new business cards that say Senior Systems Engineer. This is all probably at least 8 months away of course. I don't really forsee a promotion before the end of the year, whether I deserve one or not (which Moon has hinted that in fact I do) because my project simply doesn't have the money for it this year, but next year we should be rolling in it, so promotion here I come. Certainly by this time next year there's no reason I shouldn't be a Senior Engineer. Take that everyone else!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Looks like I might be goign back to Groton next week to support a NSWC test. Goody. If that means more of me crawling behind torpedo tubes at 3 am, I can't wait. No really, I'm genuinely excited. I'm sorry if it sounded sarcastic.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Working with people who don't pull their own weight is so frustrating. Trying to get all these training movies made by mid day Monday and then having to change a bunch of our code so that audio will work with them is something that woudl hav ebeen nice to know 6 months ago when this training stuff was supposed to be started. Now it's a mad scramble to get this stuff done on top of the other stuff that needs fixing and is (in my mind) much more important because it's required functionality. But no no, we have to get this other stuff done too because someone way high up wants it done. Fine. But it could have been mostly done a month ago and us just workign the kinks out right now. If only someone had made any kind of effort at all to get it done... Grrr...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Stupid security changed our safe combo again because someone on our team commited a security violation. Except now they won't give anyone access to the safe anymore, so to get anything out of it you have to get a security person to come open it. WHich is basicalyl fine, except that our floor's security person is never here when I need something done. And now I've spent the last 45 minutes trying to track down someone on the 5th floor to open it for me just because I need one piece of information that will take me 30 seconds to find. Our information is so secure now that not even peopel who genuinely need it can have access to it. Ridiculous.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments

Holy crap! Dave "I'm scared to death of him" Latham just told me I was doing a great job! Dave and I were in his office to ask a question about the embedded training material I'm doing (which used to be Fred's job). We got our question answered and so Dave and Dave were going to go smoke and I said thanks and turned around to leave and was maybe 10 steps down the hall when Latham says, "Hey Adam!" *heart jumps into my throat* "You'd doing a great job on this." At that precise moment, Moon walks around the corner. So not only did I get paid a compliment by the scariest, most intimidating person I know, but my manager heard it too! I'm on top of the world right now. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments

I realized today how much more conscious of your hands and their actions you become when you're wearing nail polish. And also how much weirder the looks other people give you are. Not that getting weird looks from strangers is particularly unusual for me, but somehow you become an alien when you wear nail polish on top of having several earrings. I'd love to see what happened if I started wearing a full Scottish kilt on a regular basis... Someday I'll learn to play bagpipes too. Not until I have a soundproof room to practice in though, or at least a basement on my own property.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Bad grammar will ultimately be the downfall of modern civilization. Planet of the Apes, apart from being a good movie despite starring Mr. NRA, was also prophetic. As our (homo sapiens) language eventually deteriorates into sentences that make no sense and become an amalgamation of acronyms and internet-friendly slang, the monkey and ape population will slowly evolve beyond our language capabilities and in time we will be unable to comprehend even the most rudimentary of ape ideas. They will act as equals to lull us into a false sense of security. Soon we will be herded into concentration camps and subjugated into slave labors to toil in their banana fields. Today's case in point: A letter from Liberty Mutual informaing me that because of my association with the GT Alumni Association, I could save money on my car insurance. Although I highly doubt it since I'm currently paying Progressive half of what Geico wanted for the exact same coverage, I decided to read it anyway. The opening sentence of said letter reads as follows: "Call now and see if you could save up to $327.96 or more a year." First of all, $327.96? Whose ass did they pull that out of? The fine print at the bottom says it's an based on an April 2004 sampling of policyholder savings when switching companies. A year old sampling of data, wow, that's awesome, especially since they mention that prices are going up, making that very same data essentially meaningless. The more worrisome thing is that I could save up to this imaginary amount, or more. Or more? Doesn't the "up to " preclude the possibility of "or more?" Doesn't the "or more" contradict the "up to?" I'm sorry sir, you can only save up to this amount. Oh, or maybe more than this. We don't really know. The whole sentence esentially makes no sense when you really read what's it's apparently saying. They should have just said "you might save money with us, maybe." I guess they assumed that attaching a number would make it seem more tangible. Instead I am probably twice as likely to just throw it away because being able to save up to a prescribed amount or more than the same prescribed amount just tells me that you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Now, before everyone gets up in arms about my own bad grammar (which there is generally a plethora of (including ending sentence fragments with prepositions)), let me say that I personally welcome the apocalypse of man and the dominion of our monkey masters. I am pleased to be able to speed the downfall of civilization as we know it. In fact, it's item #4 on my white board at work, right after "SSS/Display SRS, APB04 Integration PVTs, and Seawolf sensor config files." All hail eventual Emperor (Donkey) Kong!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

We went to the Pizza Hut buffet for lunch today. Some lady at the table across from us was yakking away on her cell phone and all of a sudden looks me straight in the eye and says "Excuse me, do you listen to ICP?" I assumed she meant Insane Clown Posse and so of course I responded in the negative. She then broke off her conversation on the phone completely to tell me "you look like someone who would because you have a lot of earrings." What? I mean, seriously, what? I was dumbfounded. It was like the woman was the very epicenter of intelligence vacuity and simply being near her was draining the very essence out of my own brain cells. I could think of probably a hundred other musical groups who I would be more likely to be associated with than ICP. No, a thousand. Probably a million. I don't know what her connection between ICP and earrings is based on, but clearly, it was enough to allow her to make a snap judegment about me and my music preferences. That is to say, to insult my music preferences. Had today been any other day or had I not been in the presence of such debilitatingly accute moronism, I suppose I could have come up with a better response than I did. Fortunately, I don't give a shit what rude, 45-year-old smokers who eat lunch at Pizza Hut think of me or I would be curled into a ball wondering what was wrong with me and why I was giving off the impression that I liked awful music. Instead, I'm just going assume she was dropped on her head as a child, continue on with my life, and hope that I didn't lose too much mental capacity being in her general vicinity.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

One day a year I remember with vivid clarity what it was like to be almost 16. What it was like to wake up at dawn in a cold sweat knowing something was wrong. What it was like to get a phone call from a friend that another friend was gone. What it was like to never have a chance to say goodbye.
Someone who is remembered is never truly gone. In the words of Most Precious Blood, "love is stronger than death."

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I also forgot to mention that I got an email coupon from Red Robin today for my birthday. It was for "get a free burger with purchase of another burger." Good timing! Since Dave was otherwise occupied today, Manish and I weren't bound to the "I need a smoking section" constraint Dave usually places on our eating establishment, so we went to Red Robin and I enjoyed my free burger very much. Mmmm, burger...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Chocolate chip cookies also make a nice afternoon snack. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Even though I'm sure it's already over, I'm wishing Caryn good luck at her appointment today anyway!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm not sure there's any better breakfast than chocolate chip cookies...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

I went over to Bobby and Susie's today to install a new light fixture that I told them I would do 3 months ago. I'm just like a real contractor! It was pretty easy apart from one minor snag that was easily remedied. Then I fixed their electrical outlets in teh basement. An electrician wanted $150 just to inspect it. Turns out they had a GFCI circuit on four of the outlets and the button had popped, shutting off all four outlets. So one quick button push later, everything was fixed and I didn't even have to electrocute myself. In exchage for al my "hard work" I received a homemade lasagna dinner and some fresh-from-the-oven, made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm.... I still have a dozen of them that Susan sent me home with. Tasty tasty cookies. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's it's quest for urban hipster status, McDonald's has made yet another huge blunder. First you made your food taste like cardboard, alienating everyone with tastebuds. With a market share of only infants and old people who both need bland, tasteless food to avoid upset stomachs, McDonald's saw itself going down teh crapper. What to do, what to do? I've got it, reach out to the urban community! First we'll lure them in with our hip-hop "gangsta" commercials. Then when they least expect it, we'll tell them to fuck our sandwichs! Literally. Sorta puts the whole "I'm loving it" campaign into perspective... Just like my experience with the "urbanization marketing" people at Coke, McDonald's is full of idiots. How hard is it to do 10 minutes of research before green-lighting an ad like that? *sigh* Corporate America just keeps digging its own grave deeper and deeper.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

This test taken from my cousin because secretly part of me died the day I "outgrew" my dinosaur sheets...

Raptor ROAR! You're 73% Dinotastic!!

Aren't you a clever one? Nearly everone is scared of you. The ones who aren't generally end up as lunch. You like the finer things in life, like a good hunt, a good triceratops steak, and a relaxing evening discussing the finer points of evolution in the Jurrasic and Cretaceous Periods. Stomping around and Biting everything in sight isnt your style. You are too classy for that. But still, who can resist a good chomping when the opportunity arises?

My test tracked 1 variable. How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 91% on Dinopoints

The what Dinosaur are you Test

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

Because despite my insistence to the contrary, I secretly like doing things that everyone else is doing. These results aren't much of a surprise given where all I've lived over the course of my life. Frankly, sometimes I think it's a miracle I speak American English at all having spent my formative linguistic years in a British-run school in Islamabad. And sometimes it's a wonder I speak English at all. And then sometimes what comes out of my mouth is so unintelligible (yet strangely intelligent) that it borders on being a separate language alltogether.

Your Linguistic Profile:

85% General American English

15% Yankee

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Despite my postings today, I actually had a pretty good day at work. I got to come home before 5 again, but it took working 43 hours this week to do it. *shrug* I'll probably get a promotion within a year of starting, so I guess it's worth it. And the nice weather and the sunshine certainly brightened my mood when I left work. A little chat with Emily didn't hurt matters either. =)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sweet, the "up" button on my mp3 player isn't working, so I can't turn up the volume. The music is currently a barely audible buzz. It worked fine yesterday, what the hell happened? I should have just called in unlucky today.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

So far so good today. I left my cell phone at home. My sunglasses broke somehow (the spring looks liek it just came detached, so it might be fixable). I almost got in an accident on the way to work. And just now I got in the face with a door. It's going to be a good day today, I can feel it.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments

I definitely got in the shower this morning with socks on...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

When my alarm went off this morning i was having a dream about skipping class. Oh how badly I wanted to just turn my alarm off rather than hitting snooze, roll back ovr and skip class today. Wait. I'm not a college student any more. I can't just skip work. *sigh* I need way more sleep that I've been getting. At least as of bedtime last night I already had 35 hours on my timesheet so I dn't have to work as long today, but I'll probably end up being there until 6 as usual anyway.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yeah going to bed at 2 am because of work. Rock on!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 1:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

Something must be wrong with our A/C system. My office is actually a comfortable temperature for once! I'm sure in July when it's a million degrees, something will go wrong again and my office will be like a sauna, but for right now, I'm very comfortable in here in short sleeves for the first time in forever.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments

So I got my lease renewal letter yesterday. My rent is going to go up about $85 a month. That's a pretty sizable increase; it comes out to over an extra thousand bucks over the course of a year. I'm still going to live here though because I'm sick of moving and I could easily spend $1000 just on moving expenses anyway. But I do feel like I'm kinda just throwing money in a hole living here. But it's close to work and the added expense of high rent I think offsets wear and tear on my 135,000+ mile car, rising gas prices, and the elevated stress and tiredness that commuting causes. But this all might mean that I look into buying a house sooner (next summer) than planned (after Emily and I get married, or are at least engaged). Obviously there's a lot of variables involved in house buying, and I know very little about any of them, so I think I'm going to try to talk to a realtor next winter and at least get more details before I make any kind of commitment to actually owning real estate. And who knows, maybe my rent will actually decrease next year (ha ha ha ha), and this will all be moot. For now, off to a meeting! Which reminds me, I should really talk to Dave and Manish about this since Dave bought a townhouse out in Gainesville a few months ago and Manish is currently in Ann Arbor closing on a place himself.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

Should I be concerned about the fact that our security guy just came to me to find out the current combo to our safe because it's time to change it? I mean, I know he doesn't have it written down anywhere, but it's not like it's that hard of a combo to remember. Plus, he's the security guy, that's his job! Oh well. At least I'm the first one (other than him) to know the new combo to our safe, so now peopel will have to ask me when they want to get into it and can't because it's changed. Muwahaha! Being at work past 5:30 has so many benefits. Well, really just that one. Oh, except for when Beth called a few minutes ago and was surprised I picked up. I'm not sure if that was surprise that I was still here, or that I was at my desk at all, but whatever. Further proof that I'm just Super Employee™! *cue theme music* Now to retreat to my Fortress of Solitude for dinner and tv and then hopefully going to check out an apartment for Emily later.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

And now that I've got a break for a few minutes, I'm confused about something. How is it that I went to bed at 12:30 and was out cold by 1 am, slept like a rock, got 7.5 hours of sleep, and was more tired this morning than I was Monday morning (after going to bed at 3 or 4 am, sleeping horribly, and being way more stressed out)? Fortunately, I've been so busy this morning that I haven't really had time to let being tired bother me. I don't understand my body at all. Except for knowing that my allergies are kicking in. I'm over my cold at least, but I'm sneezing a lot more than usual and my eyes are getting kinda itchy. Time to go buy some more Claritin (or in the grand Adam tradition, store-brand loratadine 10mg tablets). I wish I'd thought of that last night while I was at Safeway.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

Hooray for free chinese for lunch! Even though Dave made us go to China Buffet yesterday for lunch because he was in a bad mood, I'm still excited to have chinese again today. We're having some "good work on achieving this milestone" celebration or something, so that's why we've got free food. *shrug* Whatever keeps employees motivated I guess.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

The worst inustice in the history of time: no generic Kix. I love my Kix, but I hate paying the full $4.00+ a box for it. Every other cereal has an store-brnad knock-off. Why not Kix? It's a conspiracy against me, I'm certain of it.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

Today is (my project manager) Beth's thirty *mumble mumble*th birthday. She lied to us a couple months ago and said it was November 11th. But you can't lie to engineers, no sireebob. We found out when it really was (today) and how old she really is, and got her a cake that said "Happy 40th Birthday Beth!" since she tried to trick us. She's quite skillful with a knife however and managed to turn the 40 into a 21 much easier than I would have expected. A good laugh was had by all and now I'm on a sugar rush from all the frosting.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

The last 48 hours has been kind of like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. You know the eventual outcome, but you can't make yourself look away. Emily's parents vetoed us living together this summer. I can understand them not wanting us living together after Emily graduates (so that she can prove that she can survive on her own, be independent, support herself, blah blah blah), but the logistics of finding a place to live for 3 months that's affordable on an intern's paycheck is rather mind-boggling. Anyway, the long and short of it is that as long as Emily can find a (preferably furnished) place in the DC area to live this summer that she can afford (plus potentially a small subsidy from an anonymous donor whose interests are at stake as well), things will at least be marginally okay. Otherwise, she can't move up here and my (and our) summer will be ruined. I will be totally crushed instead of only dissapointed. Furthermore, Emily not working here this summer would just put an even bigger strain on our long-distance relationship because it would just be even longer that we're not physically together on a regular basis and I think being disconnected from the DC job market would make getting a job after graduation more difficult to the point that she's talked about joining Peace Corps if nothing else comes up. I know they say "if you love something set it free," but I'm not sure I'm prepared to do that. I love Emily and I plan to marry her, but a two year stint in a rural village in Tunisia could put quite a damper on that, especially after having already spent 11 months separated and a more than a year and a half apart by graduation. It's just such a long long time to spend away from each other that I'm worried we'd be growing apart the whole time. *sigh* It's like I can see our entire future unravelling before my eyes all because her parents don't think it's "appropriate" for us to be living together this summer. But, where there is hope, there is a future, and until the last bit of my hope is extinguished, I'm not giving up on Emily living in the DC area this summer, on Emily finding a job here after graduation in December, and sure as hell not on us and our future together. We've worked too hard on our relationship to let it go down in flames over this. I have faith in us to find a solution. As I told Emily, engineers solve problems, and I'm trying to solve this problem. My brain is all spooled up trying to work something out and I'm going to find an answer or die trying (this is probably truer than I'm really willing to admit).

So, here's the deal: does anyone know anyone who might know anyone who has a place to sublet or an extra room to stay in in their house or need a roommate for a couple months? Furnished preferably, but unfurnished is workable. Email me ASAP if you've got any kind of living space that could be occupied for a couple months.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

By the way, does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with those ionic air cleaners like the ones Sharper Image sells? I've thought about getting one or two for a while now, but I've always heard mixed results from third-party sources (and they're kinda pricey to buy one just to try it out). But with allergy season upon us, I'm willing to try just about anything. Plus, I'm curious if they reduce the amount of dust that settles on things, specifically electronics (which I believe attract dust the same way that these things supposedly work, because they ionize the air around them). Which is something else that worries me, do these things have any impact on signal fidelity? Do they generate interference if placed near TVs or speakers? Please comment if you've got any first-hand experience. Thanks.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Today is apparently spring cleaning day for everyone at my apartment complex. The trash compactor is overflowing with stuff. I guess that's what happens when the weather genuinely (finally) feels like spring for a whole weekend. It's gotta be in the mid-70s today and again not a cloud in the sky. If I were of the sun-bathing persuasion, yesterday and today would have contributed vastly to my development of skin cancer. Fortunately, I'm comfortable with my pasty white self and have very little desire to darken my skin for any particular reason. Still, it's hard to ignore the comforting feel of a nice sunny day. Yay for spring!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Nothing makes spring cleaning better and easier than Converge. Time to put away the long sleeves and any long pants I'm not going to wear to work and find where I hid my shorts.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

This site cracks me up: TeenAngstPoetry.com. I have so many horrible things I wrote in high school that belong on this website. Maybe I'll go ahead and submit them. At least it's comforting in retrospect to know that so many other people had the same problems and tried to deal with them the same way. I can't understand anyone who says they want to do high school over again. College, sure, but never high school. Maybe as a teacher (which almost happened), but certainly not as a teenage student. You couldn't pay me enough.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments

So much for doing nothing today... I did laundry, vacuumed, mopped the kitchen and entryway, wiped down the counter in the bathroom, dusted, cleaned my room, and played some Zelda - A Link to the Past. Also, somewhere in there, I had time to watch 3 movies on TV - Blade Runner, Die Hard 2, and Bowfinger. Bowfinger always reminds me of me and Webb trying to make our own movie. How everything was so half-assed and done in only a couple takes and we basically had no clue what we were doing. All in all a pretty decent day. Weather was awesome too, not a single cloud in the sky. I wish that simple household chores didn't make me cough so much so that I could have actually gone for a run or something. But I'm feeling a lot better. I don't feel very congested anymore and the stuff in my chest is clearing up too, so I think all this more-or-less resting is really helping.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

From Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption:
RED: Let me tell you something my friend: hope is a dangerous thing.
ANDY: Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

Maybe so, but sometimes you can push it pretty close to the brink with just a handful of words and a lot of nothing better to do than thinking about them.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

Success! New plugs in my ears. These were surprisingly easy to put in actually. They're only slightly bigger than the blue acrylics I had in, but they're taperout out on both ends, so that took a little tugging and coaxing. But they're in now and quite comfy. And the fact that they don't need o-rings and are made of buffalo horn ought to keep my ears nice and clean for a much longer time. That's the design on the front, the back is just plain. I like them a lot and I've been waiting very patiently to get them in, and now that they are, I'm quite excited. So much so that I'll actually be sad whenever I take them out to put in the turqiouse plugs I have

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

My goal for this weekend is to do essentially nothing. I want to put in my other plugs, so that basically entails not leaving the apartment because I'll have giant tapers sticking out of my head. I'm also dying to start playing the new Metroid game I got for christmas and haven't had a long block of time (5-6 hours) to play it yet. And that's pretty much it. Watch some tv probably, maybe a movie, do some crosswords, work on my Simpsons puzzle. I know I have a Wamalug meeting on Sunday, but I'm not going. I didn't have anything new built for the last one, and I don't have aything built for this one either. Plus, it interferes with nothing. I'm still kinda sick and all I really want to do is rest. And the best way to start is by coming home from work at 4:45 on a Friday and planning to do nothing all weekend.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

"This cookie feels heavy, as if there was some sort of paper in it. *aftering cracking own fingers, has Smithers crack open cookie* Why, it appears to be some sort of communique!" Today's cookie-based fortune: Long life is in store for you. Hooray! I took this to mean that I'm immortal now. Thanks fortune cookie!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

I guess the only other thign I really want to mention about my trip is that I think I made Fred sick. He was sniffling today on the way home. I also hope I didn't make any sailors sick, despite what I said last weekend. I was delerious from lack of sleep and infection-filled sinuses. Also, the hotel bumped us all up to suites which was kind of nice. So my king size bed and office with a fridge and microwave room that normally costs $173, cost me $83 instead. Thank you government employee rate per diem. The hotel also had free HBO, so I found myself watching a lot of movies at night and when stuff wasn't working down at the shipyard. I feel like I've mentioned it before, but I really like the Father of the Bride movies with Steve Martin. The first one is obviously the best, but I actually like the second one too. They're just so good. And Steve Martin makes a great dad too. Also saw Master And Commander again, An Officer And A Gentleman, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Posit: Has Johnny Depp ever made a bad movie? Or rather, has Johhny Depp ever had a bad performance in a movie? He's been in a handful of less-than-stellar movies (that would have otherwise been total flops without him in it), but I can't think of a single movie where I didn't enjoy his acting. He can seemingly play any character he's asked to play, and, so I'm told, he's cute. Dave and I also went to see Sin City on Monday evening (instead of Sunday night as planned since I was feeling crappy). Brutal movie. Parts of it even made me feel a little ill. But that's the great thing about comic book violence, it's not really real. The style of the film was superb and I really felt that the way it was all put together (where each scene was like a static comic panel, all the actions and settings were exaggerated, and how each story connected somehow) accurately reflected what Frank Miller tried to do with his graphic novels. Also, for the record, I'm now terrified of ever actually meeting Elijah Wood.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Looks like Emily's prediction was correct after all. I got the last question wrong, but I contend that my answer was also technically gramatically correct because of the way the question was worded.

You Are Incredibly Logical

(You got 88% of the questions right) Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Home finally. Today was long and tiring, and I didn't even do any work today. *sigh* At least I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. It's equally emily-less as the king-size one at the hotel, but at least it's smaller so it'll feel less empty. On the plus side though, Emily has a couple more interviews up here the second week in May, so at least now I have a definite date of when I'll get to see her again! =) More trip news maybe to come later, or maybe not, I haven't decided if I feel like writing more about it or not yet.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

Do you have any idea how hard it is to pack a hardhat into a duffel bag that was already packed to the gills on the way here? Yes, I have my own hardhat now. But it's white, which is basically fine, except that's the EB supervisor color. Not that I think anyone is going to mistake me for a supervisor at the shipyard, but the only way to fix it is with sticker or some other markings. I knew I kept all those free band stickers for a reason. ;) Most bad-ass hardhat ever, here I come (once I get you into my suitcase)!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm starting to get over being sick. It was looking pretty bad there on Sunday and Monday. I slept horribly Sunday night too, even though I was exhausted. Monday I just felt awful, but work must go on. It took us 3 hours to get into the shipyard and onto Seawolf, that boat is nuts compared to a 688 class, but we got ourselves oriented and figured out where stuff is and what we wanted to go over for training. Fred told us a bunch of ridiculous stories that were probably half true about when he used to live up here. Navy guys are all perverts and drunks. Most people would say that's true of guys in general, but I maintain that submariners are like male-concentrate. Anyway, training went well, and we even finished up early, so I'm going home tomorrow instead of Saturday. My voice still sounds really gravelly, and I'm a little congested, but not so much infected anymore and I feel a lot better than I did earlier this week. It'll be nice to get back to my own bed though. Also, happy belated birthday to Kristin! I knwo I told you last night, but I felt bad that I forgot on Monday, and I'm sorry (also, I hope your computer is working again). Anyway, I'm going to get back to work up here for a while and then hit the sack. I should be home tomorrow evening. I'm glad I feel better, and that the training went well, and things even worked out pretty well with Fred too. And Groton's not so bad either. I wouldn't want to live here, but it's certainly way better than dirty dirty Bremerton.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, the good news is that i'm definitely sick now. my head is pounding, my throat hurts (thank you very much PND), my jaw aches, i don't think i slept more than 30 consecutive minutes last night, my nose is raw and every time i blow it, i get a nice sickly shade of greenish-yellow that just screams "look at me! i'm infected!" Time to start the regimen of decongestant and pepper concentrate. Oh, I don't have that, maybe just tabasco sauce then. I can't wait to get on a plane today. At least it's a short flight. And the only other plus is that I think this thing has socked in now, so there won't be the runny noses and "getting sick" feeling to worry about anymore. Just the "i feel lousy" and downing drugs every 4-6 hours until i feel better. *sigh* Stupid weather, stupid body. Whatever. I'm off to Groton to teach sailors how to use our system. Maybe I can get the entire submarine sick...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

I feel like I'm getting sick... This is going to be the best business trip ever. My throat starting hurting a few hours ago and now it feels like my nose is running a lot mroe than usual. I'm sure I'll feel even worse tomorrow. Awesome. Groton here I come! This is because I made light of the (now deceased) pope's health, isn't it? Somewhere there's a smiling turtle silently nodding his head very slowly...

Posted by Rev. Adam at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

TCI - stop calling me!!!

Posted by Rev. Adam at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

How awesome would it be if this whole "the pope is sick" thing was an April Fool's Day joke?? ...I'm pretty sure that settles it once and for all... I'm going to hell.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm glad I'm not Catholic... CNN.com - Vatican: Pope's condition 'has worsened' - Apr 1, 2005 I was listening to the procedure for what has to be done to declare the pope dead and how a new pope is elected on the news while I wait for PTI to come on at 5:30. It sounds kind of ludicrous to me. But then, what would Catholicism be without weird, elaborate, non-sensical rituals?

Posted by Rev. Adam at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

To do list before I leave:
Water plants
Re-fill fish feeder
Add water and ph-balancer to fish tank
Pay rent
Pay bills
Stop mail
Set light timers
Get some new GBA games
Copy stuff onto my laptop
Find my steel-toed boots
Pack
E-mail itinerary to Emily and my parents
Call Grandma
Get cash
Turn down heater
Update my mp3 player
Probably more things I'm forgetting

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've worked 42 hours this week. Sweet. Add 4-5 more for travel on Sunday, plus any actual work we do on Sunday. I can't wait. At least I finished the embedded trainer today. There's still a few nitpicky things to change, but whatever. It's way better than what was already there and I did it in less than 3 days. And at least I'm home before 5 on a Friday. Not that I have anything fun to do really... But I'm tired anyway, so I'll probably just take care of some things I need to do before I leave and just watch TV and go to bed early.

Posted by Rev. Adam at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

So much work to do, so little time to do it. So tired. Worked so many hours already... I'm really not looking forward to my trip anymore, but at least I've now already got plans to go see Sin City with Dave on Sunday when we can't even get into our hotel in Groton yet. Whatever. It's a new experience and I'll be able to say that's one more class of submarine I've been on than the average person. ;)

Posted by Rev. Adam at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments