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Netflix might need to update a script:

"Dear Greg,

You recently watched the Streamed Movie. To help us ensure a great experience for all members, would you take a moment to tell us about the picture and audio quality?"

I've watched a lot of streamed Netflix movies but never one titled "the Streamed Movie". I got a chuckle out of the e-mail though.

Close To Me - The Cure

I’ve waited hours for this
I’ve made myself so sick
I wish I’d stayed
asleep today

I never thought this day would end
I never thought tonight could ever be
this close to me

just try to see in the dark
just try to make it work
to feel the fear before you're here
make the shapes come much too close
I pull my eyes out
hold my breath
and wait until I shake...

but if I had your faith
then I could make it safe and clean
if only I was sure
that my head on the door was a dream

I’ve waited hours for this
I’ve made myself so sick
I wish I’d stayed asleep today
I never thought this day would end
I never thought tonight could ever be
this close to me

but if I had your face
then I could make it safe and clean
if only I was sure that my head on the door was a dream too

RIP Michael Jackson

I didn't write this yesterday because I did not feel like writing 'R.I.P.' again and, personally, I wonder to what degree MJ was actually guilty of child molestation. He was found not guilty by a jury of his peers and I still have a bit of faith in the system, even in the "post O.J." chapter of jurisprudence. Besides, as a mortal human being it matters not what I think. I know what my beliefs are regarding what happens after death but I wonder what MJ thought. Did he worry about his treatment in the hereafter? Oh he knows.

Well, MJ, you were a force on the pop scene, that much is undeniable. Dying at the age of 50 can only be described as "untimely".

I said this yesterday and I'll say it again: NO MORE DYING! NOBODY!

RIP Farrah Fawcett

Jeez.. no more dying. Nobody. For no reason. No here. Not in Iran. Nowhere. I'm tired of writing 'R.I.P.'.

RIP, Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald

Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, the physician who discovered symptoms of breast cancer in herself while trapped wintering over at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has died of cancer at the age of 57. Her book* is a good read and I do recommend anyone with an interest in South Pole history grab a copy.

Rest east, Dr. Jerri. You were a trooper and will be missed by many.

* Apparently I first linked to a children's version of her book which can be found here. Original link updated to point to the original version of the book.

Kodachrome. Goodnight, old friend

This year marks the last that the 74 year old stand-by Kodachrome will be produced. Goodbye, old friend!

Coca-Cola

If it were not for Coca-Cola I would have probably lost another 10-15 pounds from my rapidly thinning frame. Still, the weight loss is a good thing and I've needed it for a few years now. Oddly enough I don't know exactly how much weight I've lost.. I just go by clothes and belt sizes (down 3 sizes.. or is it four). Anyway.. I'll soon know because June the 29th I plan to rejoin the YMCA of Durham and start a regular workouts once again.

movin' on out.. (sung to The Jeffersons theme)

Today I signed off ownership of the house in Youngsville and the condo in Rodanthe to Kelly (officially) so she can refinance both in her name only. One more step towards "The Big D" down. The good news is I will then (after refinance next week) be able to purchase a house of my own (likely in Durham, but I'm keeping my options open). Plus I have another ten months on my apartment lease so I have a while to find a new home.

San Francisco? Seattle? Vancouver? Fairbanks?

I'm thinking of getting out of town July 4th. I think San Francisco is the current front-runner. I'd like to take a camera and just walk a few key areas of the city to take some snaps. I should have my new DSLR camera by then (I hope) if I'm able to make enough money on-call to cover the rather high cost.

The old cameras are no longer cutting it. My old Sony (a great camera back in the day) has a failing CCD sensor and the other cameras just don't take very good pictures. Having access to raw image files is, admittedly, an attractive option.

Flights on Southwest to San Francisco are surprisingly affordable. Why not? I'd love to get a picture of Alcatraz from the Golden Gate, the single photo that eluded me on my last trip to San Francisco in 1992.

What happened?

What happened to the 1/2 tower computer case? I'm looking to build a new server to replace my Gizmo linux server at $WORK and all I'm finding are humongous tower cases and tiny itty-bitty shuttle type cases and not much in between.

good lawd..

31.51 meg down, 768k up (hell, that's hardly enough upload to handle the 'acks' on the download side, but whatever, it's better than 5 down, 768k up!).

Well that sucks

Going though a divorce is no fun. Leaving home and setting up a new one, alone and in a new place, is expensive in both financial and emotional terms. Today I looked at my carpets and said to myself "wow, Greg, I you really need a decent vacuum that actually pulls something up from the carpet" and with that I decided to purchase a Dyson.

I love Dyson vacuums. Sturdily built and incredible to behold (as much as a vacuum can be) they are the proof rock against which all other dry carpet cleaning devices must be judged. Roomba you say? Ok, that's more cool technically but I've never seen anything pull grime out of a carpet like a Dyson can.

During shopping I settled on a newish, somewhat small DC24 "ball" vacuum. So far I'm not impressed with this unit. First two things were broken out-of-the-box. Most damning of the two was the brushes, which have no decipherable height adjustment mechanism, did not work out of the box. I might have been able to overlook this in a house with all pergo or hardwoods but, no, with carpets everywhere except the kitchen and bathroom I kind of need that function.

So back into the box the vacuum went but when I got back to Super Target it was closed!

I swear, some days this whole thing I'm going through feels like a god-d#!$ conspiracy. I know it's not but it feels like it. My two meter ham radio does not work. I can't reception on my ham HT. I damn near crippled myself carrying a heavy load up a flight of the most oddly sized steps I've encountered in some time. I move within walking distance of my office and I hear my office is someday moving. When? Beats me.

But the I have to remember how truly bad a lot of people really have it. Comparatively my life is a cakewalk and I would do well by myself to remember that fact. Nobody likes a whiner. Winner yes. Whiner no. With that I'll shut up.