let the fun begin

So we're at our hotel in NYC. We decided to get a hotel room instead of staying with nbh's bro, Jeff, in Brooklyn or at Elke's. We are now leaving to head to the 5th Ave. Apple store to meet up with Jeff. We will be "just kickin' it" there for a bit and then head down to the East Village to S'MAC to meet up with Jeff's gfriend Nicole.

Tomorrow we'll do something in the morning/afternoon around the city (we're near the always wonderful Natural History Museum) and then head later in the early evening to our friends for a pah-tee. Drinking and eating ensues. Sunday we drive home.

Later, dudes. Have a great weekend!

Posted by jennj at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

fark.com headline

National Organization for Women turns 40; will be dumped for rackalicious trophy wives who don't talk back

*giggle*

Posted by jennj at 12:13 PM | Comments (1)

du(h)bya

I was sent this link by my bud, Fritz.

In the old empires, there would be a lot of marriages between the royal families. And from time to time, these inter-family marriages would produce a mentally challenged son who would inherit the throne. This would set the empire back for hundreds of years. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying. Russia is big and so is China.

Posted by jennj at 07:10 PM | Comments (17)

has it been that long?

I started this blog three years ago today. Hmm.

Posted by jennj at 12:45 PM | Comments (2)

there's a special place

People can be such a**holes. When nbh was at the pet store (PetWorld for those of you in the loccal area) today he heard a squawking out front. He and the owners walked out to find that someone had abandoned a bird (parakeet, possibly) in it's cage at the front of the store with a sign that read "Free bird. I eat some particular brand of food. Looking for a good home."

Don't own a pet unless you can f*ing take care of it. And if circumstances occur where you cannot take care of it anymore, don't f*ing abandon it. Yeah, it's hard to find a new home for the animal. Boo hoo. With enough patience you can find a suitable solution.

A**holes. The good news is that they have security cameras and they're hoping they got them caught on tape.

Posted by jennj at 07:06 PM | Comments (9)

i don't know what it means

A friend has opened up a website called SkipWhiffle. You should go check it out. After classes end in a week I'm going to come up with my own artiface mosaic. Oh yeah.

Posted by jennj at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

art by prisoners

Would you buy art created by a prisoner who is in solitary confinement serving three life terms for murder and slashing a prison guard's throat?

I don't think I could no matter how good it was. But apparently some people don't mind.

Posted by jennj at 12:53 PM | Comments (7)

driving me to drink part two

Okay. We have been working with a particular vendor for many years. Up until a year ago, their software was a desktop client that had to be installed. They now have a web version. However, since we didn't have anything new to throw their way recently, we hadn't really paid attention to the web version. Especially since it's just not worth our time converting current projects to it as these projects only have a limited timeframe, data migration from one database format (interbase) to another (Oracle) would be a nightmare, etc. Well, we now have a new project that we want to consider to use the web version. We had a demo of it last week.

I was actually just asked the following by someone: "Hey, why did they bother changing from a desktop application to a web version? What is their business reason for doing so?"

*blink*

Because it's freakin' 2006? Because it's a pain in the a** to install software at 300 sites? Because their other clients and we have been asking for a web version for years? Because it's flexible and will allow our sites with Macs to use it and we won't have to procure Windoze equipment for them? Etc.

Note: I'm not saying all software has to be web based. Duh. This type of software has no reason _not_ to be web based.

Jeebus.

Posted by jennj at 12:21 PM | Comments (2)

driving me to drink

Happenin's:

* I hate auditors. Especially stupid ones.
* I still despise Dubya.
* Salespeoples: It is not necessary to send me an URGENT e-mail requesting a projecter for your demo when IT'S A MONTH AWAY.
* Mole on back was classified as "mild atypica". It's not cancerous, everything was removed and all is good.
* I really don't care that Brad Pitt finds fatherhood satisfying.
* No, you can't change the database "because you want to", I need more than that to justify the budget.

Posted by jennj at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)

addicted to computer gaming? there's hope for you....

"A clinic that offers treatment for people addicted to playing computer games has opened in the Netherlands."

Posted by jennj at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)

finally solved?

Well, Patricia Cornwall may be upset about the $6 million she paid to prove that William Sickert was Jack the Ripper (the book she wrote about it and to prove her case is boooring). Turns out it could have been someone else.

Posted by jennj at 02:08 PM | Comments (2)

at the gym

I don't get it. When I walked into the treadmill/elliptical/bike/etc. area of the gym yesterday on two of the four televisions there were kid cartoons on. And I'm talking like, 2-4 year old kid cartoons, not bugs bunny. 2-4 year olds aren't allowed in that area. Why do people act like sheep and not change the channel? Being the person that I am, I changed the channel to something a little more tolerable to watch especially given Sunday tv schedules.

And I hate people who hog areas. There's a nice stretching area upstairs that can handle four people, easily, and two guys were taking up the whole space. I had to ask them to move over and they gave me a dirty look (to which I smiled), but then moved over.

Yeesh. Grumble.

Posted by jennj at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

curse you

Thanks to snowboardbunny and headpigeons for finding another homemade ice cream place near our house (some sarcasm in that statement). Nbh and I just came back from Sunshine Farms, which is within biking distance of our house. Nbh had the cake ice cream and I had monster mash which I _thought_ was going to have wafer cookies, m&m's, caramel swirl and vanilla ice cream. Three out of four is not so bad, however, what the girl was wrong about was the one thing that I don't like: it wasn't wafer cookies, it was chocolate malted balls, bleah. Thank goodness there was only one big piece and that was easily avoided. However, it was good anyway. Nice and creamy. I guess we'll have to go back again and try some other flavors....

Nbh and I already had a homemade ice cream place within walking distance in downtown Natick named Park Street Ice Cream. We didn't need another one nearby!! Curse you!

Posted by jennj at 05:57 PM | Comments (6)

suspicious activity

non-blogging husband came downstairs the other morning to find that the cats had created a new folder on his computer. I think that they have been secretly downloading kitty p*rn from the internet for awhile now and they finally got caught. It's pretty bad form, kitties, to not delete the folder before we wake up in the morning. And just to make sure you know how talented our cats are, they would have had to step on the cmd+shft+n in order to create a new folder and as you can see, they like long names that involve spaces.

Posted by jennj at 04:38 PM | Comments (8)

i just can't purchase it online and the india train bombs

My commuter laptop backpack is showing it's age. I've been using it for six years and it's getting pretty nasty. I'm very picky when it comes to these things. Especially for the commute. I don't like shoulder straps, they must be backpacks. It must be big enough for things other than my laptop and an ipod (I carry things with me at all times like an umbrella, my extra laptop power adapter, etc.).

I've been looking at a number of sites and have decided I like a few different types. I really wish I could combine the style of the Pakuma K2 with the size of the K3 ("You ski the K-12 dude, and girls will go sterile just looking at you!").

Anyway, I just can't bring myself to buy any of these online. I know that I'm picky. And if I'm unhappy then it's back to another search and I'm not good at returning items if it involves mailing. So, I'll be off to REI and some other places over the next few weeks looking for something that will work. Any store suggestions?

On to more serious things. It's when I read things like this that I become a little stressed and paranoid about commuting into/out of Boston.

Posted by jennj at 02:15 PM | Comments (7)

star trek reception at worldcon wednesday night

The parental units asked me to pass this along uh, awhile ago:

You are invited to a party!
L.A.Con IV: 64th World Science Fiction Convention honors STAR TREK!

BABEL CONFERENCE AMBASSADORIAL RECEPTION on Wednesday evening, Aug 23, 2006. L.A.Con’s traditional first-night welcome reception is themed to this gala Star Trek event, marking the beginning of special Trek programming, exhibits, and other activities for the entire weekend.

Hosts: John & Bjo Trimble
Master of Ceremonies: David Gerrold
Reception Guests: to be announced
Costumes encouraged: Star Trek, Other media, Futuristic Fashions, etc. (Sorry, no Betazed wedding dresses)
Convention membership required

For more detailed information about Star Trek 40th Anniversary guests and events at Worldcon, click on this PDF file.

Posted by jennj at 11:08 AM | Comments (4)

new adventure in small press publishing

My long-time friend Daniel and his partner are starting a small press. They've just announced their first title:

Our first title, which will be on sale at LACon IV and by web-order (once we get the site up), is a reprint of Campbell award winner Jay Lake and Hugo Award-winning artist Frank Wu’s beautiful collaboration, "Greetings From Lake Wu".

Click on the link for more information. Congrats!

Posted by jennj at 10:51 AM | Comments (2)

ipod religion

HAHAHAH! Now this is taking the Apple cult a little too far. It's the ibelieve for your ipod shuffle.

Posted by jennj at 12:11 PM | Comments (6)

movie review and general statement about movies today

If you haven't seen Superman Returns and Pirates 2, then don't click on the extended entry.

What the hell is going on in Hollywood where the art of film editing has disappeared? Jeebus. King Kong, Superman Returns, X-MEN 3 and Pirates 2 are great examples where they didn't need to be as long as they were and could have been helped immensely with GOOD FILM EDITING. Action sequences that are far too long. The feeling that they've cut out some vital scenes that advance the plot or characterization.

STOP IT.

Not only was Pirates 2 way longer than it should have been, but it also was very confusing. I didn't walk away loving it. I walked away scratching my head and feeling like I'd been cheated. I will go and see the third one next year, I'm not that pissed off and there were amusing points. And no, I didn't go in with high expectations. It's a sequel, I know better. So that's not why I am unhappy with it. I am sure with the right tweaking they could have made it less confusing and not as long.

They are so caught up in the special effects and making sure they get their money's worth that they've forgotten how to make a good film.

I'm now worried about Spiderman 3 and some other action sequels coming out in the next year. Bleah.

Posted by jennj at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

whaa?

"This afternoon, drinking a cup of coffee while sitting in the Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center on Chicago’s south side, a Veterans Administration cop walked up to me and said, "OK, you’ve had your 15 minutes, it’s time to go."

"Huh?", I asked intelligently, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"You can’t be in here protesting," officer Adkins said, pointing to my Veterans For Peace shirt.

"Well, I’m not protesting, I’m having a cup of coffee," I returned, thinking that logic would convince Adkins to go back to his earlier duties of guarding against serious terrorists.

Flipping his badge open, he said, "No, not with that shirt. You’re protesting and you have to go."

Read on.

Posted by jennj at 03:47 PM | Comments (3)

there's a fine line between clever and stupid

I just did a find in an offline outlook folder for my last name and of course, every single e-mail was "found". What I really wanted to do was find my training certificate, but since I'm also the person cc'd for these training certificates.....that was just dumb. I wish I could blame the stupidity on not having had my morning coffee.

Don't you just love blogs? You can post all sorts of inane sh*t on them.

Posted by jennj at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

"i'll most likely kill you in the morning"

Much gaming was had. Devo's "let's try this out" pick of Smirnoff's Vodka Ice Black Cherry flavor was a good call. Yum. I've mentioned it here before, Settlers of Catan is one of my favorite games. Michele had brought a game with her called Puerto Rico and I tried it out, especially after being told it's "Settlers like". It was fun, I want to own it.

The other new game that we tried can be burned and never seen again as far as I'm concerned. Puck brought Steve Jackson's Illuminati Crime Lords. I wanted to poke my eye out with a hot stick by the end of the first hour. I begged them to kill off my mob boss and it took them like thirty minutes (while I left the room to make cornbread from scratch) to do so. It's an excrutiating game for setup purposes. it took us like 45 minutes to finally get the "bidding" stage done. Then we finally got into the "action" stage and Devo read off like, fourteen pages of rules. That was what did me in. if you need to spend 30 minutes to read the rules of the "action" phase, I give. What was really amusing is that the "short" game ends when there are ten rackets in someone's hand. They declared Kat the winner "because she has the most money". Kat still was four rackets behind the ten necessary for the "short" game. Now, maybe the others liked it. I don't know if anyone specifically said anything. Me? Never show up at my house with that game. I will burn it. Burn it.

I had two pretty spectacular wins, if I do say so myself. I won a game of Settlers with only four settlements and no cities on the board as my winning turn started. Basically, I had four settlements. Three victory points hidden. Then I flipped over a knight to get largest army, thus making nine. And then placed a settlement, thus making ten. Kick a**. The other was a game of euchre with Heather as my partner. Heather and I had six points. Michele and ChrisM had nine. As I dealt I said, "Come on, gimme the right cards to "go it alone" and get four points to win the game!". Someone must have been listening. I picked up the ace of spades, threw down the trash, and had the two high jacks, ace, king and queen of spades and we won. Rock on.

Other than that, my games of choice and much more were played: Settlers, cribbage, euchre and scrabble (well, okay, only one game of scrabble - it's not usually a game I play). Oh, and we tried out the Shangri-La game that Mike and Dawn brought. Definitely willing to try it again, not sure any of us got the "ah-ha! that's the strategy!" moment, but that's ok.

The new stove and fridge rock. Loved that we all could quote Firefly. Loved seeing everyone, especially those we hadn't seen in quite awhile. Too many mosquito bites. Lots of good food. Much Smirnoff's. All in all, a lovely, lovely, long weekend. There's a lot more that went on, but this is a good summary.

Nbh and I definitely plan on attending next year.

Posted by jennj at 10:35 AM | Comments (2)

kcab

Shangri-La was wonderful. We're home. More tomorrow.

Posted by jennj at 10:01 PM | Comments (5)