2010-03-23 
 

say what?

Well, I've been here sporadically and honestly only popped in today to mention that this blog is in no way affiliated with the new movie, Love and Other Drugs. I have nothing against the movie and might even see it as I'm fond of the stars, but I've been using Love and Other Drugs as a blog for years now and used it as a sign off on email and letters for years before that. I know there's nothing new under the sun, but when I heard the title, I did feel like someone had stolen it from me. True, the original phrase I used on those pre-blog emails and letters was the more robust Love and Other Strange Drugs, but I thought it was too long for a URL. Since then, I've grown quite used to the shortened version...which is now a movie title.

So, I popped in tonight to mention the above and discover that Blogger, my publishing interface, is migrating away from FTP as a method of publishing and wants me to migrate my "blog" to some new address. This rather sucks for me since I have a bit more here on the site than just entries and archives. What I think it means, though I'll have to do some more investigation to confirm that I'm not making a mountain out of an anthill, is that I'll need to go to another blog client or figure out how to publish via old school FTP.

Either of those choices would be a bit of a pain in their own way. I've heard horror stories about the former in which folks lose much of what they once had in neat blog form. As for the latter, I'd lose the convenient interface and be forced to take a few more steps with an FTP client, but it ought to be doable on the rare occasions I want to pop up a photo or a random thought. We'll see, they've delayed the official turn off date until May 1st...which gives me at least a few weeks to ponder...or procrastinate.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 11:55 PM

(1) comments



2010-01-20 
 

love and breakfast cereal

Going back and tagging really old entries is...interesting. Some were, and still are, beautiful. Some were badly written and rather difficult to read because of that fact. And some were pure navel gazing, interesting to no one but my self in retrospect.

Well, until I become famous. When you're famous, suddenly what you ate for breakfast and other mundane details become interesting to the masses. So there's still hope!

Labels: blogging, memory lane, writing

* posted by me at 9:34 PM

(0) comments



2009-11-26 
 

So this is a test to see if this app is worthwhile.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 1:23 PM

(0) comments



2009-10-26 
 

there's an echo in this room

Wow, it got empty in here. The smell of dust and disuse hangs in the air. Perhaps I ought to just shut the door and seal off this particular room, let it be discovered by some web archeologist out there in future world. An HTML snapshot of random man's life.

Except here I am, hovering in the doorway, unwilling to say goodbye quite yet.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 10:33 PM

(1) comments



2009-04-18 
 

moving on

We'll be moving to Cambridge in a week and a half. That's all, just thought it was about time I posted an update. Everything else is going along just fine.

Really wondering if this blog will go on. Might be different once we're in our own place again. I may feel the need to update more often. Then again, perhaps this is something I needed to do for a while and can let go of now that I'm back on the East Coast. We'll see.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 5:12 PM

(0) comments



2009-02-19 
 

a meme to pass the time

Did I mention I've been abducted by Facebook? Yes...but I have a secret goal for this blog and haven't reached it yet so...a meme! (thanks to Brian who is indeed made of fine materials)

1. Mike is made of stories.
   
2. While all the others are resigned to defeat, Mike is made of sterner stuff.
   
3. Mike is made of stupid.
   
4. Mike is made of very soft rubber.
   
5. Mike's is made of laminate construction that conceals the outline of the gun and also cushions the wearers leg.
   
6. Mike is made of muscle!
   
7. Mike is made of jelly.
   

Watch me wiggle! See me jiggle!

Labels: blogging, memes

* posted by me at 5:23 PM

(1) comments



2009-02-02 
 

ground hog!

This blog is officially 6 years old. If it were a small child, it would be in first grade.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 12:41 PM

(1) comments



2009-01-29 
 

sucking facebook

It's official. I've been sucked into FB and tend to ignore this blog now. I status update when I want to send out an APB. I post memes on the notes page.

I zip little notes back and forth to friends to keep in touch. Look at pictures and feel more connected to them. I've communicated more with friends on FB and know more about what's going on in their lives now than I did before. Reconnected with people from the past that I missed and, thanks to the privacy settings, kept away from those I didn't want to deal with. I'm not giving up on real-live contact, but it's nice to catch up with someone across the country during my lunch break. Someone who, before FB, I would have spoken with once or twice a year...if that.

My friends who aren't on FB don't know that I was lost in the thesaurus last week. Well, now they do...if they still check this blog. The friends on FB may or may not have that information. Depends on how often they check the status updates...if they even do. Some people find them annoying. (and so they should turn them down...it is an option for the haters) I find the updates akin to communicating telepathically. You write what you're thinking and someone far away, doing something else, sees what you're thinking. If they have it texted to their phone, it's almost instantaneous. (sorta like Twitter for techno-weenies) If they want to respond, they do, and you hear back. (I dream of the day when it really will get sent directly to my brain, but that might just be me. I do enjoy connectivity...as long as there's always the option to turn off when I so desire.)

Bottom line: I'm just as twizzled by my FB love affair as everyone else posting on the subject, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, random review

* posted by me at 5:16 PM

(2) comments



2009-01-13 
 

getting meta

Haven't been posting much lately. Been in a good mood and things are happening, but I'm wondering if it's time to take a break...I need to be working on some different writing at the moment.

Truth is that this did keep me writing longer than any other journal I've kept and it is both nice and amusing to so easily go back and reread things from years gone by, so maybe I'll keep it up off and on. Besides, the pundits are saying that blogging is dying, and I do enjoy thwarting the pundits.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 7:40 PM

(0) comments



2008-10-25 
 

something's gotta give

Having a job is great for the wallet, but it's slowed down my blogging quite a bit. Looking at the beginning of October, I barely missed a day...now it's back to just once or twice a week.

Sigh.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, sharketing

* posted by me at 11:44 AM

(0) comments



2008-10-01 
 

revisions

We are all, always, revising our own personal history.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 5:55 PM

(0) comments



2008-04-28 
 

raindrops keep falling

One of the biggest differences between Boston and San Francisco is the weather in general and rain in particular. F'rinstance, it's raining today. It will probably rain next week. It will rain off and on over the next month. It will also rain every once in a while during the summer.

In San Francisco, it stops raining in March and doesn't start up again until November. Sure, there are days with a fog so heavy that you might think it was raining if you're not used to the fog, but the seasoned San Franciscan knows the difference.

G and I both like the rain, but having a heavy downpour with May just around the corner is a bit disconcerting for some reason.

ETA: Serendipity strikes. Did my obligatory tagging of two back entries, and one of them was this bit I wrote several years back about the seasons of San Francisco.

Labels: blogging, boston, dose of mikey, linkage, san francisco

* posted by me at 6:11 PM

(1) comments



2008-03-27 
 

proud to be her son

Hi all! I am currently experiencing some technical difficulties and cannot get Blogger to upload new entries. Fortunately, my alternative FTP is working just fine so I can sneak in this little note. (CuteFTP rocks!)

I am working with various folks on the problem and will hopefully get it resolved quickly. Then there will be new and fascinating entries about my dazzling life to distract you from the work you ought to be doing.

All kidding aside, until I figure out the issues with my own site, please check out the 2008 update we just made to my Mom's story on her site: myomusings.

Even with all of the obstacles that myositis has placed in her path, she constantly searches out ways to overcome them. She has an incredibly strong spirit, and I'm proud to be her son.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, shout out

* posted by me at 3:27 PM

(0) comments



2008-03-07 
 

sign of love

Not a huge change, but I'm wondering if the title in the sign is too subtle.

Also finally added a link to Dudette's site. About time!

Labels: 1000 words, blogging, linkage

* posted by me at 2:59 PM

(0) comments



2008-02-02 
 

happy bday

This blog officially turns 6 today and then tomorrow we're throwing GrammyBowl 2008 in honor of my grandmother's 89th...oh and that little Superbowl game that'll be on. All good reasons to celebrate by eating an overabundance of finger foods.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 2:02 PM

(0) comments



2007-10-14 
 

this is a test from CA

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 2:10 PM

(0) comments



2007-10-11 
 

goodbye dear desk

Last post from my desk in the alcove. Yes, that time stamp is correct; it's just past six. We've been up all night doing last minute packing. Time for a couple hours rest before the truck comes. Must pack up my computer first though, and I wanted to type in one last post.

Many tales to tell, but too tired right now. Maybe tomorrow from another computer.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, looking eastward

* posted by me at 9:10 AM

(0) comments



2007-09-14 
 

100 things

It seems that no blog is complete without one of these lists laying around somewhere. I'm going to be kind and give it a page of it's own so that you can feel free to ignore it if you wish. Also, please note that the page this links to has been available since March. I just now realized that the entry announcing it never got published. That said it, I reread it today and it's still all true.

RANDOM LIST OF 100 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g, memes, memory lane, random review, rant, reading, san francisco, sharketing, shout out, spirit

* posted by me at 8:18 PM

(0) comments



2007-09-01 
 

ch-ch-ch-changes

So, with my last day at work just a month away I feel more comfortable breaking the cone of silence.

Yes, I'm planning on October 1st as my last day...and it'll be a vacation day to boot! I had originally thought of giving the 28th of September as a last day, but October 1st will extend my health insurance for the full month. Of course, other things could happen in between, but we can't talk about that yet.

Regular visitors will also notice that I'm allowing Google Ads up above. Honestly, I love the PBS nature of an ad free site, but they seem unobtrusive and it's a bit of an experiment. I'd like to see if it "helps" the site climb up higher on random search results.

I'm also curious what ort of ads it'll generate. The most popular search words that lead to this site are:

MARGOT TENENBAUM
PRIDE FLAGS
LOVE
PEACE
DRUGS
and, oddly enough, INLAND

Well, I guess Margot Tenenbaum's an odd term to lead folks here as well since I've only mentioned her in one entry ages ago, but I can't imagine many sites that mention her, so I guess it makes sense that mine pops up pretty often in search results....

I stand corrected. I just googled "Margot Tenenbaum" and people are WAY obsessed with that movie. This site isn't even in the top ten pages of search results. Folks must be really into her if they're digging down past ten pages and still clicking through to see what's at the other end!

But I digress, the point is that I'll find it interesting to see what sort of companies those various popular search terms will hook up to. (and I can't pretend that I'm unaware of the fact that this entry itself should bump me up the Margot Tenenbaum ladder)

Oh, I also decided to install the blogger bar up at the top of the page. More because of the search function than anything else. I never got around to tagging the first 300 entries so it'll be helpful when I want to surf the archives.

Lastly, a special note to DUDE. As I powered through my stats pages looking for popular search terms, I noticed that this postcard page averages about 15-20 hits a month. Given that it's buried pretty deep, that's impressive. Also, markart does about the same. You should send me more jpgs and I'll post 'em.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, looking eastward, sharketing

* posted by me at 5:44 PM

(4) comments



2007-05-30 
 

well run dry

i have many good ideas at the wrong moment

moments late at night just before sleep

moments in the shower when all's too wet

ideas that i want to expound on

ideas that would make brilliant, scintilating blog entries

too many ideas to count

yet i sit here, brain-numbed from work, and not one of them comes to me

i'm left pondering the emptiness instead

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 5:35 PM

(0) comments



2007-05-23 
 

bwooooop! bwoooop!

That's the sound of the fire alarm at my cousin's wedding. Someone in the wedding party was being naughty and smoked out in the non-smoking hallway.

That's also the sound that explains my non posting. I have several on my cell phone that need to be transferred, but I got home to discover that my computer was experiencing technical difficulties. Poor baby has a trojan.

The thing that irritates me most is that the program it disguised itself as purported to be from a security company. Now, if I was of a less suspicious nature, I would've just assumed that my inhouse IT man had installed something new while I was gone. He's often installing nifty upgrades as a little treat for me so clicking on the button that would release little Greek computer code into my personal Troy would've been a rather natural thing to do. Sorry, that analogy sounded much better in my head, but somehow I now have a large question mark in my mind about the naming of a certain prophylactic company.

Anyway. Thankfully, something about the way the dialogue box read struck me as odd so I asked G before clicking. He's working on rolling the horse on out, but it'll take a bit. Until then, this post from his computer will have to keep me in the game.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, looking eastward, rant

* posted by me at 10:33 PM

(0) comments



2007-02-02 
 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

Today, loveandotherdrugs turns 5.

FIVE.

I've been doing this for five years.

In other news, Max sent G and I some popcorn for Groundhog Day. Just his little way of saying thanks for all the bananas I guess.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 10:42 PM

(0) comments



2006-12-08 
 

706...707

I finally updated to the new Blogger interface and should I choose, I can go back and add tags to all 706 entries...well 707 including this one. Not a huge number considering I've been at this since 02, but still.

You know I'm gonna do it. I'm a sucker for stuff like this. See you in a week.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 8:33 PM

(0) comments



2006-11-27 
 

victorian novel

In the interest of getting a new entry up, I'm avoiding the new Blogger interface once again. I had grand plans for dealing with it this weekend, but somehow we came home Friday night a bit more tired than when we left.

Not to say that we didn't have a nice T-Day. In fact, last minute scheduling conflicts ensured that the day went much more calmly than I'd anticipated. G's Mom put on a nice spread and much munching ensued, both before and after the main course.

Even ended up bonding with his niece and sister-in-law over one of their current endeavors. Thanks to things I've picked up at ------, I was able to give them a few pointers that they were thankful for.

Oooh, dashes are fun. Like writing some Victorian novel.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 9:16 PM

(0) comments



2006-10-30 
 

vacation admission

Okay, I admit it. I meant to update this site every day last week.

Didn't happen.

I did get a lot done with bills, doctors and house stuff.

And more importantly, caught up on many of the programs Mr. TiVo had recorded for us.

And had five martinis in a row without worrying about having to be anywhere the next day. mmmmm...olives.

And slept in late...sooooo late.

And ate whenever, whatever and wherever we wanted.

And spend too much money at IKEA buying little things we've meant to pick up for ages...and then had a romantic dinner in the cafe. mmmmm...meatballs Even had a view of the Golden Gate bridge and the sunset...under an overpass sure, but I believe you can find romance in any location if you concentrate on your partner instead of your surroundings.

Oh, and I spent a ridiculous amount of time towards the end of the week playing the demo for Lego Star Wars 2 (The Original Trilogy).

And of course, we went on our annual pumpkin trek to Half Moon Bay....followed by the traditional meal of Hawaiian food. mmmmm....chicken katsu curry

G with the perfect pumpkin

Labels: 1000 words, blogging, dose of mikey, g, linkage

* posted by me at 9:01 PM

(0) comments



2006-10-24 
 

monkey on my blog

Scroll down to the bottom of this page to meet Max. I was going to place him directly into this entry, but thought about how lonely he'd get after being shifted into the archives.

I should probably think about an overhaul of this splash page, but I'm pretty content with the way things are and know that the next step may be a doozy if I decide to switch interfaces here behind the curtain.

We'll see. Until then, go meet Max, and don't be afraid to give him a banana. He's a good little monkey and never bites.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 4:37 PM

(1) comments



2006-09-13 
 

Alden’s recent post got me thinking.

While I never hid my true name on this site, I have recently created an alternate account where I can just write what I feel without the fear of worrying folks because writers sometimes like to EXAGERATE to EXORCISE their demons. Since this site has a tendency to be a bit of an open letter to everyone in my life, I’m overly cautious how I state things. Good training for myself as a writer, but not always as cathartic as I’d like.

Random example: I keep (and would like to continue) this site at a PG-13 level. Elsewhere, I can go to R and not fret. (Yes, sometimes typing in a few of George Carlin’s unacceptable words is fun.)

Aside from the above, I also took a little trip down memory lane.

Years ago, a good friend and I read the original Griffin and Sabine book and became obsessed with the idea that it’s easier to express true feelings to a total stranger than with the closest of friends. Having no internet at the time, (1992) we began exchanging postcards and letters under assumed names that spoke dramatically and poetically about our current plights. Being vaguely anonymous, we allowed ourselves to go over the edge about our middle class traumas in a way that would’ve felt selfish had we done it under the guise of our real names. We exorcised demons that may’ve stunted our growth otherwise.

While I’m not so brave as to connect his name to mine here, I will confess that he will always exist within me; and that I still find comfort in expressing my words through him when life deals me a low hand.

Labels: blogging, memory lane

* posted by me at 9:09 PM

(1) comments



2006-07-17 
 

blogger's block

It's been a while since I posted. Just not feeling much like writing lately...or more to the point writing here.

Sometimes I need to live with my thoughts first before sending them out into the world to live on their own. Poor little thoughts without me to defend them. Whatever will they do when someone tries to twist them?

Besides the little thoughts I'm busy bringing up in my head, not much else is happening. I did volunteer at the AIDS walk yesterday and turned into a redneck. (Literally, I forgot to put sunblock on my neck...ouch.) Had more fun than I expected, and met some new people from work who gave me some new thoughts to bring up.

I think I'll name them George.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 9:37 PM

(0) comments



2006-06-14 
 

find me a socket!

I often wish that I were permanently plugged in to the internet. To be clear, this would be an optional permanent communication point. Like the cell phone, the purpose would be to keep me connected to the world, not the world connected to me. (Which is why, if you ever need me to really call/mail you back right away, I suggest that you actually say, "I really need you to call me back right away." Otherwise I'll feel free to take my own sweet time before doing so. (but don't cry wolf, that'll just piss me off and put you permanently back on my own sweet time list)

Point is...I had some great rambling thoughts I wanted to share that I thought out while starting in on the evening commute, but now I'm home and the day's finally caught up with me and I don't have the energy to rethink them out. So you get this rambling instead.

Going to relax now. I pity the poor public, forced to struggle on without my great thoughts.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 10:44 PM

(1) comments



2006-04-09 
 

make your own: here

Labels: 1000 words, blogging

* posted by me at 9:33 PM

(0) comments



2006-03-31 
 

crossed wires

Something wrong with connection at home, so posting this quickly from work. It may be that the pictures below of baby dude growing up will have to continue to amuse you all over the weekend.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 3:28 PM

(0) comments



2006-02-25 
 

so true

Found this over at WWdN a while back and it stuck in my head. Naturally, I went back to find it so I could share.

Somebody was once asked to define blogs. They refused and said:

I don’t care. There is no need to define “blog.” I doubt there ever was such a call to define “newspaper” or “television” or “radio” or “book” — or, for that matter, “telephone” or “instant messenger.” A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list. People will use it however they wish. And it is way too soon in the invention of uses for this tool to limit it with a set definition. That’s why I resist even calling it a medium; it is a means of sharing information and also of interacting: It’s more about conversation than content… so far. I think it is equally tiresome and useless to argue about whether blogs are journalism, for journalism is not limited by the tool or medium or person used in the act. Blogs are whatever they want to be. Blogs are whatever we make them. Defining “blog” is a fool’s errand.

So true.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 9:04 PM

(0) comments



2006-02-07 
 

lost and found

Something went wrong and I lost my February entries for a few days. The whole month disappeared and managed, somehow, to take the last day of January with it.

It's taken care of, and all I can say is that the guys over at logjamming are super cool to deal with. If you need a site hosted, check them out.

All this means that you may've missed the pictures in the previous entry below, and that makes me sad.

I'm so vain, I probably think this blog is about me.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 11:25 PM

(0) comments



2006-02-03 
 

happy blogday

Today this blog is 4 years old. I like that it's also Groundhog Day...which grew out of Candlemas and/or St. Brigid's Day which both owe a bit to the Pagan Sabat Imbolc.

The halfway point between winter and spring.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 2:11 AM

(0) comments



2006-02-02 
 

peace of cake

I met Brian in college. T and I were driving by on our way to CVS and she noticed him walking in the weather. (not raining really, but it had been and was at the nasty point inbetween mist and rain where an umbrella is only useful to test puddle depth)

He was "gasp!" gay, or so said the rumors. Her suggestion that we offer him a ride scared the pink right out of my closeted gay self, but we ended up driving him back to his dorm.

T and I both came out officially after college. Hmmmm, maybe it IS contagious.

Seriously though, his courage to officially come out while still in school inspired me to start being more honest with myself and with the people I was closest to. Thanks Brian! (and thanks for sticking with me through the ups and downs since then...you are a true friend and I'm lucky to still have you in my life)

He's over in my blog links now as Peace of Cake. For those of you who know him, he's just as funny and thought provoking as ever, for everyone else...what are you waiting for? I mean, I know I'm fascinating and all, but this entry's finished now.

Labels: blogging, memory lane, shout out

* posted by me at 1:39 AM

(2) comments



2006-02-01 
 

insert text here

Witty opening remark.

Carefully crafted anecdote.

Self serving analysis.

Clever conclusion.

Labels: blogging, writing

* posted by me at 12:35 AM

(0) comments



2006-01-20 
 

slow burn

This blog will be 4 years old soon. I started on 2/2/02. There was something nice and round about that date that I wanted to preserve so I made an extra effort to get it up and running in time. There's something significant about hitting 4 years of blogging too, but I'm not sure what.

Maybe it's just that I actually started a writing project and stuck with it, albeit sporadically, for such a long time.

Pretty good, that.

Labels: blogging, writing

* posted by me at 6:57 PM

(0) comments



2005-09-21 
 

alternating currents

In some not-so-strange alternate reality (out in whatever direction alternate realities lay) there is a me, quite similar to the me you know and love, who registered a different blog name 4 1/2 years ago.

Speaking of Pavilions

Does his writing skew a bit differently? It's hard to tell. My eyes don't see very well when reading in that direction.

In the universe next door to him lies the domain of magicalmike.com, a happy place that hides dark secrets between lines of eloquent text.

Further off, the picture is even fuzzier, but
Too Many Parentheses, Stephan's Corner
and Altering Reality are all pretty likely.

Someday I'd like to read them all.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 10:25 PM

(0) comments



2005-04-20 
 

until niagara falls

Ugh. Wrote a great post about visiting Niagara Falls today with coworker C. We were viciously lost for parts of it, but laughed much. Revelation of day for us was that the Amazing Race might eliminate us after only an episode or two, but that we'd make great TV until it did (No bickering, just laughter.) But that's gone now.

Three paragraphs just disappeared into the ether. Somebody could make a nice bundle of cash if they figured out how to fix that since it happens to me at least once a month. So frustrating! When I hit save as draft, I want a draft saved, not erased for all eternity.

Enough moaning, I'm going to bed now remembering the giggles of the day.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, sharketing

* posted by me at 11:36 PM

(0) comments



2005-04-14 
 

smoke in the city

Climbing up through the steel and concrete of downtown San Francisco this morning, I caught the lingering soaked-in scent of campfire smoke. After three showers and several changes of clothes it seemed a bit odd that I’d still be carrying it around, so maybe nature’s trying to tell me something.

I’d been reading Tom Robbins’ Villa Incognito during my commute and my mind’s been full of animism and the idea that every living thing has spirit. Not a new concept for me, but something that’s been buried under too many years of dance halls and drugs.

Okay, maybe that last part’s a little hyperbolic and/or misleading, and I do beg your pardon. It’s been a while since I’ve sat down to tap anything in to the computer and the words are welling up; flooding to the surface of my skin and jumping off on whatever keys they see fit. I have lost all control.

This entry has been brought to you by the letter M who is tired of being a corporate cog. BEHIND THE BLOG: He composed it much earlier today in email format. The more legitimate work related email he could've been writing championed ideas that had been reduced, by committee, to a tepid and salt free state. Ain't corporate america grand?

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, reading, san francisco, sharketing, spirit

* posted by me at 2:16 AM

(0) comments



2005-04-04 
 

technical difficulites

Well, sometime over the weekend my computer decided to stop playing nicely with the internet. In fact, it just stopped playing nicely altogether. Point is that I've been unable to blog from it. I can check email from the work computer or G's, but my computer time's going to be curtailed until we figure out the problem. I also picked up a cough over the weekend, so right now I have no desire to sort through my systems. TIVO it is! Gotta love modern technology...when one system crashes, there's always another one waiting in the wings to help you forget.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 10:53 PM

(1) comments



2005-03-08 
 

silly season

I'm in the midst of the silly season at work, and while writing about all the craziness does help to keep me sane, I need to keep that offline due to a certain odious sense of honor I hold about promises made to my company. For my loyal readers, all 8 of you, I do whole heartedly apologize, but that's it for this evening.

Labels: blogging, sharketing

* posted by me at 12:24 AM

(0) comments



2005-02-26 
 

fairy tales

Over the past month I've had two reasons to contemplate the ethics of blogging. The first came, oddly enough, from a university student doing a survey about Ethics in Blogging. The second came from certain comments that folks made about the veracity of Secret Simon's site (new link to left). Here's the way I figure it:

Mikey's Blog Manifesto

I blog because I want to, not because I'm trying to impress the likes of you.

Achieving originality has become near impossible in most mediums, but even more so on the increasingly level playing field of blogs. Google shows about 2000 returns for "blog manifesto" and jumps to well over 400,000 when you remove the quotation marks. Blogging is not about being the first with an idea or the first to report on events, it's about expressing your thoughts on ideas and events.

I blog my own personal truths.
A. Based on Actual Facts
B. Loosely Based on Actual Facts
C. Based Completely on Imagined Situations
If I'm in a good mood, I might differentiate which of the above you're reading, but it's not my responsibility. If you know me personally, you might know the real truth, otherwise assume it's all C...It'll make you less cranky.

Reading a blog is a choice you make, not something I've forced you into. If you don't like what Famous Author says about Controversial Topic, you can put the book down. Likewise, if you don't like what I'm saying, click away.

If you disagree with my views/opinions feel free to say so, but don't be surprised should I delete comments that I view as offensive. My blog, my rules. If that disturbs you, find your own little corner of the internet to shout it from. I can't stop you, nor -believe it or not- would I want to. Freedom of Expression in all of it's incarnations is the right I treasure most as an American. Be it religious, political or other, if I'm not causing physical harm to another human being, don't tread on me. Try and take this right away from me though, and I will fight you.

I reserve the right to edit and/or add to this manifesto at any given point without consulting you. So there.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, linkage, writing

* posted by me at 4:00 PM

(1) comments



2005-02-16 
 

beam me up

Bun's back in town! Got a call from her yesterday and she's hoping to have me/us over for a dinner soon in the temporary digs she's sharing with other members of her family. Not sure how long she'll be around, but excited to see her for a good old catch up.

I'm still selfish enough to want her all to myself, but willing to own that emotion so I can enjoy her as part of a bigger group now. Still, that's not saying I won't try to get her to myself for at least a moment or two. After all, it's been over two years since we last met in person.

Insert appropriate wavy lines here. Then picture a montage of short clips featuring B and myself in a mulitude of merry situations. Ready? CUE VOICEOVER:

For most of my first years in SF, B and I were constant companions, spending most of our free time with each other. Shortly after I met G she made the jump up North to move in with her new family and our closeness swam down to a deeper level. It breached the surface whenever we spoke on the phone, but drifted down again after goodbyes were said.

OK, the friendship/whale metaphor turns out much weirder than I intended, but it comes closest to expressing thoughts that haven't quite formed fully in my mind.

We always travelled different paths, yet they constantly paralleled one another. Often so closely that the path become as one. At other times, further apart, but never placing us out of site from one another. I sometimes wonder if we met before this life and planned our individual "nesting" phases to coincide. I wonder if we knew about the median strip that would spring up between us, blinding us to each others experiences save for the occasional glimpse when we crossed bridges.

OK, friendship as parallel path not as odd, but too cliche and transition to highway image rather harsh. Will return to these thoughts at a later date.

END VOICEOVER

In other, non-metaphoric news: The comments are finally working for ALL users and not just folks with blogger accounts. Yay!

Labels: blogging, memory lane, shout out

* posted by me at 12:11 AM

(0) comments



2005-02-14 
 

recess

A mighty hangover and a Hallmark holiday have combined forces to temporarily interrupt this blog. We will return to our regularly scheduled randomness shortly. Thank you for your patience.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 2:52 AM

(0) comments



2005-02-09 
 

DOUBLE FEATURE: triple giggle and pimp pine pictures

Click through to GAWKER to see an article that made me giggle thrice. (Thanks to Michael for pointing out this particular story.)

1. I like the idea of myself as a "sartorially-challenged, shut-in computer nerd with a sicko crush on Scarlett Johansson and the skinny guy from The O.C"

2. Directly below the article they have advertising banners flicker in and out from various national brands and the following plug: "Gawker Media - Gawker and seven other weblog titles - brings a young and influential audience to brand advertisers." That's either sadly hypocritical or deliciously ironic, but it's funny either way. (I vote for the latter. I've always liked Gawker...and several of their seven other weblog titles.)

3. Well, you'll have to guess at the third giggle, but if you know me it'll be pretty obvious once you read the article.

In other news: I spent most of last night organizing two years worth of photos. There were a lot of pictures to go through, but the time consuming part of the task became remembering all the good times and retelling stories with G. This one in particular had a lot of good associations with it.



Imagine my surprise when a closer examination revealed a frolicking Sponge Bob sprinkling his special brand of love around my old stomping grounds.



Belated thanks to Dude and Dudette for the doubles you gave us at the last barn bash. Can't wait for the next one!

Labels: 1000 words, blogging, dose of mikey, g, linkage, looking eastward, sharketing, shout out

* posted by me at 10:17 PM

(0) comments



2005-02-08 
 

keep on dancing

Just stumbled upon Matt's site and need to share. The blog is interesting on it's own, with updates from all around the world, but I highly recommend checking out his dancing movie after reading a few of the entries. It blew me away.

Labels: blogging, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 11:04 PM

(0) comments



2005-02-07 
 

technogeek confession

I confess, I have spent the past 14 hours in front of the computer. I spurned the sun that shone outside and the warm breezes in favor of the glow of my monitor and the soft whir of the hard drive. And yes, it is also true that I was glued - nay - MELDED with the machine for well over nine hours yesterday.

Tweaks have been made though. Oh yes they have! Some invisible to the average reader, but I know they're there. Archives updated. Code finessed and refined. Scanners configured and pictures uploaded. Even new entries in the adventure pages. Many entries and so much code to puzzle through! JPEGS and Tables and Fonts, oh my!

Mmmm...yes. I'd say it's bed time now.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 2:27 AM

(0) comments



2005-02-02 
 

love and other strange drugs

Three years ago on Groundhog's Day, I started this blog. I like to think that it's coming along nicely. No big entry today, but there'll be some behind the scenes work happening.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 9:35 PM

(0) comments



2005-01-13 
 

big update in a little box

The sidebar is updated...and the internal architecture of the site has been revised. Might not look like much, but it took quite a few hours over the past two nights to get it into proper order. Pictures are next, but they may need to wait until I return from the East.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 1:55 AM

(0) comments



2005-01-11 
 

dirty swedish maids

Yes it's late, but I can't sleep. Checked my stats for the first time in a couple months and People, you might want to stay inside. It's getting a bit odd out there.

Or maybe you want to go out in it. Who am I to judge your kink? Lord knows I've got a few of my own. Warning: I feel this post taking a turn in a direction I would normally block and send over to the backroom, but I'm tired of trying to keep it PG all the time. Backrooms are for X, not PG-13 or R. I suggest that anyone feeling a bit of trepidation right now should scroll quickly past the rest of this Tuesday entry below and read Monday's entry instead. A nice and quiet entry about Australian candy. (Although, I've already been told it was oddly subversive. Go figure.)

Anyhoo, my stats engine lets me know what search strings bring folks to my little hole in cyberspace. Faves of the past 30 days:

dirty swedish maids
edwardian masters and maids
strange love facts
hen strange love
st barts marijuana
tests on if you and you boyfriend still love each other

Honey, if you gotta take a test to find out, I'm doubting that you did in the first place...and while I'm meowing, let me add that it's "YOUR boyfriend" not "you boyfriend."

Hey! Who let the queen out? (whoot, whoot...ah whatever)

My favorite string so far this month: animals that begin with b. So Sesame Street and kinda sweet, but also troubling for a moment or two.

I do worry about kids stumbling in here unaware. Little kids, not teenagers. Hold on a second while I get up on my soapbox and slalom the topic a bit. Steady...okay.

I honestly feel that people don't give teens the credit they deserve. I read Portnoy's Complaint and Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me at age 12. Both contained rather adult subject matter, but like most teens I dealt with what I understood and stored the rest away for future referencing. Now I'm not saying to hook your kids up with these books, especially not at age 12. However, should you find them lying by the kids bed it's time for a conversation and not a scolding...you might also want to prepare them for their future as an English Major...but I digress.

For me, those books, and several other items I found in my parent's collection, kept me from killing myself as a teen. Portnoy, and a mild addiction to the Playboy Advisor, convinced me there'd be no blindness or hair growing on my palms due to my shameful addiction...or from the images I conjured up while indulging in it. (In fact, after enough backlogging through old Advisor columns, I learned that my shameful addiction was actually quite normal. A wonderful spot of calm hope in my otherwise anxious existence.)

Unintentially, Portnoy's, also glamorized therapy. When I eventually lay on the couch myself, the eventual acceptance of surviving abuse had the added bonus of leaving my innerGoth feeling like a true antihero.

Been Down So Long was mostly indeciphrable to me the first time I read through it, but I came away with the sense that everything would be alright if I could only make it to college. For anyone familiar with the book that may seem a strange takeaway, but it was mine and it kept me holding on to life through some tough years. Getting older meant I'd finally get to do things my way and be true to myself and, as an added bonus, college was a place that the mouthbreathers from school wouldn't make it into.

Aside: I actually met a dear friend in college with whom I still have a Pooh/Piglet connection. Radically different from the one in the book, although we did do acid together once...and oh the tea!

And we return you to your regularly scheduled blog: So I've decided that I'm going to trust the internet powers that be and responsible parenting to filter my site away from impressionable young eyes, because while I've been pretty good at keeping myself PG, I have occasionally faltered into the PG-13, or even (GASP) the rare R. Apologies to the more sensitive of you but self censorship of that sort makes me itch, and I'm stopping it right now.

Never fear, X will remain firmly in the backroom with the other consenting adults, but I'm not escorting R out of the room anymore should she make an appearance.

All that being said, let me leave you with a favorite string of curse that I stole outright from another college chum long ago and which I still sing quietly to myself when some unsavory character gets too close to me on public transit.

Shit damn fucking damn fucking damn shit.

Please note that normally this is said alltogether as one word, sort of like supercalifragiletcetera. Shitdamnfuckingdamnfuckingdamnshit. I've just added in the spaces above to help those content advisors filter me out.

Refreshing!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, memory lane, reading

* posted by me at 3:24 AM

(0) comments



2005-01-08 
 

family fun

Three family type things to report today.

Spoke with cousin J last night for almost an hour and a half. About the first time in over a year that we've connected. Trip-o-matic! It was really good to catch up and hear what was going on with her and the other cousin types. We've promised to plan a cousin night next time G and I make it back east. Dude and Dudette will have to come along as well.

I admit that all the crap that happened between our parents can still make for an awkward moment now and again, but if we agree to let the embers of those arguments burn out with our parents instead of adding fuel to the fire, we should all be ok.

Speaking of get togethers. Friends of G's family are having a belated holiday afternoon over in Fremont today. I'm trying to choose to be in a good mood about it, but I have enough social anxiety disorder type thoughts to still get knots in my stomach when it comes to meeting new folks. Especially when they're on the husband's side of the family.

In other, less stressful news, Michael Upstairs has his own blog now. I've permalinked to Try Not To Panic over in my various sites column and will be officially changing his LAOD name to Mr. Panic. Partially because it sounds like a superhero with issues, but mostly because I like his blog title.

Aside: He does look like a twisted version of Marylin Manson when in drag. Doesn't he?

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, looking eastward

* posted by me at 4:26 PM

(1) comments



2005-01-01 
 

testing 1-2-3

Happy 2005 everyone. Ours started off with the sound of rushing water. First from the torrential rains. (well, torrential for SF) Then it stopped raining, but the water kept rushing. Our neighbor had broken the valve on his tub and it overflowed for quite some time until they finally turned off the water to the whole building. It's back on now, but I had a good excuse to delay my shower and just futz with the computer for a while.

Trying some new things here at LAOD. Site is due for it's annual update over the next few months, but I'll be testing some things earlier than that. Get excited!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 4:16 PM

(6) comments



2004-10-13 
 

to ad or not to ad?

Using Google's AdSense on this site would provide me with a teeny tiny source of income. Very teeny tiny. I'm guestimating less than 50 bucks a year, if that.

But that might pay for this website.

Also, in all honesty, I'm curious as to just HOW interested random strangers are in this site. If a search for I love Annie Lennox brings someone to my page and they then clicked on an ad for Annie Lennox at Amazon in the sidebar, I'd get the aforementioned teeny tiny amount of cash along with an idea of why people were popping onto certain pages. (Right now I can see how many total pages are viewed and what the top search strings are, but there's no real knowledge of what the connections are.)

Then there's also the knowledge that using this ad service would quite likely put my site closer to the top of the Google search lists than it is right now. Do you know how far down I am on the 158,000 site results that pop up for I love Annie Lennox? Neither do I, I couldn't keep scrolling through them forever. (Sure, adding a Michael Slaven to the end of the phrase gets this site a bit closer to the top of the results, but still frustratingly far down. I'd rather be on top.)

Or maybe I'm just a money hungry nut who's willing to sell out at the first scent of cash. (Or in this case the first scent of cent.)

Today's entry has been brought to you by the letter M and the number aught-four.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 12:37 AM

(0) comments



2004-09-19 
 

broccoli dude

If you type brocolli dude went to Target into your Google search engine my site pops up as the first hit. Please note my misspelling of "broccoli" helps this to be true. Late night or not when I typed it, I must apologize. To atone for this sin, I have made sure that the heading for today's blog has the proper spelling for broccoli. I hope to never again forget that it's a double c and a single l.

Yes, it's Saturday night and I have a bit too much time on my hands, but G's just woken up from his little disco nap and we can go boogie. (This in no way implies that we're actually going out dancing, but "wonder walk nap" didn't quite convey why he was having a bit of a lie down.) Until tomorrow, may the broccoli be with you.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 1:24 AM

(0) comments



2004-08-19 
 

only connect

Have you noticed that people walking up out of the subway immediately put a cell phone to their ear? It's as if they need to make sure they haven't missed too much of life while they were underground. I do it too, so this isn't about me poking fun. I'm just wondering what odd instinct prompts us all to do the same thing.

In other news, I'm sure I've used this entry title before as it's from Howard's End and one that runs through my head time to time. Never-the-less, it's appropriate for today, and why, why, why do I insist on handcuffing myself with silly rules?

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 12:21 AM

(0) comments



2004-08-10 
 

just a note

I do realize that the formatting of the posts has been a bit funky lately. Lately, it's been more important for me to get a post into the system than actually figuring out my way around the new Blogger formatting buttons.

Let's just say that the random font face/size helps emphasize that there's poetry hidden in the prose and leave it at that.

(Rat a tat tat.)

In other news: All you former lit crit/crit theory kiddies will groove on this site I found over the weekend. (as will most of you arty folk too) I'm linking to the family circus piece because I think it's brilliant. It's also the first thing in a long time that gave me a deep chuckle.

Be sure to click through the full series...and then check out all the other works by clicking artists projects in the upper right...or don't click, after all, I'm not the boss of you.

Labels: blogging, linkage

* posted by me at 10:32 PM

(0) comments



2004-07-20 
 

onward and upward

In a recent post I was kvetching about Netscape's gremlins snatching a long rant from under my nose and blah, blah, blah. I know there's code under here somewhere, but Blogger's made it even easier to not think about it by giving me this very user friendly interface. (which you can't see, but it's all very Wordpad up in my menu bar.)

No more figuring out what the correct character replacement for "<" or ">" is. Everything changes.

In other news, I discovered a title today. I can't tell you what it is, because in my own personal cosmology giving away titles before they're ready kills stories. This is a story I don't want to kill. It's been brewing in my head for quite some time now and I'm hoping it comes out in one piece. As if it were a cake that's liable to get stuck in the pan. I hate it when that happens. So hard to frost.

This again probably means nothing to y'all, but I did discover something else today that I can share. Sometimes it's good thing to be stuck on public transportation without access to a notebook to write stuff down in. It forces you to keep it all in your head and whole chapters fall into place in the time it may've taken to find a pen and get a sentence down had you been elsewhere.

In other news:

There's a story I've been telling myself for quite some time now, and I've gotten quite good at it. It's the story of my life.

You might think that your own life story would be an easy one to tell, but try it someday. What actually happened yesterday becomes too easily veiled by all the moments inbetween. Each one a single translucent sheaf thinner than the finest silk, but by the time you try and reach through to 100 yesterdays ago, the veil has become a solid and impenetrable wall. It's easy to think that you only need to concentrate on the big events, but it's often the smaller moments that end up affecting us most deeply while the events that memory tells us were all important can easily trail off into inconsequence.

Whether you find yourself weaving in and out of anecdotes like a toddler who's only just learning to walk, or leaping back and forth between topics like a crack-head who's just had a smoke really depends on your energy level at the time, but weave and leap you will.

Anyway, they say everyone has a story somewhere inside of them, and this is mine. It starts just outside TS 1.

I had just stomped out one last cigarette before walking into the main terminal. This was shortly before breaking the habit became mandatory again due to unforseen interactions between the fake shmoke and Mincom technology. True, they couldn't actually kill you anymore and were no more physically addictive than bubblegum, but I jumped on the fad when it started back in the 30s and found myself loath to give it up when it changed back from fad to fringe. It should've been easy. Another RubberDog(tm) to store up in the attic until the inevitable recraze hits. The thing is, I found the actual act of smoking to be a calming one. The deep inhalation on the first fag of the day, the quiet moments to myself, the secret camaraderie between the few smokers left. I kept at it along with what trackers let us know was 7.2% of the population and had soon had memorized the few locations where smoking was still permitted. (Even though they were safe and smokeless, the XYZ crowd that was running the country refused to repeal any of the archaic laws. Turns out this was a good thing, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here.)

See what I mean about weaving? I've told myself this story every day for the past two years and still wind up going off on tangents.

So I'm outside TS 1.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 12:35 AM

(0) comments



2004-01-23 
 

borrowed entry

I'm very tired tonight and can't bear the thought of being original. Read SB's entry of January 14th here. A series has ended and the sets have been torn down. I got to keep a coffee cup thanks to SB and I appreciate that.

In other news: Donnie Darko keeps popping up in odd places.

Labels: blogging, linkage, looking eastward, memory lane

* posted by me at 2:27 AM

(0) comments



2003-11-26 
 

harvest


Took off a bit early from work and spent the afternoon adding a few pictures to the sidebar of the archive and just generally fiddling with the format. The code was a bit messy, so I swept as much as I could under the rug.

So much left to do, but G's in the kitchen making yummy smells and I think I'll head down that way for a while.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 10:39 PM

(0) comments



2003-11-24 
 

swab


Had a lazy, but productive Sunday. Ended up spudding on the couch in front of History Channel International. They had an interesting something on about a Roman excavation in England and then this fascinating special - The Secret Life of Geisha. Pretty in depth history and lots of facts I was unaware of.

Earlier on, I managed to add an entry to the Incredible Adventure archive. Anyone have a scanner they'd like to donate? It'd really help spice up the side bar.

Realization of the day: A good cotton swabbing after a hot shower can be eargasmic.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 12:19 AM

(0) comments



2003-11-22 
 

turning tide

I feel the need for change in this blog, but I'm not sure what it will be. Don't worry loyal readers....(all five or six of you.) I'll still grace you with bon mots now and again, but they'll be in a different form. More beautifuller.

Then again, maybe that's a crock and I'll just keep chugging along with random updates.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 8:30 PM

(0) comments



2003-11-02 
 

stuck

just discovered that the preceding two entries got stuck in the ether and never made it onto the site...oops...consider it a halloween mystery...

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 1:55 PM

(0) comments



2003-10-14 
 

still standing

Just a quick note to say I still have a job. That said, it's looking like a true reorg, and I need to wait for the dust to settle before really assessing the situation.

PS I've had a couple comments that the new font size is too tiny on some systems, so I'm going back to the larger size. In other news, webstats is listing countries of origin again. I love knowing that someone in Japan randomly came across the site and stayed for a little visit.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, sharketing

* posted by me at 6:30 PM

(0) comments



2003-10-05 
 

walking on sunshine

I've been feeling a little old lately. The wrinkles in my forehead are a bit deeper than I want them to be. I worry about occupation and health and wonder about whether I ought to be buying property as a solid investment and settling myself down. So today, it was fun to be 20something again.

G and I walked down to the Castro Street Fair and wandered around, sipping on beer and generally not caring about anything except how to navigate through the crowd and stopping occasionally to check out some of the cuter specimens on parade. Ended up splitting a rice krispy treat that we bought from a young entrepreneur who was wandering around with an REI backpack cooler and suddenly I WAS 25 again.

Interesting that. I've recently gotten the September 95 archives up and running and will be filling in new entries as I get to them. It's strange to type in my thoughts and feelings from almost a decade back and look at them in the light of the 21st century. OK, that's a messy metaphor, but the point is that there's something nice in both reliving the past and reviewing it, though they're very different things.

OK, I think I'm still feeling the treat so it's all good. I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 9:24 PM

(0) comments



2003-10-04 
 

Hey! I did something about it! Still not sure about the acid trip topper though...

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 2:51 PM

(0) comments


 

meanwhile

I am so not happy with the way the site looks right now, but just don't have the gumption to do much about it at the moment.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 12:34 PM

(0) comments



2003-09-29 
 

finally updating

Yay! I got a trial of CuteFTP and it does everything I wanted it too. Need to buy full version, but for now at least the Friends page lets everyone know that C and K have welcomed baby N back in July. (up until now it said they were still expecting.) Going to go futz around a bit more and see if I can't get the moon up on the site.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 11:15 PM

(0) comments



2003-09-12 
 

downs n' ups

G's leg was doing better, but this morning's visit to the Dr. showed slight swelling and we need to go back tomorrow am for a followup. UGH! Been working more OT than usual to make up for the lost hours and it's making me a bit tired. At the same time, I wouldn't want anyone else but me in that little room with him when they're trying to take care of him. (they almost gave him a topical drug today which his chart clearly states could put him into anaphylactic shock...lovely) At least he's not in as much pain as he was earlier this week and the weekend should be rather restful. Full moon though...and a party on the top floor tomorrow night...might get a little crazy.

And now for super happy news: the new computer is here! Yay yay yay! G got it all set up for me, and now I'm typing away on it. SOOOO much quicker and more happy making than the old one...can't even begin to express. This weekend I plan to search for the FTP software which will allow me to finally get the back pages of the site updated. Problem being that it's about fifty bucks and I'm being very good and not spending money I don't have. Patience all around seems to be the word for the week.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g, medical mystery

* posted by me at 1:22 AM

(0) comments



2003-09-01 
 

anticipation

Just received a confirmation e-mail from Gateway and the new computer won't arrive until September 16th. Those of you who've been hoping for the long promised overhaul to this site are going to have to wait a bit longer.

Still, it has had minor face lifts...you can imagine my surprise when I found it here, archived by the Wayback Machine. (Check out the address bar when you click the word 'here' in the previous sentence...or visit the Wayback Machine yourself.)

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm waiting for the DVD to come out in order to see if Zip ever did end up in The Hulk. The chances of him being in it are too slim, and the reviews were too bad, to entice me to do more than list it on our Netflix list.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 3:16 PM

(0) comments


 

new

Today we purchased a new computer for me. The one I'm currently typing on is about 6 years old. (that's just about retirement age as far as computer's go) After the recent batch of viruses hit, we finally installed software to keep our computers safe. Unfortunately, my safe computer runs at speeds slow enough to give me time to shower and shave while waiting for a new page to download. As for the blogging, it's very frustrating to type a whole entry and have it dissapear thanks to a slow connection speed. (I'm saving this about once every minute or so in order to preserve my bon mots for all of time.) The FTP software I need was a bit of a pipedream with the old system...so new system it is. Didn't go for the highest end model, but I did get something that'll far surpass this one in ability and yet cost about half what I paid back in 1997. Even at 600 dollars, it's a pretty big purchase for us since we're trying to be good and climb out of the deep hole of debt we've sunk into, but I'm happy to say that it all came out of my bank account and won't deepen the hole any. I needed it. I promise you. I'll bring my lunch to work for the next two weeks.

The above rationalization has been brought to you by the letter m and the number 7.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 2:10 AM

(0) comments



2003-08-29 
 

saved from the saga

I could tell you all about the frustration and angst that I've gone through trying to get the proper FTP software, but I'll spare you and just let you all know that it'll be a while yet. Besides, I'm still sick and I don't feel like typing very much right now. That being said...I had to log in quick to share this story.

Not sure why, but it struck me wonderful.

ETA: As I slog through these entries to tag them, I'll come across dead links. This is one of them and I'm not sure where it pointed to. Lost to the vagaries of the interwebs.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 10:11 PM

(0) comments



2003-08-16 
 

arrgh

Just typed in a very long post that was eaten by Blogger...no desire to type it all again, so to sum up:

What a week it's been.

Lovely dinner last night...authentic Thai. (and congrats to Vivianka and Fireboy)

Need FTP software...if I'm ever to update pages beyond the main home page.

Desire webcam.

Also have fondness for Kenneth Cole shoes.

Money, money, money!

Oh how I desire webcam and wish to join the 21st century.

Need for virus protection software overrides all right now.

Thank the powers that be for the existance of G who knows a bit about computers.

Ooh look! New donation button to right in hopes that random rich person takes a shine to me and this site.

Yes, TANSTAAFL, but I'm willing to try.

Excited to see Keeks tonight.

Bye for now.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g, shout out

* posted by me at 8:46 PM

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2003-08-13 
 

friends in far away places

Tonight I chatted with a new friend in Paris via the internet. I could see him smile at my responses thanks to the wonder of a webcam. I know I'm about 5 years late to hop on this bandwagon, but I want to finally hook myself up. G has one from quite a while back, but I've just discovered that they're not very expensive and a whole lotta fun so why not upgrade?

FUN!

(The fact that I spent the day at a photoshoot watching cute models at work, yet post first about this chat just goes to show what a wonderful place the internet is...and what a geek I can be. LOVE that.)

PS Still having trouble with files and gotta dash for dinner, so next update will come once I've figured it all out.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 9:51 PM

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2003-08-10 
 

troubles

having a bit 'o trouble getting the new blogger to upload files...patience please

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 5:26 PM

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2003-07-14 
 

quick check

Haven't been updating as regularly as I used to. Going through a bit of a phase where I'm actually writing something else. Not sure if it'll end up being anything, but it feels good to get it into the computer.

Good weekend overall...barbecue at D and B's new place over in the East Bay yesterday and barbecue for ourselves this evening. Love that flamey taste!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 1:55 AM

(0) comments



2003-06-28 
 

comments?

Well, as you may have noticed, any bon mots folks submitted over the past few months have disappeared. This is what I get for using someone else's scripting and server space. TANSTAAFL indeed!

So I'm trying out something new by using e-mail comments. Not so much immediate satisfaction for the poster and a bit more work for me, but it'll have to do until I get up the gumption to learn some scripting.

In other news: Happy SF Pride! Thanks to the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this week that gays and heterosexuals should (finally) enjoy the same rights to privacy no matter where they live in the country, this has already been a rather celebratory weekend here in SF and should only become more so as the weekend continues. Yay!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, san francisco

* posted by me at 5:26 PM

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2003-06-06 
 

lovedisc

I have just, for the first time ever, taken the content of this site and burned it to a disc. The whole thing, pictures and all, is only 7 megabytes. I am filled with a sense of peace knowing that know I am finally safe if the servers crash. I'm such a geek that I'm contemplating making a copy of the disc and bringing it with me to Boston to place in the family safety deposit box in case something cataclismic ever happens here in the Bay Area. (the servers are also located close to the San Andreas fault)

I do like going to the safety deposit box. Gives me a thrill as if I were in some James Bond flick. Oh hush up all of you, I already owned the geek thing.

In other happy news: The California State Assembly passed AB 205.

AB 205 would provide couples who are registered as domestic partners with the state of California protections such as child custody and child support requirements, the right to make funeral arrangements, community property, financial support during and after a relationship, mutual responsibility for debts, and death benefits for surviving partners of police and firefighters.

From an e-mail I recieved from LAGLC - I'm being lazy and cutting and pasting.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, politics

* posted by me at 9:34 PM

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2003-05-11 
 

homo alone

G and I watched Homo Heights last night...very odd. Can't decide whether it's a two or a four star movie. The sound quality was pretty bad, some of the dialouge was stilted, and the plot...well it sort of staggered a bit and then took a giant leap at the end. On the other hand, it had Lea DeLaria in it and I have a huge soft spot for her. Also, Quentin Crisp, who played the character trapped by the Drag Queen Don of the gay mafia, does manage to speak exactly as I'd imagine Oscar Wilde would have done. There were some great throw away lines in it too. Great concept, not so great execution I guess.

In other news, I STILL KNOW NOTHING about the job. G and I spent Friday night entertaining Vyvianka who's about to do a summer internship in Thailand and her beau. It's always fun having them over for dinner. They like food. We like food. It's a good thing.

Insipid entry, sorry. OR maybe I'm not. This is my journal after all. Phhhbtt.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 6:49 PM

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2003-03-26 
 

testing 1-2-3

Testing commenting abilities...

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 8:49 PM

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2002-06-11 
 

Well, it seems to have randomly fixed itself....and people say that computer programs are predictable.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 7:02 PM

(0) comments


 

this is not my idea of a good time

I'm having a bit of an argument with Blogger Pro. It keeps randomly changing my fonts on me. Very annoying. It also published a blank entry. What's that about? I know you don't really care, but that's what's going on for me right now.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 4:59 PM

(0) comments



2002-06-07 
 

write on

I'm finding that more and more of my friends are actually popping onto this site to see what's up in the life of Mike...and some strangers too. Overall it feels good, though a little intimidating. The intimidating part is actually good as well. One of my main reasons for starting this site is that I love to write, but I've always been afraid of putting myself out there. What a wonderful way to get over it! Knowing that someone from Singapore or New Zealand just peeked into my site is cool, but it also forces me to let go. I have no control over how they'll interpret my words or how they might use them to judge me as a human being. I need to have confidence that my intent comes through. More importantly, if someone doesn't like what I have to say, that's ok.

In a related topic, want to give a shout out to Bunny G. Rock on!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 2:10 AM

(0) comments



2002-05-19 
 

arrrgh!

Well, isn't that nice. I've been trying to log in for the past three nights to tell all about my exciting time here in New York, but the computer wouldn't let me link through. Tonight it finally works, but I've got m sitting on a couch in the hotel room and really want to spend the time with her. Will have to wait till tomorrow when, with fingers crossed, I'll try to log in again.

Spoken by a 70something woman sitting one table over from us at a diner on the upper west side, "Angela and her husband are in their mid-30's. You know, just starting out." What a nice thing for this slightly frantic 30something to hear.

Labels: blogging, seen and heard, travel

* posted by me at 11:51 PM

(0) comments



2002-04-05 
 

trudging

OK, Blogger hasn't been too bad to me overall, but lately it seems to be snagging every time I want to publish. Which is very frustrating...especially if you're trying to make the site more slick. So, the linked pages will be looking better...but only if I can get the files to upload.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 2:15 PM

(0) comments



2002-03-24 
 

dude!

Dude is here, entries will be short and sweet for a while.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 3:32 PM

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2002-02-09 
 

Onwards and Upwards

Well, things are getting better in here. I keep tweaking the site, bit by bit. In fact, since it's 3:30 in the morning, you'd think I was tweaking right now, but I'm just strung out on html.

They're replaying the olympic opening ceremony right now. At least, I hope they're replaying it. The little text box up in the corner says LIVE, but since it's 4:30 in the morning out there, I think it's a wee bit early. Confession: I'm a sucker for the Olympics. Especially the opening ceremony. All the wildly colorful costumes and over-the-top pageantry...it's almost as grand as a show by Varla!

OK, G just woke up from his little nappy on the couch, so I'm going to go join him. More fascinating insights into my life tomorrow!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 6:46 AM

(0) comments



2002-02-08 
 

i'm very sad...i was just finishing up a rather long post and paused to get a glass of water...came back to discover that my session timed out and I'd lost all my typing

It was a nice post about being sad that I'd be away from G on V-day and how I can be a silly romantic sometimes and then I talked about Buddah's wedding in Vegas and how I'm looking forward to camping with G on some weekend this spring. There's a lot of gladness that we're going to get to cocoon ourselves into a tent after a day of being with the natural world. But the post is gone from the window now. It's still in my head, but I'm too tired to retype it all. Maybe my manager was right today. He said that Mercury's been in retrograde for a while now causing all sorts of communication glitches, but is finally turning. Perhaps this was one last prank.

Now the bed is calling my name and I really ought to answer it.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 1:19 AM

(0) comments



2002-02-07 
 

ok, not much to report today...other than this:
when in the elevator with the president of the company it is wisest just to smile and keep your mouth shut

I'm rather tired and going to go to bed, but hoping that I can rid myself of ugly little xes on my page first.

OK, think I managed that pretty well. YAWN. More tomorrow. Someday I'll actually have more to write about than HTML updates, but right now that's what I'm obsessed with.

Labels: blogging, sharketing

* posted by me at 2:04 AM

(0) comments



2002-02-06 
 

Well it's much less peasoupy and that's a start. Sounds like G has been duking it out with SBC and will have our DSL back up and running this evening. I'm going to try to solve the giff problem but I need to find some cheap way to ftp in to the logjamming folks and organize my files.

In other news: work is hell, but I'm hoping that next week in LA will be relatively mild in comparison. Free food, free drink at a beach front resort. I really shouldn't whine too loudly.

Labels: blogging, sharketing

* posted by me at 3:55 PM

(0) comments



2002-02-05 
 

Well, in a distressing turn, our DSL went out yesterday and I haven't had a chance to do anything new. I think G needs to get a new NIC card. I'm guessing I won't have access to my home computer for at least a few days.
Last night made me realize just how much of an internet addict I've become. G was busy trying to troubleshoot the problem with our DSL, so I was alone watching Monday night television. BORING!
So today I'm using precious minutes of lunchbreak to try and get things looking a little less pea-soupy. Keep your fingers crossed.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 2:32 PM

(0) comments



2002-02-04 
 

We're finally up and running! I promise to get in here soon to change colors and such...unfortunately today is all about the thrilling task of tracking down some information from Asia. Made extra difficult by the fact that it's tomorrow over there already. The fate of my company hangs in the balance - not. (But you'd think it did from the way people are reacting.)

Labels: blogging, sharketing

* posted by me at 3:57 PM

(0) comments



2002-02-03 
 

Still waiting for DNS to propogate. I know it sounds kinda kinky, but it's actually quite boring.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 11:38 PM

(0) comments


 

Well, here it is, a whole day later and I still haven't seen my bon mots from yesterday up on the site. I'm thinking this has something to do with giving DNS time to propogate, but it could also be that I have NO clue what I'm doing when it comes to computers talking to each other.

When I write an e-mail, I hit send and just expect it to get there. I know it has something to do with protocols and mysterious server type thingies, but it's kinda like cheese. I love cheese. I know it comes from cows. But how it gets from the cow to those neatly wrapped little slices mystifies me. I can say that I know there's enzymes involved, but that doesn't mean that I know what to do with them.

All that aside, I'm keepin my fingers crossed and hoping that it all starts connecting soon without any intervention on my part. I want to adjust my template by adding in a table and some colors that are more Mikey. Maybe even a picture! I'm pretty excited about that side of things. I do understand HTML. (Or at least I used to about two years ago, which is an eternity in computer time, but I'm willing to play catchup.) The point being that I'm off on a business trip next Sunday and I won't have much time to do more than pop in an entry now and again.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 4:45 PM

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2002-02-02 
 

This is a pretty inauspicious start. S'ok. It'll get better. I promise.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 10:33 PM

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2002-02-01 
 

archive

This isn't actually a post from February 1st. The blog didn't start until groundhog day. It's almost October and I'm just trying to fix the archives.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 1:46 PM

(0) comments