Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"I actually did laugh out loud. My cat was puzzled and I wanted to say to her, 'you're a cat, never heard of LOL'?" -- cos, February 2008 (comment on a locked entry, quoted with permission)

"I actually did laugh out loud. My cat was puzzled and I wanted to say to her, 'you're a cat, never heard of LOL'?" -- cos, February 2008 (comment on a locked entry, quoted with permission)

I wanted to post this one while it was still fresh, even though the automatic QotD entry for this morning was already posted:

"But it's a bit surprising that SUP doesn't seem to realize that all advertising on the Internet is now essentially free advertising for ad-blocking software." -- flying_blind, 2008-03-13

[Context: While this is something I probably would have added to the quotes-queue anyhow, folks reading this entry on copies of my journal other than the LJ one may be interested in the background that made me want to post it while it's still topical. SUP, the company that bought LiveJournal from Six Apart, removed the ability to select "free, no ads" when creating a new journal, and buried this in yesterday's News entry with only an oblique reference to the account-creation page having been 'streamlined'. This was done despite the advice of LiveJournal creator/former-owner and (invited by SUP) "LiveJournal Advisory Board" member Brad Fitzpatrick -- brad -- (who, in his entry about the situation, made some of the same points about content and content-creators that I've outlined in various conversations and had been meaning to get around to discussing in a journal entry at some point).]

I wanted to post this one while it was still fresh, even though the automatic QotD entry for this morning was already posted:

"But it's a bit surprising that SUP doesn't seem to realize that all advertising on the Internet is now essentially free advertising for ad-blocking software." -- flying_blind, 2008-03-13

[Context: While this is something I probably would have added to the quotes-queue anyhow, folks reading this entry on copies of my journal other than the LJ one may be interested in the background that made me want to post it while it's still topical. SUP, the company that bought LiveJournal from Six Apart, removed the ability to select "free, no ads" when creating a new journal, and buried this in yesterday's News entry with only an oblique reference to the account-creation page having been 'streamlined'. This was done despite the advice of LiveJournal creator/former-owner and (invited by SUP) "LiveJournal Advisory Board" member Brad Fitzpatrick -- brad -- (who, in his entry about the situation, made some of the same points about content and content-creators that I've outlined in various conversations and had been meaning to get around to discussing in a journal entry at some point).]

I made it to rehearsal last night. Played for about an hour. Alas, for many of the tunes the pain in my right wrist was excruiating. Made me really wish I had a Vicodin tablet to take before Saturday's gig. Gonna have to get as far as I can with Naproxen, Ultram, and an ice pack, and try not to grimace too obviously.

I just discovered a mistake I'd made a while back that has made some money I was counting on a bit hard to reach right now. Argh.

The vehicle I've got has one of those fancy dashboard displays with instantaneous and average fuel economy readout, miles-to-empty, etc. Hey, it's gets 26 miles per gallon on the highway ... downhill with the wind at my back. On level ground, not so good as that. It's interesting to see just how large the difference is between city and highway driving (and to observe that a route with stop signs is cheaper than a route with traffic lights unless you manage to hit most of the lights green).

Er ... it also makes it harder to avoid noticing that at current gasoline prices (with careful shopping) it cost me $10.10 to drive to 3LF rehearsal last week and $10.40 to drive to HCB rehearsal this week. %wince% So on the one hand it's very easy to get the double bass in and out of it, but on the other hand, can I afford to go where I need the bass? (If I don't, then my face-to-face social interactions become even more constrained than they are now ...) Today and tomorrow I'll be keeping an eye on the "miles to empty" readout to try to make sure I have enough fuel to get to Gaithersburg on Saturday.

Did I remember to mention that the grocery store I used to walk to closed a couple of weeks ago? (Well, relocated actually, but to Arbutus, which is not within walking distance.) It turns out that a different grocery store -- one I'd never heard of -- is moving right into the vacated location, but they won't be open until sometime next month. So not having a vehicle would be especially painful right now.

I don' wanna think about this stuff. Thinking about it is unpleasant and uncomfortable.

Then again, thinking about yesterday's stunt by SUP is both disappointing and pissed-off-making ("off-pissing"?). And thinking about vile acts perpetrated by members of the Albany, NY police department (or was it the sherriff's dept., or both?) induces outrage and reduces faith in human nature. Too many ooky things to think about today. Maybe I should just concentrate on playing with Perrine for a while.

I know she'd approve. I was too tired to play when I got home last night, despite her nagging. When I finally did start flipping a string around for her to chase, her excitement was so great that the pre-pounce butt-wiggle turned into a whole-body affair resembling some sort of seizure -- she did that three times, and each time was just as she saw my arm go back to fling the string -- and her post-pounce enthusiasm was ferociouss. At one point she was leaping straight up to try to catch the string in her mouth as it went overhead, and I swear I saw a furry shark there for an instant. Huge pink mouth open and sharp sharp teeth, leading a streamlined shadow of a body. Serious sharkiness. (She usually tries to grab it with her paws, like most cats going for something overhead, but lately she's started trying to catch it in her mouth instead.)

Yes, that's the answer: think kitty cat (SHARK!) thoughts until the stress diminishes enough to be able to try coping with uncomfortable things in a manner more productive than fretting about them all at once.

Thank goodness for kitty(SHARK!)cats.

Hmm. I'm hungry again.

I made it to rehearsal last night. Played for about an hour. Alas, for many of the tunes the pain in my right wrist was excruiating. Made me really wish I had a Vicodin tablet to take before Saturday's gig. Gonna have to get as far as I can with Naproxen, Ultram, and an ice pack, and try not to grimace too obviously.

I just discovered a mistake I'd made a while back that has made some money I was counting on a bit hard to reach right now. Argh.

The vehicle I've got has one of those fancy dashboard displays with instantaneous and average fuel economy readout, miles-to-empty, etc. Hey, it's gets 26 miles per gallon on the highway ... downhill with the wind at my back. On level ground, not so good as that. It's interesting to see just how large the difference is between city and highway driving (and to observe that a route with stop signs is cheaper than a route with traffic lights unless you manage to hit most of the lights green).

Er ... it also makes it harder to avoid noticing that at current gasoline prices (with careful shopping) it cost me $10.10 to drive to 3LF rehearsal last week and $10.40 to drive to HCB rehearsal this week. %wince% So on the one hand it's very easy to get the double bass in and out of it, but on the other hand, can I afford to go where I need the bass? (If I don't, then my face-to-face social interactions become even more constrained than they are now ...) Today and tomorrow I'll be keeping an eye on the "miles to empty" readout to try to make sure I have enough fuel to get to Gaithersburg on Saturday.

Did I remember to mention that the grocery store I used to walk to closed a couple of weeks ago? (Well, relocated actually, but to Arbutus, which is not within walking distance.) It turns out that a different grocery store -- one I'd never heard of -- is moving right into the vacated location, but they won't be open until sometime next month. So not having a vehicle would be especially painful right now.

I don' wanna think about this stuff. Thinking about it is unpleasant and uncomfortable.

Then again, thinking about yesterday's stunt by SUP is both disappointing and pissed-off-making ("off-pissing"?). And thinking about vile acts perpetrated by members of the Albany, NY police department (or was it the sherriff's dept., or both?) induces outrage and reduces faith in human nature. Too many ooky things to think about today. Maybe I should just concentrate on playing with Perrine for a while.

I know she'd approve. I was too tired to play when I got home last night, despite her nagging. When I finally did start flipping a string around for her to chase, her excitement was so great that the pre-pounce butt-wiggle turned into a whole-body affair resembling some sort of seizure -- she did that three times, and each time was just as she saw my arm go back to fling the string -- and her post-pounce enthusiasm was ferociouss. At one point she was leaping straight up to try to catch the string in her mouth as it went overhead, and I swear I saw a furry shark there for an instant. Huge pink mouth open and sharp sharp teeth, leading a streamlined shadow of a body. Serious sharkiness. (She usually tries to grab it with her paws, like most cats going for something overhead, but lately she's started trying to catch it in her mouth instead.)

Yes, that's the answer: think kitty cat (SHARK!) thoughts until the stress diminishes enough to be able to try coping with uncomfortable things in a manner more productive than fretting about them all at once.

Thank goodness for kitty(SHARK!)cats.

Hmm. I'm hungry again.