Gratz to AFK....

Alternate title: fuck websense.

I tried to check out their website at AFKTavern.com today at work to see if there was anything going on tonight. Blocked by WebSenseless as a "games" site. So congrats to AFK for already being so popular, and so associated with gaming and things fun that they're blocked.

Dibs!!

I posted "the dice must roll!" on the AFK Facebook profile in response to an annoucement about Epic Game Day 1 on Dec 11. This is a sort of rhyming pun on "the spice must flow" from Dune. I got dibs on this- if you see it in print anywhere, tell 'em they owe me royalties! :)

TSA Screening- Vegas 2003

(originally shared on jackbrummet.blogspot.com)
In 2003 the Mrs and I were returning to Seattle from Vegas and I had worn my workmans' Utilikilt, mostly because it was clean. It was a quiet morning and no one was waiting to pass through security. As I approached the gate both the male and female TSA agent got wide eyed and raised their hands to stop me before I made it to the metal detector. See, the 10 steel buttons, two steel clips and 3" belt buckle that was holding up my unbifuracted male garment gave them pause.
"No problem," says I, as I put my backpack on the conveyor belt.

Before the lady agent could turn her back, or the guy could cover his eyes, I had the kilt stripped off and on the belt.
Good thing for them it was a chilly morning, and I wore my boxers. They didn't feel the need at that point to employ any advanced search techniques on the shoeless man in his underwear and t-shirt- though the lady agent kept blushing and couldn't look me in the eye.

Surviving Snowmageddon 2010b

I can't recall the last time it snowed on Thanksgiving, much less several days prior. I remember being about 6 and seeing snow on Turkey Day and dad remarking that it was very strange to see the white stuff. And snow it did. Seattle isn't known for its robust drivers- when it's even lightly sprinkling I can count on adding 10 minutes to my comute. So I wasn't surprised when it took an additional 45 minutes to drive in to work last Monday as the leading edge of our arctic storm came through- disappointed, but not surprised. The drive home took about 2-1/2 hours, which is considered a breakneck pace in comparison to others' whose commutes took between 5 and 11 hours. Here's a tip: I-5 will be shitty on a snow day, so please don't block intersections for cross-traffic when you're trying to get to the freeway.
Tuesday was a snow day. The wife's office was closed and my office had an "optional" day (even though we're in the same building). I took the option becasue WSDOT was apparently caught unaware(s) about the impending storm that we'd been hearing about for at least a week and every major road was an ice rink.
Wednedsay was slow, but not as bad as Monday, despite below freezing temps and winds.

I'm happy to report that having an insulated floor, in conjucntion with a reliable furnace, kept our toes from freezing off. Yay for us! We were even a little hot a couple of times this past week and considered turning the heat down from 68F.

Thursday we drove over Steven's Pass to Wenatchee for Thanksgiving, and came back Friday mid-day. Earlier in the month I bought new tires for the wife's car becasue she was still driving on the tires that were on the car from the dealership. I went out on a limb and bought General (brand) "Grabber" tires. Wow. These things really live up to their name! I think I had two instances in which I slid maybe a foot or two and those both involved a braking maneuver in which the ABS wasn't a lot of help. I only had the 4WD engaged for maybe 20 miles on the way over becasue we were driving through powder on some twisty roads. The only problems we had were: the windshield washer fluid kept freezing in the pass (so we'll know to completely flush out any water and only have the low-temp washer fulid in the reservoir) and jackasses who would ride my ass on a straight, lose a ton of ground in the corners and then charge down the road to ride my ass again. Just pass me, asshole >:|
In the car we had about a gallon of water, a couple MREs, spare clothes, and chains, among other weather-preparedness items. It may seem like overkill, until you're out on the road and the possibility of having to either sit tight in the car or walk several miles becomes a distinct possibility.

There's another front moving in that is supposed to bring heavy winds (60MPH gusts) and lots of rain (1-3" over 72 hours).  I think this is what we get for having temps in the 60s just a few weeks ago. It looks like winter is getting an early foothold.

Apple Cup 2010- first bet is placed

The manager of the Starbucks in the building I work in is a) a huge UW fan and b) hates WSU (this is probably becasue his dad and granddad are Cougs, so there's no telling what sort of emotional damage his Husky-ness has brought). Also, his GF was a cheerleader at the U, so there's a little more emphasis for his support of that institution.
I am a Coug. I went to UW for the WORST year of my academic life- seriously. That place was ridiculous and everything pretty much fell apart while I was studying there. That's an old story for another time.

So I was thinking about how I could make a wager on the Apple Cup that wouldn't be too expensive and might be creative, too boot. Here's the bet: If UW wins the Apple Cup, I wear a big puprple "W" on my messenger bag for a YEAR. If WSU wins he wears a big WSU logo on his laptop bag for a year. Here's the underpining: he's concerned that his GF will hate seeing that stylized WSU every day until next Apple Cup and it might cause some tension at home. I'm concerned that I might get the shit beat out of me on campus... So this is a -real- wager :)

Game on!!

The U.N.

Sigh... really guys? Cholera? No one bothered to do some quick blood tests on the people who come from a region that has its own brand? Shit, I have to get TB tested just so I can sit behind a computer where I don't see more than 6 people a day, much less come into contact with them.

That -was- a long drive...

And I didn't have much to think about. The album is really solid, and I couldn't believe how long it was- in a good way, like it was really good value for the money. I will definitely listen to it again on the way home.

I missed the initial turn from 90 to 26 and had to take 261 from Ritzville to Washtucna. That was a 38 mile detour that I didn't really need at midnight. But 261 is mostly straight and has a lot of level territory, so a couple of sprints up to 110 and 115 were in order ;) It was a successful drive and I had a good time wandering around campus (and watching a little of the WSU game through the gate at Martin Stadium). The return trip will probably also be very long.

This is a long drive...

Tomorrow night I'm heading over to Pullman to hang out with CC contributor S C S. And it's gonna be a long drive. Once I get over Snoqualmie pass I'm going to set the MP3 player to play Modest Mouse's "This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About" because I will also not likely have much to actually think about. I'll let you know how it works out.

Fonts

It's a little bit of a meme at this point, but Comic Sans is not a font that belongs in the office. At first it was just a coworker. Today there was a memo from the secretary of our CFO.

People, it's completely unprofessional looking and no one thinks it's "cute," not even people who write comics. So please, knock it off.