Friends List Cleanup
     Pruned a bunch of folks who I have forgotten why I had friended or who are no longer active in any way on LJ. Removed a few for whom there was no reason to maintain that connection with, probably because I hadn't heard from or spoken to them in any meaningful way in years now. Seems not many folks use LJ these days, though...
     Added some folks who I should have had friended, though may have removed at some point for sociopolitical reasons. I guess there's no lingering sociopolitical reasons, so why not reconnect? Did I miss anyone who wants to reconnect? It's not hard to get ahold of me, so do so if you're interested.
     Noticed a TON of people who are still watching me either due to inactivity on LJ, or because they're trying to get some dirt on me or laugh at my predicaments in life. Bully for you guys, that my life is so interesting or deplorable that I can be a source of amusement or entertainment for you.
     Did I get any of that wrong? Feel free to send me a PM here or IM me on any number of IM services I'm on. I'm not hard to find.

( Weave a Silver Strand )

Argh
I hate not being able to speak about things that are stressing me and bugging me due to legal reasons. =P Ironically I can talk about Maly and Oskar now, but I don't see any point. *shrugs* I can't even talk about things I can talk about because the reasons why those things have come about are due to things I can't talk about. Fuck!

( 4 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

Hydrogen Fuel Cells? (And other power...)
     So, was just watching TV (a neat special on Nat Geo HD about the Polar Grizz killed in 2006) and saw a commercial talking about how some oil company or other was working toward a day when cars consume simple hydrogen and emit only water... And it got me thinking. What will hydrogen fuel do to our atmosphere over a prolonged period of time where our free oxygen is fused with hydrogen to make water? I realize just a few cars or even just a few million cars that use hydrogen fuel won't have any significant impact. But what about tens of millions? Hundreds of millions? Over 100-200 years? More water and less gas means higher tides and thinner air making it harder to breathe, yes? Doesn't this have a drastic impact on the ecosphere since some species may actually use more of the 21% oxygen in the lower atmosphere than we humans? (We only use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the available 21% at sea level.) And if we "recycle" hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis, where do we get the massive amounts of electricity needed to perform that on a massive enough scale to counter the effect of the hydrogen burning? Am I just being too concerned about something that's really a non-issue?
     I'm also wondering when the world market (because we all know that's what REALLY drives research and development) is going to realize that solar power and tidal power are endlessly abundant and generate unbelievable amounts of energy compared to wind, hydro and fossil fuel power. According to most numbers that have been crunched, the sun is blasting us with enough energy every SECOND to power the entire world powergrid demand for MONTHS. What if we could harness just one percent of that power? Even a hundredth of a percent? What if power became so abundant that it were just considered FREE (for the most part, I realize infrastructure is a HUGE cost)? Why does it so often feel to me like there are excellent solutions that have little to no impact on the environment or the climate, and yet we do practically nothing about them?

( 16 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

Looking for Roommates - MFF and FC
... so if you're looking for someone to help split costs in your room, or would like to stay in my room with me, let me know. Thanks!

( 2 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

MFF Anyone?
Anyone going to MFF? I'm looking for a roomie or two, or a room who would like another. Please let me know if you or someone you know has a room looking for more, or is looking for a room! =)

( 2 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

SteamCon!
Just wanted to do a little shameless promotion of an exciting new convention in Seattle coming in October. Everyone loves the aesthetics and wonderful gadgets of the Steampunk genre, and finally there is a convention specifically dedicated to fans of the Steampunk and Dieselpunk genres: SteamCon! For more details see their site:

http://www.steam-con.com/

I'll definitely be going, and would love to get some friends to tag along with me! There is also a local Steampunk group called the Seattle Steamrats which I hang out with every Monday night in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. If you might be interested in attending, please let me know and I'll get you directions. The local scene is VERY solid and there's a lot of really cool crafters and seamsters in the group, not to mention brilliant artists and writers. =)

( Weave a Silver Strand )

Leavenworth. As in Washington.
     Ugh, I am so exhausted I prolly shouldn't even be posting. =P I may crawl into bed and crash out here soon...
     Anyway, today I got up early-ish and got cleaned up and hopped on my motorcycle to head out to Leavenworth. If you're not familiar with the town, it is a regionally famous Bavarian themed town nestled in the crux of three large mountain ranges in central Washington which looks strikingly like the Alps in Europe. It was forecast to be almost unbearably hot, so I figured a long ride up to a mountain town might be a good way to spend the heat of the sunnier half of the day. I also hadn't been to Leavenworth in about a year, so it was high time I made a return visit.
     The ride out was uneventful, if beautiful and punctuated by fresh air and nice cool mountain air, about 120 miles. I was really hungry so I went straight into the center of town, parked my bike, and got a black forest crepe at Pavz, my favorite (and only) little crepe place in town. It was as orgasmically delicious as ever: they make a crepe with fresh shaved black forest ham and provolone in it, then they cover it in fresh, savory bechemal sauce, then sprinkle some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top and garnish it with fresh roasted veggies - divine. After that I wandered around some of the shops, got some info from the Aussie shop (they rent an AMAZING loft upstairs for 6 for a very reasonable price), then wandered over to what was purportedly the best pastry shop in town but in all the years past when I checked they had been closed. Not this time, they were open; so I stepped in and took a look at their pastries and couldn't decide if I wanted the Bienenstich (bee-sting) or a cream-cheese danish. So I got both, and a latte to help wash it down. Found out that the place was under new management, the old lady who used to run it was a flake and never open more than 2-3 days a week, so she sold the place and all of her recipes - I must say the pastries were excellent. =9
     Now adequately stuffed, I rode to the far side of town just because I had no other reason to go out there, then back across town towards Icicle Creek and Sleeping Lady. I went out to the end of Icicle Creek Road and stopped at Sleeping Lady to pick up the current pricing for both in-season and off-season stays, asked them what was new, and headed out. On the way in I had spotted a horseback riding place with horses hitched up and ready to ride out on, so I decided to stop and check it out. It was only $50 for a 4-mile trail ride and they were about to ride out so I got there just in time to join a group. The ride was long, and dusty, about 100 minutes in the bright mid-afternoon sun and I had no suntan lotion... So I got fairly well scorched, but the ride was still totally worth it. I think my stirrups were up too high, because my knees were Jello when we dismounted (and I got yelled at for dismounting on the wrong side, lol - when I was trained we learned to dismount from either side and since I ride a motorcycle by default I dismount to the right) and they shouldn't have been. I got to ride a horse named Gus; he was the most friendly, docile and well-behaved horse I've had the pleasure of riding since I was a teenager. The trail leader was a polite old cowboy with a lot of charming Western phrases and a load of nature jokes. After the price of the ride plus tax plus tip coming out to $60, I felt like I got a great bargain for a wonderful afternoon with a funny trail leader and a great horse, plus getting to see the Icicle Creek River like never before to boot. Awesome serendipity.
     So after the ride I hopped on my bike and headed back to town, parked across from the Munchen Haus, which is famous for brats and their amazing custom sauces, and hunkered down with a lemonade and their "Big Bob" brat. It didn't LOOK very big, but I guess having only had a little more than 2 hours since previously stuffing myself, it was enough to get stuffed once again. Very stuffed. But I saw some people eating gelato and couldn't help myself - after all it's small portion with big flavor, right? ;D So after 3 (tiny) scoops of gelato I was utterly immovable. So I sprawled out on my bike for about half an hour and dozed a little daydreamy, letting things settle and waiting for the sun to sink lower in the sky so as to not get any MORE burnt on my way home.
     I lethargically pulled my gear out of my saddlebags and started getting ready for the ride home, feeling like I may not be able to keep all the food in the whole time. After getting my chaps on and secured though, I was able to let loose a few big belches, which was incredibly satisfying to that overloaded feeling. =) Stopped to gas-up on the way out of town, then rode off into the sunset in the mountains - which was stunning. There was some smoke from homes and cabins already, and some later afternoon moisture in the air, and the sun's rays careened and caressed across the mountains spectacularly. It was also surprisingly cool already both in the mountains and in the lowlands once I got to them. Fortunately I made it home with still a glimmer of twilight on the horizon, all in all a pretty perfect little day trip to my favorite Alpental/Bavarian town. =)
     Too much sun, too much food, but tons of fun, despite a VERY sore ass. ;D

Mood at this time: exhausted

( 9 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

New Medieval Themed Auction Site Now Open!
Just a quick FYI for folks who are interested in Medieval LARP, recreation, SCA or other - there's a new auction site up and running dedicated especially to the medieval genre! Go check out The Merchants' Guild right now and please tell your friends! This is a sister site to FurBuy and accounts are shared between the two sites, so if you already have a FurBuy account, it will work for you on The Merchants' Guild as well. Happy selling and bidding!

Mood at this time: excited

( Weave a Silver Strand )

Whatta Trip
     So last Friday I got lined-up with an interview with a company in Seattle by a pushy recruiting firm that's been trying but never placed me for 4 years now. My weekend was hot and stressful and not much fun, and then all night Sunday into Monday I had these long, realistic nightmares about getting stuck in a "business cult" (they really do exist!) and the only reason I can think of as to why was the upcoming interview. It's the first face-to-face interview I've had since going on unemployment 15 weeks ago. 15 weeks is a VERY long time for me to go between jobs, more than double my longest time and more than triple my average. So I think I was really stressing and sweating about the interview - I'm not good with technical terminology and explaining design patterns, I'm kinda of an "organic" software engineer and do things by feel rather than by precision patterns or technical jargon. So I slept poorly, had a hard time getting up, and arriving an hour early for the interview didn't help me relax any either. Sure enough, the interview went fine when we were just chilling out and talking about my background and interests and what I'm looking forward to with working there, but we did get to the technical part and ... I couldn't remember names of things and terminology, I had a hard time explaining what I was doing with designing parts of the app, I was pretty sure I bombed it, and they moved right from that to showing me out (which was also foreboding).
     So I rather dejectedly trudged back uphill for a block to get to the vallet lot I had my car parked in, and they only took cash so I had to walk a couple blocks to the nearest ATM and get $20 out, all of which was going to them. By the time I got back they had moved my car up ready for me, left the keys in the ignition for me, I paid and left a $1 tip and hopped in my car. Cranked the key, engine turned over, car started, then suddenly stopped. From then on, it would never spark and ignite again. Despite a lot of messing with the engine by myself and various other mechanically-inclined folks at the lot. So, defeated, I called a tow truck which was gonna take 40 minutes to get there so I went up to a Subway I saw and had a quick bite. While there, I got a call from the recruiter - the company wanted me to start in two weeks. Sadly with my car broken down, I wasn't very excited about the news, in fact I'm still not because it means a commute to Seattle every day. I hate Seattle, and not so much the city, but the commute to it and the awesomely rude drivers along the way. So I got back to the garage and waited what felt like an eternity before I saw the big red Mac Towing truck coming down the street. It was 4:50pm, rush hour, everyone leaving work and trying to get out of the parking garage and standing out in front of it to catch buses. So it was Hell getting my car loaded up on the truck and getting out of there, a LOT of people screamed at us or gave us dirty looks for "getting in their way, this is their street goddamnit!"
     So we get the car to my favorite auto shop closer to home and they can't look at it until morning, no biggie. The tow truck driver lived near where I live, so he offered me a free ride home since he was going home to get a shopping list from his wife anyway. Which was pretty nice, and we had fun chatting about all kinds of things. I didn't get to bed until 5am partially due to stress and partially due to dealing with a huge pile of drama surrounding FurBuy and a high profile auction that went bad due to people using the auction bids as some sort of pissing contest with no intention of ever paying... So 3 hours into sleep I get a call from the mechanics "Hey, your PCM system died on your car, it's covered under warranty by Toyota and we don't wanna fix it here. We have a trick to get your car started so you can drive it there." Oh joy. So, being prudent about things, I called a couple of nearby Toyota service centers and they said they won't honor Pontiac's warranty, good thing I called! Too bad 2 of the 3 Pontiac dealerships went out of business on the eastside though. But the one that remains was willing ti replace the PCM chip for me, sadly all of my friends with vehicles who don't work 9-5 are still sleeping. And the recruiting firm was able to get my start date pushed up, and needs me to come in and fill out their employment papers ASAP. lol
     Ain't life a trip?

( 12 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

RIP ROUS Cosmos
     Today marks a somber day in my home, and the end of an era. Today I said myu last goodbyes to a good friend and pal who's been with me the last two years of my life: ROUS Cosmos, my "acrorat" and adorable sweet little black self top-eared rat. He was always full of energy, very excitable, loved to climb on me and climb around the cage, always eager for treats, and the bravest of his cagemates. He outlived all three of his rattie brothers in the cage, TMLS Drambui and Macallan, and his blood brother ROUS Basil by many months. He was not the most social rat, but what he lacked in social charm he made up for with grace, cunning and courage.
     Cosmos had been having myco issues for the last few days, his breathing becoming shallow and laboured. I tried to help him with my nebulizer, and it worked for a while, but eventually the myco caught up with him. This morning and afternoon, I was able to hold him and talk to him and say my goodbyes, I knew he would not last the weekend. Now unemployed for 13 weeks, there was now way I could afford medicine for him, and at 2 years of age a severe myco flare-up like this is not usually survivable. The place will be much quieter and lonelier without his presence. =/ You'll always be loved and missed, my sweet little man.

     With all my rats gone now, and my allergies preventing me from getting any more, I'm left with an abundance of cages, toys and accessories for rats. I would love to sell them affordably to a caring home for rats. In my inventory I have: a Martin's R-695 that is 6 years old and in fair condition (maybe 2-3 years of life left) I'd like to sell for $40 including the Wodent Wheel, corner litter pan, food dish, 2 water bottles and as many used, washed, clean hammocks as you'd like - a Quality Cage Co Large Deluxe Rat Home (door) in powder coat black in excellent condition (like new) with water bottle and food dish I'd like $35 for - a Quality Cage Co Deluxe Rat Home (flip-top) that I'd like $25 for. I also have a ton of clean/washed hammocks in varying states of repair I'd be happy to give away along with the cages, and a bunch of other toys and such I'd also be willing to let anyone buying a cage or two from me peruse and take some of.
     This is, sadly, the end of the rattie era of my life. I've been raising and caring for rats for 7 years now, and they've been a big part of my life every day all this time. But between allergies and cramped living quarters I just don't feel I can give them the quality of life they deserve while giving myself the quality of life I need. I will always love them and miss them, and hope that one day I will be in a situation where I have more space and freedom from allergies to enjoy them in my life again.

( 7 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

Strangely Quiet...
     As I sit here in my room right now. The hum of 4 big servers and all of their flashing lights and routers and switches are gone. Now there's an eerie quiet where there used to be something common and comforting: the whir of high speed SCSI drives and numerous fans blowing at an even, constant droning. The room is dimmer and less complex without the green and red and orange luminescence, sometimes constant sometimes flickering. A black metal effigy remains, to be dismantled and replaced with a dresser to make room for a music station. It's the end of an era here, the end of something good I've done for over a decade of my life. And while newer, better servers have replaced the old, and are in a better, safer place to live, there was always something quaint and comforting having them at home; at arm's length. I was sad and happy at the same time as I shutdown the old machines for the last time, powered down their KVM switch, removed the power from their hub, and then finally switched off the old SDSL router to Covad and SpeakEasy. Maybe it's the cool, damp late night air coming in through my window, but the moment feels heavy, as I suppose it should. In some respects, this is a moving on, a getting on with my life, a cast-off to the old and a looking ahead to the new. And somehow it's strangely emotional and sad, too.

( Weave a Silver Strand )

Camping Anyone?
Been trying to find local-ish folks who might like to go do some camping, get out in the wilds and get some fresh air. I know a couple dozen campgrounds conveniently located with short or no waiting lists and cheap fees to use that would be fun. Both up in the mountains and down by the sound. If you might be interested, lemme know!

( Weave a Silver Strand )

FurBuy Support Info
     Alright, the "FurBuy Support Project" is underway now. Click the link and see how you can help out. I've added a little status bar indicating the currently accounted-for contributions to the project to make it easier to understand where we're at. Remember: This is it for FurBuy, if we don't meet or come very close to this goal, FurBuy is closing on May 15, 2009. Once again, thanks to all of your support, and please spread the word.

( Weave a Silver Strand )

D&D 4E
     So last night I hosted and ran my first D&D 4th Edition adventure as Dungeon Master for G'razel, Mike, Terrycloth, Xodiac and Trailblazer. Seems like everyone had fun despite some hiccups in getting started due to not being fully prepared, having some printer issues, and just not getting character creation done as fast as I'd hoped. Also none of these guys have played 4th Edition before (that I know of, maybe Terry has actually) so there was a lot of going over basic rules and such. I mistakenly estimated that we'd need 3-4 hours to run the whole dungeon (it's a smallish map with only a handful of encounters) but after 4 hours we had barely completed the first encounter and were just starting on the second. Despite a slow start I think folks enjoyed themselves and everyone wants to come back next week to continue the delve.
     The week after that I may run another delve in the same dungeon for another group of 5 friends if they're interested. It's always interesting to see how people tackle problems and challenges - and how they turn trivial things into challenges when they're not. So it seems I'll definitely be able to put together 5 or 6 regulars and start a real campaign sometime soonish, I just need to start developing a campaign setting and getting more random and set encounters and plots put together to explore and run through. =)

( 2 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

Sick
Sorry folks if I'm not terribly chatty or active online lately... I've been sick and it would seem it's recently gotten worse, so... =/ Blah, don't need this right now. =P

( 2 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

     I made a Citrus Balsamic Herb Roasted Chicken breast with Penne pasta in Vodka sauce for dinner last night. It was actually kinda amazing.

( 1 Silver Strand Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

RIP TMLS Drambui
     Sadly TMLS Drambui passed on today, less than four weeks after ROUS Basil. Drambui (Bui for short) was an extraordinarily sweet and loving boy who loved scritches and cuddles, but who was always runty and struggling with myco. No amount of medicine or water or Ensure ever got him really healthy, but he carried on for 17 months before the harsh winter finally overcame him. Perhaps because he was humbled by being the under-rat of the cage he was so gentle and sweet; tonight a tiny but strong light has gone out. He passed warmly, snuggled on either side by his brother TMLS Macallan and ROUS Cosmos. His brother is still fighting with myco, but seems to be recovering lately.

( 1 Silver Strand Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

Eventful Day
     Whew, tired bear. It's been a long week of hard work on bugs at Wizards, but no rest for the wicked! Woke up early and made pancakes, then hit Costco for sundries, got my car washed along the way (it needed it badly, I still had crusty red mud from the Siskiyou passes all over my car!) From the time I left home until the time I got back I watched the temperature climb from 42 degrees to 45, then 47, then 50... So shortly after noon I donned my leathers and gear and hit the road on my bike. Redmond, Carnation, Duvall, Monroe, Snohomish, Everett, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, Bothell, Woodinville, Redmond, Falls City then home. 3.5 hours, about 130 miles, one sore butt; by the time I got home it was almost 60 out, such a wonderful, pleasant sunny day for winter! =D I got home just in time to get ready to go out to the new Snoqualmie Casino with Fox and Xodiac, and hit the road once again to hit the buffet and tables. The buffet was $24 and the food was fairly good (not $24 good, sadly, but I could see doing it now and then esp now that I may get discounts from the member's club). Then Xodiac hit the poker room and I hit the roulette table. I made $13 after buying-in at $40, so paid for half of my buffet in about 90 minutes at the wheel. So we came home just in time for me to get a little work in on FurBuy before zooming over to the theater to catch Taken with G'razel and his roommate - intense movie, very good! Came home and am unwinding, but man the weekend is supposed to be for relaxing, right?! ;D It was a wonderful day, I'm amazed I crammed so much into it and feel pretty good. =)

( 3 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

RIP ROUS Basil
     My sweet boy ROUS Basil passed over the Bridge this afternoon, peacefully in his sleep. He was a chunky, happy, active and sweet boy who loved to play and loved cuddles and giving kisses. He was curious, brave, friendly and loved the food dish more than everyone else. I can't recall his birth name from ROUS, but he was one awesome boy and will be dearly missed here. He's surpassed by his brother ROUS Cosmos and his pals from east of the mountains (spacing on the rattery, my apologies) Macellan and Drambui.
     There were no signs of illness or health complications, and just last night (and this morning) he was active, happy and loving on his cagemates and myself. He had no palpable signs of tumors or abscesses and was having no noticeable respiratory problems other than the occasional sniffle/sneeze. I'm a little baffled at his sudden passing at the young age of 16 months. He seemed to be easily the healthiest rat in the cage.

( 1 Silver Strand Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )

Apologetic
Sorry I haven't posted much lately, just haven't really felt like I have much to say. =P So, some highlights:

- Just got back from FC, which was mediocre, but I got lotsa great art anyway. Drove down with Sairah as my co-pilot, was exhausting (15 hours each way non-stop), not sure I wanna do that again.

- Been reading lots of books about atheism and Secular Humanism.

- We launched the D&D 4th Ed Character Builder today, so far so good, looks like a smooth launch.

- Been a rough winter weather-wise, and haven't gotten to ride my motorcycle much.

- Been really lonely lately, feeling disconnected or cut-off from folks - think I need to meet more new furs. FC really drove that point home.

- Been dealing with FurBuy drama and bug fixing, minor updates and improvements, and a huge new commission system too. Normalized site traffic is at an all-time high. Go FurBuy.

- Sunday Furmeet and Gaming Night attendance has been down, get your butts back here, guys. =P

- Been chasing ghosts for a long time now. Not sure that will ever stop. Not sure if that's what keeps me from getting into a new relationship. Been a year and a half now that I've been single. Got my eye on lots of folks, but they've got their own things going on. Still can't stop thinking about Oskar, still feels like it was last week he asked me to marry him... Fuck.

( 12 Silver Strands Woven | Weave a Silver Strand )