avoision: December 2002 Archives

December 31, 2002

Going to go see MaryAnn and Terri in a bit. We're slated to attend a showing at (of?) the Improv Olympics at around 8 PM. Not sure where we're headed afterwards, or what we're going to do. I know of a party Justin invited me to, so that's definitely a... (read more)

Another Resolution

I've gotta find a better navigation system. Spent a bit of time looking today, and I'm still not sure what the approach is going to be. My guess is that another language will have to be involved, so I think it's going to be a matter of picking maybe ASP... (read more)

You Won't Believe This

Alright, when I got back home from Christmas, my parents armed me with a wide assortment of food: take out friend rice from the restaurant, along with a few packages of frozen dumplings: And, truth be told, they're quite good. A bit like precooked sausages, in concept. These frozen dumplings... (read more)

Lunch in Chinatown

We had a half day at work today, and I left to meet up with my sister (Stacey) and her boyfriend (Shane) for lunch in Chinatown. As I mentioned, the two of them are here to see Umphrey's McGee at The Vic. What I didn't know was that they had... (read more)

Another Reason Why I Love My Job

December 30, 2002

This whole week (and last week) has been incredibly dead at the office. No one around, and no calls coming in because everyone is gone! Ben ran some errands today, and hit the local music store. Since the Merchandise Mart is rearranging a lot of the first floor shops, several... (read more)

Golden Showers (Not What You Think)

Ben and I talked shop a bit during work, and he told me about a site he came across a while back. Apparently, the guy who did this video contacted him, and he found out about this band. Their name, oddly enough, is "Golden Showers." The best quotation of the... (read more)

Xioa Xioa

I was surfing around today, and on infourm.com I came across this Flash animation. From what I understand, it's a bit old... but it still rocked.... (read more)

Busy Week

December 29, 2002

My sister and her boyfriend are in town for a few days, staying with a friend. They're all planning to see Umphrey's McGee, at The Vic. Both shows, actually. They had asked me along, and I was tempted (I figured hell, they're driving all the way up here just to... (read more)

Chinese Scientists Construct Boxing Robot

Thanks to Mr. Grumpy for sending along this article. Talk about leaving a reader just hanging... you'd think there'd at least be a picture or something! Oddly, there's a tie in here with poetry. Matt and I talked yesterday, and our writing plans have fallen in light of the holidays.... (read more)

Resolutions

Sure, sure. Like everyone else, I've been thinking about all the things I'd like to change: how I think, how I interact and treat others, and how I live. And, like everyone else, I also find New Year's Resolutions to be an artibitrary thing. But even though it's a symbolic... (read more)

Amazing

December 28, 2002

I've wasted the day. Utterly and unapologetically. I'm so good at this, it's scary.... (read more)

Head in Hands

December 27, 2002

A few weeks back, Kevin gave me permission to play with a song he made a long while ago. I've been humming and obsessing over "Head in Hands" for several years now, and I've always wanted to put the lyrics to Flash. Honestly, it's more of a compulsion - doodling... (read more)

Neverwinter: Behold My Nerdishness!

December 26, 2002

Internet-based multiplayer first-person shooter games are one thing. But Dungeons & Dragons RPG's are a whole different category. And I need to confess to you my weakness for them. At the heart, these games are just patterns - hack and slash strategies, peppered with obsessive saving and restarting. Every other... (read more)

Bridgeville, CA : On Sale Now!

For a measly $1,650,699.00, you can have your own little town.... (read more)

Back in Chicago

Eh. Home was home over the holidays - got to hang out with my parents briefly. They're workaholics, so we only had a little bit of time. Plus, I ended up coming back to Chicago fairly quickly. On Monday night, we watched Lord of the Rings (but didn't put the... (read more)

No entry today

December 25, 2002

Meh.... (read more)

No entry today

December 24, 2002

Meh.... (read more)

No entry today

December 23, 2002

Meh.... (read more)

:waves:

December 22, 2002

Have a fun few days off! I'm heading home for the holidays, but then heading right back. Since I recently started the job, no real vacation days to speak of. So... I'll be back in Chicago by Thursday AM, bright and early. Don't expect many updates the next day or... (read more)

That Time of Year

December 21, 2002

Mucking around with some sound stuff, although I'm not sure how much longer I'm planning on working. Lately, a lot of the folks I'm used to talking have dropped off. Were-here is down again, and many have left their DSL connections to travel back home to their families and dialup.... (read more)

Globe Trekker

Saw a bit of Globe Trekker, and a hysterical episode about Korea, hosted by Ian Wright. Something about the way he balances reverence and comedy in the way he presents other cultures. I think the whole show revolves around several "presenters," but whenever I see him on I stop and... (read more)

Inactivity

The whole day has been a wash. I've been watching DVD's. And to make things worse, I've fallen asleep more times than I actually thought was possible in any given day.... (read more)

Post Party

December 20, 2002

On the way home, I grabbed a cab. When I got dropped off, the cabbie turned around, trying to get a better view of the framed photograph I had with me. I ended up giving him Stu's URL, although I'm not sure if I got it right or not. As... (read more)

Secret Santa and Stuff

Stu's house. Fun times, a great apartment, and friends sipping on booze. How can it get any better? Monica and Seth, Dawson sitting far right. All incredibly nice folks. I *think* that Dawson is a friend of Melissa's, who was the one who set up a meeting between me and... (read more)

Cafe Iberico

There was a lot of mixup tonight, for dinner. I got there right at 6:30, and looked around for people I recognized. I knew that Seth and Monica had arranged the dinner, but I didn't really know them all that well. I walked inside the restaurant, looked around, and then... (read more)

Secret Santa and Stuff

I hadn't known people were swapping gifts, and only found out about this during the day, talking with Justin. Around 1:00 PM, he and I walked down the corridor to Kaybee Toys, and tried to find some gifts. The rules were that the limit on gifts was $5. I bought... (read more)

When God Created Perfect Days, He Was Thinking of Today

Seriously - I haven't had such a fantastic day in a long, long time! This morning was the Q101 Christmas party, the one thrown by the Sales Department. Tons of good food, and I had me some biscuit and gravy, a made-to-order omelette, and two Bloody Mary's. All before 10:30... (read more)

Workaround

December 19, 2002

jverbal and I, both slightly not quite sober, try to work through an ActionScript exercise... jverbal: ok i have a string "jon2" Portnoy: What's the problem? jverbal: i want to remove "jon" from the string and just return the number jverbal: im stuck jverbal: that enough info? im kind of... (read more)

Cafe Iberico

Stu just left a message a bit ago, saying that he was having a party tomorrow night. Apparently, folks are gathering at Cafe Iberico at 6:30, and then heading over to his place. He may not make it to dinner, but he'll be waiting for everyone at his place. Cafe... (read more)

Another Day

It's gotten pretty slow and sluggish around the office this week. Everyone seems to be able to feel the holildays approaching, and the hallways have filled with molasses. I played Mike in a game of chess (good game), and the hours just ticked by. Jacqui, a old friend from my... (read more)

The Excrement Poem

December 18, 2002

by Maxine Kumin It is done by us all, as God disposes, from the least cast of worm to what must have been in the case of the brontosaur, say, spoor of considerable heft, something awesome. We eat, we evacuate, survivors that we are. I think these things each morning... (read more)

Sharing

I've been flipping through the Poulin Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry, and settled into one of my favorites from Maxine Kumin. I'm not sure why I'm in this mode, but I feel like sharing this poem. Even though it's not necessarily my place to share it. The poem itself is... (read more)

Beer #3

... (read more)

Nico - These Days

I'm listening to a copy of "These Days" by Nico, a song that Mr. Grumpy sent to me a long while back. Getting wistful - not in a sad way, but in more of a mellow, nostalgic sort of way. I remember the two of us talking about Nico's voice,... (read more)

Liquids and Kinetic Energy

Instead of my usual post-work Bass beers, I decided to stop at Filter and grab a large, triple-shot mocha. :) This week, I've felt pretty tired after I got home, listless and unmotivated. Which is unfortunate, since I get all these fun ideas during the day - experiments, variations, Flash-based... (read more)

Goodwyn's

Today, Ben and I went to lunch at Goodwyn's, a small sandwich shop just up the street. It was drizzling a bit, but I saw some construction worker plugged into a fire hydrant, doing... something. I ended up stopping and trying to grab a pic. I think it turned... (read more)

Meh

December 17, 2002

Sorry - I've lost a lot of steam in the last half of the day. There was a mention of the Pogues' Fairytale of New York earlier in the day, and that's gotten me a bit down. Not that the lyrics are all that terribly sad (in fact, there's a... (read more)

Pad Thai and Two Books

Today, I ended up working through the day, straight. Didn't get a chance to take a lunch, and decided I was going to leave a little bit early. Work is really good about schedules - if anyone needs to leave early, reason or not, they just go. Everyone trusts everyone... (read more)

Holy Crap

December 16, 2002

I think I set some kind of record today. Look at all those cross-referenced links! :proud:... (read more)

What's Opera, Doc?

Back when I was a grad student, I had this nasty habit of staying up super late and falling asleep on the couch, with the television on. Oftentimes, I'd wake at 3 AM, only to find some fascinating documentary on PBS playing that would then keep me awake until it... (read more)

Social Future, Hermetic Present

Justin wrote me earlier tonight, as I was looking up links for The Private Life of Plants. He was asking if anyone was interested in going to see Redmoon Theater's Winter Pageant on December 29th. He's also going to go see The Apartment at the Gene Siskel Film Center afterwards.... (read more)

Passing it on

As I was walking home on the bridge across the Chicago River, I stopped about halfway. Turned around, dug in my pockets and gave the $2 to the homeless guy who's always sitting on a crate, begging for change. I used to say that I'd give change to anyone who... (read more)

The Private Life of Plants

At the end of the workday, Matt and I talked again about his Venus flytraps. I brought up a documentary that I saw a few years ago, when I was in Columbus. It was by Sir David Attenborough, and called The Private Life of Plants. Some amazing forms of plant... (read more)

$2

While standing in line at Au Bon Pain (where I tend to get a bowl of soup for lunch), I looked down and saw two folded dollar bills, sitting on the ground. For some reason, I seem to be attracting a lot of loose, lost money lately. I pick up... (read more)

Dionaea muscipula

Today, Matt walked into the office with a small parcel from the post office. As a few of us were milling around and talking, we look over and see Matt remove three objects from his box - each one looked like the plastic container you would get if you ordered... (read more)

Luv Cheese

At the Christmas party for Q101, I talked briefly with one of the guys from Mancow's morning show. I asked him a bit about what he does, and expressed interest in watching him work. I've always been curious about some of the sound applications they use, and how they go... (read more)

24 Hours Later: Pants! Woohoo! Let's Hear it For Pants!

yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay!... (read more)

24 Hours Later: Pants! Woohoo! Let's Hear it For Pants!

yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay! yay!... (read more)

Keeping Track

December 15, 2002

Officially, two people have told me over the Internet that they were "impressed" by my "nakedness." I'd just like that on the record.... (read more)

11:11 PM

A little under an hour to go! Good thing too, since it's gotten much colder. Heat is on and running strong. So far tonight, I haven't gotten much else done. I had dinner and watched the first half of Sneakers (bought the DVD yesterday). Played Unreal Tournament naked - that... (read more)

For Future Reference

When you go to the kitchen, where you've kept all the lights turned off so that no one can see inside... when you go in there to grab a bottle of Bass from the fridge, remember one thing: It really makes no difference if you crouch down when that fridge... (read more)

Update, 7:02 PM

God damn! When did it get cold? Jebus. I'm almost tempted to wash some dishes... almost. Five hours until midnight. Then I get to put on some pants.... (read more)

More Realizations

Some more thoughts I've had, as the day's progressed: I am now a member of that growing group of people who, on the Internet, have declared themselves to be "currently naked." I am now one of fourteen people in the world who have cooked catfish while in the nude. I... (read more)

Dinner

Was working on making some catfish for dinner, mixed vegetables, rice. Until today, I never really experienced apprehension (serious, every-move-is-slow-and-careful-apprehension) while cutting vegetables. While I was cooking, I started to imagine all sorts of mishaps - and wondered what combination of events might lead to injury and, subsequently, discovery.... (read more)

Just So It's Clear

I understand that reading this may be a somewhat unnerving experience for you. But I don't want you to worry. I give you my word. Scout's honor. God as my witness. Rest assured I am typing with both hands.... (read more)

Afternoon

Trying to work on the portfolio, but can't seem to make much progress. Nudity sorta hindering things. Wondering if there's some correlation between creativity and clothing. A few more things I've learned today, being naked: Nudity does not hinder your ability to make scrambled eggs. Washing the dishes makes you... (read more)

When You Stop to Think About It

I just started a load of laundry.... (read more)

_root.felix._visible = 0;

Alright. Just went around to all the windows, and flipped the blinds around. The whole visibility thing isn't too much of a problem anymore.... (read more)

Morning

Well, I went to sleep in the buff and was really hesitant to step foot out of the bed. Thankfully, it's a very warm day so far. I've got the heat cranked, and it's been fairly comfortable overall. Made some breakfast, coffee, watched a bit of TV. Began this entry... (read more)

Backstory

Last week, I lost a bet to my friend Juliet. I got cocky, and felt I was the better pinball player. A bunch of us had been playing games throughout the night, and gauging from my prior scores... I thought I could win. I thought wrong. Now, I have to... (read more)

Naked Day

... (read more)

Nearly Naked

December 14, 2002

Well, the time is close approaching. Tomorrow, I pay up for that bet I lost to Juliet about a week ago. As it stands, I will have to be sans clothes for 24 hours. Joy. As you've probably surmised, I'm going to be spending the day at home. I got... (read more)

Where'd the Day Go?

Worked on my portfolio site a bit. Amazingly, I got little done but the day just sorta shot by. Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive. Uhm... despite the... nakedness. Yeah.... (read more)

Strange Game - the Only Winning Move is Not to Play

Watched Wargames today, as a sort of lunch break from the computer. Got the DVD when I ran some errands this morning. Enjoyable, and a nice "ah, I remember this" sort of movie. But now that I've watched it again, almost ten years after it came out... Stephen Falken sorta... (read more)

Sam

December 13, 2002

Tonight, as I was getting a 12 pack of Bass, I learned that Sam is at home, recovering. From OPEN HEART SURGERY. On top of that, I learned it was a QUINTUPLE BYPASS! Sam's a good guy, from the occasional talks I've had with him... I like him a great... (read more)

Whew!

Work went from meh to holy jebus, towards the end there. Just got back home about 20 minutes ago, and it's closing in on midnight already. One small thing led to another... throw in a lot of waiting time for some weird permissions problems to get resolved long-distance, and here... (read more)

Twisted IX

These came in yesterday, and today I wore my t-shirt like a high schooler. I have to admit - I'm a fan of Rey's decision to go with a less prominent logo on the shirt. On the back, there's the standard station/Q101 identity... but the main focus of the... (read more)

Russian Ark

Saw this on k10k, a site that I've only just today started to peruse. There a ton of sites that other designer friends I know seem to frequent - I think I've gotta make the rounds and expand my set of URLs that I visit frequently. Apparently, the entire movie... (read more)

Lost in Translation

Play with language. Ten times over! Original: My pencil is very, very big. Translation: My matita one is very, the very great one. -------------------- Original: I am a beautiful and unique snowflake. Translation: They are pretty and specific tape. -------------------- Original: I am lord and master of all I survey.... (read more)

Froogle

Still in development.... (read more)

Happy Tree Friends: Kringles

I warn you now, fully and up front. It's terrible and just really, really wrong. But funny as hell. Kringle Karoling is my favorite. I've watched it like five or six times so far.... (read more)

Another Reason Why I'm Not Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

December 12, 2002

When I was a child my mother found me at the piano bench playing myself. I was told to stop. I was told to keep practicing. My hands got good. When I was alone I took a pencil and carved my name into the wooden bench. And here I am,... (read more)

Preface

When I was a student at OSU, I had the good fortune of attending a week-long workshop, led by Billy Collins. During that time, he gave us a ton of exercises, just to get us writing. I forget the poet he made us emulate in this particular case, but the... (read more)

Unreal Tournament

JohnnyFlash set up the old Unreal Tournament upon the server. Grumpy, jverbal, Caffeine and I played a few games. I seemed to be doing ok at the start, but then it just all went to hell. I used to be fairly good at this game - but tonight, it was... (read more)

Two Things I Saw Today

I'm not sure what my problem is. Twice today, I had good opportunities to take photographs and/or talk to strangers. But I didn't, on both counts. Kicking myself a bit about it. Really should have, especially in the second case. Oh well - maybe I need to get back into... (read more)

Life of Pi

December 11, 2002

Saw this site on Favourite Website Awards. A very interesting site, despite the fact that it's merely serving as a vehicle to promote a book. I dig the variations in navigation, and in particular, am partial to the first extended monologue. Check out the site.... (read more)

Images of Columbus (from Jesseca)

I'm not going to caption these. Jesseca and I swapped our pictures today, and I daresay she got a few more in focus than me. Below, have a look at the interesting Saturday night, from another perspective and from another camera lens. Alright. Fine. What the hell. I'm on my... (read more)

Amadeus

Alex and I talked about seeing Amadeus for a long while together, back when it got re-released to the theaters. Unfortunately, we never saw it together... until this evening. Amadeus is one of the first DVD's I purchased, and tonight was just a fun time getting immersed in a great... (read more)

Columbus Retrospecticus: The Day After

December 10, 2002

Oh boy. I had a blast there, even if I did pass out towards the end. After the house (still fuzzy about the details), we all went to a Teejay's 24 hour diner. Nothing tastes as good as food around 5:30 AM. I had some kind of sausage omelette, and... (read more)

Columbus Retrospecticus: Clarification

Juliet: i want to point out here that i wasn't talking trash completely out of the blue. i had just kicked jim's and --someone else's-- asses. i DOUBLED the highest score from either of them. that's when you decided you'd challenge me. i warned you not to, but you... (read more)

Columbus Retrospecticus, Saturday Night

Juliet was scheduled to sell Christmas trees at her church from 6-8. During that time, Jim and Meg were driving down into town, and we were all going out to get some dinner. Before long, we had arranged for everyone to meet (Matt, Jesseca and Akhim), and decided on Juliet's... (read more)

Columbus Retrospecticus, Saturday Day

Saturday day was spent hanging with Jacki and Devin. He's HUGE now! And he's getting super quick with the witty retort. I need to sharpen my skills to keep up with that boy. We went to Target as a group, looking for gifts. I wandered with him over to the... (read more)

Columbus Retrospecticus, Arrival

Well, after several airplane flights... my trusty little Leatherman Micra got confiscated. I got it about 2 years ago, from my coworker Dave, as a "Welcome to Axiom" gift. It's come in really handy more times than I can count. Everytime I found myself at the airport, I'd forget about... (read more)

Columbus: Soon

December 9, 2002

I've got a few blurry pics and even blurrier stories about Cowtown. But not tonight - I think I'm pooped, and ready to conk out. Updates tomorrow. Sorry for not keeping this thing going over the weekend. I'm figuring that, with November and December being fairly big holiday months, I'm... (read more)

Social Day

Work was alright - nothing spectacular. But afterwards, boy oh boy. Since Alex invited me out almost two weeks ago, I've felt... "not social enough." Bad to the point where I began wondering if I was seriously neglecting people that I called friends. At work today, Ben invited me to... (read more)

No entry today

December 8, 2002

Meh.... (read more)

No entry today

December 7, 2002

Meh.... (read more)

No entry today

December 6, 2002

Meh.... (read more)

Slowness

December 5, 2002

Damn, I'm beat. Doing laundry right now, and trying to relax a bit. Sorry for not having more to jabber about here. Hopping on a plane to Columbus tomorrow, and getting ready for that. Soon soon, I'm going to need a vacation from all this fun. :)... (read more)

WORST_COMPANY_CHRISTMAS_PARTY_EVER

OK, so I'm exaggerating. We closed down early today, and everyone made their way over to Diversey Bowl. Free pizza, free booze, free bowling. I got to talk briefly to some of the other station folk (many of whom I don't normally see on a daily basis). Had a few... (read more)

On My Way To Work

... (read more)

Too Stupid For Words

December 4, 2002

If you ask me, this hurts poetry more than it helps. "Randomness and uncertainty is at the centre of how the universe is put together, and is quite difficult for us as humans who rely on order." Good Grammar = Grant Money... (read more)

Hello World Without Credit Card Debt

*blinks* The... the world looks clearer. Sharper somehow. Has the sky always been this blue? This constant chipring and singing? Is that the birds? Are they always this happy? This is my last payment to my credit card company. I mailed this sucker earlier today, around lunchtime. All paid off!... (read more)

Gallery

A long while ago, jverbal shared with me his code for his image gallery. Great stuff, using a combination of ASP, XML and Flash MX. After digging through it for a long while, today I put together my own variation. It's not as slick as his (I'm not using ASP... (read more)

Indicators

December 3, 2002

You know you're having a good convesation with a good friend when you spend an hour plus talking about dreams. Try out that formula - it holds true everytime. Juliet and I talked for a good while, me getting drunk on whiskey, her a bit silly from sleep deprivation. Good... (read more)

Hello, Googlebot

... (read more)

Invitation

Alex just called me up, to go to InterTown Pub and have drinks. I declined, saying that I wanted to stay home and work. I keep talking about being more social, but when it comes down to it... I find myself staying at home. I'm wondering if I'm being overly... (read more)

Steam and Snow

Crossing the Chicago River, I noticed that the water was throwing up a certain amount of steam. I decided to take some video of it, to see if I could capture it somehow. Amazingly, it seems to show up fairly well. Chicago River, Steam and Snow In case you can't... (read more)

Snow, Part 2

This is what I saw, standing on my front porch. You can't really see the snowflakes all that well, but the snow on the bannister should give you some idea of how much is on the ground. This is right outside my apartment/yard. That small black gate that's open... (read more)

Monkeys. 'Nuff Said.

December 2, 2002

The Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite This memo describes a protocol suite which supports an infinite number of monkeys that sit at an infinite number of typewriters in order to determine when they have either produced the entire works of William Shakespeare or a good television show. The suite includes communications... (read more)

Google x 2

Googlefight.com Portnoy (62,100) vs. Complaint (3,960,000) Googlism.com portnoy is a shower portnoy is scheduled to appear on the following dates portnoy is the author of two travel guides for women portnoy is being updated portnoy is tremendously effective on moody pieces like the stark portnoy is the most expressive blues... (read more)

Wow - Fast Day

Work was amazingly quick. Next thing I knew, it was time to go home. Productive day, with me spending most of my time working on a new skin for the New Music Player that Ben and I made, for another station. I made a trip to the bank, but wasn't... (read more)

In Preparation For Winter

December 1, 2002

Home for Thanksgiving, my parents give me a box of Ramen noodles, a copy of "The Art of War."... (read more)

And So, We Enter December

Matthew: I'm terrified of doing it. Portnoy: :D Portnoy: Alright. Portnoy: Here's what it is then. Matthew: lol Matthew: I'm ready to smell... Portnoy: One Nonfiction draft, due before the turn of the new year. Matthew: k Portnoy: More than one draft is cool, but at least one by Dec... (read more)

So I've Decided

I'm not going to mention my family. I went home. It was nice. I'm back. I'm not sure why I hesitate here, and why I'm unwilling to talk about my family. I guess that, by starting this blog, I made an agreement with myself that I'd make a lot of... (read more)

A Lazy Woman and Her Dog - May 7th, 2003

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