October 31, 2003
This is probably scarier than the costume. :)----- --------... (read more)
October 2003 Archives
Justin got an invite to a warehouse type of party, and I tagged along. I stopped over at his place around 9:15, and we chatted a while. Before we left, we did a tea cup worth of whiskey to keep warm, then headed out. Here we are, WAY too... (read more)
I read over the card, and I go to sit down in the living room. I'm utterly fucking speechless. I'm looking over the card, all the names of the people who have contributed, and letting it slowly sink in. All this is from seven people I've met online. They heard... (read more)
So I get home, and get my mail. Funny - there's this strange card in an envelope. Not something I expected. Too late for my birthday, too early for Christmas. I go inside. When I open the envvelope (trying to figure out who sent me what) I pull out a... (read more)
Jon (schubee) and Melissa were in town today, and a bunch of us Internet folks gathered together for a meal. Everyone met up outside of Monk's for lunch, and we spent a pleasant (albeit crowded and noisy) hour plus there. In attendance: me, Justin, Ben, Jeff (persist), Matt (Tha.Riddla), schubee... (read more)
First, the bait. I stopped in at Artisan (where Ben, Justin and I all go to get our coffee fix most mornings). I picked up a delicious box of 16 chocolate truffles (each one is different), so as to sway people to sign my uh... "petition." The actual makers... (read more)
October 30, 2003
I'm super excited by Halloween. I really need to go to sleep, since I need to get up in a short amount of time so I can get my costume in order. The weekend's going to be nutty. I've got a ton of work yet to do for one of... (read more)
I am now a part of that prestigous group of people who have posted a picture of themselves on the Internet, with a blow-up sex doll. I thank you.... (read more)
October 29, 2003
by Felix Jung I should have been a sculptor, shaping stone until it feels as smooth as muscled flesh. What better work can possibly survive me? Poets have it wrong: all language changes, ink dissolves, all paper fades the instant sunlight finds its skin. A hammer, chisel, candlelight: I'll carve... (read more)
Mr. Grumpy and I had a chat about work, after work. I had brought stuff home with me, and was planning on working from home this evening. When I explained to Grumpy what I had in store this evening, he asked me: why? I stopped to think about my answer.... (read more)
October 28, 2003
Over the weekend, I helped Stu set up a newer version of his site. He's getting a lot of attention this week, and the whole Flash-based mail form thing was something I had never done before. I may end up adding something like that on the blog soon. Check out... (read more)
I feel much more relaxed, having today off as a personal day. While I didn't get much done around the house, I did go out and go shopping for my Halloween costume. It's not an original one, but I think I'm giving this costume a pretty fun spin. I've got... (read more)
The mail issues I had yesterday got resolved, thanks to polymorph. Turns out, Flash only sends out variables from the timeline where you're issuing the command. In order for me to allow users to use the <Tab> key, and move from text field to text field... I ended up using... (read more)
Feeling markedly, markedly better today. Ran some errands this morning, and puttering about the apartment. Cleaning up the living room (which I'm never in anymore, since I lost the television). Listening to NPR on a portable radio, and sipping on some coffee. I seriously can't tell you how much better... (read more)
October 27, 2003
Alright. Feeling slightly better. I don't know what happened tonight. I think I'm spending too much time in front of a computer, and too much time working. I'm wondering if the lack of a television is somehow preventing me from "turning off" the work mode. I'm taking the day off... (read more)
When you are publishing out a scene to be used as its own .swf file, remember that frame labels get all fucked up and won't work properly. Try not to waste all your time looking through your code, which is fine.... (read more)
October 26, 2003
Completely forgot about "Falling Back" and gaining an hour. For a long while, when I was in Indiana, we didn't deal with this kind of thing. I don't know if it was Indianapolis or Bloomington, but there was an obstinate "We don't recognize your time change, so we're not doing... (read more)
October 25, 2003
Off to grab some drinks with the girls at Clubfoot. Bringing a camera, but it's been a really long time since I've shot anything while out socially. We'll see what happens.... (read more)
Matt: i taught a class at Thurber House today in humor writing. 6, 7, 8 graders Portnoy: nice Matt: one of my fave kids, a frequent returner to my classes wrote this story. Matt: they had to write five sentence stories. Matt: first is intro. Matt: second rising conflict.... (read more)
I had this thought today, walking to get coffee at about 4:30 PM. Gallery Cafe was closed down (earlier than usual, it seemed), so I walked down to Filter instead. I saw Jeff there (I had seen him earlier, when I got coffee from Gallery at about noon), which was... (read more)
Woke up early this morning, and ran a ton of errands. Three different stores shopping for gifts. Groceries. Picked up a new cover for my futon. Got some good headway onto some work for Stu. Ahh damn. It's about 9:00 PM right now, and I'm due to meet folks at... (read more)
October 24, 2003
I've had some work to complete tonight, as well as a poem or two. But I'm ditching all that for sleep. So the week continues.... (read more)
Got a call from St. Ego earlier tonight, and we chatted on the phone a good long while. He's got a habit of calling up everyone he knows online (and many of us have given him our phone numbers willingly), and hops from conversation to converastion like the proverbial Internet... (read more)
I've been debating back and forth all day on this. The whole image becomes either incredibly positive, or incredibly bleak, depending on my mood. At times, I think that someone was hurt, and experienced a loss: a random traveller mugged in the alley. At other times, I think that... (read more)
October 23, 2003
Now that I'm thinking about it... you got to see a break in, a while back. High drama! You can forgive me a handful of slow news days after something like that.... (read more)
It's 11:10 PM. Grabbed a drink at the Artful Dodger, and talked computers instead. Go figure. :) We hashed out several ideas, and hit on one that we both were excited about pursuing. We get a lot of ideas, the two of us, but rarely see them through. I'm hoping... (read more)
Two days of straight to bed, and now I'm off to go drinking with Justin. It's about 8:01 PM. We're going to grab a bite to eat, and then I feel we'll be talking women and relationships the remainder of the night. Back in a bit.... (read more)
October 22, 2003
This week has been remarkably tame, and yet I'm coming home feeling utterly spent. No idea why. I seem to be able to fight past it if I sit down in front of my computer for an hour, and keep busy. Usually a second wind comes along. But today's been... (read more)
October 21, 2003
I walked in the door, and felt completely exhausted. I felt similarly last night, but kept busy in front of a computer and got a second wind back. But tonight - I just felt beat for some reason. At about 6:30, I jumped into bed and picked up book. Started... (read more)
October 20, 2003
by Felix Jung The burglars left small signs, like signatures: a door locked partially, a window cracked, two footprints in the mud outside. These months without you left me dark, and now the bedroom lights look wrong, lit up against the dusk. Along the hallway, half a year ago, we... (read more)
I guess this is an interesting way for you to experience the classic dilemma of what is written vs. what is implied. My concern here is that I'm using too much of what's transpired a few days ago in the poem (below). Specifically, I worry that I'm relying on a... (read more)
This should be interesting. So far, I'm liking it. But I haven't seriously explored the settings yet. If you're curious, download iTunes for Windows.... (read more)
Got a letter from rypunked today! I'm touched (and a little concerned) that when she saw this kind of paper... she thought of me. This looks to me like a controversial Mr. Men figure. And more than that, it looks like a Chinese, cross-dressing, beer-swilling Mr. Men figure, draped in... (read more)
October 17, 2003
by Elizabeth Bishop The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn't hard to... (read more)
October 16, 2003
I was in pretty good spirits earlier - joking and laughing with folks online about what had happened. But now that a few hours have gone by, and it's closing on 3 AM, and I'm tired, and I still haven't eaten dinner... I'm getting increasingly angrier and sadder. If this... (read more)
Here's my AC, on the ground as I found it. No porch lights, so it's all Flash. Note some of the smudges on the AC unit itself, as well as the finger smudges on the windowsill. That's Harmony, peeking out. It's a complete wonder that she didn't push through... (read more)
My cat (Harmony) is fine. My computer is fine. My Atari, along with my Atari TrakBall, are fine. Things could be much worse.... (read more)
Worked another late night. Fucked around longer than I should have, and basically took my time getting the Power Newsletter done and mailed. Caught a cab home, and as I was walking up to my apartment... I noticed that my AC unit is out of the windowsill, right on the... (read more)
Found this sitting on a nearby thermostat, near Ben's desk. Didn't spot this one until late in the day. I bet Stu hid like ten of these fuckers, all over the office somewhere.... (read more)
October 15, 2003
A great blog. One of the first ones I ever saw, and one that made me want to start my own. Check out the entry for September 22. It's breaking my heart.... (read more)
Saw this tacked on a board nearby: Stu was working late with Justin yesterday. Sly little devil.... (read more)
by Lucille Clifton my mama moved among the days like a dreamwalker in a field; seemed like what she touched was hers seemed like what touched her couldn't hold, she got us almost through the high grass then seemed like she turned around and ran right back in right back... (read more)
The whole Q101 office is migrating over to Outlook this week, and Joel (our IT guy) needed to make sure all our boxes were patched up. I ended up staying late and helping him out, going from computer to computer, logging on as an administrator and downloading/installing patches. The sucky... (read more)
We got a walkthrough on such things as how to BCC: and include attachments. Now, I'll admit that I don't use the Calendar feature all that much. Or Notes. But for fuck's sake, three hours? Yes, learning that I can forward someone's contact information as a VCard is nifty. But... (read more)
October 13, 2003
by Yehuda Amichai Forgetting someone is like forgetting to turn off the light in the back yard so it stays lit all the next day. But then it's the light that makes you remember.... (read more)
October 12, 2003
This afternoon, I bought stuff. Mainly books. Stopped by Barnes and Nobles and had a list of things that I was interested in tracking down. I got a cookbook. Mainly because I can't cook very well. I know how to make a handful of things, but not much beyond that.... (read more)
After trying to other places for lunch (both closed), we ended up walking to North Ave and getting a table at Las Palmas. A nice coincidence... this location (formerly Feast), was where I ate my first official Chicago meal (with my parents) a long, long time ago. My first apartment... (read more)
Juliet was in town today, and stopped by for a quick lunch. I was waiting outside my apartment for her, and decided to take a few pictures in the meanwhile:... (read more)
October 10, 2003
by Yehuda Amichai After you left me I had a bloodhound sniff at my chest and my belly. Let it fill its nostrils and set out to find you. I hope it will find you and rip your lover's balls to shreds and bite off his cock — or at... (read more)
Today, during work... a bunch of us played several rounds of isketch towards the end of the day. Oh man, what a great way to waste time! And honestly, it was really super-fucking fun to do that, after this week. Everyone seemed pretty tired/exhausted, and this was a great way... (read more)
From: Lloyd To: Portnoy Subject: Re: goonies I had been told by someone that Asian-Americans aren't supposed to like The Goonies. I think that sucks and is stupid and dumb. That kid, Jonathan Kwan who plays Data, I have a friend who knows his girlfriend. But I guess that isn't... (read more)
From: arigato To: Portnoy Subject: The 8th - postcard Roughly translated ñ we donít work because we actually have to, we only do it for the money. :)... (read more)
My friend Stu stopped by the office today. We both noticed that we had on t-shirts that proclaimed our names. LOL. So we got our pictures taken together. Leave it to Stu to make the right call. There was one photo where we were both in the shot (faces visible).... (read more)
October 9, 2003
Got going a little late this morning, and didn't roll into the office until about quarter to ten. Got some coffee on the way in. Checked e-mail. Updated some contest/registration pages. Went into the studio. Took some pictures of the crocodile someone brought in to the morning show: Lunch. More... (read more)
October 8, 2003
This is the postcard. For anyone who speaks German, I'd appreciate a translation. Hell, even if you don't speak German, feel free to submit your guesses my way.... (read more)
Felix! I have no idea what this card says. There's a restaurant near here named "Felix." I'm going to try to eat there tonight. I say try because everything closes so pooping early here. 10:00 marks the beginning of quiet time, and I'm not kidding, you can hear your... (read more)
Found a letter from Steph (who works for my landlord, Ted). This was on the back: Sadly, the letter was neither spooky, nor was it evil. It did, however, advertise a rather tastful loft for rent in the Bucktown area, on the corner of Armitage and Milwaukee. It's a 2... (read more)
I should try to take a picture. What the hell is that? Well, it looks like someone stuck a pigeon feather in a parking meter. Why in the fuck would you want to take a picture of this? I haven't taken many pictures lately. So? So, people might like some... (read more)
October 7, 2003
Ooooh. Just found this: View Full Episodes.... (read more)
October 6, 2003
I felt really, really good last night (part of it, I'm sure, was due to the three beers I sank). But honestly - I felt really good about writing again. I'm happy I stayed home instead of going out, and I'm happy with what I got down on the page.... (read more)
Saw this last week, as I was walking to work. This is quite touching, especially since one of the first times I saw this type of sticker was near my workplace. For those who don't know: you-are-beautiful.com... (read more)
I got a call tonight from Carla, asking about the best place to get a computer fixed. Unfortunately, it sounds like Betsy is now officially dead. I offered to try to take another look at it, but given my work schedule the past few weeks... I don't know when that... (read more)
I got home around 2:30 PM. Actually, it was one of those "gotta go to the bathroom so I'm going to pull up next to my door and throw on the hazards and run inside to the bathroom" sort of arrivals. But as I was unloading my stuff and walking... (read more)
When I got home, I jumped onto the couch, turned on the cable TV, and flipped around. Luckily, I stumbeld across this great friggin' documentary on Archimedes, and got captivated. I then ended up napping off an on, for another hour, before I made my way to the restaurant, to... (read more)
October 3, 2003
Afterwards, a bunch of us hopped over to Ben's house, where he and Laura served up a great dinner. Ben grilled out some fantastic steak and salmon, Laura made some garlic red potatoes that were quite heavenly... and Justin and I got to play around with Emmett. Justin and I... (read more)
Our Interactive group met off-site today, at about 12:30 PM. Our meeting place was Deb's house, and we had a brief lunch and talked strategies for next year. Deb, along with Rey, oversees our little group and, in a Overall, a very productive meeting, and a nice snapshot of what's... (read more)
October 1, 2003
by Felix Jung Through the music and the smoke, it kisses the ears. Someone orders whiskey, scotch, a shot of something on the rocks. The serpent must have made his pitch like this, slurring, soft and uninhibited. The liquor does its work, the words slip past my teeth: secret, swear,... (read more)
I have no idea who did this. Matt maybe? I got to my car, and saw this note tucked into my window. As far as I know, Jill, Ben and Justin all took the train (or walked) after work. Matt drives, but doesn't use the pay lot and parks in... (read more)
I happened to see Katie, as she stopped by to say hello. I can't be sure, but I think she moved a chess piece today.... (read more)
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