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Month: August 2008

In which I test out the audio player tool

This is an mp3 I produced for a wedding; I hear Mary’s Wedding at “traditional weddings” all the time and I really can’t stand hearing the same one all the time; so I made a short rendition for the wedding:

[audio:SWGTtheAM.mp3]

Angie has Tattoos

Angie has Tattoos, originally uploaded by NiteMayr.

This is my friend Angie; whom I met many many many years ago. We’re pretty estranged these days, but in the halcyon days of yore we were good buds. She was totally afraid of “The Shining” when she was younger, and for some reason this picture of her has had over 500 hits in the past 36 hours. It’s not a ton of hits, but it’s a strange upsurge.

Is it linked somewhere that I don’t know about?

You can check out more of my photographs at: Flickr

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-29

  • The Ultimate “Don’t Miss These” Photo site: http://drunkatdnc.blogspot.com/ #
  • My Groceries were super expensive this week, how are yours looking? #
  • The phone from the “private conference room” next to me is alarmingly loud and unprivate #
  • Dear USasians who are still on the fence: http://www.startribune.com/27659099.html imagine more of this. #
  • Go here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/29/michael.jackson.50.pop.facts) find Number 40, it’s too long for twitter. #

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Canadian Politics are Boring: A Gleam of Exciting News

Exciting, being a relative term.  What makes me get all lathered up in anticipation may not exactly turn your dials to eleven.  In this case it’s the prospect that Steven Harper gets out the Trash Talk Thesaurus and lays it on the table in front of him, looking for synonyms of pansy.

“He is certainly the Liberal leader who’s taken his party furthest to the left, at least since [former prime minister] Pierre Trudeau,” Mr. Harper said in Inuvik.

“I think this is not a time to go back to Trudeau-style economic policies,” said the Conservative Leader, who invoked Mr. Trudeau’s name three times in unfavorable comparisons with Mr. Dion.
Harper uses Trudeau’s name to slam Dion

Who knew that Pierre Trudeau was an insult?  Almost universally beloved and the scion of a semi-independent Canada?  Nice.  Celine could only hope to be so beloved.  Pierre was a rock-n-roll Prime Minister if there ever was one and stood Canada out there on the International stage like the prize winning pig that it is.  Let’s hope that the Liberals can front a face as audacious and raucous.

The most common definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of shrinking economic output, but Mr. Harper said this wouldn’t worry him because it would only be a “technical recession,” while Canada’s outlook is strong.
–Stephen Harper on the looming global recession.

I’m still trying to find my way here in Canada; faced with the choice of working two jobs or cutting back spending to my post-college levels to get myself back on track.  There are luxuries that I simply can’t afford, like new shirts for work and gas, and I make a decent wage, well above that of some of my peers.  The Job market is terrible for somone with my skill set and it only seems to get worse as time goes on.  I guess the “fundamentals” are okay in the Tories eyes, profits at their friend’s businessess are up, right?

It’s startling to see how far the Canadian public is willing to let the Tory government get before they start to realize that the Cut Taxes and Spend method of Fiscal Conservatives always leads to trouble that the Liberals end up cleaning up.  Taxes always climb in the wake of the Conservative misadventures (see post-Vietnam, Post-Cold-War, Post Bush America for proof)  because the “Conservatives” only believe in spending and cutting taxes, not shoring up for the future.  They can’t even plan a full year in advance (look at the Tories previous push for “set” election dates and their current push for a fall election, a full year early).

It’s typical.

Update:

Dear Stephan Dion

Sic ’em

The Canadian government strongly opposed tougher U.S. rules to prevent listeria and lobbied the United States to accept Canada’s more lenient standards, internal documents reveal.

Briefing notes prepared by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for an April 7, 2006, meeting with the board of directors of the Canadian Meat Council outline how both industry and the Canadian government were frustrated with the increased precautions the United States was demanding.

Specifically, Canada opposed daily inspection visits and the testing of finished products for Listeria monocytogenes.

For your notes at home, The Harper Tories took over in February 6 2006.

Quick Story: Bobo and the Newspapers

Bobo the Chimp having previously gained his freedom from the Brentwood Academy; set about learning all he could about the human world beyond his gated and caged world.  Previous to his escape; he had lived on what he learned from errant radio and newspapers.  He had come to believe that the human world was filled with dangers and worrisome crowds of monsters who would prey upon him, (morese because he chose to disguise himself as a child).

The Real world proved to be just as worrisome; but not as horrifying as the newspapers had made it seem.  Bebo noted that the Humans seemed to rush through their days, going back and forth from place to place in seemingly endless circles.  He gripped the Omega Nugget tight in his paw when he wandered the late night streets; willing the people that passed him to simply ignore his hairy arms; especially when he couldn’t get shaved.  Remarkably; most people simply ignored him or thought him afflicted with some terrible condition.  Those in the latter group were to two types; one would see him and make a concious effort to avoid contact and the others would approach and engage him.  Bobo found the latter more troublesome as he had not mastered Human speech and would have to gesture to them to leave him alone.

One late summer evening; after a long subway ride and a visit to the park, Bobo found himself wandering the streets near a series of Bars and Clubs; it was too early for the normal crowds and Bobo always gravitated to the more “empty” parts of town when he could.  It made avoiding people easier and he could be sure to avoid any unwanted trouble from rowdy children and criminals.  Bobo was lost in thought when he was approached by an old lady, dressed in a pink overcoat and wearing a similarily color cake shaped hat.

“‘ere, yoo look like wun ‘a them monkies, yoo doo!” she cackled and pointed at Bobo, “innit, it’s a monkey!  ‘ere Mavis.  Look at this ‘ere monkey!  Ooos a handsome lad then?”  She cooed to Bobo and crooked a finger to call him to her.   “Awww, c’mere and give us a kiss you little fellar.  I likes Monkeys, yoo looks like a fine feller.”

Bobo had dealt with drunken ladies before; he bared his teeth at her and gave a low keening squeal between them, as if hurt.  The lady and her friend recoiled from Bobo and stopped their coaxing.  Bobo snorted and waddled past them, shrinking his head into his jacket and pulling his scarf up over his mouth.

The ladies watched him go, not sure what they had just seen.  They were both sure that they had been speaking to a hairy kid; but now they weren’t sure.  When they sobered up they would both swear that they had seen a monkey wearing clothes and walking in the entertainment district, but being well known-drunks their story wouldn’t be well-regarded.

Bobo; for his part had learned to avoid people who had been drinking heavily and kept his walks to the late evening and early mornings.

Top Three Reasons Dennis Kucinich is a Bad Ass

Whats that?  Is Dennis Kucinich gonna have to Pocket Constitution on you?
What's that? Is Dennis Kucinich gonna have to Pocket Constitution on you?

After his firey speech at the DNC in August 2008, Dennis Kucinich has regained some of the stature that his supporters felt he deserved; he’s the *real* liberal left wing of the Democrats, but he is also something else.  Dennis Kucinich is a Bad-ass Mutha-‘Effer.

3. He’s a Sexy Mutha-‘Effer

She loves him for his mind.  That’s what you keep telling yourself.  It’s because of his liberal policies and strong political opinions.  His stance on Women’s rights and Abortion are what attracted her, sure.  It was the fact that he’s smoother than airgel and harder than steel that keeps the ladies on him.  Kucinich has the prowess of John Holmes and the Mind of a Savant.   Even Dolomite can’t hang in Kucinich’s ‘hood.

Special Note: His Pimp Juice is a nice tea.  His love engine runs on righteousness and awesome.

2.  Aliens Fear and Revere Him

Aliens for Dennis
Aliens for Dennis

“The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him,” she wrote. “It hovered, soundless, for 10 minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn’t comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind.”
Shirley MacLaine

What Miss MacLaine wasn’t aware of is that for those 10 minutes, Dennis was transported invisibly into the ship and taken to the home planet of those Aliens.  They wanted to study the Man, (they had seen his wife on news broadcasts and wanted to study the man in person).  The only problem being that while Dennis isn’t violent, he is fully capable of whipping some grey ass when the need is there.  After hours of ongoing psychic combat and a series of acrobatic and violent fist fights, Dennis Subdued the leader of the Greys and convinced them that he wasn’t going to take over their planet in a violent coup, instead he left them a copy of the consitution and asked politely to be taken back to earth.  9 minutes and 30 seconds after they appeared, the aliens left Dennis on Earth in approximately 14.3 years the denizens of a future earth will see the new constellation “Dennis Kucinich” in the neighborhood of Alpha Centauri, home of the nearest inhabited planet it takes 10 years to build new stars you know.

1.  Dennis Kucinich had a Mafia Hit on him, and the Mafia had to abandon it.

Is this man about to put a Hit on Someone?
Is this man about to put a Hit on Someone?

During his tenure as Mayor of Cleveland, the Mafia put a hit out on “The Boy Mayor” (Dennis was 31).  The official story is that Dennis was in hospital the day the hit was planned and so it was called off, the truth is something a great deal darker; and the reason Dennis refuses to ever pick up a gun again.  The fact of the matter is that Dennis Kucinich is the inspiration for “The Killer” and “The Punisher

That fateful Columbus Day, the major crime families in Cleveland suffered under the twin pistols of “El Morte Diabalous”  the horribly misspelled “Death Devil” who stalked the streets of Cleveland, murdering the evil drug pushing, murdering, leg-breakers that he found.  All totaled Dennis sent 25 men to their maker and spent the rest of the day in hospital for burns on his hands.  Dennis vowed from that day forth to hone his mind into a weapon so that he would never kill another person, with a gun.

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-27

  • Massive Dynamics are Future Miners. #
  • Busy afternoon, busy until 10:30. Finally able to blog this morning. Need to study some more. #
  • I want to use “sotto voce” somewhere in my writing soon. Also ‘Alimentarlo, io sono affamato!” #
  • I’ve put up a wp-based photo gallery at http://nitemayr.com/photos/ that trailing slash makes all the difference it seems. #
  • @billdeys GPOs that renew every 20 mins and no local admins. #
  • @billdeys Oh and no local filesystem access either. #
  • @billdeys of course, I’m assuming you run winders… LoL #
  • Meeting – Now #
  • @billdeys I only have two at home (tons at work), but I still have no local admin rights for “users” on sensitive machines. #
  • @templesmith You can’t tell me that you’re not in the tank for “WeFinallyKill the <theme> Movie Guys Movie” Where they flay the pr … #
  • Writing long tweets #
  • Considering what to do with nitemayr.com #

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Quick Story: Bobo and the Omega Nugget

When the omega nugget fell into the chimp enclosure at Brentwood Academy, the chimps all gathered around it and began to poke at it’s shiny coating.  Some of the chimps wanted to push it out of the enclosure, better to leave it to the humans.  Some of the chimps wanted to put it into the water moat at the south end of the enclosure and drown it.  One of the chimps, Bobo; wanted it for himself.  So he snatched it up and secreted it with his private stash of fruits and random implements that fell into the Chimps’ cage during the day.

Bobo studied the Nugget at every chance he could, he fingered it’s designs and tried to puzzle out what it was for.  It was small, metal and yellow.  It had scribbled words all over it; like a human tool, but it wasn’t designed for hands like theirs were.  It was just a lump of metal with words on it; but it hummed and pulsed like it was alive when you held it just so.

The other chimps lost interest in it until they go near it; Bobo noticed that when he held it he could read the signs around the cages and understood the Humans when they spoke (more than he could when he wasn’t near the chunk.  He even grew to realize that he had put it with his secret food stash so that he wouldn’t forget about it when he wasn’t near it, like the other chimps.

Day by day, Bobo became more and more aware of himself.  He began to try to imitate the speech of the humans that visited the Brentwood Academy and make himelf understood.  He never let the humans see the Nugget, it was for him alone.  He’d gesture at the children and they would whoop and clap when he would gutter “Hey you!  Throw me a bit of fruit and I’ll dance for you!”

The guards and keepers started to take an interest in Bobo and so Bobo decided that he would only perform when there were kids around and alone; so that the keepers wouldn’t take him out of the enclosure.  He felt sure that when he left the enclosure, it would have to be on his own terms.

The Nugget had been subtly chaning too; it started to look a bit like a rough outline of a brain, with a band around it.  Bebo didn’t know that this was a brain though, just that it changed.

The other chimps came to shun Bebo, as he was just “different” now.  They would share his food though, but then shy away or openly attack him if there was no food around.  Bebo came to realize that if they Keepers saw him being unsocial, they would take him away from the Nugget.

One day, Bebo decided that it was time to leave the enclosure, and using a but of sharp metal he hid himself in the back of the enclosure, away from the eyes of the humans, he shaved himself bald and using some clothes dsiguised himself as a lanky child.  Hiding the nugget in his pocket, Bobo leaped from the enclsoure close to closing time and hid amongst a crowd as they left.

The papers were filled with stories of the performing Ape who had been stolen from the Brentwood Academy; but Bebo was never seen at the Academy Again again.