Reasonably long term user name recognition in discussions. Has mentioned peak oil, and I've read past journal entries.

So I had been reassigned from support to working on the top-o-the-priority-list project. Long hours (multiple 12+ hour days consecutive plus weekend work for a couple months), hectic deadlines, the works. I'm sure most people who read this can identify to some extent. So I follow my company's procedure for request time off for a couple of days after this project was to go live. By the time the day was approaching, I was actually looking forward to this day ("hope is futile" is a commonly uttered phrase). It's been some time since I actively looked forward to anything.

So as the day approached it became clearer and clearer that I was probably going to have to reschedule the day off due to the volume of people taking that particular day off. Sure I was disappointed that I would have to reschedule, but that's life. I went to pick up my friend and coworker with whom I carpool to work. He also was rescheduling a day off for the same reason.

Then his wife discovers that one of their dogs is dead. This was the only member of the species that I actually had any degree of fondness for. I was sad. I went through those stages: denial (poke, nope she's dead), anger (spending a vacation day burying an enormous dog, part great dane, is not exactly a joyful experience), bargaining (I'll go in half for the cremation charges), depression (the aforementioned sadness), and acceptance (OK where's she going to go).

So we arrange transportation for the corpse to his folks' place where there's plenty of land. Pick out a spot that should be relatively free of roots and'll make a good grave. I would have thought about ice, had I a sense of smell. But alas for my friend I hadn't thought to bring it up. So when it came time to plant her, she'd ripened a bit in the sun. I did think that sawing off her legs would save space, and thus digging time (I don't tend to mourn very long before practical thoughts take over). My friend said he'd do it, but his wife would be pissed. So we buried her whole in a hole twice as wide accommodate the legs.

So, bad things happen pretty much every time I look forward to something. Universal Training for pessimism.

I only owned one pair of boots and wore those during the burial. My friend suggested I get a new pair. I decided to get a haircut, too. It had been quite a while since I was able to get to a barber due to work and its scheduling difficulties. So now I have nice short hair, a well-trimmed beard, and shiny new boots.

The most memorable "compliment" I received as a result of the haircut was along the lines of "Wow! You went from scary-looking Jihadist preparing bombs in your shed to even scarier-looking psycho-convict who's about to stab someone."

So I've gotten a couple of invitations from coworkers past. And finally signed up and accepted the invitations.

Then I see a list of people I might know that are also (presumably) linked in. And mostly it's a bunch of people with whom I have worked with in the past. But there are two other names on that list that I recognize. It takes a bit to realize it, but they're people I know only from Slashdot. Both of whom I have never met nor communicated with verbally. I have only had brief email contact and an Amazon.com gift purchase. So they're in cahoots with Google or Amazon or both. This online people linking is getting pretty creepy.

I am fine, for the most part.

A coworker has expressed interest in firearms, and wants to go to the gun show with me.

Can someone look here and tell me the times the concealed weapons classes are on the 19th & 20th in Orlando?

I'd check, but no internet at home and work blocks weapons related content evidently.

Thanks.

Q: Why do you open doors the way you do?
(which is pause at the door and listen for a second, and depending on if the door swings in or out, pull door towards me while stepping to the side facing perpendicular to the door opening, or push door slightly ajar while standing in such a way that one can get out of the way of the door should the need arise, breif pause, then go through door)

A: Treat every closed door as if some lunatic with a wedding cake is going to come crashing through it. You're less likely to get hit with a cake.

I had the absolute worst dream I've had in years.

It occurred after death, and the setting is the afterlife.

Instead of getting a movie or book or some other media to review my life, I am directed to a computer and told that the log files are there, now debug your life.

We have a system for tracking jobs, in which one may make notes. Yesterday, a coworker with whom I have almost no face-to-face interaction (almost all communication is through email or these notes) was in the vicinity and told me the following:

You know what I hate about your emails and notes? I have to use a freaking dictionary to understand about half of them.

Well, do you want concise and accurate information or some vague message that barely conveys the appropriate information? Would more spelling errors help?

Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard

I'm a sucker for gimmicks.

Black Caucus: Whites Not Allowed

"It's an unwritten rule. It's understood. It's clear."

And there was a time when many companies and private organizations had unwritten rules regarding the hiring/joining prerequisites that were understood and clear.

These comments

John M W 321. Reciprocating friendship.

Red_Foreman. I needed a foe, dumbass. Other than that, no real animosity. Though I am curious about the people behind the facade.

The issue is not whether the glass is half-empty or half-full.

The issue is, "who's the bastard that didn't rinse his glass out?"

Y'all need to get with the program and establish Amazon wishlists, or at the very least provide an address to which to ship items on your wish list.

Without an address, that old adage holds true about wishing in one hand and shitting in the other and which one fills up faster.

And you foreigners need to use the "correct" date format. I just ordered something and the email said the seller was willing to ship it by 11.01.2007. November? Now that's timely service.

Does a journal entry ending in "discuss below" without the option to discuss qualify as trolling?

If so, did I just fall for it by composing this journal entry thus making me a dumbass?

When someone prepares food for you and asks how is it, palatable is evidently not considered a compliment. Even though said person knows (or has been told, rather) that I have virtually no sense of taste, and they also are familiar with my tendency to avoid adjectives that are too positive.

"What is the current degree of satisfaction you currently have for your existence as a whole?" is not a readily answerable substitute for "How are you?" It tends to lengthen the interaction as you have to explain the question.

"What's that like?" is hard for people to answer when their response to "Are you happy?" is "Yes".

"Do you care?" is an effective response to stop people from asking "How are you?" Note: Some people will actually respond to this question rather than wander off. Some of these will answer "No". I think it's important to thank those people for their honesty, then ask them how they're doing.

Quotes from Deep Star Six will never be recognized. It's as if I am the only person to have seen this movie. The same is true of Leviathan.

"Are you sure you've never taken a Spanish course before?" is the result of, after the first three courses (and the teacher thinks you're slow because you refuse to answer Como esta? With bien) this interaction:
Como esta?
Envidio los muertos. (I envy the dead)
Porque?
Odio mi trabajo. (I hate by job)
Oh, porque?
Porque las computadoras estan las maquinas abominables del Diablo, y los idiotas no ayuda. (Because computers are abominable machines of the devil, and the idiots do not help.)
Fortunately, the manager in attendance was still having trouble with "The door is brown." And the teacher didn't share what I had said.