Followup

As a followup to my story about the oldsters from the summer, it appears the courts say no

Car Alarm

I suspect I'll be listening to this all night.



I still say that car alarms only exist to irritate your neighbors.

Today in junk mail.

I'm so glad that the crappy state college I went to decided to hand over my address to their alumni association. Even more glad that same alumni association has decided to fund themselves by selling off the information to all sorts of lowest-bidders, and apparently the right to represent themselves as well. Today's junk mail had a Pennsylvania postmark, but boy did it try to look official otherwise.






Think I'm joking about it being a crappy state college? Read this article and tell me I'm wrong.

Formerly known as...

Swiped from Shannon Wheeler (swiped from SinnamonGirl)

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Fall in California

And the Orb Weaver spiders come out.

Why do the really big ones always choose to camp out at face level right in front of my garage?

This can't be good.

Ok, so I should properly credit Ben Templesmith, his twitter feed, his facebook comments, etc. for noticing this, but...ahem....holy fucking shit.


Of course, the article off the AP feed that got my attention.

And worse, this article from the Huffington Post that gives a fabulous "correlation does not imply causation" (*but holy crap*) moment.

Another fine day in Orange County

"They both want to travel to the land of competition
Southern California will destroy them" (Bad Religion)

Seriously, how can you not appreciate articles like this?

"Eventually relented"? How do you imagine that debate must've gone?

End of Summer Extravaganza!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

• Became single (again)

• Started smoking (again)

• Bought a bicycle. Rode 673 miles.

• Solved the cat problem

• Shaved off the beard

• Lost 43 lbs

• Figured out how to use the postal system

• Paid off all my debt

• Quit smoking. (again.)

• Figured out something about goals

What'd you do? Anything fun?

Milestone 2

Sub-190

For the record

I will be turning off my router tomorrow evening at 7pm. I will be turning off my cellphone at the same time. Landline phone? Yeah, ringer off.

I will not be reachable in any way this weekend unless you know where I live and convince me to actually answer the urgent knocking at my door.

Thank you.

Man vs. God

I don't even know where I stand anymore when it comes to religion, so I'll just say I found this an interesting read: Man Vs. God

Everything Changes

I picked up the new Pigface album the other day and have been listening to it. Sure, it seems a little sloppier and more rushed than past releases, but there's a sense of something else I think I'm detecting.

It feels very much like a requiem for a musical scene (largely Chicago Industrial) that just isn't what it used to be. I can hear echoes of it in this recording, but whether it was the liner note suggesting that it was likely the last Pigface album or I've changed, I don't know.

There's a few songs I like, but maybe I'm just getting too old to identify with it anymore. Songs like "I Hate You In Real Life Too" might've stuck better with me a decade ago. "6.6.7.11" wasn't interesting at all and sounded a lot like something I could record in an afternoon. Liked "Mercenary", "The Good, The Bad and The Druggly" (though it could've been a lot tighter), I think my favorite is "Up and Down"

So not to make this sound like a review, but it had its high and low points. Just odd to me that it comes across as so much of an epilogue to a past chapter.

Oh, fine, I'll grow up already.

This being the summer of goals (wait for the extravaganza post in another week or two to recap the highlights), I'm kind of sitting here thinking "You know, I probably should stop dressing like I did 10 years ago."

Not because I've been fashionably awkward all this time, never cared about that. But I'm 32 now and the only way to keep being weird (and not pathetic) is to start over-dressing a little. Dress shirt. Slacks. Nice shoes. Tie.

I swear I've not been watching Grosse Pointe Blank, but there's a certain appeal to saying your job is "Professional Killer" without anyone batting an eye. Now the trick to figure out how to transition to dressing like a professional adult without my management thinking I'm out interviewing every day....

(The last time I wore a tie to work, a significant percentage of the cow-orkers acted like they were having cardiac events)

Guess I'm really just tired of being a borderline slob. Lots of excuses not to buy new clothes when my weight hasn't stabilized yet (on the cusp of milestone 2, btw. Under a pound for that one)

Arguing with the spam bots again.

Clearly, I need a new hobby.

[7:43] ashleybishop8327
::MUAH::

[7:43] transiit
pbttth

[7:43] ashleybishop8327
hey there cutie???

[7:44] transiit
so this is where you tell me about your webcam, right?

[7:57] ashleybishop8327
Oh Ok LOL,Nice!how you doin??

[7:57] transiit
brilliant.

[8:10] ashleybishop8327
nice, nothin I work from home just starting doing these cam shows :) It's pretty fun actually lol

[8:11] transiit
see, I knew the webcam thing was coming.

[8:11] ashleybishop8327
I am a little busy right now cant really talk here but I would LOVE if you came to watch and give me some company, and maybe a GOOD rating ??

[8:11] transiit
I bet your response to me calling you a bot will be "What's a bot?" right?

[8:11] ashleybishop8327
whats a bot? im 100% all real and natural, from tits to ass!

[8:12] transiit
Yup, saw that one coming. Bot.

[8:12] ashleybishop8327
whats a bot? im 100% all real and natural, from tits to ass!

[8:12] transiit
bot

[8:12] ashleybishop8327
whats a bot? im 100% all real and natural, from tits to ass!

[8:12] transiit
bot

[8:12] ashleybishop8327
whats a bot? im 100% all real and natural, from tits to ass!

Epiphany

Someone told me not long ago to write my personal thoughts down on paper and be ready to never share them with anyone.

I'm thinking that's a better idea every day, whether I'm writing with a poison pen or not.

I can brag a little here, or throw something out that deserves some opinion, but I've got a sturdy pen, the better part of a ream of paper, and thoughts that just need to get out without the censure of "What if this becomes part of the permanent record?"

Thank you for the perspective, friend.

Zero Debt

Another goal met. Earlier than planned, but I'm there and I ain't taking it back.

I have no financial debt right now. As of midnight, the transaction posted, my credit card is paid off. All of my bills are now current. Car is paid off. No student loans.

It's not that I'm good at budgeting or anything, I'm just not that disciplined. But I found a budget I can live with ("Spend less than I make") and have just been working it off a bit at a time.

So I'm happy about this. I can now start building up a bigger savings buffer in earnest, and I may allow myself some minor investing (I wouldn't let myself invest in stocks or whatever before because I knew that they'd have to perform better than any interest I was paying on outstanding debt just for me to break even.)

Cyclery, Week 11

Last update on this one. Made my goal. Crashed once. I'm going to keep tallying the numbers for an "End of Summer Goal-meeting Extravaganza!" post in a couple weeks.

8/28: -
8/29: 11m
8/30: -
8/31: 8m
9/1: 12.5m
9/2: 12.5m
9/3: -

Week Total: 44m
Overall Total: 598.2m
Miles to go to meet summer goal: -98.2m