May. 6th, 2008 @ 10:29 am Spring has sprung, but who will spring me?
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Don't mind me, I'm just: glum
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76 degrees and sunny. As [info]gazman points out, this is not a day designed for sitting inside this dump.

This is, in fact, a day designed for sitting outside under a shady tree and making out with a pretty girl. (If girls are your preference.)

But here I am at work. Sigh.

--- Ajax.
Mar. 12th, 2008 @ 04:01 pm Word Of The Week #100
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Word Of The Week -- pogonip

Definition: pog·o·nip (pŏg'&-nĭp')
n.
A fog of ice particles that forms in the mountain valleys of the western U.S.
Etymology: [Shoshone: pakenappeh, thunder cloud.]

Obscurity: 95% (Come again?)

Usefulness: 5% (Anybody using this word is trying to confuse you, impress you, or both.)

Examples:
(def. 1) "The two weary travelers cautiously made their way through a bone-chilling pogonip that reduced visibility to almost zero."


I realize that #100 of just about anything is supposed to be something special, but I wasn't really feeling it today. So here's another reader submission from [info]letsgomiah, who I believe came across it in a crossword puzzle or something awhile back.

We Chicagoans do tend to complain about our winter weather, sometimes in an overly melodramatic fashion. (And there are exceptions.) But speaking strictly for myself, I think we have legitimate cause this year, as this has easily been the worst winter since I returned to full-time Illinois residency in December of '01. Today's Trib points out, "[S]ince Dec. 1 Chicago has gone no longer than two days without snow, sleet, slush, hail, rain or some unspeakable mix of the above."

At this point, despite our lack of mountains or valleys, I don't think Chicagoans would be surprised if they threw a pogonip at us this year, too. C'mon, make with the spring, already!

--- Ajax.
Feb. 26th, 2008 @ 08:15 am Bits and pieces
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Don't mind me, I'm just: determined
Hey, that sounds like: Fu Manchu -- Over the Edge
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  • Seriously. Enough with the fucking winter already. We get it.


  • Saturday afternoon, [info]stoatmaster9000 and I went over to [info]letsgomiah's stylish abode for an 8-hour marathon of Here I Stand. This is a strategy board game which allows you to play out the Protestant Reformation/Thirty Years' War as one of six major powers. Ordinarily the game is for six players, but since there were only three of us, I was privileged to represent both the Ottoman Empire and France. I eventually came in second, as the Protestant/English player won the game by a huge margin, with the Papacy/Hapsburg player bringing up the rear by a couple of points.

    The game's a lot of fun, but very complicated, so my brain was pretty fried after 8 hours. As a result, I drove around in a circle a couple times trying to find my way back onto I-90W. But to be fair, that happens about every fourth time anyway. :)


  • Speaking of strategy games, [info]resplendentoops has turned a bunch of the #predicate crew onto a new web-based game called Ikariam. Made by those crafty Germans at SourceForge, it's essentially a MMORPG version of Civilization, where you create a little town on a Greek(ish) island, build buildings, research new technologies, engage in trade, and conduct raids on your neighbors if you're so inclined.

    ( The gory details. )


  • Tonight I am going to see Clutch at the Metro, even if it kills me.


  • And it just might. I seem to have picked up a low-grade fever, which a weekend that consisted exclusively of broken sleep, high-tension strategy gaming, and staring at a computer screen probably exacerbated. A bunch of ibuprofen yesterday got me to work in reasonable shape, and a 10:00 bedtime last night left me feeling quite a bit better this morning.

    (I did have the foresight to take tomorrow off of work, since even when I'm healthy a loud rock show takes a lot out of me. So even if I'm totally wrecked, I'll have tomorrow to recuperate.)

    But I am not missing another goddamn Clutch concert even if I'm bleeding out my eyes!


  • Friday afternoon I'm flying out to Austin for the weekend. My friend Patty is having a 30th birthday bash at Matt's El Rancho, so I'll be over there wishing her well for pretty much the whole day on Saturday -- although I am going to make time to stop by the Independence Brewery for a bit, to grab some free beer and say hello to [info]captspastic. :)

That about covers it. Now back to keeping my fingers crossed that the forecast continues to contain sleet and flurries instead of snow. :)

--- Ajax.
Aug. 23rd, 2007 @ 08:35 pm Grind it 'til you find it
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Don't mind me, I'm just: pissed off
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I am now 0-2 at attending Clutch concerts in Milwaukee.

Somebody up there really doesn't want me to see this band. Not only did they get me sick for no apparent reason last night (I countered with powerful decongestants and an early bedtime, and was ready for action today) but they conjured up a huge barrage of tornadoes and thunderstorms to prevent me from leaving the city, which erupted out of nowhere shortly before I left work.

After two hours on the road I hadn't even made it to O'Hare yet, and the radio had nothing but portents of doom and destruction for points north, with yet another round of severe weather set to hit later in the evening. At that point, doors were opening at the club and it was doubtful I'd even make it out of the city by the time Clutch took the stage. I know when I'm licked, so I turned around.

And this time I don't even get my frelling money back. Sigh.

--- Ajax.
Mar. 21st, 2007 @ 11:18 am Word Of The Week #49
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Hey, that sounds like: Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble -- The House Is Rockin'
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Word Of The Week -- nimiety

Definition: ni·mi·e·ty (nĭ-mī'ĭ-tē)
n.
Superfluity; excess.
Etymology: [Late Latin: nimietās, from Latin nimius, excessive, from nimis, excessively; see ne in Indo-European roots.]

Obscurity: 95% (Come again?)

Usefulness: 15% (Scans well, but more common synonyms are usually used in normal conversation.)

Examples:
(def. 1) "Candace, your nimiety of chirpiness and good cheer is like nails on a chalkboard to the dour old men in the IT group; could you possibly tone it down, at least first thing in the morning?"

And still another reader submission, this one from my dear ol' dad (a.k.a. [info]stuckinthe60s.)

Chicago is expecting a nimiety of rain today, but the rest of the week looks nice. And thank goodness for rising temperatures at last!

Happy first day of Spring, everybody. :)

--- Ajax.
Jan. 15th, 2007 @ 10:46 am Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!
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Don't mind me, I'm just: good
Hey, that sounds like: White Zombie -- Creature of the Wheel
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Yesterday was the awesomest day I've had in a fair bit. Behold:

1) Bears won! YAAAAYY!

2) I enjoyed the company of [info]misskaz, [info]wurdsome, [info]letsgomiah and his boy Brian at the latter's apartment to watch the game. Nice to get out of the house for something fun.

3) Brian cooked up home-made pretzels and German sausage for the game. Yay! They were scrumptious.

4) The snowy and icy and icky weather that was supposed to materialize yesterday never did. YAAY! There was just a little rain to deal with on the drive home.

5) I didn't get a parking ticket despite parking in a permit park only zone near Miah's place.

6) I didn't get (very) lost driving home from Miah's place, despite it being my first trip out there. For those of you who don't know me all that well, this is highly unusual and cause for celebration. :)

7) We played a game of Illuminati (I was the Society of Assassins for what seems like the 12th time in a row) and I didn't lose for a change -- we called it a draw at 7:00, so Bo and Kaz could go home to feed and walk the doggie. Thank you Alina Beans, for salvaging my pride. :)

How was everyone else's weekend?

--- Ajax.
Jan. 10th, 2007 @ 11:55 am Word Of The Week #39
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Hey, that sounds like: Sepultura -- Ratamahatta
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Word Of The Week -- sepulchral

Definition: se·pul·chral (s&-pŭl'kr&l, -pōōl'-)
adj.
  1. Of or relating to a burial vault or a receptacle for sacred relics.

  2. Gruesomely indicative of death or the dead.

  3. Of sounds, hollow and deep.
Etymology: [Old French: sepulcre, from Latin sepulcrum grave, tomb, from root of sepelire to bury, originally to perform rituals on a corpse.]

Obscurity: 85% (Come again?)

Usefulness: 15% (Anybody using this word is trying to confuse you, impress you, or both.)

Examples:
(def. 1) "The carvings in the sepulchral chamber were the best-preserved at the dig site."
(def. 2) "In keeping with their sepulchral motif, the death metal band always performed in corpsepaint."
(def. 3) "With the wall hangings taken down, the uncovered basement walls gave our voices a booming, sepulchral quality."

This word always reminds me of the dear, departed Brazilian death metal band Sepultura, whose name means "tomb" in Portuguese. They were never one of my top favorites, but their 1996 album Roots, which incorporates tribal music styles from indigenous Brazilians, is pretty darn cool.

I picked it today because I've been dealing with a mild case of the ol' SAD lately. Winter temperatures have returned to Chicagoland with a vengeance, and gloomy overcast skies, chilly feet, and worries about money and the impending relocation (which I still have not made a lot of progress on) have made for a considerable and deepening funk. And not the good, James Brown kind of funk. Blah.

--- Ajax.
Nov. 2nd, 2006 @ 02:43 pm Kill me!
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Don't mind me, I'm just: disgusted
Hey, that sounds like: Eagles of Death Metal -- Already Died
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Tom Skilling's 7-day forecast

You're reading that right. A thirty-five degree temperature swing in seven days.

There are times that I really, really dislike living in Chicago.

--- Ajax.
Sep. 22nd, 2006 @ 11:27 pm Wet feet
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We had a whole buncha rain out here this afternoon, and it backed up the sewer in the parking lot at work. As a result, the parking lot flooded to the point where the parking blocks were about halfway submerged.

This is more water than it sounds like.

My socks are still soaked.

--- Ajax.