rhapsodic.org

there are millions of ways

there are millions of ways a world could end, and ive now dreamt of five.

30 APR
2003

the boohbah zone is more

the boohbah zone is more entertaining than i think it ought to be.

29 APR
2003

this friday night i am

this friday night i am headed to anchorage with my main squeeze and our dog. we are meeting up with my brother and his wife (who are travelling a day later) for a stomp concert.

if youve never heard of them, they are a percussion/dance troop that use non-traditional instruments: brooms, trash cans, basketballs, and the like. ive only seen their stomp out loud video and their few appearances on sesame street.

we are attending the saturnday night concert, and y'all are invited.
if you can get seats.

which reminds me - i need to call my other brother and see if we will have some place to stay while were there.

29 APR
2003

i think real life should

i think real life should have more choreographed dancing.

28 APR
2003

its always a bad idea

its always a bad idea to get into an argument with the manager at a chinese buffet over the price of dinner.

but is it ever satisfying to win.

28 APR
2003

until i actually decide to

until i actually decide to act upon my need for sleep, some unconscious mutterings:

Slob :: fest
60 :: minutes
Personals :: match
Famous :: celebrity
Cancer :: patient
Internet :: whore (what?)
Previously :: on
Moonshine :: love
Ants :: z
Check :: mate

27 APR
2003

ive gone back and forth

ive gone back and forth on the idea of putting my name on this site.

on one hand, i love my moniker and what it stands for; i love having to explain it and how i came to identify with it. ive come to be known and recognized by it. its comfortable. and theres always been that little voice warning of 'internet stalkers'.

but on the other hand, anyone that wanted to find my name wouldnt have to look very far. numerous people go by their full names online. and for crying out loud - i really need to get over myself. the odds of someone stalking me is very slim.

in the past few months ive become less and less worried when someone uses my real name in a comment here - to the point that i dont care at all.

my real name is beautiful and original (unless you live in france: its a french surname). my name has a story; the story doesnt say much about me or my personality, but its a pretty good one nonetheless. ill tell it sometime.

i dont know if (or when) i will begin using it in comments and such on other sites. and im sure its not a big deal to anyone reading this. but it is, it was, to me.

my name is valette. nice to meet you.

(you just wait - not much longer, and ill start using capitalization. that should really creep everyone out.)

27 APR
2003

jory's new layout hates you.

jory's new layout hates you.
seriously.

27 APR
2003

i cant believe this kid

i cant believe this kid doesnt knock over the camera or poke out his own eye.

[via]

27 APR
2003

the dog really needs a

the dog really needs a haircut so she wont overheat on a 10 block walk.

26 APR
2003

i am #3 in a

i am #3 in a google search for angry german music, and #1 if you search it with quotes.
party on.

26 APR
2003

ginadapooh sent me some love,

ginadapooh sent me some love, and im gonna spread it around.

to all my readers: i love you, man!
because im sappy that way.

25 APR
2003

they rock

10 things that rock my socks:

my mom
my homemade pizza
an ice cold can of coke
isaiah 61 ...He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...
warm sunny days
spf 50 sunscreen
being alone in the office
launchcast music videos
my new mixer
a box of chinese lucky stars

25 APR
2003

i would have hoped alaskans

i would have hoped alaskans were above this sort of thing.

but it does show how alaska is always two or three steps behind the rest of the states. if we were new york, this sort of thing would have happened before the war, not after.

25 APR
2003

slight tweak in the dream

slight tweak in the dream section: dream titles now displayed in the header. should make reading and following the links from the main page much easier.

25 APR
2003

before and after

before diet dr pepper: its supposed to be just like regular dr pepper, so there should be no problems.

first reaction: is it supposed to taste like dad's root beer? but otherwise, not too bad.

second reaction: the aftertaste. blech. its the diet-soda-flavor ive come to loathe.

24 APR
2003

administrative assistants (aka secretarys) day

administrative assistants (aka secretarys) day came, went, and i with nary a flower or card or even nice comment. i didnt even know i should have gotten something until today.

maybe because the entire management staff is out of state for a national conference. could be.

maybe ill not do anything while theyre gone and see how they like it (not to mention see if i get to keep my job). sounds like a good idea to me.

24 APR
2003

my monitor keeps flickering magenta.

my monitor keeps flickering magenta.
my eyes are hurting - i have to get offline soon.

23 APR
2003

the new typepad. TypePad is

the new typepad.

TypePad is an upcoming hosted service providing powerful tools for creating full-featured weblogs... harness[ing] the power of... Movable Type personal publishing system into a turnkey service.

like blogspot with movabletype. i can hardly wait.

in related news, blogger is working on a interface - there are some screenshots up at plasticbag.

23 APR
2003

blogshares is going live in

blogshares is going live in a week (i had no idea it was beta - go figure). everything will be wiped clean but for your cash. sell everything while you still have time!

23 APR
2003

the world as blog displays

the world as blog displays weblog postings by geographical location. it pulls a list of recently updated blogs from weblogs.com and, provided the blog has an rss feed and some geourl tags, plots it on the map.

spiffalicious gagetry.

[via]

23 APR
2003

angry german queen

[damon]: when you said 'angry german music' in your email i immediately thought of that (galileo) galileo (galileo) galileo, galileo figaro song. you know?

[me]: queen?? the bohemian rhapsody? for angry german music?

[damon]: yeah...

[me]: queen is not angry german music.

[damon]: well you said something about driving listening to angry german music, and i pictured that great scene in waynes world with the bohemian rhapsody.

[me]: its like the total opposite of angry german music. rammstein would be embarassed to be even remotely compared to queen.

[damon]: well theres that one german phrase in it - 'blech milclhd ladgh' - you know. so... its kinda german.

23 APR
2003

when you and your brother

when you and your brother decide to do something crazy and fun to memorialize the seven month anniversary of your sisters death, keep the following in mind:

you cannot drive your brothers truck on the bike path around a few corners under a bridge without getting stuck.

the truck will have a small tiff with the cement walls and will emerge with a dent in its side and a broken tail light. his wife wont be happy.

update: his version of the story.

22 APR
2003

heres an interesting article about

heres an interesting article about sex dreams and how they arent necessarily about sex.

well, duh.

the author separates sex dreams into four types: (i) erotic-passionate, (ii) issue oriented, (iii) vitality-life force, and (iv) relationship sorters.

sounds pretty accurate to me. ive experienced all but the vitality-life force type of sex dream. how about you?

22 APR
2003

e-l-w-y-n thats elwyn sing it

e-l-w-y-n
thats elwyn
sing it again

22 APR
2003

the best part about being

the best part about being the youngest staff member is getting fed.

them: "oh, youre so young. poor thing. have some more cake/popcorn/casserole."

22 APR
2003

using the laptop in the

using the laptop in the bathtub.
discuss.

21 APR
2003

let me count the ways

so b is out being a guy with other guys and doing... guy stuff.

translated: hes at a friends having a beer and glued to some computer game. im glad hes not here doing all that.

i am bemoaning the absence of all my stuff - im programs, photoshop, dual monitors. im sad that i feel compelled to turn on the television for some noise in the apartment.

and im feeling stupid that 'living it up' without the ole ball n chain means taking a second soda for dinner and lighting tons of candles. pulling the laptop to the couch. not rinsing my dishes after dinner (okay, thats a lie).

this is how pathetic i am.

21 APR
2003

five things i didnt do

five things i didnt do on my easter weekend:

color hard boiled eggs
hunt for colored hard boiled eggs
eat chocolate
wear anything pastel or white
get out of bed before 9.30

five things i accomplished my easter weekend:

dishes
made bread with my new mixer
painted a shelf for the bathroom
had an awesome time of worship
extra long walk with the dog where she decided to swim in a mud puddle

21 APR
2003

it works GREAT! yay!

it works GREAT!
yay!

19 APR
2003

crazy cool when a friend

crazy cool when a friend who knew you from the first day of kindergarten through graduation night just pops on AIM and says 'boo.'

and then tells you hes been reading your site for like, years.

and you wonder why he hasnt commented (hint, hint)...

18 APR
2003

ive wanted one for years.

ive wanted one for years. i drooled as martha stuart used hers with little to no effort. i almost bought one last summer at a garage sale.

ive stopped in the store to look at the colors, the features, the attachements, and always the price.

and tonight b bought me one.
in white.

as 'an easter gift,' he claims, even though weve never exchanged gifts for easter before.

i was a bit scared to open the box, expecting to find a giant lump of coal or something equally unworthy.

instead i found a kitchenaid stand mixer. with three mixing blades.

i was already planning on baking bread for easter, so the timing is great. im going to be baking up a storm this weekend.

woohoo!

18 APR
2003

sometime around 4am i woke

sometime around 4am i woke to the sound of b coughing. and swallowing - presumably some phlegm.

cough. coughcough.
swallow swallow swallow swallow.

and i thought, 'if b swallows one more time, im going to shoot him,' just before he swallowed and i drifted back off to sleep.

18 APR
2003

no, im not going to

no, im not going to put on my shoes just because your neice once got a toothpick jammed three feet into her heel.

but thanks for sharing.

17 APR
2003

completely useless

another one of those silly stereotypical gender tests tells me that i am too systematic (score: 33) and not empathetic enough (score: 26) to have a female brain.

im okay with that and dont care if you are or not.

[via]

17 APR
2003

this mozilla toolbar is da

this mozilla toolbar is da bomb.

[matt thinks so, too]

16 APR
2003

macro world

armed with a mission to do something, anything out of the apartment, a few of us grabbed our (or works, but theyre really the same thing) digital cameras and jumped in the car.

the evenings theme: macros.

my brother damon and i went to the store with our theme in mind while waiting to pick up a friend. here are some of my shots:

piles of garlic
the broccoli that looked tasty
perfect pizza mushrooms
the crocodile that made damon scream
a monster truck i wanted to drive

15 APR
2003

hairspray not included

heres the back of my head on one one of those get-up-early-enough-to-shower-but-dont-feel-like-brushing-my-hair-and-doing-something-with-it days (picture by beth).

which is to say this is almost my permanent hair style.

but the beauty of doing my hair this way is that i can go for a week or more without ever brushing my hair so long as i adequately condition each morning.

15 APR
2003

giving dead, blinking chickens with

giving dead, blinking chickens with sticks up their asses to children.

before moronboss was a star.

14 APR
2003

the illustrated encyclopedia of sex:

the illustrated encyclopedia of sex: an educational read.

14 APR
2003

we are taking small but

we are taking small but certain steps towards fully realizing complete hick-ness.

there are now cb radios in each of our cars.

12 APR
2003

blue ketchup?? i feel like

blue ketchup??
i feel like im taking crazy pills.

11 APR
2003

d-d-d-danger! (watch behind you!)

remember that duck tales episode (#26, 'time teasers') where gyro makes a watch that stops time and the beagle boys get a hold of it to steal all of scrooges money and they accidentally break it and go back in time and end up singing "i want a girl" for a bunch of drunk pirates?

and remember how the watch stops time but for the person thats holding it and (when necessary) the other main characters around it? and remember how huey, duey and louie kinda 'borrow' it from gyro so they can do all their chores and still get to the ball game? and they stop time to help their team win by pulling down the pants of the other team?

and remember how they stop time to ride their bikes home and come across a robbery and they decide to foil the robber by taking his gun away and giving him a bananna instead?

well.
dean koontz stole this wonderful, amazing, brilliant plot of pausing time in one of his books.

the two main characters come across a robbery (gasp) at an atm. they decide to stop to put the gun in the victims hand and put the robber in the trunk of the victims car (granted, no bananas were involved in the book).

and the whole time im thinking how i need to stop reading dean koontz if he feels the need to rip off a kids show dear to my heart.

and humming: 'duck tales (a - whooh ooh)!'

11 APR
2003

i added a tag board

i added a tag board thingy to my daily eats page - now everyone can discuss at length my disgusting food habits.

10 APR
2003

anyone want to help me

anyone want to help me bash a cable modem to pieces?
ive just gone another day with sporadic internet access - it just came back online.
gah.

10 APR
2003

ive spent too much of

ive spent too much of my afternoon on my knees.
(cue beavis and butthead laughter)

09 APR
2003

some would say farting is

some would say farting is funny.

09 APR
2003

question of the lunch break:

if you were a computer that just had a fresh install of win2k, and someone opened you up to remove a zip drive, why wouldnt you be having any power?

09 APR
2003

whats the dealio, yo?

what is UP with my server being so gosh durn slow today?

woo - just noticed this is post 601.

08 APR
2003

how refreshing to know that

how refreshing to know that the nigerian spam scam people are doing a bit of research and evolving with the times.

not only does the amount of money they have keep increasing (i remember a few years back when all they had was a measly 1 million), but now theyre playing the religion card:

Beloved in Christ, [...] I was converted from Moslem to Christian when I was preached the words of God. I then gave my life to Christ and became a born again Christain.

having gotten the email address from my works site (a Christian non-profit), the email was slightly tailored to our ministry:

I made up my mind and decided to sow this money into your ministry.

im kind of impressed.
but equally bothered that he (yekini abiodun) has a wife and child with nice, white Christian names: cynthia and stephanie.

08 APR
2003

i cant be arsed right

i cant be arsed right now to completely recode my css file to get it to look peachy, so i just tweaked it so that its legible in mozilla-esque browsers.

im not 100% happy, but then if i 100% cared, i would be arsed to completely recode the thing.

but im still not sure why the background color of the main content just stops in the middle of the second screen... thats weird.

07 APR
2003

demo: i would love it

demo:

i would love it for a vacuum cleaner salesman to come to my apartment to show a demonstration - the whole covering the floor with dirt just so he can sweep it off gives me the shivers. good shivers.

one word, so little time.

07 APR
2003

baptistmal bribery - another group

baptistmal bribery - another group of Christians to not associate with.
reminds me of what steveo calls the bible brigade.

07 APR
2003

matt brought to my attention

matt brought to my attention that the new layout completely craps out in mozilla. and i dont know why/how i didnt catch this before.

i did notice in the last layout that the width for the main content was much larger than what i had set - perhaps mozilla handles the width and padding sizes differently?

ill try to fix it on monday. anyone have any ideas (so that i dont have to think too hard about this one)?

06 APR
2003

unconscious mutterings

because im not sleepy: unconscious mutterings.

Cost :: negative
Head :: and toe
Eclipse :: of the heart
Pestacide :: food
Private :: eye
Betty :: boop
Leech :: blood clot
Jam :: jelly
Playground :: marcys
Trauma :: head

06 APR
2003

#1 christian porn

through some metafilter thread that ive since forgotten about (and has probably been deleted), i followed a link to xxxchurch.com: the '#1 christian porn site'.

i have a firm stand against pornography that is often hard to explain. knowing that someone - anyone - looks at/reads/enjoys pornography makes me personally offended.

xxxchurch.com is an awesome ministry to help people who are addicted to porn. they have developed an accountability program that will track the porn sites you visit and send the list to an accountability partner of your choosing -- no secrets.

their save the kittens campaign is in poor taste and is greatly amusing. i love it. though im not in agreement that any and all masturbation is a sin.

instead of playing the holier-than-thou role and condemning people who enjoy porn, they admit that it is a serious problem that can affect anybody - even Christians.

there is so much hipocrasy with Christians that it makes me sick how people can be so disconnected from reality. these are the people who claim depression, sickness, and sin only effect people who arent 'praying hard enough'.

those people really piss me off.

so - have you killed any kittens today?

06 APR
2003

warning

a warning to my coworkers:

i drank two carafes at a staff lunch this afternoon - thank you, barb, for limiting me to only two. ive peed twice already, and am thinking about going again.

do not be surprised to see me running laps around the building or wearing computer cables as jewelry.

i have hidden the camera, so dont even think about it.

04 APR
2003

15april is not only tax

15april is not only tax day (in the us), but is an actual holiday.

i think everyone should stay home for this one.

[slightly via]

04 APR
2003

ugly

i just made nearly 4 dozen of the ugliest chocolate chip cookies in the world.

03 APR
2003

who would really search for

who would really search for super glue stories sex and then come here expecting to find it?

and super glue? with sex? you really shouldnt.

03 APR
2003

daily eats

because of a possible food allergy, i have started a food journal: daily eats.

in the future it might morph into a place where i share recipes, but right now its not all that interesting for anyone but me (and maybe my mom, but i dont want her to know how often i eat ice cream).

im also hoping it will provoke me to eat better by knowing that other people could more than likely be finding out what im eating for every meal as well as seeing my unhealthy eating habits.

03 APR
2003

its hip. its fun. its

its hip. its fun. its like playing the stock market without all that pesky going-broke thing. its blogshares.

02 APR
2003

not the best thing to

not the best thing to have stuck in ones head while preparing for bible study:

i love the way you look at me
i love the way you smack my ass
i love the dirty things you do
when i have control of you
-- puddle of mudd

$5 says im humming it all through prayer.

01 APR
2003

steveo mentioned something in the

steveo mentioned something in the comments about the links in my rss feed. i chose to not look at the feed output, and promtly told him how he was wrong.

in all actuality, i didnt understand what he meant, and i was the one who was wrong.

i fixed the link to point to the pertinent entry (e.g.: 2003_04.html#000779) instead of the top of the archive page (e.g.: 2003_04.html).

01 APR
2003

this ice sculpture is a

this ice sculpture is a lot different than the stuff i see up here.

i havent been to the ice park up here this year, and i dont know if im going to go. last year i went with melissa, but i dont feel the heaviness of memories weighing down the idea of the park.

now where did i put those pictures?

01 APR
2003

count your blessings

last week, tom coates had a tally of who had the most subscriptions in their aggregator. i finally rounded up my own numbers:

29: subscriptions
6: blogs on my blogroll without an rss feed
10: blogs in my bookmarks without an rss feed

01 APR
2003

michael barrish made an oatmeal

michael barrish made an oatmeal movie.

you might want to read some background before getting completely scared off by his dancing in his robe. which, i have to admit, is a triffle scary.

01 APR
2003

happy birthday, damon!

01 APR
2003

looks like sometime in the

looks like sometime in the last hour steveos blog was hacked... and i have a screenshot.

the utter immaturity of the jackass fans really should stop astounding me.

(update: doh. i was so got on this one and feel like a blonde fool. *sulks away from the keyboard*)

01 APR
2003

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Valette Surfs the Internet

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