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Blog - January 2005 |
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This page stores my blog entries from January 2005. The entries are dated January 9, January 20, January 27, and January 30.
Haircuts: A Bimonthly Stress Affair / Coin Talk: Need Michigan and Iowa; SF coin / Note on Preventing Repetition in Blog / Supporting the Troops vs. Supporting the War Sunday, January 9, 2005 Getting my hair cut proves a challenge every time. A simple trip to Great Clips for a trim to a nice short length shouldn't be this difficult, but I painfully weigh the choices and possibilities for many days before settling on something I think will make me happy. Haircuts present such a temporary change in one's life. After a couple of weeks, one has already forgotten about one's hair and just bounds along in life. One gets sucked into the daily routine and grows so comfortable in it that too much change at once creates too much of a problem. After a couple of weeks contemplating my next haircut and fighting with hair falling in my eyes, I finally got my hair cut today. I think my current volume of hair presents half of what I had beforehand. My hair stylist did a great job, asking questions along the way about what I wanted, getting the clarification she needed. On very rare occasions, I have had some terrible experiences. When I was young (maybe around 10), I had some woman say there was something crawling on my head. I think she was joking, but I wouldn't have known. On one other occasion, when I was attending CSUS, I had my hair cut there. The first two people who cut my hair did a great job. That first experience prompted me to go there regularly until the third visit. I don't know what this woman's problem was, but she made some sort of rude comment about me while I was sitting in the barber chair. Nowadays, I would have walked out and gone somewhere else, but I stayed there anyway, got my hair cut, and left. No, I did not leave a tip. I have had one not-so-great experience at Great Clips with some woman who paid little attention to me, but I couldn't even begin to guess what was going on there. Thankfully, my haircuts only set me back around $12 (plus a tip of $1-2). I figure that if something doesn't come out quite how I'd want it, I can just let it grow out and try again. This gives me time to work out what I do want and how to better convey that image. ***** My state quarter hunt continues. Right now, I'm missing the Michigan and Iowa state quarters from 2004. I won't count the great California state quarter, since that isn't due to come out until early this year. As my search continues, I sometimes check out the other coins I find. I keep an eye out for the other new nickel that the U.S. Mint produced last year. I have the Louisiana Purchase nickel with the shaking hands and crossing hatchet and piece pipe, so I need to look for the other one. From what I can remember, I'll need to start looking for the new ones that will come out this year as well. Nearly all of the coins I come across have either the Denver "D" minting mark or no mark at all. I never see a "P" for the Philadelphian mint. In my change from shopping at the factory outlets in Vacaville, I had a 1970 penny with an "S" mint for San Francisco. Before this, I don't think I've seen something minted in SF before. I also had a 1977 penny with no minting mark, so I'll keep that for my general birth year coin collection. ***** One concern I have when I write new entries concerns the "risk" of repeating a topic needlessly. I'm thinking about putting copies into a Word file. Then, I'd be able to search for particular words or phrases to make sure I don't act like a skipping record (or, for a more modern approach, a skipping CD; this doesn't convey the same meaning, though). ***** Someone recently expressed her horrid conservatism by exclaiming the usual fight cry of "un-American" to describe anyone who didn't support the war (or, as it more often seems, anyone who doesn't agree with one's view). Unfortunately, such phrases and attached commentary just make these people sound like pre-programmed robots, echoing what think-tanks and Republican supporters want the people to think (don't worry; I know that liberals and Democrats do similar things with what they support). Many people seem to fail to understand how a person could support the troops and not the war. They act like it's impossible to do one without the other. Frankly, it's blaringly easy to someone who understands but not so easy to explain to someone who doesn't (or, more likely, to one who refuses to consider that possibility). One has to understand that the troops and the war both occupy completely different mindsets and items:
I'm sure I could have given a better explanation, but the concepts are fairly loose ones in my head. I don't figure that anyone reading this would be swayed by this, since political opinions and beliefs are as incendiary as religious beliefs. One also tends to be very defensive and stubborn with such things as long as they continue to agree with them. [Note: as far as I know, the current U.S.-led activities in Iraq can not officially be considered a "war" since, from what I remember, Congress is the only entity that can declare war. I do not believe they ever declared such against anyone since Japan and Germany in 1941 or so.]
Presidential Inauguration 2005: Thoughts / TV vs. Computer - Different Generations' Focuses / No "Shot In the Dark" from Ozzy? / Mispronunciations / My Birthday Weekend Thursday, January 20, 2005 There's battle lines being drawn - from "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield Today marked the second inauguration of George W. Bush as the President of the United States. As with many people, I wore all-black and didn't spend a dime. I don't know what good either would do, especially since an inordinate number of people would have to spend nothing in order to really make it register in the daily economy; I don't think that many people cared. The whole "wear all black" thing just felt like fun to do. Much enjoyment can be had if you can ruffle a few feathers along the way. I tried to listen to Bush's address, which, apparently, started early due to the threatening weather. Fortunately, CNN has the transcript online. Despite Rush Limbaugh constantly talking over the ceremony, I thought it wasn't too bad. My main issue with Bush's address is the inherent hypocrisy he spews throughout his speech. All of it boils down to his stance on gay marriage and the effects of his religious views on how he sees things. Many times, I heard statements that contradict his very stances and actions:
Apparently this is only a "goal", since neither has happened in Iraq. Technically, "democracy"
is our style of government, and we are somewhat imposing this on that country. To give Bush credit, we'll
need to wait to see what form of government ultimately grows from that military action and occupation.
Many times, such larger goals will allow someone to feel a great sense of life accomplishment and sense of fulfillment. Unfortunately, with the numerous families living in poverty and many others stretching each dollar into the value of a Euro just to make ends meet, most families will not care about larger causes than their own survival. Survival comes from either a pure monetary situation or from personal safety. With racism and bigotry a constant problem today, Bush seemed to try to appeal to people to better themselves in this respect:
It's rather unfortunate that his views on homosexuals seems to harbor rather bigoted tones. Bush's constant mention of freedom, freedom from oppression, and other similar notes flies in the face of his own apparent views on homosexuals and the intended treatment towards limiting their god-given rights. Regardless, let's hope the people continue to improve in this realm. So, to close this off, I should mention that I don't really hold any negative views about Bush being elected. What's done is done. Granted, I don't have to be happy with his viewpoints or what he does as President, but I can keep a keen eye out for his actions and note them dutifully. Or, I'll do what I usually do and play more Dungeon Siege. ***** The things that define generational gaps can cover numerous items and quirks. Technology and entertainment
have both mutated into something completely different from their predecessors. ***** I turned up a disturbing detail on Joe Siegler's Black Sabbath site. Apparently Ozzy Osbourne's album "The Ultimate Sin" has been deleted from his catalog. This album was noteworthy only for the song and video for "Shot In The Dark". I remembered hearing that song and seeing the video many years ago, and I had the impression that it was a particularly significant hit back then. Granted, it sounds a bit cheesy now and isn't quite as metal as Ozzy's other works, but it still holds a significant place in his career and many lives. ***** echo-terrorist pronounciation harrassment preferrable nukular All of the above five words are words I've heard being mispronounced by various individuals. I did my best to spell them phonetically (with "harrassment" being pronounced har-riss-ment, rather than ha-rass-ment; and "preferrable" being pronounced prefer-rable rather than the correct pronunciation of pre-fer-able). Normally, I do not see or hear much of anything, but whenever I hear these, I just cringe. I know not why people mispronounce such words, especially when it's consistent. ***** My birthday weekend this past weekend ended up being a 2-day celebration. My activities ran roughly as follows:
My other gifts included the Black Sabbath box set from Warner Bros. and Rhino Records that contains all eight Ozzy-era Black Sabbath albums digitally remastered. I also received some money, a $5 Starbuck's gift card, and an eventual renewal to my Sports Weekly.
Need for Organization / Apartment Hunt Continues / Weird Weather Today / Musical Nostalgia: Trip Back to 1989-1991 Thursday, January 27, 2005
I wonder if anyone tried to use organizational schemes with computer files as a basis for organizational schemes in one's own abode. I doubt I'll ever care enough to find out. ***** The apartment hunt feels a bit weird. I can't afford too much, and what little I've seen so far doesn't feel very promising. We'll see what happens. ***** The weather in Sacramento tends to follow a rough script as if pre-written and to be used every year. The past year or two has not followed that at all. Today seemed unusually different. We've had highs in the high 40s to low 50s for most of the last month. This morning, the sun was out and shone brightly on commuters, eventually bringing the highs to about 60 degrees. By the evening, huge, dark clouds covered the valley and dumped rain. It's interesting how one can tell the difference in sound of a car passing by and determine if it's raining. Car tires have a "wet" squishy sound as they roll along wet pavement. ***** The need to redecorate my cubicle grows in me as time goes on. Since Christmas, I have felt bored with what I have up. I have my St. Dogbert image, helping to heal and protect the technology I use. During a fit of interest, I created a collage, centering on a 4-cube (or hypercube). The actual 4-cube sits in the center of eight other 4-cubes, with each of the eight having one 3-dimensional cube side colored in. I also have a comic strip from Get Your War On that I particularly like. But, after nearly nine months of the same stuff, I need something different to spice it up. I think I'm lacking something behind my monitor. Something green would go well with my faux bonsai, too. If I could find something to add more color, that would help as well. I could do that with a non-work calendar, too. ***** For some reason tonight, I have been on a nostalgia trip to around 1990 or 1991. Back then, I listened to FM102 when it played rap/hip-hop and a little R&B. M.C. Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Digital Underground, and 2 Live Crew had hits on there. Hearing Milli Vanilli and New Kids On The Block songs at sixth and seventh grade dances. The songs I remember from that time and any memories attached to them:
I'm sure I could present many more songs from those times. I may save a few for some other time.
Eventual Death of Dance Club / CD Shop Improvement Ideas / Remember the KKK for how NOT to Be / ¿Cómo se dice "Abortion Alternatives" en español? / An "Octopus Garden" Away Sunday, January 30, 2005
Good luck, dancers. Hopefully someone will come along to help get that entity back for you. ***** Pam and I perused a Dimple Records location that neither of us had been in before. It felt like a rather small and unusually shaped location, even having a small road-like formation along the side. After a couple of seconds, I realized what the building looked like and had a great thought: why don't record stores start putting in drive-throughs? Think of the possibilities: You're driving around and hear one of your favorite songs on the radio. With very little time to shop but that great desire to get that album, you drive up to the speaker of your favorite CD shop:
With the right set-up, a shop could easily do something like this and have the CD there for the person in little time. The only problem would be demand for this kind of service, for which I doubt there would be enough. The other issue would be if the customer wanted something that wasn't in stock. I suppose a person could special-order it, but that would defeat the purpose of the drive-through. A more practical addition to the CD shops would be an online form that one can use to search within the store's current stock to see if a store has something you want. For those of us who prefer buying CDs in a store (as opposed to online, or, for that matter, not buying the music to which one listens), this would save us some time in searching for that elusive import CD or a CD by some uncommon band. ***** Some auction house in Michigan recently completed an auction on KKK paraphernalia. Such touchy subjects raise all sorts of alarms, reasonably so, for people to protest and voice their concerns. One protestor was quoted as saying:
I certainly agree it's historical, and all museums and collectors should have a chance to collect artifacts from the past, regardless of their image. But why should it not be remembered every day? Certainly, on a literal sense, being reminded every day would be tiring and annoying. Why else would so many people hate Titanic and Leonardo DiCaprio back in 1997 when all you'd hear anywhere was people praising and gushing about this movie? The KKK's legacy as a machine of hate and intolerance should never be forgotten merely as a lesson about how one should treat others. Assorted fallacies in logic and perception made by these groups serve as great educational opportunities to help build a better society on togetherness, not divisiveness. On a different perspective, maybe many people prefer to not be reminded of the hateful and ridiculous actions the KKK groups performed during the height of their power in this country. Their effects on the African American and other communities cannot be ignored and would certainly bring back painful memories they'd prefer not to remember. ***** Back in 2003, I picked up or somehow acquired a Spanish-language yellow pages. I guess, after having 12 years of Spanish in grade and high school, I found this to be an interesting object to have. Naturally, with anything of novelty, it sat around, unused. As I cleaned up my room today, I ran across it under a large pile of debris. For kicks, I flipped around it to see what it had. I turned to the first page of the yellow pages section, and the first section in there is on "Abortion Alternatives." Initially, I found this to be rather insulting, wondering why this would have to be the first. I knew that a few Latino families have many kids and may start early, but this seemed rather unfortunate that the yellow pages would start with this. I felt that way until I looked in our English-language yellow pages to find that ... it starts with the same subject. Now, instead of feeling annoyed for what seemed to be an unfair beginning, I felt sad for myself that I would immediately make such a connection based on coincidence. Maybe I'll start a company in a field that starts earlier alphabetically so that the yellow pages can start out on a better note. ***** "I'd like to be Under the sea In an Octopus' garden in the shade"
As I grow older, I find that my musical ear and tastes grow and become more tolerant. Many years ago, I wouldn't have given the Beatles much consideration, given that most of what I've heard has been not too great (and, coincidentally, mostly their early work). While Pam and I browsed through a local Dimple Records, we heard the above-quoted lyrics being sung over the store's loudspeaker. That segment became an often-sung phrase for our trip back into Sacramento and off to my parents' house for dinner. I had a feeling that it was the Beatles, but I didn't know for certain until I checked it online. I'll have to put this song, along with "Yellow Submarine" as my favorite Beatles songs so far. |
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