Random Thoughts from a Large Head

Is it just me or does Mars look really upset with us?

Photo credit: The Hubble Telescope

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My little cousin Shira knows the important questions in life are: “Do you like mints and going to Camp Snoopy?”

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Saturday night, after work, Mark and I went down to the xpo lounge for some adult beverages. I was surprised by how many hipsters were there. We were able to escape the coolness by sitting out back, where it was pleasant and somewhat quiet.

That was until the party of drunken hipsters sat down next to us. They were out, having some bronsons, being all deck. Then came the trucker cap. No proper hipster clique is without one. This night’s token trucker cap was worn by a guy who could have been in the band Nelson.

Who in their right mind thinks trucker caps are cool? I just don’t get it. Andre’s got it right: “I want to hit people with trucker caps on the head with an aluminium bat.”

Ah well, making fun of the drunken hipsters did provide some hijinks for the night. If only we’d printed up some Hipster Bingo cards before going out. We would have been in for hours of entertainment.

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I got a haircut last weekend. It had been nine months since my last one. Some moment of wackiness/poverty inspired me to say, “2003 is the year where I don’t cut my hair* (*excepting trims to even things out)!” So scissors didn’t touch it for NINE whole months.

And, in typical hairstyle fashion, my hair hasn’t looked like it did the day I got it cut (pictured above, right) since. What is it about those hairdressers? You would think they were professionals or something (this is a reflection of my skills, not my stylist’s).

Sales pitch: My stylist, Alicia, just moved salons and is trying to rebuild her clientele. If I refer three folks, I get a free haircut. I like free things. I would like to refer you. She’s sassy and funny and reasonably priced for the service she provides.

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Yesterday was a pretty crappy day. Literally. Gracie woke me up at 7am to go outside and I stepped in poo. Not just poo on my flipflop. Poo on my heel. Ewwww.

After sleeping some more (and cleaning my foot), I started playing around with my new SBC/Yahoo! DSL connection (yay!), and realized that their software had completely taken over my computer (boo!). My default browser was turned into a very special, very annoying Yahoo! browser. In IE, I could not open links in new windows. The Add/Remove Programs menu was totally messed up, not letting me remove anything. I could not drag and drop anything. Two hours of uninstalling everything but one program (left on EnterNet 300 so I can log on to their system), and my system was back to the way I wanted it.

During all that mess, the happy Blaster Worm wiggled its way in. Luckily, it seems to not have done much damage, only slowing down resources while I was gone at work. I found the culprit msblast.exe file, stopped its processes, deleted it from the drive and registry, and downloaded the patch. I am also now running ZoneAlarm firewall software to prevent it from getting back in or out.

The cherry on the top of my crappy day was my car battery dying. I have to give it to my car: it doesn’t let that battery die until it has nothing more left to give. I was running errands during a surprising three-hour dinner break (the T-1s were being hooked up in our new office and no one could be logged on). After making my final stop, I get in the car, turn the key in the ignition, and nothing happens but a faint ticking. I call my dad, who verifies that it is likely a dead battery, and he would help, but he’s 800 miles away. So, I call Ruaraidh, my auto-savvy hero, who comes and rescues me with a jump to the car. I make it back to work, where I have to get another jump to make it home. So, on tap this morning is the purchase of a new battery. Good times.

All said, it didn’t really feel like a bad day. No heavy weight on my shoulders, no sullen mood. Just a bunch of crap kept getting shovelled my way.

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