The boss and I recently decided to move... I was let go from my position because the merger my company went through eliminated the need for me to be there. So I started going after a position in Bremerton, WA. During my visit for the interview, My wife and I looked around and liked what we saw, so we are moving up there. Not to mention we get to be closer to two of our very best friends in the world. Secretly we just hang out with them cuz have 3 of the best kids we've ever met. shhh... don't tell them.
So now we have to fix up our house and finish all of the partially completed projects that have been going on for the last 4 years so we can sell the place. I hate yard work and that's what I'm going to spend the rest of my time in this house doing. Yard work!
But in the mean time we are trying to figure out the logistics of such a long distance move... Any suggestions in this area would be very welcome. For instance, we are looking for a moving/storage solution that will be easier and cheaper than paying someone else to move our stuff for us and less stressful than driving a U-Haul from San Francisco to Washington. Since we have to take our Ark full of animals with us.... Not to mention the two vehicles that we have to have for commuting to and from work...
Then there is the whole finding a place to live until we have employment. Money won't be an issue, but finding a place to rent that won't mind the pets is going to be difficult.
Will try to keep the interesting/funny stuff up here.

Posted by Frater V:I: at 4:41 PM - No Comments

I have been trying to get away from the Micro$oft world for some time now. I really like the way linux runs and the stability of it really is nice. But I have been searching high and low for a distro that does all of the things I want it to do.
You can find one that handles wine (ms windows emulation) really well, but generally it's lacking somewhere else, like wireless network setup. Or you find a distro that is awesome with just about every wireless card, but it doesn't really have much else going for it. Due to the fact that most of my software is MS windows based, I need it to run wine very well. And I also want to be able to access the shares I have on my other ms based systems, So the samba client really needs to be easy to setup and use. But, I also want to migrate away from that dependency. So, I have tried, FreeBSD, Turbolinux, Xandros OCE, Redhat 6.0 thru 9.0, Fedora Core 1,2,3 and 4, Mandrake, Debian, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Suse, and several others that I can't think of right now. I finally found one that does just about everything I want it to do and even had World of Warcraft running flawlessly on it, Slackware 10.0... It's a really nice package and not nearly as difficult to setup as some Linux snobs would have you believe. It's only shortcoming, as far as my needs are concerned, is that it doesn't have a gui interface for the ndiswrapper. To setup the wireless network devices. But for my desktop system that's not an issue.
So, later I found this other distro that just seemed beg me to try it out. PcLinuxOS SuperGamers edition... It had "Try me!!" written all over it. Fortunately it's a liveDVD so you can run it without installing it.
At first it worked like a champ, but it didn't come with wine installed and of course you can't really install something like wine to a OS that's running off of a RAM drive and a DVD-Rom so I backed up my data and installed the OS to my harddrive. What can I say, I love it. Applying the World of Warcraft patch to wine and installing wine was a breeze. It went off without a hitch. I was very pleased.
Then disaster struck, after I spent 3 hours installing the OS, setting up and installing wine, and then installing and updating World of Warcraft. I sat down at my desk, fingers twitching for a little mob killin. And there was this nightmarish flickering of the graphics!!!! This problem is easily fixed in the MS world with a few tweaks of the OS and the installation of a custom driver for the ATI video cards... accept I'm on a linux box and I have a NVIDIA card. UGG!!!
So here I sit, reinstalling WoW on my newly installed Slackware 10.0 system.
The moral of the story... "If it ain't broke..." you get the idea.
Cheers!

Posted by Frater V:I: at 3:43 AM - No Comments

Oysters can change from one gender to another and back again.
How cool is that?!

Posted by Frater V:I: at 2:51 PM - 1 Comment


Comments:


Very cool!





by Coloconnect on Thursday July 6, 2006 @ 11:07 PM

When I was a young boy, I overheard my mother telling a story about me as a very small child. She was telling one of her friends of a day not long after I was potty trained... Apparently, ( I say that cuz my memory's a little fuzzy on this. ) She was checking on me while I was take'n a crap and found me bent over looking between my legs at my hand. Of course from the angle she was seeing this from, she couldn't see my hand. So, she asked the obvious question, "What are you doing?" and being a child I answered simply and honestly, "checking to see if my butt is clean."
With a hmph, she left the room.
Then I threw the toilet paper I was holding into the toilet and reached for more, once the toilet paper came away clean, I knew my "butt was clean"
Now, the way she told the story always ended with the person hearing the story saying, "He stuck his finger where?!!??" It dawned on me that she thought I had stuck my finger in there to see if it came away clean.
It was a startling realization and I was deeply hurt that she would think I would do that. ( I was still a child remember ) It wasn't until many years later that I realized that this whole situation had a much more profound lesson for me to learn.
This happened when I was a little older, Star Wars had just been release on VHS and everyone had to have a copy. So I was re-watching the third movie for the first time since I was 10 or so. In Jedi, that's Return of the Jedi for you non-nerds out there, It gets to the point where Luke is discussing with Obi'Wan the fact that Vader is his father and that no one told Luke the truth about it. Obi'Wan tells Luke that, "A great many of the truths that we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
That sounded so deep and insightful at the wise old age of 16 or 17. It occurred to me that my mother had been telling that story about me for a really long time and from her perspective, she told it exactly as it happened. But if you turn the situation around and look at if from my perspective, it's still a damned humiliating story and completely untrue! Alas I was already instilled with a deep fear of Mom's wrath that still rides with me to this day and so I waited many years to actually tell her what happened that day, so long ago. It is a story which ended predictably enough, with me in pain and my mother ranting about how she had been wronged by me. Because I let her tell a story to her friends that wasn't true, for some 20 years. She wasn't concerned with the wisdom of multiple perspectives at all.
It is because of this that I can accept the fact that, "Everything is true." without losing my wafer thin hold on reality.
-Hail Eris!!!

Posted by Frater V:I: at 10:46 AM - 1 Comment


Comments:


The powerful lesson of Stink Hand is important my son... LOL! That was a great story. How many stories do our parents and friends tell that we just let go, simply because their version is a lot funnier than ours? I have a friend whose version of certain stories makes me look better and better as the years go by. Why destroy a good story? :)

- The Rev



by Rev. Tom on Sunday March 26, 2006 @ 5:15 PM

I've been irritated with the news lately and not able to figure out why. Then it occurred to me that they have been focusing a lot on how the president or other politician did or said something which ended up in the news, affected policy or swayed public opinion. Then turned out later to be not true or they tried to hide what they did from the public. The news itself isn't what bothers me, it's the people bitching about it.
The oldest cliche' that I know of is that all politicians lie, will lie or have lied. They are among the most dishonest people on the planet and they are among the most "elite".
I'm not surprised when I find out that the president lied or that he mislead the people to further his own agenda. I'm surprised that the media was allowed to cover it at all, much less on national television.
So, How can you tell when a politician is lying?

Posted by Frater V:I: at 3:18 PM - 1 Comment


Comments:


Lying, half truths. Obi Wan told Luke that his father was dead, and only clarified things when directly asked. All things have a different point of view. That being said, purple horse shit coming from the mouths of politicians is just as stinky as brown horse shit.
Also, politicians should not get off for the same things that corporate leaders get fried for. Lying and misappropriating government funds is just as nasty as ENRON. Just my 2 cents
- The Rev



by Rev. Tom on Tuesday March 21, 2006 @ 2:57 PM

This Job is a test.
It is only a test.
Had there been an actual career
This job would have been met with
bonuses, raises and promotions.
This Job is only a test.
This concludes this message from the emergency employment community.

Posted by Frater V:I: at 11:52 AM - 2 Comments

Comments:


Man if this job is only a test, I hate tests. Test anxiety sucks.
May the goddess see fit not to bless you with her attention.



by Rev. Tom on Monday March 13, 2006 @ 12:37 PM


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I never really got excited about tests, until the scores were about to come out. That's when I lost all appearances of sanity.
Thanks for the blessing, she has been pay way too much attention to me lately... but that's a whole different entry...





by Frater V:I: on Monday March 13, 2006 @ 2:08 PM

It has been said by some that we are divesting ourselves of God and depriving our children of some very important spiritual growth, enlightenment and information. The seperation of Church and State. Getting religion out of the schools, out of the Courtrooms... etc.
I don't think that's the case at all. We're not removing God from our day to day lives... How does Oprah put it? "We're giving God a makeover!" We just changing God's image.
Chris Rock said it best, "We're takeing religion from our schools, from our gorvernment, and from our courtrooms. But on our money it says, 'In God we trust.'"
That's right we've removed that antiquated image of the angry father-figure and replaced him with a $. In some ways I'm on board with this new idea. When I pray to money, there's either enough of it or there isn't. My answer is immediate and obvious. I only have to go to church when I run out and there are mini-churches everywhere. If the church you are at isn't from your denomination then you pay a small fee for communing with your God from their church. Seems fair to me. You work hard to earn your money and the harder you work the more you get. There isn't any of this self doubt of whether or not you are a "true" believer. Or if you've truely repented your sins. When you doubt the power of money, spend some. If that doesn't convince you nothing will. If you squander your money, you live in poverty. Punishment is immediate and you can't blame anyone but yourself. Money isn't jealous of other money, and as for love... Looking for love in money is a lot like looking for love from God. They both show you about the same amount of interest.
In the spirit of this new faith I've rewritten the old Catholic standard prayer. The "Our Father" prayer for the new God.
Our Father who art in the ATM
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy money come, thy will be done,
On Terra as it is in the net.
Give us this our daily withdrawal,
and forgive us our debts,
as we collect from those who debt against us.
Lead us not into poverty,
but deliver us from credit.
Amen.
BEWARE THE DARK GOD PLATINUM!

Posted by Frater V:I: at 3:12 AM - 2 Comments


Comments:


Hey! I've been on to this since I was a teen-ager, and remarkable as it may seem won my school, county and was a finalist for NY State's "Betty Crocker, Homemaker of Tomorrow" competition with what I thought was a satirical essay when asked about competition and capitalism.
My topic sentence then remains my mantra, as it seems to be yours:
"America bows to the green deity, money". Of course money from other countries isn't green. But who cares about other countries anyway.
I enjoy your blog.





by SwifferMom on Saturday February 18, 2006 @ 11:34 AM


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Thanks SwifferMom, I appreciate the support. I've been thinking about the that entry for a long while, but never had any place to let it out. Wasn't even really sure that this was a safe place for it. But everyone here seems pretty open. I care about other countries. Although, I feel that Jesus right when he said that we should remove the plank from our own eyes before we point out the splinter in our neighbors eye. Don't want to imply that I'm a bible thumper, I don't have the fortitude to be a good christian, but JC said some pretty intelligent stuff. Been feeling guilty about not updating lately. So, I'm gonna try to get some new stuff posted in the next couple o'days. BTW Although, I only read about as often as I post, I been diggin your blog too.





by Frater V:I: on Saturday February 18, 2006 @ 6:37 PM

Warning! This entry contains a mind virus. If you read this entry you will be exposed to and infected with a mind virus. There is no vaccine, and there is no cure. Knowing this in advance will not inoculate you. The only way to avoid infection from a mind virus is to avoid it altogether. If you don't wish to be infected stop reading now. I really mean it! Seriously, I have to begin the actual entry now so stop reading!
You don't listen very well do you? Welcome to the world of the infected. You may or may not be aware of this notion of the 23 enigma. It shows up in the oddest places. This phenomenon has been talked about in various circles since the 70's. Let's just look at the date February 23. A quick search on the internet will reveal some interesting things including: Feb 23, 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type. Or how about: Feb 23, 1836 - The siege of Alamo begins in Texas. Here's a great one: Feb 23, 1941 - Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg. One of my favorite authors', Robert Anton Wilson, two oldest daughters were born on Feb 23 and Aug 23 respectively. In the movie Charly, the operating room where the surgery takes place, which makes him into a super-genius, room 23. Check the seat number for the bomber in the film Airport. I personally was 23 years old when this notion first entered my life and now I see the number 23 everywhere I look. That was also the year that Jesus and I decided to take an indefinite break from each other. (But that's another story) Suffice it to say that many things were different in my life that year. When I made a comment about it to a friend of mine that so much stuff was happening to me that year, he just shrugged and said, "It figures." He went on to explain to me about the unusual quality that the number 23 possesses. Now, it's so commonplace that I barely acknowledge it's presence anymore. No one knows what the significance of this number really is, but various groups have made mystical references to it's powers, usually with escapism or exiting a given environment or situation. Take Crowley for example. In Chapter 23 of, The Book of Lies. It talks about breaking out of your current situation, be mental, physical, social or religious. Suggesting that you can't move forward by going back the way you came and that the only way to move forward is to move out. Or that's the abbreviated version of it anyway. Take a read for yourself. You may be surprised at what you take away from it.
The fact that you have read this far means that you will whether you want to or not, start noticing the enigma yourself. The number 23 will show up everywhere. Just don't let it make you crazy like me.
Don't discount the things I say because I'm crazy... The reason I'm crazy is because the things I say are true.

Posted by Frater V:I: at 4:37 AM

I've always been fascinated by the power of Haiku in it's simplicity. In reading about Haiku I found that it is way more complicated than your highschool english lit teacher could ever have conveyed. There are so many rules I was astounded. The paper I was reading stated that there are so many that some of them are in direct coflict with each other. So part of the art is in deciding which rules to follow. I decided to try my hand at it, with a very basic 5-7-5 formula and very few rules. Below is my attempt. Be gentle in your critique I have a fragile ego. Ok that's not really true, bring it on. I want to hear what you really think. Even if you hate it. Special kudos to anyone that can figure out where I found my inspiration for this peom.

Beast says
to get out.
But the way out
Is the way.
Though not
The way in.

Posted by Frater V:I: at 5:44 PM

The death penalty has been in the news quite a bit recently. It would seem that some people think that it's not the answer to preventing capital crime. I'm inclined to agree with them for the most part. The thirst for righteous revenge on the part of victims surviving family members seems t be the only logical purpose for capital punishment. (It's funny to me how easily one can replace the word justice with revenge and have almost the exact same meaning in the sentence, but that's another blog entry.)
If the establishment truly wants to prevent people from killing each other then they should set the example and stop killing people. Take some of the money that gets spent each year on newer and better ways to kill and maybe conduct some R&D on some methods for truly rehabilitating and reintegrating criminal minds. Would it be so terrible if we really understood how the mind of a killer (or any criminal for that matter) works and corrected the problems so that they could become productive members of society? Wouldn't that be the best way to make up for the loss of life that resulted from his/her sickness? It is amazing to me that there are any serial killers on Death Row. Because I really didn't think a rational healthy mind was capable of committing such crimes. Shouldn't they have all "gotten off" on the insanity plea?
It begs the question what purpose does the death penalty really serve. It can't be considered a deterrent, since the amount of time that goes by from the commition of the crime to the carrying out of the death sentence is just unfathomable. It's quite surreal that the survivors of their victims can carry a grudge for that long in some cases. Let's face it the way our society deals with criminals, and prisoners in general, is broken. I just wish I had some Idea of how we could fix it. Who was it that said, "You can judge a culture by the way it treats its prisoners?"
So what purpose does the death sentence really serve? It can't be considered punishment, because the moment it's carried out, the criminals suffering ends. Isn't that what punishment is? Suffering. So in my mind it's a release from punishment. They no longer have to live with what they've done; they don't have to be confined to that little cell anymore where they are constantly reminded of what brought them there. And in some cases they've repented their sins and have asked for and received "absolution" from Jesus, so it's not like they are going to suffer in Hell. They can't contribute to our understanding of their psychology anymore cuz they're dead, so I ask again, what is the point of the death penalty?
I maintain that the death penalty is a foolish attempt to hang on to an antiquated sense of justice dating to before Christ. That the only purpose it truly serves is to satisfy a twisted sense of righteous revenge on the part of murder victims' surviving family and friends.

Posted by Frater V:I: at 1:45 PM - 3 Comments

Comments:


Hello, I do agree with you. I think that Capital Punishment is an abomination. Although I do understand the grief of the victims' loved ones - and I CAN understand their anger continuing -, I think that a civilized society should not allow their wrath (however understandable!) to determine the course of the law. Perhaps it is because of my geographical and cultural distance, but I was shocked at how many of the US-based 'Charismatic' Christians within this forum advocate the Death Penalty. I would have thought that they could have been confident in leaving matters of judgement to God. As to Human Justice: in the UK the six men found guilty of the Birmingham bombings in the mid-1970's would have been executed, had we a system of capital punishiment. Their guilt was largely predicated on forensic evidence that incontrovertably 'proved' that they had handled explosives. It was later shown that a positive result would be yielded if they had removed the cellophane wrap from a cigarette packet. I know that smoking kills, but really . Although they had over twenty years of freedom stolen from them, at least the five who were still alive once the truth was determined, are able to enjoy some normality. It needs saying, and you said it Frater VI. Take care





by DeBunkem on Friday January 6, 2006 @ 3:35 PM


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Thanks Debunkem for the feedback. I reread the entry a little while ago and I think I may have implied in some way that what victims of capital crime feel is in some way wrong. I though about editing the entry to remove the wording in question in favor of something a little more accurate, but decided that it wouldn't be fair to the people I've slighted. So instead I opted for an appology. I'm sorry for implying that victims of capital crime shouldn't feel slighted or that it is wrong for them to desire justice or in some cases revenge. I can't honestly say that I wouldn't want the same thing in their shoes and don't feel comfortable passing judgement on them in that way. I simply meannt that society has twisted our sense of justice so that it is just a happier way of addressing our desire for revenge.





by Frater V:I: on Saturday January 7, 2006 @ 1:10 AM


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I fully agree with you, Frater...great post!



by SarahW on Saturday January 7, 2006 @ 1:13 AM