!ROCKET SCIENCE

The pinky and ring finger of my left hand ache due to processing 411 Word docs. Life is tough. ^_-

And, so far ... I don't have to travel this week, which means I'll still have my vacation days on Thursday and Friday. w00+!!!

On my own for dinner because Tonbo is joining a CASHFLOW game tonight. I've still got a lot of HTML to do to get the rest of my content over to my new domain. Then I get to work on the fansites.

Have slacked off on the evening walks lately. The unusually high amount of rain we've been getting lately has done wonders for the mosquito population around my house. I walked out this morning to check the rain gauge, walked back in the house, and had already accumulated a bite. I have to set out the citronella candles in advance if I want to BBQ. I've read a couple things about garlic sprays for the yard, so I think I might try that. My dad tried one of those misters and it didn't work at all for him. And both of us are very attractive to the little bloodsuckers. Mom they totally ignore, but we'll get eaten alive in minutes.

The Stargate SG-1 ep last night was very cool (The Changeling). Written by Christopher Judge, it was very much a Teal'c story with lots of guests from previous episodes. I do enjoy that a lot about SG-1, the way they keep the same actors/actresses and have them come back as appropriate to the stories.

CAN'T TRUST THAT DAY

Tonbo rolled back into town around 7 am this morning, so we had a bit of time before I had to go to work and he had to sleep. Since I didn't go out any this weekend, I had my 10,000 words to use and got through a few of them. Mostly about the mv stuff. And England. And the little rabbit-chasing monsters. And ...

And then got totally stuck on an idea he planted in my head on the way to work. Pretty much outlined the whole project, but it's a hell of a lot of work and I'm not sure about the return. Have to talk to him tonight about it. But it does flex my genius.

Lots of cutting and pasting, but I'm employed and the company is doing well. Gossiping with the co-workers and referring a ping-pong match downstairs also fills the time.

Did some online research and have more data for my mv advice page.
Caught up on the blog and am looking forward to having dinner with Tonbo. Traffic is gone, so I guess it's time to go home.

PERSPECTIVE

... and then I read an email from a friend of mine in England who is have an extremely hard time. I don't know the details or the why of the situation, other than it is beyond her control and she is living one of my worst nightmares when I was growing up.

Makes an email about music videos seem kind of silly, doesn't it?

FANDOM, YOU GOTTA LOVE IT

Took some digital pics of the garden and contemplated more weeding but the mosquitoes drove me back inside.

Checked email. I receive an email whenever anyone posts in the Dreambook associated with my mvs. Got a good one today. Personally I disagree with pretty much everything the person said, and the way in which it was said. People are far less likely to listen to your advice if you slap them first - just a thought.

Ah, fandom. A wonderful place where people can share interests and belong to something that makes them feel good and values their unique interests and creative expressions.

Ah, fandom. A seething hairball of people with less-then-optimal social skills who form groups that enact Lord of the Flies scenarios at various levels.

I love being a fan and have greatly enjoyed my dealings in various fandoms. Kung Fu: The Legend Continues fandom hooked me up with a great person who is still a very good friend today, 10 years later (great, now I feel old ;). I love anime fandom and the amazingly creative and extravagant ways people express their love of the shows and characters from fanfiction to fanart to cosplay to music videos.

And that's where it gets close to my heart, because I love making mvs and talking to people about mvs and encouraging them to make their own mvs. And that's where you get stabbed and punched and kicked for making something that someone disagrees with, regardless of the fact that you didn't make it for them. And it's not just me - I've talked with others who have had the same experience, and it's all a part of fandom, that wonderful hairball of a place to be.

So, at some point, I'll write Kestrel's Music Video Advice not because I think I'm right (and I do, to a certain extent), but because I want to get my $.02 out there for people to find when they are looking. So that there is yet another voice to listen to, just in case you don't like what you're hearing from all the other voices.

Taught the spellcheck "fandom" and "hairball".

Coinsedence?

You decide.

IN THE RAIN ...

Slept in. It was good. This is what my week days will be like, staying up until 1 am, sleeping until 10-10:30 am. Waking up when I open my eyes and not when the alarm clock rings.

Did some clean-up in the garden and was attacked by mosquitoes despite the repellent. Added more repellent and that seemed to work. Installed 2 more trellises to hold up the passion vine, cut back the lady banks Rose and the roses in the back, weeded the path. Thought about some other stuff but it started to rumble and then to rain.

Stood around in the backyard admiring my Mom's handiwork. It's very enjoyable to stand in a summer rain, feeling the water splash on my shoulders, getting a chill as the temperature drops. Went in and opened all the windows to clean out the house chi a bit.

More Sugar Fairy Snow for lunch (end of the Bear Pianist arc) and then cataloged more catalogs in the home office.

Repeatedly had to go out the front door and stop the 3 little monsters from terrorizing the baby rabbit that munches on the greens by my office window. Sometimes I really dislike children. Actually, most of the time, since the majority of them seem to have no basic concept of manners or do's and don'ts. Like you don't run around someone's porch and through their flowers chasing rabbits. And you really don't do it again after they have told you very clearly not to. Go play in the street with your sticks.

Had work work to do, but I put it off until late and worked on updating my personal web pages instead. Slowing moving stuff over to the new domain and I like it a lot.

Was creative with stock photography and have another business/motivational mini-poster for the fridge. And the bathroom mirror.

If you really want to learn/remember/re-program yourself, the bathroom mirror and the fridge door are the place to put things. Where else are you assured of seeing it at least a couple times a day?

TGIF

May have to shift my vacation days next week in order to accommodate a trip to Detroit for work. Not that big of a deal, as long as I get the days off around the 5th, which means I'll have a nice 5 day weekend. :)

Tonbo is on his way to Summer Conference in Denver and will be giving me a call when he gets to the hotel.

Had dinner with a friend in from NM tonight. Went to the authentic Chinese place Tonbo and I found a few weeks back. Authentic in that we were the only Caucasians in the place, and all of the specials were written in Chinese on the walls. I think the only English in the whole place was on the menu. And you could tell in the food. Most fast Chinese food is about the same, but this was definitely a cut above. Beef lo mein, mmmmmmm ...

Rented Big Fish and it was really good. Not sure what I expected, as with most Tim Burton movies, but it was less Burtonesque than his other stuff, although you could definitely tell he directed it. It's a very visual trip, and as the credit were rolling, I wondered how it was in the original, as a book ...

The featurettes on the DVD were fun as well. But I always like the behind the scenes stuff. And "Carl" is really just over 7 feet tall, compared to the 12 feet tall he portrayed in the movie. 0_0;

PAIN

I can't really remember what I did yesterday in order to create an entry since my head is aching - it's going to rain this weekend, ya know.

Today was work, tonight will be Snow Fairy Sugar (getting into some interesting plot here at ep#11), and telling Tonbo to go to bed early, so he can get up in the wee hours of the AM to start his drive to Denver for Summer Conference.

KISS FENG SHUI

There was a book fair in the lobby today and I bought a copy of the
K.I.S.S. Guide to Feng Shui. I've some of the ultimate visual dictionaries from the DK publisher and really like them. My only quibble is that while I love the use of photography of real objects over illustrations, there is no sense of scale - you have no idea how large these objects really are.

ANYWAY ... the feng shui book looks like it has a nice mix of the Eastern history of the practice and practical advise of what to do about it in a Western way. I'll post more as I read through it.

Other fen shui books I've worked with and really enjoyed are Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life and Fast Feng Shui. Obviously there are a ton of books out there about this subject (921 at Amazon.com as of this posting :). The above 2 are the ones I've found fun and informative to read, and that have given me useful ideas of things to do at my home and garden. I can't change the cardinal direction of my house's orientation, but I can unclutter and move some of those knickknacks in to more pleasing and chi-enhancing arrangements.

And it's interesting how little things can make a difference. I used to have my coat rack behind the front door. Learning that it's best not to keep stuff in the path of a door, so that it can open completely and freely, I moved the coat rack to a different location. While it never actively bothered me having it behind the door, it feels a lot better to not have it there. And so far, my efforts with feng shui have resulted in a slightly cleaner house and being more comfortable and happy within it. Which is worth the costs of the books at least. :)

PACKAGE DEAL

Every person is a package deal. You have to accept the whole package in order to accept that person. This is usually referred to as "taking the bad with the good", yet somewhere deep down inside, we think to ourselves, "but I can change them". And then they will be "better".

No, they will be more like what you want them to be. And not to say that change is bad, they just have to want to do it themselves, and internally directed change compared to you imposing your will on them and demanding that they change.

Getting in shape is a good example. If someone wants to watch what they eat and exercise, they will physically benefit and their partner (assuming they like the changes) will also benefit. But if someone likes and is comfortable with their physical state, making comments or nagging or pushing is not going to create change, it's just going to create problems.

So before you go off to "change" something about someone, think about what you want to do and why you want it done. Is it for them ... or for you? Are you going to accept the whole package, or it whateveritis not worth it to you and it's time to look for a new package, maybe one that's a little more compatible with the package that is you.

Learning to appreciate someone's differences and unique qualities (no matter how irritating they can seem) takes a lot of effort. But I think it's worth it, because I don't believe you will ever find someone that is exactly who you want them to be.

And if you did, I'd be wary.

HOW ...

... can I spend so much time on my butt during the day, drive home, flop onto the futon and say, "Gosh it's nice to sit down" ?!

Lots of work work in a little amount of time, but that should slow down after tomorrow.

Came home late and took a walk. It's really nice having sunlight around for so long in the evenings. Getting home by 8 pm means I still have at least half an hour of daylight to do stuff. I didn't do any walking the past few days with the headaches, so I was a little pooped by the end of the mini-loop and dragging by the time I made it back home. I need to drive my route and check the trip meter, but I think it's a little over a mile. Been trying to do a walk every evening these days since it tends to be my only form of exercise other than walking to the printer and back.

Tonbo stayed late so I ate dinner and watched more Snow Sugar Fairy. The Elder has shown up and all I can say is I feel sorry for Ginger.

Was almost finished when Tonbo came home, so we watched a Stargate SG-1 episode ("Disclosure") and sat around and talked for a bit. He's going to be busy the rest of the week and then he's off to Summer Conference Friday - Monday. But it's in Denver instead of Utah this year, so that's only about a 14 hour drive (which is nothing to a Texan :).

HEAD = ACHE FREE

Finally, an (almost) complete day with a headache!
      and there was much rejoicing
          little flags wave in the air

Been working since I got in at 8:30 am, and am ready to leave. Ran Xenu Link Sleuth reports on my web sites (really spiffy little program with a very comprehensive report available as HTML or exported for an Excel file), so now I've got a comprehensive list to make sure everything makes it over to the new domain. Or at least every I want to put on the new domain. Time for a little server clean-up. Amazing how many files of ... stuff ... one can accumulate in years of online activity.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Went down to the parents' house to help them move stuff and be with my dad. They've got about 2/3rds of the container full, and the aluminum sheeting roof and side Dad built has lowered the inside temperature about 100 degrees F. And that's just for the middle of June. :)

Swim and sandwich lunch afterward. I remembered the bird bath this time and Mom let me have 2 iron trellises for my out-of-control passion vine. Had to leave around 3 pm due to the onset of a headache which was fairly full and nasty by the time I got home.

Tonbo was off at his dad's, so I was able to concentrate enough to get the work work done, more Free Cell, and then some HTML stuff.

The new domain is active, and I'm slowly moving stuff over.

Very.

Slowly.

RAIN

Got some errands done in the morning before the rain came. Then it went away and my headache came back.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...

Spent a bit of time playing Free Cell since that doesn't require a lot of cycles and keeps me occupied.

Started watching Farscape. Maybe it was because I had such low expectations, but I find myself liking it. Rygel looks like a Muppet, acts like a Muppet, and is created/performed by the Muppet company - not much else to say about him. I really like Virginia Hey's portrayal of Zhaan, and it's nice to see them keep John Crichton honestly lost in his new universe. At least up through episode #3. :)

AND YET EVEN MORE (YOU GUESSED IT) PAIN

Could only do a few hours of work in the morning again before having to go home because of my head. I just can't actively concentrate on anything, and am making too make mistakes. What little I have left I can finish this weekend anyway, including the week-old project that just got dumped on me because it has to be done yesterday.

2.5 days of head ache with short breaks, very odd. The usual fixes of caffeine, Advil, sleep, vise grip on my temples, etc. are not working. Getting a little scary, as I've never had weather headaches that last this long, but the radar says stuff is still coming in - lots of dark green with large areas of yellow and orange-to-red.

Tonbo brought me ice cream before going off to FNA to show more Firefly. I'm keeping myself occupied with Snow Fairy Sugar, thanks to Patryn.

MORE PAIN

Grunty cube work in the morning and then went home to lie down in a quiet dark room to listen to my head pound.

PAIN

Storm's a comin' 'nd my head done hurt

a

lot

NEW TOY

Registered a new domain at my new hosting service. It'll take a few days to propagate through the ether, so I'll put up a link when it's viewable by the general public.

Basically it will be the portal to all my fansites, mvs, etc., just like the current Kestrel @ Sempai page, but I'll have lots of new backend things to play with.

Like I need another project .... ;)

THE ONLY THING ...

Busy at work, and going to be even busier as the week goes along.

Busy at home working on menus for one project and content for another.

Still making time for evening walks because I sit on my butt way to much and I've found a brownie that I like so I have to work it off somehow. And having lost 2.5 inches around my thighs from last year, I'm in no hurry to put them back on.

Uploaded a RealMedia version of my Fruits Basket / October Project music video at my anime music videos page.

BEING (MOSTLY) PRODUCTIVE

Tonbo is editing the "safe scenes" version of Kill Bill Vol. 1 for me, so I need to stay out of the living room.

I know Quentin Tarantino is a film genius, I just have problems watching some of it. Nightmare like problems. But from what I've heard from reliable sources I can probably sit through all of Kill Bill Vol 2.

So I put catalogs in file folders and file folders into file cabinets and somewhat improved the chi of my home office.

Nice, sunny weather. Took a walk w/Tonbo and then a nap.

Guys showed up for more Firefly.

SpoonPrez brought the first DVD of Kaleido Star and I am so hooked. For the typical plot of new little kid does everything right if they try hard enough and believe (standard Japanese motif), this show does it right. You'll have to watch it to understand, but it was a nice change from the standard fare.

And The Fool is voiced by Takehito Koyasu AKA Touga from
Utena, and who can pass up listening to him? :)

ON YOUR MARK ...

Had a meeting with Ellington Hawk this afternoon and looks like things are going to get rolling this week. Lots of content to develop, but it'll be a really sweet site that can help a lot of people.

Money is good.

More money is better.

:)

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Saw the third Harry Potter movie today.

And it rocks.

Had read of JKR official site that she thought it was the best so far and I agree. I think lots of things contributed: older actors able to work longer hours, a really nice tight script, less exposition needed because the audience is familiar with the characters, etc.

My few nitpicks are ...
1. The black dog should not have growled/showed his teeth at Harry right before the bus picked him up. Not in character. Should have just stared at him. A moment of suspense, not a moment of fear.

2. Have Lupin explain the origin of the names on the Maurader's Map to Harry before he left. This would also address the shape of Harry's Patronus.

Then again, to leave such things out means people need to go and read the books. :)

And if you haven't seen it - STAY FOR THE CREDITS! Those took a lot of work and there is a lot of creativity and fun to watch as you see how many people are involved to bring you those 142 minutes of entertainment.

Loved Lupin and Oldman (as always) does a great job with whatever he is given. Seeing Radcliffe react to Aunt Marge in the opening of the film makes me can't wait to see him in the 5th movie, Order of the Phoenix when Harry really shows his anger and frustration.

One random article I saw said some studio exec thought they would have to replace the main 3 actors because they would be too old by the 5th movie. I'm sorry you're so clueless, but you would be doing EVERYONE an incredible dis-service to loose all of the equity you've built in having these people create the characters we know as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Older actors have always played younger parts, audiences know and accept this - it's part of the whole suspension of disbelief stuff. Dumbledore can be replaced. The 3 cannot and you're a fool if you try.

And Buckbeak looked incredible. I've been around birds of prey, quite close actually, and those feathers on screen are as close to the real thing that I've ever seen rendered. Beautiful work, just beautiful.

WRONG CURRENCY

Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages is very importance to me, because it opened my eyes to a very simple but important fact.

People don't express and accept love in the same way. And that's a very significant concept to realize, understand, and practice.

There is the metaphor of making deposits in someone's love bank. Things you do for them, say to them, give them, act around them ... depending on their language, they will respond to something, feel loved, and you've made a deposit. Everyone wants their love bank to be full. Low or empty accounts make people feel unwanted, under-appreciated, unloved. And that can be a difficult cycle to break out of.

But in order to make a deposit into someone's love bank, you've got to use the correct currency. This gets back to the 5 Love languages: gifts (mine), acts of service, words of appreciation (Tonbo's), physical touch, and quality time.

As I've said before, I can be told over and over that I'm loved or cared about, but if I didn't receive a tangible thing, something I can look at and hold after the words are long gone, then it doesn't resonate with me. It's not that I'm particularly greedy or materialistic, it's just my love language. Because the gift doesn't have to be something expensive or store bought - a colored piece of paper can work just as well.

It's like trying to go to an American bank and deposit a 1,000 lira note. You're not going to get $1,000 worth because it's a different currency. You'll get something in exchange, but the value received is not the same as the value you would get if you made a deposit into an Italian bank.

I'm babbling, but I thought the currency metaphor was a pretty good one. :)

SUMMER HOURS

At the office we currently have a Summer Hours program running. This means if you work an extra hour M-Th, you can take a half-day on Friday. Really nice. So far, I've been using it to run errands that I usually try and handle before going to work (post office, bank, etc.). Regardless, it's nice to out of the cube during the day.

Especially since summer has come and it seems like for every degree hotter it gets outside, it's gets 2 degrees colder inside. Yes, it's the middle of June but I'm wearing jeans, completely enclosed shoes, t-shirt and some kind of long-sleeve, all of which is usually supplemented with my fleece vest at around 2 pm.

Looks like we're clear of rain for a while, which is good news because my knee was hurting today from all the caffeine I downed Wednesday.

Sound like an old lady, complaining of all my afflictions ;)

LAPSED

Wow - didn't realized it'd been this long since I'd blogged. 0_0

I think of all kinds of things to write on the way into work (especially on the day it took me an extra hour due to rain and traffic), but then I walk into the office and there are suddenly higher priorities than my blog.

Highlights:
- hoping to have a domain issue resolved soon to transfer to a new hosting service that has lots of cool toys to play with
- Patryn handed over more Snow Fairy Sugar so I'm fairly well set on the new anime front
- saw the pilot for Jeremiah. Tonbo loved it, I could take it or leave it. Post-apocalyptic stories don't do much for me.
- finished watching the first DVD of Kino's Journey. Slow and drifty and interesting. Must see more.
- have seen almost all of first DVD of Saiyuki and it is now my guilty pleasure anime. Kind of like cheese puffs. Some point in each episode just screams "look, I've got a new video effect to show you!!!!!" I don't like Sanzo, but Hakkai is cool and I'm warming up to the other two.
- massive headache due to continual thunderstorms. Had more caffeine than I usually consume in a week and it finally went away
- client of my client liked the first 2 comps and kinda picked a direction so I've got more menus to create
- bought a digital camera (Sony CyberShot P52) on sale at CircuitCity. Justified with 4 rationalizations: 1) need for product shots for web site 2) will sell stuff on eBay to subsidize cost 3) will use contract money to pay for rest of cost 4) purchasing experience is material for a QST. Having fun with it so far, and it does a lot more than I really need it to, but that's just because I can get around in Photoshop :)
- 3 promotional posters I created were stolen off the walls at Project A-Kon. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
- Tonbo and I celebrated his office job with a WingStop evening
- saw Shrek 2. Very funny, very not Disney, think I still like the first one better. Heard Shrek 3 is in the works
- need to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- have found (all?) 4 prizes for the scrapbook on the new official J.K. Rowling web site. Best use of Flash I've ever seen, lots of fun, looking forward to updates (but not as much as Book 6 :)
- will try to make time to blog