Blogger's FTP Shutdown...

Just saw the little note on my dashboard that read:

"FTP publishing will no longer be available after May 1, 2010
You currently have blogs that are published using FTP. You must migrate your blogs to a new custom domain URL or a blogspot URL. To learn more, see our dedicated blog and help documentation."

Um, how about no?

I have to do some speedy catchup reading on this, but that message right there is a huge red flag. Anytime I read "custom" attached to anything, that usually informs me that going forward involves spending more money.

Thanks to some irresponsible porn-surfing fecking gobshite they fired recently here at work, they turned a lovely web filter on us so I can't read the damn information at the moment. It's a miracle that I can even post a blog, let alone visit any.

It comes down to the reason why I publish to my own website is because I wish to better control the content I post. Blogger to me is a simple, easy to use tool that saves me coding time. To thank Google for continuing to provide such a valuable tool, I allow the Blogger logo and link to remain where it is.

I seriously doubt that the less than three hundred kilobytes in monthly file transfers FTP'd to my site is a blip on the radar. I realize that when you factor in several hundred thousand other FTP-centered blogs that this could amount to a lot more bandwidth, but it still defies logic as to why you would want to alienate an established section of your client base in this fashion?

Like I said, I have some reading to do. I'll post a followup once I've had a chance to digest the information!

The Adama Family...

*Snaps fingers*

They're from Tauron and they're...

Never mind. I didn't see this Addams Family parody going anywhere after all. Heh.

Been watching Caprica and the jury is still out for me, to be honest. As a rabid BSG fan, I admit that I was fairly nervous about the prequel show to begin with.

I also feel the same way about Stargate: Universe since I've been a fan of the SG-1 series as well. I recognize that the shows are both in their first season, so I'm waiting for things to develop further. One can never truly judge a series based solely on the first season, in my opinion.


-------------------SPOILER ALERT---------------------------

Don't read the following if you haven't watched Caprica. You've been warned.

----------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so the Cylons were created by man. We knew this from the very beginning of the relaunched BSG, so that comes as no surprise.

What has me on the fence are the virtual "avatars" of two teenage girls having something to do with the Cylon rise to sentience, Zoe in particular. It just seems like we're just waiting for her father to finally piss her off enough to flip out and go crazy nuts.

I can't determine why it is that Joseph Adama's daughter has some great importance as yet other than the fact that she's now a virtual "goddess" of sorts in the virtual world. I can see the potential for this virtual world to bore me to tears if this story line doesn't get anywhere important in the near future.

Ugh, so many questions. We're only six episodes in so I'll have to wait to learn more.

I'm fairly certain that the show will pick up, at least I'm hoping it does...

33.991781

As the personal odometer prepares to tick over another digit, I have been contemplating the events of the past year. I feel a mixture of excitement and apprehension regarding the impending celebration of my birth. That's natural for anyone, I suppose, but this year seems... Different.

This past year has been filled with struggle and accomplishment, rebirth and disappointment, the loss of old beliefs and the acquirement of new ones. It's been a busy year alright.

I have smiled and cheered for my best friend who overcame all odds to achieve his dream.

I have seen a wonderful change in my personal hero, who has finally thrown off the personal shackles he was chained with and is living life to the fullest and is finally, truly happy.

I have cried for a friend who died so senselessly, his murder unsolved and the culprit still running free.

I made a new friend who challenges me and threatens me to go for my dreams, no matter how silly they are, or else they will kick my ass. Heh.

I finally met an old friend I had never met beyond the confines of text and the occasional phone call, took them tubing with me and we were both relieved to discover that neither one of us was a psycho axe murderer in disguise.

I discovered that another friend of mine will most likely die within six months and there is not one current medical cure in this world that can stop it.

A person that I know well is a person I recently found that I don't know all that well after all.

I mourned the loss of Gerald, my old Ford, and celebrated finding the TARDIS, a vehicle that proves awesome in its own right and is reasonably affordable to boot.

I nearly died, but I didn't thanks to current medical cures that do work.

I became a Captain and a pirate, neither of which is connected.

I learned to accept constant diarrhea as a way of life and have been fighting with the Truth that I can't eat whatever the fuck I want to anymore. (I'm sure y'all LOVED to read that line... Sorry.)

I mourned the loss of fried food, BBQ, Dr. Pepper, Cheeseburgers, steak and lovely, lovely bacon.

I learned to eat like a communist, but realized that it's still ok to not like it.

I raced down Der Bahn a couple of hundred times, leaving my win/loss record at 214/8, certifying once and for all that Der Bahn is my bitch and Mother Schlitterbahn is my church.

I went tubing as much as was ridiculously possible. Until mid-October, no less.

I worked my ass off.

I actually wrote my ass off as well.

I wondered where my ass had gone.

I wrote this entry.

Scrambled Eggs O' Plenty...

Congratulations, consumer, you're hungry!

You have decided to grab the brass ring and are about to join the exciting world of the post-cardiac afterlife! We welcome you on your descent into the foul pit where the Horned One awaits you with habanero-flavored ice cream and an eternity of gastric torment journey to spiritual and gastric enlightenment!

First, let us assemble our ingredients! You will need the following ingredients to serve four people:

7-8 Large Eggs
1/4 cup of milk
8 Strips of Bacon
1 half red onion
1 large red potato
1 green bell pepper - diced
A Pinch (or two to three lazy ass shakes) of Allspice
A Pinch (or two to three lazy ass shakes) of Salt
A Pinch (or two to three lazy ass shakes) of Pepper
1 tbsp of Tobasco brand Smoked Chipolte sauce.
1 Cup of cheese (I tend to enjoy a blend of cheddar & Monterrey jack)
8 flour tortillas

Alright, so you have assembled the ingredients, GOOD WORK! You are now ready to go to the next level.

Start off by cleaning the bell pepper, red onion and potato. You don't know where they've been and vegetables will lie to your face.

While you're at it, go wash your hands, ya filthy animal. No, wait. On second thought, when was the last time you took a proper shower?

THAT LONG?!?!?! Go take a shower! Don't be afraid of the soap and shampoo, they aid you in your quest for cleanliness!

Don't worry, we'll wait...

...

All clean? Excellent. Towel off and return to the kitchen. It might be too much for a reasonable person to expect you to put clothes on, but do keep in mind that you are about to work with a hot skillet and crackling bacon. Clothes are highly recommended in the kitchen, I assure you.

Take your freshly cleaned vegetables and begin to dice them into small pieces. It may help to hum a little tune to make the job less tedious.

Mix your eggs, milk, allspice, salt and pepper together inside a bowl. Set aside. DO NOT ADD THE CHEESE YET!

Next step is to grab a large skillet, the largest one you have. You can also do this on a flat griddle, just be mindful of the perilous sides.

Gentlemen, and the ladies, FRY YOUR BACON!

Let that bacon cook to near done-ness. Don't let it burn to a crisp, nor let it be still oinking. Just near to done-ness.

Remove bacon and drain most of the bacon grease. Leave enough to just coat the bottom of the skillet.

Dice the bacon into small chunks of holy goodness and set aside, covered.

Put the diced potato, onion and bell pepper into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently for three to four minutes.

Add egg mixture and bacon to the skillet and maintain a constant vigil, stirring the now soupy mess with a wooden spoon. Add the smoked chipolte Tobasco and keep stirring. It may also seem logical to add cheese at this stage, but NO, PERMISSION NOT GRANTED. Exercise patience and keep stirring!

After a few minutes, the eggs will adopt a fluffy, solid scrambled egg appearance. Once this is achieved, you are cleared to add cheese!

Stir that mixture until all the cheese is melted. Sample a small bit and add further seasoning or the smoked chipolte tobasco to your personal taste.

Turn off the heat so you don't start a fire. Scoop healthy portions of your scrambled egg perfection into the flour tortillas and serve.

Enjoy!

----------------

Figured I'd share this recipe since I personally can't eat it anymore. It now runs free on the farm to live out a happy life without me. ;)

Germs Are Icky Things...

Ladies and gentlemen, our good friend Wonko has a mighty good point.

Went to the credit union to put some money in and I was shocked to witness someone at the forms desk using the bottle of hand sanitizer provided to wash HIS hands after filling out his deposit slip. According to the teller, the hand sanitizer was requested by a handful of credit union members.

"Apparently, the pestilence of dirty money and paper checks will doom us all," she sighed and I just about lost it.

We both rolled our eyes and chuckled at the over zealous "OMG! GERMS!!!!" lobby scoring another victory over the good common sense of normal people. We then laughed over each other's reactions and I swear to the gods that we shared a moment.

Teller Amy, will you marry me?

Viva Evil Wil...

Via Wil Wheaton who found it on Reddit, I present to you The Who's Baba O Reilly, performed entirely by objects one may purchase at Think Geek!

Tropic of Cancer...

March hath arrived.

Escaped February's clutches once more, this time without too much incident. Well...

There is the matter of a friend of mine in hospital for a deadly serious case of metastasized skin cancer that has laid him out in ICU due to a major blockage of his left lung. He originally went in because of serious chest pain and impending pneumonia, which required some minor heart surgery (if one can call ANY heart surgery minor) and while he was there, he was treated to a lovely surprise of the discovery of metastasized melanoma in his lung -- HOOORAAAAY for that! That's LOTS of fun!

He is currently off the ventilator and the feeding tube after a harrowing week in a medically-induced coma. They've started radiation treatment and it was pretty much not expected to survive to this point.

It sucks because Larry is a pretty awesome kind of guy. Good sense of humor and a fairly positive outlook on life. I know he has the strength to battle through this shit and defeat the odds. And the long term odds aren't all that cheerful.

So, I close this entry and shall start another because my prattling has a time and place and talking about a friend in serious trouble just isn't in the same league as my usual anti-February rant. For those who do so and are of a mindset to set aside a few moments of prayer or well wishes for a perfect stranger who's friend is most likely a perfect stranger to his readers, I would be most grateful.

May we find a cure to that fecking gobshite prat known as cancer and may we one day be able to liken it to a mild case of the sniffles, easily treated by some chicken soup and an aspirin in that happy future time in the future.

Burp and BOOM!

10:35pmRobert

Hey, did I show this to you:
News Link

10:36pmMe

Heh

No, but that's hilarious. Some kind of prank?

10:38pmRobert

It is designed to blend in with standard shipping containers. That is bad news. Watch their video.

We have snow!

10:44pmMe

Oooooo!

Supposedly, we're supposed to get some.

I doubt it.

10:44pmRobert

Still, you may get rain.

Did you notice that the missile can be fired at sea or on a train or from a semi?

10:45pmRobert

Indeed.

That's hilarious.

10:47pmRobert

Actually, no. This is frankly designed for rogue states and organisations.

The Club-M is already a portable missile system, so no need for this design unless you want to smuggle cruise missiles.

10:48pmMe

I know, just hilarious because I never thought a cargo container would make a good missile rack.

10:49pmRobert

They do. Defense experts have been concerned for years that a rogue state would develop one. Well one has - Russia.

Cargo containers lock together.

10:49pmMe

True.

Just seems so Wal-Marty.

10:51pmRobert

Well, if you want to smuggle a cruise missile, it is ideal. Who suspects a shipping container? Seriously. Think of how many times per week you see an intermodal container.

10:52pmMe

Oh, don't get me wrong, I get the genius behind it.

It just seems funny to me in a way.

10:53pmRobert

Think of the sensitive areas where intermodal containers go (ports, railyards, etc).

10:54pmMe

Yeah, I know. My first thought was that a shipping company goofs and a Toys R Us gets a missile while some terrorist gets a container full of teddy bears.

10:55pmRobert

Terrorist #1: "What the fuck are we going to do with 20 gross of Chinese teddy bears?"

Terrorist #2: "Sell them on E-bay?"

Meanwhile, at Toys R Us: "Damn, Smitty, those guys at Estes don't fuck around when it comes to model rockets!"

Also, I have this scenario in my head where a semi stops at a weigh station. The Highway Patrol officer reads the scale and says, "Damn, boy, what the hell are you carrying?! Open this sumbitch and let me have a look!"

10:59pmMe

Heh.

11:04pmRobert

Soooo many scenarios in my head...

11:04pmMe

What th' fuck you got there, sonny Jim?

That some kinda funky "play toy" for the missus?

11:05pmRobert

"By the beard of the Prophet, I swear that it is plumbing supplies."

11:05pmMe

Bwahaha

Scary though.

11:06pmRobert

Yep. This kind of shit keep military planners awake at night.

11:07pmMe

No kidding.

11:07pmRobert

Still, I am amused by the idea of one accidentally being delivered to Toys R Us.

11:08pmMe

I don't wanna blow up, I'm a toys r us kid. There's lots of guns and ammo that terrorists like to play with. From IED's to planes to nuclear bombs, they have the scariest military hardware there is...

11:09pmRobert

LOL!

At Toy R Us, we sell the best damn war toys money can buy!

I feel a blogworthy item...

11:10pmMe

Heh.

11:10pmRobert

Seriously, this exchange is blogworthy, IMHO.

;-);-)

11:11pmMe

Alrighty, so it shall be done!

Should We Shout, Should We Scream...

Awesome.

I am pretty stoked about this decision I made to try to write more.

Big Finish Productions, who have returned classic Sci Fi giants Doctor Who, Stargate, Judge Dredd and others to life with new and exciting audio adventures, have announced two separate writing opportunities for aspiring writers. Having been a looooonnnnnng time fan of Doctor Who, I naturally leaped at the chance.

I finished the first submission to their request of story pitches in January and I am crossing my fingers on that one. We had to create a 500 word "pitch" as well as to submit two pages of sample script. Within two weeks of the original announcement.

I think I pulled off a good one, but we'll see what the BF guys think. I'm one of over 1,200 submissions. Wish me success!

Dusting Off the Keyboard...

Well, I finally did something this time around instead of just sitting and thinking, "Damn, wouldn't it be sweet if..."

For those in the know, I am a fan. I dig the original BBC series, the new series and Big Finish's Doctor Who audio adventures. What was extra cool was when BF announced that they were offering a chance to pitch a story idea, along with two pages of script, of a short episode that would star Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton.

Davison, who played Doc #5 in the original series might be possibly recognizable to those familiar with the BBC Hitchhikers Guide TV serial. He was the pig looking cow thing that was offering himself to Zaphod, Ford and company at the Restraunt at the End of the Universe.

Anyway, #5 was always one of my favorites, if not the favorite. When I started watching Who, PBS was showing stories from his run. To get the chance to possibly write an episode for Davison to star in, well, that I just couldn't pass up!

So, we'll see what happens from here. 1,200 entries to contend with. If nothing else, it felt euphoric to finally do something with my writing than to sit here and merely talk about it.

Wish me success, my friends. :)

Yep, It's The Usual February Rush...

One week, two days down.

The faster I get through this month, the better. Now that the birthdays of three people I care about this month have passed, the rest of this month can zoom by...