Category: Atheism

We haz the cool

  • I will never be cool in THAT sense, but I can certainly praise the thrice blessed Jeff, who got an air conditioner yesterday.  It made living at Geekhaven Beta a damned sight more pleasant – it was fracking hot.  Eddie was all over it.
  • I will resist the blandishments of my naturist friends today and NOT go to Wreck Beach.  Jarmo & Co and Mike will be off there today but I simply have too much life maintenance to do, and then Jeff and I will go pic-a-nic someplace, maybe. Depends how appealing it is to stay where there’s a steady stream of cold air.
  • Lawrence H, one of my coworkers, saw a Dall’s porpoise out in the Strait on Saturday.  It was just part of how awesome it all was, the trip from Vancouver to Victoria.
  • Victoria, approached from the ocean on a hot day, has a mesmerizingly beautiful scent of hot, sweet pine.  NO not like Pine Sol.  A magical, resiny gorgeousness that lifts on the breeze and drowns one in anticipation.  As drfilk noted, “Well, that’s better than I thought it would smell.”
  • I sang much of the way there, as much nautical stuff as I could remember, which isn’t much, but thanks to my mother and father I know all of the lyrics to at least one version of “The Eddystone Light”.
  • I learned last night that somebody I never talk to at work (I don’t sit with him at lunch anymore) thinks I’m a great performer.  Now I am thinking “When the hell did I ever play in front of him? And PS, thanks.”
  • Oh, is the rent due?
  • My rear end still hurts from the trip there. A little.  Not like Sunday morning, when my parents were giggling at me every time I sat down and squawked.  My back isn’t great but I know walking will fix it.
  • I have to water my plants; they got a good soaking Saturday morning but they are droopy as hell, as container plants are in this kinda heat.
  • Robof9 took pics of his wife’s work.  She is a professional plant person.  Sheesh, I guess that makes her a horticulturist… anyway, 100000 plants that she grew all needed watering on Sunday and he took pics and I await them happily.
  • Next post, various pics.  Be prepared..
  • I have booked a Can Car to deal with the box situation.
  • I think I need a summer weight housecoat.
  • For those who might be nervous on his account, Paul survived the last round of layoffs at his work.
  • The folks downstairs, in an effort to avoid us, have taken to smoking cigarettes indoors. For me this is annoying, due to my disturbed relationship with tobacco; for Jeff it is nauseating and hopelessly rude.
  • I participated in a Pagan ceremony on Sunday.  I am still processing it. When asked to pray I directed my energy towards a good outcome for somebody I despise, in an effort to cultivate both mindfulness and compassion.  The notion of praying for myself when I’m so comfortably settled with life the universe and everything (occasional bitchiness and annoyance with incompetence aside) was not on.  Runnerwolf was very specific about saying, “If you’re praying for somebody else, always pray for the best outcome – something concrete might not be what’s required for the person you’re praying for.” The psychology of this seems wise; you have formed an intention without becoming attached to the result, which is better than petitioning the lord with a laundry list of ‘want-its’ and then getting miffed when they don’t come to pass.  Funny story: she used popcorn instead of dry corn for ceremony once, with entirely predictable results come time to put the bundle in the ceremonial fire.
  • I know what copal and frankincense and myrrh look like now.
  • Why would an atheist bother with all that?  Because of Tennyson (oops, nearly said Donne)
    I am a part of all that I have met;
    Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’
    Gleams that untravell’d world,

Good Atheist, Bad Atheist is finally done.

I’m reading it to myself to get the cadences right, and stitching in a few last minute word changes. Thanks to my friends and family for the encouraging words.

Finally got hold of the Luddite – I’m off to his place for dinner and (likely) another interesting evening of Youtube videos, great music and amusing conversation.

I’m taking Monday off. As Dr. Filk once remarked, “I’m far too well to come to work today”

Juno

Jeff and I watched Juno last night and I loved it.  The script, the acting – a wonderful movie, and Ellen Page and Michael Cera make my Canadian heart explode with pride.  Also, it makes fun of Unitarianism.

Yesterday I prepped my MacBook for working with Windows software by installing a virtual machine.  We’ll see how this plays out… Jeff’s going to help me with an XP install  With any luck I won’t have to turn it into a Vista machine.  The long term point of this is to allow me to work from home, as the contact management and call center software is all Windows and internet based.

My payroll problem has been straightened out.

Gizmo and the downstairs dog, Meadow, are getting to know each other.  Meadow is so anxious for someone to play with that it’s very cute.  Gizmo’s body language says it all.  Scornful, not the slightest bit scared.  Eddie made tracks like his little black tail was on fire as soon as he poked his head through the door and saw the dog.

I have now entirely s-canned my original homily, as well as the two subsequent attempts, and I’m staring at the screen with disbelieving horror… can my normal fluency have deserted me for this most important topic?  Can I restrain my usual desire to turn everything into a gag?  Will I find myself in the pulpit on Sunday next, eyes like dog’s balls, stammering, incoherent and bereft of a single cogent sentence?  Stay tuned.  On the plus side, there will be jazz at the service, most likely.

I would just like to tell the universe, briefly, that I’m tired of getting what I need and would like to get what I want for a change.  Okay, back to the homily.

Saturday roundup

The fourth building block of circuitry built and tested.

Chipper sent that link.

Defining atheism – harder than it sounds.

Stuffed bats. And other plush toys. From one of my LJ buddies.

Sleepy bear. Sorry about the commercial first. And the Nepalese demonstrators getting truncheoned afterwards.

Albino Kangaroo. Aw.

How mad was this guy? Mad enough to buy his adversary’s company’s name as a domain name and post a lot of really angry, and quite justified, comments. For anyone who’s ever been screwed in a used car transaction……

What colour blind people see.

I have conquered an ongoing, crazy-making, recurring low grade bacterial issue with a simple household substance. Given that it’s been bugging me for 18 months and I got rid of it in 48 hours, I am REALLY HAPPY. No, I’m not going to provide details, but believe me, you would be happy too.

Daughter Katie made a date with me to see the next Narnia film when it comes out.

Paul and Keith here last night. Paul dropped off Ginger Chicken (which is funny, because I was talking about it at the lunch table yesterday) and we all watched The Name of The Rose which we quite enjoyed. They went home after the movie around ten.

Raining buckets…. Eddie woke me up at 5 yowling on the back deck.

My back really hurts. I want to go walking someplace today, but see previous paragraph re rain.

Today I have to go get a new bank card, and do some other boring bank stuff, put away laundry, try to find my tax stuff, shove some things into boxes for the storage locker, restring my guitar, itsy bitsy oddsy sodsy stuff.

Who pulled the plug…

… that was blocking my brain?

 

I wrote FOUR SONGS yesterday.  One is a love song to Al Swearengen from Deadwood – one is a blues tune about the Blue Hell, a bar from the Fred Pohl Heechee Chronicles – one is a narsty emo bytchefest between Gelis and Niccolo from Dunnett’s series which references their ongoing telepathic mindgames – and the last is a breakneck, kickass song about the current culture war between faith and reason.

The “If I were Al Swearengen” song nearly fell out of my head right after I wrote it.  When I wrote it, I thought it was all in the same time signature – silly me! Then I go to sing it back and the choruses don’t work.  What happened?  (Or as Paul remarked, “You weren’t recording it?”)  It’s in two time signatures (waltz and mildly syncopated 4/4) which is just bloody bizarre but completely fits the mood of the song.

Anyway, I suspect that somebody went to a shrine somewhere and prayed for me, because that was the most amazing thing that’s happened to me in years.  That sound you hear is a giant mental drain unclogging.

I light a candle for Patricia, who has an owie.  (Further details as authorized).

I light a candle for Katie, who will love Daxus until death or something like it.  I was that stupid at 19, but at least I loved worthier men.