Endings and new beginnings

Back again. Lots of changes. Have lost job. Fired for being bipolar. Well, for being untreated bipolar. Lost chance to buy house. That's probably got the best, the renovations were piling up and had already hit our utter max.

We have decided to get a rv, and live on the road, going show to show. I'm looking for remote work, and am also trying to develop art to sell at shows. For the time being, Brett's work and my unemployment are sustaining us. Have also applied for disability. The lawyers think I am very likely to get approved. Won't be much, but will be enough, with Brett's income, to get by.

Bought a 32' 1993 Fleetwood Bounder, am starting renovations tomorrow, will be ripping out carpet, replacing with "resilient flooring" that looks like wood, but is almost indestructible, and completely impervious to Anything the critters can do on it. Also replacing the full bed in the back with two twins, and converting the dinette area into a work desk for Brett. Will be setting up a wireless network for file sharing and printing, it will not have internet access, but our phones have that.

I'll be posting pics of the process and our adventures....

It's been a while

Lots happening since the last time I was here. Too much for one post. Let's just say that I hate mri's and I'll leave it there. Anyway I'm back.

Happy (early) 4/20 day: "Weed Card" by Garfunkel and Oates

Trying to keep track of this link

 

 

Sent to you by cymryk via Google Reader:

 

 

Happy (early) 4/20 day: "Weed Card" by Garfunkel and Oates

via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin on 4/19/11

[Video Link]

Riki "Garfunkel" Lindhome and Kate "Oates" Micucci sing about the perils of obtaining medical marijuana in California. Featuring David Koechner. Directed by Raul B Fernandez. (thanks, Mark Day)

 

 

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Ubuntu upgrade

I couldn't wait any longer. As soon as I found out that Canonical was releasing the beta-2 of Ubuntu 11.04 today I had to upgrade my laptop. I realized during the process 1 of the reasons I enjoy the upgrade process in Ubuntu and dread it in Windows: in ubuntu, I'm waiting for packages, in windows, files. Intellectually, of course, I know they're the same, but emotionally... It's like a geek holiday (except I had to work)
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Everything has shipped!!

And it will all be here next Friday!!!!
(well, in the store, waiting to be picked up)
Just as we leave for Stark and Deland, so I'll have to wait until Monday evening (the 28th) to start putting it together.   ARRRGGGHHHHH

Anticiation, frustration, whichever

Ok, so after finding out that Walmart online carries far more than their stores do (I know, kinda obvious, right?) I was able to order all but 1 part for my MythTv setup using the gift card Mom sent. (After discussion, we decided that was the best way to handle Grandma's bequest) You know the worst part about ordering online?  Waiting.  Never really noticed it before, and I've ordered quite a few things like this, but this time it's driving me nuts.  I think it has more to do with wanting to get started on the MythTv build than the tv.  I've done all I can 'til the parts get here. (On that note, the fact that the dvi to hdmi cable is running 3 days later than everything else worries me, but not as much as the fact that Walmart says that the cat 5 cable has shipped, but FedEx hasn't received it yet.)  Yes I am checking every 5 minutes.  Yes I do know that will make it worse. Knowing those facts does nothing at all to help me alter the behavior, it just makes the behavior that much more frustrating.  Grrr.

MythTV - adventures in Home Theatre

I have just ordered almost everything I need to finish the MythTV build.  The only thing I'll be lacking is an IR Blaster ($12), which I couldn't have gotten at WalMart anyway, except as part of a MUCH more expensive capture card (literally 70 more than the one I got).  As I spent all but $0.40 or so of my budget, I couldn't get the expensive one and get everything else.  The IR blaster is not truly needed, as long as I don't expect the MythBox to be able to change channels on the DirecTV.  OK, here are the specs:  32" Element 720p HDTV/DVD combo, Dell gx620 running Ubuntu 10.10 and Myth TV 0.24 (2.6 ghz processor, 2 gb ram, 60 gb hd (i know, tiny, but access to 3 TB across the network....) , DVD burner, 1 gb ATI graphics card with DVI out, etc)
  No wireless keyboard/mouse (yet), so i'll be using the standard ones thru an USB hub attached to a 10' extension cable run under the rug.  The hub will also give me a handy place to stick in a thumb drive or charge an mp3 player or phone (it's a powered hub...)  On the list for upgrades:  IR Blaster, SSD for rapid booting, wireless keyboard/mouse, large additional hd (1-3 TB range) for media storage (backing things up onto DVDs is gonna get old fast), additional capture card and Direct tv box to record 2 shows simultaneously.  I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now...

Goodbye, Grandma

I love you. I miss you. I really regret never coming out to you. I regret even more not being there while you were in hospice. I am glad your suffering is over, and I hope you are at peace.
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Hotness on the hoof

Muy hot guys at this show.....
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Dammit squared

Maybe cubed. Brett let him get away. She did make a sale, but he left again as she was doing it. If only I hadn't left for a break... *Le sigh* maybe he'll be back .... Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Dammit

The cute guy came back to the booth as soon as I left for a break. Asked Brett to seduce him for me (she also thinks he's cute), we'll see...
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Art Show Musings

This is not our crowd. :( Many compliments from other artists (nice, but not very profitable). Crowd seems apathetic. Met a cultural researcher who thinks Brett is ahead of the curve with her art, that our culture, in general, is just starting to get to the point where Mandalas are appreciated.
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Rainy show

In Sarasota. At an art show. In the rain. Yes, it is just as miserable as it sounds. The only things making it bearable are the Starbuck's coffee and my pain meds. Have to move the truck every 2 hours 'cause the roof storage won't fit in the parking garage. Meh.
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Mobile blogging

Testing this out with a little nothing post and a pic of my office wall.
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Gym

Anytime Fitness has several locations near our house.  No info on website about price.  I'll try to get home tonight early enough to get there before they close (hopefully they'll have a yoga for spazs class)

Internal bullies and the hunt for a boyfriend

I've decided to chronicle my hunt for a boyfriend here, mostly as a spur to keep me moving forward. Most of the difficulties I am having in getting started in this search are related to my self-esteem issues, which is frustrating as hell.  I have been fighting this for my entire life.  I push through it, and it jumps up again and slaps me back down.  Too fat, too short, ugly, bad skin.  The litany rings through my head.  Now that I have to use a cane to walk, add cripple to the list.  It is actually worse when the bullies screaming the abuse are in your head rather than physically present.  At least I can fight the physical ones.  Let the berserker loose and see red for a while.  Never solved anything, but it sure made me feel better!!  Now that the abuse is internal, turning the berserker loose only raises my blood pressure and turns me into a reactionary asshole to the people I love.  I cannot allow this to continue.  I can't expect to find a man to love me (or to keep Brett's love, for that matter) if I continue this self hatred.  The easiest way I can think of to change my self image is to get in better shape. Step 1:  Join yoga class at gym (related sub-step:  Join Gym)

Google Goes To Great Lengths to Prove that Chrome’s Cloud Approach Can Avoid Disaster | GottaBeMobile

OK, just in case I didn't make it clear before, Google is really impressing me with Chrome OS Google Goes To Great Lengths to Prove that Chrome’s Cloud Approach Can Avoid Disaster | GottaBeMobile

Google Chrome

Chrome has been my go-to browser for some time.  The speed, stability and cross-platform compatibility, added with the syncing of bookmarks and settings between all my various machines puts it head and shoulders above it's competition.  Now with the addition of Chrome apps ... I am simply blown away.  Really looking forward to Chrome OS.  Srsly.

Frustrated and angry and ashamed

The spate of GLBT teen suicides in the past few weeks has left me feeling furious at the bullying idiots who are causing this, and frustrated at my inability to do anything about it.  I was relentlessly tormented by bullies as a child, due to my essential geekiness, the fact that I am and have always been, somewhat overweight (to this day I have body image issues because of this), and my various allergies and infirmities. I managed to keep the fact that I am gay hidden.  The fact that I had to, out of self preservation and a crushing desire to 'fit in', participate in bullying as well as experience it, is one of the greatest shames of my life.  I am all too aware that the damage I caused is done.  Nothing I can do can ever make it better.  There is no way to right those wrongs.  I have never apologized to the people whom I denigrated, never reached out to them to tell them that it was me who was wrong, me who was different, me who was hurting.  That I was trying to make my shame and hurt go away by pushing it onto them, as if by making someone else feel those feeling, I wouldn't have too.  I have never told them that it didn't work.  That while I may have succeeded in forcing my hidden internal feelings onto them, that did nothing to expiate those feelings.  It, in fact, made them worse.  I need to find them and beg for their forgiveness.

Melbourne Art Show

Best. Show. Ever!!!  Great show, great crowd, decent sales, and best of all, our tent was only a few feet from the front door of Meg O'Malley's, an Irish pub that serves the absolute best Irish food I've ever had.  The potato, bacon, leek soup was phenomenal, and the Bangers and Mash was just perfect.  Oh, yeah, the Irish Coffee was great, too.  Great food, great music, and a wonderful wait staff, FTW!