Sick sucks

I'm sick and it sucks. I rarely get seriously sick so I can be a big baby when it happens. I'm getting better but I feel so drained. Like right now I'm tired and need a "pick me up" but even the thought of walking across the building to get coffee wears me out.

I realized I was sick on Sunday night when a fever sprung on me like a bear trap going off. I had settled in to watch a bit of TV when all of a sudden I had a fever. In disbelief I took my temp and it was almost 100, a few minutes later it was 101. I had muscle cramps, sore throat and a pounding headache too. I opened all the windows to cool off a bit but it didn't really help. I slept with an ice pack on my head and still woke up drenched in sweat. ( no it wasn't melted ice. lol ) Last night was a less intense repeat. Woke to a pounding head, slick with sweat and neck muscles so cramped I could barely move my head. I REALLY didn't want to come to work this morning.

Anyway, the fever is gone and other than being tired and a little bit congested I'm ok, but at least now I know why I was so tired on Saturday that I missed out on two great parties. c'est la vie. Anyway, I'm tired and looking forward to going home and resting. But if anyone is brave enough to come by (I don't think I'm contagious) I could really use some company and maybe a little babying.

I need help from Apple geeks

I need to take a backup image of a Mac PowerBook G4 here at work but we don't have the right software for it. I've never worked with Macs so I don't know what software is available for it.

What recommendations can the Mac people out there give me? What do you like and why? Are you a support tech or just a home user?

Anyone want to take motorcycles to Yosemite this weekend?

I don't have any real plans yet, just an idea. I was thinking that I'd just cruise out there with my bag and sleep pad, some clothes and a bit of food and wing it. I might make a reservation at a hostel or campground.

This is not a hiking trip, this is a road trip. There might be something I want to see that requires hiking to but only if it's relatively easy and quick.

If you're interested drop me an email. Since tribe has been wonky lately send it to thrilljunkie@usa.net

My company is hiring an IT director

... do you want to be my manager? lol

This place is a mess, party because if the current IT Director. Upper management has finally figured that out and are about to give him his walking papers. I'd love to have someone in here I know and who do more than look surprised by everything.

Anyone want a job in a web media company in the financial district?

Office Politics

How do you deal with office politics? I work with a guy who is a duplicitous, manipulative little backstabber and the worst part is, he's really good at it. He's got top executives thinking he's the shit, when really, half the trouble we have stems from him.

He uses disinformation to make people look bad when they report something different than what's he's saying. For example he'll tell the boss a problem is huge and complex and wait for the boss to report that to the director. Then he tells the director a different story, fixes the problem and claims to not know why our boss thought it was so hard. I think he's sabotaging servers in subtle ways too to make another person look bad. Somehow he gets away with this kind of thing even though he's pretty obvious.

He used me as a pawn once before I caught on to him and stopped playing into his games. Since then I've found out that he's now working against me as well, trying to get me fired as well as the boss. Sour grapes I guess. But I'm not a political person, I have no idea how to deal with that in the framework of office culture. Just ignoring him and doing my job will not make it go away, I've been doing that and he's still found ways to undermine me.

I don't know what he thinks he's going to achieve like this but I don't want to let myself get burned by his childishness. I'm quietly looking for a new job and on my exit interview I'll mention his tactics but I doubt it will wake them up. How would you cope with a person like this?

I'm working in New York today...

... through the magic of the internet.

Anyone want to chill out tonight?

I had a blast last night going out for my friend Darling Dave's birthday, but tonight I want to stay in and chill out. Anyone up for a quiet night in watching movies, playing board games, or something like that?

Glorious Coffee

It's amazing what a great cup of coffee can do for your day. I brewed the coffee at work today. It's a nice rich black brew for a change instead of the thin pale crap we normally have.

So now I'm buzzing along, jamming to some psy-trance on my headphones, working merrily and enjoying my glorious coffee. :-)

Yay for good coffee and net radio.

I made some stchuff...

I'm going to hang it from a necklace and call it my bunny bling!

These are my first ever attempts with a plasma cutter, freehand no less. Damn it's hard to cut a clean line when you can't see clearly but I'm happy with the results anyway. These were just for fun to get a feel for how the thing performs. One is thin sheet metal and the other is thicker iron plate. I found that with the iron plate if I move quickly I can etch the design in and not cut completely through. I can't wait to play with this some more.

On another note, my first ever weld was absolutely perfect. Seems I've found another talent. :-) I'm looking forward to making some art things I've had in my head for a while, now that I'm acquiring the skills. Many thanks to the the fine folks at Department of Spontaneous Combustion.

Albert Hofmann, LSD inventor, RIP

www.boingboing.net/2008/04/...-rip.html

Albert Hofmann passed away from a heart attack this morning at the age of 102.

The LSD molecule he discovered/created has such promise for medical use. As we all know, it was banned, but it remains accessible to the public despite these restrictions and is starting to become more available to researchers again. I wish he could have lived to see the narrow minded restrictions on it's clinical use and research lifted. But in any case, good work Mr. Hofmann, good work! Thank you.