WT hrm . . . ?

So feeling like I have really neglected this web offering; I came to post the obligatory seasonal photo, catch up, whatever . .

To my immense frustration, I cannot stay logged in long enough to post anything, the photo upload kept rejecting my photos, had to change my profile from charcoal to blah grey just to see the module editors and so on and so on ad nauseaum. I fully expect I will have to copy this post into the buffer so I can paste it once I login yet again. Additionally there is a post from the little man behind the curtain informing he has assembled a 'crack' team to help improve tribe.

Have we not been waiting patiently for the 'improvements' for two-ish years? I can only deduce the promised 'improvements' are limited to the paying customers once again. Don't get me wrong; I am all for memberships paying for the high cost of providing quality service; it ain't cheap to maintain a web presence. However; why would I be willing to pay for a membership when the basic free membership is such a poor representative of decent customer service and functionality? I am frustrated with the promised 'coming-soon' modules which never did, the fact that I cannot post modules from other services here, and the same tired dozen or so 'layout' offerings.

I do not especially need Tribe, I have a pro Flickr membership [who's free service is first rate BTW]. I have a Blogger doo-dah, a myspace [sandbox for neglected kiddies], and various other web 2.0-ish tools I like. I am practically the only one who posts on the heartside tribe.

So perhaps Tribe as a showcase for my artwork, interests and social connections is no longer an effective or efficient choice. Something to ponder . . .

Zen & the Art of Distraction: or What's on Your MP3?

I was catching up on me pal's blog entries this morning when the age old questions of personal space & tastes, minor but persistent irritants, tact and obligations came up in FeralKid's blog [ people.tribe.net/a2e63106-...4a089e969b ]. Replying to his post prompted me to wonder what others listened to on their mp3 devices for distraction and why.

I live in an urban area, albeit a nice enough one. Most of the time I find I am in need of 'mental space' between me and the outside world when I have the occasion to spend time traveling on the bus or sitting in a waiting room, et cetera. {It's an introvert thing}. One of the tools I use is an mp3 player with a respectable storage capacity. Until recently, I used a Palm Lifedrive which I loved the idea of and hated the quirks however; it gave me the ability to have various forms of diversion, distraction and even a comfort or two in my jacket pocket at all times. My Lifedrive even had a respectable battery life as long as I did not try to watch feature length movies, one after the other.

Here is the short list of diversions in no particular order;

Gregorian Chant - sooooo soothing
Beethoven - a deaf genius and magnificent, what more can you say?
Enya
Enigma - {see gregorian chant}
John Williams - one of the most talented & prolific modern composers
CSN & (Y)
Santana
Seger - Rockin Bob with and without the boys in the band
Sade
Sinatra
Dean Martin
Harry Connick
Mozart
Ravel
CCR
Vox
Manhatten Transfer
Russel Watson
Monk
Parker
Davis
Rollins
Shawn Phillips & Shawn Pittman

The list is much longer than that and it also included books on CD & audio lectures because I am after all, still a student.
Alas the damn thing disappeared on one of those excursions to buy new gym shoes and it is too expensive
to replace. So now I have a scaled down version in an off the shelf MP3 + images.

Easy come, easy go . . .

P.S. You can see for yourself what wacky taste in music I have by launching my YahooMusic [music.yahoo.com/launchcast/station.asp ]

P.S.S. You should know that Y's LaunchCast still does not work with the amazing & talented FIREFOX. The only browser WBF uses.
In other words, you have to "choose" some other browser. Hmmmm.... could this be one of the reasons why people download songs to their devices and choose the tools, playlists, et cetera *they* like?

Purple Heart Veterans Receive Unique Memorial

Link [ vagrantmemories.blogspot.com/200...html ]

I have been scramblin to keep up this semester therefore; I have neglected my blog.
So I'm cheating; Read my other blog . . .

. . . and Thank You for your Service

Bleu Gardenia

While my unmet friends FeralKid & Gypsy(et all @Zen) busted
their butts to make BRC a safe and well run city, I was in an
environment almost at the extreme opposite of the spectrum.
The Bleu gardenia sortof sums up my state of being.

Right at home in the humid state, we had wacky thunderstorms,
tornadoes and so forth. One after another for 5-ish days. All the
rain we did not get this beautiful summer, we got.
I was a photo-shootin nut. Actually got some pics I liked.

Well, vacation is almost over, kids are home from their honeymoon
and my family is one man bigger. Good thing too; the girls
outnumber the guys by about 3:1.

WBF 8)
...who is waving from the Office in a lovely sunset.

Not this year in BRC...

My friend Feralkid posted that he has arrived in Gerlach safe and sound-ish. YaY!
[ people.tribe.net/a2e63106-...69e86c73c1 ]

I am envious. I have a raging case of anxiety-driven "go-do"(s).
I know all the psychological mumbo-jumbo associated with
my present state of mind nevertheless,
I quote Freddy Mercury, "Oh, how I want to break free . . ."

I feel time slipping by faster and faster but I get a grip
and I tell myself,

Self: not to worry;

Next year in BRC
or Ireland
or Africa
or Copan
or Venice
or Israel . . .

Photo Credit: Foamfinger, aka Sculler

Stress Indicators & Lessons Learned

I took a Child Development major class this semester
because I could not carve out extra time my walking
class demanded so on the second day I had to
hot-swap classes. Ironicly the walking class was
supposed to reduce my stress. I digress...

So during this CD class, we took the old standard
Stress Indicator test. You know the one where they rate
major stressors with points? I think the first one is
death in the family=100, and so on?

I have never scored under 300 and that is the score they
say is indicative of major health/coping problems within
1 year. True to form, I did not score anywhere close to
300 again. However, I am proud to say I scored about
230 points lower than I have in the past, WooHoooo!

So what does this mean for WBF 8) ? Most likely I am
headed for yet another major set-back health-wise.
The interesting thing about the stress issue is that
no matter how hard you work to mitigate the negative
affects, you can only do so much on your own. You can
exercise, loose weight, take all sorts of supplements,
do yoga, meditate, pray et all. They only help so far,
then you are left with the consequences of your choices.

If I think about consequences and decisions, I am begining
to realize every decision is a memory. I can choose to create
good memories or horrific ones. For example; recently I
chose to do something good for someone else. Not just a nice
thing but something which took patience, time, compassion and
a sacrifice of something in the material world as well.

For my effort at opening myself to operate unselfishly, I have been
repaid with lies and manipulation. Is this right in the absolute
black & white world of right and wrong? Certainly not. However,
despite the added stress of being manipulated and deceived, I still
have that lovely memory which I chose to create.

The memory and pleasant company will remain just what they are;
ephemera. However, the lesson will resonate in my life for
a very long time and serve to offset the stress.

Two Weeks Later...

So Burning Man is off,
my trip to Ireland is off,
my trip out east is off,
my weekend in Chicago is off and
any hope of a vacation before Fall term ends,
is off.

Why, you ask?

My daughter decided to get married in 2 months instead of
12 months. I'd call that bum rushing everyone including a
brother who is in the Navy and will not be home in time.
So, I'm a little frustraited. Now that I have vented, I can go back
to resurecting my academic credibility.

To my Heartside.Tribesters, sorry I have not been around while
moving, finals and chasing books for the summer term after it
has already started.
To FeralKid, Gypsy & the rest of the assorted BM tribsters;
Oh for the simple days during spring break where the only
thing I had to do was shoot pictures and hang wit you.

*wavie*
WBF 8)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig

I could chronicle for you, the bizzare, irrational things that happened
whilst I was moving but I'd rather just let y'all know that it is done!

I took a walk with a friend yesterday by way of mitigating the aggrivation
over things that could not be fixed on the spot. We walked in the next
neighborhood over from Heartside where all the lovely urban pocket
gardens are. I will share with you as soon as I am
finished with the Archaeology class finals.

WBF 8)

Horrible Error juju

Alrighty then, in my previous post I clearly stated that no
"Horrible Error juju" was welcome in the new and improved
humble abode. Why then do you suspect that just as I was
contemplating hitting the sack in the freshly made bed,
the farkin fire alarm goes off, hmmm?

Now, for those of you who do not enjoy living in any sort of
apartment-ish type dwelling, you probably do not know how
disconcerting a commercial fire alarm is. Hideous noise,
flashing lights, totally disorienting.

I have not been in the humble abode but one full night, as
there is the cleaning factor to contend with at the old humble
abode, so I had no clue what the fastest route out of the
building was. The elevator is obviously not an option.
Pure instinct and a well honed sense of direction gets
me out without mishap.

So rather than hang around, I make my way back
to the old humble abode where it is stifling hot but
relatively quiet. I guess I'll finish checking the three
days of email I have left undone and then head over
to the Burning Man tribe to see what mischief they
are dishing out to each other. Always good for a grin.

Moving Day

The day is here, the new and improved humble
abode awaits.

I cannot seem to upload photos in my album here,
I have run into error messages at every turn including
malformed ad coding which was blocked prior to
today. My login took three tries this morning and
last night I could not get in at all. I got instead
a white page with a server dump entitled:
"Horrible Error......"

I don't need any horrible Error juju in my new place
so if I become strangely silent, chalk it up to "Horrible Error..."
I have term papers to write and an oral presentation in the
next two weeks, in addition to digging my way out of
a pile of boxes. However, I have actually seen
the email you all have sent me and I am aware I owe
responses. Have a lovely day.

Update: The ever useful error messages at post...

"There were errors processing your request:

* Include a Photo: Please upload a valid image file."


Um. .png IS a valid image file!

k, Somebody fixed something!