Author Archives: ZealotOnAStick

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: Had a date this afternoon, first date with a new woman.  It was ok, went pretty well I think, we just grabbed lunch together, talked a lot.  Think we both want a second date to happen.

Thought there were plans for tonight for something fun and social.  They don’t seem to be happening, haven’t heard anything from the other person involved, called and left her a message, no response.  A tad irritated.  Probably as much my fault for proceeding without certainty, but still doesn’t change my mood.

Link of the Day: Jobs in a Zombie Outbreak

Spam of the Day: “Being thrifty is nifty”

Funny of the Day:  More evidence of why MySpace needs to die.

Pic of the Day: Indeed, nice dress.

Quote of the Day: “For art to exist, for any sort of aesthetic activity or perception to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable: intoxication.”  – Friedrich Nietzsche

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: Finally got my meds yesterday, then rushed off to an event to support a friend. Was really not very productive last night at all.  Frittered away time on the net and with TV.  Just one of those nights, ya know?

Started on the new drug this morning.  Hormone supplement therapy.  Oh, what the hell.  AndroGel – testosterone gel.  My labs with Dr. Doctor came back showing me as having low testosterone.  Go ahead, feel free to make the “less of a man” jokes.  She decided to test me for it because I’d expressed some concerns over a lack of sexual stamina that is uncharacteristic for me.  Low testosterone is linked to a lot of other symptoms that I’ve had, that I never would have connected to it, but now that I’m aware of them, it makes total sense.  Fatigue/lack of energy, depression, even some of the difficulties I’ve been having in this diet working as well as I believe it should may all be tied to this.  While the mental concept of this treatment is a little disconcerting to me, the thought that it might just make me feel better overall is appealing.

Link of the Day: Japanese single-serving food packaging

Spam of the Day: “10 secrets to make her want to give head”

Funny of the Day:  Hey Kids, the Moral is . . .

Pic of the Day: Gotta get me one of those. (What she’s wearing is optional)

Quote of the Day: “Dare to be yourself.” – Andre Gide

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: Maybe just a tiny little trace hint of ketones in my urine this morning.  

So, I finally get semi-industrious last night, and try to go install the water filter I bought like 2-3 weeks ago.  The primary thing for which I borrowed James’ cordless drill/driver.  I clear out all the cleaning supplies, trash bags, etc., out from under the sink, and worm and maneuver myself up under and into there to get at the hoses running from the cold water valve to the faucet.  After all this contorting and work, I discover . . . the hose is larger than the one that came with the filter.  Like, 1.5x the size.  Thus, to my dismay, the filter I bought . . . yeah, totally won’t work with the plumbing for my kitchen sink in my apartment.  

Now, the reason I bought the under-sink in-line filter, was because the sink itself is really shallow, and the faucet head arcs out in a very low arc, giving maybe 7 inches, if that, of clearance between the bottom of the faucet and the sink.  I’d originally planned on just an on-faucet filter, but if I go with one of those, I’ll lose around an inch to an inch and a half of clearance, on something that’s already a small space.  I suppose I could replace the entire faucet assembly, but that’d be a lot more work than I’m comfortable with right now, would run a much higher risk of being noticed by the complex . . . and I think I’d still have to come up with some sort of adapter or something to go from the weird size of tubing from the valves to the faucet.  Oh, and it’d cost a lot more money.

So, I don’t know, maybe I’ll have to go with a filter pitcher or jug or something.  Not really happy either way.  If Midland water wasn’t so terrible, I wouldn’t care so much.

Called Dr. Doctor’s office this morning, to try to get her to pick up the ball she – or someone – dropped and get my damn prescription sorted out with the insurance company and pharmacy so I can start the treatment I apparently need.  Haven’t heard back yet.  I’m going to give them another 10 minutes or so, and call them again if I haven’t heard anything.  And then every 2 hours until 1, at which time I’ll start calling every hour if they haven’t taken care of it.  Ridiculous crap.

So, finally, Dr. Doctor said to come in and see her, briefly, she wouldn’t charge me.  I went in for an 11:10 a.m. visit.  Waited about 5 minutes, then got in to see her, spent slightly more than 5 minutes on the phone (she kept saying if it took more than 5 minutes she was going to charge me for a visit, and said she was watching the clock).  She griped at me for being impatient with her staff, then apologized to me.  Supposedly the pre-approval is taken care of, and I should be able to get the actual script filled now. 

Link of the Day: Geocities to (finally) close. – Amusingly topical, as I decries Myspace as Geocities 2.0 on Twitter today, and apparently that’s the funniest thing since suicidal clowns.

Spam of the Day: “Prepare for every possibility” – Uhm . . . how, precisely?

Funny of the Day: “We’re fucking marketable“

Pic of the Day: I didn’t realize cameras were required for that, Pentax.  I’ve been doing it wrong?

Quote of the Day: “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is a little voice at the end of the day that says… I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Anonymous

Of Course, Nothing Can Be Simple

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So, I go to my local HEB to get my prescription filled, and figure I’ll grab a few things while I wait.  I make sure they have my number this time, so I don’t spend 30-40 minutes in the store before finding out that something’s amuck with the script.  In about 10 minutes, they call me, informing me that it requires pre-authorization from the Insurance Company.  So, I call the insurance company, in the store.  While I’m talking to them (irritating lengthy system of voice menus it took me a while to bypass and get to a human), the store pharmacy calls me AGAIN to tell me the same thing.  :/

Anyway, to cut a lot of cruft out of this recounting, I’ve got to call Dr. Doctor in the morning and get her to call the insurance company to request pre-authorization.  *mutter*

Stuff of the Day: Eggsplosion Edition

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Update of the Day: So, after going months at this job with almost no issues with being here on time, I’ve had a rougher time of it lately.  I resolved to fix that after being 40 minutes late one day (when I lost my phone, which was shut off, jammed between my bed and the wall), and I’ve been experimenting with some different alarm schedules.  Yesterday didn’t go so well.  This morning was going better, I was probably going to be at work right on target (3ish or so minutes “early”), though I could still have gotten up and moving 5 or 10 minutes quicker.  Then, as I was scrambling eggs in the microwave for breakfast – something I’ve done lots of times before with no issues – there was this loud popping sound emanating from said device.  It startled me, of course scared Baby into bolting into another room and into hiding (just as I’d given her a little bitty bit of half and half), and as I yanked open the microwave, I discovered what had happened: an eggsplosion.  The roughly 3/4 done scrambled eggs had popped somehow, and small little bits of soft eggy fragments were all over the inside of the microwave.  Not wanting to leave this as it was (and wanting to finish cooking the portion of eggs that remained in the container, so I could actually eat them), I spent probably 10 minutes cleaning up the inside of the damn microwave (which was nigh spotless before) so I wouldn’t have little stone-hard bits of crisped egg baking onto the interior.  So, I went from on-target, to walking in 4 minutes late . . . to an admonishment about slipping on that lately and instruction to fix it waiting for me.

Still no ketones in my urine this morning.  Irritating.

Went back to see Dr. Doctor this afternoon.  Waited for an hour and ten bloody minutes, and finally poked my head out of the room’s door to ask them if they’d forgotten about me, when finally she came in to see me and talk to me.  One of my hormone levels came back low on my bloodwork.  So that gets to get treated.  I was offered two options – come in every 3 weeks for a shot, which would result in big spikes and then falling levels of said hormone, or a gel that’s rubbed into the skin (and I guess permeates it and get into the bloodstream, like patches?) applied daily.  Opting for the latter, which the doctor thinks is the better option of the two (though more expensive) I’m going to get that filled tonight and get to start this treatment tomorrow morning.  Yet another thing I need to budget time in the morning for.

Oh yes, and she set me appointments for seeing both an Opthamologist and a Dermatologist.  I “possibly” have Rosacea, and I “possibly” have schleritis, but she’s worried about the way the redness on my skin is and how only the outer portion of my left eye seems inflamed, and listed an autoimmune condition in the tissue on my face as a possibility.  Probably not, but maybe.  Now, being someone who has watched every single episode of House broadcast, a little part of my mind started to freak out at the word “autoimmune.”   Lovely.  All of these office visits, and probable prescriptions to go along with, will of course cost me more chunks of money. 

Link of the Day: Worst. Ninja. Ever.

Spam of the Day: “Forearm Forklift – Your Solution to Heavy Lifting”

Funny of the Day: Bringing the “A” Game

Pic of the Day: Finger Arm Lickin’ Good?

Quote of the Day: “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: So, not so productive last night.  Dammit.  Chatted online with a woman I’ve yet to meet, where I’ve got this niggling feeling without any solid evidence whatsoever that there’s just something amiss/she’s hiding something significant.  Watched The Wrestler.  Decent movie, I’m annoyed by the ending.

I’m also getting really irritated with my damn body.  Still this morning, and again today at lunch, no signs that I’m in Ketosis yet.  The last possibly carb-tastic thing I had was a single sausage biscuit Friday morning.  With the amount of other little frustrations I have piling on right now, this is really aggravating.

Was just seriously dragging ass this morning.  Tried a slightly different alarm schedule, then still didn’t roll out of bed until 7:34 a.m.  I was tired, lethargic, and just felt like hell all of this morning, and am only starting to feel “better” (but still not up to par) here after lunch.

Link of the Day: Remakes of Classic Adventure Games

Spam of the Day: “Free MRI review”

Funny of the Day: Some kinda masturbatory-isolationibitionist fuckin’ nerve complex.

Pic of the Day: This, just because of my love for Utena

Quote of the Day: “So, it occurred to me – the first part of ‘psychology’ is ‘psycho.'” – Me

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: So, my weekend basically went nothing like planned.  I was going to be productive, use the cordless drill I borrowed from James (and bits borrowed from Corey) and get my water filter and new thermostat installed.  Didn’t happen . . . I really need to get that done tonight and return those to them.  Friday night plans didn’t happen as they were supposed to, I couldn’t get in touch with anyone fun to do something, so I went out and saw Fast and Furious.  While certainly not a cinematic masterpiece, it was a fun, enjoyable film.  I don’t really understand why it’s reviewing so badly with the general public.  Some fun stunts, fun driving . . . not as many awesome cars and car mods, but more eye candy than Tokyo Drift had. Go in to this movie expecting a fun film experience without thinking about it too deeply, and I think you’ll be entertained.

Later that night moving into Saturday morning, I ended up chatting (and then later texting) with a woman in Odessa for hours.  I really want to meet this woman, largely to see if she’s all that she’s represented herself as.  Since I was up so late Saturday morning, I slept quite late, and after I finally got up and moving and showered, shaved, dressed, etc., went out to my Dad’s for a visit, because my Aunt Kathy was in town for the weekend.  I helped my dad try to work on updating her computer (she boxed up and brought the entire thing over), and in the process of trying to install Windows XP SP3, things went FUBAR.  I think Norton Internet Security is to blame.  It ended up in this endless reboot cycle where Windows would do the “oh crap, we didn’t start successfully last time, what do you want to do?” and no matter what option we chose (couldn’t even get into Safe Mode more than once) it would fail and restart again.  Joy.  That ate up hours Saturday night, I left my dad’s after midnight, and it’s still not properly functional.

Sunday . . . after a late start, I went out shopping for a few things.  Hit JC Penneys and capitalized on this awesome sale they had going yesterday, and got my bathroom plans -mostly- taken care of.  Picked up 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels (they were out of wash rags in the same color), and a bath rug for $19.  I think I’m going to go back and pick up another rug as well as try to get the same Royal Red wash rags to match.  I also picked up 2 awesome Sealy pillows on the cheap there.  After that, I went to Academy Sports and committed financially to the whole “ok, let’s add regular exercise” concept.  Too much money spent on some workout clothes.  

I finally hit 78 last night in WoW, 2 more (long) levels to get to 80 (which I should have been at, oh, 3 1/2 weeks ago), then I can try to get gimpily geared up as quick as possible to rejoin Warfare in raiding.  I’m a little mixed on that, I hope getting with the guild in raids will re-inspire my love for the game, because just right now working on grinding my Warlock up to 80 I’m just not feeling it like I used to.  I’m not sure if it’s just not being able to raid with my guildmates, or if other . . . interests and diversions . . . are more appealing now.

Link of the Day: The 411 on Free 411

Spam of the Day: “Women are put off by the sight of a dwarf hook”

Funny of the Day: Works for me

Pic Vid of the Day: John Madden: Dungeon Master – “Think fast!”

Quote of the Day: 
“My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day’s a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride” – If Today was Your Last Day, by Nickelback

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: So, I’m feeling MUCH better today.  Caffeine, breakfast, lunch, all those things rather tend to help not being cranky, tired, unfocused.  Imagine that.  I ended up going to bed stupid early last night because by about 8, I had a horrid, raging headache, so the thought of trying to do anything productive, or even just zone out and XP in WoW was about as unappealing as a rancid sore on a 3-day old carcass of an armadillo fart.

Last night I grilled steak and portabellini mushrooms (officially started back on the low-carb diet after a week break yesterday, figured with the fasting and all it was as good a time as any).  I had them again for lunch today, with provolone cheese melted over.  I added some celery for green fibery goodness.  I meant to take a picture of it to post here at lunch, but I was hungry and started tearing into it before I remembered to go get my camera.  Woops.

Link of the Day: This brings a new meaning to “sleepwear”

Spam of the Day: “Travel the world doing what you love. Be a Massage Therapits” – Therapits?

Funny of the Day: Now that’s Ownage.

Pic of the Day: Google is hiring, apparently.

Quote of the Day: “What’s gayer than gay?” – James Cross

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: I just had my first bits of food, all day.  I’d been fasting since late last night, only water, for this appointment I had with Dr. Doctor today.  Got grumped at a bit, got an appointment set for an opthamalogist on the 29th to check out my left eye, a recommendation to see a dermatologist as well, and had 3 vials of blood drawn for lab work.  Lab work went over my per-visit limit, so a $30 visit turned into a $139 visit.  This is before I even go get prescriptions filled.  Right there my thoughts of maybe picking up a refurb iPod Touch from Apple died, at least for now.  Still, I suppose it’s better to be right and well and have a tech toy or two fewer.

Link of the Day: Russian Hairdresser Turns Would-be Robber Into Sex Slave

Spam of the Day: “Cobras process is fast and easy”

Funny of the Day: Way better Mac vs. PC ad

Pic of the Day: Pie Charts Adjusted to Reflect Perception

Quote of the Day: “Never knock on Death’s door: Ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!” – Matt Frewer

Stuff of the Day

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Update of the Day: Today has just been rough.  Brushing my teeth this morning, I managed to dribble toothpaste all over my polo shirt.  It didn’t want to come out very easily, so I had to end up changing shirts, and so squeaked into work right at 8, rather than a couple of minutes earlier.  Coming in, James informed me that he couldn’t connect to the SQL server on the dev (virtual) server.  Weird, frustrating, peculiar things were happening with the virtual NIC wanting to get all kinds of IP addresses other than the one it’s assigned by static DHCP by MAC address.  Even configuring the IP information manually didn’t work.  Ended up going through a whole host of things trying to fix it, including rolling back to a VM snapshot . . . from 8 days ago.  When it finally started working properly again – and I still don’t know why the heck it’s working as it should be, nor why it was misbehaving in the first place – we faced some more absolutely fun issues with the SVN being older than the revisions on the local machines, because it basically got rolled back in time a week.  I haven’t had this much of a headache from work since I was dealing with the cursed X41s from hell.

Link of the Day: “The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels – but in a humane way”

Spam of the Day: “Wear pajamas to work. And, never have to leave the house!”

Funny of the Day: Speaking of . . .

Pic of the Day: /b/ Explains the Bible

Quote of the Day: “That sounds like some kind of Indian porno.” – James Cross, about one of the Oriental Dancefloor tracks that was playing at the time.