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Aug. 10th, 2008

I guess I was wrong about the song.

mood: sleepy
music: 2k8 Olympic theme song running through mind
It's a few hours after my last public post, and I'm over the crying part (thank goodness!). It's hard to sing when you're crying, and I found out the hard way that if you sing high notes while you're crying, you end up stretching your throat muscles a bit.

But enough about me. I've noticed that the web sites have added words to the song that just aren't sung in the video - unless they're sung in Chinese (Mandarin)! But if you want to just sing along with Sarah Brightman, and can't quite keep up, here is what she sang:

"You and me
From one World
We are Family....
Travel dream
A thousand miles
Meeting in Beijing.
Come together
Put your hand in mine;
You and me
From one World
We are Family."

Oh, and by the way: if you copy this without giving the proper credit (which, in this case, is the author of that song as well as the Chinese Olympic Committee), don't blame me if you get bad Karma!

My point here is this: The songs with the most Wisdom are usually put forth in a simple manner. One that is more singable, yet very touching to my heart, is Enya's "Only If" from her Paint the Sky with Stars album.
Hm.... Note to self: go back to that one mule account in Gaia and do just that - Timeless Songs. I'm sure this one will be on there....
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Aug. 9th, 2008

Makoto, Sailor Moon, Lita, Sailor Jupiter

My response to the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies

mood: artistic
music: see video (have tissues handy!)


Tears.

Yes, folks, I do cry - but usually, my tears are sad ones. But not last night.
Oh no. Those tears I shed last night - like I'm shedding now - are happy ones. I completely understand why Sarah Brightman cried when she first heard the song. Hopefully, one of these days, I'll be able to sing it without crying half-way through it. and No, today is not that day.....

As for the rest of the ceremonies - oh yes. China surely knows how to put on a show when they want to! Especially the fireworks of "feet walking" down the street - the STREET! We Americans couldn't do that without making the firemen sweat! - from the Old capital to the Bird's Nest. But then again, they invented the stuff....

I cried several times during the ceremonies - just for the sheer beauty that was created. Did anyone realize that each segment had Two thousand, eight dancers in each one? And the Tai Chi Masters! To me, they were not only in synch, but they moved just as accurately as our Blue Angels pilots - with almost as much danger. (One misstep, and you'd get a chain reaction, domino-like fall for a few feet -with just as many headaches.) The only difference is that it probably wouldn't have been as fatal as it is for the pilots.

Then there was the technology, and not just on the floor! The floating rings... the floating people (like Chou Chou - no fear on her face, just joy)! And of course things ended with a bang.... I think the sky over that whole city lit up with fireworks!

Uh-oh --Lightning. Not a good sign when one is using a computer. Any road: if you're reading this far, please get you & your friends to deluge NBC & ask them to put all of the ceremonies - with NO breaks - on DVD. Please? That was the one part about the show I hated. I wish I could have been there - but they wouldn't let me in the country, much less near that Stadium.

Why? Damn ADHD! Oh, well... their loss.


p.s: that kitty is my reaction to the Ceremonies - not my actual mood right now.
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Jul. 29th, 2008

Makoto, Sailor Moon, Lita, Sailor Jupiter

NASA is 50!

location: home
mood: cheerful


It doesn't seem like it, but NASA is fifty years old today! Not many people understand the impact of this organization on our lives, but if you use satellite or cable television, satellite Internet, or watch the news - then you're seeing NASA in action. Who do you think got those satellites up there in the first place?

And for an example closer to home: Memory foam. NASA developed it to keep the astronauts comfortable during takeoff of the Space Shuttles; now it's used in pillows, mattresses and mattress toppers!

But you can see for yourself what NASA has done via 50th Anniversary web site.

NASA has been a part of my childhood because of the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Now that I live in an area where NASA is a part of the economy, I can understand why they look for cash to fund their many projects.

Happy Anniversary, NASA - and may you keep surprising us for at least another fifty years!
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Jun. 1st, 2008

Hurricane Season is here!

location: home
mood: thoughtful
music: "Creola" by Jimmy Buffett
Not only is Hurricane Season in force for the Atlantic seaboard, we have our first Named storm - Arthur! Luckily for us, he's going WEST into Mexico via the Yucatan. Mom is making sure that we have enough supplies (for humans & the cat) for about 2 weeks; that's how long it took for the electricity to come back to us after the 2004 'canes Francis & Jeanne. We have a house now that is just as sturdy as that other one, so I don't have any fear of anything major happening to it.

What is different this time is that Mom now has a laptop that has WiFi; this will help us keep in touch with the Rest of The World. She didn't like being incommunicado during the Fires earlier this year; now with this nice laptop, she can keep up with the news via the Web. I'll probably hijack it from time to time to keep in touch as well, probably via my Twitter or possibly a post on Gaia Online - in the Lifestyles section, I suppose. (If I'm wrong, I'll come back here and edit this.)

That's also why everyone can see this post; I don't want to leave anyone in the dark if I can help it. I appreciate folk worrying about me, but I don't want them to worry about something that's out of everyone's control... :>




p.s. about the music: That's from his remake album, Meet Me in Margaritaville, where he re-wrote many of his classic tunes (like "Volcano") and made them even better! It's worth the price to pick up this 2-CD set. I'm glad I did!
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May. 14th, 2008

Out of the Fires. & back into the frypan....

location: home sweet home
mood: sleepy

As of writing this, the fires in Palm Bay, FL have been contained. Many have lost their homes as well as everything inside --but not me. Why is that? Well....

Sunday, when the Malabar fires started, my parents & I breathed a sigh of relief - and a prayer for those who we knew *were* in the path of that fire.
Monday, it was our turn --when the arsonists (I believe it is more than one) decided to start a fire in the place where the power wires were (y'know - where they cut a swath of land out of a forest and put the metal towers up.).....

.....and the fire decided to start creeping towards the subdivision where *I* lived. What happened next is beautiful.... no matter what religion one ascribes to. My patroness is sneaky sometimes; She nudges someone in the *right* direction to notice just *where* the problem is at the *right time*..... and I think She did to the first person who noticed, started shouting to others near him to help him put the fire out, got a shovel, and started pounding the fires out. Some people got whatever they could grab, be it a rake or a bucket or a thick blanket and went down the line, whacking that fire out. Others got buckets, trashcans --ANYthing that could hold water.

Five became ten.... became twenty..... and soon, an old-fashioned water brigade line had been established. These Americans of many nationalities came together and fought a common enemy - the slow fire that often turns into a swift firestorm. Working together, they managed to put it out. Where was the fire department? They were working on the main force of the blaze that this little bit had come from, trying to prevent it from going out of control. The people who *usually* take care of things were busy, and the common man decided to step in when the problem was noticed.

I & my family are grateful to those people - whoever they were. I hope many priests/priestesses use their example of how we SHOULD behave towards our fellow man. I can only hope that my neighbors feel the same way as I.

I only caught a glimpse of it; I didn't know what had happened until I saw it on the news. All I knew was that the power went out, and we needed a hotel who would accept pets. We found out with one phone call that Holiday Inn no longer accepts pets. But Howard Johnson does.... and I knew where *that* was. My parents had gone ahead to grab two rooms - one for themselves, and one for me & Sakura. She soon learned where the best hiding place was - under one of the beds. She hates traveling, so I just let her be, put out food & water, and figured that hunger (and her sense of smell ;) ) would let her know that at least she wouldn't starve. We couldn't stay home because of Dad's chair; the manual overdrive for his recliner had burnt out once, and we didn't want a repeat performance.

Monday was spent in getting out and getting settled in; calling to FP&L about the outage and receiving updates. (That fire - and others in the same "grid" fried the cables. It's possible if one gets it the flame hot enough..... so we had to wait until the power came on. Tuesday, we went back to get some things we forgot, and I think I overworked myself. I woke up with pain in my hips, which has never happened before.... Today was waiting on FP&L to call us back about when the power would be back on. I think between Dad & I, we nagged them enough. ; > They told one of our neighbors that it could be late tomorrow.... but when Mom & Dad went back to get more clothes, Mom called me back with the message: "The power's on!"

So we came home..... but the a/c wouldn't work. Turns out that the breaker that connects to heat also has to be on at the same time --even when it's not necessary.
So for now..... I've posted here, so it's time for me to go and take another nap.
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Mar. 19th, 2008

Witch Hunter Robin, nun

Arthur C. Clarke is gone.

location: home
mood: depressed
(see this page for details)

I didn't read too many of his novels, because what he had written sometimes didn't make sense to me. But I do remember seeing "The Nine Billion Names of God" in one of my English textbooks in HS.... and of course, saw 2001 as well as 2010 in movie form. I agree that he was one of the great Masters of Science Fiction (right up there with Heinlein)...


...and all I can say to his spirit is: May your Journey to your next Life thrive.
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Mar. 14th, 2008

Okay, so I went overboard a bit.

location: home
mood: amused
music: easy listening channel on MusicChoice.com
But can you blame me? I only wanted to protect not only my little network here at home, but I know of a few friends who also have a server as their CPU. At least the site moderator on Gaia was understanding, but when I tried to post in the Computers & Technology forum - it got tossed into the recycle bin and I got a verbal "backhand" (def: a retort that feels like someone slapped you) in PM.

Once I got over the crying fit (yes, those do hurt), I told the C&T moderator why I put it up and that I'd be staying out of C&T..... and then, in his reply, I finally get an explanation as to why. IF he had said so in the first place, I wouldn't have been hurt all that bad. Why do some folk think I'm stupid, esp. when I use a credible & well-respected source? I really wish people would explain their reasons first before insulting my intelligence (and no, the phrase "because I said so" won't work on me).

Ah well. At least I have a nice spot in the Questions & Assistance forum, where I can help others get Gaia working right on their computers as well as some advice.

In other news..... Those of you out on the West side of the US may want to read this and look out for the car: http://cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/3/14/fdle_looks_for_missing_new_smyrna_beach_girl.html
...and it has a slideshow as well as info on the children. Those of you with wgw's Recently Missing Children banners should be seeing the info pop up before tomorrow.

Now before I go, I'll let y'all know of another site where you can find out what I'm up to: Twitter. (It's up for an award, so please vote!) You can see mine as well as look around the site.
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Mar. 7th, 2008

Makoto, Sailor Moon, Lita, Sailor Jupiter

If you've got a website, READ THIS!

location: home
mood: worried
music: none
If you've got a website, I strongly suggest you go to your webhost and change the password to your site ASAP.

Many of you who know me and bother to read this probably already have this notice in your email; so you can ignore this if you want. I'm just trying to get the word out to as many people as possible in case it happens to them.

The gent behind Ask Woody had his site hacked a few weeks ago. Since he also writes for the newsletter Windows Secrets, he's put what happened to his site in that newsletter as well. (You can read it
here.)

I don't want what happened to him happen to those I care about, so I'm going to repeat this message in as many emailboxes as I can find among the web comics that I read. (Some of them already got the email, so I'm not going to worry about them.) If you're one of the friends I've missed, or if you've got a website and just happened to come by here -- GO CHANGE THE PASSWORD TO YOUR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW. It's that important.
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Feb. 9th, 2008

Not that anyone cares, but......

location: home
mood: busy
...the website is down for a reason. My web host is moving a server set, and the server that my site is on happens to be part of that set. Hopefully, it should be up by mid-afternoon --if nothing goes wrong.

Hopefully, I'll also be able to make some pages as an update to what's there already. Now if only my parents would stop nagging me about being on the computer so much.... *sighs*
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Jan. 28th, 2008

I still can't believe I slept through it.

location: home
mood: sad

Wikipedia article about the event
CNN's coverage of the event

No, you're not seeing things - I did sleep through this one, although I found out before lunch. But I'm getting ahead of myself....

At the time, I was a student of (what is now) Palm Beach Atlantic University, majoring in Business Management. (I never did finish the degree.) About that time was "chapel", which was required attendance... if one was healthy. I was coming down with a cold and knew it, so I decided to take a nap so as not to infect everyone else there.

On the way to lunch, I noticed the TV in the "TV room" in the Student center was on, so I slipped inside to see what was going on.... and that's when I found out what had happened. I mourned that day - mourned for those who had been lost.

Like all important days (such as the 9/11/01 tragedy) - I will not forget.
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Nov. 16th, 2007

Look what I found!

location: home
mood: aggravated
ARG. I tried to get the "countdown clock" from the WB website, but it keeps asking for a login name & password. Not sure what that's about.... I'm not going to join the DA on WB's website. I'm not as good as those others on there, and it'd show....

....however, I wouldn't mind being a teacher at Hogwarts, given that I get enough an allowance to deck myself out in warm thermal underwear & very warm robes. I'd teach the NEWT level of Defense against the Dark Arts.... and include a better way of learning Occulmency. ;>

The Wait begins....
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Aug. 17th, 2007

Want to help boycott Qwest?

location: home
mood: bitchy
music: 80s channel on MusicChoice.com
No, I'm not making this up. It seems they had gotten the wrong person angry at them --a cartoonist. Not just any cartoonist, either; this gent has won the SF award for webcomics two years in a row. If you know me by now, you would have guessed it: Howard Tayler, the artist & mastermind behind Schlock Mercenary, which is a military/SF webcomic about.... well, just go through "Basic Training" when you get to the site. It's not easy to describe Schlock.

I first heard about it while reading the comic; he puts his blog right underneath so that readers know what he's been up to lately. Frankly - I agree with him; he's even got the law on his side. You can read all the nasty details here and make your own decision.

Me --I'm going along with Howard. He deserves an apology from Quest. What they don't know, however, is that bad news travels at warp speed through the Internet. ;>
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Jul. 2nd, 2007

If you COULDN'T see the previous post --

mood: awake
--leave me a comment here. Tell me who you are, where I know you from, and why you should be on my "friends" list. I can't guarantee that you'll make it, but if you still want to keep up with what I'm doing, you have to be one of my "friends".

I'm doing this to keep the Idiots out; I have a hunch that they look at this all the time just to see what I'm up to.
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Posted at 09:35 pm | | Leave a comment | 2 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Yes, I changed my mind.

location: home
mood: bitchy
After all, that's a woman's prerogative.... but it's still going to "Friends only" --if I can still SEE it after I've done it.

I'll do a test post and set it that way..... then, if I can see it, I'll go ahead and keep this. Otherwise....... bye bye, Frank....

Posted at 08:08 pm | | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Jun. 21st, 2007

Why me and Why NOW?

location: home
mood: annoyed
music: (ironically) "Chanson pour les Petit Enfants" by Jimmy Buffett
testing.... hopefully this works and it shows up when I log out.

IF it does -- that means it's one or more of the themes that are the problem, and I found a safe one.

Otherwise - I think I'll copy everything from here and start over somewhere else.  *sighs*
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Feb. 28th, 2007

Makoto, Sailor Moon, Lita, Sailor Jupiter

Friends only from now on

location: home
mood: blah
music: "Time to Start" by Blue Man Group (www.blueman.com)
I think I will set future entries in here at "Friends only"; I think that maybe the Idiots are also keeping an eye on this Journal to see what I'm up to.

Well.... today is "update the website day", so that's what I'll be doing. Mainly working on the graphics, but if I have time, I'll put up a few pages as well. Not only because of something I had planned for earlier this year on Gaia Online, but also for selling some of this junque that I don't need anymore. (This also includes my dishes -- Corelle in the now-discontinued "Rosemarie" pattern. If you know of anyone who needs spare dishes or glasses, email me (ketira at gmail dot com) with a list of what they want and how much. Any offer that's too low will be discarded, so do your homework!) Payment is via Paypal only, but I'll see if I can set myself up as a merchant so that it can accept credit cards as well.

Any road.... back to work.....
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Feb. 2nd, 2007

For those of my friends & family who are concerned....

location: Home
mood: calm
music: none: listening to WESH right now
...parents & I are fine. Can't say the same thing for my poor kitty; right now she's hunkering down under Dad's bed, which is her favorite hiding place. Most of the major damage is north of me in Lake, Flagler & Volusia Counties --and the coffers of the chapters of the Red Cross in those areas (and possibly the state of Florida) are nil. (If you want to help out, ask your local chapter how you can help those folks down here --and mention Central Florida.) It's possible that there will be damage south of me right now as the storms haven't completely gone through the area as yet. If you want to see TV coverage closer to me, WESH - channel 2 in Orlando has the best technology weather-wise.

I know my relatives are concerned as my second cousin called to see what's up; luckily, he called before the storms came through. I'm not even going out until probably this afternoon (I'm out of my allergy medicine, and I'm going to need it for the next few days). So Greg, if you see this: Yes, we're fine; this is a new house with all the anti-hurricane technology built into it. I doubt anything less will take the roof off. ;) The Old house, well..... we won't know until at least this afternoon when the storms have gone through. It's seen a brush with a couple of hurricanes; what is a T-storm going to do to it? Oh, and e-mail me - ketirasp at earthlink dot net (thanks to Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary for showing me how to frustrate spammers) for something completely different which I can't mention here. ;>

But I can see one factor in this: Today is the Full Moon. If you don't know how that affects the weather, then consider this: 3/4 of this planet is water. Weather is a combination of wind, water, and (with storms) electricity....

So for now, I chill, safe and sound. I may make some chamomile tea later to calm poor Sakura's (the cat) nerves....
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Jan. 30th, 2007

Congrats are in order....

location: Home
mood: hyper
music: switching between 80's & Party Favorites on MusicChoice.com

...for those web cartoonists who made it to the finals for The 2007 Cartoonist's Choice Awards! I've read a variety of these comics myself; why get a newspaper when I can read it online? The ones I've recognized (just from reading them, either now or in the past) are:



VG Cats by Scott Ramsoomair, who managed to get into the Outstanding Use of Color, Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic, and Outstanding Gaming Comic categories. Way to go Scott; hope you get at least one of these awards!

Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler for the Outstanding Science Fiction (SciFi or SF) Comic category. You definitely deserve the award, Howard; if this were the "People's Choice", you'd definitely get my vote!

Dr. McNinja by Chris Hastings & Kent Archer (No link because the site is down until the 1st of February for exceeding bandwidth; I'll come back and put a link there when the site is online again) for the Outstanding Superhero/Action Comic category. It's not easy to get two people to collaborate, but you two have done a great job! Good luck!

As I said on Chris' LJ blog, I've been thinking of a plot line for a few months now to work with the good doctor. (Yes, she is a ninja by default, and one he could possibly fall in love with. ;) ) Now I need to write it down and maybe do a basic (very basic as I don't draw that well) sketch of her.... :>


Still, those aren't the only web comics I read of the independent labels. There's also Clan of the Cats by Jamie Robertson (rated PG-13, so if you're at work, you may not want to look at this one); The Whiteboard, by DocN of Doc's Machine, a paintball shop in Alaska; College Roomies from Hell! by Maritza Campos; Oh My Gods! by Shivian Montar Balaris (Don't bother going there if you're not of the Paganistic bent; you won't get the jokes or the fun he makes of other religions); and I've just started reading WICKEDPOWERED, by Wicked Lasers.

Sorry about the massive amount of links, but I wanted y'all to see for yourselves why I like these comics.


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Jan. 29th, 2007

Baby, it's COLD outside.....

location: Home
mood: calm

No, I'm not kidding; Florida is finally getting bone-chilling cold. Or it'll feel like it from where I am northward. I'm sure the Orange groves around here are taking the usual precautions to keep the nation's supply from going byebye. People are either covering up plants with fabric (never plastic) and/or bringing them inside as well as doing the same for their pets. I've made sure that Sakura does not venture out tonight.

However, I feel bad for those humans & critters that have no choice but to be out in the cold tonight. How are they going to keep warm; who's going to take care of them? (Although there are shelters open for the humans, what about the stray dogs & cats?)

Any road... I'm thinking about re-arranging the furniture in my bedroom so that I can get a bit more space out of the room. The way it is now, there's just one narrow channel....and that's not good enough for me. The problem? Getting Mom to agree with what I'm thinking about without raising a big fuss about it... but I haven't told her that I'm doing this. Yet. But I need to; it's time for me to start taking control over my things and my Life --even if I'm a bit late at doing so. Oh well.... Better late than never! :>

So I get my Spring Cleaning done a month early.... ;>

Posted at 11:25 pm | | Leave a comment | 1 comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Jan. 5th, 2007

Another year gone by..... for me.

mood: content
Just in case you didn't know, tomorrow's my birthday. {insert Ben Stein version of "yay" here}

A lot of things happened over the past year; some made it in here, some didn't. (Like the times when Dad got on my nerves. It used to be that I'd just avoid him by staying home all day; now that's not possible.) My rooms are still a bit of a mess, and the 'rents are even thinking of getting a storage rental spot for the stuff. But I say to that: How am I going to organize if half my stuff isn't HERE? And I may end up getting duplicates of things (I still haven't found where I put all my printing supplies) because of it.... *sighs*

But I have a feeling that it won't be just my stuff going in there. The 'rents also have duplicates of stuff from their house in Tennessee; Mom has shells she kept 'cause she liked 'em (from when she had Sea Things over in the Superflea & Farmer's Market in Melbourne (FL, not Australia); Dad has some things in front of my stuff so I can't get to it.... oy.

But all that's behind me now.

It's a New Year, and changes are in store; not just with me, but with the world, if the two astrologers who run Tarot.com's site are correct. As for me, I'm going to finally take charge of my Life --and to hell with the Idiots. I've done all I can --including the curse--, so I'm just going to let things run and let Ma'at sort 'em out. My job is to make the netjer (collective pantheon in Ancient Egyptian) laugh, so that's what I'm going to do.... and maybe go back to school and finish that drawing class --even if I flunk. We'll see.... :)
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