brain barf… yum!
If you are trying to send me email to any of my jozjozjoz.com email addresses, I’ve been locked out from webmail by ipowerweb… something about exceeding my disk quota.
Supposedly I won’t be able to get back in until I download my mail someplace.
How annoying.
If you need to email me, the one I’m checking most frequently is my yahoo. (If you can’t figure out what my yahoo email address is, you’re too dumb to be sending email!) 
Pa. Lady Recovers From Attack by Neighbor
A mother whose belly was slashed with a knife in an attempt to steal her baby was improving in the hospital Friday, and her baby — born by emergency Caesarean — was fine, state police said. [full story]
…that Evie from Out of This World had… you know to stop time for the rest of the world while you can do whatever the heck you want?
If time stood still for me, I’d sleep.
Oh, and play a bunch of Sudoku.
Can I just echo Wil in saying Bull. Shit. Worst. Call. Ever.
Sorry if you tried to get to my site earlier and you saw that nasty and embarrassing note from my host saying that my site was suspended.
Thanks to the folks who called to tell me and to Michael who tried to get it fixed for me.
And props to Diana at ipowerweb live chat who cut through the red tape and finally got fixed it for me once and for all.
Stupid ipowerweb billing people.
Basically, my account expired on 9/30 and even though I had them re-run my credit card, they suspended my account because supposedly my credit card was declined. That was strange enough so I gave them another Amex card #, which was also declined. Then I called and gave them a Mastercard # which was supposedly fine. (I later checked with Amex and both my Amex cards are OK.)
Then my site was not back up, so I logged into Live Chat to ask why my site was still down. I was asked to hold for 40 minutes with Cindy when I accidentally clicked “close” the window and then had to log on again and start the chat session all over again with Diana and I went bezerk because she told me I had to renew my account. After all that I had already done on my end to pay for my damn account, I was still being told my account wasn’t renewed?!?!?!?
So anyway, she kept trying to tell me to contact the billing department to renew my account and I got pissed off saying that I had already done it; she needed to see why my site wasn’t up. After another 20 minutes or so, she said that she did see that my account was indeed renewed but that supposedly account information was not until for 12-24 hours afterwards. I was told on the phone that my site would be up “shortly”. Diana said that she was going to get Senior Tech Support to un-suspend my account and get it up within a couple of hours. It was up within an hour after that point.
All I can say is that I have a love/hate relationship with ipowerweb and right now it is more hate than love. But then again my site is up, so I shouldn’t complain.
I don’t feel sick… more of a mental state.
I think I need a day week month off of work or something.
Professoreric here: Disappeared again for a while, I am somewhere in Kansas again, I have found some entertainment in the local thrift and antique stores. Yesterday my friend found an entire series of old photos from a trip to Tijuana in the 40’s where a couple watched a woman bullfighter and then went into the street afterwards, put sombreros on, scowled, and tried to “look like the dirty Mexicans”. I thought this took the cake, until I saw the picture I bought. It is a suburban American scene. Nice large houses, trees, lawns, nice car, someone’s husband, and his large flag with a swastika on it. His name is Earl Tate and is if from 1941. So I own this photo now, and will scan it and give it to you Joz, to post if you wish, when I have access to a scanner. Until then we will just have to try and visualize/fantasize in our heads a time when a man, his home, his lawn, his car, and his klan flag still meant something. I can’t wait to return to LA were there is no bigotry….
I miss you Joz and pals…
I got myself a virtual pet.
Meet Hamilton the Hamster!
Since I’m working all the damn time, I need help taking care of him. That’s where you come in. I think I’ve got the feeding covered, but he needs lots of exercise, so make sure he gets a jog once in a while. Thanks.
| adopt your own virtual pet! |
Thanks, Mikey!
Yoshi’s mom sent us (ok, me) a recipe from the Mercury News yesterday:
1 eggplant
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (Ritz or saltines)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 small green onion, chopped
2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Peel, dice and parboil eggplant for about 8 to 10 minutes, until almost tender. Mix eggplant with all remaining ingredients except olive oil until well blended. Shape tablespoonfuls of the mixture into patties and fry in olive oil until brown. Turn patties over and brown on other side.
From Jackie Williams
Discover the hidden meaning in your name. Try it and leave your name’s hidden meaning in the comments.
jozjozjoz
Sensitive, emotional and caring you seek peace and harmony and desire to work for the benefit of others and society. Your talents and abilities may draw you towards teaching or service occupations where you would be a natural success. Although quite reserved your courage and ideals mean that you are single-minded and industrious in pursuit of your goals. Your affectionate and giving nature means that you are loved by all.
and
Joz
You have a charismatic and magnetic personality which others cannot help but be drawn to ensuring you of many friends. Very ambitious your keen perceptive powers and ability to absorb knowledge helps you to achieve your objectives. You are a strong willed and industrious worker who is prepared to earn all the material success and good fortune which comes your way. With a philosophical attitude happiness is assured.
[via Presurfer]
I feel kind of like a hypocrite for nagging my cousin to finish his stuff before the deadlines while I’m procrastinating up the wazoo on my own deadline.
So far today I’ve:
-Cleaned out the fridge
-Collected all the recycling materials
-Scrubbed down the stove
-Started the laundry
-Straightened up the living room, started Rooben
-Refilled the Damp Rid containers in our closets
-Emptied the bottom filing drawer for a new project I’m going to start (not today)
-Paid some bills
-Played Sudoku
-Played Dynomite
-Put away a bunch of old books I’m selling online
-Balanced my checkbooks
-Checked messages on Friendster
I did some other random stuff, too, but I can’t remember them.
The one thing I definitely did not do was work for this thing I have the deadline for.
I suck.
I returned to my cousin’s place to continue helping him with his college essays. We got substantially more done this time, so I didn’t leave angry like I did last time. He’s still not done yet, but he’s on his own for a while.
Next weekend, Michael is coming to L.A. and we are going to hang out and do fun stuff. Or we will sit around and have f-ed up conversations. Whatever we do, we are going to do it together, so I’m excited about that.
Italics are mine. But the idea of making fake testicles for dogs is not mine. An excerpt of the AP story is below:
The Winner Is… Fake Dog Testicle Creator
BOSTON - Gregg Miller mortgaged his home and maxed out his credit cards to mass produce his invention — prosthetic testicles for neutered dogs.
What started 10 years ago with an experiment on an unwitting Rottweiler named Max has turned into a thriving mail-order business. And on Thursday night Miller’s efforts earned him a dubious yet strangely coveted honor: the Ig Nobel Prize for medicine.
“Considering my parents thought I was an idiot when I was a kid, this is a great honor,” he said. “I wish they were alive to see it.”
The Ig Nobels, given at Harvard University by Annals of Improbable Research magazine, celebrate the humorous, creative and odd side of science.
Miller has sold more than 150,000 of his Neuticles, more than doubling his $500,000 investment. The silicone implants come in different sizes, shapes, weights and degrees of firmness.
The product’s Web site says Neuticles allow a pet “to retain his natural look” and “self esteem.” [full story]
As a public service, I have gone to the Neuticles website and extracted one of the many choice passages on their FAQ page:
What is scar tissue development?
Some pets develop scar tissue. It is totally harmless and does not disfigure the Neuticle in any way. Scar tissue is a micro-thin film that may surround the Neuticles making it feel firmer to the human touch. While this is not a concern to most pet owners the way to eliminate potential development is to gently massage the Neuticles weekly to break up any possible formations or to Neuticle their pet with the Neuticles UltraPLUS which features a special textured exterior which virtually eliminates the risk of potential scar tissue development.
Sorry, I love dogs, but not enough to massage their neuticles. Ew.
Other Ig Nobel Prize winners:
• BIOLOGY: A team from the University of Adelaide in Australia studied and catalogued different scents emitted by more than 100 species of frogs under stress. Some smelled like cashews, while others smelled like licorice, mint or rotting fish.
• PHYSICS: Since 1927, researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have been tracking a glob of congealed black tar as it drips through a funnel — at a rate of one drop every nine years.
• PEACE: Two researchers at Newcastle University in England monitored the brain activity of locusts as they watched clips from the movie “Star Wars.”
• CHEMISTRY: An experiment at the University of Minnesota was designed to prove whether people can swim faster or slower in syrup than in water.
• LITERATURE: The Nigerians who introduced millions of e-mail users to a “cast of rich characters … each of whom requires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the great wealth to which they are entitled.”
Second of all, someone rich please buy me a home. Thank you.
Record low for home affordability in California
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Soaring prices in California’s housing market have shut out a record 86 percent of households from buying a typical home with a traditional down-payment, according to a study released on Thursday.
Home prices across California have more than doubled since late 2001, increasing pressure on home buyers, who needed a minimum household income of $133,800 to buy a home at the August median price of $568,890, the California Association of Realtors said in its report.
That meant that only 14 percent of households could afford the typical home, down from 18 percent a year earlier, and the lowest level since records began in 1989, the report said.
The group’s calculation was based on a mortgage interest rate of 5.87 percent and assumed a 20 percent down payment. The national minimum household income needed to buy a median-priced home at $220,000 last month was $51,740, the group said. [full story]
Actually, they let her go home earlier this week. They said that she is finally well enough to be discharged but she will still have to have a nurse visit regularly for some various treatments.
But at least she’s home again.
Thanks to everyone for sending their good mojo.
On a separate note, if you could send your mojo for a work-related matter around 11:30am PST today, that would be greatly appreciated. (No, they are not going to be making me a VP, but thanks for the thought!) Thanks!
First, I am disturbed because it’s 2:30 right now and I haven’t had lunch yet because Bossguy and I have been working on a heinous project. I just ordered in from Miyako, but it will be another half hour to 45 minutes before my food gets here.
Secondly, I am disturbed because I just heard about the impending spawn of TomKat. Nuf said.
Thirdly, I am disturbed because Bossguy’s Boss called Bossguy and said that he’s not allowed to approve my cell phone expenses on my expense reports anymore because I am not at the VP level, therefore, the company will not be paying for my cell phone charges. Nevermind the fact that I am called on my cell phone morning, noon, nights and weekends for work. Nevermind the fact that I am asked to MAKE calls off hours. Nevermind that it’s not like my cell phone is free or anything.
Whatever³
Caltech Professor Is Co-Winner Of 2005 Nobel Chemistry Prize
PASADENA, Calif. — A professor at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena is one of three winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Robert H. Grubbs, along with American Richard R. Schrock and Yves Chauvin of France won for developing an environmentally friendly process used daily in the chemical industry.
The process focuses on how chemical bonds are made and broken between carbon atoms and is used mainly in the development of pharmaceuticals and advanced plastic materials. The Nobel committee says the process is “a great step forward for ‘green chemistry,’ reducing potentially hazardous waste through smarter production.”
Grubbs is in New Zealand where he’s delivering a series of lectures. He told the Associated Press he spent the last “30, 35 years” working on the process and never expected to win a Nobel.
Grubbs is the 31st Caltech faculty member to be a Nobel laureate. Caltech staff have earned a total of 32 Nobel Prizes. Linus Pauling won awards in both chemistry and peace.
Grubbs, 63, shared his prize with Richard R. Schrock of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yves Chauvin of the French Petroleum Institute.
Although it’s been open at night for a little while now, I had lunch today at Magnolia on its first day open for meals during the day. Located (practically) next door to Fabiolus on the south side of Sunset, just east of the Vine I welcome this new addition to the area because 1) it’s walking distance from the Arclight as a new place to have a drink/bite before/after a movie and 2) it was formerly a place homeless people liked to sleep/pee so now that there is a business and valet parking out front, hopefully there will be less of that going on.
We ordered a Baked Mac & Cheese appetizer ($8) to start… it was warm, cheesy, and had slightly browned bread crumbs on top. Good stuff. I had a Grilled Steak Sandwich ($12) with watercress, grilled red onion, bacon, and horseradish dressing with a mixed green salad on the side. It was yummy though slightly hard to eat (I kept taking bites and big chunks of meat would fall out of my sandwich).
I would say that for a lunch menu, these prices are kind of steep ($11 for a burger!), but that the food is definitely worthwhile with good-sized portions (if you get fries with your sandwich, they fill more than half your plate with crispy showstring potatoes). Though they have a decent wine list, they don’t have a dessert menu… yet, anyway.
The decor is dark and minimalist, but nice nonetheless. It looks like it would be a great place to get a drink. They’ll be open from 11am to 3am (you can evidently order food up until 2am). If you call ahead, there is a nice semi-private seating area (probably could seat a dozen or so) in the back they call The Birdcage… the area is decorated with a birdcage motif on the walls.
The service is friendly (though a little slow), but hopefully business picks up for this place so they don’t have to stand out on Sunset flagging down new customers anymore. It’s been a while since I’ve seen people soliciting for customers on Sunset (though in the past they weren’t soliciting for a restaurant!).
Magnolia
6266½ Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-467-0660
So I’ve been seeing & hearing tons of ads for the new American Express IN-LA card which boasts no annual fee and rewards to be used with 60 (as of today) partners ranging from Sushi Roku, Golden Gopher, MOCA, The LA Kings, and more. Supposedly you get “VIP” benefits at some of these places, too. But who knows what that means.
I’m not certain what they’re marketing beyond the supposed “cool factor” of this card. I think I might apply for one, just to see what else is going on with it. But I’m not sold on the idea of using this card over another one I might already have.
Are they also planning to do IN-NY, IN-CHI, IN-SF cards as well?
My newest time-wasting obsession is with PartyPoker.com. I play with fake money, so I play stupidly. I opened an account late last week and have had it on my computer for absurd amounts of time. (I’ve even got it up right now while I’m blogging.)
I got up early on Saturday morning (after a late night of partypokering) to go to visit my cousin, who needed help writing his college essays. He, too, had stayed up all night playing World of Warcraft (I hate that game). Unfortunately, we did not accomplish what we intended to (have a draft of his essay done by the time I left at 6pm). We worked for a couple of good hours, refining his outline and researching the actual essay questions for the schools he’s applying to. But after lunch, he flat out refused to turn off his WOW game while I was sitting in his room, asking him to turn off his game and work on his essay. Now I have to go back next weekend and help him again. The only reason I am doing it is because his mom asked me to and because I hate it when I don’t accomplish something I started. I am really pissed off at my cousin for wasting my time. I usually work 6 days a week and Saturdays are MY TIME. I was happy to go over and help him with something as important as his college application essay. He thinks he has “plenty of time before the deadline” to work on his essays. I guess he doesn’t realize that my time is valuable to me. Anyway…
By the time I decided to leave (6:30p), I realized it was too late to get to Skit’s birthday/going away shindig. I had already declined going to my former co-worker’s Annual 50th birthday bash, as well. I had originally intended to stop by the hospital to visit grandma, but since I wasn’t going to make it to either party, I spent some extra time at the hospital with Grandma. As an update to her condition, it is much improved. She moved out of ICU last week and is in a regular hospital room now. The doctors say that if she improves, she may go home this week. I hadn’t visited in a couple of weeks because I was sick last weekend. While I was there, Grandma grabbed my hand tightly and wouldn’t let go. I stayed with her while she did some respiratory treatments and left when visiting hours were over.
After I left the hospital, I stopped by Shiau-Mei/Kang Kang Food Court to pick up dinner. I actually picked up dinner, breakfast, lunch, and then some. I ordered a 3 item combo (eggplant, sweet ribs, and a bamboo/chili pepper tofu dish), 2 orders of the Taiwanese panfried oyster cake, 1 order of the Shanghai panfried dumplings, and 2 large Cha-sau (BBQ) pork bao. I got all this for under $21 and had enough food for 3 or four meals! I took it home and ate some of it in front of the TV with Yoshi while watching Everybody Hates Chris and My Name Is Earl.
Bossguy told me late on Saturday that I didn’t need to work on Sunday, so I slept in until 10:30 or so. I got up, turned on my Party Poker, and heated up my leftovers from last night for breakfast. After finishing my food, I helped Yoshi clean out the garage. It took the entire afternoon to do it, but we filled up the entire back end of my RAV4 with cardboard which we later took to the dump for recycling.
Then we ate dinner at Alejo’s, which we hadn’t done in probably more than 3 years or so. I reek of garlic.
I came home and watched 3 episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in bed before deciding to get up and play Party Poker and blogging.
So that is a run-down of my boring weekend.
Can I get another weekend now?
…but now that I’m in front my computer, I don’t know where to start.
Is there anything in particular you’d like me to write about?
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