For the past few years I've been collecting my tweets (which also, thanks to the magic of RSS and a little hacking, show up as my Facebook statuses) as a sort of retrospective on what the past 12 months have been for me. Here's the 2013 edition. (With typos intact -- many of these were typed on my phone, so please pardon the occasional msispellings.)
Rocked in the new year with the old skool funk of All Mighty Senators. Happy New Year!
Though I left the Church long ago, my Irish Catholic ancestry tells when I feel guilty for drinking Bushmills. (It's "Protestant whiskey".)
First karate class of the year - my students came back! Even got some new ones. Little rest was good for the body, but back to training now.
As Opus the Penguin once said, I've got the best friends in explored space.
Love waking up to a house that's clean except for party detritus. Thanks to all who stopped by or sent brithday goodwill.
B'more sushi artistry. http://twitpic.com/buzykr
Many folks forget that a criminal ban on a thing doesn't make it go away; just that state threatens people who have or do it with violence.
Duct tape is a surprisingly effective way to tape a sprained ankle. But man, you gotta shave that leg hair.
"I'm not going there to die. I'm going to find out if I'm really alive."
RIP Earl Weaver. Sad news, but happy that the last O's season he saw was such a great one, the return of the "the Oriole way". #BmorePride
Great Kagami Biraki, New Year's class. 1,000 punches, senbon tsuki, big kiais, supporting each other.
"Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple." -- Regina Brett. Works for me.
"..reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." - Feynman (Applying to politics is left as an exercise)
When arguing politics on-line, two minutes with Google can save you from looking like an ass. Basic fact checking: do it.
So I'm far from the world's biggest football fan, but -- w00t! #Bmore Pride
Bmore celebrates -- and I'm not leaving the bar until the roads are clear, 'cause its nuts out there. http://twitpic.com/bwzyua
Damned traffic ticket. With due regard for safety & traffic conditions I couldn't change lanes, but did slow to a reasonable & prudent speed
"I have no idea what era of music we're even in, now. Do we still *do* that, eras of music?" -- William Gibson
Facebook meme politics are the 21st century version of soundbite politics...just as meaningless.
Thanks to Gary Snyder, when I see a PSA about forest fires, I think of the Buddhist deity Acala. http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/bear.htm
I have medical clearance to start running again. Ringo will be thrilled.
By the Weather Channels' naming, we're about to get some snow from Winter Storm Khan. http://www.khaaan.com/
An activist friend of mine won a court case vs. Bmore City PD. Next morning, he's got 4 flat tires. I'm sure that's complete coincidence...
It was 70+ degrees yesterday. There are snow flurries outside my window now. WTF???
Two women running the other way down the street: "You look cute!" Ego swells...then I realize they're talking to Ringo, in his dog hoodie.
Sorry SF, but field goals aren't going to catch you up. #BmorePride
The allure of Beyonce still eludes me...heresy to some, I know, but it's all indistinguishable pop to me.
Actually feeling a little bit bad for my friends in SF -- but just a little.
Guess this power surge from the Ravens was too much for the circuits at the Superdome...
w000000000t! (And SF -- nice game. Nothing to be ashamed of. But #BMorePride!!!)
Not official yet, but I may be dropping off the radar until Apr. for (good, but stressful) karate reasons. If you don't see me, I'm training
Ok, it's official; I've been invited to test for godan, 5th degree black belt. Getting ready for this test will occupy me until April...
Progress does happen. But you don't make the grass grow by pulling on it.
Any MS Word scripting experts out there? May need help with format conversion for a large document, endnotes to inline citations. Hit me up.
"It's not enough to survive. One has to be worthy of surviving."
Dogen said to handle even a single leaf so that it manifests the body of the Buddha; this allows the Buddha to manifest through the leaf.
Found an old broken kazoo while cleaning, fixed it with a piece cut from a plastic bag. Driving Ringo nuts with it.
Flock of robins in my backyard. Spring is here, spring is here, life is skittles and life is beer...
All Mighty Senators & Telesma at Rams Head Live. If you ain't dancin', you must be dead. Good to see many old friends here.
The mojo is independent of the hat. Just so you know -- stealing the hat will not transfer the mojo.
"20: Top speed, in miles per hour, of a roadrunner. 40: Top speed, in miles per hour, of a coyote." -- Randall Munroe / @whatifnumbers
"It's as if every eccentric in the South decided to move north, ran out of gas in Baltimore, and decided to stay." -- John Waters
Three words on how to pick a new pope: steel cage match.
Got an OKC message from a Christian lady saying "I think you may be the coolest atheist I've ever (e)met." #ZenPaganTaoistAtheistDiscordian
C'mon, rotator cuff. The ankle is giving me enough grief, I don't need you acting up too. Don't get jealous, ok?
I'll be returning to the Free Spirit Gathering this June, mastering the ceremonies. Join us as we make magic. http://www.freespiritgathering.org/
"Zazen creates energy.... Karate trains us in applying that energy to action." Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, founder, Seido Karate
Irish Price Day salute to the victims of prejudice everywhere. Hang in there, someday they'll all want to be you.
Cutting down on beer while I'm in training. (http://bit.ly/142nA2I ) Fortunately for Irish Pride Day, there's Jameson.
Want to do something ecologically useful? Forget Earth Hour. Go vegan for a day.
The Universe continues to show a puzzling disregard for what I like or dislike.
Amused that I can talk about things I haven't done in a while and say, "I haven't done that since back in the 20th century."
How evil would the lesser of two evils have to be, before you'd stop voting for the lesser of two evils and try for real change? Discuss.
Dear web programmers: if you can't figure out how to process a CC # with spaces, please smack yourself with a clue-by-four until you get it.
Some code makes you want to dig your eyes out of your head will dull spoons. Or dig out the eyes of whoever wrote it, whichever
Buddha is grass shoes: http://bit.ly/12diSiE
Have a Mozilla bugzilla account? Please vote for bug 769994 to be prioritized: http://bit.ly/OULG7d Redirecting to https is broken & bogus
The ante for the game "property", in which we privatize the naturally free material world, is seeing that everyone's basic needs are met.
NYC bound for a karate testing weekend. Wish me luck...
Locker room last night, kid sees my black belt, asks "Dad, are karate teachers really good at karate?" Kid, I'm just hoping to be ok at it.
Can't even walk the streets of Manhattan without being recognized. My infamy proceeds me.
Will be returning to the Starwood Festival once again this year to teach some kind of something. (Details TBD.)
The kanji for zazen can be read as "sit, be simple." And the "sit" part has the radical for "person" in it twice....you and your "self".
"Wet Paint" sign on a tree. Surrealism? Or refering to some nearby object?
Holy Toledo they made me a fifth dan. Not bad for the kid they used to send to special gym.
...and *this* is a well-earned beer.
It was nice to come home to a city where spring has arrived. Makes the whole thing feel more transformative.
"Of course I'm not going to be a pirate. I'm going to be a pirate king."
Happy Yuri's Night! 1st person in space, Yuri Gagarin, 1961 Apr 12. http://yurisnight.net
Keep Ellicott City's Manny (Juan Emmanuel Schoemaker) with his wife and kids: http://chn.ge/ZTs8B1 #DREAMer #Not1More
Putting an entire city on "lockdown" to chase two guys? Looks like everyone's pretty terrorized. Guess the terrorists won this round. :-(
Belated happy 75th birthday to Superman -- Action Comics #1 published April 18, 1938. America's favorite illegal immigrant hero...
"...so the Messenger of Allah forbade the killing of women and children." Nothing Islamic about bombing innocents; evil idiots are just evil
Tactical lesson: locked-down people can't "see something, say something".
4/20 has extra meaning for Telesma fans. One year since our friend Ian died on stage -- and came back to us. Celebrating at the Hous Haus.
Plotting and planning for a great Free Spirit Gathering. (Yes, I'm back...join us!) http://bit.ly/zWgPJE
A new Doctor Who, a double Manhattan, good launch news from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, & a snuggly pit bull. A decent Sunday night
If a politician or bureaucrat mentions "common sense policies" it means "we have power, don't need reason, STFU." Eg, http://is.gd/qURcMD
Google says Catonsville MD (my town) is hiding an airport. ("Baltimore Greenbelt T Airport"). http://bit.ly/1490KYd How'd I miss it?
half-dead, the cherry tree still blossoms... http://twitpic.com/cmeyt8
Following up discussion from last night: if I ever claim to be an all-knowing guru, please, clobber me with a 2x4.
Starbug has gone from "needs a new speed sensor on this wheel" to "needs a new axle". Ouch, says my wallet.
"This is where we are!" -- 5-year-old Zen master in the Y locker room, to his dad.
Always hopeful, yet discontent.
Lots of psychedelic, world, kirtan, etc., music past few months -- nice to clear the palate w/ some old fashioned punk @ Ottobar tonight
Give peace a chance. Give it two, three, five, a dozen chances. If that doesn't work, kick ass as needed. Then resume giving peace a chance.
I still want to be a Jedi when I grow up. May the Fourth be with you. (Han still shot first, dammit!)
Bmore pride turns to shame as BCPD, with no real crime to worry about, shuts down PowWow. :-(
Making the world better is the best revenge. :-) (Tip of the purple top hat to @DamosDaze for his perfect response to the PowWow shutdown.)
Happy birthday to Gary Snyder, model for Japhy Ryder in The Dharma Bums, author of the Smokey the Bear Sutra: http://bit.ly/NzLb8
Never thought I'd say this, but thank you Walmart - Port Covington Walmart's auto center took the tires we dug out of Ferry Bar Park.
I'll be presenting workshops and running the Bardic Circle at FSG in June: http://www.free-spirit.org/Festival/bios.php#team00069 ...
"Space Oddity" as the universe's first space chanty: http://youtu.be/KaOC9danxNo
BGE's tree-trimming guys found that this great old locust in my backyard is splitting & needs to come down. :-( http://twitpic.com/cr0mcu
Recently started watching "Avatar: The Last Airbender" on Netflix. Pleasantly surprised at its excellence. Recommended.
Today featured martial arts training, poetry, and now some guitar time with a good martini standing by. Not too shabby.
Using recursion in a program still feels like magic to me.
Now don't tell anybody, but...the moon is beautiful.
"You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you."
According to the AMA, 44% of U.S. male physicians are overweight. http://bit.ly/9jQF3i And we wonder why Johnny can't lose weight.
Today's music needs more brass.
Sowebo Festival - another great day of music and art in Bmore.
Spikey-haired "Bob" is in your street festival port-a-john, watching you urinate overpriced beer. http://twitpic.com/cth7uk
"The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori." A moment of remembrance for all victims of war, combatants or not, causes just or not.
Headed to NYC for a karate weekend. Any local peeps who might want to meet up Friday or Saturday evening (or maybe Sunday brunch?), ping me.
One part meditation, one part kicking people. A good antidote to the multiheaded beast of suckiness that was last night.
From the "WTF is in my hotel room" dept., this used syringe on the lamp over my bed. Bizarre travel adventures... http://twitpic.com/cuufr9
Fireflies are out in Merryland! That means they'll be at FSG. :-)
I'll be speaking at the Starwood Festival next month about self-defense, shiatsu, and Discordianism (Hail Eris!) http://bit.ly/126piQ7
"...nobody's very big in the first place, and it looks to me like everybody spends their whole life tearing everybody else down." -Ken Kesey
When did Facebook decide to change the relationship status "it's complicated" to "In a Complicated Relationship"? There's a big difference.
Using one multimeter to check out a problem with another...like M.C. Eshcer's mutally-drawing hands, in a way.
Q: "What I would most like to ask you is where you get your inspiration." Ursula Le Guin: "I sit and listen."
I fought the law and...PBJ. We'll call it a draw. (Traffic court, paid fine plus costs but no points and no conviction.)
After 43 years, I am finally becoming competent in small talk. So...how about that weather, huh?
Power out, computer on UPS, using oil lamp to see keyboard to shut down cleanly before it runs out. I do love anachromism.
Arrived at FSG. Time to make the magic.
"What was ours, is ours again."
Home from Free Spirit Gathering exhausted after 10 hr days to create a new Master of Ceremonies position but happy 'cause I think it worked
Technical difficulties with my Twitter/Facebook integration. Apologies if you're seeing a time warp...
Powwow court date. (My 2nd court appearance this month.) At least we got the fine knocked down.
PLANET X POETS REUNION! Coming together this Friday 6/28 in D.C. If you ever read at World Famous Poetry Night at Planet X, contact me!
Fought City Hall, wrote code, taught karate, coordinated an upcoming poetry reading, ending the day with a ST:TNG ep on Netflix. A good day.
Davis fillibuster -- total clusterfsck in Texas Senate. Still don't know if anti-choice bill passed or not. Watching https://twitter.com/becca_aa
Riding DC Metro always reminds me of summer 90, riding into downtown DC every day to my first job writing software, like sumkinda adult ...
Spent last night talking poetry and spiritually w/ Glenn Burns @bgkarma, old poetic comrade-in-arms from the Planet X days. Good times.
Sewer line at the Secret HQ is repaired. Props to @BaltimoreSewer1 for dedication to getting a dirty job done right. Highest endorsement.
Wedding of karate senpai and sister-in-arms @bujewsan Sandra Gail Sattin. Beautiful bride, lovely ceremony, great people, fun time.
"Huh" of the day: According to the wik, as a child David Hasselhoff lived in Catonsville.
Starbug is in the shop, overheating. Good news is it happened now, not on the road to Starwood. Also got a midyear bonus, which'll help pay.
1915 map says cemetery of "Maryland Home For Friendless Colored Children" is near my house. Graveyard of forsaken children? Gotta find it.
"...but on the other side, it didn't say nothing. That side was made for you and me." Happy birthday USA, made for you and me.
Restore the Fourth: http://www.restorethefourth.net/
If ok for Egypt to remove dysfunctional elected government, can we kick out Congress, POTUS, & SCOTUS & get all new faces? #JustADreamOfMine
After diverse adventures arrived at X-Day, ready for the aliens to take us aboard their UFOs as the world ends; or, that failing, Starwood.
Shakuhachi duet with a bird in the woods. It don't get no better than this.
Getting ready to teach some self-defense to pagans, magicians, and freaks at Starwood...two of my worlds intersecting.
Ignorance is strength, assault is self-defense, embryos are people. (Wish I could stay at Starwood & not deal, but world needs us to fix it)
"I put her down on the other side. Are you still carrying her?" http://users.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/obsessed.html ...
All that I've done that's good, I've done the times I tried to be a poet in the realm of acts: for the sake of beauty
Saturday at Starwood, 1st time riding a bike while wearing a kilt. Later, canonized several dozen people. New experiences are good.
Bones are scattered everywhere under the earth. We dance on graves or we do not dance at all.
Vatican offers indulgences to Twitter followers: http://v.gd/YaaSrl I'll offer more: follow/friend me, I guarantee no eternal damnation!
Test tweet. You do not see this. Fnord.
BTW, my drivel also tumbles (tumblrs? what's the verb form?): http://www.tumblr.com/blog/tomswiss
Forget why it came up, but I must've told a score of people at Starwood about the Langley Schools Music Project:: http://www.keyofz.com/langley/
Artscape..yeah, it's cheezy and commercialized, but where else will I find a guy selling pan flutes he made from bamboo in his backyard?
Finding Asahi Black @ the liquor store made my day. (Most "Japanese" beer is actually Canadian BTW....this is real.) pic.twitter.com/lSQyazN7V0
8 yr old boy on bike two sizes too big, stretching to reach handlebars, furious pedaling, utter determination in his eyes. Poetry in motion.
Just me and Ringo walking across the field in deep dark summer twilight, lonesome and proud and strong as the train whistle in the distance.
Tip of the hat to Dremel, for sending me a small part at no charge rather than nickel-and-diming me.
Just found that due to a phone company fsckup, home # has been broken for weeks. Sorry, anyone who called me there. It'll be restored soon.
"There's another way to survive. Mutual trust and help."
AMS @ 8 x 10!
Playing ambassador for Bmore...
Long day at the dojo. Congratulations to all students who took promotion today!
I see that Soccer (football, to you outside the U.S.) practice has started. The change of seasons, measured in sport.
Dear websites with security questions that retroactively make my childhood stories security disclosures: you suck. Let me specify my own Qs.
Setting up a T-mobile account: has been a tragicomedy of complete incompetence. If you're thinking about doing so, I recommend against it.
http://Powells.com shopping spree. How does anyone ever buy just *one* book? Replacing a few lost (lent & not returned) or destroyed.
Feeling surrounded by incompetence and broken, buggy systems. Gah!
Fractal Cat & Telesma at the Metropolitan in Annapolis -- whadda show!
I'll be speaking on "Magic, Imagination, and Political-Artistic Liberation" at "Hive Mind", Aug 17 in Bmore: http://on.fb.me/1cF4pAe
Cutting big boards into litle ones for the students to break Tuesday...
After long comedy of errors and incompetence, my home phone # (410455xxxx) is working again. Ported to a cell phone: farewell, landline era.
My letter-to-the-editor in the Bmore @city_paper: http://bit.ly/1bwrwd6
Most advertising is an insidious form of black magic, directed at changing your consciousness in accordance with someone else's will.
My talk at "Hive Mind" on Sat. will be sort of a "Defense Against the Dark Arts" class...sort of. See the fnords. http://on.fb.me/1cF4pAe
Not the neatest job ever, but I did just fix METAL WITH FIRE, brazing at 1600+ F (oxy-MAP torch). pic.twitter.com/yqd2SZDQlS
When they've been fooled by someone people say: "Well, I never imagined..." So don't be fooled, strengthen that imagination!
Ankle is acting up again. :-/ So much for going to a martial arts seminar this afternoon & I won't be doing much dancing @ Hive Mind tonight
Talked about magic, lead a ritual, spun fire. Not bad for a Saturday night in Bmore.
Magic, Imagination, and Political-Artistic Liberation: Or, A Crash Course in Defense Against The Dark Arts http://youtu.be/QZnHoMGyABA
Reading Neil Gaiman's _Sandman_ series. It's still just *so* *damn* *good*.
"Our existence deforms the Universe. That's responsibility."
"It's okay. I hurt too. Hold my hand." -- "Going Inside", Neil Gaiman. If there are better eight words, I don't know them.
Bmore peeps - anyone remember Valorie Taylor from the old days @ Funks? One of those folks I'd love to catch up with. pic.twitter.com/2znwaS6ary
"Do not say too late." -- Shunryu Suzuki
Surround yourself with great books. When lost, grab one and flip through it. Repeat until you find what you need.
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
I had never heard of a black IPA before. I've got a new beer crush...
Satirical news stories must seem sensible enough to be real, but real news doesn't have to make sense. Truth is stranger than The Onion.
Software development means spending a lot of time fixing other people's mistakes. System admin means sometimes you fix them at 2 am. :-/
Fun throwing punches & swinging sticks on a visit to the MD Jeet Kune Do Athletic Club. Thanks Sifu JB & students for the welcome.
Protip for locals: some Columbia Bank branches have coin-counters. Their 5% fee for non-account holders is roughly 1/2 Coinstar's cost.
Nothing like ending a night of beautiful music and dance by jumping in to stop a fight... :-/
We don't "send a message" with military force. Send messages with e-mail, phone calls, strongly worded letters. Killing is not communication
Violin player in front of the cigarette machine...this is Classical Revolution.
When passed by fire trucks w/ sirens going, does anyone else immediately think "OMG it must be *my* house that's on fire!"? Brains are weird
What should we do with the drunken sailor? Dance with her. ;-) Bon voyage Chris!
Dear clueless service companies: I am not going to call you for a quote. It's 2013: have a web site with prices on it.
Behind karate, one of my favorite things to come out of Okinawa. pic.twitter.com/C34IqUGq51
With a little work and some gumption, this mess will develop into the plot of a novel. pic.twitter.com/bMFUuy1dSl
"Love potions are my cheapest item. And they're overpriced at that."
Came down to S. MD to see my old friend Elizabeth Croyden do a comedy set. Watch for her! Good stuff.
It is not that, as some traditions claim, spirit descends into matter. Spirit is generated by & rooted in matter, and no more holy than it.
Well, the god news is that I've demonstrated that I have not developed an allergy to bee stings... Ouch.
The bad news: broke my trusty old pole saw -- chainsaw on a stick -- today. The good news: I get to go CHAINSAW SHOPPING!
"Holy time in eternity holy eternity in time"
Scissors cut paper, but chainsaw cuts trees. One less mulberry. (Great "metal controls wood" example, for TCM nerds.)
2 a.m. moon bright enough to read by blessing insomniacs
A little sad to have to cut down those trees...but oh, how my view of the moon improved.
"A no-win situation is a possibility every commander may face."
Had almost forgotten that sometimes water will fall from the sky for hours on end. Kiboshed my yardwork plans today, but we needed the rain.
I tell ya, nothing makes me feel like an interesting & exciting guy like unsalted plain rice crackers in my cart. pic.twitter.com/bUlQr9pLDM
We're already over-supplied with terrible art, that which has nothing to say & attempts to compensate by saying it obscurely. Don't add more
Man, dogs are suckers, easy marks.
Ok, belay last tweet. Ringo ended up finding the tennis ball I vanished and hid. I probably could've fooled some kids with that, but not him
We are happy, we are merry / We got a rhyming dictionary.
Calling Tea Party "anarchists" is wrong & insults anarchists. TP is anti-federalist, quite happy to have state gvmt & corps screw you over.
Man, that "free shipping on orders over $50" always inflates my order...well played, @Powells, well played.
So plan I have now goes away under ACA, and the remaining choices are sucktastic high-deductible plans w/ poorer coverage. Thanks, Obamacare
Just saw the first cover art proposal from http://www.hollinghurst.org.uk/ for Why Buddha Touched The Earth (http://infamous.net/WhyBuddhaTouchedTheEarth/ ...). Excited!!!
I got a Nikon camera -- even if they did take my Kodachrome away. (Mamma don't take my JPEGs away?)
The trick to magic is, adapt symbols to the meaning you need. This'll mean repect to ancestors & freedom from bonds. pic.twitter.com/Qs7BCuNUKO
If you confuse the physical universe with the experiental universe, you're not gonna have a good time.
Read "The Raven" w/ accompaniment on harp and viola. (Or was it a small cello? Still learning...) Poe night at Bmore Classical Revolutio ...
I love Bmore, but gorram it, Sundays w/ everything closed will remind you that this is not a SERIOUS BIG CITY.
Tornado watch in effect until 5pm in the Bmore region. Be careful folks.
Nothing like spending days writing code to handle an error condition, then causing that error while testing - before the code's deployed :-/
"Send message?" Oh Alpine, are you also wondering about the wisdom of sending this e-mail? Giving me one last chance to reconsider?<pause> Y
Being open minded means you must take responsibility for sorting through the trash people throw in there. Practice good information hygiene.
NYC peeps, I'll be in your city next weekend - karate tournament Sat., have to be good Fri. but free Saturday night...what's good?
Screw John Galt. Who is Tom Joad?
Two groups I'm done with: climate change denialists & defenders of the Confederacy. I will thoroughly ridicule any such idiots I encounter.
Columbus was a terrible excuse for a human being. Happy Bartolomé Day. http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day ... http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/10/14/8-myths-and-atroci… ...
The TV has given up the ghost. (For years it's only been used for Netflix, DVDs, and a laptop screen.) Looks like end of the CRT era here.
BTW, this is why I'll be in NYC: http://www.seido.com/news/37th-anniversary-international-benefit-tourna… ... I'm mostly judging but will be competing in master's division kata.
Dear Democrats talking about charging GOP Congresscritters with sedition: congratulations, you have become as insane as the Tea Party.
Add to the list of web failures: FAQs that require you to click to expand answers. No. An FAQ should be a fully readable document.
NPR reporting that House has passed bill to end the shutdown & raise debt ceiling.
Captain Morgan and Tennille. Appearing with the Jackson Fifth and Guns and Rosé. #drunkenbandnames @ECroydon
Got up early to get en route to the City That Never Sleeps. (And wow,people taking frickin' photos of themselves on the bus, wtf?)
We talk about kids with phones and e-games, but I remember my generation w/ Mattel LED football & Merlin. (Remember that one?) We survived.
I am standing between Hamlet and a drum circle in Greenwich Village. NYC hath charms.
Took a photo for a Chinese tourist by the UN building. Do I get any NYC points for that?
Most unusual compliment ever on a tournament kata: "Are you single? My wife's friend was really impressed by yr kata & wanted to meet you."
"But the confusion is largely caused by your bifurcation of reality into the "you" and the "not you."" -- Raymond Smullyan
That was the first TV I ever bought (others were gifts or scavenged) & probably last CRT I'll ever own. Another tech era ends at the dump.
What if we consider "sprit" as "that which inspires"? To speak of the "spiritual" is to ask "What inspires you"? No supernaturalism needed.
Are you a metatheist? http://infamous.net/blog/Oprah_atheists_and_metatheists ...
Anyone know of special significance of 3.234234 = 3231/999 related to date calculations? Having a software "WTF is that commented-out line?"
in autumn woods amidst red and gold leaves blue flash of a jay
"What are you going to be for Halloween this year?" "Awesome." (Never got into cosplay but H'ween is good excuse for regalia or fest garb.)
Great respect to Lou Reed. RIP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArRexgJ41NQ ...
Fifty points to Powells. pic.twitter.com/ii776HXbDo
Maybe worrying about a screwed-up proof from the publisher is good worry to have since it means you're on-track to get published. But, argh!
Joining a political party seems to be hazardous to one's ability to perceive reality. Disaffiliate yourself. Break open the two party system
Slow start today (various annoyances), but #NaNoWriMo in effect. Going out tonight but I have an excuse to be antisocial for the next month.
#AllSaintsDay As a genuine & authorized Discordian Pope, I hereby canonize anyone who reads this today. 'Cause the world needs more saints.
Things I like: a hard-working drummer who looks like a banker or a Little League coach. Just because it surprises you.
Falling a bit behind on #NaNoWriMo 'cause of dealing w/ getting "Why Buddha Touched the Earth" to press. Torn between books. #WriterProblems
How do you define small government? The smallest gvmt is a monarchy. Slavery, genocide, & oppression can exist in combination w/ low taxes.
9,347 words, 2,805 today. Still behind due to wrestling w/ layout problems w/ http://infamous.net/WhyBuddhaTouchedTheEarth/ ... last weekend but catching up #NaNoWriMo
10 days, 17561 words. Don't want to jinx it but that puts me a tiny bit ahead of the 16667 I needed by today to be on pace. w00t! #NaNoWriMo
What we owe veterans most is an apology. They wanted to serve, US used them as pawns supporting its brutal & stupid foreign policy.
Once upon a time, Nov. 11 was Armistice Day, a time to celebrate the end of war. It was also Kurt Vonnegut's bday. http://wonkette.com/534002/its-not-a-rerun-its-a-tradition-fine-here-is… ...
"The known universe has one complete lover and that is the greatest poet." -- Uncle Walt
Autumn leaves fall past my window but I do not see them hit the ground. That makes my heart ache like stretching a stiff muscle.
"What is called good is perfect, and what is called sin is just as perfect" - Whitman (Compare w/ Seng-Ts'an: http://www.selfdiscoveryportal.com/cmSengTsan.htm )
A rare time I leave my phone/camera home, and what do I find parked across from my usual sushi place but the frickin' Pride Of Baltimore II!
Every so often (not much, but once in a while) the Universe comes through for me in the form of a free drink, proof it's ultimately benign.
Big ups to http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk , undelete software saved me from losing a day's work on #NaNoWriMo (a fight scene I spent a while on!)
I know boomers are amazed by it but many of us under 50 do not really care about JFK. Sorry someone you thought cool got shot, but, meh.
A nation founded on genocide and slavery & where segregation was still extant did not "lose its innocence" 50 yrs ago http://bit.ly/1aCySwQ
Once we sent fan letters, now we tweet back at celebrities. Maybe @SirPatStew will see my tweets, squee!
36751 words. Back on pace & my heroes finally arrived in Bmore from Osaka. Soon comes death, abduction, fighting...& maybe wisdom #NaNoWriMo
Playing hooky from karate class to go watch Doctor Who with my mom. Because, family. And, The Doctor.
Cover art is done, and the text went to the printer tonight! "Why Buddha Touched The Earth" http://bit.ly/MXpE0L is almost ready...
OMGWTF YOU CAN ORDER MY BOOK NOW!!! http://bit.ly/WBTTEml Preorders for Why Buddha Touched the Earth, print version. E-book coming soon.
6,358 words today (wow!), up to 44,869. 1 death, 1 beatdown, 1 kidnapping, 1 breakdown. Now the story's moving. #NaNoWriMo home stretch.
"...and a film is never made for an audience. A dramatic work is made for an audience; a film is made for itself." - Orson Welles. Discuss.
Just found out family Tgiving may be postponed due to illness in the family. (Not serious.) Backup plan time. Any vegan-friendly options?
48,159 words, 1,841 left, as my heroes ride to the rescue. Get out of the way, we're doing this. #NaNoWriMo
Victory is mine! Still more story to tell, and I'll be doing so for months to come, but 50,136 words since Nov 1 -- #NaNoWriMo winner!
Thankful for the sort of friends who take you in when your other plans have fallen apart. :-)
I do hate it when a friend is visiting Baltimore and I have to tell them "Well, no, public transit is probably not an option." :-(
Fun fact: the entire population of the city of Cumberland, MD, would take up less than half the seats in the Osaka Dome stadium.
RT: @BadAstronomer goes deep into the 80s archive with this one: "Man, Xur and the Armada will be pissed. pic.twitter.com/WSbN6yshnq"
"Why Buddha Touched the Earth" is officially released! Order from http://BarnesandNoble.com , http://Amazon.com , or http://Immanion-Press.com .
Coding peeve: "if (!strcmp(a,b))..." Darn it, "if (strcmp(a,b) == 0)..." is clearer. Use it. (Or, use the frickin' string class already!)
"...but nothing can deter a poet, for he is actuated by pure love. Who can predict his comings and goings?" -- Thoreau
Nelson Mandela. There's nothing I can say except that the world is a little bit less bright with his leaving. Rest in peace, sir.
Love when celebrity fan accounts "follow" me on Twitter, so I can read "Hunter S. Thompson followed you."
Still tentative & TBD but if you're local to Bmore please pencil in Jan 12 for release party (w/ poetry & music) for http://bitly.com/WBTTE !
"One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions." - Rear Adm. Grace M. Hopper, b. Dec 9, 1906. (H/t to @glenfmarshall )
If we primates blow it -- and my assessment on the odds on that vary from day to day -- I think the squirrels may inherit the earth.
Book release party for Why Buddha Touched the Earth! http://infamous.net/WhyBuddhaTouchedTheEarth ... Sun Jan 12, 4-8pm. LitMore, 1702 South Rd, Bmore MD 21209. Free!
Hey everybody look what the UPS guy left on my porch! pic.twitter.com/MzCi4Djy0D
In all the copycat-encouraging talk of Newtown anniversary, a moment to remind folks if you live w/ mentally ill folks or kids, lock up guns
"...the world is so small and yet there's so much in it.". So much of what I write is notes to my future self. Don't forget. Don't forget.
Stuck in phone customer service hell thanks to the combined incompetence of the feds & CareFirst. Thanks, ACA.
Why stress about holiday shopping? Buy a shiatsu gift certificate on-line! http://www.earthtouchshiatsu.com/giftcert.php
Alert Fox News! Mocha-skinned Santa at Michael's Arts & Crafts. pic.twitter.com/nqp968atHd
"And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on my lips but Hallelujah."
You do not have a 1st Amendment right to your own "reality TV" show. Not sure why that seems to be confusing some people.
Tracing blown LEDs in the Yule lights with my multimeter, thinking of Mr. Helkowski, my HS electronics teacher. Strange the echoes we leave.
The Yule lights are up, Solstice candles lit, and a mirror left to captivate Amaterasu-omikami when she comes out. 'Cause we need the sun.
Remember the real meaning of the season! pic.twitter.com/yvsurDULHQ
Again, good to know Bmore is so crime free that the BCPD can send this many of its finest to stop a warehouse party. :-/
Here and now, in this present moment, what is your correct function to save all sentient beings?
Forgot about that REI dividend -- sweet, like finding $90 in my pocket!
"Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer, I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery." -- Mikhail Kalashnikov
Alan Turing finally pardoned! Nicely played, your majesty. http://cryptome.org/2013/12/turing-pardon.pdf ...
May be starting to experience migraines. :-/ Had a weird visual thing yesterday, will see doc soon for full check but that's her quick guess
5pm Xmas Eve. Time to start the holiday drinking with a good cocktail.
Spending Xmas Eve fixing plumbing. I got the homeowner blues...
Ringo got his giant tennis ball. If folks at yr house are 1/2 as happy w/ their gifts as he, it's a Merry Xmas indeed pic.twitter.com/xBEa4ofUea
"To live outside the law, you must be honest." -- B. Dylan
Now that my brother has moved in with his long-time girlfriend & her son, I've been upgraded from "mom's boyfriend's brother" to "uncle".
From the "this weather is crazy" department, just pulled a tick off of Ringo...usually not a problem until the spring.
Tech support PSA: passwords are usually case-sensitive. So if you set yours to "SwordFish", "swordfish" won't work later.
"Carry on as if your dojo exists wherever you go, especially when you are alone and no one [is] watching." -- Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura
The greatest respect we can pay to the greatest ideas of humanity is to make them our own. Steal liberally.
Farewell 2013, at least it wasn't boring.
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